3

"It's terrible that Frank overdosed on pills and died. I bet his daughters felt bad because they didn't know that their daddy was mentally ill!" said Louise

"Yes, it was terrible! Laura, Christina, and Julianna came home from school one day and found Frank lying on the bedroom floor face down. Laura tried to revive him, but by the time the ambulance got there, Frank was already dead! The girls had called Louise, who was at work at the time, just before they called the ambulance. Louise rushed home from work just before the ambulance got there. It was a day they'd never forget and the girls still have nightmares about it to this day. It happened almost 10 months ago!" said Margaret

"I can just about imagine what those girls are going through. I don't know what I'd do if Charles died so suddenly!" said Cathy Jo

"Same here. None of us would know what to do if our husbands were taken away from us so sudden!" said Patty

"I felt that way when Alvin left me. I felt that a part of my life was missing when he divorced me, but I know that I still had Margaret to go to!" said Jean

"Mom, I was devastated when dad left you. That's why I tried to please him and make him proud of me, hoping he would come back to you! I soon realized that you were happy without him!" said Margaret

"I know, dear!" replied Jean

"Well, what do you all say that we dig out the food and call the men into eat with us!" said Margaret

The women grabbed all of the food out of the fridge and set it on the kitchen table for a summer buffet. The men joined the women in the dining room to eat the meal, and the children were seated in high chairs eating toddler food.

"Margaret, everything's delicious! Did you make all of this food?" asked Sherman

"She sure did! I watched her making all of the food yesterday and she wouldn't let me eat it!" answered Hawkeye

"Oh, Hawkeye, I didn't want you to eat all food the food because our guests had to eat something! Thank you for the compliments, Sherman!" said Margaret

"Is this the famous Maine lobster we're eating?" asked B.J.

"The one and only! Hawkeye's friend, Dicky Barber, is a fisherman and he gave us all of these lobsters yesterday, so Margaret decided to serve it today! Hawkeye's other friend, Toby Wilder, is a farmer and he gave us all of the vegetables for the salads!" said Daniel

"It's delicious. I've never had lobster before!" said Radar

"Being from Iowa, you don't get much seafood!" said Klinger

"The lobster is tasty and the ham is out of this world!" said Charles

"The salads are excellent!" said Father Mulcahy

"Yeah, it's much better than Igor's cooking! At least it's not rotten!' said Trapper

"What ever happened to Igor?" asked Cathy Jo

"My guess is that he opened up a restaurant somewhere in the states, but I know one thing's for sure, I won't be eating there!" answered Hawkeye

"Everything's great. I can't wait to dig into those desserts!" said Soon Lee

"Those pies look so good!" said Peg

"So does the cheesecake!" said Patty

"And the cake looks good too!" said Louise

"I love every dessert in the world. I have a sweet tooth!" said Mildred

"Margaret and I both love sweets! It's hard to resist them!" said Jean

"Everyone help yourself to all of these desserts when you feel like it!" said Margaret

After desserts were served and ate, the men go into the living room and the women are busy cleaning up.

"Anyone have more memories of the 4077 they would like to share?" asked Hawkeye

"Well, I remember the day Henry was killed on his way home from the war! It touched all of us. I still remember Radar giving him a salute and Henry kissing Margaret. He also told Frank not to drive everyone nuts and to stuff his whistle!" said Trapper

"I remember coming into the O. R. and giving you all the news. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do!" said Radar

"I still remember making that special outfit just for his going away party. I still have that outfit too!" said Klinger

"It was a sad day for all of us, but it was a great day when Sherman stepped in to take over as C. O. I swear, one more day of Frank as C. O. and I would have went crazy!" said Hawkeye

"It was a great day when I met you all. You're my second family and I wish I'd met Henry. He sounds like my kind of guy!" said Sherman

"I wish I could have met him!" said Charles

"Same here, I put one of his fishing lure in the time capsule!" said B.J.

"We all had our good times telling jokes and playing jokes on each other. Not all of the war was bad!" said Father Mulcahy

"You're right. We drank the war away with the still!" said Trapper

"I second that motion, but we all became friends during the war. I'm so glad to have met you all!" said B.J.

"It's so nice that you were all there when my son needed you the most. I felt awful when he told me that Tommy Gillis' died in the O. R. table right in front of him. I also felt bad when Hawkeye thought he had killed that baby on the bus. Son, that wasn't your fault, it was the mother of the baby. She was the one who killed him and I know that everyone in this room will agree with me on this one!" said Daniel

"We agree!" said the men in unison

Back in the kitchen, Margaret and Louise were washing dishes and Patty and Mildred were drying them. Soon Lee was putting all of the leftover food in the fridge, Cathy Jo was cleaning off the tables and Peg and Jean were watching Erin, Maggie, and Ben, so that they would stay out of the ladies' way.

"Margaret, this is a great party!" said Louise

"Everyone had a great time!" said Patty

"The food was excellent!" said Mildred

"And so were the stories!" said Peg

"I'm just glad that everything went according to plan!" said Margaret

"Ooh!" said Cathy Jo as she finished cleaning off the tables

"Cathy Jo, is something wrong?" asked Margaret

"Margaret, when you were in labor, how did you know it was time?" asked Cathy Jo

"As soon as my water broke and my contractions were five minutes apart, I knew it was time! Why do you ask?" asked Margaret

"Well, I thought that the baby was just kicking me all day, but now I'm convinced that it's more than that. I've been having pain every five minutes and my water just broke!" said Cathy Jo as she clutched her pregnant belly

"Oh my god! We don't have time to get to the hospital! Okay everyone, don't panic! Louise and Mildred, help Cathy Jo upstairs to the spare bedroom! Mom and Soon Lee, look after the kids! Peg and Patty, boil some water and get some sheets and towels! I'll get Hawkeye and Charles' medical bags and get them upstairs!" said Margaret

The men come out of the living room to find out what's going on.

"What's going on here?" asked Hawkeye

"Cathy Jo's in labor, her water just broke!" answered Margaret

"Oh my god, she's not due for a couple of weeks!" said Charles

"Charles, it can happen anytime after the eighth month!" said Hawkeye

"Hawkeye, Charles, just go and get your medical bags and meet me upstairs in the spare bedroom!" said Margaret

Hours later, B.J., Sherman, Klinger, Radar, Father Mulcahy, Trapper, Peg, Mildred, Soon Lee, Patty, Louise, Jean, Daniel, Erin, Maggie, and Ben were all waiting downstairs in the living room for the word on the newest member of the 4077 family.

"B.J., I was wondering if you feel the same way as I do about giving Erin a little brother or sister to play with!" asked Peg as she sat next to B.J. holding Erin

"Peg, of course I want to have more kids. I'd love to have a son to take to ball games!" answered B.J. as he smiled at Peg and Erin

"I'm so glad because I want to have another baby!" replied Peg

"Me too, honey!" said B.J.

"Sherman, I thought I told you not to smoke in this house without asking first!" said Mildred as she fanned the smoke away from her face

"Mildred, Daniel said it was alright with him! Besides, I always smoke a cigar before a new arrival comes! When Cory and Evie were born, I was in the waiting room smoking!" answered Sherman as he sat next to Mildred

"This is exciting! A new bundle from god will be arriving before too long!" said Father Mulcahy

"Trapper, I mss the girls. I wish they joined us instead of deciding to be with their friends!" said Louise as she sat next to Trapper

"I know, I wish they came too and met everyone here. I miss them too!" said Trapper

"Max, do you realize that I'll be feeling the same way Cathy Jo is feeling right now? I'm scared to death!" said Soon Lee as she held Klinger's hand

"Don't worry, honey, it can't be any worse than what Cathy Jo's feeling right now!" replied Klinger

"Radar, I want to have a few kids of our own someday! What about you?" asked Patty

"Sweetheart, I want kids too!" answered Radar

"This reminds me when Hawkeye was born. Joan was in labor for a long time and finally, the nurse handed me my little boy in the waiting room!" said Daniel as he held Ben on his lap

"Daniel, I'm so excited and it's not even my grandchild being born! I guess I feel that Cathy Jo is like a second daughter to me, next to Margaret, of course!" said Jean as she held Maggie on her lap

Upstairs in the spare room, Cathy Jo is still wearing her black maternity dress as she is lying down beneath the sheets in the bed. Margaret is coaching her through the contractions and she has brought the baby scale into the room. Hawkeye is sterilizing instruments and Charles is monitoring the baby's heartbeat.

"Oh my god, I'm having another contraction! Ooh, ooh, ooh!" said Cathy Jo as she winced in pain

"Just breathe, he ho, he ho! Relax! It helped me through my labor!" said Margaret as she reassured Cathy Jo

"He ho, he ho! The pain is getting worse all the time! I didn't know childbirth was this painful!" said Cathy Jo as she had another contraction

"How far dilated is she now?" asked Hawkeye as he wiped Cathy Jo's forehead with a cold face cloth

"I don't know. We'll check as soon as we scrub up!" answered Charles

Charles and Hawkeye go into the bathroom to wash their hands and put on surgical gloves.

"Pierce, why wouldn't she tell me that she was having pain on our trip up here?" asked Charles

"I guess she didn't want to worry you and she probably thought the baby was just kicking her!" answered Hawkeye

"Pierce, were you as nervous as I am now?" asked Charles as he was scrubbing his hands

"Charles, I had butterflies in my stomach! Then I realized that Margaret did all of the work and I was the catcher!" answered Hawkeye as he was scrubbing his hands

"I'm also nervous about raising a child. I don't know if I can do it!" said Charles as he dried off his hands

"Charles, you told all of us that you were prepared!" replied Hawkeye as he dried off his hands

"I thought I was, but I guess I'm fearing the worst!" said Charles as he put on surgical gloves

"Don't worry, Charles, I'll take over if you pass out!" said Hawkeye as he put on surgical gloves

"Thanks, Pierce! We better get back to my wife and check her progress!" said Charles

Hawkeye and Charles go back to the bedroom.

"Cathy Jo, Charles is just going to do a vaginal exam to check how far dilated you are and you might feel a little pressure!" said Hawkeye as he and Margaret held Cathy Jo's hands

"Hawkeye, it can't be any worse than what I feel now!" answered Cathy Jo as Charles was doing the exam

"Charles, what's the scoop? Is she ready to push?" asked Hawkeye

"Pierce, take a look over here! What do you think?" asked Charles as he motioned Hawkeye to help him with the exam

"Charles, the baby's head is crowing! That means she's fully dilated to 10 centimeters!" said Hawkeye as he helped Charles with the exam

"Charles, you mean I can push now!" said Cathy Jo

"That's right, sweetheart!" answered Charles

"Cathy Jo, just hold my hand and take a cleansing breath and push! 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10! Stop pushing and repeat the same process over again!" said Margaret as she reassured Cathy Jo