Chapter Eleven: …Must Come to an End.

"Murdock."

The familiar voice was barely audible over the steady rhythm of the van.

"Hmmm?" He let one eye flicker open. "What's up Faceman?"

Face frowned. His normally smooth brow wrinkled as he stared down at the pilot. Murdock opened his other eye, sat up and forced a grin. He felt a brief flash of panic and then relief. Face had to know. If anyone knew, it had to be…

"You're mad at me, aren't you?" Face stammered as he wrung his hands together. "I can tell by how quiet you've been. Awww, Murdock, I hate it when you're mad at me."

"Faceman, I'm not…"

Face gently shook his head. "No, I know you are, and I don't blame you." He sighed, letting his shoulders slump. "You were right. The shirt was more like a bribe than a gift. Buying you off wasn't my intention, not really. Well, maybe it was but…" Face flashed a dazzling smile at Murdock. "You'll forgive me, won't you?"

"Sure, I guess. I don't think I really know what…"

Face's eyes sparkled. "You're a true friend, and…maybe you'll let me have the handkerchief back?"

Murdock glanced down. Faceman had tried to bribe him with a shirt? And he wanted the handkerchief? He was having trouble comprehending what this meant, but he could feel Face watching him, waiting for an answer.

Finally, he simply muttered, "handkerchief?"

"Yeah, you know, it's a little cloth thing that people blow their noses into." Face's voice sounded anxious. It was the tone he used when a con wasn't working.

Murdock stared blankly across the van. It was getting darker and the faint blue evening light seemed to help ease his headache a little.

The handkerchief? He cringed as he recalled how the thin sheet was plastered to his bloody scalp. It would have to be removed soon. The wound needed to be cleaned, but not yet. He just needed a little more time before the full fury of the pain came back.

"Aww, Murdock!" Face whined. "I told you that I'd be nice. I just need one date, that's all."

"W-with a handkerchief?"

Hannibal, who had been quietly cleaning his rifle, let out a chuckle. "That's a good one."

Face glared at the colonel before turning his attention back to Murdock. "No! Stop fooling around. You know I'm talking about Kinsey Little. I mean, she could really be the one! And I know I promised not to, but how do you expect me to just walk away from that sweet little thing?"

Murdock frowned. Kinsey Little? He knew the name, but from where? Then it came to him.

"The red-headed nurse at the VA?" he gasped. "You promised not to?"

Face groaned. He'd apparently taken Murdock's last question as a statement. "I know, I know, and I won't break that promise, but maybe you could reconsider? I mean, you saw how she dropped that handkerchief right in front of me. You saw how she was so obviously trying not to notice it had fallen, and how she hurried off so I could pick it up. She wants to see me again. She wants me to return it. Please Murdock, just this one last time, can I date a nurse?"

The van slowly came to a stop.

"We're here," BA announced. "And it's about time. I was getting tired of all your jibber-jabbering."

Hannibal slid the door open, stepped out and started to stretch his legs. "Out of the van, boys," he yelled back at the others. "You can finish the conversation inside the cabin."

Mr. Ashley stumbled out of the van, sending the satchel toppling to the ground. Papers spilled out and scattered in the cool breeze. Face was immediately out, helping Ashley and Hannibal collect the wayward documents. For his part, BA watched them with a hint of irritation as he ran a hand over a bullet hole in the hood of this van.

Murdock crawled to the door and let his feet fall down to the dirt ground. With everyone distracted, he might be able to stand up without drawing suspicion. He pushed upward, swayed on his feet and grabbed the van for support. Closing his eyes for a moment, he waited until the world seemed to stop spinning before he opened them again.

Hannibal, Face and Ashley stood together, trying to cram the documents back into the satchel. It was a wadded mess of paperwork, but it looked as if they had reclaimed it all. Murdock sighed. At least no one had seen. Then he noticed BA.

The sergeant wasn't moving. He was just staring. Murdock tried giving the ugly mudsucker an innocent grin, but that didn't ease the concern on BA's face.

Hannibal gave a laugh. "I love it when…."

Just as BA took a step forward, Murdock made his move. He had planned on making his way around the back side of the van, but, instead, he instantly dropped to his knees. Pain flared in his head. With watery eyes, he looked up and saw the guys frozen, staring back at him.

"Murdock?" Face rushed forward. "Are you ok?"

Instinctively, Murdock wanted to reach up and touch his aching head, but that would only bring more pain. Even through his jumbled thoughts, he knew one thing: he didn't want any more pain. Rest is what he wanted. If everyone would just leave him alone, then he could sleep. But, there was a reason he wasn't supposed to sleep. What was it?

"s' okay." He smiled and tried to get back on his feet, but someone was holding him down. BA? He hadn't noticed the big guy make his way over.

"Fool! It is not okay. Stay still and let Hannibal look you over."

Murdock tried to pull away, but Face and BA held him in place.

"I'm s-sorry…" He lowered his head so that the brim of his cap hid his face.

"Captain, it's ok." Hannibal was talking slowly, and Murdock could feel a hand settle carefully on his shoulder. "We're just going to see what's wrong, ok? Can you look up for me?"

Murdock trembled, but did as his CO asked.

"See," Hannibal said, as he studied the pilot's face. "That wasn't so bad. Now, can you tell me what happened?"

It was almost funny, Murdock thought, almost.

"I was in the VA and then I wasn't. Maybe I hit my head?"

Hannibal seemed to consider this for moment before asking, "What's the first thing you remember after you woke up, when you weren't in the VA anymore?"

Everyone was silent, waiting for Murdock's reply. His head throbbed as he concentrated on the question.

"You were talking on the radio, Colonel, but it was broken. You couldn't hear me. I think you said we all had to be in position, but I-I didn't know what that meant." Murdock swallowed hard and avoided making eye contact with Hannibal. "I'm sorry."

"You've got nothing to be sorry about," Hannibal replied. Whatever dredges of jazz he had been clinging to were obviously gone. "It was my fault. The plan didn't work quite as well as I thought it would. Now, let's get a look at that head of yours."

Murdock's eyes locked on Hannibal as the man reached up to remove the baseball cap. It was going to hurt. He knew it was going to hurt, but it had to be done. Hadn't he been though worse before? This would be nothing. This would be a piece of cake. As soon as he thought those words, he panicked.

"WAIT!" He panted, once again straining against his friends' grasp. "I ran with dynamite in my pants and then I gave it a cigarette. They heard me sing Air Supply, but I got away. I rescued a damsel, who was not really a damsel, and she shot the copter!" He could hear his words slur slightly, but he had to finish. They had to at least know what he had been through. "I thought a high heeled shoe was a gun, and I was saved by nonexistent bunions."

A few moments of silence followed his outburst before anyone dared talk again.

"Wow," Face said in a low voice. "That made no sense. I really think we need to get him to a hospital."

"How can you tell?" BA asked. "Fool always sounds crazy."

"Ok, Murdock, just take it easy." Hannibal's hand settled on Murdock's hat. "Everything is going to be alright."

"But…that's…what…h-happened…."

Hannibal slowly pulled the hat up. Pain seared through the back of Murdock's skull. Blinded with the rising pressure in his head, his body started to go limp. He could just barely make out Hannibal's words before everything went black.

"Don't worry kid. We'll take care of you now."

"Murdock, you really know how sorry I am, right?"

"Of course, Faceman. I do." Murdock was getting a little tired of all the apologies he'd been getting. Quite frankly, he was almost looking forward to having a little quiet time to himself. After an overnight stay at a hospital, he had spent the last week with the guys in a charming little cottage Face had managed to scam. It had been nice, but, with the fellows constantly checking up on him, he was starting to want some alone time.

"Well," Face said as he pushed Murdock's wheelchair down the hall of the VA center, "I am really, really sorry."

Murdock grinned. "Yeah, Face. I know."

They were quiet for a while. Only the faint squeak of the wheelchair made any noise. There weren't many people around the VA at this hour of the night, and that's why they chose it for Murdock's return.

"Dr. Pepper? Is that you?" A petite, red-headed nurse stared wide-eyed at the two as she came around a corner. "I didn't think Mr. Murdock would be gone so long. Did you find out what he's allergic to?"

Face sighed. "I'm afraid the tests were inconclusive. So, he might have another attack and we might have to pull him away again for more tests."

"Hmmm," she smiled down at Murdock, "I hope the tests weren't too hard on you."

"Nope, they weren't too bad. I didn't even have to study!"

She glanced up at Face. "Would you like me to take him back to his room?"

"No, I'll do it."

She turned and started to walk away. Face watched her for a few strides before he started pushing Murdock down the hall again.

"Oh, Dr. Pepper!" the nurse called suddenly, both men turned to stare back at her. "I was wondering…" She frowned a little. "…if you had seen a handkerchief. It had my initials on it, and, well, it was part of a set. I just recalled that the last time I had seen it, you two had been at the front counter with me, so maybe…Have you seen it?"

After glancing down at Murdock, Face smiled. "Sorry, I haven't seen a thing."

"Oh." Her frown grew. "I had really hoped to find it. After all," She turned and started to sadly stroll away, "my boyfriend brought them all the way back from Paris."

Silence engulfed the two as they watched the nurse depart, and then a low chuckle sounded.

"Murdock?"

"Yeah," he said, biting back his laughter.

"This is stays between me and you. You won't tell the guys, right?"

Murdock giggled. "Consider it forgotten."

They continued down the hall, getting nearer to Murdock's room. Having some time to himself was going to be great. He'd catch up on his comics and TV shows, and maybe he'd play some video games, but, like clockwork, he'd start anxiously waiting. He smiled to himself. Yes, some downtime was going to do him wonders, but he was already excited. He was excited for the next mission.

~Fin~

I wanted to post a quick thank you to all of you who took the time to write up reviews. I didn't realize how much they would fuel me on until I had recevied a few. Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it!