Title: Crossing Boundaries
Author: Me
Prompt: #77 What?
Pairing: BJ/Hawkeye; Mulcahy/Hawkeye -- sort of
Rating: 13 (Sergeant)
Disclaimer: Nope, don't own anything. Don't sue … no money.
Archive: Anywhere, just let me know.
Feedback: Would be appreciated - good or bad.
Word Count: 1912
Spoilers: None.

Summary: A conversation between BJ and Father Mulcahy leads to them finding out that they have a few things in common … wow what a crappy summary.

A/N: This is more light-hearted than most of my recent fics. I know you're all thanking God for that, right? Written for varietypack100's prompt of "What?" and the Yahoo group prompt of "inappropriate". This was pretty rushed (got it in in just under 10 minutes) and hopefully it's not too OOC for either of them … I don't think it necessarily is, but other's may disagree. Oh and it's 98 dialogue.

"Father? Do you have a minute to talk?"

"Of course, BJ. I always have time for you."

"I'm feeling a little … out of sorts."

"What's on your mind?"

"Hawkeye."

"Well, that doesn't seem odd at all. He's your best friend. It wouldn't be unusual for you to worry about him …"

"I didn't say I was worried, Father. It's something else. Something a little more … serious than that."

"Okay, well then, why don't you tell me what's going on."

"I've been dreaming about him."

"But, you're so close, I don't see how …"

"Almost every night."

"… that would be such a big deal. You spend a lot of time together and …"

"About us having sex with each other."

"Um … oh."

"And if it were just the dreams, I wouldn't be thinking twice about the situation. After all, I am a doctor. I understand how the brain works. That you can't control what your subconscious mind chooses to dream about. But, I'm starting to think about doing those … things … for real. When I'm awake."

"Uh, BJ …"

"I watch him all the time. I study his hands as he's working, and I wonder what it would feel like to have those exceptionally skilled fingers tracing over my back. I stare at his lips when he speaks and long to kiss them. Would he kiss back? And would it be soft and slow, or hard and frenzied?"

"BJ …"

"What would Hawkeye's kisses taste like? Peg always tastes like spearmint. She has what I call an addiction and what she calls an 'affinity' for those green and white swirled candies that most restaurants have sitting on their hostess counters. Hawkeye hates spearmint. So, what flavor is he? Gin? Olives? That cheap, crappy toothpaste they give us? Or something else?"

"Captain, I don't know if I'm the right …"

"And his skin. How would his skin feel if it were pressed against mine, hot and slick, covered in our sweat?"

"BJ, please. You need to stop. This conversation is making me feel a little … uncomfortable."

"I'm sorry, Father. I probably should have kept this to myself. What I'm feeling for Hawkeye, these thoughts I'm having about him - they feel far less than appropriate and I guess I just needed to get it off my chest."

"Well, have you spoken to Hawkeye about any of these things?"

"No, but I've been tempted to. He gives off signals sometimes, like maybe he might feel the same way. But, then I see him with the nurses and I remember who Hawkeye is. How he acts with everybody."

"Hawkeye definitely is the consummate flirt around here, isn't he?"

"That's an understatement."

"Yes, well I suppose that's true. I do have to say that I've never seen that man get closer to anyone like he has with you."

"Even Trapper?"

"Even Trapper. They were great friends, but their relationship consisted of playing pranks, chasing nurses and torturing Frank. You've sort of grounded Hawkeye. He's settled down a lot since you arrived. It's almost as if he wants to be better, more 'behaved' because of you. Perhaps even for you."

"I don't believe that one bit."

"Believe it or don't believe it, that's your decision to make, BJ, but I'm telling you the truth. He has changed since he's been around you - though I guess that's something you wouldn't be able to see. The two of you are together all the time. Almost inseparable. And when he's not with you, he's usually looking for you. I think it's entirely possible that Hawkeye, himself, is what caused you to start having dreams about him. Maybe, just maybe, your subconscious picked up on the signals he's been giving you, and that's what stirred up all of these feelings you've been having."

"Thank you, Dr. Freud. You know, if the priest thing doesn't work out, maybe you should consider going into Psychiatry. You're a natural."

"There's no need to be sarcastic, BJ. Actually, being a priest sometimes feels more like therapy. With all the confessions and everything. This job doesn't pay as well though."

"Funny."

"I do what I can."

"Okay, if you're so smart, explain to me why, if he's having all of these feelings for me, why hasn't he acted on them? It's not like Hawkeye's shy. He's the opposite of shy. I'd say that he's the overbearing borderline. And I know he's open-minded about this type of situation."

"BJ, BJ, BJ. Isn't it obvious? You're a married man. Even Hawkeye has some scruples. There are certain boundaries that he won't cross."

"Hmmmm … yeah. You're probably right. I never even thought of that."

"So, what do you think you'll do?"

"I don't know."

"Well, I think you should talk to Hawkeye. Tell him about the dreams and your feelings. Be completely honest and give him a chance to process what you've said and then see what happens. How he reacts to the news."

"What if he hates me because of it? I don't know if I'm willing to risk our friendship over this."

"He won't."

"How do you know?"

"Because that's not who he is. The worst thing that could happen is that he'll laugh it off and tell you you're crazy. Or he might say that the feelings are mutual, but there are just certain rules that can't be broken, no matter how much you want to …"

"Wait a second. What's going on here? Why do you seem to know so much about Hawkeye and how he might react to something like this?"

"Just a good guess?"

"No, I know it's not 'just a good guess'. You know because you've been here before, haven't you? Right here."

"It was a long time ago, BJ."

"What was?"

"My sad attempt at wooing the great Casanova of the 4077th."

"You?!? Seriously? What happened?"

"I'm not sure I remember all the details, but God help me, I fell for that man's charms the minute I met him. And of course I'd never felt that way before and really had no intentions of following through with it. I am a priest for goodness sake!"

"That much we know already."

"There was a party of some sort and, as you know, I rarely drink at those things, but for whatever reason, I did that night. A lot. It's not an excuse for what I did, but it was definitely a contributing factor in the entire equation."

"Go on."

"By the end of the evening, I could barely stand. I remember hearing Hawkeye tell Colonel Blake and Trapper that he'd make sure I got home safely. They both laughed and I think one of them joked about Hawkeye being the wrong one for that job and the other commented that he should 'make sure he kept his hands to himself.' Hawkeye practically had to carry me back to my tent and when he got me inside, he put me on my bed and helped me get out of my clothes. This is the point where it becomes slightly blurry. I believe I tried to kiss him, but he moved away before I reached him. He smiled at me in that way of his … You know what I'm talking about?"

"I know. Believe me, I know."

"Well, anyway, he smiled and kissed my cheek. The he whispered something along the lines of 'Father, as much as I'd love to take you up on that offer, I can't. There's certain lines I won't cross and this is one of them.' He covered me with my blanket and left."

"Wow. Were things strange between you after that?"

"Not really. Things were a little strained at first, but in the end, I got over it pretty quickly and wound up respecting him more for it. He saved me from making a mistake."

"That's quite a story you've got there."

"Like I said, it was a long time ago."

"So, what about me? After all that, do you really think I should put this out there for him?"

"If you think you can handle him saying no, then yes. He deserves to know, and you deserve the peace of mind it will give you to actually say the words to him. Who knows? Maybe married men aren't on his 'no-no' list. But, if you've given this a lot of thought and have come to grips with the fact that you do have a wife and a child and know that there could be serious ramifications, both personally and professionally, if you get caught, then I say the decision is yours to make. Do what you feel is right for you. And for Hawkeye."

"Always the voice of reason."

"No. This time, I'm the voice of experience."

"Thanks, Father. You've made me feel better."

"Hey, BJ?"

"Yeah?"

"Let's keep this, uh, our little secret, okay?"

"Of course. I'll never tell a soul."

"Me either."

"Well, I know that, Father."

"Goodbye, BJ. I'm glad we had this chat."

"Me too."

BJ Hunnicutt stepped out of Fr. Mulcahy's tent and into the bright, blinding sunlight. He heard familiar laughter off to his left and he smiled.

"I hate to be the one to tell you this, Beej, but it's too late for you. Nothing's going to save your sorry excuse for a soul. Not even the good padre. It's too soaked in gin and God doesn't like drunks." Hawkeye came up next to BJ and linked arms with the taller doctor. "And I'd love to help advance your descent into Hell by taking you to the Officers Club and getting you drunk. I promise to try to not take advantage of you."

"You're so thoughtful."

"I know."

"Hawk, it's only noon. The OC's not open yet."

"I won the key from Igor in last night's poker game."

"The one I missed because I was on duty?"

"Yep."

"The one in which you stole, bet, and lost, my best pair of socks in?"

"The same."

"How'd you get Igor to bet the keys? He must have had a great hand."

"Not really. He had a pair of aces."

"What did you have?"

"Less than he had."

"What was your bet on that hand?"

"Unlimited access to the still."

"You're lucky you won."

"I knew he was bluffing and he didn't know that I was bluffing too."

"How did you know?"

"Whenever Igor's got an iffy hand, he rubs his left earlobe. Don't ask me how I know that. Let's just say I'm exceptionally observant."

"Really?"

"Of course not. I paid Radar to use his creepy 'radar' thing on him. It worked and I won."

"That's just so …" BJ began to laugh softly. "You."

"I know. Come on, let's go. We'll have the joint to ourselves for a while."

"Okay. I wanted to talk to you about something anyway."

"Oh yeah?" Hawkeye slipped the key into the lock and opened the door to the Officers Club. "'Bout what?"

"Well, I wanted to get your opinion on the subject of boundaries and crossing them."

"Huh?"

BJ leveled his gaze at his friend and allowed a slow, seductive grin to spread across his face. When he saw Hawkeye's lips begin to curl upward as well, he took him by the elbow and led him through the door.