This story was prompted by The-Time-Travelling-Hippie, and was written with the television series characters in mind.
Chapter One: Ammonia
It happened so fast that none of them could be entirely certain of what had transpired. One moment Murdock was helping Face move a box of cleaning supplies from one corner of the garage to the shelves along the other side and the next the pilot is crouching on top of the work bench screaming with his hands over his ears.
The only clue the other three had in regards to what set him off was the permeating smell of ammonia from a bottle which had fallen from the cardboard box.
Face panicked. "B.A., get him inside!"
Bosco wasted no time in grabbing the shrieking man. Murdock never responded as he was grabbed and hauled upstairs to his and Temp's bedroom. Face followed soon after, pausing in the downstairs bathroom to jump in the shower. He knew that if there was even a hint of ammonia on him it would be detrimental to the pilot's already fragile state of mind.
Wrapping a towel around his hips, Face followed the sound of screaming to the room he shared with his best friend. B.A. was currently trying to talk sense into the younger man, but was having no luck. "It's okay, Crazy. There's not any ammonia up here." Both winced when the pilot's cries increased in volume from even saying the word.
"Bosco, man… go take a shower downstairs and get Hannibal to do the same after he finishes cleaning up the mess. If Murdock catches one scent of you know what he'll never come back out of his head. I'm gonna try to take him across the hall to get him showered while you guys finish up." B.A. nodded and left the two friends alone.
After pulling on a pair of sleep pants, Face immediately wrapped his arms around the other man and began singing one of the children songs he had learned strictly to help his buddy through rough patches.
Little bird, little bird
fly through my window.
Little bird, little bird
fly through my window.
Little bird, little bird
fly through my window...
Find molasses candy.
As soon as the frantic screaming was silenced, Face pulled the pilot to his feet and guided him to the shower across from their room. The blonde shed his pants and H.M.'s clothes before getting them both underneath the warm spray.
When he was done Face dried himself and Murdock off as best he could and somehow managed to get a pair of boxer briefs on his friend before redressing himself in the soft pants. Once the older man was safely tucked into bed, Templeton climbed in beside him and continued humming the song he'd started earlier.
H.M. wrapped long arms around the conman and burrowed his face into the blonde's neck, as if hoping to hide himself inside his friend's skin. Face continued humming and stroking Murdock's back.
The two men endured ten minutes of this before H.M. had calmed enough to come back to reality. By this time the other two men were standing in the doorway with damp hair and fresh clothes, anxiously awaiting the pilot's return.
Face glanced over at them as Hannibal spoke. "I cleaned up the spill as well as I could, and B.A. set the fan up. We've got the whole garage airing out, so keep him up here until we give you the go ahead."
Temp nodded. "Okay, thanks guys. I think he's okay now… aren't you Murdock?"
The crazy man sniffled and rubbed his eyes before nodding quickly. "Yeah… 'm okay Face. Sorry guys."
Face scowled. "None of that, you moron. You can't help your reactions, and we're happy to help." Murdock said nothing else, but gave an appreciative look to his closest friends as the lieutenant tightened his arms around him in a hug.
Templeton was just thankful that he'd been able to pull the older man out of his episode this time. His biggest fear was that one day H.M. would become trapped inside his head for good.
Song is "Little Bird, Little Bird" by Elizabeth Mitchell. I first heard and fell in love with it while watching a season 5 episode of Futurama called "Lethal Inspection".
