Old War Letters & Memories
Title: Old War Letters & Memories
Fandom: M*A*S*H
Word count: 1,054
Rating: G
Summary: Erin has a date, but when he makes Peg cry, BJ has him leave.
Author's Notes: I'm cleaning up my hard drive, so I figured I'd post these before I attempted my latest claims. This may wind up being a part of something bigger, we shall see.
“Is Erin ready?” a young man at the door asked.
“Are you Tom?” BJ asked.
“Yes sir.”
“Come in and talk with us a bit. Peg, tell Erin her date’s here.
“Have a seat Tom,” BJ said, motioning to one of the arm chairs before he sat in the other.
“She’ll be down soon,” Peg said, returning to the living room and sitting on the couch.
“So tell me about yourself. Are you in Erin’s class?”
“I’m a year older.”
“And what are your aspirations?”
“I want to go to college and be a lawyer.”
“And you have the grades for that?”
“Yes sir.”
“You respect Erin, right?”
“Yes sir,” Tom paused a moment. “May I ask you a question?”
“Go ahead.”
“Dr. Hunnicutt, you’re a Korean vet, right?”
“Yes.” BJ’s tone was cool and calculated. His veteran status was not something BJ bragged about.
“So what was it like killing all those gooks?”
BJ sat up straighter, pursing his lips. “First of all, we do not condone that kind of language in this house. Secondly, I was a surgeon. I put those who got injured in the war back together.”
“Oh, so then you had the easy part. You didn’t have to worry about if you would be coming home or not. Some vet,” Tom scoffed.
BJ gritted his teeth, willing himself not to respond to this child’s naivety. He looked over at Peg and saw she had begun crying.
“Tom, you have to leave,” BJ said.
“But Erin. . .”
“Now.”
Without another argument, Tom left.
BJ walked over to where Peg sat on the couch and held her.
“Honey, he didn’t know,” he crooned.
“Okay, I’m ready. Daddy, where’s Tom?” Erin said, coming into the living room.
“He had to leave, sweetheart.”
“Daddy! What did you say?”
BJ threw up his hands in exasperation. “Why must I have said anything?”
“Mom, why are you crying?”
“That’s why he had to leave. No one makes my girls cry.”
“He made you cry?” Erin asked.
Peg nodded against BJ’s chest as he ran a hand over her hair.
“I’m sorry I blamed you Daddy. What happened?”
BJ filled Erin in on the conversation.
“What? You were a hero Daddy. I’m sorry. I didn’t know he was like that.”
Erin sat next to BJ. BJ put an arm around Erin, and she laid her head on his shoulder.
“You were my hero BJ. You still are,” Peg said, kissing his cheek.
“I just want the best for you Erin. We both do.”
“I know Daddy. And I trust you. I trust Mom too. After all, she picked you.”
“That’s my girl,” BJ said, kissing the top of Erin’s head.
The three sat in silence for a while on the couch. Talking about the war made Erin think about the letters her parents must have written to each other.
“Daddy, did you keep all of Mom’s letters? I mean the ones she sent you while you were stationed in Korea.”
“Yes. They’re in a box in the attic with the letters I sent your mom, as well as some pictures she sent me.”
“May I see them?”
“I don’t see why not.”
BJ soon returned with the box from the attic. Erin moved to the floor, where she would have more space to go through the memorabilia. After reading a couple, Erin looked up at her parents who were cuddling on the couch.
“You two really loved each other didn’t you?”
“Why are you speaking in past tense?” BJ asked. “We still do really love each other.”
Peg picked up a couple of the photos. BJ looked over her shoulder as she slowly flipped through them.
“It seems so long ago,” Peg said. “And yet I still can remember so vividly the horror and the loneliness.”
BJ kissed her temple, and began rubbing her back.
“Who’s Radar?” Erin asked.
BJ laughed. “Is that the one where your mom told me you called him daddy?”
“Yes.”
“He was the company clerk when I first got to the unit. He was a young, naïve kid. Good guy. I was so upset when I read that.”
“What? Why?” Peg asked.
“My baby girl was calling someone else daddy. She didn’t know me.”
“Oh sweetie. I’m sorry. I thought it was cute.”
“Errol Flynn? Really Mom?”
“What? He’s good looking!”
“The gutter guy?” BJ asked.
“Yeah,” Erin said.
“I was certain your mom was going to marry him.”
“What? She was already married to you. How could she have married him?”
“I don’t know, divorced me first I guess.”
“BJ Hunnicutt, I’ve never known you to be so jealous.”
“It was the distance,” BJ said, shrugging. “It made me crazy.”
“Did you ever meet Daddy’s war friends?”
Peg shook her head. “That was the weird part of the war. When you marry someone, you expect that going forward you’ll go through everything together. Any friends you stay in contact with will be friends of both of you. You expect to both be there when your daughter goes through her firsts. But it wasn’t like that for us. We lead separate lives for those two years or so. You dad had friends I never met, and I had to begin raising you by myself.”
“That must have been hard,” Erin said.
“The single mother part wasn’t that bad all things considered. The worst part was that your father was so far away. The only thing that kept me going on some days was the hope of a letter. They were the only way I knew for certain he was still alive. At the same time though, I lived in fear of the mail, because I knew that if something happened, not only would I be getting a telegram, someone would have written something to me in letter form.”
“Hawk might even have called,” BJ said.
“Hawk?” Erin asked.
“Hawkeye. Uh, Benjamin Pierce. He was my best friend over there.”
“I always wanted to meet him,” Peg said. “I want to thank him for all he did for you.”
“Can we meet him, Daddy?”
“He lives in Maine.”
“So? I’ve always wanted to travel.”
“Please BJ?”
“Okay, okay, you two,” BJ said, grinning. “I’ll give him a call.”
“Thank you Daddy,” Erin said and both women kissed BJ on the cheek.
Fandom: M*A*S*H
Word count: 1,054
Rating: G
Summary: Erin has a date, but when he makes Peg cry, BJ has him leave.
Author's Notes: I'm cleaning up my hard drive, so I figured I'd post these before I attempted my latest claims. This may wind up being a part of something bigger, we shall see.
“Is Erin ready?” a young man at the door asked.
“Are you Tom?” BJ asked.
“Yes sir.”
“Come in and talk with us a bit. Peg, tell Erin her date’s here.
“Have a seat Tom,” BJ said, motioning to one of the arm chairs before he sat in the other.
“She’ll be down soon,” Peg said, returning to the living room and sitting on the couch.
“So tell me about yourself. Are you in Erin’s class?”
“I’m a year older.”
“And what are your aspirations?”
“I want to go to college and be a lawyer.”
“And you have the grades for that?”
“Yes sir.”
“You respect Erin, right?”
“Yes sir,” Tom paused a moment. “May I ask you a question?”
“Go ahead.”
“Dr. Hunnicutt, you’re a Korean vet, right?”
“Yes.” BJ’s tone was cool and calculated. His veteran status was not something BJ bragged about.
“So what was it like killing all those gooks?”
BJ sat up straighter, pursing his lips. “First of all, we do not condone that kind of language in this house. Secondly, I was a surgeon. I put those who got injured in the war back together.”
“Oh, so then you had the easy part. You didn’t have to worry about if you would be coming home or not. Some vet,” Tom scoffed.
BJ gritted his teeth, willing himself not to respond to this child’s naivety. He looked over at Peg and saw she had begun crying.
“Tom, you have to leave,” BJ said.
“But Erin. . .”
“Now.”
Without another argument, Tom left.
BJ walked over to where Peg sat on the couch and held her.
“Honey, he didn’t know,” he crooned.
“Okay, I’m ready. Daddy, where’s Tom?” Erin said, coming into the living room.
“He had to leave, sweetheart.”
“Daddy! What did you say?”
BJ threw up his hands in exasperation. “Why must I have said anything?”
“Mom, why are you crying?”
“That’s why he had to leave. No one makes my girls cry.”
“He made you cry?” Erin asked.
Peg nodded against BJ’s chest as he ran a hand over her hair.
“I’m sorry I blamed you Daddy. What happened?”
BJ filled Erin in on the conversation.
“What? You were a hero Daddy. I’m sorry. I didn’t know he was like that.”
Erin sat next to BJ. BJ put an arm around Erin, and she laid her head on his shoulder.
“You were my hero BJ. You still are,” Peg said, kissing his cheek.
“I just want the best for you Erin. We both do.”
“I know Daddy. And I trust you. I trust Mom too. After all, she picked you.”
“That’s my girl,” BJ said, kissing the top of Erin’s head.
The three sat in silence for a while on the couch. Talking about the war made Erin think about the letters her parents must have written to each other.
“Daddy, did you keep all of Mom’s letters? I mean the ones she sent you while you were stationed in Korea.”
“Yes. They’re in a box in the attic with the letters I sent your mom, as well as some pictures she sent me.”
“May I see them?”
“I don’t see why not.”
BJ soon returned with the box from the attic. Erin moved to the floor, where she would have more space to go through the memorabilia. After reading a couple, Erin looked up at her parents who were cuddling on the couch.
“You two really loved each other didn’t you?”
“Why are you speaking in past tense?” BJ asked. “We still do really love each other.”
Peg picked up a couple of the photos. BJ looked over her shoulder as she slowly flipped through them.
“It seems so long ago,” Peg said. “And yet I still can remember so vividly the horror and the loneliness.”
BJ kissed her temple, and began rubbing her back.
“Who’s Radar?” Erin asked.
BJ laughed. “Is that the one where your mom told me you called him daddy?”
“Yes.”
“He was the company clerk when I first got to the unit. He was a young, naïve kid. Good guy. I was so upset when I read that.”
“What? Why?” Peg asked.
“My baby girl was calling someone else daddy. She didn’t know me.”
“Oh sweetie. I’m sorry. I thought it was cute.”
“Errol Flynn? Really Mom?”
“What? He’s good looking!”
“The gutter guy?” BJ asked.
“Yeah,” Erin said.
“I was certain your mom was going to marry him.”
“What? She was already married to you. How could she have married him?”
“I don’t know, divorced me first I guess.”
“BJ Hunnicutt, I’ve never known you to be so jealous.”
“It was the distance,” BJ said, shrugging. “It made me crazy.”
“Did you ever meet Daddy’s war friends?”
Peg shook her head. “That was the weird part of the war. When you marry someone, you expect that going forward you’ll go through everything together. Any friends you stay in contact with will be friends of both of you. You expect to both be there when your daughter goes through her firsts. But it wasn’t like that for us. We lead separate lives for those two years or so. You dad had friends I never met, and I had to begin raising you by myself.”
“That must have been hard,” Erin said.
“The single mother part wasn’t that bad all things considered. The worst part was that your father was so far away. The only thing that kept me going on some days was the hope of a letter. They were the only way I knew for certain he was still alive. At the same time though, I lived in fear of the mail, because I knew that if something happened, not only would I be getting a telegram, someone would have written something to me in letter form.”
“Hawk might even have called,” BJ said.
“Hawk?” Erin asked.
“Hawkeye. Uh, Benjamin Pierce. He was my best friend over there.”
“I always wanted to meet him,” Peg said. “I want to thank him for all he did for you.”
“Can we meet him, Daddy?”
“He lives in Maine.”
“So? I’ve always wanted to travel.”
“Please BJ?”
“Okay, okay, you two,” BJ said, grinning. “I’ll give him a call.”
“Thank you Daddy,” Erin said and both women kissed BJ on the cheek.