"Are you sure I look okay?" I asked Hawkeye as Margaret, him and I stood outside the door of a white house in Mill Valley, California.

"You look fine, Cal. Stop being so nervous."

"Hawkeye, I'm meeting his entire family. Of course I'm going to be nervous."

"Just take a deep breath. You're going to be fine." Margaret said and she knocked on the door.

I took her advice and smiled when the door opened. "Hey Art."

"Hi BJ." He leaned over and gave me a hug.

He pulled back and took a quick glance at me. "You look beautiful. Come on in." He stepped back and let the three of us in. "Everyone's in the living room." I followed the noise of laughter and walked into the living room.

I didn't even get a chance to look around at the people who were laughing before I heard, "Cal!" Greg got up from a couch and came over to me. "Everyone, this is my fiancé Cal Pierce."

"Hi." I nervously waved.

"Hi." "Hello."

"Um, these are my grandparents, Margaret and," I looked at Hawkeye for a clue as to which name I should give them, but he kind of shrugged. "Ben Pierce."

"Ben?" Greg and BJ asked at the same time.

"Ben." Hawkeye answered simply.

"Ben." I settled their argument with a simple and gentle hand.

"Where's Archer?" Greg asked.

"He's with Mrs. Boone."

"Archer, is he...your son?" A woman who looked to be the only person in the room who could be old enough and/or young enough to be Greg's mom asked.

"No, um...he's my dog."

"Oh, your dog."

"Wow ma, don't be so excited." Greg whispered in my ear and I smiled.

"Cal, why don't you come sit by me." Peg scooted over on the couch and I took an awkward seat next to her. "Hawkeye, Margaret, you can have the love seat across from us." They nodded happily, and took their seats. After everyone was seated, Peg said, "Well, we might as well introduce everyone. Cal, this is my daughter Erin, my grandson Matthew, my granddaughter Lena, and my youngest grandchild Julie."

"Hi." I waved nervously yet again.

Just then, children burst into the room. "Mommy! Billy hit me!" The younger blond child shouted as he ran to Lena.

"Did not!" The older brunette yelled back.

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Alright, alright, that's enough!" Lena held the boys at an arm's length from one another. "Now what did I tell you boys about fighting this weekend?"

They hung their heads in shame and mumbled, "If we fight we're not going camping next week."

"That's right. Now what do you say?"

"Sorry."

"Yeah, sorry."

"Now guys," Lena turned them around to face me. "There's someone you need to meet. This is Cal Pierce," She got down really close to them and whispered, "It's Uncle Greg's girlfriend."

Their faces lit up. And that's when the teasing started. "Greg's got a girlfriend! Greg's got a girlfriend!"

"Alright, that's enough. He looks a little mad." Lena said to the kids who only giggled and ran back downstairs with Greg chasing after them in a fit of laughs. She looked at me and shrugged, "My kids."

"I know some kids like that." I smiled at her.

"Neighbors?"

"A lot of them." I chuckled slightly. "I brought most of them into the world too."

"So you're a doctor as well?"

"Yes. I'm a surgeon."

"And what drove you to that particular profession?"

"Well, everyone in my family was-is a surgeon so naturally I became one."

"You said was." Matt spoke up.

"Matt don't-" BJ was sitting next to him and he whispered it in his ear.

"Excuse me?"

"You said, 'was'."

"Yeah, my...dad wanted to be a Latin teacher."

"Wanted?"

"Just drop it Matt." BJ continued to warn.

"Yeah, he wanted to be one. Now why don't you drop the subject." Oh no, my temper was getting to me again.

"I don't want to drop it. Why are your grandparents here and your parents aren't?"

Like hell I was going to tell him. Not after he'd been so rude like he was. "Fuck you." I got up from the couch and left the house as soon as I could.

"I told you to drop it." BJ hit Matt in the back of the head and went after me.

Margaret started to get up from the love seat but Hawkeye grabbed her hand and sat her back down. "Cal's got this. And if she doesn't, BJ does."

Greg came in just after I left and he felt the awkwardness. "What happened? What's wrong?"

"Matt asked about Cal's father." Julie informed him.

"God Matt, could you be any more fucking retarded!"

"Greg!" Erin said in shock.

"What did I say? All I did was ask about her dad."

Greg had this angry look on his face. "It's not my place to tell you about it." He looked over at Peg. "Where'd she go?"

"Probably outside, BJ went after her." And just like that, Greg was going out the door.

~.~.~.~.~.~.~

"Cal! Cal!" BJ called after me as I stalked away from the house. "Cal will you slow down?"

I turned around sharply and said, "He had no right BJ. No right."

"I know." He whispered, letting me rant.

"How dare he think that he can just ask any old question and I'll answer like an open book! And what was with his attitude? You warned him, I warned him! Why wouldn't he just drop it?"

"He's a lawyer." BJ shrugged.

"It doesn't matter! He should have known better than to press an issue that he was warned against pressing."

"Yes he should have."

"Would you stop agreeing with me?" BJ just laughed.

And his laughing caused me to laugh. "You sound just like Margaret."

"Well I do have a little bit of Houlihan in me."

BJ stopped laughing and stared at me. "Who told you?"

"They didn't have to tell me. Just look at my face. Turn my hair blond and you have Margaret Houlihan. It wasn't that hard to figure out."

"Cal! Cal, are you alright?" Greg ran up to me.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little miffed is all. I'm much better now though." I started to head back towards the house when Greg grabbed my arm.

"We don't have to go back in if you don't want to." I stared at him, just a tad bit lost.

"Excuse me?"

"If you don't want go back, we don't have to. We can go somewhere else."

"I don't want that kind of power."

"Well I'm giving it to you."

I looked over from Greg to BJ and he was staring at Greg with wide eyes. Did he really just tell her what I he told her? Did he really just offer to leave? Possibly forever?

"Let's go back inside."

"Okay." He nodded and I grabbed his hand and laced my fingers with his.

"Would you really leave for me?" I asked as the three of us headed back inside.

"In a heartbeat." His smile made me smile. This was gonna work. I just knew it.