THE WRONG PLACE
"Maybe you should answer your phone, Sir!" the shop assistant retorted sounding bored to Hannibal.
"They will call back!" the Colonel replied politely.
It was a beautiful day in October and despite it being the 25th the weather was sunny and the air was warm, and it was going to be like this for another couple of days they said, the ideal conditions for the surprise the Colonel was planning for Face's birthday.
That day, he had asked BA and Murdock to take Face out with them in order to have some time to organize his birthday party; the Pilot was, as usual, more than excited at the idea while the big guy had just shrugged his shoulders but Hannibal knew he was happy too that his little brother could have, for once, a good time to spend with his friend and his lover. It was not too often that they were Stateside in this period of the year and it was a pure coincidence that Face's birthday came right in the middle of their vacation.
Hannibal was in too good spirits to be bothered with the attitude of the shop assistant and he let the telephone ring until it stopped. He knew who the calls came from, it was Murdock. Hannibal presumed the Pilot wanted to talk to him in order to have information about the party and he wasn't going to give him any.
Hannibal put his cell phone back in the pocket of the light jacket he was wearing and turned back to the assistant, only to discover she was already helping another client. He waited patiently for a good ten minutes and when finally the woman was back to him the telephone rang again. This time he decided to answer.
"I thought I told you I didn't want to be disturbed, Captain. Now, what's the matter with you? I hope it's something very important because…" Hannibal barked.
But he couldn't finish his sentence. At the other end of the line, he could hear Murdock breathing hard and BA talking with someone in the background, his tone concerned.
"What happened?" he asked then.
"It's Face. He had an accident," the pilot explained.
"Where are you?" was the Colonel's next question, his tone almost menacing.
"Community General. They took him into surgery a few minutes ago…" Murdock stated in a small voice.
"Surgery? Jesus Christ! What the hell happened, Captain? I left you boys alone for a day and Face ends up in the E.R.?" Hannibal snapped back angrily.
But before the Captain could reply, he managed to calm himself down enough and went on. "I'll be there in 20 minutes. See you in the waiting room!" and he ended the call.
Without turning back to the shop assistant, he exited the shop and found a taxi. 20 minutes later he was in front of the Hospital. He didn't know if he was more angry or worried at this point. He knew the kid was a trouble magnet but he had hoped to have some peace and quiet for once and to enjoy the few days of vacation they had earned after their last successful mission with his lover.
The Colonel took a deep breath before entering the double door of the E.R., trying to calm himself down. God, he hated hospitals. He had been in this situation too many times, when one of his guys had been wounded on a mission but, holy fuck, they were on vacation! They were supposed to spend their time in a different way!
Sensing his anger wouldn't do any good to Face nor to anybody right now, he forced himself to remain calm until he knew what had happened.
He spotted Murdock sat in a chair in the waiting room and approached him quietly. When the pilot noticed Hannibal had arrived, he stood up and started pacing nervously.
"I swear, Hannibal, I don't know where it came from. Some brat, he said he was just "having fun" with his new toy… Can you believe it? If you got a bow as a gift for your birthday, would you go the park to try it? Unbelievable… this is fucking unbelievable!"
Hannibal took another deep breath and tried to calm the nervous pilot in order to have some more information about his lover's condition.
"Murdock, relax now. Tell me what happened from the beginning!"
"Alright… We were walking in the park, BA was wanting a hot dog and we were heading to the small kiosk in the middle of it, near the basketball court, you know? Well, we were enjoying ourselves, Face was teasing Bosco telling him if he continued to eat that shit he was going to appear like a hot dog himself when he suddenly cried out in pain and fell down.
At first we didn't understand what had happened, then a guy came out from a bush, saying he was sorry and he didn't mean to hurt anyone. Face was still down, a arrow plunged in his upper right leg. I tried to help him, BA wanted to try and get the arrow out of Face's leg but the guy told us it was dangerous, better to call an ambulance because the arrow was designed to hurt more when getting it out of the flesh than entering it.
Face screamed when BA touched him and we thought it was better to follow the guy's advice. They took him in half an hour ago, the doctor said he needed to perform surgery on him in order to take the arrow out of the leg. I suppose they're almost done by now.
They probably would like to keep Face here overnight. He won't be happy about it." Murdock reported.
Hannibal nodded.
"Where is that guy with the bow?" he asked.
"I convinced him to come with us," BA replied.
And in fact there was another guy in the waiting room, looking lost and scared. Young, maybe 20 years old, blond hair and brown eyes, wearing a torn t-shirt and denim jeans. If not for the bow resting on the floor beside him, Hannibal wouldn't have noticed him.
Hannibal's first instinctive reaction was to pin the brat to the wall, shake him and yell at him. But then he thought better.
"How old are you, kid?" he asked quietly.
"20, Sir. Today is my birthday," the guy answered, avoiding the Colonel's gaze.
"So what were you doing in the park with a bow and a arrow? Trying to kill someone?"
"No, Sir. I was just giving it a try. I didn't mean to hurt anyone, I swear!"
"But unfortunately you did!" Hannibal sighed. "What are we supposed to do with you now? Do you know the man you hurt is an officer of the U.S. Army?" he asked.
Looking lost and defeated, the guy nodded. "Yes, Sir! The big guy with all the gold was very clear on that," he replied in a very small voice.
Hannibal felt a little sorry for the kid; he believed he had told him the truth and that he was really sorry for hurting Face and he hadn't meant to. Anyway he couldn't let him go as if nothing had ever happened.
"Look, kid. This is what we are going to do. I want you to give me your name, address and telephone number. If you give me false information, I know how to find you so you'd better not lie to me. There is no need for you stay here now so, once I have your details, you can go home. We will let the man you hurt decide if he wants to press charges on you. In that case we will phone you. Do you understand?" the Colonel asked, using his most intimidating tone he usually reserved for the newly hardheaded soldiers under his command.
The kid was clearly impressed and nodded solemnly. He wrote down his name, address and telephone number on the piece of paper as he was asked without complaining and handed it to the Colonel.
"Good." Hannibal stated. "Now, go home and lock that bow in a safe place and be sure to use it where you're sure you will not hurt anyone, am I clear? No more parks or woods, do you understand?"
"Yes, Sir. Thank you, Sir!" he replied and then rushed out of the room.
BA and Murdock followed the kid's movement until he was out of sight, then both went to sit beside the Colonel.
"You scared the shit out of him, Colonel!" Murdock commented.
"You shouldn't have let him go. We should have called the police," BA replied angrily.
Hannibal understood how the men were feeling right now. He was worried sick about Face and wanted to talk with the doctors. Finally, half an hour later, a man dressed in a green gown came to inform them Face was alright.
"I want to keep him here overnight. Just as a precaution. No need to worry but we gave him 15 stitches and the wound is quite deep, we want to make sure he doesn't develop any infections. If things go as I think, I'll send him home tomorrow afternoon," the doctor explained.
The three men nodded together.
"Due to the… place where he was hit, he's going to feel some discomfort for a few days. No walking for at least a week. I suggest a hemorrhoids cushion if he wants to sit up, it should help him but I strongly recommend bed rest for him, better if he lies flat on his stomach. I'm going to prescribe him pain killers and antibiotics, be sure he take them, just don't overdo it with the pain killers."
Hannibal thanked the doctor and then the three of them went together to visit their friend. The man had been clear, if they really wanted to stay for the night – and it wasn't exactly the Hospital policy – it was fine with him but just one of them. Murdock and BA exchanged a look, it was clear Hannibal was going to stay with Face for the night and nothing could make him change his mind.
They quietly entered Face's room, thinking he was asleep but he was not. He was lying flat on his belly, wearing a white hospital gown laced on his back, that left part of his back exposed. His butt was covered with a thin sheet.
Hannibal approached his lover quietly. He didn't seem to be in pain, just a little sleepy.
"Hey baby! How are you feeling?" he asked, starting to gently massage his back and hair with his strong hand.
Face released a long sigh.
"Not too bad for a guy wounded in his butt!" he replied softly.
"Are you in pain?" Hannibal asked then.
"No, not at all. I guess it's the local anesthetic they gave me. Doc said it should wear off in three or four hours." The LT answered drowsily.
"Fifteen stitches, Facey! Can you believe it? Can I look at your scar?" the pilot, who was standing near the other side of the bed, commented.
"Shut up, you fool!" BA exclaimed at Murdock. Then, to Face, "We are happy to see you're doing good, Faceman! Now it's probably better if we leave." And with that he actually dragged the captain out of the room with him.
Once they were alone, Hannibal sat down beside the head of the bed and took one of Face's cold hands in his. He was so happy to see his wonderful boy was alright!
"Are you cold, baby?" he asked his lover.
"Yeah, a little. I feel a little exposed here." Face admitted.
In no time, Hannibal covered the LT with a thin blanket, making sure the soft material didn't press on the wound. "Better?"
"Much, thank you!"
"Face, the guy who hit you with the arrow… do you want to press charges on him?"
"He was just a kid, scared as hell! Besides I think BA scared him a lot. I don't think he will repeat the experience soon…"
Hannibal smiled to his lover. "That was my idea too, honey. So, can I call him and tell him it's all right?"
"Yeah, sure. I hope you didn't threaten him."
The Colonel put on his best innocent face. "Me? Threatening him? How could I? Just because he almost ruined the better part of you?"
"What are you talking about? I thought my better part was my face?"
"To others, yes. To me, I don't know… I love just every part of you, baby!"
"You're such a gentleman, John!"
Hannibal kissed his lover on his lips, then exited the room to make the phone call. When he returned, Face was sleeping.
The birthday party was surely postponed but, after all, every single day with a man like Templeton Peck was a blessing and a surprise!
END