Crabapple Cove, Pierce residence, October 1953, late afternoon
Hawkeye was in Boston and Daniel was in the kitchen preparing dinner. Margaret was sitting comfortably in the living room going through her mail as she noticed the letter from the army. It contained her final discharge papers. Margaret didn't quite know how to handle her emotions. Was she sad about it? No. Was she glad about it?" No. She felt nothing. The army had been her life for so long and now she felt nothing. Knowing that she no longer had to take orders from the army she decided to call her father right away.
"Colonel Houlihan speaking."
"Dad, this is Margaret. How are you?" she said nervously.
"Margaret! Where are you?" said Alvin in a firm and commanding voice. Margaret knew he was not going to ask her, "how are you". She knew his attitude. If people were able to pick up a phone and call him they could not be all that bad.
"I'm on the east coast and I work in a hospital now." she said in a more happy voice.
"Walter Reed?"
"No dad, it is not Walter Reed. I live in Maine now and I work in Portland."
"There are no army hospitals in Portland."
"No, it's the city hospital and I really like it there. I'm very happy over here."
"..but that's a civilian hospital?"
"Yes dad, I'm not in the army any more." said Margaret holding her breath and then the line went dead.
Margaret was furious. How could he do this to her. His own daughter. She instinctively wanted to call him again and tell him off, but then she thought of Daniel's words. Now, she had told her father about her decision and if he wanted to say something to her, Margaret would wait until he got the urge to speak to her. She would not hold his reaction against him because deep down Margaret knew she had hurt his feelings.
Margaret and Daniel sat in the kitchen eating supper.
"Daniel, this is really delicious. You're a very good cook."
"Thank you, Margaret. I just love to cook…and so does Hawkeye. He's quite good actually."
"Hawkeye… and cooking! Well, I'll be damned…I mean his practical skills can be ..eh… quite..eh..."
"…clumsy, right? I know. He's very good at anything where you need a steady hand and little strength. Otherwise he's a disaster with a tool in his hand." It made them both laugh.
"Oh yes…he certainly is…but in a rather charming way." said Margaret. She thought about the difference between Daniel and her own father.
"Daniel, can I ask you something personal…about how you raised Hawkeye?"
"Sure, but I won't take all the credit for it, that's for sure."
"Did you ever wanted to determine how Hawkeye should run his career?"
"No, not really. I've told him about my view on the perfection needed in order to become a good doctor and then the constant pressure to make the right diagnostics and decisions, but I never guided him as such. Why do you ask?"
"Eh…it's my dad. I feel like he's constantly trying to run my life."
"As I understand it, and please correct me if I'm wrong, he always had to go where the army ordered him to go."
"Yes, that's right."
"Well, if I was your father and I couldn't be there to protect you, then I would certainly try to make sure that there were people around you, to take care of you. A substitute family if you like and the army is just that from his point of view. What you see as control, he might very well see as protection."
"I never thought about it like that. Thank you, Daniel. You have been a great support and I am really grateful to you for that. I just hope he will be able to forgive me."
"Give him time, Margaret. Let him digest the news."
Boston, in front of the General Hospital, Hawkeye and Frank
"What are you doing here?" asked Hawkeye.
"I'm..eh..I'm attending a medical conference at this hospital. Honestly."
"Frank , this is not an army hospital and why are you in a suit?"
"Well…allright…I'm not in the army any more…they kicked me out…can you believe it?"
"I would never have thought the army was able to make such a reasonable decision. What are you doing here?"
"I haven't told Louise that I'm out of work. She thinks I work as a medical instructor on various hospitals. I have to transfer money from a secret account."
"You can't go on like this forever. It's a dead end. Let me see what I can do. I'll try to pull some strings."
"I thought you hated me."
"Why would I hate you, Frank? You are very annoying and a lousy surgeon, but back in Korea you were also a great distraction and I would like to thank you for that.
Crabapple Cove, Pierce residence, late evening
Hawkeye had returned from Boston and he was sitting in his favourite armchair reading the newspaper. Daniel had gone to bed and Margaret gave Hawkeye a drink and a loving kiss.
"I've got my final discharge papers today." said Margaret in a lifeless voice.
"Great, I received mine two weeks ago."
"Hawk, did I really waste my time in the army?"
"How can you say that?" he said, surprised.
"Because I felt absolutely nothing…I mean…I did expect some kind of reaction, but nothing like this." said Margaret a little disappointed.
"Darling, I have exactly the right cure for you." said Hawkeye with a big smile.
"What…what are you talking about?"
"You'll see…and speaking of the army, I met a common acquaintance in Boston today."
"Ahh – you saw Charles." she said smiling.
"Nope – it was Frank Burns."
"Frank? In Boston? What was he doing in a general hospital?"
"Well, it wasn't exactly in the hospital, it was more like on a bench outside the hospital."
"Outside?"
"Yes, he has been thrown out of the army and now he has no job, but Louise doesn't know. She thinks he's some kind of medical instructor."
"Poor Frank, but I guess he asked for it."
"I'll try to pull some strings and see if I can do something."
"I thought you hated him."
"What's wrong with everybody today? Does it say 'hate' on my forehead? No, I don't hate Frank. I just felt sorry for the guy."
"You have a big heart. I like that." said Margaret with an affectionate smile. She reached for his hand and in a seductive voice, she said…
"Do you mind escorting me to bed?" Hawkeye wanted to tease Margaret a little.
"Well, I haven't quite finished reading the…." he said trying to sound ignorant.
Margaret grabbed the newspaper and crumbled it. She threw it on the floor and sat down on his lap sideways, while she licked her lips. With her arms tight around his neck, she gave him several juicy kisses on his mouth, on his cheeks and on his neck. She slowly licked his neck up to his ear.
"Now, why didn't I take you with me to those peace talks in Korea. Your way of negotiating is much better than mine. You could have ended the war right away." said Hawkeye with a cheeky smile.
"Shut up." said Margaret and kissed him deeply while she started to unbutton his shirt. She wanted him here and now and Hawkeye didn't mind at all.
Crabapple Cove, Pierce residence, the next day
Hawkeye is on the phone talking to Frank.
"Hi Frank. I may have something for you. It's an administrative post."
"No surgery?"
"Of course not, Frank. I wouldn't let you come within 3 yards from a scalpel. Now, do you want the job."
"Am I in charge of something?"
"Eh..well…you might call it that."
Portland, hospital, October 1953, a week later
"We're almost out of novocaine for local anesthetics. I asked for it 3 days ago. Who's responsible for those damned requisitions." said Margaret irritably and walked towards the requisition office.
"What's the meaning of this.." shouted Margaret walking through the door
"Margaret!" said Frank, surprised
"Frank!" said Margaret, just as surprised.
They looked at each other for a while and Margaret wanted to give Frank a hug, but Frank just wanted to shake her hand and instead of a hug, it became a pretty awkward handshake.
"Someone must have pulled the right string, I guess. " she said with a warm smile thinking of Hawkeye.
"What do you want?" said Frank offended ignoring her comment. His reaction made Margaret furious and she shouted.
"Are you in charge of requisitions?"
"It depends on the nature of your question?". That remark made Margaret hit the roof and she threw her papers on his desk pointing towards a flagpole outside the window.
"If I don't get this within two days, you will be hanging from that flagpole for a week. Ferret Face!"
Crabapple Cove, Pierce residence, late afternoon
Hawkeye was preparing supper as Daniel was visiting friends and Margaret was in a grumpy mood, but she still gave Hawkeye a loving hug.
"What's eating you today?"
"Oh..it's Frank. He was being such a jerk today? He hardly even spoke to me."
"..and you wonder about that?"
"Eh…yes…it is so unlike him." she said a little puzzled.
"Come on, Margaret. I think you treated him pretty badly."
"Me?". Margaret raised her voice preparing for a quarrel.
"Yes, you. When you got engaged. You literally flashed your ring in his face."
Margaret sighed.
"Yes…yes, I did. I even recall that you actually defended him back then."
"Well, I know what I did to him and I will never regret it, but I try not to kick a person already lying down. I did it once with Radar, and that taught me a lesson."
Margaret hugged Hawkeye again at the stove.
"Thank you, darling.". She took the lid off one of the pots. "Mmm..that looks delicious. Can I have a bite in advance?" Hawkeye slapped her fingers.
"No no, be a good girl and wait until supper is ready." Margaret gave him a cheeky smile and sat down by the table.
Portland, hospital, Friday
Margaret stepped into Frank's office.
"What do you want, now? I have ordered what you asked for." said Frank instantly.
"Thanks, but that is not why I'm here. I want to say I'm sorry for the way I treated you when I got engaged."
"You are? Really?"
"Yes, Frank. I know, I can't change what happened, but I do hope we can still be friends." she said with a smile and now Frank smiled back at her.
"Friends?" she said stretching her arms towards Frank.
"Friends." he said and they hugged each other. Of course, Frank let his hand slide down on her butt. This time, with a slightly different result than he had expected. Margaret yelled…
"Frank!" and slapped his cheek.
"..but Margaret, I thought we could…I mean, we were more than friends."
"Yes, Frank and it was very nice." she said in a firm voice
"Eh..nice….is that all you can say?"
"Yes, why would I be with you for so long if it wasn't nice?"
"Well, when you put it that way…."
"Frank, our time is over. I did not leave you because I hated you. I fell in love and I have moved on since then. Come on! I know it's a bit early, but let's have some lunch in the canteen."
Portland, hospital, canteen,
When they arrived, Margaret spotted Hawkeye sitting together with a small group of doctors and nurses. They immediately broke up from the table when they saw Margaret and Frank. Hawkeye stayed at the table and smiled shyly at Margaret. Margaret looked at Hawkeye with a surprised but very affectionate smile. Frank and Margaret got their lunch and went over to Hawkeye. Frank sat down opposite to Hawkeye. As Margaret sat down next to Hawkeye, she bent down and planted a kiss in his neck."
"Hi darling, what are you doing here?" she said in a soft voice.
"Eh..well…eh ..we were just talking about a new medicine for …eh..smallpox. How are you doing, Frank?" asked Hawkeye trying to change the subject.
As Frank noticed what was going on between Hawkeye and Margaret he instantly put his hand back on his sore cheek, but this time it was because he thought of that day in Korea when Hawkeye had punched him in front of Margaret and Trapper. As usual with Frank, fear was the one emotion putting every other emotion aside.
"I didn't touch her. Honestly. My hand slipped." said Frank desperately
"Take it easy, Frank. I'm sure Margaret can handle you on her own. How are you getting along in your new job?" Frank looked nervously at Margaret.
"Eh..well, apart from one and only one mistake, I have everything under control. How long have you two been together?"
"Oh – We've been together since Korea." said Margaret smiling from ear to ear. That remark got Frank thinking and then he became pretty offended. He stood up and said..
"I knew it. I knew it. You have been seeing each other since you went away to that aid station, haven't you?" Frank turned around and walked away muttering "well oiled machine…".
"..but we didn't do anything. I hardly touched you." said Hawkeye rather puzzled, but Margaret put her arms around his neck and gave him a very affectionate kiss.
"Oh – you certainly touched me, darling and you touched me in a way nobody has ever done before."
On his way out, Frank turned around and watched the kissing couple. His anger disappeared and his face muscles relaxed. "Good luck, Margaret" he said to himself, knowing that he had lost her for good and that his love for Margaret would never die.
Suddenly Hawkeye and Margaret were interrupted by a nurse handing a note to Margaret.
"Arh – not today. I'm sorry, honey. I have to stay for a meeting this evening." she said sadly to Hawkeye.
"It's ok Margaret..it's a part of your job and we both knew, it would be this way."
Portland, hospital, main meeting room, evening
Margaret stepped into the main meeting room.
"SURPRISE!"
The light went on and Margaret saw all her colleagues from her department. Everything had been decorated in green colours. They were all wearing green clothes and they had all dyed their hair green. Then Margaret spotted Daniel and Karen, also with green hair. Margaret pointed at them, laughing aloud. A few nurses grabbed her and placed her on a chair in the middle of the room.
"Margaret. We just want you to fit in with the rest of us."
"Oh – yes, I want green hair too" shouted Margaret as she voluntarily sat down on the chair.
"…but we need a specialist to take care of you.."
Hawkeye stepped forward in green overalls, green rubber gloves and with green hair. Margaret saw Hawkeye and this was the first time Margaret wept for joy that evening. He sat down behind her and dyed her hair while her colleagues gave her something to eat and a few drinks.
A little while later, Hawkeye stood before Margaret and he had a little box in his hands.
"Margaret, you asked me, if you had wasted your time in the army. I don't know. I wasn't around you all the time, but I know somebody who was. I contacted Lorraine and she contacted Kellye in Honolulu. It turns out that Kellye kept a complete record of everyone she worked with at the 4077? I asked Kellye, to send her list to everybody on the list asking them if they would like to send you a postcard. And they did. This box contains all those postcards."
Hawkeye handed the box to Margaret, kissed her on the cheek and that was the second time Margaret wept for joy that evening.
The music started playing.
"May I have this dance? " asked Hawkeye in his best manners.
Margaret jumped out of the chair and into Hawkeye's arms. It was a slow dance and soon Margaret had her arms around his neck, constantly caressing it.
"Hawk..." said Margaret in her most sincere voice.
"Hmm, yes darling."
"Will you marry me?"