It's To You I'll Always Return
Disclaimer: Another song fic based on a Bryan Adams song. That whole soundtrack is perfect for the MASH chars. Needless to say, I own nothing.
I hear the wind call your name
It calls me back home again
It sparks up the fire
A flame that still burns
It's to you I will always return
BJ Hunnicutt was going home.
After two years away from his family, he was finally going home. Erin had grown so much. He'd missed her first step, her first tooth, her first word...he'd even missed the first time she ever called a man "daddy." And he'd missed two birthdays. He'd almost made it home for her second birthday, but his travel orders had been rescinded. Now the war was over. Now, he was driving his motorcycle through the Korean countryside to Kimpo for a real plane ride back to San Francisco. Back to Erin. Back to Peg.
He wondered if it were possible to miss a woman more than he missed his wife. BJ smiled to himself. We'll probably have two kids by this time in nine or ten months. Home was calling. He could hear Peg's voice on the wind as Korea whipped past him. He could smell his first homemade meal in two years.
I still feel your breath on my skin
I hear your voice deep within
The sound of my lover
A feeling so strong
It's to you I'll always belong
No matter what had happened in Korea, nothing could shake BJ's love for his wife. Two tests—one of which he'd essentially failed—and his love and devotion nonetheless remained true. His focus was on Peg. She had been enough to allow him to pick himself up when he'd fallen flat on his face. He was Peg's, and Peg was his. He would always belong to her.
Now I know it's true, yeah
My every road leads to you
And in the hour of darkness, Darlin'
Your light gets me through
Wanna swim in your river
Be warmed by your sun
Bathe in your waters
'Cause you are the one
Even when that reporter had come to Ouijongbu, causing BJ to question whether Peg had been the right one for him, it only served to reaffirm what he'd known all along. Peg was the only one for him.
BJ found that the road became increasingly bad. Potholes caused by mortar fire wreaked havoc on the bike's shocks. But that only made things more entertaining for the avid cyclist. Besides, this road led him home. Home. It felt so good saying the word, because this time his homesickness would be cured. "I'll never leave California or my family again!" he shouted to whomever would listen.
I can't stand the distance
I can't dream alone
I can't wait to see you
Yes, I'm on my way home
I'm on my way
The familiar sounds of Seoul finally found a way over the noise of the bike. Only a short drive to Kimpo. BJ stopped ever so briefly in Seoul in order to avoid having to push his bike the rest of the way to Kimpo. Once gassed up, he took off again. He thought of all the chores Peg had in store for him. He couldn't wait. Those things had to be done anyway if they were going to eventually sell their house after building their dream home on their property just outside the city limits of Mill Valley.
The property. BJ had almost forgotten about it. He'd been thrilled to finally own it, but the excitement had worn off too quickly, lost in the frenzy of caring for wounded. It was so hard dreaming alone. He couldn't scheme with Peg. He couldn't yea or nay her ideas for the land. But now, when he got home, he would be able to make all kinds of plans with Peg. Erin would have a yard to run in with Waggle, and maybe even a tire swing in the big oak tree. He couldn't wait to start.
I hear the wind call your name
It calls me back home again
It sparks up the fire
A flame that still burns
Oh, I'm on my way home
I will always return
Yes I will always return
He had promised her he would return. He would come home.
He had made friends for life in Korea. His best friend was going home to the opposite coast. They would be 3,000 miles apart. BJ didn't know if he'd ever see Hawkeye again. But even that didn't deter him. He had made a promise. And he was going to keep it.
He arrived in Kimpo not five minutes before his departing flight. He threw his bag on the plane and jumped on himself. Guam, Honolulu, San Francisco. The same route he'd tried to take earlier that month. But this time no one would be sending him back from Guam. The plane took off, and BJ settled back to dream of the moment he would finally embrace his wife and daughter. He'd learned so much in Korea, but the best thing he'd learned is how much he loved his family, and how amazing it felt to finally be going home.
I've seen every sunset
And with all that I've learned
It's to you I will always
Always return