It takes about five minutes and a round of slightly awkward introductions before Peg feels as though she's known everyone for years, like one great big extended family. She supposes in some ways, they are family - enough nightmares and terrors make it home from war that it seems only fair that some of the bonds forged there should find their way home, too.
She is, of course, delighted to meet all of the people important to the people BJ works with - even Charles's parents, who are perfectly charming despite BJ's doomsday warnings about their son. It even turns out that Klinger's Uncle Abdul had dabbled in real estate once upon a time (alongside a laundry list of other pursuits), and he's happy to give her some tips about her own burgeoning career.
Still, Peg has to admit that she had been looking forward to meeting one guest in particular (and further that her reasons are not exactly based on altruism).
Dr. Pierce ("Daniel", he insists to everyone) is unfailingly polite to her and properly charmed by Erin (as is everyone who meets her, though perhaps none more so than Father Mulcahy's sister Angelica), but her attempts to engage him in conversation much beyond his name have all been soundly (though politely!) rebuffed.
It wasn't as if she'd spent a lot of time contemplating the father of her husband's lover. Enough of him had filtered through Hawkeye into BJ's letters to give her a vague impression of the man: every inch the country doctor; a bit taciturn, but with a with a wicked sense of humor he'd passed on to his son. And he is, as far as Peg can tell - with everyone but her.
She'd tried telling him how often BJ spoke of his son, thinking he might be pleased to hear how fond of him she's grown even without having met him, but he'd just given her a tight smile that was really more of a grimace, soft eyes hinting at unneeded pity, and said, "He tends to have that effect on people" before making an excuse to leave.
After two or three failed attempts conveniently interrupted by Mildred Potter and a waltz, Peg decides it's time to try the direct approach. Even very stubborn men (and weren't they all, really?) could usually be swayed to conversation with the right combination of good humor and innocently batted eyelashes.
She spots Daniel on the edge of the dance floor, taking a break from the Lindy that's playing to converse with Mildred. Erin is still charming the habit off of Sister Angelica, so Peg squares her shoulders and makes her way over.
"Ah, Peg!" Mildred says, beaming at her when she approaches. "Back for more recipes, are you?"
"Not this time," Peg says, returning her grin with a slight incline of her head. "But thank you again - you really got me out of a jam." She waggles her eyebrows a little, and Mildred chuckles.
"Well, I can see your little one will have quite the sense of humor," Mildred says. "The way Sherman tells it, there isn't a straight man to be had in the whole camp."
"Oh yes," Peg says, nodding seriously. "BJ and I decided quite early - boy, girl, doctor, farmer; our kid could be anything but straight." That gets a startled laugh out of Daniel and she glances over at him, eyebrows raised in invitation. "I was actually wondering if I might borrow Dr. Pierce for a moment," she tells Mildred.
"Of course, dear," Mildred says. She leans in a little and drops her voice conspiratorially. "Do have him back by the next waltz though if you don't mind - I'm so pleased to have a stand-in partner for the evening."
"I'll try my best," Peg promises, and then turns to Daniel. "Dr. Pierce? I wonder if we might set a few things straight." And then, because she can't help it, she adds, "So to speak."
"Of course," Daniel says smoothly, but he only meets her eyes for a moment before turning and gesturing to the small tables off to the side of the room. "Would you like to sit down?"
If there exists a way to make men stop underestimating her, Peg has yet to stumble upon it. She considers declining his offer, but she decides instead to give Daniel the benefit of the doubt - it's entirely possible he'd asked for his own benefit. "Sure," she says, and he leads her over to a table and pulls out a chair for her. When he's settled across from her, his gaze flicking to and from her eyes like they can't stand to sit there for more than a moment at a time, she says, "Now, please excuse me for being blunt, but I can't help but notice a certain reticence you seem to hold for me."
He doesn't bother to deny it, just watches her evenly, his arms folded on the table in front of him.
She grants him a smile, a slow curve of lips that BJ frequently refers to as her most dangerous face. "This wouldn't perhaps have anything to do with my husband and your son, would it?"
Daniel's head jerks up, eyebrows crawling up into his hairline before settling again. He pastes on a charming smile that Peg can see right through. "I'm sure I don't know what you mean, Mrs. Hunnicutt."
"I think you do, actually," Peg says. "From what BJ tells me, you and Hawkeye are quite close."
"We are," Daniel allows. "It's just been the two of us since his mother passed."
The curve of Peg's smile deepens. "So you are no doubt aware of the… nature of the relationship between him and my husband."
Guilt flashes briefly over Daniel's features, pulling his mouth down. "It's been quite a few years since my son heeded my reprimand."
Peg leans in a little and reaches across the table to lay her hand on Daniel's arm. "You must understand, Dr. Pierce, I love my husband very much." Daniel's brow furrows, but he doesn't pull away. "I'm not in the habit of denying him the things he needs in order to make it back to me; do you understand? In fact, I'm grateful - war isn't the sort of thing one should go through alone. Don't you agree?"
Understanding dawns on Daniel's face, smoothing his brow. "I see," he says carefully. "You must have given this quite a bit of thought."
Peg shrugs. "Some. I trust BJ's judgment." She grins, a properly mirthful one this time. "He did choose me, after all." Daniel doesn't appear to be quite mollified yet, so Peg says, "Let me be frank, Dr. Pierce. I'll be Peg again in a moment." The joke earns her a brief quirk of lips. "I was aware of BJ's proclivities when we married, and I was aware of the depth of his feelings for the inimitable Hawkeye Pierce by, oh, his third letter or so. BJ married me for more than my pretty face, you know." She winks, and that gets her a proper smile this time.
"Hawkeye doesn't tend to inspire a lot of middle ground," Daniel says, lifting his eyebrows like it's a confidence he's sharing. His smile grows into a grin. "Half his old schoolmates still ask after him when they bring their children in for check-ups."
Peg laughs, and it spurs Daniel into a soft chuckle as well. With the last of the wall between them finally crumbling, she says, "I look forward to meeting him someday."
Daniel leans back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest, and studies her for a long moment. "BJ is a very lucky man," he says finally.
"As is Hawkeye," Peg says. "As am I - a woman I mean."
Daniel shakes his head ruefully. "He's got no idea."
"A typical flaw of the sex." A familiar cry catches her attention from across the room, and Peg gets to her feet. "Sorry, she's playing my song," she says, nodding toward where Sister Angelica is bouncing an increasingly fussy Erin on her knee.
Daniel stands up beside her, and she reaches for his hands, clasping them between her own. "But I do hope to hear more about the man who had such a profound effect on my husband - and the man who raised him, of course."
"Oh, I suppose I can think up a tale or three," Daniel says. His eyes twinkle with a hint of mischief, an expression Peg knows all too well on another face. "Thank you for setting the record straight - so to speak."
"So to speak," Peg says, a touch of mischief in her own answering grin.