When Saturday morning came around, Kate was there to bid her family goodbye.  It was hard letting her daughter and granddaughter go.  Margaret and Kate had become so close since Emily was born, and Emily was the joy of her grandmother's life.  She didn't want to let that baby go.  She didn't want Emily to forget her.

            Kate and Margaret shed plenty of tears that morning.  Emily was confused seeing those two cry, but Hawkeye kept the baby's attention on other things so she wouldn't get upset.  Needless to say, Hawkeye felt terrible as they drove away.  His wife was sitting next to him with tears streaming down her cheeks, and his mother-in-law was crying all alone on the sidewalk as they drove off.

            "You okay, honey?"  He asked reaching for her arm and squeezing it gently.  Margaret wiped her tears away and shook her head yes.  "Are you sure?"

            "I'm sure," she said.  "It's hard."

            "All you have to do is say the word, and I'll turn this car around and we'll make a life here in Texas."

            She smiled at him, "That's sweet, but no.  My mom will won't be far behind.  I want her to be able to go live near my sister.  Abby needs her.  She married a career army man.  They do what the Potters did.  They have a home, but he travels a lot.  That leaves her home alone, and with a baby on the way, she'll need someone around."

            "It's very nice of you to share your mother," Hawkeye said.

            Margaret smiled, "Well, she is my baby sister, and I have to make sure that she's taken care of."

            Hawkeye smiled at her.  "You know, it's a good thing you have a car?"

            She was puzzled.  That didn't have anything to do with what they were talking about.  "What?"

            "Well, I don't have a car.  We're going to need one to look for a house, and then I'll need one to get back and forth to work."

            "Why don't you have one?  How do you get to Maine?"

            "I live in the city.  It's easier to walk or take a cab.  When I go to Maine, I rent a car."

            "We'll have to add that to our list of things to buy.  Emily and I can't be stuck without a car while you're at work all day.  We'd be cooped up in the house all the time."

            "Yeah, you're right.  We have a lot we need to get, don't we?"

            "Yes we do," she smiled.  He made it sound like that was the first time he ever thought about it.  "That's one reason we can't go on a honeymoon.  We need a house, a car, and we also need to fill our house with furniture.  I hope you have some money saved."

            "Are you kidding?  I'm a surgeon and live in a small one bedroom apartment.  I don't own a car, and believe me, I don't spend much money on furniture.  The most expensive thing in my house is the TV.  Most of money goes right into the bank."

            "In that case, we're definitely going to need to buy a lot of things when we find a house.  I can't imagine that you have very good taste when it comes to decorating and choosing furniture."

            "What makes you say that?"  He asked pretending to be hurt by her comment.

            Margaret chuckled, "Do you remember the Swamp?"

            "You have a point," he smiled.  "Which way do I go?"  He asked as they approached an intersection.

            "Right," she answered.

            They traveled the rest of the day, and decided to stop at dinner time.  Margaret knew that it was a good time to stop for Emily.  She had been very good with the traveling, but was getting restless.  Margaret didn't blame her; she wanted to get out of the car herself.

            They stopped for dinner, and got a hotel room for the night.  It wasn't anything fancy; it was just a one room road side hotel.  It had a pool though, and the three of them went swimming for about an hour that night.  Emily loved splashing around in the water, and her parents loved when she was having fun.

            "Okay, Miss Emily," Margaret said.  She was out of the pool and had a towel in her arms for Emily.  "Time to get out."

            "Say in," she said cuddling closer to her father.  She was still in the pool in his arms.

            "No," Margaret told her.  "It's time to get out."

            "You better listen to Mommy," Hawkeye said.  He held Emily up and handed her to Margaret. 

            Emily started crying.  She wanted to stay in the pool.  "No, no," she fought.  "In," she said as she tried to wiggle out of her mother's arms.  "No, Mommy."

            "Emily," Margaret said sternly.  "It's time to get out."

            "Pease," the child begged.

            "No," her mother said wrapping the child in the towel.  "It's late and we need to get back to the room."  Emily had stopped fighting, but was still crying.  "How would you like to take a bath and play in the water?"

            "Baff," Emily smiled.

            "Okay," Margaret said.  Emily laid her head down on her mother's shoulder, and they waited for Hawkeye to dry off enough to go back to the room.  Margaret wanted to put Emily in the tub to wash all the chlorine off.  They were planning on leaving early in the morning, and there wouldn't be enough time to get Emily cleaned up.

            When they got back to the room, Margaret ran the bath water for Emily.  Hawkeye poked his head into the small bathroom.  Margaret was in her bikini kneeling over the tub washing Emily's hair.  "I'm going to grab a snack at the store across the street.  Do you want anything?"

            She answered without looking up. "Yeah I'll take something.  Get something for the baby too."  She always got hungry for a snack after she went swimming, and she didn't imagine that it was any different for Emily.

            "I'll be back in a few minutes," Hawkeye called as he went out the door.

            Margaret washed the soap out of Emily's hair, and then let her play for a couple of minutes.  All Margaret had to do was tell Emily that Daddy had a snack for her, and she was ready to get out of the tub.  Margaret had the baby in her diaper and pajamas by the time that Hawkeye came back.

            "Hi Daddy," Emily said from the bed.  She was sitting on it with her mother. 

            "Hi Munchkin," he smiled.  "I got you a snack."  Emily slid off of the bed, and then went to her father.  He gladly picked her up.  Margaret stood up and looked in the bag.  "I wasn't sure what you wanted the baby to have, so I got a couple of things."

            Margaret picked the crackers up, "This is fine."  She opened the package and handed Emily a cracker.  Margaret sat down at the little table, and Hawkeye followed her lead, setting Emily on his lap.  "We should leave by seven tomorrow."

            "Seven?"  He choked out.  "I don't even get up at seven."

            "Well you will tomorrow," she smiled.  "It's easier to travel in the morning, and I have a funny feeling that Emily isn't going to be as cooperative as she was today."

            "Yeah, by four o'clock she was pretty sick of being in that car.  It's going to be a long two days, isn't it?" 

            "I think so," Margaret said.  "After listening to an hour of her screaming in the car, I'd say that's a pretty good guess.  We're just going to have to stop a little more and let her get out and run around."

            "Why don't we drive at night?  That way she can sleep, and won't even know."

            "That would be great, but who's going to stay up all night?"

            "Good point," he said.  "We'll have to suffer then."

            "The more we stop, the better it will be.  We still have two days of driving in front of us, and you don't have to be back to work for four more days.  We have time.  I'll just have to try harder to make it more fun for her."

            "I hope you succeed.  It's hard on the nerves hearing her scream."

            "I know, I was there too," she said.  She stood up and grabbed a bottle of milk out of the cooler for Emily.  She sat the bottle on the table in front of Hawkeye, "I'm going to take a shower and wash this chlorine out of my hair."

            "Can I join you?"

            "Sorry," she looked back before she entered the bathroom.  "You have to stay with the baby."

            Hawkeye looked at Emily.  She was reaching for another cracker, and had already gotten crumbs all over the two of them.  "You are a messy eater."

            Margaret took her time in the shower and let the hot water run all over her.  Hawkeye was right about the baby making things tense in the car.  Her shoulders got tight just thinking about the next two days.  She let the pressure of the hot water work out the knots.

            When she got out, Hawkeye was just putting Emily in the play pen.  She had fallen asleep.  He turned around and saw Margaret standing there in a towel.  "Sexy," he raised his eyebrows. 

            Margaret smiled and rolled her eyes.  "You want to take a shower?"

            "Nah, I'll take one in the morning.  I'm going to need it to wake me up."  He walked over and stood behind her as she looked in the mirror.  "We look good together," he noticed.  Margaret just smiled.  He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her neck.

            "You should stop," she said.

            "Why?"  He kissed her neck again.

            Margaret placed her hands on his face and pushed it away.  "Because," she smiled at him through the mirror.  He didn't listen and started kissing her again.  "Hawkeye," she said trying to sound like she wanted him to stop, but it didn't.  "Hawk," she tried again.  His hands moved to her towel, and she clutched it in her own hands, and spun around. 

            "What's the matter?"  He was puzzled.

            Margaret pointed to the sleeping baby, and Hawkeye followed her finger.  "This is a one-room, room.  The only thing we can do tonight is sleep."

            "Damn," he said with disappointment.  "I forgot about that.  I'm so used to her being in another room."  They had made love every night since they had been together.  The hotel that they were staying at in Missouri was more like a condo, so it had separate bedrooms.

            Margaret smiled and kissed him lightly on the lips, "Sorry. You're gonna have to wait until we get to Boston."  She walked over to her suitcase and pulled out something to sleep in.

            "Two more days," he slumped his shoulders.  He sat down on the edge of the bed.  Margaret chuckled as she let her towel fall and put her pajamas on.  She could feel Hawkeye's eyes watching her the whole time.  "If you keep teasing me like that, I don't know if I'll be able to stand it."

            "Too bad," she said with an evil smile.

            Hawkeye smiled, "You're an evil woman."

            "I know."  She pulled the towel out of her wet hair and walked back over to the mirror.  She picked up a brush and started brushing her wet hair.  "Did you get anything sweet to eat?"

            "I got a couple of candy bars.  Why didn't you have one when the baby and I were eating?"

            "Because if I did, she would have wanted some, and I don't like her having a lot of sugar.  And especially not at night," she added.  She put her brush down, and went over to the table.  "Do you want one?"

            "Yeah, gimme one," he said.  Margaret grabbed the candy bars and sat on the bed next to her husband.  "Thanks.  So, what do we do now?"

            "Sleep," she answered, unwrapping the chocolate.  "There isn't anything else we can do.  Aren't you tired?"

            "Kinda."  He stood up and moved the covers down.  He let Margaret crawl into bed, and than got in next to her.  "You know what?" 

            "What?"  She asked as she settled into bed.  She had taken two bites out of her candy bar and handed it to Hawkeye to sit on the nightstand.

            He shut the lamp off and laid back.  "Emily didn't even ask for you before she fell asleep."

            Margaret wasn't sure if she should feel happy or not.  Emily always asked for her mother when she was tired, but Hawkeye was her father, and the two of them had become a lot closer in the past two weeks.  "That's good, right?"

            He smiled.  He could read her like a book.  She was lying on her side, and he wrapped his arm around her.  "I think so.  She's starting to love me as much as she loves you.  Why do you sound so unsure about that?"

            "I don't know," she lied.

            "Margaret, no one is ever going to take your place.  Even children who have both of their parents around from the day they are born always hold their mother up higher than anyone.  You know that no one can top Mommy, and you're Mommy."

            Margaret smiled and held his hand closer to her.  "How come you always know what I'm thinking?"

            "Because I know you that well," he laid his head close to hers and held her as close as he could.  "It's still so early."

            "Yeah, but I'm tired, and there isn't anything to do except sleep."  She yawned.  "We have to get up early anyway."

            He kissed her cheek.  "I love you."

            "Love you," she said sleepily.

            When six o'clock came around, the alarm clock went off.  Neither Hawkeye nor the baby heard it, but Margaret did.  She rolled out of her husband's arms and reached over him to shut the alarm clock off.  She lay in bed for a minute trying to wake up, and then climbed out of the bed.  She was pretty much dreading the day in front of her, but she knew that the sooner they got going, the sooner they would be in Boston.

            She got dressed, ran a brush though her hair, and grabbed her purse.  She figured that her husband and daughter were going to have a hard time getting out of bed, and thought that having some breakfast there waiting for them would help them along a little.  She ran out and got something to eat, and then headed back to the room. 

            She turned the light on when she got in, and neither Hawkeye nor Emily stirred.  She sat the food down on the table and walked over to the bed, "Hawkeye.  You have to get up."  He moaned and rolled over.  "Pierce, get up."  She shook his shoulder.  He started to move a little, "Honey, it's time to get up."

            Hawkeye opened his eyes and focused on the beautiful features on his wife's face.  "What time is it?"

            "It's six thirty.  I got you some coffee and breakfast."  She bent down and kissed his forehead.  Margaret walked over to the play pen that was on the other side of the bed, and bent over it.  "Emily, honey.  Wake up."  Emily stirred a little, but didn't wake.  "Come one baby," Margaret urged.  She picked Emily up, and the baby opened her eyes.  She looked at her mother and laid her head down on Margaret's shoulder.  "No, don't go back to sleep.  It's time to wake up, and get some breakfast."  Emily kept her head down.

            Hawkeye was lying in bed watching, "Where does she get that from?"

            "You," Margaret smiled.  She sat down at the table and moved Emily to her lap.  "Do you want something to eat, baby?"  Emily shook her head no and leaned against her mother.  Margaret got the food out of the bag, and opened the containers. 

            "What dija get?"  Hawkeye asked getting out of bed.  He sat down at the table.

            "Eggs, sausage, toast, hash browns, orange juice, and coffee."  She put some food on a paper plate and started eating.  Soon Emily wanted some, and Margaret gave it to her.  Emily sat on her mother's lap and ate in complete relaxation.  She leaned against her mother and held her hand out motioning for more when she was ready.

            When they were finished eating, Hawkeye took his shower while Margaret dressed Emily and packed and cleaned everything up.  Margaret took Emily with her to check out while Hawkeye got dressed and brought the suitcases to the car.  They didn't leave at seven like Margaret wanted to, but it wasn't much later.

            Emily was very good all morning in the car.  She was still tired, so she was content being in her mother's arms.  When lunch time started approaching she started getting antsy and wanted to get out of the car.  They stopped for lunch and let Emily run around at a small playground at a rest area.  Hawkeye and Margaret were both running around with her.  She had so much energy and was all over the place. 

            Emily though a fit when they had to leave.  She did not want to be in that car.  Margaret tried to occupy the baby's mind and hands with games, songs, stories, and anything else that crossed her mind.  Finally Emily fell asleep around two, but woke up only an hour later.  From three o'clock to four, she cried and screamed, wanting to get out of the car. 

            Hawkeye pulled over, so that he and Emily could run around a little.  He coaxed her back into the car by telling her she could have a snack, but she had to get back into the car and be good.  It worked, and by this time Margaret didn't care if they had to bribe the child to be good.  Normally she would have disapproved, but not while traveling.  They drove for another two hours before stopping for dinner and a room.

            Hawkeye and Margaret were pretty tired from the stress of a crying baby, but Emily was in a good mood now that they weren't in the car.  They didn't go swimming this time; they stayed in the room after dinner.  Margaret gave Emily a bath, and let her get tired and relaxed from the warm water.  As soon as Emily was out of the tub, she wanted her bottle.  It was past her normal bedtime, so she was pretty tired.  Margaret put the child to bed, and then relaxed for a few minutes. 

            She and Hawkeye both took their showers that night.  They wanted to leave by four in the morning hoping that they would make it to Boston by dinner time.  That way the baby would be sleeping for a few hours while they traveled.  Hawkeye thought that was a very good idea. 

            The next morning the traveling was easier.  Emily slept until eight, and then was quiet because she had just woken up.  Margaret gave her a bottle of juice and breakfast while they drove.  They wanted to go as many miles as possible with Emily calm.

            It didn't work too long.  This was the third day that the baby had been cooped up in a car, and she was sick of it.  She hated it, and wanted to get out and go home.  Her parents wanted it just as much as she did; if not more. 

            They finally arrived in Boston at two.  Margaret had never been so glad to be in the city of Boston in her life.  When Hawkeye pulled the car into the parking garage, she practically jumped out of it with Emily in her arms.  The baby had not taken her nap yet, and was more irritable than she had ever been before.  Emily wanted to get out of her mother's arms and walk, so Margaret sat her down and grabbed her hand.  Emily didn't like that and wanted to walk by herself, but there was no way Margaret was going to let her go free in a parking garage.

            Hawkeye grabbed what he could out of the car, and lead the way to their apartment.  He was so glad to be out of that car.  He had been around Emily for almost four weeks now, and had never seen her behave that badly.  He could see Margaret was furious, but was trying to keep herself calm.  She knew that it was hard on Emily, and understood that for a baby, being in a car for three days was pure torture.