Disclaimer: I do not own nor did I create any of the A-team characters (main or support) nor do I own nor did I create any of the episodes. That credit is due to Stephen J. Cannell and his associates.

Spoiler Alert: None needed - an independent piece although it does draw on characters introduced in "Black Day at Bad Rock"

Author's Notes/Summary: Maggie to rescue.

No Phone Calls: by LAG

Chapter Two

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They made it there in under thirty minutes. Maggie met them at the door. B.A. carried his unconscious friend into Maggie's examination room then he ran back out to stash the van in Maggie's barn. The sheriff in town was a trusted ally but Maggie had warned Hannibal that there were two sheriffs from out of town visiting this week.

When B.A. reentered the house he found Murdock pacing maniacally across the living room. Hannibal was still in the exam room filling in details for Maggie and assisting her as she treated Face. B.A slumped into an armchair.

"Fool! Stop your pacing! Ya gonna wear out the Doc's carpet." B.A growled, mainly to distract himself. Murdock looked at him but didn't really register the words so he kept on pacing and wringing his ball cap.

"I shoulda made sure both of those suckers were out cold before I turned my back on them. That was a stupid move. But I knew Face was in trouble so I hurried the job."

Murdock stopped pacing and sat across from the Big Guy. He turned his compassionate brown eyes up to his friend, "Don't sweat it Big Guy. You did exactly what each one of us woulda done."

"I assumed I had knocked 'em both out cold. I was wrong and now Faceman is shot." lamented B.A. Then he added, "Hit with a bullet meant for me."

Before Murdock could respond to that Hannibal came out of the exam room. Both men anxiously turned to their commander for an update.

"Maggie says he's gonna be okay. She has stopped the bleeding. Fortunately it missed the major blood vessels but she's not sure if it broke any bone. She is running an x-ray now to be sure and to check on his ribs. That was a good heads up on your part, Sergeant. Realizing that Face took a beating on his rib cage." the Colonel informed them.

"What would have been a good heads up would have been knocking that crud-ball out in the first place so he wouldn't have been able to shoot Face at all. Then all we'd be worried about was Faceman's ribs. Fool's in there bleeding cuz I messed up, Hannibal. Don't go trying to sugar coat that."

"B.A. you know as well as I do we don't have room for or the luxury of self blame. It was no more your fault than it was mine - after all, it was my plan. There was a series of events that resulted in Face's injury. That's it. We address the problem, get our Lieutenant healthy, and move on." explained Hannibal.

"He's right, B.A." added Murdock. "You can't blame yourself neither can Hannibal. Me either for that matter. I could torture myself by thinking that maybe if I hadn't gloated to the creep I captured I would have noticed the gunman sooner. The only person to blame is the creep who pulled the trigger."

The comrades sat in silence until Doc Sullivan walked into the living room about twenty minutes later. She smiled at the three worried men as they all leapt to their feet in a fretful greeting. Then she gave her report,

"Well based on my exam and the x-rays I took, Face has a fractured right humerus from the bullet and two broken ribs on his left side from the beating. I've wrapped his ribs but I can't do anything for his arm yet because of the GSW. "

"He bled a lot on the way over, Doc," said Murdock

"I know Captain, fortunately he didn't needed a transfusion. The bullet missed his brachial artery thank goodness. I have him on an IV with antibiotics."

"Can we see him, Maggie?" asked Hannibal.

"As if I could actually stop any of you from doing just that. Go ahead but just a quick visit. I have Face sedated so I doubt he'll be too responsive."

The three men quietly slipped into the examination room and gingerly approached Faceman. Murdock gently placed his hand on Face's leg. Hannibal stood near his Lieutenant's head while B.A. took up post at Faceman's feet looking down at his friend.

"Hey Kid, Maggie says you're going to be just fine. She fixed you up real well." said Hannibal

"Yeah, Muchacho all ya gotta do now is rest up and heal up solid." added Murdock.

Face stirred a bit at their voices and sounded as if he tried to speak but due to the sedative his words were lost.

"Shh, just rest Kid. We can talk tomorrow. We're going to let you sleep now." Hannibal said comfortingly. He adjusted the blanket on his boy then he and Murdock left as quietly as they entered. B.A. made no attempt to leave. Hannibal and he shared a knowing glance and they left the Big Guy with Face.

Once he was alone with his friend B.A. dropped his mask of angry bravado, a bit.

"Fool! Whatcha go and jump in front of me like that? Taking my bullet. It probably wouldn't have hurt me as bad as you. I've got more meat on my bones than you." B.A. didn't even try to sound gruff as he said this. All he felt was sad that his friend got wounded protecting him.

The Sergeant wasn't at all comfortable with that. After all protecting the Team was HIS job. He was the "body guard" ever since their time in Nam. Even though he rarely participated in the antics of a wildly mischievous Murdock or a reckless Face; he damn well made sure to always be there to handle anyone who tried to retaliate against or beat down his little brothers. Even now B.A. always tried to make sure he paired up against the biggest meanest suckas in a ruckus. Unfortunately that didn't happen in today's brawl. Something else he was feeling ashamed for. Now Face had broken ribs and a gun shot wound and to B.A.'s thinking that meant he had failed.

After a glance around the room, B.A. noticed an arm chair in the corner. He carried it closer to Face's bed and sat down. No way he was leaving his buddy's side tonight. He owed the dang fool. After a while Doc Sullivan came in to check Face's vitals and replace the IV bag. She didn't even try to tell B.A. to leave and find a bed in one of her guest rooms. Hannibal had told her how Face had gotten shot so she knew honor and loyalty would keep B.A. right by Face's side until her patient awoke. She simply brought over a little step stool to act as an ottoman and fetched an extra blanket from her supply cabinet for B.A. He nodded his thanks as she left.

Once out of the exam room she looked at Hannibal and Murdock. They were pretending to watch an old Western on her t.v. She told them that they were welcome to use one of her guest rooms so they could get some sleep. They both thanked her but she knew neither one would take her up on the offer. They too, were going to stick as close to Face as they could. She smiled to herself thinking that hopefully tomorrow Face would be well enough for her to dial back the sedatives a bit so he could have a brief conversation with his team. Then everyone would rest more easily. She retired to her own room to get some rest herself. She set a recurring alarm on her watch so she could check on her patient throughout the night. She knew if anything went amiss between her visits, one of the guys would alert her immediately.