Murdock's spirit drifted away from the van as Good Samaritans dashed to the aid of the dying victim. Soon, the ambulance converged on the scene and drove B.A. to the hospital. A woeful Murdock stood by the side of the road and watched with numb senses as the ambulance screeched away with sirens blaring.
Teary eyed, he looked heavenwards and whimpered, "If this is the favour you asked of me, I'm afraid I've failed you. You have me. Don't take him too. Please don't."
At the hospital, B.A. was wheeled into the emergency room and while a team of doctors worked frenetically at saving the victim's life, his soul slowly peeled away from the shell and stood by the examining table. He scanned the room in utter confusion, puzzled as to the peculiar surroundings when his eyes finally set upon a familiar face.
He frowned, bewildered as to what he was actually seeing. "Murdock? Man is that you?"
"Yeah Big Guy, it's me. I'm here."
"Hey, hey!" B.A. whooped, excitedly striding up to Murdock, ready to burst at the seams at the sight of his best friend that he squeezed into a bear hug. "You're real. I can feel you. You're real!" he gushed, locking Murdock into a tight grip. "It's good to see you, Crazy man!"
Murdock returned the embrace tenfold, squeezing his eyes shut to prevent the tears from spurting out.
"Hey," B.A. pulled back as reality suddenly dawned on him. "How come I can see you?"
Murdock bit his upper lip and glanced to the right. B.A. followed his gaze to the examining table. Eyes popped out in shock at the gruesome scene unfolding before him. "That's me."
"Yeah, that's you."
"What happened?"
"Don't you remember?"
B.A.'s brows furrowed deeply as he cudgelled his brains into recalling the accident. "I was in the van and...and this creature scurried across the road..."
"...and when you swerved to avoid it you smashed into a tree," Murdock finished. "I'm sorry."
"Then if I can see you and you're dead, so that means that...that I'm," He stared at Murdock with a ghostly look, "I'm dead?"
"Not yet. You're sort of in limbo, pending a decision."
"Decision?"
Murdock flashed a friendly smile. "Your decision to go back."
"What if I don't wanna to go back?" B.A. stated firmly.
"It's not your time yet, Big Guy."
"And what about you?" B.A. retorted with his usual gruff voice, spurring Murdock into conjuring up a tangible reason for his having departed from this earth.
"For me, it was a relief. I was hurting, B.A.. And not just that time, but every day. I didn't belong anymore. I joked around so much 'cause, like you said, it was a way for me to cope with the problems of the world. A shield if you wish, but it was wearing out in the end."
"Wait a minute, you heard me say that? I was alone in that room."
Murdock cracked a teasing wink. "Not so Big Guy. I've been following you closely ever since I gave up the ghost. I saw and heard everything. I was with you in the van when you swerved to avoid hitting that deer."
"Funny, I had this weird sense I wasn't alone in there. Don't think I actually heard you, but I was thinking of you."
"That's comforting to know," Murdock smiled appreciatively.
"I wanna stay here with you, you crazy fool," B.A. gnarled.
"You might not like it. You see, I'm not the mad caper you used to know. I'm...sane now. Sad isn't it? I might get on your nerves for being your regular JoeSchmo. However, the Man upstairs did allow me to go out gracefully by retaining some of the zaniness that made me famous and made you love me, you big teddy bear you," he winked teasingly at B.A. who feigned a growl.
"I don't care. I'll take you anyway you are, crazy or not."
"Sorry B.A., can't."
"Why not?" He looked back at his form on the table. "I'm almost dead. I can let go and cross over with you."
"Why would you want that? You have a life to live."
"What about your life? They cheated you out of it," B.A. retorted.
"Yeah well it was probably for the best. Hey, I like it here. It's peaceful. No worries, no pain and looky here...," points to a tiny brown beagle lying at his feet, "Billy is here to keep me company."
"Well, I'll be a son-of-a-gun!" B.A. chuckled. "That thing's real."
"He sure is." With a sombre expression, Murdock turned back to B.A. and spoke earnestly. "Go on back, B.A.. It's not your time. Besides you will be entrusted with a special assignment."
"What's that?"
"To take care of Face and Hannibal. They will be going through some rough patches in the next couple of years. Not so much from grief 'cause they'll ultimately get over my death, but the trials and traumas they'll face will be hard to bear and they'll need someone to cling to."
"Will you...," B.A. gulped nervously, dreading to ask the question, "will you be there too?"
"In spirit I will, just like I've been these past few hours."
"Man I wish you could give me a sign that you're there. I mean...move an object or something."
"I tried. Doesn't work like in the movies. But if I can, I'll find a way to let you know I'm watching over you and if you need to talk, I'll listen."
"Thanks Buddy." B.A. cracked a smile and pulled Murdock into warm-hearted hug. "I'll miss you," he snuffled.
"Ditto, Big Guy," Murdock echoed, patting B.A. on the back. He then reluctantly pulled away and heaved a heavy-laden sigh. "Now go. They're waiting for you."
B.A. nodded and slowly drifted back into his body.
With a grateful smile, a woeful Murdock watched his best buddy creep back into his body. "So long...friend," he whispered chokingly as he slowly began to dematerialise.
B.A. gradually returned to the land of the living. As vital signs stabilized, his eyes fluttered open in time to see his best friend vanish before him.
Three weeks had gone by since Murdock's passing but raw and painful memories of his tragic death were still lingering. The A-Team had taken a temporarily leave of absence from the outside world and retreated to the safe haven of Crystal Lake, a place they'd chosen as Murdock's soul's final resting place.
Kelly had been fortunate to rely on an associate to take over her vetenary practice in her absence. The recent dramatic events in her life had taken their toll on her health, and she needed the time away from the Deckers of this world.
Over the days that followed Murdock's funerals, both military and private, the mourners adopted atypical behaviours to drown their sorrows. Hannibal shed his tough guy image to opt for a more flippant stance and as a result, was often seen engaging in fishing games with Murdock's dummy, Bob. Tawnia took on gardening as shelter from her grief and as for Face and Kelly, they sought solace in each other's arms and soon, their casual friendship deepened into genuine love. The petite vetenarian had succeeded in converting the once illustrious womanizer into a devoted one-woman man. Moonstruck Templeton Peck had been lovingly ensnared into a stable relationship and had no desire to disentangle himself from the web. Every night he would send a prayer to his deceased friend, assuring him of his genuine affection for 'his' girl. He was utterly grateful for Kelly and vouched to love and shield her from harm till his dying days.
Although placed on the critical list upon his admittance to the hospital, B.A. made a speedy recovery and was released within a week. The astonishing healing process baffled the physicians, leaving his friends to wonder whether a Divine Intervention had been at work. Maggie Sullivan had been instrumental in keeping B.A.'s identity under wrap during his stay, and would report to the team on his progress.
B.A. didn't mingle much and kept mostly to himself. He would work on his van or anything that needed fixing around the property. Banging on a pipe or hammering on nails was his line of attack against the raw, painful memories that would surface when his mind was left wandering.
Every late afternoon, B.A. would saunter down by the lake with the aid of a cane and ease himself down on the white bench by Murdock's grave. There, away from prying eyes, he would open the floodgate to his emotions and wear his heart on his sleeve to his best buddy, only.
"Can't believe it's been six weeks since you left. Damned I never thought I'd say this but I miss your crazy antics, you fool! You drove me bonkers with your jibber jabber but man! What I'd give to hear some now. And don't you go telling anyone I said that or they'll never let me live it down," he threatened good-naturedly. "Ah hell, if you did, it'd mean that..." his quivering voice trailed off as the hallow sense of finality ultimately hit him. His friend was no more.
As a gush of tears came to his eyes, a small brown beagle wobbled up to him. Between his teeth was a blue cap that he dropped at B.A.'s feet.
"Hey, what d'ya doing here, dog?" he barked, wiping the tears from his cheeks. "Haven't I seen you somewhere before?" He furrowed his brow in deep suspicion as an eerie feeling of déjà vu increasingly washed over him. "What's you got there?" He bent over to pick up the cap and studied it. A shock wave shot through his body and chilled him to the bone. "Where d'ya get that?" He frowned deeply at the frightening notion that sprung into mind. "No it can't be the sign? Murdock you...you ain't in there?" The dog looked up at B.A. with his sad big brown eyes. "Crazy fool! Leave it to you to come back as a dog." Silently B.A. nodded to the dog that jumped on the bench and laid his head on his lap.
~The End~
A huge thank you to all that read my story and I was impressed by the number of visitors and hits that I received. I like knowing that "The A-Team" is still appreciated after all these years.
