CHAPTER 13

There wasn't anything Margaret wanted to do less than get out of bed. Four hours of tossing and turning wasn't enough sleep for her to run on that day. She didn't see how she had a choice though. She told Lorraine that she would go. She couldn't back out on that. That was the last thing she needed to get around. Her family would hear that she'd been ditching life long friends for Hawkeye. She and Hawkeye had some things to fix but that could wait for later. What difference would a few hours of shopping make? He would be sleeping anyway.

Margaret rolled out of bed and jumped into the shower without thinking. Everything she did that morning was routine except she didn't get into her uniform, she dressed casually to go get some breakfast and go shopping. She tried her best to do her makeup so she didn't look so tired, but she knew that attempt would fail.

"Hawk," she whispered. "Hawkeye," she said a little louder.

"Mmm," he mumbled.

"I'm leaving."

"Bye." He kept his head buried under the pillow. Margaret was hoping for a little more than that, but she didn't get it so she started to walk away. When Hawkeye heard the bedroom door open he rolled over. "Wait."

She smiled to herself and turned around. "Yes?"

"Will you be back by lunch time?"

"Um...I might."

"Can you bring home some food?"

She sighed and nodded. "I'll see what I can do. Bye."

"Wait."

She turned around and snapped, "What?!"

"Kiss." She tried to hide her smile as she walked back over to the bed and gave him a soft kiss, but it didn't work very well. Hawkeye saw it, but chose not to say anything. "Bye, honey."

"Bye, and don't sleep all day."

"Hey, I'm tired."

"Me too." She yawned as she walked out the door. She grabbed a quick cup of coffee to go and then headed out the door to meet Lorraine for breakfast.

- - - - - - -

"I didn't think you were going to make it," Lorraine said they walked down the street.

"What? I told you I would come didn't I?"

"Yes, but wasn't so sure after last night."

Margaret knew well what she was referring to; Hawkeye hadn't seemed too thrilled about their idea. "Don't worry about him; he was just in a sour mood." Margaret realized what she had said; she didn't want Lorraine to think she was the cause. She touched Lorraine's arm, "It wasn't you that got him upset."

Lorraine looked at Margaret, despite her efforts she knew that she was a little beside herself. "Is everything okay?"

Margaret smiled with a nod, "We're just going through an adjustment period right now."

"Well, I suppose that's good considering how you're getting married."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"You know you can tell me anything."

Margaret didn't say anything because they walked into the diner at that moment. She thought about it as they were led to their seats and settled in the booth. She knew Lorraine wouldn't judge her or say anything to anyone. Other than Hawkeye, Lorraine was the only person she ever met like that. "Things are just a mess."

"I can see that. You look like hell. Were you up all night fighting?"

Margaret narrowed her eyes. She really didn't appreciate being told she looked so bad. "We were not fighting." After a moment she said. "At least not all night."

Lorraine chuckled. "You never could turn down a fight."

"Maybe so, but I don't like fighting with Hawkeye. I want us to be happy."

"You're not happy together, so you're marrying the man?"

"No, you don't understand. We're happy together, but we are just having some problems." Margaret took a sip of her coffee in the hopes that she didn't have to go into more detail.

"Would you like to keep me in the dark or would you like to tell me and get it out?"

Margaret thought about that. She had always kept herself so guarded that she wasn't sure if she wanted to tell her friend or not. It really wasn't any of her business, but then again Lorraine wasn't asking because she wanted to know the details. She was asking because she was concerned. "I suppose I could tell you."

"You suppose? Margaret, I'm your best friend."

It was true that they had been best friends when they younger, and that was probably still the case now, but truthfully Margaret's best friend was Hawkeye. He was the only one whom she remotely felt comfortable talking to, especially when it came to the two of them. "It's nothing major," Margaret said. She looked into her coffee and watched the heat rise.

"Margaret, I know when you're distraught. I can tell when something's wrong."

Margaret shook her head, "We had an argument."

"A bad one?"

"We yelled...said some things neither one of us meant..." She shrugged her shoulders.

Lorraine could tell that Margaret was hesitant to talk about it, she let her elbows rest on the table and leaned forward. "Did he leave?" She asked softly.

Margaret shook her head and sighed. "Let's just say he was beside me when I woke up this morning." She didn't need to tell her that he left and they didn't get to bed until four.

"Well, that's a good sign," Lorraine said trying to bring out a positive aspect.

"Yeah, I guess."

"Margaret, you're being very vague with me."

"I know. I don't really want to talk about it right now. Hawkeye and I will work it out and we'll be fine. We need to work this out on our own."

"I understand. If you're having troubles, why didn't you call me and cancel? Why didn't you stay with him?"

Margaret shrugged her shoulders. She really didn't know the answer to that. "He's sleeping anyway. He won't miss me."

"I don't about that. He knows you're gone, whether he's asleep or not."

"Lorraine, can we please change the subject?"

"To what? This is so interesting."

"To you," Margaret stated. She was sick of talking about her life and her problems. Not it was Lorraine's turn. "So, do you have a man in your life?" Lorraine smiled. "That answers my question. Tell me about him."

The two friends talked over breakfast and then went and did some shopping. Margaret didn't buy much because they were moving soon and didn't need anything else to move. Margaret parted ways with Lorraine and then made her way back to the apartment hoping that Hawkeye was still sleeping so that she could crawl back in bed, but that wasn't the case. When she opened the door he was sitting on the couch in his boxers.

"Hi," she greeted him as she set her purse down.

Hawkeye looked over his shoulder at her, "You're back kind of early."

"I take it you just got up," she said as she walked over to join him on the couch.

"My girlfriend came over and we fooled around for a while." Hawkeye popped a grape into his mouth, "You probably passed her on the stairs." Margaret didn't think that was quite so funny. Whether he was insinuating that they weren't having enough sex or that she was never there, she wasn't sure. Hawkeye saw the blank look on her face, "Margaret, it was a joke."

"Well it wasn't very funny," she told him almost defensively.

"Honey," Margaret was sitting on the opposite end of the couch, he moved so they were sitting closer together. "You're getting yourself worked up over nothing."

"I don't like it when you say things like that, it's bad enough that my work takes up so much of my time, but now I feel like you're saying it's my fault."

"No, I don't think that." He didn't understand why she was getting so upset; she'd just walked in the door for goodness sakes. "I take it that you didn't have a good time?"

"Why would you think that? We had a nice time." Her tone was a little more demanding.

"Well gee, I'm sorry I was here when you got home," he said as he stood up. "I don't know what I was thinking, who the hell wants to spend the day with their fiancé when they could be off drinking..." He mumbled as he walked into the bedroom.

Margaret stood up and followed him. "What is that supposed to mean?"

He rolled his eyes. "Here we go again."

Margaret walked into the bedroom and stood strong with her hands on her hips. "Pierce!"

He turned around facing her. "Why the hell didn't you stay out? You had such a good time."

"Is that what this is about?"

"Once again I sat around here waiting for you and you still don't care."

"You were sleeping!"

"That doesn't matter. I'm awake now and you still don't want to be with me."

"I never said that. Where are you coming up with this?"

"Why don't you want to be with me?" He wanted to get strait to the point now. No more beating around the bush.

"I do want to be with you. I want to spend every waking moment with you..."

"And yet you spend very little with me."

"It's not as easy as you make it sound."

"Well it's not as hard as you make it either."

Margaret tried to stay calm, getting angry wasn't going to make it better. "I came home to be with you, doesn't that say anything?"

"Not when all you can do is find blame," he said in a softer voice. "For once I'd just like to be able to sit in the same room without fighting."

"That's what we need to talk about."

"How can we talk if you keep jumping down my throat everything time I open my mouth?"

Margaret sighed and nodded in understanding, "I know."

Hawkeye took a seat on the end of the bed. "Why did you come back?" He asked her.

Margaret thought it was odd question. "Well, I just happened to realize how much I missed you."

Hawkeye wasn't sure if that was her real reason. Every time they started to talk they didn't. "Are you sure you wouldn't have preferred to be out with Lorraine?"

"It was nice seeing her again, but she's not the one who really matters to me."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes! Why are you so insecure about all of this? I love you more than anything. You know that."

"Are you sure you came home for me?"

"No, does that make you feel better. I didn't come home for you. I came home for us. I didn't want to leave you this morning, and the whole time I was gone all I wanted was to be here with you."

He looked up at her and patted the bed next to him. She sat down and he took her hands. "I'm sorry I seem so clingy. You are all I have, Margaret."

She sighed. "I know."

"When you leave me, it's like you're telling me I don't matter."

"But you do matter. You're the most important person in my life. I didn't mean to be so edgy. I haven't had much sleep and the little I did get, wasn't that great."

"Do you want to go back to bed?"

"I would love nothing more then to go back to bed," she told him with a yawn. "But if I fall asleep now then I won't be to fall asleep tonight."

"Stay home with me tomorrow," he urged her. "Call in sick."

"I can't do that; I have to go to work."

"No you don't. You're running yourself ragged," he told her. "You need to sleep baby."

"I'll just go to bed early tonight," she said as she stood up and untucked her shirt.

Hawkeye sighed and laid back. Why couldn't she ever just take the day off? Even her weekends were stressful. "Stay home, please."

"Hawkeye I told you, I can't."

He sat up again. "We need to fix this, we can't just postpone it."

"And I can't just take a day off of work."

Hawkeye didn't know what else to do. If she didn't want to stay home and work on it with him then what were they going to do? "Fine," he sighed and crawled under the covers again.

Margaret looked at him, "You're going back to bed?"

"I'm cold."

"Why don't you just get some clothes on?"

"I don't want to."

She took a good look at him under the blanket with his head resting comfortably on the pillow. How could she resist. "Maybe I'll just set the alarm clock so I don't sleep pass three o'clock."

He smiled. "Now you're talking." That was a sign of effort from her. To want to be with him even if it was taking a nap. He watched her as she undressed. She took all her clothes off except for her panties and he was waiting wide eyed for that, but it never happened. She opened one of his drawers and pulled out a t-shirt. "Ah."

"What?" She smiled.

"I was hoping that we could be matching."

"What?"

"Just wearing bottoms."

"Sorry." Hawkeye flipped the covers down on her side and then covered her up when she climbed in. "Ah," she sighed cuddling into the blankets. Hawkeye didn't know if she wanted to cuddle with him, but she had never really objected before. He was about to put his arm around her when she moved. "I forgot to set the alarm."

"Oh." Much to his delight she laid back down closer to him and he took that as his cue to pull her closer. He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her tight against him. "This is better."

"Yes." She yawned. "We'll talk later. I promise."

At first he didn't think that was very good to push it off even more, but then he realized that was best. If she was tired and irritable they wouldn't be able to get anywhere and all they would have done was fight. Hopefully with both of them rested, that wouldn't happen. She tended to be more relaxed after a nap and under normal circumstances she would have become clingy, but he wasn't so sure that would happen.

Hawkeye didn't fall asleep. He wasn't the least bit tired. They hadn't touched at all during the night; Margaret had almost seemed not to want anything to do with him then. She had stayed on her side of the bed the whole time, lying as close to the edge as she could get. Now that she was situated in his arms, Hawkeye was feeling a little better about their circumstances. He had hoped that she would have been a little more open to his suggestion; she had no reason to feel embarrassed or ashamed. Hawkeye tried not to feel resentment toward her previous remarks, but he was having trouble swallowing them. She made it sound like making love was a bad thing, like it was something that she no longer wanted from him. It was true that he couldn't help but feel overwhelmed whenever he saw her, but that was only because he was so in love with her.

Eventually Hawkeye drifted off, she was warm and the feel of her body pressed against his was comforting. The next thing he knew the alarm was ringing and the warm body pulled away from him. "No, don't get up," he begged.

"I'm just turning it off," she told him as she did so.

"Good," he pulled her closer to him.

"Did you fall asleep?"

"Yeah."

She relaxed in his arms not thinking about anything for a moment. After waking up from a nap she had to get her bearings back. She was glad she was in his arms because she wasn't sure she would have been welcomed there had he not wrapped his arms around her. "Hawkeye."

"Hmm?"

"We need to talk."

"I know."

"If I tell you something, you won't laugh or get mad, will you?"

He was a little confused. There was a big difference between getting mad and laughing. "Okay."

She didn't turn in his arms to look at him, but stayed with her back to him and looked forward. "I don't know how to work on a relationship."

"Why would I get mad or laugh at you? It's not something to laugh at or get angry over."

"It's not?"

"No. I'll be honest with you, honey. I've never loved someone enough to really work on a relationship. You're the only one. We'll just have to do it together."

"How?"

"We have to figure out what we want. I know what I want. What do you want?"

"I want to get as far away from here as possible."

Hawkeye kissed her forehead. "I know, that's what I want too."

Margaret moved closer to him and hugged him, "I want to get out of here and marry you, I want to live in a house in Maine, set down roots, sleep in until nine."

"Not too much longer," he told her softly. "We only have to hold out for a few more weeks."

"Do you think we can make it that long?"

Hawkeye moved back so he could face her, "I am not going to leave you. We argue and we yell, but I don't love you any less, and I know you don't love me any less."

Margaret shook her head, "I get angry, but it doesn't affect how much I love you."

"I have the feeling that everything will be so much better once we move," he said with a soft smile.

"So do I."

"I can't wait."

"You know it won't solve all our problems, right?"

"I know. It will change things though, and that's what we need right now."

She smiled up at him and gave him a kiss. "I'm sorry if I make you feel like I don't want to be with you."

"I'm sorry I've been so clingy to you lately."

"I'd rather have that than you be distant."

"Maybe we should get out of bed before we go back to sleep. I know you don't want to."

"Yeah." She sat up in bed and then looked over her shoulder at him. "You know I would take the day off and spend it with you if I could, but I just can't."

"It's okay," he gave her a reassuring smile. He knew that sometimes he asked a little too much of her. She did have a full time job that required a lot from her.

"You know what we should do today?"

"What's that?"

"Nothing. I'll take the phone off the hook and neither one of us will answer the door."

"See, you know how to make good use of a Sunday after all." He stood up and stretched. "Oh, let's add one more thing to that."

"What's that?"

"No changing. What we're in now is what we go to bed in."

Margaret thought about it for a moment, "I'll wear this for now, but tonight I'm going to put on my pajamas."

Hawkeye smiled happily, "I guess I can deal with that."

"And I hope you'll at least change those," she gestured to his underwear.

Hawkeye looked down, "These are my favorite pair."

"You've been wearing them since yesterday."

"Fine, I'll change them after I shower, later. I have one condition though."

"What's that?" She asked.

"You have to shower with me."

She smiled. "We'll see."

"Then we'll see about me changing these boxers."

She rolled her eyes as she walked away. He was just trying to get her going and it almost worked. Hawkeye followed her into the bathroom. "Hey, what are you doing?"

"Nothing."

"Well get out."

"Please," he said sarcastically. "Its nothing I haven't seen before."

A moment later she stood up and washed her hands. "I'm starving. What do we have here to make for lunch?"

"I have a better idea." He walked behind her as she walked toward the kitchen. "Why don't we order some pizza before we take that phone off the hook."

"You know, that actually sounds good."

"You make it sound like I never have any good ideas."

"Very few," she grinned. She opened up the refrigerator and grabbed two bottles of beer. "Here you go."

"Thanks. What kind of pizza do you want?"

"Doesn't matter to me. You order." She took the number off the refrigerator and handed it to him.

"You sure?"

"Yes, just don't get garbage, or and no peppers, and no...."

"You order."

"No, I trust you." She gave him a kiss. "You know what I like."

"Okay, but no complaining if I don't get the right thing."

"Just as long as you don't get anything I don't like." Margaret took a seat on top of the counter as Hawkeye picked up the phone.

Hawkeye rolled his eyes. "Anything you say."

Margaret smiled and opened her beer. "But don't forget the black olives," she added. Hawkeye turned his head and glared at her teasingly.

He ordered the pizza and then leaned against the counter as he drank his own beer. "Honestly," he said. "How was shopping with Lorraine?"

Margaret leaned back against the cupboard. "Well it was nice," she said. "I hardly get the chance to do anything like that anymore."

Hawkeye could tell she wasn't saying everything. "But..."

She shrugged her shoulders and looked at his waiting expression. "But it wasn't everything I thought it would be."

Hawkeye smiled sadly. "Well, it's been a while since you've seen each other."

"I know, I'd just hoped..."

"That it would be like old times?"

Margaret nodded. "The only thing she seemed to be interested in was us."

"Us?" Hawkeye didn't sound very surprised.

"You know how easy it is for people to read my emotions."

Hawkeye stood up and moved between her legs, he wrapped his arms around her. "I'm sorry you didn't have a very good time."

She gave him a sad smile. "It's not your fault. Things just weren't what I thought they would be."

"That happens sometimes."

"I know. Lorraine was one of the very few female friends I've had. It's nice to be able to sit and chat. There are some things that men don't understand or even care to."

"Like what?" What could there possibly be concerning her that he didn't care about?

"Well for starters," she smiled. "That certain time of the month..."

He held his hand up. "Enough said."

She chuckled. "See, I was right." She wrapped her legs around him and locked her ankles so he couldn't move.

He leaned up and kissed her. "Well, maybe it was just today. Next time when you're not so emotional..."

"I am not emotional!" She pointed out very firmly.

He gave a little smirk. "Okay...next time when things aren't so, well, what's the word? When things aren't so troubled between us, maybe your visit with her will be better."

"I don't know. We've both changed so much in the last few years. The only time we really have fun is talking about old times, and that can't really sustain a friendship. That's something you talk about with a distant cousin that you only see once a year."

"I'm always here. I'll even listen to your...your...womanly problems."

She laughed and gave him a kiss. "You don't have to do that. But thank you."

"Maybe I should pull on some pants before the pizza gets here."

"I'll answer the door."

"You will not! Look at you. No wife, ah, fiancé of mine will answer the door dressed like that."

She smiled brightly, "Wife, huh? I like that." He shrugged his shoulders. Aside from having the piece of paper that said they were married, they basically were married. She gave him a tender kiss and then pulled away abruptly. "I don't have any cash for the food. I spent the rest of it on breakfast."

"I have some."

"How is it that you always have money?"

"I just do. Unlike you, I don't go around having breakfast."

Margaret looked at him with curiosity. "Then explain to me why I go out for the first time in a long time and be drained, while you're always buying beer and magazines and still have plenty of cash."

Hawkeye raised an eyebrow and said cheekily, "You really need to get out more."

Margaret wasn't sure what he was up to. Hawkeye didn't like to talk about money and was purposely avoiding the subject. "Hawkeye..."

Hawkeye smiled, "Don't you think you should get some shorts on?" He let his hand rest on her thigh.

"Hawkeye..."

"I don't know! I sit here all day," he suddenly blurted out.

Margaret gave him a questionable glance, she wasn't really sure he was telling the truth. She leaned in and gave him a kiss. "Let me go put some pants on."

Hawkeye held on to her, "I have a better idea, why don't you lose the ones you're wearing?"

"Don't push it Pierce."

"Pierce? Ouch."

She smiled and jumped off the counter. "I'll be right back."

He sighed. "Alone again."

She rolled her eyes and called back. "Oh, stop your whining."

Hawkeye chuckled to himself and followed behind her. "I do not whine, I'll have you know."

"Yeah right." She was standing at the dresser when he walked in. "You've been whining ever since the day I first met you."

"That's a bold face lie." He picked his wallet up off of his dresser and started leafing through for some money.

"Sure it is, honey." She grabbed a pair of old pajama pants and slipped them on. She walked over to him and tried to get a peak into his wallet, but he pulled it away. "Are you hiding something?"

"No. I don't go looking through your purse, do I?"

"You can if you want to. I don't have anything to hide."

He grabbed some cash and put his wallet back. "Neither do I. You're just being nosy."

"I am not."

He dropped a tender kiss on her lips. "Yes you are."

Hawkeye walked away and she followed him. "You know I could just go in there and look in your wallet."

"You won't do that."

"Yes I would."

"No you wouldn't." He placed the money on the coffee table and sat down.

"Why wouldn't I?" She stood in front of him.

He smiled and pulled her onto his lap. "Because someone taught you to respect others."

"They did?"

"Even though a few aspects involving your parents are highly questionable, I still think they would have demanded a little respect from their children."

"You forget, I've been hanging around you for four years now."

"And I've never once gone through your purse."

"You've gone through my tent," she fired back.

"That's different," he told her.

"How so?"

"Because this time we're getting married, married people respect one another."

Margaret hated to admit it, but she was just so curious. "Yeah, yeah," she looked away.

Hawkeye smiled, "You're just nosey, admit it."

"I am not!"

"Yes you are!"

"Well," she said. "I think we should know everything about one another."

"I think some things should be left in the closet."

"Such as?"

He opened his mouth to speak, but caught himself. "You almost had me there. Besides, I know you just want to know because you're nosy. And for no other reason."

She smiled. This wasn't one she was going to win. "Fine, but one day I'm going into your closet."

"And I'll go into yours."

"Deal." She gave him a kiss. She was really curious about his money now. "You know what I want to do tonight?"

"Let me guess. Go through my closet?"

She smiled. "That wasn't what I was going to say."

"Then what were you going to say?" He pushed.

"Um..."

"I knew it! This is torturing you." He was loving it too.

"Please," she begged.

"I have nothing to tell you Margaret," he said with a chuckle.

"Oh come on, tell me."

"Tell you what? What is it that you want to know?" He was curious now as to why she was so persistent. Hawkeye didn't think she'd honestly come out and tell him.

"I...I...I don't know." She couldn't just come out and ask him.

Hawkeye knew it; she wasn't going to ask him. "Then why are we having this conversation?"

Margaret clenched her jaw. Damn it, now how was she going to find out? "Because," she said. "We haven't talked much about our pasts."

"I happen to think that's a good thing," he told her. "There's no point in doing it."

"Well, I think we should." Margaret took a seat on the arm of the couch.

"How about, we do something more constructive." He pulled her off the arm and onto him.

"First of all, the pizza man will be here any moment," she said as she sat up. "And second, I don't think so."

Hawkeye let her up, "You know, you're no fun."

Margaret sat back and put her feet on his lap. "I'm hungry."

"After?" He asked hopefully.

"Then I'll be full."

Hawkeye could tell she was trying to avoid the subject. "You know, I don't think we should let a little argument affect what goes on between us in bed."

"What are you talking about?"

"Well, you know what I mean."

"Hawk, you're not making any sense. What goes on between us is supposed to effect us in bed. My feelings are tired to our sex life. Yours should be too."

"They are. But I can always get it up."

She picked her foot up and slammed it back down on his lap. "You're vulgar."

"Ouch. That hurt!"

"Good. I can't believe you said that to me."

"What?"

"Hawkeye, we're engaged to be married. Our emotions and sex go hand and hand."

"I know. Don't take everything so seriously." He moved his hand further up her leg. "I love you, and that never goes away even if we're not getting along so great."

She smiled. Sometimes he knew what to say to get him out of trouble. "I'm not having sex with you right now."

"Ah, come on," he pleaded.

"No. Our food will be here any minute."

He grinned. "We can be quick."

"No." Hawkeye groaned when there was a knock at the door. "See," she smiled. "I told you."

"Yeah, yeah." He stood up and started to walk to the door.

"Wait, you're in your boxers."

He looked down and then looked at her. She was in pants and a t-shirt. "Here," he handed her the money. "Just give it all to him."

Margaret looked at the money and then back at him. "This is a ten dollar bill."

"I know," he said casually. It was no big deal to him.

"But the pizza and soda together only costs six," four dollars was a lot to give away.

"I know," he told her.

Margaret gave him a second glance and then opened the door. She accepted the pizza and paid the delivery man and then shut the door. "I can't believe you let him keep all of it," she commented as she sat down beside.

"Why? It was only four dollars."

"Do you know what you could buy with four dollars?" She asked him as she put the pizza box on the coffee table and opened it

Hawkeye shrugged, "It's no big deal. That poor guy barely makes enough as it is." Margaret looked at him skeptically. She wanted to dig into this topic a little more, but Hawkeye started talking again. "Are you happy with the pizza? If you hadn't noticed, I didn't get anything disgusting."

"Thank you," she gave him a warm smile. "And I did notice."

"You know what this could really use?"

"What?"

"Mushrooms."

"Yuck," she made a face.

"I should have gotten them on half then."

"Next time." She leaned over the box and took a bite out of her pizza. "Mmm."

He smiled. How was it that she could be sexy with grease running down her chin? He reached over with a napkin and wiped her face. "You're worse than a little kid."

She smiled. "You're not much better." She pointed to his boxers where a little sauce had dripped.

He wiped it off and stood up. "Want a drink?" She nodded. "I'll get some cups."

"Ice too."

"And ice too." When he came back she was picking up her second piece of pizza. "You hungry?"

"Starved." She patted a spot on the couch so he would sit next to her. He handed her a glass. "Thanks."

"You're going to choke if you keep eating that fast."

"Oh, stop it." Hawkeye rolled his eyes and picked up his pizza. He took a bite, but for some reason it didn't look as good as Margaret's. She saw him looking at her oddly. "What?"

Hawkeye looked from his slice to hers. "Can I have a bite of yours?"

Margaret looked at him like he was crazy. "They're exactly the same."

"No they're not, yours looks better than mine."

Margaret rolled her eyes, "And you say I always want to eat your food."

"That's because you do, but this time I want yours."

Margaret shielded her slice of pizza from him. "No, this is mine."

"Ah come on, you can have mine."

"No."

"Please, just a bite."

"You take huge bites!"

"Speak for yourself!" He told her. Hawkeye gave her a pleading look. "Please just one."

Margaret sighed. She held out the pizza for him. "Fine, one bite." Hawkeye happily took a bite and then sat back. "Are you happy now?"

"That tastes better," he pointed to her slice.

"It does not."

"Yes it does."

"Fine," Margaret gestured for him to give her his piece. "I'll prove to you that they're the same."

"Okay." He handed it over.

She took a bite and smiled. "Mmm, this is better."

"It is not."

"Yes it is."

He rolled his eyes. "You're mocking me."

She laughed. "I know."

He smiled at her. He loved it when she was in a teasing mood. Maybe they were moving on after all. She wanted to spend time with him and he was beginning to see that. He dreaded the next day though. Mondays always took her away and her mood changed.

They sat there and finished off the pizza. Both relaxed against the couch, too full to move. Hawkeye had his hand resting on his stomach. "I ate too much."

"Me too. You should have told me to stop."

"You should have told me!"

"Why do I have to be the responsible one all the time?" She asked.

"Are you saying I'm irresponsible?"

"Well...."

"Hey!"

She smiled and rolled over so she was resting on him slightly. "I'm just kidding with you. I love you even if you are irresponsible."

"I resent that."

"Well, I am the one with the job."

"But yet you couldn't scrap up ten dollars for pizza?"

She smiled. "So, tell me how you did it."

"How I did what?" He asked.

"Where did you get the money?"

Hawkeye groaned, "Didn't we already go over this?"

"You avoided the question," she reminded him.

"You're rambling," he said as he watched the TV.

"See, you're doing it again! You're avoiding the question." She suddenly sat up beside him. "Why won't you answer me?"

Hawkeye groaned, "There's nothing to talk about."

"I'm asking you a question."

"That really isn't a question."

"Yes it is," she told him. "Just tell me how you were able to do that."

Hawkeye sat up a little more. "I didn't go out to breakfast and I didn't go shopping," he said as he moved closer to get his point across.

Margaret was still convinced that he wasn't saying anything. "But you always have cash."

"Margaret, drop it." He was getting tired of her pestering.

"Okay, okay." Margaret could tell he was a little agitated. "I'm just curious."

"You're just nosey."

Margaret turned her back at that, "I resent that."

"Well it's true, you love digging into people."

"Hey!" She suddenly faced him again.

Hawkeye had a wide smile across his face. "Do you have any idea how sexy you are when your nostrils flare?"

"I already told you, I'm not having sex with you."

"No, you said you wouldn't have sex with me then. You said you would a little later after we eat. Now it's later."

"No, I'm full."

"Full of shit."

"What?!"

"You're pestering me about something that doesn't matter at all. You're just being nosy."

She gave him a pouty look. "I'm sorry. I can wait until you tell me. But make it soon."

"You are such a brat." He pulled her close and gave her a kiss.

"I know." She looked into his eyes. "Maybe...if you tell me..."

"I'm not telling you," he smiled. "You want to know for the wrong reason."

"Please." She gave him a kiss. "I'll do anything."

"I said no."

"Hawkeye!"

"Its torture, isn't it?"

"Yes!"

"Good."

"Please," she whined.

Hawkeye kissed in an attempt to silence her. "Can't you stop talking for two minutes?"

Margaret sighed, "Fine." There was no way she was going to get him to tell her.

"I think we need to be talking about us instead of how much cash I have in my wallet."

"I know," she nodded. "It's just that, I don't like not knowing everything about you."

"Honey, there isn't anything important about me that you don't already know."

"I know," she laid back and let her head rest against the arm of the couch.

Hawkeye moved over her, "You need to relax."

Margaret took a deep breath, "I'm relaxing."

He leaned down and kissed her cheek. "We're supposed to be enjoying today."

"I am," she told him.

Hawkeye smirked, "You're so tense."

Margaret glared at him, "It's your fault."

"I'm not telling you." He knew what she was doing.

"Hawkeye!"

Hawkeye laughed and kissed her lips. "Shut up Margaret."

"Well I feel like talking," she told him.

"Well I feel like doing something else," he mocked her. "But I don't get to do that either do I?"

"Is that all you think about?"

"No. But the way you left me yesterday....." She started to laugh at him. "It wasn't funny. I could have hurt myself."

"Oh, you could not." She smiled. Thinking about yesterday on that couch got her a little hot, but she didn't say anything about it.

"It still wasn't very funny."

"I'm sorry. Would you have preferred I told Lorraine to wait a few minutes because we were just about ready to have sex?"

"Actually, yes I would." He looked her in the eye trying to hold a straight face.

She rolled her eyes and moved off of the couch. She stood to her feet and grabbed the box of pizza and the bottle of soda. "You're the one that's a brat, not me."

"Oh no. You're very much a brat." He grabbed the two cups and followed her into the kitchen. "Since we're spending all day together inside, what else could we do?"

She turned around and looked at him. "Have you ever thought about just letting it happen?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, like just being together and not talking about sex. You might be surprised."

"I will?"

"I said maybe."

"Then we'll try it. I won't say another word."

"Thank you."

"But you can't say another word about money."

Damn, now she'd backed herself into a hole. "Agreed," she said almost reluctantly.

Hawkeye smiled, "Fine, then it's all settled."

"Good," she said as she cleaned up.

Hawkeye watched her for a moment, "What do you think we should do tonight?" He loved pushing her buttons. Margaret glared sideways to look at him. Hawkeye held up his arms innocently. "I was just asking."

"Is everything off the table?" She asked.

"Yeah, I got it all."

Margaret noticed he was watching her. "Don't you have something else you could be doing?"

Hawkeye shook his head. "Nope."

Whether she had realized it or not, knowing that he couldn't talk about sex but could initiate it, only made him think about it more. How in the world was he supposed to sit beside her without thinking of ways to get her to warm up to him? How could he do that without having to tell her about the money in the long run? Hawkeye was caught in a difficult position.

She went about the kitchen doing what she had to do. For some odd reason, one that she couldn't figure out, she could never fully relax knowing that something in her house was out of order. Even back in Korea she was like that with her tent. It was the only thing that she could really control.

"I have something you can do."

"What's that?" He asked. It had to be something boring.

"You can get the dirty laundry from our room and the bathroom and start it."

"No."

"No? Why not?"

"I just don't want. I'll do it tomorrow while you're at work."

"Fine, just as long as it gets done."

"It will. Are you almost done?"

"Yes." She wiped off her hands. "What did you have in mind?"

"Well, I guess we could watch some TV. There isn't much else to do." He had had is fill of TV for a while, but as long as she was there with him, he could stand to watch a few more hours worth.

"Okay. Let me take these pants off. They don't fit as well as they used to."

"Because you ate a whole pizza by yourself."

She turned and looked at him. "I did not!"

He smiled and pushed her out of the kitchen. "Okay, so I ate half, but who's keeping score?"

She rolled her eyes and turned around and walked to the bedroom. She tossed her pants in the hamper and then met him in the living room. He watched her walk to him. His t-shirt was halfway to her knees, but it looked very sexy. There was something about a woman in a man's t-shirt, and only a man's t-shirt, that he loved.

"Did you find anything good on TV?"

"Huh?"

"TV," she pointed. "Did you find anything?"

"Oh, not really. You want to change the channel?"

"Where's the paper?" She asked.

"It's over here," he leaned over and picked it up off the floor.

Margaret sat beside him on the couch as he opened it up. "What do you think about that one?" She pointed to a movie.

Hawkeye screwed his face, "No, there has to be something better."

"Oh, I love that movie!" Margaret suddenly exclaimed. She looked at the clock. "It's coming on in fifteen minutes, can we watch that?"

Hawkeye wasn't very interested in that one either, it was another chick movie. "I don't know."

"Oh come on," she pleaded. Then with a suggestive hint of sarcasm in her voice she added, "There's even a love scene."

Hawkeye gave her a bored look, "You're so funny."

Margaret laughed, "Oh come on, isn't that what you wanted?"

Hawkeye stood up, he had to go to the bathroom. "That's not what I meant," he stated.

She shrugged her shoulders and got up and changed the channel to the one she wanted. Then she sat back down on the couch with the paper. It had been at least three days since she picked up a news paper and wanted to find out what was going on in the world outside of her and Hawkeye's life. When Hawkeye walked back into the room she had her nose buried in the paper.

"Did you find anything good?" She smiled up at him innocently. "Oh, please."

"Come on, I know you'll like it."

"How do you know I haven't seen it?"

"Well," she thought. "I guess I don't, but I love the movie."

"So you watch it."

She grabbed his hand. "Please, watch it with me."

"Margaret, I suffered through a chick flick yesterday. I don't want to do it again."

"But they're romantic."

"Yeah, for the people on screen. Not for me."

"It is for me."

"How?"

She pulled him to sit down next to her and then cuddled up to him. "Like this. I just like being with you."

He smiled. That was something he needed hear and she said all too infrequently. "Me too. I guess I can suffer through the movie."

She kissed him. "Thank you. I love you."

"Yeah, yeah."

"Shh, the movie's starting."