Hawkeye yawned as the senior officers gathered around the table. He really hated it when trivial things like staff meetings interrupted his precious sleep time. He winced slightly as Potter banged the salt shaker to quiet them down.
"Meeting will come to order. Any old business?"
Hawkeye was quick with his regular comeback. "Yeah, can I go home?" From the corner of his eye, he saw the corner of Margaret's mouth turn up, but Potter wasn't amused.
"Get behind Klinger. Any new business?" The meeting droned on as Charles and Potter listed their grievances, but Hawkeye's ears perked up as Radar entered with the mail.
"I move the meeting be adjourned," Hawkeye quipped.
"Second!" BJ could always be counted on for back up. Even Margaret seemed eager to end the meeting as Radar handed her a letter. Hawkeye took his from the kid as she opened hers, and he saw her face morph from anticipation to sorrow. Radar spouted off something about Potter's grandkid, but Hawkeye's attention was focused on the woman across from him.
"I'm divorced," she blurted out. "It's official. This is my final divorce decree. I'm officially divorced." Charles was his usual tactless self, but Hawkeye ignored him.
"Margaret, it's what you wanted, isn't it?" The letter from his father was left unread in his hands. BJ tried to get through to her too, but it took a second for her to register their words. Even the call of wounded didn't pierce her haze, and finally he had to nudge the table a bit to get her to respond.
"Yeah, just can't get over this good news," she said flatly as she rose from the table. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes at her obvious avoidance of emotion, but he knew by now that it was how she dealt with things initially. When she wanted to talk, she knew he would be there to listen.
In OR, Hawkeye listened from across the room as Charles did his worst at trying to cheer Margaret up. His jibe at her attitude, however, was the last straw.
"Relax, Charles, she's got a bleeder of her own." His tone was light, but the warning was there; leave her alone. She shot him a look over Charles' shoulder that was both grateful and annoyed. He knew she could take care of herself, but he just winked at her and continued stitching his latest wound together.
Somehow, the news of her divorce hadn't softened her at all. In fact, Hawkeye was beginning to feel like the old Major Houlihan was back. She was snappier than usual, demanding absolute perfection from her nurses in the OR and afterward. All of that, along with breaking in a new nurse, meant Hawkeye never had a moment alone with Margaret to discuss anything.
When the news broke that she'd gone behind the Colonel's back and invited a two-star general to the camp for the weekend, everyone was a little on edge. Colonel Potter grumbled about cheeky, upstart head nurses for the rest of the day, Hawkeye and BJ were less than thrilled at the thought of entertaining any brass whatsoever, and Charles was the miserable soul selected to teach the nurses all about triage. So it was with great pleasure – and only a little guilt – that Hawkeye prepared his costume for their crashing of the course. It had been his idea initially just to lighten up the tension that had settled over the nursing staff. They were all extremely nervous about their new duties, and he felt they deserved a little break. Getting BJ to go along with him had taken a little persuading; he didn't necessarily want to risk the wrath of Major Houlihan. But Hawkeye knew that times were desperate, and everyone knew what that meant. He pinned on the last fringe to his outfit and adjusted his hat, ready for his performance.
As expected, their little escapade wasn't well-received by the head nurse. After she ran them out of the mess tent, Hawkeye and BJ quickly changed back into their regular clothes.
"Do you think she's really mad at us?" BJ asked.
"Nah," Hawkeye returned easily. "When she's really mad she gets this little tick above her left eye. She did whack me pretty hard with that pointer though." He rubbed his behind tenderly as his eye caught a flash of blonde storming their way. "Uh oh, Kato," he announced. "We have a Code Red. Major incoming."
"You!" Margaret was fuming as she stormed through the Swamp door and pointed her finger at Hawkeye, then turned it on BJ. "How could you do such a thing? We're trying to prepare the nurses to take on an extremely important responsibility, and all you two can do is make fun!"
"Margaret, we didn't mean any harm," Hawkeye took a step toward her and held out a placating hand. "We were just trying to loosen you girls up a bit; everyone's been on edge lately. They're gonna run themselves ragged trying to do too much."
"Triage isn't something you can learn overnight," BJ added helpfully. "It takes a lot of instruction and even more practice."
"Yes, well, we were doing just fine until you two decided to play dress up. And I don't appreciate being manhandled in front of my staff, buster!" she whirled on Pierce, but he wasn't backing down.
"Listen to yourself, Margaret!" He was letting his temper get the better of him, but not even the warning look from BJ stopped him. "You know who you're starting to sound like?"
"Like an Army Major?" she shot back hotly. "I'll have you know, Captain, that I'm damn proud of who I am."
"I guess Hot Lips is back to stay, then," he spat. Instead of the acidic retort he was expecting, she stared at him for a brief moment. Turning on her heel quickly, she didn't even volley a parting shot as she burst out of the tent angrily. "Damn," Hawkeye cursed his own short temper as he watched her go. He started after her, but stopped as BJ called his name.
"You both need time to cool down, Hawk. Just let her go."
Hawkeye looked out into the compound once again before settling down on his bunk to rest. BJ was right; time would cool them down enough to salvage their friendship. He just hoped Margaret wasn't too mad at him to make the attempt.
Between practicing triage and helping out in post op, Hawkeye didn't see Margaret again until Saturday. The general arrived earlier than planned, but just in time for a surprise batch of wounded flooding in. Margaret and her nurses set to their new task immediately, freeing up the doctors to scrub quickly and get ready for surgery. Even Charles had to admit that things seemed to operate more smoothly and efficiently now that the doctors could get into OR more quickly. After the wave died down, Hawkeye caught up with Margaret in the scrub room.
"Listen, Margaret, I need to apologize to you. You were right about your nurses; they were fantastic. You were fantastic. And I'm sorry about what I said earlier." She had her back to him as she untied her surgical gown, but he could see by the way her shoulders relaxed that she wasn't mad at him anymore. When she turned around, she was actually smiling.
"They did do a great job, didn't they? And they learned it all in three days."
"Pretty impressive," he agreed. "How about I buy you a beer at the Officers' Club? To celebrate." It was clear now that whatever storm had been brewing had blown over, and they were back on even water. But as he made his offer, her face fell slightly.
"Oh…I – I can't," she said hastily. "Ly – I mean, General Weiskopf is stopping by to brief me on his report about how the triage went to day."
Hawkeye felt his heart clench at the thought of a man – a general – being alone with Margaret in her tent. It seemed as if – harsh though his words had been – he had been right: Hot Lips was making a comeback. He'd thought she had gotten over this ridiculous obsession with higher ranking men, especially after her failed marriage with Donald the Cheat. But she saw the look in his eyes and interpreted its meaning immediately.
"Oh, don't worry," she reassured him, "he's just briefing me on the report tonight because he has to leave first thing in the morning. That's all."
"Are you sure he knows that?" Hawkeye couldn't stop the words coming out his mouth, and her lips set into a firm line.
"I don't know how it's any of your business, but I thought you knew me better than that."
He stared at her for a long minute before he sighed and helped her untie the gown. "I just don't want to see you get hurt again, Margaret," he said honestly.
She stepped away from him, clearly uncomfortable with his sincere tone. "I can take care of myself, Pierce."
There was no malice in her voice, but he knew she was done talking to him at that moment. He nodded and left her alone to finish changing. Silently, he made his way over to the Officers' Club to re-read the letter his dad had sent a couple of days before. He looked up briefly as Radar came walking through the door with the newest nurse on his arm. The young man was growing up so quickly, and many times Hawkeye felt sorry that the kid didn't have a father at home. There was so much he'd learned from his own father, and he tried to help the kid out when he could. He caught Radar's eye and gave him a knowing grin, which caused the boy's face to flush red. He stammered something and led his date to the other side of the room as Hawkeye returned to his letter.
Sometime later, the doors opened again admitting Margaret into the room. She dodged dancing couples and scanned the room, looking for a friend among the crowd. She found him in the corner, perusing a well-read letter.
"This seat taken?" she asked, amused slightly at his surprised expression.
"It is now," he smirked, regaining his composure quickly. He didn't stand, as a gentleman would when a lady sat at his table, but he did fold his letter and carefully tuck it back into its envelope. "How did the briefing go?" he asked offhandedly, but he could tell by the way her eyes flashed that something had happened.
"You were right," she admitted finally. "Apparently General Weiskopf expected Hot Lips Houlihan in there."
Hawkeye leaned forward in his chair, his eyes a shade darker than their usual vibrant blue. "I'm sorry, Margaret." He hated that his friend had been put in that situation, but he was glad she was here now talking to him about it. "What did you do?"
"I ordered him out of my tent, of course."
His face split in a proud grin as he sat back in his chair. He signaled to Igor for two more beers, which were delivered hastily by a young private.
"Margaret, I don't know if I've ever actually told you, but you are a stronger woman than I am." She rolled her eyes at his joke, but laughed along with him as he handed her a bottle. He lifted his in salute, which she returned thankfully.
"I am pretty marvelous, aren't I?" They drank and talked into the night, until slowly the other people began to trickle out. Finally, it was just the two of them left with Igor.
"Major, Captain, I hate to interrupt, but we're closing now."
Hawkeye checked the time and yawned. "It's almost one a.m.," he declared. "Allow me to walk you to your tent, Major. Who knows what evil lurks about." She elbowed him in the ribs lightly as he tried to drape an arm around her shoulders. He let out a grunt of pain, but she just rolled her eyes and tucked her hand into the crook his elbow.
"Don't be a baby," she joked. "Besides, if anything is out here, it's me who'll protect you."
"Hey, I can't help it if I'm a coward," he returned lightly. They stepped out into the cool night air, each marveling in the calmness that had settled over the camp. "I hate confrontation. How else would you explain me not punching the daylights out of the messenger who gave me my ticket to this wonderful sess pool?" She laughed and leaned into him slightly, not drunk enough to need the support but tipsy enough to pretend like she was.
"I can't believe I'm finally free from that…pig. Why did I marry him again?"
Hawkeye couldn't be sure if she was being serious, but he opted for honesty anyway. "Because you loved him," he said simply. "And at the end of the day, it's the best reason to marry someone." He paused before adding, "I just wish you'd known about his character – or lack thereof – before you married him. You could have saved yourself some heartache."
Margaret nodded, but then thought about it. "If I hadn't married him, I'd have never gotten that 'Dear Darlene' letter." She didn't elaborate, but she didn't have to. Hawkeye knew what she was really saying.
"Margaret, that letter didn't bring us any closer. I may not have always shown it, but you've always had my respect. And I'll always be here if you need me."
"I know, and that's more than I could ever say for dear old Donald." Neither one commented on the fact that she'd just compared him to her ex-husband, but they were both thinking it as he dropped her off at her tent.
"Well, this is your stop, Miss Margaret. We'll have to do this again sometime. Goodnight." He bent over and kissed her cheek softly, attributing it to the alcohol flowing through his system and not the pounding in his heart. She opened her tent door and disappeared inside as Hawkeye retreated to the Swamp. Something was shifting between them, and neither one was sure they were ready for it.
Next up: "C*A*V*E"