Disclaimer: I don't own anything from MASH, no matter how much I would love too, I don't so please don't sue me!
Summary: Follow Hawkeye and Margaret's life, together from the beginning!
Authors Note: Don't worry I haven't forgotten about the Romance or the Martini's. Haha... there will be more in the upcoming chapters! I promise. And as for Patty, well I decided to go a different route. Thanks for the great Reviews! Keep them up and enjoy this next chapter.
"Good morning."
"Good morning." She says, not moving from his chest.
He leaned down to kiss her before saying, "What time would you like to go look for the ring?"
"Let's just stay here for a little while longer." She says, enjoying the company.
"We can do that." He says smiling and wraps his arms around her. They stayed like that till they were good and ready to get up. Hawkeye never thought he could be as happy as he was and Margaret felt the same way. They had a lot to do today, but right now, nothing else mattered except for the fact that they stayed together as long as possible. This was the first time they had woken up like this, and it definitely wouldn't be the last... they both were going to make sure of that.
"Well, I think I am going to run up and take a shower." Hawkeye says after lying there for an hour.
"Alright."
"Care to join me?" He says playfully.
"This is your father's house!" She says almost shocked.
"He isn't going to be home for a while. And I will be sure to make it worth your while."
She smiles and says, "Sure."
"Really?!" Hawkeye says almost surprised that she consented.
"Yeah." She says standing up. "I need a shower too." She winks and heads upstairs. "Are you coming?" She says, looking back at him.
"Two steps behind ya." He says, as they head upstairs.
"I'm going to go get in." She says, grabbing a towel out of the linen closet. "You come on in when you're ready." She says smiling as she walks into the bathroom and turned on the tap, letting the water run hot for a few seconds before stepping into the shower. She stood there for about ten minutes, letting the water run over her, wondering where Hawkeye was. Surely he didn't change his mind. She was about to call to him when she heard the door open and him slide behind her, wrapping his arms around her waste and placing a kiss on her shoulder, before brushing her hair away from her neck. She tiled her head to allow him easier access of her neck which he took full advantage of. "Where have you been?"
"I had to make a call real quick." He says in between kisses.
"A call?"
"Yeah. Dinner reservations." He says, moving up her neck again.
She turns around in his arms and wraps her hands around his neck. "Where are we going?"
"That's my little secret." He says smiling.
"You can tell me."
"Well, I could... but then it wouldn't be a surprise." He says.
"You're full of surprises aren't you?"
"What can I say...? I'm a hopeless romantic." He says, smiling.
"You're hopeless alright." She says laughing. He starts to say something but she stops him with a kiss. The next thing she knew she was up against the shower wall and the rest was history. After about an hour long shower, they got out, dressed and decided what to do for lunch. It was now 1:00 and they were both hungry.
"What are you hungry for Margaret?" He asked.
"Anything..."
"Would you like pizza, a hamburger, Chinese, what?"
"Pizza sounds good." She says, smiling up at him.
"Ok. I know just the place." He says, walking to the hall closet to retrieve there jackets. He helped her on with hers before he got into his.
"Thank you." She says as she zips up her jacket.
"You're welcome." He says. "Shall we?"
"Yes." She says, walking out the front door to his car. "So where are we going?"
"You are so nosey." He says smiling. "To a little Italian joint down the road."
"Sounds good... I'm starving."
"Yeah, so am I... that shower sure made me work up an appetite." He says, smiling as she slaps his arm playfully.
"What time is dinner?"
"7:30. Is that ok with you?"
"I don't know." She says smirking, "I may have another date."
"Well bring him along too." He says, smiling as they pull in the parking lot. They get out of the car and he takes her hand, walking into the restaurant.
"Hi Ben." The older woman says smiling.
"Hi Mrs. Lorenzo." He says smiling. He notices the astonished look on Margaret's face.
"It's a small town." He says knowing that she couldn't believe how many people he knew.
"We haven't seen you around lately." She says, showing them to their table.
"I've been busy looking for a job."
"Oh, are you going back into surgery?"
"I'm hoping to. I haven't found anything worth it yet, so in the meantime I'm still busy with my dad's practice."
"Well good luck to you. And I see you brought a friend."
"Yes, this is Margaret Houlihan."
"Well Margaret, it is very nice to meet you."
"You too ma'am."
"Where are you from?"
"All over the place." Margaret says smiling, "I'm an army brat, now I'm head nurse in a VA in Washington DC."
"What rank are you?"
"Major."
'Well that's wonderful. Its not too often you see a woman as a Major. Our son is a Lieutenant Colonel in a VA in Florida. So how did you meet our Ben?"
"He was Chief Surgeon and I was Head Nurse at the MASH unit in Korea."
"Ah, I see. Is this your first time to Crabapple Cove."
"It is."
"Well, I hope you enjoy your stay." She says.
"I am so far." She says, smiling at Hawkeye. "Well, what would you two like for a drink?"
"Um, water is fine." Margaret says smiling.
"I'll take water too." Hawkeye replied. "Thanks."
"No problem kids." She says as she heads back.
"Do you know everybody?" Margaret whispers.
"Pretty much." He says smiling. "Like I said before, it's a small town... and having a father as the town Doctor and then me becoming the second town doctor you get to know a lot of people. Most of these people have known me since I was a kid."
"Has she?" Margaret says gesturing towards Mrs. Lorenzo.
"Yeah."
"Well, I better leave her a good tip then." She says smirking.
"Funny."
"I thought so." She says smiling.
"Alright Kids, here you go." Mrs. Lorenzo says handing them there drinks. "Now, what can I get you?"
"What do you like Margaret?"
"I just eat plain."
"That sounds good, just give us a plain pizza please."
"Alright, coming right up."
They sit and talk for a little while, before something dawns on Margaret, "Hey, we're going out for dinner right?"
"Yeah, at seven thirty, why?"
"Didn't you tell your father that you'd cook tonight?"
"Shit... I forgot... yeah."
"Should we cancel?"
"No, I'll throw something together for him before we leave. It's not a problem."
"Ok." She says smiling. She was eager to see what he had up his sleeve tonight.
They take there time eating the pizza before they head out onto the town. Hawkeye drives to Portland so they can look at rings.
"Well, are you ready to go look at some rings?"
"I think so." She says smiling.
"Ok." He says. They drive to a jewelry store and get out of the car. Once again he takes her hand and they walk into the store.
"Hello." The owner says smiling at the two.
"Hi." Margaret says.
"What can I help you with?"
"We're looking for an engagement ring." Hawkeye says smiling.
"Congratulations." He says smiling. "We have some very nice selections, if you would come over this way." He says, pointing to the glass casings.
"I want you to pick what ever one you want." He says smiling. "And if you don't find it here, then we can look elsewhere. I want it to be the perfect one for you."
Margaret looks up at him and smiles, as she looks in the casings. She sees a few and says, "They look expensive Hawk."
"I don't care what the price is... don't even look at the pricing ok?"
"Alright." She says, smiling.
"Why don't you try on a few that you like?" The jeweler says.
"How about this one?" Margaret says, seeing a single diamond in a platinum setting.
Hawkeye looks it over and decides it was too plain for his soon to be wife's hand. He shakes his head and points to another diamond that he felt she would like, "How about that one?"
Margaret looks at the ring he was pointing at with wide eyes. It was beautiful, one large diamond in the center with two smaller ones on each side. "Can I see it?"
"Sure... this is an excellent choice." The jeweler says smiling. "It's a size five..."
"That's the size I usually wear." She says, as she puts it on her left finger. She smiles and looks up at Hawkeye.
"Well?" He says smiling.
"I love it..." She says. "It's perfect."
"Are you sure?" He asks her, just to make sure that was the one she wanted. "Do you want to look at any more?"
"No... I want this one." She says smiling. "What makes it even better is that you picked it out."
"Alright." He says as she takes the ring off and hands it to the Jeweler. "The price is my secret so do me a favor and go out and start up the car." He tells her. She frowns at him, but does as she was told and goes into the car, smiling as soon as she left the store.
A few minutes later Hawkeye comes out smiling. He decided to not give her the ring and wait until tonight... it was all part of his plan; he knew he would have to be a quick thinker when Margaret asked him where it was.
"Well?" She says smiling.
"He needed to clean it and get it ready for you. It will be finished tomorrow."
"Oh..." She says, trying to hide her disappointment. "That's fine." She says, putting on a small smile.
"We'll pick it up first thing tomorrow." He assures her.
"That's fine." She says, smiling at him, "Where too now?"
"Well, I figured we'd head back so I can start dinner for my father."
"Ok. I guess I'll have to wait to test your cooking skills."
"You can still taste my food, I just won't let you eat that much. It will spoil the dinner tonight."
"So, how do I have to dress for this dinner tonight?"
"Well, you definitely need clothes on, but after..."
"Pierce." She says sternly.
"A nice dress... did you bring one, or are we going to have to go buy you one?"
"No, I bought a new one before I came here, but I just never had a place to wear it. I don't know if it's too dressy though..."
"I assure you, nothing is too dressy for this place. I need a suit for it." He says smiling.
"I don't believe it, Hawkeye Pierce in a suit... other than his tux?"
"Believe it babe." He says smiling as they drive back to Crabapple Cove.
Margaret and Hawkeye get into the Pierce house by three thirty, and Hawkeye starts cooking. He makes fish and a vegetable for his father. It was quick and easy and it left him with more time to spend with Margaret. Daniel got home at 4:30 and saw the two of them on the couch watching TV. "I'm home."
"Hi Dad." Hawkeye says, looking back at him.
"Hi Hawk, hello Margaret."
"Hi Dan." She says smiling up at him.
"How did you sleep last night my dear?"
"Fine thanks." She says, blushing a bit.
"That's good. You two looked fairly comfortable on the couch."
"We were." Hawkeye says.
"What's for dinner?"
"I have fish cooking for you, but Margaret and I are going to head out for a dinner."
"That sound's good... where are you going?"
"I can't tell you." Hawkeye says smiling. "If I tell you, then she will hear... and then it will ruin my surprise."
"Oh... well, you'll just have to tell me later then." He says smiling.
"I will." He says, smiling.
At six, Hawkeye says, "We'll leave in an hour."
"Oh, well in that case I better get ready." She says as she heads upstairs. Hawkeye would only take about ten minutes to get ready so he was going to wait for a little while. He heard her bedroom door close and he went into the kitchen where his father was.
"So, where are you taking her?"
"To La Riviera, for a nice dinner and a bit of dancing."
"That's a wonderful place."
"I know. I've been there a few times. I think Margaret will like it." He says.
"There is no doubt in my mind that she won't." He says to his son, before asking, "So... are you and the Major together?"
"You can say that." He says smiling.
"You're glowing."
"I don't glow..."
"Yes, you do... I know what glowing is, and this is glowing." He says.
"I'm going to take my glowing-self upstairs and get dressed. I'll see you in a little bit."
"Right." He says, watching his son disappear from the room. Hawkeye went upstairs and into his room, changing quickly and running a brush through his hair. He put on a black suit with a white shirt and a red tie. He knocked on Margaret's door to see how she was fairing.
"You almost ready?"
"Give me five more minutes." She says, as she finishes putting the last of her makeup on.
"Alright, I'll meet you downstairs."
"Ok." She says. She had on a jet black dress that fit her for to a tee. She had on black high heels that strapped around her ankles. Around her neck she wore a blue sapphire necklace that her father had given her when she became a Major. She had recently pierced her ears again and had matching sapphire earrings to go with the necklace. She did a quick look over before heading out of the guestroom to the living room where Hawkeye was waiting. He saw her walking down the steps and stared with his mouth wide open. She looked absolutely amazing.
"You look beautiful."
"Thank you." She says blushing a bit. "You don't look half bad yourself."
"Thanks. Well, shall we go?" He asks, helping her on with the black dress coat.
"Yes."
"Dad, we'll see you later... Don't wait up."
"I don't plan on it." He says smiling. "You look lovely Margaret."
"Thank you." She says smiling. "See you tomorrow."
"Right. Have fun Kids."
"Bye." They both said and they head out.
"So are you going to tell me yet where we are going?"
"You'll just have to wait and see." He says. "I promise, you'll like it."
"I'm sure I will." She says.
They drive for about twenty minutes and arrive at a beautiful mansion. Margaret looks at the old house with wide eyes. Hawkeye comes around and opens the door for her, and takes her hand. He smiles at her reaction. "Wait till you see the inside."
"What is this place?"
"It's called La Riviera. It uses to be a mansion but since then it has been changed into a restaurant."
"It's beautiful." She says, as they walk through the door.
"Good evening." The host says smiling. "How can I help you?"
"Yes, we have reservations for seven thirty; Dr. Ben Pierce."
"Ah yes, Dr. Pierce... you're table is ready, follow me please." The host says as they head into the main dinning room. He pulls the chair out for Margaret, "Can I check your coat Ma'am?"
"Yes, thank you." She says smiling.
"And you sir?"
"Yes, thank you." He says, handing him there coats and getting a number in return.
"Your waiter will be right with you." The host says and walks away.
Margaret looks around wide-eyed at the place he has taken her. It was absolutely beautiful. There were chandeliers all over the room dimmed to not diminish the romance part of the meal. There was a dance floor in the front of the dinning area where people were already dancing. The walls were a gorgeous stone with pictures hung and in the back there was a large fireplace. "So what do you think?"
"Hawk, it's gorgeous."
"I thought you would like it."
"Good evening, my name is Michael, and I will be your server for the night." The tall man says, coming over with a pen and note pad. "Here are your menus, and take you're time looking through them. I will be back in a few minutes to take your main order, but first could I start you off with a drink?"
"Um, could I have a scotch on the rocks please?"
"Of course, and for you sir?"
"A martini please, as dry as you could possibly make it."
"Very good. I will return shortly to take your order and bring your drinks."
"Thank you." Hawkeye says, as he opens up the menu.
"I see you are resorting back to the Martinis."
"What do you mean?"
"I haven't seen you drink one in the time that I've been here, or at the 4077th reunion."
"Yeah, well I still drink them. I had to give my liver a bit of a break after all that homemade stuff I had drunk in the past three years." He says smiling.
"I'll say. I think I've only had a few of the one's you, McIntyre and Hunnicut made. They were horrible."
"Sacrilege!" Hawkeye says playfully shocked to hear her say that, "They were great! My wellspring of life! And you Madam are out of line telling me that they were horrible!"
"Well it was... and you know it, you just don't want to admit it." She says smiling.
"They were the driest martinis I have ever had... none can come close to how dry those were!"
"They were so dry I didn't even think I was drinking them."
"That's because you were drunk by the time you hit the still." He says grinning, remembering the time she almost transferred out.
"So what's good here?" She says smiling at him, changing the subject.
"Anything you want. It's all good; it just depends on what you feel like eating. The seafood is absolutely spectacular. You really haven't had seafood till you've tried everything in Maine."
"I think you are a bit bias."
"Maybe." He says grinning at her. "Order anything, and I assure you it will be good."
They order there meal and talk about everything. After they finished there soups and salads, Hawkeye stood up and asked his fiancée to dance. She graciously accepted and they headed to the dance floor. He took her in his arm and she looked into his eyes.
"Are you sure you want to dance this close?" He says, his eyes twinkling.
"You are going to hold me to everything I did at that 4077th aren't you?"
"Admit it Major, you are amused at how uptight you were."
"People can change."
"I know." Hawkeye says, bending down, giving her a kiss. When they broke she lied her head on his shoulder and danced for three songs before heading back to the table and awaiting there meals. They were talking when Hawkeye felt a tap on his shoulder he turned around and smiled. "Hi Mr. and Mrs. Gillis."
"Hi Hawkeye, how are you son?" Mr. Gillis asks, shaking the younger man's hand.
"I'm well, thank you, how about you two?"
"We are also doing well." Mrs. Gillis says smiling. "You are looking well."
"Why thank you, as are the both of you." He looked over at Margaret who was smiling at him. "This is Margaret Houlihan, Margaret these are the Gillis's."
Margaret smiled and shook the two people's hands. "It's nice to meet you."
"You too my dear." Mrs. Gillis says. "You certainly are a pretty thing."
"Thank you." She says blushing.
"So where did you meet this lovely lady Hawkeye?" Mr. Gillis asks.
"We were stationed in the MASH Unit together, for all three years. She was our head nurse... and out ranked me of course."
"My wife always out ranks me too." He says laughing. "So... you two are... dating?"
"Yes." He says smiling.
"Great! It's good to see that someone has a grip on you son, and you couldn't have found a prettier girl."
"Thank you." Margaret says smiling.
"Well, we were juts on our way home, so I guess that we'll see you sometime soon."
"Ok. I'll stop over one of these days." He says smiling, shaking the hand of Mr., and giving Mrs. a kiss on the cheek.
"You do that. It was lovely meeting you Margaret."
"You too."
"Keep an eye on him for us. Make sure he doesn't get into much trouble..."
"I plan on it." Margaret says laughing a bit.
"Tell your father we said hello Hawk."
"I will, bye."
"Bye." The Gillis's say smiling.
"That was...." Margaret says trailing off.
"Tommy's parents." He says nodding.
"They seem nice."
"They are very nice. She was like a mother to me after mine died, and Tommy was always like a brother to me, till he died."
"Seems like they had a rough time."
"It was rough for all of us."
"You couldn't have saved him..."
"I know." He says, drinking his martini. "I still feel responsible sometimes for him though."
"You shouldn't... it was war." She says sighing.
"Yeah..." He says frowning. He was about to say something else, but there dinner came.
"Would you like to try this?" Hawkeye asks holding out a fork with his seafood alfredo.
"Sure." She says as he puts it into her mouth. "That's really good. Do you want some of mine?"
"No thank you." He says smiling.
"You sure?" She says, grinning, holding up a fork.
"Fine." He says smiling as he tries some of her seafood concoction. "Mine's better." He says grinning.
"I like them both." She says, rolling her eyes and smiling.
They continue talking through there main course and then onto desert. At around 10:30 they decide to head back to the Pierce residence. He pulls up the driveway, parks the car and gets out to open Margaret's door. They walk into the house and sit in the living room.
"I'm going to make a fire." Hawkeye says.
"Ok." She says, watching him get up and leave the house for some firewood. She loved fires ever since her childhood. There was just something mysterious about them. Hawkeye returned a few seconds later, and started the fire, turned on some music and went into the kitchen for some wine.
"Here." He says, handing her a glass, and sitting next to her.
"Thank you." She says as he wraps his hand around her.
"You're welcome." He smiles. "You look amazing tonight. I mean you always look amazing, but tonight... that dress..."
"Thank you. You clean up pretty good too." She says kissing him softly.
"It makes me want to get you out of the dress even quicker." He says smiling, before getting slapped on the chest.
"Tonight was great Hawk."
"I'm glad you liked it." He says, before removing his arm and standing up. "I forgot something, I'll be right back." He says, heading to his coat to retrieve the ring. He brings it back and says, "Let's do this the right way."
"What?" She asks.
He gets down on one knee and presents the ring to her, "Margaret... will you marry me?" She smiles, looking at the ring in his hand, "Yes." She says again to him. He puts the ring on her finger and kisses her. When they break she looks at him and says, "I thought they had to clean it."
"Nope, it was part of my surprise."
"You are full of surprises aren't you?"
"Tonight I am." He says, pulling her into his arms as they watch the fire. "I love you."
"I love you too." They sit in silence for a while, before she says, "I don't wanna leave on Sunday."
"We still have two days."
"I still don't want to leave."
"I'll come down in a couple weeks and see you."
"A couple weeks is forever." She says sighing.
"Well then, let's just not think about you having to leave. We have two days still."
"Yeah." She says, sighing. She lays her head on his chest and watches the fire.
At around one in the morning Hawkeye says, "What do you say about heading up to bed?"
"Only if you come with me." She says, sitting up.
"I think that sounds like a plan. Come into my room when you're ready." They stand up and get ready for bed.
Margaret dresses in a flannel nightgown and heads into Hawkeye's room.
"You look tired." He says.
"I am... you wore me out today." She says knowing he took that a different way then she had wanted, but not caring.
"I'm good at doing that." He says smiling, as she makes her way over to the bed and lies next to him.
"Don't flatter yourself." She says.
"So do you want to sleep or..."
"You're father is in the room right across from us..."
"So?"
"I'm not even crazy about sleeping in the same room with him there."
"Ok, I'll go to you're room then and you can sleep here." He says sitting up.
"No..." She says. "I said I wasn't crazy about it... I didn't say that I would do it."
He smiles and lays back down next to her, "Well then, I guess I'll be staying."
She smiles and turns towards him, "So what is on the agenda for tomorrow?"
"Well, I haven't thought about that too much... I know that I'll be cooking so before that is up to you. What would you like to do? I have a few ideas to keep us busy..."
"I want to sleep in."
"I'm all for that." He says. He opens his arms up for her, and she leans in, laying her head on his chest. He closes his arms around her, and kisses the top of her head.
"Thank you for tonight."
"No... thank you." Hawkeye responds to her. She looks up, gives him a kiss before lying back on his chest and closing her eyes. She felt so comfortable and safe in his arms, she didn't want to move... ever.
The next morning Margaret woke up and looked at the clock besides her. "Ten thirty." She says softly. She lies with Hawkeye for another fifteen minutes, before getting up and taking a shower. By the time she is out Hawkeye had woken up.
"Started without me?" He says smiling.
"I couldn't wait for your lazy ass the entire morning." She replies smiling back at him.
"You were the one who wanted to sleep in late."
"And I did... till 10:30."
"I'm getting a shower."
"Alright." She says, heading into her room to finish getting dressed.
Hawkeye quickly took a shower, got dressed and then headed back out with Margaret. He saw her looking out the window and went behind her, wrapping his hands around her waste.
"What are you looking out?" He asked, kissing her neck.
"The snow."
"It snowed?" He asked, looking outside, "So it did."
"I haven't seen this much snow since that one snowstorm in Korea."
"Well, its November... and it tends to snow from early October till March off and on."
"It's really pretty... how many inches do you think is out there?"
"Probably five or six." Hawkeye says, shrugging. "Not too much."
"Do you think you're dad will be coming home early?"
"I don't know... he may, but not too early... why... what do you have in mind Major?" He says smiling.
"I can think of a few things to do." She says, turning around in his arms, lacing her hands around his neck.
"Like what?" He asks playfully getting a kiss as a response. "Oh that... I thought you wanted to play in the snow."
"Shut up Pierce." She says smiling at him, pulling his hand over to her bed and lying down on it.
"Boy... do I love being engaged to 'Hotlips Houlihan.'" He says smiling, before she silences him with a kiss. They spend the next hour with one another making up for missed time. By one thirty, they were both hungry, so they cleaned up and headed down to the kitchen for some lunch.
"What do you want to eat Margaret?" He asks, looking through the refrigerator.
"What do we have?"
"Cheese, ham, turkey, peanut butter..."
"Ham and Cheese sounds good." She says smiling at him.
"Alright." He says, taking out the ingredients and making two sandwiches. "Do you want any soup?"
"Um, sure." She says, "Let me do that."
"Ok."
They make lunch and sit down eating and talking for a little while. After they are done, they clean up and Hawkeye says, "I have to go shovel the driveway so my father can pull in."
"I'll come with you." Margaret says smiling.
"It's going to be really cold..."
"I don't care, I love the snow." She says, grinning ear to ear as she heads upstairs to grab her boots, gloves, scarf and hat. Hawkeye does the same as Margaret, only his things were already downstairs in the closet. She comes down, pulling on her hat just as he puts his coat on. "Aren't you ready yet?" She teases.
"I am now." He says, as they head out to the front porch and out into the snow. Hawkeye grabs the shovel and starts to dig out the driveway as Margaret stood by him talking.
"So what are you making for dinner?"
"I was thinking about lasagna, what do you think?"
"That sounds good." She says. "I haven't had lasagna in years."
"Well, you are in for a treat then." He says, throwing more snow to the side finally starting to see the blacktop under the snowy blanket. "I make the best lasagna out there."
"I'll be the judge of that." She says. "You missed a spot." She comments.
"I am not there yet." He replies, smiling at her.
After another ten minutes, Margaret begins to feel playful, and started to make a couple of snowballs without her fiancée noticing. She smiled as she says, "Hawkeye."
"What?" He asked looking up, getting hit directly in the face with a snowball. He was taken back for a few seconds before he starts smiling, "Oh you want to play now do ya?" He says before getting it by another snowball. "You better be careful Margaret..."
"Oh what?" She asked, holding another snowball in her hand.
"Paybacks a bitch remember..." He says as he bends down to make a snowball. She hits him again causing him to stand up, "OH... now you're in trouble." He calls and runs after her.
"What are you doing?! HAWK!" She says, trying to run away from him before he grabs her around the waste and pulls her down into the snow with him, kneeling over her he pins her arms down.
"You hit me with a snowball!"
"Three..." She says laughing.
"I don't think I deserved that." He says smiling.
"You're just mad you couldn't make a snowball fast enough to get me."
"I got you just fine thank you very much... I'm not the one pined down." She starts to fight to get out of his grip. "You can't win Major."
"Let me up..." She says, smiling.
"Why?"
"I'm cold."
"So?"
"I'm not kidding... let me up Hawkeye! I'm really getting cold." She says urgently.
"Ok." He says, letting her hands go, and as soon as he was off of her, she pounced on him and pinned him to the ground. "What... you little liar." He says laughing.
"No, I wasn't lying... I was really cold... now, you have to feel it."
For someone who only weighed in at 125 pounds, she sure was strong, and Hawkeye lies there in the snow laughing as she sits on his chest, holding his hands. "Well Margaret... you have me on my back, now what are you going to do to me?" He asks playfully. She leans down and gives him a kiss before releasing his arms, but staying put on his chest. "Are you just going to sit there?"
"I was planning on it." She says smiling.
"Ok, then you shovel the rest of the driveway and I'll just sit here and do nothing."
"No, the driveway is your job." She says, letting him up.
"You are too kind Major." He says, grinning as he heads back over to finish what he originally came out to do. Fifteen minutes later, Hawkeye finished shoveling and looked at Margaret. "Are you frozen yet?"
"No." She says, looking at him questioningly... "Why?"
"No reason..." He says, before grabbing a handful of snow and throwing it at her. She smiles and he says, "That's for earlier."
She walks over to him and wraps her arms around him, laying her head on his chest. He hugs her back, resting his chin on her head, and says, "Are you ready to go inside?"
"Yeah." She says, as they walk hand in hand into the house. They take off their winter clothes and walk into the kitchen.
"I'm going to make some coffee, would you like some?"
"Oh, yes please... I'm frozen."
"I thought you said you weren't."
"I was too busy playing to realize." She says laughing.
"You are worse than a child." He says rolling his eyes, as he starts to boil the water.
"Look who's talking!" She says, smiling at him.
After the coffee is made, the two of them go into the family room and Hawkeye start's a fire. He joins Margaret on the couch and they sit there with a blanket and there coffee until Hawkeye decides he should start dinner. During that time, Daniel comes home and spends time with Margaret until dinner was ready to be served.
"Come on and eat." Hawkeye says smiling.
"It smells good." Margaret says as she sits down at the table.
"Hawk, thank you for clearing the driveway... I really appreciated it."
"No problem Dad." He says, serving the two their food first.
"So what time did you two end up coming in last night?"
"Midnight, wasn't it?" Margaret asks.
"Yeah, about then."
"And what did you two do today?"
"I hit your son with snowballs." Margaret says playfully.
"Good girl." He says laughing. "What else?"
"Oh, last night, Margaret and I got engaged." Hawkeye says smiling.
"WHAT?!" Daniel says almost choking on his food. "You're kidding me."
"No."
"You two are engaged?! So soon?!"
"Yes." Margaret says smiling, amused at the elder Pierce's reaction.
"Let me see the ring." He says as his soon to be daughter-in-law holds out her left hand. "It's beautiful."
"Thank you." She says admiring her ring, "You're son picked it out."
"So Benjamin... when did you decide to ask her to marry you?"
Margaret smiled at hearing his full first name... she never knew him as Ben or Benjamin, and was having a difficult time adjusting to him being called that.
"I knew I was going to ask her from the first moment I saw her at the Reunion... we were both just fooling ourselves, and then she came up and I decided to ask her... it just fell out, and I didn't do it properly till last night."
"Does BJ know?"
"Not yet. I figured I'd give him a call after Margaret goes home."
"That sounds reasonable." Daniel says, looking at the two. "Well Margaret... welcome to the family, and congratulations to you both." He says, kissing her cheek.
"Thank you."
When they finished up there meal, Hawkeye looked at Margaret and said, "Well?"
"I have to hand it to you Hawk, you can cook rather well." She says grinning.
"Thank you."
"I'll do the dishes." Daniel says, standing up to clear the table.
"I'll help you Dan." Margaret says, picking up a few items off the table and placing them in the sink.
"You don't have to..."
"I insist." She says cutting him off.
"I think I'll enjoy having you around." Dan says grinning... "See this Ben? She helps out when I say I don't need any."
"She's just a regular army angel isn't she?" Hawkeye says, looking at her and smiling.
"Indeed she is... she has to be an angel to put up with you." He says laughing at his son.
That night Hawkeye and Margaret stayed together, reveling in there time with one another, which would end tomorrow afternoon when she had to go home. At 9:30 the alarm in Hawkeye's bedroom went off, and Margaret got up, grabbed a quick shower, and then woke up Hawkeye.
"Hawk... Hawkeye wake up."
"What?" He mumbles into the pillow.
"Get up, it's ten." She says, kissing him.
"I'm awake." He says, returning the kiss.
"Good, grab a shower. My plane leaves at twelve thirty."
"Ok." He says yawning before getting out of bed and stretching. He got a quick shower and then the two of them had a late breakfast, then headed over to say goodbye to Daniel before heading to the airport. Hawkeye walked her to the gates and smiled. "I'll see you in about three weeks."
"That's forever." She says, looking up at him.
"It's not too long..." He says, before wrapping his arms around her, holding her tight. He lays his chin on her head and sighs, "I'll be down there the week before Christmas."
"I know." She says. "It's still too long."
"Yeah... we'll have to do something about this time apart."
Just then they hear "Last call for flight 203 to Washington DC."
"Call me when you get in."
"I will." She says; as he leans down to give her a kiss.
"I love you."
"I love you too." She says smiling.
"See you soon."
"Yeah, I'll see you in a few weeks." She says, giving him one last kiss before heading onto the plane.
Hawkeye stands there and watches her take off before heading to the office to help his dad out. He sighed as he got into the office. He missed her already... no, he missed her from the second she was out of sight, and the same was for Margaret. Her flight home was horrible because she was leaving her fiancée. She sat there and tried her hardest not to cry, and succeeding for the most part. She only let one tear slide down her cheek as the plane took off.
Hawkeye got into his car and headed back to his house, stopping in at the office to see if his father needed him to do anything.
"Hi Ben." Mrs. Kensington says smiling.
"Hi Mrs. Kensington."
"Did you're girlfriend get off ok?"
"Yes she did."
"She seems like a really nice girl."
"She is." Hawkeye says smiling. "What's my father up too?"
"He's in his office finishing up some paperwork."
"Ok. I'm going to go back and talk to him." He says, heading back, "Hi dad."
"Hi Ben. Did Margaret get off alright?"
"Yes, her plane left on time and I should be hearing from her around three."
"Good. I really like Margaret."
"So do I... and she really likes you."
"It was nice having a girl around the house."
"I miss her already."
"You're supposed too. If you didn't I would be worried that she wasn't the girl for you."
"Oh, she is definitely the girl for me. God I have never felt this way about any girl I dated before... not even with Carley."
"Well I would hope not." He says smiling.
"Well, I just stopped in to see if you needed anything."
"No son, I'm fine. Why don't you go home and wait for my daughter-in-laws phone call."
"Alright." Hawkeye says smiling. "I'll see you at home."
"You got it... I shouldn't be later then four."
"Ok. Bye."
"Bye." Daniel says smiling as he watched his son head out.
Hawkeye drove back the short distance to his house, and as soon as he got in the doors the phone was ringing. He knew it couldn't be Margaret, so he picked up and said,
"Hello?"
"Hey Hawk."
"Hi Beej." He says smiling. "I haven't talked to you in a while."
"I know. I've been busy with work. We're short a surgeon and our Chief one is an ass." BJ says, annoyed. He didn't get the position and was a bit bitter about it, but what could he do?
"Ah."
"So, how was you're stay with Margaret?"
"It was nice. I had a really good time."
"So? What happened?"
"Well, she came up, and we went to dinner, and I proposed to her, and then she went home."
A shocked BJ shouts, "YOU WHAT?!"
"We're engaged."
"When?! How?! I..."
"BJ, relax." Hawkeye says smiling. "I went out on a limb... we went for a walk and it just fell out, and I figured for something that just fell out it has to be the right thing to do, so I got her a ring and we're engaged."
"That's wonderful! Congratulations!"
"Thanks... the only thing is I won't see her for another three weeks."
"That isn't too long." BJ says.
"So if you weren't able to se Peg for three weeks..."
"I would go crazy... but it could be worse... we could still be at war and you left her."
"Yeah, that would be pretty bad."
"But, now you know how I felt leaving Peg and my daughter."
"I do." He says sighing, "But it's only for a few weeks."
"Yeah. So when's the wedding?"
"We haven't even discussed that yet. I'm heading down in two weeks to her place, and we'll probably start talking about that soon."
"Well that's wonderful! I always thought you two were going to end up together." He says smiling. "Does anyone else know?"
"Besides you and my father, no." He says smiling, "But I think Margaret is going to call the Colonel later on, knowing her."
"Well, I am absolutely thrilled for you two." He says smiling on the other end.
"Thanks Beej."
"Well listen, I have to get going. Peg's parents are over and we have to head out to dinner."
"Right BJ. I'll talk to you soon. Tell Peg and Erin I said hi."
"I will. Talk to you soon."
"Bye."
"Bye." BJ says and hangs up with a smile on his face.
"Daddy! Let's go!" Erin says, pulling at her fathers pants.
"Ok." He says grinning.
"What are you grinning about?" Peg asked as she picks Erin up.
"Hawkeye and Margaret are engaged."
"You're kidding me!" She says to the exciting news.
"No. He proposed to her two days ago."
"Well that's great!"
"Yeah it is. I've wanted those two together for a long time... and now they are. They are just so right for each other."
"They seem like a good pair." Peg says. "But, we better get going."
"Right." He says, following his wife and daughter out to the car.
Hawkeye was busy sitting on the phone, waiting to hear Margaret's voice telling him she was home safely and to just hear her voice. He missed her and they have only been apart for a few hours. It was now Two forty-five and Margaret should be on her way home. At three O'clock on the dot, he hears the phone ringing and knew that it had to be her.
"Hello?"
"Hi." Margaret says smiling on the other end.
"Hi beautiful." He says grinning. "How was you're flight?"
"It was fine, a bit bumpy, but other then that nothing too interesting." She says, sitting down on her couch.
"Well that's great Margaret. I miss you."
"I miss you too." She says, her voice hitched in her throat. They continue to talk for another thirty minutes before she had to hang up. "Well, I have night shift tonight at the hospital, which starts at five and I have a lot to do." She says, not really wanting to hang up.
"Alright. I love you." He says.
"I love you too. I'll talk to you tomorrow."
"Right. Talk to you tomorrow Margaret."
"Bye."
"Bye." He says, and they both hang their receivers up.
Margaret sighs and unpacks. She smiles as she looks at the ring on her finger and continues to think about that weekend. She loved Hawkeye and hated being away from him for so long, however, she knew that it would only be two weeks till he comes to see her, and she was counting the days. She was going up to his place for Christmas, but her parent's didn't know yet, and she knew that she would have to tell them sometime, but that sometime was not now. Right now, she was busy unpacking, cooking, and then getting ready to go to work. She got into the hospital by quarter of five which gave her enough time to get changed into her scrubs.
"Ah Margaret, welcome back." She heard Dr. Miller say smiling.
"Thank you David. How are you?"
"I'm much better now that our head nurse is back." He says, grinning. "How was your trip to Maine?"
"Absolutely wonderful." She says smiling.
"Well that is great to hear, and it's great to see you back here."
"Thank you." She says again, grabbing a chart from the front desk.
"What time are you off?"
"Six."
"So am I... would you like to grab some breakfast when we're done?"
"No, thank you." Margaret said plainly.
"Oh come on... it will be fun."
"No, I am going to be absolutely exhausted when I get done my shift and all I am going to want to do is sleep." She says, looking at him. "And I don't think my fiancée would appreciate me going on a date with someone else." She says, smiling watching the doctor's mouth drop.
"Your... what?"
"My fiancée." She says, showing him her left hand.
"I... I didn't know you had a boyfriend..."
"I didn't... it just occurred."
"You are engaged to someone after four days?"
"Yes... but we've know each other for four years."
"Well... congratulations." He says, smiling, still in shock.
"Thank you." She says, walking away from the stunned doctor. She was in a good mood and all her nurses were thrilled about that. She stayed like that until two am when she was completely worn out. By six she was ready to get out and sleep, which she did. She was so exhausted she didn't even have time to miss Hawkeye holding her, but that would change when she woke up. Around one, she woke to the ringing of the telephone. She rolled over, checked the clock and picked up the receiver. "Hello?"
"Hi honey."
"Hi mom." She says, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.
"Did I wake you?"
"Yes, but don't worry about it. I was going to be waking up soon anyway."
"How was your stay in Maine?"
"It was wonderful mom."
"What did you do?"
"Well... I spend time with Hawkeye and his father, and then we went to a nice dinner, and just spent time together." She says smiling.
"Well that's great honey."
"Yeah... it really was mom." She says, not knowing how to tell her that she was engaged.
"Well it sounds like a nice time. What else did you do?"
"Well, he..."
"He what?"
"He asked me to marry him."
"What?!" Kate asked, almost in shock at what her daughter was saying.
"He asked me to marry him, and I accepted." She says, hearing the awkward silence that her mother was providing, "Mom? Say something."
"You're getting married?"
"Yes."
"Well, honey that's wonderful!" She says, excitedly, "But, don't you think it's a little soon? I mean you two didn't even date!"
"Mom, I've known Hawkeye for four years, and I have always had strong feelings for him. I just never gave into them until I saw him at the reunion. I missed him when I left the MASH mom, and I don't want to be without him anymore."
"I know Margaret, but..."
"I love him." She says which is once again followed by silence.
"Well..." Kate says, trying to take in what her oldest daughter has just told her, "Then I am happy for you."
"Really?!" Margaret asked almost shocked.
"Of course! I just want you to be happy Maggie."
"Thank you mom."
"So, when do we get to meet this fiancée of yours?"
"Three weeks. He is coming down with me to see you... but, I'll be going up to Maine for Christmas."
"What do you mean you are going up to Maine for Christmas?! Margaret!"
"Mom... we will be at your place till the twenty-third, then we'll be flying back to Maine."
"I don't believe you Margaret! This is only your second Christmas in five years that you have been home for!"
"And I am spending it with Hawkeye and his father. It's just the two of them mother!"
"I don't think your father will agree."
"It isn't his choice." She says. It was one thing talking to her mother and another talking to her father. She wasn't looking forward to his reaction to her upcoming marriage, but it was better they knew now then later.
"I'll let you talk to him... I am happy for you Margaret." She says, "I love you."
"I love you too." She says, as she hears her mother call for her father. They had just recently gotten back together when they saw each other at the party that BJ threw almost two years ago. Margaret was happy for them, and both of the girls were relieved that they didn't have to split the time between the two of them.
"Hello Margaret." Her father said.
"Hi dad." She says smiling. She always has been a daddy's girl.
"Your mother says that you have something to tell me?"
"Yes sir. I'm engaged."
"You're what?!"
"I'm getting married..."
"To who?"
"Hawkeye... you remember him from..."
"Is he the loud mouthed, unmilitary, dark haired clown?"
"Yes..." she says, sighing.
"Margaret!"
"Dad... I love him. I have loved him for two years, and I want to spend the rest of my life with him."
"I thought I raised you better..."
"You always told me to go with my instincts and I am daddy... I love him."
"I don't like it..."
"It's not for you to like... it's my decision."
"When is the wedding?"
"We haven't planned it yet... he will be down in three weeks and I guess we'll start thinking about that then."
"Alright."
"And... there's one more thing."
"What's that?"
"He and I will be down at your house from the twentieth to the twenty- third, but that night we will be flying back to Maine and spend Christmas with his father."
"That is totally unacceptable Margaret!"
"It was my decision..."
"I don't care."
"Dad..."
"We'll discuss this when you come down." He says gruffly, "Goodbye."
"Bye Dad." She says, almost in tears and hangs up the phone. Her father was so stubborn sometimes, and she hated it, but there was nothing she could do about it. She was happy... why couldn't he be happy for her? She knew that Colonel Potter would be tickled that they were getting married! She immediately dialed the Colonels number and smiled when she heard the familiar voice saying, "Hello?"
"Hi Colonel."
"Margaret... how are you my dear?"
"I'm well thank you, and you?"
"I'm well also thank you."
"I have some news for you Colonel, and I'm not sure if you know yet."
"What is it?"
"Well, Hawkeye and I are engaged." She says flat out. It was so much easier talking to the Colonel rather than her own father.
"Well that is the best news I've heard in a long time! Congratulations Margaret!" Potter says smiling, "When did this come about?"
"About four days ago. He asked me and I accepted."
"Just like that?"
"Just like that." She says laughing.
"Well Wahoo! That's excellent! When's the wedding?"
"I'm not too sure yet, but we'll tell you as soon as there is a date set."
"I'm glad you two finally decided to get together. I was beginning to wonder if you would ever end up with one another."
"We did." Margaret says, smiling ear to ear. They talk for a while longer before hanging up.
The weeks flew and before either Hawkeye or Margaret knew it, it was Christmas time, and Hawk was on a plane down to DC. Margaret was waiting for him at the airport when he got off the plane. She saw the plane touch down and smiled, within a few minutes, Hawkeye appeared and stepped off the plane, walking quickly over to Margaret.
"I missed you." He says, as she throws herself on him, hugging him tightly.
"I missed you too." She said, smiling through a bit of tears. She didn't want to let him go. He bent down and kissed the top of her head.
"How are you?"
"Fine, now that you are here." She says, smiling up at him. He bends down and kisses her passionately before breaking.
"Let's go get my luggage and take this back to your place."
"I think that's a good idea." She says, taking his hand. He grabs his bag and they head to her apartment on the base. He smiled as she gave him the grand tour of the apartment. She had a living room, a kitchen, a dining room, two bedrooms and a bathroom. It was a very nice size for one person. Margaret looked at her watch and realized that it was ten at night already. She was getting hungry and knew that Hawkeye would be the same.
"Are you hungry?"
"Yeah.' He says. "I didn't eat before I came, and it was a long flight."
"You baby... it was only a two hour flight!" She says playfully.
"Well it felt like an eternity."
"I know the feeling." She says sighing. "Well, what would you like for dinner?"
"Order out, and I'll pay for it."
"You're my guest... I won't have you paying."
"I'm not a guest... I'm your fiancée and I insist on paying. You pick and I'll pay."
"Ok..." She says, backing down, knowing that he won't budge. "What are you hungry for?"
"Anything."
"How about some Chinese?"
"That sounds good."
"You order. I'll eat anything you eat."
"Alright." He says, calling in the order. "It should be here in about thirty minutes." He tells her, sitting next to her on the couch. She leans against him and he wraps his arms around her. "I missed you."
"I missed you too." She said looking up at him, giving him a kiss. "So what do you want to do tonight?"
"I can think of a few things." He says, grinning. "One is making up for lost time."
"I like that idea."
"What time do we have to start driving to you're parent's?"
"I want to leave around 9. It takes about five hours to get there."
"That sound's fine. They know about us right?"
"Yes." She says biting the bottom of her lip.
"How did they take it?"
"Well... my mother was fine, only a bit annoyed that I wasn't going to be there for Christmas. And my father was not ok with it, but dealt with the situation, and was absolutely pissed off that I was not going to be down."
"You're father and I have never gotten along..."
"Don't I know it." She says, sighing.
"It will be fine. I will do what BJ and I did in Korea; check my hate of the army at the door."
"Thank you." She says, smiling.
The entire day, well into the night they spend together. They made up for a lot of missed time and were happy just being with one another. There were times where they didn't even talk; they just laid in bed in each others arms. They fell asleep the exact same way they both slept in Maine. Margaret always felt safe in his arms, and hated to sleep alone now. When he wasn't with her the apartment seemed so empty and she hated it. She hated being alone, but that would soon change when they got married. The next morning at 7:30 they woke up to the alarm.
"Do you want to get a shower first?" Margaret asked, not moving from his arms.
"I don't care." He says, kissing the top of her head. "Why don't you get a shower first and I'll make breakfast."
"That sounds good." She says smiling. "I'll be quick."
"Alright." He says, as they both get up out of bed.
Hawkeye had made bacon, eggs, toast, and coffee for breakfast and Margaret was happy with that. Usually when she had to work, she only ate cold cereal or sometimes just a cup of coffee. Margaret could smell the food as soon as she got out of the shower. She quickly got dressed and did her hair. She put on a nice pair of black pants and a lavender shirt, and quickly did her makeup and sat down at the table with her fiancée.
"It looks great... thank you for doing this." Margaret said happily.
"I'd do anything for you." He says smiling back at her.
So, how is the job searching going?" She asks as she takes a sip of coffee.
"Not too well." He says groaning a bit. "Everything that I have been offered is horrible hours or at a hospital that I don't want to work at."
"I'm sure you'll find a position soon."
"I hope so, because I really don't think I can do the physician thing much longer. BJ says that his hospital is having a rough time keeping surgeons there and he is barely home anymore."
"That's horrible."
"Yeah, he says that he's lucky if he is home three days a week."
"Hopefully that will all change when they get a new surgeon."
"Yeah." Hawkeye says.
They finish breakfast and he goes to get a shower, and by 9:30 they are on there way. It was later then Margaret had originally intended, but she didn't say anything. Margaret drove, and the entire time they spent talking. She was nervous and he knew that, and did all he could to take her mind off of the fact that her parents weren't going to be too thrilled about her leaving for Christmas. At around two o'clock, Margaret pulled into the driveway. She took a deep breath and got out of the car, Hawkeye doing the same.
"Well... this is it." She says, as Hawkeye grabs her back and his from the trunk.
"How long did you live here for?"
"Um... this house was the longest; I lived here since I was seventeen... and moved out when I came home from college." She says as they walk up the front porch steps to the door. Margaret knocks twice before opening. "Hello?" She calls.
"Margaret!" Annie says coming over to her quickly.
"Hi Annie." She says smiling at her little sister, giving her a hug.
"Boy am I glad that you got here..." She says, before turning her attention over towards Hawkeye, "You must be Hawkeye."
"That's the rumor." He says smiling before shaking the woman's hand.
"I'm Annie... Margaret's little sister." She says grinning. "I would like to thank you for taking my parents attention off of my boyfriend and me. You have no idea how much that means to us." She says laughing.
"Well, I aim to please." Hawkeye says smiling. He already liked Annie and it has only been a few minutes.
"Let me see the ring."
"So where are Mom and Dad?" Margaret asks, holding out her left hand.
"In the living room with Tyler, come on. I don't want him to be alone with them for too long." She says laughing as she leads the way to the living room. "It's a beautiful ring."
"Thank you." Margaret said, taking Hawkeye's hand.
"Margaret." Kate says smiling at her daughter. She stands up and gives her a hug. "How are you darling?"
"I'm well thank you." She says smiling. "How are you?"
"I'm also doing well honey. You look great."
"Thank you. Mom, this is Hawkeye."
"Hello." She says. "Hi Mrs. Houlihan." He says smiling, as he shakes her hand. "It's nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you."
"I've heard quite a bit about you also. Please, have a seat both of you. Can I offer you two a drink?"
"Um no mom I'm fine."
"None for me right now, thank you."
"Alright. Margaret, let me get your father. AL." She calls down to the basement. "Margaret's here."
"I'll be up in a minute." He says gruffly. He was not looking forward to seeing Pierce again, but his daughter meant the world to him and he was eager to see her. In a matter of minutes he was up the steps, "Hello Margaret."
"Hi dad." She says smiling at him, getting up to hug him. "How are you?"
"Fine. You look well."
"I am." She says.
The Colonel turns his gaze over to the ex-Captain sitting in his living room and says, "Pierce."
"Hello Colonel."
"Hello Captain." He says gruffly. You could tell that both men did not want to talk or be around one another, but dealt with it for Margaret's sake.
"So, Hawkeye, Margaret, have you set a date for the wedding yet?" Kate asks.
"Not yet Mrs. Houlihan, but we are going to be discussing that soon."
"Well that's good news. Maggie, let me see your ring honey." She asks of her daughter, who gladly shows the ring off to her. "It's beautiful! Did you pick it out?"
"No, Hawkeye did." She says smiling.
"Well it is an excellent choice. Al, look at the ring your daughter has."
"It's very nice." He says, looking over it.
"Well, Annie, when are you and Tyler getting married?"
"Mom... I thought we already talked about this." Annie says frowning.
"We did, but your sister has brought it up again."
"We'll be getting married in a year or two... when Tyler is in a semi- permanent place to live."
"When do you think that will be Tyler?"
"In a few months. The base I am transferring too is in Florida, and they say that I should be there for a couple of years."
"Annie's use to moving around though aren't you honey?"
"Yeah."
"It's a strong job to have, being in the Army." Al says smiling at his youngest daughter's boyfriend. "Tyler, you are doing wonders for this country by being in the Army. You are the reason that our boys came home safe and alive from the war."
Hawkeye could feel his blood boiling, and clenched his fist. He knew what Al was doing and didn't like it. "Serving your country should be the proudest moment of your life."
"It is sir."
"One day you'll make Colonel, I can feel it." Al says smiling. "And Margaret, I know that you can be promoted too one of these days."
She looks at Hawkeye and sees that he is trying not to say anything, "I don't have to be promoted. In fact maybe one day I'd like to get out of the army and start a family."
"Well, that won't be for a while I'm sure... enough time for you to have one last promotion."
"Mom... I want to go put our stuff upstairs. Which room would you like Hawkeye in?"
"The guest room next to your old room is fine."
"Ok, I'll be right back."
"I'll go with you." Hawk says, following her upstairs.
"My room's here... yours is next to mine." She says... "Unless you want to get a hotel room..."
"Margaret..."
"Hawkeye, I'll understand if you don't want to stay here. We can get a hotel room and not have to worry about my father..."
"It's fine. It's only for a few days."
"You looked like you were going to snap."
"And I appreciate you giving me a few seconds to breath air that is not army."
"I'm army!"
"Not like that."
She sighed and knew he was right. "Tyler was something my father thought I would end up with. He never thought I would end up with someone out of the military, and honestly, neither did I."
"Well, I never thought I would marry someone who was Army all the way, but I did, and I will. It's funny how some things end up." He says, taking her into his arms.
"It definitely is." She says sighing.
"I better put my things in my room." He says smiling at her.
"Right." She says, and follows him into the other room.
"So, we are separated for the nights I guess."
"Yeah... my parents are really strict about that stuff." She says shrugging her shoulders.
"Especially my father. I may be 30, but they don't care."
"That's alright. It's only for a few days."
"I have to just keep telling myself that."
"We better go back down with your family."
"Yeah. Thank you."
"For what?"
"For just being here."
"I wouldn't miss it for the world." He says rolling his eyes as they head back down the steps and into the living room.
"So Hawkeye, Margaret told us that you were a surgeon in the 4077th MASH?"
"Yes, I was the Chief Surgeon actually, for all three years of the war."
"Where do you work now?"
"My fathers practice in Maine."
"Oh, you don't do surgery anymore?" Kate says almost surprised.
"Not at the moment. I have been looking around for a job, but nothing has jumped out at me so for now I am working as a Physician."
"Well that's nice." Kate says smiling. "So what will you two be doing for Christmas?"
Margaret groaned. She knew this question would be coming up, but had hoped it wouldn't occur for a day or so, "We are going to go up to his house and spend it with his father."
"Do you have any other family?"
"Not really. I have no siblings, and my mother died when I was ten. My father's brother and sister live in Nebraska so there out too."
"Oh... um, well, I guess a quiet Christmas is one way to go." She says smiling.
"It will be a change from what we have." Margaret says. "I'm use to a Christmas with about twenty-some people here. I'm looking forward to something quiet."
"Well that's great dear."
For the next three days, Hawkeye and Margaret spent all there time with her family. Hawkeye got to know and like Kate and Annie, and stayed away from the Colonel as much as possible. Margaret felt more at ease after the first day. She was glad that her mother and sister liked her fiancée, and the same went for Hawkeye. They even set a date for the wedding; July 6th, 1956. They felt that this would be a great time for a wedding and that most of there friends could make it. Neither one of them was very religious but Hawkeye knew that she had wanted a wedding, and she deserved the best. They even were going to talk to Father Mulcahy and see if he would be willing to perform the ceremony for them.
After the three days were up, they drove back to DC and flew out to Maine. Margaret really enjoyed the piece and quiet of the holidays in Maine. There was snow on the ground which truly made it feel like Christmas. Before they knew it New Years Eve had arrived, and Hawkeye took her out for a dinner and some dancing before they came back and had a party of their own. Margaret flew back to her apartment in DC on the second of January, and hated every minute of it. She had spent two weeks with him and did not want to see it end. She would be coming back up in February, but that seemed like forever. February would change a lot for the two of them...
It was February 10th, and Hawkeye had just gotten back from looking for a surgical position at the local hospital, but to his demise it was another dead end job offer. He got into his house and sighed, "This is ridiculous!" He said aloud, flopping down on the couch. He was absolutely sick of working with his father, but it seemed like everywhere he looked for work was not what he wanted. He sighed and got up to get something to eat. He heard the phone ring and picked it up. "Hello?"
"Hey Hawk."
"Hi BJ, how are you?"
"I'm doing alright, how about you?"
"I'm doing ok."
"How's Margaret?"
"She's fine. She is coming up tomorrow for a few days."
"That's great. Tell her I said hello."
"I will. So what's up Beej?"
"Have you found a surgical position yet?"
"No. Everything is dead ended."
"Look, I know I'm going out on a limb asking you, but you don't have to say yes..."
"What is it?"
"We are still short a surgeon. Everyone we have had is either incompetent or doesn't stay. I was wondering if you would like a position out here?"
"A position out there? As in working?"
"Yeah... like I said you don't have to say yes, but I figured I'd throw the idea out to you to play around with. The hours are typical for surgery but the hospital is great, and you have a good staff working with you."
"I would love too BJ! I am so sick of working with my father, I'd take anything that I thought would be a decent place to work, and what's even better is that I will be working with you again."
"So is that a yes?"
"Yeah! That's definitely a yes!"
"What about Margaret?"
"I'll have to see what she wants to do."
"How about I give you a few days to discuss it with her?"
"Maybe that would be a good idea." He says, sighing a bit.
"Part of marriage is compromise Hawk."
"I know... I just forget sometimes."
"So do I." BJ says smiling. "Well listen, let me know your decision in a few days, and tell Margaret that I say hi."
"I will BJ, and do the same to Peg and Erin for me."
"I will. Talk to you soon."
"Talk to you soon." He says and hangs up the phone. "Now what?" He asks himself sighing. He knew that it would have to be a decision between Margaret and him, but he really wanted to go. He never thought he would want to leave Crabapple Cove, then again, the chance has never came along.
Margaret came the next day and Hawkeye decided that he should tell her what was happening straight away.
"We need to talk." He says, seeing the fear in Margaret's eyes after he said that, "No... it's nothing bad." He says, giving her a reassuring kiss.
"Ok, so what's on your mind?"
"I got a call from BJ yesterday."
"Ok." She says.
"His hospital is still looking for a surgeon and he asked me if I would be willing to go out there and work."
"Hawkeye, that's great!" She says smiling. "What did you say to him?"
"I said yes, but then I changed my mind and told him that I'd have to talk to you."
"Do you want to do this?"
"I really do... but I don't want to leave you."
"I'd be willing to follow you. Hawkeye, we are going to be married soon, everything you do I do, and I'm not going to tell you that you can't go when you have an amazing opportunity with BJ."
"You really think you can transfer?"
"I'm positive. There's a VA in San Francisco that would be happy to take me."
"So you don't mind moving?"
"I've been moving all my life. One day I'd love to settle down, but for right now, one more move isn't going to kill me."
"This is wonderful! I get to work with BJ again!"
She laughed at her fiancée and said, "Are you sure that his hospital knows what there getting into?"
"Funny." He says rolling his eyes. "I'm going to go call BJ really quick, then you and I are going out to dinner."
"Alright. I'm going to go put my things upstairs."
"Right." He says, dialing the familiar number, "BJ?"
"Yeah?"
"When do they want me to start?"
"You're coming?!"
"Yeah. Margaret's going to transfer to the VA in San Francisco, so we are all set."
"When can you start?"
"Give me about three weeks to get everything together."
"Ok, that sounds good. I'll see you in three weeks."
"Right Beej. Talk to you soon."
"Bye."
And for the second time in two days, the two best friends hang up. Margaret and Hawkeye started planning for there move out west, and they both were very excited. Margaret got on the phone and called the VA to set up a transfer for her in three weeks. They did it for her, but were sad to be losing such a fine nurse. Hawkeye told his father, and he was happy for the two of them. Hawkeye was getting on his nerves the past few months, and while he was sad to see the two go, he was glad his son was getting back into surgery. Everything seemed to be falling into place for Hawkeye and Margaret and they were thrilled.
Hawkeye was lying in bed with Margaret to his right, and he got thinking, "Margaret?"
"Hmm?"
"What do you want to do, wait and have the wedding on the sixth of July, or get married now and move in as husband and wife?"
"Which one do you want to do?" She asked.
"It's up to you. I know you had your heart set on a wedding, but I didn't know if you changed your mind considering we are moving in together and everything."
"Well..." She said, thinking about what she wanted.
TBC... I'm just trying out something different. I always wanted to read a story that followed the way through Hawkeye and Margaret's life together so I figured I'd have a go at writing one. I know there are some mistakes in this and you'll have to forgive them but I am recovering from an appendectomy and it was also 2am by the time I finished this!
Thanks for all the great reviews! Please keep them up! Please R&R!
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