A/N: I kinda got this stuck in my head, so I wanted to carry it out. I wanted to put a story up before my mid-term week started, which is this week....blah. I do get half days Wed, Thurs, and Fri, so maybe I can get some more writing done then. Yeah anyway, I really don't know what to say so here goes.
***"What's Up Doc?"***
"This is incredible!"
"What? What?"
"I never knew my thumb was this big!"
"Oh would you cut it out?!"
"Alright. Wait a minute, wait a minute. There!"
"What?"
"And the winner is..."
"Pierce!!"
"Positive."
"Positive? Are you sure?"
"Yes, of course I'm sure."
"Give it to me! It can't! It can't be positive!"
Margaret started grabbing for the magnifying glass and the specimen. Hawkeye gently but firmly grabbed her wrists and calmed her down.
"Margaret! It's positive. It's positive."
She sighed and looked down into her lap. She looked like she was about to cry, and Hawkeye was prepared, for whatever he might need to do. Instead, though, she straightened herself up, and smoothed her fatigues down, especially over her stomach area. With a quick, "Thank you for the information, Captain." she walked out the door. Hawkeye got up, and went outside, just in enough time to see her run into her tent and let the door slam behind her. Hawkeye sighed and walked over to her tent, and knocked on the door.
"Go away!"
"Margaret, it's Hawkeye."
"You are the last person I need to see right now!"
"Okay, Margaret. Look, I'm sorry that the results weren't what you wanted. But in all honesty, I'm happier that they turned out this way. I know things might not work out for you and Donald. He might want nothing to do with the child. That's not fair to the child, I'll be the first one to say that people should always give their children both parents if they have the ability. But nonetheless, with or without Donald, I know that you will be an amazing mother. That child will have the best care, and the most love, coming from a most amazing lady."
Margaret looked up at the tent door with tear stained eyes, waiting for him to continue. He didn't. She looked out the window and saw him slumping back to the Swamp. She wasn't sure what to think, and wouldn't be for a long time.
***A Week Later***
That was the day that everyone said goodbye to Margaret Houlihan-Penobscott. Margaret had yet to hear back from Donald. After everyone else had said their goodbyes, Hawkeye walked over to Margaret, and pulled her slightly away from everyone else.
"Goodbye, Major."
"Goodbye, Hawk."
"Take care of yourself, okay?"
"Okay."
He embraced her in a big, warm hug, and planted a kiss on her cheek.
As Margaret got into the jeep, B.J. called out: "Margaret, please don't forget to write, or even call!" "We don't want to lose you completely!" added Colonel Potter.
Hawkeye and Margaret just locked eyes, and stayed that way until Margaret was out of sight.
"Hawk, she's gone." B.J. said.
"Yeah."
***About a Year and a Half Later (the war has been over for about 4 months), in the suburbs of Baltimore, Maryland***
The doorbell rang. Margaret was in the kitchen. It rang again. She wiped off her hands on the dishtowel and yelled "Coming!".
She threw open the door quickly, and said:
"I was just in the kitchen sorry for the wa--." Her words trailed off at the end as she saw who it was. It was none other than Hawkeye Pierce. It was him alright, but if Margaret had ever expected to see him again, it wasn't with this look on his face. She expected a smile, a hug, maybe even a kiss. Not this angry, hurt, bitter scowl.
"So, here you are. We found you. I found you. You never wrote one letter. You never called. Nothing. No forwarding address. Everyone is home now, you know. We have been trying to find you ever since the war ended, cause God knows we couldn't do anything to find you while we were in Korea. Of course, everyone else is a bit preoccupied with their lives. We figured you were too, maybe. You know the Colonel is sick? He wanted to see you, he still does. But no one could find you. You didn't think about anyone else when you didn't keep in contact did you? Well, it hurt every single one of us. Especially the Colonel. And not to be selfish, but especially me."
By this point, Margaret had tears streaming down her face. She was paralyzed. She didn't have the guts, or the time to say anything before Hawkeye started again.
"So, where's the baby? Where's Donald?"
"4 weeks after I got home--" She felt a lump in her throat, and choked a bit before she continued, "I, um, I had a miscarriage." As she said this, she couldn't bear to keep eye contact. She looked towards the floor. As soon as she said the word "miscarriage," Hawkeye felt a strong pang of guilt surge through him.
"And the Army? They wouldn't take you back?" It was all he could bring himself to say.
"I didn't try." This brought a slight smile on his face as he reached out and touched her cheek.
"And Donald? He here? Did he not want the baby? Did he leave after the miscarriage?"
"He was fine with the baby. I divorced him. Then I told him that the baby wasn't his, and of course if he wasn't being divorced by me, he would have left then."
"You told him the baby wasn't his?"
"Well, yeah. It's the truth."
Hawkeye stared blankly at her. She looked down.
"I was with Donald about 3 months before the pregnancy test. I was with someone else about 6 weeks before the pregnancy test." She looked up.
Hawkeye just hugged her to him. She let a few tears fall, but nothing much. She had done her share of crying over the matter.
"So...is there anyone else?"
"There was one. But he left after I told him the news that I can barely bring myself to believe. All the other men leave after I tell them too."
"Tell them what?"
"That I can't have any more children."
Hawkeye hugged her to him again, and he led them over to her sofa, where they sat down and he stroked her head.
"You've had a rough first year as a civilian, huh?"
She chuckled slightly, but that turned into crying, and sobbing. Hawkeye just held her until she calmed down.
"It's okay. It's okay now, I'm here. I just wish I could have been there to help you through it. After all it was half my fault."
"Hawk, will you stay?"
"The night? Of course. Whatever you need." There wasn't even a hint of a double meaening in his words.
"No, I mean for a while. A long while."
"Of course, Margaret. I love you. Of course I'll stay for a long while."
"You don't care that I can't have children?"
"I don't care that you can't have children. But, hey, let's do this right."
He got down on one knee, and took both of her hands in his.
As an aside he said "I don't have a ring." She just shook her head.
He continued, "Will you marry me?"
She just smiled and kissed him. Things were now looking a lot brighter for her civilian life.
EL FIN!!!
A/N: Okay, yeah a little sappy...oh well :) I Love Hawkeye & Margaret :)
