Note: Okay so this has completely changed from my first idea, but we will see how it goes. If it seems all over the place, I do apologise. Thank you for all your words of encouragement :)
Days rolled past, nights dragged on and no one asked about the letter, Angie just presumed that the boys had just simply forgotten, but she knew better than that, they weren't that kind of people. They cared, but they cared enough not to ask. Things just moved on.
Angie walked through the doors of the mess tent and the familiar stench of lunch filled her nostrils. She picked up a tray and joined the line, peaking over the shoulders in front of her to see exactly what was on the menu.
"Come and get it! Today's grub… is well… Grubs." Klinger proclaimed as he sweated over the hot food in one of his best blue gowns, matched with fish net gloves, his pearl bracelet dangling precariously over the food.
As Angie reached her spot in line she looked over the food, Klinger grinning down at her.
"You know, sometimes I wonder why you stayed."
"Klinger, Sometimes I wonder why you would ever want to leave" she chuckled as he slopped a spoonful of mush on her tray. She glanced down at it and swore she saw something move. "I take that back." She picked up a piece of stale bread, waved it in his direction and walked over to where Hawkeye, BJ and Colonel Potter where sitting.
"Room for one more?" she asked as she sat down, and slid over next to BJ. Across form her Hawkeye was playing with his food, picking it up, smelling it, and throwing it into a corner of his tray.
"You know Hawk, one day that food is actually going to get into your mouth." teased BJ.
"I would rather die than eat this." replied Hawkeye.
"That's exactly what would happen if you did eat it." Angie piped in with a smile.
"Touché." He remarked as he flung another piece of mush into the corner of his tray. He stopped playing with his food and, with a cheeky grin on his face, nodded towards Frank, who was lining up for his lunch. He and Klinger where having an argument over something, but the arguments subsided as Klinger pulled out a pre prepared tray from under the bench and handed it to the Major. There was a note on the tray, and the Colonel could only just make out what it said: For Frank, from Margret. Next to him BJ, Angie, and Hawkeye all shared a cunning grin, and a familiar gleam in their eyes. Frank took the tray with a satisfied smile and sat down. But as he did so, his grin turned to concern as his meal began to move, and in an instant millions of cockroaches, emerged from under the slop and started fluttering in his lap. A squeal could be heard as he leapt from his seat, frantically brushing the creepy crawlies from his pants. Frank glared at the three, who were snickering to themselves and the Colonel just shook his head.
"Eat up Frank, protein is good for you!" BJ called as the Major stormed out of the mess tent. And the three just laughed between them.
"And whose idea was this then?" Asked the Colonel, knowing full well what the answer was.
BJ and Hawkeye just pointed at Angie. "Hey! Don't look at me, I just sourced the bugs." She gestured her thumb towards the two men. "It was their idea." Hawkeye and BJ just grinned.
"By Jove, you guys are going to be the end of this camp. I'm the one who has do deal with the backlash, pull in the reins next time. " He said he rose from his seat, "No, three, the three musketeers" He added with a wink, and walked away, shaking his head and mumbling something to himself, a faint laugh here and there.
Hawkeye raised his fork. "All for one!"
BJ and Angel raised theirs in unison and clanged them with Hawkeye's, "and one for all!" they cried in unison.
Angie began to rise from her seat, tray in hand.
"And where are you going?" Asked BJ.
"I'm on duty in.." She looked at her watch "two minutes." She said as she stepped over the wooden plank for a seat.
"Someone's dedicated." Hawkeye said with smile.
"Yeah, well someone has to pull their weight around here." She grinned and walked away.
And Angie did pull her weight, she did odd jobs, worked in post op with the nurses and surgeons, and was even promoted to assistant surgeon a couple of times when the going got tough. She could do pretty much anything they asked of her, and her skills where constant surprises. She worked on the roster just like everyone else, and had the same hours as everyone else. She spent most of her time in post op, checking on patients, keeping watch and talking to patients, telling them stories. She enjoyed it, and even when she wasn't on duty she would call in on a few of the men to keep their spirits up, and of a night where she couldn't sleep she would just simply sit in there and sketch.
Hawkeye and BJ sat in The Swamp, BJ, reading a letter from home and Hawkeye, browsing through his nudist magazine. From the corner of his eye he spotted a small grey fury shape move in the shadows, he turned back to his magazine but it moved again. He jumped up and stood on his cot, his magazine rolled up and ready to swat. He jumped across and landed on BJ's cot causing him to squirm and roll off. BJ just looked up at him from the floor. Hawkeye went to jump across to Angie's cot in pursuit of the rodent but BJ grabbed his ankle causing his jump to be miss-calculated. He landed on the edge of the cot causing him and the bed to topple over. BJ laughed as he witnessed his friend struggle with the intertwined blankets and throwing the pillow across the room. As it landed a small leather book fell out of the fabric case and landed on the hard ground, its pages sprawled across the floor. As BJ picked it up, Hawkeye emerged from the blankets, his hair ruffled by the scratchy wool. He glanced over and saw BJ flicking through the pages of the leather book. He noticed it instantly as the one they had gotten Angie when she had first arrived. He got up, brushed his hair out of his eyes, and went to sit next to BJ. They flicked through warn yellow pages, on one there was a sketch of BJ and another of Hawkeye, and then a few more and then a few more. As they turned to the last page, a worn brown envelope fell out, and as it fluttered to the ground an equally worn note fell from the opening in the envelope. At the top of the note, they read the words: To my Dearest Angel, in a soft black swirly font.
Hawkeye picked it up and at that moment, Angie walked through the door to The Swamp and saw the two men, sitting there, her notebook in the hands of BJ, and her letter, in the hands of Hawkeye.
They spun around to look at her, and she just sort of stared back and sighed. "I'm not even going to ask what happened." Angie said, she knew full well that they didn't mean to accidently stumble across her things. "Here, give me the letter." She sat down on the end of Hawkeye's bed and the two turned their bodies to face her. She began to read.
"Wait, Angie, you don't have to tell us, we…" Hawkeye started, but BJ stopped him.
"No, it's okay, I should tell you guys, I have a horrible habit of keeping things to myself, and I need to open up every once and a while, so this seems like a good place to start don't you think? Here listen."
The two men looked at each other and leant back on the cot as Angie began to read.
To my dearest Angel,
I know this may be hard for you, and I am so sorry for bringing you to this place, but I wanted to see you one last time. The doctor's here say I will be up and about anytime soon, but we both know that's a lie, you and I have had our fair deal of doctor's over the years, so we know the drill. Don't we my dear? When they told me you were coming I knew you weren't going to make it in time, so I'm writing you this letter.
I know I haven't been much of a father to you lately, or rather at all, and I am so sorry for that, I just want you to know that through everything I have loved you. You remind me so much of your mother, you know that, strong, independent… innocent. I know not having her around is tough; it's been tough for me too. But I want you to know that you are not alone in this world. Even now, though I may be gone, remember that you are never on your own. I do hope you find a home. I know you will. And through everything I want you to know that I am proud of you, and so is your mother. She will forever be watching down on you, in whatever you do. But just promise me one thing, my sweet girl, get out of here, get out of this hellish war, don't stay, leave, to many, to many, there doesn't need to be another. Leave; get out now while you still can. No more innocents, no more. Promise me you will do this for me, no excuses my girl. Unless for some God forsaken reason, you stay, of which I know you probably will, I want you to stay safe, stay strong and above all be yourself, don't let them in. I love you.
Oh Angel, I cannot begin to explain how sorry I am, I was never really a father to you was I? Just that man who you were made to follow. You're not my soldier, you never where, and for that I am sorry. You never deserved any of this.
Stay safe my Angel,
With love, Admiral Dominic Stone.
Dad.
The two men didn't know what to make of it, Angie sat there holding the letter and looked up with a sigh. She smiled at the boys.
"See, I told you it was just a letter."
They smiled back at her, but there was something deeper. As they looked at her, their eyes gleamed with concern, she wasn't telling them something and that something was important. She was good at hiding it, but they saw, they could tell, there was something eating at her inside. Just then the loud speakers crackled and a voice broke through the white noise. "Wounded in the compound folks, get 'em while they're hot!"