Author's Note: This is a short story to go with my other fiction "I need you." You don't have to read that one to understand this one, but it helps. I got the idea thinking of possible memories that weren't in my other story that could have happened between Murdock and Cassidy Kellen. This is dedicated to one of my followers whose reviews keeps me going on my other story HollyFire J
May 1981
Sixteen year old Cassidy Kellen was standing in front of her make shift mirror holding dresses up to herself. The mirror was actually five broken pieces of mirror that had been glued to the wall and lined up to make a full length mirror. The dresses on her bed, in her small loft bedroom, were from years ago. She'd found one of them among her mother's things and two of them came from Goodwill. Her freshman dance was coming up, and while she hadn't been asked to go by anyone at her school, she wanted to have everything ready in case she did get asked. Worse case she could go on her own and maybe meet someone there. Her large brown eyes looked up and down as she tossed her curly brown hair back out of her face. She was definitely digging the green one that was tiered from the bust down. It looked sleeveless, and it would accent her thing frame. As she twirled in the dress her father, Steven Kellen, called her from downstairs. Cassidy tossed the dress onto the bed and hurried down the stairs. Her father was standing in the kitchen of their tiny apartment above the laundry mat, which Cassidy and him both owned and ran during the evenings and weekends. The kitchen and living room were almost one room, with a half wall that acted as a dining room table between them. It led to a hallway with her father's room, the bathroom and then the steep stairs to her bedroom. Steven had a phone receiver in his hand, his milky white blind eyes staring ahead as he heard her coming down stairs. "It's your Uncle Murdock." She grinned and grabbed the phone to talk to him.
Cassidy and her Uncle Murdock were close. He was always there with wise words and advice, as well as help whenever she needed it. And she was able to relieve him of the nightmares and hallucinations that plagued him since his tours in Vietnam. Because he had cracked, he had been admitted to the Veteran's Administration, to their mental ward. He called the Kellens often because Steven was the closest person the Family that Murdock had aside from the other members of the A-Team. Cassidy tried to visit him at least once a week, but it was difficult because her father seemed to think Murdock might hurt her if he went into one of his dellusional fits or memory lapses. But he never had and last month they had tested a visit for Cassidy's birthday. Everything went so well that Steven had lifted the visiting restriction. Because Murdock worked with the A-Team when needed, he wasn't always there during the scheduled visit, and times like that, he called them to make sure everything was ok.
Cassidy put the phone to her ear grinning. "Hi Uncle Murdock! How are you doing?" The sound quality was bad, so he must not have a good connection. "I'm just fine Casey Co-Pilot. I wanted to talk to ya and make sure everything was alright on the ole home front. Miss me yet?" Cassidy watched her father use his white cane to get himself to the recliner chair in their living room as she leaned on the fridge. "Yes. How long are you going to be gone? I wanted to come visit you." "Well I should be back in a day or so. Maybe we can have a longer visit next week instead of just a few hours, make a day of it." Cassidy nodded and glanced at her father before talking quietly. "Uncle Murdock? Dad said you use to know how to dance?" "Use to? You never stop knowing how to dance once you learn. And learnin is easy, you just listen to that music and closer your eyes and let your feet do the rest." "Do you think you can teach me next weekend?" She bit her lip waiting as she heard the grin in his face. "Why of course I can teach you! I'll teach you to do all those pretty dances for balls and parties and clubs and all that good stuff. Wait, why do you want to learn how to dance?" Now she looked down because her father glanced in her direction. "Well there is this dance at school, and if I get asked, I want to know how to dance so I'm not the only one who can't dance." She heard a laugh and she grinned before Murdock replied. "Yes, I will teach you how to dance when I see you next weekend. Now I have to go, but behave and do your homework and keep your father in line. Make sure he's doing what he's suppose to and goin to the docs. Wouldn't want to have to visit both of us in here right?" Cassidy grinned. "Right. Bye Uncle Murdock, see you next Saturday." The phone disconnected and she hung it up before moving to where her father sat. He looked in her direction, but not at her because he wasn't sure exactly where she was. "You didn't want to ask me to teach you?" Cassidy looked down. Well you said Uncle Murdock was an exceptional dancer, I figured it made more sense to ask him. Besides, I might not get asked and might change my mind about going." Steven reached for her hand and she put it in his so he could hold her hand. "Your mother ended up asking me to our highschool dance. I'm certain even if a guy is too shy to ask you, you'll go and have a great time." Cassidy smiled and kissed his forehead. "I found a dress in her things. The green one? I think it fits, but I don't know what else I need. I have shoes and can do my hair." Steven laughed. "We will figure the rest of it out when the time comes. Now, are you focused enough to help me with a grocery list?" Cassidy nodded and grabbed some paper and a pencil and started writing things down.
The following Saturday, Cassidy was getting ready to head for her visit with Murdock. She got dressed in jeans and red blouse with an orange bandana to hold her hair up. Throwing her bag over herself she ran down her steps and almost slid into the divider wall as she grabbed an orange from the fridge. Steven was sitting at the make shift table and was feeling the dots in a book of Brail for Beginners. Cassidy started peeling it and looked over as Steven moved one free hand to drink his coffe. "Good morning Cassidy. Anything planned for today?" She looked down at her orange and dropped a second in her bag as she was peeling the first one. "It's Saturday dad, I was going to visit Uncle Murdock." Steven nodded and pointed towards a jar with change. "You know which bus to take?" She nodded and dug into the jar for the right amount to get there and back and to grab some lunch. "We'll have to send a thank you to all of our customers. Their forgotten change has helped make visits much easier on the budget." Steven laughed at how serious she sounded and marked he book before closing it. "Cassidy, don't be out too late today. I need some help downstairs to get a folding order done before Monday." She nodded and then spoke. "I won't. Promise dad." A peck on the cheek and she hurried downstairs to get to the bus stop at the other end of the block. It was a nice sunny day, the kind that makes you want to walk forever, and she ate her orange as she waited for the bus at the stop. A few other people were waiting, an elderly lady who was sitting on the bench, two young men, maybe a bit older then Cassidy, and an older man who was reading a newspaper. Cassidy glanced at the paper and tilted her head to the side seeing an article about missing diamonds recovered for a local jewelry store. Something about the article caught her attention and she was reading it with her head sideways as she ate. It was definitely an article about the A-Team because it mentioned hired ex military vigilantes that deserved a pardon according to the store owners.
When the bus arrived, Cassidy let everyone else get on first and offered to help the old woman on. With a smile, she put in the coins for herself and the lady and then helped her to find a seat. With nothing else available to sit, she grabbed the loop and held on peering out the windows. The bus ride wasn't long, 8 stops down from where she had grabbed the bus and she hopped off right outside the Veteran's Way Medical Center. Moving to the left building, which was where the mental ward was, she headed inside and walked to the sign in counter. She wrote her name down and who she was there to see and smiled at the lady behind the counter. "Miss Kellen! It's so nice to see you again. I'm sorry we weren't able to see you last weekend. Mr. Murdock is so prone to sneaking out. You are lucky they still let him have visitors." Cassidy grimaced and nodded as she let the nurse search her bag for anything dangerous. "Yeah, I've tried to tell him it's not a good idea to sneak out, but he doesn't always have medical trials and special tests and I think he likes the adventure." The nurse laughed and handed her a visitor badge before buzzing her into the waiting room area. Cassidy waved and walked through the electric double doors and down the hall to the elevator. She took it to the third floor and stuck her hands in her pockets as she rocked forward and back. Once the elevator doors opened she saw the floor nurses station and waiting area. Walking to the counter she peered around for someone. "Hello?" Cassidy looked down the hall and saw a patient facing the wall and talking to it. She looked down the other way and there were two patients sitting on the floor playing cards. Cassidy waited at the desk and wondered if she should go to the common room on the left or the patio outside to right. As she turned again, the patient who had been facing the wall was right next to her, staring at her bandana. Cassidy jumped and grabbed the counter with one hand. "Oh, my, I'm sorry, did I disturb you?" The patient just stared, a man about her Uncle's age, but with messy black hair and dull blue eyes. He had a scruff from not shaving for awhile, and was wearing the grey pajamas that Cassidy knew were for patients that get sent downstairs to isolation. She didn't move however and smiled at him, slowly pointing to her bandana. "Is this what you're staring at? I'm sorry, I kind of need it to keep my hair up." She glanced around for one of the orderlies or nurses and saw an orderly walking her way quickly. As Cassidy looked back at the patient, he was about to reach up and grab the bandana in her hair when Cassidy felt a pair of arms grab her and move her back. She saw the blue-grey flannel of her Uncle's shirt and realized he was in front of her, his baseball hat on backwards and paper plates tied to his chest, arms and legs. "Sir Peter! You are urgently needed on the battle field!" The man seemed to jump to attention just as the orderly grabbed him and a nurse also stepped from the common room to see what was going on. Cassidy held onto Murdock's arm and watched as they took the patient to his room. Murdock waited until the patient was gone and then turned to grin down at Cassidy. "Casey Co-Pilot!" He enveloped her in a big hug and she laughed hugging him back. "Hey Uncle Murdock, what was that about?" Murdock glanced towards the door where 'Sir Peter' had gone and shrugged. "Too much medication I think. Come! Fair Maiden! I will escort you to your table!" He held out an elbow and she took it grinning and following him towards the back patio.
The back Patio of the VA had a series of slopes and steps that dropped to the green gardens below. Because the building was built into a hill, the third floor was in some parts right at level with the grounds. The patio was stone with a bunch of tables and chair, benches and umbrellas for shade. Cassidy put her free hand up as a visor to see a bad mitten net and more orderlies and nurses helping patients to sit and walk and play games. Murdock went to a table with a radio and an Umbrella and gently deposited her into a chair. Giving her a salute, he then began to take off the paper plate armor and turned his hat forwards again. "So how you doin Casey?" She nodded and watched the pile of paper plates get bigger. "I'm alright, I missed you last week, but I saw this article in the papers about diamonds that got recovered for a local jewelry company." Murdock had a knowing smile on his face as he glanced at her. "Oh yeah? Must have been some case. Probably involved going out of state and everything. Did they say who got them back?" Cassidy watched him trying to keep her smile controlled. "A group of ex military vigilantes who deserve a pardon it said." Murdock nodded and once the armor was all off he started playing with the radio. "Well that's nice of them to say so. So a school dance huh? When is it?" Cassidy looked down at her lap. "Friday night." Murdock raised both eyebrows. "Friday night?! That's not a lot of time to get this down Casey." She nodded still looking down. "Well if I don't get it down, I can always skip it. No one's asked me yet and some of the girls were talking about how it's not really cool to go without a date." Murdock sat on the table looking down at her, the radio forgotten for a moment. "But what about all those boys who go without a date that are relying on pretty girls to meet and dance with? Hey." He tilted he chin to look up at him. "Just because those girls have their entire lives planned out down to who's taking them to a dance, doesn't mean you need to be like that." Cassidy looked him in the eyes, which looked playful and clear, a soft brown looking at her own brown eyes. "It's much more fun to live life as it happens. Going by your self is absolutely cool, and I know cool, yes siree." Cassidy laughed and Murdock took her hand making her stand. "Ok, not the first thing to note is the proper way to stand and where to put your hands. Now you put one hand on my shoulder, and the other we hold. Normally the guy holds our left in his right. Now he puts his left hand here." Murdock put his hand on her lower back. "Don't let him move his hand any lower or you knock his socks off. Because that's just him tryin to cop a feel, got me?" Cassidy laughed. "Uncle Murdock!" "What? It's important to know what's appropriate when it comes to young men. Now, you stand this close, and depending on the song, you move your feet slowly. Some guys who don't know what they're doing are going to just put their hands here." Murdock put both hands on her sides. "And if that's the case both your hands go around his shoulders." Cassidy put her hands on his shoulders. She didn't realize how tall Murdock was until she got this close. Murdock grinned and Cassidy looked down at his hands and feet then at her own hands. "So what comes next?" The radio suddenly sparked to life playing a song by Fred Astaire, and when they both looked at it, one of the older patients, a black man about 60 in his pajamas and a robe, had tuned the radio for them, a smile on his face. Murdock nodded to the man and started moving to the music. Cassidy kept looking down but Murdock shook his head. "Look up Cassidy. Look at my face, not my feet. You're gonna move how it feels right, let yer feet do the work." Cassidy nodded and took a breath. As she watched Murdock's face she realized she was tripping and stumbling less and less. Murdock was watching her and she noticed a relaxed and calm smile on his face. He looked at peace, his eyes moving around her face as if memorizing it as she danced. When she looked over towards the radio she couldn't help but grin. "Uncle Murdock, look!" Murdock stopped moving and looked to see most of the patients on the patio had paired up and were dancing or shuffling with each other. Some holding each other close, cheek to cheek. A few were ballroom dancing like in the movies, and one man was dancing with an invisible partner singing along to the song. Murdock grinned and looked back at Cassidy with a wonder filled look on his face. "Seems everybody wants to help you learn to dance Casey, go switch partners." Murdock twirled her towards the elderly man who had tuned the radio and he smiled a toothy smile as he carefully took one of her hands and put his other on her back. Laughing Cassidy danced with him, feeling more relaxed and confident as the song on the radio changed to another dancing song. As it changed, he let go to mock showcase her and Cassidy felt someone else take her hand. A younger man with a blue Pepsi t-shirt and prosthetic left hand had stepped in and she grinned brightly at him as he put both hands at her side, a quick glance to Murdock as a caution before starting to dance with her on the patio. Murdock ended up grabbing one of the nurses who had been watching and was dancing her around, while the orderlies and those who weren't dancing watched on with a smile. By the end of the second song, Cassidy and the young man ended up near the radio and he held out his arms to take a bow, making Cassidy bow with him. Everyone on the deck bowed and then applauded as Cassidy laughed at the special moment they had all enjoyed.
The radio went to a commercial and Murdock walked back over to her and the young man. "Cassidy, this is Kevin White. Kevin, my niece Cassidy Kellen." Kevin held her hand and gave it a gallant kiss before smiling to Murdock. "I have wood work coming up so I have to go. It was very nice meeting you Cassidy. You're a natural dancer and I hope I get to see you again." She smiled waving as he wondered off towards the doors to go inside. She watched him go and then looked at Murdock. "He was nice." Murdock nodded watching Kevin leave. "He came in for a two week stay. Nightmares." Cassidy nodded and looked at him. "That wasn't as hard as I thought. I thought it was going to involve a lot of special steps and work." Murdock nodded at her. "It can take a lot of practice and special lessons, but that's for specific dances like the waltz and the jitterbug." Cassidy nodded and looked around the grounds. "Dad wanted me to get home early today, but if you're ok with it, I'd like to hang out for awhile? Maybe practice some more dancing?" Murdock nodded and went to tune the radio to a now station to try and find more music for them to dance to.
The following Friday, Cassidy was upstairs in her loft bedroom wearing the green dress she had been trying on. She had to pin the sides because it was bigger than she was, but you couldn't tell because she had done it inside. Her hair was wrapped and pinned with bobby pins and she was wearing a simple silver chain and silver stud earrings. Her shoes were silver and she had painted green leaves on them to make them match the dress. Looking at herself in the mirror, she sighed and tried to play around with her hair and then the dress and looked nervous. She heard cluttering at the bottom of her steps and she peered down to see her father trying to get up them. "Dad! Don't come up here, I'll come down there." She hurried down and took his arms, gently walking him back to the living room. Steven let her guide him, a bundle in his left hand and he used the right to feel her neck, up along her face to her cheek, fingertips grazing the earrings and then into her hair, a smile on his lips. "Oh Cassidy, you look beautiful." She smiled, her eyes tearing up a bit because she knew he couldn't really see her. "Mom's dress, silver necklace and earrings and shoes. One of the teachers is coming to pick me up as a chaperone." Steven nodded and held out the bundle in his hands. "This is for you, for your outfit and for the dance." She gently took the cloth bundle and sat on the sofa, slowly un wrapping it. Inside was a silver hair clip that looked like butterflies in flight. It had clear crystals in it to make it glitter and Cassidy's breath caught in her throat. "Oh dad, it's beautiful." Steven smiled and moved to try and take it, his hands feeling her head as he carefully clipped it to the side of her pinned up hair. He must have been practicing because he got it right where it needed to be, Cassidy peering at the reflection in a picture frame. "It was your mothers. She wanted you to have it when you were old enough." Cassidy looked at him and bit her bottom lip trying not to cry. She suddenly hugged him. "Thank you. I wish I could find someone to stay here with you while I'm gone. I worry." There was a knock at the door and she looked at it, then the clock. "That's too early to be Miss. Hawthorne." Steven laughed and moved to answer the door, Murdock was standing there with a Parcheesi board game in one hand and 6 pack of beer in the other. "Steven!" He stepped inside and gasped at the sight of Cassidy." My lordy Casey Co-Pilot, you do clean up good." "Uncle Murdock!" Cassidy skipped over giving him a hug. "Steven asked me to come keep him company while you were at your dance." She grinned as the beer was put in the fridge and the board game on the counter. "Well, my teacher will be here soon. You two behave tonight. Just because I'm out doesn't mean you need to get into trouble." Murdock looked shocked and glanced at Steven who was trying to look serious and failing. "Yes mom." Steven replied and Murdock laughed as Cassidy put her hands on her hips. "Seriously?" A horn honked and Cassidy peered out the window. "I have to go." She gave her father and Murdock big hugs before grabbing a black piece of cloth for a wrap and her purse and ran out the door. Murdock watched her go and peered down and out the window as Steven moved to sit at the counter. "You know Steven, I do believe you have one beautiful daughter now. Was that Rebecca's hair clip in her hair?" Steven nodded at him and Murdock looked over to see Steven trying to not worry. "She get in the car ok?" Murdock nodded and went to get them both a beer. "Let's not worry, she's with her teachers, give her some freedom and trust her. She's smart." Steven nodded as he took the offered beer "So you brought a board game? It better not be Parcheesi." Murdock choked on his beer.
~Fin~