Next chapter up! As always, thanks for all the feedback and support :) Enjoy! It's a long one!

Disclaimer: I do not own M*A*S*H or any of the affiliated characters

Chapter 8: Just a Little Nudge

On her last day, the inflow of wounded was barely even noticeable, so Andi spent all the time she possibly could with Hawkeye and Trapper. But the sun was slowly sinking out of view, dipping below the horizon; her time at the 4077th was running out.

She took a small part of her day to take one last trip down to sit at the trunk of her tree in peace and quiet for a while. Then, she would go back up to the camp. She knew that Hawkeye and Tapper had planned a going away party for her over at Rosie's. The two surgeons hadn't given anything away, but Henry and Radar were about as subtle as the war going on around them. Nonetheless, she would act surprised to humor them. She started walking to the field, not having the slightest notion that she was being watched.

"You know, some people would call that stalking," Tapper commented, not even looking up from the magazine he was reading.

"I'm sure some people would," came the reply. "I, on the other hand, would say it's observing."

"Don't think I don't know who it is." Trapper was doing his best to ease Hawkeye into the imminent and, no matter how hard his friend would try, inevitable conversation.

"Not for a moment. You know how highly I consider your intelligence."

"Hawkeye," Trapper almost scolded.

"Tapper," Hawkeye replied in the same tone, trying and failing to lessen the seriousness.

The fair haired man sighed. "Seriously, Hawk, you gotta tell her."

"Tell her what?" His best friend turned on him, a new fire lit. "That I don't want her to leave? I want her to stay? I want her to completely replace Frank? I'll let you pick and you can take it up with the army." He sank onto his bed.

"How about...you want her?"

"But it's not that simple!"

Trapper shrugged. "Says who?"

"Trap, she's leaving tomorrow."

"Three little words." Trapper still hadn't looked up from his magazine, and his nonchalant attitude was sincerely annoying his friend. Silence enveloped them, giving Hawkeye time to think.

Trapper waited another minute, then: "So, ya gonna tell her?"

The question hung in the air.

"I...yeah."

Trapper nodded, satisfied, and turned the page.

"There you are!" Radar said as he hurried over to Andi, who had just returned to camp.

"I didn't know anyone was looking for me," she said.

"Oh, yeah, well, it's just that a few of us were gonna go and get drinks at Rosie's 'cause it's, uh, Friday, right?" He stumbled through the explanation.

Andi smiled at him. "Sounds good to me."

Relieved by his apparent success, Radar walked with Andi over to the little joint. As soon as he opened the door, Andi was nearly knocked over by the cheering that greeted her. Her smile grew wider as she looked at all the people there: Radar, who was now standing next to Henry, both of them at bar seats; Klinger at the nearest table to her, in one of his best dresses for the occasion; Father Mulcahy at the piano, just waiting for a tune to play; Margaret and the nurses, only two or three not smiling at her.

Directly in front of her stood Hawkeye and Trapper. She stepped up and hugged them both.

"Thank you," she whispered, and then the party began.

Drinks and food spread all around, and Father Mulcahy played every single requested song. The time flew thanks to the tireless party-goers. Andi lost count of how many people she hugged and talked to. The laughter was in endless supply; Radar won most of the money in Klinger's purse with a lucky dart throw, and Henry, after making a semi-drunk speech complete with remarks from Hawkeye and Trapper after every other sentence, couldn't walk straight.

The party finally came to a close when Father Mulcahy ran out of songs, Klinger and Radar settled their dart dispute, and Hawkeye and Trapper had to support Henry to his cot.

"Henry, one of your most memorable, if not graceful, exits," Hawkeye told him.

"You really think so?" Henry slurred, eyes big and blinking at the two surgeons as he rolled onto his bed.

"We wouldn't lie to you," Trapper replied. The two exited the building and Trapper kept shooting Hawkeye looks as they walked away.

"I know, Trap," Hawkeye said, annoyed. His heart pounded furiously.

"I didn't say anything."

"You didn't have to," he grumbled. He slowed down a bit as they approached Andi's tent.

"Now or never," Trapper said. Hawkeye slowly turned his head and gave him a glare. Trapper held up his hands in innocence and backed his way to the door of the Swamp. "I want a full report!"

"What are you, in junior high?" Hawkeye shot back as the door to the Swamp closed.

Hawkeye took a deep breath and knocked on the door. "Andi?"

Her head perked up from where she was, lying on the bed. She easily recognized Hawkeye's voice. "Come in," she answered, standing up.

As soon as he entered, Hawkeye blinked in surprise. "Wow. I like what you've done to the place."

Andi looked around. She had taken all her belongings down and packed them up. "Figures; I finally get the right look the day before I leave." She sat down on the bed and patted the area next to her for him to sit. "Thanks for the party." She looked down.

"Do you mean that?" he asked, sitting down next to her and noting her action.

"No, of course I do. It's just...the closer I am to you guys, the harder it is to leave. I don't know how much closer I could possibly get, but I don't want to go back to the 58th anyway." She laughed. "I'd rather be in this hellhole than that one."

He listened to her words and his heart sank. Why had he let Trapper convince him to do this? He had been right; she was leaving. What would it do? Telling her would only make it harder for her to leave. It would hurt her.

"I don't want you to leave," Hawkeye started. "I want you to stay here. Replace Frank completely, if you'd like. I won't stop you."

She smiled and let her head fall onto his shoulder. He rested his head on top of hers, wrapping an arm around her. He wasn't surprised that she seemed to fit perfectly there.

The way they were sitting brought the conversation with Margaret back to Andi's thoughts, and her chest tightened.

"Hawk, did you need to talk to me about something?"

"Oh, well, not really," he lied, making it up as he went along. "I just thought that, since tonight was the public goodbye, and tomorrow morning is the formal goodbye, we needed time for a private goodbye. So," he said, pulling her to her feet, "consider this your private goodbye."

He pulled her into a hug, but held her for a longer time than he had in the post-op ward. He held her close, his nose to her hair, trying to discern the smell. It was sweet, and fresh. Whatever it was, it just became his new favorite scent.

"I love you all," she whispered, making his heart bounce. "But I think I'm going to miss you the most."

He pulled her closer. "And this is why we needed a private goodbye," he joked. She laughed a little, but it was true. She would miss his jokes, his endless sarcastic remarks, his methods of keeping her sane. "I'll miss you too. But you know something? The day I left home, my father told me that no matter where I was, we were still close. You know, same sun and moon, that thing. The first few weeks, I watched every single sunrise and sunset."

"And now?"

"Now, I watch almost every one," he admitted. "Of course, it depends heavily on whether or not I'm sleeping."

"Which you do a lot," Andi laughed. Hawkeye nodded. A moment later, she yawned.

Hawkeye held her at arm's length. "Wow. You could've blown me all the way to Tokyo with that one. All right, get your sleep. Good night."

She nodded and saw Hawkeye out. "Night." She gave him a kiss on the cheek and closed the door.

His cheek tingling, Hawkeye opened the door to the Swamp and was immediately greeted by Trapper.

"You're grinning like a fool. I take that as a good sign." Trapper's comment brought him out of his trance, and his face fell, but it went unnoticed. "What happened? Date set? Can I be the best man? Kid's names picked out?"

"Trap, I-"

"Okay, fine, sorry. But I was actually serious about the best man part."

"Trap, I didn't tell her."

Trapper paused and stared at him. "Well, why not?"

Hawkeye shrugged. "It just...didn't work out."

Trapper tossed his hands up, having done all he could. "You're a fool."

Hawkeye collapsed on his cot. "Yeah. I know."

We all knew this moment would be coming... Reviews are welcome!