2

Hawkeye wasn't sure how exactly to work with the scrubs she had on. Poor Margaret, he thought, she must have been so exhausted that she didn't bother to undress. He decided to risk a blow to his jaw and put his hands under her neck, untying her scrubs. Removing the scrubs, he tossed them into the garbage can across the tent.

Standing up, he pulled an army-issued olive green blanket over her. He stood there looking at her for a few seconds, and was just about to turn to leave when she yawned.

"Where're you goin'?" Margaret mumbled sleepily with her eyes half-closed.

"Huh?" Pierce looked at her.

"Why are you leaving? You just came in," she rubbed her eyes and then stretched.

"Margaret, I thought you were sleeping...I didn't know..."

"It's alright," she cut him off mid-sentence.

Pierce smiled and moved to her bed, bringing a chair with him. He sat down as she sat up on her cot, pulling the blanket around her shoulders. "So, you were going to tell me what was bothering you earlier?"

Margaret looked away from him sadly. "Oh, it's nothing really... I just..." she closed her eyes as tears began to slowly slide down her face. She furiously wiped them away and opened her eyes. "Can we talk about this later Captain?"

He put a hand on her knee and squeezed it gently. "Sure Margaret, whenever you want to."

She nodded and got up from her cot. She folded the blanket Pierce used to cover her with, and then straightened her shirt. Walking to the table where she had her perfume and other toiletries, she picked up her brush and attempted to fix her hair.

Hawkeye stood up and walked closer to her. "Margaret, you look fine. I don't think the coffee cares how you look."

"What coffee?"

"The one you'll be drinking with me in the Mess Tent."

"But Pierce...I..."

"Come on, put your boots back on."

Margaret gave up. Coffee didn't sound too bad, although it was from the Mess Tent, and mostly did not deserve to be called "coffee". She put her boots on and tied them, then stood up. "Okay. I'm ready."

"Wonderful. Shall we go?" Pierce held out his hand.

Margaret smiled slightly and placed her hand in his.

They left her tent, holding hands, and walked toward the Mess Tent.

The sky was turning a coral, purple, blue and pink color, as the sun began it's descent behind the mountains.

"Wow! Look at the sky-isn't it beautiful?" Margaret smiled wistfully at the sunset as they walked.

"Yeah..." Pierce glanced at her and smiled. "Uh hey, why don't you sit right here," he said, leading her to a wooden crate, "and I'll be back in a few seconds."

He quickly jogged over to the Mess Tent as she sat and waited. She wondered what he was up to. Some kind of joke most likely. Trying not to think about that, she stared in awe at the sky once more.

No less than three minutes passed by when Margaret heard footsteps. She turned, somewhat relieved it was Pierce.

"I'm baaa-aaack," he grinned, holding something behind his back.

"What do you have?" she asked, gesturing to the item behind his back.

"Margaret, lets just say it's a little surprise." He walked over to where she was sitting and took her hand. Margaret stood and let him lead her to the river nearby the camp.

A few minutes later Margaret, walking with her hands in her pants pockets, almost tripped over a large rock. She swore, which caused Pierce to look at her. "I thought we were going to the Mess Tent," she said, trying to cover her embarrassment from almost tripping and falling.

"Yeah, but they've been quarantined for their hazardous food," Pierce replied, smiling mischievously. "Besides, I told you already, it's a surprise."

"I hate surprises," she huffed.

"I don't think you'll hate them after this one," he told her, a serious expression on his face.

They walked on until reaching the river, which was more of a creek or stream. From where they stood, a perfect view of the sunset could be seen clearly.

"Ta-dah!" Pierce stated triumphantly.

"'Ta-dah' what?" Margaret asked, taking her hands from her pockets and crossing her arms across her chest.

"This..." Pierce shrugged off his jacket and smoothed it onto the ground. "Go on, sit," he nodded toward the ground.

"A picnic?"

"Yes, you've guessed right Miss Major Smarty...sit down already," he gestured to the jacket on the ground once again.

"Well...alright." Margaret smiled a little and knelt down. Pierce sat across from her and opened the item he had hidden behind his back; a brown bag. He pulled out a canteen of coffee, two apples, and two sandwiches wrapped in a napkin.

"Thank you," she said, taking the sandwich he handed to her. "What kind is it?"

"I'm not sure. Is it still moving?"

She gave a disgusted face, then grinned. Taking a bite, Margaret gasped, "Pierce! It's turkey! Real turkey! With lettuce and tomato! Where did you get this food?!? Real food!" She ate the sandwich ravenously.

"Lovely table manners you have Margaret."

In reply, Margaret rolled her eyes, continuing to eat the sandwich as if it were the first thing she had eaten in years.

"Igor owed me from the last poker game, and he opted for a more nutritional form of payment."

They continued to eat and drink, watching the sun draw closer and closer behind the mountains. After she had finished eating, Margaret laid back on the ground using Pierce's jacket as a pillow. She laid there, staring at the sky, lost in thought for several minutes. Then she felt Pierce lay down beside her, his head close to hers.

"So do you still hate surprises?"

Margaret smiled, took his hand and squeezed it briefly. "Thanks," she whispered.

It became dark not long after.

"We should have headed back when it was lighter out," she said quietly.

"Yeah..."

They both sat up on the ground, and she put on his jacket. Pierce moved closer to her and put his arm around her shoulders.

"Uh...we really should go back. They're probably wondering where we are," Margaret said, shivering.

"Yeah..."

She rolled her eyes. He probably wasn't even paying attention to her, she thought. Glancing to her left, she met his eyes as he stared at her. "What now?"

"Margaret..."

"Yes Pierce?"

"I feel funny."

"What?"

"You ever get that weird feeling...like you want to do something, but don't know if you should?"

"Pierce, what are you talking about?"

He put his hand on the side of her face and gently moved her head closer to his and kissed her softly on the mouth. Margaret kissed him back, putting her arms around him as he lowered her back slightly toward the ground. Her eyes closed, Margaret wondered why he had kissed her.

She broke their kiss and sat up straight. "What was that for?"

Hawkeye looked down, averting her gaze. "Listen, I'm sorry I..."

Margaret interrupted him as she put her arms around him and knocked him back forcefully onto the ground, kissing him fiercely. "Um sorry," she mumbled as she kissed him.

"It's h'okay," he mumbled in reply, smiling.

They kissed passionately until suddenly a bright piercing light severed their kiss.


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