Bigelow was right, this has got to be pure hell. Jessie rubbed her sore arms as she leaned against the remains of a wall that had been blown away God knows when. She opened one eye wearily as B.J. plopped down beside her. He patted her on the leg.

"We did good work today." He leaned against the wall and shut his eyes.

"Well, let's not do too good of a job, or they'll make us stay permanently."

B.J. chuckled in agreement.

"You know, I don't think I'm ever going to complain again when we get back to camp. We were living in splendor compared to this." She motioned towards the wounded they had operated on tirelessly for hours as shells fell nearby and bullets thunked into trees outside the battered aid station. She held out what was left of her meal.

"Peaches?" she offered.

B.J., his eyes still closed, held up his hand. "No thanks. I don't think my stomach can handle fruit that ripened 20 years ago."

She shrugged and finished her meal. He stirred, then rooted around in his jacket pocket until he came out with a picture of his daughter "I got several this morning. That was my favorite."

Jessie smiled at the cute little girl grinning up at the camera. "She doesn't look a thing like you. Must take after her mother."

"Ha, ha. So, how come I've never seen pictures of your home?"

"You never asked. But, I have them, too, just no cute baby pictures. You know, family, dog. . ." She rooted in her pocket as she talked. "You're in luck." She pulled out a photograph she had almost forgotten was there.

B.J. pointed to the house in the background. "Beautiful place. That yours?"

"Sort of. My brother gets the house, but my sister and I split the acreage."

He pointed. "Who are they?"

"That's Mattie and Arthur. Mattie's the cook, maid, etc., and Arthur does odd jobs around the house and stables."

"I heard you own race horses. Classy."

She shrugged. "The horses are great. The politics are not."

"Don't complain. I can't stand rich whiners."

Jessie eyed B.J., but he grinned at her. "Just kidding."

"Good."

He paused for a moment before continuing. "You know, I've been wanting to tell you something."

"What's that?" she asked, yawning and stretching.

"I'm glad you and Radar are together. He's a good guy, and he deserves someone like you."

She blushed. "Thanks."

"Will there be wedding bells in the future?"

Her eyes widened. "Good Lord, B.J.! I don't even know if I'm going to live through the night, let along this war, and you're asking about weddings?"

He laughed at her reaction. "I bet you didn't know there's a pool going around about you two?"

"A what?"

"A betting pool. Everyone's betting on how long it'll be until you're engaged. Or pregnant, which ever comes first."

Jessie was glad it was dark, so he couldn't see her face. "Why, of all the crazy things I've ever heard, that has to be the dumbest!" she managed to sputter.

"You know how it goes."

She shrugged, her momentary flash of anger fading. "True. It's not like I've been a saint in that department." She and the nurses regularly gossiped about anyone who wasn't around.

A shell exploded in the distance.

B.J. patted her on the shoulder. "Get some sleep, Lieutenant. It'll be morning before you know it."

She settled down into her thin army blanket, the only thing she had to ward off the chill in the air. "I certainly hope we live to see it," she muttered. Laying her head back, she caught a glimpse of the clear night sky through the shell-scarred roof. The twinkling starts were comforting, and she soon found herself sound asleep.

***************************************************

At the 4077th, Radar was not fairing well. After tossing and turning for an hour, he sighed and rose from his cot, throwing on his bathrobe. Might as well work if I can't sleep. He went to his desk and flipped on the lamp. The dim bulb cast a wan glow over the organized chaos scattered across the desktop. He rifled through the stack until he found the daily duty roster, then thumped across the floor in his unlaced boots outside to the bulletin board. Careful not to dislodge the other camp news and goings-on precariously tacked to the board, he removed the old roster and replaced it.

He ambled back to his office and flopped down at his desk. "Now, where did I put that stupid weekly report?" he muttered to himself.

He opened up drawer after drawer, flipping through stacks of forms, paperwork and other flotsam accumulated over the months. He paused at the bottom of one drawer.

Inside was a photo of Jessie and himself taken not long after she had arrived at a party they had thrown for the orphans. She had been conned into playing a fortune teller, and each person paid a quarter to have their fortunes told, all proceeds going to Sister Teresa's orphanage. In the photograph, she was holding onto his hand, palm up and laughing, wearing the ridiculous fortune-teller garb provided by Klinger that actually managed to look lovely on her.

Radar had to chuckle when he thought about how many dollars he spent just to have her touch his hand.

He gingerly picked up the photo and leaned back in his chair heavily. Sometimes, he thought being with her was a dream, and he'd wake up one day, all of it vanished. He found it hard to believe that she loved him. And now, the war might take all of it away.

If something happened to her . . .

He squeezed his eyes shut against the thought. Honestly, he thought if she died, part of him would die also. He cared for her that much. Gingerly, he returned the picture to the desk drawer, then wandered outside into the still night. Plopping on a makeshift bench outside the office, he leaned against the wall.

This waiting was going to kill him. He tried to stay busy throughout the day, and each time the phone rang, he would jump, praying it wasn't bad news. So far, they hadn't heard a word, although Radar had gotten news that the fighting up there had been pretty bad. It made his chest hurt to think about her up there, scared, and he said a quiet prayer. He rubbed his tired eyes and looked up at the twinkling stars.

If he went to sleep, he was afraid of the nightmare. Jessie's nightmare. He couldn't handle that right now. He just couldn't.

**************************************************

Two days later, Jessie and B.J. were barreling towards the 4077th. The replacements had arrived a couple of hours earlier. When they got a glimpse of Jessie and B.J. all grimy and bloody, they looked like they wanted to run all the way back to the states. Jessie genuinely felt sorry for them.

B.J. stopped the jeep just outside the camp. "I never thought I would be glad to see this dump again. Do you think they missed us?"

"They better have! Too bad we couldn't radio them we were coming back. Might have had one helluva party waiting for us."

They quietly watched all the activity going on in camp. Jessie, anxious to get out of the blood-stained clothes she had worn for three days, pounded once on the dash. "Well, what are you waiting for? Peace? Let's go home!"

"Yes ma'am!" B.J. said, grinding the gears as he struggled with the shifter. They lurched forward towards camp.

********************************************

No word from them for three days. Three days! The sergeant at I-Corp had long sense gotten annoyed at Radar, Col. Potter and Hawkeye for constantly calling. He had the same message for them he had given them all three days. "Heavy fighting. Heavy casualties. No word on medical personnel."

After hearing the message for the seventeenth time, Colonel Potter slammed down the phone in frustration. "Damn Army."

Radar watched him closely, chewing on a pencil. "Every time we've sent nurses and doctors, they have never stayed this long!"

"I know, I know. We just need to be patient, that's all." Funny thing, though. Colonel Potter wasn't a patient man.

Radar opened his mouth to reply, but stopped.

"Choppers?" Col. Potter asked, studying his clerk closely.

Radar shut his eyes, concentrating. Is it really? His eyes flew open and he rushed for the door. "No sir, it's them! They're back! They're OK!"

Col. Potter jumped from his desk and followed.

***************************************************

The jeep had just halted in the compound. People were coming from all directions to welcome their comrades back. Hawkeye sauntered up to B.J. and shook his hand.

"Boy, you know how to make an entrance! Next time, call first. We'll bake you a cake."

"Well, we would have called, but the phones had been blown into World War III. And I slept through smoke signals during training." B.J. climbed from the jeep and wrapped his bunkmate in a bear hug. "Good to see you, Hawk."

"You, too, Beej." Hawkeye waved at Jessie, who was still standing in the jeep, gathering their supplies. "Jess, you look horrible."

She smirked at him. "Good to see you, too, Hawkeye." Painfully, she straightened, her hands on her back. "B.J., next time, I drive. I think you hit every pothole in Korea."

"I hope there won't be a next time."

Jessie grasped the windshield of the jeep preparing to climb out. She glanced around the compound before she spotted him coming around the corner.

She grinned and jumped out into Radar's arms. He caught her and spun her around. Totally catching her off guard, he kissed her, something he rarely did in front of everyone. She completely forgot about the last 72 hours, as well as the camp catcalling around them as she returned the embrace.

When they came up for air, Jessie managed to gasp, "Well, I missed you, too!"