Murdock's Christmas Dozen
Disclaimer: I do not own The A Team movie or television series or any of the delightful characters found on The A Team.
3 Fa-la-la-la-la
Christmas now surrounds us,
Happiness is everywhere,
Our hands are busy with many tasks
As carols fill the air. -Shirley Sallay ("Just a Few Minutes")
By the time Hannibal got there, parents hurrying to get to minimum wage jobs had dropped off three younger children at the youth center.
The two boys were eating toast, lavishly spread with butter and grape jelly. It was often the only breakfast their parents could offer. One of the women at the center made sure they stayed at a small table while eating and kept a washcloth near for the purple smears on their chins and hands.
"Yup, Colonel. That's what I said. We need all this stuff." Murdock handed Hannibal a light blue envelope on which he composed the shopping list. The faint strains of "Deck the Halls" played over a record player in the corner of the room.
The skinny dark-haired girl of the trio of first-comers cast deep blue eyes on Murdock as he spoke. A shy smile tugged at the corners of her mouth when he turned and winked at her. She gripped B. A.'s hand a bit tighter and hid her face behind his burly arm.
"I tol' the fool we had a buncha Christmas decorations stored away in a closet here somewhere but he wasn't gonna listen. You tell him, Hannibal," B. A. grumbled.
"Well, I don 't know, B. A. Let me look at this list and see what he's come up with." The Colonel took the cigar from his mouth and read the items out loud, a puzzled frown appearing as he read.
"Shepherd's hook candy canes, wrapped peppermint candies, whole fresh cranberries, not out of a can, popcorn to pop . . . " Hannibal looked up at the pilot. "Are we snacking or decorating the building?"
"Well, I thought maybe we could use maraschino cherries 'n' pickles but after a couple o' days they might stink up th' place. B'sides, B. A. said no t' that." The Captain crossed his arms, sticking his lower lip out in a small pout.
The child holding onto the big man's hand smiled.
"Who ever hearda decoratin' a place with cherries an' pickles like that?" B. A. snorted.
It was difficult for Hannibal to figure out sometimes if the pilot was serious about something or just trying to see what kind of reaction he would get. Right now, Murdock seemed to be serious.
"German fam'lies hang a glass pickle orn'ment on th' tree ever'y Christmas Eve last thing while th' kids're sleepin'. First one t' see where it is on th' tree gets an extra present. Just thought if one pickle was good, a bunch'd be better, one for each kid that comes here." Murdock nodded insistently to make his point. "'Course then we'd hafta have an extra gift for all o' them. But it'd be worth it, wouldn' it?"
The little girl's eyes grew larger and more wistful at the mention of presents. Nobody but Murdock noticed the somber look on her face. His gaze softened as he contemplated the change in her expression.
Hannibal thought for a second as he considered what the pilot said. Sometimes Murdock made a lot more sense in his reasoning than in his practicality. Hesitating for a moment, the older man scanned the Captain's face for a trace of a smile. He found none. "I see. And the maraschino cherries?"
"Well, the pickles're green 'n' ya gotta have some red mixed in. Red 'n' green're traditional Christmas colors, y' know. B'sides they're sweet 'n' if the pickles're sour . . . " Murdock shrugged as B. A. impatiently shook his head and the little girl giggled at the pilot's logic.
"Of course." Hannibal returned to the list and scanned the next few items. "Okay, I think I see what you want to do. Heavy thread, a pack of sewing needles . . . "
"Better make 'em needles with big eyes so we don' have t' strain our eyes t' thread 'em. Better for th' youngsters, too. Then they can help us." Murdock clasped his hands together behind his back and peered over the older man's shoulder at the paper envelope.
The little girl looked up at B. A. and smiled. "You said I could help, didn'tcha, Mister B?" she said in almost a whisper.
"Sure did, Katie," the big man replied, gently squeezing the small hand.
"Right." The Colonel smiled, not sure what Katie's special story was.
It seemed almost every kid that was dropped off at the center had one. And this one was how old? Five, six, maybe. Hannibal focused on the list in his hand rather than the dark smudges and anxious lines in Katie's face. "Silver and gold garland, pine boughs, gold foil paper . . . Maybe we should divide it up and send Face to get some of this."
"No can do, Colonel. Faceman said he's gotta help Felicity untangle her Christmas lights 'n' put up her stockin'." The pilot shook his head as he said it. B. A. snorted again. Katie tilted her head to one side as if trying to figure out what the joke was.
"I bet." Hannibal was pretty sure any Christmas stocking the young model had was silky, thigh-high and came with a red garter to hold it up but he wasn't going to say so. Not in front of the kids.
"Yeah, well, knowing my bestest buddy, that could take all day long. So we gotta do this pretty much by ourselves." The pilot followed Hannibal to the door, being sure to emphasize they needed fresh, not canned, cranberries. Katie and B. A. listened, the girl with an amused twinkle in her eye and B. A. with a resigned air.
When he returned, Murdock removed his navy blue cap and scratched his head. "I tol' Felicity we were gonna be doin' this. Maybe she'll get Faceman movin' t' help us."
"Don't hold yer breath, fool." The comment may not have been loud enough for Murdock to hear but Katie heard.
She tugged at B. A.'s hand and gazed up at him with large trusting eyes. "Why do you call Mister Murdock 'fool' all the time?"
The pilot turned and cocked his head, a smile on his face. Squatting to look the little girl in the eyes, he murmured, "It's b'cause th' Big Guy ain' got th' Christmas spirit yet. Tell me, Katie darlin', do you have th' spirit?"
She nodded her head up and down solemnly. "Yes sir. I've been singin' Christmas songs since Thanksgiving hoping Momma'd start feelin' better. But she don't seem to. And she's gotta work so long, she gets real tired and cranky."
Murdock got a concerned frown on his face and glanced up at B. A., silently asking a question with his look.
The Sergeant shook his head. He knew the situation but he wasn't about to explain anything in front of Katie. He was amazed when Murdock seemed to understand without him saying a word.
"Bein' as cheerful 'n' helpful 'round home as ya can when your Momma's sick is a really brave thing t' do, li'l darlin'. 'N' I bet you're keepin' her as happy as ya can, ain'tcha?" The pilot's sympathetic brown eyes flickered over her face for a moment.
She nodded and sniffled, a single tear trickling down her cheek. He opened his arms wide and she hugged him, her arms around his neck.
B. A. saw the pilot swallow a couple of times, his eyes distant as if remembering something from his past. Then the moment was over and Katie released her hold.
But the haunted look didn't completely leave Murdock's eyes. Not even when he asked her what song she most liked to sing.
She scuffed the toe of one worn-out vinyl penny loafer against the linoleum floor and thought for a few seconds. "I don't know." A warm smile came back to her face and she beamed at him. "I like all of 'em."
Murdock smiled back. "Okay then, we'll try 'n' sing all o' them. If the Big Guy here wants t' dig out those dec'rations from the closet, you 'n' me can see what we can do with what we got. You just wait here, Katie darlin', 'n' we'll be right back."
He followed B. A. to a closet down a hallway. As the Sergeant reached up on a shelf and took down a box filled with lights and plastic ornaments, Murdock glanced back toward the main room and cleared his throat.
"I don' wanna pry but that li'l girl . . . she's got a buncha hurt in her world, don' she." His quiet voice was almost too soft for B. A. to hear.
"Katie?" B. A. shoved a box into the pilot's arms, scrutinizing his face as he did. The pensive look had returned. The Sergeant grunted, not sure what he should say.
"Her momma . . . ?" Murdock paused, staring down into the depths of the box in his arms. B. A. suspected he wasn't really seeing the contents of the box but something sadder than faded Christmas decorations.
"Her momma's never been too healthy. Gets bad colds this time of year. This year the cold's got worse over time. We been tryin' to get her to go see a doctor . . . "
Murdock nodded, the reflective cast to his face making B. A. wonder what he was thinking. "How old's Katie?"
"Five."
A small shudder passed through the pilot's body but he said nothing, just looked past B. A. to the room where Katie waited.
Several seconds passed. "You okay, man?" B. A. put a hand on Murdock's shoulder.
The pilot turned his meditative eyes to the big man and smiled weakly. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay."
B. A. returned to rummaging in the closet.
He sensed Murdock hadn't moved. Glancing at the Captain, he raised his eyebrows. "Anything else?"
"Ya don' mind if I get Katie t' sing some songs with me, do ya?" The hesitation with which Murdock said it reminded the black man of that morning.
B. A. thought back to his anger and impatience over the song Murdock kept repeating and regretted for a moment reacting that way.
"As long as ya don' keep singin' the same songs over an' over again, guess it'd be okay. Cheer her up some."
Murdock cast his gaze down into the box again and hesitated.
"Anythin' else buggin' ya?" The Sergeant wasn't sure if he wanted to know the answer. He wasn't good at dealing with Murdock's moodier side when it showed.
"Naw. Jus' . . . thanks, B. A."
The Sergeant shrugged and lifted another two boxes down from a shelf.
By the time B. A. brought the boxes out to Katie and Murdock, the pilot had managed to drape a long string of Christmas lights from the floor, around one hand, along his arm, across his shoulders, around his neck and over to his other hand. He nodded to the woman watching the two boys and she plugged the lights in.
"You look like a Christmas tree, Mister Murdock," Katie cheered, clapping her hands.
He grinned as the multi-colored lights flashed on and off randomly along the length of the string. "Guess I do, but that's deck th' halls, Katie sweetie, not deck th' Murdock." He glanced up as Hannibal came in the door, bearing a bag from a local grocery store. Setting the lights aside, he added, "'N' here's Hann'bal with the stuff t' string. Ya ready for some fun?"
B. A. smiled to himself as the pilot and the little girl walked hand in hand to greet the Colonel. Later as they all poked needle and thread through popcorn and cranberries to make decorative chains, he was even tempted to sing along with Murdock and Katie as they belted out "Deck the Halls."
