Hawkeye and Margaret were up early the next morning at about 6:00. They couldn't wait to call everybody and tell them the good news. Hawkeye was ecstatic just singing "Margaret and Me, Nick and Beth make four! We're happy in my blue heaven!"

"God, Margaret, I still can't believe it. I'm a daddy! These two kids depend on us for everything, and the first few years of their lives are crucial! Luckily, I called the hospital, and if they get any emergency surgeries that they need me for, they can call me in. For now, it's just you and me and the kids for a while. I'm just so happy!"

"I know, Ben! You don't know how good it feels to get them out of there! They've been taking up space, killing my back and punching my bladder for 9 months! I was just wondering, would you like to have them bottle-fed? I wanted to breastfeed, but with two, and this way you can help too."

"Sure! I was kind of hoping you'd say that! I know how much it killed BJ to be away from Erin! I don't want to miss a moment of my children's lives. The only thing is, I wasn't sure about how you'd feel about it, I know you wanted to have a natural child birth, but I want to be involved, and well, I can't exactly breastfeed, you know."

"Also, that way when they're a little older, we can leave them with Daniel or Mom, maybe even for the night, so we can have a little time on our own." She said smiling.

"Oh, okay!! Well, let's get them started on the bottles now, so when we're comfortable, we can go out for an evening. I'll take somewhere special to celebrate parenthood! God, I still can't believe it! I'm a doctor, I know all about it, but I still am amazed that we created these two from showing each other that we love each other. I love you, Margaret."

"I love you too, Ben." She replied and he kissed her tenderly. "Want to go visit your dad? We should just show up, not call or anything! He'd be so surprised!"

"That's a great idea! On the way, we can go to the store and get a second baby set. We're gonna need two of everything now!"

"Alright, well, I have to get a shower. I'm a mess. After giving birth to two children I really need to get freshened up. I'd invite you in, but I don't want to leave these two out of our sight for more than possible."

"I understand. I'll get a shower after." He was a little disappointed, but he knew that she had had a hard night. He did too, but he couldn't imaging what it was like being on that side of childbirth.

They got ready and packed up their many baby things. Diapers, extra clothes, blankets. Luckily, they had bought a lot of clothes for baby girls and baby boys, and decided they would return whatever they didn't need, although now they would need al of it.

First they decided to get a second carrier, and infant car seat. They went to the store, and, everyone of course knew Crabapple Cove's most talked about couple. Young Hawkeye Pierce had managed to choose one girl and stick with her, and they were now having a baby. The entire store was all over them slapping Hawkeye on the back, giving Margaret hugs and kisses on the cheek, and of course awing over Nick and Beth. When they finally got through the crowds, they ought what they needed for the unexpected second child, and had everything delivered to the house. They then drove over to Daniel's place, and opened the door.

"Hello?! Dad?" He ran into the living room holding his children with a huge grin on his face. "Guess who's a grandfather!"

"Ben! Congrats! What, two kids! Where'd this one come from?"

"Well, I had delivered this little girl here, and gave her to her Mommy. Then I wanted her to just push a bit to deliver the placenta, but she said it hurt just as much as the baby, so I told her to give a big push, and, lone behold, this little fella decides to make his first appearance!"

"Well that's great son! What are their names?"

"Nicolas Blake Jonathan Daniel, and Elizabeth Sandy Lynn Jane. They're really long names, but we wanted to name them after everybody. We decided to call them Nick and Beth, and only Nicolas and Elizabeth when their in trouble. And their full names if they're in really deep trouble. I could always tell how mad you were by the length of my name. There was Hawk, then Hawkeye, Ben, Benjamin, and if you were really mad, Benjamin Franklin. If you said that it was loud enough for the whole town, in which they probably thought you were crazy for yelling at a long dead president."

"Hawk, this is the best thing that's ever happened to me!" Daniel had tears in his eyes. "The way you were going through women all through your teens and your twenties, I thought I'd never have a grandchild. Now, thanks to this lucky girl here, I've got two. Thank you."

"Dad, we had just as much fun making them as you will loving them."

"BEN!" Margaret yelled at the same time Daniel yelled "Hawk!"

"Kidding, kidding!" He said as he ducked from her arm. Daniel sat down with Nick and started talking to him. "Hey there sport! How you doing? I'm your Grampy. That's what you guys can call me. "I'll take you on fishing trips and take your sister to, well, whatever it is girls do. She'll tell me I'm sure."

"Hawk, maybe in a couple of years when Nick is old enough we'll have fishing trips with three generations of Pierce men. I can't believe I'm standing here holding my grandson. You know, your mother would be so proud. I'm sure she's smiling at you now Hawk. She loved children. She wanted more, but couldn't have any." He was crying and Hawk went over and hugged him.

"Dad, I never realized how great this feeling is, that I created, delivered, and will now raise these two kids." The three adults stood holding the two babies, just enjoying their innocence.

"Margaret, we should call Beej! He'll never believe it!"

"Yeah, we should call mom too. I don't know if I should call dad. I tried calling him to tell him he was going to be a grandfather, but he won't listen to me long enough to hear it. He just hangs up on me."

"Margaret, I can't believe a man would do that to his own child and grandchildren! I mean, I'll help you guys however I can. In a little while, if you need an evening to yourselves, bring them over and I'll take care of them. I'll support you every way. Ever since Ben was 10 I raised him on my own, though I guess he's not the best example of my parenting abilities." He said jokingly.

"Hey! Listen, Dad, can we use your phone? You can play with the kids for a while."

"Sure, no prob. Nick, Beth, I'm gonna tell you all kinds of stories now about when your Daddy was little. When you get older and can understand them, I'll tell you all kinds of embarrassing stories."

"Yeah, well tell them all you want now, because they'll just go to sleep. Right now, all they do is sleep and poop anyway."

They went into Hawkeye's old bedroom to make the calls. Hawkeye picked up the phone and dialed BJ's. It was Saturday morning at only 8:00 there, but he couldn't wait any longer.

"Hello?" BJ's sleepy greeting came over the phone.

"BEEJ!! How ya been?"

"Hawk? Great, how are you? How's Margaret? Is the baby there yet?"

"Beej, you'll NEVER believe this! Not in a million years!"

"What?" Hawkeye just giggled like a child. "Will you tell me already, or do I have to guess?"

"We got twins!!! A boy and a girl!"

"Hawk?! Are you serious? That's great! Congratulations! Peg says congrats too."

"Thanks! I was the first person they saw when they came into the world! I'm so happy! Beej, I can't imagine being away from these kids now like you were! Or my wife! How did you do it? I met them only 12 hours ago, and I love them more than anything! Beej, I never understood, but now I do. I can't imagine being away from Margaret for 2 years! I've hardly left her side in the nine months we've been married. If I go into work and she stays home for the day, well, by the time the evening comes I miss her so much."

"Hawk, I know. Pierce is the same way. I missed Erin's first two years, and these past two months I've never left him. I don't want to miss a thing."

"Oh yeah, how's little Pierce Sherman?"

"Great! He was smiling at me today. I think he's starting to recognize me now, and smiles whenever he sees me. It's amazing! I forgot to ask, and I can't believe I did, but what are your kids' names?"

"Nicolas Blake Jonathan Daniel Pierce, and Elizabeth Sandy Lynn Jane. Nick and Beth for short. It's long, but we named Nick after You, Henry and Trapper, and Beth after her grandmothers."

"Hawk! Thanks!"

"Yeah, and my BJ actually stands for something."

"Mine stands for something, it's

"Whatever you want" they finished together.

"Too bad Peg wouldn't let you call Pierce Hawkeye. That would be cool." Hawk said.

"Yeah, well I dunno. I think one Hawkeye is enough for this world to handle."

"HEY! Listen, Beej, I'm gonna have to go. We still have to call Jane yet, but sometime when our kids are old enough, either we'll go out there or you can come out here. I'll probably calling you a lot for advice, although before I had these kids, I hardly knew which way was up, but those instincts just came as soon as they were born. But I still might have a few questions."

"I know, I understand. I'll let you go now! See ya later!"

"Bye Beej!" They hung up and Margaret called her mother.

After a long, long chat, in which Hawkeye got bored just listening to Margaret say "yes, no, really, I know", and everything else over and over again, he decided to go out to see his kids and his dad. Now that he was a dad, there was a bond between the two older Pierce men. He found it odd that he would be one of the 'older Pierce men' now. He had always been called 'young Pierce'. Finally, Margaret came in.

"Hawk, I've got great news! Mom decided that there's not a whole lot in Boston, so she said she'd come here to live! She'll stay with us for a while until she gets her own place, but she'll be so much closer to the babies! Isn't that great?"

"Oh Margaret, that's wonderful! You seem, I don't know, not all happy about the situation? What's wrong?"

"Well, I'm thrilled that Mom will be living close by, I really am, it's just, well, if I know her, she's going to be on my back all the time about the babies, especially when she's living with us. I want to be able to be fairly independent. I don't need her to live with us, and I know she doesn't believe in closed doors so there will be no privacy."

"Oh, well.at least she'll be there when we need her."

Daniel sat silent on the couch listening to them. "Kids, why don't you let her stay with me? I've got plenty of room here, and we'll be close by."

"Daniel, if you're anything like your son, I don't know if it's a good idea for a girl to move in with you. Look what happened to me. I moved in with Hawkeye and boom, nine months and one week later, I have our children in my arms."

"You know we're too old to be doing that. Not like you two anyway."

"Da-ad!"

"Sorry, sorry, couldn't resist. But seriously though, we became good friends at the wedding, she is your mother Margaret. I don't see why it would be a problem."

"Okay, I guess. But be good." Margaret said jokingly. "Sorry, it's just that instead of this one kid here" she smacked him playfully in the head "I now have three! I guess the motherly side of me is making me protective of everyone."

"Margaret, our new stuff should be at the house now. Want to go and I can set it up? We can have them in the yellow room for now, but later on when they're old enough we'll move them into the two other rooms."

"Okay. Thanks for offering to take my mother Daniel! Bye!" Margaret called out on her way out the door.

They got home, and sat in the rocking chairs, each holding a baby and a bottle of milk. Hawkeye thoroughly enjoyed this; being able to help more than if Margaret had breastfeed. They sat in silence, reflecting all that had happened in the past 10 months. Hawkeye and Margaret had said goodbye in Korea, found each other in Crabapple Cove, got married and now had two beautiful children.

"You know Margaret," Hawkeye said, "When I was in Korea, I was homesick the whole time. For the full three years all I wanted was to go home. But when I got there, I was still homesick. I thought I was home, but my heart wasn't there. You were still in Korea, or God knows where, and my heart was with you. I know now, that home is here. Where you are. Dad was my family, but so are you. Even before we left Korea. My whole family is here now, my Dad, you and my kids. I really feel like I'm finally home."