BJ and Colonel Potter after a few initial confrontations were fitting in quite well. Colonel Potter had accepted Klinger for who he was, and even asked Klinger why he was out of uniform on the rare occasions he wore fatigues.

BJ was a really nice guy and although he had a similar sense of humour to Trapper's, it was completely unique, and instead of getting better in Trapper's absence and BJ's presence, he got worse.

Our favourite pastime was swapping photos of our families, his wife Peggy and his baby daughter Erin, for my multitudes of siblings, which now included the twins I heard that mum was expecting just after Jack died, I'd found out two or three weeks after they had arrived and as I admired my brother Nathaniel Oscar and Jemima Beth, BJ admired his latest shot of Erin.

"Look at this, she's beautiful," BJ leaned over and showed me a photo of his 8-month daughter, and with interest I gazed at the small and female version of the man who sat opposite me in the Swamp.

"Yeah, she's gorgeous, I remember the last time I saw Gracey, she was just that big, then I went away to train to be a front liner, I haven't seen her since. I missed her first birthday and that was the first birthday of anyone of my siblings I've missed. Well of the first birthdays anyhow, I've missed a few others, but I was always there for firsts, thirteenths, sixteenths and twenty-firsts. I even went AWOL from college for three days with Jack to go home for Lily's 16th." BJ gave a little chuckle then at the thought of me running away from college.

"That's hard, you must feel so terrible about that, I feel so bad that I'm missing everything that my beautiful little girl is doing. But you're so lucky, you spent your whole life knowing what seeing your most important family members grow up was like." BJ looked sad, and folded Peg's letter. It had been nearly a month since we'd last had mail, and we were beginning to read and re-read other people's letters.

"Beej, do you what? I think that Radar is going to come into this tent and deliver some mail," I closed my eyes and massaged my temples as though in deep psychic thought. Sure enough Radar came into the tent and BJ feigned surprise.

"Wow, Annie, you must be psychic, either that or you heard the chopper at 3am as well!" BJ laughed, while I blushed guiltily.

"Mail call, Annie, Lieutenant Dawson ma'am, will you have it now or in your tent?" Radar asked, as he threw a package and letters in BJ's direction.

"I'll have them here, and you can call me Annie OR Lieutenant Dawson OR ma'am not all three." I chuckled as I accepted the letters from home.

"Yes Annie ma'am," Radar dumped Hawkeye's letters on his bed and left while BJ and I sorted the handful of letters.

"Ooh, one from Daniel!" I called, Daniel, Hawkeye's father had started writing to me ever since we'd become engaged. I also had letters from Joe, Mimi and mum.

BJ had three letters from Peg and just before we opened them, Hawkeye came into the tent, pouncing on his mail.

"It's a lovely day outside, why don't we go up to the hill to read them?" I suggested, as Hawkeye ripped open his envelope.

"I'll come," BJ offered as I stood up to go, and joined me at the door.

"Well, I'm not leaving you two alone together!" Hawkeye commented, as he grabbed his mail and we headed up the hill.

The hill where people wanting privacy. or romance headed was within the boundary of our camp and was generally safe, so Hawkeye, Beej and I were lying out in one of the sunnier spots, reading our mail.

"Mum's moving, to a tiny little place out of Portland, she says that she wants Nate and Jemmy to have a small-town upbringing instead of the city one I had." Hawkeye looked up, curious as I kept reading the letter.

"Where's she moving to?" He queried as I put her letter down, trying to act casual, knowing that what I had to say was a very pleasant surprise.

"Oh. just a little town, one doctor, its own small hospital, nothing big, called Crabapple Cove," I said coolly as Hawkeye picked up the letter and read it.

"Wow! You're moving to where I grew up! But what's this about having to tell 'your darling Ben' something about the doctor there? Why would you need to, I've known him all my life - literally!" Hawkeye went back to his letter, searching for signs of something he should know.

"Oh. it's nothing big, just that I've been seeing that doctor since I was 4months pregnant. well since mum was. She never once liked the doctors in Portland, snobby city quacks she calls them, so she went to the only doctor in the Cove, your dad, but it's a wonder I haven't seen you before, and I'm surprised your dad never said anything."

"Well it's a good thing, or if you'd seen the real him before Korea when you were still just growing up, you'd never have agreed to marry him now," BJ chuckled, rather accurately I felt.

"Can I read what lies and nonsense my dad's been writing about me?" Hawkeye tried to remove the letter from my grasp, but I held on, and he pulled harder. I let go, but claimed his letter, and began reading that.

"Hey!" Give that back!" Hawkeye shouted, reaching for the paper, but I sprang to my feet, and ran a few yards away, Hawkeye dropped my letter and gave chase when suddenly a shot broke the air.

"Hawkeye!" I grabbed my stomach and fell to my knees, gasping as a white- hot pain shot thought me.

"Let me see, let me see," Hawkeye pulled my hands away and his eyes widened at the blood that now stained my uniform and hands.

"Hawkeye, help me!" I gasped, but he just sat there, staring. I was feeling weak and I looked around desperately, the shots had stopped, but BJ was still pinned to the ground.

"BJ!" Hawkeye started screaming panicking, as BJ hauled himself over.

"Don't try to talk, Anne, keep your strength, I'm gonna lift you now." Hawkeye was still screaming for BJ as he carried me back towards the camp.

"Beej, it hurts, so much," I began crying, as Potter ran over, calling for Margaret and ordering Klinger to go and get Hawkeye.

"Don't talk Anne, keep your strength, I know it hurts, remember that fool Frank shot me in the leg once too." BJ repeated, as he carried me into OR. Someone gave me some morphine and then some ether, I fell asleep and the next thing I knew I was in Post-Op.

"Annie!" It was Margaret. In an unusual display of affection, she bent down and kissed my forehead as I opened my eyes.

"Captain! Our patient's awake!" She called and BJ came over, smiling at me.

"How's my favourite patient?" He asked, as he checked my pulse.

"Favourite patient?" I had to ask; to my surprise my voice was quiet and shaky.

"Don't talk too much now Anne, I've said it twice already but you need your strength okay? And you've been far less trouble than any other patient I've ever had, that's why you're my favourite. Well. almost the least. I had three nurses panicking that I was going to botch something and you'd never be able have kids." his voice quietened and his face turned serious.

"I will be able, won't I?" I asked nervously, at the sight of his and Margaret's sombre faces. I began to mentally go to pieces, I couldn't imagine never having kids.

"Well, Annie." Margaret took my hand before BJ got any further, and squeezed it. Tightly. I knew something was wrong and I started to cry.

"Annie, you have to know. I tried, I really tried, but you lost your right ovary. Your womb and left ovary are fine, but the point of impact was just above your right." BJ's face told how he fully expected me to lash out and hate him.

"BJ, I don't know what you did, but I would have known you'd try, to save me. Everyone here would rather me with a lesser chance of having a baby than dead." I was crying, weakly, and Margaret swiped at my face with a hanky.

"Who were the nurses by the way?" I asked suddenly, trying to change the subject. And BJ looking somewhat relieved, chuckled softly.

"It was Hawkeye, he was the equivalent of three nurses himself, we had to drag him out unconscious. Someone whacked some tranquillisers in his butt. We just didn't have time for that nonsense, you were bleeding your life away right on that table. He feels real bad he couldn't act when he saw you bleeding, that he just froze and that I had to come rescue you. He also thinks that if he'd been able to operate he could have saved your ovary." BJ added, watching my face for signs of emotion.

"Oh, where is he?" I asked, worried for Hawkeye, I knew how he hated feeling useless, he hated it with a passion and watching someone else operate on the woman he loved so much would rate high on his list of useless feelings.

"He won't see you, he doesn't think he deserves you. He's talking all sorts of rubbish, calling off the engagement and goodness knows." Margaret informed me, as she put a thermometer into my mouth, and so I had to sit silent until she removed it.

"Now listen, you're one of my staff," she told me sternly, "And I'm telling you, Lieutenant to rest as long as you need, until you feel better. That is a direct order!" she added as I opened my mouth to protest.

"Can I see Hawk?" I asked nervously, not sure what to expect. But Margaret nodded up and left, presumably in search of my fiancé.

"Well, Annie, don't take it to hard, but he may not want to see you, he hasn't seen you since you went under my knife, and he's refused everything, even a direct order from Potter to see you." BJ said stroking my face. "Is there any pain?" He asked, changing the subject as Margaret returned, shaking her head sadly.

"A little," I winced slightly as BJ's fingers probed my stomach. He removed them at the first sign of me wincing.

"Okay Annie, I'm just gonna take a peek, alright?" he queried, having a look at the dressing and then lifting it to reveal a purple-red scar that had a dozen or so small black stiches. He brushed it with the tip of a finger and watched my face as I tried to pull away from the pain.

"Okay Anne, you've got a very high infection rate, you need your dressings changed hourly, and you know the rest, here's your chart. And Major, what did Hawkeye say?" He gave me my chart, which was pretty standard.

"He won't come, thinks that you'll hate him. Beej, he's drinking himself into a state." Margaret replied as my face creased thoughtfully.

"Don't think about it now Annie, I want you to try and get some more sleep, I'll get you something. Which means that Margaret is going to get it now thankyou Major." He ran his fingers carefully over my eyelids, which had an amazing way of making me feel sleepy. Margaret added something to my drip and I fell asleep.

A cold cloth was put on my face and I moaned uncomfortably. I was sweaty and sticky, in my semi-delirious state; I figured I'd developed an infection in my wound.

"Damn Frank! Why can't he just do one thing right?" BJ's voice broke through my pain. I tossed uncomfortably, crying out as I rolled onto my stitches.

"Easy Anne. Goddamn Frank, all he had to do was change the dressing regularly, and what does he do, change it two-hourly, instead of hourly." BJ continued grumbling as he rolled me onto my back and checked to see that I hadn't torn my stiches.

I opened my eyes and looked around, everything was blurry and far away. BJ put a cloth on my face and wiped my cheeks and lips. His face swam in and out of my view, and then I released there was no Hawkeye and I hadn't seen him since I was shot.

"Hawk?" I mumbled and tried to sit up, only to be pushed down again.

"Annie, just lie back down okay?" BJ's voice pressured me softly, his hand ensuring I remained on the pillow. I did just that and went back to sleep.

Over the next four days I drifted in and out of consciousness and sleep. I know that I had a fever and an infected wound. Hawkeye was there sometimes, I think. I'd call for him occasionally and then I'd hear a voice that I guessed was Hawkeye so I went back to sleep, or lost consciousness again.

"Annie, it's good to see you awake again!" Margie smiled down at me. I'd broken my fever and the infection in the wound had cleared up. There was no more pain there and I felt a lot better.

"My goodness, we were really worried about you, I mean really. Doctor!" Margie checked my pulse, temperature, blood pressure, and called for the doc on duty simultaneously.

"It's really good to see you looking better, you've got so much colour back in your cheeks, and I don't mean the fever flushes that you had. You missed a bit too, Major Houlihan's cracking down on us again, and Hawkeye's frantic about you. BJ's practically unconscious from nursing you back to health and Frank's just generally cranky. Aah, Colonel Potter, she's awake again," Margie talked so fast I could barely keep up with her.

"Annie! Well I'll be damned, I never thought I'd be seeing you look so good again!" Colonel Potter exclaimed, checking the charts that Margie had just altered.

"Annie, you've been through a fair bit that I've seen. Getting that virus and then getting shot and having your recovery time doubled because of Frank. I'm giving you a three-day-pass to Tokyo, and I'm going to send BJ with you to look after you. It's a recuperation trip and he's your doctor, so he's going to see that you remain healthy, and don't eat too much sushi!" He chuckled at that last line.

"Colonel, I don't need to I'll be fine, really another couple of days of rest." I began as Colonel Potter cut me off.

"Buffalo Bagels! You need a holiday, and I'm saying you're going. I know you're not an argumentative girl so don't try and cause trouble." Colonel Potter ordered, coming out with one of what we now called his 'Potterisims.'

"Well don't I even get to take my fiancé?" I asked, I'd never been to Tokyo, much less on a holiday with Hawkeye and I wanted to do both of them.

Potter shook his head then, and I had to wonder what I really had missed.

"He's a mess, he doesn't want to see you. We had a patient tell you he was Hawkeye when you had that fever. I think you and BJ need to go away and give him some time, alone, to muse about what happened. You do know he feels so guilty that he couldn't help you." I nodded, and smiled at the Colonel.

"Okay sir, I give in, are you happy? I'll go with BJ if he agrees." I felt reasonably sure that BJ wouldn't want to leave his friend.

"BJ has already agreed to go, and you two can leave tomorrow noon you should be strong enough to go then. He thinks that Hawkeye needs some time without you, but sending him away was out of the question, he requires the most familiar environment we can provide. Sending BJ with you was Major Houlihan's idea, she told me on no uncertain terms that you weren't going to Tokyo by yourself." Colonel Potter explained firmly.

I bit my tongue, holding back a remark because my plan had backfired and that's how BJ and I ended up in Tokyo for three days and three nights