5

July 27 1957

Peggy stood up early this morning. She began preparing everything for this afternoon. The weather was perfect, not a cloud in the sky. They were going to have a great barbecue. She was looking forward to meet the people her husband talked about so many times. It was as if she knew everyone already.

"Hey guys! It's time to get up!" She shouted up the stairs around noon, smiling as she heard somebody moaning. "I just hope they are not having too much of a hangover."

At 1p.m. B.J., Peg, Jan Mei, Ricky and the two kids were outside placing the table and benches.

"I can't believe you two got engaged yesterday." Peg stated. "Do you have any idea yet when you are getting married?"

"Not really. I guess we better wait until next year after my graduation. But Ricky and I are going to try to find an apartment in San Diego as soon as possible. I hope he gets his discharge to the San Diego Police soon." Jay replied. "I don't even know how to tell my dad."

"That shouldn't be hard. He likes Ricky." B.J. said.

It was 3 p.m. when the first ones arrived. Radar brought his girl Patty and Colonel Potter also came with his wife. Max and Soon Li came with their little boy. Trapper John and his wife Louise brought their daughters Kathy (9), Becky (6) and a baby boy Blake (10 months). Like Father Mulcahy the nurses all came single and Charles also. His wife was eight months pregnant and didn't really want to travel that far, so she stayed in Boston. Frank didn't come with his wife either. He had expected to see Margaret and didn't want Louise to meet her. And this time Margaret came. She seemed somehow relieved and totally happy smiling all the time.

"Where did you leave Hawkeye?" B.J. asked her. "I couldn't reach him at the hotel so I guess he was at your place."

"Yes, you're right B.J." She replied and hugged him surprisingly. "He'll be here in a minute. He's just trying to find a parking place."

"You two finally worked out everything?" He asked.

She nodded and her smile grew even bigger. "Yes, indeed we have and you know what? Isn't this just a beautiful day?"

"Oh yes." B.J. agreed laughing and they joined the others at the table.

The last one who came was Hawkeye. But he wasn't alone. He came around the corner holding the hand of a little girl who was not older than four years.

"Mommy, mommy." She shouted and ran up to meet Margaret who hugged her.

"Hi, Sweety!" Margaret turned to the others. "This is my daughter Bailey Nicole."

"No, call me Ben." The little girl said.

"Our daughter." Hawkeye corrected Margaret, kissed her and little Ben and sat next to them.

"Sorry." Margaret replied. "I'm not used to that."

All of a sudden every person at the table was silent. Most of them sat with their mouths open starring at Hawkeye, Margaret and the girl. Frank was almost exploding. He couldn't believe what he just heard...HIS Margaret and this goddamn troublemaker....

Margaret and Hawkeye watched them grinning.

"Holy cow!" was Radar's comment.

Trapper was the first one who recovered from the shock. "Oh, I see." He said with a big grin on his face. "You son of a gun. Why didn't you tell us?"

"I didn't know it either." Hawkeye explained. "'Til last night. I went to Margaret's place after the party and she told me."

"I'm sorry I didn't make it to your party." Margaret looked over to B.J. and Jay. "Bailey had a little temperature and I didn't want to leave her with a baby-sitter."

"Well, this is a hell of a surprise!" Potter said. "But I mean when did it...I guess you know what I mean."

Hawkeye smiled as he saw the curious faces looking at him. "Let me put it this way. I know when and you should know how." Ben now was 3 ¼ years old. He knew that it happened a couple of weeks before the truce was announced and after he returned back from the psychiatry. They had had a party one night, got really loaded and somehow ended up together in her tent. Margaret didn't really have the courage to tell him when she found out she was pregnant. They all were back in the states and she didn't want him to come back to her just because of the baby. She had always loved him but was too afraid he could reject her. How dumb had she been? The last night had shown her that he loved her as much as she him. She could have had his love a few years earlier. But now she was happy!

This afternoon was as much a success as the party. The MASH people had fun eating the things Peg prepared, talking about their lives and watching the kids play in the garden. Hawkeye was thinking of moving to San Francisco. There wasn't much keeping him in Crabapple Cove since his dad was gone. But he wasn't sure yet, he loved his hometown. "We'll see what happens." was Margaret's response to that. Most of the others still couldn't really believe that Hawk and the Major finally got together but there was no doubt about that anymore. They were flirting with each other like teenagers who had just fallen in love.

Everybody, especially B.J. and Jan Mei, were happy for them with one exception - Frank Burns. He was the first one to leave the barbecue. But, to be honest - nobody really cared about that.

The people from the 4077 came together for their second reunion this time on Radar's farm. Radar, Patty and their six year-old son Henry welcomed them. Radar's mom had died two years ago so they were tending the farm by themselves and did a very good job.

Now Jan Mei and Ricky were seven years married and everybody from the MASH had attended the wedding in San Diego. Hawkeye and B.J. as witnesses and Peg and Margaret as bridesmaids. Father Mulcahy had been holding the service. Jay's dad was their best man. With tears in his eyes he led his daughter to the altar. It was a beautiful event. Now Ricky still worked as a police officer. Jay had also for three years 'til their first child was born. The boy named Benjamin John "B.J." now was four years old. His sister was two years younger. She had the name of her dead grandmother Kyong Kim. All of them were best friends with the Hunnicutt's and visited them very often. Jay also kept close contact to Hawkeye, who still was a special person for her. He was just living to far away to see him regularly.

Margaret and Hawkeye got married a couple of weeks after them on the beach of Hawaii. Their second child, Daniel Joshua, now was six and he adored his older sister who had grown into a young lady. The family had lived in San Francisco for a while but they soon moved to Crabapple Cove. Hawk just missed his hometown too much. They are still working in their familiar jobs, Hawkeye in his practice and Margaret in the local hospital as a pediatric nurse.

B.J. and Peg hadn't changed much. Still living in Mill Valley with Mike (10) and Erin (14), who was Bailey's best friend although it was hard to keep in touch while living on the other side of the country. But Hawkeye and B.J. visited each other pretty frequently during the year. B.J. still worked in the San Francisco General Hospital as an assistant medical director.

Charles this time came with his wife Maria and eight year-old daughter Penelope. He still worked in the Boston Mercy Hospital but now as medical superintendent. Maria was a college professor teaching classical music.

Colonel Potter and his wife Mildred still lived in Hannibal, Missouri. They didn't have a long way to drive to Radar's farm. They usually came to see him once a month. Sherman retired from the army years ago and actually from his job also but off and on he still worked as a country doctor. He hadn't changed at all.

John and Louise McIntyre and their three kids moved to Minneapolis two years ago where Trapper opened a practice. He wanted to get away from big hospitals and emergency rooms. He still was in steady contact with Hawkeye, B.J. and Jan Mei.

Frank Burns finally had become a more or less important politician in the state of Indiana. He closed his practice in Ft. Wayne because of his new job and because his wife found out about the affair he had with his assistant. They almost got divorced but Frank somehow managed it to beg Louise to stay.

Klinger and Soon Li arrived a little late from Toledo because their car broke down on the way. All in all they now had four children, two of their own, Jong Patrick (11) and Mai Casey (8) and two adopted Korean orphans, Kim Lee (5) and Min Young (4). Klinger worked at a children's hospital now and liked it a lot.

Father Mulcahy had stayed in good contact with all the former MASH members. He was in the same parish as eight years ago and happy as ever.

This reunion won't be the last one. Everybody was sure of that. They had been through so many good and bad, painful and happy, embarrassing and sad, emotional and funny situations together. They survived the disorders of the Korean War together. There was an invisible bond between them and everybody knew it. The war had brought to them so much pain, fear and insanity but it also brought them one good thing - friendship!