Snow Angels

Margaret Houlihan drove down the highway looking at all the houses that lined it. She peered through the softly falling snow at all the addresses that were on the mailboxes. She saw she was getting close to her destination and smiled at the little surprise she was going to give an old friend of hers.

It had been about year since she had last seen Hawkeye Pierce. During that time she had quit the Army and had gotten settled down in a small town in Michigan. It was quite small. It only had a grocery store, a post office, a bar, a car lot, a store and a diner that was constantly being handed over to different owners. It also had an elementary and high schools. Everything was small in that town including the number of bachelors of the town. Actually it wasn't even a town. It was actually called the Village of Ellsworth so you couldn't really call it a town.

Margaret looked at her scrap of paper and looked back out her window. She didn't need the paper because she had memorized the address that she had scrawled on it.

19452 Cliff View, Crab Apple Cove

Finally she found the house she had been looking for. Barren trees and pine at the end of the road surrounded it. It was rather large for two bachelors to live in. It was an old Victorian house that looked in rather good shape. It had a white wooden fence that surrounded the yard that she could barely see through the snow. The house it self was painted a light blue with white trim.

Margaret opened her door and stepped out of her car. All of a sudden her stomach was doing flips. She didn't know why she was so nervous she was just dropping in to see Hawkeye.

She walked up the shoveled walkway up to the sheltered doorway and tried to calm her stomach. It was going crazy now and she was starting to think maybe this wasn't such a good idea. She finally got the nerve and decided if he didn't answer the first knock she was leaving. She knocked softly on the door and half hoped he hadn't heard it.

She heard laughing in the hallway behind the door that she could recognize anywhere. She found that her heart was now on the fritz and was beating quickly as if she had just ran a mile. The door opened suddenly and Hawkeye was standing there laughing to someone in a room behind him.

He looked just as young as he had in Korea except he had a few more gray hairs in his raven black hair and a few more wrinkles around his eyes and forehead. He was wearing a pair of blue jeans and a black turtleneck, which looked fabulous on his lean frame. Finally he turned and looked at the person standing in front of him. His eyes widened in surprise and he leaned back slightly as if he couldn't believe the person who was standing there was actually there.

Then a familiar grin spread across his face. Margaret looked exactly the same except her hair was a light brown, which he guessed was her true hair color. She was wearing a down jacket, jeans, mittens and a yellow pom-pom hat, which he thought was a bit odd for her. With her being an Army brat and all.

"Why Margaret, what do I owe the pleasure of you visiting me in my humble abode?" asked Hawkeye as he continued to grin at her.

Margaret shivered slightly with pleasure. She didn't know what was going on with her. All of a sudden she was feeling attracted to him. Of course he was extremely sexy but it seemed different from lust. She just pushed this new feeling to the back of her mind and smiled at Hawkeye.

"Hi, Hawkeye. I was just in the neighborhood and decided to stop by."

He had noticed her shiver and looked concerned for a second then remembered his manners and asked her in. She accepted and stepped into an off-white painted hall. There were several dark wood tables pushed up against the wall and several drawings of a child in frames along the length of the hall. It had several rooms leading from it and a staircase that lead upstairs.

A voice called from the room to the left, "Hey Hawk. Who was it?"

Hawkeye smiled at Margaret and led her to the den after she had taken off her winter clothes. A twinkle found it's way to his eyes when he looked at what she was wearing and how great it looked on her. She was wearing a navy sweater with snowflakes embroidered around the collar, cuffs and hem.

"Hey Dad, speaking of the she devil. Here is the lovely Margaret Houlihan that I was just telling a very humorous story about." Margaret flashed him a look that just made him grin more at her.

She looked around the room and saw several overstuffed chairs, a loveseat, a fireplace, some bookcases overflowing with books and a roll top desk. Then she noticed an older man sitting in one of the chairs looking at her with a twinkle in his eyes very much like his son's.

Daniel Pierce stood up and shook her hand, which she noticed was a strong yet gentle handshake. She saw how these men were related they look very much like each other except Hawkeye was a good foot taller and leaner and had dark raven hair while his dad had a lighter shade. They both had those Pierce family traits of twinkling eyes and a lopsided grin that together could make any woman fall to their knees if it was directed at them.

"Well what are you doing here Margaret? I thought Ben told me you were with the Army and last I heard there wasn't an Army base around here except possibly in Augusta," said Daniel as he indicated for her to sit.

"Yeah, I was just about to ask you that again Margaret." Hawkeye leaned closer like he already knew the answer but was going to wait until she explained her self fully.

"What a great welcome Hawk," Margaret muttered while she rolled her eyes.

Daniel heard her and cracked an even bigger grin. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound rude Margaret. It was just an old man's curiosity asking. Would you like a drink? Ben get her a drink."

Hawkeye stood up and went to the roll top desk, which also doubled as a liquor cabinet. "What'll it be Hot Lips?"

Margaret glared at him but answered, "Scotch."

Hawkeye got her her drink and sat back down with his own. "What have you been up to Margaret? That is if this isn't to rude."

"I quit the Army," she simply stated.

Hawkeye spewed the drink he had just taken. He rubbed the back of his hand over his mouth. "What?! I though you loved the Army. Why in the hell did you leave?"

Margaret smiled. That was the reaction she knew she was going to get out of him and took a drink of her scotch. That was the same she got out of everyone else when she had told them. "I wasn't happy. I thought I had found the 'one' and quit so we could marry because he didn't like me being employed if we were to marry. But then he started cheating on me and I broke it off and the Army wouldn't take me back at my rank. I would have to have started all over again at Private. So I settled in a small town in Michigan." She took another drink and smiled again at Hawkeye's flabbergasted face.

Finally Hawkeye got back his composure and closed his gaping mouth and straightened himself. "So where is this little piece of heaven that you call home?"

"It's a village called Ellsworth. There isn't really much unless you're looking for a public school."

Hawkeye shook his head in disbelief. "I just can't believe you left the Army Margaret let alone move to a small town."

"Well believe it because I did and I am." All of a sudden she yawned and covered her mouth.

"I hope we haven't been tiring you out Margaret," said Daniel as he smiled at her with the wrinkles around his eyes crinkling.

"Well I drove all day today so I think I need to go find a hotel or somewhere to stay before I leave tomorrow." She tried stifling another yawn but failed.

"Why don't you stay here Margaret? You can stay in my room. With me of course as company," grinned Hawkeye.

Margaret looked at him angrily. "I don't think so. I'll just find a hotel."

"But Margaret we insist," said Daniel after he had chuckled about Hawkeye's imposition. "Ben go get her suitcase from her car." Hawkeye opened her mouth to protest but his father silenced him with a stern look. When Hawk had left to go get her things Daniel said, "Now you can stay in the red guest room. When Hawk comes back in just tell him where and he'll show you up."

Daniel grabbed a book he had out earlier before he was interrupted by his son and walked to his room up the stairs. Hawkeye came in, shook off the snow that had accumulated on him and Margaret told him the room his dad had said she could use for the night. When she told him he looked a bit frightened when she asked him what was wrong he said nothing and showed her up to her room.

It was at the end of the hallway and seemed like it was rarely opened. When Hawkeye opened the door and turned on the light Margaret gave a small gasp. The place was beautiful. It was painted with a creamy white and had cherry wood furnishings and a four-poster bed also with cherry wood. The canopy, comforter, and pillows were of a rich red cloth. Then she saw double doors leading outside and opened them. She stepped onto the small balcony even though it was freezing outside.

She looked at the view and gave another gasp. It showed the cliff that ran behind the house and saw the ocean churning with a frosty full moon glowing above the water. There was a fresh blanket of snow on the ground making everything sparkle like diamonds.

She turned around to go back in and saw Hawkeye staring at the bed uncomfortably. He stood in the doorway with her suitcase just staring at it. "What's the matter Hawk?" she asked.

He shook his head as if to clear his head and replied, "Nothing, nothing." He set down her suitcase and said, "The bathroom is right down the hall on the left in case you need to… you know." He quickly left and went to his own room which was two doors down.

Margaret thought his behavior a bit odd but just brushed it off and got ready for bed. She curled up under the warm covers and soon fell asleep.