It was another sleepless night for the Captain. Tomorrow, when the others asked him why he was so tired, he'd mumble an excuse about it being too hot or too cramped. They'd been on the run from the military for two weeks and things were beginning to get uncomfortable. He was sure that they'd get into some kind of routine eventually, but right now everybody was tried, stressed out and grumpy. Murdock sighed and tried to get comfortable on one of the back seats in BA's van, not liking that Face hadn't managed to scam them anywhere to stay for the night. He could just make out Face's features in the dark; watched as his chest slowly rose up and down as he breathed deeply, clearly gone to the world. Hannibal's snores were heard from the passenger's seat of the van. BA was out on watch.

Murdock couldn't decide what was annoying him recently. Sure, he was tired but he had gone nights without sleeping before and the heat in Iraq had sort of been the same as the insane summer weather they were experiencing back in the US. He didn't want to think about what was really annoying him. With a small huff of annoyance at the lack of sleep he was getting, Murdock pulled the blanket up closer to his chin and curled up, once again trying to get comfortable. After ten minutes with his eyes closed he sighed loudly and uncurled himself. It was no use. He wasn't going to sleep at all. So slipping his shoes on quickly and grabbing a jacket from the floor, he opened the back doors of the van as quietly as he could and stepped outside.

It was unfortunate that he wasn't greeted with fresh air. Instead, it was just humid as uncomfortable as being inside the van.
"Who's there?" Came BA's voice, and soon after he spoke, the man appeared, frowning at Murdock, "what are you doin' out here, fool?"
Murdock shrugged, his hands in the pockets of his shorts, "Can't sleep. Thought I'd take over watch for you."
For a long moment BA watched Murdock before nodding. "Yeah okay." He said, getting into the van and closing the doors behind him. He took Murdock's seat and happily went to sleep.

Alone finally, the Captain walked over to where BA was positioned and sat down on a tree stump, staring at the ground. If anything was going to sneak up on them, he'd hear it – maybe… Hannibal's snores seemed to be getting louder. His thoughts went back to Face and what was bugging him about him. Maybe it was the way that every time Murdock cracked a joke, he laughed a little harder than he had done before, and there were strange moments when their shoulders or hands would brush the others and things would get awkward. He'd began to think about what that could mean about a week ago. He thought about what Face meant to him, and what he could possibly mean to Face, but all of those thoughts were torn apart when Face had ended up making out with some raunchy blonde at a bar. Murdock hadn't liked that one bit and deep down he knew that he was probably jealous but he didn't want to be. Why should he be jealous? He and Face were just friends… right? Just really, really good friends that spooned occasionally when the other had a nightmare. That's what friends do… right?

Denying his growing feelings for Face was useless even if they weren't reciprocated. As long as Face didn't know then things would be okay. He could go on pretending like their friendship was completely platonic, couldn't he? Maybe… But he didn't know how he'd be able to sit in a bar and watch as Face hit on yet another woman and ended up bringing her back to the place they were staying for the night. He didn't know how many more times he'd be able to put up with the moaning and groaning he heard late at night when said woman was stopping over. And he certainly didn't know how many times he'd be able to put up with cooking five lots of breakfasts instead of four, because Face had insisted she try some of Murdock's bacon and eggs. Most of the time he'd had such an urge to mix red washing up liquid in with the beans, or stir a laxative or two into her morning coffee to help digest the food. He felt like a petty teenage girl most of the time but that was how things were. He got jealous – it happened. The thought of Face's once attractive girl stuck on the toilet for a while made him chuckle and it cheered him up a little.

"What are you giggling at?" A voice from behind him made him jump and Murdock turned to see Face standing behind him, in just a pair of shorts and shoes.
"Oh, hey, Faceman," Murdock turned back to look at the grass underneath his feet and moved over when Face came to sit down beside him, "trouble sleeping?"
"Yeah, I think Hannibal's snoring woke me up." They both laughed for a minute before a comfortable silence fell between them. Their arms were touching, Murdock noticed, although he tried to ignore how much he liked the feel of Face's skin against his. He took in a shaky breath.
"Are you okay, Murdock? You've been quiet lately and that's not like you at all," Face broke the silence and Murdock forced a smile, looking at his best friend.
"Oh yeah I'm fine, just tired y'know?" Face raised an eyebrow, not buying Murdock's lie, "I just can't sleep with all this heat."
"If something else is on your mind, Murdock you know you can tell me right? I'm here for you, bud."

That didn't help things at all, and the Captain swallowed quickly, nodding and smiling again, and when Face put his hand on Murdock's knee it made things even worse. He tried not to squirm under his touch, but Face had moved his hand away as quick as he'd put it down.

"I know, Face but I'm fine, honest."

Face watched him for a long moment before standing up, "if you're sure." He yawned and stretched, Murdock watching as Face's muscles tensed in his body before he relaxed again. It took him a couple of seconds to realise his mouth was half open as he stared, and he quickly looked back to the ground again.

"You should really try and sleep, Murdock," Face's voice was laced with concern but Murdock shrugged it off, muttering about being fine, just a little too warm for his liking.
"Go back to sleep, I got the watch." The Captain insisted to the other man who looked like he was about to fall asleep again.
"I will. Just gotta pee first."

The blond trudged off sleepily to a bushy area and did his business, leaving Murdock alone again. There was no way he could tell Face how he really felt. It'd freak him out and completely ruin the friendship they had. No, Murdock was just going to stay completely silent about the whole thing. Maybe his feelings would pass over time.

"Night, Murdock!" He heard Face call from the van, and Murdock turned, lifting his hand up to wave goodnight back to his friend. He tried to yawn but it was no use. Yep, it was definitely going to be another sleepless night.