CHAPTER 16

"There's a movie showing in ten minutes," Margaret said as she examined the brochure. They were finally doing what they said they would, leaving Virginia and heading to Maine to start their lives as a married couple. Margaret couldn't have been happier. "What do you say?" She squeezed his hand in an attempt to catch his attention.

Hawkeye had been reading about one of the exhibits, he hadn't heard a word she said. "Hmm?" He turned his head and met her gaze.

"You wouldn't mind sitting though a twenty minute movie with me would you?"

"Of course not." He let go of her hand and put his arm around her waist and gave her a gentle squeeze. "I told you, I'll do anything you want to do."

Margaret smiled, he was being very tolerable with her. Seeing as he grew up in Maine he knew all there was to know, but Margaret was just getting accustomed. She wanted to make a point to know as much about the state as possible, after all, they were going to spend the rest of their lives there.

"How much more of a drive do we have until we get to Crabapple Cove?" She asked leaning over to look at the brochure he had in his hand.

"Maybe three hours. Not too much."

"You excited?"

He smiled and nodded. Although he was there two weeks before, he did nothing but work. This time he was there to stay for good with the woman who was soon to be his wife. "Should we go sit down?"

"I guess so."

Hawkeye led her to the room where the movie was showing. He knew exactly where it was; he had been there numerous times. They sat on the back bench, it was a set up that reminded them somewhat of when the mess tent became a theater back in Korea. When the lights went off Hawkeye started to become playful. He knew all there was to know about Maine, and was only interested in Margaret at the moment. She had to swat his hand away from her upper thigh continuously. When she wasn't doing that she was pushing his lips away from her neck. He found it all very amusing, she however didn't find it quite as humorous as he did.

"Hawkeye," she said tersely. "What is wrong with you?"

"What?" He grinned trying to play innocent.

"You kept trying to..." She looked around to make sure no one could hear and then leaned in and whispered, "To feel me up!"

He laughed and pulled her into a hug. "Is it my fault that I can't keep my hands off of you?"

"Yes!" She wrapped her arms around him.

A few old couples walked by the two of them grinning, but neither Hawkeye nor Margaret saw them. If they were in each other's arms like that, the rest of the world ceased to exist for that time.

"What do you want to do now?" He asked.

"Nothing," she mumbled against his chest.

"Are you ready to go?"

"I don't really want to get back into the car just yet." She pulled away to look up at him. "Are you ready to go?"

"Not if you're not. Let's grab some snacks before we go. I get so bored in the car."

"You're going to get fat."

He rolled his eyes and then grinned evilly. "I believe you were eating just as much I was."

"Yes, but unlike you, I have been making healthy food choices."

Hawkeye laughed softly, "I don't think putting lettuce on your hamburger qualifies as healthy eating."

"It's healthier then what you've been eating."

"You've been eating all my food!"

"I have not," she argued. "I had a couple odd bites, but that was it."

Hawkeye leaned in and kissed her cheek. "If you split a snack with me I promise to help work it off."

Margaret could feel her face turning red. She knew that no one could have possibly heard that, but the fact that they happened to be sitting in the movie theater of the Maine Welcome Center made her uncomfortable. "Hawkeye!" She hissed and pushed her elbow lightly into his stomach.

Hawkeye couldn't help himself, he was having too much fun. "I can wait the three hours until we get to my father's if you want, or I can always move some of those boxes in the back to the floor."

Her eyes widened and she walked off toward the crowd of people. She didn't want to be embarrassed and he didn't seem to care. Hawkeye walked up beside her quickly and grabbed her hand. "Let's get you that snack."

Hawkeye smiled and kissed her cheek. "I'll work..."

"Don't even say that." She stopped him before he could go on. "Let's just get back on the road."

"You're not mad, are you?"

She shook her head no. She wasn't mad; she just didn't want him to go on anymore. "I'm ready to go and see our new home."

"We don't have one yet." He pulled some change out of his pocket to see how much he had before he got something to snack on.

"I know."

He grabbed a bag of chips and a Coca-Cola and paid for them quickly. "All set. Ready to get going?" She nodded and picked up his hand. "You're not getting nervous about marrying me, are you?"

"No, of course not. Do you want to drive now?"

"Yeah." He took the keys from her. "I know my way from here pretty damn well."

Margaret took the soda from him and took a drink. "Good. I'm sick of driving."

"You've been driving for two hours," he chuckled.

"Yes, and I hate it. I like sitting in the passenger's seat looking out the window."

"Taking a nap is more like it." He opened the door and let her go ahead of him.

"And miss this beautiful scenery?" She asked as they walked to the car. "No, besides if I fall asleep now it'll be harder for me to fall asleep tonight."

"Well, you know I can help with that," he grinned.

"I doubt your father will even allow us to sleep in the same room."

Hawkeye shrugged his shoulders, she was probably right. His father was very old fashioned, he wouldn't permit something like that. "What he doesn't know won't hurt him," he said as they neared the car.

Margaret stood beside the passenger door and waited for him to unlock the doors. "We are not having sex in your father's house."

Hawkeye got in and then reached over and unlocked her door. "Why not? He'll never know."  He sat back up and started the car.

Margaret climbed in and shut her door. "Because...it's your father's house."

"I can be quiet if you can," he said.

"No, not when he's two doors down."

"So does that mean I have a chance when he goes to work?" He asked hopefully.

"I doubt it," she said seriously.

"What?"

"Honey, we'll be so busy with planning for the wedding. There are still some last minute details I need to take care of."

"Well when...?"

"When we're on our honeymoon I suppose."

Hawkeye started the car and put it in reverse. "Seatbelt," he said. He waited until she had it on and then backed out of the parking spot. "Do you know how long that is?"

"Yes. Five days. We've gone longer."

"Not by my choice."

She rolled her eyes. "It's not by mine either. I don't like getting my period you know."

"How's it looking that way?"

Margaret turned her head and looked out the window. "All clear. I don't know what you're whining about anyway. You and I both know that if you can find the time and the place, we'll have sex."

"Damn right." He pulled out onto the highway. "Can I have my soda?"

"It's almost gone."

Hawkeye glared at her for a split second. "You drank all my soda," he stated with a glint in his eye.

"You have a bladder the size of a pea, its better that I finished it."

Hawkeye growled, "First you tell me we can't have sex for a week and now you've gone and downed my entire soda?"

"I'm sorry," she told him. She hadn't realized he'd get so upset.

He shook his head. "Don't worry about it," he told her in a softer tone. "I guess I'm just a little tired, I didn't sleep very well last night."

Margaret had to agree with him there, "I don't sleep very well on the floor either." The movers had taken all the furniture the day before. "You were awfully restless," she said thoughtfully. Instead of Hawkeye spooning behind her, Margaret had been the one behind him.

"I guess I was just anxious."

"You must have been. Why are you so worried? This is what we've wanted all along." She placed her hand on his knee.

"Yeah, I know. It's just....I don't know." He didn't want to tell her his business concerns. She had a lot on her plate to worry about with the wedding. She had just gotten out of the army and he wanted to give her some time to adjust before he told her anything.

She smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "Well, I'm not anxious about moving. I'm just a little worried about living with your father."

"We'll look for houses. Don't you worry about that."

"Oh, I know."

"Maybe we'll take a look at that dream house of yours." He looked over at her and she was about to open her mouth to protest. "Just to look."

"Okay."

"I'd like to take another look at it too. It's been years."

"Yeah." She looked out her window at the passing scenery. "This is beautiful."

"Crabapple Cove is better. I wish I would have taken you there more than once. That way you would be more familiar with it."

"I've heard so much about that place for so many years that I feel like I know it pretty damn well."

"You make it sound like that's a bad thing," he said looking at her.

"No honey, it's not a bad thing." She touched his leg, "I'm just saying that you've been talking about it for as long as I've known you. After nearly four years, I'm quite familiar with it."

It was true, Hawkeye loved to talk about his home town, and he'd gotten worse since they decided to move there. "I know you are."

Margaret relaxed against the seat and looked out the window. "It sure is green up here."

"Yeah." Virginia seemed very dry compared to Maine. It was one of the things that made his trip back bearable.

"Do you think you can take me down to the water some time?" Margaret asked as she looked out at the ocean in the distance.

Hawkeye smiled, "You can count on it."

"Is the water cold?" She glanced back at him.

"It's not too bad in the summer."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, it's almost September. You may not want to go swimming in it, but that doesn't mean we can't go for some walks."

She smiled, leaning her head against the seat. "I would love that."

"I know you would." Hawkeye focused most of his attention on the road, but that wasn't really what he was focused on. His mind was racing with other things. Things that Margaret didn't need to know about yet.

"Honey, do you think we could find a house of our own before we leave on our honeymoon? I would really like a place to come back to."

"We can try."

"Less than a week. It probably won't happen, will it?"

He smiled. "That doesn't mean it won't happen. There's always that chance."

She nodded. Her mind was filled with questions and concerns about starting their new life together. It wasn't overwhelmed with doubt, but there was some mixed in there. None that concerned Hawkeye directly; she knew that they would be together forever. "Do you know when you're starting work?"

"When we get back from our honeymoon. That's the plan anyway."

"Are you ready?"

He glanced over at her. "Why all these questions?"

"Just conversation," she said.

"I thought you wanted to watch the scenery."

"You don't need your eyes to talk," she told him.

"It's more like grilling," he said.

"I am not grilling you; I'm just asking you questions. I can't help it if you're not answering back."

Hawkeye smiled and looked back at the road, "Okay, okay."

Margaret looked back towards the landscape. After a moment of silence she asked, "What time is your father expecting us?"

"I told him we'd be there sometime around seven."

"Any one else going to be there?"

"Maybe some family, I'm not sure."

"I hope not," she said. The suddenly realizing how that sounded she added, "Because I want to get to bed at a respectable time tonight, you know we won't if everyone is there."

"I know." He knew how she felt about his family.

She smiled. "I do like them, you know."

"I know, baby." Hawkeye looked out at the road as she looked out at the scenery. He was sensing that she was so talkative from nervous energy. Now that she wasn't talking she was wringing her hands. "When we get our house, are you going to do all the decorating?"

"What?"

Hawkeye couldn't think of anything else to say and he liked how happy it made her to talk about a home of their own. "In our house, are you going to hire an..."

"Oh no," she waved her hand. "I want to do it. I know what I want."

"Oh?"

"Yes. How do you feel about red?"

He grinned. "For what?"

"Our bedroom. I've always thought that having a bedroom decorated in red was very sexy."

"Oh yeah."

"I thought you'd like that."

"Can we have silk sheets?" He asked.

"If you want to spend the money."

"For our bed? Nothing could be too much."

She smiled and shook her head slightly. "What do you want in a house?"

"Just for you to be happy with it. That's all."

"Would you like an office or something?"

"Margaret, I want you to do what you want with the house. You make it our home and I'll be happy with that."

"Are you sure?"

"Listen, I want you to do this," he told her sincerely. "I know what this house means to you."

Margaret was touched by his sentiment, it did mean a lot to her, but he had to have some say in it too. "We're going to live in this house for the rest of our lives; I want you to be happy with it too."

"Whatever makes you happy makes me happy."

Margaret smiled and looked away, he was being impossible. "We'll do it together," she told him.

"You're the one who's going to be home, not me," he argued.

"I want you to be a part of the decision making. Once we buy a house we're going to have to go furniture shopping and paint shopping, I'm going to need you with me."

"Okay, I can do that," he nodded.

"And I'll need your opinion," she added.

"You don't like my opinion."

She chuckled. "In this case I'll make an exception. I want you to be involved. You want to be, don't you?"

He shrugged his shoulders. In all his life he never once thought of decorating a house. "I guess it could be fun."

Margaret knew he wasn't one for decorating. She had seen the way he lived in Korea and had even seen his bedroom at his father's house. There was no color, no pictures, just dust. "We'll do it together. At least make the important decisions together."

"That sounds good to me. I don't care about decorating a bathroom or anything. You do that."

She smiled and nodded. "You have a deal. You can do the yard work."

He groaned audibly. "Can't we just hire someone?"

"No. It won't hurt you to get out there and mow the grass. You'll need the exercise." She reached over and patted his stomach.

Hawkeye rolled his eyes. "You just wait. You'll be staying home soon. You'll see how fast that weight gets put on."

"Not like you..."

Hawkeye's jaw tightened, she knew how self conscious he was. Now that they were moving to Maine, he was going to do as much running as possible. "You weren't complaining a few nights ago."

"It was dark," she said with a vindictive grin.

He didn't even bother to look at her; he knew what she was doing. "Are you going to be up for looking at houses tomorrow?"

"Do you think your friend would be available in the afternoon?"

"I don't see why not."

"Good, I was hoping I could sleep in tomorrow."

"You mean 'we' don't you?"

"Honey, we discussed this. Your father isn't going to let us sleep in the same bed, especially when everyone arrives."

"We've been sleeping in the same bed for the better part of a year; I'm not going to stop now."

"I'm sorry, but you're going to have to."

His jaw clenched. "Wasn't it you, not just two weeks ago, who said you never wanted to sleep alone again?"

"Yes, but that was different."

"How so? We won't be in the same room now. You'll be sleeping alone again."

"I was also alone then, honey. I didn't have anyone. We'll still be in the same house."

"I'm going to talk to my dad about that."

Margaret turned and looked at him. "Don't you dare!"

"What?"

"Hawkeye, it's his house. We should respect his rules. It isn't all that difficult." He wasn't being very understanding.

"No Margaret. He knows we've been living together..."

"Look, I'm new to your family. I don't want them all to think I'm some kind of hussy. I want to respect your father's wishes when it comes to this. He's kind enough to let me stay there and he's done so much for us already."

"Fine," he said. He didn't like the feeling of defeat.

Margaret knew he was sulking, but he wasn't going to get his way. He'd just have to deal with it. "I'm sorry sweetheart, but this is the way it has to be."

"Yeah, yeah." Hawkeye couldn't see why they had to sleep apart.  That bed was plenty big for two people; there was no reason for him to sleep on the couch. After all, his father knew that he hadn't moved to Virginia just sit around Saturday nights playing gin.

Margaret raised an eyebrow in frustration, he wasn't being very understanding. "You know if the situation were different I wouldn't want you sleeping anywhere else but with me."

No one ever said that he couldn't slip in beside her in the middle of the night. What his father didn't know wouldn't hurt him. No, who was he kidding? Margaret would just kick him out again. "I know."

Margaret knew he was unhappy, but she didn't know what else to say to make him feel better. She scooted across the seat and put her arm around his waist and watched as the landscape passed by. Hawkeye put his arm around loosely around her shoulders; they drove in silence for the rest of the way.

As they approached the town of Crabapple Cove, Margaret sat up and looked around. She was excited to be there. They would visit with Daniel that night and then the next day they would start to look for houses. Margaret had never done that before and couldn't wait to get started.

"What do you think so far?" Hawkeye asked.

"I've been here, you know."

"I know, but when you were here you didn't have in mind staying the rest of your life, did you?" Margaret didn't answer, she just smiled at him. "You did?! We weren't even engaged yet."

"I know. I wanted to marry you the day we left Korea. I don't think anyone has ever given me a better goodbye kiss in my life."

Hawkeye laughed. "Same here."

"We're almost there, right?"

"Yeah. Another mile or so and we'll reach my father's house."

The last time Margaret had been to Crabapple Cove was when Hawkeye was still living in Maine. He had put her up in a hotel so that she didn't feel too uncomfortable staying with his father and so that he could spend the nights with her in her room. He had thought about doing that this time, but Dan wouldn't allow it. He insisted that the two of them stay there until the wedding day.

"I really hope no one is there. I'd just like to unpack some things, visit with your father and then crawl into a nice warm bed."

"So do I, but I have to sleep on the damn couch."

"Oh stop your whining."

"Margaret, last night I sleep on a floor and tonight I get to sleep on a couch, all alone I might add."

"Look at it this way. At least the couch is a step up."

"I don't want to sleep by myself on the couch," he told her for what seemed like the fiftieth time that day. "I want to sleep in a bed, with a woman." Hawkeye saw the amused look on her face when he said that. "You know what I mean."

"Baby, I know you're disappointed, but you're stuck on that couch until our wedding night."

"Not even in the middle of the night?" He asked hopefully.

"Not even in the middle of the night."

Hawkeye frowned and sighed. "What if it was just for a few hours?"

"I already said we weren't having sex this week."

Hawkeye rolled his eyes, "Just because we're lying in bed together doesn't mean we have to have sex."

"But I know you," she said to him. "We'll start out just lying together, but before long I'll find myself pinned beneath you."

Hawkeye shrugged his shoulders. "That doesn't mean anything. You've let me sleep on top of you plenty of times."

"Hawkeye..."

He glanced over at her. "I'm not going to win, am I?" She shook her head no. He gave up for the moment at least. He turned into his father's driveway. "Here we are."

"It doesn't look like anyone's home."

"My father's here. He's making us dinner."

"Oh?"

"Yes. Ravioli."

"Okay."

Hawkeye put the car in park and turned the engine off. "He's a good cook. Better than me."

She smiled. "Well, that's not saying much."

Hawkeye rolled his eyes. "You're too kind." He leaned in and gave her a peck on the cheek. "Lets get out of this damn car."

Margaret grabbed her purse and got out of the car. Hawkeye walked over to her and picked up her hand. "You can get the rest of the luggage later, can't you?"

"Yeah." He had noticed that her hand was a bit clammy. "Don't be nervous."

"I'm not."

"Are you hot?"

That seemed like an odd question. "No."

He grinned. "Then why are your hands sweaty?"

She sighed. "Okay. I'm a little nervous." She had every right to be. She had left the only thing she had known her entire life and was now in Maine staying with her fiancé's father until the wedding day. They were buying a house, they were settling down. As much as she always wanted it, she was a little scared. Her dream was so close and she was afraid that something was going to happen to ruin it.

They walked up the front porch and into the house. Hawkeye never knocked. He had grown up in that house. "Dad," he called. "Dad, we're here!"

"In here," came the voice.

Hawkeye held open the door and stood aside as he let her walk in ahead of him. He closed the door behind him and then took her purse from her and set it on the table. "We're not too late are we?" Hawkeye called to his father.

"No, you're just in time."

Margaret was the first to follow the voice into the kitchen and Hawkeye went right behind her. "Hi Dan," she smiled when she saw him.

Daniel Pierce walked across the kitchen and enveloped her in a warm hug. "How are you honey?"

Margaret pulled back and looked up at the older man. "I'm just fine, how about you?" She asked. "Is your knee feeling better?"

Daniel laughed, "Oh you don't need to worry about me." He waved his hand in dismissal. "It's you we should be worried about, spending all day in the car with my son." He knew how those two got when they were around each other for too long. Either they'd get into a heated argument or overly touchy. He'd learned from experience to leave them alone when they got like that.

Margaret glanced over at her fiancé; he was standing in the doorway watching the two of them. Her own parents didn't approve of their marriage, but his father had fallen for Margaret almost immediately. "Oh, he wasn't that bad," she said with a grin. "I only had to threaten him once."

Hawkeye smiled good naturedly. "And I had to threaten her at least five times."

"I don't believe that," Dan said. "Now come over here and give you old father a hug."

Hawkeye walked over to his father and they hugged. "Hi Dad. It's good to see you."

Dan pulled away and looked at his son. "You're looking a lot better than the last time I saw you."

Margaret looked at the two of them oddly. It had only been two weeks since Hawkeye had last seen his father. To Margaret's knowledge Hawkeye hadn't had so much a cold. "What do you mean?"

Hawkeye looked at his father trying to tell him to keep his mouth shut, but that didn't work. Somehow it worked when Dan did it to him, but never when Hawkeye did it to Dan. "Oh, you should have seen him. Between trying to get his business fixed and missing you he was a complete wreck. You'd think he had been gone from you for months."

Hawkeye didn't want his father to say much more. Especially about business. He walked over to his fiancé and wrapped his arms around her. "I can't help it if I love her so much." He had been hoping that she hadn't caught what Dan had said, but he knew it was only wishful thinking.

"I know, you told me a hundred or so times," Daniel teased. He walked back over the stove and took the sauce off the surface. "Hawk, can you grab the salad and put it on table?"

"Sure." Hawkeye let Margaret go and picked the salad bowl up off the counter.

"Is there anything I can do?" Margaret asked as Hawkeye took the salad out into the dining room.

"Not a thing honey, why don't you go sit down."

"Are you sure?" She didn't like Daniel doing everything.

"Margaret," he gave her a look. "Go sit."

Margaret looked over at Hawkeye and he nodded. "Okay." She took a seat at the table and watched the father and son pair work to get dinner on the table. They didn't get in the way of each other or step on one another's toes. Margaret was glad that she was out of the way. If she had tried to help she knew she would have been in the way. "Smells delicious, Dan."

"Thank you." He stood back and looked at the table. They had everything except their drinks. "What should we have to go with this, Hawk?"

"Wine. Margaret, you want some?"

"Yeah. Sounds good."

"Dad?"

"I'll take some too, son." Daniel took a seat at the table and placed his napkin on his lap. He looked across the table at Margaret. "Now we can talk. You two walked into the house just in time for dinner."

"I think your son planned it that way."

Hawkeye sat down with the bottle of wine and three glasses. "I did not. It just worked out that way." He handed Margaret a glass and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I've never heard you complain about having dinner waiting when you get home."

"Not having diner done sounds more like you."

"Ha ha," he said sarcastically. He handed his father a glass of wine and then poured himself one. "She thinks she's funny."

Dan smiled at the pair. It was nice to have some life back in the house rather than just him. "Enough before you two start fighting. Let's eat."

Hawkeye grinned at Margaret and then unfolded his napkin and laid it across his lap. "Us fight? Never," he told his father.

Daniel and Margaret chuckled together, "That's the understatement of the century."

"I'll have you know we got along splendidly," Hawkeye announced. "Although at the moment..."

Margaret tired not to look surprised; she knew what he was hinting to. "So Dan, do you have any plans for tomorrow?"

Daniel was cutting up his ravioli with his fork. "I have some patients scheduled for the morning," he said. "So you two will be here alone for awhile."

Hawkeye let out a quick 'ha'. "That'll be the day. You and I both know that as soon as nine o'clock rolls around we won't be able to keep people out."

"Don't worry, you should be okay."

"What did you do?"

"I told them you weren't arriving until tomorrow."

"You didn't," Hawkeye exclaimed.

"Yeah, I did. After a day of traveling I thought you two would like some time to sleep in."

"Yes," Margaret smiled. "Thank you very much."

"Sure. I didn't want anyone coming in here surprising you or catching you while you're not made up."

Margaret was very grateful. "Hawkeye, why can't you be more like him?"

Hawkeye rolled his eyes and took a bite of his food. He didn't even want to reply. "Mmm, Dad this is great."

"Yours comes close. Margaret, do you cook much?"

"When I get the chance. I haven't really had the time in years. I'm hoping once we settled that I'll have some time to hone my cooking skills."

"You're not going to work?"

Hawkeye looked at her and smiled. "We decided that I would go back to work and it was her turn to take some time off. She can stay home forever if she wants, or she can go back to work when she's ready."

"You raised a good kid," Margaret said. There weren't many men that she knew of that were supportive of their wife if they were working.

"He has his moments."

Hawkeye sat there and listened to the two of them. Most of the things that they said went in one ear and right out the other. The food on his plate was too good to pay attention to anything but that.

Around nearly half an hour they were all still sitting at the table. Daniel and Margaret were engrossed in a heated conversation over patient health care standards and Hawkeye was idly listening to them. "Excuse me for a second," Daniel said as he stood up and walked into the kitchen to pick up the ringing phone. A moment later he appeared in the door way. "Ben, it's for you."

Hawkeye looked up when he heard his name. "Huh?" He'd been thinking about other things.

"The phone."

"Oh." Hawkeye pushed back his chair and stood up.

Daniel handed his son the phone and then took his seat once again. "I'm sorry Margaret, what were you saying?" They proceeded with their conversation, discussing how health care had seemingly increased since the last World War.

A few minutes later Hawkeye emerged from the kitchen and disappeared into the hallway. After listening to the front door open and close repeatedly they heard his foot steps on the hallway stairs. "What do you think that's over?" Margaret asked. She'd caught the irritated expression on her fiancé's face as he'd left the room.

"Nothing I'm sure," Daniel reassured her.

Margaret had the urge to go after him, but decided against it. "I should probably go out and get the suitcases before it gets too dark," she said eventually.

"You get my son to do it; I don't want you out there stumbling around in the dark."

"No, it would be easier if I just did it now," she told him. "Besides, there are only two suitcases out there."

"No," Dan said firmly.

"I really don't mind." She pushed her chair out and stood up. "It'll just be a minute."

Dan stood up. "Why don't you take another look around the house and I'll go get them."

Margaret knew she wasn't going to win with him, but that didn't stop her from trying. "You shouldn't be doing that with your knee."

"My knee has nothing to do with lifting."

Margaret looked him in the eye. "It'll be fine."

He could see that she wasn't accepting that answer. "Fine. I'll solve this problem." He turned his head to the hallway and yelled, "Ben! Get down here and go get your luggage before your fiancé and I have to go get it."

"What?"

"Get the suitcases." He hollered. Dan turned to Margaret. "See, I fixed the problem."

"I see that." She picked up her and Hawkeye's plates and brought them over to the kitchen sink. "I can clean this up."

"You don't know where things go."

"I can figure it out." She smiled.

"You're as hard headed as I am."

Margaret smiled and started to rinse their dishes. "I think you can also say that for someone else."

"Yes, he's my son; I'm not ashamed to admit it. Well, most of the time that is." Margaret turned her head and looked at him then, he had a big grin spread across his face.

"I know what you mean," she admitted easily. There were times when Margaret couldn't get enough of him, and then there were times when she didn't want people to know he belonged to her.

Daniel chuckled, "I figured you might."

Footsteps could be heard on the stairs and suddenly he appeared in the doorway. "I'll go get those bags right now," he said as he moved to put on his shoes.

Dan walked across the kitchen and peered out the doorway to watch his son. "That woman was threatening to do it herself," he told him.

"I'm sorry," Margaret heard him say from out in the hallway.

"Well, you just get out there and get them quick," Daniel told him. "My lord, would you just imagine her stumbling out there in the dark?"

"I know dad, I'm going."

Daniel was very old fashioned; it didn't take anymore then that to see it. That was one of the reasons why Margaret was so firm when it came to where they slept.

Margaret didn't say much, she didn't want to get in the middle. She felt like it was her fault already. She didn't want Daniel to think his son treated her badly in any way. Even if she would have been the one to go and get the suitcases, Hawkeye would have yelled her. He may not have jumped down her throat like Dan did to Hawkeye about it, but that doesn't mean he would have liked it. Hawkeye always did the gentlemanly thing; when Margaret gave him the chance to do so. She was independent in a lot of respects and there were times when she didn't think anything of moving furniture around or picking up luggage. It was clear that Dan saw that as a man's job.

Dan stood in the doorway until Hawkeye came in. "Bring them upstairs."

"Yes Dad."

"And don't put them in the same room."

"I know."

Margaret had her back to him as she concentrated on doing the dishes. She tried to hide her face as she blushed. Never before had she been embarrassed about her and Hawkeye living together. It was true that she kept it a secret from some people just to avoid the conflict, but it was never because she was embarrassed. Maybe she should have gotten a hotel room.

Dan walked back into the kitchen and started to clear off the table. "That boy," he sighed. "I thought I raised him better than that."

Margaret responded quickly. "You did. I can assure you that. The only way Hawkeye would have let me get those bags would be if he didn't know I was doing it and even after that he wouldn't have liked it. It's my fault, not his."

Dan smiled. "I'm not angry at him. He should have gotten the bags in the first place."

"We agreed they could wait. He was really excited to get here."

"Honey, you don't have to stick up for him. I know he's a good man." Dan placed some dishes on the counter next to her and then leaned in a said lowly. "I just like to keep him on his toes so he stays that way. That stays between me and you."

Margaret turned and smiled at him. "Okay."

Hawkeye walked back into the room. "What's going on?"

"Just clean up," Margaret answered. "Are you okay?"

He walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her from behind giving her a tender kiss on the cheek. "I'm fine. Nothing to worry about."

"You left in a hurry, I ..."

"It's nothing to be worried about." He gave her another kiss and moved away. "Anything I can help with?"

"No, I'm just about done here." Margaret wasn't sure she wanted him around at the moment, she was sure he had somewhere else he needed to be. No, she wasn't having hostile feelings towards him; she was just starting to feel the affects of being left in the dark for so long. How could she help him if she didn't know what was wrong?

"Are you sure? I can dry."

"Really, I'm fine."

"Okay, if you're sure," he leaned down and gave her another kiss on the cheek before leaving the kitchen.

Margaret finished up the dishes and then went upstairs to unpack. She wanted to put on her pajamas and get to bed. It was only around eight thirty, but it had been a long day and she was tired. "What are you doing in here?" She was surprised to find him standing in her room.

Hawkeye turned around and looked at her, he hadn't heard her come in. "Oh, I was just getting a few things. You know, that I left here from my last trip up."

Margaret nodded and went about her business. "I'm just going to get ready for bed." She unzipped her suitcase and started to unpack.

Hawkeye watched her, he felt like he was neglecting her in some way. This was going to be their first night apart since he had returned to Virginia. He walked up behind her and slipped his hands around her waist. Hawkeye breathed heavily and let his chin rest on her shoulder. "I love you."

"I love you too."

"I'm not going to sleep at all tonight," he told her.

Margaret continued to get her night things together. "I'm sure if you try hard enough you will."

He tightened his grip on her. "You aren't going to miss sleeping with me?"

"You'll be just downstairs."

Hawkeye frowned; he didn't want to sleep on the couch. His father had plenty of guest rooms; the problem was he didn't want to have to change the sheets again once their friends started arriving.

"So, you're saying that you won't miss me?"

Margaret placed some things in a drawer. "I didn't say that. I don't like to sleep alone either, but its not going to kill either one of us. Its five days."

"Yeah, I know." He sat down on the bed and watched her removed her things from her suitcase and place them in drawers or on the dresser. "Can you do me a favor?"

"What's that?"

"Don't go trying to do too much when my father's around."

She turned around and looked at him. "What?"

"He's very old fashioned, baby. I don't want him spending the rest of our time here yelling at me for letting you do too much."

She sighed. She wasn't sure what to make of that. "Hawkeye, it's not going to kill me..."

"Please. You can do all the heavy lifting you want when we're out of here."

"And you'd let me do that?"

He grinned. "Well, not if you were going to hurt yourself."

"Hawkeye!"

He grabbed her by the hips and pulled her down on his lap. "You know I'm kidding with you." He gave her a soft kiss.

"You know what?"

"What? You want to get out of here and go find a place of our own to spend the nights at?"

"No." She said flatly almost as though she didn't pay attention to a word he had said. "You should have gotten those suitcases anyway. You said you would."

"And I did."

"Because you're father made you."

He rolled his eyes and then rolled her over so she was lying on the bed. "I would have done it anyway. Just not at that exact moment." He moved to lay over top of her and gave her a kiss.

"I know what you're trying to do."

"I'm not trying to do anything," he told her seriously.

"You're pinning me to the bed." As if he hadn't noticed.

"We're just lying together, I'm not doing anything," he said innocently.

"Uh huh, yeah..."

"Believe me," he said. "If I were doing anything, you'd know it."

Margaret remained relaxed; if she struggled then he'd just fight her more. "I think you need to get off me."

"Well, that's the first time you've ever said that me," he said with a grin. "Normally it's 'Oh Hawkeye!'" He raised his voice in an attempt to mock her.

Margaret pinched his arm hard, "Your father could be just down the hall!"

Hawkeye giggled softly, he loved it when she got riled up. "He's in his office, downstairs. We're okay."

She could feel his hand working up her thigh. When she felt it start to slide beneath her shirt she slapped it away. "Just because he's downstairs doesn't mean I'm going to have sex with you," she told him sternly. If Daniel caught them in the position they were currently in she knew the outcome wouldn't have been good.

"Who said we were going to have sex?" He asked. "We'll just fool around for a while and then I promise to go down to the couch."

"No," she said firmly.

"Why?"

"Because we can't."

"Because you won't." He corrected her.

She moved out from his grasp and sat up. "That too. You're more than welcome to stay in here while I take a shower. I would like a goodnight kiss from you."

"Its so early." He sat up next to her. "I'm not even tired."

"Yes you are." She stood up and went about organizing her things and getting ready to shower. "You slept on a hard wood floor last night. Neither one of us got more than five hours of sleep and on top of that we had a fifteen hour drive today. Don't tell me you're not tired."

He felt like a child being told that he was in fact tired. "Margaret, I know when I'm tired."

"I know what would happen if everything were under normal circumstances. You would start something with me, roll over and go to sleep without finishing it."

"So why does it matter if I sleep on the couch if you know I won't touch you?"

"Why don't you go ask your father," she suggested smugly.

Hawkeye stood up. "I will."

Margaret stopped him from moving. "Don't you dare!"

"You just said I should go ask him. For once I'm doing what you tell me."

Margaret narrowed her eyes. He was just trying to get under her skin again. "Why don't you wait here and I'll go shower?"

"I have a better idea. Why don't I..."

"No!" She cut him off before he could finish.

"You didn't even let me finish," he said with a boyish grin. "You don't even know what I was going to say."

"I know what you were going to say," she said as she collected her shower things. "And it's not going to happen."

"What, are you a mind reader now?"

"No, I just know you," she told him.

"Fine then," he crossed his arms. "What was I going to say? That is if you already know."

"We both know, let's just leave it at that."

"I wasn't implying anything sexual, if that's what you're thinking," he told her.

Margaret stopped what she doing and looked at him. "Yes?"

"I was just going to suggest that I make us some popcorn while you're in the shower, then we could watch some TV on the couch." She was pretty sure that he had made that up on the spot, but it wasn't the worst idea he'd ever had.

"Seriously?"

Okay, so it wasn't what he was thinking at first but it was a harmless enough lie. "Yes. What do you say?"

She smiled and nodded her head. "Sounds good to me."

"Good." He gave her a soft tender kiss. "You know where everything is in the bathroom?"

"Yes."

"I can help you."

"No thank you. I'll be fine. You just get us some popcorn and some drinks and a nice warm blanket."

"Alright. Your loss."

Margaret rolled her eyes and grabbed her shower things. She had everything she needed except for a towel and Dan had told her where that was. She knew how to work the water and wash her own hair, so she didn't need Hawkeye in there. She didn't need him pestering her or jumping in the shower with her.

It was twenty minutes later when Margaret walked downstairs. Hawkeye was sitting on the couch watching a TV show. There was a nice big bowl of popcorn on the coffee table and two sodas sitting there. He had a blanket at one end of the couch while he sat at the other. The whole scene looked very inviting. She placed her hands on his shoulders and slid them down his chest. "What are you watching?"

He turned and smiled. "Come sit down." He patted the cushion next to him. If he couldn't sleep with her and hold her, he was going to hold her as they watched TV. "You smell very good."

"Well I did just get out of the shower." She moved around the couch and sat down, folding her legs up underneath her and leaning against him. "This is nice."

Hawkeye leaned down and whispered in her ear, "It could be even better."

"Well just think about it like this," she said. "It'll be so much better on our wedding night if we wait."

Hawkeye put his arm around her, "Five days is a long time to wait."

"What are you talking about? Every month you go without it for a week."

"That means two weeks now!"

"I'm not going to sit with you if you keep it up..." she warned him.

"Okay, okay. I'll keep my hands to myself, mostly."

She smiled and leaned into him. She didn't want him to keep his hands to himself completely, not that she ever thought that could happen. "When we go furniture shopping we need to make sure we get a nice comfortable couch."

"Why did we bring ours from Virginia if we're going to buy new?"

"You never know. If we get a house with a family room or a den we could put the things we brought in there and get new for the living room. Although, if we don't have enough money we could just use the old things..."

"Do we have to talk about that now?"

"No, I guess not. Maybe we should wait until we find a house."

"Yes."

"In that case, we should really set a budget so we knew that we can afford everything that..."

"Margaret, stop. We'll look tomorrow and see what we find. We'll make all decisions from there."

She smiled up at him. "Okay. Will you get the popcorn?" Hawkeye reached for it and passed it to her. "Thank you." She sat there looking at the television, but not really paying any attention to what was on. Her mind was racing with things that she had to get done. If she hadn't been so tired it would have been very difficult to just sit there with Hawkeye.

When a commercial came on Hawkeye turned and looked at her. "You still with me?"

"Yeah."

"You didn't laugh at all? Don't you like this show?"

In all honestly she didn't know what she was watching. "Oh no. I like it."

He gave her a kiss and then grabbed the blanket and pulled it over the two of them. "This better?"

"Yeah." She handed him the popcorn bowl and he placed it back on the table. When he sat back she wrapped her arms around his torso and snuggled into him. "I like this better."

"I know what would make this better..."

"Pierce, knock it off, you're ruining the moment."

Hawkeye smiled and rubbed her back softly. "I'm sorry, you know how I get when I'm tired."

"Well, maybe I should go up to bed then." She sat up and pretended to get ready to leave.

"No!" He exclaimed and pulled her back to him. "You can't leave me just yet."

Margaret relaxed against him again, she wasn't ready to go at that exact moment. "I'll have to go eventually, I don't want to fall asleep down here."

"You make falling asleep in my arms sound like a bad thing."

Margaret groaned, "We've been over this."

Hawkeye rolled his eyes, "I can always carry you upstairs."

She shook her head as she yawned. "No, I'll just go when I can't keep my eyes open any longer."

"That's not saying much," he mumbled.

Margaret had heard him. "I'm sorry. I'm tired."

"Yeah."

She sighed and relaxed. "Your show is back on."

Hawkeye sat back and relaxed focusing on the TV in front of him. After a few minutes he felt his fiancé completely relax against him. He looked down at her and saw that she was sleeping. He let her be until the show ended and then stood up. She didn't open her eyes at all, so he scooped her up in his arms.

"Mmm," she moaned.

"Shh." At the sound of his voice she wrapped her arms around his neck and allowed herself to be carried away. Hawkeye brought her upstairs and into the bedroom she was staying in. He laid her down and covered her up. "Night, honey."

"Goodnight," she mumbled.

Hawkeye gave her a kiss on the forehead and then left the room. When he walked out into the hallway his father was there. "Are you..."

"Shh," Hawkeye said. "She's asleep."

"Oh, good." Daniel knew his son and knew that he would be trying everything he could think of to sleep in the same bed as Margaret. "Come downstairs with me."

"Dad, I'm not going to sleep in there."

"I didn't say that, did I? I just wanted you to come with me." Hawkeye sighed and nodded in understanding. The two men walked quietly down the stairs and into the living room. "She's a good woman," Daniel said as he took a seat in his chair and Hawkeye sat adjacent to him on the couch. "I couldn't be any happier for you."

"Thank you." Hawkeye appreciated his sentiment.

"She reminds me a great deal of your mother," the older man said softly as he stared at the floor. Hawkeye smiled to himself, he'd thought the same thing once or twice. "You make sure you treat her well."

Hawkeye knew where this was coming from, he was thinking about how things were before his mother died. "I will."

Daniel looked up and smiled at his son. "I know you will, you're a good boy."

Hawkeye smiled brightly. "Even if I let her do too much?"

"Yep. Are you two planning on giving me grandchildren?"

"In the future. Why?" Hawkeye didn't know what his father really wanted to speak to him about. He was a little confused.

"I'll let you in on a little secret. That woman up there is going to bear your children, take care of them, raise them. Basically she'll be the center of their universe for a long time. When you see her carrying your first child you're going to realize how fragile she is. You're not going to want her to do anything that you could do for her."

"Dad, Margaret's a strong woman. She wouldn't allow me to treat her like an invalid."

"That's not what I'm saying."

"And I know that, but I also know her. She's going to take that as an insult. With her, you can't help her until she's ready to be helped."

"Ben, I know what you're saying. You just promise me that you'll continue opening doors for her, carrying her to bed when she falls asleep on the couch, helping her dry the dinner dishes, all of that."

Hawkeye smiled at his father. "I promise Dad."

"Hawk, you better not be taking this as a joke."

"Dad, I'm not." Inside Hawkeye was chuckling, but he didn't want his father to see that. "I love her with all my heart. There isn't anything I wouldn't do for her and she knows that. I don't mistreat her anymore than you ever mistreated Mom."

"Good."

"You were a great example."

Dan smiled. It wasn't often that his son complimented him in front of him. Dan knew that Hawkeye spoke highly of him, but hearing it from his son's voice was better than hearing it from someone else. "You must be tired. I'll let you get some sleep."

Hawkeye watched his father stand to his feet. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, and stay out of Margaret's room."

"Dad!"

Daniel chuckled and walked to the stairs. "You think I'm kidding, but I'm not."

"I know," Hawkeye said.

"I should be home around one o'clock tomorrow," he told him. "I'll be gone when you wake up."

"Okay, goodnight."

"Goodnight son."

Daniel walked up stairs and left Hawkeye alone in the living room. He made up the couch and then settled down. It wasn't the same without Margaret, he could never sleep without her next to him. Finally, nearly an hour later he drifted off to sleep.