Chapter Five
Margaret let BJ and Hawkeye have their fit of quiet laughter, rolling her eyes occasionally, and finally, they stopped.
"Oh Peg, BJ, you two must be dreadfully tired after your trip. Come into the house, so you can freshen up and we can get you something to eat!" Margaret cried, again smiling at the Hunnicut family.
Peg and the children followed Margaret, who was chatting amiably to the other blonde woman, waddling along at a steady pace. Hawkeye and BJ followed, smiling, walking slowly as they talked.
"Boy, Hawk, she really isn't the Margaret Houlihan I remember..."
"Damn straight! She's Margaret Pierce!"
BJ laughed, but fell silent again as they entered the Pierce household. It was simply beautiful. Obviously the grand Victorian-style house had been passed down through many generations, from the cherry coloured hardwood floor, to the clean white walls. There was a grand piano over in the corner, and BJ wondered if any of them played. He watched Margaret leading his family down a narrow hallway, and followed with Hawkeye, until they came to a magnificent staircase that led up to the next floor. BJ walked up with the rest of his family, running a hand over the careful woodwork that was the banister.
"Watch this!"
Hawkeye gave one of his trademark smiles and ran up before anyone else. With a worried sigh, Margaret muttered beneath her breath "Not again..." and watched as he reached the very top. Then, swinging a leg over, Hawkeye slid flawlessly down the banner, not scared a single bit. The Hunnicut family gasped as he vaulted over the polished knob at the end and landed on the floor. Then he ran back up and took his place beside BJ, grinning.
"Showoff."
BJ muttered, though he was smiling. The top of the staircase led straight into another hallway that went to the back of the house, another hall branching off halfway through the right side wall. While the one they were in had only two doors on the left wall, and one at the dead end, the hallway branching off of it had five doors on each side.
"Here y'go, Beej." Hawkeye ushered them into the first room on the right, BJ in the lead. It seemed abnormally small, and BJ paled when he saw the room's only contents; an old, olive-green Army cot. Hawkeye rushed in past him, though, and pulled down a plastic curtain that was the exact same color as the walls around and behind it, to reveal a regular bed for two, and a comfortable-looking hospital cot a few feet away. The room was, in reality, of medium size and very pleasant in appearance.
"That one's for Erin; we'll have to get two more for Charlie and Ben. I've got a bunch from Portland Gene- OW!"
Hawkeye recieved a punch in the arm from BJ, who walked in and glared down at the Army cot. "That wasn't funny." But the corners of his mouth were twitching with a smile, and Hawkeye just gave an impish grin.
"That door on the right is to a bathroom. You're one of the lucky ones! Yours is the only room connected to the bathroom, besides Potter's. The others have to walk across the hallway!" Peg walked into the bathroom to freshen up, while Charlie and Benjamin automatically started jumping on the bed under their mother's watchful scowl. Hawkeye, however, seemed to have no problem with this. The look of long-suffering on his face made it look as though he wanted to join them.
"Hawkeye! Radar's here!"
Margaret called from downstairs, now standing by the open front door.
"Oh boy! Radar!"
Hawkeye and BJ called in unision, bolting down the stairs.
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