Next chapter! Thanks for all your reviews, and I hope none of you are too upset about Margaret.
Hawkeye couldn't wait to see Margaret's face when he took her to the mess tent. He knew that, although she would never admit it, she was very insecure. She needed to be reminded that the people here did genuinely like her, and the planning that had gone into tonight was going to prove that to her once and for all. He hoped, at least.
He knocked on her tent, something that he hadn't done in ages, and waited patiently for her to answer. He wanted to be the perfect gentleman tonight – he had his tux on and everything.
"Just a minute!" Margaret called. Only a few seconds later, she pushed the door open, looking shocked to see him. "Hawkeye!" Hawkeye smiled and looked her over. She was wearing a beautiful silk robe from Tokyo – definitely suitable for a party. He held his arm out to her.
"If the lady would allow me to escort her…?" She smiled back at him, and put her arm through his.
"Where are you escorting me to?" She asked as he shut her door behind her.
"That, my dear, is a surprise." She frowned, and his smile grew. "Don't worry – you'll see in a few minutes." He began walking through the compound very slowly. Although he was certainly looking forward to the party, he wanted some time alone with Margaret first. He stopped when they got to the centre of the MASH unit. Margaret raised her eyebrow.
"Is this where you were taking me?" Hawkeye grinned.
"This is just for starters." He took both her hands in his, instantly becoming serious. "Margaret…you have to go back to the States soon…and I can't stand the idea of you leaving without knowing how much I love you." Margaret smiled up at him. He removed one of his hands from hers, sticking it in his pockets, fingering the object he'd put in there earlier.
"I love you too," Margaret responded, standing up on tiptoe so that she could reach to kiss him.
"I know," he replied with a smile. "That's why there's something very important I need to ask you before you leave." He opened his mouth to continue, but the sound of a gun being fired cut across him.
"Hit the dirt!" Hawkeye quickly turned around to see Klinger charging towards him and Margaret. "Get down!" Klinger dived to the ground near them. Hawkeye was about to do the same, when he heard a second shot being fired.
"Margaret!" He yelled. as he watched her fall on her back, a hand pressed against her stomach. Hawkeye dropped to his knees by her side. "Margaret!" He repeated more gently. "Margaret, can you hear me?" He hastily exposed her lower abdomen and replaced her hand with his on the wound to stem the rate of bleeding. Margaret moaned, opening her eyes almost sleepily.
"Hawkeye…it hurts, Hawkeye…" He clasped her hand with his free one.
"I know, sweetheart. You're going to be ok, I promise. It'll be fine." His head snapped round to face the other man. "Klinger, go and get some help!" Klinger shot up from where he'd been lying on the floor and rushed to the Mess tent. Hawkeye's attention returned to Margaret as she made an odd gasping sound.
"Hawkeye, the baby-"
"Is going to be fine," Hawkeye interrupted, trying to force his voice to stay calm. "You're both going to be fine, I promise." Margaret closed her eyes. Hawkeye bit his lip. He hadn't even thought of their child. And considering where the bullet went in- No! He screwed his eyes shut. He wouldn't – couldn't – think like that. "Is anybody coming?!" He yelled across the compound. A couple of seconds later, BJ, Colonel Potter, Charles and several orderlies and nurses appeared.
"Margaret?!"
"What happened?"
"Is she ok?"
Ignoring the panicked voices of his friends and co-workers, Hawkeye spoke coolly over the noise.
"We need to get her on a stretcher!" Two orderlies appeared next to him with exactly that. Together, they lifted Margaret on to it, and then the orderlies rushed her off to pre-op.
"Beej – scrub up. I want you assisting me on this." With that, Hawkeye took off at a run towards the scrub room. BJ looked desperately at Colonel Potter.
"Hawkeye can't do this – look at the state he's in!" Colonel Potter nodded.
"I know." He turned to the man behind him. "Winchester, you and Hunnicutt will do the surgery. I'll talk to Pierce." Charles nodded silently, and the three men ran to the scrub room.
"I thought you were never going to get here!" Hawkeye glared at BJ as he, Charles and Potter entered the room. Both him and Charles headed to the sink. "You know, there's really no need for you and Charles to be here, Colonel. It's not really a four-man thing. But I here Dumas is thinking of writing a sequel, if you're interested." Colonel Potter appraised the other surgeon.
"You're right, it's not. Margaret only needs two doctors: Winchester and Hunnicutt." Hawkeye continued to scrub. "Did you hear me Pierce? I think you should sit this one out." Hawkeye glared at him.
"Colonel, I don't really have time for this. She could be-" He shook his head. "Margaret needs me right now." Colonel Potter frowned.
"Pierce, I am forbidding you from doing this operation. You're too attached. You're not in a fit state to work right now, you know that." Hawkeye slammed his scrub brush down.
"Colonel, I'm not in the mood for this! Margaret is in that room," he pointed towards the OR, "with a bullet inside of her. I am going to get it out of her." BJ appeared at his side, carefully drying his hands.
"Come on, Hawkeye. You know he's right. Come on, me and Charles have got it covered." Hawkeye wheeled around to face him.
"Don't try and stop me, Beej." Hawkeye warned in a low voice before he pushed past him and headed for the OR. Colonel Potter sighed, and nodded to the MPs who had followed them into the scrub room. They stepped forward and grabbed Hawkeye's arms, pulling him back.
"Hey! What the Hell?!" He began trying to pull away. "Get off of me!" Colonel Potter shook his head.
"I'm sorry son, but you know that you cannot perform that operation right now. How about you step into my office, and we'll have a drink?" Hawkeye slumped slightly, defeated. Before the MPs could properly remove him from the room, a gleam of fight returned to his eyes.
"BJ!" BJ turned, just about to enter the OR. He resisted the urge to take a step back at the dangerous look in his friends eyes. "BJ, if you mess this up…if anything happens to her – anything… I'll fucking kill you." BJ swallowed, then nodded grimly. He couldn't be mad at Hawkeye. If he was in his position, and it was Peg on the table… He couldn't even begin to imagine how bad he would be.
Colonel Potter sat down heavily opposite Hawkeye, pouring both of them a generous glass of scotch. Hawkeye took the proffered drink, knocking it back in one go.
"It should be me in there." Colonel Potter shook his head.
"Pierce, I'm not interested in having this argument with you again." He sighed. "Look, Hawkeye, everyone's worried, ok? I'm worried. BJ is worried. Even Winchester is worried." Potter frowned, remembering Hawkeye's words from earlier. "What they definitely don't need right now is death threats." Hawkeye remained silent. "I know you love her, Pierce. The whole camp knows that. But you're going to have to remember that if, God forbid, she doesn't… Well, it won't be Hunnicutt's or Winchester's fault." Hawkeye glared at him.
"And how do you know that, Colonel? Huh? How do you know that if I was in there, she'd have a better chance?" Colonel Potter shook his head again.
"Don't go down that road, son." Hawkeye fell silent again. He leant forward against the desk, resting his head on his hands.
"Oh God…" he whispered. He moved his hands to cover his face, trying to hide the tears he could feel forming in his eyes. "Oh God, what if she's not alright?" Colonel Potter watched quietly as Hawkeye's shoulders began to shake slightly. He took his hands away from his face, and Potter almost flinched at the desperate look in the other man's eyes.
"It'll be ok," Colonel Potter assured him, although they both knew it was an empty promise.
"We had all these plans… I had the perfect house all picked out for us, back in Crabapple Cove…" He took in a sudden, shaky breath. "This is all my fault…" Colonel Potter stood, moving his chair around the desk so that he could sit next to Hawkeye.
"No." He said firmly. "Pierce, this is not your fault. You can't blame yourself. Blame the North Koreans…Blame the army…By all means, blame anybody! But it's not your fault." Hawkeye shook his head rapidly.
"But it is!" He let out a broken sob. "It is! I was going to marry her! I should have protected her!" Hawkeye slumped forward onto the desk again, covering his head with his arms. Colonel Potter gently place a hand on Hawkeye's shoulder.
"How?" He asked softly.
"I could have…jumped in front of her. I-I could've pushed her down, before…" His words were muffled.
"There wasn't time for that, Pierce. This isn't a movie." He didn't think he'd convinced his friend, so instead settled for wrapping an arm around his shoulders as he cried.
Later, the two men were still sat in Colonel Potter's office. Hawkeye had managed to calm down some, leaving them in a companionable, albeit nervous, silence. Hawkeye was looking down at his lap. He was still wearing the tuxedo, he realised. He hadn't even taken the bowtie off. He reached up to loosen it, and noticed some odd marks on his sleeve.
"I have blood on me." He whispered. Colonel Potter nodded, unsure what to say. Abruptly, Hawkeye stood up. "What the hell is taking so long?!" He kicked the chair, knocking it over. Colonel Potter frowned reproachfully, but was too shocked at the sudden outburst to say anything. At that moment, the door swung open, and BJ walked wearily in, still dressed in scrubs, mask dangling around his neck. His face conveyed his message clearly: it wasn't going to be good news.