I tried my absolute hardest to have this special Christmas story out before Christmas, and I just made it. :) Hope it warms you hearts, and have a happy holiday season.
Summary: A Christmas Special: BA has Christmas at his children's centre, and learns a little something new about what it means to give.
Disclaimer: I do not own the A-Team.
Secret Santa
By Liliththestormgoddess
"How's this?" asked Tommy, delightedly holding up his creation for BA to see. His large grin only grew wider as BA nodded with a smile.
"That looks great, Tommy."
The activity of the day at the children's shelter was ornaments to hang up on the tree, and the kids were having a blast. The directors of the group – which were mainly BA and Holly, a younger girl in her twenties – were hoping to get a real Christmas tree set up in the front room for the kids. The ornaments were a way to keep them busy and out of trouble, but they planned later to decorate that tree.
About twenty children were in that day, ranging in age from seven to thirteen. The main room, which they were using for the crafts, was packed from end to end with tables and chairs. Littered across the room too were craft supplies of all kind: cotton balls, glue, glitter (to which they vowed never again to use), markers and some pipe cleaners. The kids had been allowed to create whatever they pleased, and some had gotten pretty creative.
BA looked over towards the office door, which was closed tight, closing off the entire ruckus the kids were making. BA knew Holly was in there, trying to make important phone calls.
"BA, BA!" called one small girl, clambering onto his lap. "Like my butterfly?" She held in her hands a mash of tissue paper.
"That's beautiful, Christine, but don't you want to make somethin' to do more with Christmas? We gonna put it on the tree."
She frowned at the butterfly in her hands. "Oh," she said. "Ok." And she dashed off, excited to create something new.
BA chuckled, and turned back to helping Jason, eleven, who was trying to glue together a Christmas tree. He only looked up again, when, a few moments later, Angelina, cried out to him. She had been twirling by the front window, when she suddenly she cried, "Look! Look!" She pointed to the parking lot outside. "BA! BA! Look, look, there's a real fancy car outside. And look! A real fancy man too! He's coming to the door!"
Confused at who would visit the centre – and a little worried by the sounds of the person – BA got up and walked towards the window, where all the kids had gathered. It wasn't often they got visitors, especially 'fancy' visitors, and all were curious. He looked outside, and as soon as he saw that blatantly extravagant Corvette, he was confused. Why would Faceman be here? He wondered. Sure enough, when his eyes wandered towards the old stone path that led to the door, BA saw Face himself, dressed impeccably in a dark suit. He hurried up the walk way to the door, looking as calm and confident as he always did. But BA knew better. He knew that Face was never interested in how BA spent his time, or where, or the things that he did. He also knew Face would be uncomfortable in this kind of place; plus he wasn't crazy about kids. So BA knew one of two things: either there was something wrong with the Team, or Face had been ordered here by the Colonel's orders. He wouldn't come here willingly.
BA opened the door as Face reached it, and put on his best scowl. "Faceman, what's goin' on? What'ch you doin' here?"
Face was obviously taken aback when BA opened the door. His smile faltered, but only for about half a second. "BA," he grinned. To an outsider, BA's 'greeting' would have sounded gruff and aggressive, but Face in turn knew BA enough to know that his growl was there only to mask his worry. "Ah," Face said, looking at the half dozen curious faces looking up at him. "Can I come in? We need to, ah, talk."
BA's response was a grunt, but he opened the door wider, and Face stepped in, trying not to step on the small children in the process, who had gathered around his feet.
BA shut the door behind him, and shooed the children back to their tables. "'Kay, kids. Keep working. I be right back. Me an' Mr. Peck er, gotta talk." Then he fixed them all with a half-hearted stern gaze. "An' no trouble while I'm gone. Ya' hear?" They all nodded enthusiastically. BA led Face to the small room just off the mess hall.
As soon as they were out of earshot, BA repeated his earlier question. "What's up Faceman? You never come 'round here. What's goin' on?"
Face looked annoyed. "Hannibal, sent me down here when he couldn't get a hold of you on the phone. He got worried."
BA looked back towards Holly's closed door. "Yeah, we only got one phone an' Holly's on it, makin' important calls." BA knew Hannibal could get pretty worked up when one of the Team got out of contact, even if only for a day. "What'd he want? Decker on our trail?" Yeah, he thought sarcastically. That's just wha' we need now, right 'fore Christmas, is to flee the state.
"No, no," Face assured him. "But he might be soon. Hannibal got us a job."
"What?" BA cried. "Man, he's crazy! It's two weeks till Christmas. He can't be serious. I gotta be here, for the kids."
"I know, I agree with you. Hey, I got a date for next week. I had to cancel!" Face looked upset. "And it was Stephanie. She's a model," he supplied wistfully.
But BA didn't care. He just wanted to be back for Christmas, so he could spend it with the kids. But he knew he couldn't get out of the job. He let out a low, angry growl. "I gotta talk to Holly. Maybe she can finish the gifts. We were s'posed to have all the gifts by now, for every kid, but we're behind a bit." He walked off towards the closed door.
Left on his own, Face stared around the small room for a second, got bored, and decided to walk around a bit. He didn't intend on going back to see the kids, but he really had nowhere else to go. He stepped back around the corner, and hung out in the doorway for a few moments, watching them as they intently worked on their crafts. They didn't notice him for the first few minutes, and he had intended them not to, but soon enough, they did see him.
A small girl, around the age of eight or nine, looked up from where she was trying to glue some white pompoms together, but had succeeded only in gluing them to her clothes. She smiled widely and cried out, "Mr. Peck! Look what I made!"
Slightly taken aback that they had remembered BA's early comment about his name – and that a child wanted him to see her craft – it took him a few moments to make his feet move towards her. He put on his best smile, and wandered over to her table. She smiled up at him, showing a few missing teeth. "See?" she offered the snowman to him.
"It's very nice," Face assured her, continuing to smile at her. She giggled and continued on.
Thinking that he was finished, Face turned around to get away, only to find two more small children at his feet, blinking up at him. "Er, hi," he said, and wordlessly they produced their own ornaments for him to inspect. "Lovely, very good," he complimented to each of them. They looked shyly at their craft, but he could see a small smile creep upon their faces. They moved on back to their tables.
Now he really had to get out of here. A few younger ones were staring at him, and some seemed to be heading his way. The older ones sat in the corners, just looking at him oddly. They didn't seem to want his attention like the younger ones did.
Just as Face tried to make his escape, a boy of about the age of seven stepped to his side and gave a small tug on his pant leg. "Uh, hi there," said Face awkwardly looking down at him. The boy stared at him with huge blue eyes, then pointed back towards his seat.
"Can you help me, mister?" he asked quietly, his eyes resembling those of a puppy dog.
How could Face deny that? He closed his eyes, sighed, and then smiled back down at the boy. "Sure, buddy. What do you need help with?" The boy dashed back towards his seat, where a pinecone sat, covered in glitter and sitting in a sea of pompoms. A small glue bottle lay next to it.
Face followed him over. The boy picked up the pinecone and a small pompom, and offered both to the newcomer. "I can't get them to stay on," he said, sounding depressed.
Where was BA when you needed him? Thought Face, but he took the items nonetheless. He looked at it closely, and then smiled with relief when he realized that he knew what he was supposed to do. It was quite simple really. Just a little dab of glue, and some pressure.
He took the empty seat next to the boy, his mind fixed on the task, prepared to get it done perfectly. "Don't worry, its real easy," he said to the boy. "I used to do this when I was a kid." He picked up the glue bottle, and put a dab of glue on the pinecone. "What's your name?" he asked.
The boy smiled. "Jimmy," he said.
"Alright, Jimmy, here's what we're gonna do…"
BA knocked softly on Holly's door, before opening it. She sat at her desk, with her head in her hands, glasses lying on the desk before her. The phone sat in its cradle, silent.
She looked up as BA entered. "Well, BA, I've got bad news," she said morosely. "We've lost the money."
"What?"
"The grant from the children's foundation? They said they were going to send us some extra money for the Christmas season, you know, for gifts and all, but apparently our application didn't make it in time." She shrugged in defeat. "We've got no extra money for the children."
BA walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry little mama, we'll find a way to get them all something."
"I know you do your best BA, but so far we've only got enough gifts for about half our usual crowd. And you know Christmas is a busy season. I just don't know how we're going to do it." She brushed back her hair, her hands shaking slightly.
"You've got enough to worry about," BA told her. "You do all the other stuff that need doin', you don't worry 'bout the gifts. Let me handle that."
She smiled at him. "That's sweet BA, thanks." She paused for a moment for a breath, then asked, "And what was the commotion I heard outside? Something about a fancy car?" A sudden thought struck her. "BA, we're not in trouble, are we? They're not shutting us down, or-"
He cut her off. "No, no, nothin' like that. Friend o' mine stopped by. Needed to talk."
"Oh." She thought for a moment. "Would he like a job here?" she asked, going out on a limb. This time of year it was always so busy. "We always need more help, y'know."
BA tried not to laugh. "Face? No way. Sorry Holly, but this just ain't his thing."
She frowned and shook her head. "I don't really understand it, BA. You're so good with the kids, you spend every free moment down here, but you have rich, stuffy friends who want nothing to do with children. I just don't understand those kinds of people in general. Who doesn't like children?"
BA had a good idea why Face didn't like to come around here, or wasn't too friendly with children. "Don't judge him by that," he told Holly softly. "You gotta really know the guy to understand."
Holly sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "Where is he, by the way?" She picked up her glasses and put them back on.
"I left him out in the hallway," he replied, and stepped outside the office, to an empty hallway. "Uh…" They looked at each other, before walking briskly into the mess room. BA could hardly believe the sight that greeted him.
Kids were practically lined up at Face's table, where he resembled a conveyer belt, as he helped child after child. He was covered in glitter, held a glue bottle in one hand, and the concentration on his face made him look as if he were on a mission, and the bottle was his weapon. As each child got him to help, they looked on by his side, with an almost fascinated expression, that this mysterious, smartly dressed man could create crafts. When he was finished with each product, he would smile, say a few words to the girl or boy, then hand the ornament over, and they would skip away happily.
It took a few more children to pass through before Face realized BA and Holly were standing in the doorway, watching. BA had actually expected him to take longer to notice, as he'd been concentrating so hard. As soon as he noticed however, he bolted to his feet, almost as if a shell had exploded right next to his ear. "Ah, hey BA," he said nervously, brushing the glitter off his sleeves. "You were gone awhile, and, ah, they needed a little help, and you were, ah, busy and all, so I, ah, made myself useful." He smiled self consciously as he blundered through his explanation. BA didn't say anything, just stared him down, his expression unreadable. Face quickly shut his mouth and continued to brush off the glitter, to no avail.
BA turned to Holly, who looked slightly puzzled. "Sorry mama, my friend and I gotta run. Business, you know." She nodded.
"When will you be back?"
BA looked to Face, who shrugged and said, "A week?"
"A week and a half, maybe two," he told her. If he was lucky, he'd make it back for Christmas.
"Alright, be safe," she told them as they left, BA saying goodbye to all the kids.
Face got into his Corvette and started the engine, while BA just scowled at it. "C'mon BA, get in," called Face. It wasn't his type of ride, he knew.
"If ma ride wasn't in the shop for an oil change, I wouldn' need to get inta this fancy thing," he said with disgust as he climbed in.
"Come off it, BA. It's a great car," protested Face, as he pulled out of the parking lot.
"And I hate not driving."
"Well, it's my car, and no one drives my car but me." He thought a minute before adding, "Except Hannibal, but that's only because he pulls rank."
BA only let out a grunt.
A few moments later, at a red light, Face turned to BA and said; "You won't say anything about this, will you?"
"About what?"
"About the kids at the shelter, and the crafts. You know the guys wouldn't understand." Face chewed at the thought. "The crafts. I don't know. They just gave me the saddest look ever, and y'know, I had to help them." He looked over at BA pleadingly.
BA felt like laughing. Face really did care way too much about his image. But if he didn't want BA to say anything, then BA would respect that. Though he could tell that Face had quite enjoyed hanging with the kids. For one, he had said nothing about his ruined suit. That was a first.
"Whatever, Faceman."
A few more moments of silence passed before Face spoke again. "What was the matter with, did you say her name was Holly? She looked upset."
"Yeah, we lost the grant for more money for the shelter. We needed it to get presents for all the kids."
"How many kids do you have?"
"Well, today we had 'bout twenty. But on Christmas we can reach to 'bout thirty," he told him.
"And how are you going to get presents for all those kids without any money?" Face asked worriedly.
BA turned on him, surprised he would even care, and a little offended. "We got money, man. It's not much, but it'll do. Jus' hope we get back from this job in time so's that I can get the gifts and be there for them."
It was just before they pulled in at the meeting place, that Face posed his final question. "Hey, BA," he said softly. "You sure you're going to have enough gifts?"
BA shot him a look. "Don' worry 'bout it, Faceman. It's not your problem."
They stepped out of the car, neither saying another word to each other. As they got into the van, which Hannibal had apparently just gotten out of the shop, Murdock said, "Hey, Face, you know you've got glitter on your suit?"
BA sighed as he started placing the wrapped presents under the Christmas tree. It had been one crazy mission, taking longer than they had originally planned. Hannibal's plan had come apart (when did it not?) but had worked out just the same, and they had managed to shake Decker off their tail, and made it back to LA today, Christmas Eve.
He hadn't had much time to finish getting the presents. Holly had tried to, in his absence, but money was tight, and even what they had gotten combined had been scarce.
BA frowned, looking at the real, evergreen tree, decorated with all the kids' ornaments. It looked great, and he hoped their faces would light up when they woke up to find that 'Santa' had come.
Just then, he heard the noise of a car engine pull into the parking lot. BA got up and peered out the window, suspicious of whom would be here at eleven at night. He didn't recognize the car, but as soon as the man stepped out of the driver's side door and came around to the back, he knew immediately. Despite his casual attire of jeans and a dress shirt, BA could spot Face a mile away. But what was he doing here?
He grabbed a large bag from the trunk of the car, and started up the walkway, holding something in his hand. BA beat him to the door, yanking it open before he approached the door. Like two weeks later, Face froze in his spot, staring dumbfounded at BA.
"Hi BA," he said nervously. "What are you doing here?"
"I should be askin' you the same thing, fool." He glared at the items in Face's right hand, which he finally figured out were his lock picks. "What, you were gonna break in?"
"Ah," he replied, quickly stuffing them back in his pocket. "I didn't realize anyone was here." They were silent for a few more moments, before Face asked, "May I come in?"
Grudgingly, BA let him in, but he sure as hell wasn't finished grilling him. "What's in the bag?" he asked, keeping his voice low.
Face looked embarrassed. "Oh, you know, just a few toys and things…"
BA shot him a disbelieving look, and grabbed the bag out of his hands. He rifled through it, finding a few dozen expertly wrapped packages. "Face…" he growled.
Face put his hands in the air in defence. "C'mon BA, they're for the kids. You mentioned a few weeks ago that you were having money troubles, so I thought I'd pitch in. For the kids," he added. "C'mon, its Christmas you know."
BA didn't know what was making him more upset; the fact that Face had done the absolute unexpected, or the fact that it made it seem like BA wasn't capable of providing for the children. "I don' want your conned stuff," he said, handing the bag back.
"BA, I swear none of this is stolen or 'borrowed'. I got it fair and square." BA's look said he wasn't having any of it. "Believe me, BA, I even paid for it. Well, half of it," he confessed, but quickly explained. "I know a girl who works at a toy company. She got me a deal, as a favour, and even threw in the free wrapping." Face's look was pleading, almost pathetic. It was something BA had rarely seen.
"But why, Face? Since when do you want to help out? Since when d'you care?"
Face shuffled his feet around, and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Ah, BA, ever since I came here to get you, two weeks ago." His voice was soft and melancholy, and definitely serious. "I don't know, the kids just kind of grabbed hold of me, and I felt I had to help them." He tried to avoid BA's eye. "I never forget what its like to be a kid, with nothing at Christmas to open. No one to visit, no fancy clothes to wear, not even a fancy dinner. It's just cruel to have the kids wake up on Christmas morning, and find nothing under the tree. I knew you could make it work, BA, but I couldn't just let it go, and do nothing. I had to make sure that they got something." He finally looked up.
The silence in the air was so strong; it felt as if it could be sliced with a knife. Neither man knew what to say. Face felt embarrassed for what he had just let on, and BA felt uncomfortable, knowing that it meant that much to him.
Finally, Face broke the silence, joking, "And I enjoyed the crafts." He chuckled. BA chuckled nervously for a second, before looking back at the bag in his hands.
"I think there's room under the tree for more presents. I'm sure they'll be real pleased with it," he said sincerely.
"Oh," Face said, "just don't tell them, please? I had originally planned to be a 'Secret Santa', but you blew my cover." He smiled.
"Alright, Face, just between you and me," smiled BA. He still couldn't really understand why. Maybe he never would.
"Ok," Face said, "great." He started towards the door, but BA called him back.
"Wanna stay?" he offered. "We'll be having pancakes and cookies and hot chocolate." But Face knew that BA wasn't offering the food. He wasn't interested in that, it was only used as pretence.
Face pretended to contemplate it. "I guess I could stay for the morning. Stephanie cancelled our date, and Hannibal doesn't want us over until noon." He smiled over at BA. "Yeah, I guess I could stay for a while. Guess you're going to have another mouth to feed," he joked.
BA nodded. "See you in the mornin'?"
"Yeah, BA. See you." And Face stepped out the door, and was gone.
Still slightly baffled, but smiling for all the world to see, BA turned to look at the tree, all lit up with twinkling lights. It was going to be a great Christmas after all.