Face awoke several hours later when he felt the van come to a rest.
"Where are we?" he drowsily mumbled.
Hannibal turned to look at the younger man in the back seat, relieved to see the pinched look of pain gone from his face.
"We're at a gas station, Face. How's the head?"
Noticing that the horrendous headache that had overtaken him earlier was now gone, he smiled in the direction of Hannibal's voice. "It's gone, thanks."
"There's a cafe next door, do you feel like you could eat something, kid?"
Face considered this and realized that he did indeed feel hungry. "I think so, Hannibal. I feel better."
This brought Hannibal even more relief and he could feel the tension that was built up inside of him began to loosen a little.
A few minutes later, after BA had paid and Murdock had finished pumping, they pulled over to the small cafe.
With little effort they made their way inside and were soon eating. Face managed to eat part of his cheeseburger and some fries and he actually enjoyed his meal, and he also enjoyed the sounds of Murdock and BA bickering while Hannibal tried fruitlessly to keep them in line.
Soon the team was back in the van and ready to make the last hundred miles to the cabin.
Everyone was happier and more at ease, knowing now that they could do this. It would be a little different but they could still be a team and a family. This wouldn't stop them.
Two hours later BA pulled up in front of the cabin and yawned. "We're here.".
The four men exited the van and breathed in the fresh air of the mountains.
"Nice looking place" Murdock was the first to break the silence.
Hannibal shook and head and BA Grunted in agreement.
The cabin wasn't large or extravagent but had a country charm about it. It set back in a small clearing, off to the left was a fair sized pond, the rest of the area in front of the cabin was surrouned by dense woodland. Mountains framed the cabin in back, rolling hills shaded the view to the right. It was gorgeous.
Hannibal looked back to his Lieutenant who was standing with his hand on the hood of the van, as though to keep contact with something familar. The Colonel went over and placed his hand on Face's shoulder. "It's beautiful here kid, and very secluded. We'll be safe here, can enjoy ourselves and we can all learn how to adjust. We'll take all the time we need." Face just nodded and managed a smile.
Murdock piped up, now standing beside the other two men. "There's a pond to left of us, Face. After we get settled and rested up we'll go down and fish or maybe take a swim." Face could hear the excitement in Murdock's voice and couldn't help but join in. "Sounds good, Murdock. You'll have to help me to the water, but once I get there I should be okay. Fishing is all about feeling when you have a bite, right?". Murdock grinned..."That's right Faceman, you'll do fine!"
BA came back from bringing in the last bag, grumbling about how he was left to do this all by himself. But inside, he felt like things were going to be okay now. They were alone and could take their time getting used to this new situation. Plus, it WAS beautiful out here, Hannibal was right about that. He took another gulp of cool, mountain air, and grinned.