Post by melindajo2000 on Mar 20, 2012 6:43:11 GMT -6
This was it. This was the big day. Hawkeye Pierce had finally decided to get married, and it had only taken him 5 years after the war to do so. Her name was Emily Pierce (no relation obviously) and he thought he'd finally found the one. What should have struck him as strange was the fact that what he was looking most forward to on his big day was not the ceremony itself but the fact that The Gang would be there. He hadn't seen most of them in ages, except for B.J. The troublesome twosome had visited each other at least twice a year, closer to four, and for them it was like nothing had changed. In a way he dreaded this visit from B.J., because their last meeting, six weeks prior, hadn't gone exactly like planned.
0000
After they were good and drunk (for old time's sake!) B.J. had the nerve to question Hawkeye on his motives.
"Are you sure that this is what you want to do?" B.J. asked after sipping his beer. Score a double point for him for drinking the last of the booze.
"Why would you say that, Beej, of course this is what I want to do. You've been pestering me for years to settle down. Now that I am what are you, trying to jinx me?" Hawkeye said, staring down his own beer bottle to see if he could milk it any further. Fortunately for him, he could.
"I'm just saying, it makes a difference if you've had your house in order."
"You saying I can't keep a house? I'll have you know I'm the neatest slob you'll ever meet."
B.J. laughed. Couldn't argue with his friend's logic there. "No, that's not what I meant. I'm saying you might want to take an inventory, make sure this is what you want."
Hawkeye, a little miffed, scoffed. "I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't want to. You ought to know me better than that."
"I do know you, and that's why I'm asking you this. Do you have all your geese in a row?"
Hawkeye knew just then what his friend was talking about. "I'll have you know that I do not have feelings for any other lady. That was years ago, and it was obvious why we could never be together. I haven't even seen her in years. So if you've got something to say then why don't you come out and say it?"
"No, no. Just making sure, that's all. Want a swig of my drink? I can't stand to see a perfectly good beer go to waste," B.J. smiled.
"Of course I do. Gimmie that." And with that, the subject was closed. At least, it was verbally.
0000
Now here he was, ready to get married, and he had to take a sneak peak of what might have been. There she was, looking as beautifully blonde as always. He had a strong suspicion that Margaret Houlihan had colored her hair during the war, but how she always found that shade of blond was beyond him. As if reading his mind, she looked over and saw a tuxedo clad surgeon, well with tennis shoes (typical Hawkeye) and she smiled to herself. He always had a knack for putting his own touch on his clothes. Suddenly memories of Hawkeye and his tuxedo came racing through her mind. The way he would perform for the patients. Their dance they shared after Margaret's big inspection. Yes, he was probably born in a tuxedo; it wouldn't have surprised her. After all, Hawkeye always did have a flair for the dramatic.
And then the ceremony began. He looked around and saw all of his 4077 friends, save for Ferret Face (whose invitation might not have been mailed) and it was all coming back. Klinger even wore a dress for this occasion; thankfully it was not white, Hawkeye noted and laughed. Then it all came back to him. Those were the days. Those were his friends, his people, his life. Those were the ones who had his heart, not this young miss who was about to walk down the aisle with her father. He looked over at B.J., who smiled knowingly and then he knew what he had to do.
"Listen, people, I am so glad that you all made this trip to Crabapple Cove for this..this.. I don't know what you want to call it. Some of you might say that it's a wedding, but I prefer to think of it as a reunion. The reunion we'd all been looking for all these years, right Sherman?"
Colonel Potter smiled even though he had a bad feeling about things to come. Out of curiosity, he looked over at Margaret, who was looking at the floor, mighty uncomfortably, Potter noticed.
"I'm sorry folks but I need just a few minutes with my intended, and then…well, just hang in there."
A few minutes later the guests could all hear the slamming of the door, and Emily's father walked up to Hawkeye and hit him a good one. Guess he deserved that after all.
Throughout all the commotion no one noticed that Margaret had snuck out of the sanctuary.
"Pierce, what do you think you're doing?" her voice rose with emotion as she followed Hawkeye into the men's room.
"Not now, Margaret. I don't need any lectures from anyone, most of all you. And if you case you haven't noticed this isn't exactly a social setting."
"I've been to hell and back with you and you won't tell me where I can go, although I'd like to do the same to you. Who do you think you are breaking that young girl's heart? You have humiliated her in the worse way a woman can be humiliated."
"I know. And I'm truly sorry. For that I will regret for the rest of my life. But I couldn't' do it, Margaret. I couldn't get married ..not to her anyways."
"Why, what was wrong with her? I don't know her but she seemed like a perfectly nice girl, or at least the back of her head did. What's wrong with her? I should be asking what's wrong with you!"
"I don't know. I really don't know. I saw all of you together and it just brought back so many memories…have you ever had a moment where you asked yourself, Is this my life?"
Thinking back to her two divorces, she nodded. "But you wanted to get married. No one forced you to propose to her or to plan all of this. What is going on?"
"Well, I got to thinking about the old days. What my life was like then. What it's like now. And when you find yourself wishing you were back in Korea you realize that you're not quite as happy as you pretended," Hawkeye told her in a softer voice.
"Why, what did Korea have that Crabapple Cove doesn't?"
"You."
She looked at him curiously.
"It had you."
"What are you saying Pierce? Are you in love with me?" Margaret demanded, not realizing that her voice was also softening.
"I don't know..I don't know what I'm saying. I hear myself talking and I feel like such a fool but all I know was when I was picturing my kiss at the end of the ceremony I kept reliving a different kiss. A much different one."
"Are you talking about…that kiss?"
Hawkeye looked at her. "Yeah. I think I am."
Suddenly Margaret didn't know what to do. She knew exactly what he was talking about- she'd had the same image come to her at her last wedding. Still, even she couldn't imagine that it would have the same meaning to Hawkeye as it had to her.
"That was something, wasn't it?" she laughed, breaking the tension in the room.
"Yeah. Yeah it was. And until this moment I never realized how much it meant to me. At the time I thought it was a farewell kiss but now I see that it was a hello. Does that make sense to you?"
She smiled. "Yeah, Pierce. Yes it does."
"Margaret, I think I…I think…I…"
Without waiting for another word, Margaret leaned over and kissed him, with all of the passion that many years that had gone by held.
"What do we do now?" Hawkeye asked.
"Well for starters lets go have the biggest reunion this town has ever seen," she smiled.
"Just one question Margaret…"
"Another one? For someone who had all the answers back in Korea you sure are full of questions today," she teased as she straightened out his collar.
"Was it worth the wait?" he grinned, causing her to break out with the same megawatt smile that he'd always remembered so fondly about her.
"What do you think?" she asked before wrapping her arms around his neck, inviting him for another memorable kiss.
Yes, these were the days, after all.
The end
0000
After they were good and drunk (for old time's sake!) B.J. had the nerve to question Hawkeye on his motives.
"Are you sure that this is what you want to do?" B.J. asked after sipping his beer. Score a double point for him for drinking the last of the booze.
"Why would you say that, Beej, of course this is what I want to do. You've been pestering me for years to settle down. Now that I am what are you, trying to jinx me?" Hawkeye said, staring down his own beer bottle to see if he could milk it any further. Fortunately for him, he could.
"I'm just saying, it makes a difference if you've had your house in order."
"You saying I can't keep a house? I'll have you know I'm the neatest slob you'll ever meet."
B.J. laughed. Couldn't argue with his friend's logic there. "No, that's not what I meant. I'm saying you might want to take an inventory, make sure this is what you want."
Hawkeye, a little miffed, scoffed. "I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't want to. You ought to know me better than that."
"I do know you, and that's why I'm asking you this. Do you have all your geese in a row?"
Hawkeye knew just then what his friend was talking about. "I'll have you know that I do not have feelings for any other lady. That was years ago, and it was obvious why we could never be together. I haven't even seen her in years. So if you've got something to say then why don't you come out and say it?"
"No, no. Just making sure, that's all. Want a swig of my drink? I can't stand to see a perfectly good beer go to waste," B.J. smiled.
"Of course I do. Gimmie that." And with that, the subject was closed. At least, it was verbally.
0000
Now here he was, ready to get married, and he had to take a sneak peak of what might have been. There she was, looking as beautifully blonde as always. He had a strong suspicion that Margaret Houlihan had colored her hair during the war, but how she always found that shade of blond was beyond him. As if reading his mind, she looked over and saw a tuxedo clad surgeon, well with tennis shoes (typical Hawkeye) and she smiled to herself. He always had a knack for putting his own touch on his clothes. Suddenly memories of Hawkeye and his tuxedo came racing through her mind. The way he would perform for the patients. Their dance they shared after Margaret's big inspection. Yes, he was probably born in a tuxedo; it wouldn't have surprised her. After all, Hawkeye always did have a flair for the dramatic.
And then the ceremony began. He looked around and saw all of his 4077 friends, save for Ferret Face (whose invitation might not have been mailed) and it was all coming back. Klinger even wore a dress for this occasion; thankfully it was not white, Hawkeye noted and laughed. Then it all came back to him. Those were the days. Those were his friends, his people, his life. Those were the ones who had his heart, not this young miss who was about to walk down the aisle with her father. He looked over at B.J., who smiled knowingly and then he knew what he had to do.
"Listen, people, I am so glad that you all made this trip to Crabapple Cove for this..this.. I don't know what you want to call it. Some of you might say that it's a wedding, but I prefer to think of it as a reunion. The reunion we'd all been looking for all these years, right Sherman?"
Colonel Potter smiled even though he had a bad feeling about things to come. Out of curiosity, he looked over at Margaret, who was looking at the floor, mighty uncomfortably, Potter noticed.
"I'm sorry folks but I need just a few minutes with my intended, and then…well, just hang in there."
A few minutes later the guests could all hear the slamming of the door, and Emily's father walked up to Hawkeye and hit him a good one. Guess he deserved that after all.
Throughout all the commotion no one noticed that Margaret had snuck out of the sanctuary.
"Pierce, what do you think you're doing?" her voice rose with emotion as she followed Hawkeye into the men's room.
"Not now, Margaret. I don't need any lectures from anyone, most of all you. And if you case you haven't noticed this isn't exactly a social setting."
"I've been to hell and back with you and you won't tell me where I can go, although I'd like to do the same to you. Who do you think you are breaking that young girl's heart? You have humiliated her in the worse way a woman can be humiliated."
"I know. And I'm truly sorry. For that I will regret for the rest of my life. But I couldn't' do it, Margaret. I couldn't get married ..not to her anyways."
"Why, what was wrong with her? I don't know her but she seemed like a perfectly nice girl, or at least the back of her head did. What's wrong with her? I should be asking what's wrong with you!"
"I don't know. I really don't know. I saw all of you together and it just brought back so many memories…have you ever had a moment where you asked yourself, Is this my life?"
Thinking back to her two divorces, she nodded. "But you wanted to get married. No one forced you to propose to her or to plan all of this. What is going on?"
"Well, I got to thinking about the old days. What my life was like then. What it's like now. And when you find yourself wishing you were back in Korea you realize that you're not quite as happy as you pretended," Hawkeye told her in a softer voice.
"Why, what did Korea have that Crabapple Cove doesn't?"
"You."
She looked at him curiously.
"It had you."
"What are you saying Pierce? Are you in love with me?" Margaret demanded, not realizing that her voice was also softening.
"I don't know..I don't know what I'm saying. I hear myself talking and I feel like such a fool but all I know was when I was picturing my kiss at the end of the ceremony I kept reliving a different kiss. A much different one."
"Are you talking about…that kiss?"
Hawkeye looked at her. "Yeah. I think I am."
Suddenly Margaret didn't know what to do. She knew exactly what he was talking about- she'd had the same image come to her at her last wedding. Still, even she couldn't imagine that it would have the same meaning to Hawkeye as it had to her.
"That was something, wasn't it?" she laughed, breaking the tension in the room.
"Yeah. Yeah it was. And until this moment I never realized how much it meant to me. At the time I thought it was a farewell kiss but now I see that it was a hello. Does that make sense to you?"
She smiled. "Yeah, Pierce. Yes it does."
"Margaret, I think I…I think…I…"
Without waiting for another word, Margaret leaned over and kissed him, with all of the passion that many years that had gone by held.
"What do we do now?" Hawkeye asked.
"Well for starters lets go have the biggest reunion this town has ever seen," she smiled.
"Just one question Margaret…"
"Another one? For someone who had all the answers back in Korea you sure are full of questions today," she teased as she straightened out his collar.
"Was it worth the wait?" he grinned, causing her to break out with the same megawatt smile that he'd always remembered so fondly about her.
"What do you think?" she asked before wrapping her arms around his neck, inviting him for another memorable kiss.
Yes, these were the days, after all.
The end
I am glad to see you writing M*A*S*H stories again. 
