See first chapter for information!

A/N: Thanks for all of your wonderful reviews. There were quite a few correct guesses, which I guess isn't too surprising since there's a small handful of people it could be. (Unless of course I made someone up…in which case it would have been evil to make you guess ;) Anyways…I hope you enjoy this chapter.


"That's alright. It could never compare to the ones you served in the Swamp. Although, that might be a good thing." Hawkeye chuckled and sat down on the chair, facing his visitor who was on the couch. "Besides, I already have a drink," he said, indicating the glass of scotch on the table. "Margaret said I could help myself."

"Margaret called you?"

The man nodded. In the soft light Hawkeye could see that his curly hair was slightly longer and there was a bit more weight on his frame but he looked pretty much the same as the last time they had seen each other, almost a year ago.

"Well then, shouldn't I be the one on the couch?"

"I don't know. I've always wanted to try it backwards." Sidney eyed the man in front of him and noticed the exhaustion in his eyes. "How have you been sleeping?"

"On my back."

Sidney closed his eyes against the other man's evasion. "Margaret tells me you've been having a lot of nightmares."

Hawkeye let out a sarcastic laugh. "I guess I don't hide it as well as I thought."

"She said you had a breakdown."

"Well, it wasn't as dramatic as driving into the officer's club."

"The sight of your daughter caused it?"

"It could have been any dark-haired baby. It only happened once…while I was half asleep."

Sidney nodded and picked his glass up off of the coffee table. He took a sip and then ran his finger around the rim of his glass. "Maybe we have some more talking to do."

"What do you want? Do you want me to lose control, sobbing about how I'm afraid the war is going to hurt my daughter? How I'm afraid that I'm afraid of my own baby? That I'll never be able to shake the sights I've seen and that they'll haunt me forever? That Margaret will get tired of being married to an unstable lunatic and leave me? That the goddamn war is going to control me forever?!" By now the surgeon was pacing around the living room.

"You're no fun. You don't even let me do my job." Hawkeye stopped and looked at him with one raised eyebrow.

"What are you talking about?"

"You just figured out your problem all on your own."

Hawkeye sat back down on the chair and sighed. "So what do I do about it?"


Margaret entered the darkened house and kicked off her shoes. She saw the small light coming from the living room and smiled, readjusting the sleeping baby in her arms. She hadn't planned on being this late coming home, but her and Daniel had sat and talked for quite awhile after they had returned from Spruce Harbor. And besides, she had wanted to give Sidney and Hawkeye plenty of time to talk without distractions. She entered the living room and smiled at the sight in front of her. Hawkeye was asleep on the couch, his head resting on one of his hands.

"Hawkeye?" she called to him lightly. He didn't stir so she passed him by and took Bella to the nursery. After she was tucked in, Margaret returned to her husband. She sat on the couch next to him and touched his shoulder. "Hawkeye?" she called a bit louder.

"Muhn…" he mumbled in his sleepy state. He picked his head up and looked at her. "Hi."

She smiled at him. "Hi yourself. I'm sorry I'm so late but your Dad and I just lost track of time."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Should I be worried?" He feigned pain when she swatted him on the arm. "Well you deserved it," he defended as he looked at her pointedly.

Her expression softened. "You needed to talk to someone. I know you've been trying to hide your nightmares, but you're not good at it. And Judy told me that you keep falling asleep at the clinic between patients."

He looked over at her. "When did you talk to Judy?"

She smiled guiltily. "When I called to check on you."

He took her into his arms and kissed the side of her head. "Thank-you," he whispered.

"You're welcome," she whispered back. "How long did you guys talk?"

"Until about an hour ago when he went to bed. Of course there were a few drinks and dinner in there, too."

"Bella's asleep so we should take advantage of it." He smiled and stood up, offering her his hand. As they walked to the bedroom he slipped one hand up under the bottom of her shirt.

"We could really take advantage of it," he said in a low voice.

"We have company, Hawkeye."

"We'll be quiet."

"It hasn't been six weeks, yet."

He sighed. "Alright, but let's get to sleep fast so I can dream about it."


It was just after five in the morning and Margaret was sitting in the nursery, rocking Bella. The baby was just drifting off after her feeding when Margaret heard movement in the house. She stood up and placed her daughter in her crib and then exited the nursery, almost running right into Sidney. She gasped and jumped back and he reached out and caught her elbow.

"I'm sorry, Margaret. I didn't mean to frighten you."

She laughed. "It's alright." They stood in silence for a moment. "Bella and I didn't wake you, did we?"

He shook his head. "No, no. Unfortunately I don't sleep much past this hour."

"Would you like some coffee?"

"That would be nice, but I don't want to keep you up."

She shook her head. "Don't worry about it. Bella won't sleep much longer anyways. Come on." She took the lead to the kitchen and Sidney took a seat at the table. Once the coffee was done brewing she poured two cups and took them to the table. "What do you put in it?"

"Just a little sugar." She grabbed the sugar bowl and a spoon and returned to the table, sitting down across from Sidney. "Thanks Margaret."

"No problem." She, too, stirred a spoonful of sugar into her mug and took a sip for taste. "I really appreciate you coming all the way up here."

"I'm glad I could help. And with as much as Hawkeye talked about Crabapple Cove I couldn't pass up the opportunity to come see it myself." They sat in silence for a while and Margaret began twirling the spoon in her fingers. "Are you alright Margaret?"

She looked up at him. "Sidney…" she trailed off, not knowing which words to use. "Is he…is he going to be alright?"

Sidney chuckled. "Don't worry; he won't be making me rich anytime soon."

"Really? I know he's worried about Bella…afraid that he won't be a good father because of what's happened."

"And that's his biggest problem." She raised one eyebrow at him. "He's so afraid that his symptoms will return they actually do. It's called a psychosomatic reaction. As soon as he stops worrying so much he'll be just fine. And since I came all the way up here and there's not even any work, I expect to be taken out to a lobster dinner. You just can't get good seafood in New York."

Margaret laughed. "Alright, we'll go this evening."

"Go where?" Hawkeye was pulling his robe over his shoulders as he entered the kitchen.

"Out to dinner. Sidney wants some authentic Maine lobster."

"Oh I see. You've been here one day and you're trying to steal my wife, Sidney?" He poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down next to Margaret.

"We never said you couldn't go," she said as she placed a hand on his knee.

"And be a third wheel?"

"Bella will be there."

"Oh, alright then." He let loose one of his trademark smiles and sipped at his coffee.


A/N: I hope you like this chapter. I had to rewrite it because I didn't like where it was going. Let me know what you think of this. Oh, and the 'on my back' statement wasn't mine…I borrowed it :D