Hawkeye Pierce sat in his childhood home reading the newest heart papers. The surgeon that performed his father’s cardiac bypass was sharp and it him a little. He was sleepy by the middle of the first page. He hadn’t slept a good night’s sleep since he got back home and that was a good three months ago. He didn’t like being alone; his father was still in Portland for observation and recovery. The house felt so empty and lifeless as he sat there.
It was sleeting outside; it was one of those stormy nights that the people in Crabapple Cove stayed at home enjoying a warm fire. Hawkeye wasn’t one of them; there was a fire but it wasn’t giving off any heat and very little light. He missed his father and the incident of brushing up on his knowledge reminded him of his friends at the 4077th.
He almost felt like calling B.J.; he hadn’t talked with him for quite a while. They had a phone conversation during their first week home. His friend was so happy to be home with his wife and daughter. For Hawkeye, there wasn’t that much to talk about. He was having an amazingly hard time getting back to real life. He hated the idea of going back to surgery; granted he did do tonsils, appendixes, and other things of that nature, but that was part of his dad’s practice. He was doing like he said he would do, he was getting Crabapple Cove to say ‘ah’, and he was enjoying it as much as he could. His father was teaching him every detail. The slowness was good for him. He got to know every single person over again and better than before. B.J. on the other hand moved passed everything he had gone through in Korea. He was able to go back and be a civilian surgeon, while Hawkeye couldn’t let it go.
He thought about calling him. He thought that this time might be different. He realized it wouldn’t, but then the electricity went out. The fire was the only light in the house. He slammed the book shut; his nerves were on edge with the lack of sleep and thoughts of the war. The book was stressing under the pressure of his clasped hands. The wandering of his thoughts was rudely stopped by knocking at the door.
“Who the hell would be out on a night like this?” he grumped toward the foyer glad that he had an interruption.
The knocking grew louder and faster. It was beginning to get on his nerves. He threw open the heavy oak door, but nothing could have prepared him for what he found. There wasn’t much light, but he could tell who it was. He was speechless. The two strangers stared at each other until she flung herself around his neck. She was holding him very tight trying to make herself whole again.
It took him a while, “Margaret?” he held her just as tight.
“Oh Hawkeye, this is the only place I could think of to go,” she cried still clung to him.
She was soaked and froze to the bone. She wasn’t sure whether she should even be there, but it was the only place she would feel safe. She knew Hawkeye wouldn’t turn her out. He was her closest friend.
The two just stood there getting wet, having their cloths freeze together, and holding each other. It was something they both needed.
“Margaret, what are you doing here?” Hawkeye broke after a long moment, not really wanting to let it go.
“Hawkeye, it’s freezing out here,” she felt embarrassed saying it, but she was cold and he didn’t seem to realize it.
She was wearing a simple blouse and a skirt that hung past her knees with matching blazer. She had a single small suitcase in her hands as she came inside. She was shaking from the cold, she didn’t expect there to be that much difference in the climate. She moved toward the fire for warmth, though she kept her distance. They could only see mere shadows of each other in the faint light, but it’s all they needed.
“Margaret, what are you doing here?” he pulled the blanket off the couch and wrapped it around her.
“Oh, God Hawkeye, I didn’t know where else to go. You were always the person I could confide in,” she struggled to say between gasps.
He put his arms around her. He had never seen her so scared and so upset at the same time. He held her as close to him as he possible could. It felt good to hold her again; he held her until they both fell asleep. It was the best nights sleep either of them had had in a long time.
________________________________________________________________________
Margaret was the first to wake up. She was collecting exactly what she was going to say to him. She was taking in the security his arms provided. No one had held her like that in a long time. In fact, Hawkeye was the only on that held her like that with his total truthful warmth and comfort. She could hear his heart beating; she could feel the life coming from each throb.
“Morning there,” he thought that it might have been a dream. He smiled, relieved that his chin was on top of her ratty blond hair.
“You know how I said there was nowhere else I could go? Well, this is the only place I wanted to be. I had to get away, I hope you don’t mind,” she said the first part of it. She hadn’t moved. There was only a little bit more to go.
“Margaret, you’re scaring me a little here. What’s wrong?” he tried to get a look at her.
“It was horrible. I felt so helpless and alone,” her tears swelled up again.
“Margaret?” he was very concerned.
“He hit me Hawkeye,” it took everything she had to look up to him. She had a bruise that began at the crease of her eye and down her cheek boned.
His heart broke. This woman, who had begun to mean so much to him, was broken again. First Donald Pinopscott, and now this one.
“God Margaret, what happened?” he examined it. He couldn’t believe this happened to her.
“Well, Brian was a doctor at Boston General. We met. He was nice. We began going out. One night I made him dinner. Somehow we got into an argument. He got mad. He raised his hand, hit me in the face, and stood there while I sat on the floor,” she was having trouble talking and crying at the same time.
“Margaret,” he consoled her. He was at a loss of words. What could he say to her?
“The worst part was that he had no regret in his face. He seemed to have enjoyed it. He just left. I couldn’t do anything but sit on that floor for a long time. I couldn’t stay there, Hawkeye. I had to get away. You were the only person I could think of.”
“You came to the right place,” he said softly caressing her back and letting her cry.
He could just see her going through the same thing she did with Donald. This one may be even worse, or maybe not. Both stabbed her in the heart with two entirely different blades, but stabbed her non-the-less.
“Thank you Hawkeye,” a minute later, “ Hawkeye, you don’t mind me being here do you?”
“Of coarse not, Margaret. Dad always taught me to never turn away a lady.”
“He must have pounded that one into you,” she breathed a laugh with the tears soaking her cheek.
It was good to hear her laugh. He had almost forgotten what it sounded like. “Actually, I think that was bread into me,” he returned her laughing with only a smile.
“Speaking of which where is your father?”
“Oh, Dad’s in Portland.”
She was puzzled by his answer, but she was more troubled by him. She was in a state of emotional hell, yet he just didn’t seem to be the same Hawkeye she remembered. “I thought your dad hated leaving home?”
“He does. He had to. They had to do a cardiac bypass about a week ago.”
“Oh, Hawkeye, I’m sorry,” she knew what his father meant to him.
“Ah, he’s fine. He’s up and chasing the nurses every chance he gets.”
“I see it runs in the family,” she wanted him to lighten up more.
“Of coarse. Nurses are quite the commodity to us Pierces.”
November 6th 1953
“Hawkeye, I don’t want to go.”
“We’re not going anywhere near town, besides you can’t even see it. It’s gone,” he reassured her over again.
“Really?” she wasn’t sure to believe him.
“Really. You look beautiful. Now, come on,” he gently grabbed her by her wrist.
She followed him cautiously. She could still feel it. He may not be able to see it, but she could tell it was there.
“Hawkeye, where are we going?”
“It’s a secret.”
They went out the back door and followed a skinny trail that looked like it had been used a lot.
“You know it is beautiful here,” Margaret commented as she walked close behind him.
“You should see it in late August, every leaf has it’s own color. It’s the most beautiful thing in the world.”
“No wonder you missed it so bad,” she remembered how he bored her with stories of his home.
“Yeah, well,” he sounded disappointed, “sometimes I miss the good ol’ 4077th that bad.”
“You’re kidding?” she expected him to be.
“No. I don’t miss the war, the non-stop surgery, or the kitchen,” he didn’t comment on it. “Just the people, I miss the closeness we all shared.”
She most defiantly understood that. She did too. They were her family; sure she had her dad, mom, and sister, but they were bound by something stronger than blood; probably from seeing so much of it.
“I know exactly what you mean. When was the last time you’ve talked to any of them?”
“Well, I was on the phone with B.J. a few months ago.”
“A few months ago? I would have expected you two to be on that phone every day,” she was surprised at what he said. They were best friends; she had expected to hear days, or even weeks, but not months.
“Here it is,” he didn’t want to talk about it. He hadn’t told anyone that he was having trouble being back home.
She was worried about him. He wasn’t acting like the Hawkeye she had grown to know so well. He was distant and only giving her mere smiles that didn’t even show his teeth. They walked to where the trees met the beach. The water was so calm. There were shadows of seagulls flying in the sky. The sun was getting ready to go down. The pond was breathtaking. There was only a small way for the water to go back and forth.
“Wow,” she was smitten by the sight.
“I’ve been coming here since I was a kid. I’d sit next to this tree and think everything through.”
The dirt under the trees upping roots was fresh. She could tell he had been thinking things through a lot. She gave him a touched smile, “Thank you. You know there looks like there’s enough room for both of us to think things through.”
“I’ve been trying to think things through since my R&R on that beach,” he said it so empty without feeling or being.
“Hawkeye, sometimes it’s better to talk through things rather than think.”
“It’s OK Margaret. You wouldn’t understand,” he passed it off.
“Understand? Pierce, you don’t understand how it felt to let someone in your life and let them crush it. That happened to me, twice. I didn’t expect you to understand; I don’t expect you to. I just needed someone I could trust to lean on,” her anger fought back the tears.
He just looked at her. She was right, he didn’t understand what she had been through, how could he? Thoughts zipped through his head. He turned away and looked at the water. He was in a trans with the memory that infested his life.
“She killed the baby because I told her to,” he said real quiet, still looking out to the ocean. It was the first time he had said it out loud.
“What?” she wasn’t sure if she heard him right.
“On that trip, on that bus. There was a patrol coming. We had to be quiet or else they would find us. The baby wouldn’t stop crying. I kept telling her to keep him quiet,” he stopped with a blank face.
She could only look at him. He was so scared; he looked lost and that he would never be found. She had never seen him like this before. She’d seen him scared a number of times, but that was for his body, this time he seemed to be scared for his soul and sanity.
“She smothered him. She killed her son because I told her to keep him quiet,” he began to cry.
She immediately sat them down. She placed his head on her chest and rocked him back and forth. She couldn’t think of a thing to say. He had been carrying that around with him for months, before they came home.
“Shh, just let it go,”
He was clung to her. His arms were around her waist. One of her hands was caudling his head and the other stroked his back. For the first time in a long time, he felt like he wasn’t going crazy. Being held by Margaret gave him a net to fall into.
The sun went down while the two friends pulled each other out of their holes.
“Margaret, you’re the only person I’ve ever told that to,” he was amazed at how much was lifted from him.
“You’re the only one I’ve told lots of things to,” she confessed.
He gave her an understanding smile. “Come on, there’s something I want to do.”
“What?”
“I got a phone call to make.”
“Good.”
It took them a while to get back to the house in the dark; they had been sitting in the sand for close to three hours. Margaret went upstairs to leave him to B.J. She felt so welcome in the old house. Hawkeye showed her where just about everything was and that she was welcome to anything. Hawkeye made it fell like the house was her home.
She decided to take a bath. The warm water was still a shock from the cold short showers of three years. She could hear Hawkeye’s laugh. She was glad to hear it again. The wonderful water was making her skin wrinkly and soggy. It was a shame to let it go down the drain.
She began drying herself off. She wiped the mirror of its steam coat and stared into it. Her hand ran where Brian had hit her. She could see it; she could feel it. His cold eyes glared down on her. They were so icy and heartless. She thought she had learned her lesson with Donald. Not once did he raise his hand to her, but his unfaithful behavior to her hurt the same way. Her still wilted fingers could feel the scar on her. She hated that she was hurt by the same kind of man that didn’t care for her in the least.
She tried to shrug it off. She hated to cry, letting things get to her. She went to the guest room Hawkeye had put her up in. She sat on the bed; she wanted to scream and make the whole thing just go away.
Downstairs, Hawkeye was listening to BJ talk about Peg and how much Erin had grown. It was about the same conversation they had had before, only this time Hawkeye was a part of it. He was laughing and joking, something he hadn’t done in a long time. He was holding his fears and grieves in; they were still there but they weren’t building pressure on his thoughts.
“Hey Hawk, it’s getting late. I need to put Erin to bed.”
“Oh, OK. I’ll talk to you later, Beej.”
“Hawk?”
“Yeah?”
“It’s good to have you back.”
“Thanks Beej,” with that he slowly hung up the phone. It was good to hear BJ’s voice again. He wanted to go tell Margaret everything they talked about, but he looked at the clock. It was already eleven. It was only eight in Mill Valley; he didn’t realize how long they were talking. She would have already gone to sleep.
He decided to make himself a cup of coffee. Not the best thing to be drinking in the middle of the night, but it was the only thing he could think of. Hawkeye was grinning at the thought of little Erin playing with her new puppy.
He took his mug upstairs with him. He was already more than halfway done with it, but he never did like wasting good coffee. He was in front of Margaret’s door; he wanted to go in and check on her, but he thought he better not. He was just going to continue to his room when he heard her crying. He knocked. There wasn’t an answer so he went ahead and opened the door and walked in.
She wiped the tears from her face when she heard the knocking. She didn’t say anything; the lump in her throat was too big. She wanted him to go away; she didn’t want him to see her shed anymore tears.
“Margaret?”
She still didn’t say anything. She wanted him to hold her just as bad as she didn’t want him to see her cry. She didn’t have to say it; he could read her like a book, most of the time. He put his coffee down on the dresser and sat next to her. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders.
“Hey why don’t we go see Dad tomorrow?” he broke the silence. “He wants to meet you and then we could go down to Boston and get the rest of your things,” it was a thought out of the blue.
“Hawkeye, I don’t know,” she replied to only the first part.
“Yeah, you can come stay with me and Dad. You can work at the office. Bessie has been begging me to get her a real replacement; she’s been wanting to retire for as long as I can remember. And I already know what a great nurse you are.”
“It’s a tempting offer…”
He cut her off, “Just until you can get back on your feet without leaning on anyone.”
She cracked a crooked smile with the tears on her cheeks. “Only until I get back on my feet.”
________________________________________________________________________
They left early the next morning. They visited Daniel in Portland. He was even more gentle and vindictive as his son was. Margaret thought he was so easy to get along with. He was glad to hear that she was going to be staying with them. He could tell that Hawkeye had strong feelings for her – even if he didn’t realize it. He saw that his son was more cheerful since the last time he talked to him.
They snuck him lunch. It was only tuna fish, but it was a great deal better than the slop they were feeding him at the hospital. They would have stayed all day, but they had to get to Boston and back.
Margaret cleaned out her apartment. There wasn’t much there in the first place. She mostly had cloths, some books, photos, and a few other things that fit into a box. She had only been living there for a month and a half. She tried returning to the army, but it lost its allure to her. There wasn’t any point to it anymore, so she quit. She had to. She was scared to tell her father yet or the rest of her family, though she planned on doing it soon. They would be disappointed, but she didn’t care. None of the officers respected her as an authority or as a medical nurse. They were arrogant, and she was too used to the eccentric characters she had worked with.
She gave the key back to the crabby, yet somewhat sweet landlady. She called Dr. Erickson, the head of her department, and explained to him she got an offer of another job she just couldn’t refuse. He was a bit disappointed to loose such a credible nurse, but he had no control over her and wished her good luck.
January 16th 1954
Hawkeye and Margaret were sitting on that spot on the beach; they went there a lot. It was probably the only place in town where they could talk without anyone interrupting them or overhearing what they said. They would talk about times passed and things that happened through the day.
The whole town was relieved that Margaret had taken up residence at the Pierce residence. Some of the old-fashioned ladies weren’t too keen on the idea of her living there, but she proved to be a well-mannered young woman who held her own among the unruly Pierces. Bessie liked her; she gave her a hard time not knowing how she would be able to put up with the stress of the office and the Pierce doctors, but when she saw how the girl brought back Hawkeye’s smile and the damned good work she did, she backed off. Everyone noticed a change in Hawkeye’s attitude; he was more cheerful and laughable, like he used to be so long ago.
Margaret had been enjoying being a small town nurse. It was much more relaxing and interesting to get to know the patients on a more personal level. She had gotten to know just about every one in Crabapple Cove. They were all so different. All their characters were so original. She had become good friends with Sara Woodman; she knew Hawkeye when they were kids. She teased him something awful, but it was all in good fun; she was a very free spirited person who didn’t mind what people thought of her. Margaret and she often found themselves ganging up on him. She felt like she fit in; she loved it.
Daniel had come back home right before Christmas. He liked having a woman around the house again; it had been a long time since there had been one. He noticed how she and his son spent a lot of time together. Even the little spatz they got into proved to the elderly man that they had something they didn’t realize. He had retired, actually Hawkeye kind of made him, and he handed the practice over to him. Margaret kept the boy in check, most of the time. She did something to Hawkeye; something had happened to him in Korea that changed him, and Daniel feared that he might never be the son that went away but with Margaret around, he was more of himself.
Hawkeye still had the grief living with him, but it didn’t control him anymore. He liked having the practice though it was a bit tough when his father was there all the time. He hounded him about every patient with every detail about their history. Margaret ran everything like a well-oiled machine. She proved herself to Bessie who was a bit suspicious of the young lady, but she eased up when she saw how well she did everything. His dad liked having her around; they were always exchanging embarrassing stories about him, but he got some about them in too. Her being around gave him a sense of security; she understood most of what he went through in Korea, and he enjoyed seeing her happy there with him.
“Here,” Hawkeye handed her a small box with a smile on his face.
“What’s this?” she carefully untied the little bow letting the ribbon fall in her lap.
“It’s just something I wanted to give you. You’ve become such big part of my life, Margaret. You’re the only woman I’d like to spend the rest of it with.”
She had just opened the satin box. Inside was a beautiful ring. It was so elegant yet simple. A small stone detailed with carefully designed vines. It took her breath away; she never expected it.
“It was Mom’s,” he said proudly. “It’s only fitting that the only other woman in my life wear it,” he placed it on her finger.
“Hawkeye, it’s beautiful …” she wasn’t sure to accept it or to refuse it. She cared for him so much. She knew she loved him and she knew that he cared for her too, but she couldn’t tell how much or as what. She was so confused with memories and fears.
“Margaret, I respect you for being you and for that I love you like you wouldn’t believe.”
She was crying; She couldn’t refuse it; she loved. He was her best friend and now they were going to be more. He wouldn’t have proposed if he didn’t love her or want her as his wife, he just wasn’t that way. His honesty to himself and others was one of the first things she noticed about him when they first met, until he made a total idiot of himself. She reached over and kissed him with all her might.
“Is that a yes?” he asked falling even more into her form.
“Yes, that’s a yes,” she couldn’t help but laugh.
It felt so right for both of them. They had denied each other because of their fears, memories, pride, and egos for too long. They sat there together, kissing each other, holding each other, leaning on each other.
January 23rd 1954
They decided to have a small wedding. Their parents were there, of course. Sara was Margaret’s matron of honor. Daniel was Hawkeye’s best man; he tried to get a hold of BJ, but he just wasn’t home for a good week and they didn’t want to put if off any longer. Margaret offered, but he thought they had put it off too long already.
Margaret had only lately told her parents that she quit the army all those months ago. Her mother was all right with it; she wasn’t thrilled but all right. Her father on the other hand was blown away. He had yelled at her for close to an hour or two over the phone. He was even more outraged that she was marring that ass of a doctor he had met when he had visited their unit.
“Margaret, are you absolutely sure?” he asked her again.
“Yes Dad!” she told him yet again.
“I still can’t believe you quit the army for him. And he was only a captain draftee and from what I remember he wasn’t a very good one either.”
“I didn’t quit for him. I quit for myself, Dad,” she couldn’t bring herself to tell him of how sick she was of the bureaucracy and the senseless waste. “I love him, and he loves me. I told you that over the phone; I have a life here; I have friends, a job, and you don’t have to accept that, but it’s what I want,” she sat next to him in her beautiful white dress.
He took in a deep breath and gave her an enforced proud smile, “I only want you to be sure. Just as long as he treats you a helve lot better than that Penopscott. I don’t ever want any man taking advantage of my little girl.” He understood. He wished that she had stayed in the army and was marring someone who was more reliable and adultish, but she was happy and that mattered more.
“Thank you, Daddy,” she was about to cry.
“Margaret, come on! It’s kidda hard to start a wedding without the bride,” Sara burst in.
“Are you ready to give the bride away?”
“No, but I guess I have no choice,” he lead her out of the little room.
________________________________________________________________________
“Ben, calm down,” Daniel put a hand on his son’s shoulder.
“I can’t,” he couldn’t hold still, “I’m getting married and to Margaret no less,” he was nervous.
“Ben, you two have something, don’t be gettin’ cold feet now.”
“It’s not that; it’s just that a few years ago, I wasn’t even her friend. This is the most thrilling moment of my life…” he stopped.
The music started. Sara pushed Chelsea down the aisle. The little girl was throwing fists full of pedals to the floor. Sara followed; she was holding her little bouquet of flowers over her newly pregnant belly. Her husband, Keith, couldn’t stop staring at her. When Sara got to her mark, Margaret came out and took her father’s arm. She was so beautiful. Hawkeye wasn’t breathing; he was overwhelmed by her. He was lost in her until his father nudged him.
“I do,” he smiled one of his trademark smiles.
May 2nd 1954
“Sara, how did you tell Keith? I mean this isn’t something you just tell him while making dinner.”
“I told him while I made dinner,” she teased not taking her eyes off the road.
“Funny,” Margaret gave her a dirty look.
“Margaret, what are you so worried about? Just tell him. I still can’t believe it Benjamin Franklin Pierce, a father. I was just getting used to the fact he’s a husband.”
Sara had known Hawkeye since they were in grade school. She knew exactly how he chased women; he had chased her all through high school. She liked teasing him about it, but it was all in fun. She could tell that he and Margaret had something together.
“I don’t believe it myself,” Margaret forced a smile.
They continued driving home. They had just entered the edge of town. Keith had the kids and they told their husbands that they needed a girls-day-out; it was. First thing in the morning they were at the obstetrician’s office. They went to lunch, did some shopping (something they didn’t have a chance to do in Crabapple Cove), and just wasted time. At about four thirty they went back to the doctor’s office to get Margaret’s results.
“Margaret, are you OK?” Sara asked seriously. Margaret had been very quiet. “You don’t seem to be happy about this.”
“I am. I’m thrilled; it’s just Hawkeye.”
“Hawkeye?”
“Sara haven’t you ever noticed that he doesn’t act the same way to Chelsea as he does Jimmy? He’s scared of him.”
“Scared of Jimmy? Margaret, I think you’ve been out in the sun too long.”
“Something happened to him in Korea; he doesn’t trust himself around them.”
“You never told me that.”
“He doesn’t want anyone to know; he never even told Dad.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know,” she looked out the window.
“You’ll have to tell him. A baby would be kinda hard to hide,” Sara tried to lighten the atmosphere. “Margaret, it’ll be OK. Time heals all wounds. He’ll come around. I remember Keith with Chelsea; he didn’t know what end was up.”
Margaret laughed.
“Just take it as it comes. That’s the best you can do.”
“Thank you Sara.”
“So when are you going to tell him?”
“When I see the right moment to tell him, I’ll tell him,” she smiled with pride. “Sara, you can’t mention a word to Hawkeye – the baby or that I said anything.”
“I promise, besides everyone kind of figured that something happened to him over there. He just wasn’t the same guy. He’s still a bit different, but he’s usually being the same ol’ annoying Hawkeye we’d all grown to know.
________________________________________________________________________
“How was the girls’ day out?” Hawkeye put his book down on the corner of the counter as he heard her come through the door.
“It was wonderful,” she came in with two bags and a box. She didn’t want to mention a peep about the doctor’s.
“What’cha buy?” he asked like a curious five-year-old.
“That’s for me to know and you to find out,” she playfully kissed him.
“Sounds like fun,” he raised an eyebrow.
“Did you eat yet?”
“Not without my favorite dinning partner.”
“Where’s Dad?” she noticed he was wearing one of his better suits.
“He’s over at Daisy Cartwright’s’ ‘playing cards’,” he rolled his eyes.
“Oh, I’m sure,” Margaret quipped a smile knowing perfectly well that Daniel was encouraged out of the house, but he did have a thing for that Daisy Cartwright. “Mmm, something sure does smell good.”
“Well, now that my company has arrived, dinner is ready,” he offered his arm.
“Why don’t you go dish it up; I’ll be back down and you can see what I bought,” she went to the stairs.
“Just don’t make me wait long, the suspense will kill me,” he went off into the kitchen.
She sighed at the remark; he was and always will be the same ol’ Hawkeye. She went up stairs and into the bedroom. She changed into the light red, almost pink, dress that she had just bought. It was on sale, it showed her off, and boy was it comfortable. The shoes in the box matched it; they were comfortable too (a great significance in her choice of foot wear these days).
She admired herself in the mirror; she thought about how much her body was going to change over the next several months. She held a large peaceful smile plastered on her face. Sara was right, she’d tell him and hopefully he’d be fine with having the baby around him. She knew he’d be a good father, he was so good with the kids around town; she just wasn’t sure how the baby would affect him.
She did a quick fix on her hair and touched up her makeup. She smoothed out the fabric on the dress. She looked straight into the mirror again and told herself she could do it. She sucked in her doubt and went back downstairs.
Hawkeye was tasting the sauce. He was holding his jacket back; he was trying very hard not to get any food on himself.
“So what did you make?” she snuck up on him.
“Spaghetti,” he turned around. “Wow!” he couldn’t help but hang out his tongue.
“Hawkeye,” Margaret moved her eyes to the stove.
“Huh?” he was still gawking at her.
“You’re getting the stove all dirty,” she said very politely.
He broke his gaze and returned to the pots and pans. The sauce was bubbling and overflowing under the lid. He grabbed the handle and pulled it off the burner. The lid fell off; he grabbed it, burning his fingers. He tossed it back and sucked on his fingers.
“Well, it’s done,” he ran confident his fingers through his hair. “Mad’ am,” he sat her down, lit the candle, and put a plate in front of her.
“You sure did go to a lot of trouble,” she gave him a loving smile.
“Yeah, well, I couldn’t let you go spending more time with Sara than me,” he shot a sarcastic grin.
“You sir, have not a thing to worry about,” she took a bite, “there is no way Sara can cook this good,” she pointed to the plate with her fork.
“So what did you girls today?”
“Oh, not much. We went shopping, saw a movie, went out to lunch,” she took a bite, not sure whether she wanted to go on.
“And?” he expected her to continue.
“And… we found out some big news,”
“Big news, huh?” he began to think.
“Humungous,” she commented. She was beginning to fell a bit better about telling him.
“You’re going to make this hard for me, aren’t you?”
“Absolutely, I’ve got to keep you on your toes,” she joked.
“Lets see big, humungous news? Chelsea lost her first tooth?”
“Think of the biggest news you can think of.”
“The war’s over, Dad’s fine, we’re married, what could be bigger than that?”
“Oh, think harder,” she was getting impatient with him.
“What? I give up,” he didn’t know what he did.
She calmed herself down, “Well in Portland, we made a little visit to a specialist,” she saw his face turn to worry and confusion. She stood up and pulled him up with her. She hugged him and he hugged her back. “Hawkeye, we’re going to have a baby.”
