Nellie made sure to keep her face neutral as she leaned back in her seat. After ten rounds of Five Card Stud in which she'd lost fifty-three dollars and change, they'd switched over to standard Five Card Draw. She told herself one more hand and then she'd sit out for a bit. No sense in losing all her money on day one.

She looked down at her starting hand. Six of Diamonds, Six of Clubs, Queen of Hearts, Ace of Spades, and Four of Hearts. So far all she had to her name was a pair of sixes. Her options were limited. She let her gaze roam around the table. Hawkeye caught her eye and smirked. So far he had won the most. Damn if she was going to let him beat her.

BJ straightened up where he sat to Sidney's left. It had been his deal. "Hawk?"

"I'll take two."

Quick as a flash, he passed the cards over, taking Hawkeye's discard. Margaret took three, and the Colonel asked for one. Finally it came to Nellie.

She forced herself not to hesitate. "Three." Handing over the Queen, Ace, and Four, she sat back against her chair and smirked at Hawkeye in turn. She glanced at the new three. Jack of Diamonds, Jack of Clubs, Six of Spades. Finally! Some luck.

"Sidney?" asked BJ.

"Two."

"Right." With a nod, BJ finished taking Sidney's discard. He took out three of his own hand. "Dealer takes three." After he looked at his new hand, he turned to his left. "Right. Hawk you're up."

With a nod, Hawkeye took a few bills from his ever-increasing pile of cash. He looked around and placed the on the pile in the table center. "Three dollars."

Margaret matched his three, and added two more. She turned to her left. "Colonel?"

"Just dandy! I fold." He slammed his cards onto the table with a huff.

All eyes were on Nellie. She shrugged, a small smile at the Colonel's dramatics creeping onto her face. She put five in, and then two more. With an innocent smile, she turned to Sidney. "You're up."

Sidney sat quietly. He looked at his cards. Finally he sighed. "I fold."

BJ snorted. "Same."

Hawkeye saw the raises, adding another four to the pot. He raised four dollars. Margaret begrudgingly matched his raise, but refused to raise any further. "Call," she said.

"I call as well." Nellie added four to the pot. "Hawkeye?"

"Call." He flipped over his hand. Seven of Hearts, Seven of Diamonds, Ace of Clubs, Ace of Hearts, and a Three of Diamonds. "Two pair, Aces and Sevens."

Margaret turned hers over with a grin. "Three of a kind, Eights."

But Nellie just shook her head. She flipped over her own cards and laid them out carefully. "Full house, Sixes and Jacks." She couldn't keep herself from smiling as she took the money from the pot. "Too bad I'm still short about eight dollars." After collecting the money in as organized a manner as she could, she stretched. "I hate to win and run, but I need to stretch my legs. I'll join back in later."

Hawkeye went to protest. "Wait a minute! You can't just take the money and walk!"

"You can try to win it back later. I promise," she argued.

"Fine." He turned to Klinger and the Father. "Which of you wants to jump in?"

Sidney stood. "I think I'll take a walk as well. My luck isn't what it used to be apparently." He made brief eye contact with Nellie. "Mind if I join you?"

"Not at all." Nellie stuffed her money into her pockets. Carefully stepping over BJ's cot, she went around the furnace towards the door. Sidney stood waiting for her. As they walked a few feet away from the Swamp, she turned to him. "Don't pull out your couch tonight."

Sidney chuckled. "Alright, fine. But tell me you're not in Korea on a death wish."

"I haven't dealt with anything like that for years," she reminded him. They made their way towards the Mess Tent. "I'm simply here because there's no possibility of advancement in the States for a woman surgeon. You know that."

He hummed in agreement as he opened the door. "This drive for advancement, for recognition. Why do you think that affects you so much? Why do you need the admiration and approval of others?"

Nellie didn't respond. The coffee machine became incredibly interesting. As she grabbed a cup of the liquid energy, Sidney followed and didn't say anything else. Then they took their seats in the empty tent.

"I said not to bring out your couch," Nellie muttered from behind her mug.

Sidney laughed. "Can you blame me? You were my patient for some time."

"And your colleague!"

"Of course. And a good one. I might even say great." He paused for a moment, letting the silence sit. Then he changed the subject. "How's your brother?"

She smiled instantly. "Oh you know Jack. Probably enjoying having the apartment to himself. I told him no parties," she joked. They both knew Jack wasn't a partier. With a sigh, she shook her head. "He's probably curled up on the couch reading a book."

"So what's the Army got you doing here?"

Nellie explained the Athena Project. As usual, Sidney remained perfectly neutral, his expression betraying nothing. He just listened. Nellie loved that about him. When she had first met him in Pre-Med, he was one of the few adjunct professors who she liked. Getting assigned to Johns Hopkins Hospital where he worked had been a privilege.

When she finished, he nodded. He took a sip of coffee. "I'm surprised Molly Monahan wasn't invited."

"She was," said Nellie. "They approached her about it the same week as me. She sent me a telegram."

"She said no?"

Nellie nodded. "Molly's always hated the military. She blames them for her brother Paul's death." At Sidney's questioning look, she continued. "Paul was killed at the end of World War Two. He was twenty-one and had just been drafted. They were twins."

"So she wants nothing to do with the military," Sidney surmised. "How'd she take the news that you were enlisting?"

Her gaze fell to her coffee. At first she didn't answer, but then she sat back and shrugged. "We managed to call each other before I was sent to Honolulu. I made sure we parted on friendly terms. I wasn't going to let this ruin our friendship." She took a sip. Setting the cup down, she added, "We went through too much together."

"Oh?"

Nellie went to explain. But she stopped herself, smiling. "No couch tonight, doc."

Suddenly the PA system turned on. "I know it's midnight, folks, but hurry to the OR, the wounded can't wait 'till morning!"

A shiver shot down Nellie's spine. Sidney watched her as they both stood, and he nodded to her. With a curt nod and smile in return, she rushed off to do as the other surgeons would direct her. An ambulance pulled into the compound moments after she left the Mess Tent.

The poker game had been abandoned. Shouts raged on every side of her. It was more than a little disorienting in the dark. BJ caught sight of Nellie and hurried over to her. "Go on inside and get scrubbed. Charles and Hawkeye will join you."

She didn't say anything in response. She just nodded. Bloodied bodies lay strewn across the compound. Groans bombarded her ears. As she stepped around a man with a bad chest wound, she wanted nothing more than to ease their pain. That's why she'd become a doctor, after all.

Klinger and another medic blocked her way while moving a litter. She stood in silence. Suddenly she felt a hand around her ankle. When Nellie looked down at the man who had grabbed her, she nearly threw up. His entire face was red with oozing blood, and he would probably lose his leg based on the visibly fractured bone. It took significant effort for Nellie to move from him as the litters passed. Not for his strength, but for her lack of it.

At last she made it to the scrub room. Navigating the maze of broken bodies hadn't been easy. She was the first to the women's side of the changing room. Pristine white scrubs sat on a shelf. She pulled off her olive drab fatigues and into these. As she maneuvered past the now full changing room, she tied her hair up and put it under her hat.

Nellie shuddered. Counting to ten, she reminded herself that this was her job. She'd been doing operations, some extremely gruesome, for nearly five years. After all, Baltimore hadn't exactly been heaven. She turned on the water and started scrubbing.

With each rub of her hands across her arms, she inwardly repeated the phrases they'd had engraved. Ad Infinitum, Ad Meliora. To infinity, towards better things. She didn't even notice that Hawkeye had joined her at the sink basin.

"Good luck, Doctor." Hawkeye watched her as she stepped away from the sink to dry her hands. "If you need help, don't hesitate to ask."

Nellie thought about biting back. She wouldn't need help anymore than the other men. But she saw that there was no joke or scorn in his comment. So she nodded.

"Listen, if you're as good as Sidney was just telling me, you'll be fine." Hawkeye stood away from the sink as well. He grabbed a cloth with two fingers to dry his hands. "But you need to remember that this is going to be different from anything Stateside. If you need a break between patients, we'll try to let you have one."

"Blood doesn't phase me, doctor," she said.

"It's not the blood I'm talking about," he argued back as he put on his mask. "It's the pointless waste."

Nellie fiddled with her own mask. She could see how angry the subject made him. At the moment, Hawkeye gained a good deal of respect in her eyes. She watched him duck through the curtains and the operating room door. With a last deep breath, she followed.

Nurses darted to and fro. Margaret slipped gloves onto Hawkeye's hands as he took his spot at the center table. Klinger rushed passed her to bring him an X-Ray.

"Gloves," said a familiar voice.

Nellie looked over to see Kellye with the tray of gloves. The nurse helped her put them on. The cold snap of the latex jolted Nellie out of her stupor. That was familiar, at least. The smell of rubbing alcohol filled her nose as another nurse passed.

Two orderlies brought in a litter. It was a young soldier, dusty blonde hair made darker from ash and blood. She could tell he was terrified. Her stomach twisted as she realized he looked like Molly's twin. But there wasn't time for mourning. She checked the tag to read his status and wounds and ordered the anesthetist to put him under.

"Ready, doctor?" asked Margaret. She stepped up to Nellie's table.

Nellie stared down at the prepped soldier. He had shell fragments in his right shoulder and a few in his belly. She took a deep breath. Ad Infinitum, Ad Meliora. Nellie looked up and nodded.

"Scalpel."