Murdock was the first one out of his room in the morning. As he stepped into the hall he immediately went next door to check on Face. The first thing he noticed was the empty bed, followed by the dried blood that stood out in stark comparison to the white carpeting. Fear gripped the pilot as he followed the trail back out into the hallway and down the long corridor that led to the staircase.

"Face!" he cried as he saw the body down below. The shock kept him frozen in place for a few seconds, afraid of what condition he would find Face in. Taking a deep breath he hurried down the stairs and knelt next to his fallen friend.

Hannibal, Maggie and B.A. had heard Murdock call out for Face from their respective rooms and each rush to find out what the commotion was about. But nothing could prepare them for the sight of Murdock leaning over a bloody Face and frantically feeling for a pulse. Maggie ran back to get her medical kit while Hannibal and B.A. proceeded down the steps.

"Murdock?" Hannibal questioned.

"It's weak, but it's there," Murdock answered, making room for Maggie.

The three standing members of the A-team watched as the doctor wordlessly examined their teammate. He was pale and unnaturally still as she bandaged his arm and proceeded to run her hands up and down his body checking for abnormalities.

"Nothing appears broken, but I don't want to move him until he regains consciousness and I can perform some tests. He tore quite a hole in his arm and lost a lot of blood, but luckily it started clotting on its own."

"What can we do to help, lil' mama," B.A. asked in a small voice that contradicted his massive brawn.

"Let's get some blankets and make him as comfortable as possible." Maggie sighed. "And then we wait."

It felt like an eternity as the group sat vigil by Face's side. Nobody spoke. The only words they wanted to hear were ones that would come from Face's mouth anyway. Hannibal kept constant contact with Face either by holding his hand or placing cold compresses against his forehead. "I'm not going to make the same mistake again," he explained and they all understood to what he was referring.

Face felt something wet and cool against his hot skin. He moaned at the heavenly sensation and tried to open his eyes but the lids felt so very heavy. There were muffled voices, but it was too hard to understand what they were saying to him through the fog that clouded his mind.

They heard Face moan and saw his head starting to move ever so slightly.

"Face…time to wake up now, kid," Hannibal said gently. He placed a fresh cloth on his lieutenant's brow before grasping one of the limp hands between his own and stroking it softly.

Face moaned again, this time louder, but still his eyes remained shut.

"Come back to us…we're all very worried, son."

'Son'. Hannibal had called him son. That one word gave him the boost he needed to open his eyes. Opening his mouth to speak, however, proved even more troublesome as no words would come out past the dryness of his throat.

"Don't try to talk, son. Maggie wants to look you over and then we can get you to bed."

'Son'. There is was again. Tears filled his eyes and threatened to spill over.

Hannibal looked over at Maggie and nodded slightly. Taking the hint she moved over to Face's other side and said, "I want you to slowly move your legs for me. Stop and tell me if you feel any pain or numbness."

"That's my boy," Hannibal cheered when the task was complete.

'My boy'. That did it. The tears made their way down Face's cheeks.

"What's wrong, Faceman?" B.A. asked in concern. "You hurtin'?"

Face shook his head slightly and croaked, " no…m'kay."

Maggie recognized the signs of a man at the end of his emotional rope so she wasted no time in finishing her tests and ordering both Face and B.A. back to bed.

"But I feel fine," B.A. protested.

"Humor me. Lil' mama knows best," Maggie smiled with a wink and then tilted her head in the direction of Face who was being helped off the floor by Hannibal. "Murdock…you're in charge again."

B.A. groaned at Murdock's obvious delight. "Now I do feel sick." But both men took the hint and after seeing that Face was safely back in his bedroom they retreated to their own. Maggie followed suit after establishing a new IV line. She knew the best medicine for her patient was some time alone with his colonel.

Hannibal stood by the window and looked out while Face lie in bed awake with his eyes shut. An awkward tension filled the air as neither man knew what to say. Guilt still prevented Hannibal from speaking his heart when he knew Face was coherent enough to actually listen. And Face was sure he must have imagined what had taken place earlier with Hannibal.

An uncomfortable ten minutes later they chose to break their silence at the same time.

"I'm sorry," Hannibal and Face said simultaneously.

Hannibal's eyes grew wide. "Huh? What could you possibly have to be sorry about, kid?"

"I'm…I'm nothing but trouble…a spoiled brat." Face looked down at his hands and bit at his lower lip to stop it from trembling.

If possible, Hannibal's eyes grew even wider as he recognized the very words he had used earlier to describe Maggie's neighbor. "Kid…," he started, but Face's often guarded emotions came tumbling out before he could go on.

"I…I tried to go…get out of your hair. Dizzy…fell…caused more trouble. I…I know you don't want me around."

"Face…," Hannibal tried again with the same results.

"No…it's okay…I understand. Can't say I blame you…you're not the first." Face swallowed hard past the lump in his throat. "My own parents didn't want me around…why should you?"

"Face…son…"

"Stop…I'm not your son…and you're glad you're not my father."

Hannibal pulled a chair over to Face's side and sat down heavily. Leaning forward he let his head rest in his hands as Face's words hit him harder than any fist to the gut ever had. Ironically, now that he had an opportunity to speak, he couldn't seem to find the breath to do it with.

Face took this as a sign that he had been correct in his assertions and once again shut his eyes trying to block out the world. There was a reason Face had put up a wall around himself years ago in the orphanage. He learned at an early age that if he let somebody in they would wind up hurting him in the end. Sure it had taken longer with Hannibal, but that just made the hurt worse. He wouldn't make that mistake again.

The sound caught Face off guard and at first he thought it was his mind playing tricks with him once more. It was a sound he hadn't heard coming from the colonel in years…not since Nam…and even then it was only when he thought nobody was listening.

"Hannibal?" Face asked, the confusion clear in his tone.

"Oh, Face, you have it so wrong," Hannibal said while swiping at his eyes. "You overheard me talking about some bratty kid Maggie had me watch for a couple of hours. You don't possibly believe I feel that way about you…do you?" Face's noncommittal shrug was answer enough. Clearing his throat he took hold of Face's hand and looked into his eyes. "There are some things I should have had the courage to tell you a long time ago. But…um…well," Hannibal stuttered, "it so damn hard for me to do this."

Face wanted to tell him it was okay…to just let it out. But he could feel the little energy he had left waning and wasn't sure he could put together a complete sentence at this point. Besides, who was he to give any lectures on opening up and expressing his true feelings? So he settled for squeezing Hannibal's hand and throwing a reassuring grin his way.

"I guess I'm just afraid that you wouldn't feel the same way about me as I do about you." Hannibal took a deep shuttering breath. "Okay…here it goes. Face, every time I call you 'kid' or 'son' it's because that's how I think of you. Since Nam I felt a special bond with you; God you reminded me so much of myself in so many ways. But at the same time you were very different. You had a hard shell around you and I remember thinking that if I could only crack it there was something very special underneath. It took longer than I thought, but slowly you let me in and I was right."

Hannibal paused when he realized that Face's hand had started to shake. While his own tears had stopped, Face's had started once more. "You okay?"

Face nodded and once again squeezed Hannibal's hand.

"When I thought that you had died in the jungle, it felt like a piece of me had died as well. It scared me so bad and it was all my fault for insisting we take that damn boat. After that I just couldn't get close to you; couldn't risk hurting you anymore." Hannibal chuckled wistfully. "Well, we never did take that boat and I managed to hurt you more than I realized."

"Not…your…fault," Face managed to get out.

"Yes…yes it is," Hannibal nodded. "It's my fault because I didn't listen to you. And it's my fault for staying away when you needed me most. You, Murdock and B.A. mean the world to me; you three are my family. I've never said it before, but I love you very much." Hannibal paused before repeating, "I love you very much, son."

There was so much Face wanted to say, but exhaustion and emotion had taken their toll. He was close to passing out, but he had to let Hannibal know that he felt the same way. "Love…love you…too." With that his eyelids began to shut and he drifted off into the most peaceful sleep he had had in weeks.

Hannibal's heart swelled. "Sleep tight, son. I'll be here when you wake up."

There were muffled voices coming from the hallway.

"I just love a happy ending, don't you big guy?"

"Man, it's 'bout damn time them fools had that talk."

"I love you, man."

"Get off me, fool."

"Not until you admit that you love me."

"Okay…fine…I love you too, crazy man. But if you ever hug me again, my fist is gonna make love with your face."

Hannibal smiled and leaned back in his chair. "My boys…those are my boys."

Epilogue

Face slept the majority of the week away, making up for lost time and giving his body the much needed sleep it needed to heal. But when he did wake, one of the guys was always by his side. More often than not, that guy was Hannibal.

One morning when they were all gathered around Face's bed, Murdock said, "We had a meeting, Face, and decided that we owe you."

Face furrowed his brow. "Owe me for what?"

"For saving our lives in the jungle," Hannibal answered.

"Oh that…that was nothing," Face said casually.

B.A. rolled his eyes. "Yeah that, fool. And it wasn't nothin'."

"So what'll it be, kid. What do you want us to do for you?"

Face thought for a moment and then said stoically, "I just want to be left alone."

Hurt and confused by the answer, the trio remained silent.

Face broke out into a huge grin and continued, "I want to be left alone with a sexy nurse prepared to give me a sponge bath and," Face winked, "some other treatments."

Hannibal and B.A. chuckled while Murdock stood and started for the door. "Why didn't you say so, Facey? I'll be right back!"

"Uh-oh, Faceman. You in for it now man."

"Yeah, kid, I'm not sure I'd want Nurse Murdock giving me a bath."

"Nurse Murdock?" Face groaned. "Oh no…he's doesn't think..."

"It's Murdock, 'course he don't think," B.A. interrupted.

"Why me?" Face sulked, pulling the covers up over his head. "Why do these things always happen to me?"

"I don't know," Hannibal laughed while pulling a cigar out of his pocket. "But I do know that I love it when a plan comes together!"

The End