Margaret sauntered into Colonel Potter's office, resisting the urge to burst into laughter at the look on Pierce's face. He'd perched himself up against the wall in the path of the only open chair, so she just smirked proudly at him as she walked past and sat down.
As their commander lectured about a visiting Colonel and halting the prank epidemic, she stared back at Hawkeye, glancing occasionally at the foot that dangled in front of her – the one most likely covered in oatmeal at this moment. He was smiling at her, but it wasn't his usual leer or joking smirk. It wasn't even the sincere smile that she loved to see grace his features. No, this smile was sinister and full of promise. It seemed the prank war had begun in honor of the upcoming holiday, and now that she'd thrown in her lot, as it were, she mentally prepared herself to stay alert. Pierce would mostly certainly try to retaliate, but it was Hunnicutt she was worried about; that man was as cunning as a fox and as sly as a snake.
"Pierce?" Potter's voice pulled her from her thoughts, and Pierce's sadistic smile softened as he ignored the man next to him.
"Thanks for the room service, Margaret. I always did like breakfast in boot."
Plastering an innocent expression on her face, she glanced from Potter to Hawkeye.
"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about." Then, to the Colonel," Don't worry about me, sir."
"I owe you one," Pierce replied, earning him a quick reprimand from Potter. As they were dismissed, however, Margaret couldn't resist rubbing it in a little.
"She who laughs last!" and she danced out the door. No doubt Hawkeye would be planning an extra-rotten prank to pull on her once Tucker was gone, but for now Margaret would revel in her victory.
Her reveling stopped, however, as she gaped at her naked tent. Despite promising the Colonel he wouldn't, Pierce had to go and pull an idiot prank that would probably get them all in trouble. Now in a froth, she stormed into the tent yelling at the sleeping form on the cot nearest her.
"Pierce! Get up you tent-napper!" She pulled the covers off his bunk and screamed. Instead of the slumbering surgeon she'd expected, they'd commandeered one of the skeletons from the lab. Laughing from outside drew her attention, and she was surprised to find all three Swamp rats giggling uncontrollably. Fuming, she grabbed the nearest weapon and charged out into the compound after them.
One pillow fight and two dressing downs later, the four of them stood outside the Swamp feeling both ashamed and frightened. Colonel Tucker was everything Potter had said he was, and now Potter himself was beyond angry. As their irate commander stormed back to his tent, Margaret turned to the men next to her.
"Well?"
"Look Margaret, we'll put it back tomorrow, first thing."
"And just where am I supposed to sleep tonight?" she asked, and soon regretted it at the look on Pierce's face. "Never mind."
"Seriously, Margaret, we have a spare bunk," BJ offered.
"That would be improper," she protested, but Hawkeye just stared her down.
"This whole damn mess is improper. We folded your tent up and stowed it in the motor pool. It would take us at least an hour to pitch it up again, and since it's dark out it'll be near impossible. Just grab what you need, change in the showers, and crash here." She hesitated for a moment longer. "Look, the least we can do is offer you a place to sleep since we turned your tent into a 3D X-ray."
"I have to admit, BJ, it was a pretty good prank," she relented.
"Hey, how did you know it was his idea?" Hawkeye demanded as BJ smiled smugly.
"Because it was an intelligent one," she shot back, stepping into her open tent to grab her things. "Oh, and since I'm bunking with you three, you should know I adhere to a strict bedtime. Lights out in ten minutes." The boys groaned in unison but didn't protest further as Margaret dashed to the showers to change.
When she arrived back at the Swamp, she was surprised to see they had stripped the sheets from their beds and hung them to create a sort of barrier in the middle of the room. Winchester was already lying in bed with his eye cover on, and BJ was reading a book by lamp light. Only Hawkeye was up and about, sliding the makeshift walls along the rope enough to allow her the most privacy.
"Thank you," she told him sincerely, and he just smiled at her.
"Well, you know how BJ is," was his only response as he stepped around her and collapsed into his own bunk. She stared at her three friends a moment longer before settling into her temporary home.
"Goodnight Margaret," Hawkeye's voice floated across the tent and she rolled her eyes.
"Goodnight Pierce," she replied.
"What about me?" BJ said.
"Goodnight BJ," they said in unison.
"Will you all shut up!" Winchester shouted, causing all three to shush him.
"People are trying to sleep, Charles," Hawkeye scolded. Margaret briefly wondered if this was how they were every night, and smiled at the thought before dismissing it from her mind. They had a long few days ahead of them and they needed all the rest they could get.
Almost twenty-four hours later, Margaret wished she'd stayed in bed. Not only did they have a long OR session which interrupted their morning, Colonel Tucker seemed to be in fine form from the operating room to post-op. Reasoning with the man seemed to have no effect, and Margaret's heart very nearly stopped as he uttered the two words she dreaded hearing, court martial. As Tucker walked away, Margaret caught Pierce's eye. He looked worried, but when he saw her gaze he schooled his features quickly.
"It'll be okay," he whispered to her as the four of them slunk away. She stopped and stared at him incredulously, completely ignoring BJ and Charles as they continued back to the Swamp.
"Didn't you hear what he said? Court martial, Pierce! My father will disown me!" She felt her face flushing as she fought back emotion. He stepped in closer, and she recognized it as an attempt to hide her from prying eyes. He didn't touch her, not out in public, but she felt the compassion rolling off him in waves.
"Do you remember how many times Frank tried to court martial me?"
She snorted in contempt. "You forget, I was one of the charging officers on most of your reports," she retorted.
"And I'm still here," he pressed on. "Look, you're too good at your job – hell, you're the best nurse in Korea. Not only that, but your nursing staff is one of the sharpest around. Besides," he smiled at her, "there has to be a trial, right? How do you think the brass will react when they learn that it all started with a pillow fight?" That got a chuckle out of her, and he draped an arm loosely over her shoulders as he steered her back to the Swamp. The deluge of wounded earlier this morning had prevented the doctors from putting her tent back together, so the four of them congregated in the doctors' tent.
BJ tossed Hawkeye a wad of yarn to unravel while Margaret perched on the only chair not covered in clothes or occupied by Charles. As her mind wandered to her father and how disappointed he would be in her, Hawkeye was working on a brilliant plan.
"I just thought of something," he said suddenly. "There is not one more free than someone with nothing to lose."
"Catchy," BJ replied, "but irrelevant."
Charles nodded in agreement. "Pierce, a truly rational man does not wax philosophic when his address is about to be changed to Leavenworth." He paused for a moment before it dawned on him. "Oh my God, that's in Kansas."
"Look," Pierce was working up to a rant, and Margaret's attention was pulled from her thoughts. "We're already getting busted for insubordination, so why don't we go out in a blaze of glory? Let the crime fit the punishment."
A small smile crept over her face, and she briefly marveled at the change she'd undergone. Just over a year ago, she would have refused to go along with any plan of Pierce's, not to mention one designed to humiliate a higher ranking officer. But now, facing the prospect of a dishonorable discharge and disownment by her father, she had no trouble letting the three doctors lead the way.
"I love it," BJ, it seemed, agreed.
"Let's get that twerp," she added.
"Charles?" It wasn't going to work unless they were all onboard.
"Pierce, that is a childish, totally immature, and petulant suggestion. When do we nail the swine?" Pierce clapped his hands together and ushered them closer as he unveiled his masterful plan.
By the time the night was over, Margaret swore she'd never laughed as hard in her entire life as she had in the Officer's club. Pierce's plan went off without a hitch, unless one counted the fact that they'd all been outfoxed by two old Army colonels with more years of experience than the four of them combined. Even Klinger had been had, although when he waltzed into the O Club wearing that ridiculous Egyptian getup, none of them could stop laughing for over five minutes.
They all said their farewells to the Colonels, who had decided to keep the club open in celebration of their victory. As they walked back toward the compound proper, a thought dawned on Margaret.
"You creeps never did put my tent back," she scolded. But watching the way BJ wobbled and Charles shuffled, it was clear they weren't in any condition to do it now. Sighing, she resigned herself to sleeping another night in the Swamp listening to Charles snore and Pierce toss about.
But as they rounded the last corner to home, she was surprised to find her tent in one whole piece. Charles and BJ didn't even seem to notice, but Hawkeye stopped just behind her and leaned down to whisper in her ear.
"I paid a few of the enlisted to do it earlier," he told her. "Figured you wouldn't want to spend any more time in our company than you had to." She shot him a look he couldn't decipher right away, but before he time to think about it she was moving toward her tent. She held the door open behind her, a sure invitation to him, and he stepped in as she walked to her bed and sat down.
"This has been a hell of a day," she stated, heaving a sigh. He canted his head at her, a question in his eyes, and she finally gave in to her curiosity. "What?"
"Would your father really have disowned you?" His tone wasn't mocking, and she found herself wondering what his father was like. Probably not the strict disciplinarian her father was, but judging from Hawkeye's moral code and strong work ethic, she guessed the elder Dr. Pierce wasn't a pushover. She'd only ever heard stories of the man, and her mental picture had been one of a simple, small-town doctor with a friendly smile and a firm hand (a necessary tool when dealing with Hawkeye Pierce).
"I don't know," she answered his question honestly. "He's a strict Army man who demands nothing but absolute perfection. My entire career has all been because of him. If I was court-martialed and thrown in Leavenworth…there's a chance, yes."
He shook his head and sat next to her. "Well, at least you would have had interesting cell mates," he joked. She shot him a warning look, but he just nudged her shoulder with his. "Come on, we've got first shift in post op tomorrow thanks to our benevolent, beguiling commander."
He stood up and showed himself to the door as she started to take off her boots. "And if you ever want to bunk with us again, give me notice so I can toss that extra cot out into the garbage pile. No use in wasting body heat with the winter months upon us." He grinned lecherously at her, but she saw the mirth in his eyes. She tossed a shoe after him as he skipped out the door, and only when he was gone did she allow herself to smile.
Next up: "Best of Enemies"