45

"I agree." Trapper chuckled with amusement. "I could hardly picture him a husband let alone a father."

"That just goes to show how little you knew me." Hawkeye retorted in a mock huffy tone. "Some best friends you guys were."

"Well, you know what they say, Pierce." Potter cut in, a chuckle in his tone. "Friendships in the army are mighty rare..."

"Which is why you spent your free time carousing with your mare." Klinger finished as he changed the slide to show a picture of Potter riding Sophie through camp.

"Sophie!" The Colonel exclaimed in delight.

"You had a horse in camp?" Both Henry and Trapper exclaimed in surprise.

Potter nodded and replied. "Radar gave her to me. He rescued her from being killed."

"Well, I couldn't have done it without Hawkeye and BJ's help." Radar told the others, giving his two old buddies a grateful smile.

"Yeah, thanks to Radar I had two practices in Korea." Hawkeye laughed. "One as a surgeon for Uncle Sam and the other as a veterinarian for Radar's assorted menagerie."

"And I was grateful for both." Potter commented seriously. "After all, you guys saved Sophie twice, first when you first brought her to camp and second wen she had colic. I can't thank you enough, she was a great friend."

"No problem, Colonel." Hawkeye replied. "We were glad to do it."

"Hawk, remember the other operation that we performed while we were in Korea?" BJ asked, his eyes twinkling with fun. When Hawkeye looked at him expectantly he added. "It was 'surgery of the highest caliber'."

Hawkeye continued to look at his friend blankly for a moment until his finally caught on the what his friend was referring to. "The howitzer!"

"A howitzer?" Trapper exclaimed in surprise. "You operated on a howitzer?"

"We had to do something to put it out of our misery." Hawkeye replied with a laugh.

"What did you do?" Trapper asked curiously.

"We removed the firing pin." BJ explained with a soft chuckle. "And then we poured cement down the shaft to 'close permanently'."

"It was our form of art." Hawkeye added with a smile. "We called it 'Death Takes a Holiday'."

"Too bad you couldn't have done that with all the howitzer's in Korea." Trapper commented. "Then the war would have been over much sooner."

"We could have set a record of some sort." Hawkeye remarked. "Imagine the headlines. 'War Ends as Crazy Doctors Do High Caliber Operations!'"

"Speaking of records." Klinger commented. "In this next picture we answer the age old question 'How many people can be stuffed into an Army jeep?"

The crowd exploded into a fit of riotous laughter at the shot of a crowd of people stuffed into a jeep, arms, and legs sticking out everywhere.

"I remember you writing me about this." Peg commented to BJ. "You guys were trying to set a world record or something."

"And we did!" Hawkeye exclaimed proudly.

"And how many people did you manage to stuff in there?" Trapper asked in amusement.

"Sixteen." Hawkeye proudly replied.

"Are you in there?" Peg asked BJ as she tried to make out any familiar faces. "I think I see Hawkeye."

"Yeah, I'm in there somewhere." BJ replied with a laugh. "And so is Father Mulcahy and I think that Margaret's in there too."

"No she is not!" Frank exclaimed angrily. "How dare you even suggest such a thing. Both Major Houlihan and I considered it completely disgusting and beneath us to participate."

Margaret couldn't help but laugh as Hawkeye tapped Frank on the shoulder and pointed to the picture. "Look at the beautiful blonde Major beside me." Frank's jaw dropped as he recognized the blonde nurse with the pigtails. He looked reproachfully at Margaret for a moment before turning his back on them again.

"Oh, Frank, don't be upset." She commented lightly. "Everyone needs a little fun now and then."

"Even the proud and pompous." Klinger exclaimed as he showed a series of snap shots in fairly quick succession.

The first was a picture of Charles with a lamp shade on his head, next showed Charles with smiles painted on his knees.

"Why Charles, I wouldn't have picture you as the type to wear a lamp shade." Margaret teased the man slyly.

"Klinger where did you get those from?" Charles roared in a tone of great annoyance.

"From you." Klinger replied innocently. "You never picked up your negatives, so I kept them. Just in case you wanted them later." Charles shot Klinger a look of pure anger before opening his mouth to retort.

"Oh, come on, Winchester." Potter interrupted the man before he could speak. "Lighten up, you've got to admit, it's funny."

The next picture that flashed up showed Charles dancing with a woman and then the next shot showed him kissing that woman. The group around Charles started whistling and laughing their appreciation at the photo. Even Charles couldn't help but chuckle. After all, it was pretty funny.

When the next picture appeared Ellie looked at her husband and teased lightly. "Why, Charles. You never told me that you were married before."

"Oh, oh Charles." Hawkeye remarked in a joking tone. "Keeping secrets form your wife. Shame!"

Charles gave him a dirty look before replying. "We didn't actually get married. It was all just a joke. We were at a party and for laughs the bartender married us."

"And then BJ 'unmarried' them." Klinger added as he showed a picture of Charles and his 'wife' being 'unmarried' by BJ.

"Actually, Klinger, it wasn't BJ who 'unmarried' them." Hawkeye pointed out with a broad smile. "It was the 'irreverent JB Honeydew'."

"And I was the flower girl." Margaret chuckled heartily. "With my bouquet of four roses." She gestured to the glass in her hand in the photo.

"I loved your little speech." Hawkeye told his best friend with an amused smile. "How did it go again? 'We're gathered here today in...ah, in conclave met to dissolve the airzats marriage of Dr. Chuck Winchester and ...Oh, I can't remember the rest. Do you remember how it went?"

"Not really." BJ admitted, but then pointed out. "But that was your speech, not mine."

"Okay, then Dr. Smarty Pants." Hawkeye commented, looking at his friend expectantly. "What was your speech?"

BJ grinned and thought for a moment for replying. "Do you Chuck Emerson Winchester the third take this lovely, if gullible young woman as your unlawful, unwedded, unwife?"

"To which 'Chuck' replied 'I undo'." Margaret added, looking at some of the ones that hadn't been there to witness the occasion.

"...And do you, whatever her name was, take this pickled amnesiac as your unlawful, unwedded, unhubby..."

"To which she replied, 'I undo, too." Margaret added again.

"...Then by the power invested in me by the state of intoxication, I hereby pronounce you man and woman. You many now ignore the bride." When BJ finished everyone exploded into roars of amused laughter.

"That was terrific!" Hawkeye exclaimed with grudging admiration when he could finally speak. "I can't believe that you remembered that."

"Neither can I." BJ chuckled in amazement. "Funny how some things stick with you."

"Okay then, if you have such a good memory sing the lyric that we made up for 'Army Life' when we had that little impromptu sing-a-long in the Mess tent." At BJ's thoughtful look he teased. "Can't remember, can you?"

With a broad smile on his face BJ started to sing:

"Oh, the surgeons in the army,
They say are mighty bright.
We work on soldiers through the day,
And nurses through the night."

At Peg's surprised look he commented. "The last line was Hawkeye's idea."

"Oh, sure blame me." His friend exclaimed in mock disgust as somebody started singing gaily:

"I don't want no more of Army life,
Gee Mom, I want to go home."

Everyone chuckled in amusement.

"Hey, does everyone remember their lyrics?" Potter asked curiously, an inspired idea striking him. There was a murmur of confirmation as the original participants nodded their heads. "In that case, why don't we give an encore presentation."

"Sounds like a good idea, Colonel." BJ chuckled in agreement.

"Radar, can the Padre use your piano?" Potter asked their host eagerly.

"Of course, sir." Radar replied, jumping up to get it set up. "Klinger could you please turn on the lights."

"Right." Klinger jumped up quickly to oblige.

Looking directly at their old chaplain Potter asked. "Can you play 'Army Life' for us on Radar's piano and sing the lyric that you sang in Korea during our little sing-a-long?"

"Glad to." The chaplain rose and settled himself in front of the piano.

"What about the nurses' lyric, Colonel?" Hawkeye asked curiously. "The one that Bigalow and Able and a couple others sang."

"Maybe some of the womenfolk here would like to have a go at it." The colonel suggested, looking at the women for approval.

"What's the lyric?" Ellie asked curiously.