I Will Dance With Cinderella, a m*a*s*h fanfic

I will Dance With Cinderella

Author's Note and Disclaimer: I do not own the copyrighted characters of MASH, nor do I claim rights to Steven Curtis Chapman's hit, Cinderella; however Mr. Chapman's touching song did inspire this little fic as I lay in bed listening to the lyrics. I couldn't help thinking of BJ and Erin.

She spins and she sways to whatever song plays,
Without a care in the world.
And I'm sitting here wearing the weight of the world on my shoulders.
It's been a long day and there's still work to do,
She's pulling at me saying "Dad I need you!
There's a ball at the castle and I've been invited and I need to practice my dancin'"
"Oh please, daddy, please!"

It had been a long, hard day for BJ Hunnicutt M.D., who just came home from a grueling day at the hospital. He had just performed reconstructive surgery on a car accident victim whose condition remained critical, and he couldn't erase the images of the man's disfigured body from his mind. It didn't help that some bills were due, and the unexpected expense of much needed house renovations almost drained the family's savings. The sandy haired physician felt as if the whole town of Mill Valley was riding piggy back on his shoulders when his six-year-old's tiny hands shot out and clamped around his arm.

"Daddy!" Erin squeaked happily as she joyfully bounced in front of her father in the Halloween costume Peg had just made for her. "I'm going to the prince's ball, but I need to practice dancing so he'll like me best and pick me to marry him!"

"BJ didn't even notice the music that was playing on the radio in the background, but everything suddenly came into focus as he stared lovingly at his little girl in her pink sequined gown, a tiny tiara sitting atop her head of blonde curls. BJ gulped, unsure if this was the right time to drop everything and dance with his darling daughter.. Such doubts were swept away when the child's angelic eyes and sincere "Please Daddy." erased all his worries for the time being. He rose from his desk chair and took her by the hand.

"May I have this dance, little princess?" he asked sweetly, wrapping his hands around hers.

So I will dance with Cinderella
While she is here in my arms
'Cause I know something the prince never knew
Oh I will dance with Cinderella
I don't want to miss even one song
'Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight
And she'll be gone.

Daddy and daughter swirled about as if they were the most graceful dancers at the ball until Peg broke the spell by announcing that dinner was finally ready. Even though the bills still had to be paid and his patient wasn't out of the woods yet, BJ's burdens had been washed away with that wee one's simple and heartfelt request. It was at that moment when BJ wished he could freeze time and keep Erin at this cute age forever; but inevitably, she would have to do what all little girls eventually do - grow up into young ladies.

She says he's a nice guy and I'd be impressed
She wants to know if I approve of the dress
She says, "Dad the prom is just one week away
And I need to practice my dancin'
"Oh please, daddy , please!"

Sixteen-year-old Erin modeled her pale blue floor length gown for her father, all the while happily chattering about her first real boyfriend and the excitement of going to her junior prom. Rumors were going around school that she was destined to be elected queen, and this made her a little nervous, for that would mean she'd have to dance in front of the whole class.

"Erin, you look absolutely beautiful in that dress," BJ admired his daughter with wide eyes.

"Daddy, if they elect me queen, that means I'll have to do a ballroom dance in front of everybody. Will you help me? Please, if I mess up, I won't be able to show my face in school for the rest of the year."

"Honey, you'll do just fine. Remember when you were six years old and you were Cinderella for Halloween? You were the belle of the ball."

"Daddy, please, that was ten years ago," Erin begged as she clamped her arms around her father's middle and looked to him with wide eyes.

BJ knew he couldn't resist his girl's plea, so he slipped free of Erin's grasp and approached the table that held Erin's stereo. He leafed through the 45's and put one of the love songs on the turn table. With a smile on his mustached face, he held out his hand to his lovely daughter and asked her to dance.

"May I have this dance, my queen?" he asked, bowing slightly.

Giggling, Erin wrapped her arms around BJ's shoulders and tenderly leaned against him. They stepped and swayed in time to the music and were lost in the moment, allowing the song to repeat three times before Peg knocked on the bedroom door to tell Erin a telephone call had come in for her. The dancers drew apart and gazed into each other's eyes. This was a time to be treasured, for in a few short years, Erin Hunnicutt would grow up and leave the nest.

But she came home today with a ring on her hand
Just glowing and telling us all they had planned
She says, "Dad the wedding's still six months away but I need to practice my dancin'
"Oh please, daddy , please!"

Twenty-six-year-old Erin came home on leave from med school with the greatest news of her life! The nice boy from Illinois whom she had met during her first year in training asked her to marry her! She bounced in front of her daddy and gleefully passed her left hand in front of him, showing him a shiny rock that had to have been handed down from generation to generation.

"Daddy, Andy asked me to marry him! I can't believe it! I'm gonna get married!" Erin babbled as if she were on a sugar high. "It's like a dream! We set the date for six months so we'd both be on vacation time and can have the whole family come in to the wedding! It's so exciting!"

"Well, I hope he knows what a special young lady he's getting," was all a speechless BJ could think to say, for he realized that he was going to lose his baby girl. "He'd better take care of you, or I'll come after him with a shotgun."

"Oh, Daddy, he's a good man, and he said he'll already have a job when he finishes his residency. He's planning to start his practice in Chicago, and he wants me to work with him. Just think, we'll be performing surgery side by side, saving human lives and making sick people feel good as new. Only one thing's got me nervous."

"Well, honey, moving away from home is a little scary, and marriage is a big step; it's normal to be a little nervous. I know your mom and I were."

"Daddy, I know it's six months off, but I really need to practice my dancing; I'm really rusty."

Understanding that this would be the last time he would hold Erin Hunnicutt in his arms, save the normal hello or good-bye hugs, BJ slipped a cassette into the tape deck in the living room stereo and approached his daughter once the slow song started playing.

"May I have a dance with the bride?" He asked with a twinkle in his eye

"You may," she answered as they drew close and rehearsed the steps she would be doing with her betrothed in the not too distant future.

Father of the bride, BJ proudly watched as Erin gracefully glided along the dance floor with her brand new husband, and he felt a tear forming in his right eye. When the music stopped, the band leader announced that the next number was for the bride and her father. Erin Hunnicutt Blake smooched Andy on the cheek and all but floated up to her father, asking for the next dance.

"Daddy, may I have this dance?" she choked out her words as she tugged on his hand.

"I thought you would never ask, honey," BJ replied as they took their places on the dance floor. The treasured moment lasted forever, yet it was also over in a flash for BJ. Erin would always be his little girl, but now his Cinderella belonged with another man who would be responsible for looking after her. All too soon, the clock would strike midnight, and she would be gone, gone to live a new life with her loving husband.