It had been two days since Peg and Sally's conversation. Peg had taken Sally's advice and was now sitting in the doctor's waiting room. Sally had taken the day off of work so that she could watch Erin while Peg went to the doctor alone. Even though Peg had agreed to Sally's idea about seeing a doctor, she was wondering if she should really be there after all.
"This is ridiculous." she muttered to herself as she was perusing a magazine while waiting for the doctor in the lobby. "Is he really going to be able to help me? He's probably just going to look at me like I'm an idiot and say 'Your nausea and fatigue is a sign of extreme stress.' As if I didn't know that already." Peg's thoughts were interrupted when a young nurse entered the room.
"Miss Hayden?" the nurse called out while looking at a chart.
Peg breathed a sigh of relief. At least Sally had remembered to schedule the appointment under her maiden name. It seemed like such a silly request, but she felt like keeping B.J. out of this as much as possible. The less the doctor knew about her, the better. "That's me."
"You can come on back now." As Peg went back and followed the nurse, she noticed that the clinic seemed to have a soft, homelike atmosphere, unlike a typical doctor's office. The nurse walked Peg back into a small, cozy exam room.
"Make yourself at home." the nurse told her with a smile. "Dr. Pierce will be with you shortly."
Dr. Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce had just finished looking over Peggy Hayden's file. Her symptoms were vague and nondescript: nausea and fatigue. He was certain that he would be able to get to the bottom of them, but that wasn't the current mystery that was puzzling him. What was bothering him was the fact that he swore he recognized her name but he couldn't figure out why.
"I'm sure as soon as I see her I'll recognize her…" he muttered to himself as he walked to her exam room and opened the door.
"Ms. Hayden?" he said with his typical cheeky smile. "I'm Dr. Pierce."
"Nice to meet you." Peg said with a smile that, although friendly, clearly showed she was slightly uncomfortable with being at the doctor's office.
As Hawkeye sat down and got his file in order, he continued to look at Peg. He noticed her slim figure, dainty features, and silky blonde hair. Although seeing her face definitely confirmed the fact that he recognized her, he still had no idea why.
"So Miss Hayden, I see here in your file that you are experiencing some problems with nausea and fatigue."
"Yes, that's correct." Peg confirmed.
"Alright." Hawkeye replied. "Well, I'll start off by asking you a few questions. Then we'll figure out exactly what's going on."
"Ok." Peg replied. "What kind of questions?"
"Oh, simple stuff, really." Hawkeye said, who sensed Peg's nervousness and decided make a joke in an attempt to break the ice. "I'll ask you a few history questions, have you jump through some hoops, maybe even throw in a bit of algebra. Heck, if that's too easy, I can make it more like medical school exams."
Peg smiled and giggled a bit, clearly not expecting a professional (like Dr. Pierce appeared to be) to make a joke.
"Sorry." Hawkeye replied with a cocky smile. "Humor is my greatest tool in my make-believe doctor's kit, though."
"That's fine." Peg said with a smile. "I've got a good sense of humor too. I learned it from my…somebody I know." She had been about to mention B.J., but remembered that she was appearing as a single woman to Dr. Pierce.
"Anyway." Dr. Pierce said. "How long have you been experiencing the nausea and the fatigue?"
"I'd say about a month, month and a half maybe?" Peg replied slowly, trying to figure out exactly how long the symptoms had been going on.
"Ok." Dr. Pierce answered. "Now, tell me a little bit more about what exactly your feeling."
"Feeling…?" Peg asked, who was suddenly afraid that he was asking about her emotional feelings. The last thing she wanted to do was start talking about her problems at home.
"The nausea and vomiting." Hawkeye answered her. "Like, are you throwing up 10 times a day and not sleeping at all, or maybe just unable to eat and just slightly sleepy?"
"Oh, of course." she answered quickly. "Well, mostly I just throw up in the morning, although my nausea seems to persist throughout the day. So I really haven't had much of an appetite. As for my exhaustion, I'm able to sleep at night, but I'm still constantly tired."
"Hmmm…" Hawkeye answered, equally curious about how he knew her and her symptoms. "Ok. Have there been any changes in diet or environment lately?"
"No."
"What about stress levels at home? Symptoms like this sometimes have a psychological cause."
"There's been some…tension at home." Peg admitted, not wanting to go into details. "I feel like the cause is more physical, though.
"Ok." Hawkeye said, seeing the fact that she was uncomfortable discussing her home life. "Now this question might be a bit awkward, but they make me ask it. Are you in any kind of…sexual relationship?"
"Um…no…" Peg answered slowly, not wanting to discuss her relationship with B.J. "No, I'm a single woman."
"Alright. Sorry, I've got to ask. I'm used to getting glares from women when I ask them that. Of course, they're not usually my patients either."
Peg laughed again and shook her head. "You really are a riot, aren't you?"
"I try." Hawkeye replied with a smile. "But in all seriousness, if you feel like your symptoms are purely physical, I'd recommend running some lab work so we can get a more accurate picture. I'll also take a look today and see if I can find anything. But if not, the cause may be psychological. But we can talk about that when we review your lab work at your next appointment, ok?"
"That would be fine." Peg replied. As she did so, she wondered if maybe he was right, and this was all due to stress at home. Either way, she hoped she wouldn't have to delve into her personal problems too much with him. Hawkeye finished his exam, but didn't find anything conclusive. He took blood and urine samples, and was about ready to leave when he decided to ask her if she recognized him.
"Miss Hayden, do you by any chance recognize me. I have the strangest feeling that I recognize you from somewhere, but I can't place where. And quite frankly, it's starting to drive me nuts."
"I suppose you say this to all your female patients." Peg said sarcastically as she looked at him. He laughed, and as he did Peg took a good look at him. He was a young doctor with black hair that was clearly greying, bright eyes, and a charming smile. She felt like she had a faint recollection of his features, but she wasn't quite sure why. "In all seriousness, though, I do feel like I recognize you from somewhere. I don't know why, because I don't think we've ever met before."
"Yeah, I get the same feeling." Hawkeye answered. "You don't know anybody who went to medical school in Boston, do you? Do you live here in Crab Apple Cove?"
"No to both of those." Peg answered. "I've lived on the west coast for several years. I haven't even left to travel for a good couple of years."
"Ahh…" Pierce said slowly. "Well, anyway, I'll phone you when I have your results. Sally mentioned that you're staying with her. Is it alright if I contact you at her number?"
"That'll be fine." Peg said with a smile as Hawkeye got up to leave the room. "Errr – Dr. Pierce?" she asked as he was in the doorway. She had finally gathered up a bit of courage to at least start the discussion about her marital problems with Dr. Pierce.
"Yes?"
"Well…Sally mentioned you had some…wartime experience. What exactly was that like for you?"
Hawkeye contemplated for a moment before responding. "You know the old saying, 'war is hell?' Peg nodded. "That doesn't even begin to cover it. Was that all?"
"Yes." Peg replied. "Thank you Dr. Pierce…I'll be expecting your call."
"Alrighty." Hawkeye said with a bright smile as he left the room. As Peg and Hawkeye parted ways, they both contemplated the same things: Peg's mysterious symptoms and their mysterious recognition of each other.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello again, readers! Thank you so much for continuing to read my stories. I've had several more reviews, PMs, and followers/favorites, which really excites me. You can see that the plot is starting to pick up a bit at this point. The next chapter is definitely one you won't want to miss. Unfortunately, I don't have any references to previous episodes in this chapter (but there will be more in future chapters).
I do have one quick question for all of you. In future chapters, I will be touching on some of B.J.'s more important moments over in Korea. I plan to touch on a mix of funny and serious ones. If you have any suggestions on pivotal B.J. moments in the show that I should write about, please PM me about it.
Please comment with compliments, constructive criticisms, or questions as you see fit. Remember, if it involves potential spoilers, put it in a PM instead of a review (I love receiving messages just as much as I love getting reviews). Thanks again, and please continue to enjoy the story.
