Disclaimer: I do not own The A-Team. I don't even think I could afford to hire them.

June 2003

Spring had melted into a hard, dry, hot East Texas summer and frankly there was no cool place to go besides the pool at the country club, if you were one of the rich kids, or the creek if you weren't. Adults, who had to work, had neither option except on weekends. Harper Lee had written of ladies taking baths in the middle of the day, and many folks in the little town did the same, or sat in air-conditioned rooms, drinking iced tea. Gardens were watered at the crack of dawn, and lots of watermelons would be eaten before the end of September.

It was all over town that James Murdock had come home for 'an undetermined time', according to his family. Gossip was rampant, but the Army Ranger's parents had been quiet on the subject. There were rumors, of course, that he suffered from some kind of illness, but no details had been forthcoming from his stepmother, and his father had been disappointingly silent as well. He was home to recuperate from something that had happened to him somewhere, and that was all that anybody knew.

Whatever the rumors were, he was still a soldier, and a highly decorated one. No one could sniff at that. He had been seen –at Carla's Café – in his uniform, looking like a walking Christmas tree with what seemed like hundreds of medals and bars all over his chest, and all together as handsome as the devil himself, according to the waitresses. Florence had said he had looked 'kinda tired' and that he was limping. His father had been with him, though, and just like always, Ben Murdock had steered his son away from anybody who might start asking questions.

People in town couldn't help but speculate. The Murdocks were known for being a bit on the quiet side. Even after Eve Paden married Ben and turned his life around, the family remained sort of self-contained. She had presented him with three boys in a row – Alan, David and Matthew, followed by a precious little girl named Victoria – and had also proven, by all accounts, an excellent mother to James. With that big old rambling barn of a house to maintain, plus helping with the day-to-day farming duties, one could suppose she didn't have a lot of time to sit around playing canasta and gossiping with her neighbors. No, Eve worked. Socializing was not her thing, though she was friendly enough, and even though her own three boys were outgoing and friendly, easily mingling with the 'rich' kids in town, she and Ben stayed at the farm except for church and whatever shopping was required. James had left home at eighteen and the story leaked out that he was a pilot, possibly with the Army.

The uniform had confirmed that, when he'd come home on leave after about a year somewhere in Asia. He had been tanned and healthy, but still otherwise reserved and rarely visited town. A brief newspaper article noted that James had risen very quickly through the ranks, and after just six years in the service had been promoted to First Lieutenant 'based on his merits as a soldier and pilot'.

Ben never would say where James was at any time, but apparently he was serving his country with honor and courage, like a true Murdock. It was noted, however, that Ben always looked a little troubled whenever anybody asked him about his eldest son. Someone whispered that James might be in the CIA, and when that rumor came to Ben Murdock, his eyes had narrowed and his expression had hardened, but as usual, he had said nothing.

Gossip was, to Ben Murdock, a constant enemy. He never let himself stoop to their level, though, by commenting on anything, even if some of the rumors enraged him. He never told anyone about his frequent visits to different parts of the country – to various hospitals where James was being held and treated for his 'problems'. Whatever was happening, however bad things got for his son, he would go and try to help him. Eve was understanding and never complained, and she frequently went with him to those sad VA hospitals, and was just as grieved at how James often looked and behaved.

The other children were in on the secret, of course, and never spoke of it to anybody in town. Whenever James was allowed to come home, they would form a protective circle around him, always taking note of whatever state he was in and acting accordingly. Even little Victoria was protective of her big brother, though her attitude toward him was more hero-worship than anything else. If anyone said anything unkind about him, however, she wasn't afraid to defend him. She had gotten a suspension at school once for punching a boy in the face, after he'd said her brother was a 'baby-killer'.

He was finally home again – after almost two years. Ben had not informed the local newspaper that James was now a full-fledged Captain, and an Airborne Ranger, having risen higher through the system in spite of his youth. In fact, he had decided that the less anyone knew about his son's return home, the better. He much preferred keeping him at the house and hoping – praying – that James was better and would stay that way.

He seemed better, anyway. Ben sat in the kitchen, drinking a cup of coffee and watching James play with little Victoria, who at nine was as pesky and rambunctious as any little girl ought to be. The young Ranger was patiently teaching the child how to play marbles, and they were both sitting on the floor in the living room.

"That's it – just hit it with your thumb and try to knock the other marbles out of the circle," James told his sister. She squatted down behind a marble, aimed carefully and shot the marble across, clicking against her brothers' marbles. One or two moved a little, and James gave her appropriate praise and further instruction.

The doorbell rang, and Eve got up to answer, glancing back at Ben, who stiffened. James got up, brushing his jean-clad knees and pulling his sister to her feet. "Company, Vicks. Attention!"

Ben heard voices in the front foyer and went to investigate, and frowned to see Harry Elliott and his two daughters follow Eve into the living room. What the hell were they doing here, he wondered, and went out to greet them. He had nothing against the two girls, but Harry was the most conceited man he had ever met, and had never been able to make himself like him.

"Harry, how're you?" he asked.

"I'm good."

The two Elliott girls – Elizabeth, the elder, and Anne – looked around the house. Elizabeth clearly found the farmhouse less than appealing, but Anne seemed quite comfortable and after exchanging pleasantries with everyone, she asked Victoria what she was doing.

"James is teachin' me how to play marbles!" she answered excitedly. "And later he's gonna show me all the places he's been lately. He was just in…Cambro…Camob…"

"Cambodia," James nodded, smirking.

"Right."

Anne glanced at James, smiling in her usual quiet, calm way and he only looked away, toward the hallway. His younger brother Alan came clattering down the stairs, and grinned when he saw the two girls. He and Anne had been on a few dates so far, and from what Ben could tell, things were going well enough. He wasn't sure he would be too delighted if Alan ended up marrying Harry's daughter – imagine, such an in-law – but he would accept it if it made the boy happy. But Alan and Anne were both just fifteen, and had years ahead of them to worry about that kind of thing. Right now, their dates were restricted – firmly – to going to movies with other kids their age and hanging out at Carl's, which were apparently the two most exciting things to do in Courtville, Texas.

"What is Cambodia like?" Elizabeth asked James, looking intrigued. She was eighteen, with a very emphatic figure, which gave Ben cause for concern, because she had always seemed to like James, and he knew his son appreciated a fine figure on a girl. Only problem was that she was an Elliott.

"Er…hot, when I was there, ma'am."

Ben couldn't keep from smiling. His son had always referred to any female over the age of thirteen as 'ma'am'. The Army couldn't take credit for his superb manners, though: Eve had drilled them into him from the day she had married Ben, and they had stuck with him.

"Did you go to Angkor Wat?" she asked, her smile widening as she observed him with growing interest.

"Yes, ma'am." He didn't look directly at her. "Just a…uh…passing visit. Very brief."

"Kill anybody?" Harry asked, which made the Murdocks in the room shoot him a sharp look. Even Victoria looked appalled.

"Not there, sir," James answered, deadpan. "That wasn't on the itinerary for Angkor Wat. Ask me about Kuala Lampur some time, though."

Ben felt he ought to take some credit for James's acerbic wit. Eve had taught him manners, while Ben had taught him to defend himself with his mind as well as his fists.

"Uh…well, anyway…" Harry recognized the sarcasm but made no comment, aware that the odd pilot had put him in his place. "I'm just here to pick up Alan – we're taking the kids to the movie this evening."

"Right."

Eve, knowing that Ben didn't like Harry much, stepped forward, drawing Harry's attention – just like always. "Well, then, all of you kids…scat!" Everyone laughed, the tension broken at last.

Alan and Anne left, heading out into the blinding East Texas heat, and left everyone else standing in the living room, all feeling varying degrees of unease. Finally, Harry cleared his throat. "Well, we'll be going. I'll have them back at nine o'clock sharp." He held out his hand to Ben, who shook it firmly. James only gave Harry a rather cool look before he turned back to Victoria, who was watching everyone, trying to figure out the dynamics of the entire exchange. "Back to our marbles, wee lassie," he said, in a perfect Highland Scots accent. Elizabeth and her father left, escorted to the door by a gracious Eve, who returned to the kitchen a few moments later.

"I suppose we could put a sign in the front yard that says 'Elliotts not welcome'," she said as she sat down opposite her husband.

"I doubt Harry even likes Harry that much," Ben answered. He glanced into the living room, where James was lying on his stomach on the floor, propped up on his elbows, across from Victoria, who was sitting weaver-style, studying the position her marbles as if she were a general planning a battle. "How has he been today?" he asked her.

"Quiet. He seems tired." Eve touched his hand. "Ben, you need to stop worrying so much."

"They'll send him back to some corner of hell and when he comes out messed up, they'll tape him back together and just throw him back into one of those places again. I can't stand it, Eve. I can't bear it…" Ben ran a hand through his hair, which had gone white over just the past seven years. "I hate this. They won't tell me anything. Just 'he needs the treatments and the therapy', as if either helps him. I wish somebody could just help him."

"Shh…" Eve said softly. "You can't fix him, honey, any more than they can. If he wants fixing, he has to do it himself. Besides which, I think there's other things on his mind right now, besides the Army." She leaned forward and lowered his voice, sounding both mildly concerned and amused. "I think he's…well, I think he's got a girl on his mind."

"A girl? What girl?" Ben looked around.

"I don't know. I just get a feeling he's…formed some kind of…attachment to a girl."

"Elizabeth Elliott, with our luck," Ben said grumpily.

"So? She's a nice girl."

Ben shrugged. "I'm not sure if 'nice' is quite the right word."

Eve made a noise that only a woman could make to indicate her amusement with him and stood up to get the pot and refill his coffee cup. "Ah, well…he's only here every now and again, so it's not like he'll have much time to cut her out of the herd…if in fact she's a local."

"There's interesting terminology, if it is Elizabeth."

She rolled her eyes as she poured steaming coffee into his cup. "And besides which, Ben, I doubt it's Elizabeth. If it were, I think he would have been less uneasy around her. You know how he is – he's never had any trouble talking to girls, and was never short of company when he was growing up, and they liked him – he didn't have droves of girls hanging around, but those that did really did enjoy his company, and liked how respectful he was towards them. Elizabeth doesn't seem to be interested in him…well, not much. I think it's someone else."

"And of course, he wouldn't tell us about it. Probably not until after the wedding!"

Eve laughed. "Probably not!"

I felt like this is a good stopping point. At this point, I think 'Season of the Witch' has come to a dead end, but maybe some day I'll get back to it. Either way, when the muse calls, it's best to answer or you get terrible headaches.

Reviews welcome.

And yes, this is possibly the first A-Team fic based on a Jane Austen novel. My version has some twists and turns to it that I hope will prove entertaining anyway.