Title: A Common Calamity

By: Tigerkity

Summary: Murdock finds help in a most unexpected place at the VA. Crossover with Stargate SG-1

Spoilers: Waiting for Insane Wayne

Warnings: some language, and violence, and (blink and you'll miss it) some reference to adult matters.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from the A-team or from Stargate, wouldn't it be fun if I did? I'm not making any money from this either.

Author's notes: This is my first A-Team fic, so feedback is much appreciated and welcome!

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"It is a common calamity; at some one time we have all been mad." – Baptista Mantuanus

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Another job successfully completed. They had helped a kid defend both his father's honor and memory as well as his land against a greedy no good, two bit, mudsucker named Kincaid and his truly insane mercenary: Wayne. Normally, Murdock would be satisfied that he had been able to help his buddies and then come back home and kick his feet up waiting for the next trip, but amid the flowing adrenaline he had forgotten about his test. He had been on his way to take a "mental agility" test, as Face called it, to try to be transferred out of the Veteran's Affairs Hospital. There was a new patient, Milligan, who really scared the dickens out of him and he was afraid for his safety. The man, no giant, had even come up to him and threatened him. After years and years of being around B.A., there weren't many people who could intimidate the pilot by sheer size, but this man was almost as wide as he was tall, and worst of all he really was crazy.

It was a constant topic between him and Face; Murdock was a good kind of crazy. The crazy where you could be mistaken for eccentric but you could still function out on the streets; the kind of crazy that some people needed to be in order to remain sane. But this gorilla was a bad crazy. The kind of crazy that left you sitting straight up in the middle of the night with sweat dripping down your face and your heart pounding in your chest; the kind of crazy that had you wishing you had two heads, one to watch in front of you, and one to watch behind you as well.

Right before Murdock and the team had been caught up in the fiasco with Kincaid, Milligan had run screaming, down the halls, ripping out all the sinks from their wall mounts in the bathrooms. The tall pilot had been afraid enough to risk himself with another test, but it hadn't worked, the doctors refused to transfer him. So now Murdock found himself staring at the ceiling.

It was 0630.

Too early to be up, but too late to go back to bed, not that he could sleep anyway.

One hundred invisible monkeys on the wall,

One hundred invisible monkeys.

One climbs down,

Starts a' swinging around,

Ninety-nine invisible monkeys on the wall.

Nope, that wasn't working.

He stood up, stretched, and began to get dressed. Pulling on a shirt that said If you can read this, then you're too close, he figured that if he was extra good, maybe Alec would let him go outside earlier than normal. He had watched the weather report earlier on his TV at 0200 when he couldn't sleep, and the weatherman had said that it would be a beautiful day. Face had left him a nice long book that he was actually interested in reading, and there was no better read than one under a shade tree.

He was just finishing up making his bed when he heard a commotion at his door. Panic spread through his gut like butter on bread when his immediate thought was: Milligan. But when he calmed down long enough to realize what was happening he knew that it couldn't be him. Curiosity got the better of him so he moved to the door and peaked out of a small rectangular window in his door. Apparently someone had moved into the room across from his while he had been away. He heard shouting coming from the room. A voice was screaming in a foreign language, and though he couldn't make out any words, Murdock could hear the terror and fear as plain as day.

He hadn't heard screams like that since-no…. happy thoughts.

But his attention kept wandering to his new neighbor.

His heart ached for him, and he wondered who he was. What was his name? What was his story? And why was he here?

Trapped in his own mind, Murdock failed to notice that the chaos across the hall had settled, just in time for the rest of the VA to wake up. The jingling of keys at his own door pulled him back. Eager to find answers, he sprung off the bed and covered the distance to the door in two long strides.

"Howdy doody muchacho!" he greeted excitedly as the door swung open. However, when it revealed the haggard face of the orderly, Murdock lost his exuberance. He had been in the VA for over ten years, the staff knew him well and he knew them all by name. He was the resident crazy and was privy to many benefits, especially because of his 'harmless' disposition, and considered many of the orderlies as friends. "Alec, what's wrong?"

Alec, the short orderly ran a hand through his stress-wrinkled face and sighed deeply.

"Nothing Murdock-"

"What's wrong?" he repeated, "Has something happened to Tracy? Little Jimmy?"

"No, no no, they're fine," he shook his head and waved his hand as if he could wipe away the pilot's concern.

"Then what?" Murdock was nothing if he wasn't persistent and stubborn.

"It's just, well, I guess that I've been getting as much sleep as our new patient."

"The guy across the hall? What's his name?" Finally, he'd be able to get some facts.

"Ah… 'J' something, Jonathan I think. O'Neill."

"Jonathan O'Neill? Army?"

"Nah, I think he's Air Force."

"A pilot?" An ally?

Just then Alec looked up, suddenly realizing that he probably shouldn't be disclosing this information to another patient…even if it was Murdock.

"Look, Murdock, I shouldn't have told you that."

The taller man smiled innocently, the lopsided grin seeming to take over his entire face.

"Our secret kemosabe!" he stated as he stuck out his pinky finger, urging the orderly to finalize the agreement. He wasn't disappointed.

"I just came in here to let ya out for the day. Remember your curfew and boundaries, and god help me if you disappear again and I'm the one who has to report it."

"I'm not going anywhere," Alec gave him a look and Murdock held up his hands in a universal gesture of surrender, "I promise," he reiterated.

"Okay…" Alex backed out of the room and began to walk down the hall to finish his duties, but before he was too far he called back, "Don't forget to eat today!"

Instead of answering, Murdock merely changed his direction towards the mess hall. He had been planning to go and find a quiet, nondescript place outside and enjoy the sunshine. Sometimes, Face would come and break him out and they'd spend the afternoon just sitting and talking in some unknown park. He always enjoyed that, no fighting, no shooting, no worrying. He longed for the next time Face would show up. Until Milligan, he had been completely comfortable in the VA, even considered it home, but now he was always looking over his shoulder for the giant. The wait between missions seemed even longer than normal.

Once he got to the Mess he relaxed. Alex had let him out first, the lovely chap, so the room was empty. Mechanically he retrieved his food, picked a table in the corner closest to the door and began eating. He took one bite, slowly chewed the tasteless eggs then put down his fork; his heart just wasn't in it. He didn't feel like eating. Might as well get a head start on that book. Cleaning up his mess, he headed back to his room, wary at each intersection in the hall

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The breeze was refreshing and the sunshine warm and calming. This was what he needed, not another dose of sedatives, anti-psychotics, or sleep aids. They just made the nightmares worse. It was embarrassing to wake up with three people holding you down and pushing their faces in yours. They were lucky he didn't deck or severely hurt one of them.

The outdoors.

That's what he needed.

Not another unproductive 'session' with the Doc. That had gone absolutely nowhere. He couldn't say anything even he had wanted to. The foundation for his nightmares, his "PTSD" as they had said, was classified.

He took a deep breath, filling his lungs with the soothing air…and coughed. Los Angeles, he grumbled. It wasn't Colorado air, and is definitely wasn't Minnesota air. Oh, how he longed to go fishing, sitting on the dock, by his cabin and forgetting that the rest of the world existed. Now that was therapy.

God! He couldn't believe that they had dumped his ass in a psych ward. He was fine for crying out loud! Why didn't anyone believe him?

The damn radicals! It was all their fault. Mike, they had killed Mike, nailed him right in the neck. What a horrible way to go. To feel every breath ripping through your insides, fire blossoming from every nerve ending. And he had been there to witness every agonizing moment. He remembered, he felt, every second again as he had the first time only a week ago.

Mike's sobs…the warm blood oozing out of his wound…over his hands…pooling below him…staining his clothes…staining his hands…red forever…his unsuccessful attempts at stating his last wishes…he already knew them…they all did, everyone knew each others…his unseeing gaze…the milky, confused look in his eye…the feel of his last breath…the exact moment Mike ceased to exist…his death…his best friend…

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Reaching the end of the chapter, Murdock decided that it was a good time to take a break. He carefully stretched, making sure not to drop the book. Glancing at his wristwatch, he realized just how long he had been on his little perch, luckily without any distractions. He looked out over the green lawn, considering whether or not to abandon his sanctuary to get some exercise. He enjoyed Hannibal's training because it was the only real physical activity he was able to do these days. People would think he was crazy if he began running, dodging, and zipping across the psychiatric hospital's grounds. Realizing that he had already made up his mind about gett up- er- down, he pushed himself off of the limb of the old oak tree and expertly landed on both feet.

He scanned the lawn once more before he walked out onto it, meanwhile readjusting his beloved leather jacket. So far so good, no Milligan, but wait…there was a face he didn't recognize, or in truth the side of a head.

The man had short honey brown hair and, only about an inch shorter than himself, was lean and currently engrossed with his hands. This must be the pilot Alec was talking about. Wanting to meet a fellow knight of the sky, Murdock began to close the distance between them,

"Hey yo Muchacho! What's happening?"

But the man didn't answer. He just stood there, staring at his hands. He wasn't moving, and Murdock picked up the pace when he remained so still, it looked like he wasn't even breathing.

"Hey man, man come on," but still he didn't look up. He didn't even seem to act as if he had even heard him. By this time, Murdock had finally come upon the stranger. He had enough experience with psychological disorders to know that he was in a tricky situation. How should he handle it? What was his name again? Oh yeah,

"Hey…John, man, come out of it," still no response, "Jonathan?" no luck there. Murdock moved around the man, to his front, keeping a little space as a buffer zone between them, and couldn't help but gasp at the sight of him. His eyes. The chopper pilot had seen a lot of side effects of war, but this man's eyes were haunting. They held a vacant look, but for a vacant look, it held so much pain. The man was trapped in a waking nightmare, a memory, and it was playing out like a movie in his eyes. A private screening upon his hands.

He had to do something to help; he had to bring this man out of it. Murdock couldn't leave something in pain, in need.

He desperately snapped his fingers, imitated a hypnotist, and clapped his hands, but to no avail. There was only one thing left he could do.

"Man, I'm trying to help ya here, come on. It's not real," Murdock urged gently as he laid a hand on the man's arm.

But before he could finish blinking his eyes, the man dropped to the ground and swept his feet out from under him. Murdock went down as gracefully as a sack of potatoes. He hit the ground hard and let out a loud 'oof'.

The movement and sound must have been enough, for the man blinked once, twice, before realizing where he was and what he had just done. Already on the ground, he scrambled over to where Murdock lay, retrieving the discarded hat on the way.

"Oh my god! I'm…I'm…" embarrassed " so sorry. I didn't mean to. God, why'd you do that? I could have hurt you! Are you all right? Geeze, I'm sorry!" The man rambled as he returned the blue cap to its owner while helping the stranger sit up. Why the hell did he do that? Didn't he know who -what- he was?

He was really out of it…maybe the Doc was right, he needed to be locked up, with the key thrown away. Before he did something really bad that he couldn't control.

"I'm fine. No harm done. Are you okay?" Murdock asked as he jammed the cap back on his head.

What?! He just dropkicked the man, hard, and he was asking if he was all right?

"I'm fine are you sure that you're okay?"

"Yup," he grinned he'd had a lot worse done to him, he'd survived… well, he'd survived. A little knock down wasn't going to hurt him, "Yup, fine as swine! Name's H.M. Murdock," he greeted, holding his hand out officially.

"Jack…O'Neill," the man stated as he shook Murdock's outstretched hand.

"Oh, Jack, pleased to make your acquaintance. I would perform a sweeping bow, but seeing as I can't quite go any lower…" he teased in a quasi British accent.

Jack blinked at the sudden character switch, amazed, then,

"Oh!" he quickly got up and offered his hand to help his new 'acquaintance' to stand as well, "Sorry," he murmured once again, suddenly finding his feet very interesting.

What is it with this guy and his appendages?

"It's no problem, for a fellow sky knight all is forgiven."

"Huh?"

"What?"

"No, what'd you say?"

"Uh…apology accepted?"

"No, no, the sky thing,"

"Oh, the sky thing. Well, it's big…and blue… and up there," he said, looking and pointing up at the sky.

Despite being annoyed at the other guy's antics, Jack couldn't help but grin. There was just something about him that he liked. Shaking his head, he acquiesced,

"Never mind."

A comfortable silence fell over the two, as they stood there each not knowing quite what to say. Well, it was silent until a loud rumble made them both look down.

"I guess I should go make a pass at the mess," Jack stated sheepishly.

"I'll go with you," Murdock stated brightly, "I kinda missed breakfast anyway," he wasn't ready to leave the man alone. He had taken to him and was determined to bring the younger man under his wing and look out for him.

"Sure, I could use the company," and oddly enough he did. He was glad that Murdock was willing to put up with him for a little while longer.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The only time Murdock wasn't looking out for it was the time that it happened. He had had fun at lunch with Jack, especially after the younger man figured out that he was a pilot as well. They had spent the entire meal discussing everything about flying, had debated which was better: a chopper or a plane, different techniques, and they had even shared pilot jokes. It was refreshing because he couldn't talk to the guys like that, they didn't understand, especially BA.

They were on their way back outside, Jack had challenged him to a game of chess, and Murdock had conned a board from the games clerk, much to Jack's amusement, and his own. Face would have been proud. The Air Force captain was just regaling him, with precise description, how he was going to "whoop his butt". Jack had taken a side trip to the restroom, leaving Murdock to wait on his own outside.

But he was distracted. He had forgotten the evil monster that lurked these halls and he was about to pay the price.

"Well, hey there sweet cheeks," the deep voice sneered. Murdock jerked his head up and paled in the shadow of gorilla Milligan. The chess board and pieces cluttered to the floor and scattered, but Murdock wasn't aware of it.

This is it.

Sure, he had been in hundreds, no thousands of fights before, but this was different. This guy was truly crazy. Anything could set him off, like a ticking bomb, and his team wasn't here to back him up. That's what was scary. Something could happen to him and the guys wouldn't know until…

"What're you doing here all alone?" The beast came closer and closer, menacingly.

Goodbye Face. Goodbye BA. Goodbye Hannibal. Murdock screwed his eyes shut, whatever this mad person was about to do to him he didn't want to watch. He stepped back until his back was against the wall and he tried to make himself as flat as possible.

"What's going on here?" The growl was welcome music to his ears.

Jack had chosen that particular moment to come out of the bathroom. He opened his eyes to see his new friend sidle up alongside him, his fists clenched, his stance dangerous. It was a startling difference to the man he had been joking with earlier.

"Who's your boyfriend HM?" the beast of a man derided.

Ignoring him, Jack asked,

"You okay Murdock?"

"Yeah," he squeaked, then cleared his throat, "yeah," that sounded more normal.

"I suggest you clear out and curl up under whatever rock you crawled out from under. You leave him alone or I won't be responsible for my actions," he promised.

Milligan hesitated, clearly furious, then with a growl of his own, he moved away, turning back down whatever hall he came from.

Jack relaxed and turned to Murdock, a completely different expression on his face. It was one of worry and concern.

"What was that all ab-"

"Nothing, just forget it," he gulped as he readjusted his blue cap and pushed away from the wall. He didn't want to talk about it, he just wanted to get out of there. Darn test, if only they had transferred him, none of this would have happened. It was his own fault anyway, he should have been more careful.

"No," the younger pilot reached up and took hold of Murdock's shoulder, "I'm not gonna forget it! What's the matter with you? Why the hell was that guy threatening you? You didn't do anything…why you?"

"Why me? Why me?" He repeated, frustrated and upset, his voice unintentionally rising, "Because he's crazy! And I mean loony as tunes! And he thinks that-" he broke off. He had almost told him. No, that was something he shouldn't tell anybody. It was humiliating, to think that he couldn't defend himself, that he had to rely on some…some…stranger.

"What? Murdock, tell me," Jack urged. He saw the fear in his friend and didn't like it. He liked the crazy man and was appalled that someone had wanted to hurt him. He didn't know why he had done it, but seeing the man in danger had awakened his protectiveness.

"No!"

"Murd-"

"Just leave me alone!" he shouted as he forcefully shrugged off Jack's hand.

He didn't turn to meet his face and he stormed off down an opposite corridor.

Confused by the sudden turn of events, Jack found himself alone, and stood still for several moments before he too headed off in a different direction from which the other two had taken. He was going outside for some sunshine. He needed to think.

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I probably shouldn't be starting a new story, but this one has been on my mind for a while now. This is my first A-Team story. Tell me what ya'll think.