CHAPTER 11

Margaret's day had been filled with paper work, complaints, and chaos. She was cooped up in her office all day long with her phone ringing off the hook. Needless to say she didn't get a chance to call Hawkeye or have lunch with him. She had had a little bit to eat around one, but all that consisted of was a small bag of chips and a bottle of soda. It wasn't nutritional or filling, but it filled a small void and allowed her to get back to work.

Fridays could be such a pain, but it seemed to her they got worse one she informed the army that she was leaving. Most everyday she got calls from the high ups asking her to stay. Making her offer she wouldn't have been able to refuse just a few short years ago, but none were better than the over Hawkeye had. He had offered her love and happiness. A real future with a home and family. She loved him; she didn't love the army. She was ready to take control of her life and make it her own for the first time in her life.

When she finally got out of the hospital she practically ran to her car so no one could talk to her. She didn't want anymore hold ups. She wanted to get home, get out of her uniform and be with her finance. There wasn't a thing in the world that sounded better than that. She could almost feel his arms around her and smell his cologne.

Parking the car, she grabbed her things and headed upstairs to their apartment. Even if she was walking into a mess, it was still home. Opening the door, she found that it wasn't nearly as messy as it had been. She hung up her jacket and then looked around the room. On the other side she saw Hawkeye standing with an unsure smile on his face.

"What do you think?"

She smiled. "Wow. I can't believe you did this. I can actually see the floor." She looked down at the beige carpet. "And you vacuumed!"

"I did." He made his way through the path to get to her. "I thought maybe we'd feel a little more comfortable staying in all weekend."

She wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head on his chest. "I love you."

He held her tight feeling the tension in her body release as he did so. "I'm glad you like it. I wasn't sure you'd approve of my little maze here."

"Oh, I do." She pulled back and looked around. There were boxes stacked so high against the walls that they were inches from the ceiling. "I'd rather see the floor than the walls. They were so bare anyway."

He smiled and let go of her. "You hungry?"

"Starving."

"Follow me." He picked up her hand and led her through the small maze into the kitchen. "Dinner is served."

"I can't believe you did all this." She looked up at him in amazement. Hawkeye had a proud smile on his face. "When did you find the time?"

Hawkeye scratched his head, he hadn't figured that out either. "I guess I was just in the cleaning mood today." He pulled out a chair for her and waited until she was comfortable to sit down.

"What was the occasion?" She asked with a smile.

"Do I need a reason?" Margaret gave him an amused look, she knew him better than that. "I was feeling cramped as hell," he told her. "Not to mention, I was feeling a little claustrophobic."

"I'm glad I wasn't the only one." Margaret started picking through her food and took a bite. Hawkeye thought he heard her moan, but he couldn't be sure. "How did you handle sitting in your little fort? Did it register in there?"

"I know the way out," he smiled. "As long as I'm the one that made the small places in this maze of ours, I'm okay."

She chuckled. "Okay."

"How is it?"

"Like heaven," she took another bite of food.

"Good." He started to eat. He had been tasting the food the whole time he had been cooking it, so he wasn't too hungry. He watched her mostly and she seemed to be like a vacuum with it. "Did you eat today?"

"A little."

He nodded. Maybe working made a person work up an appetite. He didn't remember. "You never called me."

"Oh, I'm sorry about that. I didn't have the time. My lunch was a bag of chips if that tells you anything."

"Ah," he said. He'd kill for a day so busy that he didn't have time to eat much. He was going to have to start running again because he was gaining some weight from staying home. The food in the kitchen seemed to call to him when he was home alone with nothing to do.

"You're not eating much," she noticed. "You feeling okay?"

"Fine. I ate a lot while I was cooking."

"Ah," that explained a lot. "And now you don't have any room left to eat with me?"

"No, I'll eat in a minute," he said as he watched her.

Margaret took another bite. "You're a walking stomach," she told him.

"What?"

"You can eat anything you want and never fill up," she told him.

"Hey," he exclaimed. "That's not true."

Margaret nodded, "No, that's not entirely true. I'll admit you've gained some weight since we've gotten home..."

Hawkeye wasn't sure how to take that, he had been feeling very self conscious lately. With being stuck in the house all day and not being able to run he was afraid he was starting to lose some of his muscle tone. "What?"

Margaret realized her mistake. "No, I didn't mean it like that," she reassured him. "I'm envious of you, you can eat whatever you want and not have to worry about your weight."

He eyed her for a moment not sure if she was just saying that because she noticed it bothered him. "Are you sure I haven't gained too much weight?"

"I'm sure," she smiled. "Eat."

Hawkeye picked up his fork. Now he was worried about his weight. He was beginning to take the housewife role too far. He did lose muscle tone, and he didn't have anything to do during the day. Maybe he would start getting up with Margaret during the week and go running in the park. "You've lost too much."

"What?"

"Look at you. You're turning into skin and bones."

She looked down at her stomach. "I am not."

"You're on your way. You need to eat better and stop skipping lunch."

She rolled her eyes. "I know, but I'm fine. You just keep having dinners like this and I'll be alright. I can gain weight in no time, believe me."

"Yeah." Hawkeye looked down at his plate again. He wasn't feeling very hungry anymore.

Margaret took a few more bites and then pushed her plate off to the side. "Did you make any desert?"

Hawkeye realized she was talking to him then. "No." Desert was the last thing he needed.

"I couldn't eat another bite if I tried." She sat back in her chair and beamed in content. He made wonderful meals that always seemed to hit the spot.

Hawkeye stood up and picked up her plate. "I'm glad you liked it." He carried their dishes into the kitchen and rinsed them off. Margaret walked up behind him and poured herself another glass of wine.

"I loved it. Do you want some more wine?"

"No, I'm all set." She sat the bottle back down on the counter and moved to the stove and started to clean. "Woah, what are you doing?"

She looked over at him. "I'm cleaning up."

"No." He picked up her glass of wine and took her by the arm moving her out of the room. "You are to go and change into something comfortable. This weekend is for us to relax and be together."

She smiled. "I can help you."

"No. I don't need any help. Cleaning up will burn off some calories."

She chucked and made him stop walking. She turned around in his arms and wrapped her arms around him. "I like a man with a little meat on his bones. Don't change."

"Meat on my bones?"

"Yes," she smiled.

"You better kiss the meat on these bones goodbye this weekend, because it's all going back to muscle."

She made a pouty face. "Why?"

He gave her a peck on the lips. "Just go change and leave the cleaning to me tonight."

Margaret lifted an eyebrow and smiled. "Okay, I'll be right back."

"Take your time," he told her as she walked to the bedroom. Hawkeye went back to the kitchen and finished cleaning up. Now he was feeling even more self conscious then before. Why did she hate to make that comment about him having 'meat on his bones'?

A few minutes later she was back in the kitchen. Hawkeye didn't even notice her until he backed up into her. "Sorry," she told him, she hadn't meant to disturb him.

"It's okay," he told her. "I'm finished anyway." Hawkeye put the rag he'd been holding on the counter top. Subconsciously he wiped some sweat off his forehead.

"What have you been doing?" His shirt was soaked with sweat. Hawkeye had put most of his frustrations into the task that he'd gone a little overboard.

"Do you want it clean or do you want it clean?"

Margaret smiled. "I've never seen you so worked up."

"I'm not worked up." He took off his shirt and walked back to the bedroom. Margaret followed right behind him.

"That's true, you do tend to sweat very easily."

Hawkeye turned around to look at her suddenly. "How do I look, honestly?"

"What?" Hawkeye had never been insecure about himself. That's why she could tease him.

"My body." He turned and looked in the mirror.

"You sound like a woman."

He rolled his eyes. Why did she have to be like that? "Why can't you just answer the question?"

She looked at him oddly for a moment and then wrapped her arms around him from behind pressing her body against his strong back. "You're perfect, baby. Why is this bothering you?" He didn't answer and moved out of her arms to get another shirt. She stopped him before he could open a drawer. "Aren't you hot?"

"I'm sweating. What do you think?"

She looked at him with her hand on her hip. "Then why are you going to put a shirt on?" He didn't answer and only looked at her. "That's what I thought."

"Margaret, just give me a shirt."

"No." She placed her hands on his chest. "You're too hot. Now tell me what's really going on. You're acting like me, not you."

"Maybe its part of our little role reversal thing we have going on here."

"Honey, you're not making any sense."

Hawkeye sighed and turned and looked at himself in the mirror. "Look at me."

Margaret forced him to turn and face her. "You look fine," she concluded after she'd looked him over.

"I look fine," Hawkeye huffed.

Now Margaret was really confused, she had no idea what he was talking about. "What? Hawkeye, there's absolutely nothing wrong with you."

"You said it yourself, I've gained weight," he told her.

"Honey, what are you talking about?" Whatever he was talking about, was beyond her.

"Look at me," he held his arms out. "I'm getting fat sitting here." He looked down at his stomach.

Margaret suddenly burst into hysteria. "You are not getting fat." She put her hand on his abdomen, "Sweetheart, you are so lean..."

"But face it, I've loss some muscle mass in the past few months," he said.

"Maybe a little, but I can't tell. You look awfully good to me."

He sighed. "I know you're just saying that because you know its bothering me."

"I am not." She placed her hands on his chest. "You look great. You don't need to lose weight, but if you feel you do, then go ahead if it'll make you feel better."

"Are you saying I shouldn't?"

"Honey, I don't think you need to lose weight." He was being so insecure, and it wasn't like him at all.

"What about toning up? I am thirty years old now. Its not going to be so easy for me anymore."

She smiled. Maybe that had something to do with the way he was feeling. "I think if you toned up a little, I wouldn't be able to keep my hands off of your hard body."

He smiled. She knew how to make him feel better. He wrapped his arms around her. "Okay. It's settled then. Every morning when you get up I'm going for a run. Who knows, maybe I'll join a gym." At least it would give him something to do during the day and he would feel better about himself. He wouldn't feel like he was sitting around the apartment accomplishing nothing.

"Good," she smiled. "Then I won't have to get up all alone anymore."

"I got up with you this morning," he told her as he held her.

"But that was only this one time. You've never gotten up with me before."

"Well," he said. "From now on I will."

Margaret laid her head on his chest, "Good. I hate it that we only get to be with one another for four or five hours a day."

"And all through the night," he reminded her.

Margaret smiled, "It's not the same."

"I know honey," he held her tighter. They stood like that for a few minutes in each other's arms. Margaret missed not being able to see him for most of the day as did Hawkeye.

After a moment or two Margaret pulled back and looked at him. "My, you really are sweaty." She pealed herself off him.

"I thought you liked sweaty men," he teased her. "It makes us...more masculine."

"No I don't," she laughed and took a step back. "I think it's disgusting."

"Sure," he rolled his eyes. Hawkeye placed his hands on his hips, "Then why did you insist I keep my shirt off?"

"It didn't have anything to do with sweat, I can assure you that."

"So you want me to keep my shirt off?"

"Well, if you want. You always walk around without a shirt. I just thought that you were only putting one on because you were feeling a little insecure."

"Me? Insecure? You must be joking."

She chuckled. "We both have our little insecurities, I just didn't know one of yours was your body."

"Its not." He walked into the bathroom.

She followed and stood in the doorway. "Oh? Then what do you call all of that?" She pointed out to the bedroom.

"What are you talking about?"

She rolled her eyes. "If its not your body, what is it? Your age?" He looked over at her as he zipped his pants. "It is, isn't it? Being thirty bothers you!"

"It does not," he pushed past her. Okay, so maybe she was right. It was a combination of things.

"You're lying to me Benjamin Pierce." She followed him.

Hawkeye turned around suddenly, causing Margaret to stop short. "What bothers me is sitting here day after day with not a damn thing to do. My surgical skills are wasting away and now it appears so is my masculinity."



"You know that's not true," she told him as she looked up at him. "Not practicing for a few months isn't going to hinder your ability as a surgeon. Look at Colonel Potter, he went a couple of years without touching a scalpel and he's still just as good as any surgeon I know." Hawkeye raised an eyebrow at her and looked away. He knew she was right, he was just so ready to get back into surgery. "And with your masculinity, I haven't a single clue as to what you're talking about."

Hawkeye sighed and looked back down at her. "I'm turning into a house wife."

"So you do a little cleaning, I thought you got over that."

"It's not the cooking and the cleaning." There was alot more to it then that.

"Then what is it?"

"I'm...I'm..." He didn't know exactly what it was. There wasn't really a word to describe it. All he knew that most men didn't sit around all day watching TV and eating bonbons and potatochips. "I don't what it is," he finally said. He couldn't really tell her that he missed being the provider, not to mention that he was feeling as though he wasn't fullfilling his role as the man in the bedroom.

Hawkeye noticed her grinning and turned around and crossed his arms. "You poor thing, you do sound like a house wife," she giggled.

"That's not funny."

Margaret giggled and planted a kiss between his shoulder blades. "Oh calm down, you're starting to sound like my mother."

"Oh, that's just hitting below the belt."

She grinned. "Sorry."
"You better be." He walked into the living room with her following right behind. "Now, what did you want to do tonight?"
"I don't know. I had thought that we would pack a little, but you already got that done."
"That' a good thing. Now we can sit on our fat asses together and do nothing."
"Hey, you just told me I'm too thin."
"No," he grinned plopping himself down on the couch. "I said you will be if you keep skipping meals like you've been doing."
She narrowed her eyes at him and sat down on his lap. "I am not too heavy."
"I didn't say that either." It was a lot more fun picking on her than it was to have her pick on him. With Margaret it was so easy to turn the tables anyway. "I don't think it would hurt you to tone up a little."
"What?!"
He laughed. "I'm kidding. I like my woman soft and vuluptuous." His hand rested on her leg.
Now he had got her thinking, but she didn't want to continue with it. She would just pass it off like she did so many of the comments he made. "Should we go to a movie?"
"That depends. Do you feel like going out? I know you worked all day."
"Yes, but its been a while since we went to see one."
"That doesn't mean we have to do tonight."

"Do you have any other ideas?"

"We could stay here and watch a movie."

"It's not the same thing."

"Ah, but we can't cuddle in the movie theater," he pointed out.

Margaret did like it when they got to cuddle, it was a nice alternative to spending all day in the office. "We never go out anymore," she tried to justify leaving his arms.

"We never just sit together any more either." Hawkeye had been looking forward to curling up with her all day. After shopping and cleaning, going out again was the last thing he wanted to do.

Ah, he had a point, but Margaret was relentless to try and brake him. "I know how much you like going to the movies. We can get a bucket of popcorn and a soda," she tempted him.

Hawkeye kissed her neck, "Or we could stay here and nibble on something else." It had been a long time since they had just sat together and took their time being with each other. Sometimes they could go hours just caressing and touching.

"Mmm," Margaret sighed. "We're never going to get out of this apartment."

"Is that bad?"
"I guess not."
"I cleaned the place up so we would like it better. That way it wouldn't drive you crazy living in a mess."
She smiled. "Okay. We'll stay home."
"Good. Tomorrow we'll go with your idea and go see a movie."
"Okay." She got off his lap and stood to her feet. "Do we have some good snacks here?"
"Just your luck. I went shopping today."
"Oh, good." She walked into the kitchen. She wasn't actually hungry, but wanted to know what there was.

Hawkeye stood in the doorway and watched her. She was just looking through the cupboard, not really looking for anything in particular. "Do you still want to watch a movie?"

"Is there anything good on?"

"I don't know, I'll have to check."

Margaret stopped her searching and asked him, "Do we have any chocolate?"

"Chocolate?" Hawkeye hadn't bought any at the store, he'd been extremely health conscious when he went shopping. "Not unless you know of some that I don't."

"Ah," Margaret suddenly turned and started rummaging again. "There's a bag of chocolate chips somewhere in here."

Hawkeye smiled, "Chocolate chips?"

"The semisweet ones. I love those." She searched for a moment longer until she ran across something, "Ah, here they are."

"So we're going to eat chocolate chips and watch an unknown movie?" He laughed.

"Looks that way doesn't it?" She grinned as she opened the bag.

"I have a better idea," he walked up behind her. "We could pretend to watch a movie and neck instead."

Margaret popped a few in her mouth, "That doesn't leave much room for the chocolate."

"Would you rather have chocalote or me?"

She turned around and smiled. "Can't I have both?"

"Nope." He turned and walked into the living room finding his way to the couch.

Margaret followed him into the room. "Why not?"

"Cause you can't." He turned the TV on and then laid on the couch on his back looking up at her.

She looked down, her hands on her hips. "That just doesn't make any sense." He shrugged his shoulders trying to hide his grin. She popped a few pieces of chocolate in her mouth and then placed the bag on the coffee table. She smiled and cafefully laid her body on his, their legs tangled. "How about..."

"Yes?" He smiled waiting for her to continue.

She kissed his jaw. "We can..." She kissed him again.

"What?" He was curious now. She looked into his eyes and smiled brightly. She leaned down and kissed him, sending her tongue into his mouth and accepting his in return. When she was sure she was getting to him, she pulled back. "Mmm, tastes like chocolate." She giggled. "I think I like your idea."

"I didn't tell you get." She kissed him once more.

"Huh?"

"Why don't we..." She waited a moment before she spoke keeping him in suspense. "Find a good movie on TV?"

"What?!"

"It's a Friday night, there has to be a good movie on somewhere." Margaret sat up and picked up the paper off the coffee table. After a moment of looking she found something, "What do you think of...You'll Never Get Rich?" Hawkeye groaned in response. "Is that a yes?"

"You're sitting on my stomach," he groaned again.

Margaret hit him on the chest, "Shut up."

"Margaret, I can't breathe," he whined.

She ignored him and looked at the paper again. "Or we could watch...The War of The Worlds... that's fairly new."

Hawkeye groaned again.

"Have you seen that one?" She asked him as she pretended not to notice.

Margaret was still looking for the paper when Hawkeye raised his legs and pulled her on top of him again. "I don't want to watch any of them. I want you," he told her softly as he kissed her unexpectedly.

She pulled back a little breathless. "You want me?"

"Uh huh. Why do you sound so surprised?"

That had been the first time in a while that he had made the first move when it came to making love. It wasn't exactly a long time, but it was a good week. "I...I don't know." She lied.

He smiled and pulled her back to his mouth. "I miss you when you're gone. Spend time with me, not the television."

She couldn't help but feel loved when he said that. How could she refuse him? "You really miss me? Its not just because you're bored?"

"Not entirely, no." He kissed her again, wrapped his arms around her and holding her tight. "I love you. I always want to be with you."

"Oh, Hawk." She could feel her heart melt. There was sincerity in his voice and his eyes.

"You didn't know that?" She shook her head no. "How did you not know it?"

"Well, you never told me. You've said how bored you get, and make it sound like you miss me because your bored."

"I don't mean to." He looked deep into her eyes. "I'd miss you even if I was working all day."

She smiled. "Well, I don't know if I've told you this before, but I miss you too."

"We sound like a sappy love story," he joked.

"We are."

He smiled up at her. "That's fine, just as long as no one knows. I'd never live it down."

"Well, we have a good start so far."

"How's that?"

"Only our families know, and we don't put on shows for them."

Hawkeye could hear the slight hint of sorrow in her voice. "Margaret, honey, if you want a big wedding we can have one." Hawkeye lifted her chin and made her look at him. They'd talked about the wedding several times and every time they had agreed to make it a small one. Sometimes however, Hawkeye got the feeling she wanted something more.

"Hawkeye," Margaret grinned. "We've discussed this."

"I know, I know...but are you sure you don't to call up all your childhood friends, your coworkers, everyone from the 4077th? I'll even tollerate that terrible family again if that's what you want."

Margaret laughed, "I'm positive. All I want is a small, private ceremony."

"Are you really, really, really sure?" He wanted her to be happy.

"We could elope and I wouldn't care," she told him.

"Really?" That was giving him ideas. "That could be so much cheaper."

"Don't you want your father there?" She would have thought that would have been a given.

"All I want is you," he said before he pulled her down and kissed her again. "You know something," Hawkeye said after a moment.

"What's that?" She asked, her lips still close to his.

"I can't get you on your back like this."

She chuckled, kissed him again, and laid her head on him. "I kind of like being like this."

"You're a little heavy for me."

"Enough with the weight."

He smiled. "Fine. Can we move?" He was being honest with her now. As much as he enjoyed their closeness, he couldn't move as much as he wanted to.

"I guess so." She gave him one more kiss, and stood up. She picked up the chocolate and waited for him to move. "Did we decide what we're going to do?"

He was sitting now and pulled her down next to him on the couch. "Yes." He removed the bag from her hands and placed it back on the table. He moved in to kiss her and once their lips met he kept pushing until her head was resting on the back of the couch.

"Ah...Hawk?"

"Hmmm?" He didn't stop kissing her.

"My...my...leg."

He moved realizing he was putting too much weight on it. "Sorry," he mumbled against her lips.

"And you say I'm heavy," she commented with a giggle.

Hawkeye pulled back so he could see her face, "You better watch it."

"Or you'll do what?" She challenged.

"You keep doing it and you'll find out."

Margaret's hands moved to his back, "Bring it on...chubby."

"Oh, you think you're funny don't you," he told her. "I'm warning you, you keep it up..."

"And you'll do what?"

Hawkeye gave her a sly smile, "I'll do this." Her eyes went wide as she felt his hand slid up her leg toward her crotch. "Go ahead, try me," he challanged.

She wasn't sure what she wanted at first, but then figured it out. She grinned cockily at him. "Fatty." She jumped a little as she felt his hand land right between her legs and cup her.

"I told you."

She giggled and pulled his head down so she could kiss him. "Yes you did, tubby."

"Margaret," he warned pulling back. "Don't make me..."

"Make you what?"

"You just wait and see."

She looked into his eyes. "What can you do? All I have to do is get up. You wouldn't be able to get your fat ass off the couch in time to catch me."

"Let me remind you, you'd have to get me off you first, and from where I'm sitting, I don't think I want move."

"Oh you'll move," she told him.

"Is that so?" He said coyly. Margaret nodded. "Well I don't see how that's possible, seeing as how I'm too fat to get off the couch."

Margaret patted her thighs, "I have strong legs."

"And don't I know it," he grinned.

"You know, if I wanted to, I could be on my feet in a matter of moments," she told him.

Hawkeye leaned his head down so they're lips were nearly touching, "Do you really want to do that?"

"I don't know, do I fatty?" She quipped against his mouth. With that said, his hand moved from between her legs and up to grasp one of her breasts.

"You don't want me to go any further, do you?"

"Where else is there to go?" She smiled.

"Oh, I can think of some things." He kissed her.

She melted at the touch of his lips. She had missed their sexually teasing and tension. She smiled at him and bent her knees. Before he knew what was happening she pushed him off of her and jumped up. "You'd have to catch me first, chubby."

He smiled widely and jumped to his feet. He made his way through the maze. He saw her walk into the room and sped up. She knew he was right behind her and laughed giddily as he grabbed her and tackled her to the bed. He pinned her hands over her head and kissed her. "Pretty good for a fat guy."

"Very good," she smiled.

"Oh, one more thing."

"Yes?"

"I am not fat!"

Margaret giggled and tried to free her hands from his grasp, but unfortunately for her he was much to strong. "Let me go," she said as she continued to struggle.

"Nah uh," he smiled. "I told you there'd be consequenses."

"You know I love your body," she tried to sweet talk him. "I just want to be able to touch you."

"I know, you can't keep your hot little hands off me."

"I can't, literally," she breathed as she continued to fight him.

"It's no use baby," he smiled. "Just give it up."

Margaret stopped her struggling and laid still. "Fine," she said as she gave in.

Hawkeye smiled triumphantly and moved to straddle her so she had even less mobility. When he was satisfied that she wouldn't be able to get away, he let her wrists go and moved his hands to her sides. He looked down at her, no grin, no smile, just looked at her. One of his hands moved up to her face and moved some hair away so he could see her eyes better. She was looking up at him content just to look into his eyes for the moment. Their eyes locked as he lowered his mouth to hers, both of his hands resting on her hips.

"Mmm," she moaned. She placed her hands on his neck and held him close. She didn't want to let go of him.

He pulled up much to her disappointment. His eyes locked with hers as his hands moved to the bottom of her shirt. He started to pull up and pulled if over her head and tossed it to the side. He moved back down to kiss her feeling her hands on his bare back once again as she ran her nails up and down causing shivers to come from him. Her legs spread allowing him to settle in between them and lay over top of her. He moved easily from his staddling position to the more relaxed on. He would rather feel her body against his.

Margaret rolled them over and laid her whole body on his. She knew he could take it. She was much small than him. His hands moved around to the back of her bra as they kissed and he unbuckled it with his skilled and practiced hands. As they rolled back so he was on top he pulled the bra off and tossed it as he had done to the shirt. The two of them were left in their pants and nothing more.

"Hawkeye..." Margaret mumbled against his lips.

Hawkeye stopped what he was doing and moved his head back to look at her. "Yes?"

"Can we just...take it slow?" She moved a hand up his naked back. "I just want to feel you."

Hawkeye leaned down and kissed her deeply. "I know," he whispered. Hawkeye moved to her neck and started placing kisses up to her ear. "I hadn't planned on doing anything else tonight."

Margaret tightened her grip on him and held him closer. Whenever she was with him, everything else melted away. "I love you," she whispered into his ear. Hawkeye moved back and looked into her eyes.

"I love you too." He brushed a lock of her hair back.

She smiled slightly as he went back to placing kisses on her body. He made everything go away. All problems were far away. When they were together, there wasn't anything else in the world. Margaret could never do that with any other man, but Hawkeye was different. When she was with him, she was with him 100%. His soft touch sent shivers through her body. She had never just had 'sex' with him. He made love to her each and every time. It was never rushed or just for fun. Sure, they had fun, she never had so much fun in her life, but it was more than that.

Her hands ran up and down her back and finally after ten minutes of his tantaling and torturous kisses, she started to tug at the waist band of his pants. She needed to feel his skin against hers. Feel how aroused he was. It was so much torture to be like that. It made the consummation that much better.

"Off," she groaned. He rolled off of her pulled her on top of him. "No."

"What?"

She tugged at his pants. "Off."

"Oh," now he understood. Margaret sat up and started to undo his pants. She popped the button and unzipped his fly. Hawkeye lifted his hips as she pulled them off and threw them across the room.

Hawkeye pounced on her, forcing her onto her back in the middle of the bed. He was quick to get her pants off and even quicker to get her panties off. Before she knew it they were both naked and lying in each other's arms.

"Don't you think this is better then watching a movie?" He was saying into her ear.

"Mmm...don't speak." She muttered and drew his mouth back to hers. Hawkeye of course, was more than willing to oblique.

She kept his mouth close to hers at all times. She loved when he kissed her body, but she wanted to kiss his lips. It was more intiment and it was what she wanted. It didn't take long and she could feel him getting antsy. He was moving around trying to get himself some sort of relief until she was ready too. It had been over a half an hour since they had started goofing off. Thinking about how the whole thing started made him want to smile, but Margaret's lips on his didn't allow him too.

Finally she mumered something into his ear letting him know that she was ready. He got between her legs and the two of them became one. He didn't move his hips for a little, content just to stay there and kiss her. She was the one that moved her hips letting him know that she was ready.

They laid together breathing deeply, both looking up at the ceiling. Sweat was covering both of them. They both had quite the work out, not that either minded. If working out was that much fun Hawkeye would have done it more often. He rolled onto his and laid his arm across her flat stomach. "God, that was good."

"Uh huh."

He smiled and kissed her on the shoulder. "Why don't we do that more often?"

"Because I have to work in the mornings."

He chuckled. "That was a lot better than watching a movie, don't you think?"

"Maybe," she teased with a smile.

"Why do you insist on picking on me today?"

"You're so lovable," she told him.

"Yeah, yeah...I'm just the only whom you can get with it on."

"That's not true."

"Yes it is," he stated.

Margaret thought for a moment, "Well, maybe a little, but that's only because you're the only one who doesn't think I'm an asshole because of it."

"Aww," Hawkeye teased. "You mistreat me because you love me."

"Exactly."

"Well I love you too."

She giggled. He rolled over and wrapped his arms tightly aronud her gathering her to him. "You know something?"

"What's that?"

"I was thinking about our wedding and what I really want."

"Is it going to cost me a lot of moeny?"

She hit him playfully. "No. What I want is something small. In Maine. With just our familes and a few close friends. And then I want to leave for our honeymoon that same night. I want to spend our wedding night on some tropical island."

He smiled. "Sounds nice." He reached to the bottom of the bed and pulled the covers up over them. He went back to spooning with her. "Are you sure that's what you want?"

"Yes. Its inexpensive and private."

That was what he wanted, but if she wanted more he was more than willing to give her what she wanted. "What would you say if we had a big church wedding? We could invite anyone we ever met."

That was odd. That didn't sound like him. "What?"

"I'm serious. Do you want that?"

She sighed hoping he really didn't want that. "Um, no. If you do..."

"No, baby. I'm not picky. I just want you to tell me what you really want. I want to give you what you want."

She smiled. "All I want is something small, but beautiful. I want our family there and some friends. I doubt my parents will come, but I know Katie will."

"Are you going to invite them? Your parents, I mean."

She nodded. "I have to give them the chance. If they chose not to come, then its on their shoulder's, not mine."

He could hear the hurt in her voice and pulled her tighter giving her a kiss on the cheek. "I'm sorry. Do you want me to try to fix it?"

"No. It'll just take time, and as far as our wedding goes, I'm not willing to change the date just to wait for them. Their problems are not my fault. I love you. They don't have to. I had just hoped they would love me enough to be there for me, but I was wrong."

"Honey, you don't even know if they'll come yet."

"I know they won't."

"Margaret," he moved so he could see her face. "They love you, I know they do. It's me whom they hate."

"No, they're disappointed in me, it's my fault."

"Margaret, you didn't do anything wrong," he told her. "Please, don't think that way."

"Oh," Margaret sighed. "I wished I knew what to do."

He gave her a kiss on the cheek. There was a lot more bothering her than just working too much. Sometimes he got so caught up in his own problems and issues that he forgot that she had problems too. Ones that she kept to herself. "Time will fix it."

"I hope you're right. I want our children to have more than one grandparent."

"Me too. But, since that's a while off, we don't have to worry about it this second."

"Yeah," she sighed. She closed her eyes and snuggled into him as much as she could. "Three more weeks and we get married. We need to start getting serious about planning things."

"We don't have to do it right now, do we?"

She smiled. "No. But maybe we should start this weekend. At least tell everyone when we want to get married so they can make arrangements to come."

"Yeah." He was less than enthused about it. Planning a wedding was not his idea of a good time.

"I know, you're not excited about planning it. But we have to do it sometime."

"Can't we talk about this tomorrow?"

"Don't worry," she assured him. "I'm not in anymore a mood to talk about it then you are."

"Could've fooled me, I know how you like listen to your own voice."

Margaret turned in his arms so they were facing each other. "Now look who's picking on whom."

In the position they were lying in, Margaret was beginning to overpower him. Hawkeye had to lay back in order to see her. "I didn't do anything."

"Sure, try and play coy." She moved more onto him, which in turn caused Hawkeye to shift so he was lying horizontal across the top of the bed. "I know what you're trying to do, and it's not going to work."

Hawkeye looked behind him to make sure he wasn't near the edge of the bed and moved backwards as she continued to climb over him. "I wasn't trying to do anything," he told her again.

"Don't play innocent with me," she said with leer.

Hawkeye smiled, normally he would have liked to have this certain naked woman maneuvering over him, but he was fearful now that she was going to smother him. He smiled nervously up at her. What was she up to? "I'm not."

She leaned down and kissed him and then laid her head on his chest. "Goodnight, chubby."

Hawkeye rolled his eyes but wrapped his arm around her. "Goodnight, mouth." He felt her giggled against his chest and relax. He allowed himself to relax against the pillows and be in the moment with her. He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep hearing her mumble, 'I love you,' before he dozed off.

It had been a nice night at home. They both slept the whole night through not moving from the spot they had fallen asleep in. When the sun started to shine through the window and Hawkeye opened his eyes, he began to wish he did move during the night. His neck was stiff. He tried to move a little but groaned when his neck wouldn't move. Margaret stirred a little, but never woke up. After a moment he slipped out of bed without waking her, but strained his neck a little. He couldn't bend over so he didn't bother grabbing a pair of boxers or pants and headed to the bathroom. When he came out she was still sound asleep spread out across the entire bed.

Hawkeye stood beside the bed and watched her for a moment before climbing in. He tilted his head and looked at her sleeping form. She was lying horizontal across the bed, very much in the same position that they had fallen asleep in. Margaret had the covers wrapped around her loosely and was sleeping with her head resting on the mattress. Hawkeye stood beside her head and gently ran his hand threw her hair. She was so peaceful when she was sleeping, it was a shame she wasn't so calm during the day. Hawkeye smiled to himself, he loved how passionate she got over the littlest things, that was one of the things he loved most about her.

He watched her for a moment longer and then moved to crawl back into bed. It was only seven o'clock and it was much too early for him to be awake. Hawkeye wanted her to sleep for as long as possible, goodness knew she deserved it. He decided not to try and move her for fear she'd wake up, so instead he moved so they were lying side by side and shielded her body with his. Within moments she subconsciously shifted and moved so she was resting against him. Hawkeye lay awake for a little while longer, he was just happy she was home and they were together. Within minutes he wrapped an arm around her and snuggled up to her and fell asleep.

They slept for hours like that. Neither moved a muscle and it gave Hawkeye's neck a chance to loosen up. Sleeping in was a lot better when he was curled up with his naked fiancé rather than alone in bed with nothing to look forward to. It gave him a whole new outlook on the day.

Rather than get up and get dressed and go somewhere that morning, they lounged around in their robes letting the coffee wake them a little better. Hawkeye had turned on the TV and found some morning cartoons. Margaret thought it was silly, but he convinced her to sit down and they cuddled together watching Saturday morning cartoons. Hawkeye found it more entertaining than she did, but relaxed and enjoyed it just the same. The best part was being together.

Without having to live within time constraints for the day they decided to take it easy and do what they wanted. Margaret had wanted to go to see a movie that evening so they went out for that. It was nice to do something together again, to get out and hold hands. They shared a soda at the movie and a tub of popcorn. It was like a real date. Something that they hadn't done for a while.

"Admit it," Margaret told him as they walked up the stairs to their apartment. "You found that movie more emotional than you're willing to say."

"It was a nice movie," Hawkeye said. "But I wouldn't say I found it emotional."

Margaret looked at him, she couldn't believe that. "You were crying," she blurted out.

"I was not crying," he tried to make clear to her. Maybe he had enjoyed the movie and gotten into it a little bit, but he wouldn't take it as far to say he had been crying.

"Yes you were." A smile spread across her face, "Don't think that I didn't see."

Hawkeye let go of her hand and pulled out his keys. "It was dark in there, how in the world would you know whether I had been or not?" He walked a head of her so he could open the door.

"It wasn't completely dark and we were sitting pretty close together, I could see you just fine."

He took a moment to unlock the door and then moved to hold it open for her. "I was not crying," he said as she walked past him.

"Fine, think what you want," she told him as she took of her jacket. "But I know what I saw."

"I can never win with you, can I?" He hung his coat next to hers.

"Well, honey, I saw the tears on your face." She called as she walked into the bathroom.

Hawkeye rolled his eyes with a little grin on his face. "You're too much Margaret Houlihan," he said to himself.

"What was that?" She yelled from the bathroom.

"I didn't say anything." She must have ears like a coyote. He walked the path that lead him to the kitchen and started a pot of coffee. It wasn't too late, but it wasn't early anymore either. Tomorrow was Sunday and neither one of them went to church, so what did it matter?

Margaret went into the kitchen to find him. "Hawk! What are you doing?"

He turned around a little surprised at her tone. "I'm making coffee."

"Its seven o'clock."

He chuckled. "That's okay. It's not against the law."

"But we'll be up all night." He grinned and nodded, but she didn't see him. "I don't want to be up all night."

"So don't drink any." It was as simple as that.

"But you can't drink coffee alone."

Hawkeye rolled his eyes. She had too many rules for silly things like drinking coffee. "Then have some if you want some."

Margaret shook her head; "No thank you."

"Fine then, but don't go complaining to me when you're tired."

"Some people actually like sleeping when it's dark," she told him.

"You have no sense of fun," he turned his nose up to her.

Margaret patted his chest and then moved over to the refrigerator, "I do, it just doesn't call for staying up all night."

"Yeah, I know," he said under his breath.

Margaret shot him a look, "I'm sorry, I was tired." She knew he was gesturing to the fact that she had fallen asleep at ten o'clock.

Hawkeye smiled, she'd done it again. "I know, you slept twelve hours."

"Well working like I do takes a lot out of me. What was your excuse?"

Hawkeye's jaw clenched. He didn't want to fight with her and part of him actually agreed with what she had said. "I suppose it was moving the whole damn place around by myself."

Margaret realized then what she had said. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it to sound like it sounded."

"It's fine. Most other days you would have been right."

"No. I wouldn't. You're here for me, because you wanted us to be together and this was the only way we could right now. Any other man I know wouldn't have done what you've done."

"Maybe they're smarter."

Margaret looked at him trying to figure out if he meant that or not. "Do you really think so?"

He turned and looked her in the eye. "Sometimes, yes. Other times, no."

"So you don't want to be here with me?"

Uh oh. He had hit that button with her; her fear of being alone. "I didn't say that."

"Yes you did. You wish you would have stayed in Maine."

"I never said any such thing," he waved his hand in protest.

"But that's what you meant isn't it?" Her voice had raised another notch. "You're regretting being here with me."

"No," Hawkeye said firmly. "I don't regret that."

"Then tell me," Margaret hands were perched on her hips again. "What is it that you meant, if that's not how you feel?"

Hawkeye could feel himself getting angrier, he hated it when she put words in his mouth. "I came here because I wanted to be here, with you."

"And now you're changing you mind?" She automatically assumed.

Hawkeye had to look away for a moment and collect himself before he said something he'd regret. "No," he told her in a softer voice. "I'm not changing my mind."

"Then what is it?" She snapped.

Hawkeye's eyes flared, she wouldn't even consider giving him a break for a single moment. "I'm just anxious to get moving. After being stuck in this apartment by myself all day, I'm feeling a little restless."

"So you do want to go?"

"Margaret," he said firmly. "I want to go. Are you satisfied?"

She felt tears welling up in her eyes. She closed her eyes for a second in hopes of holding them back. "I knew it!"

"You knew nothing. Yes, I want to go. But guess what?"

"What?" She snapped.

"As hard as this may be for me to say at this particular moment, I want to be with you more than I want to leave. I don't want to leave here because of you. I want to leave here with you. Why is that so hard to get through to you? You always think I'm on the verge of leaving you."

She looked away. Answering that would bring up too many old feelings and old heartaches. "You're unhappy here. I know you are."

"And so are you."

"If I could leave, believe me I would. But I can't leave right now. I have other commitments."

"I understand that. That's why I'm here with you. If it were the other way around, I know you would do anything you had to, to be close to me." That was one thing he loved so much about her. When she loved someone she was willing to do just about anything for them. Unfortunately some people took advantage of her in that way, but he didn't.

She sighed. "Hawkeye, if I could do it, I would leave with you right now and follow you wherever you want me to go. But I just can't. I can't leave and..."

He held his hand up to stop her from going any further. "And I don't want you to. I never asked you to do that."

"But I know that's what you're thinking, what you want."

"Margaret!" Hawkeye was getting tired of this. "Stop assuming that you know what I'm thinking, because you don't!

"

Margaret stayed silent as she tried to fight back her tears. It wasn't just him that was making her upset, she was letting her fears get the best of her. She was so scared of being alone and she was just certain he wanted to leave. "Then what are you thinking?"

Hawkeye walked over to her and put his hands on her arms, she was visibly upset. "I want to be with you, nothing is ever going to change that. It's true that I can't wait to get out of here, but you're apart of the deal. Face it baby, you're stuck with me forever."

Margaret gripped his arm with her hand and let her face rest on his chest. "I know you're unhappy here, it's all my fault."

"Margaret, when I'm with you I couldn't be any happier, and that's the God's honest truth."

"Do you really mean that?"

"I really do."

She smiled wrapped her arms around his torso and held on to him. "I just get afraid when you say things like that."

"Honey, I didn't say anything. That was all you."

"Are you sure?"

He smiled holding her tight. "I'm sure. You tend to put words in my mouth."

"I'm sorry. You know why, don't you?"

"I do. And even if it kills me I'm going to break you of that one day."

"Maybe once we have a real home and start our life together for real, I'll feel better about everything."

"Maybe a little better, but I doubt that will fix everything."

She pulled back looking into his eyes. "Maybe not, but we'll be okay, won't we?"

"Of course." He dropped a kiss on her lips.

Margaret kissed him back and hugged him warmly. "I'm going to use the bathroom, I'll be back in minute."

"Okay." Hawkeye let her go. "I'll be in the living room."

Margaret went to the bathroom and washed her face. She'd gotten so caught up in her emotions that she'd let some tears fall. Hawkeye made her feel so vulnerable, she just couldn't hold herself together when it came to him. Margaret dried her face and fixed her hair. When she was satisfied that she looked presentable, she went back out to the living room.

"I got you a water because I knew you didn't want coffee," Hawkeye told her as she took a seat beside him.

Margaret smiled gratefully at him, "Thank you."

"Come here," Hawkeye opened his arms inviteningly. Margaret willingly laid her back against his chest. "Are you feeling better?" He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

Margaret held onto one of his arms and snuggled against him. "I am now."

"Good," he said softly. "I don't want you to ever to doubt me again. I love you," he kissed her hair. "I always will."

Just hearing that made her feel better. Margaret nodded, "I know. I love you too."

"Good, now that we have that settled let's get to more important things."

"Like what?" She didn't look at him, but kept her head against his chest feeling his heartbeat.

"Well," he said as his hand traveled down her thigh. "How about an arousing game of tonsil hockey?" She giggled. He made her feel like a teenage again saying it like that. "I'm serious."

Her hand lay on his stomach just above his belt buckle. "You're never serious." He did have his moments though, but one of the reason he made her so happy was that he made her laugh. No one else made her laugh like him. Sometimes it was against her better judgment to laugh at his jokes, but she didn't let that stop her anymore.

They had just finished watching a movie so he wasn't interested in watching TV at the moment. It wasn't even on and he didn't want to get up to turn it on either. He grabbed his coffee off the table and took a sip, but almost spilled it on him when Margaret surprised him by moved her hand lower to leg. "Ah," he smiled. "You do want to play."

She craned her neck and looked up at him. "Did I say I didn't want to?"

"No, I guess not."

She reached over and took his coffee from him placing it on the table. Then she moved so she could straddle his lap. "Now, how about that game of tonsil hockey that you mentioned."

Hawkeye grinned and placed his hands on her hips. "What, you're not going to tease me first?"

Margaret lifted his chin and leaned down and kissed him deeply. She pressed her body against his in a suggestive manner and wrapped her arms around his neck as they kissed. After a moment she parted her lips from his and looked at him. "Does that answer your question?"

Hawkeye nodded and then pulled her closer again. He found it so arousing when she was the aggressive one. His hands moved up her back as hers slowly imitated his. They kissed softly and lovingly, enjoying the feeling of just being together. Hawkeye wasn't interested in making love to her just yet, sometimes kissing could be just as rewarding.

She was a very passionate woman and seemed to appreciate their time together just as much as he did.

Hawkeye's mouth moved to her neck as they paused to breathe. When she really got going she was a handful. Some women would just sit there and let him kiss them, but Margaret liked to get in on the action too. At the moment the seam of her jeans was pressed into his crotch, making his excitement even less than bearable.

She knew this and ground herself against him. Sometimes the teasing and tormenting was her favorite part. He would get so heated that nothing would calm him down and when he reached the point that he thought he was going to explode, she would tease just a little while longer. With her pressed against him like that and kissing him, he wasn't sure how much more he could. He grabbed her by the hips and in one fell swoop she was on her back on the couch and he was between her legs pressing his clothed body to hers. She smiled up at him. "Wow. And you say you need to work out."

He grinned and zeroed in on her mouth. "I guess I was wrong."

Their hands wandered some more and now she was the one that was being tortured. He was in control now. Her neck was her weakest point on her body and that's right where he headed with his mouth. He traveled from her full red lips, across her jaw, and down to neck. "Hawk," she managed to breath.

"Mmm," he moaned. She wiggled underneath him trying to get some sort of relief, but nothing worked.

"Hawk. I...ah...heard...oh," she sighed. It was so hard to concentrate. "A knock."

"They'll go away." He mumbled against her lips before he kissed her again.

The knocking just got louder and the person on the other side of the door became more determined. "No." She wanted them to go away, but they wouldn't.

"Yes."

She tried to stop him and move, but he wouldn't let her. "Coming," she yelled to the unknown person as she tried to avoid his mouth. "Move." He had her pinned to the couch and she couldn't move anything except her hands.

"Margaret," Hawkeye groaned. She was pushing against his chest with her hands and pressing into his stomach with her knee. "Come on."

"Will you get off me?" She grunted as she continued to push at him. "There's someone at the door."

"They'll go away."

"No they won't, now get off me." She moved her knee lower so it was pressing between his legs.

"Okay, okay." He sat back on his feet and let her get up.

Margaret straitened her shirt and brushed back her hair.

"Coming!" She called again as she made her way to the door. Hawkeye sat back and sighed, this night wasn't turning out like he had hoped it would. Hopefully whoever it was would just leave and they could get back to what they were doing.

Margaret ran to the door, whoever was out there had been knocking for a while now. She turned back the lock and flung open the door. Her eyes widened with shock and surprise. "Lorraine!"

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