A year and a half later Erin turned 18. BJ and Hawkeye threw a surprise birthday party for Erin, inviting all her friends. Erin was delighted and had a wonderful time.
The following night Erin's birthday was celebrated privately at the house with the 3 of them and Daniel. They had a home-cooked meal courtesy of Hawkeye. Daniel gave her a diamond bracelet and from Hawkeye and BJ she got the matching necklace and earrings. She hugged them all in turn.
"Thank-you, these are absolutely beautiful!" she exclaimed, tears in her eyes. "I can't wait to wear them."
"Well, I think I'm going to head out." Daniel said, standing up from the dining room table.
"Hold on, dad. I have one more gift for Erin." Hawkeye said. "I'll go get it, I'll be right back." he left the dining room, his footsteps echoing on the stairs.
Daniel sat back down. He looked over at BJ who just shook his head, a bewildered look on his face.
Hawkeye returned a minute later, placing a sealed envelope in Erin's hand before sitting back down at the table next to BJ.
Erin turned it over in her hands. It was a tad bulky and slightly yellowed around the edges from age. She turned it over and opened it, pulling out the thick papers and opening them. She started to read silently. She didn't get very far. "Daddy Hawk?"
"There's a section that applies to you. Go ahead and read it out loud." Hawkeye smiled reassuringly.
Erin began to read aloud. "I, Benjamin Franklin Pierce, being of sound mind and endangered body bequeath this to be my last will and testament. I leave all my worldly possessions to my father with the exception of the following . . . "
"Hawkeye!"
"Ben?"
BJ's and Daniel's voices overlapped as they both looked worriedly at Hawkeye.
"I'm fine, don't worry. I wrote this when I was still in Korea. There's a section in here for Erin. I think she's old enough now to understand." Hawkeye smiled, putting their fears to rest. "Erin, read the last section on the back of the first page."
Erin nodded. Finding the section she began to read. "To Erin Hunnicutt, I leave a list of all the young men your daddy took care of while he was in Korea. Many of them have him to thank for being alive today. I want you to understand why he had to be away from you those first years of your life. I hope I have the chance to give you this list in person, but around here you never know."
Erin silently looked through the accompanying pages – 9 in total – covered front and back containing the names of all the young men her dad had treated while in Korea. She stared in amazement at all the names listed on the pages. She knew her dad was drafted as a surgeon but she had never before thought about just how many young men her dad had operated on. "Dad treated all of these men?" she asked in disbelief.
Hawkeye nodded silently. Erin stood up walked over to Hawkeye, giving him a long, emotional hug. She stepped back after several long minutes, giving him a kiss on the check. "This is the greatest gift you ever could have given me, thank you."
Hawkeye smiled and brushed the tears from her eyes. "I'm glad I got to be here to give it to you."
BJ reached across for the papers and started reading the names. He was surprised after 16 years just how many of the names he recognized. "Hawk when did you write this?" he asked.
"Charles and I were playing chess in the Swamp one afternoon when Potter came in. Battalion Aid was short a surgeon and needed help right away so I was sent to go help out."
BJ frowned. "I don't remember . . . when did this happen and where was I?"
"This was several months before the war ended. You had left to go into Seoul for a few hours."
"I went to Seoul? Why?" BJ asked aloud. Then it hit him. He flinched – he still felt guilty that Hawkeye had to go in his place – and all because he was getting a damn haircut.
"Ben? You didn't tell me about this." Daniel said, a question in the somber tone of his voice.
Hawkeye sighed. He hadn't meant to bring up bad memories. "BJ had gone into Seoul for a haircut when the request came in for a surgeon at Battallion Aid. I drove up to the front to help with the casualties. We were getting bombed pretty heavily and I was worried about getting out of there alive so during breaks in casualties I started writing my will. I couldn't figure out what to leave to BJ – that part of my will was unfinished when I got the news I could return back to the Mash. When I got back to the Swamp and saw BJ's picture of Erin next to his bed I knew what I wanted to do. So I went to Potter's office and made a list of every patient Beej had operated on and continued to update it until the war ended."
"Why didn't you ever tell me?" Daniel asked him.
"Or tell me?" BJ asked.
Hawkeye shrugged and looked at his dad. "Army incompetence had already declared me dead once - I didn't want to worry you any more than you already were." He turned to BJ. "And you were still blaming yourself that I went in your place. Now this is a party – where's the cake?"
Hawkeye lightened the mood by causing a food fight with the birthday cake. He got Erin by sneaking up behind her and smearing icing on her face. She returned the favor by smashing cake in his hair. Hawkeye tackled her to the floor tickling her as she lay helplessly giggling. BJ tried to exact revenge on Hawk for starting the fight to begin with but Hawk saw him coming out of the corner of his eye and stuck his foot out. BJ tripped and ended up on the floor, the cake meant for Hawkeye oozing through his fingers as he hit the floor with both hands out to break his fall.
BJ quickly rolled over onto Hawkeye's legs, pinning them to the floor. Hawkeye ended his tickling torture of Erin to roll over on his back, kicking his legs trying to dislodge BJ. Erin, seeing her opportunity, grabbed a small bit of cake and ran it over Hawkeye's face. He spluttered, licking at the cake covering his mouth.
"Dad, help! They're ganging up on me!" he cried out.
Daniel laughed. "Well son from where I'm sitting you deserved it. I seem to recall you were the one who started this to begin with!"
"That's it!" Hawkeye exclaimed. He wiped the remaining cake off his face with his hands and with a leer to BJ slid them up under BJ's shirt rubbing it into his chest. Before BJ had a chance to retaliate Hawkeye slid his hands back down to BJ's side and tickled him. BJ fell back onto his back on the floor, laughing. With no more cake left the food fight finally drew to an end. BJ, Hawkeye, and Erin set about cleaning up the mess while Daniel supervised with a grin.
Twenty minutes later Daniel had left. Erin wandered off to her bedroom happy but tired. Hawkeye went upstairs and after finishing the dishes – it was the unspoken rule that one cooked and the other cleaned up after – BJ also went upstairs to the bedroom he shared with Hawkeye, closing the bedroom door behind him. He pulled off his shirt and stared down at the remains of the icing on his chest. He'd washed off most of it but he was still a little sticky and wanted a shower.
Not seeing Hawkeye he started walking towards their bathroom, the sound of running water getting louder as he approached. Hawkeye was in the shower. "What perfect timing." BJ thought to himself and grinned. He removed his remaining clothes and quietly opened the shower door, stepping inside.
Hawkeye was standing in the shower, his back to the shower door as he enjoyed the warm water cascading down his body. He felt a draft and turned around, watching BJ as he stepped into the shower and closed the door behind him.
BJ moved further into the shower, backing Hawkeye up until they were both under the warm spray of water. He reached around Hawkeye for the bar of soap and leaned down slowly running the soap over one leg than the other before standing up. He moved on to his neck and shoulders, lathering lightly before sliding the soap down over his chest and stomach lathering himself up as he watched Hawkeye who was following the movement of his hand.
BJ moved slightly, lifting the bar of soap off his chest and moving it to Hawkeye's left shoulder rubbing gently before moving to his right shoulder giving it the same treatment. He slowly moved the bar of soap over his neck and slowly down Hawkeye's chest and over his stomach.
BJ leaned in, placing light kisses on Hawkeye's shoulder then kissing along his neck over his adam's apple to the opposite shoulder to give it the same attention. BJ's hands slowly caressed down Hawkeye's arms and neither noticed when the bar of soap slid forgotten to the tiled floor. BJ pushed Hawk's arms back against the shower wall as his lips slowly traveled down to Hawk's nipple kissing it lightly before licking at it with his tongue. His teeth bit gently on the hard nub before his kissed his way across Hawk's chest to the opposite nipple giving it the same attention. He smiled inwardly when he heard Hawkeye gasp.
BJ kneeled as his lips traveled slowly down, his tongue delving into Hawk's belly button. When Hawk tried to pull his hands loose from BJ, BJ held them tighter as he slowly took Hawkeye's erection into his mouth, licking and suckling him in turn.
"Beej . . ." Hawkeye mumbled huskily and swallowed, watching his lover on his knees in front of him, pleasuring him. Hawkeye moaned, his head falling back against the shower wall, his eyes closing in pleasure. BJ alternately licked and sucked, enjoying the moans coming from Hawkeye. BJ brought Hawk to the edge again before pulling back and standing up, finally releasing Hawk's hands.
Hawkeye slowly opened his eyes, meeting BJ's. BJ kissed him passionately, his hands tightly gripping Hawk's waist. Hawkeye returned the kiss as his hands stroked over BJ's chest. Tongues touched and explored hotly. Finally coming up for air, Hawkeye rested his forehead against BJ's as his hand wandered down to wrap around BJ's arousal, stroking him.
"I want you, Hawk." BJ murmured huskily.
Hawkeye gave BJ a few more strokes as he kissed him then pulled away. Hawk turned his back to BJ as BJ stepped up close behind him. BJ ran his hands down the front of Hawk's chest stroking lightly before sliding down to Hawk's waist, nibbling the back of Hawk's neck as he slowly thrust forward.
Hawkeye groaned, his hands flat on the shower wall in front of him as he leaned over. The water – barely even warm now – continued to pelt his back as BJ moved behind him. BJ's movements were slow and deep, the pleasure building and building. BJ's right hand left Hawk's hip to slide around, wrapping warmly around Hawk. Unable to hold out any longer, Hawk's release hit him like a tidal wave as he moaned out his pleasure. BJ's release hit him soon after. It took a monumental effort from both of them not to collapse to the tiled floor.
Long minutes later Hawk finally turned off the water and they stepped out of the shower, haphazardly drying off. Hawk followed BJ to bed, climbing in beside him and giving him a lingering kiss.
"I love you, Beej."
"Love you, Hawk."
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Two and a half years later Sherman Potter died quietly in his sleep. The Mash gang all came together to attend the funeral services of their beloved colonel.
A few months after Sherman passed away, Hawkeye's father Daniel passed away. Daniel was out fishing when a fluke storm came up, capsizing his boat. He drowned in the storm. His body washed up on shore 3 days later. It was rough for Hawkeye – he and his father had always been close. He felt like he'd lost not one but two fathers. Hawkeye struggled greatly that year but after a few well-placed calls to Sidney and BJ's unwavering support he slowly recovered.
Four years later Sidney was killed by a Vietnam vet he was treating. The vet came with a gun and started shooting. Luckily his gun jammed before he was able to do too much damage. Two people still lost their lives that day, Sidney being one of them.
Father Mulcahay passed away in 1978 after a brief battle with cancer.
In 1985 Winchester and his wife were killed in an automobile accident. They were hit by a drunk driver on their way home from the Boston Symphony. The kid who hit them was 17 and had just left a party minutes before he ran a red light and crashed into them.
tbc