"Beej, wait!"
Tears spent, BJ broke free of Hawkeye's embrace and headed straight for his bike. Hopping on and gunning the motor, he gave Hawkeye a grim wave. "Sorry, Hawk. I need to get home." He tossed Daniel's metal helmet in Hawkeye's general direction. It thwacked hard on the ground.
"BJ Hunnicutt! Wait! Wait, just a minute." Hawkeye picked up his father's army helmet and dashed in front of the motorcycle. He held up his free hand. "What do you think you're doing?" he yelled over the roar of the bike.
"I need to get home to Erin! I've been gone too long already!" He began to maneuver the motorcycle around Hawkeye.
"Beej, stop! This doesn't make any sense! Please, take me home and let's talk about this!"
"There's nothing to talk about!" BJ yelled back. He stripped off the black mittens and tucked them inside the flannel jacket.
Hawkeye scrambled to remove BJ's leather helmet from his own head. "At least take back your clothes!"
BJ turned off the ignition and stared at Hawkeye from his perch on the motorcycle.
Hawkeye continued walking forward, holding out both helmets and BJ's leather jacket. "Beej, c'mon. Let's talk about this. Please. I've got more than enough money set aside for you to fly home. You don't need to spend days on the road! You could be home today, tomorrow at the latest."
BJ blinked at Hawkeye, then shook his head. "Didn't even occur to me," he admitted, looking lost.
"Look, I know things seem awful and confusing right now, but I can help you work through them." Hawkeye grasped BJ's forearm. "You need to accept some help right now or you aren't going to make the best decisions for you or Erin."
"Hawkeye, nothing matters but my little girl! I need to know she's safe!" BJ restarted the engine. "Hurry up, I'm taking you home."
"Okay." Hawkeye complied, hopping behind BJ on the motorcycle. Before he put on Daniel's steel helmet, Hawkeye asked, "Don't your parents live in Mill Valley? Call them and see if they'll check in on her."
BJ's frustrated sigh was audible even over the roar of the bike. "They aren't speaking to me at the moment." He accelerated onto the blacktop and began to pick up speed.
Hawkeye tapped his head against his best friend's back as they hurried away. "Then I'll call them."
Talking to Bea Hunnicutt proved easier than Hawkeye had anticipated.
"Oh, we've been so worried, Hawkeye, you have no idea." Bea's voice oozed warmth and genuine concern, and Hawkeye felt himself relax. BJ needed a team of support right now, and Hawkeye was relieved that at least one of BJ's parents was in his friend's corner.
"He's here safe with me, ma'am." Hawkeye eyed BJ across the kitchen table. The man in question studied his hands.
"Is he . . ." Bea trailed off.
"Sober? Yes. Getting the help he needs to stay that way? Not yet. He's going to have to work hard, and it's going to take time and effort." Hawkeye calmly met BJ's stormy blue-grey eyes.
BJ glared at his friend. "Give me the damn phone!" he seethed.
Hawkeye held up a hand.
"When Peg told us he'd been relieved from duty at the hospital and put out on leave, we had no idea what he'd do next! We were worried he'd self-destruct completely." Hawkeye could hear the relief in her voice. "I'm so glad he sought you out, Hawkeye. BJ speaks of you fondly."
"What's she saying?" BJ hissed.
"Mrs. Hunnicutt, I was wondering if you could do a favor for us."
"Anything, dear."
"It's in BJ's best interest to stay here in Maine for now."
"What?!" BJ and his mother spoke simultaneously.
"I've gone through something similar to what BJ's dealing with, and we have resources for veterans here on the east coast that I can help him navigate."
"You dirty, rotten, backstabber," BJ snapped, at the same time his mother replied, "That makes sense."
"But BJ can't relax without knowing how Erin is. Things were . . . um . . . tense with Peg before he left and—"
"Oh! Erin's right here, dear. Peg was so upset, she left her with us for now."
"Erin's with you?"
BJ snatched the phone away. "Mom?"
"BJ, is that really you, honey?" Bea sniffed.
"Yes, Mom, it is." BJ swallowed hard, hearing the open emotion in his mother's voice. "I'm sorry I yelled at you and Pop like that." He glanced at Hawkeye. "I wasn't . . . wasn't myself."
"Oh, BJ," his mother cried. "You sound so much better."
"I am better, Mom."
Hawkeye caught BJ's eyes and shook his head. "You need help," he mouthed.
"I'm so glad to hear that, honey. Peg isn't—"
"Peg isn't what?" BJ interrupted.
"She isn't handling things very well either, BJ. She went to stay with her parents for awhile."
"Oh, thank God," BJ breathed. The tension left him like a broken kite string, and he collapsed into a heap on Hawkeye's kitchen table. "I don't want Erin spending time alone with her, Mom," he admitted.
"Peg said the same thing about you."
BJ heard the reproach in his mother's voice and sighed. "I know everything seems like a mess, Mom - and, believe me, it is - but things are a lot better than they were. Peg and I definitely need some time apart. Erin being with you is the best thing for all of us right now. Are you okay with her staying with you for awhile? I might need . . . " BJ looked up to find Hawkeye standing over him, hands resting on his shoulders. "You know I haven't been coping with things very well since I got back and . . ." He sighed and rubbed his sore eye. "Hawk's right. I should . . . stay here with him for awhile and . . . um . . . get some help. Psychological help. So I can be a better doctor, a better son, a better father."
"A happier human being," Hawkeye whispered. He leaned down and wrapped BJ in a hug.
Bea was openly sobbing now. "I'm so happy to hear you say that, honey. You just get well, okay? Erin can stay here as long as you need. You want to talk to her?"