*This story is the sequel to my previous story, Voices. You have to have read Voices to understand this story, and as in the first story, it will probably be helpful if you've seen "Goodbye, Farewell & Amen." To alleviate any confusion, this story begins back in Hawkeye's delusional world. Read on, and I hope you enjoy this story as much as its prequel.

"Wake up, Hawkeye!" Sidney continued yelling. Suddenly an infant's wail pierced the air.

"Honey, sweetie, it's okay. Mama's here," Margaret soothed as she lifted her child into her arms. She jostled him gently and looked at Sidney with pleading eyes.

Hawkeye rolled and struck at the air as if he were fighting off real people. Sidney held Hawkeye's arms down with a strength that many didn't know the quiet psychiatrist had; in fact, he did not even know he had it.

"No...no, I can't. I 'm not strong enough...uhhh...no.." Hawkeye mumbled. The voices were so strong and real he felt like he could almost reach out and grab them. "No!" he yelled and then violently sat straight up. His eyes were wide open but unfocused.

"Hawk!" Margaret yelled. For a second, it seemed to only serve to upset Ben, Jr. again, but then Hawkeye turned and faced her. His eyes slowly met hers and focused.

"Margaret?" he asked confusedly. "Where am I?" He turned and saw Sidney sitting there, still holding his arms. "What are you doing here and why are you holding me down?" He looked at Sidney with fear in his eyes. He had no idea what was going on, and it had to be pretty bad if Sidney had to hold him down with such force.

"Oh, Hawk, Hawk!" Margaret yelled and flew into his arms, holding the baby carefully so he would not be flattened between them. She sobbed uncontrollably, shaking like a leaf. "Margaret, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" he looked at Sidney, pleading for an answer. His eyes were so full of hurt because he knew, deep down, that he had caused it somehow.

"I'm just happy you're okay, right now," she said, smiling through her tears. She handed Ben, Jr. to Sidney, who took him with a smile, and hugged her husband tightly. She squeezed him and whispered, "Never leave me again."

He looked at her in confusion, but saw what he did not know in her eyes. "I won't," he replied. "I promise."

"Well, Hawkeye, when was the last time you heard the voices?" Sidney asked him curiously.

"Not since that night, Sidney," Hawkeye said, his eyes clouding over. "I guess I'm not fun enough to talk to anymore." He tried vainly and without much success to lighten his own mood.

"Well, I'd say, at least for now, that you're basically back to normal. I want you to stay in town for a while, if you can. I just want you to be near here for a couple of more months, with appointments once a week. Other than that, you can go back to your normal life."

Hawkeye looked at him with some of the mischievous twinkle back in his eye. This is what he had been waiting for.

After sessions every week for about three months, Sidney had cut him loose. Of course, if Hawkeye had any trouble or just wanted to talk, Sidney would be there ready to listen. He was only a phone call away. But to Hawkeye, it was the ultimate sign that he was completely sane and normal again. Unlike Korea, he was not needed anywhere urgently, and there weren't others worse off than him who needed Dr. Freedman's help more desperately. Sidney had all the time he needed to help Hawkeye for as long as he needed it, and he had decided that Hawk did not need it any longer. He was just ready to get on with his perfect life.

As he trudged the mile from the clinic to his new home, he wondered how Margaret would take the news. She seemed so willing to give everything up for him, move from her adopted home of Crabapple Cove, where she had finally started to fit in, and move near Sidney's clinic. It had not been as hard as he thought it would be on her. She had met and instantly clicked with Sidney's wife Anni, and she had said thousands of times that she was happy wherever he and Ben, Jr. were. However, he just wanted her to finally have some roots. She had been an Army brat all her life, with no city to call her own. She had met the love of her life, had a son, and now all she needed was a home. She was finally going to get it.

"Margaret, where are you? I've got some good news! Margaret?" he shouted as he climbed the stairs. He turned the corner into their bedroom and searched it with his eyes.

"Surprise!" Margaret and Anni yelled as they jumped out from behind the door. Margaret was holding Ben, Jr., who was wearing a cone-shaped hat and smiling his one-toothed grin. He cooed happily at seeing his father home and reached for Hawkeye. Hawkeye grabbed his son and turned to look at the two women who were smiling at him.

"What is this for?" he asked, grinning at them. "Is this just because I'm such a wonderful person, or is it for a specific reason?"

"Sidney called and told us the news. We're so happy for you!" Anni replied.

"Be happier for my beautiful wife," he answered her. "She's finally getting the perfect life she deserves."

After moving back to Crabapple Cove, Margaret, Hawkeye, and Ben, Jr. had settled back into a perfect life. Daniel Pierce, Hawkeye's father, seemed years younger since they had moved back into the big empty house. Hawkeye could not remember a time when he had been happier. He had even taken over his father's clinic; Daniel had retired after they had moved back to watch Ben, Jr. Margaret, of course, was the head nurse; in fact, the only nurse. She was happy to be working but with a schedule that allowed her plenty of time with her son. Lately, however, she had been tired and unable to work for long periods of time. She was worried that maybe she was sick, but denied it to herself because everything was too perfect. Then one day, she resolved to find out. It was better to deal with it than to put up a happy facade while she was so worried inside.

"Honey, I don't know how to tell you this, so I'll just say it. I've felt very weak lately, and I think we need to do some tests." She winced at the look of worry, pain, and fear that crossed his face.

He instantly went to her and put his arm around her. "If something's wrong, we'll work through it." He kissed her forehead and they began the tests.

"Well, honey," Hawkeye said with a smile in his voice and a grin on his face. "You're not sick. We're having a baby!"

"I never imagined that I could be pregnant again!" she exclaimed, laughing. "It just feels different from when I was pregnant with Ben. Maybe it's just because it's the second child."

"A second child," Hawkeye echoed softly. He looked wistfully at Ben, Jr. who was crawling on the floor at their feet. "A second child!" he added, a little louder and more jubilantly. He lifted Margaret up and spun her around, laughing hysterically. She joined him in her pure bliss, thinking of names and imagining what he or she would like. This was pure happiness.

"Relax, son. Everything's fine," Daniel comforted Hawkeye, rubbing his back as Hawkeye sat, shoulders hunched, anxiously staring at the floor. "You know Michael; he's a great doctor. Everything's fine, I promise," he repeated. He sounded a lot more confident than he felt. He knew what his son was going through, and he felt the same way.

"I know, Dad. But I can't help it," Hawkeye replied, eyebrows furrowed in worry. He more than anyone knew how strong Margaret was, but the baby was as small and helpless as could be. Just then an orderly walked in and motioned to Hawkeye and Daniel.

"Everything's fine," the orderly said, and Daniel winked at Hawkeye as if to say 'I told you so.' "Mrs. Pierce can see you now." Hawkeye leapt up and dashed down the hall, straight to Margaret's room. He knew where it was; all hospital's layouts were basically the same and he had been a resident at one time, before Korea.

"Margaret!" he yelled, then hushed when he realized that he could wake or startle the newborn. "So?" he whispered, looking at her questioningly.

"So what?" she replied. Though she was tired, she had an impish grin, something she had learned from her husband.

"So, what is it? A little Ben or a little Margaret?" he asked.

"I thought it was a little human," she replied in mock confusion. "Or even all human." She looked up at him and grinned.

"Margaret," he said, in a warning tone. "Boy or girl?"

"Girl!'" she exclaimed, unable to contain herself any longer.

"Girl!" he yelled, laughing. The little baby nestled against Margaret stirred, whimpered, and went right back to sleep. "A little Margaret," he added and smiled. His wife looked up at him and gazed into his eyes. She was so happy she could laugh forever and just never stop.