"What would your rich mommy and daddy say if they could see you now?"

Face turned his bleary eyes toward the mocking voice and seethed, "I would hope they would tell me to kick your ass." He paused eyeing up the competition then added, "For the record, I never had a mommy or a daddy...but I think I'll go ahead and kick your ass anyway."

In spite of his injury and fatigue, Face wrestled his fellow soldier to the ground and managed to get in a few good shots before B.A. pulled him off.

"Hey, kid, take it easy," Hannibal said while B.A. kept a strong grip on his shoulders.

Face struggled against the big man, but eventually settled down when he saw he was getting nowhere. "You cool now, man?" B.A. asked before letting go.

"Yeah, I'm cool," Face answered feeling anything but.

Murdock walked over to the young man. "You all right, Muchacho?"

"Fine." When he saw Murdock wasn't buying it, he added, "Really…I'm okay…just dirty and dog tired."

"Okay, pal," Murdock said. "I'll catch you later tonight, right?"

"Yeah, sure," he mumbled and started limping away. "Gonna hit the showers."

Hannibal, B.A. and Murdock watched Face's back silently; nobody knew what to say about the uncharacteristically aggressive behavior and the new information they were hit with.

Face stumbled into the shower and slowly began to peel off his mud covered fatigues. The team had just returned from an arduous three day mission and the last thing he needed was to return to a fight. He had only been with the unit a couple of months, and while he got along well enough with his team, most others at the base that tried to make his life miserable. They saw him as a pretty boy who only got onto Hannibal's team because his privileged upbringing sped him through the ranks.

What they didn't know was that he was really an eighteen year old orphan who earned that spot because he was so good at what he did.

Well, they didn't know it before, but they sure did now. Face cursed himself for being so stupid. But blood loss coupled with exhaustion had lowered his guard and his secret just slipped out.

Face hissed as the fabric that had stuck to his thigh wound opened it back up again and blood started flowing freely. The bullet had only grazed him the day before, but it was deep and it had bled badly for some time. He probably should have told Hannibal he was hit, but by the time they were out of danger it had stopped bleeding. And when they made it to the chopper none of them had enough energy to do anything more than sit there with their eyes shut.

After a quick shower, Face cleaned and bandaged the gash as best he could and hobbled over to his cot where he promptly passed out as soon as his head hit the pillow.

"Hannibal…did you know that Faceman was an orphan?" B.A. asked later that evening. Until that point they had avoided the subject all together still trying to process the information.

Hannibal shook his head. "No…I must have missed it in his file. Either that or the kid took care of it for me."

"What I don't get is why he didn't just say something? All those guys have been razzing him real bad," Murdock said. "Us too at first," he added sadly.

"I admit that I thought he was just another rich white boy. Until he proved himself that first day, remember?" B.A. asked. "He may look like a pretty boy, but sure as hell don't act like one in the field. He was busted up pretty good that mission, but never complained once."

Hannibal stopped in his tracks remembering the stiff way his lieutenant had walked away from them earlier. "Damn," he said.

"Somethin' wrong, Colonel?"

"I hope not, B.A. But why don't we check in on Face and see how he's doing?"

A few minutes later the trio found Face out cold on his bed. He was pale and sweaty; a deep red patch soaking through the white bandage wrapped around his leg. Murdock left to get a med kit while B.A. stood back by the door unsure what to do.

Hannibal put his hand to Face's forehead and frowned at the heat. "He's running a fever."

Face began to moan softly. His body went rigid as he sensed he wasn't alone. His eyes flew open but he clearly wasn't aware of his surroundings. "I'm sorry…I'm sorry…please…please don't…don't hit me."

Hannibal stepped back stunned by the childlike voice coming out of his man. "Face…kid…it's me Hannibal."

Face's eyes darted from side to side anxiously. "Han…Hannibal?"

Hannibal stepped forward again and knelt down by the bed. "Yeah, kid, it's me. You're okay."

Face was embarrassed and his cheeks burned red against his pale complexion. "S…sorry."

"Can you tell me what happened to your leg?"

Face was breathing hard, his brow furrowed in pain. "Just…just a…graze."

Murdock handed the kit to Hannibal and said softly, "Can we take a look?"

Face nodded his approval. He closed his eyes and gripped the sides of his bed as they uncovered and began to examine the wound.

"He needs the infirmary," B.A. stated still positioned by the door.

Fear filled eyes opened and met Hannibal's. "Please…no. I'll be…okay." Again Face felt shame.

"It will hurt a lot less if the docs take care of this for you, buddy," Murdock said. "They can give you some meds for the pain."

Face kept his eye hold with his colonel. "Not afraid…of pain. Can't…can't…stand to…be…with the others...right now."

"Okay, kid. I understand."

Face didn't utter a sound as Hannibal cleaned and redressed the wound, but his teeth were clenched tight and by the time it was over he was trembling in pain. He fell into a deep sleep as his teammates sat by his side. The last thing he remembered was B.A. walking over and whispering in his ear, "You ain't no orphan anymore."

A week later Face was walking out of the mess tent when a voice said, "If it isn't little orphan Peck." Face kept walking, ignoring it as another voice taunted, "Poor Peck…such a loser that he doesn't even have a family." They comments kept coming at him, but he held his head high and pretended it didn't hurt.

But then there was another familiar voice that boomed above all the others, "You fools better stop messin' with Peck, ya hear? He our brother and we don't take too kindly to members of our family bein' treated that way."

"That's right," Murdock agreed. "You mess with Face, and B.A. here will see to it that he rearranges yours. Right, big guy?"

"Right," B.A. grunted without hesitation.

Hannibal took a puff of his cigar and let it out slowly. "I love it when a plan comes together!" He looked at Face and patted him on the shoulder. "Don't you agree…son?"

Face was beaming from ear to ear as his new found family surrounded him. "I sure do!"

The End