"Hawk? Earth to Hawkeye." BJ waved a hand in front of his friend's face, and only after a moment did it wake him back up. "You ok?"

Hawkeye nodded. "Yeah, yeah, fine." He proved this by poking at his food, sniffing it, and ignoring it. "You?"

Potter glanced at BJ, who looked at Charles, who sent it Father Mulcahy's way. "Pierce, does this have something to do with Margaret not being back yet?" Potter asked in the most gentle, non-invasive voice he had.

Margaret was scheduled to get back…let's see…Friday, Saturday, Sunday…today. As in this-morning-today. It was now…five, six, seven in the evening. To a normal person, she was late. To Hawkeye, she could be dead in the middle of the ocean and no one knew.

Hawkeye shook his head, eyes wide but noncommittal. "No, I'm fine. Was she supposed to be back today?"

A snort came from Charles' end of the table. "You would know, you've checked for her jeep every five minutes."

Charles's words caught Hawkeye doing just that; his head was turned away from the group and instead looking at the barren compound. It left an empty space inside him every time he checked, why did he keep doing it?

"Huh?" He was completely lost in the conversation. He was out of it and he knew it, but he couldn't help it! She'd promised to call him as soon as she got to the hotel, this was DAYS later and she hadn't called. What else was a lovesick guy supposed to think? That she was perfectly fine and simply forgot to call and would see him when she got back?

Please.

Potter shook his head. "That's it, Pierce, I want you to go to the Swamp and stay there until the Major gets home. BJ, you're going with him, make sure he doesn't look outside."

"Aw, Colonel, I don't wanna babysit him," BJ joked. Grabbing his best friend's arm, he pulled Hawkeye along. "Come on, Hawk."

Hawkeye rolled his eyes and shrugged out of BJ's grip without a word. The two walked in silence to the Swamp, where they each poured a drink in silence. "Hawk, you wanna tell me what's going on?"

"Margaret's pregnant."

Turns out, the sound of a martini glass shattering against the ground is pretty loud.

BJ looked at Hawkeye with wide and unbelieving eyes. "Wha-What did you say?"

Hawkeye nodded, his eyes staring out into space. He dropped bomb #2, which was only one of the many other reasons he was worried about the Major. "Scully's the father."

Good thing BJ wasn't holding another martini glass, that could've been messy.

BJ sat on his cot with an equally vacant stare. "Margaret...wow. How's she–wait, how did you find out?"

Hawkeye took a lengthy sip of his martini. "She told me about a month ago. I found a pregnancy book under her bed, and she spilled. I've been trying to help her with everything since then, but I'm worried. Beej, what is she gonna do when she gets sent home?"

BJ didn't know the answer to that. "When is she gonna tell Potter?"

"She told me she would tell him in a few weeks, after she got everything situated, her father being one of them." The mention of her father brought to mind all the things that could have gone wrong with their talk...Hawkeye had a feeling 'Howitzer Houlihan' wasn't one to go easy on people, even his daughter.

BJ gave a mischievous grin. "So that's why you two have been spending so much time together. Now it makes sense. What are you going to do when she leaves?" BJ was worried about Margaret, of course, but he had a sneaking suspicion Hawkeye didn't anticipate how hard it would be when she was gone. They've spent the past few weeks tied to the hip…how's he gonna live without her?

Hawkeye stood up and put his martini down with small thud. "I don't know. I'm gonna miss her like you wouldn't–well, like you miss Peg, but what worries me is the kid and her living alone. Margaret's strong, but she's human. How will she make it?" Worry. Worry choked through his sentence and almost overtook it.

Before BJ could offer any type of answer, a jeep pulled up in the compound. Hawkeye's head snapped around like a rubber band, and he wasn't disappointed this time.

Margaret Houlihan was back.

BJ had never seen Hawkeye get up so fast. He left his martini half-full, and the Swamp door closed slower than he ran.

"Margaret, you're back!" Hawkeye exclaimed through a grin. He skidded to a stop at her jeep, finding the love of his life with a huge smile on her face. His breath flew to lands unknown at the sight of her wearing her dress uniform.

"Pierce, it's great to see you!" She hopped out of the jeep and gave him a small hug. "How have things been here?"

"How have things been here?" He repeated. He grabbed her bags with an anxious grip and followed her into her tent. "Margaret, who cares what's been happening here? I've been worried about you like crazy, you're late, you didn't call, I'd be mad if you didn't look that fantastic in your dress uniform."

"Captain." Margaret was other places, for sure. She wasn't looking at him, instead at the mirror as soon as she walked in. She took of her dress uniform hat and began brushing her hair. "I've been fine, you're not in charge of me, I don't need to call you every minute of the day."

Um…what?"

Of course Hawkeye knew that she didn't need to call him. But she told him she would call...he was only worried about her...

Why does she have a diamond ring on her left hand's ring finger?

"Ma-Margaret?" His heart was rising quickly into his throat. This wasn't happening...this wasn't happening...it was a nightmare.

A nightmare.

Yes, a very scary nightmare.

Please, let it be a nightmare.

"I know I'm going to come off as forward, but do you have an engagement ring on your finger?"

Margaret's smile widened as she began admiring her ring. "Yes, isn't it beautiful?"

WHAT?

Ok, calm down. Recap: Margaret's engaged.

Well, that didn't help much.

"Margaret, you left three days ago. I think you've broken my record, and no one's done that." His jokes were a cover for his ghostly pale face and shaking shoulders. She wasn't looking at him anymore, her eyes were glued to her engagement ring.

Engagement ring.

Betrothed.

Intended.

Soon-to-be married.

He couldn't take it. "Major, what did you do with Margaret Houlihan?"

Appearing much more clueless than she really was, she turned to face him while fiddling with her ring. "What? Pierce, what are you talking about?"

"There. That. Before you left we were on great terms, we were best friends! What happened between, oh, wait, I know." He smirked, but panicked rambling took over. "You got engaged. Well, I'm sorry I'm not as happy as I look, it's a little hard to be happy for someone when they won't even be bothered to tell you a thing... a thing about them! Margaret, I've been worried sick about you, and now you come back engaged! What happened?!"

The volume of his speech, his pale face, his bloodshot eyes...it all finally hit her.

I'm hurting him.

I'm so, so sorry, Hawkeye.

"I'm sorry." Her voice had never been so sheepish and apologetic. Hawkeye felt as though he could forgive her for anything and everything if she used that sweet, innocent tone on him.

Hawkeye ran a hand through his hair before glancing down at the blonde who was finally paying him more attention than the ring on her finger. Despite no longer being angry with her, he needed to know what happened in Tokyo. "Just...tell me how it happened. Please."

She sighed, turned around, and sat on her cot. "Sit, Hawk."

The use of his nickname had him at her side in a split-second.

"Hawkeye, I'm sorry. I'll tell you, on one condition." She waited for him to nod, then continued. "I need you to not leave at any point. I need you to stay with me through the whole story, no matter how mad you may be."

He nodded again. Reaching over to her hand, his palm met hers. She gripped his hand tighter than he'd ever expected, and only then did he realize; her shoulders remained frozen like ice, her eyes were bloodshot and laced with tears, and she was staring at their interlaced hands like they were her only connection to life. She was upset, and he hated that he hadn't realized it.

"Margaret? I'm not leaving, you can tell me."

She nodded, meeting his eyes. "Hawkeye, I saw my father. I told him. He was upset. He was angry. Then he left. I thought I would never see him again. Then he brought a man, a General, and basically told me that he was willing to marry me."

"And you said yes?"

Margaret rolled her eyes and gave Hawkeye a light jab with her elbow. "Not at first. But then I started thinking about how having a husband really would make everything easier, I mean, how can I raise a child alone in the States? What am I supposed to do when I have to work, but I need to watch the baby?"

"What about your sister? The rest of your family?"

She shook her head. "My sister and her husband are travelers, they aren't in the same place for more than a month. If my father won't take me in, then neither will my mother, she does whatever he tells her. Everyone else in my family will turn me away." She swallowed back her fear and gripped his hand tighter. "It could just be easier to marry him…I just don't know."

Hawkeye could see the indecisiveness on her face, and he didn't like it.

But…

An idea.

Why not? He didn't have to tell her…he could offer…even if she said no. That's it. Even if she refused, he was going to offer. He loved her, so why not? Was is back-handed to offer something like this without telling her how he really felt? He didn't have time to think about that.

"I'll marry you."

"What?"

She was up like a shot, backing away from him and his sudden offer. "Pierce, what did you just say?"

He stood up after her and nodded. "Yeah, why not? Look, if you have someone else to marry you, that'll take care of your father, and you'll have a husband!" Was he crazy? Maybe just in love.

Margaret started to roll her eyes, but stopped herself. He was serious. He was really asking. He was willing to take care of her, the baby, everything? Her heart started thumping in her throat. Do I love him? If she loved him, the answer was yes. If she didn't, the answer was no. Probably.

"Pierce, the baby, me…" He must've seen the hesitance in her rejection, because he walked to her, stopped, and got down on one knee, taking her breath with him. She would be flat-out lying if she said she never imagined him doing this.

Imagined? More like dreamed.

He took her hand in his, and his cheeks flushed at the position they were in. "Margaret, I know this sounds…well, you know how it sounds, but I really care about you. I want to take care of you and the baby, if you'll let me."

He cut his speech short and got to the point:

"Margaret Houlihan, will you marry me?"