(A/N): Quite a long final chapter. This was written by both MommieJen and myself.

Disclaimer: We own Nada.

Face straightened his tie and slipped into his medical coat before exiting the van. "Shouldn't take me more than a few minutes," he winked at B.A. and Hannibal. "Time me just for fun."

Hannibal smirked and started his stopwatch. "Guess we'll see if the Faceman still has what it takes to charm a young VA nurse in his old age."

"Old!" Face was indignant as he stopped and stared at the Colonel. "Look who's talking! Five minutes, tops!"

True to his word, they saw Face approaching the van in just a few minutes, but the closer he got to the van, the more he picked up speed. By the time he neared the van, he was practically running. He threw open the door and climbed in, but before he could get a word out, Hannibal beat him to it.

"Forget someone, Lieutenant?" As the words left his mouth, Hannibal noticed the panic in Face's eyes. Immediately dropping the playful banter, he asked all the questions with one word. "What?"

Face talked as he slipped off the medical coat. "He's...he's not there. He's had no visitors, no signs of violence or kidnapping, he's just...gone. And I searched his room. He's really gone, Colonel." After a brief pause, he quietly asked, "What do we do?"

B.A. turned out onto the road. "We find the Crazy Fool, that's what we do. And nobody better find him before we do!"

Hannibal already had a plan formulating. "B.A., we need Face's Vette. First thing we do is split up. Face, search your condo. Don't forget under the bed and in the closets. Then head out and start looking at nearby beaches. This early in the morning, they shouldn't be too crowded. And remember, you're looking for Murdock, not a date. B.A., check your place, then head out to the new amusement park that just opened. I'll stay at my apartment for now and check with Amy and Maggie to see if they've heard from him. Check in in thirty minutes, everyone armed and carrying a sedative, just in case."

It didn't take Hannibal long to search his small apartment; after looking in all the reasonable and unreasonable Murdock could possibly squeeze himself into, he resigned himself to the fact that his Captain wasn't there. With a heavy sigh and even heavier heart, he sat down on the couch and dialed Amy's number.

"Hello?" Amy's voice was way too chipper for the Colonel.

"Amy. I hate to ask you this, kid. But you haven't heard from Murdock, have you?" Hannibal had a feeling he knew the answer to his question but he needed to be sure.

"Oh no!" Amy voice immediately turned to dread. "No, I haven't. What happened? You don't know where he is? How did you manage to lose him, Hannibal?" Anger tinged her words, a cover for the fear and dread she felt in her heart.

"Lose him? Miss Allen, I did not LOSE a man," Hannibal's temper flared. For the first time in a long, long time, the stress of a situation caused him to nearly boil over. "Listen, Amy, all I know right now is Face went to spring him and he wasn't there. I'm just covering all bases, we will find him." Hannibal started to simmer down as he spoke and managed to sound less concerned than he was. "We need you to stay there in case he shows up or calls." Hannibal didn't even ask her to stay there, he practically ordered her by the tone of his voice.

"Sure thing, Hannibal. I'll do some discreet checking around at hospitals just in case. Call you in thirty?" Amy knew the drill of staying in contact and when to back down from Hannibal.

"Thanks," Hannibal exhaled a long sigh around his lit cigar. He needed to think, and a good cigar always helped. "Check in later then," he hung up the phone without another word.

Hannibal leaned back against the couch, shut his eyes, and took a few long drags from the cigar. For once, the Colonel was without a plan if they didn't find the Captain soon. He dreaded repeating the conversation with Maggie, he knew that if Murdock had shown up there, she would have called, but knew it needed to be done. He took a deep breath, then dialed Maggie's number.

"Doctor Sullivan," Maggie's voice was crisp and professional.

"Maggie. Hannibal," he didn't even get a chance to speak any more before she interrupted him.

"Colonel? What's wrong?"

Hannibal grinned in spite of himself. Maggie could always read him like a book, there was no fooling her.

"Maggie, you haven't seen or heard from the good Captain, by chance?" Hannibal tried to cover the worry in his voice.

"No, I'm sorry, Colonel. I haven't. Should I be on the lookout for him?"

"Just keep your eyes peeled, just in case. He's not where he should be. We're crawling the city looking. I'm just covering all our bases," Hannibal explained.

"Understood. I'll be on standby, let me know if you need me. And Hannibal, keep me in the loop," Maggie sounded worried now too.

Hannibal ran a hand through his hair, obviously strained. "Will do."

Face threw open the door of the condo. He searched, trashed, the entire building, leaving it looking like a tornado had blew through it, but he didn't care. He didn't even care how stupid he looked for checking under the beds, like this whole thing was just a silly game of hide-and-seek. It was far from it. This was Murdock. Yes, he trusted Murdock, trusted him with his life, but that didn't mean Face understood him. Murdock had been committed to a psychiatric hospital for ten years, now. Ten years. Sane people don't get locked up in the nut hatch for ten years without a reason.

He cursed; he shouldn't be thinking like that. Murdock was his friend- his best friend, and he had worked with the man for over a decade. Walking out of the condo hastily, he scanned the beach and ran onto the sand. Because it was quite early, there were only a few people around. That was good for him; less people would see him running around like a headless chicken.

"Murdock!" He called, jogging past some bikini-wearing women, not even glancing at them once.

After checking the beach thoroughly for any sign of any distressed Pilots, the stressed Conman jumped into the 'Vette and drove to any other beaches in the area.

B.A had just finished checking all the closets back at his place for any fools daring to hide in them. He was a soldier, God-dammit! He shouldn't be doing this. Murdock was a grown man- sure he had his "issues", but he should be able to at least take care of himself.

If Hannibal were around right now to hear him thinking that, he would get the lecturing of a lifetime.

Okay, the Sergeant thought, I've checked under the beds, in the closets, where else did Hannibal say? Oh yeah- that new amusement park. B.A sighed in fatigue. He loathed those types of places; too many people, being too loud and too... happy.

The Mechanic grumbled, hotfooting it to the van and zooming in the direction of the Amusement Park.

He had been to three beaches now, and still no luck. He was starting to think that Murdock had really gone over the deep end this time. But dear God, he hoped he was wrong.

It had been thirty minutes, and no Murdock. Face, filled with guilt, dragged himself to the 'Vette and started to make the short journey to Hannibal's place.

B.A grumbled, retreating from the Amusement Park; the damn fool wasn't in there. He checked his watch, and mentally kicked himself. Maybe Face had had some luck in finding him, but then again, maybe not. As he drove back to the Colonel's apartment, he wondered what frame of mind the Pilot was in when he had escaped the VA. Hopefully, he wasn't back in Vietnam; B.A always hated it when he was back there because there was nothing he could do except sit and watch the man crumble.

He quickly hopped out of the van, glad to see Face's 'Vette in the parking lot, and entered the apartment building. Hannibal opened the door for him as he neared the apartment door. B.A. was hoping to see his Crazy Fool behind him, but saw no one other than Face. All he could do was cover his feelings with a scowl as he plopped down on the opposite end of the couch as Face.

"So now what, Hannibal?" Face spoke with his head in his hands, venturing nearer and nearer to full blown despair. "He wasn't at any of our places. Not at the beaches. Not at the amusement park. Not at the damned VA. In fact, they were in an all out tizzy trying to find him." Throwing his head back into the couch and staring out the window, he whispered, "Where are you, buddy?"

"Here, Face," Hannibal handed his Lieutenant the phone. "Call the VA and ask to speak to him, be some long lost relative or something. Just see what they say. Just in case he's back there." When Face looked at him skeptically, Hannibal added, "It's worth a shot."

Face rubbed the stress out of his eyes and reached for the phone. He dialed the number to Murdock's room first. Getting no answer, he dialed the number to the nurse's station of the psychiatric ward. He launched into his snobbiest sounding voice as the nurse answered the phone. "Hello and good morning, nurse. Ah, yes, my name is Jefferson H. Murdock and I am trying to reach a Captain HM Murdock to speak to him, you see, I am his great uncle and am in town for the weekend and thought I may pay my dear nephew a visit." After a brief pause listening to the nurse, he continued. "Yes, nurse. I understand. Well, please do give him my regards and I inform my nephew that I will visit soon. Thank you and good day." He shook his head solemnly as he hung up the phone. "Not there. She gave some excuse about him being sick and not up to visitors today."

Hannibal turned to stare out the window. "Captain, what's going on inside that brilliant mind of yours?"

B.A. started pacing the small room. "Nobody had better hurt him!"

Hannibal placed a hand on B.A.'s arm to try to console him. "We'll find him, B.A. We never leave a man behind. Right now Murdock needs us, and it's our responsibility to find him."

Face jumped up from the couch like a shot. "What about that little airport that just closed down? We didn't think of there, there's a few empty hangers and a small tower we can search."

Hannibal smiled. "Excellent idea, Face. Let's go." They headed out, Hannibal closing the door behind him. As he stepped away from the door, he heard the phone in the apartment start to ring.

"Phone!" Face and B.A. both yelled simultaneously.

"I know, gentlemen, I can hear it," Hannibal hurriedly unlocked the door and rushed to the phone, Face and B.A. hot on his heels. Only a select few knew his number, so it was either Amy, Maggie, or Murdock.

"Captain?"

"Hello?" A quiet voice asked.

"Murdock? Is that you?"

"Uh huh-"

Hannibal breathed a sigh of relief. "You all right, Captain? Where are you?" He inquired.

"Um, somewhere near the Perrington Hotel." Answered the Pilot, his tone unusually timid and meek.

"We'll be there soon. Don't move, okay?" The Colonel commanded gently.

"M'kay," came the reply.

Hannibal hung up the phone and quickly turned to the two men. "He's near the Perrington Hotel. Let's go."

Murdock sat on the edge of the wall, kicking his legs against the brick and staring down at the sidewalk. He hadn't thought to bring his jacket or cap with him, he couldn't remember why, he just had to... get out.

The VA was one of those types of places. It was a place where you couldn't really be yourself, you had to conform to the doctors idea of normality. And Murdock just couldn't do that. He was grounded there, unable to spread his wings and fly like he was made to. It was boring, grey, he hated it. He had such an intense love for life, being able to sing and dance and soar through the sky like a bird, but living at the VA, constantly being chided by nurses to "start acting his own age", force fed medications that made him drool and succumb to a world where nothing was what it seemed, locked in his room for hours on end, took that all away.

He knew Hannibal and Face and B.A would be worried, and he felt overwhelmed by guilt because of it, that's why he had called them. They must have been so vexed about him. He hated the idea of himself causing trouble for his Team. He didn't deserve to be serving with those fine, proud, powerful men. He was just... the crazy guy who flew. That was it. That was all he ever would be.

Face opened the side door of the van and jumped out before B.A. even had it stopped. In just a few strides, he was standing in front of Murdock, feeling like he had found his lost child; he both wanted to hug and strangle him at the same time. Instead, he paused for a moment to look at his friend. "Mind if I join you?" Face quietly asked.

Murdock just shrugged his shoulders. "Do what you want."

Face took that as an open invitation and hopped up on the wall beside his friend. They were silent for a few minutes, side by side, until Face finally placed a firm, kind hand on Murdock's shoulder. "Whatever it is, buddy...we've got your back. You know that, right?"

Murdock just shrugged sullenly, head down, feet still kicking the wall beneath him.

Face sighed. This was going to be harder than he though. "Come on, Murdock. Let's at least get out of here, ok? Hannibal and B.A. are worried sick about you, too. Want to go hang out at my place for a bit?"

"Sure, I guess. Beats this wall," Murdock mumbled, then hopped down and started toward the van, feet shuffling, hands shoved in his pockets. How could he have forgotten his jacket and hat, he wondered to himself. They were his comfort, they were a part of him. But at the time, he just needed OUT. He regretted not grabbing them now.

Face followed him to the van. As they climbed in, his eyes met Hannibal's. The unspoken message to his Colonel was clear: not now.

"Good to see you, Murdock," Hannibal patted the man on the knee. "You gave us quite a scare."

"Sorry," Murdock's voice was barely audible.

"Hey, B.A., let's head to the condo. We can take it from there," Face sounded optimistic for his friend.

"Sure thing," B.A. glanced in the mirror to Murdock. "It will be ok, little brother."

As they arrived back at the Condo, Face noticed Murdock wringing his hands together and avoiding the others' eyes.

"You all right, buddy?" The Conman asked gently, touching his friend's arm, but retracting when the Pilot shook it off and hurried out of the vehicle. Face glanced back at the two other men; Hannibal massaging his temples in frustration and B.A just shaking his Mohawked head.

The blonde honestly felt like kicking himself.

He walked slowly, cautiously, into the living room he assumed the Pilot would be in. He was right. Murdock was sitting on the couch, but to Face he didn't really look like Murdock. He looked like a false Murdock, a Murdock robot. The scrawny shell of a man was curled in on himself, eyes glued to the ground that saw past the wooden floorboards and back into that hell they called 'Nam.

"Murdock?" He called quietly.

Just as he expected, he didn't get an answer. Not even a look, or a sigh, or the bloodcurdling scream he knew Murdock really wanted to let out.

He tried again, using Hannibal's golden method. "Captain."

Nope, that didn't work.

Temp went ahead and sat next to the brown-haired man. "I don't know if you're listening to me, Murdock, but I just want you to know how much you mean to me- to all of us. You're the glue that holds us all together, the soul, the life of the Team. You shouldn't feel like you don't mean anything to anyone, because you do. Without you there would be no A-Team." He paused and gathered his thoughts before continuing. "I can't even begin to imagine how hard your life has been; being bounced around different hospitals, the therapy, the breakdowns. Don't tell B.A I said this, but I think you're the strongest person on this Team. No matter what happens, you always manage to keep that goofy smile on your face. That's why we respect you so much, Murdock, that's why we love you so much. You hear me?"

He saw the Pilot's Adam's Apple bob up and down in his throat, swallowing his tears. The Lieutenant and the Captain lapsed into quiet and stayed that way for numerous minutes.

Face sat by Murdock, his friend, his brother, the person with whom he was closest to in the entire world. He sat with a hand on Murdock's shoulder, not sure what to say. There was nothing, absolutely nothing, that the team hadn't been through together. From those beginning days in Vietnam where they learned to be a team, to their time as POWs together, all the search and rescues, all the missions, the betrayal by their own government, their time on the run - he had seen Murdock broken before, but this just cut Face to the core. He could see it in the eyes of Hannibal and B.A. also. Hannibal, the father none of them had, hurt deeply for one of his boys. B.A.'s gruff facade had cracked just a bit, Face noticed.

He wanted to do something, to say something, to really put Murdock's mind at ease. Face's eyes wandered around the condo and stopped at the baby grand. He stood and held his hand out to Murdock. "Come with me," he commanded.

Murdock looked slightly confused, but complied as he let Face pull him up off the couch and lead him to the piano. Face sat Murdock on the bench then sat beside him. For a minute, his fingers silently caressed the piano keys, working out the chords and notes that were in his mind.

Quietly at first, the first few chords fell from Face's fingertips, growing louder and more confident with each chord. He hesitated at first, then let the words fall over his friend.

"When you're weary
Feeling small
When tears are in your eyes
I will dry them all."

Face glanced at his friend. Murdock still stared down at his black shoes, but Face knew that he was listening. He caught the eyes of Hannibal and B.A., both of whom were watching intently.

"I'm on your side
When times get rough
And friends just can't be found."

Face was nothing short of shocked when he heard the deep voices of B.A. and Hannibal join in as they walked across the room to the piano and stood behind him.

"Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down."

Hearing the voices of the others made Murdock startle. While he did occasionally sing with Face, he hadn't heard Hannibal and B.A. sing since their days long ago in the camps. Their voices joined with Face as they continued.

"When you're down and out
When you're on the street
When evening falls so hard
I will comfort you."

Hannibal had a firm hand on Murdock's shoulder as they sang, as did B.A. Even though Murdock made him feel like the crazy one sometimes with all the Billy talk, all the antics...he was still his brother and he hated to see his brother hurting.

"I'll take your part
When darkness comes
And pain is all around
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down."

Tears began to slowly trickle down Murdock's cheeks as the verse cut right to his core and Face released all the feelings he had into the short piano solo that followed. Face was so grateful for the nuns' insistence on piano lessons and for his ability to play by ear, if for nothing else, to be able to give this moment to Murdock.

The words hit Hannibal hard as he thought of the first time he had heard Face sing those words.

Face gasped as Murdock, or what was left of him, was shoved into the hut and dropped unceremoniously in a heap. Darkness would be in a few hours and the Captain was taken at dawn. The minutes and hours had ticked by for B.A., Hannibal, and Face as they could do nothing but wait for Murdock's return.

After the guards were out of sight, the three of them rushed to Murdock's side. He lay blissfully unconscious, but a slight whimper of pain escaped his swollen, parched lips as they gently turned him on his side and lifted his shirt to expose his back. The sight of the fresh crimson stripes intermingled with the older stripes that were starting to sprout dangerous red lines of infection coursing across his back caused a quiet stream of curse words to fill the small hut.

Without a word of instruction, B.A. dipped a small scrap of cloth into the cup of water they had pooled together to save for Murdock and handed it to Hannibal. The Colonel wiped Murdock's back off and drain any obvious infection with as much gentleness as he could.

Face gently prodded each of Murdock's shoulders and for a brief moment, Murdock's eyes rolled open as he hissed in pain. They all were grateful when the touch and the pain pushed him back into unconscious oblivion again. "His shoulder's out, Colonel," Face whispered. He noticed the angry red rope marks around their pilot's wrists and knew that the hours spent hanging caused the shoulder injury.

"Best to do it now when he's out, Face," Hannibal's words were true, but no one wanted to be involved in setting Murdock's shoulder back in place.

Tears pooled in Face's eyes and he choked down vomit as he wordlessly agreed with Hannibal. B.A. moved into position to hold Murdock still as Hannibal counted. "On three, Face. One, two...three." Everyone flinched as Hannibal forcefully pushed Murdock's shoulder back into place.

The sudden pain forced Murdock's eyes open as he cried out. Sweat dripped off his forehead as he writhed and dry heaved from the pain for several minutes, the other team members holding him as still as they could until his convulsions turned into quiet whimpers.

"Buddy? You with us?" Face looked into Murdock's blank and empty eyes.

No response, not even a blink of the eyes.

"They pushed the Fool too far this time, Hannibal." B.A.'s low angry grumble did little to mask his worry.

"He'll come back, he always does," Hannibal tried to reassure his men. Truth was, the empty, vacant look on Murdock's face worried even him. "We'll take shifts sitting with him tonight."

"I'll take first watch," Face slid into position so that Murdock was laying on his side with his head on Face's leg, leaving Murdock's ribs, back, and sore shoulder all untouched. Hannibal didn't argue with Face but vowed to relieve the Lieutenant soon.

The first few night hours passed with still no response from Murdock. He dozed fitfully, but when he was awake, his face was blank and eyes unseeing. Face glanced over at Hannibal as he prepared to relieve Face.

"I'm not moving, Colonel. I'm staying right here with him." Face's tone dared Hannibal to order the shift change.

Hannibal paused, then turned back around. Face was right, if anyone could get through to the Captain, it was him.

Face gently stroked Murdock's sweaty hair. He knew his friend was awake, but he needed to find a way to bring him back into reality, even if their reality was this shitty, little hellhole. He needed for Murdock to be alright, if nothing more than for his own sanity because he feared that if Murdock lost it, he wouldn't be far behind. Murdock took the brunt of the torture as a hated pilot, and he did it willingly without complaining. Face just wished, as they all did, that there was a way to make the guards ease up on him just a bit. If they didn't give him a day or two reprieve soon, Face didn't know if Murdock would make it.

Face's mind wandered to the songs they used to listen to on the AFVN before they were captured. Some songs stuck in his head as they just rang too close to home for them sometimes. He began to sing, both to try to comfort himself and Murdock, so softly and quietly at first that he wasn't even sure anyone would hear.

"I'll take your part
When darkness comes
And pain is all around
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down."

Face repeated the verse a few times, then stopped as his throat tightened up. He nearly jumped as Murdock finally croaked "Again. Sing it again."

Hannibal rushed the few steps to Face and Murdock and dripped a few sips of water into the Captain's mouth as Face started to sing again and Murdock slowly blinked himself back into reality.

"Welcome back, Captain," Hannibal grinned at Murdock.

"Sail on Silver girl
Sail on by
Your time has come to shine
All your dreams are on their way."

By this time, there wasn't a voice filling the room that wasn't hitched as Murdock took a deep breath to compose himself. The three men around him truly meant more to him than anyone and anything in the world; they had been to hell and back more than once, and thanks to Hannibal's strong leadership, they had stayed together both as family and team as they used their skills and abilities for the greater good. He didn't know what the future held for them, but he knew that right now, they had all they ever needed. His voice joined with theirs as they all took comfort in the final words.

"See how they shine
If you need a friend
I'm sailing right behind
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down."