Ten months later…

As the plane came to a stop on the tarmac, Hawkeye stood and pulled his bag out of the overhead compartment and replaced his hat on his head. Being surrounded by so many people in civilian clothes made him feel uncomfortable, especially given that they were either staring at his uniform or purposefully averting their eyes. Coming home from war was definitely one of the most bizarre experiences of his life.

Another bizarre experience had been leaving the 4077, with the rest of the unit, to go their separate ways. Peace had finally arrived in Korea. He had spent the entire war hoping for a discharge. When it had finally happened, Hawkeye hadn't expected to feel anything except excitement. Leaving the mobile hospital, however, also meant leaving the family he had grown to love over the past few years.

As he walked down the aisle, he caught a glimpse of his dad and Margaret out one of the small windows, standing side-by-side on the far end of the tarmac. Hawkeye quickened his pace, smiling apologetically as he passed the elderly woman in front of him, moving at snail speed. As he got to the top of the stairs and ducked through the door, he squinted in the sunlight at his family and grinned. In Margaret's arms was a dark-haired baby, the same one that filled all of Hawkeye's dreams at night, doing his best to wriggle free. A second later, Margaret's eyes found his across the long expanse of runway. Her face broke out in a smile and she nudged his father, whose expression mirrored hers. Lifting his arm, he waved, emotion bubbling up inside his chest.

He crossed the tarmac in as few steps as he could take, rounding the fence in record speed. When he reached his family, the mist in his eyes was already starting to obstruct his vision. Margaret looked beautiful, dressed in a simple light-blue shirtdress, her blonde hair blowing free in the warm breeze. The small boy in her arms, now about ten-months-old, was watching him approach with huge, interested eyes. His cheeks were rosy, rosebud mouth open slightly and revealing four white teeth.

Dropping his bag heavily on the ground in front of her, he didn't even pause before wrapping his arms around both of them and kissing Margaret on the forehead. "Hey," he said. "Long time no see. Maine agrees with you."

"Hi." Her smile was huge, tears suddenly rolling down her cheeks. She wiped at them with her free arm. "I don't know why I'm crying," she laughed.

His laugh and tears mirrored her own. "I don't think I've been happier to see anyone in my whole life."

"This is Benny," she said, smoothing his wild black hair.

Hawkeye reached out and touched his son's hand lightly, not wanting to scare him. "Hey, Ben." The tears were running down his face unchecked now and he made no attempt to wipe them away. "I'm your dad." His voice broke.

Ben, for his part, grinned. He obviously had no grasp of the situation but was thoroughly enjoying the attention. His little fist wrapped around his father's fingers. Hawkeye laughed again and kissed both Ben and Margaret's heads in quick succession before turning to his own father.

"Hey, dad."

Daniel Pierce smiled and wrapped his arms around Hawkeye, hugging him tightly. "Welcome home, son," he said. "It's been far too long."

A few hours later, Hawkeye laid on the bed next to Benny, watching him sleep. The rhythmic rise and fall of his tiny chest was the most fascinating thing he had ever seen. And, admittedly, he had spent a lot of time watching the rise and fall of people's chests. Every few minutes, the little boy would sigh heavily and make little grunting noises. Hawkeye thought his heart would explode with every beat in his chest. It took every ounce of his restraint to not lift the boy's pajama-clad body off the bed just to hold him for another few minutes. He finally understood what B.J. had been talking about for the past few years; fatherhood was something that transcended his own personhood.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door scraping open. Margaret quietly peeked into the room, smiling when she saw the two of them. Moving silently, she wrapped her hand around his bare ankle and rubbed her thumb back and forth across the top of his foot.

"You got him to sleep," she whispered.

He propped his head up on a hand, still watching Ben. "I read him Goodnight Moon twice, but he fell asleep to The Surgeon's Handbook, 9th ed." He motioned to the closed books on the bedside table. "Can't say I blame him; we had the 8th edition in med school. It was the best prescription I had for insomnia."

Margaret chuckled, "I'm going to put him in his crib."

He waved her off. "Let me do it, I need the practice." Rolling himself easily into a sitting position, he reached underneath Ben's sleeping form and awkwardly lifted him off the bed. He slowly made his way across the room to the crib in the corner. Adjusting his grip on the child, he shifted his weight and gently lowered him into his bed. Ben made a grunting noise, grabbed his blanket, and rolled onto his stomach.

"I could watch him all night," Hawkeye said, staring down in to the crib.

Margaret moved to stand behind him and placed her hand lightly on his upper back. "There's plenty of time for that, Captain."

Hawkeye startled at the use of his title. They made eye contact in the dark room. "Sorry," he said after a minute, "I'm not used to hearing people throw that around at home in the U.S. of A."

"Old habits, I guess." she said, "I should probably find something else to call you now."

Hawkeye looked down at Benny one more time before following Margaret out of the room, closing the door quietly behind them. "You could just call me Doctor," he said with a grin. "Or just 'doc' for short."

She elbowed him in the ribs.

"Ow," he grunted, "Oh! I could call you 'nurse,' you could call me 'doctor.' Sounds like a fun game, don't you think?"

Side-by-side they made their way down the stairs and into the family room where his dad was sitting, reading the evening newspaper.

"Sounds like he went down without a peep," Daniel said, folding the paper up and setting it on the end table.

"I read to him out of…."

"The Surgeon's Handbook," his dad finished. "Most boring reading material in the house. Gets him every time."

Hawkeye smiled and loosened his tie before making his way to the mini bar. "Anyone up for a nightcap?" he asked, lifting a bottle of brandy off the cart and giving it a shake.

His father shook his head and stood, stretching. "No thanks. I have to run over to Doris Leawood's for an hour or so. Bessie-Louise is going to deliver a baby any day and I'd hate to miss it."

"I thought her daughter's name was Thelma?" he replied, pouring himself and Margaret a drink.

"Thelma's her daughter. Bessie-Louise is her cow."

Hawkeye coughed, sputtering mid-sip. "I didn't realize you became a part-time veterinarian. Where's Doc Smith?"

"Vacation in Newport."

"He take over for you when you're out?"

"I'm never out," he replied, grabbing his keys off the kitchen table. "See you both… much, much later." Daniel pulled open the front door and stopped momentarily, "If you're… in bed, I won't wake you when I get in." He wagged his eyebrows at his son before disappearing.

The house was suddenly quiet.

It only took a few heartbeats before Hawkeye and Margaret dropped their drinks simultaneously and crossed the room in a few steps, crashing together; his hands in her hair, her arms wrapped tightly around him, lips pressed together.

Breaking the seal on their mouths momentarily, Hawkeye moved to her neck with an urgency he had never felt before. Margaret let out a little moan as his lips moved along her collarbone and she yanked the knot out of his tie, pulling it roughly over his head.

Hawkeye worked the buttons of her dress with fumbling fingers. After a few seconds, she moved his hands and started to undo them herself.

"Sorry," he said. "It's been awhile."

She stopped and looked up at him. "Really?"

He gave her a small smile and nodded. "I'm not going to say it wasn't hard sometimes. But knowing I was coming home to you and my kid made abstinence tolerable." Running his fingers along the edge of her open shirt, he pushed the fabric over her shoulders and stared into her eyes as her dress fluttered to her feet. "Call me Ben."

She looked up at him through her lashes and stepped forward, out of her dress and into his arms.

There was never an official conversation about the status of their relationship. A few weeks after Hawkeye returned stateside, he started working as a surgeon at the V.A. hospital. Although he had been offered a position at Crabapple Cove's community hospital, he found that after a few years in the service (voluntary or not) he was more comfortable surrounded by people who had been through similar experiences. Spending the war putting men back together just so they could risk their lives again left him with a certain degree of guilt. This time, he decided, he would dedicate his career to really putting them back together; knee surgeries so they could dance with their wives, carpal tunnel releases so they could enjoy tennis and woodworking and play the piano, as well as the frequent emergency surgery that once again made him feel that he was making a difference. Margaret, for her part, took a teaching position at the local nurses college, although she admittedly missed the OR.

They bought a house a short drive from the Gulf and spent the remainder of the summer walking the rocky coastline and watching Benny splash in the cold water and eat sand. The next summer, they married on that same beach, saying their vows under the warm Maine sun, in front of Father Mulkahy and the rest of the 4077. Hawkeye said later that it was the best day of his life, not only because he and Margaret were deliciously happy to finally tie the knot, but also because the entire unit was able to make it, even Frank Burns (Margaret insisted he be invited, as leaving anyone out wouldn't be right), who only showed up because he thought the entire thing was one big joke. Hawkeye was mildly amused to watch Frank cry into his champagne glass when he realized they were, in fact, getting married AND already had a child together. They danced and celebrated until the sun sunk below the horizon, at which time, Trapper tore off his tux and dove naked into the salty water. Shortly thereafter, the rest of the troupe followed him, even Radar undressed to his skivvies and joined in.

They had a lovely wedding weekend, enjoying the company of their friends and family. BJ and Peg were the last to leave, spending an extra few days with Hawkeye and Margaret. It was Peg's first weekend away from Erin, and their first vacation away from home since BJ's return from Korea. It was no surprise to Margaret when, eight weeks later, Peg called and excitedly shared that they were expecting their second baby.

And so life rolled on beautifully. Although both Margaret and Hawkeye were right to worry about the differences between them (sometimes their arguments were loud enough to be officially named; an example being the Wallpaper Conflict of 1954), they also were forever bonded over a shared experience. Korea never left them; the pain, the joy, the friendship, and the relief at finally being able to live their lives left them with a shared story. And although their story began in a warzone, their shared life was one of peace and joy. It was all either of them could have asked for.

The end.