Authors' Notes: Glad we have so many readers out there! We'd love to hear from more of you, but at least we can tell you're all enjoying our fics by the hits and such we get and we greatly appreciate you, every single one of you. :)
Anyhow, in this chapter... some angsty moments concerning Murdock and Face and Charissa finally talk.
Hannibal had just dove into the water. He felt the heat on his back and choked a little as he forced himself to dive. When he resurfaced, he could see the burning wreck of the boat...the others speeding away...Sosa and Face coming towards them...and B.A. and Agent Jensen rising from the deep. With a horrible nausea rising in his throat, he realized he couldn't find Murdock.
B.A. and Eddie ducked back down into the water as the ship came apart around them throwing debris into the water. They surfaced again and tore their breathers from their mouths.
"Hannibal! Murdock!" B.A. cried out over the roar of the flames from the now burning boat.
"Shit. Shit." Charissa had turned and began to fire at the retreating boat, but it was no use as they sped out of range, "Damnit!" She turned and rushed to the front of the boat she and Face were on, "Are you guys okay?" She called out as they came up on them.
"Murdock! Murdock!" Hannibal called, picking through the wreckage of the ship.
Face felt the bile rising to the tip of his throat. Shit. Shit. Murdock might've been killed, and it was because he couldn't stop fighting.
B.A. realized Murdock wasn't anywhere to be found and began to look as well along with Eddie, "Come on crazy man, where are you?" His normally joking, heavy voice strained and full of fear.
"No. No. No." Charissa swallowed hard and then noticed something around the other side of the boat and dove into the water swimming towards the very still form floating at the surface.
Hannibal held his breath as Sosa dove in, hoping she'd spotted Murdock; maybe he was just unconsious, floating in the water. But he was very, very still.
She surfaced and paddle over to what she could now see was indeed Murdock and it didn't look good. She reached him finally and went to touch him, her hand instantly becoming slick with blood, "I found him! He's… he's… oh god…" She backed away from the man's body, her body shaking her eyes trying to make sense of what she was looking at.
B.A. quickly followed Sosa and came up behind her, "Fuck." He pushed past her in the water and then motioned at Face, "Faceman! Bring the boat around here!"
Face brought the boat as fast as he could, as the others climbed in and then loaded Murdock on. The pilot was as pale as a sheet. Blood was streaming out of several wounds on him, and he wasn't breathing. "Shit. Shit."
Eddie threw his equipment off as he got on the boat and took over the tiller and headed back towards the docks as he watched with a pale and worried face.
B.A. growled as he fought with his equipment trying to get it off as fast as he could to help with his fallen friend, as he swore, "I need some help here fools!"
Charissa could only stand and watch, her body still shaking and tears flowing from her eyes as she kept repeating the word no over and over. After a moment she moved to help B.A. and then tried to locate the first aid kit on the boat.
"Is he breathing? Oh my God, is he even breathing?" Face was panicked.
"Get out of the way." Hannibal began to administer CPR and mouth-to-mouth, frantically trying to get him breathing.
Finally, Murdock choked to life, coughing and spluttering weakly.
Eddie set his jaw; those assholes would pay for this. He'd see to it personally as he pushed the boat to its limits trying to get them in and radioing in for medical attention. He gripped the tiller tightly, his knuckles turning white.
She located the first aid kit and knelt beside Hannibal trying to stop some of the bleeding, becoming covered in the slick wet liquid as she did so.
B.A. could only stand and watch, but let out a small sigh as the guy began to breathe, "Don't you dare die you crazy ass fool." He said as he moved forward and looked down at the now conscious Murdock.
Hannibal took some strips and tied off the worst of Murdock's wounds, stopping the blood flow as much as possible. "B.A, you're gonna have to share your blood." Hannibal yelled over the roar of the boat engine, "You're the only one who matches his type."
B.A. groaned a little but nodded, "I know. I know." He sat down on one of the benches of the boat and watched with a grim expression.
Finally Eddie had gotten them back in and a medical team was waiting for them. He moved forward tying off the boat as they came in and hopped off, talking rapidly to the officials as they boarded the vessel and moved into towards Murdock.
Charissa stood and slowly moved back. This was her fault, her and Face… if she had just been honest with him in the first place, if she had just focused on the job then Murdock wouldn't be almost dead. She shivered in her wet clothes and wrapped her arms around herself as she watched the medics take over and begin to get her friend ready to be transported.
Hannibal rode with B.A. and Murdock in the ambulance, leaving Face and Sosa to go with Eddie in whatever vehicle they could. He was filling them in as much as he could about Murdock's medical history and his rare blood type, adding that the other man was a perfect donor.
Charissa didn't really want to go, she really wanted to run now, she was scared. More so than she had ever been she was sure. But she went, Eddie driving them and following the ambulance. She sat in the back and huddled, trying to hold herself together as they rode to the hospital.
B.A. remained silent, letting Hannibal do all the talking while occasionally giving Murdock a gentle pat on the head, "It's gonna be okay, Crazy Man. We're gonna get ya all fixed up. Good as new." The large man's voice cracked a little with emotion.
By the time they got to the hospital, they'd already gotten Murdock hooked up to several things, and hustled B.A. off to donate blood. Hannibal remained in the main lobby to catch everyone else on their way in.
Eddie walked in with purpose and moved over to Hannibal, clearly worried, upset and pissed, "We'll get them for this. I promise you that Colonel." He said with venom in his voice, "Someone must've tipped them off and when I find out who…" He flexed his hands into tight fists, "Is he going to be okay?" He asked, calming a little.
Charissa walked into the hospital slowly, hanging back and keeping her arms wrapped around herself, that first thought that had crossed her mind when she had reached Murdock still echoing in her head; he's dead and it's all my fault. She tried to relax, make herself stop shaking but she just couldn't.
Hannibal shook his head, "No. He's lost a lot of blood, and he's gone into shock. They're trying to get more blood into him, but it's taking time, too much time, to get a donation from B.A. If we're lucky we'll know in an hour or two."
Eddie became extremely still and then nodded slowly, "I'm going to make some calls. See what I can find out." He had to keep himself busy; he couldn't just stand around and do nothing or start pacing.
Slowly Charissa came up to Hannibal and looked at him and then away at the floor, "I'm sorry." She said carefully, "It's my fault. Don't blame Face for this, he's feeling bad enough as it is. I was distracting us both from the mission, sir." She looked back at Hannibal finally, treating him as she would if he was truly her superior. Her body language shifting as she focused on not falling apart and instead owning up for her actions, "I compromised the situation." She stated without hesitation.
Hannibal just looked at her. He looked at her for a long time,"A member of my team." He said, in a quiet voice, hiding barely-controlled rage, "May be in there. Dying." his tone was clipped, sharp, "We will talk about this later."
Eddie looked up as he talked on the phone and observed the situation, Charissa hadn't changed much since he had last known her. And yet… there was something different about her, she seemed hard, less innocent and simple. It was like she had been through hell and back and faced the Devil himself.
"Yes, sir." She gave Hannibal the respect of a salute and backed away, her mind reeling. She wanted to go on instinct… she wanted to run, she wanted to sneak back to their hotel, pack and go. But she didn't, she made herself sit down and stare at the walls.
Hannibal forced himself not to pace. A little while later, a doctor came by to tell them that Murdock was in surgery, and he was doing well.
"He's a fighter," Hannibal confirmed, as the doctor informed him of the actions they were taking, "He's going to fight for his life."
After a moment or two, Eddie was off the phone, "I alerted the Coast Guard, they're on the lookout for their boat. It's the best I can do for now." He had overheard the exchange between the Doctor and Hannibal, so he didn't ask if there was anything new as he moved over to Charissa, "I'm going to locate some coffee, do you want some?"
She looked up and nodded slowly, having returned to being curled up, arms wrapped around her knees, "Please." She said quietly, her cheeks stained with tears.
Eddie nodded and lightly touched the side of her face, "It's going to be okay, Rissa." He promised then turned to Face, "Want some coffee, Peck? And you too Hannibal, I'm sure you could use some." He offered glancing towards the Colonel.
Hannibal gave him a swift nod, "Yes - black, please." he requested.
Face shook his head, feeling very ill. He was sure that if he ate or drank anything, he was going to be sick. He put his head between his knees and took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself down.
Eddie nodded and headed off down the hall.
Charissa looked at Face, watching him… a part of her wanted to go to him, try to give him comfort. But she didn't dare, she figured he'd probably push her away, tell her to goto hell and she wouldn't blame him in the least. Instead she remained rooted in her chair waiting.
A few moments later, Eddie returned with some coffee and a blanket for Charissa, "Here, you're shaking." He wrapped the rough blue fabric around her and sat down across from where she was after giving her and Hannibal their warm drinks.
She held the blanket tight around her with one pale hand while she sipped at her coffee, trying to stop shaking as she kept looking up anytime someone came into the area, hoping they'd have some more news on Murdock, good news and soon.
After a tense hour or so, another doctor came out with a clipboard and a slightly more relaxed expression,"He's doing well, now." It was explained to them, "Both of them are resting up - neither of them should be moved for the next twenty-four hours, we've had to share a lot of blood." he bit his lip. "Other than that, Murdock should be fine - there were no broken bones, and no concussion. There are minor burns to his back, but the water put it out before it could do major damage."
Charissa listened closely and with rapt attention as the Doctor explained things to them, she let out a small sigh of relief and finished her coffee before sitting the empty Styrofoam cup aside and pulling the blanket more around her, "Thank God." She muttered lightly and closed her eyes for a moment or two fighting with her emotions and the exhaustion that was beginning to set in.
Eddie stood and looked towards Hannibal, "Glad he's out of the woods. I'm going to go back to the hotel and see what else I can do about paying these fuckers back. If you need anything here's my number." He had ripped a piece of a magazine article off and wrote his cell number down on it, "And please let me know what goes on with the good Captain."
Hannibal nodded again, taking the number gratefully, "You have my thanks. Keep in contact. We'll see you soon." He responded, before going back to his coffee and discussing things with the other doctor.
Face allowed himself a small sigh of relief, but still felt sick to his stomach.
Eddie nodded and headed off but not before pausing at Charissa, "Its been nice seeing you again… I just wished the circumstances would've remained lighter." He leaned down and pressed a small kiss onto the top of her head, "I'll be in touch." He promised as he looked to Peck, "Hang in there buddy." He gave him a nod and headed out.
Charissa didn't even look up as Eddie talked to her; she was still so full of guilt that she felt like she might suffocate at any moment. She shifted a little and rested her head against the wall and alternated between watching Face and Hannibal.
"I'm - I'm gonna go outside and get some air." Face said finally, rising to his feet. Hannibal just looked at him, gave a nod, and returned to looking at the paperwork the doctor had brought out about Murdock and B.A.
Once outside, Face sank down against the wall, taking huge gulps of cool night air. It was less stuffy out here, less confined, and he slowly relaxed, trying to let his tension ebb away, trying to calm his churning stomach. Murdock was going to be all right; he was going to be just fine.
She sat there for a moment after Face went outside and watched Hannibal. She didn't know what to do, she wanted to go out and talk to Face, she wanted to make sure he was okay… that they would be okay. She knew right now they weren't, she understood that. Once the Doctor had left, she stood and walked over to Hannibal, "Can we see him yet?" She wanted to apologize to Murdock for not being there, for almost getting him killed.
Hannibal shook his head, regarding Sosa with a weary look, "We should let him rest. He needs a lot of sleep and waking him up now, he wouldn't want to go back to sleep." He cracked a sad smile, "He's too eager to please." Then he became more serious, "Captain Sosa. You need to go outside and talk to my Lieutenant. Either you two come back inside willing to work together, or neither of you come back at all." He ended with a tone of dark finality, "I cannot have members of my team act in such a disgraceful way."
She nodded slowly and folded her arms, looking down at her shoes for a moment, "I know." She said with a nod and stood there for a moment longer, working up the courage, "Yes, sir." She turned and headed outside feeling a small swell of pride that Hannibal counted her as part of his team, but the swell left her as she came up to Face, "We need to talk…" She held up her hand to stop him from speaking for the moment, "I know right now really isn't the best time or the best circumstances but we need to." She sighed and leaned against the wall, her chin down eyes at the ground.
"We certainly do." He said lightly, "Let me guess - Hannibal gave you an ultimatum." he sighed and relaxed his legs, leaning back against the wall as well, but he was looking up.
"Yup." She nodded, "Talk, work it out or don't bother coming back, and it wasn't just me he was referring to." She gave him a glance, "Face… I'm sorry, okay. I'm not perfect, I'm made some pretty shitty decisions and choices in my life, especially concerning you. But I'm not the same woman who walked out on you, I've changed and until you tell me otherwise I'm not going anywhere." She was looking at him steadily now.
He resisted the urge to say "I know." Face believed her. He knew from now on, it was going to be different. So instead, he said, "I'm sorry." He really was. He was sorry he'd kept that grudge for so long, when there was really no point to it. He was sorry that he'd let it get in the way of what they had now - amicable friendship and a great reparte. He was sorry that it had almost gotten his best friend killed, "And I don't want you to go."
She shifted closer to him and put her head on his shoulder, "Good, because I don't want to." She smiled a little and put her arms around his middle and closed her eyes, "I love you." She whispered, her voice cracking just a little as she finally lost the fight to her emotions and quietly let the tears flow. She was just so tired, emotionally, physically and mentally.
"Love you more." He said quietly, one arm over her shoulders.
Hours later, Hannibal finally managed to get some sleep. They'd all been welcomed to stay the night inside the hospital, and had collapsed onto some chairs. Sosa and Face occupied a plush couch, dozing on top of one another, and he'd stretched out across a few more joined chairs. It wasn't very comfortable, but eventually tiredness overtook him and he fell into a deep, dark sleep.
Well all is well between our lovers again, and don't worry about Murdock... it'll work out with him too.
