Rated M.

Chapter reworked.

If you recognize it, it is not mine.

The following chapter contains references to the episode End Run.

Please review, so I know if someone is reading this or I'm only entertaining myself.

The time he spent with Claudia before the planned visit to Post-Op he dreaded so much just flew by. They had written a joint letter to his dad and held very passionate make-out session. He almost felt dizzy in her presence from all the endorphins his body produced. Every touch was driving him wild, even if she was just handing him a pen. He was amazed they even got to the writing when they sat so close together.

Recently he thought a lot about their relationship and why he decided to propose. Admittedly it wasn't the first time, he practiced on Erica and Carlye beforehand, but for the first time it felt like he really meant it. Although he denied it at the time, asking Erica was mainly a war-inspired foolishness brought up by her undeniable loveliness. With Carlye it was more complicated and part of his motivation, if he was being honest with himself, might have been a misguided wish to prove Claudia wrong.

But everything he ever felt towards those two paled in comparison to his feelings now. A small part of him understood Claudia's hesitation. It might have been seen as redundant by some to get married, especially so quickly in the middle of the war, but for the first time in his life he wanted to be connected to someone in such fashion. And even if it wasn't going to be for forever, what was?

Truth be told, each day they behaved more and more as a married couple. No other woman had ever written to his dad and he had never written a joint letter with any one of his conquest. And it seemed so wrong to even think of Claudia in such a way. When Erica told him no, he recovered quickly enough to spend the night with her. In the case of Carlye the only regret he had was about his falling-out with Claudia.

He brought the cup to his lips and suddenly the taste of Claudia was replaced by bitter army coffee. He made a disgusted face, but poured himself another cup anyway and went to meet BJ in Post-Op. It was time to face the music and he knew this experience was going to suck. It always did.

"1600 hours, tomorrow. Near the latrine." Frank confessed the details about Zale and Klinger's planned fight, right after he checked no one else was around to hear him.

"The latrine? A perfect spot." BJ said, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. He hoped this was a nice distraction for Hawkeye from the case of Billy's missing leg. Claudia had a Post-Op shift and wouldn't be free for an hour or so. Hawkeye meanwhile was running out of ways to keep busy.

"Picked the site myself." Frank bragged, chuckling.

"Figures, Frank. The body goes where the mind is." Hawkeye noted with a smirk, his thoughts still in Post-Op, sometimes with Billy and other times with the doctor on duty. He even started to write another to write another page to add to the letter home, but the words were not coming to him easily. He wrote to dad how it went with Billy, knowing dad would understand since he had to deliver bad news to his patients too. But writing about it didn't help at all. He glanced at his watch and poured himself another drink. One part of him wanted to keep Claudia company, but he knew it would be best if he kept out of Post-Op right now.

After much consideration, he decided to take a long shower. Originally he planned to go right before going to Claudia's tent, but lying down in his cot with his eyes absent-mindedly darting around was driving his already insane mind off the rocker. The water was surprisingly warmish for such late hour. Although he thought no one else would shower so late, Colonel Potter entered the tent few minutes after him.

"Hello, Hawkeye. What are you doing here so late? Calming yourself with an icy shower?" The colonel hang his robe and towel, laughing pretty hard.

"It's not so bad today." Hawkeye answered with a shrug.

"Really? Then I get in before you waste it all on you." Stepping into the other stall, Potter put his soap on the wooden shelf. Then he quickly turned on the water, soaking himself from head to toe. "Hey, today I haven't had the chance to read the Post-Op report yet. How's that graft working out?"

Hawkeye let out a quiet sigh and shook his head, knowing the good colonel would understood.

"Sorry, son." Colonel said, washing his hair quickly. He was looking forward to get some shut-eye.

"That's alright. I always enjoy patients telling me to go to hell." Hawkeye said sadly.

"You have to understand it's not really you he's angry at. You were just at the wrong place at the wrong time when he found out."

"So was he when he got shot."

"You said it!" Colonel yawned as he was reaching for his towel. Within a minute he was in his robe, ready to leave. "Goodnight, Hawkeye. I have a date with my cot. Just be careful you don't fall asleep in here."

"Yes, dad." Hawkeye said with a little curtsy.

After he was alone again, he proceeded to wash his hair before almost running out of the shower when the water became too cold. Slowly he dried his hair with the towel, groaning in annoyance. He wondered how much time he killed, yearning to be with Claudia already.

BJ was just turning off his light when he got to the Swamp while Frank was nowhere to be seen. They exchanged wishes of goodnight as Hawkeye threw his towel on his chair. After a frantic search he found his watch under some dirty clothes he wasn't even sure were his. His heart fluttered when he read the time. It was time to go.

He actually bumped into Claudia right outside her tent. She was just coming back from the showers, fumbling with her fluffy robe.

"Good evening, my lady! May I open the door for you?" He said, smiling at her disheveled state.

"Thank you, dear sir." She gave him a little peck on the cheek before going through the door.

He walked after her, making extremely sure the doors were properly locked before he turned to watch her comb her hair. He sat down, still not taking his eyes off her, smiling, but with a heavy heart.

"How are you?" She asked, putting the brush away.

"Not great. How was your shift?" His gaze was moving over his curves as she quickly picked up a few things and put them away, so they could lie down on the cot.

"Ok. Everyone asleep, nothing serious. Except for Sergeant Tyler. I had to sedate him. I was worried how he'd fare without any sleep. He was running a little temperature."

Hawkeye shook his head as he was stripping off. When he was only in his shorts, he slid under the blanket, inviting Claudia to join him. She lied down next to him, kissing his cheek.

"You did all you could."

"So everybody keeps telling me." He turned his head to look at her and felt her getting closer to him. "But I still feel like I could have done more."

"You couldn't. Not every part of every patient can be saved."

"Not to mention every patient." Hawkeye averted gaze for a moment and then just kept his eyes closed, breathing deeply.

"Exactly." She whispered into his ear, hooking her leg around his hip.

"You know when I lost my sight, it was clear what it would mean for my medical career if it was permanent. I was feeling so hopeless and desperate. And that was just a few days…" He swallowed with difficulty.

"Stop thinking about this. You deserve a break." She rolled over to lie more on top of him than next to him and kissed him passionately.

His body was melting into the contact. He couldn't believe how therapeutic her presence was for him, not to mention her touch. He gave a little nod in response to what she said and then deepened the kiss, moaning. Kissing her was like returning home. Every fiber of his being was on fire, lusting for more.

"God, Claudia!" He breathed out when they separated to get some oxygen.

Her lips formed a smile and he heard her nice laugh before she leaned in to kiss him again, this time with even more fervor. She ran her hands up and down his body, claiming every inch of him and the sensation was driving him mad.

She ripped her lips from his despite him protesting loudly and pressed a trail of small wet kisses down his neck. Her palms were pressed against his shoulders, keeping him close. "You're so gorgeous, I love seeing you topless."

"I love seeing you topless, too." He retorted, raising his hands to tease her nipples, but when she moved again, they slipped out of his reach. He let out a disappointed groan that made her chuckle.

Settling down to lie next to him, she run her hand over his smooth chest. His heart was beating over the speed limit, especially when her velvet lips started tracing his ribs, one after the other.

Hawkeye's whole body was throbbing. It felt amazing to be wanted so much. Normally he had to chase after nurses and work hard to get them into such state of arousal, but with Claudia it came naturally. Every time he was close to her, he felt an invisible force pulling him closer and closer. No chance of resisting.

He snaked one arm around her neck and with her clinging tightly to him, he rolled them over so he was on top. Such maneuver was difficult in the small cot, so he had to press her body against his and tell her to hold on.

She let out a loud gasp as she hit the bed and for a few seconds he wondered if he had hurt her somehow. But then she wrapped her legs and arms around him, bringing their bodies impossibly close. He could feel her excitement, he sensed the little shivers running through her body and heard her adorable whimpers. She was close. His eyes were solely focused on her, because if he looked away the room seemed to be spinning.

"You're beautiful." He said before pressing his lips to hers, which earned him a loud moan from her. With all the antics, her robe became undone and now it was completely opened on the front. He raised himself a little from the bed to get a better look, running his hands over her chest and teasing her.

She was writhing under him, her eyes closed even though they weren't kissing now. She always did that when she felt too much. Her lips were parted and she was panting heavily, whimpering his name at times.

When at last, she opened her eyes and studied his face, the look on his face startled her. As soon as their eyes met, he tried to put on a smile, but it was too late. She knew him too well.

"Hawk, what is it?" She asked, trying to bring him closer. He resisted at first, but then gave in and slowly lied on top of her, landing all tensed up in her warm embrace. Suddenly the situation became clear to her. "What are you doing pushing yourself like this? I thought we are so close that we could talk about anything, including this, which by the way is something we have already discussed previously."

"Of course we are! I just hoped that a little more time might help…" His voice trailed off as he buried his head in her shoulder.

"Hawkeye, you're tired, drunk and overworked. It's understandable and nothing to be ashamed of. Did it ever occur to you that we can just lie in each other's arms and talk and kiss? We don't have to be doing it like rabbits every chance we get. You know it's perfectly normal not to, right?"

He rolled his eyes and then planted a soft kiss on her neck. "I really need you tonight. And the peace afterwards." He proceeded to give her another kiss and then another and another. "Plus it sounded like you really need me too." His lips curved into a smile.

"Don't worry, I can wait. Plus it gives me an excuse to thoroughly play with you." She said to him softly without breaking eye contact, her hand caressing his jaw.

"I'm not a toy, you know."

"So you're saying I should stop?" She lifted her hand and ruffled his hair.

Anything he planned on saying was covered by a moan as she locked their lips together again. "Do you know you taste exquisite?"

"You mean better than the food here? Great, thank you." A pretend insulted smirk appeared on her face.

"No, I mean better than a Maine lobster."

"Is that a compliment?"

"Yes, the ultimate one."

She responded with a beaming smile, sliding her fingers over his back.

He went on to pepper light, teasing kisses on her forehead, nose, temples and cheeks before returning to her trembling lips again. Putting his arms on each side of her head and his legs on the side of hers, he sort of framed her naked body with his, without interrupting their passionate kissing.

When they finally parted their lips to catch a breath, she heard him talking in that throaty tone that always sent shivers up and down her spine. "I'm gonna make you scream my name."

"Better like this than by being annoying." She let out a chuckle after a ragged intake of breath. Feeling his masculine scent was always doing crazy things to her. She automatically tried to arch her body up closer to him when he drew back to look at her, but he held her down. His blue eyes were wide and darker than usual, full of desire. She pucker her lips to show him what she wanted and he was happy to oblige.

Soon his lips slipped to her neck and continued to travel down her body. "Claudia." He drew out her name long and quiet, his tongue darting out to wet his lips afterwards. Having her in front of him sprawled naked on the bed and quivering in anticipation was the best sight his eyes have ever seen. Her alabaster skin was so soft to touch, it was like he was ripped from the hell of Korea and went to heaven.

"Hawkeye!" Her hands shot to his head with her fingers getting tangled in his hair as his mouth closed around her nipple.

He grinned, covering her other breast with his hand and stroking it tenderly. She threw her head backwards, hyperventilating. After attending to the other nipple for a moment, he sneaked a peak at her face to make everything was alright. She was breathing with short, quick breaths, sometimes closing her eyes and other times watching him intensely.

Pushing himself up from the bed, he sat back on his heels and locked eyes with her. Running his hand across her flat stomach back and forth, he put the other hand gently on her thigh. He could feel her tense up, holding breath in anticipation. When he lightly stroked the inside of her thigh, a soft needy whimper escaped her. With a smile, he leaned in to kiss her, holding his body only about an inch above hers. They both moaned into the kiss and those vibrations made the kiss even sweeter.

This time when he broke the kiss, his lips traveled down the valley between her breasts and then headed straight to her navel, exploring her body inch by inch. His touch made her skin tingle and as he continued lower, her hand delved in his hair again, stroking his scalp gently. Since her whole body was shaking, she laid her head back, waiting for his next move.

His mouth landed on the inside of her thigh and her mouth fell open with a loud groan. He planted kisses from her knees almost to her waist and then started at the other knee and went upwards. When his hands coaxed her legs wide open and he settled in between them, her breath hitched in her throat. She was buzzing with excitement.

As his mouth made first contact, she let out a high-pitched moan. Feeling encouraged, he proceeded to tease her with agonizingly slow, small licks. Waves of pleasure washed over her as he began applying more pressure, alternating between sucking and lapping at her core. She couldn't focus on anything else but what he was doing to her. Her hips were bucking up against him so much, he had to place his hand on her lower belly to still her. With each moment she was becoming more undone, her humming of appreciation turning into desperate sobs and her hands pulling roughly on his hair.

Her breathing became so erratic she struggled to breathe properly, dizzy with ecstasy. Muttering under her breath something incomprehensible, she lifted her hips, which made him groan against her in surprise. She bit back a scream, her whole being twitching and jerking. He didn't ease up, instead he picked up the pace, his hands shooting upwards to cup her breasts.

He felt her shudder against him, her body spasming in his embrace for a long time. Not stopping right away, he waited until she wasn't trashing around anymore and he ran his tongue up her body. That's when he noticed that at some point she pressed her pillow onto her head to prevent herself from making too much noise. He smiled proudly, moving the pillow away and revealing her sweaty face. She was gasping for air, still shuddering in the aftermath of orgasm as her hands snaked around his neck.

Another smile appeared on his face. "You okay?" He whispered, stroking her cheek.

Without a sound she nodded, bringing him closer for a long passionate kiss. Their lips crashed together with an obscene slurping sound, which made them both chuckle. He slid down from her body and lied next to her, his lips still on hers.