Erin opened the door and strolled inside. "Helllllo, Vietnam!"

"Welcome back, Erin," Jo remarked.

"Hey, what's u-" Erin stopped to see that the fourth (previously unoccupied) bunk was now harboring a new face. "Oh. Hello."

The woman was busy unpacking her bags and setting her clothes out on the cot before her. She stopped her work and approached Erin, extending her hand. "You must be Nurse Hunnicut."

Erin sat her bag on the floor and shook the woman's hand. "Yes. And who do I have the pleasure of meeting?"

"Captain Heather Franklin."

Erin looked over to Jo and grinned. "So did Dayton call in for another Captain to help keep the Lieutenants under control?"

Jo sat her book down and sighed. "Erin, Captain Franklin will be stationed here temporarily until we can find permanent staff."

Erin pulled off her rain jacket and threw it on her cot. "Permanent staff? I thought we had over the minimum of nurses we needed?"

Jo stood up and walked up to Erin taking hold of her arm. Heather continued to unpack her belongings as Jo walked Erin outside of the tent.

"It's too bad Heather will only be here on temporary duty, the three of us aren't going to have anytime to demonstrate our grand array of pranks." Erin glanced around the compound as the rain continued to fall. "Speaking of the three musketeers, where's number three?"

Jo let go of Erin's arm. "Erin... I need to talk to you about Darlene. The staff-"

Erin frowned. "She's... she's been transferred, hasn't she," Erin interrupted.

Jo shook her head. She reached for Erin's hand, and in a shaky whisper said, "They needed more people up at Battalion Aid, we sent Darlene."

Erin began to feel her blood run cold. No, she wasn't transferred, she's-

"Things started getting worse up there, so they had to pull back. As she was helping load the wounded on the bus," Jo shook her head and stuttered, "a s-stray bullet hit her in the chest. Evans tried, but she was gone minutes after we were able to get h-her on the table."

Erin pulled her hand away from Jo's and brushed back her soaked hair. "God... no..."

"Erin... Evans tried, he really did," Jo watched as Erin stood speechless, tears rolling out of her eyes like the rain dripping from the sky. "Erin... Erin it's going to be okay..."

Erin shook her head. Someone she had grown so close to in over a year, her best friend, was gone. Just like that. The push of a trigger. The cutting of flesh. Blood. Heart. Not. Beating.

Gone.