Margaret cringed as someone rapped lightly on her door. She cautiously opened one eye before pulling the sheets tightly over her head.
"Mom are you awake?" Elizabeth whispered. Margaret stayed perfectly still praying her daughter would leave. "Mom?"
Margaret pushed the sheets away from her face, squinting in the bright morning sunshine.
"It's not fair that it's this sunny in December," she moaned. Lizzy smiled and handed her mother a cup of coffee.
"I'm glad to see you back to normal." Margaret looked up in surprise.
"What are you talking about?"
Lizzy stared at her mother in shock. "You don't remember?" Margaret's blank look gave her an answer. Lizzy smirked and shrugged. "Well never mind then, what you don't know can't hurt you."
Margaret's face turned white as she struggled to recall what had happened. "Was your father here?"
Lizzy smiled broadly and nodded as she sat down in front of her mother. "Yeah Dad was here." Lizzy was trying her hardest to keep herself from laughing at Margaret's obvious blank-out.
Margaret looked nervously around the room, pulling the sheets around her shoulders, as if Hawkeye would appear suddenly. "Where is he now?"
Lizzy shrugged, "I'm not sure, I woke up and he was gone. He left a note saying he had some business to take care of in San Francisco, but he'll be back by Christmas Eve."
"He called me Hot Lips," Margaret muttered, almost to herself.
"Yeah he did; do you remember now?" Lizzy pulled a blanket over her lap and cautiously took a sip of the hot coffee.
Margaret rubbed a hand wearily over her eyes and shook her head. "Oh god my head is about to explode."
Lizzy laughed cynically. "Well it should, you downed at least two bottles of scotch."
Margaret's eyes widened as memories of her evening began to creep into her mind. "Carol left a bottle of wine at the door," she began slowly. "I was only going to have one glass but I had a heck of a day at the hospital."
Lizzy looked up in surprise, Margaret usually never complained about her job, even though Lizzy knew it was hard on her.
"What happened?"
"Oh Jenna, threw a big party, half the staff was downstairs instead of working." Margaret took a sip of coffee, scowling bitterly. Lizzy surveyed her mother curiously. Jenna Miller had been Margaret's best friend for years, and the only other woman Margaret knew who was single.
"Was it a Christmas party?"
Margaret shakily stood up and wrapped herself in a heavy bathrobe. "No, it wasn't. She's getting married, to the chief of staff." Margaret headed for the bathroom but Lizzy quickly cut her mother off.
Margaret looked into her daughter's eyes and smiled, Lizzy embraced her mother warmly. "I'm sorry Mom." She whispered.
"About what?" Margaret asked briskly.
"I'm sorry that you had to give up everything to take care of me." Lizzy looked down at the floor but Margaret tilted her head back up.
"I'm not sorry." She said firmly. "You an amazing young woman and I love you so much. I wouldn't trade the past seventeen years for anything."
Hawkeye stepped off the ramp and looked around the terminal, searching for a familiar face.
"Hawk! Hawkeye!" Hawkeye turned and saw BJ Hunicutt hurrying towards him. "I got your message," he announced as he hugged his friend. "God Hawkeye, it's been too long." Hawkeye nodded in agreement and the two men hurried off towards the parking lot.
"So just how much do you remember?" Lizzy asked Margaret once she had showered and come downstairs.
Margaret sat down at the kitchen table and Lizzy placed a plate with a piece of dry toast in front of her and a cup of tea.
"What's this?" Margaret asked. "Where's my coffee?"
Lizzy poured herself another cup of coffee, emptying the pot. "Sorry the coffee is all gone." She smiled devilishly and Margaret sighed and bean to sip the tea, at least it was hot.
"Well?" Lizzy prompted.
Margaret shrugged. "I'm not sure. I remember finding an old bottle of scotch. I can't really remember much more until I woke up around three."
Lizzy began to spread jam onto her toast and chuckled. "Well you remember him calling you Hot Lips."
Margaret frowned in deep thought. "No, that was when I woke up."
"He was in your room?"
Margaret nodded, "Yeah he said something about me earning back the name Hot Lips. What on earth was he talking about?"
"Wouldn't you like to know? Lizzy grinned and stood up, wiping off her plate.
"Elizabeth, don't you dare play games with me!" Margaret hissed before dropping her head onto the table.
"Oh fine, you big baby. You kept talking about how Hawks were more fun than Ferrets and then you kissed him."
Margaret jerked her head up, ignoring the shooting pains that the quick movement caused. "I kissed your father?" Margaret stared at Lizzy, inwardly praying that this was her daughter's idea of a joke.
"Yeah, and I now I see how you got the nickname."
