"Hey good-looking," Hawkeye came up behind me and kissed me just behind my ear as I checked a patient's chart in Post-Op.

"Hey Hawk," I greeted him with a kiss before turning back to my patient. "It there any pain at all today Private?" He nodded,

"A fair bit," I smiled,

"Well when you nearly had a landmine blow it off, it's going to hurt, but you can have some more morphine at five so you should be okay as that's only half an hour away." I tucked the pencil behind my ear.

"He's the boogie-woogie bugle boy of Company B. Good afternoon Private Merman, how are you today?"

The young teen smiled, "Obviously not as good a mood as you're in and I thought going home would put me in the best mood of anyone here!"

I beamed, as Hawkeye examined the dressing on his chest.

"Yes, you're very lucky to be going home," I smiled, "Do you think you can join us for a meal in the Mess Tent before you go?"

Hawkeye laughed, "Yeah, you've had a taste of the best care, now what about the worst food?" Merman smiled,

"Okay doc, I'll see you and your cookie there." I laughed and walked away,

"Why does everyone call me that?" I asked,

"I don't know. because you are and because you're so sweet just like a cookie and I'm going to eat you all up!" He lifted me suddenly and nibbled my neck.

"Hawkeye, we're on duty!" I squealed as he put me down,

"Well, how about after we're on duty, your tent, I'll be the one with the khaki rose between my teeth?"

I laughed, "Okay, but you have to be gone by nine, my parents are coming home early tonight."

Hawkeye chuckled. We had our own language that we used, mostly because no one could understand it. This particular statement meant that Father Mulcahy was stopping by at 9.

He smiled and started singing, at the same time I did,

"Just Molly and me and baby makes three and we'll be happy in my blue heaven! And how are you today Captain?

"Hawkeye, no," I pushed him off as his hands went for the waistline of my underwear, the only thing that now graced my body.

"Annie," he sounded frustrated, "Annie, why not?" I sat up, pulling the blankets with me, covering myself.

"Because Hawkeye my beliefs my faith, everything I was taught as a child tells me to wait until my wedding night."

Hawkeye swore, another thing I wasn't big on. I might have said a few things in my time in Korea, just over 9 months, but I wasn't as profane as he was now being.

Mum never had an easy time raising the lot of us, but one thing she did enforce was our religious upbringing and I was a firm Catholic, much to Father Mulcahy's delight, and one of the things that I believed most strongly was no sex before marriage and I wasn't married, so I wasn't having sex.

"Annie! For god sakes Annie, why the hell do you have to do this to me? I love you so much and I give you everything I have to give and you can't go one little step further?" I was angry now, and I got out of my bunk and yanked on my robe,

"Hawkeye, I love you and I'm sure that it's not easy for you hanging on until we marry, and it's not easy for me either I would like to as well, but what I believe in and what I know is right is not that, not until we've said we do."

Hawkeye got out of bed, "Annie, how can you say that, you do every other thing that would lead a man to expect it, and then at the very last minute you say 'I'm sorry but I'm not married yet I can't'?"

He got dressed quickly, his sudden movements showing his anger. Neither of us realised our voices had raised and were carrying through most of the camp nor did we know that everyone had gathered outside the door listening as we shouted and cried - tears were falling down our cheeks as we fought.

"Hawkeye do you love me a person, or me as a body and potential lover?" I asked, he faltered,

"Annie, I. I. love you for both, you're a smart, funny beautiful." I was unreasonably furious now,

"So it's my looks is it?" I shouted, throwing my hairbrush at him. I turned away and tripped on my shoe, which had been carelessly dropped.

I cried out in shock as I fell, and then in pain when my face hit my 'dressing table' an empty crate and sent bottles and photos flying, at the crash and my cry, someone burst into the tent, grabbing Hawkeye, who out of automatic, doctoral concern had bent over me, by his collar.

"If you hit her you bastard, I'll kill you so help me god!" It was Radar,

"Radar! Radar! Radar, he didn't hit me, I fell!"

Radar had pinned Hawkeye to the wall, and as Trapper ran in and helped me up, Father Mulcahy pried Radar, now petrified with fright as he realised his mistake, off Hawkeye.

"I'm going for a walk," we both announced at the same time and marched out of the tent and went in opposite directions.

We met up at the Swamp about fifteen minutes later. We had passed the time deliberately avoiding each other, shouting loudly, swearing, and throwing things.

"What the hell are you doing here?" We asked at the same time,

"I came to talk to my friend," we replied together angrily, motioning to a bewildered Trapper.

"Well he's my friend and I've known him longer!" Hawkeye shouted,

"Well, he's the person I go to for everything like this." I snapped back, it was true. Every time I had a question, especially about sex, Trapper was the first person I asked.

Trapper stood up and walked between us.

"Listen, both of you, just calm down, I know what this is about and I know what happened - I heard every word, and so did everyone else in the camp - and I also know that you wouldn't have hit her Hawkeye. Hawkeye I want to talk to you first, there's no preference there, I just happen to know that Annie was going to see Father Mulcahy about now."

I glanced at my watch; I had arranged a private prayer meeting with him as it 2 months to the day when Jack died.

"Is that fair you two? Annie I'll see you afterwards," I left, smiling at Trapper and not even looking at Hawkeye.

"Annie, you can swear, scream, cry, shout or throw things, but don't hit." BANG! I punched the stoved in the middle of the room.

"You hit. You had to hit didn't you? Now let's take you to x ray and." Trapper led me to the x ray as I winced painfully. I'd turned most of my hand into mince. We dropped the subject as my right hand wrist was set in plaster.

"Annie, Hawkeye knows about your beliefs, and he does accept them, it's just that he finds it hard to stop once he starts, and you know what that's like. You're both just going to have to work things out." Trapper had been telling me the exact same thing for two days and although I understood it, I wasn't prepared to accept it.

Things had been icy between Hawkeye and I, we'd changed shifts to avoid each other, and I was eating with the nurses and enlisted men.

Stories about why Hawkeye and I were fighting had spread around the camp and nearly every friendship group had a different story as to why we fought and how bad the fight was and whether or not we were still in love or even if we were still friends.

Hawkeye and I were battling it out but what I didn't realise was as the story, blown hideously out of proportion, reached the ears of Margaret, the nurses were planning a stir-up of their own.

I heard Frank's whine as we sat around, trying to recover from a large and very successful OR session. We hadn't lost a life, we'd saved every limb, and Henry delivered the beautiful baby of an LIP.

"Please, Margaret, you're not believing those rumours?" He nagged as Margaret coolly ignored him.

Over the other side of the Mess Tent, Caitlin got up and walked away from Trapper and Leslie stood up and left Henry. I noticed this and how several other nurses left the male they usually sat with and met at a table.

I left the table where I had been sitting next to Margaret and curiously joined them. Margaret followed; the guys had nothing to do but to sit together while I went over to the nurses and asked what was going on.

Their response amused me, apparently they'd had a nurse Edwina something and none of the doctors had ever tried to romance her so to speak. The nurses had called a boycott and refused dates and all physical activities with the men in the camp until peace was made and Hawkeye had to take Edwina out on a date.

They were planning the same thing until they knew that their man didn't just love them for their body, and until Hawkeye and I worked out our differences. "You're not mad are you?" Margie asked hesitantly.

"No, not really I just wish you weren't doing it because of Hawkeye and I though. But girls. let's have some fun!"

Henry caught me about a week later. I had just gone to talk to Hawkeye, we had been having 'marriage counselling' Trapper was basically there as a mediator and to make sure no one got hurt, but I wanted to talk to Hawkeye alone.

"Belle my girl, can I talk to you?" I looked up; Henry was obviously stretched to his nurse-less brink.

"Henry, be quick please, I'm going to have a word with Hawkeye and I don't really want to lose my nerve,"

Henry nodded, "Well if it will end this insanity then I'll be quick, are you nurses aware of what you're putting us through?"

I nodded, "Yes we are, we're fully aware of it, and we just want to prove that you care about our bodies and physical attraction and we don't want to be looked on as sex objects."

Henry shook his head, "Bella my girl, do you know that you haven't come in and talked to me under my desk ever since this ruckus started?"

I thought, "Not particularly no, just that when we said we'd avoid males, we avoid all males." Henry looked at me.

"Well, Anne, I miss having you come and talk to me, I miss having your company under my desk, I miss having someone to talk to, someone to tell about my kids."

I smiled softly, "Well, Henry I really must be going, but I will talk to the nurses, I think you've seen the light," I left the tent, smiling, someone had obviously got our point when Trapper called me over to him.

"Trapper, you know why we're doing it," I explained after Trapper had explained of his nurse-less desperation and begged for remission.

"Annie, is not that really it's missing you, remember, my sister?" I nodded, knowing Trapper was beginning to soften,

"You haven't talked to me, you haven't been you, my little trusting sister since you and Hawkeye first argued and I miss that, I miss having someone who relies on me and trusts me with her secrets and feelings." I smiled, that was two men who had definitely seen the light.

"Well Trapper it's good to know you miss me as a person, but what about the other nurses? And if you'll excuse me, I have a meeting with Hawkeye." I left him and nearly walked into Radar, who was obviously in a bad mood and snapped at me.

"Oh, sorry ma'am if I'd known it was you." he scuttled off and I headed towards Hawkeye's tent, then changed my mind and made a beeline for the nurses.

Leslie smiled, "So Henry and Trapper have got the point, at least about you, do you think that we should give in?" I shrugged,

"Well I was going to have a talk to Hawkeye today, so I don't know." Kellye smiled,

"I think we should leave it until we see how the 'peace talks' if you will, between Hawkeye and Annie work out." The rest of the nurses smiled appreciatively from around the tent. Margaret, in an unusually good mood due to a lack of Frank's petty whining, and seeing eye-to-eye with all her nursing staff, stood up and pushed me to the door

"So Annie, what are you waiting for? Go and make peace with your man!"

"Hawkeye?" I tapped on the tent door and went in nervously.

"Hawkeye? Can I talk to you?" He didn't reply so I sat down on his bunk where he was lying and talked anyhow.

"So you see, I do see how unfair I've been to you Hawkeye. It's only fair of you to want to sleep with your fiancée. But my beliefs really tell me otherwise, but I've decided to ignore them, not to be such a good girl so to speak,"

Hawkeye rolled over and arched a dark eyebrow at me.

"Annie?" I smiled,

"Yes Hawkeye?" He shook his head,

"Oh, Anne, I just decided to accept your beliefs, I just decided we'd wait till we're married. Speaking of which, how about we give being married a try?" I gasped and allowed myself to be taken into his arms.

"Annie, I can't let you do that, give up your beliefs just to make me happy, we are waiting and that is that."

I hugged him tightly, "So it's love, not lust?" I asked, and he nodded,

"It's love Annie, I know how you feel and it drives me insane, but I can put up with it. This past week I've been going crazy for want of your company, and so has Trapper and Henry, you mean an awful lot to us you know. Now will you answer me, my heart is in my mouth, will you marry me?" I smiled,

"I know I mean a lot to you guys, Hawkeye, but don't lie, you guys have been going nuts because you missed us as women too, haven't you?" Hawkeye hung his head,

"Guilty as charged, I've been insane without someone's gorgeous little figure to cuddle up to. Now will you marry me my angel?" I smiled,

"You flatterer you," and he laughed, tilting his head to one side. I took the invitation and kissed him slowly, as Trapper walked in,

"It's over" He shouted, "It's over, Hawkeye and Annie are making up!" Several people rushed into the tent as I stood up to go,

"Seriously, you're really making up?" Someone asked,

"Seriously," Hawkeye grabbed me and dipped me extravagantly, and kissed me passionately. A cheer went up, as men and women paired up again, Frank and Margaret disappeared, as did Trapper and Caitlin,

"We've got the Swamp to ourselves," I winked suggestively Hawkeye looked surprised,

"Annie, what's that I hear? Seduction?" I smiled,

"Is this seductive enough for you?" I threw myself at him so hard he fell backwards onto his bunk. I kissed him.

"Hawkeye, I missed you too,"

Hawkeye cuddled me close a few minutes later,

"Now listen miss, you haven't answered me and I'm dying to know the answer. Will you, Annabelle Felicity Amy Jane Dawson be my wife?" I laughed as his face filled with hope, he had asked me several times in the past twenty minutes or so and I hadn't answered him yet.

"Hold your horses just one minute my sweet, you are really serious about this? I mean, you've only known me for what is it. 9 months or so?" He kissed me,

"But in that 9 months I've grown to care about you more than I've ever cared about anyone, even Carlye Breslin," his features winced painfully as he said the name of the girl he had so deeply cared for once upon a time. I had heard his story from Trapper, and Margaret who although she despised him and his clowning had a soft spot and boundless sympathy for his sad story.

"And unlike her, you, my sexy little goddess I love more than medicine. So Annie please my darling, marry me, I've never been more serious in my life, for god sakes answer me." I chuckled,

"Well I've only known you nine months and I probably feel like an impulsive teen, but I'm going to."

"To what?"

"Settle Hawkeye, to marry you!" He tried to kiss me, jump out of bed and give a shout of joy all at the same time,

"Wahoo! Father, I'm getting married, Radar, come here you gorgeous little man you." He ran out of the tent and grabbed Radar, waltzing him wildly around the compound before kissing his cheek and letting him go.

I laughed and joined him in the compound where he headed straight for the CO's office. He switched on the PA system and causing a large whine of feedback, proudly announced, "Annie and I are going to get married!"

I sat on Hawkeye's lap, my feet resting on Trapper's lap while he gave me a pedicure. It was one of Henry's famous lectures, meant only for the men, but nobody really cared about my presence, except Frank Burns, but he was outnumbered and so he gave up.

"Quiet! Quiet!" Henry vainly called, Radar shouted and everyone gradually fell quiet.

"Good evening men. and Annie. I'm umm. here to umm talk about a nurse- inspired topic." Everyone cheered, and I noticed Hawkeye was keeping time,

"Quiet, a topic that has very much been on our minds lately, love and lust." More cheering

"Love is umm." "A many splendoured thing!" More cheering and laughter,

"Yes, well umm, love is actually caring for a person while lust is." Henry dropped his voice, "The physical attraction and want for." he lowered his voice further,

"The want for sex."

Hawkeye was still timing as he called, "Louder Henry!" Henry obliging repeated

"Love is an um. a many splendoured thing, and it's actually caring for someone." Trapper laughed,

"The last bit Henry!"

Henry seemed more flustered than ever, "Lust is an umm. physical attraction and don't confuse the two. dismissed!" Everyone cheered and clapped as Henry left the tent hurriedly,

"What's the time?" Trapper asked as he tied my boot on,

"30 seconds even, of him speaking, a 50-second lecture all up, and he actually said sex, so who wins the pool this time?"

Radar walked away with about 20 dollars, they placed small bets on how long Henry would talk and how often Henry would mention the unmentionable.

"So, Hawkeye how about we go back to my tent for a little lust?" Hawkeye smiled, I had been more outgoing as far as that was concerned, and Hawkeye and I had reached a happy medium, and he wasn't pushing me any further.

He kissed me, "You baby are definitely tempting me, and I like the way you're making more moves," He said, wrapping his arms around my waist. He held me close, and out of habit, I listened to his heartbeat.

We realised the tent was empty, and chuckling at our inability to notice what happened around us when we got together, we headed for my tent. I snuggled close to him as we go tin the door.

"Hawkeye I love you," I whispered, Hawkeye chuckled,

"Annie, I need to know something." I smiled,

"Anything, as long as it's not will I really marry you?" Hawkeye had been unable to stop asking if I was serious when I had said yes a few days before,

"Annie my gorgeous, sexy little Lieutenant, is it lust or love?" He ducked as I tried to hit him.