CHAPTER 13
September 1958
Margaret could almost feel the cool breeze from the ocean flow over her. She was lying on a huge bed under a canopy on a secluded island. The only other person on the island was the man lying next to her tangled in the white sheet that was covering the bed. With her eyes still closed she smiled to herself letting the breeze and sounds of the ocean run through her senses. She could feel the sun beating down and the breeze coming off the water. She didn't know how she got there, but she was in love with the spot. She started to hear the birds go wild all around her and opened her eyes. They started to get louder and louder and their normal noise changed.
**********
Hawkeye didn't open his eyes when he heard the noise, but rolled over on his side and tapped his wife. "Baby," he mumbled. "Get up. Hurry up."
Margaret opened her eyes and realized that the annoying sound she was hearing wasn't coming from seagulls on a deserted island, but from the little black clock on her nightstand. She rolled over and grabbed it trying to shut it off as quickly as she could. She hated the sound of the alarm clock. "Ahh," she sighed.
"You getting up?" Hawkeye asked sleepily.
"Yes," she mumbled. She pushed back the covers and got out of bed heading for the bathroom. There was nothing like a nice hot shower to wake help wake a person up in the morning.
Everyone was on a new routine now. She had to wake up at 5AM now rather than eight when the baby would wake her up. Starting work had changed things for everyone and it was all still new. After letting the warm water wash over her for a while she got out and started to get ready for work. She had found a position back at the same hospital she had worked at along with Hawkeye, but she could no longer be the head nurse. She was a part time OR nurse which allowed her the flexibility to schedule her surgeries.
Danny would sleep until the minute his father would wake him up. Hawkeye was now the one that got the boys up and fed them and then took Danny to preschool and Matt to daycare. Needless to say the mornings were very hectic for him and the boys. Margaret would get up, take care of herself, check in on the boys, and then head off to work. It was Hawkeye that was left with everything concerning the boys.
Margaret made sure Hawkeye was awake and then she went and looked in on the two boys. She laid out their outfits and packed their bags for the day and then she left to go to work.
There were times that she would be with Hawkeye in surgery and if not she would go see him before she left to go get the baby at daycare. She wanted to see how the boys were that morning and make sure everything was okay. Danny was usually never a problem because he liked going to preschool, but Matt never liked being left at daycare. He was okay once his father left, but he would cry at first.
Margaret knocked in her husband's office door because the secretary was out for a few minutes. She opened the door when he answered and walked in. He was at his desk doing some paperwork and smiled when he saw her. "Hey baby."
"Hi." She leaned over his desk and gave him a kiss before sitting down. "How were the boys today?"
"Same as usual."
"Matt screamed and cried?" Hawkeye nodded. "Danny was happy to go?" He nodded again. "Anything I need to know about?"
"Not that I can think of. How was work this morning?"
"Good. Do you have time to get lunch?"
"I wish. I don't even know if I'll be home on time tonight. Things are pretty hectic for me this week."
"I know. Should I make dinner for just the boys and I or will you there?"
"I don't know yet. I'll call later this afternoon."
She could see that he wasn't in the talking mood so she stood up and gave him another kiss. "I'll talk to you later. I should go get Matt now."
"Okay. Bye honey."
"Bye." Margaret picked up her purse and coat and left the room. Hawkeye seemed awfully distant but she passed it off as having to do with work. He would get like that when he was busy. She had other things that she needed to do anyway. She would have to go pick up Matt at daycare and give him lunch. It was nice to be alone with him in the afternoons, although he slept most of the time before they had to go get Danny at preschool. It was a nice afternoon walk right now, but when it got colder they would have to find another way to get Danny home. She didn't want Matt out in the extreme cold taking chances with getting him sick.
******
Hawkeye sat at his desk with his head pounding. He looked at the stack of papers on his desk and his head seemed to pound harder at the thought of having to finish those. If there was anything he didn't like about being a doctor, it was the politics in the hospital and the paper work.
He ran his fingers through his hair and looked up from his papers. The first thing he saw made him smile. Margaret had recently got the boys' pictures done. Matt was sitting up smiling with his arms outstretched slightly and Danny was sitting next to him Indian style with his hands on his lap. He loved those two little boys more than life itself and looking at them made him want to get up and go home. Next to that picture was a picture of Margaret and the two boys from when they went to Maine. The three of them were sitting on a blanket in the grass. Matt was on his belly, Danny was next to him on his belly and Margaret was sitting to the side of Matt. They had been playing and were all laughing and smiling. When he called their names all three of them looked up at him with those big smiles and he snapped the perfect picture. He chuckled to himself remember how mad Margaret had been. She was sure she looked terrible, but was pleasantly surprised that the picture had come out so well. On the corner of his desk was a picture of him and Margaret. It had been taken recently. When Margaret made the boys get their pictures done she had made him too. He didn't like the idea at first, but once he saw the picture of the two of them and the family portrait, he changed his mind quickly. The family portrait wasn't on his desk, but in the center of the same wall that he had all of his diplomas on.
He needed a little break so he put down his pen and picked up the phone. He dialed home realizing that he seemed to have been a little mean to his wife earlier that day. He didn't mean to be; he had just been so busy and frustrated. After six rings there still wasn't any answer. Looking at the clock he knew why; Margaret and Matt had gone to pick Danny up from preschool. He hung up the phone and went back to his stack of papers.
*****
Finally six o'clock came and he jumped up from his desk and left the hospital. He hadn't had a terrible day, but it wasn't good either. It seemed to take an eternity to walk home that night, but he finally made it and when he did he realized that it didn't take longer than normal, in fact the trip was shorter than normal. Unlocking the door to the apartment he found the noise of home comforting. No one was in the living room; they were all in the kitchen. Danny was on a chair at the counter pouring something in a bowl while Margaret stood next to him mixing and telling him what to put in. Matt was on the floor banging plastic bowls together making as much noise as he possibly could. A bright smile spread across his face when he saw his father. He threw the bowls out of his way and crawled as fast as he could over to Hawkeye.
Hawkeye picked him up and gave him a kiss. "Hi, little guy." Matt laid his head down on his father's shoulder and wrapped his arms around his neck. "Ooh, I missed you today too."
Margaret looked over when Hawkeye walked into the kitchen. Matt had picked up his head and was smiling proudly as he was perched in his father's arms. "Did you find Daddy? You missed him today, didn't you?"
Hawkeye smiled and bent down and gave his wife a kiss. "He loves his father."
Margaret nodded. Matt had been getting closer and closer to his father the older he got. "How was your day?"
"Boring as hell," he said. "Hi buddy," he said to Danny. "What are you doing?"
"Helpin' Mommy cook."
"Ah. What are you making?"
Danny paused and looked at his mother with confusion. "What am I makin'?"
She smiled at him. "You're making a pie."
"Yeah." He looked at his father. "I'm making a pie."
Hawkeye smiled and took a seat at the table with the baby on his lap. "Okay. What's for dinner?" He asked his wife.
"Steak and rice. I'm just about to start it."
That sounded so good to him. "I love you!"
She laughed. "Anything new at work?"
"Nothing that I want to talk about right now. I'll tell you later. Anything new happen today?"
She turned around and looked at him. "Well, your son has something to tell you. Don't you Danny?"
Danny turned around in his chair and looked at his father with wide eyes. "Do I have to?"
"Yes you do," his mother said.
"Okay," the four year old sighed. "I got in trouble today at school." He quickly turned around hoping he wouldn't be asked any details.
Hawkeye looked at Margaret. "What happened?"
She glanced over at Danny and saw that he was scared to tell his father anything more. "He said a bad word at recess."
Hawkeye rolled his eyes and shook his head in disappointment. "What the hell is the matter with you, Danny? You know better than that!"
"I didn't mean to," he turned around and looked at his father.
"Get down and go get washed up for dinner."
Danny looked at his mother with pleading eyes. "But I was…"
"Go!" Hawkeye said firmly.
Margaret helped him down. "Go do what your father said," she said gently to him. When Danny was out of ear shot Margaret fixated Hawkeye with a piercing look. "What the hell is wrong with you? Why did you do that to him?!"
"I didn't do anything wrong. He knows better. I don't want him to grow up to be a little hoodlum."
She rolled her eyes. "He's four years old!"
"So? He's old enough to know better."
"Hawkeye, he's a good boy. He knew it was wrong."
"Good. Maybe next time he'll think before he does something bad."
"Oh my god! You don't even know what happened! He thinks you're mad at him."
"I am. He needs to be punished."
"You think I let him come home and get away with it? Do you think they let him get away with it in school? For god sake, he didn't let himself get away with it."
"What do you mean?"
She took a deep breath before she lunged at him. He was being so…she didn't even know what he was being. "It was a mistake."
"How can that be?"
"He was at recess and he and another little boy were running around. Danny tripped and fell to his knees. When he did, he said, 'shit'. The other little boy ran off and told the teacher. Danny started crying and apologizing. He knew what he did the second he let the word out of his mouth. The teacher said he spent the rest of the afternoon like that. He sat in the corner of the room while the other children played, and when she asked him to come out and play he wouldn't. He stayed there sad, but he stopped crying."
Hawkeye started to feel a little guilty. He rarely yelled and when he did it scared Danny. "What about when you got there?"
"Oh, I felt so bad. He started crying again. You know what's been wrong?"
"What?"
"He's been scared that you would be mad at him."
Hawkeye closed his eyes and shook his head. Now he really felt bad. He made his son's fear come true. "I'm not mad at him. I know he's little and he'll make mistakes. What I don't understand is why he said that."
"Believe me, I thought that same thing at first, but then I realized that its our fault."
"Ours? How?"
"Neither one of us have been known to have clean mouths. He picked it up from us. We have to be more careful from now on."
"You're right." It wasn't like him to jump to conclusions and get mad. Especially when it came to the kids. "I should go talk to him, huh?" She nodded. He stood up and handed the baby over to her. "I'll go fix it."
"Good." Margaret placed the baby in his highchair and gave him some toys to play with. She didn't want him to follow Hawkeye and she knew he would do that if she put him down on the floor. When he was settled she went back to starting dinner.
Hawkeye looked in the bathroom to see if Danny was still in there washing his hands. He didn't find the child in there so he looked in the little boy's bedroom. Danny was sitting on the edge of his bed with his head hung low and his hands folded on his lap. "Hi buddy."
"Hi," Danny didn't look up.
Hawkeye sat down next to him. "What's the matter?"
He looked into his father's eyes and started to cry. "I'm bad…and you…you're mad at me."
"You're not a bad boy. You're a good boy. You just made a mistake. I don't want you to ever make that mistake again or you're going to be in a lot of trouble."
"Okay."
"And, I'm not mad at you, buddy. I'm sorry I yelled at you."
"I'm sorry I said a bad word."
"Did Mommy punish you?" Danny nodded his head. "What did she do?"
"She made me stay in my room and I couldn't play."
Hawkeye thought that sounded a little odd. That was a light punishment for Margaret to give. She was normally the one that was more firm and strict. "Go wash your face and then finish helping Mom."
"Okay. Daddy, I'm sorry."
"I know you are." Hawkeye gave Danny a hug. "Tomorrow will be a better day."
That little face with the bright blue eyes looked up at him. "Promise?"
"I promise," he smiled. "I've never lied to you, have I?"
"No." Danny jumped off of the bed and ran to the bathroom satisfied that the next day would be better just because his father said it would.
Hawkeye got up and walked back to the kitchen. He didn't have the best day and he was taking it out on his son. Margaret would make him talk about it later after the boys were in bed or at least taken care of and content enough so that they could talk. Margaret saw him walked into the kitchen. "Would you set the table, please?"
"Yeah." He walked over to the cabinet and got the plates. "You want me to feed the baby before we eat?"
"Yes." Matt loved to eat, but when he had a choice between eating his food or the other food on the table, he wouldn't pick his baby food. "I have some jars right there for him." She pointed to the counter. "Did you fix things with Danny?"
"Yes. You were right."
Margaret smiled. "What, I couldn't hear you."
"I said you were right." Hawkeye pulled a chair up to Matt and sat down.
"What was that?"
"I said…" He caught on to what she was doing. "You know what I said," he grinned at her.
"I just like to hear you say it."
"Well that's the last time you'll hear me say that." Margaret choked down a laugh. Hawkeye looked at Matt. "Your mother thinks that's funny. Do you?" Matt smiled and clapped his hands off the tray. "You're just alike."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The boys were in bed at their normal time that night which left Margaret to her normal routine after they were asleep. She would clean up their toys, which sometimes she didn't know why she even bothered because they would get their toys out in the morning anyway. She would finish tidying the house and then she would find her husband. It was really the only time of the day that they had a chance to be together. Normally Hawkeye would follow her around like a little puppy while she tidied up the house, but tonight he didn't. He stayed right on the couch staring at the TV all night.
"Honey," she tapped his feet so he would pick them up and she could sit down. "Did you have a bad day?"
He put his legs back on her lap. "No…I don't know. It was just boring. I was stuck in my office and had people coming in and out bothering me."
"Oh."
"And to top it all off, I have a fundraiser banquet I have to attend."
She smiled at him. "That's not so bad. What's the big deal?"
"I hate that stuff."
"So, you get dressed up for a night and pretend you're having fun. Its for a good cause, I'm sure."
"Its for the pediatric ward."
"That's not so bad."
"You know you have to go with me, don't you?"
"Oh?" She questioned. "Because we're married now, you don't have to ask me? I'm just supposed to go?"
He rolled his eyes. "I didn't mean it like that. Would you please go with me?"
"Of course."
"Thank you."
"Why is that such a big deal? You've been acting like a grump all night."
"Because I hate those things."
She rolled her eyes. "You are such a brat! One fundraiser a year and you act like someone cut off your arm."
He pulled his legs off of her lap and sat up. "You know I don't like them, and there's something else too."
"What?"
"You know that conference that I seem to keep missing?"
"Yes."
"They're making me go."
"And?"
"And?! I don't want to go. Look what happens every time I go. Something bad happens."
"I wouldn't call Matt's birth bad!"
"Look, when they tried to send me the first time I ended up staying home because you were on bed rest. Then they tried to make me go again and I missed our son being born. Who the hell knows what's going to happen next. Besides, I can't go anyway. I'm the one who takes the boys to daycare and preschool. You're already at work by that time."
"We'll manage for a few days, honey. Don't worry about it."
He looked her in the eye. "You said that last time."
"Yes, but I'm wiser now," she smiled. "Go, try and have a good time. I'll arrange something for the boys for a few days."
"I was really hoping you wouldn't say that," he mumbled.
"Why?"
"Because I needed a good excuse to stay home."
"You're such a baby."
He smiled at her. "Am not!"
"Are too!"
"Am not."
She smiled and slapped his knee. "I'm heading to bed. Give me the details on the fundraiser tomorrow. Actually, I'll stop by your office after work."
"I'll come to bed with you." They stood up together. Margaret shut all the lights off and Hawkeye made sure that all the locks were secure. They both stopped in to check on the boys and then they headed off of to bed.
Margaret was in their bathroom taking off her makeup and getting ready for bed. She popped her head into the bedroom. "When do you have to go?"
"Oh, I have to leave next Monday."
"And when is the fundraiser?"
"Saturday." He pulled the covers down on his side of the bed and got in.
"This Saturday?" She went back to cleaning her face.
"Yes. Is that a problem?"
"Why didn't you tell me before?"
"Because I was trying to get out of it. I didn't think I was going to have to go."
She rolled her eyes. Shutting off the bathroom light she walked back into the bedroom. "That's not enough time for me."
"Time for what? I know you didn't have any plans."
She pulled down the covers and got in. "How do you know that? I didn't say anything to you."
"Because we're not going anywhere. We didn't have any plans."
"That doesn't mean I didn't have plans of my own. I could have been planning to leave the boys with you and gone and done something for myself."
He smiled. "You weren't going to do that."
"How do you know?!" She turned to look at him.
"You never do anything for yourself."
She sighed audibly. "You still should have told me. I need to find a dress, we need a sitter, I have to get a manicure…"
"Okay." He stopped her before she could go any further. "I get it, honey. What do you need me to do so you can get yourself ready to go?"
"I need time to go shopping. I need someone to take Matt one afternoon so I can get my nails and hair done, and maybe pick Danny up."
"I'm calling in sick tomorrow. I'll take the Danny to school in the morning and Matt and I will spend the day together. I'll get Danny too. You take the afternoon to yourself."
"No. I need to make an appointment. You can't take the day off anyway. You just want to get out of all that paper work."
Hawkeye laid down, pounding his pillow until he got it how he liked it. "What do you want me to do?" He shut the lamp off.
"I'll make calls and see if we can get a sitter and get myself in to get my hair done. Can you see if you can take the afternoon off the day after tomorrow? Maybe you could bring some work home."
"I'll see what I can do." He kissed her. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight, honey."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Hawkeye rummaged through the closet looking for one more piece to his tux. He couldn't express how much he hated going to banquets, balls, fundraisers, or anything else that required dressing up. He was always on edge. "Margaret, where the hell are my damn cuff links?!"
"I don't know. I don't where them." At the moment she was trying to squeeze into her dress.
"Could you help me?"
"Give me a few minutes. Finish getting dressed."
"Fine," he sighed. He walked back into the bathroom and brushed his teeth.
Margaret did her best to get into her new dress. She wouldn't be able to take another deep breath for the rest of the night, but at least she would look good. She was all ready to go now. She just had to get her husband ready and wait for the sitter for the boys.
Danny walked into the bedroom. "Mommy."
"Yes, honey?"
"Matt is being bad."
"He is? What's he doing?"
"He keeps trying to eat my toys!" Danny stated. He was very mad.
Margaret sighed. "He's teething." Danny looked up at her with confusion. "I'll get him." Margaret lead the way out of the room with Danny following on her heals. Matt was sitting in the middle of the living room floor chewing on his brother's favorite toy. "Matty, what are you doing?" He smiled up at her. She reached down and picked him up as best as her dress would allow her. "You're coming with me." She looked over at Danny. "There you go, honey."
"Thank you."
Margaret took the baby with her into the bedroom and sat him down in the middle of the bed. She handed him a teething ring and he laid down and concentrated on it. "Do you think you can relax for a few minutes while I get Daddy ready to go? I'll take your silence as a yes."
Hawkeye walked out into the bedroom without even looking at his wife. "Did you find my cuff links yet?"
"No." She was expecting him to say something about her dress, but he didn't. "I'll look now." She walked over to her jewelry box and pulled them out. "Here you go."
"Why were they in there?"
"I picked them up one day when I was cleaning and just tossed them in there."
"Why?" He took them from her.
"I just did."
He rolled his eyes. "We need to get out of here."
"I'm waiting on Jamie. She should be here soon." Just then there was a knock on the door. "That should be her." She picked Matt up. "You finish getting ready."
"Fine." He mumbled.
Margaret wiped her son's slobbery chin. "Your father is being a pain tonight. I can tell its going to be a long night already." Margaret opened the door and was greeted with a smile from Jamie. "Hi honey, come on in."
Jamie stepped in and Margaret shut the door behind her. "You look very nice Mrs. Pierce."
"Thank you."
She smiled at the little baby. "Hi cutie. I haven't seen you for over a week. Where have you been hiding?"
"Tell her we've been very busy." Matt smiled as he was handed over to the sitter. "Let me see…the boys have both been fed and bathed. They'll want a snack in about a half an hour. Matt gets one more bottle around eight or eight thirty. He'll let you know when he's ready, and then they both go to bed. You're more than welcome to anything we have here. Dr. Pierce and I should be home around midnight. Is that okay with you?"
"That's fine. Don't worry about anything. The three of us will have a good time together."
Danny saw her and jumped up. "Hi Jamie. Wanna play with me?"
"Of course."
"Don't let Matt play with us. Okay?"
"Danny," Margaret scolded. "Be nice." Margaret looked at the sitter. "Matt's teething and he likes to chew on his brother's toys. You just have to watch him."
"Alright."
"Let me go see how my husband is doing and then we'll be ready to go. Is there anything you need?"
"Not that I can think of."
"Okay." Margaret smiled. She turned and walked back into the bedroom. She shut the door behind her now that there was someone to keep an eye on the boys. "Hawk, are you almost ready?"
"Where are my shoes?" He was looking in the closet again.
Margaret pulled him out of the way and he sat on the edge of the bed while she went through the closet. She pulled out his shoes and handed them to him. "What else do you need?"
"I don't know."
She looked him over for a moment. "You need to fix your hair. I thought you were going to get a hair cut?"
"I didn't get to it."
She rolled her eyes. "Well at least fix your hair."
He put his shoes on and ran his hand through his hair. "How's that?"
She reached for her shoes and slipped into them. "I'm all ready."
"Me too."
Margaret stopped him from walking out the door and fixed his bow tie for him. He hated them so much. Margaret knew that, but she didn't think it was any reason to act like such a baby. "Can you do me a favor and act like a mature adult tonight. I know you don't like these events, but that's no reason to act like an ass."
"Fine!"
"There, you're all done now."
"Are you sure? You don't want to make sure that I went potty first?" She narrowed her eyes. "You are treating me like a child."
"Gee, I wonder why." She picked up her purse that was sitting on the dresser and opened the bedroom door. Hawkeye followed behind her. "Okay Jamie. We're all ready to go. I left a note on the kitchen table for you."
"Okay."
"Just make sure that the baby is asleep by nine, please."
"Margaret," Hawkeye said. "She's watched the boys before. She knows what to do."
"I know. I just want to make sure." Margaret walked into the living room and knelt down where the baby was. She gave him a kiss on the head. "Bye sweetheart. You be a good boy for Jamie. She'll take good care of you."
"Danny," Hawkeye said. "Come here." He wanted to talk to him before they left. Danny and Matt weren't getting along very well anymore because Matt followed his big brother around and wanted to play with the same toys. Danny didn't seem to like it much and Hawkeye wanted to lay the law down before they went out for the night. Danny was not to treat his baby brother badly.
Margaret looked at Jamie and filled her in. Then she gave the baby a kiss goodbye and Danny too. After a few minutes they were finally out the door and in a cab. Hawkeye tugged at his tie the whole time complaining about everything. Margaret tried not to listen, but he seemed determined to get her to. She wanted to have a good time with him, but it didn't look like they were going to. Just because it was something that he didn't want to do, he was bound and determined to make her night just as miserable.
When they arrived at the hotel Margaret made Hawkeye change his attitude and remember why he was there. It was for children. He knew she was right, and hated it. She took his arm and they walked in with fake smiles plastered on their faces.
As the night went on Margaret loosened up and forgot about Hawkeye. She was getting a lot of attention from some of the other doctors there. Since her husband wasn't paying her any, she found it elsewhere. Her night out wasn't going to be as miserable as his. She smiled and laughed at the jokes the other men were making, and had a good time. Hawkeye let her and even found himself enjoying the night a little bit. As long as Margaret didn't flirt with the other men then he was fine. There was no sense in getting jealous.
As the night wore on Hawkeye became more and more board. He had a little glimpse of fun at one time that night, but then his focus went to his wife. There was one particular man that was paying a little too much attention to her for Hawkeye's taste. It didn't help any that the doctor was someone Hawkeye didn't like. In fact they had been more of enemies than acquaintances.
It was getting close to midnight and Hawkeye was tired and now angry. He walked onto the dance floor to where his wife and Dr. Williams were dancing. "May I cut in?" Dr. Williams ignored him. "Excuse me. May I dance with my wife?" Again there was no response from the man, but instead the response came from Margaret.
"I'd love to." She removed herself from the other man's arms and went into her husbands. "I had a lovely time," she said to the other doctor.
"It was a pleasure nurse Houlihan."
Hawkeye's eyes widened. "Its Pierce." That man had worked with Margaret before they got married, and although he knew full well that she was now Mrs. Pierce, he always called her by her maiden name.
"Well, it was nice all the same. I'll see Monday."
"Goodbye." Margaret smiled.
Hawkeye looked at her and they started to dance, all be it very tensely. "What the hell was all of that?!"
"What?"
"Did you forget you were married?"
"Hawkeye, you told me I could dance with him."
"You should have known I didn't mean it. I can't stand him. He wants my wife."
"That's ridiculous."
"No its not."
"Hawkeye, listen to yourself. We were just dancing. Nothing more. You know I wouldn't…"
"Don't even say it." He stopped her. "Let's just get out of here and go home."
She was dead on her feet and her husband was acting like a fool. "Fine!" She moved out of his arms and walked off the dance floor making him follow.
He rolled his eyes. This is going to be great. He thought to himself. She's pissed now. "Margaret, slow down." He caught up with her and walked next to her to get their coats and her purse. Outside he hailed a cab and they rode home in complete silence, as far away from each other as they could get.
When they got to the apartment Margaret paid Jamie and then checked on the boys. They were both tucked into their beds sleeping soundly. Margaret went into the bedroom to get out of her clothes and into some comfortable pajamas. Hawkeye came in a few minutes after her but went straight to the bathroom. When he came back into the room Margaret was already in bed with all the lights off. He walked over and turned his bedside lamp on so he could see what he was doing and when he was in only his boxers he crawled into bed.
"Turn the light off," Margaret mumbled.
He rolled his eyes and shut the light off. He hated going to bed mad. It was Margaret who never seemed to care, but he couldn't sleep when they were fighting. Truth be told, she could either, but she would never admit that to him. "Margaret?"
"What?!"
"I know you wouldn't cheat on me. I'm sorry."
"You should be." She still had her back turned to him and wouldn't look at him.
"What am I supposed to think? All night you were on someone else's arm."
"Because you didn't want me."
"What?"
She rolled over and looked at him in though the lights that came in from the street. "You didn't want to go to this thing, you didn't notice me at all. Do you know how much effort I put in to looking good for you and you didn't even notice it? Those other people did."
He thought about that for a second. She was right about that and he felt like a heal. "You looked beautiful and I'm sorry I didn't say so. I did notice, honey."
"Why didn't you say anything? You made me feel like you didn't want me there. You acted like a complete jack ass since before we left the house."
"I'm sorry."
"Good." She rolled over and closed her eyes. "Goodnight." She wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of forgiveness just yet.
He wasn't ready to go to bed. There was no way he would be able to sleep yet. "Margaret," he touched her shoulder.
"I said goodnight!"
"Don't go to bed mad."
"Look," she turned back over to see him. "I have a eight month old that will be up in six hours. I don't have the energy to fight with you right now. Goodnight."
He clenched his jaw. Sometimes she could be such a bitch. "Goodnight!"
*****
Hawkeye ended up falling asleep two hours later, but it didn't last long. He was up by seven and ended up being the one that got up with Matt. Margaret knew that he couldn't sleep when they were fighting. She had gone to bed with things unresolved on purpose. Why did she always do that? That wasn't good for them.
Margaret ended up sleeping in and when she woke up Hawkeye had already taken care of the boys as far as breakfast was concerned. When she walked out of the bedroom the three of them were in the living room. Hawkeye was lying on the couch while the two boys played on the floor together. It was rare that Danny willingly played with his baby brother anymore. Margaret said good morning to the boys and then went to the kitchen for a cup of coffee.
She was sitting at the table sipping her coffee when she saw Hawkeye walk in. She knew that he didn't sleep well. "Morning," she said.
"We need to talk." He sat down. "I slept for three hours last night."
"Okay. Let's talk." She placed her coffee on the table and had her hands wrapped around the cup.
"I know I was a jack ass last night. I'm sorry."
"And…"
"And I shouldn't have gotten mad at you for dancing with someone else. But, I've given this a lot of thought and I wasn't the only one in the wrong."
"What?!" She didn't like to be told she was wrong. In fact she hated it.
"Yes. You know I can't stand that guy, and yet you still danced with him."
"You said you didn't mind!"
He huffed. Okay, so he did say that. "Margaret, you stayed away from me all night. You didn't have to do that. You danced and flirted with other men right in front of me!"
Her eyes threw daggers. "I danced, I talked, I laughed. I did not flirt with those other men." She stood up and grabbed the toast that had popped up. "And even if I did, why would you care? All week you've been ignoring me. You've been so worried about yourself and how you didn't want to go to that fundraiser that you forgot about me. And if you weren't whining about that you were complaining about that damn conference you have to go to."
"I said I was sorry for that, but either way, that's no excuse to do what you did."
"I didn't do anything!" She raised her voice. She sat down at the table.
"I am not the only one at fault here, Margaret."
She rolled her eyes. "You're pissed because I didn't coddled you like you wanted me to. I'm not your mother. I'm your wife."
"And as my wife you should have stood by my side."
"I saw you last night. You were having a good time without me. You're just mad because I danced with Dr. Williams. He's more of an ass than you are anyway."
"Listen. You're a married woman with two boys at home. Last night you were acting like a single woman."
"I didn't do a damn thing. If you didn't want me to dance with that man, all you had to do was say so. For God sakes, Hawkeye, you were in the same room. I wasn't sneaking around."
"Margaret, I will not take all the blame." Okay, so maybe he was to blame for a lot of it. But that didn't mean she was entirely innocent.
She downed the rest of her coffee. "I'm going to get a shower." She stood up and walked out of the room.
When she returned from the shower she saw that he was sound asleep on the couch while the boys made a mess of the place. The toys were spread throughout the entire apartment, along with some things that they shouldn't have gotten into. "Danny, Matt, what are you two doing?"
"Just playing. Shhh, Daddy is asleep."
"Yes, I see that." She bent down and picked Matt up, putting him in his playpen in the corner of the room. "Help me clean this up."
"But I'm playing."
"Don't argue with me. Get this cleaned up and then go get dressed."
"But why?"
"Danny, just do what I say!"
He knew that tone meant business. "Yes ma'am."
Danny helped her pick up the room. She ended up taking Matt out of the playpen and throwing most of the toys in there for the time being. When they were done, she got the two of them ready to go out, and they left for the afternoon. She wasn't in the mood to fight and if they stayed him that's what she would have done. She didn't want to be in the same room as Hawkeye at the moment.
***************
Margaret wasn't the least bit surprised when she walked back into the house that night around six and saw that Hawkeye was still on the couch. He was lying down watching a football game on the TV. She took the baby's coat off of him and sat him down on the floor as Danny took his own off. She hung them up along with her own and then walked off to the kitchen.
Danny walked over to his father. "Hi Dad."
"Hi, buddy. Come watch the game with me."
"Okay." He said happily. He had been watching football with his father since before he could remember. He climbed up on the couch and sat in the crook behind his father's bended knees.
Hawkeye looked around and didn't see Margaret, but he heard her in the kitchen. "Is your mother still mad at me?" Danny shrugged his shoulders. "Did she say anything?" He nodded. "What did she say?"
"Its a bad word."
"Ah, okay.
Hawkeye heard the banging of pots and pans in the kitchen and assumed Margaret had taken Matt in there with her. That was until he saw the baby crawled over to him. "Hi, little guy. I didn't know you were in here." Matt smiled up at him and sat down, holding his arms up. "Do you want to watch the game with us?" He pulled the baby up and sat him on his stomach like he was the baby's chair. Matt leaned back and watched the TV. "You're built like a little football player."
Margaret was in the kitchen banging pots and pans together trying to get something ready for dinner. It was Sunday and normally she would make a nice dinner for them, but she just wasn't in the mood. She threw something quick in and then went to her bedroom to change into something more comfortable. If she could, she was going to try to avoid her husband and fighting with him. It drained too much out of her.
She had made enough food for the four of them that night. It was pretty quiet at dinner except for Danny. Hawkeye and Margaret avoided eye contact. Hawkeye pretended to be fully engaged in his conversation with Danny about Mickey Mouse while Margaret concentrated on feeding the baby. As soon as dinner was done, Margaret picked up the baby and handed him off to Hawkeye saying he needed a bath. That was the last thing that was said between the two of them until after the boys were in bed. Both were being stubborn.
Margaret had gone to bed shortly after the boys were sleeping. She had to get some rest. She was going to be the only on taking care of the boys all week. When Hawkeye walked into their bedroom around ten, he saw that his suitcase was packed.
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