Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug, or M.A.S.H or it's characters.
Chapter 29,
"Ok, that's a lot to take in." Margaret said. Since she was the only other person who was 'seeing doubles' like him, Hawkeye figures that she deserved to know what's going on.
"So then why are we the only two who realize things aren't normal, even by our standards?" She asked the floating cat named Plagg.
"Maybe it's because you two are the only ones who were around since the first episode." Plagg suggested.
"I don't know, I mean Klinger was always around, even if we didn't always see him." Margaret said.
"Well... he does replace Radar when he goes home. He becomes the company clerk. Maybe that's it. You two are the only ones who weren't replaced." Plagg said and Hawkeye blinked.
"What do you mean?" Hawkeye asked.
"Well, Klinger replaces Radar as company clerk. Dr. Winchester replaces Frank as a surgeon/occasional antagonist. B.J. replaces Trapper as your best friend. Then there's Colonel Potter who replaced Henry." Plagg said.
"Well, what about Father Mulchay? We didn't get any new chaplains." Margaret said.
"Yeah, that's right. He wasn't replaced or anything; but he doesn't know what's going on either." Hawkeye said with a nod.
"Hmm... oh, right! He technically is a replacement too. In the very first episode, the father was played by the same actor from the mash movie. After that episode, they switched to this one, which we know and love." Plagg said.
"Ok, ok. So if our lives were a tv show, then how did it end?" Margaret asked and Plagg hesitated.
"Um. The final episode is a two hour special called 'Goodbye, Farewell and Amen'. To this day it is the most watched episode of the whole series, and I don't blame them. I don't know how much detail I should go into, but overall, peace is declared. The war is over and most of you get to go home." Plagg said, hoping this didn't reveal too much. For a moment, Hawkeye and Margaret were silent. The thought of all this violence ending and being able to go back to the states was nearly overwhelming.
"I guess that means we'll all be separated." Margaret said. Hawkeye turned, stating at her like he can't stand to lose her. She only glanced at him, but it was clear she wasn't ready to lose him either.
"Plagg?" A voice mumbled. They all turned to Adrien, who was sleeping up until that point.
"Hey, bud. How are you feeling?" Plagg asked as the groggy boy sat up slowly.
"I feel like I've been hit by a truck." Adrien said. Margaret sighed and made him lay back down on the cot.
"You and Marinette, I swear. You're gonna push your bodies too fat and cause permanent damage if you don't give it a few hours of rest when it's healing." Margaret said.
"Marinette...? I want Marinette." Adrien said sleepily.
"I can get her if you want. We have some wheelchairs, we can wheel her out to the swamp." Hawkeye said.
"I'll get her, then." Margaret said.
"Wait, Wait!" Adrien grunted, making them freeze.
"She doesn't know I'm Cat Noir. I have to switch over first." Adrien insisted. He pulled his hand out of the covers and laid it on his chest. He took a moment to look at Plagg.
"Is there anything else you want to tell them before I activate you?" Adrien offered and Plagg blinked as he turned to Hawkeye.
"I know you aren't the real Mr. Alda, Hawkeye... but even though he didn't create you, you are a part of him." Plagg started.
"See, Mr. Alda was in ROTC, served at Fort Benning and did a tour of Korea years before he auditioned for the role of Hawkeye. After a few years, the original writers were replaced with more serious one's and Mr. Alda gained more control, becoming a producer and a creative consultant on the show. Many people still split the show into two eras; the Gelbart/Reynolds 'comedy years, and the Alan Alda 'dramatic years'. Though Mr. Alda disagrees with that statement and I do too. If you ask me, Mr. Alda managed to give each character more heart." Plagg paused to smile.
"He personally helped write 19 episodes, including the finale 'Goodbye, Farewell and Amen'. He also directed that episode, and 31 others. He won 5 Emmy awards, and was later dubbed 'The quintessential Honorary Woman: a feminist icon', because of his strong belief in Women's rights and the entire feminist movement." Plagg looked over at Margaret.
"And I think you can see that in the way Hawkeye normally treats you. It's often overlooked by a series of jokes... but you both have tremendous respect for each other. At first it was only professional, but overtime you learned more about each other and you started respecting each other as individuals as well." Plagg said and then he chuckled.
"Sometimes Hawkeye is the only one to realize your genuinely upset about something, Margaret. And despite the way you yell and tell him off, he's still the one to go and be there for you. And when Hawkeye is feeling bad about himself, or something, you're not afraid to be honest with him. Whether that's telling him the world doesn't revolve around him, or forcing him to be sociable to get over his heartache. Romantic, or otherwise, your relationship has always been special. And for someone like me, who can literally destroy everything he touches, you should know that it was one of my favorite aspects of the show; and it meant a lot to me." Plagg said. He quickly flew over and gave both of their faces a big hug and then he went to Adrien.
"I think that's everything there is to say." Plagg said and Adrien nodded.
"Ok. Plagg, claws out." Adrien said. They they watched Plagg enter Adrien's ring, and the Cat Noir uniform expanded over Adrien's body.
"Um. I guess I'll go get Marinette now." Hawkeye said and he awkwardly left the tent. Margaret told him earlier that she had left Marinette with Klinger. He just wanted that short walk to decompress from all the emotion Plagg had displayed for them.
It was almost strange that anyone could see him, though all of his doubts, struggles, falls, depressions, and psychological issues, and still able to love him so deeply.
He wasn't Captain America fighting the Nazi's, or Ringo Kid in the Wild West, or Black Condor with the power of flight. He was just a doctor who was drafted and now he tries to save every life he can, because he knows that they'll surely die without him there. Though part of that was probably his pride talking.
"Hey, Pierce." Klinger said with a wave to the doctor when he entered the room. He was on the phone and he pointed to Marinette.
"Probably wanna check up on her, huh." Klinger said and Hawkeye nodded. He walked over and sat on the bed next to Marinette.
"Heard you tried to escape resting, earlier. Don't know why you would want to do that, though. After 28 hours in surgery, the only thing I can think to do is rest." Hawkeye said as he carefully checked her vitals.
"How do you feel?" He asked and Marinette smiled.
"Physically, fine. I can't help but be worried about my friends, though. Cat Noir got shot, which I feel responsible for, and I have no clue where Adrien is." Marinette said, dropping her gaze.
"Oh, well, Adrien is fine, don't worry about him. We put him in a safe place." Hawkeye said and Marinette sighed, making her shoulders relax.
"That's good to hear." Marinette said gratefully.
"As for Cat Noir, he's awake now and asking for you. You think you can handle a slightly bumpy wheelchair ride to the swamp." Hawkeye said. For a brief moment, Marinette's eyes widened in surprise and Hawkeye chuckled.
"The swamp is what we named our tent." He explained and Marinette nodded a little.
"I'd be happy to see Cat Noir." Marinette said and she moved the sewing box off of her lap.
"You have good timing too, she just finished working on her army jacket. She works fast, this Marinette." Klinger commented before returning to his phone call.
"Oh, yeah? Let me see." Hawkeye said. She handed him the jacket, and the first detail he noticed was the sparkly silver inner-lining.
"Wow, this looks like a fabric you used for your Carmen Miranda dress." Hawkeye said.
"It is." Klinger commented and Hawkeye's eyes widened.
"You let her go through the Klinger collection?" Hawkeye asked.
"Oh, you knew I was planning to donate most of that stuff anyways, why not let her play with it? All I asked is that she left the wedding dress alone, 'cause that's a family heirloom." Klinger said.
"But-"
"Hawk, please. I'm trying to find the eye of the storm. So Ladybug and Cat Noir can fight that Hawk Moth guy they were telling me about earlier. How often do you get the chance to help real superheroes?" Klinger said and Hawkeye sighed. He went through the double doors, grabbed one of the available wheelchairs and returned to Marinette.
"We will be in the swamp if you find what you're looking for. Little lady, your chariot for one has arrived. It is destined for the Cat of Noir, lounging in my humble abode. There, you can continue describing that lovely new jacket that you designed." Hawkeye said. With little effort, he moved Marinette from the bed to the chair and they rolled out of there. Hawkeye looked around and noticed it was fairly vacant, right now.
"Just so you know, Cat Noir had a long talk with Marinette and I, and we know everything that's going on." Hawkeye said and Marinette blinked.
"Everything...? Are you sure?" She asked.
"Are you worried about me knowing my life is a tv show?" Hawkeye asked, Marinette hesitated, but nodded.
"Are you ok?" Marinette asked.
"I'm trying to deal with it as quietly as possible, but at least I'm dealing with it." Hawkeye said.
"I mean, I'm no stranger to getting psychological help every once in a while, but if I have a breakdown, how can I help? It's my understanding that you all will fix everything in a matter of hours, and it would take Sidney days to come and fix me." Hawkeye said. They paused, just outside the swamp, and Hawkeye walked in front of her.
"Let me ask you something, real fast. You're barely a teen, and you've been placed in an incredible position where you hold the weight of thousands on your shoulders. You've been shot, and taken to an enemy camp as prisoners, and who knows what else." Hawkeye put his hands in his pockets.
"It's always brakes my heart to operate on children. Which is why, I have to ask... if you could go back in time and prevent yourself from ever becoming ladybug... would you choose to do all this over again?" Hawkeye asked. Marinette paused to think and then she sighed.
"You were drafted into the Army, right?" Marinette asked and Hawkeye blinked.
"Yes, I was." Hawkeye said.
"You didn't chose to be here. It wasn't your decision, but you still know that you make others lives better because you are here." Marinette said.
"They need me here." Hawkeye said, a little defensively.
"But if you could go back and choose not to be drafted, would you have stayed home?" Marinette asked and Hawkeye paused. He wasn't expecting her to turn the question around on him.
"Back then, absolutely. I was so terrified of going into a war zone, and possibly dying. But now I know that there's several people who wouldn't have made it, if I wasn't here. Sure I didn't want to be here, but I did a lot of good. How could I go back in time and tell myself to choose home, when so many other lives needed me to save them?" Hawkeye said and Marinette smiled at him.
"Then we understand each other. We didn't pick the lives we were given, but we help too many people to quit." Marinette said and Hawkeye couldn't help but chuckle.
"I swear that's an answer Margaret would have given me." Hawkeye muttered and he opened the door and guided Marinette in.
He moved her right over to Cat Noir and the two smiled at each other. There was no denying that these two crazy kids were mad about each other; they both lit up the second they saw each other. Those two were really meant to be together.
Note: For those of you who accidentally read the cut off version of this chapter I'm sorry. For some reason the app was giving me a lot of issues today. And thank you to sierranevadas84 for pointing it out, even though it was a little embarrassing.