Falling Apart
Goodbye, Farewell and Amen: Part One
***********************************
When July came around Margaret still hadn't told her fiancée of the coming baby. When Scarlett tested her she was eight weeks along, and now she was ten. BJ and Scarlett were the only ones that knew and they threatened to tell him if she didn't.
"Magpie, when are you going to tell Benny?" Scarlett asked as she tired her combat boots.
"Today I promise."
"How you feeling?"
"Well I don't feel like throwing up at the moment. And I feel like there's a tire around my waist." Scarlett laughed and walked over to her friend.
"Lay down, I want to see how the baby is sitting."
"What?"
"I'll be doing this once a month, I'm your doctor and your friend." Margaret smiled and laid down. "Now lets see how little Pierce Houlihan is sitting." After Scarlett determined the position of the fetus she started to tickle Margaret.
"RED!" She screamed through laughter.
"Say Uncle!"
"UNCLE! UNCLE!" She yelled through shrieks of laughter. Scarlett stopped and pulled her friend up. "Why the hell did you do that?"
"Because I love you." Scarlett smiled.
"Hey you girls coming?" Hawkeye asked opening the door.
"Yup." Scarlett smiled running out of the tent to find Charles.
"Hey baby, you ready?"
"Yes." Margaret smiled taking the hand he offered.
"Good. It looks like my Sexy was ready."
"Yeah, Red was up before revile."
"That's a first." Hawkeye commented as they walked over to the bus. "After you my dear," He said holding out an arm and allowing her to go. Margaret smiled and climbed on the bus. She looked over at Scarlett who was talking with BJ. Hawkeye squeezed her hand and gave a smile as the bus started to move.
They were headed to a cove off of Inchan (spelling there) since the Colonel had given all the surgeons and some of the other personal the day off. Scarlett practically begged him to let them take the day off and he agreed to get the female surgeon off his back.
As soon as they arrive Scarlett jumped off the bus and ran into the waves splashing up. She fell down and personal burst out laughing.
"C'mere Red." Hawkeye said pulling her up. Scarlett smiled and stood up.
"Well what are we going to do?"
"Well I was hoping to talk to my fiancee." Margaret smiled. "Alone."
"Fine, BJ and I will just stay here." Scarlett said as she over acted the speech. Everyone laughed and watched as Hawkeye and Margaret walked away. He had his arm draped over her shoulders and was holding one her hands. The three smiled and decided to start on their day.
"I need to talk to you."
"What's the matter?"
"Well I know you are already a father."
"Sure am."
"Well how would you like to do it again?"
"You mean?" He asked placing a hand on her lower abdomen.
"Yeah."
"We're having a baby?"
"We're having a baby." Margaret smiled. A huge grin spread across his face. He lifted her up and started to swing her around as he screamed. Everyone turned to see them and smiled brightly. BJ and Scarlett looked at each other with huge grins and turned back to the people who just became parents.
When Hawkeye put her down he placed a kiss on her lips.
"I cant believe it! I just cant believe it!"
"I can."
"How many weeks?"
"Ten."
"Ten?" Margaret nodded in conformation. "We're having a baby!" Margaret smiled and held on as he twirled her around again. When he placed her down again, he once more gave her a kiss before dragging her over to BJ, and Scarlett.
"Well well well, my Benny and Magpie are parents. Who would have guessed? Well besides the world?" Scarlett teased.
"Red, shush your mouth." Hawkeye smiled. "I'm becoming a daddy. Can you believe it Beej?"
"I really can. Since I knew about it."
"What?" Hawkeye asked in confusion.
"Benny, BJ and I have known about the pregnancy for a while." Scarlett smiled
"How long."
"Since I diagnosed Magpie."
"So my best friends knew about this before I did?" Hawkeye asked turning to Margaret.
"Well BJ found out because he held my hair while I threw up. And Scarlett knew because she wants to be my doctor."
"And once you go home, Maggie is going to get a real OB. Because I refuse to deliver the baby."
"What?"
"Maggie. I'm your best friend. Would you trust me delivering your baby when you could actually have someone who specializes in delivering babies?"
"Scarlett's right Margaret. If you want her in the room with you then she'll hold your hand. But I don't want her delivering."
"How can you say that?" Margaret asked nearing to tears. BJ saw this and decided to settle things.
"Margaret, just think. Would want a friend who has only delivered babies in emergency cases to deliver the baby, or someone who does it because they want to see the miracle of life?"
"I see your point."
"Good. Now what do you say we go have some fun?" BJ smiled. Scarlett smiled brightly and grabbed her friend's hand before running towards the water again. Hawkeye and BJ burst out laughing as the sight of the two women drenched in water.
BJ ended up starting a volleyball game, which was an actual game until he and Hawkeye attacked each other through the net. Scarlett ended up throwing the ball at their heads causing them both to fall on their butts. Margaret who was sitting with some of the nurses burst out laughing when she saw the boys fall. They looked so cute sitting on the sand. BJ pulled Scarlett down into the sand and started tickling her.
"STOP IT!!" Scarlett screamed through fits of laughter. "Benny help me!"
"Oh no. You're going to get it." Hawkeye said attacking Scarlett as well.
"HELP! HELP!" Scarlet screamed kicking her feat in the air as the two gown men tickled her. Margaret sat back and watched her friend get what was coming to her. Finally Scarlett managed to get away from her attackers and run away. BJ smiled and ran after her. He ended up tripping and falling into the water. Hawkeye tripped over BJ and fell in after him. Scarlett stopped running and bust out laughing when she saw the two surgeons fall all over each other.
By the time lunch came around everyone found a large rock and either sat on it or around it. Scarlett swung her legs over BJ's shoulders and leaned on his head. Everyone stopped most activities while they ate. Hawkeye made Margaret eat even more then she wanted to. He kept on saying it was good for the baby.
"Benny, you're going to kill the baby before its born." Scarlett teased eating some cookies.
"Why arent you eating hotdogs?"
"Because, Maggie's Mommy sent me cookies. Laura and Andrew helped her make some and wanted to send to their mommy."
"Well share. They want to share with their uncles and aunt." Hawkeye smiled.
"Nope. You tickled me, Maggie want one?"
"But of course. Mom makes the best cookies. They add pounds by smelling." Margaret smiled taking the cookies.
"Oh I know. I killed every summer for these." Scarlett smiled sticking another cookie in her mouth. She looked over at her friends and tossed a cookie at them. "Eat. And then do some laps."
"What about Margaret?" BJ asked smelling the cookie.
"She knows how to carry the cookies. You two are beginners." Scarlett teased eating another cookie.
"Why did my mom send you cookies but not me?" Margaret asked stealing another cookie.
"Well ah..She told me to share." Scarlett said as she took another bite of the cookie.
"Hand it over." Margaret smiled taking the tin. Scarlett stuck out her tongue and grabbed more cookies.
The rest of the day was spent having fun. Everyone ended up all over the cove. Margaret and Hawkeye walked alone for a while, everyone smiled and did their own thing. Scarlett and BJ played a game of tag which ended up being hide and seek.
Just before dusk, everyone decided to head home. They all piled on the bus and headed back to the camp. They ended up picking some civilians up and then some soldiers.
It was shortly after that, everyone watched in horror as a woman killed her child. Scarlett buried her head in BJ's chest as Margaret watched her fiancee's famous mysterious twinkle in his eyes disappear. A little while later they all headed back to the 4077th. Charles was waiting for Scarlett, she immediately ran into his arms and buried her face into his chest. Charles wrapped his arms around her and guided her back to the Swamp. BJ went with a couple other nurses, while Hawkeye and Margaret went back to Margaret and Scarlett's tent.
The night was quiet as everyone thought about what happened. That morning everyone was woken up by wounded. Triage was just like it usually was, hectic. Immediately after initial triage the surgeons ran into the scrub room. They scrubbed and changed as the patients were prepared for surgery. All five surgeons entered the OR ready to take on what was brought to him.
Everyone stopped everything when the chief surgeon tried to operate without putting the patient to sleep first. He was ranting about how the nurse was trying to suffocate the patient. Finally after some coaxing, the patient was asleep.
After a short OR session, everyone decided they would head over to the O Club to toast the new parents. It was then that Hawkeye went and drove a jeep through the officer's club wall and ordered a bourbon. Margaret was in the O Club when it happened, she fled into Scarlett's arms in fright holding on for her life. Scarlett immediately put Margaret into Colonel Potter's arms, as she tried to coax her friend out of the jeep.
"Ben come on. Please?" Scarlett begged looking at her friend. "Please?"
"No. I'm perfectly fine. There's nothing wrong with me." Hawkeye argued.
"Benjamin please." Scarlett said again. "Come on, we'll go over to the Swamp for a drink."
"Why, when we can have a drink here?"
"Because I want to talk to you."
"So talk. Bartender where's that bourbon?"
"Benjamin Franklin Pierce, I need to tell you something." That caught Hawkeye's attention. He climbed out of the jeep and through the doors. Where he was taken a hold of by BJ, Klinger and Charles.
"Let me go! There's nothing wrong with me!" Hawkeye yelled trying to get free. Scarlett let some tears fall as BJ and Charles held him down as Klinger drove away. Margaret cried her eyes out, there was something terribly wrong with her fiancee, but she didn't know what.
Later that night, the three men came back to the camp, without the dark haired surgeon. Margaret stayed in her tent, clutching her doll, thinking about what happened with him. Scarlett came in shortly after the others returned. She knew her friend needed someone, with her father and fiancee not around, Scarlett was the first one to fill in. She sat and held her friend telling her everything would be alright. Even though something was eating away at her.
The days past slowly, Scarlett fell more into depression. Everyone watched as the usual chipper surgeon stopped talking and interacting with everyone. She spent her time in her tent, ignoring the world. While Margaret stayed out of depression with thinking of her unborn child, and how lucky she was to have the baby. She knew that something was wrong
with Scarlett but just couldn't figure out what. No one could.
Finally one day, Margaret took Scarlett to call Hawkeye. They both needed
to talk to him. BJ, Klinger, Father Mulchay and Colonel Potter were all waiting for them as the call was placed. Scarlett sat on Klinger's cot, as
Margaret paced back and forth.
"Hey I got him!" Klinger announced. Scarlett looked up and smiled slightly
as Margaret turned and smiled. She really missed her fiancee. Klinger
handed the phone to BJ as everyone crowded around.
"Hawk, its BJ.. How ya doing?...Well, listen, Sydney's the doctor.Ah, look Father Mulcahy would like to say hello." BJ quickly handed the phone to the
nervous priest standing beside him.
"Hello.Hawkeye? Do you need anything? Can we send anything down to you? Ah, I'll see what I can do..Ah, uh, .perhaps Colonel Potter.um, uh.could ah.hmmm." Nervously Father Mulchay handed the phone to Colonel Potter who
took it without question.
"Pierce, we miss you here..So, uh.listen have you heard the latest? The
Truce Talks are on again..They must be serious about peace this time because the fighting's gotten a lot worse... They're trying to grab more real estate.before they sign, you know. Lots of casualties...Ah.um.Pierce,
Margaret won't rest until I put her on the phone, now you just hold on
there." Potter handed the phone to Margaret who looked scared. Scarlett
walked over to her and wrapped an arm around her friend.
Margaret didn't want to take it at first, not knowing what she'd say to the man on the other end. With encouragement from Scarlett she smiled and said
something. "Hawkeye?"
Margaret tried to hand the phone to Scarlett who pushed it back, so she
tried to Colonel Potter who refused to take it, instead insisting. "No,
you'll be great."
Margaret nodded and put the phone back on her ear. "How do you feel...Oh, same old stuff. This and that, ups and downs - what can I say?..Oh, it was great talking to you. You just take care of yourself okay. Scarlett wants
to talk to you." Margaret handed the phone to Scarlett.
"Hey Benny..I'm fine.Really. Don't worry about me..what about you?.Good. Um..listen.yeah fine.Uh huh. Listen I love you. Yeah. Klinger
wants to say hello."
"What do you say, Captain?" Klinger greeted easily. Hey, you sound perfectly normal to me." The Lebanese man exclaimed in delight. "How is it
there? You crazy about the place." Everyone shot him angry glances but Klinger quickly brushed them off. "Oh, he loves it, he loves it!.. Can you
believe that Sigmund Reeve? We almost got peace and he wants to keep
fighting. This could go on forever."
Margaret quickly took the phone away from Klinger as everyone else shot him
looks of anger. "Uh, Hawk? Hello, it's me again. Don't listen to him, honey, peace is right around the corner. We're all making plans for home.
Isn't that right?" Margaret smiled looking over at the group for confirmation. Everyone nodded as she thought what she was going to say. "I
can't wait to get back to the States and work in a real hospital with sanitary conditions and regular shifts and plain old ordinary diseases. BJ
says that he's going to make a ring out of his first kidney stone." She
gave a forced laugh, but stopped when she realized her fiancee hadn't joined in. Sighing slightly she lowered her tone and with a voice full of emotion she said. "You just take care of yourself, okay. We all miss you
here."
Margaret hung up the phone and swallowed the tears she was holding back. Scarlett walked out of the office and into her tent immediately. Margaret
ran after her not knowing what was going on with her.
"Scarlett. Whats going on."
"What do you mean?" Scarlett asked putting her things away.
"You havent been the same for a while now. What's going on."
"Well first things, because of this war, I lost my children. Second, I'm being discharged. Third of all," Scarlett started before bursting out and
crying. Margaret sat down and hugged her friend.
"Scarlett whats the matter?"
"Do you remember when I went to Tokyo?"
"Yes, why?"
"I went for testing."
"Testing for what? What's wrong Scarlett?"
"They wont know for sure for another week, but I might have hemophilia."
"What? How?"
"Its genetic. Mom had it. That's how she died."
"I'm so sorry."
"If I do, that means I cant have children. I could die."
"Its okay. You already have two beautiful children." Margaret smiled
pointing to the pictures of Scarlett's children.
"Don't I know it."
"Listen, everything will work out for the best. I promise." Margaret smiled
hugging Scarlett.
"Thanks. You make everything better." Scarlett smiled. "I have to go tell
Colonel Potter about this. He needs to know."
"Charles too." Margaret told her friend. Scarlett nodded and left the tent.
Everything in her world was falling apart. But soon it would fall right
back together.
When July came around Margaret still hadn't told her fiancée of the coming baby. When Scarlett tested her she was eight weeks along, and now she was ten. BJ and Scarlett were the only ones that knew and they threatened to tell him if she didn't.
"Magpie, when are you going to tell Benny?" Scarlett asked as she tired her combat boots.
"Today I promise."
"How you feeling?"
"Well I don't feel like throwing up at the moment. And I feel like there's a tire around my waist." Scarlett laughed and walked over to her friend.
"Lay down, I want to see how the baby is sitting."
"What?"
"I'll be doing this once a month, I'm your doctor and your friend." Margaret smiled and laid down. "Now lets see how little Pierce Houlihan is sitting." After Scarlett determined the position of the fetus she started to tickle Margaret.
"RED!" She screamed through laughter.
"Say Uncle!"
"UNCLE! UNCLE!" She yelled through shrieks of laughter. Scarlett stopped and pulled her friend up. "Why the hell did you do that?"
"Because I love you." Scarlett smiled.
"Hey you girls coming?" Hawkeye asked opening the door.
"Yup." Scarlett smiled running out of the tent to find Charles.
"Hey baby, you ready?"
"Yes." Margaret smiled taking the hand he offered.
"Good. It looks like my Sexy was ready."
"Yeah, Red was up before revile."
"That's a first." Hawkeye commented as they walked over to the bus. "After you my dear," He said holding out an arm and allowing her to go. Margaret smiled and climbed on the bus. She looked over at Scarlett who was talking with BJ. Hawkeye squeezed her hand and gave a smile as the bus started to move.
They were headed to a cove off of Inchan (spelling there) since the Colonel had given all the surgeons and some of the other personal the day off. Scarlett practically begged him to let them take the day off and he agreed to get the female surgeon off his back.
As soon as they arrive Scarlett jumped off the bus and ran into the waves splashing up. She fell down and personal burst out laughing.
"C'mere Red." Hawkeye said pulling her up. Scarlett smiled and stood up.
"Well what are we going to do?"
"Well I was hoping to talk to my fiancee." Margaret smiled. "Alone."
"Fine, BJ and I will just stay here." Scarlett said as she over acted the speech. Everyone laughed and watched as Hawkeye and Margaret walked away. He had his arm draped over her shoulders and was holding one her hands. The three smiled and decided to start on their day.
"I need to talk to you."
"What's the matter?"
"Well I know you are already a father."
"Sure am."
"Well how would you like to do it again?"
"You mean?" He asked placing a hand on her lower abdomen.
"Yeah."
"We're having a baby?"
"We're having a baby." Margaret smiled. A huge grin spread across his face. He lifted her up and started to swing her around as he screamed. Everyone turned to see them and smiled brightly. BJ and Scarlett looked at each other with huge grins and turned back to the people who just became parents.
When Hawkeye put her down he placed a kiss on her lips.
"I cant believe it! I just cant believe it!"
"I can."
"How many weeks?"
"Ten."
"Ten?" Margaret nodded in conformation. "We're having a baby!" Margaret smiled and held on as he twirled her around again. When he placed her down again, he once more gave her a kiss before dragging her over to BJ, and Scarlett.
"Well well well, my Benny and Magpie are parents. Who would have guessed? Well besides the world?" Scarlett teased.
"Red, shush your mouth." Hawkeye smiled. "I'm becoming a daddy. Can you believe it Beej?"
"I really can. Since I knew about it."
"What?" Hawkeye asked in confusion.
"Benny, BJ and I have known about the pregnancy for a while." Scarlett smiled
"How long."
"Since I diagnosed Magpie."
"So my best friends knew about this before I did?" Hawkeye asked turning to Margaret.
"Well BJ found out because he held my hair while I threw up. And Scarlett knew because she wants to be my doctor."
"And once you go home, Maggie is going to get a real OB. Because I refuse to deliver the baby."
"What?"
"Maggie. I'm your best friend. Would you trust me delivering your baby when you could actually have someone who specializes in delivering babies?"
"Scarlett's right Margaret. If you want her in the room with you then she'll hold your hand. But I don't want her delivering."
"How can you say that?" Margaret asked nearing to tears. BJ saw this and decided to settle things.
"Margaret, just think. Would want a friend who has only delivered babies in emergency cases to deliver the baby, or someone who does it because they want to see the miracle of life?"
"I see your point."
"Good. Now what do you say we go have some fun?" BJ smiled. Scarlett smiled brightly and grabbed her friend's hand before running towards the water again. Hawkeye and BJ burst out laughing as the sight of the two women drenched in water.
BJ ended up starting a volleyball game, which was an actual game until he and Hawkeye attacked each other through the net. Scarlett ended up throwing the ball at their heads causing them both to fall on their butts. Margaret who was sitting with some of the nurses burst out laughing when she saw the boys fall. They looked so cute sitting on the sand. BJ pulled Scarlett down into the sand and started tickling her.
"STOP IT!!" Scarlett screamed through fits of laughter. "Benny help me!"
"Oh no. You're going to get it." Hawkeye said attacking Scarlett as well.
"HELP! HELP!" Scarlet screamed kicking her feat in the air as the two gown men tickled her. Margaret sat back and watched her friend get what was coming to her. Finally Scarlett managed to get away from her attackers and run away. BJ smiled and ran after her. He ended up tripping and falling into the water. Hawkeye tripped over BJ and fell in after him. Scarlett stopped running and bust out laughing when she saw the two surgeons fall all over each other.
By the time lunch came around everyone found a large rock and either sat on it or around it. Scarlett swung her legs over BJ's shoulders and leaned on his head. Everyone stopped most activities while they ate. Hawkeye made Margaret eat even more then she wanted to. He kept on saying it was good for the baby.
"Benny, you're going to kill the baby before its born." Scarlett teased eating some cookies.
"Why arent you eating hotdogs?"
"Because, Maggie's Mommy sent me cookies. Laura and Andrew helped her make some and wanted to send to their mommy."
"Well share. They want to share with their uncles and aunt." Hawkeye smiled.
"Nope. You tickled me, Maggie want one?"
"But of course. Mom makes the best cookies. They add pounds by smelling." Margaret smiled taking the cookies.
"Oh I know. I killed every summer for these." Scarlett smiled sticking another cookie in her mouth. She looked over at her friends and tossed a cookie at them. "Eat. And then do some laps."
"What about Margaret?" BJ asked smelling the cookie.
"She knows how to carry the cookies. You two are beginners." Scarlett teased eating another cookie.
"Why did my mom send you cookies but not me?" Margaret asked stealing another cookie.
"Well ah..She told me to share." Scarlett said as she took another bite of the cookie.
"Hand it over." Margaret smiled taking the tin. Scarlett stuck out her tongue and grabbed more cookies.
The rest of the day was spent having fun. Everyone ended up all over the cove. Margaret and Hawkeye walked alone for a while, everyone smiled and did their own thing. Scarlett and BJ played a game of tag which ended up being hide and seek.
Just before dusk, everyone decided to head home. They all piled on the bus and headed back to the camp. They ended up picking some civilians up and then some soldiers.
It was shortly after that, everyone watched in horror as a woman killed her child. Scarlett buried her head in BJ's chest as Margaret watched her fiancee's famous mysterious twinkle in his eyes disappear. A little while later they all headed back to the 4077th. Charles was waiting for Scarlett, she immediately ran into his arms and buried her face into his chest. Charles wrapped his arms around her and guided her back to the Swamp. BJ went with a couple other nurses, while Hawkeye and Margaret went back to Margaret and Scarlett's tent.
The night was quiet as everyone thought about what happened. That morning everyone was woken up by wounded. Triage was just like it usually was, hectic. Immediately after initial triage the surgeons ran into the scrub room. They scrubbed and changed as the patients were prepared for surgery. All five surgeons entered the OR ready to take on what was brought to him.
Everyone stopped everything when the chief surgeon tried to operate without putting the patient to sleep first. He was ranting about how the nurse was trying to suffocate the patient. Finally after some coaxing, the patient was asleep.
After a short OR session, everyone decided they would head over to the O Club to toast the new parents. It was then that Hawkeye went and drove a jeep through the officer's club wall and ordered a bourbon. Margaret was in the O Club when it happened, she fled into Scarlett's arms in fright holding on for her life. Scarlett immediately put Margaret into Colonel Potter's arms, as she tried to coax her friend out of the jeep.
"Ben come on. Please?" Scarlett begged looking at her friend. "Please?"
"No. I'm perfectly fine. There's nothing wrong with me." Hawkeye argued.
"Benjamin please." Scarlett said again. "Come on, we'll go over to the Swamp for a drink."
"Why, when we can have a drink here?"
"Because I want to talk to you."
"So talk. Bartender where's that bourbon?"
"Benjamin Franklin Pierce, I need to tell you something." That caught Hawkeye's attention. He climbed out of the jeep and through the doors. Where he was taken a hold of by BJ, Klinger and Charles.
"Let me go! There's nothing wrong with me!" Hawkeye yelled trying to get free. Scarlett let some tears fall as BJ and Charles held him down as Klinger drove away. Margaret cried her eyes out, there was something terribly wrong with her fiancee, but she didn't know what.
Later that night, the three men came back to the camp, without the dark haired surgeon. Margaret stayed in her tent, clutching her doll, thinking about what happened with him. Scarlett came in shortly after the others returned. She knew her friend needed someone, with her father and fiancee not around, Scarlett was the first one to fill in. She sat and held her friend telling her everything would be alright. Even though something was eating away at her.
The days past slowly, Scarlett fell more into depression. Everyone watched as the usual chipper surgeon stopped talking and interacting with everyone. She spent her time in her tent, ignoring the world. While Margaret stayed out of depression with thinking of her unborn child, and how lucky she was to have the baby. She knew that something was wrong
with Scarlett but just couldn't figure out what. No one could.
Finally one day, Margaret took Scarlett to call Hawkeye. They both needed
to talk to him. BJ, Klinger, Father Mulchay and Colonel Potter were all waiting for them as the call was placed. Scarlett sat on Klinger's cot, as
Margaret paced back and forth.
"Hey I got him!" Klinger announced. Scarlett looked up and smiled slightly
as Margaret turned and smiled. She really missed her fiancee. Klinger
handed the phone to BJ as everyone crowded around.
"Hawk, its BJ.. How ya doing?...Well, listen, Sydney's the doctor.Ah, look Father Mulcahy would like to say hello." BJ quickly handed the phone to the
nervous priest standing beside him.
"Hello.Hawkeye? Do you need anything? Can we send anything down to you? Ah, I'll see what I can do..Ah, uh, .perhaps Colonel Potter.um, uh.could ah.hmmm." Nervously Father Mulchay handed the phone to Colonel Potter who
took it without question.
"Pierce, we miss you here..So, uh.listen have you heard the latest? The
Truce Talks are on again..They must be serious about peace this time because the fighting's gotten a lot worse... They're trying to grab more real estate.before they sign, you know. Lots of casualties...Ah.um.Pierce,
Margaret won't rest until I put her on the phone, now you just hold on
there." Potter handed the phone to Margaret who looked scared. Scarlett
walked over to her and wrapped an arm around her friend.
Margaret didn't want to take it at first, not knowing what she'd say to the man on the other end. With encouragement from Scarlett she smiled and said
something. "Hawkeye?"
Margaret tried to hand the phone to Scarlett who pushed it back, so she
tried to Colonel Potter who refused to take it, instead insisting. "No,
you'll be great."
Margaret nodded and put the phone back on her ear. "How do you feel...Oh, same old stuff. This and that, ups and downs - what can I say?..Oh, it was great talking to you. You just take care of yourself okay. Scarlett wants
to talk to you." Margaret handed the phone to Scarlett.
"Hey Benny..I'm fine.Really. Don't worry about me..what about you?.Good. Um..listen.yeah fine.Uh huh. Listen I love you. Yeah. Klinger
wants to say hello."
"What do you say, Captain?" Klinger greeted easily. Hey, you sound perfectly normal to me." The Lebanese man exclaimed in delight. "How is it
there? You crazy about the place." Everyone shot him angry glances but Klinger quickly brushed them off. "Oh, he loves it, he loves it!.. Can you
believe that Sigmund Reeve? We almost got peace and he wants to keep
fighting. This could go on forever."
Margaret quickly took the phone away from Klinger as everyone else shot him
looks of anger. "Uh, Hawk? Hello, it's me again. Don't listen to him, honey, peace is right around the corner. We're all making plans for home.
Isn't that right?" Margaret smiled looking over at the group for confirmation. Everyone nodded as she thought what she was going to say. "I
can't wait to get back to the States and work in a real hospital with sanitary conditions and regular shifts and plain old ordinary diseases. BJ
says that he's going to make a ring out of his first kidney stone." She
gave a forced laugh, but stopped when she realized her fiancee hadn't joined in. Sighing slightly she lowered her tone and with a voice full of emotion she said. "You just take care of yourself, okay. We all miss you
here."
Margaret hung up the phone and swallowed the tears she was holding back. Scarlett walked out of the office and into her tent immediately. Margaret
ran after her not knowing what was going on with her.
"Scarlett. Whats going on."
"What do you mean?" Scarlett asked putting her things away.
"You havent been the same for a while now. What's going on."
"Well first things, because of this war, I lost my children. Second, I'm being discharged. Third of all," Scarlett started before bursting out and
crying. Margaret sat down and hugged her friend.
"Scarlett whats the matter?"
"Do you remember when I went to Tokyo?"
"Yes, why?"
"I went for testing."
"Testing for what? What's wrong Scarlett?"
"They wont know for sure for another week, but I might have hemophilia."
"What? How?"
"Its genetic. Mom had it. That's how she died."
"I'm so sorry."
"If I do, that means I cant have children. I could die."
"Its okay. You already have two beautiful children." Margaret smiled
pointing to the pictures of Scarlett's children.
"Don't I know it."
"Listen, everything will work out for the best. I promise." Margaret smiled
hugging Scarlett.
"Thanks. You make everything better." Scarlett smiled. "I have to go tell
Colonel Potter about this. He needs to know."
"Charles too." Margaret told her friend. Scarlett nodded and left the tent.
Everything in her world was falling apart. But soon it would fall right
back together.