As soon as Hawkeye entered his home, he felt like turning around and flying back to Denver to be with her again. He wanted to be with Margaret Houlihan with
every fiber of his being. God how he loved her.
When, exactly, had it happened?
During the war? In the middle of one of their damned arguments? When they were wrapped in each other's arms, sheltering each other from the hell of combat?
When he'd comforted her about the puppy that was run over by the jeep? Their last kiss before leaving Korea? Or was it just the other day, when he'd received
the desperate phone call and he'd gone to her at once, having done his best to comfort her over the loss of Frank and his untimely death?
Honestly he didn't know when it had happened, but the feelings that he had for Margaret were definitely real.
Damn, why did he have to live so damned far away? Crab Apple Cove, Maine and Denver, Colorado weren't exactly next door to each other. Emitting a deep sigh,
he tossed his green duffle bag onto the floor. He'd deal with unpacking later. Hawkeye's eyes fixated on the bag and he chuckled. Even now, after the war was
long over, he couldn't escape that damn shade of green. The one that he and everyone else wore at the 407. The color that graced their tents and practically
everything else.
His clothes needed to be washed and put away but he'd deal with it later. Might as well use the rare spare time to catch up on the important things, like mail.
His easy chair beckoned to him and when he sat down, the fabric conformed to his body in much the same way that his body conformed to Margaret's when-
No wait… it wasn't that way at all.
He shook her out of his thoughts and closed his eyes, hoping for a little sleep. After all, he'd earned it. But his unexpected trip to Denver had inevitably put him
further behind, not to mention had most likely inconvenienced the hospital. The hell with his employer and his patents. He didn't owe them anything. It wasn't
that he was ungrateful about his job. He loved his work and especially loved the idea of operating on a seventeen year old kid with a broken femur, knowing that
when the operation was a success, the kid would eventually return to a normal life instead of the front lines. At least it was better than the risk of having his life
cut short and that made it satisfying.
But the long hours at the hospital exhausted him, even more than the long hours at the 4077. He was older now; a lot older but he refused to admit that he was
slowing down.
He returned his attention to the stack of paper in front of him. He'd been in Korea long enough to learn that mail –any kind of mail-was a luxury of sorts and it
should be attended to in a timely manner.
Another deep sigh as he sorted through his bills. Damn, there were so many. And the grocery store ads… Weren't the ads in the grocery store enough of a
reminder of how high prices had risen?
He paused when he came across a purple envelope. He sat the Army and business magazines aside and glanced at the letter. His smile grew wider than the
mountains of Korea. He'd know that handwriting anywhere. He'd seen it countless times. He turned the envelope over and prepared to open the flap when the
phone rang.
He cursed under his breath. So much for rest and relaxation. With the utmost of annoyance he picked up the phone.
"Hawkeye."
"Hello, Captain Pierce."
The voice on the other end was small and tentative.
"Captain Pierce? No one's called me that since-Radar is that you?"
"Yes sir. I was just-."
Hawkeye shot out of his chair and nearly cartwheeled across the room. "Radar! My God! How the hell are you? Damn, if I never believed that you had
extrasensory perception, I believe it now! I was just about to open your letter!"
"Oh, well, in that case, I can call back since you're busy and-."
"Wait a minute! Wait! Don't hang up! I'll read it later! It's so good to hear from you!"
"It's nice to hear from you too, Sir."
Hawkeye laughed out loud. "Same old Radar!"
"Excuse me?"
"Um, nothing. Nothing. What's up? I mean, you must have called for a reason. But if you didn't, that's okay too."
"Actually sir, I have some news."
"All right. Before you tell me the news, as your former superior, I am ordering you to stop calling me 'sir' or I'm going to reach through the phone and make you
shorter than you already are!"
"Hey! That's not funny!"
It took Hawkeye a minute to stop laughing. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. What's going on? Wait, let me guess. Your teddy bear missed you and showed up at your
farm in Iowa. Gee, I thought I buried that thing in the time capsule."
"What?"
"Nothing, nothing. I'm sorry. Go on…"
"Are you sure? Because this is serious! But gosh, I haven't thought about him in years. My teddy bear, I mean. Gee, I hope he's okay."
Hawkeye breathed a sigh of relief. Apparently the teddy bear's fate was lost on the kid.
"I'm sure he's fine. Now what's this news? I mean it's probably in this letter, so if you want I can just-."
"Aw, will you be serious, for once?"
"As opposed to Captain Benjamin Hawkeye Pierce?"
"Come on!"
"All right, all right, what is it?"
"Well, I can't believe I'm saying this.. I mean it's really hard to believe, even for me, but-."
"Radar, I'm aging here! Just say it!"
"I'm getting married."
Hawkeye cheered so loudly that BJ probably heard it in Mill Valley. "Radar, that's wonderful! Congratulations!"
Suddenly he had an idea. "Who's the lucky girl? Tell me all about-." His pager went off, signaling a return to reality. "Look, Radar, I've got to go but it was so
good hearing from you. Keep in touch and keep me posted of the details, all right?"
"Actually they're all-."
"In the letter, I know. I'll read it as soon as I can."
"Okay, but Hawkeye-."
Hawkeye hung up the phone and then dialed the hospital, not caring that they needed him for what he was sure to be a very long night.