The soldier disdainfully shoved her away from him as Margaret gasped for breath. This was thefifth soldier she had been with that night. Margaret desperately wished she were dead. He tugged at his clothing and hurriedly left the tent. Margaret waited in dread for another man. To her surprise, none came. After almost ten minutes, Margaret climbed off the cot and dragged herself towards Hawkeye, who was still unconscious in the corner of the room, wrapping a blanket around her body as she went.

"Hawkeye," she whispered as she pulled his head onto her lap. "Hawkeye wake up please." She begged, ignoring the tears that were streaming down her face.

Margaret was shaking with terror. When she signed up to be a nurse that was all she thought was involved, to serve as a nurse in a hospital. She had been furious when she discovered that she had been assigned to a MASH unit. She thought it was beneath her, but she never thought of the danger of working so close to the front. Now she was terrified of what might happen. Where they going to kill them both? Margaret scooted closer to Hawkeye and he moaned suddenly.

"Hawkeye," she whispered urgently, shaking him slightly. "Oh god, Hawkeye please wake up." Margaret breathed a sigh of relief as his eyelids opened slightly.

When he saw her tears, he tried his best to sit up. "Are you alright?" he asked worriedly. Margaret did not answer as she pushed him gently against the wall.

"Don't try to move," she instructed him. He nodded and wrapped his good arm around her. Margaret sobbed again and pressed her body tightly against him.

Unexpectedly, gunfire rang out from all around them. Margaret screamed in terror as Hawkeye pushed her on the floor, covering her with his body. The fire ceased and they could hear shouts coming from the woods; American voices.

Margaret laughed in relief, letting out the dread she had felt for the past five hours. Hawkeye placed his finger over her mouth to hush her.

"Crawl under the cot." He instructed. Margaret looked at his as if her were crazy.

"Hawkeye, don't you hear their voices? The American soldiers are coming; we're going to be fine!" she exclaimed. Hawkeye shook his head in frustration and frowned.

"Whatever Margaret, now please get under the cot." The intensity in his voice frightened Margaret immensely and she did as she was told. He dragged himself towards her and draped a blanket over the cot to conceal her.

Suddenly shellfire began exploding around them. Margaret screamed and quickly grabbed for Hawkeye who pushed her gently back under the cot. He rearranged the blanket and began to crawl towards the door.

"Please don't leave me," she cried after him. Hawkeye returned and kissed her gently on the lips.

"In a few minutes some men may come in here. Don't move, don't make a sound. Stay under this cot, do you understand?" Margaret nodded anxiously.

"Good," Hawkeye kissed her again, and stroked her cheek. "I'm sorry Hot Lips."

"For what?"

"For being such a jerk to you, when all I wanted was to be there for you." Margaret bit her lip to keep from crying and Hawkeye kissed her again.

"Margaret, you may not believe this, but I'm afraid I won't have another chance to tell you this." Here Margaret tried to speak but he shook his head. "Let me finish. We have been through a hell of a lot together, and I have seen a side of you that really surprised me. You've been a good friend to me, Margaret, and I…"

The door to the tent crashed open and Hawkeye frantically dropped the blanket over Margaret. Margaret's mouth dropped open in a silent scream as she heard Hawkeye being dragged from the room. Shells were exploding around her; she could hear the buildings being ripped apart. Engines started and headlights shone into the tent. Soon the engine noise faded as they headed down the road.

The shellfire kept coming, one crashed into the tent and Margaret could feel the small bits of metal sinking into her back as she curled into a ball.

The night dragged on as Margaret faded in and out of consciousness. At one point during the night, Margaret could hear American voices coming through camp. She tried to drag herself to the door but was unsuccessful, and she collapsed in the middle of the room unable to go any further.