For the Italian that is spoken in this chapter, there are translations at the bottom of the page so don't worry 'bout it.

Chapter 27

Lost and Found

The Midnight Kiss

O.R was quiet, not even Daniel and BJ were doing their, what was becoming normal, singing. It wasn't silent, just…quiet. There was still that normal background murmur, but other than that….the noise was subdued.

"Clamp."

"Clamp." Margaret placed the instrument in his hand almost right as he asked for it.

"You're quick Major. Sponge," Daniel said cringing as he found another bleeder in the poor kid's liver.

"I have a lot of practice," she smiled at the compliment, "though you and Hawkeye have very different techniques,"

He laughed, "I wouldn't know, I've never seen him do surgery. Suture,"

She looked at him with surprise. "You should." She handed him the instrument. "He's brilliant."

"He's more of a 'what-can-I-do-to-make-it-easier-on-the-patient,' kind of guy. I'm more or a 'what-can-I-do-to-make-it-faster,' kind."

She laughed, handing him a retractor a moment before he asked for it, sending him into a good natured laugh again.

They fell quiet, except this time with the added humming of "An Evening in Rome" coming from Daniel.

"Mind if I ask you something?"

"Suction. Shoot, inamorata."

Margaret smiled at the foreign language that sounded so natural coming from him, even if she didn't know what it meant. "How long did you and your family live in Italy?"

"Esterina, that was my wife, and I lived there all our lives. I was a doctor and she owned a Vineyard, then little Ben came along, the country was getting into a pretty bad shape, and the town we lived in was sort of falling apart so we moved. We wanted him safe, he was only 8."

Margaret loved his 'fathers-devotion' attitude, the kind of father-in-law I'd want – she mentally kicked herself for the thought. Hawkeye was lying in the other room, not even remembering their relationship and here she was, thinking about what a great father-in-law his father would be. "Did he always want to be a doctor?"

"Well," he started distracting her from her thoughts, "when he was very young he wanted to be an Indian Brave, a thought put in his head by the origin of his nickname, The –,"

"Last of the Mohicans," she finished for him. "He's only read it a hundred times since he's been here,"

"Right," he said laughing – he sure laughed a lot….sounds just like Hawkeye -, "as soon as he turned ten though, he was hopelessly devoted to work….my work,"

Margaret smirked, "I'm sure your wife was thrilled with his devotion…"

"Oh I wouldn't say that….let's just say that I've had my share of sleeping on the couch."

The entire O.R. was listening now.

"He was smart, wasn't he?"

"Smart….who Hawkeye?...No…..he was an astuto…dweeb," the room laughed and for the time being their hearts were lifted and the room seemed a little brighter. "But that was my opinion. He thought it perfectly natural to be obsessed with his studies…and he was only ten."

And while they laughed and joked and cut open more patients, in crept the little company clerk, Radar O'Reily. "Colonel Potter, sir," he whispered so as not to draw attention. "We have a problem."

………

After O.R. in Colonel Potter's Office

"What the hell do you mean he's missing!" Poor Radar looked like he was going to cry.

"I just can't find him, sir," he said backing up into the door, "I'll keep looking," and he ran out, desperate to get away from the angry Italian man. Colonel Potter followed him out the door.

Daniel was pacing restlessly now. Who knew what kind of trouble Hawkeye was getting himself into?

"Relax, Dr. Pierce. I'm sure he's fine," Father Mulcahny tried to console the restless man, but nothing helped.

"FINE!" Daniel exploded, "my son's out there in the middle of a war! You think he's going to be fine! Walking around in enemy territory surrounded by mine fields, and you say FINE! Il signore aiuta la sua anima e lo protegge dai pericoli. ..." He took a deep breath to calm himself and not to scare the rest of the company that surrounded him. "I'm sorry, Padre." He dropped into a chair, the heel of his hand pressed to his forehead.

Margaret sat down next to him. "We'll find him…."

"Alright, people," Colonel Potter said walking back in, "Radar just went out to the nearby Korean villagers to warn them, and tell them to keep a look out. We have people up and down the roads and the enlisted men going out now to search. If he's within 50 miles of this camp, we'll find him."

"And if he's not….?" Daniel hissed.

Colonel Potter looked at him. "He is….don't worry."

Charles and BJ exchanged looks, both thinking the same thing. Colonel Potter might be sure that they would find him, as for the rest of them, well, they still needed convincing.

………

Hawkeye

There was an odd sort of serenity he found in the empty field over the hill. The sky was dark and grey, the trees were bare and dead, the grass rough and brown, yet…it was calm. Despite the grayness of the clouds there was no storm, everything was quiet. Yet he knew deep beneath the simple look of the field there was disaster waiting for him, the clouds that could break and cause rain to poor any minute: the ground beneath him that could tremor and crack, erupting into an earthquake. It was like him, he mused silently. Well, what everyone thought of him at least. They all just waited for him to explode, to crack, to break loose from the calm mask he placed upon his eyes.

But he already did, didn't he?

He was such a fun loving guy before….what happened...wasn't he? Calm, collected, no worries, no problems, so what happened? It was all a mask, all a facade to allure them away from the real him. The one who was so much like the earth he stared at

She opted to search on her own. She knew it was a stupid thing to do, with the enemies lurking and the mine fields. It was a perfect chance to get abducted, but she just felt he knew where he would go, which couldn't be far. If only she could remember where he was last time he wandered off and Colonel Potter found him, where did he say…?

She found herself wandering around the camp aimlessly for a while, just thinking. He was depressed, that was fairly obvious, upset at least. He would want to think, want to be alone…where could that be…somewhere no one else would go…..not the mine field, even if he didn't know it was there, he could still read the huge sign that was plastered there...he wouldn't go to far down the road, for fear of getting caught….she was almost frightened about how much she could think like him…..so where would he be?

And then she knew it…..

………

And she found him there, just standing, over the hill, in the field that went on for a mile before it hit woods. Just standing, watching, a few yards from the camp, but no one bothered to look. She didn't approach him, she knew better than that. She would just let him think.

"Margaret…." His voice surprised her, she didn't expect him to acknowledge the fact that she was there.

"We were worried about you," she said as if it was some lame excuse as to why everyone panicked over the fact that he went for a walk.

"They shouldn't….I'm a big boy, I think I can take care of myself." There was an underlying tone of sarcasm that made her smile. He kept her back to her still.

"We know, we just….didn't want you to get hurt. What are you looking at?" She made her way a few steps closer, only two yards away now.

If he was surprised by the abrupt change in subject, he didn't say, just waved his hand lazily at the field. "What happened to it?"

She took another step, only five feet away. "It wasn't taken care of."

"Because of the war?"

Another step. "Yes, and the weather, it just wasn't a good piece of land." The hesitance in the way she spoke surprised even her. She took another step, she was right behind him now.

And then, with the quickness of someone who grew up looking over his shoulder, he spun around and grabbed her, crushing his lips to hers. She melted into his arms….it had been so long, but this, all of this, it didn't seem right. He pulled away almost as soon as he started. "I wanted…"

"What?"

"I wanted to see if I felt anything…if I still loved you…."

"Do you?"

He didn't answer at first, except he slowly dipped his head again and brushed his lips against hers, wrapping his arms around her waist, she let him, too, she had wanted to feel his arms around her again for so long, feel his presence, just know he was there.

She kissed back, entwining her fingers in his raven hair, pressing herself against him, begging for him not to stop.

………

Colonel Potter's Office

"No luck…."

"Damn…," the group stood solemnly in the office. No one daring to speak what they all feared to be true…..he was either dead or missing for good. "We can't give up though." Colonel Potter stood and pushed them all out. "I want you to look everywhere -"

"But, we've already looked everywhere," Radar started.

"Then look everyone again, every nook and cranny, we are going to find him, whether he wants to be found or not."

Daniel and Sidney were the only ones left in the office after everyone else had scattered out to continue looking. "I just don't get why we can't find him."

"Because he doesn't want to be found," Sidney offered, resting his hand on Daniel's stooped shoulder, who sat, with head buried in his palms.

"He's my son, I should know where he would go if something was bothering him…."

"Daniel, you don't know the country, and he's changed some I'm sure since he's been here. Don't give yourself such a hard time, we'll find him,"

Daniel smiled thankfully, "Thanks Sidney," he stood. "Has anyone ever told you, you would be a good psychiatrist?"

And they both laughed.

………

Margaret

They lay together, arms wrapped around each other tightly, just watching the stars begin to come out. It never occurred to her while they were kissing that she should probably go back to camp. Well, actually it did occur to her, she just pushed it out of her mind, savoring the moment, not knowing when she was going to get another chance like this again.

She rested her head on his shoulder closing her eyes at the familiar smell of the after shave on his shirt, and the steady beat of his heart.

He kissed the top of her head and she looked up into smiling blue eyes. "You know something," he said, "I think I could get used to this."

"What?"

"This….just lying here together. Did we do this a lot?"

"Sometimes, when we got the chance."

"I think……"he trailed off for a moment. "I think I would like to remember that."

Margaret smiled.

End Chapter 26

Lost and Found

The Midnight Kiss

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Thanks so much for all my reviews and especially to Stephanie (my perfect beta) for the help and a bunch of other people, but there's to many to name (Geez…I sound like I'm making an Oscar speech)

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Lord, help his soul and protect him from dangers...