Portland, hospital, main meeting room, October 1953, Friday evening
Hawkeye had actually not thought about asking Margaret to marry him. Not because he didn't want to marry her, but marriage was just not high on his list. He already knew he wanted to be with her forever and that Margaret loved him. Everything was perfect. No need to change anything.

That was Hawkeye's view on marriage when he woke up this morning, but now he held this magnificent woman in his arms. Her parents had divorced and her own marital ordeals had ended in failure. This magnificent woman had just asked him to marry her and of course Hawkeye answered …

"Yes, Margaret. Yes, I will."

As soon as Hawkeye and Margaret started to dance, the dance floor was quickly crowded with other dancing couples, but the cute green couple stopped dancing after a few seconds and shared a deep, relaxed kiss lasting several minutes. His cheeks got wet from her tears. It was the third time Margaret wept for joy that evening .

Later that night Hawkeye and Margaret decided to have a small and intimate wedding. Margaret only had one big wish for her wedding. That her father would be giving her away.

Pierce residence, November 1953, waiting room
It was a windy day and Mrs. Miller arrived at the Pierce residence with her 5 year old son, Robert. She stood in the waiting room and when Hawkeye spotted her son with his hood and scarf tight around his head and neck he rushed into the room and almost tore Robert away from his mother.

"This is much too tight. He can't breathe in there." said Hawkeye in a hard voice. Hawkeye took a deep breath and pulled himself together. He smiled at the startled boy and loosened the scarf. Hawkeye took the bowl with candy.

"This is much better. You'll be fine now. This one looks fine." said Hawkeye pointing at a large piece of candy. The candy made Robert forget about the somewhat rough treatment.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Miller. I guess, I overreacted."

"Eh…yes eh..ok ..maybe it was a little too tight."

Pierce residence, same day, late afternoon
Margaret arrived in the sedan just when Karen was about to leave for today.

"Hi Margaret. Daniel is on a house call in the Land Rover, but Hawkeye went for a walk. He looked worried."

"Thank you, Karen. I know where he is. See ya."

Margaret went to the cliff and she soon found Hawkeye in his favourite spot. She went to him and embraced him affectionately from behind.

"I scolded a 5 year old boy today." he said. She turned him around. He had tears in his eyes. "I love children…and here I am, hurting them instead." She took both his hands.

"Listen, darling. I've seen you with children several times over the last few months. You're being overprotective and that's perfectly understandable, but I can easily see how much children means to you and I know you could never harm one."

"You're not afraid that I might..eh ..do something bad.."

"No, I am not and I can tell you why. It's because you are aware of it and you talk about it. I prefer an overprotective father for our children rather than a careless one." She stroked his cheek gently.

"Our children…" said Hawkeye

"Yes, darling…or at least one….I'm pregnant."

"Whaat!" He caressed her stomach. You mean, there' s a little us in there?" he said with an affectionate smile on his face as he saw the tears in her eyes.

"Mmm – and I'm very happy." she said nodding and smiling through her tears.

"…and I'm so happy you're the mother. Let's go home, honey. I can't wait to tell dad." he said hugging her again.

"Oh – but he already knows."

"He does?"

"Of course. He's my personal physician."

"I thought, I was your personal physician."

"…and I thought, you of all people, would want the most experienced doctor for your wife." said Margaret teasingly

"Margaret, you're not only magnificent. You're also pretty smart." said Hawkeye with the cutest of smiles as he took her hand and they walked back home.

Korea, Mash 4077, 1951
A nearby village had just been shelled, and a school had been hit. In post-op there was a child in every bed. Hawkeye made them all laugh wearing flippers and Groucho Marx glasses. The door to the O.R. opened and a Korean mother stepped into post-op with a dead baby in her arms. Hawkeye wanted to comfort the mother and walked towards her, but his flippers made him struggle to keep his balance. Now, she grabbed his hand to support him and she squeezed it as if she was comforting him. Then Hawkeye woke up.

Pierce residence, November 1953, same night, 4.30 AM
Margaret was holding his hand and the first he saw was her loving smile. She stroked his cheek and lay down on her stomach. Hawkeye put his hand on her back and let it slide up to her neck under her hair. With affection, he let his hand slide down her spine to her still cute little behind and back up again to her neck. Over and over again. It made them both relax.

"I killed her baby. Why wasn't she mad at me?" he said with tears in his eyes.

Margaret knew exactly what Hawkeye was talking about.

"Darling, I was in that bus too, you know. Her baby was crying and the north Koreans were nearby. If you had not told her to quiet down her baby, one of us would have told her. It could just as well have been me, but you were the first one to react. She wasn't mad at you. In fact, none of the Koreans were mad at you. They didn't blame you."

"She didn't blame me, but I do. Why can't I stop blaming myself when she can?"

"I don't blame you either..if it means anything to you. " He looked at her with a warm smile showing her that it meant everything to him.

He continued to stroke her back, but suddenly Margaret was on top of him pressing his shoulders down and kissing him deeply. Hawkeye responded so fast that she felt he had anticipated her move.

"Mmmhh, darling…what did you just do to me…?" she asked after another juicy kiss.

"Eh…me…I was just stroking your back.." said Hawkeye quickly kissing her again but now she wanted to know if it was something she imagined.

"Hawk, promise me not to laugh, but do you sometimes touch me differently when you stroke my back? It's like your hand has two modes, you know."

"Oh – I thought you had two modes, honey."

"Yes….yes… It must be me…I was just wondering…" she said and started to kiss him passionately all over his body.

Portland, hospital, November 1953, 2 days later
Nurse Jean Casey had worked at the hospital for less than a week in the same department where Margaret was the head nurse. Jean was a little taller than Margaret and she had long natural red hair with curls. She had a curvy body and was always dressed in a provocative outfit. Jean was an ambitious woman and she had already made plans for her career. She wanted to become the head nurse in her department and she quickly noticed that only Margaret was in her way.

Portland, hospital, Frank's office
Jean stepped into his office, turned around and locked the door, making sure that Frank noticed it. She spoke to Frank in a rather intimate voice…

"Hi Frank. I think, you and I should work very very close together. This way, we could both achieve what we really want. I've been watching you since I got here. I can see that you're a born leader."

Frank immediately got his self-assured attitude back.

"Well, I've heard that before, you know. I was with a Mash unit in Korea and it would have been total chaos without my leadership. I really should be in the senior management of this hospital."

"Why stop there? The management of this hospital lacks order and discipline. This hospital needs a firm leader. You!"

"Me…do you really think I could?"

"Yes..ehm…rumours tell me that things are not running smoothly between you and your wife."

"Ah Louise…she has no respect for order. I want washcloths and towels sorted according to colour and pattern, but she totally ignore my wishes."

"I know how it is. My husband doesn't understand me, you see. That makes it very hard for me to resist you, when you look so manly behind your desk." said Jean and turned her back to him to act embarrassed and it worked.

Frank embraced Jean from behind and kissed her neck.

"Oh Jean – I really like the way your ears stick out from your hair."

"Oh Frank – you certainly know how to compliment a woman." she turned around and kissed him passionately. "Eh…what happened to your lips?" she asked puzzled.

"Well…ehm…"

"Frank, why don't you go to the linen room and wait for me there. Make it a little cozy. I just want to groom myself… just for you, my dear."

When Frank had left the office, Jean walked to the files with the requisitions. She snatched the one from Margaret, tore it apart and threw it in the trash.

Pierce residence, November 1953, same evening
"Honey, those postcards really made me happy and from the list Kellye made we know how to contact everyone from the 4077. I can see that Klinger as well as father Mulcahy have returned from Korea. I wonder why Peg wrote the postcard, though." said Margaret.

"Yeah – me too. I think I'm gonna call BJ, right away."

Hawkeye picked up the phone.

"Eh..this is Peg."

"Hi Peg, this is Hawkeye."

"Oh my god, Hawkeye. It's so good to hear from you." said Peg with a big sigh of relief.

"How are you folks doing over there?" said Hawkeye wondering about her desperate voice.

"Hawkeye…I need you..…" He could hear Erin call for her mother in the background..

"I'm very sorry, Hawkeye.." said Peg in an unhappy voice and the line went dead.

He tried to call BJ the following days but no one answered the phone.

Pierce residence, November 1953, Sunday morning
Every Sunday morning Margaret and Hawkeye would get up early and watch the sunrise unless the weather was bad and the wind head on. From the porch swing they had a beautiful view to the coast and the ocean.

This particular morning Hawkeye went down on his knee.

"I thought, it would be appropriate to get some rings. I mean, we are kinda engaged. Oh – and I do recall how difficult it can be with long inscriptions and so I went for a more simple inscription."

Her ring had 5 small stones in a row not wider than the band itself. A rather feminine ring. His ring was gold. Margaret already had tears in her eyes when she saw the rings, but reading the inscription somehow only added to her tears. The inscription simply said: "HM ever".

"Oh- honey, they are so beautiful." she said and gave him a soft kiss. Hawkeye could sense her lips trembling a little. It instantly made him put his arm around her neck kissing her with such passion that her trembling spread to her body sending shivers down her spine.

They sat in the porch swing enjoying the sunrise and each other.

"Hawk, I thought I would miss the army and being a Major, but I haven't. Not for a single day. Do you miss surgery?"

"No, actually not. When we left Korea, I was burnt out and I didn't want surgery to be something I would hate or be bad at. I love being a doctor more than being a surgeon, but I couldn't have made this transition without you, Margaret."

"Don't underestimate yourself, darling. I think your pretty magnificent and smart too."

"You can't say that. We've only been together for a few months, but we already sound like an old couple repeating each other all the time." said Hawkeye teasingly.

"Yeah, we can't have that. People might jump to the conclusion we like each other.." said Margaret without realizing what she actually said.

"Margaret, you made a joke. I still remember the one you made last year about the sulfa. " said Hawkeye laughing.

"I did…yes I did…didn't I.?." said Margaret giggling. "You better watch out, Buster. Before you know it, I'll be cracking jokes at the same rate you are."

"Two in a row, Margaret" said Hawkeye and now they were both laughing aloud."

At that moment Daniel stepped forward with a camera and took a photo of them where Hawkeye was looking at Margaret with his crooked smile and Margaret was laughing. It quickly became Daniel's favourite photo of the two. He framed it and placed it on his night table.

Pierce residence, 2 days later
Daniel was in the private practice with a patient. Margaret was on her way home from work and Hawkeye was in the kitchen preparing supper. He sat by the small dining table with his coffee when Carlye suddenly stood in the kitchen with a carrycot.

"Carlye, what a nice surprise." said Hawkeye with a big smile, but before he could react, Carlye sat down on his lap and kissed him with all her love. "Hawkeye, she's our daughter."

Author's note:
In this chapter I refer to a favourite HM fanfic with the title "She Misses Him on Sundays the Most."