Nellie's heart swelled when she walked back into the compound leaving Ron Speirs to discuss his mission with Colonel Potter. The sun had risen, bathing the camp in a warm glow. In her good mood, the beauty of Korea eclipsed the horror of the war. The beige ground seemed some how more varied in color. White clouds floated through the light blue sky, peaceful and calm.

Raised voices reached her as she moved a few feet from Klinger's office. Hawkeye. She sighed. Nellie looked towards the Swamp. Through the mosquito netting and tarp she saw Hawkeye wandering back and forth, agitated. Based on the lump in his bed, BJ looked to be half listening to his ranting. Nellie moved their way.

She knocked twice on the door before going in. As she did so, Charles threw his red satin pillow straight at the pacing Hawkeye. All three of the surgeons looked her way.

"Here to order me to sit down, Major?" Hawkeye bit.

Nellie straightened up. Whatever small smile she had thought about trying to conjure disappeared instantly. "I saved your skin, Hawkeye. Major Speirs was about five seconds from court-martialing you for insubordination."

He scoffed. With a grunt, Hawkeye sat back on his cot. "Who cares! I certainly don't."

"Right." She sighed, looking between Charles who had fallen back to his cot, and BJ who observed her. Nellie shook her head. "Fine."

The door slammed when she left. Hawkeye would need to sort his hatred out on his own, and she had breakfast to go to. The beautiful day turned sweltering. With a sigh, Nellie moved back to her own tent and pulled on a pair of shorts and her Hawaiian shirt. With dog tags glinting in the sunlight, she trudged through the camp towards the Mess Tent, frowning the entire way.

"O'Hara!"

Nellie turned and smiled as she saw Speirs leaving the office. He squinted a bit at the sun. They met up in the center near the basketball hoop. A gentle breeze picked up, making the unbearable heat a little more manageable.

"I'm afraid our food is terrible," she told him. "But we take what we can get."

Speirs shrugged. "I'm sure it's better than K rations and surplus."

"You'll have to tell me."

The Mess Tent sat mostly unoccupied, most of the nurses and orderlies still asleep or on duty. Igor's perpetual frown never moved as he plopped left over bacon, powdered eggs, and two slices of burnt toast on each of their trays. Once they filled their coffee mugs, Nellie showed Speirs over to her usual table.

After a few bites, Nellie paused and put down her fork. She looked at the man in front of her who couldn't have been much older than herself. He still looked almost clean-shaven, put together, not at all like she expected most army men who came in right off the line. She didn't know where to start.

"Your brother spoke highly of you," he said. "Would never shut up about you, actually."

Nellie smiled, laughing under her breath. After another mouthful of eggs, she just shrugged and gestured with her fork at him. "He never spoke about his company in the beginning. After he came home, we didn't talk about the war." She sighed, poking at her eggs. Then she smiled and looked up at Speirs. "The past couple of years, though, Jack told me stories. You were in quite a few."

Speirs smirked. "Only good things?"

Nellie scoffed out a sharp laugh. "Interesting things. He said you were one of the best soldiers he worked with."

"That so?" Speirs' smirk only grew as he thought about what she said. "Jack was competent. Knew what he was doing all the time. Talked a bit too much, though."

"Is that so?" she echoed. Nellie laughed. "What did he talk about?"

"Other than you?"

Nellie felt herself blushing. With a small laugh, she smiled down at her food. Then she turned back to Speirs with a smirk. "I don't know. Let's start there."

"Yeah. Why not? It's an excellent subject."

Her smile only grew at his obvious flirting. As she went to respond, the door to the Mess Tent opened and more people poured in. Shari, Bigelow, and Jan Baker came in first, dragging their feet and muttering to themselves quietly. Then followed the Swamprats. She turned from them back to Speirs. She could deal with them later.

"So, what do you know, Major?"

He shrugged. Speirs took another bite of his food before answering. "He said you were the smartest woman he'd ever met. Complained endlessly about how someday you'd show him up. Jack didn't like the idea of you outdoing him."

She giggled. "He never did."

"He read us some of your letters." Speirs added. "Your brother liked to brag about you."

"One minute he's complaining, the next he's bragging," she said. "Sound's just like my brother. Good to know he hasn't changed a bit. Though I admit, not sure how I feel knowing strangers got to hear my notes to Jack."

Speirs shrugged. "How long have you been here?"

"A couple months. Why?"

"Then you know how much the soldiers rely on letters."

She fell quiet. He was right. Even over only a couple of months, mail call had become the highlight of every week. Not just for her either, but for everyone from Charles Emerson Winchester III to Igor Straminsky. After a few moments of quiet thoughts, she looked back up at Speirs.

"Who sends you letters?"

He paused, the coffee mug on his lips. Then he put it down. "What?"

"Who sends you letters? Have you got any on you right now?" She smirked as he sat back straighter. Nellie laughed. "Oh, come on. You know way more about me than I know about you. That's not fair."

Smirking, Speirs just shook his head. "All's fair in love and war, O'Hara."

Just as she went to respond, BJ, Hawkeye, and Margaret moved over to them, trays of food in hand. Hawkeye looked miffed. But next to him, BJ and Margaret offered their best smiles.

"Is this a private conversation, or can we join you?" BJ asked.

But Hawkeye just scoffed. "It can't be private, Beej, they're both Majors."

"Major Speirs, you've already met Captain Pierce," Nellie said. She turned to the other two. "These are Captain BJ Hunnicutt and Major Margaret Houlihan, our head nurse." With a smile she turned to them. "Major Speirs is a friend of my brother's. So actually, if you don't mind, I would prefer to chat with him alone."

"People may talk, Nellie," Hawkeye warned.

She just shrugged. "And when has that ever stopped me from doing anything, Hawkeye?"

The silence that fell between the group lasted only a few moments, but it weighed on them like a ton of bricks. She refused to break eye contact with Hawkeye until at last she turned to Speirs. He just eyed Hawkeye as well.

"Luckily I'm done anyways," Nellie mentioned. She stood from the table and looked at the others. "Is there a poker game scheduled for tonight?"

"Always," BJ said.

She grinned. "Good. Count me and my money in."

Both Nellie and Speirs left the Mess Tent, leaving the other three behind. What had gotten into Hawkeye, she did not understand, but it was annoying her. She'd been given the cold shoulder for well over a week. With a sigh, she turned to Speirs.

"Let me show you to the VIP Tent, Major. You're probably exhausted, and you need to rest so that cut on your side can heal," she told him.

He nodded. "Right."

When they reached the VIP tent which stood right next to her own, Nellie smiled. She opened the door and led him inside. "As long as that wound doesn't get infected, I don't see any need for you to stay in Post-Op. But I'll check with the Colonel." Nellie smiled at him and went to leave.

"I get letters from several people," he told her. When she stopped and turned back, Speirs leaned against the desk and took out a handful of pieces of lined paper, neatly folded but a bit crumpled. He unfolded one. "Mostly from the daughter of a friend of mine. Her mother has Ettie write me as practice."

Nellie grinned. "Oh? How old is she?"

"Five. I've never met a kid as sharp as her. I mean for christ's sake she's writing me." He cleared his throat. "Dear Uncle Ron." At the way Nellie's face lit up, he scowled. "Mommy says hi. Daddy says hi too. Both say they won't salute you even if you outrank them now." He shook his head and turned to Nellie. "I knew them both during the war."

"Was she a nurse?" Nellie asked.

Speirs smirked. He shook his head. "Translator. Ask your brother. I'm sure he remembers Alice." Then he turned back to the letter. "I don't like my new sister. She is loud. Mommy is sending you a note all about Noëlle. I drew you a picture of Spot and Minnie. Come back soon. Love Ettie." Flipping around the last paper so she could see it, Speirs showed Nellie the messy crayon drawing of two cats, one black and white and the other orange.

"Uncle Ron, huh?" She chuckled. "Jack left out that part."

"Good."

"Seems Jack left out quite a bit about you. All I know is that you're an exemplary officer and capable of scaring half the Airborne into submission," Nellie told him. She shook her head. "Uncle Ron hurts the image a bit."

Speirs snorted. "I could yell at your idiot surgeons a few more times. Just for fun."

"An intriguing offer. I'll think it over."

Nellie opened the door and stepped outside. The heat had somehow only increased, and she sighed. She shaded her eyes against the sun as she looked up to see if there were any storm clouds on the horizon. There weren't.

"So, how am I doing O'Hara?"

She looked back at where Speirs stood in the open doorway. He pulled out a cigarette. With a flick of his zippo lighter, he lit it. Nellie suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. Smoking. She'd chewed out her brother about it on more than one occasion. "Doing with what?"

Taking a long drag of the cigarette, he looked around the compound. A few nurses sat sunning themselves outside, five orderlies shot a basketball. Then he turned back to her. "Scaring the camp into submission."

Nellie chuckled. "I wouldn't know. You don't scare me."

"Shit. Gotta try harder."

The door closed with a thud as he ducked back inside. Her head spun a bit. Her watch read 0900. Still early. It amazed her that Hawkeye and BJ had gotten up at all. Suddenly a shout to her right made her jump. It sounded primal.

When she found Charles standing dressed in white robes, shoeless, facing the Korean grandfather of the child in Post-Op, she had no words. She just stared at him. Only Klinger pulled her attention away.

"I have no idea, Major."

She glanced left at him. "How long has he been doing that?"

"Acting like some sort of weird boxer?" Klinger shrugged. "I have no idea."

She scoffed. "Great. On one side of me there's Hawkeye acting like a child, on the other, Winchester looking like someone who forgot their clothes. What's next?"

"Poker, hopefully," Klinger reminded her.

Nellie laughed. "That's true. Thanks. You made my day a little better."

"That's what I'm here for, oh exhausted one."

She watched as he moved off across the compound. He passed a few nurses and handed them some letters, probably mail that had gotten stuck in Seoul and finally had made its way to the 4077th. A heavy loneliness settled on her chest again. Before too long she had returned to her tent and poured two shots of whiskey. Hopefully, it would take the edge off.