Hey, guys. Sorry for the wait. Oh, this makes reference to "A War for All Seasons", so the tiniest of spoilers for that.
Enjoy!
After the Holidays, Margaret finds herself becoming more upset as the days go on. Sitting in the kitchen having already cleaned the entire house, the woman drums her fingers on the table debating on checking for the mail. She is increasingly bored and has no way to combat the issue. Noticing his wife's frustration one night, Hawkeye asks, "What's wrong?"
"I'm just sick of being stuck here. All my friends are working and I've cleaned the house more times than I can count. I just need something to do!"
"Join a book club. The library is hosting one."
"I've never been much of a reader, Hawk," The blonde replies rubbing her stomach for a moment.
"What about a blanket, for the baby?" The man suggests. His wife nods knowing she and Hawk should probably figure out how to fix up the nursery. Humming contently, the woman says, "Thank- you. I might just do that."
She smiles at her husband before going upstairs to find her knitting needles.
Daniel comes home a few minutes later causing Hawkeye to ask, "Did mom ever get restless when she was pregnant with me?"
"No," The man answers, "We'd moved in about five months before you were born. Your mom was set on getting the house ready before you came. Why?"
"Margaret's been going stir crazy."
"Take her on a vacation," Daniel suggests.
"Where?" Hawkeye asks. Daniel shrugs answering, "You'll figure it out."
The son nods before heading upstairs to find his wife sitting in their room looking at a huge pink blanket.
"Is that the blanket you made?"
"I was thinking that if we have a girl, we could put this blanket on her bed."
"You mean your pot- holder, turned scarf, turned sweater, turned blanket that you knitted for an entire year."
Rolling her eyes, Margaret replies, "Yes, that one."
"Well, what if it's a boy?" Hawkeye questions.
"I'll make a blanket for him, too. We don't have wounded anymore to interrupt my knitting," The blonde answers with a smirk before her husband asks, "Speaking of our kid, we haven't really come up with any names. You have any suggestions?"
"We could name him after you," Margaret offers. Her husband shakes his head as he decidedly answers, "No. What about after Henry?"
"As a middle name," The woman states not wanting to call a future son after her former CO all the time. Her husband nods in silent agreement as he begins to get ready for bed.
The couple is quiet a few moments when neither can figure out a first name. Finally, Margaret states, "We're naming him Benjamin."
With a sigh, the man explains, "The world already has one Benjamin Pierce. I don't think they're ready for a second one."
"Fine, than what do you prefer?" The blonde asks clearly disenchanted with figuring out any more names. Thinking, Hawkeye answers, "We know if we have a son that his middle name will be Henry."
"What about John, after Trapper?" Margaret suggests. Even though the former Swamp mate is not her favorite, she knows the jokester still holds a special place with her husband. Mulling over the name, Hawkeye soon shakes his head saying, "I don't want someone continually singing John Henry to my kid. He may end up taking railroad work."
"What?" The woman asks trying to make sense of her husband's remark.
"John Henry is the story of a former slave who worked on a railroad and drove spikes in the ground faster than a machine before dying due to the effort he put into beating the machine," Hawkeye explains. Margaret nods before trying to figure out a new name. Curious, Margaret asks, "What's your Dad's middle name?"
With a smirk, the man replies, "Francis. It could be nice. Name him after my dad— and Father Mulcahey."
Still wondering if he likes the name, Hawkeye soon forgets the idea thanks to his wife.
"Frank," Margaret says with disdain causing her husband to quip, "You're right. I can't call my son Ferret Face one day by accident."
After a slight pause, the man asks, "What if it's a girl?"
"It's going to be a boy," Margaret insists.
"Yeah, and my mom thought I was going to be a girl," Hawkeye answers with a smirk. Rolling her eyes, Margaret answers, "Fine. Do you have any suggestions?"
"I was thinking Kellye in there somewhere."
"Huh," Margaret answers. Curious, she asks, "Why not use it as a first name?"
"Kellye Pierce?" Hawkeye asks trying out the name on his tongue. Nodding, the man asks, "What would you want as middle name? There must be one name you like."
"I never really thought of what I'd name my own children. I may have toyed with the idea once or twice, but I only ever liked one name. I even named my toy dog a variant of it growing up."
"Yeah? And what name did you come up with?"
"Benjamin," She insists. Hawkeye gives his wife a look that shows he is debating on whether to believe her.
Sighing, Margaret explains, "I was six and my grandmother took me and my sister to church and they talked about Joseph and his brothers. Since then, Benjamin's been my favorite name."
"You have me for that, though," Hawkeye teases. He is still unwilling to name a son after himself.
"You can't think of anything else? You know, if B.J. had an actual name, this wouldn't be a problem. Besides, he and Peg named their son Benjamin. It'd be cruel for them to meet and have the same name."
"What if we named him Benjamin, but called him something else?"
Raising an eyebrow, Hawkeye asks, "Such as?"
"His middle name? Maybe you could just give him a nickname like your father gave you," She replies. After a little more grumbling, Hawkeye replies, "Fine, we can call our son Benjamin, but I'm not going to call him by it."
Smirking, Margaret walks away to finish getting ready for bed. Hawkeye merely rolls his eyes hoping to change his wife's mind eventually. Once his wife comes back in, Hawkeye is turning down the comforter and sliding into bed. Deciding to avoid names the rest of the night, Hawkeye asks, "How would you feel about going on a vacation?"
"To where?" She asks wondering what vacation spot they can possibly go to during the winter.
"We could go see Beej and Peg for a week?" The man offers. Nodding, Margaret asks, "We can ask them. Would you okay with Erin and Ben?"
"I'd have to be eventually," Hawkeye replies knowing he needs to not fail as a father the first time his child cries though the night. His wife nods, but decides not to say anything else. Neither wanting to talk anymore, the couple turns out the light and falls asleep.
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