Chapter Nineteen: Get Well

From a mercifully dreamless sleep, Murdock sluggishly woke. The faint, distance rhythm of beeping had crept into his drug induced rest, drawing him back into reality. Hazy memories surfaced, but he remained calm. The team had come for him; he could remember that. Everything would be ok.

He listened to the beeps, recognizing the steady melody of a heartbeat; it had to be his. Unable to open his eyes yet, Murdock wondered where he was. Instinctively he knew that the lack of restraints ruled out the VA, but it was definitely some sort of hospital.

The urge to move struck him and then fled again. He could feel the fever consuming him, his body radiating heat, ready to burst flames. Every inch of him felt weighted, drained of energy. With effort, he opened his eyes, his burning eyelids protesting the movement.

"Murdock?" A blurry figure moved closer, distinguishable only by the shock of white hair.

He wanted to answer; his mind screamed at him to answer, but all he could manage was a soft sigh before his eyes slid closed and the void of darkness overcame him again.

BA had been relieved when Hannibal sent him off to keep an eye on Face. The Colonel, in the meantime, would watch over Murdock. Now though, the Sergeant was feeling miserable. Sure the crazy man made him nervous sometimes, not that he would admit that out loud, but Murdock was still Murdock. Plus, the fool had taken care of him when he needed it and now he felt like he had abandoned him. No, that wasn't true. Murdock wasn't alone; Hannibal would be sure of that.

Face groaned, startling BA from his thoughts.

"How you feeling?" BA asked as he stepped closer to Face's hospital bed.

Lying on his belly, IV line snaking to his arm, Face gave another weak groan. "I feel like I was just shot in the butt. They got the bullet out?"

BA grinned. "Yeah, man, they did, and you got the phone number of every nurse in the ward already."

Face glanced up, eyebrows raised. "Really? I don't recall that."

Taking the paper scrawled with numbers on it out of his pocket, BA held it up for Face to see.

"Well…" Face smiled. "…I've certainly still got it." But, his delight faded as his gaze shifted to the door. "How's Murdock?"

BA jammed the paper back in his pocket and scowled. "Hannibal's with him." That was the best he could offer; that was all he knew.

A sad understanding filled Face's eyes. He wouldn't ask for any more details, BA knew that. All they could do now was wait.

Murdock woke with a start at the cold burning tearing through his body. Weakly, he struggled, suddenly aware of the sounds of splashing. Hands held him still, and voices called out in soothing tones, but he couldn't understand them.

His hand brushed against smooth metal and he fumbled along it, searching for a handhold. If only he could haul himself up and out of the icy water. He shivered. Why was this happening? He wanted to be warm and sleeping, not here in this searing cold. Where was Hannibal?

With the last of his energy, Murdock tried again to free himself from the cold, but the struggled fizzled out of him and he lay limply in the hands that held him. Closing his eyes, drowning out the bright overhead lights, he prayed that he would pass out soon, and, thankfully, he did.

Hannibal frowned. He had been hopeful when Murdock had woken up for the first time in the hospital, but the Captain had been too weak to respond or stay conscious for long. Since then, the man hadn't moved. In fact, even when the nurses tried to wake him, he wouldn't stir. The fever was too high; they'd have to do something.

The Colonel watched from a distance as they lowered Murdock into the icy bath. For a second it seemed like not even the cold water would awaken the Captain, but then, relief filling Hannibal, Murdock's eyes popped open. It was hard to bask in the small victory for too long though, as the fevered man immediately started to struggle; his weak gasps audible even over the reassuring voices of the nurses and orderlies.

Hannibal stepped forward, adding his own soft encouragement to the mix, but it was apparent that none of it was reaching the Captain. Eyes fearful and mouth drawn in a tight frown, Murdock clawed at the walls of the tub. Slowly, he relaxed and his eyes closed. Exhaustion had won out, and Hannibal let a silent curse echo in his mind. He hated this feeling of helplessness.

BA slid the back door of the van open, watching the nurse scowl at the two flat twin mattresses.

Wheeling Murdock up to the vehicle, the petite blond opened her mouth and then paused. "I-I'll get some blankets."

Grateful that the woman wasn't going to push the questionable conditions of their travel, BA turned to stare at Murdock. The unconscious man was hunched in his wheelchair. He had only been at the hospital for a little over twenty-four hours, and his fever had broken, but he really shouldn't have been leaving yet. Still, it wasn't like they had much choice.

The blond nurse, Susan, had been quite taken with Face, so when she heard the gossip flooding the hospital that the A-team was there, she managed to put two and two together fairly quickly. She hadn't really thought much of the danger to the team until the chatter drifted to the reward the U.S. government was offering for the men. She quickly informed Face and Face told Hannibal and now they were on their way out, before anyone got any funny ideas.

Susan returned with the blankets just as Hannibal was helping Face limp to the van. The Lieutenant was pretty drugged up and would undoubtedly pass into dreamland the moment they were on the road.

Gingerly, BA lifted Murdock into the van and settled him onto one of the mattresses. Susan squirmed her way in and started to ready an IV. The fool was still pretty dehydrated.

BA watched as Susan finished with the line and hung the bag from a peg on the van wall. In his oversized grey sweatpants and sweatshirt, Murdock looked thinner than he really was. Susan pulled a blanket over the pale man and ran a quick hand over his forehead. A faint smile played on her lips as she sat up.

"The fever hasn't come back," she glanced over at BA. "So, that's good, but keep him hydrated. I put another saline bag in that kit I made up for you, and there should be enough of his meds in there to last a whole month. I'm going to be in a world of hurt when that's all found out to be missing, but I don't think that really matters now." She paused, her appraising gaze firmly settled on BA. "You will take good care of him, right?"

BA nodded, unable to find his voice.

She smiled coyly. "And you'll take care of Face too?"

Again, he nodded.

"And…" She crawled out of the van and stood up, her small body suddenly seeming very intimidating. "…you'll make sure he calls me?"

BA looked away. That was Faceman's business, not his, but he would remind him to call. Squirming under her scrutiny, he wetted his lips.

"Yes, ma'am."

She stiffened slightly at the response. He timidly looked up and caught her embarrassed smirk before she walked away. Susan paused briefly to give Face a quick kiss, whispering something in his ear that made the Lieutenant grin.

BA shrugged and rounded the van. He was about to climb into the driver's seat when he spotted his duffel bag. There was one last thing he had to do…

Murdock shifted, rolling onto his side. There was something different, something comforting, but what was it? He drew in another deep, warm breath and snuggled beneath his blanket. A gentle sway of motion rocked him in a soothing way; that was it! They were on the road. He could hear Hannibal and BA's soft voicing conversing in the front as the steady hum of travel continued.

He wanted to call out to them, to thank them, but he hadn't the energy. He was with his team again, but loneliness suddenly settled over him. Maybe he could find the strength to get their attention; maybe he could…

Murdock started to force himself up, but he stopped. Smiling, he let out a contented sigh. How had BA known? Squeezing Barry tight, Murdock drifted back off to sleep.

Almost a week had passed since they returned to Los Angeles, and Murdock was almost fully recovered. He still got a little tired sometimes, but he tried not to let the guys notice. He had made them worry enough already. Besides, in another two days he was going to head back to the VA. He had tried to convince the guys to send him back there when they first got back to LA, but they had refused. BA had been the most adamant about Murdock staying with them, which puzzled the Captain, because after he had been so vocal about Murdock staying with them at Face's newly conned place, the Sergeant had all but disappeared for the remainder of the week.

Murdock shrugged off the thought as he crawled into his bed. The big guy cared, and that was all that mattered. With a yawn, he settled down and closed his eyes. Sleep came quickly.

"Murdock!"

The Captain sat up quickly, staring at BA. He cast a quick glance at the clock. It was eleven fifty-five pm.

"Come on…" BA reached over and pulled the covers back. "We gotta go."

Murdock didn't ask any questions. Too many years on the run meant that you knew when to talk and when to obey. Quickly, he sprang out of bed and followed BA through the house. The Sergeant made his way to the garage, meaning they were probably going to have to hightail it out of Face's little getaway.

He followed BA into the garage and then, in shocked silence, paused.

Face and Hannibal both were holding glasses of champagne, grinning over at the Captain.

"Welcome to the party, Murdock," Face said, his smile even more dazzling than usual. "It's all for you."

Murdock took a step forward, studying the white linen clad tables heaped with treats. "What? I-I…"

Hannibal sipped his champagne and then motioned toward the far end of the room. "You'll have to try the fountains. BA has been working on those all week."

Swallowing hard, Murdock glanced in the direction the Colonel had pointed. Sure enough, there were two large fountains, one bubbling with chocolate and the other with white chocolate. Dishes of fresh fruits and sweet breads adorned all the nearby tables.

Murdock grinned. It was a midnight chocolate buffet!

He looked over at Hannibal, Face and BA, trying to hide the tears forming in his eyes. "I don't know what to say…"

"Don't say nothing, fool," BA replied quickly, "Just get eating."

Murdock laughed. "Ok, big guy, but only as long as I don't have to tackle all these goodies on my own."

"We're a team, fool. You don't gotta do nothing on your own, not if you don't want to." BA shifted uncomfortably. "We always got your back, ok?"

Both Hannibal and Face nodded in agreement.

"Sounds good to me," Murdock answered softly. "Now, how about we dig in?"

As he turned and sprinted toward the goodies, Murdock could hear the distinct chuckles of all three of his friends. Dipping a strawberry into the chocolate, he watched the dark liquid ooze over the fruit. Slowly, Face limped up beside him and picked up a wedge of bread. Across the room, Hannibal lit a cigar and BA poured himself a tall glass of milk. Murdock sighed. Nothing could be better than this.

~Fini~