Title: Standing Watch
Rating: PG
Summary: B.A. is injured on Face's watch, but he isn't the only one.
By the time Face got outside he knew he was in no shape to drive, so he called a cab. His shoulder was throbbing and breathing was becoming more and more painful. The only place he could think of to go for help was Maggie's, and he directed the cab driver to take him to her house in Bad Rock. By the time they arrived he was even dizzier than before and had trouble standing up. Luckily Maggie spotted him from the window and came rushing out to help.
"Face, what happened?" she exclaimed, grabbing hold of his arm and leading him into the house.
He wanted to answer her, but he couldn't seem to get his mouth and brain on the same page. All that came out was a groan. Maggie helped him lay down on her examination table. He closed his eyes to stop the room from spinning.
"Face, can you hear me?" Maggie tried again.
Face nodded his head yes. A bad idea he discovered as the motion made him queasy.
"Gonna...be...sick," he gasped out. Maggie helped him roll onto his side and grabbed a bucket. When he was done, he rolled to his back and shut his eyes again.
"Face, can you tell me what happened? Where are the others?" Maggie asked.
Face was having difficulty breathing. "Hospital...ambushed last night...B.A. hurt real bad…my fault...Hannibal hates me."
Maggie could see that Face was having trouble talking, but she needed to know where he was injured. "Where does it hurt?
"Everywhere," he tried to joke with a weak smile. "Head hurts. Ribs hurt...kicked. Shoulder pulled out of place."
"Okay, I'm going to examine you to see how bad off you are. I'll try to be gentle."
Face gritted his teeth and tried not to make a sound as Maggie ran her hands along his body assessing the damage. When she probed his shoulder he literally saw stars in front of his eyes.
"I want to put your shoulder back. The longer it remains out, the more potential there is for permanent damage."
"Go for it...I'll be okay," Face said as Maggie helped him sit up.
Standing behind the slender but well muscled man, she placed one hand on his back for support, while grabbing hold of the injured shoulder with the other. "On the count of three. One...two...three!" She pulled back with all her might and felt the shoulder snap back into place.
Face gasped; his eyes rolling back in his head he collapsed back onto the table. Taking advantage of his unconscious state, she wrapped his ribs and cleaned and stitched the gash on the back of his head. He had said something about B.A. being hurt and Hannibal hating him. She couldn't imagine this to be true, but would have to wait until Face woke up to find out more.
"I have good news for you gentleman," the doctor smiled as he approached the two anxious men sitting in the waiting room. "Your friend is in stable condition. I expect him to make a full recovery."
Hannibal and Murdock breathed a collective sigh of relief.
"He's lost quite a bit of blood, so we will have to keep him for a couple of days. His physical stature was a blessing...had he not been so strong, he may not have made it."
A short time later, Hannibal and Murdock sat at a sleeping B.A.'s bedside in silence. Murdock looked over at Hannibal unsure whether or not he should speak. Finally getting up the courage, he asked, "Don't you think you were a bit rough on Face earlier? I mean, we don't really know what happened?"
A cloud passed over Hannibal's face as he took a moment to think about what Murdock said. "Face was on watch and B.A. got hurt...that's all I need to know. We don't even have a clue as to who is responsible," he paused, "except for Face. If the lieutenant was doing his job, he would have alerted us that something was up."
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Murdock sighed. "But, that just doesn't sound like Face to be so careless."
Hannibal frowned and leaned back in his chair. "He and I are going to have a little talk...I couldn't get a straight answer out of him earlier." He just hoped his second-in-command had some better answers for him this time around.