Title: Bittersweet

Rating: PG

Warnings: Spoilers for "In Plane Sight"

Note: Liauno sent me the story idea (thanks Lia!) with the basic guidelines and I took it from there.

Face never understood the true meaning of the term "coughing up a lung" until now. His chest hurt with each jag, and he found himself gasping for air. And if he wasn't coughing, he was sneezing. Ironically, after nearly freezing to death, his body had retaliated by going to the opposite extreme. And though the fever wasn't nearly as high as it had been the day before, he was hot and sweaty...and miserable!

It had taken Face until the day after Christmas to somewhat regain his wits about him, and as soon as he had, the guys were all over him trying to figure out why in the world he had been sitting out in the cold. Too afraid of telling them the truth, he pretended to be sleeping or played up his delirium and said "I don't know". But he knew they weren't buying it. They assumed he was just throwing a temper tantrum after B.A. told him off and over being forced into coming to Chicago in the first place.

Regardless of the circumstances, Hannibal and Murdock had assigned themselves the task of getting Face well. Murdock was fussing over him like a mother hen. Constantly fluffing his pillows and asking if he was okay every other minute. Hannibal was force feeding him medicine he didn't want to take. It made Face dizzy and nauseous and unable to think straight. He liked to be in control at all times...especially since they never knew when they would get a surprise visit from Decker and be forced to run.

But even though Murdock and Hannibal were caring for him, they would talk at him or about him, but not to him. But at least they were talking; B.A. was avoiding him all together. Not that Face could blame him; he hadn't done anything to help matters. As far as he was concerned, the only person to blame was himself. Here he was a grown man, yet he was acting like a frightened child.

"You're such a coward, Peck," he muttered, then regretted it as it set him off on another painful round of coughing. He thought that if he could just breathe in some fresh air it might help clear his lungs a bit. It was a long shot, but at this point, he was willing to try anything.

Face swung his legs over the side of the bed. It was only a few feet to the window, but in his weakened condition it seemed much farther. He had only taken a couple of steps when he started feeling faint. His vision blurred as he reached out for the floor lamp to steady himself. Unfortunately, he missed and fell to the floor knocking the lamp down with him.

Mrs. B heard the crash from inside her bedroom and came rushing over. Seeing Face on the floor she knelt down next to him and asked, "Are you okay…did you hurt yourself?"

Face's heart skipped a beat hearing the very same words he had said to Mrs. Hicks a couple of years earlier. He lay there taken aback; unable to move and not trusting himself to speak.

Mrs. B gave him a troubled look. "You're not okay, are you?"

Feeling embarrassed, he wanted to reply that he had just tripped and was fine. But as soon as he opened his mouth, he started viciously coughing again. The ache in his chest and abdomen was so great that he rolled onto his side and curled himself into a protective ball. Mrs. B stayed on the ground with him, rubbing his back until the spell subsided.

Face's eyes were closed as he rolled onto his back and let his body recover. When he opened his eyes less than a minute later, he saw Hannibal, Murdock and B.A. standing over him. They stared at him expectantly, their eyes demanding an explanation.

"I fell," he said meekly, looking away.

"We can see that, sucker," B.A. groused, earning himself a displeased look from his mother.

"That's more than you said to Face all day," Murdock quipped. "Does that mean you're talking to him again?"

B.A. scowled, bending over to pick up the lamp, but made no move to help Face.

Hannibal held out his hand to Face and assisted him off the floor. Without words, the pair slowly moved back toward the bad, Hannibal doing most of the work.

"Okay, what really happened, kid?" Hannibal questioned once Face was settled.

"I couldn't stop coughing and I thought some air might help." Face took a ragged breath then added in a soft voice, "I was only trying to make it over to the window." At least, this time he was able to tell the truth.

"Ain't that window what got you in trouble in the first place, fool?

Face's pale cheeks flushed red. "No B.A.," he said softly, "my troubles started a long time ago."

Face's words hit hard; the tone of his voice was haunting.

Hannibal, Murdock and B.A. felt as if they were riding a roller coaster of emotions and Face was at the controls. They started out with anger, flipped to guilt, looped to worry and now twisted to sadness. It was frustrating and wearisome and not something they knew how to handle. The team had always been like a comfortable old shoe; it was a comfortable fit. But now it felt as if the old shoe had worn out, and they were forced into a new one. It was tight and uncomfortable…it just didn't feel right. The question now, was how to fix it?

Mrs. B could feel the awkward tension in the room. The four men in front of her sat stone-faced, looking straight ahead; they resembled a real life Mount Rushmore. She had held her tongue and tried to stay out of their issues in the hopes that they would work things out amongst themselves. It was becoming obvious that this wasn't going to happen any time soon.

"That's it…everybody out," she said sternly. "I think you boys need a time out."

"A time out," B.A. repeated. "Mama, you haven't put me in time out since I was five years old."

"Well, you ain't acting much older than that now, so I'd say it's appropriate."

The rest of the team began to chuckle, setting Face off again. He coughed so hard that tears were streaming from his eyes. He wiped them away with the back of his hand until Mrs. B handed him a tissue.

"You see what I mean. Face ain't gonna get any better if he don't get some real rest." She walked over to the door and held it open. "I want you three to go out take a break, and relax. I don't care where you go or what you do, but don't come back into this apartment until it's time for dinner, you hear?"

They walked single-filed out of the room, heads bowed, like little school boys being sent to the principal's office. Mrs. B shut the door behind them and took a seat in the chair beside Face's bed.

"Now, it's just you and me. I'm gonna make you some of my chicken soup. It's guaranteed to make you better."

Face smiled at the mere thought of it. The smile disappeared a bit too quickly for her liking. "What's wrong, baby?"

"I'm sorry…you know, for ruining everybody's Christmas."

"You did no such thing. And, it's not your fault that you're sick now. If you wanna blame someone, blame me." Face looked at her in confusion. "After all, I'm the one who locked the window."

"So that was you?" he grinned.

"Guilty," she replied, holding her hands up in mock surrender. Mrs. B leaned forward and rested her chin in her hand. "Can I ask you a question, Face?" Not waiting for an answer she asked, "what did you really think of my chocolate cake?"

Face's eyes widened in surprise; it wasn't a question he was expecting. "I thought it was the best cake I had ever tasted."

Mrs. B smiled knowingly. "I knew you liked it. I saw your face after you took the first bite…I could see the pleasure in your eyes. But, then suddenly you looked so…so lost. What happened?"

Face started wringing his hands together nervously; he didn't really want to go there. But there was something about B.A.'s mother that made him feel safe enough to risk sharing his feelings. "It brought back some old memories and then I realized for the first time that I really do have a family."

"A family with a pig-headed older brother who wears more jewelry than his own mother," Mrs. B joked.

"B.A. was right though. I haven't been much fun to be around. They just don't understand." Face ran a shaking hand through his hair. "And I'm too chicken to try to explain it."

"You know you can talk to me right?" Face nodded. "It might make you feel better to let it out."

And let it out is what Face did.

TBC…