The next afternoon, Hawkeye drove into the hospital to pick up the Colonel and talk to the doctor. Mildred wanted him to talk to the doctor so he could translate the medical terminology. He was more than happy to do it for her. He brought the Colonel back with him, and Margaret and Mildred had the house set up for him. He was supposed to relax as much as possible, so they had the living room and the bedroom set up as comfortably as possible.
Margaret wasn't there when Hawkeye and the Colonel arrived. She and Emily drove into town to pick some things up. Margaret wanted to give the Colonel time to settle in without a baby running around. She also had some things she had to do. She had to get a hotel room, and get settled in that. They would be staying there for two nights, and she wanted everything in its place when they came back from the Colonel's later that night.
Later that day, Margaret and Emily showed up for dinner. Emily, as she always was, was ready to eat. After the greetings, they all sat at the dining room table and enjoyed a nice meal together. The Colonel was so glad to be out of bed and sitting at a real table. Although his wife made him go sit in the living room in the most comfortable chair after dinner was done.
The Pierces spent the night at the hotel, and the next day at the Potters. They checked out of the hotel the next morning, and drove back to the Potters to say goodbye. They had to drive to the airport, drop the rental car off, and catch their flight to Texas.
"Emily, honey," Margaret called. "Come and say goodbye. She was running around the yard being chased by the lovable and gentle Golden Retriever. Emily ran over to her mother, and jumped into her open arms. "Are you ready to go?"
"No," Emily said with a smile. She loved spending time at the Potters. She had come to love both of them, and especially their animals.
Mrs. Potter held her arms out to the baby, and Emily went into them. Hawkeye walked up to the Colonel and shook his hand. He would have hugged him, but he was afraid that the Colonel would have slugged him. "You better take better care of yourself. I don't want to have to come out here again for this reason. The next time we come out here is not going to be to visit a sick friend."
The Colonel shook his head. "I know, I know. You take care of that family you have there. Don't let them slip away."
Hawkeye smiled. He and the Colonel had talked a lot in the past few days. He shared with the Colonel his insecurities of not being wanted by his wife and child. "I won't. Take care of yourself."
The Colonel shook his head in agreement that he would. Then he looked at Margaret who was anxiously waiting to hug him. Hawkeye moved to the side, and Margaret hugged the old man, being sure to hold onto him for a moment. She had already lost her father, and she couldn't stand the thought of losing the 'dear sweet man' that she had come to love so much.
Margaret pulled back, leaving her hands on the Colonel's arms. "You better take care of yourself. That's an order."
The Colonel smiled. "I'm not going anywhere for a long time. I can promise you that."
"Good," she said finally releasing him. She moved of to Mrs. Potter and Emily. She gave the woman a hug and took her daughter into her own arms. "Thank you for everything."
"Thank you for coming," Mildred smiled. She knew that Margaret would never know what she did for the Colonel by coming to see him. It meant the world to him.
Margaret smiled, "Thank you for being so persistent and tracking me down."
"No problem," the old lady smiled. She looked at Hawkeye and gave him a big hug. "I heard a lot about you, but I never believed half of it. I guess I had to see you to believe you."
He chuckled, "Well I am one of a kind." He gave the lady a kiss on the cheek, "Thanks for giving me my life," he said referring to his new wife and daughter he never knew he had.
"Anytime," she smiled. "Take care of them, or I'll send Sherman after you."
"You don't have to worry about a thing."
The Colonel standing next to Margaret and Emily, and looked over at the blonde baby. "Well little lady, I had a great time with you. You sure know ho to brighten up a room."
Emily smiled at him. She loved his voice. She looked at her mother and Margaret said, "Can you say 'bye-bye' to the Colonel and give him a hug?"
Emily leaned in toward the Colonel and wrapped her chubby arms around his neck. Margaret would let the Colonel pick the child up, because it would have been too strenuous on him. He insisted otherwise, but she wouldn't give in. "Bye-bye," Emily smiled leaning on her mother more.
"Bye, hon. Take care of your parents, okay."
Margaret smiled at him, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Bye, sir."
"Bye Margaret."
Hawkeye was standing next to the car holding the door open for his wife, "Are you ready to go? We need to get going if we're going to catch the plane."
"Yeah, we're ready," Margaret said. She turned and walked to the car. She and Emily got in, and they waved to the Potters as Hawkeye backed out of the driveway. It was hard to say goodbye, but Hawkeye and Margaret were both looking forward to starting their new life together.
