The chopper rose as Hawkeye got his last look at the 4077th. It was a bit melancholy to see it all behind him. If he looked hard enough, he could see the stone 'goodbye' and make out the exact space where the Swamp had proudly stood. Also, the hug from the best friend he'd ever had in all the world still lingered with him, and there was something else coming upon him, something he'd not experienced before. A feeling which became known to him as soon as the chopper made its ascent.
"Oh goodness, this isn't right," Hawkeye squirmed around in his seat as he was trying to find the correct road down below. After some intensive searching, he was able to pick up the telltale dust trail. "See that vehicle? Turn there, we gotta catch up to it!"
"But, sir," the pilot responded blankly. "We're in the air and that jeep's on the ground."
"Of course, man, I know that! You gotta land in front of it!" Hawkeye spit. He didn't care how odd the pilot was looking at him. He was on a mission and nothing was going to dissuade him from it. "So go, now! Get down on the road to block the way. It's highly important."
"Go down there, sir? You are sure?" The pilot dumbfoundedly repeated.
"Yes, hurry!" Pierce excitedly pointed towards the empty section of road that lay before the jeep he was trying to stop. Meanwhile, a best friend, and also a former captain, was making his own exit out of the area when he glanced back to see something unbelievable.
Much to his incomprehension, the pilot of Hawkeye's chopper deftly landed his craft in the middle of the road that linked two MASH units. The jeep it meant to block came to a screeching halt, and thus the passengers were in quite a state of confusion.
"Pierce?! What in the world are you doing?" Margaret yelled as she hopped from the jeep. "This has to be one of the most outrag.."
"Of course it is! And it's all about you, Margaret!" Hawkeye had gotten out of the chopper and met her halfway. He drew her into a rough embrace.
She allowed him to hug her for a second or two, then pulled away. "Well, I am flattered, I didn't expect this. What you are doing here?!"
"It's you! I had to come and get you! To tell you something important." Hawkeye squelched out in one breath. The befuddled woman in front of him was growing impatient for him to go on. "I love you, Margaret." He gulped. "I came to realize this just a few moments ago! I'm in love with you!"
She could only stammer a return. "You're in love with me?"
"Yes, yes," Pierce confirmed, getting more frustrated at having to repeat things to people repeating things back at him. "Suddenly, you were gone, and I believe I missed you, and felt then I loved you." He clutched her arms. "I gotta know, do you love me back?"
"Ahh," she took a moment to ponder. "Ah, yes, I believe that could be possible."
"Great! You gotta marry me, Margaret!"
"Marry you? It's so sudden!" She couldn't be sure if there was a swoon coming on, or just the heat, or the bizarre situation she was placed at the present time.
Plus the growing roar coming directly at them wasn't helping. Adding to the surprises, it was B.J. on his motorcycle. He was quick off the bike and hurried over to the pair. "What happened? I saw your chopper make a quick descent."
"It's Margaret. I realized as soon as we were airborne that I love her and want to marry her. I'd never felt that for her before, but something I guess, in the air.." Hawkeye explained. "Anyway, she was just about to give an answer when you came. Beej, buddy, I'm thrilled to see you again, but your timing isn't the best."
"You kids don't waste any time, do you?" Hunnicutt said with a guffaw, and joined Hawkeye in looking quite intently at Margaret. Both seemed to be awaiting a response.
"Why should we wait?" Hawkeye snorted impatiently. "Now, if you would please give me your 'yes'!"
Margaret looked between the two previous captains and finally settled her gaze on Hawkeye. "Well, okay, I'll do it! I doubt I could do better now. So my answer is yes!"
"That's the spirit!" B.J. clapped the both of them on the shoulder.
"I know, let's catch up to Father Mulcahy, and have him perform the ceremony immediately!"
"All right, I'm game." Margaret plastered on a smile.
Hunnicutt leaned into his friend. "Ah, Hawkeye, there's something you ought to know about Mulcahy.."
"What? Is it that he'll surprised or something?"
B.J. opened his mouth to explain what had happened with the Father, but changed his mind for the moment. "Yeah, that's it, and well, he's probably at the 8063rd by now."
"Great, let's get a move on." Pierce ushered the party towards their long-waiting vehicles.
The chopper was let go, much to the astonishment of its pilot, and so Hawkeye climbed on the back of B.J.'s motorcycle once again. In turn, Margaret returned to her ladened jeep, and the newly betrothed caravan began to make tracks for the MASH 8063rd.
Upon reaching the slowly disassembling camp, B.J. took over the hunt of locating the Father. That was a little to both Hawkeye's and Margaret's puzzlement, but they shrugged it off. After separating for a spell to conduct a broader search, Hawkeye and Margaret had found the 8063rd's chaplain's tent when B.J. came walking up with Mulcahy.
"Now, Hawkeye," Mulcahy looked hard at Pierce. "I take it you want to be married today?"
"Yes," he nodded, "we do."
"Good," the Father took his nod as more of a reply. "The same, Margaret?"
She didn't nod as much as Hawkeye had done. "I think that's it."
A low grumbling steadily filled the air as a heavy truck came near. Mulcahy wasn't fazed and continued with his explaining of the brief ceremony. The truck rattled on into the camp.
Hawkeye shielded his eyes to look. "What could that be?"
"I haven't the foggiest.. Oh, it's Winchester," B.J. snickered. "He's finally caught up to us."
"Yeah," Hawkeye laughed along. "We gotta ask him to be a witness, too. Margaret, don't you think he'll get a kick out of us..? Margaret?" Pierce's laughter died out as he saw his potential wife distractedly staring over at the truck. "Margaret? You-hoo, Margaret!"
"Charles," she muttered under her breath, then politely snapped her attention back to Pierce. "Uh yeah, now what were we discussing? Oh yeah, uh, a wedding. Whose wedding? Oh, our wedding!"
"Yes, our wedding!" He moved his face in front of hers when it looked like she was going to glance away again.
As the truck stopped, B.J. had gone over to meet Charles and escort him to where the rest from the 4077th was. Winchester looked a bit disdainly at the scene before him. "Haven't we already done this? Said our goodbyes and all. Pierce, Hunnicutt, I know you worship my surgical expertise, but this is a bit much. No, I cannot take you with me to the finest hospital in all of New England and.." His gaze settled on Margaret. "And you, Hunnicutt tells me that you are going to be married, today, and to that." He gestured absently at Hawkeye.
"Huh? Um, yeah, I guess so."
Hawkeye stepped up and put an arm around Margaret's shoulders. "Yes, Winchester! We are.. wait," he looked at her. "You guess so? What's with that?"
"Pierce," Margaret let out a sniffle. "I'm sorry, I can't do this. I love you, but in all honesty, I am not in love with you. I don't know why I intimated it a while ago. I am, though, in love with someone else. I thought he was out of my life forever."
"Winchester?!" Hawkeye snapped back, to which Margaret nodded. "I should have known it all along. It was obvious from the get-go, the way you two acted around each other from his arrival to the 4077th. Then I saw the way you were looking at him when he kissed your hand earlier. You never looked at me like that!" During his rant, Pierce marched up to Charles. "And I suppose that you love her as well!"
"That's an affirmative." He answered smugly, so sure. "Plus, she's going to be my wife."
"Oh, Charles," Margaret gasped as she bounded into his arms.
"Thrown over! Winchester, you haven't heard the last of this!" Pierce stomped his foot. "Have you?" Charles was hearing none of it at the present time for he and Margaret were engaged in a tight lip-lock.
"Hawkeye correct me if I'm mistaken here," the former 4077 chaplain piped up loudly. "You were getting married, but now are not? Although," he motioned towards Charles, "it is a go for Dr. Winchester?"
"Looks like it." Pierce threw his hands up in an whatcha-gonna-do? gesture. At least that's what Mulcahy deciphered.
With a little of B.J.'s assistance, Father Mulcahy informed the group that the chaplain from the 8063rd had graciously allowed them the use of his tent as he was still helping with the refugees and orphans. Before the ceremony was to commence, Margaret ran to her jeep to fetch the bouquet thrown from Klinger and Soon-Lee's wedding just hours before.
"Needing a ring?" Mulcahy carefully said, looking closely at Charles and then Margaret.
"We can get one later."
"I'll buy you a whole jewelry store if you wish." Charles took up Margaret's hand. "For once, I do believe my parents will be pleased."
"That's good, and I feel mine will be as well, especially my father."
"See! There's something else going for them!" Hawkeye quipped as he and B.J. followed Charles, Margaret and Father Mulcahy into the chaplain's tent.
In what seemed like no time at all, Charles Emerson Winchester, III and Margaret Houlihan, military and medical personnel and majors together were pronounced husband and wife. Once again, they happy couple engaged in a long, steamy locking of lips.
Hawkeye stood with B.J. and Father Mulcahy and began to shift his feet. "So this is what most of you did earlier? As we, um, said goodbye. Did you stand there this long? Surely you didn't, did you?"
"I couldn't say, Hawk. Although, we seem to be coming up on the minute mark here."
Finally the newly pronounced Dr. and Mrs. CEW3 parted long enough for the new bride to breathlessly rasp out some announcements. "Remember we are going to have a big get-together back in the States to celebrate, soon after we get home." The rest of the former 4077th personnel, Hawkeye, B.J., and Father Mulcahy politely agreed.
"Although not too soon." Charles added in with the invite, and again shook their hands.
"Congratulations to you both!" B.J. fairly shouted.
"Yeah, congrats," Hawkeye begrudged them both an awkward but sincere hug. "Be happy and you better take good care of her!" He told to Winchester, who assured that was priority.
They strolled back out into the compound. "Next thing, I want to go say hello to Judy Parker, my fellow head nurse and nemesis." Margaret looked around. "I bet she's at the hospital. Want to try there?"
"Sure." Charles replied. "Ahh, do you imagine she'll allow us to use.." He finished the rest with a whisper in Margaret's ear. Which in turn caused a big grin to light up her face.
"I sincerely doubt," she let out a giggle, "that Parker would mind." And with a series of more brief hugs and waves to their former colleagues, the deliriously ecstatic newlyweds went hand-in-hand scurrying over to the big hospital unit.
Hawkeye himself glanced around the MASH. "Now what should we do? Help somehow?"
"It would be nice I suppose the first we could find the CO of the place." B.J. agreed and turning to Father Mulcahy, raised his voice. "Do you know where the commanding officer would be?"
He pointed towards a familiar-looking tin building. "Last I knew he was taking a respite over at their Officer's Club. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go back to.."
"C'mon, Father, just have one with us?" Hunnicutt asked. "It might be the last time we're ever together like this."
Mulcahy acquiesced, and they were nearly up to the Officer's Club when a fetching nurse strolled closeby. The automatic Pierce reflexes were ever alert as he promptly linked his arm through hers without missing a step. "Excuse me, Miss? I've just been jilted and dumped at the altar. Please, I beg you, help lift my spirits. Perhaps by drowning a few olives in your nice O'Club here. Whaddya say? And if I follow you home will you keep me?" The girl was quite amused by the patented Pierce charm and allowed him to escort her inside.
That time it was B.J.'s turn to throw his hands up in jovial aggravation. He put one arm around Father Mulcahy's shoulders as they followed the doctor and nurse from the two different MASH units in the Officer's Club. As always, looked like everyone's favorite Maine physician was on his way to a speedy recovery from any affairs of the heart.
The End. :)
