Title: The Scream
Rating: PG
Summary: As his birthday arrives Face has some anger he needs to get out.

Face screamed from the very depth of his soul. It came from his gut and out through his mouth. It was a primal sound that was foreign to his ears. He had never heard such a sound come from anybody or anything before, let alone out of his own mouth. But, God, did it feel good to let go! He continued screaming until his throat was raw and no more sound would come out.
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The day before

"Daddy, Daddy!" the little girl squealed as she ran toward him. Her blond pig-tails bobbed up and down; her blue eyes sparkled in the sun.

He leaned over and scooped her up in his arms and tossed her up in the air. She giggled with delight and threw her arms around his neck planting a giant kiss on his cheek.

"I love you daddy," she whispered in his ear.

He hugged her tight and felt warmth in his heart like never before. He closed his eyes and squeezed her even tighter. "I love you too, sweetheart," he answered back."

"Gee Peck, I didn't know how much you cared!" Decker sneered from across the room hearing Face mumbling in his sleep. "You must have cracked your head harder than I thought!" he said with a chuckle.

Face bolted upright in his bed, but immediately regretted it as the room began turning around him. He fell backwards with a groan and closed his eyes again.

Damn, it had only been a dream.

The last thing he remembered was losing control of the van and crashing into a wall while trying to escape Decker and his men. The van! Face groaned again...B.A. was going to kill him for wrecking it. Before Face left to get some supplies, the big guy warned him not to 'go messin' up my ride, man'. Maybe it was a good thing he was behind bars...this way B.A. couldn't strangle him.

"What's the matter, Lieutenant, not feeling so hot?" Decker questioned opening up a file folder on his desk. "A few broken ribs and a knock on the head is the only damage done from that little car chase you put us through earlier. I think you got off rather easy!"

Face didn't say anything; he just stared up at the ceiling wishing he could go back to his dream. It had felt so real.

"Well, well, well," Decker said standing up and walking toward Face's cell with the folder. "If I had known that tomorrow was your birthday, I would have baked you a cake! Oh, and it's a big one too...30!"

He noticed a look of surprise on the younger man's face, before he replaced it with a blank stare. Could it be that Peck hadn't known? He knew that Peck had grown up an orphan, so perhaps he really didn't know? Decker felt a brief pang of sadness for the younger man...that couldn't have been an easy childhood.

Face's insides were churning. Tomorrow was his birthday. And not just any birthday...it was his thirtieth.

Face knew when his birthday was, but it wasn't something he liked to think about. In the orphanage, birthdays were not something to be celebrated. A birthday meant that you were turning another year older and that your chances of being adopted were diminishing. As a result, Face was in the habit of letting the day pass quietly like any other day. The guys knew how he felt and would simply wish him a happy birthday and not make a big deal of it. This year, however, the day had snuck up on him and he hadn't even realized.

"It looks like I'm getting one hell of a gift for your birthday this year, Peck!" Decker smirked, his moment of pity replaced by the elation of catching a member of the A-team. It would only be a matter of time before Smith and Baracus tried to rescue their friend, and this time he wouldn't let them get away. As if on cue, there was a blast outside the door and smoke began filling the room.

Face heard the blast and the following commotion, but he could only lay there. He tried to get himself up to help his friends, but the pain in his head and gut was too great. Plus, the smoke was only adding to his dizziness and nausea.

As Hannibal and B.A. handled the soldiers, Murdock opened up the cell and came over to Face's bed. "This isn't the best time to be sleeping on the job, Muchacho," he joked with a concerned look on his face. "Do you think you can walk?" he asked helping Face to sit up. When Face didn't reply he got his answer. Face was breathing hard and looking like he might pass out at any second.

"How is he?" Hannibal yelled out to Murdock while tying Decker up in his chair.

"He's gonna need some help getting out of here...he's not looking so good." Murdock said as Face's head fell against his shoulder.

"You won't get away with this Smith!" Decker snarled as he struggled against the ropes.

Hannibal pulled a cigar out of his jacket pocket and smiled. "Sure we will, Decker...we always do. You just happen to be a very slow learner." He blew a puff of smoke into Decker's face and went over to check on his second in command.

Seeing Hannibal walking over, Face didn't want him to know how bad he was hurting. He already felt like a fool for getting caught; he just wanted to go home and forget this ever happened. "I'm fine, Hannibal," he said weakly trying to stand up to show just how fine he was. Instead, he fell forward and passed out into his commander's arms.

"Sure you are, kid," Hannibal couldn't help but grin. "B.A., take Face out to the van. Murdock, help me lock these gentlemen inside of the cell."

B.A. carefully lifted Face away from Hannibal and headed for the stairs. While it would have been a lot easier to take the elevator, he didn't want to risk being spotted. Face started to stir when they exited the building and the cool air hit him.

"Hey Faceman," B.A. said gently. "I'm gonna sit you down on the ground so I can open up the van, okay?"

Face gave B.A. a quizzical look. "But, didn't I wreck the van? Sorry," he whispered.

B.A. placed Face down so he was leaning against the very vehicle he thought he destroyed. "Nah, you didn't wreck it. Smashed up the front pretty good, but I'll fix her up in no time."

He helped Face up and into the van. Normally he would have threatened to pound his friend for crashing his ride. But, he could see that the guy was really hurting. Face's jaw was clenched and he was sweating pretty heavily. Plus, he knew that Face was trying to escape Decker when he had the accident...it wasn't as if he was out joyriding.

By the time Hannibal and Murdock got to the van Face had fallen asleep much to everyone's relief. They didn't quite know what to say to Face at times. Murdock and B.A. loved him like a brother and Hannibal loved him like a son, but Face was a hard one to read. They had been on the run together for more than a decade, yet at times they felt as if they didn't really know the guy. He acted as if he were a suave rich boy wearing his fancy clothes and living in posh surroundings. But underneath all that false bravado was a scared and vulnerable man with more issues than Time Magazine.