Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters of M*A*S*H they all belong to Fox, although I wish I owned them!! The characters I create are my own, however if I've inadvertently used someone else's characters or storyline I apologise in advance.

Military and Medical Disclaimer: I am neither a doctor, nor am I in the army, I simply love M*A*SH and I am aware that some of my stories may be inaccurate or impossible medically or militarily. I apologise for any mistakes that I have made.

NOTE: I haven't seen all the episodes of M*A*S*H, as in Australia, reruns are patchy, so if I've got anyone's details incorrect please tell me mirandabelle@bigpond.com Any other comments would be greatly appreciated!

Yet another H/M romance! Sorry if you don't like them, but I do! Please enjoy the story, which picks up well after GFA. This is what happens when old friends just 'run into each other.'

Part One: The Accident

"Ben, Ben, dearest, the baby is kicking my ribs." Ben Pierce looked up, and for an instant saw not his wife's pretty, but currently pained countenance but another face, familiar, but one he hadn't seen in a long time.

"What, is our baby giving you grief again?" He laughed, as he got up and walked to his wife, Rose who lay in their bed.

"Not half as much grief as you give me Benjamin!" She laughed as he climbed into bed beside her, kissing her neck and ear as he did so.

The phone rang, "Infernal thing" He muttered, before picking it up, "Hello Pierce home,"

There was a familiar voice on the other end, "Hawk?" Ben detached Rose from his arm.

"Beej?" The voice laughed.

"It's me, I just realised we haven't talked in a while, not since you told me Rose was pregnant," Ben laughed now.

"Well, seeing as she's due any day now, that's a long time." He closed his eyes and saw the face, this time stricken with terror, he shook his head, and tuned back into BJ's chatter.

"And Erin's going to be 5, and then she'll be going to school!" Ben chuckled.

"Boy am I glad I've got 5 or 6 years to wait, Molly won't be in school till then." Ben smiled, placing a hand on his wife's stomach and tried to ignore the face, which was still aggravatingly familiar, but as yet unidentified.

"Molly?" queried BJ.

"Yeah Molly, a little tribute to a very good friend - we're guessing the baby is a girl, the way she's carrying." BJ laughed, at that and the two friends kept talking until Rose grabbed her husband's arm.

"Ben, Molly's on her way." BJ heard Rose's remark and quickly ended the call, soon the couple were on the road, driving through the dark, rainy night towards Portland Hospital.

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Margaret switched on her wipers as the rain poured harder, she had been driving from Boston, where she and her new husband Rob Milano were living. She was nine months pregnant and she knew that driving so far in her condition on such a night was insane, and she was mentally scolding herself.

Rob, she knew would have followed her and he was probably 30 minutes or so behind her on the road. She reached Portland and stopped to fill her tank, after she paid the cashier she went back out to her car and kept driving.

She passed the hospital and then pulled over, after a few minutes of mulling over the fight she'd had with Rob, she decided to turn around and go home. Without indicating, she pulled out onto the road, only to hear a screech of brakes and a horrible thud as a car hit her. They skidded and spun and then stopped, a horn honked and for the second time that night, the screech of brakes and then a thud of metal filled the air.

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Ben drove the car, trying to watch the road and stay in his lane but also watch while his wife had another contraction.

"Rose, darling we're nearly there, just hang on." He said, trying to shake the face which had become clearer and clearer to him, blonde hair, which curled softly around a firm jaw, blue eyes that sparkled, and full, kissable lips. He knew it wasn't his wife, after all Rose was a stunning redhead, but he still couldn't quite put his finger on it.

A car pulled out of nowhere and Ben instantly hit the brakes, sliding in the wet, and colliding with the car. The blonde woman in his mind's eye was horribly real, her face was so frightened, and she was the driver of the other car. Ben tried not to panic as the cars slid and spun along the wet road. He saw the woman slump over the steering wheel and looked around frantically for Rose.

He barely saw her as another car ploughed into her side and all three cars rolled down the embankment.

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"Hawkeye?" BJ sat anxiously by his friend's bed, since the crash Ben had not woken up, his condition was critical and if he didn't wake up soon, chances were he wouldn't wake up at all.

Daniel Pierce had called BJ after the crash and BJ had flown over immediately, and had kept up an almost constant vigil by his friend's side.

"Hawkeye, wake up, please wake up." BJ's voice trembled as he spoke; his friend was getting sicker everyday. Ben's eyelids flickered and BJ grabbed his hand, squeezing tightly.

"Hawkeye, it's me BJ, wake up, please wake up." Ben's eyes opened fully and he blinked for a few minutes in the hospital light.

"Beej?" Ben's voice was weak, "Beej, where's Rose?" BJ couldn't answer this, he knew the truth, neither Rose nor her baby had lived, but he was also under specific orders not to tell his friend right away.

"Hawkeye, I don't know, but I'll get the nurse," BJ fibbed, hoping Ben was still too out of it to know he was lying. The nurse came and was relieved to see her favourite patient and doctor awake again. Ben continually asked where Rose was, but everyone avoided answering it until Daniel Pierce was able to see his son.

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In the nursery a small baby cried desolately. She was alone; her mother was also in that terrible car crash and had not woken up. A nurse came to her soothing her, and gave her a bottle.

"When will your mummy wake up?" The nurse asked the infant girl, whose only reply was to suck her bottle hungrily.

The Matron walked in, "Dr Pierce woke up about 15 minutes ago, Dr Pierce senior is telling him the bad news." The nurse, a Korean veteran, Margie Cutler gasped.

"Oh poor Hawkeye, he loved Rose more than that shirt, his robe and his medical certificate." The Matron sighed.

"Yes, but we really must hope that Mrs Milano wakes soon," Margie smiled,

"Major Houlihan has always been a strong woman, she won't give up on her life without a fight." Matron almost smiled,

"Well Nurse, I certainly hope you're right."

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Margaret awoke suddenly and cried out, Daniel Pierce rushing into the room.

"It's okay Mrs Milano, please be calm, there was a very nasty accident, but you are okay." His voice to Margaret was familiar, strangely so, but different, Daniel's hand on her forehead felt strangely familiar too.

"Now Mrs Milano, you'll be okay, I promise you, I'll get a nurse to come and look at you seeing as I'm off duty now, and I have to attend to my son who was also in the accident."

Margaret clasped his hand suddenly, "The accident, you. you know what happened?" Daniel debated for a second.

"Yes I do," Margaret's grip tightened.

"What happened, where's my baby?" Daniel called a nurse into the room and whispered and order to her.

"Mrs Milano, I'm very sorry to say this, but your husband Robert, was in one of the cars that night, he suffered extreme head injuries, massive internal bleeding." The nurse returned with a box of tissues.

"We tried to save him but we couldn't I'm very sorry Mrs Milano." Margaret started crying and Daniel handed her the tissues.

"And my baby?" She asked tearfully, Daniel was still serious, "Well you went into labour immediately during the crash, and you gave birth to a healthy five pound, fifteen ounce baby girl. She's waiting in the nursery for her mummy." The doctor on duty walked in.

"Thankyou, I'll take it from here, I trust she knows what happened?"

Daniel nodded, "Now I really must see my son,"

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"Dad! At last someone who won't lie to me," Ben nearly shouted as his father walked in the room.

"Easy Hawk," BJ placed a soothing hand on his friend's arm. Daniel felt awful; he hated having to deliver the bad news, he especially hated having to tell his son that for the second time, the most important woman in his life was dead.

"Son, when the other car hit yours, Rose was killed instantly. We tried everything to save your child, but there was some serious trauma, and your baby, a little girl, didn't make it."

Ben started to cry, "Why dad, why? What happened to the son-of-a-bitch who killed her? I'll kill him myself!" Ben was furious.

"Daniel, tell him." BJ said softly.

"Well, Ben, the driver of the car that killed Rose, died too, but the driver of the other car, the one you hit first, lived and so did her baby, she also gave birth that night, you'll know the name, Margaret Milano."

Ben looked confused, rightly, he had chosen not to go to Margaret's wedding, as he didn't want to see the woman he'd loved so dearly get married to someone else for the second time.

"Margaret Houlihan's married name is Milano. Her husband was in the third car that night." BJ explained, Ben's face turned red.

"So the silly bitch goes out of her way to make my life hell in Korea and now she has to come to Maine and ruin my life as well!"

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"Dr Pierce, you have a visitor," Ben rolled over; he'd recovered and was moved into the casualty ward three days before and that morning had attended a memorial service for his beloved wife. He fully expected to see his father or one of Rose's relatives, but Margie wheeled in the woman who had in one second, taken away his wife and baby. Margaret Houlihan.

"Hi Hawkeye," she said tentatively. He didn't reply for a second, and tried not to take in the horrible scars on her once pretty face.

"Margie, could you leave us alone please?" He said softly, and Margie complied, shutting the door behind her.

"Hawkeye, I'm very sorry about what happened." Margaret softly began.

"It's Ben now," he informed her sullenly.

"Okay, Ben, I'm really sorry, you have no idea." Ben's blue eyes remained cold.

"Sorry doesn't fix it, does it? Sorry won't bring back my wife or my daughter." His voice was low, but shook with unshed tears and untold emotions. Margaret reached out to him.

"Ben, I'm really sorry, but do you have any idea what I'm going through?" Ben pulled his hand away.



"You still have your daughter," he said coldly.





"But Hawkeye, I don't have my husband, her father. Do I tell Miranda that her father died because he was following my car, to make up for something I'd done?" A tear slid down Margaret's face.





"Miranda?" Ben questioned softly, the icy grip of grief tightening on his heart.





"My daughter, Miranda Rose." Ben started to cry.





"Margaret, you're doing this deliberately aren't you? Rose was my wife, if we had a daughter we were going to name her Margaret after you, Molly for short, and Miranda, that was Rose's second name, Rosemary Miranda, we were going to call our daughter Molly Miranda. You've ruined my life, don't come and taunt me with what you have, just leave the room and never speak to me again." Ben knew he was acting irrationally, but he hurt so much, he didn't care.





Margaret gasped, "Ben, Hawkeye, please it was an accident and I had no idea that your wife's name was Rose, or Miranda, or you wanted to name your baby after me," Ben turned away, and Margaret began to cry but wheeled herself from the room.