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!
A/N: Thanks for all the great reviews! Keep them coming! I hope you enjoy the this chapter!
March 7th, two hours before the moving truck comes, Hawkeye and Margaret were trying to finish packing up her place. Everything was going to their new house, even though she already bought new things, she insisted that everything went. She had a spot for everything in their new house.
"Hawkeye, tape this for me please." She said, as she finished labeling the one box fragile.
"Sure." He says, standing up from his box to tape hears.
"Thank you."
"I don't understand why you want all of this to go with us Margaret. You already have new things coming to the house."
"Yes, I know, but I also have matched everything to this stuff, so it will all fit."
"The only thing we can use is the bedroom set. We have five rooms to finish."
"Just trust me ok?"
"Yes Major."
"Keep packing." She says pushing him away.
"What are you doing about your car?"
"I gave it to my sister. She needed a new one, so I just gave her my old one. I'll buy one when we get to San Francisco. What about you?"
"It's staying at my dad's. I figured it's reliable and he can use it. I too am going to get it when we are moved."
"That should be our first stop..."
"Yeah, I guess you're right." He says smiling at her.
"Of course I'm right." She says smiling. "I'm always right."
"Don't flatter yourself." He says laughing at his wife.
"Keep packing."
"I'm going."
Fifteen minutes before the movers are due, they finished packing. Margaret smiles as she looks around the apartment. She was thrilled to be moving out of the apartment into a house.
"Well, this place is almost empty... minus the boxes." Hawkeye says smiling.
"I hope the movers are on time. I really don't want to get to Maine too late..."
"We won't be there till probably ten, and that might be pushing it."
"I know, but that's better than one or so."
"Well, three more days and we'll be in our own house." He says, standing up, bring her with him.
"I can't wait." She says smiling. "I'm glad you packed your stuff up already and shipped it."
"Yeah. That will give us two full days of doing nothing."
"Except for you going to help your dad out one more time before we leave."
"Ugh... you had to remind me of that?" He said sighing.
"You aren't a surgeon till Monday pal." She says smiling
"I know." He says as they hear a knock at the door.
"That's got to be the movers." She says, quickly opening the door, "Hi."
"Hello Ma'am. We are here to move your things. What's going?"
"Everything in this room... the furniture and the boxes." Hawkeye says. They had packed everything in the living room so the movers had an easier time.
"We'll have this done in a jiffy sir."
"Do you need any help?" Margaret asked.
"No Ma'am. We get paid for this." The second moving man says, as the two men grab the couch first. There were a total of four movers and with in thirty minutes they were finished and on there way to California. The only things left in the house were two suitcases. Margaret walked through the house one last time before she says, "Are you ready."
"Ready when you are honey." He says grabbing the suitcases as the two of them walk out of the small apartment.
"I just have to run by the housing office and return my keys to the Colonel, and then over to the VA to see that everything is taken care of."
"No problem." He says, "What about your car?"
"My sister took it from me after the wedding." She says smiling.
"You told me that didn't you?" He asked.
"Yes." She says, giving him a kiss before they get into his car to take care of some unfinished business. Margaret dropped her keys off quickly and then headed into the VA where she said her final goodbyes to the doctors and nurses. They all wished Margaret well with her new life and asked to keep in touch. Even the ones who did not get along too well with her wished her well. She left smiling and when she got into the car
Hawkeye smiled back at her, "Ready?"
"You have no idea." She says, as they head on there way to Maine for their last three days on the Eastern Coast. They drove pretty much straight through, only stopping for lunch, dinner and once for gas. They arrived at the Pierce residence in good time, 9:45. Daniel was waiting up for the two, and met them at the door. He wanted to spend as much time as he could with the two of them. He was going to miss Hawkeye and Margaret, but at the same time was thrilled to see him married and getting back into surgery.
"Hi." Dan said, opening the door for the two.
"Hi Dad." Hawkeye says, hugging his father.
"Hi Dan." Margaret said.
"Hi honey." He says, kissing his daughter-in-laws cheek. "How was your drive up here?"
"Long." Hawkeye says.
"Baby." Margaret says smiling.
"You didn't drive it."
"You wouldn't let me drive at all." She says smiling.
"I know." He says, yawning. "I'm going to go throw this shit upstairs."
"Do you want help?" Margaret asked.
"No. You keep my dad company; I'll only be a second."
"Ok." She says smiling watching him head upstairs with their bags.
"Do you want anything to drink honey?"
"Sure." She says smiling, following her father-in-law into the kitchen.
"Coffee?"
"Sure. Thanks."
"So, is your apartment all moved out?"
"Yes." She says, taking the coffee, "We packed up last night and today the last of my things and the movers came."
"Are you excited?"
"I can't wait to move..." Margaret said smiling, "I mean I'll miss the East Coast, my family, you, but we'll still see everyone."
"We'll miss you too." He says. "So what are you doing tomorrow?"
"I don't know. Hawk and you are going to be at the office, so I might just hang around here."
"Would you like to come in and see how a Physician works? We could use an extra nurse."
"Really?" Margaret asked.
"Sure. No sense in you staying here alone and bored all day."
"Dan, I would love too!" She says smiling.
"Dan seems so formal now that you are my daughter-in-law. If you want too you can call me dad."
"Really?"
"Of course."
"Ok." Margaret said smiling. The two of them really clicked and she truly felt like a daughter to him.
"Ok what?" Hawkeye asked, pouring himself a cup of coffee.
"Margaret's my daughter now so I asked her to call me dad."
Hawkeye smiled brightly, "Excellent."
"Oh and Margaret is going to be coming to the office tomorrow."
"Really?" He asks sitting next to his wife.
"Yeah." She says.
"Well that is fantastic! I haven't worked with you in a while."
"Well, I have never worked for a physicians office before, so it will be a great experience."
"We have a full day tomorrow and Lois is off."
"Well Margaret can easily replace her job, and do it ten times better."
"You're bias." Margaret said smiling.
"So? I know that I am married to the best nurse around, can't I flaunt it?"
Margaret blushes and takes a sip of her coffee before saying, "I'm not the best."
"Bull." Hawk replies smiling. "What time do we start tomorrow dad?"
"9:00 is your first patient, mine is at 9:15, and it's a late night so our last patients are at 7:00."
"Ok. Margaret, you up to that?"
"Of course... gosh I never had less than twelve hour shifts." She says smiling.
"There's a first time for everything." Dan says smiling.
They continue talking till around eleven when they all decide to head up to bed. They get changed, brush there teeth and get into bed.
"It's cold." Margaret complains.
"Of course it's cold... it's winter." He says smiling as he wraps his arms around her.
"I know that." She says, placing her hands over his, as they spoon. She turns around and gives him a kiss, "Good night."
"Night." He says, as he tightens his grip on her, "I love you."
"Love you too." She says, closing her eyes, feeling secure in his embrace and sleeps soundly until she hears the ringing of the alarm clock. "Ugh." She groans, as she feels his arm move out from around her to shut the ringing off.
"I hate that sound." He says.
"What time is it?"
"Seven."
"Do we have to get up?"
"Yup." He groans, and moves himself out from under his wife's head. "Do you want to get a shower first?"
"I don't want to move yet."
"Ok, I'll grab one, then it's all yours."
"Ok." She says as he gets out of bed.
"Burr!" He says, grabbing his bathrobe on the chair next to him.
"I told you it was cold."
"I never said it wasn't." He smiled, kissing her before heading into the bathroom.
"Don't use up all the hot water!" She called.
"I will."
"Cute." She said, closing her eyes for a few more minutes.
About fifteen minutes later, Hawkeye came back in with a towel wrapped around his waste and said, "It's your turn babe."
"Ok." She says throwing back the covers. She stands up, stretches and smiles at him.
"What?" He asked, throwing her a smile.
"Nothing." She says, walking over to him, wrapping her arms around him and gives him a kiss between his shoulder blades, before she jumps into the shower.
By eight o'clock she was showered, dressed and ready for her first day as a physicians nurse. Hawkeye had a few things to do before his first patient so he and Margaret went in at 8:30, Daniel came in at almost nine.
"This is a nice office." She says, smiling.
"It is. I've spend many a day here."
"It's bigger then I expected."
"Yeah, it is. When you are the only physician in the town you have to have a large office." He says smiling, as he fills out a couple of papers.
"Someone just came in." Margaret says, hearing the door open.
"That's just Mrs. Kensington. She is our secretary."
"Oh." Margaret says smiling.
"She'll come back in a second and say hello."
No sooner did Hawkeye say that, Mrs. Kensington came back, "Hi Ben."
"Hi Mrs. Kensington." He says smiling.
"How are you?"
"I'm well, thank you, and yourself?"
"I'm doing fine." She says smiling, before turning her attention towards the young woman standing next to him, "I don't think I've had the pleasure of meeting you."
"No, you haven't." Hawkeye says, "This is my wife Margaret."
"Oh yes! I've heard so much about you from Dan and Ben. It's nice to finally meet you dear!" She says smiling.
"It's nice to meet you too Ma'am."
"Now, you promise me that you'll keep an eye on him when you two move... you know how he is."
Margaret laughed, "Yes, I know how he is."
"Keep him out of trouble."
"I will."
"Well Ben, you have a lovely wife."
"Thanks, I think so." He says smiling.
"So this is your last day?"
"Yeah, we leave on the 10th."
"Well, you're in luck..." Mrs. Kensington says smiling, "For your very last day, your first patient is Ms..."
"Don't say it." He says groaning.
"Ms. King."
"Ugh."
"Who's Ms. King?" Margaret asked.
"Someone who thinks she has everything but has nothing."
"Hypochondriac?"
"She wrote the book on Hypochondria."
"She's all yours today Ben."
"Thanks Mrs. K." He says smiling.
"And..." She says as she hears the door open, "I think she's here."
"Alright. Margaret, you're on." He says smiling.
"What do I do?"
"It's just like pre-op. Check Blood Pressure and get a history."
"That's not too hard."
"Nope." He says smiling. "Go get her and bring her into the first room."
"Right." She says, smiling as she heads up front. "Good morning Mrs. King is it?"
"Good morning and yes it is... Ms King."
"Sorry, Ms. King." Margaret says smiling. "If you'll come back with me we'll get you started on your examination."
"Of course." She says, following the strange, new woman back into the exam rooms. "I don't think I know you."
"No, you don't. I'm filling in today for Lori, she called out last night."
"Oh, normally they don't get fill in nurses here." She says suspiciously.
"Well, today is different."
"What's your name dear?"
"Margaret... Margaret Houlihan." She says smiling.
"Where are you from?"
"All over. I am a Major in the United States Army." She says, as she takes the woman's blood pressure.
"So how did you end up here?"
"My husband and I are moving out to California. He landed a great surgical position at the San Francisco hospital, and I could transfer out to the VA as Head Nurse."
"Oh, and who is your husband?"
"Hawkeye." She says smiling, watching the woman's mouth drop. "Now, he'll be right in, your blood pressure is fine."
"Your..."
"My husband." She says walking out. "She's all yours Hawk."
"Ugh, thanks... um did she say what her problem was?"
"It said physical on her chart, so I am assuming it's just that." She says.
"Ok." He says, kissing her cheek as he walks into the exam room. "Well good morning Ms. King, how are we today?"
"I'm fine thank you." She says still stunned, "I just met Margaret."
"Ah yes."
"And she said that you two were married?!"
"We got married five days ago."
"Only a few months ago you were single."
"I know." He says smiling.
"So when did all of this happen?"
"A few months ago. I have known Margaret for about four years, and we decided to get married. Now, what can I do for you today?"
For the rest of the day, Margaret helped the two doctors out and was loved by the towns' people. Everyone she met went back to one of the Pierces and said what a doll she was. They spent the day working and went home to relax. The two of them took time and just sat around the house for the next day knowing that it was going to be crazy when they tried to get there house situated. At 7:30, Dan drove the two to the airport to say his goodbyes.
"Be careful you two." He says, kissing his daughter-in-law on the cheek. "And make sure my son stays out of trouble." He grins.
"I will." She says, smiling.
"Take care dad." Hawkeye says, hugging his father. "Thanks for everything."
"Your welcome." He says smiling. "I'll see you two kids in a few weeks, after your all settled."
"You are always welcome dad." Margaret said smiling.
They all finish saying there goodbyes, and the two newly weds get on the plane, and fly to there new life 3000 miles away.
Margaret smiled as she looked out the window, "Well, are you ready for this?"
"For what?"
"For everything."
"Yeah, I really am. I can't wait." He says, putting his arm around her shoulders. "Its gonna be a wild ride Margaret."
"Yeah, it is." She says, as he kisses the side of her head.
As soon as they touched down, they got a cab and went to the closest car place. They knew that they each needed a car and decided that it would be best if they just up and bought one for each of them. Margaret and Hawkeye got their cars, one white one black and headed for the realtor who had there keys.
"This is it." Margaret said to Hawkeye as they reached there front door. She opened the door and smiled.
"Wow, it looks so empty." He said smiling. "What time are the trucks coming?"
"Furniture should be delivered in about fifteen minutes, and the truck should be here in about two hours."
"Good, so we can figure out where the furniture goes before the rest of our shit gets here."
"That's the plan. I hope you like what I picked out."
"I'm sure I will." He says smiling, "Providing you did get me a leather chair."
"I did." She says smiling. The only thing he asked for was a black leather reclining chair, and Margaret found one that matched one of her couches to a Tee. She was looking forward to him seeing it. They walked around the house and Margaret told him where everything was going to be going. He knew better then to decorate himself. He just listened and agreed to everything she said. The trucks came with there furniture at the exact time they were suppose to, and quickly moved everything in where Margaret had told them. She had the perfect house in her mind and Hawkeye was not about to step in and stop her from having just that. He smiled when he heard her start to boss around the delivery men in the same tone and way she did to her nurses. She was a pistol and he loved her for it. Occasionally he gave the movers a sympathetic glance when Margaret was overly tough on them, but that was it. They still had a long day ahead of them and he didn't need her mad at him. Peg and Erin came over around 3:00, a few minutes before the movers came. Margaret smiled as she heard the knock on the door.
"Hi!" She says smiling at her friend and the little girl.
"Hi Margaret." Peg says, giving her a hug.
"Hi Aunt Margaret!" Erin says, clinging to Margaret's leg till she picked her up.
"Hi Peg, Hi Erin." She says kissing the little girl. "You got bigger."
"I know!" The child says smiling. "Where Uncle Hawkeye?"
"In the kitchen, why don't you come with me to find him?"
"Yeah!" She says smiling.
"Come on in, and I'll give you the tour." Margaret says winking at Peg.
"I can't wait to see it."
"Hawk... Peg and Erin are here." She says putting Erin down on the kitchen floor.
"I see that." He says, as Erin runs over to him. He scoops her up and says, "How have you been midget?"
"Good." She says, hugging him. "Dis is your house?"
"Yup, it's Aunt Margaret and my new house. Do you like it?"
"Yes I do!" She says, smiling at her uncle.
"Well I'm glad." He grins back at her, before placing her on the ground to hug Peg, "How are you?"
"I'm fine." She says smiling, "And before you ask, BJ will be here around four."
"I wasn't going to ask that." Hawkeye says trying to defend himself, however that would have been the second thing out of his mouth, had he had a chance to ask it.
"Hah!" Margaret says smiling.
"I think I'm getting picked on Erin." He says to the three year old. She nods her head at him and smiles.
"Let me show you around the house." Margaret said smiling. "I only have about twenty minutes till the movers are due here."
"Ok." Peg says smiling. "I really like the furniture though Margaret."
"Thanks, we did a pretty good job picking it out." She says, as they walk out of the kitchen talking.
"Do you want to go too Erin?" Hawkeye asked the toddler.
"No, I stay wif you." She says smiling.
"Would you like to come outside with me and see the flowers?"
"Ok!" She says excitedly as the pair walks out to the backyard's garden, awaiting the movers.
Peg and Margaret were upstairs looking at the rooms, discussing what Margaret was going to do with them next, "I still need to get paint and some new curtains." Margaret said.
"What color are you doing your room?"
"I don't know yet. I figured I should probably discuss that with Hawkeye. I mean the bed spread that I picked out would go with just about any color... so that won't be a problem." She says, looking out the hallway window which views the back yard. "Looks like those two are having fun."
Peg looks out the window and sees Erin and Hawk, "Yeah... they seem to be. So, are you ready for kids yet?"
"Not just yet. I mean if it happens it happens, but for right now, I still want to have a little longer in the army."
"Ah, yeah, you would have to quit that."
"Definitely, and when we do have kids I really don't want to be working. I want to raise them, not have someone do it for me."
"I understand... I hated working with Erin, and I only did it for a few months."
"I know I will too. Right now, I really just want to do nursing for a while longer, and then be a mom."
"That sounds like a good plan." Peg says as they hear a knock on the door.
"That has to be the movers." Margaret says, looking at her watch as they walk down the stairs to the front door.
"Mrs. Pierce?" The mover asks as they open the door.
"That's me."
"Where would you like everything?"
"They all have names on the boxes, I'll show you where." She smiles, as the men go to the truck. Peg grabs Hawkeye and Erin from the back yard and they help bring the things in too. Hawkeye works with the men and Margaret tells them where to go. After a few minutes Erin gets bored of watching and decides she wants to help.
"Uncle Hawkeye..."
"What is it Midget?"
"I want to help too." She says as she follows him back to the truck.
"You want to help? Ok... let me see if I can find something you can carry." He says, grinning at the little brunette. He finds a couple pillows and hands her one, "Go take this to Aunt Margaret, and ask her where it goes."
"Ok!" She says smiling, as she takes the pillow and heads back to the house, "Aunt Margaret! Where dis go?"
"Are you helping?"
"Yup!"
"Well thank you Erin! Come on, and I'll show you." She says, as they walk upstairs to one of the bedrooms. "This goes right here." She says, pointing to the window seat. This specific room would be filled with the things Margaret had in her bedroom. "Do you think you could get the other pillows and put them up here too?"
"Yup!" Erin says smiling.
"Thank you." She says, kissing the child.
"You're welcome!" She says, running back downstairs to retrieve some more pillows. She sees her dad's car pull into the driveway and she stop dead in her tracks, waiting for him to come see her.
"Hi Erin." He says, as she runs towards him, he scoops her up into a hug.
"Hi daddy!" She says, kissing him. "Daddy..."
"What?"
"I need to get down!"
"Why?"
"I helping move in!" She says squirming out of his arms.
"Are you being a good girl?"
"Yup! I bring pillows inside!"
"Where's Uncle Hawkeye?"
"Inside moving boxes."
"Oh, ok." He says, following his rambunctious daughter to the moving van, pulling out a box, as she takes a pillow that is sitting on the sidewalk. "Come on Erin... let's go inside."
"I know daddy." She says, walking into the house and up the steps.
BJ walked into the kitchen and sat the box on the table, "Hi Margaret."
"Hi BJ." She says smiling as she places her box on the kitchen table before hugging him. "How are you?"
"Good, you?"
"Fine." She says smiling. "Hawk's around here somewhere."
"I'll find him." He says, walking back out the door, almost running right into his friend. "Hey."
"Hey Beej." He says, putting the box that he was carrying down on the ground to hug his friend quickly. "How are you?"
"Fine, you?"
"Great. Erin's been a big help." He says, seeing her carry another pillow into the house.
"I bet... I hope you have plenty of pillows to keep her busy."
"Trust me, we do. Margaret loves pillows." He says laughing as he picks the box back up and heads inside.
For the next thirty minutes they moved there stuff in with the help of the movers. Margaret could live with the things in boxes for the time being, they were exhausted by the end.
"So how was the flight here?" BJ asked, as he pulled Erin into his lap.
"It was fine... long but fine." Hawkeye said, sitting down on his recliner, smiling.
"This house is great." Peg says smiling. "I really like it."
"We still have a lot to do, but it's getting there." Margaret says smiling. "I'm just glad everything has been moved in. The only thing we really have to do still is get things for the basement, paint, and get curtains."
"That's not too much more." BJ says.
"I figured tomorrow we can go and get paint and the things for the basement." Margaret said, looking hopefully at Hawkeye. He knew that it drove her crazy to have things out of order.
"Sure." He said. "What time is it?"
"Five Thirty." Peg says.
"I'm hungry. What do you say we head out and grab something to eat... our treat."
"I'm all for the eating part, but not the part with you paying." BJ says smiling at his friend.
"I insist. You three helped us out a lot."
"Hawk..."
"Hawkeye's right... our treat." Margaret says smiling.
"Ok." Peg says, giving in. She knew they were not about to back down.
"What's good around here?" Hawkeye asked.
"What are you hungry for?" BJ asked.
"I don't know, what about you guys?"
"We can go for anything... Erin what do you want?" Margaret asked.
"Um... I want spaghetti." She says smiling.
"Italian it is... shall we go find a place?" Hawkeye asked.
"Sure, we know just the place." Peg said as they all stood up and walked out of the house.
They take two cars and head out to eat. They spent about two hours eating and talking before they all went home. Hawkeye and Margaret had a lot of unpacking to do and Erin was getting tired. They said there goodbyes and left. Margaret and Hawkeye got back to the house and Margaret sighed.
"What?" Hawk asked.
"Look at all of this mess..."
"Well... lets start cleaning it up." He says. "Where do you want to start?"
"Let's do our room first. Put things away, then we can do the kitchen and then the family room.
"Ok." He says, as they head upstairs. There bedroom only takes about 45 minutes to get it in order. Then they headed downstairs to unpack the kitchen and clean up the family room. By midnight they were both absolutely exhausted and headed up to bed.
"So we can go and pick out some paint tomorrow?"
"Yes." Hawkeye said to her, pulling off his shirt.
"And will you paint tomorrow?"
"I will... I'll get it done by the time I have to go to work."
"That's only three days."
"How many colors of paint are you getting?"
"Only a few... I like the burgundy in our bathroom so that's not bad. I want our walls to be a different color. I really don't like the white. Most of the bedrooms can stay the same, and the family room I want a more calm color, like a cream color."
"Ok... but how about right now we just sleep?"
"That sounds good." She says climbing in bed, kissing him. "Good night."
"Good night." He says, smiling as he holds her close. They were both too tired to do anything more.
Margaret had already thought ahead, and had called the phone, electric, and gas company ahead of time so all of that was switched into Hawkeye's name, so by the first day they got there they had a phone... which happened to wake them up at 9:00 in the morning. Margaret rolled over and picked the phone up which was lying on her nightstand,
"Hello?"
"Hi Margaret."
"Hi BJ." She says, looking at the clock.
"Did I wake you?"
"Don't worry about it... I had to get up anyway. What's up?"
"I have a slight problem... Peg is out till around 4:30 today, and I have Erin... only I just got called in for an emergency operation, and none of our regular babysitters are around. Would it be possible if you take her till Peggy gets home?"
"Sure. I don't mind." She says smiling. "The only thing Hawk and I have to do is go get paint, and Erin can come with us.
"Are you sure? If you are going to be too busy then I will just take her to work with me."
"No, that's fine. Bring her over. I just have to jump into the shower real quick."
"Thank you so much Margaret. I'll be over in about thirty minutes."
"Ok, I'll see you then." She says hanging up. She yawns and gets out of bed.
"BJ coming over?" Hawkeye asked.
"For a few seconds to drop Erin off. He got called into work and asked us if we could watch her until Peg gets home."
"When's he coming over?"
"In thirty minutes. I'm going to jump into the shower then you can do the same. I figured we'd go to the store and then take Erin out to lunch with us."
"That sounds good."
"I'll only be a few minutes." She says, getting into the shower.
By the time BJ came, both Hawkeye and Margaret were downstairs, dressed and eating breakfast. They heard a knock on the door and Margaret went to open it. "Hi guys." She says smiling.
"Hi Aunt Margaret!"
"Hi Margaret." BJ said smiling. "Thank you so much, you two are lifesavers."
"It's a pleasure to watch her, and no we owe you. Everything you have done in the past few weeks has been a huge help."
"Well, Peg will be here around 4:00 to pick her up."
"That's fine. We'll see you later." She says.
"Right. Bye Erin."
"Bye Daddy." She says kissing him.
"Bye Hawkeye." He says to his best friend who just entered the room.
"Hi BJ, Bye BJ." He said smiling.
"I'll call you later."
"Right." Hawkeye said as BJ went out the door. "Well Miss Erin, do we have a day for you!"
"Really? What are we doing?"
"Well, you get to pick out a color for the guest bedroom that you can stay in when you sleep over... how would you like that?"
"Really!" She asks.
"Yup, what color would you like it to be?"
"Umm... purple." She says smiling.
"I think that's a pretty color." Margaret agreed. "Will you help us paint it today too?"
"Yup!"
"Great! And we are going to all go out to lunch."
"Oh! Ok!" She says smiling.
They made a morning out of it and took there time when picking out the paint. Margaret decided on a cream colored wall for her room, but a green colored carpet. She also picked out and a nice border filled with different colors that accented the bedspread. The lavender walls would go for the guest room, and she also got a light blue colored paint, a pale pink colored paint, and a mint green colored paint for the other upstairs rooms. The downstairs was pretty nice. The Dining room was a pale yellow, and Margaret loved that color, and the family room was white with pink carpets, which she also liked, but the family room, that was a bright yellow which she absolutely hated and they ended up grabbing some cream colored paint. Curtains all had designs on them that matched the colors of the rugs they picked out which were put in before they moved in.
After they bought all the things they needed, they headed into a diner to eat. Erin was very good through this whole ordeal. She never complained once that she was bored or wanted to go home, and on the way home she fell asleep in the car. Hawkeye picked her up and laid her on the couch when they got home, covering her up with a blanket.
"What do you want to do?"
"Let's start painting." Margaret said, "She'll sleep for about an hour and a half."
"Ok. Which room?"
"Let's do ours first."
Margaret and Hawkeye were quite quick when it came to painting. Margaret had her entire apartment done in a day, but with two of them and only five rooms, it shouldn't take too long. They finished there room in about an hour, after they pulled everything away from the walls. Then they started in the small room that was right across from their bedroom. This was going to be the mint green room, and probably the nursery for when they decide to have a baby. This room only had a small twin bed in it, and a white dresser. Hawkeye and Margaret painted this room in a half an hour.
"Well that's two rooms down... three to go." Hawkeye said, smiling.
"Let's take a break." She says, as they head downstairs. She checks on Erin before they head into the kitchen. "We should probably give Erin a snack when she wakes up and then she can help us paint."
"That sounds good... but do you think that's a good idea with her clothes? They look pretty new."
"We can just throw one of your old shirts over her. That should cover it."
"Alright." He says smiling. About ten minutes later Erin wakes up. "Good morning... did you have a nice nap?"
"Yes." She says smiling as she climbs into Hawkeye's lap.
"Would you like some fruit?" Margaret asked the little girl.
"Please! Grapes."
"I think I have some for you." She says winking.
"Can we paint?"
"After we eat the grapes we can."
"Good! Can we paint wif purple?"
"Yup, and could you maybe help us with the pink room if we have time too?"
"Yes Aunt Margaret."
"Thank you." She said smiling.
They ate the fruit and then went upstairs to start painting. Margaret put an old shirt of Hawkeye's on the child which covered her completely. They opened the two windows in the room and began to paint. Erin got her own little wall to paint on, and she did a very good job for a three year old. She followed her Aunt and Uncle's directions and smiled the entire time till they finished. Next they went into the room next to the master bedroom and painted that the pale pink. Erin had the two colors all over Hawks shirt, but she was having so much fun, it didn't matter. Peg came over a little after four, and knocked, but when no one came, she walked in, "Hello?"
"We're upstairs." Margaret called.
Peg smiled and headed upstairs to where everyone was. "Hi Mommy!" Erin said smiling.
"Hi honey... are you helping out Uncle Hawk and Aunt Margaret?"
"Yes, and I painted a purple room too!"
"You did? Well that's great sweetie." She says smiling, kissing the top of her head.
"Your bedroom looks great." She says to the Pierces.
"Thanks. We have four out of the five rooms done, they are just finishing drying."
"Well it looks great."
"Thanks."
"Well Erin, what do you say Kid? Ready to go?"
"Um, nope. I need to finish."
"I think we should let Uncle Hawk and Aunt Margaret finish."
"What time's Beej due back?"
"Five."
"How about you three stay for dinner? We can order out."
"Oh you've done enough..."
"No, really... we don't mind." Margaret said agreeing with her husband.
"Plus, BJ's taller than me. He can help paint." Hawkeye says smiling.
"Well..."
"Please mommy?"
"Ok, let me just call him at the hospital and tell him to come on over after he's done."
"Use the phone in our room." Margaret said.
"Ok." She says.
Everyone helps paint the rest of the house, which was a huge help to the two of them. The only thing Hawkeye and Margaret had to do the next morning was a second coat on the family room, which only took a few hours to do. They also hung up the curtains in every room that was finished, unpacked the rest of the boxes, and hung up the pictures, shelves and knickknacks that Margaret had from her old place and bought. By the time everything was in place, the entire house felt like home. Margaret smiled when she walked through the rooms. This was truly her dream house.
The next day was Monday, and both Hawkeye and Margaret started work. BJ called that night and told Hawkeye that he'd pick him up at 6:30. There shift began at seven and went till five that night. Margaret didn't have to be in until nine, but was there until five that night also. Hawkeye got up with the alarm and grabbed a quick shower. He got dressed, grabbed his bag, kissed his wife goodbye and went downstairs to wait for BJ. When he heard the Beep, he walked outside locking his door behind him.
"Morning." Hawkeye said, yawning.
"Morning." BJ said, "You ready to get back into surgery?"
"More then you could ever know."
"I figured we'd stop off and grab a cup of coffee."
"That sound's great."
They stop, get coffee and head into work. "You have to check in with Frank. He's our chief surgeon... and you also have to check in with Dr. Smith. He's the head."
"Just show me where there office is and I'll check in."
"This way." He says as they head down the hallway to the group of offices. "Nathan..."
"Ah hello BJ... and you must be Ben."
"I am, but please call me Hawkeye."
"Hawkeye... ok. I hear you are quite a wiz around the body."
"I am."
"I also have heard that you haven't been in surgery in what a year?"
"That's correct also..."
"Well, then I'll be supervising all of your surgeries for a week or two till I am sure that you can handle them alone."
"I'm positive I can handle all of my surgeries alone thank you very much." Hawk said, feeling his blood boil.
"Well, our first priorities are our patients, and when we get a doctor in here who has not done surgery in over a year we tend to worry about there performance."
"You don't have to worry about his performance." BJ started, "He happens to be the best surgeon I have ever seen or had the chance to work with."
"Well, that's your opinion... we'll start you off with simple operations, appendixes, tonsils..."
"Excuse me... but you people hired me knowing that I was a chest cutter... I can cut circles around you, and I intend too. How dare you tell me what I can and can't do."
"Well, it's my job... I'm the chief surgeon." He says grinning.
"Let me tell you..."
"Hawkeye..." BJ says, "It's not worth it... come on, you have to meet with Dr. Smith."
"This isn't over." Hawkeye says, as they walk into the next office, "Can you believe that guy?!"
"Don't worry about him. He did the same thing to me... but Smith overrode him."
"Good to know."
"Dr. Smith, this is Dr. B.F. Pierce."
"Nice to meet you Ben." Smith said smiling.
"You too, and please call me Hawkeye."
"Alright." He says smiling. "I hear you are quite good around the chest..."
"And every other part of the body." BJ said smiling.
"I'm looking forward to seeing your work."
"Well it seems like for the most part all I will be doing are simple operations under the supervision of Frank."
"Oh, well... I won't have that." He says smiling. "Don't worry about him."
"Well, my first surgery is in a half an hour, so let me go and get ready." BJ said.
"Alright BJ. Hawkeye, your first surgery is an appendectomy I see. Do you mind if I sit in?"
"No of course not." Hawkeye said smiling. "I wish I only had something more in depth to show you my abilities."
"You will." Dr. Smith said.
That entire morning everyone was amazed by Hawkeye's surgical abilities... even Frank was impressed. Even more impressive to everyone was how well BJ and Hawkeye worked together. The nurses were very impressed.
"It's like they know what each other's thinking." Nurse Campbell said.
"Yeah I know. They are amazing together. They did that bowl resection without saying more than four words about the operation... and there funny together." Nurse Burch says.
"They are definitely not dull that's for sure. It's going to be a welcomed addition to the OR."
"Definitely." Campbell says walking out of the break room.
Over at the VA Margaret had a few briefings with her nurses about what to expect. She told them that she demanded perfection and would not settle for less. Though she was a Pierce, she was known to most as Houlihan and still went with that in the hospital. She had a hell of a time trying to get them to respect her. It was difficult being the new person on the block, but she knew that if she didn't show her authority they would walk all over her.
"I'm Major Margaret Houlihan, you will also hear me called Major or Nurse Pierce from some others because of my married name. You can call me either. I was the head nurse in a MASH unit during the three years of the Korean War. I demand perfection because without it, patients die. I am here for you to talk to on both a personal level and a working level. Please feel free to come to me about anything. I do have to say that what you want does not matter in the Operating Room; it is how the Doctors want it. Is there any questions?" She asks her new nurses. "Ok... back to work." She says smiling.
The nurses were mumbling about how tough she was going to be on them, and what they were getting into. Margaret knew that she had to make the nurses her own, and it would take a while till they got use to there By the end of the day she had yelled at almost all of her nurses, worked on six cases, two doctors hit on her, and was stressed out trying to get the hospital fit to her liking. She was ready to go home by the time 2:00 came, and she still had four hours left. She got home and saw the house dark. She knew Hawk must have been kept later then he had thought. She unlocked the door and walked into the house, turning on the lights, sighing. She made something quick for dinner that the two of them could eat and sat down on the couch, turning on the TV. Around seven, she saw lights pull into the driveway and knew it was BJ's car. She smiled when she heard the door open.
"Honey, I'm home."
"Hi." She says smiling, as he leans down and gives her a kiss.
"How was your day?"
"Exhausting... how about yours?"
"Relatively fun. BJ and I had a couple of duel surgical procedures going. It's great to be back into surgery."
"I'm glad."
"So why was your day so exhausting?"
"It just was... the nurses aren't use to someone who expects perfection."
"You'll be fine."
"I know... I always am." She says smiling.
By July, everything seemed to be in place. Margaret and Hawkeye both loved there jobs, and were busy. The house was completely finished and it actually felt like home to the two. Margaret even had a garden planted in the yard that she busied herself in after her shifts and on her days off. They learned in June that Peg was pregnant again, due in February. Erin was thrilled to be a big sister. Hawkeye and Margaret had been discussing having a baby for the past few months. Both of them decided to wait a little while longer until they started trying. Margaret still wanted to work a bit longer, and Hawkeye would never forcer her into something she didn't want to do. Early September. Margaret woke up and found herself rushing to the bathroom, clutching to the porcelain bowl like it was attached to her. Hawkeye heard her and went in to see if she was ok.
"Are you alright?" He asked rubbing her back.
"Yeah... I must have caught something." She said.
"Did you feel alright last night?"
"I was fine." She said standing up and brushing her teeth.
"How do you feel now?"
"Still not too good." She says. "Thankfully I'm off today."
"Well, I'm going to go get ready for work."
"Ok." She says, as he gets into the shower.
Margaret found herself in the same kneeling position two more times before Hawkeye left.
"Maybe it's food poisoning."
"I doubt it. You and I ate the exact same thing and I feel fine." He says, checking her over quickly. "You probably picked up some sort of bug at the hospital, like you already said."
"I guess." She says, lying back against the pillows.
"I'll call you later to check up on you. Call me if you need anything."
"Ok." She says, as he kisses her forehead.
"Rest."
"I will."
"Good." He says, walking out the door.
By the afternoon Margaret felt a lot better, and was able to eat and keep it down. She thought for sure it was just the flu until the next day when she started all over again. She then began to think... and suddenly something clicked... "I may be pregnant...." She says to herself, a wave of emotions washing over her. She placed an almost immediate call to her Doctor to have a test done. She wasn't going to tell Hawkeye until she knew for sure, which would only be a day or two longer. She went in that afternoon and got the test done, and then came back home, busying herself with whatever she could around the house. Peg called at around three to chat.
"Hello?"
"Hi."
"Hi Peg. How are you?"
"I'm fine, how are you feeling?"
"I'm doing better now... I was sick again this morning, but..."
"Really?"
"Yeah..." Margaret said smiling, "I think I may be pregnant."
"Well, that's wonderful!" Peg says smiling. "Did you go to the doctors yet?"
"Yeah, today."
"Does Hawk know?"
"No, and I am not going to tell him until I am one hundred percent sure."
"I did the same when I got pregnant."
"I'm nervous."
"Why?"
"Because we talked about having kids, and we both decided to wait..."
"Well, waiting may not be an option now." Peg said smiling at her friend.
"I know that." She said, frowning, "I just don't know how Hawk will react."
"Please, Margaret, he will be thrilled. You've seen him with Erin. He probably agreed with you because of your career in the army. The question isn't about him... it's about you."
"I know..."
"What do you feel?"
"I'm absolutely thrilled... and scared to death."
"Are you ready to quit the Army?"
"I am."
"Well then, there is nothing to be worried about. Trust me, Hawkeye will be thrilled to hear the news... if it's positive."
"I'm pretty sure it will be."
"Just wait and see. That would be great if you are though. Our kids would only be a couple months apart."
"Yeah." Margaret said smiling.
"Well, Erin just woke up, so I better get going. Let me know when you find out."
"I will. Bye Peg."
"Bye." She says and hangs up.
Three days later, after what seemed like an eternity, Margaret got the phone call which left her smiling as she hung up. Hawkeye came home an hour later, and she couldn't wait to tell him. He came home in a rotten mood. Their chief surgeon was constantly pissing Hawkeye off and he was sick of it. He was exhausted after the long days of surgery and was happy to get home to his wife and house. He opened the door and put his briefcase down
"Hawk?"
"Yeah."
"You're home late."
"I had to meet with Lewis."
"Again?"
"Unfortunately." He says, walking into the kitchen where his wife was sitting at the table, reading over some of the paperwork she had taken from her office yesterday morning.
"Why?"
"He constantly says I do things wrong in surgery. He wants to show me that he is a better surgeon because he is the chief, but let me tell you something, he is not. He isn't even as good as BJ. I have no idea how a man like that made Chief over Beej." He says, sitting next to her.
"BJ said that he kissed every doctor who ranked higher than his ass." She says, standing up, placing a glass in the sink and walking to rub her husband's shoulders a bit.
"I'm ready to deck him." He says, pulling his wife on his lap. "What were you up to on your day off?"
"Well, I rested a bit, and caught up on some paperwork that I have left for the past week or so."
"Are you feeling any better?"
"Well, yeah. I went to the doctors and found out why I haven't been feeling well over the past few days."
"Why's that?"
"Well..." She says, nervously playing with her fingers. She wasn't sure how he was going to react, even though Peg assured her that he would be thrilled. "I'm pregnant." She says, watching his expression. You could always tell how he was going to react by his face.
"What?" He ask, not believing his ears.
"I'm pregnant."
"That's wonderful!" He says, smiling.
"Really?! She asked, almost surprised.
"Of course!"
"I'm glad." She says smiling.
"We're going to be parents!" He says, kissing her.
"Yeah!" She says. "I am so glad you're excited about this."
"Are you kidding me?! Why wouldn't I be?"
"We both said we wanted to wait..." she says, but he cuts her off.
"Margaret, I am absolutely thrilled! We said that we wanted kids! What difference does it make now or later?"
"I am so glad you feel that way." She says, relaxing.
"When are you due?"
"May." She smiles.
"Peg's in February." He comments.
"Yeah."
"Do they know?"
"Peg does." Margaret says, "You get to tell BJ."
"I'm gonna call." He says.
"Alright." She replies still smiling, and stands up off his lap.
Hawkeye calls his best friend and they talk for a while. "BJ says hi and congratulations." Hawkeye says, coming into the family room and sits next to his wife.
"How's Peg feeling?" She asked, even though she talked to the woman a few hours earlier.
"Fine." He says.
"Good, and Erin?"
"Erin is fine also."
"Great." Se says smiling.
"Well Major... are you ready to leave the army?"
"Yeah." She says smiling, "I really am. I have to plan for that too. I'll probably work for a few more months, and then stop."
"Do you want to stop nursing completely or go back to it after you've had the kid?"
"I don't know." She says, "I think it would be nice staying home and rising the kids... what do you think?"
"I think that what ever you choose to do would be fine by me. I just want you to be happy... you know this."
"Yeah." She says smiling.
"Come on... come out and sit with me." He says, pulling her away from her paperwork. He turns on the TV, grabs a blanket and sits back down behind his wife, putting the blanket over the two of them and pulling her close. He kisses the side of her head, and they stay like that until they head up to bed.
Something in both Hawkeye and Margaret changed that day. They had a lot of planning to do in the next eight months, and it would be hard, but both of them were overjoyed with the fact that they were going to be parents.
TBC...
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