Margaret is so shocked to be seeing Frank that she can't do anything more than stand there with her mouth open for a couple minutes. Eventually she manages, "Frank? Is it really you? How are you?" and she embraces him warmly.
"Margaret," he says with his cute little smile that she used to love so much. "It's so nice to see you! I'm doing well… really well. Did you know I got a promotion?"
She can't help it, she's feeling all bubbly and excited, as if nothing has ever changed between them. She always had a soft spot for this man, in spite of his many faults. She beams at him and says, "Yes, congratulations, Frank! I don't know anyone who deserved it more."
"Aw, thanks, sweets. You always were my biggest champion."
She kisses him quickly on the cheek, then steps back to take a good look at him. He looks somehow more sure of himself, confident. It's an attractive look on him. "Wow, Frank. You look so… so…"
"Oh, Margaret!" he gushes, and he sweeps her into his arms and kisses her firmly on the mouth.
"It's complete chaos here without you," she confides in him when they part. "Col. Potter, he's OK, but you know the others. No discipline, no regard for the rules." She shakes her head, not wanting to go down that road right now. "Are you coming back to the 4077th? Is that why you're here?" She's secretly hoping that's the case.
"No, sweets, this is just a short visit. I can't stay. But I do kind of miss the place, Margaret. And you too, of course. We had some good times, didn't we? Remember all the picnics out near the mine fields? And all those magical nights here in your tent?" He puts a hand on her arm, strokes it tenderly. "I still love you—I probably always will."
"Oh Frank." Tears shimmer in her eyes. "You know there will always be a special place in my heart for you, too. No matter what."
He looks toward the door, as if someone has knocked, and then gives her a worried look. "You take care of yourself, Margaret."
"You're not going already…? You just got here! Sit down, Frank, and let's talk a while." She gestures to her bed but he shakes his head. He looks anxious all of a sudden, his earlier self-assured manner gone.
"Gotta head on out, Margaret. But I'm glad I got to see you, even if it was only for a minute. Take care." He steps toward the door and then abruptly stops, letting out one of his little cackles. "Oh, I almost forgot!"
"Forgot?"
When he turns to face her again, his eyes have gone from their bottle-blue to pure black. She takes an involuntary step back, alarmed. "Watch out for cook," he says, and then he's out the door.
Margaret, her heart beating fast and her legs suddenly unsteady, takes a seat on her bed. The way he'd looked there at the end… truly frightening. She tries to tell herself that it was just the poor light in here, playing tricks on her eyes.
Yeah, that's all it was.
Of course that's all it was.
She breathes a sigh of relief, now absolutely convinced that nothing strange had happened at all. It'd been a nice, albeit brief, visit from her old friend Frank.
"Watch out for the cook?" she says, remembering his last words. "Huh. The food may be bad here, but I highly doubt the cook is out to poison us. I wonder what that was all about." She shrugs, curls up on her bed and closes her eyes, her mind filling with fond memories of her time with Frank.