Sometimes people can surprise you. Sometimes I surprise myself. The ring on my finger has calmed something in me, opened something, maybe. It has made life here a bit more… pleasant isn't quite the right word. Less harsh. Friendly, even. It's a new way to look at people. A less harsh way. Friendly, even.

Pierce stood up and grabbed his tray.

"Well then, I will go set up the table, drain the still, and throw that cute, new family of rats out. You will go alert the rest of the gang; tell them it's take-off at eight o'clock sharp. And tell Klinger to comb his legs, we have company tonight."

BJ stood up too, grabbing his tray.

"I shall comb and braid them myself if it comes to that. Have a nice evening, Margaret."

She gave him a nod and watched them both walk towards the door. She looked down at her tray and poked at the fish. Was it really fish, though, or some kind of vegetable? Why was it so thready?
So, poker in The Swamp tonight. With Sidney, apparently. Margaret liked Sidney, he was calm and polite. She didn't like the way he probably analyzed your every move, but it was what it was. She liked playing poker too, was actually quite good at it. Not that she would want to be part of tonight's game, of course not. She had other plans. Wash her hair and write another letter to Donald. It had been a while since she got one from him. He had promised to write every day, so his letters were probably lost somewhere. Or the nosiest of Corporals wasn't done reading them yet. O'Reilly was such a nosy little louse, he would probably be there too tonight, and she would for sure not want to sit at the same table as that little creep, she had more important things to do. Even if they had asked her, she would have said no, for sure. Not that they had, and that was just the way she wanted it. It was perfect, really.

"Hey, Margaret."

Pierce sat back down in front of her.

"What?"

"I have returned to make you the offer of a lifetime. My brilliant mind and my gorgeous body."

She scowled at him and went back to poking at what might be fish.

"When are you not offering that old thing up?"

"Major, you wound me!" He clutched his chest dramatically. "Old thing, you are talking about a classic in mint condition. Purrs like a kitten, I tell you, and can keep going for hours."

She shot him another look and he threw his hands in the air.

"Well, you officially have no taste, but that's fine. Then I offer you a seat at the poker table tonight, what do you say?"

That was not at all what she had excepted, and she looked up at him with eyebrows raised.

"Come on," he continued and leaned over the table on his elbows. "You like Sidney, he likes you, and he's been a bit down lately, so I'm sure he would love to have a pretty, well-shaved face to look at. We would all love to have you."

She laid her fork down with a bang and glared at him, of course he had just come back to make crude jokes. That was not surprising at all, just his normal, everyday routine.

"Have you be part of the game, jeez Major, get your mind out of the gutter." He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Come on, play with us." Then he looked over his shoulder, leaned in closer, and lowered his voice. "You never know, you might win some money. Money you can spend on something tiny and scandalous that will knock Lieutenant Colonel Donald Penobscott's socks off next time you see him."

Margaret tried to read him, was this just a joke, was he setting her up for something? He had a grin on his face, but that was just common. His voice sounded sincere, in the time she had known him she had learned to listen for a certain tone in it, when he was up to something it was a tiny bit higher, more strained. Hardly even noticeable if you weren't listening for it.

Truth was, she would actually really like to buy something special for Donald. He had absolutely loved the peach nightie she wore last time, and that was positively chaste compared to the beautiful thing in midnight blue lace she had seen in the Frederick's of Hollywood-catalogue. She had dog-eared the page and everything.

But to spend the evening in The Swamp, with the lot of them, was it worth it? Why had Pierce even asked, was it BJ who had told him to? Was it some sort of charity, did they pity her or something? For what reason? Or was it just some ploy to get her out of her tent, so they could have someone sneak in and… what, steal her underwear? Mix itching powder into her body lotion? Or maybe it was Colonel Potter that had told them to invite her, like a teacher wanting all the children to play together nicely. Did he want all of his officers to get along in their free time? No, he wouldn't butt in like that, at least she didn't think so. Could it really be because Pierce and Hunnicut wanted her there because… what, they liked her company? Why would they, it wasn't like she was particularly fond of theirs. They had never spent any real time together, not outside of work, so how was she supposed to know for sure. Well, she and Pierce had had some… moments in the time they had known each other, but they were work-related too, mostly, they weren't friends or anything. They weren't. Right? Things were always so confusing with Pierce, one second she was certain he was the most infuriating person she had ever met, and she had met many in her days, and the next his entire personality changed, and he turned into someone she could actually tolerate. Respect even. Kind of. And then, things were back to normal. So, which version of Pierce would sit at the poker table, and did she really want to find out?

"Fine, I'll stop by for a little while." The words were out of her mouth before she had even decided to speak them.

"Great!" He slammed his hand down on the table. "It's a date!"

"It's not a date," she hissed. For the love of God, did he always have to be so loud?

"I know, I know!" he hissed back, standing up. "Listen up, everyone!" He turned around and faced the room. "Major Houlihan and I do absolutely not have a date tonight. It's a group date."

"Pierce!" She made her voice sharp, like a whip. Tried to make her gaze strike like a whip too, as she looked around the tent. There were some amused smiles and raised eyebrows, damn him and his big mouth.

"Fine, it's not a date of any kind, just poker. And not even the fun kind." He turned back to Margaret. "There, happy now? See you at eight, sharp."

He started to walk away but stopped, turned around, and leaned over the table again.

"And Major, if you need some advice on that tiny, scandalous thing, or wanna model it for someone…"

"Oh, go away!"

He raised his hands and backed away; a big grin plastered on his face.

"I'm just saying."

She thought about throwing the fish-thing at him, but people were looking. And she was not a child, unlike some people. How was it even possible for one person to be this infuriating, where did he find the energy? She watched him walk briskly out the door and towards The Swamp, his arms swinging merrily. When he was energetic and hyper like this, everything was a performance for him, he made a show of even the simple task of walking across the compound. She shook her head and went back to poking at her dinner. Why did the fish have purple streaks toward the middle?
She pushed her tray away. Half a watery potato and a slice of white bread, that would have to do for dinner. She could eat some peanuts in her tent, she had a bag of them in her footlocker. Maybe some crackers too. She would run a comb through her hair and maybe put on some lipstick, and head over to The Swamp later. For some poker. With 'the gang'. She was not part of 'the gang', for sure didn't want to be, it was just a one-night-thing. So, strike the lipstick, she couldn't have it look like she had made an effort. Donald was the only man she needed to look pretty in front of.
Still, having new plans for the evening felt nice. Spending some more time with Sidney would be nice. Maybe she could put on some pale, pink lipstick, just a tiny bit, there was no harm in looking presentable. He was there for a visit, after all, and it was important to be a good representative for the nurses.

She grabbed her tray and walked out of the mess tent, scraped the majority of her dinner into the trash, and headed towards her tent. Couldn't help but smile a little. She looked forward to squeezing those men out of their very last penny. Pierce especially, she could imagine the surprise on his face while she gathered her winnings. She would keep his gaze the entire time, gather up his hard-earned money ever so slowly. Her smile grew wider, and somewhere deep inside her chest, there was a tiny flutter of excitement. A small, newly awake, but happy creature flapped its wings and stretched.
Yes, this evening could be fun, for sure. 'The gang' had no idea who they were up against.