PART FOUR
It had been three months since Jess left and Hawkeye hadn't touched a single female in that time. Margret had been watching him closely and the memory of the last night they'd spent together was still fresh in his mind. He was just finishing up a patient when Radar came in. "Um Hawkeye"
"Yes um Radar, I'm finished here and I'm going to take a nice long swim in the swamp"
"Hawk there's another patient out here and I don't think your gonna like it" Hawkeye thinking it was a child who'd been hit by shrapnel. He'd always hated those cases. But he was severely wrong. Instead of a small child on a litter he found Jess semi conscious. He looked her over and bellowed "Margret" when she didn't come immediately he bellowed again "Margret"
"I'm coming" she yelled back, as she came around the corner she said roughly "What is it"
"It's Jess, get her ready" Hawkeye dashed off to scrub "Radar get B.J and Colonel Potter. They had left earlier to get a little sack time. Radar dashed off to do that and didn't see Jess grab Margaret's hand.
"Margaret, Hawkeye operate"
"Yes, yes he's scrubbing now, just hold on" Jess nodded,
"Be careful, baby, don't tell Hawkeye" and she fainted away.
"Core man" yelled Margret
Radar knocked on Colonel Potters door "Come in" he said as he put down his zain gray book seeing it was Radar he said "What's the problem Radar, more casualties"
"Just one sir, Captain Peirce wants you to assist"
"Is it that bad?"
"I wouldn't know sir, Its Jess you see and I'm not a doctor"
"I'll be right there" said Colonel Potter as he threw back his covers. With one down and up Radar scurried over to the swamp. Burns was reading his bible and B.J was trying to get a little sack time. "B.J you gotta get up Hawkeye needs you in surgery"
"He sew his finger inside a patient again"
"No Jess just came in and she looks real bad"
"I'll be right there" he said while sitting up and shoving his feet into his boots. Burns was out the door in seconds and over to the O.R. before B.J could finish getting dressed. B.J, Hawkeye, Margret and Colonel Potter crowded around the table.
"Well ladies and gentlemen let's get started" Her wounds were mostly to her chest minor entry wounds to the belly and a fair bit to her left leg. Before he could start however Burns barged in
"Colonel if she really is who she says she is I should be in on this surgery, I am after all ranking surgeon"
"Go dribble your lip elsewhere and if you touch so much as a hair on her head Ill embalm you" said Hawkeye
"And I'll help" said B.J Burns stomped out of the O.R
"You haven't heard the last of this" he said
"Sometimes I wish he'd put his foot in his mouth" said Margaret
"My sentiments exactly" said Colonel Potter
"Right scalpel" Two hours later her leg was cleared up and her chest was done "Right now for the stomach"
"Hawkeye be careful" said Margret
"I always am"
"I know, but please be extra careful with Jess"
"Why"
"I can't tell you she made me promise"
"Margret If this could put her life in danger then you have to tell me"
"Hawkeye just trust me and go easy" Hawkeye was tired and exasperated so he gave in,
"Alright I'll go easy" and he began to take out the shrapnel pieces from her belly till he saw something that almost made him drop his scalpel. He looked straight at Margaret. "Is that what she told you" Margaret nodded Hawkeye noticed a line of tears had formed on her face.
"Did anyone else see what I saw?"
"I did" said B.J "But that's because I'm standing opposite you"
"What did the rest of us miss" said Colonel Potter as Father Mulcahy came into the room.
"Jessica is at least three months pregnant" said Hawkeye as he began to close
"Oh dear" said Father Mulcahy then he inquired "Who's baby is it" no one said anything for a moment because they all knew who's it was but weren't willing to divulge the information. In fact the whole camp would know whose baby it was and that was out being told.
"Mine Father" said Hawkeye "I'm done here she's ready to go"
"How's the baby" asked Margaret
"Its fine and it'll survive as long as she takes it easy" said B.J. Because upon learning he was to be a father Hawkeye had walked out of the O.R and slumped on the seat outside in the changing room. B.J and the Colonel sat on either side of him.
"There was hardly a chance she could get pregnant" said Hawkeye Father Mulcahy came around the curtain
"And yet she did" said B.J
"I know I don't get around but I do know the basics and as far as I know she wouldn't have done this on her own"
"The whole camp heard her not doing it on her own" said B.J this was news to Hawkeye and it had his head snapping up from looking at the ground.
"They did"
""They most certainly did Pearce" Burns came in through the door and started complaining,
"Why wasn't I allowed to help, I could have been a necessity" Hawkeye got up and left because if he had to sit and listen to Burns again he would most likely thump him. He went straight over to Jess's tent where they put her. They kept the tent after Hawkeyes insistence and knowing Burns wanted it gone only sweetened the deal. Some nights Hawkeye even slept in there reminiscing about what had occurred night and now there was something reminding him of the consequences that come with responsibility. Half way over he stopped and made a decision, he wanted to make Jess and the baby his forever and to do that he'd need to prove to Jess he could hack it. He made the final stretch to her tent with a skip in his step, when he got there he found Nurse Kelly sitting with her.
"I thought she might like some company"
"Thank you I think I'd like to sit with her"
"Of course Captain" Nurse Kelly left them alone and he took his place on the bed beside her. There was a lull in the work so much all the doctors did was sit on their behinds for tree blessed weeks which was very lucky because on the morning of the last day of the third week while Hawkeye was reading one of his nudie magazines.
"You'll go blind if you keep doing that" He almost fell off the bed. He turned over to look at her and kissed her.
"You're awake"
"Apparently"
"What happened to you, where did you go?"
"There are only certain parts I can tell you most of its classified"
"I see, I mean I will see more clearly when you tell me more"
"There's not much more I can tell you, but what I can I will"
"Before you start, I know about the baby"
"You do, did Margret tell you"
"No, I found it"
"Is the baby ok"
"The baby will be fine as long as you take it easy for the next six months"
"That I can do"
"Now start at the beginning"
"I was gone for about a month gathering intelligence on the North Koreans before I realised I was pregnant, so I started to make my way back I had enough information any way a week after I was almost to the boarder when I got caught they threw me in prison, well what they call a prison isn't necessarily what we call a prison. We were left in an open area with no shelter surrounded by barbed wire and men with guns, but the best thing is I found my brother"
"The dead one"
"He's not dead, there was a mix up. First I helped him escape then it was easy for me to escape because they didn't know who I was, I conveniently forgot my last name it helped they hit me over the head, but on the way back got shot by a very surprised U.S Corporal who thought I was a North Korean. And before you say anything it wasn't his fault I just didn't announce myself"
"I'm just glad your back"
"And you'll even get to meet my brother he'll be coming here most likely with my older brother too, the General"
"Are you serious, do you know everyone in this camp will go out of their way to make both of them welcome?"
"I know, I'm surprised no one has already gone to the trouble of giving me special treatment yet"
"Oh they will they have orders to go out of their way for you, but only while you're pregnant"
"The problem is as soon as the General finds out he'll send me home and I won't ever see you again"
"Why do you say that?"
"My family is very influential and love to make my life hell"
"It's funny you mention love"
"Why do you say that?"
"Do you really love me" even though he could see it in her eyes he needed to hear it from her own mouth.
"I do, with all my heart"
"Then as I love you and you love me might I suggest something not even the General can break up"
"And what's that"
"Will you marry me and become Mrs Hawkeye Peirce" Jess didn't even have to think about it before she said
"I will, but if it's already been three weeks then we don't have long"
"You let me know about that, I wrote to my dad as soon as I heard"
"How did he take it?"
"He's ecstatic he's going to be a grandfather he even said he wasn't surprised and given my history of women he was expecting it" Jess began to laugh but regretted it almost immediately.
"Ouch, laughing hurts" Hawkeye stopped laughing
"I want you to hold still and tell me where it hurts" he began to unbutton her top when Radar came in for an update on how Jess was doing. He quickly retraced his steps saying
"Ooh sorry sir" Making Hawkeye crack up and Jess laugh only to cry in pain. Which had Hawkeye stop laughing.
"Where does it hurt?"
"My chest"
"How about the belly"
"The belly's fine"
"Well everything looks just fine" he stared at her belly for a long time. She took his hand and placed it on the slight bulge only just making its self known. "This baby is part of you and me and I'll do everything I can to make sure it has a mommy and a daddy"
"They'll have to drag me away kicking and screaming" He kissed her again while re buttoning her shirt and then said,
"I have patience to see but I'll be back for my lower lip sandwich" he kissed her again
"Hawkeye would it be at all possible I could talk with Margret" she asked him before kissing him again
"I'll ask" he kissed her again "I'll come back after my shift" they kissed again "Have I gone" he kissed her again
"No but you better go before your late" they kissed on last time before Hawkeye left. She picked up Hawkeye's nudie magazine and started reading an article on cleaning.
Hawkeye entered the post op ward to take over from Frank and Margret. He took Major Houlahan aside and said being over heard by ferret face. "Jess is awake and she's asking for you"
"Really, I'm so relieved"
"You can go now if you want"
"Thank you I think I will" she was just about to leave when Frank interjected,
"Does she want to see me?"
"Why would she want to see you Frank she's not suing you for mal practice"
""Sometimes you just go too far" said Frank as he stormed out. Margret left just after and headed over to Jess's tent but not before giving Hawkeye a look of exasperation. Jess was still reading from the nudie magazine when Margret came in.
"Your awake" she said, Jess put down the magazine,
"You know for a rude book it has some surprising articles"
"I know but I could never get the courage up to ask about it"
"Why"
"Because I'm an officer and it wouldn't be appropriate, Hawkeye said you wanted to see me"
"Yes and I think you should sit down for this" Jess waited till Margret sat down to say "Hawkeye asked me to marry him"
"That rotten man getting your hopes up just for a laugh"
"But he's not we really are getting married and as soon as we can, because by now my brother General Mc Carther would know I'm here and I'm only assuming that the whole camp knows by now that he's my brother"
"Oh everyone knows now but I don't understand why you need to marry so soon, I mean besides the baby, which is a good reason" Jess smiled a little before she said,
"My family will go out of their way to make me miserable and keep Hawkeye and me apart from each other they have the power to do that"
"I see"
"But if I was married to him then they would have no say, which brings me to why I wanted to see you. I wanted to ask if you would be my maid of honour" Margret hugged Jess and said
"I'd be honoured to when do you think you'll get married"
"I'm not sure, do you know when General Mc Carther will be getting here"
"He sent word today he'd be here in two days"
"Tomorrow couldn't be sooner then I'll talk to Hawkeye and see what he thinks"
"I think when he comes back may be too late knowing him he's over talking with Father Mulcahy right now"
"Do you really think so?"
"I'm positive, now you just lay back and take it easy and let us do all the work"
"Actually could you send the cook in, I think we need to have a discussion about the food" Margret smiled from ear to ear.
"Will do" then she got up and left, leaving Jess alone. But it didn't last for long the cook came and went after a long discussion about the food and exactly how it should be prepared then Father Mulcahy came by to ask some questions like, 'Was she ok with being married to Hawkeye' she informed him of their predicament and he said 'Oh I see' then Colonel potter came in and she asked him to walk her down the aisle and with a tear to his eye he accepted but only on the condition no one else in her family would do. Needless to say she said 'No'. Klinger was next to come in and together with Major Houlahan they sewed a beautiful wedding gown just for Jess and when night fall came and Hawkeye tried to come into her tent Margret and the Nurses bellowed for him to get out it being bad luck for him to see the bride twenty four hours before the wedding.