After another grueling day in the OR (our Halloween party had almost been cancelled with the wounded load was light), Radar and I kneeled in front of Henry's office, listening to him once more talk to Headquarters about something important. This time though, he was asking about a new surgeon, one that could lighten the load of every other doctor in the camp. There were four in the camp (there used to be six before Majors Burns and Houlihan took to transferring out Spearchucker and Duke, then pushing out Ugly John), so to ask for another would help us dramatically. Having five surgeons or more was always better than four.

"Yes, General, I am sure that we need a new surgeon here at the 4077th." Henry was about to stutter something else, but remained silent, replying afterward, "Yes, yes, Sir, our chief surgeon suggested it as well. Oh, yes, Hawkeye – no, Sir, it's Captain Pierce. He said it would possibly cut down on the strain each doctor has when the wounded come and there would be less time in triage if someone else came here to take it off of people's hands. No, Sir, we're not quick and careless, we're just a little tight here, if you know what I mean."

"Is this it, Radar?" I hissed, neither impressed nor surprised, since I had other assignments to see to. Recently, I was asked by Margaret to go spying for her, to get some dirt from others' files, and that alone was annoying me "Is this all the news that you have for us? Henry wants a new surgeon for the 4077th? It seems like Hawkeye suggested it, so says Henry. Then again, it would explain why he didn't seem too surprised when you announced it at the Swamp. Have anything else that's news worthy?"

"Captain McIntyre also knew of the request and supported it too," Radar replied quietly, putting a finger to his lips to silence me as Henry spoke louder.

I rolled my eyes, knowing that those two doctors kept everything from me sometimes, camp business that we all could use, and went silent again when I heard Henry protest, as if whining.

"Sir, Majors Burns and Houlihan also agreed with this assessment…" Henry seemed pretty desperate at that point.

"And they did," Radar added in a whisper.

Henry then continued after the silence left him hanging on a thread. "…which tells me that this unit is in sore need of some new hands and we need it fast and…"

I was sure Henry was smiling in his argument with whichever general about a new doctor, as he usually did when he felt he had the upper hand. And it did seem like he had the right cards up his sleeve. His argument was sound and strong and had a lot of support. Not to mention, Frank and Margaret endorsed the idea, Margaret perhaps the most appealing of all (and let me say how many rumors there are running in the camp about "Hot Lips" Houlihan and those generals). There was some hope for Henry Blake after all.

A lengthy silence afterward meant anything (and me wistfully thinking that Henry had said something interesting for us for once) and it left me and Radar in suspense and wishing for more information. We put our ears closer to the doors, silently praying for a solution to the phone call, when we heard a voice behind us, kind and curious.

The voice behind us was not familiar though, as if I had heard it before and recently too. "What are you two doing there?"

Both Radar and I jumped up from our positions at the door and turned around, half-expecting Margaret and/or Frank behind us, even if we knew it was not. Instead, we saw the new person at the camp, Nurse Kellye, a nurse who everyone liked because she was too good and one they ignored as well because she was not a conventional beauty like me. She was standing behind us, smiling broadly, and looking like she was ready for a Post-Op shift with Margaret. She held a clipboard in her hands and was in a white "lab coat" (well, it's what I call them, smartass I am) and Army pants and boots.

I sighed with some frustration, not knowing if she was in cahoots with Margaret and was going to report us. So, I decided that honesty was the best policy, for some stupid reason, because her goodness seemed to genuinely radiate and it didn't seem right to lie. I might as well tell her the truth because she caught us conducting the crime of eavesdropping red-handed.

"Radar and I are waiting for Colonel Blake," I admitted weakly, putting my hands behind my back, as if I were the child caught with her hands in the cookie jar. "Radar here heard about some new surgeon coming possibly and he came to tell me about it. We usually stay here and listen in to Colonel Blake's conversations and scram when he comes out of his office or if somebody catches us."

Radar looked like he wanted to kill me when I admitted our misconduct. Although he exchanged looks with me and his was murderous (which was hilarious, to say the least), Nurse Kellye only laughed. She really thought it was funny that we eavesdropped on Henry apparently and admitted to it. Right then and there, I knew that she was one of us, someone who was not Regular Army and would do her job, even if it meant bending the rules a little. She was perhaps even afraid of old Margaret Houlihan it seemed, but not enough to want to be transferred out of here.

"If I could, I would join you, but I've always been watched by Major Houlihan all the time, ever since I came here," Nurse Kellye replied frankly enough. "I'm not as quick as others when trying to play innocent. I'm always caught every time. But I'm slowly catching on. In this place, you need it."

I smiled, relaxing. Radar did the same, but then immediately went back to the door when Henry was heard whooping in his office, jubilant about something (most likely getting his way). Then, he became silent again, probably being told to shut up by some general on the other end of the phone, which made Radar stand in attention even more. Kellye and I laughed together and then smiled at each other, understanding each other for only a moment, a moment I savored. Even though I hardly knew her, I felt that she could be a friend, one that I could turn to when there was trouble and I needed a hand. She could have felt the same about me, but I could not see it then. I was too selfish to see to others' needs.

"I don't really see you around these parts," I said to this new nurse, words I heard Hawkeye say to me when he first started talking to me. "Are you the new kid in town?"

"I'm new here," Kellye confirmed confidently, shrugging her shoulders with indifference. "I was shipped here a few days ago from Hawaii. I'm in one of the nurses' tents on the other end of the camp."

"Don't I know the feeling of being new here!" I smiled a bigger grin at this friendly nurse. "I've gotten the others going through my things in my footlocker, calling me names and pointing their fingers at me when something bad happens. Worse, I'm hanging out with the camp's most famous skirt-chaser and they're all jealous and confronting me about it, like I broke their hearts or something. It does seem like I did it on purpose."

"Oh, Hawkeye Pierce! He sure is a charmer!" Kellye then laughed, tipping her head back, which caught my attention first. Another was Kellye's way of seeing things immediately and paying attention to detail, especially to names, catching everything quickly for someone who was slow in keeping up with the camp and playing innocent.

Finally, Kellye stopped laughing. "Oh, Hawkeye Pierce is one of those, all right. He hardly gives me any attention and I think it's good for now. One of these days though, he needs to realize how valuable some of us are."

"What do you mean?" I asked just as Kellye looked at the watch on her wrist.

"Oh, I have to go!" she gasped, almost dropping her clipboard with fright. "Major Houlihan will put me on bed arrest if I'm late again, like she did to Nurse Cain the other day, remember?" She paused, taking in a breath. "Oh, what's your name? Maybe we can see each other in the Mess Tent later, for dinner, if you don't have a shift."

"Jeanie," I called out to Kellye as she ran through the double-doors that were next to Radar's cot, going in the direction that led to Post-Op. "Jeanie Morrison."

I then had a thought, a theory really. To see if old Margaret was really tough on the new nurses (and worse on the ones who have been here long enough), I followed behind Kellye and then looked after her as the door swung and peeked through them. Sure enough, I saw good old Major Houlihan yelling and pointing her finger at poor Kellye, who was almost cringing, the major was that nasty to her. With tears just glistening in her eyes, Kellye went to a bed, talking softly with the solider and putting a cooling clothe on the forehead.

I guess that I'm not only one. Hell, I remember those days so well, when I was always lost and always yelled at by Margaret Houlihan. Hopefully, it'll end soon enough with this Reign of Terror. I stood my ground and I hope the others do too. Margaret knows where the lines are and where she can put her Regular Army boots once I say something. If she crosses them, I have people behind me who are willing to get my ass out of a sling. However, Margaret asking me to do things for her is strange enough. I mean, asking me to search through files so that she can have something to blackmail someone with? What's up there? I mean, is there some plan she is hatching with Frank Burns?

A moment later, as I was turning away from the scene between Kellye and Margaret (before I was caught again), I went back to join Radar, who pushed me back. He hissed, "He's coming out now. Look busy!"

I did it quickly, going for a filing cabinet near the door (as if to look for a file, like I was asked to by a certain head nurse). I was looking pretty occupied by the time Henry came out of his office, smiling and looking like he won the biggest fight of his life (or, I should say, the biggest fish of the day, since he likes to go fishing in the stream by the camp with Leslie Dish). Radar had, by the time Henry came out, returned to his desk by the PA system, looking busy filling out paperwork and readying everything for Henry to sign and initial again, things he barely looks at anyway.

"Radar, I have some good news!" Henry seemed to have yelled (his voice was pretty loud, I had to admit). "We are going to have a new surgeon to come to the 4077th. I want you to get some paperwork for one Major Daniel Simmons, MD."

Radar didn't recite the orders at the same time as Henry did, which seemed like a first to me (a rare occurrence, if it happened at all). However, Radar immediately went from one pile of paperwork to another, taking more forms out of a cabinet by me as he got up. Then, he filled them out quickly when he reached the desk, appearing to be engaged in Army activities once more. I assumed that they were for this new doctor, this Major Daniel Simmons, that Henry was so ecstatic about.

Henry then turned to go back into his office, but noticed me by the filing cabinet, stopping and looking puzzled before he went back to work. "Jeanie, what are you doing here? This has been the third time you've been at that filing cabinet this week. Is there something I should be aware of? Or are you in need of some assistance that I can assist you with?"

I looked up from the cabinet and sighed. "It's nothing, Henry," I replied quietly. "I'm just looking up something for Major Houlihan. She asked me to do some things, oddly enough. I wonder why?"

It wasn't quite a lie and I didn't feel guilty about it because the major had asked me to look into some people's files, since I have the skills to do it in secrecy (it surprised me, like she was admitting that I had more power than she did). I've used that same filing cabinet before, to cover up my eavesdropping, and it worked most of the time. I didn't like it, but used it as an excuse often enough that even Henry was not noticing what was under his own nose…until now, that is.

"Trying to recruit spies of her own," Radar mumbled. It seemed that he wanted to plant an idea in Henry's mind about Margaret's schemes and try to get her to stop it, which will make her want me to do it more.

"I heard that, I heard that!" Henry started to pace the office space and stopped in front of me again after the third run back and forth, making me nervous enough. "You've been a spy and it's well known, Jeanie, because it's in your file and you have security clearance to be here and not over there, anywhere else. But I'd be careful, if I were you."

"As if I don't know that, Henry," I answered tartly, being the smartass as Henry wagged his right pointing finger at me.

"Then, why aren't you ignoring Major Houlihan?" Henry scratched his head as the wagging stopped.

"Because sometimes, Henry, it's better to obey than to argue, but say nothing," I retorted, pulling up a file randomly (I didn't know which one and didn't care). "You should know that as well. Anyhow, here's a change of topic here. I give my congratulations on securing us that new surgeon. I'm sure that Trapper and Hawkeye will be pleased."

Henry mumbled something about Hawkeye (they were friends, although I was still sure that Henry hated him going after me and vice versa), but let it go. Then, he asked sharply, "Are you still seeing Pierce?"

I was getting angrier by the moment and tired of Henry being the parent again. "I see him almost daily and I can't help it. So, listen, Dad, I'm ok. I'm not taking time out in the Supply Room or the additional tent out in the back of the camp, if that makes you feel better. I drink in the Swamp, I dance at the Officers' Club and that's about it. Oh, and I get walked back to my tent every night we're together. Do you want to know anything else? Need to hold our hands while we walk?"

I could tell Radar was listening in on us (his ears were perked up), but Henry, of course, did not care for privacy, almost exploding at my casual comments. "Jeanie, you've been a pain in the BUTT lately and I'm getting a little tired of the attitude. You've been dangerously close a few times to being at a court martial and it's not like you to make things go that far. I've never seen you like that before. I am proud you stood up for yourself, but am not pleased with the attitude you've been giving me."

"Maybe if you'd stop picking your nose, I'll sit down and talk with you civilly and like a human being, if there is such thing." The comments stung me and Henry knew it, so I was on a roll. "In this place called 'hell', I never know. You seem too busy to care, to lift up a finger even!"

"Is that what's been bothering you?!" Henry yelled back at me, incredulous at such a concept. I didn't care though. Giving him an attitude was the only way to get his attention apparently and I played it well, showing how mad I was.

"Yes!" I screamed back, not caring about the patients in Post-Op and how unprofessional I was being. "And everything else you've –"

"Choppers," Radar interrupted quietly, running for the door to pass on the news of incoming wounded once more, yelling it out louder, leaving the door open for us to hear him.

"I don't hear anything," Henry commented within Radar's earshot, ignoring me, as well as the situation, once more.

"Listen for them!" Radar yelled back at him as the sound of choppers filled my ears within a moment it was said.

Before Henry ran out behind Radar, he finally turned back to me, finding me going out the door behind Radar. I wanted to ignore Henry for a little while, to let off some steam and calm down and then try to talk with him again about this stupid stuff here and there. I knew that we didn't have to work together in the OR and it gave me some down time. However, I was tired of replying hotly at him and wanted to relax and be the human being around here. I didn't want to act like a child.

However, before I could run away from my problems, Henry had quickly grabbed me from behind with the strength I knew he had somewhere. Almost getting my left shoulder out of its socket, so fast I was running away from him, Henry swung me around by my arm, pinning me in a weird angle so that I couldn't move, but face him as he stood by the door with me. I was trapped once more, without a way to get out, so I did the only thing I knew to do: struggle for my freedom and to run away from the things I hated dealing with. I did it for my whole life. Why not try it again, except with Henry?

In my struggling, I looked into Henry's angry face, so full of anguish at the same time, before it softened a minute later. The old Henry from my past was back and I saw it. There was no more anger, helplessness, jealousy and protectiveness. There was still love, concern and a little common sense in there.

"Why don't we try to talk this out like adults?" Henry suggested, softening my hard and stubborn face as well. I wanted to do what he said, so stopped struggling to demonstrate that I wanted the same solution too.

"Sure." I finally was freed from Henry's grip as I calmed down. "We'll talk after surgery, ok?"

Henry nodded, reassured as well. However, we could not talk anymore and there was no time. We had wounded soldiers on the compound (so blared the announcements as well) and we had to move once more. We had another job to do.