DISCLAIMER: I don't own M*A*S*H or any of its characters (maybe that is what I should have put on my Christmas list…).
It was just after dinner, and Peg was getting ready to clean up the kitchen. As she picked up the dishes off the table, she addressed Hawkeye.
"As soon as I get all of this put away I'll get the guest bedroom ready for you, Hawkeye." She said with a smile. "It's been a while since I've cleaned up in there. To be honest, I have no idea the state it's in."
"Oh c'mon, it can't be any worse than The Swamp." Hawkeye interjected with a laugh, while B.J. smiled. "Seriously, don't worry about it. I don't want you to go to any trouble."
"Hawkeye, you traveled across the country to help us out." Peg pointed out. "Getting a bedroom set up for you is the least I can do for you. And I won't take no for an answer."
"You know, I'm used to saying that line to women, not hearing it from them." Hawkeye said with a smirk as he looked to his best friend. "C'mon Beej, help me out. I don't want you guys to go to a lot of trouble for me."
"Sorry Hawk, you're on your own this time. I agree with Peg, the least we can do is go to a little trouble for you. Feel free to stay here as long as you like."
"Well, fine then." Hawkeye answered, feigning frustration at B.J.'s lack of support. "But the least you can do is go help your wife instead of fraternizing with the guests."
"Ok, ok." B.J. said, jokingly putting his hands up in defeat while getting up to help his wife. "Peg, how about I put Erin to bed while you get Hawk's room ready? Then I'll come down and help you clean up the kitchen."
"Sure." Peg said with a shocked smile. B.J. hadn't offered to help her around the house ever since shortly after he'd returned from Korea. It seemed as if having Hawkeye around was doing B.J. some good already. Erin, however, was not thrilled with B.J.'s idea.
"No, daddy!" Erin exclaimed from her chair. "No bed!"
"Sorry, but all little girls have to go to bed sometime." B.J. said as he swooped his arms in Erin's seat and picked her up. As he did so, her frown immediately turned into a smile. Even though she didn't want to go to bed it was clear she was enjoying the time with her daddy. B.J. walked towards the stairs while promising Erin she would get a bedtime story. Meanwhile, Peg led Hawkeye down the hall towards their guest bedroom.
"Ok, it's right in here." Peg said as she opened the bedroom door and led Hawkeye in. "Well, it looks like it's not in as bad of a disarray as I thought. I'll dust a bit in here, get you some clean bedding, and I can even vacuum if you…" Peg drifted off, noticing that Hawkeye was giving her a strange look. "What is it?" she asked, trying to figure out what he was thinking.
"You haven't told him yet, have you?" Hawkeye asked gently.
Peg sighed deeply, realizing exactly what Hawkeye was talking about. "No, not yet. You haven't said anything to him yet, have you?"
"Of course not." Hawkeye answered. "But you need to tell him soon. I almost blew it during our conversation earlier.
"I know, I know." Peg replied quickly. "I've been wanting to tell him, but the timing just hasn't been right."
"Well, he has to find out sooner or later. What are you going to say when you come home with a newborn in seven months? Are you going to tell him that you ordered it from the Sears catalogue?"
Peg laughed to herself. "You're right. I guess I'm afraid to tell him. I see how he is now that you're here, and he seems like he wants to move past this. I really think he's ready to change. For the first time in months, he seems happy. But I don't know what he's going to do when he finds out we're having another baby.
"I don't know either. But you have to tell him. What better time to tell him than when he's happy? You know, having a baby is supposed to be good news."
"Maybe it will be." Peg said quietly. "I guess the only way I'll know for sure is when I tell him."
There was an awkward silence between the two of them for a second. Finally, Peg spoke again.
"Well, let me get the vacuum and duster in here. If you don't mind waiting, I can have it ready in about ten minutes. And I'll get you those blankets too."
"Peg, I told you earlier not to worry about it." Hawkeye replied before she could leave the room. "This will be fine. You've already done enough."
"Well, at least let me get some new bedding for you." She replied quickly.
"There you go again with the clean bedding!" Hawkeye exclaimed "You sound like my mother. Next thing I know, you're going to make me take a bath." Hawkeye gave a goofy smile, indicating that he was just messing around with her. "Seriously, though, this bedding looks fine. In fact, the whole room looks fine. Don't worry about changing a thing."
"Are you sure?" Peg asked.
"I'm positive. Tell you what, I'm going to head to bed early and give you kids time to talk." He gave her a sly smile before continuing. "Go be with your husband right now…I think it's long overdue."
"Thanks Hawkeye. The bathroom's down the hall to your left if you need it. Have a good night." She then stepped out of the room and went downstairs. Since B.J. was still upstairs with Erin, Peg finished cleaning the kitchen. Then, exhausted after such a long day, Peg plopped down on the couch. She waited for B.J., both anticipating and dreading the conversation that was to come.
While Peg and Hawkeye talked in the kitchen, B.J. carried Erin up into her room. As he did so, thoughts of his family filled his mind. How could he be so stupid as to almost let all of this go: Peg, Erin, everything? Feeling his daughter's small body in his arms reminded him just how much he had to lose. He had to move past his trouble dealing with his time in Korea. After all, life as he knew it depended on it. Before he could carry the thought any further, Erin started asking him questions.
"Daddy? Who Dr. Hawkeey?"
"Hawkeye?" B.J. said with a laugh as he heard Erin mispronounce his best friend's name. "Hawkeye is Daddy's best friend from over in Korea."
"Best friend?" she asked with a smile. "Aww. He funny."
"Yes, Hawkeye is very funny." B.J. said as he opened the door to her room and carried her in. He looked around at all of the pink decorations and girlish toys that filled the room. The room had changed so much since Erin had first been born. In fact, he couldn't believe that his little princess was already 2 ½ years old. Even in the few months he had been home, Erin had been changing and growing. Life was moving so fast.
"Funny like you." Erin said as she gazed up at B.J. with a big smile.
"You know, you're really funny too." B.J. said as he set Erin in her bed and tucked her in with her lacey pink comforter.
"I know. Bird imitations!" As she exclaimed this, she started flapping her arms around, making it difficult for B.J. to put her blanket over her.
"Bird imitations? What are you talking about?" B.J. asked with a laugh, trying his best to follow toddler logic.
"Dr. Hawkeey's joke!" Erin said with a smile.
"Oh, that old joke, huh?" B.J. said with a smile, recognizing the joke Erin was referring to. "Well, I tell the joke even better than Hawkeye does. Tell you what, I'll tell you how it goes tomorrow. But first, you have to lay still and go to sleep, ok?"
"Ok." Erin said as she stopped flapping her arms and got comfortable under her blanket. "Story?"
"Alright, I'll tell you a story." B.J. sat down on the floor next to her bed and began to tell the story of Androcles and the Lion. He knew the story by heart and was able to bring the tale alive for her in an animated way. B.J. was close to the end of the story when he looked at Erin and saw that her eyes were closed. To him, she looked just like a little angel. Thinking she was asleep, he stopped the story, reached over, and kissed Erin on the forehead. However, Erin was not quite asleep and still had one last thing to say.
"Daddy?" she asked, half-asleep.
"Yes, princess?" B.J. replied.
"Mommy have baby?"
"What?" B.J. asked, taken aback by Erin's statement. "No, mommy's not having a baby. Where did you get that idea?"
"Dr. Hawkeey…" Erin muttered as she continued to drift off to sleep.
"Oh, ok." B.J. said with a laugh. Kids always say the funniest things: no doubt this was something Erin had just come up with. "No Erin, mommy's not having a baby. Hawkeye was probably just being silly."
"Ok." Erin said, finally falling asleep as she muttered it. B.J. got up quietly so he didn't disturb her and tip-toed out of the room. As he closed the door, he laughed to himself. He still wasn't sure where Erin had come up with the idea of Peg having another baby.
"Hey Peg." B.J. said as he walked down the stairs. "You'll never guess what Erin –". He stopped mid-sentence, because as he stepped into the living room he saw that Peg was asleep. She had tried to stay awake to talk with B.J., but she was too tired. B.J. stopped and looked at her for a moment. He noticed her blonde hair cascading over her shoulders and her chest slowly rising and falling. As he watched her sleep, all B.J. could think about was how lucky he was that she and Erin had come back to him. He knew things might be difficult between them at first, but they would get through this rough patch. He wanted to tell Peg all of this, but he didn't want to wake her up. Finally, he decided to simply carry her to their bedroom. As he scooped her up in his arms, she started to stir a little bit.
"B.J…." she muttered softly, clearly still half asleep.
"Shhh…" he said gently as he carried her into their bedroom. "You've had a long week. Go back to sleep."
"Ok." She replied softly. He stepped into the bedroom with Peg in his arms, and set her tenderly on the bed. Before she fell back asleep, she looked at him with a sleepy smile and spoke.
"I love you, B.J."
"I love you too, Peg." B.J. answered back. Peg was asleep again, and B.J. kissed her gently on the forehead before getting ready for bed. As he got ready, he thought about how he had to get better for the sake of his family. If they could this through this part of life, who knew what might be in store for them afterwards. They might even have more kids like Erin had mentioned earlier.
Of course, he would have to work through his own problems before he could take on a responsibility like that.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Hello again! I hope you all are continuing to enjoy the story. There were a few references to previous episodes in this chapter.
What's Up, Doc (S6, E20): Hawkeye's conversation with Peg has a very similar feel to the conversation he has with Margaret in this episode. In the episode, Margaret thinks she is pregnant, but has not told anyone yet. Like he does with Peg, Hawkeye reminds Margaret that having a baby is good news and he encourages her to take the next step (in the episode it's a pregnancy test, and in the chapter it's telling B.J.).
Dear Uncle Abdul (S8, E12): Hawkeye's bird joke from this episode makes yet another appearance in the chapter. It seems that B.J. still thinks that he can tell the joke better.
The Kids (S4, E8): The story that B.J. tells Erin in this chapter, Androcles and the Lion, is the same one he tells to the Korean orphans (and Hawkeye) in the episode. As described in the chapter, B.J. is very animated in the way he tells the story (much like the way he tells the bird joke, I imagine).
Also, there was a M*A*S*H reference in the last chapter that I forgot to mention. In the last chapter, Hawkeye tells B.J. that he's "not the Hippocrates of Uijeongbu". This comes from the episode Hepatitis (S5, E19), where a drunk B.J. starts stripping on a table in the Officers Club and declares himself the Hippocrates of Uijeongbu shortly before passing out.
Thank you again for reading! I'd love to post another chapter before Christmas, but in case I don't get around to it, have a Merry Christmas. Be on the lookout for the next chapter (it's definitely one you won't want to miss). As always, feel free to review with any comments, constructive criticisms, or questions. I always look at/respond to reviews, unless you review under "guest", in which case the website won't let me respond. But don't worry because I will still read it and take it into consideration.
