Maria was now two years old. Margaret and Hawkeye had decided to take her down to visit Alvin. He had not gotten much time with her and they thought that it only fair that they took off a couple of weeks for him to actually spend some time with her.
It was the morning after they had arrived. Margaret came walking down the stairs with Maria in her arms. The little girl poked her head up to look at her new surroundings.
"Ba?" she asked getting excited as they reach the floor. Margaret smiled.
"Yes," she answered. She turned the corner and went into the kitchen. The sun shone through the windows creating a warm glow. Making her way over to the high chair, she noticed that her father had been up since there was already coffee made. She sat Maria down in her high chair and grabbed the pot of coffee. "It's still warm," she said to herself and then got Maria's breakfast ready. It was only seven in the morning but it felt more like five. The previous night had been spent tossing and turning. She and Hawkeye were planning on making a stop at the cemetery. It had been a while, and she had had time to get over Serena's death, but there was always that part of her that would some how remain empty.
"Good morning," Hawkeye said upon entering the room. Margaret turned and smiled as he walked over and kissed her.
"Good morning to you to," she said and then turned her attention back to Maria who was now happily drinking her milk. Hawkeye just watched her for a moment and returned the smile.
"Good morning jellybean," he said looking over Margaret's shoulder at Maria. The little girl squealed. "Da!" Hawkeye just laughed and ruffled her curly hair as he walked past her. Margaret shook her head as she tried to keep from laughing. "Why must you always call her that?"
Hawkeye shrugged as he grabbed the milk from the fridge. "I don't know. Maybe I like jellybeans," he said. Margaret just rolled her eyes as she tried to get the stubborn girl to eat a spoon full of food. "Besides, it's a lot better then the names that you and Frank had for each other," he said. She was about to say something, but decided against it. There was nothing that she could argue.
"Doesn't mean you should go down to his level," Margaret said.
"I thought most people had to be dropped on their heads to even see his level," he said. Margaret started to laugh which caused Maria to laugh. "See, I've got one fan," Hawkeye said pointing down at Maria. "Don't I?" he asked stepping out in front of her which only caused her to laugh even more.
"I think now she's just laughing at you," Margaret said looking up at him.
"Thanks a lot kid," he joked as he walked back around to the table. He sat down and watched as Margaret fed Maria.
"Hello princess," Alvin said walking through the door.
"Hi, where were you?" she asked.
"I went to get the paper and then decided to take a walk," he said. Margaret simply nodded as she took the now emptied dish and set it on the counter. She felt like she was the one that needed the walk.
Hawkeye sat back at the table and watched Alvin. He was waiting to see if he would acknowledge him this time without having to make himself noticeable. He sat there and started to tap his fingers on the table. Anything to get his attention. It didn't work. Margaret glanced over and smirked. Alvin just kept going on with what he was doing. He obviously wasn't going to even look at him. "Dadda!" Maria squealed. Alvin turned and looked over as Hawkeye got up and picked Maria up. He then whispered something in her ear.
"Hi ganpa," she said waving at him. Margaret tried to hide her laughter as watched them. Alvin just looked over and smiled at Maria.
"Hello little angel," he said. Hawkeye stood there and waited to be acknowledged. Of course, he only paid attention to Maria. Hawkeye was just happy that he didn't exclude Maria for being his daughter. He didn't mind himself so much, as a matter of fact it was more like a game to him now.
"Hi Mr. Houlihan," Hawkeye said waving. Alvin looked up at him.
"Oh, hi, Benjamin," he said and then went and got himself a cup of coffee. It always annoyed him when he was called Benjamin, unless if it was by his own father. But every one else either called him Hawkeye or Ben. Then again, he figured that Alvin knew it annoyed him.
"Right back at you Al," Hawkeye said. Margaret cringed. She knew that her father wouldn't like that at all. Alvin closed his eyes and sighed.
"Thanks," he said forcefully and then left the room. Margaret let out a sigh of relief.
"I swear to God if I weren't here he'd kill you," Margaret said.
"Tell him to stop calling me Benjamin," Hawkeye said.
Margaret stifled her laugh. "I've heard your father call you Benjamin," she said.
"That's different. First off, that's my dad. Second, how many times have you actually heard him call me that?" Hawkeye asked. Margaret considered that and nodded in agreement. She then walked over to Hawkeye and put her arms out.
"If you hand her over I'll take her and get her ready for the day," Margaret said. Hawkeye handed her over and smiled at her as they left the room. Maria rested her head on Margaret's shoulder and waved.
"Bye dadda," she said. Hawkeye waved back and then went back and sat down at the table.
A few hours had passed. Margaret stood in her room facing the mirror. A bouquet of daisies lay on her dresser right below the mirror.
"Hey."
Margaret turned around and saw Hawkeye. "Hey," she said with barely any emotion showing through. Even though it had been a couple years, she still hated going back to that grave. Every time she went all she could think about was that last night. The night spent in the hospital waiting. The nurse coming to tell her. Everything. She still slept with that teddy bear. But as much as she hated it, she had to go. She had to go and leave flowers. She had to go to remember.
"You ready?" he asked. Margaret nodded and then grabbed the bouquet. Hawkeye wrapped his arm around her and lead her out of the room. The ride there was spent in silence as Margaret blankly stared down at the flowers.
"We're here," Hawkeye said as the car came to a stop. They both got out and walked over to her grave. They both stood there for a minute and stared down at it.
Margaret sighed and then knelt down before the grave. Hawkeye decided to stand back and let her have her space, like he had done the last couple of times. She carefully set the flowers down.
"You will certainly never be forgotten. But I guess you'll never truly be gone either," Margaret said blankly staring. She then stood up and looked back at Hawkeye who nodded and then put his arm around her as he lead her back to the car.
I know it's not much of an ending, but was really all I could think of. Let me know what you thought about it. Hope you enjoyed it.