(A/N: Margaret's attitude to everyone, especially Radar in the episode Last Laugh has always irritated me to no end. I hated her so much in the early seasons... Murrgh. At least that was better than when she was married to Donald, though. So this is a little change to the episode. :D Enjoy!)

Courage

Radar gulped as he looked up into the face of Major Houlihan. Her eyes were alight with sparks of agitation, her stiff form tense and quivering angrily. He swallowed again and said meekly

"Uh, I'm sorry ma'am, but their generator's been hit and they won't get another outgoing frequency 'til after midnight."

Her angry shrieks and screams and howls rang in Radar's ears until he thought the lenses of his glasses would rattle out of their frames. He put his fingers in his ears as Margaret stormed around the clerk's office shouting "It's always me me me! Why is it always me?! WHY ME?!" She upended Radar's trashbin onto the floor and opened up drawers, throwing files and papers everywhere. Everything on his desk was gone with a sweep of her arms.

Lastly she was coming towards him with the little trash can, seething with rage, when he shouted

"Hey! You can't do that to my office! This is important stuff, ya know!"

"Don't talk to me like that, I'm an Officer!" She yelled, holding the trashcan high over her head and readying herself to plop it down over his. Radar rose from his kneeling position on the floor, where he'd been scrambling for all the official papers that were now mixed up, looked Margaret straight in the throat and shouted for all he was worth

"YEAH?! WELL IT'S A GOOD THING THAT ALL OFFICERS AREN'T SUCH JERKS!"

His face was red with frustration and tears pricked at the corners of his eyes. It would take days to clean up and reorganize this mess. And to top it all off... he knew he was in serious trouble.

Momentarily speechless, Margaret's face grew purple with spleen and she roared at him

"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO ME LIKE THAT, YOU LITTLE FOUR-EYED, ENLISTED, DEGENERATE, USELESS, DEFECTIVE, MORONIC, INSUBORDINATE SON OF A-!"

She raised her hand to slap him full across the face and was surprised to see him throw his hands up in defense, accidentally whacking her in the jaw. Stumbling backwards and more surprised and enraged than hurt, she looked mad enough to explode right there.

"You just wait." The Major hissed with more malice than was intended for one human being to possess "I'll have you thrown in the stockade so long you'll rot there! I know more stars than a Hollywood director! They'll make your sentence so long and miserable..."

Not finishing her sentence, Margaret stormed out in a huff, leaving behind an amazed Radar O'Reilly. Courage was a rare delicacy to the young Corporal, and he'd had his first taste of it today. Maybe someday the self-centered, outspoken, overbearing Major would become more polite, maybe friendly, but for now... Radar would have to stand up for himself.

It was a good feeling.