The Perfect Gift
by Jacqueline Giacomo
Face and Murdock were walking through a mall in central Los Angeles. Face was looking for the perfect Christmas gift for Hannibal. As always he had waited until the last minute to find it. But then again, he thought to himself; he had been busy. There was a new tenant in his apartment building, and he had to show her around, didn't he? It was now two days before Christmas, and he was running out of time. Murdock would not tell him what he had gotten Hannibal, but Murdock's gifts were always a little on the zany side. Hannibal always seemed to enjoy them, though; part of that sense of humor of his Face thought to himself.
As they walked from one shop to another looking, Face was starting to get a little desperate. He hadn't found what he was looking for, even though he didn't know what it was, yet.
"OK, Murdock. What do you think he would like? Any ideas?" Face asked with a little desperation in his voice.
"Face, he will like anything that you get him. He always does. Remember when you got him those Ostridge skin boots? He loves them. Remember that deal with Martin James? We had to get Hannibal's boots back, remember. He would not leave them behind. He wears them all the time."
"Yeah, I remember," Face stated at bit sadly since he lost one of the caps on his teeth during that grueling mission, but he also about how Hannibal loved those boots and about how special they were to him. So Face puffed up with pride at that moment, thinking about how he found that special gift for the colonel by pure accident while on a date with a beautiful woman who got mad him when stopped off at the western wear store. Now, if he could wind up with that same good luck and find another special gift, but as time ticked by and it got later and later, nothing in any of the stores caught his eye, and Face was losing hope.
It was just about closing time at the mall when Face spotted something in the window of one a small boutique shop, so he left Murdock alone babbling to himself about a plane in the window of the store next door and went inside. Face exited ten minutes later with a small, wrapped package under his arm and the biggest grin on his face since he knew Hannibal would get a kick out of this one.
Murdock met up with him as he came out. "Well, did ya find something for Hannibal? Did ya, did ya did ya?"
"I sure did. I think Hannibal will love it. It's perfect."
"What did ya get, ole facial one," Murdock went on.
"You have to wait 'till he open's it, like everybody else. I want it to be a complete surprise to everyone."
"Oh, come on Face. You can tell me. I can keep a secret."
"No, because if I tell you, then Hannibal will badger you to tell him just like you're doing me right now, and you'll give in like you always do. You just have to wait till Christmas Eve at Maggie's house."
"OK, you win. Anyway, it's just two days away."
Even though Murdock relented at first, he kept on badgering Face to tell him all the way back to the V.A. Face almost told him twice on the way there, so that he could get Murdock to shut up. But he caught himself before he did it.
"I'll pick you up at noon on Christmas Eve to head to Bad Rock. Be ready. Maggie wants us there for dinner at 5 o'clock sharp, and she said that we had better not be late."
"No problem, Face. I don't want to face that little tiger if we're late for dinner. See ya then."
On Christmas Eve, Face picked up Murdock on time and headed out to Bad Rock in his Corvette. Even though Hannibal would open his present just hours from now, Murdock still kept on him about what was in the package. But Face, content that Hannibal would love it just tuned out Murdock's insistent, constant and irritating babbling all the way to Bad Rock.
The two men arrived in Bad Rock two hours before dinner, but BA had been there since 10 am helping Hannibal put up the real Christmas tree he bought. So, since they missed the hard work, Face and Murdock sat around drinking coffee while watching BA and Hannibal decorate the tree. Once they finished and the tree was perfection, BA and Hannibal sat down with them, Hannibal with a coffee cup and BA with a glass of eggnog, which surprised everyone since it wasn't milk and as they waited for dinner, the three men talked about their childhood Christmases at home. Promptly at 5 pm, Maggie literally rang the dinner bell out of spite, which was a large cowbell that Hannibal had purchased for her and painted in the black and gold in the colors of West Point with the mascot, the black knight emboldened in on both sides. So all three men got up and headed for the dining room of her house for the feast she spent all day preparing with a lot of help from Hannibal since he got up early and put the prime rib in the oven. After dinner, they retired to the living room and seated themselves around the Christmas tree and the fireplace, drinking coffee, eggnog and munching on Maggie's homemade Christmas cookies.
After an hour of handing out and opening Christmas present, mounds of used wrapping paper and boxes surrounded everyone in the room.
Proud of his gift, Face waited until the very last to give his to Hannibal, so he picked up the final present under the tree and handed it to Hannibal. Wondering what in the world his friend had given him, Hannibal took his arm from around Maggie's shoulder and accepted the gift. Ever so curious, Murdock leaned in closer since Face had been so secretive about the present for the last two days. As Hannibal unwrapped the small box and laid the paper aside, he wondered why Murdock was so interested, so he opened the box and pulled out an ornamental wooden music box. Given that Hannibal didn't collect music boxes, he looked at the box strangely and back up to Face, not quite sure what to say as he wondered why Face would give him a music box, of all things.
"Open it up, Hannibal. So it'll play, "Face said with gusto, a large smile on his handsome face.
"OK, Face." Hannibal stated as he opened the lid of the box and it started playing the song "You are my sunshine." A wide grin spread across Hannibals features, and his blue eyes lit up with a memory from long ago. To Hannibal the tune was a bittersweet memory, but one that he kept close to his heart. All he could remember from that day was Face singing that song to him after their Vietnamese captures had returned him to their bamboo cage in the POW camp. He was so weak that he couldn't even raise his head after three days of continues beatings and he couldn't see with both of his eyes completely swollen shut. But Face had been there, holding his hand with cradling his swollen and bleeding head in his lap and Face was singing that song, giving him and the other prisoners in the camp hope that someday things would get better.
As they recognized the tune, all four team members started laughing, knowing how much Hannibal and Face loved that song and the reason behind it. They were laughing so hard that they fell out of their chairs onto the floor and Maggie looked at them strangely, not understanding the in-joke between them. When Hannibal could finally speak, he choked out, "You just have had to be there, Maggie. I'll explain it to you later tonight when we go to bed." Hannibal stated with a twinkle in his eye as he looked at Face and smiled. "Thanks, Face. I needed that."
Face looked at him with a big grin on his face. "Merry Christmas, Hannibal. I love it when a plan comes together!"