Title: Moonlighting
Rating: PG
Summary: Face is moonlighting at the orphanage without the rest of the team knowing it.
Warnings: None really…minor Face injury/illness. Oh, and one of the first stories I wrote.

Damn, he thought as he woke up to the sound of the phone ringing. Double damn, he thought as he looked at the clock and realized that he was 53 minutes late in checking in with Hannibal.

There were very few valid excuses for not checking in...and unfortunately, oversleeping wasn't one of them.

Still sleepy, Face reached over and picked up the phone. "Hello," he said in a rough morning voice.

"Face," Hannibal said with a sigh sounding relieved.

"I'm sorry colonel…"Face started but was interrupted by a now angry sounding Hannibal.

"You were sleeping, weren't you? Do you know how worried B.A. and I have been? And you were sleeping!"

Oh man, thought Face, I'm in trouble. Then he heard B.A. mumbling in the background and thought no, I'm a dead man!

"I'll give you exactly one hour to break Murdock out of the V.A. and get your tail to my place. Is that understood, Lieutenant?" Hannibal ordered.

"Yes sir," said Face feeling almost as if he should salute the phone. He wanted to add in an "I'm sorry', but there was a click on the other end before he had the chance.

Face took one of the quickest showers ever and jumped in his Vette. The short ride to the V.A hospital gave him some time to think. For the past month he had been helping Father McGhill over at the orphanage. They were short of night staff so he was moonlighting. So lately, Face had been playing fugitive soldier by day and childcare provider/maintenance man by night.

Truth be told, he was exhausted. He was lucky to be getting two or three hours of sleep a night. But, he didn't mind helping out Father McGhill. He owed him so much for taking care of him all those years ago in the very same orphanage…it was the least he could do.

And he hadn't told the guys about what he was doing either. They had assumed that he was going out with lots of women and staying out very late. Being an orphan was a part of his life that he didn't like to talk much about, so he just didn't correct them.

Face broke Murdock out by pulling the fire alarm. It lacked any style, but it was the fastest way he could think of to spring his friend in order to meet Hannibal's deadline. Good thing Murdock knew the drill and came flying out the door and over to the car shortly after the alarm sounded.

"Hey Facey…what's shakin'?" Murdock said as Face pulled off in a hurry. "You look stressed out…everything okay?"

"I missed check in this morning…Hannibal and B.A. are beyond pissed at me," Face explained to his friend.

"Not good, Faceman. You know how important check in is to Hannibal…he worries about us man," said Murdock gently. He wasn't trying to make his friend feel bad, but he was starting to worry about his nightly escapades lately.

"I know, I know…but I got in real late and barely got any sleep and…oh never mind," said a dejected Face. He wanted to tell Murdock the truth…he could talk to the pilot about most anything. But he just didn't want to get into it…it was just easier to take his lumps and move on than to talk about the orphanage.

That is if B.A.'s lumps didn't kill him first.

They arrived at Hannibal's apartment with a few minutes to spare. Murdock got out of the car while Face stayed seated a little longer. "You comin' muchacho?" Murdock asked. "Might not be a good idea to keep the guys waiting."

"You're right," Face said nervously, "I was just savoring what might be my last moment of freedom for a while."

Murdock chuckled, "while it's true that you are about to face one angry colonel and his loyal Mudsucker B.A., remember that they love you and will cool off…eventually."

Once inside Hannibal's apartment, Face stood in the middle of the living room unsure about what to do with himself. Hannibal and B.A. sat silently on the couch and didn't say a word. If there is one thing that could unnerve Face, it was silence. After what felt like an eternity, Murdock plopped himself between Hannibal and B.A. saying, "C'mon guys...give the Faceman a break. He's awful sorry and won't let it happen again. Isn't that right, Face?"

Face shot Murdock a grateful smile, "Um...yeah...I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to make you worry." Still there was silence. Face looked down at the floor...this was not going well. He could feel himself turning red and the room suddenly felt much warmer. Making matters worse is that he was so tired and whenever he was tired his emotions always felt magnified.

Hannibal sensed his friend's discomfort and felt a moment of sympathy for the younger man. "Listen Face. I think we can let it go this time. If it happens again..."

B.A. cut him off by saying, "it won't happen again, right sucker?"

"Right," answered a relieved Face. At least Hannibal was talking to him and B.A. was snarling at him...all good signs.

Murdock pot his arms out and said, "I feel a group hug comin'...what do ya say fellas?"

"No!" they answered in unison as pillows came hurling at Murdock's head.