2

"Mom and I have something in common. We both gave birth to our kids at Mash units. The only difference is the my husband delivered our kids. I'll never forget the look on Hawkeye's face when he realized that the first person our kids saw was their daddy. It was the happiest day of my life!" said Margaret

"Radar and I don't plan to have children just yet. We want to spend time with each other first. We spend most of our time drinking Grape Nehi instead of liquor!" said Patty

"Speaking of Grape Nehi, Patty, I bought a case of it along with me because it's also my favorite drink. I'll get Charles to bring it in for me. Would you like a bottle?" asked Cathy Jo

"Thanks, Cathy Jo, I'd love it. It's also Radar's favorite drink!" answered Patty

"I'll go out and get it!" said Cathy Jo

Cathy Jo walks out to the verandah to find Hawkeye holding Ben on his lap, B. J., Charles, Klinger, Sherman, Radar, Father Mulcahy, and Daniel in heavy conversation.

"Honey, is there something wrong? Are you having early contractions?" asked Charles

"No, Charles, I was wondering if you could get the case of Grape Nehi our of the trunk for me!" answered Cathy Jo

"Of course, sweetheart!" replied Charles

"Oh, Radar, I know that Grape Nehi is your favorite drink and Patty and I like it too, would you like some?" asked Cathy Jo

"Sure thing, Cathy Jo!" replied Radar

Charles brings the case up to the verandah.

"Here you go, Radar! I'll put the rest in the fridge later!" said Cathy Jo as she handed Radar a bottle and headed back into the house

"Gee, thanks!" said Radar

"Charles, you have a swell girl. It just amazes me that you're married!" said B.J.

"What's that supposed to mean, Hunnicutt?" asked Charles

"You're so sweet to her, unlike the way you treated us!" answered B.J.

"I guess that's true that opposites attract!" said Hawkeye

"So, Winchester, when's your little lady due with your baby?" asked Sherman

"Sherman, she's due in two weeks time!" answered Charles

"She's due in two weeks and her doctor let her travel?" asked Hawkeye

"Relax, Pierce, I'm Cathy Jo's doctor and I assure you that she hasn't had any complications. I have Trapper to back me up on that, right Trapper?" asked Charles

"Right, Charles! Besides, she's surrounded by five of the best doctors in the world if she goes into labor!" said Trapper

"I'm a little nervous, too! Soon Lee's due in a couple of months and I've never been a father before!" said Klinger

"Klinger, I know I'm not speaking from experience, but I think you'll be fine. I've seen the way you handled those Korean orphans back in Korea, you filled their lives with joy!" said Father Mulcahy

"Do you really think so, Father?" asked Klinger

"I believe in it. I have God to back me up on it too!" answered Father Mulcahy

"Well, I guess Winchester has got it all together. He isn't nervous, right Winchester?" asked Sherman

"Yes, of course!" replied Charles

"Klinger, don't feel bad. I was nervous too when Margaret was pregnant. You're not alone!" said Hawkeye

"Gee, thanks! You truly are my friends!" said Klinger

"Say, Klinger, what did you ever do with those dresses?" asked Radar

"Well, Radar, I gave them all to Soon Lee!" answered Klinger

"That's nice. You know, you had a lot of great dresses. Let's see, there was the nun's outfit, the Moses getup, the nurses uniform!" said Radar

"Don't forget the Statue of Liberty or Lady Godiva outfits!" said Hawkeye

"Or Gone With The Wind and the Wizard of Oz outfits!" said Sherman

"Hey, I still have those getups. I know, I'll rent them out as Halloween costumes!" replied Klinger

"You know, it's too bad that Old Ferret Face is dead. We played a lot of good jokes on him and the rest of the unit!" said Hawkeye

"I remember the time Frank dug out a fox hole and I filled it with water and I got Sidney Freedman to yell 'Air Raid' and Frank fell into the hole and got all wet!" said B.J.

"Hawkeye and I put Frank in a box and nailed it shut, but we put breathing holes in it!" said Trapper

"Trapper and I trapped Frank in his fox hole and parked a jeep over it!" said Hawkeye

"Gentlemen, I seem to remember that Margaret played some jokes on you!" said Charles

"Hot Lips, a practical joker?" asked Trapper

"Oh yeah, she took mine and Hawkeye's robes while we were in the shower and she had the nurses waiting for us in the Swamp and we had to walk across the compound naked!" said B.J.

"She put oatmeal in my boots and we stole her tent and I put a skeleton in my bunk and she got scared and hit me with a pillow!" said Hawkeye

"You guys stole my clothes and other belongings when I wouldn't give you my papers!" said Charles

"Charles, I stole your belongings and put them in my tent. I was forced to do it!" said Father Mulcahy

"Father, I'm shocked that you would do such a thing!" said Trapper

"I'm also shocked. I didn't think you had it in you!" said Radar

"There's a lot of things you don't know about me, but you all know that I like to box!" replied Father Mulcahy

"I remember when I had my friend, Daniel, come and he faked a heart attack just to pay you back for all those tricks you played on him!" said Sherman

"I know we all had our good times and bad, but I would hate to see my little Ben get drafted like I did!" said Hawkeye as he watched Ben playing on his lap

"Son, I felt the same way when you got drafted. I felt that a part of my life was gone when you left!" said Daniel

"I missed you and thought about you everyday, dad!" said Hawkeye

"I know, son!" replied Daniel

Back in the kitchen, the women were still in a heavy conversation.

"Margaret, everything looks delicious. You must have been up all night cooking!" said Mildred

"Try all day yesterday! Cooking the good was the easy part, trying to keep Hawkeye from eating it all was the hard part!" replied Margaret

All of the ladies share a laugh.

"The baby just kicked me for the umpteenth time today. I guess it's anxious to get here!" said Cathy Jo

"Erin kicked inside of me all the time I was pregnant. That's how I knew everything's alright!" replied Peg as she watched Erin playing on her lap

"This little lady here and her brother moved around about in my belly more times than you can shake a stick at! Mildred, thank you for the pies, but you didn't have to bring anything. Where did they come from?" asked Margaret

"Well, Margaret, I didn't want you to go through so much work just to feed all of us, so I stopped at Gillis' Bakery & Deli just up the street from here and got a cherry pie and an apple pie!" answered Mildred

"Gillis' Bakery & Deli! Oh, Rena and Shannon Gillis make the best baked goods in all of Crabapple Cove. Rena's son and Shannon's brother, Tommy, was a childhood friend of Hawkeye's. He visited the 4077 once and then he was hit by enemy fire. He came back to the 4077 as a patient and Hawkeye tried to save him, but he died in the O. R. I didn't know him that well, but I gave Hawkeye a shoulder to cry on!" said Margaret

"Margaret, that must have been awful for Hawkeye to go through!' replied Cathy Jo

"It was, Cathy Jo, but when Henry Blake's plane was shot down, it hurt Hawkeye even more. Henry's death affected all of us because he was our former C. O. , but when Sherman Potter came, we never forgot Henry!" said Margaret

"I wish I was around then to meet him, Henry sounds like he was a good man!" replied Cathy Jo

"Oh, he was. Trapper used to talk about Henry in his letters to home. Henry loved fishing more than anything, but most of all, he loved Lorraine and his kids!" answered Louise

"Radar told me about the time someone tried to kill Henry. This cowboy drove a jeep through Henry's tent while he was sleeping, he even blew up the latrine and his office chair, and he even tried to push Henry out of the chopper!" said Patty

"Why would anyone want to do that to a sweet, innocent, man?" asked Mildred

"Well, Radar said that this cowboy wanted a hardship leave and Henry wouldn't give it to him, so he tried to kill him!" answered Patty

"Max has told me all about Henry too! Henry and Sherman were like fathers to Max, since he was far away from Toledo!" said Soon Lee

"It's a shame that Henry never made it home. You know, he never got to meet his son, Andrew. He was born while Henry was in Korea. Molly and Janie sent home movies to him and he shared them with everyone. Now, Lorraine has to work as a waitress in order to support three kids, but she does get a survivor pension from the army, but its barely enough to get by!" said Margaret

"Well, B.J. wasn't too keen on me working as a waitress, but what can you do when you're raising a child on your own and your husband's in Korea!" answered Peg

"I was the one who straightened B.J. out. He was really upset about the whole thing and I told him that he was acting like a male chauvinist. Then he realized that he was wrong and I was right!" said Margaret

"Margaret, I'm so glad that you straightened him out. How can I ever thank you?" asked Peg

"You don't need to thank me. B.J. was the on who turned to me and changed his ways!" answered Margaret

"Margaret, what about Louise Burns? How's she doing?" asked Mildred

"Louise is doing alright, but it's hard for her to raise three girls on her own. She's working as a receptionist and Frank's army pension isn't much money a month. She talks to Lorraine Blake every so often because they're both widows trying to raise children on one income!" answered Margaret