Author's Note: This is just a little intro chapter to set the scene, but chapter two will probably be more, uh, involved as it were.

BJ/Hawkeye, a little BJ/Peg

Current Rating: Almost G (which will change quickly, promise)


Playing House

Chapter One: Door


The train station meeting had been awkward, but their civilian clothes seemed, perhaps through serving as a constant worn reminder, to keep them firmly rooted in the socially acceptable greetings that had been rehearsed again and again on those same grounds. BJ had picked up one of the other's bags, Hawkeye grabbing the other and a small black case that BJ knew without asking contained the tools of his practice.

"I thought you were on vacation."

"Oh, I am, but you never knew when you're gonna meet a nice girl who wants to play doctor." He smirked, and BJ saw again the humorous spirit he had missed. He didn't want to look too close, though, or he might see what else he knew was there, so, not too close.

That rule negotiated their proceeding interactions. In the car they talked simply about their advancing careers, BJ's being more profitable, but Hawkeye was more than content to help run the practice in Crabapple Cove, which, he might add, was not doing all that bad.

"Besides, I get to know them, you know? And in most cases, I get send them home."

"You do operations?"

"Sure. Some for my patients, at the hospital, but I pull shifts once a week or so there too. Can't get too rusty."

"Nothing worse than a rusty surgeon."

"Except maybe a rusty scalpel."

They shared a smile, but something held them back from taking it up to the laugh out loud level that had so often pervaded their conversations just a few years before. Threading their way through the suburbs, they soon turned into a paved drive. Hawkeye hunched forward to look out the window, taking in the reality of the sunny yellow two story house with its bright window and classical veranda, the landscaped yard and the acre behind it that he knew also belonged to them. He felt, suddenly, like an invader into someone else's world; this was BJ's reality. While there were a myriad of options of what kind of disruption he posed, he was sure he was a threat of some kind. He resolved, not for the first time, to do his damndest not to disturb the tranquil existence his friend had forged for himself.

BJ shut off the engine, and they sat a moment in the silence of the spring day.

"You ready?" he queried.

"Yeah."

They pulled their long limbs from the car, and BJ took the bags from the trunk. Hawkeye still clutched his black case, the worn handled familiar in his hand, contrasting to the new environment and the button down shirt and slacks he had worn. He felt vaguely like a religious fanatic ready to convert the members of community. Nervously he pulled at his collar.

"You look nice," and though he thought the comment slightly inane after he made it, Pierce seemed to take it well, offering a little, nervous smile before replying in his usual manner.

"Just nice? I prefer foxy, fine, brilliant, charming, irresistible, radiant, ravishing," he rattled off the terms that seemed to flow from some interior thesaurus, "take your pick, they're all very nice."

He pulled at his collar again as they reached the door.

"Maybe I should've worn a tie."

"I can't picture you in a tie," he set down one of the bags to fish around in his pocket for the key.

"Me either. Maybe heels and pearls."

They caught eyes, shared thoughts of a certain man in a dress obvious to each of them.

"I missed that," BJ said after little pause, the key now moving to the lock. "Someone who knew what I was thinking."

"Me too."

The lock clicked, and Hawkeye was admitted to a world he had read about in letters.

tbc


This is going somewhere, a rather slashy somewhere, but I'd like to toss in a bit of plot, so tolerate me for just a day or two and I will deliver unto you the promised content. If you still want, that is.

Miko No Hoshi