Chapter 3:

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I do not own M*A*S*H. To say that I do would probably qualify me for a section 8 discharge (in other words, I'd be crazy to do so).

It had been two days since Peg and Erin had taken the train to the East Coast to stay with Sally Farber. Sally had been Peg's best friend since elementary school. Although both Peg and Sally had grown up in Oklahoma, they had moved around a lot in their adult years. Sally currently lived on the east coast, which made it hard for them to see each other regularly. However, they had still managed to keep in touch and tried to see each other as often as possible. Peg had not visited Sally since B.J. had left for Korea, but she had talked to her on the phone almost as often as she had written B.J. Sally was the one person besides B.J. that Peg felt like she could share everything with. But for the first few days Peg stayed with Sally, she said nothing about what had happened with B.J. The topic was simply too painful to discuss. Eventually, Sally decided that it was time to make Peg spill the beans.

"Alright, Peggy." Sally said as the two of them sat down after they had put Erin to bed. "You've been staying here for two days, but have been quiet as a mouse. It's time to talk about what happened."

"What do you mean?" Peg asked, pretending to not know what her friend was talking about.

"I mean you need to tell me why you're here." Sally replied. "You haven't called me in the last few months, and suddenly you call me out of the blue crying and asking to stay with me. You can't just act like nothing is going on."

"Ok, fine. The night I called you…B.J. and I had a really bad fight."

"You and B.J. had a fight?" her friend asked, confused by the statement. "You do mean B.J. Hunnicutt, right? I mean, we are talking about Mr. Perfect friend, lover, husband, and father, right?" Sally's words were not sarcastic: after all, she had known B.J. for years because he, Sally, and Peg had all grown up together. She realized just how much B.J. and Peg loved each other, and understood how rare a fight was for the two of them. "It must have been a really bad fight for you to call me."

"Well, it's not just that one fight." Peg said slowly. "I mean, ever since he returned from Korea, he's checked out of life. He doesn't interact with Erin or me. All he ever does when we're home is spend time alone in his room. Unless he's angry." As she spoke this, Peg's eyes started to well up a bit.

"Angry?" Sally asked with a perplexed look. "B.J. never gets angry…does he?"

"Not before Korea." Peg answered sadly. "But lately he gets irritated over the littlest things. I know part of it has to be the fact that he hasn't been able to find a job. But sometimes his mood goes beyond irritation. The other day he became extremely angry because I had been looking through a box of his old stuff from when he was overseas. He blew up at me, and I guess I blew up at him too…but the next thing I know, he had reached out to slap me across the face. He almost hit me, Sally."

Sally's mouth hung open. For a second, all she could do was stare while she tried to process what Peg had said. Finally, she stood up and started to pace.

"B.J. almost hit you…" she said slowly. "If anybody else told me that, I would call them a liar. I mean, B.J.'s one of the most gentle people I've ever known; especially with you."

"I know." Peg said as she started to cry. "It's like I don't even know him anymore. He's been a different person ever since he came back from Korea."

"Wow." Sally answered. "I remember the days when it was you, me, and B.J. playing tag and hide-and-seek in the streets." Since Sally had grown up with B.J. and Peg in Oklahoma, she was like a sister to both of them. "I never thought it would end up like this."

"I know." Peg said with a sad smile as she started to reminisce about the days gone by. "I remember when we were in the second grade, and he told me point-blank that one day he was going to marry me."

"Yeah." Sally replied with a laugh. "You told him that he was being ridiculous, and that there was no way that would ever happen. But I knew it would. I remember how he used to look at you. He always loved you, even back then."

"I remember you telling me that back then. And then once I started middle school, I realized you were right. I developed such a huge crush on him while I was in junior high. But by then, I thought for sure his feelings for me had changed."

"B.J. Hunnicutt forget about you?" Sally asked sarcastically. "Yeah right. I remember him asking you to go steady with him the first day that you started high school."

"Yeah…" Peg said with a dreamy smile. "He said that he had never stopped loving me, and that he had only waited so long to ask me so that I would be old enough to date. Of course, my parents had wanted me to wait to start dating until I was 16. But since it was B.J., they made an exception."

"I'm glad they did, because you two were the most precious couple." Sally said with a giggle. "I remember how you two would always walk through the halls holding hands, and how he would always take you out on Friday night at the end of the week. Remember how you used to show me the love letters he wrote you? And you two were the most adorable couple at the prom.

"Yeah, it was great. All of it was like a dream come true. And the best part was, through it all he was still my best friend; besides you, of course. It was all great…until I had to move away."

"That was a difficult time." Sally said quietly. "I remember when you left. I don't know who was more broken-hearted, you or him. I honestly didn't think the two of you would survive without each other. Especially since you broke it off with him right before you left."

"I only did that because I didn't want to cause him more trouble." Peg replied, trying to defend her actions. "At that point, he had his heart set on going to medical school. I realized how much work that would take, and I thought that the last thing he needed was a long distance relationship to distract him. That's why I told him not to call me or write me. It was the hardest thing I ever did…besides watching him leave for Korea, of course."

"Of course." Sally replied. "I remember how broken hearted he was. B.J. and I still hung out a lot after you left, and he confided in me that he thought he'd never love another woman again. He said that you were the only girl for him, and since he couldn't be with you he figured his life's mission was to put all of his effort into being a doctor."

"That determination probably helped him do well enough to get accepted into medical school." Peg interjected.

"Maybe, but he was smart enough either way." Sally answered honestly. "Anyway, I remember telling him that he was being stupid, and that he shouldn't give up on finding love. But in my heart I wondered if maybe he was right. After all, I've never seen a couple like the two of you. And the chances that he would ever run into you again seemed so small."

"I know. Truth be told, I never thought I would see him again either. I tried to forget him, but I just couldn't. And it wasn't until a few years later that I ran into him again, remember? It was when I was working at Stanford as a secretary."

"That's right!" Sally said excitedly. "You were working in the office typing up acceptance letters for the medical students, and you saw B.J.'s name on the list. I remember you called me from your office because you were so excited but you didn't know what to do."

"Yeah, and you told me that I needed to find him. So I quickly typed up the acceptance letter, took the rest of the day off of work, and drove up to Mill Valley to deliver it to him myself. I still remember that moment like it was yesterday. I rang the doorbell to his apartment, but at first it didn't seem like he was home. I waited for a minute, then turned around to leave. But as I was walking away, I heard the door open and turned back to look at him. At first I thought he didn't recognize me, and I was just about to just hand him the letter and leave, but then he realized who I was. And he ran to me, and held me in his arms, and we both cried. I told him how I'd found him and gave him the acceptance letter and congratulated him. I also told him how ridiculous I'd been for breaking up with him, and apologized for hurting him. And he said he forgave me and told me we would never be separated again."

"And he was right." Sally said with an excited grin.

"Yeah, because at that moment he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him." Peg replied with a dreamy look in her eyes. "He said that he had let me go once, but that he couldn't and shouldn't do it again. He told me that when he'd said he planned on marrying me one day back in the second grade, he truly meant it."

"Didn't you sort of resist at first?" Sally asked, trying to remember the whole story.

"I did." Peg replied honestly. "I told him that I wasn't sure we should get married right away, since he was starting medical school and we hadn't seen each other in years. And he told me that if I wanted to, we'd date for a while, but we'd stay engaged. And he promised to get a ring as soon as he could afford one. Then he asked me again. He said 'But if we date for a while, and you realize that we are as madly in love as I know we are, then will you marry me?' And I said yes."

"As I said, you two were made for each other." Sally said with a smile. "First you were friends forever and lovers while you were young. Then you found each other in the rarest of circumstances and were engaged. You fell in love all over again, got married while B.J. was in medical school, and had the most adorable daughter while he was doing his residency. It was all perfect."

"Yeah it was, until the ridiculous war came along." Peg said with a sigh. "And our wonderful past makes what is happening now even harder. B.J. doesn't seem like the same man that he was. I don't know what is going on."

Sally thought for a moment, and then spoke. "Well, if it were any other man, I would tell you to leave them, because you deserve better. But I don't think you'll find a better man than B.J. And like you said, I don't think that this is him. Something may have happened in Korea that is causing him to act like he is. We have to give him the benefit of the doubt.

"I've tried so hard to do that." Peg said, clearly crushed by the situation. "No matter what I do, nothing improves. I just don't know how to reach the B.J. I know and love. Meanwhile, I've been starting to support the family all on my own, all while not being in such great shape myself. I've had to go out and work full time, and I've been feeling really sick since shortly after he got back."

"Sick?" Sally said hesitantly. "Do you know what's wrong?"

"No, I figured it's just stress, but now I'm not too sure." Peg answered wearily. "To be honest, I haven't had time to deal with it. I've just had to power through. And now, with B.J. almost hitting me, I'm lost. What do I do? I want to help him, but what if he hurts me? Or worse, what if he hurts Erin?"

"I never would have thought we would be having this conversation about B.J." Sally said with a sigh. "But since we are, he's what you need to do. You need to stay with B.J. But first you need to take care of yourself. Only then will you be able to hopefully get B.J. the help he needs. What you've told me seems so out of character for B.J. That makes me think that something may really be wrong, and that it may be because of the time he spent in Korea."

"Stupid war." Peg muttered to herself. "Ok, I'll do my best. But how do I take care of myself?"

"I have an idea." Sally said with a nod. "You know how ever since I moved out here to Maine, I've had a hard time finding a long-lasting job? Well, a few months ago, I got a job working for a local doctor. He's a great doctor, and I think it would really help you to see him, especially since you've mentioned feeling sick. That way, you can find out if there is anything really wrong with you. Also, a few days ago he mentioned to me that he had some wartime experience. You might be able to talk to him about what's been going on with B.J."

Peg liked her idea, except for one part. "I'll go see him, but I don't want to talk to him about B.J. Reliving this story with you was painful enough. I don't think I could do it again, especially with a stranger."

"Fair enough. So should I go ahead and make an appointment for you when I go in tomorrow? Since you know I'm going to anyway."

"I suppose." Peg answered reluctantly. "But don't put me down as Mrs. Hunnicutt. This visit is just about me and my health, so put me down by my maiden name, ok?"

"If you insist, Miss Hayden" Sally said with an eye roll. "This way, the law can't hunt you down."

"Sally, you always were the sarcastic one." Peg said with a bit of a giggle.

"I try." Sally answered as she grinned. Then, she reached over and hugged Peg. "In all seriousness, though, I'm so sorry. I still can't believe this is happening."

"I know, I can't believe it either." Peg answered wearily. "Anyway, I'm heading to bed…if I can even sleep."

"Try and sleep, Peggy." Sally told her. "You know you need to. And you know I'm here if you need anything."

"Ok." Peg answered with an exhausted sigh. The two best friends parted to head for bed, each one unsure of what the following days would bring.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello readers! After reading this, you probably realize that 1) I am a hopeless romantic and 2) B.J. and Peg are one of my favorite fictional couples. I really wanted to give B.J. and Peg a solid backstory, and I hope you have enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. This chapter references the episode "The Colonel's Horse" (S5, E11). In this episode, we learn that Peg's father (Floyd Hayden) is living in Oklahoma. That is why I wrote about Peg growing up in Oklahoma and why I said her maiden name is Hayden. Thank you so much for all of the positive reviews so far: they make me smile and encourage me to continue working on the story. This chapter showed Peg's perspective, so in the next chapter we get to see B.J.'s perspective. Until then, thanks for reading! Please review with any compliments, constructive criticisms, or questions you may have.

Additional note: When you post reviews, please be sure not to spoil anything by stating where you think the plot is going. If you want to, you can send me a PM about it, and I will be happy to chat with you about it. Thanks! :