CH15: Good News
Candace moaned softly as her eyes fluttered open. She registered herself as being in post-op and that her side hurt.
"Doctor…Doctor look," Nurse Kelly whispered hurrying over to BJ. BJ looked up from redressing a wound and grinned.
"Hang tight Kelly I'm going to go get the kids," he winked hurrying out of the hospital.
BJ ran into the shower where Hawkeye was busy getting rid of his layer of Korea.
"Don't you knock?" Hawkeye growled.
"Candace is awake! Where's Margaret?" BJ asked.
"In her tent," Hawkeye stated quickly turning off the water and throwing on his clothes. He and BJ both ran across the compounded and pounded on Margaret's door.
"What is it?" she asked opening it slightly.
"She's up," Hawkeye exclaimed grabbing her hand and pulling her to post-op shouting excitedly.
The three adults burst into the hospital ward and saw Candace's head turn toward them and smile. The biggest smiles spread across Houlihan and Pierce's faces as they hurried over to the cot.
"Hey sweetie how ya feeling?" Margaret asked brushing the girl's hair back.
"It hurts a little," she said softly.
"BJ can we get her some pain meds?" Hawkeye asked as he and Margaret sat on either side of the end of the cot.
"Yeah sure," BJ nodded going over to Kelly.
"Did anyone else get hurt? I tried to get away Captain honestly I did," Candace stated.
"We know you did. They caught Frank sweetie and no one else was hurt. I'm just sorry we didn't get to you in time," Hawkeye said sadly.
"But you couldn't have known he'd do that to me," Candace frowned.
"Here you go Bradshaw," Kelly smiled feeding Candace a few pills with a sip of water before walking over to another patient.
"Is there going to be a trial?" Candace asked.
"Yes…you'll have to testify in a few days," Margaret stated.
"But on a happier note…Candace we want you to call us mom and dad because we're getting married and we want to adopt you," Hawkeye stated holding Margaret's hand.
Candace looked like she was about to get excited then she stopped and frowned.
"I don't have to leave and go to a relative and wait for you do I?" she asked worried.
"No the army wouldn't let you anyway in its idiotic wisdom. But we still want to be your parents and when we get to go home we'll be a real family," Hawkeye explained.
"Then I like this very much," Candace smiled. The other two smiled as well each giving the girl a kiss before the medicine kicked in and Bradshaw fell asleep.
Two months later Frank was out on a dishonorable discharge and for a psych evaluation that deemed him mentally unstable for military operations.
In Frank's place came Charles Emerson Winchester III a Major and very pompous man who had first been in at Tokyo General and was not condemned to the MASH.
Candace sat on Hawkeye's bed as Winchester unpacked his suitcase and trunk in the Swamp mumbling. Of course even with Frank now gone Candace was never left alone so Hawkeye and BJ were in the swamp playing checkers and drinking their homemade martinis.
"Oh you have Mozart! Do you have Beethoven's 5th?" Candace asked excitedly.
"What would you know about classical tastes?" Charles asked turning.
"She loves that stuff. The Tchaikovsky ballets the most," Hawkeye responded not even looking up.
"Astounding," Charles rolled his eyes.
"Do you play?" Candace asked toying with the curls on her doll.
"Do you?" Charles asked. Candace smiled brightly nodding.
"What do you play?" Charles asked actually interested.
"Um the violin but mostly piano. I play in the officers' club. I'll play for you if you don't want to listen to your records sometimes," Candace smiled sweetly.
"What an interesting child. Imagine a civil mannered person in this sewer," Charles laughed to himself as he finished unpacking.
Later that afternoon Charles wandered into the officers' club for some quiet only to discover noise there. But this noise he could stand. Candace sat at the piano playing the Moonlight Sonata while Hawkeye and Margaret sat in a corner going over several papers. Charles smiled a tiny bit at the child before heading over to the Chief Surgeon and Head Nurse.
"Might one ask what it is you're doing?" Charles stated looking at the papers upside down. For some reason he couldn't help his curiosity.
"Not that it's really any of your business but we're trying to decide where to live after the war," Hawkeye stated.
"We?" Charles blinked.
"Yes my fiancée and I along with our future daughter," Hawkeye stated nodding to Candace.
"I see," Charles nodded and headed over to the bar closer to Candace as he started reading a book he'd brought.
"I really don't like him," Hawkeye frowned.
"As long as he doesn't hurt Candy and is a good surgeon I could careless how he bashes your own ego with his," Margaret stated looking at more brochures.
"That hurts," Hawkeye pouted.
"Ooh I like this one it's my the sea and …it's in Crab Apple Cove!" Margaret gasped reading the address.
"It is?" Hawkeye blinked looking over her shoulder.
"Hey that's the old Nenamacker place. Jeff must have finally sold it," Hawkeye stated.
"Nenamacker?" Margaret asked.
"Really nice shoe store owner and his wife. They died about twelve years ago and it looks like their son is finally going to sale the house. I'll send a letter to dad to grab it for us. Actually the house is just a five minute walk from mine. That'll be nice for when we want some time alone to send the kids over there," he smirked as he leant in nibbling at her ear.
"Ugh Hawk not here," Margaret hissed but cocked her head to the side so he could better access.