Author's Note: This story just came to me a few days ago, so don't expect anything grand. It is set in 1967, 14 years (and about nine months) after the end of the Korean War. Also, I'm not really sure how far of a drive it is from Boston to Crabapple Cove, so just go along with the eight hours, okay? Okay. And like I said, this just came to me and might not be that great…so enjoy!

"Stuck in the Cove"

By: Cora

"Hey Mom!" Beatrice Jane Houlihan, mostly called BJ, walked in to the house that she shared with her mother in Boston, Massachusetts, after she was done with tennis practice. She put her school bag by the door and walked into the kitchen where she knew her mom would be.

"Hi honey. How was school?" Margaret Houlihan, formally Major Houlihan was at the stove getting supper ready. Her blond hair was in a pony tail and she wore her nurses uniform since she had just gotten home from her nursing job at the local clinic. She had decided that she didn't really want to do much assisting in the operating room anymore, so she was now just getting a few of the people in Boston to say 'aw', and loving every minute of it.

"It was okay. A couple of the guys in wrestling qualified to go to the New England Championships, and there's a pep bus going tomorrow for anyone who wants to go. I was just wondering if I could." BJ walked over to her mom and gave her a hug.

"Would you be missing school?" Margaret hugged her daughter back.

"Yeah, but I got all of my make up work already just in case, so I could do it tonight. Can I mom…please?" BJ tried using her puppy dog eyes that had sort of lost their touch when she was nine and she was now fourteen.

"Sure, you can go. Where is it anyway?" Margaret stirred the water in the pan and dumped spaghetti noodles in.

"For some reason, it's in this tiny little town in Maine. It's got something to do with an apple and a cove in the name. Green Apple Cove maybe?" BJ grabbed a couple plates and some silverware and set the table.

"Crabapple Cove?" Margaret asked with a look of surprise on her face that she hid from her daughter.

"That's it! I knew it had something to do with apples. Odd name huh?"

"Yeah…funny." Margaret stirred the noodles that were in the pot, but her mind was also stirring.

"The pep bus leaves at seven tomorrow morning and we're not sure when we'll get back. It depends on how the guys do." BJ kind of noticed that her mom's mind wasn't exactly there with them in the room. She ducked out of the kitchen, grabbed her school bag and went upstairs to start on her homework.

"Crabapple Cove…" Margaret repeated to herself. 'I wonder if he still remembers me?' Margaret wondered about the only man she ever really loved.

After about a half an hour, Margaret and BJ were at the table, eating their spaghetti. "So mom, what's the story behind Crabapple Cove anyway? After you said it, your mind seemed to go somewhere else." BJ finally broke the silence.

"Oh, that's just where an old friend of mine lives. He was the chief surgeon of the 4077th when I was there…" Her voice trailed off and she looked at her daughter. She had dark black hair and beautiful blue eyes. Her nose was her fathers and so was her personality when she thought about it. She had never told her who her father was, and didn't know if she ever would. She loved him very much, but didn't even tell him about the baby that had grown into this beautiful teenager in front of her.

"Oh, I see." BJ broke the silence.

"Your pretty much named after his best friend too." Margaret smiled before she took a drink of her ice tea.

"What's his name? The one from Crabapple Cove. You seem to talk about 'the Chief Surgeon' sometimes, but you never really say his name." BJ asked her mom curiously.

"Hawkeye." A small smile spread across Margaret's face when she said the name. "Hawkeye Pierce…"

"Mom?" The girl looked at her mother, kind of worriedly. "Are you alright?"

"Of course. Why?" She took her fork and took another bite of the spaghetti.

"Oh, nothing. You were just spacing off again."

"Sorry. Look, how about after we're done here and the dishes are washed, I help you with some of that homework of yours?"

"Um, sure. Okay." She laughed a little. "Are you sure you want to try to help me with my geometry?"

"That I think I'll pass on." They laughed and told each other stories from that day for the rest of the meal. After the dishes were washed and put away, they tackled the large stack of homework and BJ was definitely excited to go to the wrestling championships the next day.

"I still can't believe he made it! He was so close to loosing!" BJ and her best friend, Janie, just walked out of the rather small arena where the New England Wrestling Champion was just named, Matt Fletcher who was a junior at Beacon Hill High School. BJ and Janie were happy that someone from their school finally won. Wrestling was a big deal at Beacon Hill, although no one really knew why.

"I know, it was amazing!" Janie replied to BJ's excitement. "Come on, we're gonna miss the bus though." The Championship ceremony had ended about a half an hour ago and the parking lot was pretty much dead except for their bus. "Uh oh." the yellow school bus that they had come in had closed it's doors and was about to leave. "RUN!" Janie started sprinting, with BJ close behind.

"Is everyone here?" the bus driver asked the girl who was taking roll.

"Yes sir." The girl, Honoria Winchester, was very snotty and no one understood why she was going to a public school. Her father was the head of thoracic surgery at Boston General.

"Okay then." The bus driver took the clip board from the girl that had flipped her hair and sat down in a way that you just felt like slapping her after.

"WAIT!" BJ called to the bus as they were sprinting toward it, but it was too late. The bus was already out of the parking lot and on to the road. "Great…" she said sarcastically as she and Janie took a seat on a bench that was by the sidewalk. "Now what?"

"I don't know. I could try calling my brother." Janie had lived with her older brother for about a year since her parents were killed in a car accident.

"Or I could call my mom." BJ added.

"Isn't she working late tonight though?" she reminded her friend, looking at her watch that read 8:05 p.m.

"Oh yeah. That's pretty bad when I don't remember that and I'm her daughter." She tried to laugh, but she was kind of scared and upset about being left behind.

"That stupid Honoria. What the heck kind of name is Honoria anyway?" Janie got up and started pacing.

"She was named after her aunt. Unfortunately, I have to see her sometimes out of school." She gave a sarcastic shudder.

"Why?"

"Because my mom and her dad worked together in the Korean War. I guess her dad is just as much of a pampas buffoon as she is." BJ sat on the bench looking at her hands. "She HAD to have seen us, I mean she looked right at us!" Her temper was rising.

"I know. Look, why don't I call my brother? He could come pick us up." Janie dug her dime out of her pocket. "There's a pay phone right over there."

"Okay. Come on." BJ got up and the girls walked across the street towards the pay phone that was right outside a nice looking diner. Janie put the dime in and called her brother, but he wasn't home. She put another in and called her aunt, but she also wasn't home.

"Damn." Janie hung the phone back up on the receiver. "I'm out of dimes now too."

"Ooh, you just said damn…" BJ joked with her.

"Oh sit on it."

"Sorry. Ugh, I don't have any money either." BJ was checking her pockets for a third time when a man with dark hair, with quite a few grays poking through, and nice blue eyes walked by. He seemed strangely familiar to BJ. "Oh, sir." She stopped him for a second.

"Yeah?" The man stopped. The girl also seemed strangely familiar to him.

"I'm really sorry, but do you have a dime I could use. My friend and I just missed the bus going back home from the wrestling tournaments and I need to call my mom."

"Well of course." the man dug in his pocket and pulled out a couple dimes. "Here's two, just in case." He gave the girls a warm smile.

"Oh, thank you so much." BJ politely shook his hand and tried to get a hold of her mom. The man walked into the diner. "Ugh, no one's home. I though she would be home by now. Maybe she's at work still." BJ looked at Janie who was slowly becoming agitated and was pacing again.

"Could be." Janie agreed, and kept pacing.

When BJ had put the dime in the phone and dialed her mom's work number, the man that gave her the dimes came out of the diner and was walking by. "Is Margaret Houlihan there? This is her daughter, BJ." She asked the lady who had answered the phone. "Are you sure, I just called home?" At this, the man stopped and had turned around. "No, that's okay…no message. Thanks." With a sad look on her face, BJ put the receiver down.

"Any luck?" Janie asked, but with little hope in her voice.

"No, the receptionist said she left awhile ago. She probably went to get something to eat." BJ turned around and leaned on the brick wall by the phone and watched Janie pace.

"Excuse me." The man walked up to the two girls. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't help but over hear…did you say you were Margaret Houlihan's daughter?" The man asked with a smile.

"Uh, yeah. I am…why?" BJ asked, a little confused.

"Sorry, this must seem a little odd. I'm Hawkeye Pierce. I used to work with your mother." Hawkeye smiled and shook the girls hand.

"Oh my gosh…she was just talking about you last night. It's nice to meet you Doctor. I'm Beatrice, but everyone calls me BJ." BJ smiled warmly at the man.

"Well, at least it sounds like your BJ stands for something." Hawkeye chuckled.

"Mom told me about that. Beatrice Jane. Oh, sorry, this is Janie O'Donnell." She motioned towards her friend.

"Nice to meet you." Janie shook the man's outstretched hand.

"So listen, why don't I buy you a soda at the diner. I'm sure Millie will let you use the phone in there. That way it's be free." Hawkeye smiled and opened the door for the two girls.

"That would be great. Thanks." BJ and Janie walked in and waited for Hawkeye to follow them in.

"Hey Millie, will you let this lovely young lady use your phone, she's trying to reach her mother." Hawkeye asked the woman behind the counter.

"Well of course. Here you go." The woman put the phone up on the counter and gave the teenager a warm smile.

"Thanks." BJ smiled and picked up the phone and dialed her number. After a few rings, her mom picked up. "Mom!"

"Oh, hi sweet heart. Are you having fun?" Margaret asked.

"Well, we were, but when we were heading for the bus, it took off without us, so now we're stuck here. I'm really sorry." BJ actually kind of chocked up. She hated worrying her mom.

"Oh, honey…where are you?" She didn't sound that mad.

"We're in the diner across from the arena in Crabapple Cove."

"Okay, well stay there, I'm gonna come pick you up. Is Janie with you?" Margaret now started to sound a little worried.

"Yeah, she's here, but mom, that's an eight hour drive." BJ sounded worried.

"Don't worry about me. Just stay put and hope that the diner is open 24 hours a day. I'll be there as soon as I can. Be careful. Tell Janie I'm going to call her brother so he doesn't worry."

"Okay Mom." BJ listened to something that her mom said. "I love you too. You be careful too. Bye." She put the phone down and thanked the woman behind the counter for letting her use the phone and took a seat at the booth that Hawkeye and Janie were at.

"So?" Janie asked.

"She's gonna come pick us up. She's also going to call your brother so he doesn't worry to much." She gave a small smile since Janie's brother didn't really worry about anything. Janie also had a faint smile on her face.

"How far away do you live Beatrice?" Hawkeye asked.

"BJ, and we live in Boston." She corrected him.

"Sorry." He laughed at the correction. "That's an eight hour drive." His eyes grew some concern.

"I know. I tried to tell her we would take the public bus, but she wouldn't have that happen I guess."

"That can be dangerous." Hawkeye pointed out.

"Yeah, well…so could this." BJ looked a little worried.

"I'll be right back." Hawkeye went up to the counter and ordered a pop for each of them. "Here you go." He gave the two girls one and took one for himself. "Grape Nehi."

"My mom told me that your company clerk used to drink this. I love it." BJ took a sip of hers. "Thanks."

"Yeah, thank you." Janie added.

"Not a problem." Hawkeye laughed a little. "Radar…he was quite the kid."

"I've heard that." BJ nodded.

Hawkeye laughed a little. "I hear he has a wife and two kids now." He shook his head for a second, "I just can't see it." The man's eyes grew thoughtful. "So uh…how's your mother?" Hawkeye's eyes grew soft.

"She's alright. She has a good job in one of the little clinics in our neighborhood and I think she's happy." BJ looked at her Grape Nehi with a thoughtful look on her own face. "She does seem to be lonely sometimes though."

"Did she get married again?" He asked.

"No, it's always been just my mom and I. She doesn't date much either. She says she left half of her heart on the lips of a man over 14 years ago in Korea. Don't ask what that means. I have no idea." She chuckled softly and continued, "then she says that the other half is with me."

Hawkeye smiled and contemplated that for a moment. He also had the same thoughts, but his included his whole heart on the lips of a woman in Korea. This girl's mother.

"Mom talks about Korea a lot." BJ looked at the man. "She talks about you and BJ and Colonel Potter a lot too."

"Have you met any of them?" Hawkeye asked.

"Well, we go to school with Doctor Winchester's daughter-" BJ smiled as Janie added her two cents.

"Unfortunately." Janie rolled her eyes.

"She's pretty much the reason why we're here." BJ took a sip of her soda. "I met Colonel Potter when I was about four though. I don't remember him much."

"I wouldn't think so." Hawkeye also took a sip of his Grape Nehi and added, "This may be a little personal, but how old are you?" He asked BJ.

"Fourteen. I was born almost nine months after the war ended. My mom hasn't ever told me who my father is, but I'm willing to bet it was someone she met in Korea, just by the time span." The sparkle slowly left the girls eyes. "I wish she would tell me where I get this hair from. It's certainly not hers." BJ grabbed a lock of her long black hair and looked at it.

Janie just looked at the two for a second and watched them. They seemed to have the same facial expressions and drank their sodas the same way.

"Are you guys hungry?" Hawkeye asked the two after about an hour of talking about Korea and the stories that Margaret had told BJ.

"Not really." They both said in unison.

"Aw, come on…the fries here are amazing." Hawkeye urged with a friendly smile on his face.

"Oh, okay." Janie thought with her stomach more than with her brain.

"How about you?" Hawkeye asked BJ.

"Well, I would, but I don't have any money."

"Non-sense, my treat." Hawkeye got up from his seat on the booth across from the girls and went to the counter.

BJ turned to Janie. "Is it just me, or does he look really familiar?"

"I've never seen him before." She thought a second, "Oh wait, doesn't your mom have a picture of him in that box with the stuff she kept from Korea in it?"

"Well, yeah she does, but it's more than that. I've never met him in person, but there's something about him…" BJ's voice trailed off as her mind wondered off to the past, trying to think of where she might know him from.

Hawkeye sat at the counter, waiting for his large order of fries and thought about the girl and her mother. 'Why does she seem so familiar? I mean, she looks like her mother and acts like her too, but it's more than that…' Before he could think anymore, the order was up and he took the fries over to the table.

Janie noticed how Hawkeye kept sniffing his fries before he ate them. She would have normally thought that was odd, but since she ate lunch with BJ every day, she had grown used to it since BJ did the same thing. She used to get annoyed by it, but it didn't really bother her that much anymore. She just thought it was odd that they both did it.

"Those were good." The girls agreed as they finished their share of the fries.

"See, I told you." Hawkeye smiled as he ate his, sniffed, and the last one. It had taken them another hour to eat the fries since there were so many of them.

After the three of them had talked for about three more hours, BJ asked, "Do you ever hear from BJ?" BJ added with a chuckle, "Hunnicutt that is."

Laughing, Hawkeye responded, "Just about every week." He smiled. "Does your mom ever hear from him?"

"Yeah. They talk on the phone sometimes. He thought it was neat that I was pretty much named after him."

Hawkeye wondered why BJ had never told him that Margaret had a daughter. He had told his friend that he had feelings for the former head nurse. Before he was able to think about it too much though, Janie spoke up.

"This is really nice of you, Doctor." Janie said as she took a sip of her Grape Nehi, that was almost gone by now.

"What's that?" Hawkeye asked with a smile.

"For staying with us and keeping us company. Not many people would do that." Janie told him.

"Yeah. Thanks." BJ added, taking a sip of her own soda.

"Well, let's just say I have a soft spot for your mother and want to protect her…or her daughter and friend in this case." Hawkeye smiled at BJ and her friend.

"This is kind of personal, I know, but…did you…love her?" BJ asked, her voice soft and her eyes showing her curiosity.

Hawkeye looked down at the empty plate and slowly nodded. "Very much actually." He grabbed the glass bottle like he was going to take a drink of the soda inside. "I haven't been able to date anyone else since her." After a moment, he did take a drink of the soda. The crowd in the diner was thinning and it was getting quieter.

BJ couldn't really say anything, but thought about what he had said before she asked curiously, "Are you the man that she left half of her heart on his lips before she left?"

"I don't know." He thought for a second. "I might be. We did share a goodbye kiss I'm never going to forget. It seemed to have lasted forever. I didn't really want to let her go." It was kind of quiet for another hour after that conversation had taken place. BJ just couldn't stop thinking about how this man still had feelings for her mother, and maybe he was the one that her mother 'left half her heart with'. It also had to do with the fact that the two girls were getting sort of tired. It was now about 2:00 in the morning on Saturday and they had gotten up at about six o'clock the previous morning to catch the bus. Luckily the diner was open for 24 hours a day. Hawkeye had gotten the girls and himself a second Grape Nehi and they were slowly drinking them.

"I hope you didn't have plans for tonight." BJ chuckled softly after a long silence.

"No plans. I told my dad I would probably out all night though, so he won't be too worried." He took another sip of his soda.

"My mom said that the chief surgeon of her outfit was pretty close to his father. Until last night, well, the night before last, she never really said your name." BJ looked over at her friend who had leaned up against the window that she was sitting by and had wrapped up in her coat. She was asleep, and when Janie was asleep, it wasn't that easy to wake her up.

Hawkeye just sort of smiled as he looked at the girl. "You do look a lot like your mother."

"Thanks…right?" BJ asked sarcastically.

"Yeah, that's a good thing." He laughed.

"She says I look more like my father than her, but I really don't know what he looks like." BJ's eyes dimmed a little.

"That must be kind of tuff." Hawkeye said, his eyes dimming the same way.

"It didn't used to be that bad, but now it seems like Christmas, my birthday, and especially Father's Day are kind of hard to get through. I just wish she would tell me."

"Hey," Janie stirred where she was sleeping, and looked out the window, "my brother's here."

"How did he get here a half an hour early?" BJ asked.

"Really? You have to ask?" Janie asked sarcastically, laughed, and mock rolled her eyes. BJ stood up so Janie could get out.

"Jim!" Janie's brother walked in the front door. "What are you doing here? I thought BJ's mom was coming?"

"She is." The young man walked in the door. "How you doin' kiddo?"

"Oh, I'm fine. Doctor Pierce is a friend of BJ's mom and he waited with us." Janie motioned towards Hawkeye.

"Well thank you sir." Jim reached a hand out and Hawkeye shook it.

"It's quite alright." Hawkeye smiled.

"Hey Jim, did you say my mom was coming?" BJ asked.

"Oh yeah, she wasn't very far behind me. She should be here in about five minutes." Jim told his sister's friend.

"How did you get here so fast?" Hawkeye asked.

"Traffic isn't that bad at two o'clock in the morning." The young man chuckled.

"This is true." Hawkeye agreed.

"Well, plus we're talking about a very worried mother." Jim looked at BJ again with a smile on his face.

"Hey, it wasn't our fault. That stupid Honoria Winchester told the bus driver that everyone was on, yet I know she saw us." BJ felt pretty guilty about putting her mom through so much trouble.

"She knows, don't worry." Jim looked out the window. "Speaking of, here she comes."

Both Hawkeye and BJ looked out the window. Pretty soon, the blond opened the door and walked into the diner. "BJ!" Margaret stood at the door with a relieved look on her face.

"Mom." BJ went over to her and gave her a big hug. "Mom, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay honey, I'm just glad your alright." She looked at her daughter. "I brought some clothes so we could get a room at the hotel so we don't have to go all the way back tonight." She looked at her daughter again. "Were you and Janie here all alone?" A look of worry came into Margaret's eyes.

"Not exactly. Your friend from Korea actually stayed with us the entire time." BJ turned around and motioned towards Hawkeye.

The look in Margaret's eyes grew softer. "Hawkeye." Her voice was barely above a whisper. She looked at the man that was slowly walking towards them, her eyes fogging up.

"Margaret." Hawkeye's eyes grew softer as well when he looked at the blond, a smile spreading across his face. "Long time no see." He tried to break the ice.

"You stayed with the girls the entire time?" Margaret asked with a sad smile spreading across her own face.

"Like I told her," he nodded towards BJ, "I've always had a soft spot for you."

"That was very sweet of you…thanks." With that, Margaret moved forward to give the man a hug. When she was in his arms, she started crying softly. When Hawkeye looked at her with a curious look in his eyes that Margaret knew meant, 'what's wrong', she dropped the bomb. "Hawkeye…you've been talking with your daughter for the last eight hours." She started crying harder as Hawkeye's jaw dropped, and BJ had to take a seat.

"What?" Hawkeye asked with a mixture of shock and happiness in his voice.

"I'm sorry." She looked at the two of them that were in an equal state of shock.

"Why don't we start heading home." Janie leaned over to ask her brother. She couldn't say that she was too terribly shocked about the news since she had watched the two for over eight hours and realized how similar they were.

"Good idea." Jim and Janie ducked out of the diner and started the drive back to Boston.

"Mom…" BJ looked at her mother with a questioning look, with some hurt in her eyes as well.

"I'm sorry I never told either of you, it's just that…I loved you both too much." Margaret looked at the two of them threw tear-filled eyes. They had both taken a seat at the counter.

"Yeah…you loved me so much you couldn't tell me who my father was." BJ's voice sounded sort of hurt amongst her sarcasm.

"Why Margaret?" Hawkeye's voice was more calm and a little more understanding, but his eyes showed concern.

"I'm sorry, it's just that…" She started crying a little harder. Hawkeye got up and moved towards her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Margaret…why don't we go to my place. You guys can stay in the guest room and we can talk more about this there." Hawkeye put her arms around Margaret and let her cry into his shoulder. When he felt her head nod lightly, he pulled away gently, but kept an arm around her shoulder.

Margaret wiped her tears away and looked at the man in front of her. "Are you sure?"

"There's two beds in the guest room, you'll be comfortable and your welcome to stay as long as you like." Hawkeye looked at BJ with a smile. "What do you say? Maybe I could get to know my daughter better too."

BJ had a faint smile on her face that showed she approved. She didn't really feel like being in a car for eight hours anyway and wanted to know why her mother hadn't told either of them about the other.

"In that case, why don't you just follow me to my house, I can show you your room, and we can talk more in the morning?" Hawkeye put his hands on Margaret's arms and patiently waited for her to look at him. When she did, he gave a small smile and said, "I'm not mad. I think I understand." With that, the two hugged and Hawkeye kissed the top of Margaret's head as she tightened her grip on the man that she wanted to see for over 14 years. BJ just silently went out to the waiting car and sat in the passenger seat, looking through the window of the diner at her mom and the man that she had so suddenly be introduced to her as her father. It was about 2:20 in the morning, and BJ was tired and worn out from everything that had happened that day. She leaned her head back against the headrest of the seat and before she knew it, she was asleep.

10 Minutes Later

"Wake up Sweetheart. We're here." Margaret gently nudged her daughter awake when they had reached the Pierce home. Hawkeye had just gotten out of his car and was walking back towards Margaret and BJ. Margaret reached behind her and grabbed the small suit case that she had packed for both herself and her daughter, and they both got out of the car. When she met up with Hawkeye again, she gave him an appreciative smile. "I want to thank you again for letting us stay for the night."

"It's okay. This way, it will be easier for us to talk." Hawkeye gave her a smile. "Come on you two, I'll show you to the guest room."

BJ looked at the house in front of her. It was much bigger than the house that she and her mom had lived in all her life. She couldn't help but wonder what life would have been like if her mother would have told Hawkeye about her. Would she have been living in this gorgeous house? She and Margaret followed Hawkeye through the house to the guest room.

"Here you go. Trust me when I say that this room is a lot better than the ones in the only hotel in Crabapple Cove." He smiled and turned on the light.

"It's very nice Hawkeye. Thanks." BJ gave the man a hug and walked over to one of the beds and laid down. She was so tired that all she did before falling fast asleep, was take of her shoes and her coat, and climb between the sheets.

After seeing his daughter fall asleep so fast, he looked at Margaret. "You must be awfully tired after that long drive." He put a loving hand on her shoulder. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Hawk." Margaret followed him a couple of steps as he started down the hallway, after she closed the door to the guest room. "I know it's really late and all, but…can we talk about all of this now instead."

Hawkeye nodded and started back down the hall towards her. "Yeah, I'm not sure how much sleep I would have gotten anyway. I just keep thinking about the fact that I have a daughter." He put an arm around Margaret's shoulders and guided her into the living room where he lead her to the couch in front of the fireplace. Before he sat down, he knelt down and lit one of the logs. When he turned around to sit on the couch, he noticed that Margaret was crying. "Margaret?" He got up and sat on the couch, and put an arm around the crying woman. "What's wrong Margaret?"

"It's just that…I feel so horrible. I mean, I didn't tell you about Beatrice because I knew that if I told you I was pregnant, you would feel obligated to take us in, and I just didn't think you were the marrying type and I didn't want you to be unhappy.." She tried to wipe her tears away, but there were to many. "Remember how we got a little intimate there as the war was ending?"

"Of course. I loved you very much…I still love you." Hawkeye tightened his grip around Margaret and kissed the top of her head.

"Well, when I got to the 8063rd, I started getting the same symptoms that I had the first time I thought I was pregnant…the time you gave me the rabbit test. I was there for a week, about six weeks after we…" Margaret's voice trailed off, but started again. "When I got back to the states, I decided I would stay in Boston since I knew there would be good schools and good hospitals where I could work at, and it was also close to Maine if I ever wanted to find you. The first day back in the states, I went to the doctor and had a test done. I was pregnant, and I knew it was yours." She started crying harder into Hawkeye's shoulder.

"I wish you would have told me." Hawkeye's voice expressed his sadness. "I loved you so much and would have done anything to be there with you. I tried for eight months after I got home to find you, but I just couldn't find you anywhere." He rubbed Margaret's arms up and down as she laid her head on his chest. "I would have loved to watch her grow up and to have held her in my arms when she was a baby."

"I'm sorry…I'm just so sorry, but I don't know how I could ever make it up to you." Margaret's body shook as she cried.

"Shh, it's okay Margaret. It's okay." He said in a soft voice, "I like the name you gave her. Beatrice was my mom's name."

"I know…when she was born, I saw how much she looked like you, I mean…even then…and I remembered how when you had told me what your mother's name was, how cute I thought it would be for a little girl. I had to name her that. I thought it was perfect." She gave a small laugh. "After I told her about all of the things that you and BJ had done, she decided that she wanted to be called BJ too."

"Well, at least her B and J stand for something." Hawkeye chuckled.

"Both of her grandmothers." Margaret also chuckled, knowing what the man who's arms she was in was thinking.

"I love you. I just want you to know that. I've loved you since the first time I saw you, but the first couple of years when I was chasing all of those other nurses, I was…I was just waiting until I could have a little run in with you. After awhile, whenever you walked into the room, a big smile would be pulling at the sides of my mouth and my heart would be thumping like crazy."

"Really?" Margaret looked Hawkeye in the eyes and had a soft smile spread across her face.

"Yeah." He nodded. "When we kissed goodbye, I never wanted let you go. I wanted so bad to just get down on one knee right there in front of BJ, Charles, and Colonel Potter, and propose. And there hasn't been a day that's gone by that I haven't regretted not asking you." A sad look crossed his face.

When she heard what Hawkeye had to say, Margaret had tears running down her face. "I never wanted to leave you either. I wanted to just hold on to you and be in your arms forever by the time we went our separate ways…Every time I look at BJ I see you, and then I start to think about what life could have been like for us if I would have told you." She looked down for a second. "I love you very much. I never stopped loving you. You helped me so much when I divorced Donald, I just started falling in love with you. And then that night that we shared was just bittersweet. Who would have thought that nine months later I would be with my sister instead of you to help me through those 12 hours of labor."

"I would have been there for you." Hawkeye told her.

"I know that now, but then I didn't really know." Before they knew it, they were leaning in for a kiss. One that would last longer than when they said goodbye.

The Next Morning

Daniel Pierce, Hawkeye's father, found the two the next morning still on the couch, sound asleep in each other's arms. He knew the blond in his son's arms. She was the woman who's picture was on his son's nightstand and who he had talked about endlessly for those fourteen years since he had returned from Korea. He had become a wise old man who could see exactly what his son was thinking for the past fourteen years when he hadn't ever really made an attempt to get a date, or to see any women other than in a non-working relationship. When he saw the two together on the couch that morning, he decided to let them sleep and went to town, so they could have their privacy.

A couple hours later at about eleven a.m., Margaret stirred from her sleep and found herself where she had wanted to for the last, what seemed like forever. She reached up and brushed a loving kiss on Hawkeye's lips. When he stirred, he smiled at Margaret and returned the kiss.

"Good morning." He told her.

"Morning." Margaret responded with a smile.

"I know, why don't I go make breakfast." Hawkeye smiled and started getting up.

"I'll help." After giving a slight chuckle she added, "It has to be better than the crackers and jam we had when we got stuck in that hut." Her eyes twinkled at the memory.

"I remember that. It wasn't that bad considering the circumstances though." They both got up and walked to the kitchen. The fire had died down sometime during the night.

About a half an hour later, BJ woke up in her bed in the guest room. She looked over at the other bed and saw that it hadn't even been slept in. She wondered what had happened after she had fallen asleep, but got up and changed clothes and brushed her teeth and hair and walked out of the guest room and followed the scent of frying bacon to the kitchen. When she found the kitchen, she stood at the doorway and watched her mom and the man who she now knew was her father kiss. She leaned against the doorway and thought about how she would have loved to have seen them do that in the past, and how she would have loved to have seen her mom look so happy all the time. Instead of going into the kitchen, she decided to turn around and go back to the guest room and let them have their privacy. She got back in bed and waited for awhile. Before long, the door opened and Hawkeye and Margaret walked in.

"She's still asleep." Hawkeye whispered in Margaret's ear.

Shaking her head, Margaret whispered back, very quietly, "She's not, she's had the art of fake sleeping down since she was four. I'll prove it to you…follow along." With that she winked at Hawkeye and started talking a little louder, like she was trying not to wake her daughter. "I still can't believe you asked me that Hawkeye, I mean…we haven't seen each other in over fourteen years and then with the fact that I never told you about your daughter. I can't believe you asked me to…" she winked at him before she said it, "marry you. But, I'd be honored. I love you very much." With that, BJ jumped out of the bed she was in.

"WHAT?!" Her eyes were wide with shock.

"See what I mean." Margaret turned back to Hawkeye who had a soft smile spreading across his face.

"Aw Mom," BJ climbed out of the bed, "doesn't that trick ever get old?" She thought for a moment. "But uh…Really? I mean about the marriage thing…" She asked, confused.

Margaret shook her head and gave a slightly sad smile. "No, Honey."

Hawkeye looked at Margaret with a thought running through his mind. "Hey Margaret, you know…I have to uh…run some errands." He thought of an excuse to get out of the house for awhile so he could put his plan into play.

"But what about breakfast?" Margaret asked.

"Oh yeah. I forgot about that. Yeah, I'll eat first, of course." His mind was whirling around with all of the ideas that were streaming around in his mind.

BJ sat on the bed and looked at her mother. Just during the past 24 hours, she had noticed that her mom looked 15 years younger.

"Well, come on then!" Margaret headed out of the guest room and towards the kitchen.

"Yes ma'am." Hawkeye jokingly called after her as he followed. BJ went afterwards.