Hawkeye woke up the next morning feeling rested for the first time since he got home. Then he realized why. He was cuddled up with Margaret on the couch. His arms were around her waist and her head was resting on his chest. It felt so good to have her in his arms. No sooner had he woken up than the blonde head slowly shifted and she opened her icy blue eyes to look into his deep blue ones.

"Good Morning" She said as she smiled up him.

"Good Morning. You sleep well afterwards?"

"Yeah. Thank you. I'm glad you came down last night. I just had to let it all out."

"I understand. But it's 7:00, and we need to get to work by 8:00"

"Oh yeah. Okay." They looked into each other's eyes for a moment before they got up, got ready and headed off to work.

All day Hawkeye and Margaret were working pretty much side by side. The rest of the hospital staff was amazed with how well they worked together. When in OR, Hawkeye didn't need to say any instructions, and Margaret would have it done. They were efficient, and while doing what most people considered a complicated surgery, they were able to talk as if they were having coffee. yet still maintaining the amount of professionalism to get the job done.

"What are you doing tonight, Margaret?"

"I was thinking about staying home and relaxing after a normal couple hours of surgery. No antifreeze, and no 36hour surgery either. Just spending free time enjoying some good coffee."

"Sounds good. How about I make you my world's famous chicken stir- fry? I'll make some strawberry cheesecake with fresh Maine strawberries that I'll pick this evening from our garden out back, and we'll have a bottle of the best wine around."

"I didn't know you could cook!"

"Didn't know I could cook?! My dear, I tell you that is like telling me that you didn't know I could operate! Or telling Pavarotti that he cannot sing! These hands are great for more than just surgery. And after supper I can show you what else they are great at, if you know what I mean." He looked up and smiled at Margaret through his mask.

"Hawkeye."

"Sorry, old habits die hard. However, will you join me for dinner? You may have to put up with a few passes from yours truly, but I thrive on rejection, so I don't mind if you don't mind."

"I'd love to. My shift ends at 5. So nice to have an 8-5 job again. Pick me up then." She smiled her own smile and playfully winked at Hawkeye.

"Margaret? Did you just make a pass at me? Well if I wasn't elbow deep in person than I would have to accept, but I will afterwards."

They finished up the patient, and Hawkeye and Margaret made their rounds. After a relaxing day at work, so different from what they were used to, they got out into the car and drove home.

"Dad's still at work. Here's the key, you go on in. I'll be in in a minute, just gotta pick some strawberries." He said as he tossed her his key.

She went on in and saw a note from Daniel:

Margaret, I had this made for you. Welcome to our humble abode. We love having you here. Especially my son. When he came home yesterday and told me you were here, he was grinning from ear to ear. Something I hadn't seen him do since before Korea. Thank you for making him happy. Make yourself at home. I saw some brochures on the table you had of houses in the area for sale, and don't even think about it. We want you to stay with us. Thank you. Daniel

Placed on top of the note was a key for the house. She really felt at home.

"Hawkeye! Your dad got a key made for me. I guess that really means he doesn't mind me being here."

"I told you. Now, while I start to get supper ready, you go get ready. When you come back downstairs, I'll get ready. I'll you'll need to do is make sure it doesn't catch fire. And remember, you are welcome at this house. This is your home. Now, make yourself at home. Don't bother knocking, okay?"

"Alright. Thank you Hawkeye."

Fifteen minutes later she was back downstairs in a simple yellow shirt and navy shorts. "Hawkeye, you go ahead and get ready."

He started to turn around "alright, just, HOLY CRAP!!! You look great! Wow!"

"Hawkeye roll your tongue back in your mouth and go upstairs and get ready yourself."

He went upstairs, and Margaret was just walking around when she realized that she had been so excited about supper with Hawkeye that when she got ready she had somehow forgotten to use the bathroom and really needed to go. She went upstairs, and seeing Hawkeye's bedroom door closed assumed he was in there. He always had it open, and the bathroom door was closed as always so she went on in. When she opened the door there was Hawkeye with not so much as a towel to grace his body. She just stood there in shock for a moment, as did he, until he realized what she was staring at and covered it up.

"Hawkeye! I'm, I'm so sorry! I didn't realize!! Oh, God!! I'm really, really sorry!!"

"Umm, it's okay Margaret" he said as he wrapped a towel around his waist. "I'm sure it's nothing you haven't seen before."

"HAWKEYE!"

"I meant as a nurse!! Jeez, I didn't mean, jeez Margaret. Although, you and the rest of the nurses saw me and BJ naked that time when you took our stuff from the showers."

"Yes I know, but.uh.well." She just couldn't speak. She had seen him before, that night in the abandoned hut, but, although she knew he had a nice body, she somehow never noticed just how great it really was. Now she really knew, although she kind of did before, why all the nurses were crazy about him. "I'll just go."

"No, no, I was just going into my room, so you go ahead and do whatever it was you came in here to do." He ducked out of the room tightly clutching the towel around his waist.

As he left, all she could think was 'wow'. After she did what she had to do, she went back downstairs to see Hawkeye at the oven frying the vegetables in the pan. He was looking great she thought, wearing beige shorts and a button-up dark blue top, not tucked in. He hated tucking his shirts in. He had a table set up for two, with candles. He had romantic music playing on a record player. He saw her coming, and like a real gentleman took her hand and led her to the table. He even pulled out her chair for her to sit down. He poured the wine he had into the glasses and set the steaming plates of food onto the table.

"This kind of food may be insulted once it reaches your stomach and finds any traces of what we ate as food over in Korea" He said as he took his seat. Margaret just took a bite, and couldn't believe it.

"Hawkeye! This is the best I've ever tasted! You are a great cook! We should have made you officer in charge of the Mess Tent!"

"They did. It was a disaster and the army nearly billed me for 75 missing trays. That's why I never let on that I could cook. I didn't want to have Igor's job."

They finished their main course and Hawkeye brought out the strawberry cheesecake.

"Oh, Hawkeye, this is divine! I don't know the last time I had a meal like this!"

"Wait until you have the real desert. Me." He said with his trademark smile. He said it jokingly, but both wanted it to be true.

"Uh, Hawkeye. We have to talk. About last night."

"You were upset and I comforted you."

"Well, Hawkeye, you did a little more than comfort me. And I was wondering just how far you would have gone had your father not come downstairs when he did."

"Margaret. I, I don't know." He sighed. "Last night, it just felt so right. And, well, to tell you the truth, I liked it."

"So did I. I must confess that, well, the main reason I came to Crabapple Cove General was I was hoping to meet up with you again."

They were sitting there with their dinner finished, and Hawkeye stood up and took Margaret's hand. He pulled her up and hugged her. "You have no idea how much I was hoping you'd say that."

"I think I do." She looked up at him and their eyes met. He pulled her into a long kiss; if it was possible, more passionate than the day they left the 4077th. They made their way to the living room and onto the couch. He kissed her all over her neck and his hands were traveling all around her back. They came around to her front and started to go up under her shirt when

"Wait, Hawkeye. What about your dad? He might be home soon."

He was kissing her neck and in between each kiss he managed to get out "Don't worry. He's out with Ellie, 'playing gin'. It runs in the family. He won't be back for a long time."

"Are you sure?"

"You want me to stop?"

"No."

"Then I'm sure."

She was unbuttoning his shirt, and pulled it off of him. He lifted his lips off of her long enough to pull off her shirt and he started kissing her again.

"Hawkeye?" Margaret said breathlessly.

"Hmm?" Was all he could manage.

"Let's take this upstairs before it gets a bit too, you know."

"Okay." He picked her up off the couch and carried her upstairs kissing her all the way. He pulled back the cover put her in the bed pulled off his shorts and jumped in the bed.



Afterwards, Hawkeye and Margaret lay together in bed, arms and legs wrapped around each other. They couldn't get close enough. Margaret lay her head on his chest and he ran his fingers through her hair.

"Hawkeye?"

"Hmm."

"That was nice. Now I know why all my nurses loved to go out with you."

"Margaret, we did do this once before."

"Yeah, it's just we were both scared that it would be our last night. I just thought you were that great then because you were so scared. Tonight was even better if it was possible."

"Margaret, both you and I know that that was not our first time. Not with each other, and not with anybody else. We're no virgins. But a lot of the time, my mind wasn't in it. In Korea, I was just looking for something that would satisfy me a bit more than my magazines. I never loved any of those girls. I couldn't tell them that I loved them. I never told anyone before that I loved them. But, I love you."

"I love you too, Hawk."

"Call me Ben."

"No one calls you Ben. Not even your dad."

"Yeah, I know. Only my mom ever called me Ben. I see it fit that only the two girls I ever loved in my entire life, call me Ben."

"Ben. I love you Ben."

He rolled over and started again.

The two were sound asleep when Daniel came home. He noticed that the music was still on and the plates still unwashed, so he figured they were in the living room. He walked in. No Hawkeye or Margaret. He walked upstairs and noticed Margaret's bedroom door was open, and Hawkeye's was open just a bit. He thought Hawkeye might be in there, so he went on in. He wasn't surprised when he found his son's dark hair poking out under the covers, and a blonde head next to it.

"You'd think you'd give an old man a break and at least close the door and put a hanger on the knob!" He said loudly

"Dad!" Startled Hawkeye jumped up out of bed, only to remember that his clothes were on a pile on the floor with Margaret's. "Oh God. I bet this looks bad."

"Hawkeye, I'm gonna pretend I never saw what I did, if you make sure next time you decide to do it, you close the door. I'm gonna go wash my brain and we'll never speak of this again. Especially the part with you standing there with no clothes on. I may be a doctor but you are my son, so that's just weird. Good night."

Hawkeye got back in bed, cuddled up to Margaret to get as close as he could. She melted into him and buried her head in his chest. "I heard every word," She mumbled into his chest. "This is a great thing for your dad to have stumbled upon. Why did you get out of bed? I already saw you naked by accident today. How many people do you have to show what you got to?"

He laughed. "He startled me. I forgot I had no clothes on. Besides, you didn't mind what you saw. I know you never. I pretended nothing happened because I didn't know how you'd react, but now I know. You liked what you saw, admit it."

"Okay, you have a great body and I did like what I saw. Didn't tonight show that enough for you?" "I guess. It's one o'clock. We should get some sleep. We get to work together again tomorrow.

"We work together all the time. We do a great job too. Both in and out of the OR. By the way, you are right. Your skilled surgeon hands are talented not only in the OR and the kitchen, but in other areas as well."

"I told you that." He mumbled as they drifted off to sleep in each others arms.