Chapter ten

Maggie decided to keep an eye on both men that night and was relieved to see that both of them were resting peacefully. She also checked their parameters at regular intervals especially Hannibal's and was happy to see that his condition kept on improving. She also realized Decker would be back the very next day and she hoped he would at least let Face stay with Hannibal and the team for a bit longer.

"I really wish you would wake up, John," she whispered. "Not just for me, but for the sake of the boys and especially Temp. He's done a wonderful job keeping you and the rest of the team safe. You should be proud of him. Now you rest some more tonight and I hope you'll be ready to wake up again in the morning."

She softly pressed her lips to his forehead and tiptoed out of the room once again.

Face woke up the very next morning wondering where he was. When he opened his eyes and sat up in bed, he realized he had spent the night at the hospital with Hannibal. He very nearly jumped out of the small hospital bed and quickly made his way over to his Colonel. The noises in the hospital were beginning to pick up and they also woke up Hannibal from his slumber. With his eyes still firmly shut, he tried to find out where he was and what had happened. That's when he noticed that someone was holding onto his hand. He blinked a couple of times before he finally managed to open up his eyes and saw that Face was sitting by his side.

"Hiya, kid," he croaked out trying to smile.

"Colonel? You're awake!"

"What's going on? What happened?" Hannibal managed to say very slowly.

"What happened? Hannibal, you had a heart attack. That's what happened! You could have been dead."

Hannibal vaguely started to recall that he didn't feel well while they were driving in the van. Still being on the jazz after the mission, he didn't want his men to know what was going on and so he kept vital info from them. He needed to get the team to safety first. But while he was thinking, he kept watching his young Lieutenant and couldn't help but notice that Face wasn't looking too good either.

"I had to … get us … out of there ..."

"You really shouldn't talk, Hannibal. Let me get Maggie in here real quick."

He stood up and made his way over to the door.

"Kid …"

Face turned around to look at his Colonel.

"Thanks."

Face merely smiled, but his smile didn't reach his eyes. Hannibal could tell something was going on as he watched his second-in-command leave the room. He came back a couple of minutes later with Maggie and left the room again briefly so Maggie could do her job.

"Maggie."

"Hi John. Glad to finally see you awake again. How are you feeling?"

"Okay I guess. Just sleepy."

"That's only normal with the medication you're on."

"Face said … it was … a heart attack."

"He's right. It was. And you're lucky that he realized straight away that something was going on with you and took action. It could have been far worse, John. This was just a minor attack, so you were lucky this time."

"Luck is always on my side."

"This is no joke, John. I'm being serious! You were lucky this time. You might not be next time around. You should thank Face. You owe him your life."

"I know. And I am."

"You're going to make some changes too. Reduce stress, get regular check-ups, eat healthier and stop smoking."

"You've got to be joking."

"I'm not. I care about you, John. A whole lot! So do the guys. We'd like to have you with us as long as possible. These changes are of vital importance to your health and I'm willing to help you if you're willing to try. I'm sure the guys are willing to adapt as well."

"Yeah, I know Face will. He's into all of this healthy stuff already. What's up with him anyway?"

"What do you mean what's up with him?"

"Ah now don't play stupid with me, Mags. I can tell something is wrong with him. I know that kid and I also know he's not gonna tell me what's going on. He's been trying to con me, but I can see right through him. And right now he looks a mess."

"What did you expect, John. He has been seriously worried about you."

"There's more to the story. What is going on?"

"He's been under a lot of stress and hasn't taken care of himself that well in the process. He hasn't been eating or sleeping much for a while. I'm keeping my eye on him."

"Don't keep these things from me, Maggie. I don't like it when people do that. And you of all people know what that kid means to me. Tell me."

"Do you remember what happened right after you ended the last case?"

"I don't remember that much."

"Face noticed that something was seriously wrong with you and he decided you needed immediate medical treatment. So he took over command and ordered B.A. to get you safely to me. Unfortunately, Decker decided to start chasing you at that time. Face had a clever plan and it worked for a while up until a certain point when Decker caught up. He knew he had no choice but to do the one and only thing to keep the team safe."

"Don't tell me he …"

"He made a deal with Decker. He gave up his freedom and in return he asked Decker to let B.A. take you to me. He never even knew Murdock was in the van. So basically, John, Face is a military prisoner. He's facing 30 years in prison. He had no clue what was going on with you and that's why he refused to eat and wasn't able to sleep for days. Decker thought he was sick and had a doctor do a physical. They found out what was going on and so Decker was kind enough to bring him here so he could spend some time with you. I don't know how long he'll let him stay here with you though. I think he'll be back here today to take Face back to prison."

"I can't believe he did that."

"John, he had no other choice. Believe me. He wanted to keep you guys safe and out of prison."

"We can't let that happen, Mags. I won't let Decker take him back to prison."

"What can we do?"

"I can pretend to still be out if you can convince the other doctors and nurses to play along. Decker might be the obnoxious type, but he still has a heart."

"What if that isn't enough? Their might be some sort of pressure from the authorities."

"We need to get the kid involved in this. My situation could get worse, right?"

"Not by the looks of it."

"You know that and the medical staff knows that and so will the team, but Decker doesn't need to know. Suppose I get a second heart attack. Face is a con artist. I'm sure he'll be able to pull something off that will make Decker believe this is serious business."

"Will this work, you think?"

"It has to, Maggie. I can't have Decker send Face to prison. That just can't happen. He is part of the team."

"And I'm sure it will, John. But you do realize that you'll need to have a talk with Temp when this is all over."

"I know, Maggie. And I will."

"Okay. I'll leave the two of you alone so you can let him in on your plan. Meanwhile, I'll talk to the hospital staff."

"Thanks, Mags. I owe you."

"You certainly do!"

Maggie stepped out of the hospital room, briefly talked to Face and told him he could get in.

"Hi, Colonel. Everything alright?"

"Sit down for a minute, kid."

"Why? Is something wrong? Hannibal …"

"Would you just stop talking for like two minutes. I'm doing fine, kid. Now you want to tell me about that stunt you pulled?"

"What stunt."

"Don't play innocent with me, Lieutenant."

"Okay. Fine. I had a plan to get away from Decker and the others, but it backfired on me. Somehow Decker figured out a way to get to us and I had no choice but to make a deal with him."

"Some deal that was. Offering up your freedom? What were you thinking?"

"I had no choice. If I wanted to keep you and the team safe, I had to surrender."

"You just don't surrender to Decker, kid."

"What was I supposed to do huh, Hannibal? I came up with a plan and it worked at first. The one thing that kept me going was to get you some medical help and quick. So when Decker caught up with us, it didn't exactly leave me with much of a choice. I didn't want to endanger the team and I kept Murdock out of sight as well, but this was the only solution I could come up with at the time."

"But you did endanger the team."

"What? What are you talking about, Hannibal?"

"You endangered yourself. Lieutenant, you are a valuable member of this unit and an excellent second-in-command. I can't have you thrown in jail for the rest of your life because of me, kid."

"Oh don't worry about me, Colonel. I'll probably get out a lot sooner due to good behavior."

"Don't try to con me. Look. You did the right thing, kid. Trust me. But now it's time to get you out of this mess."

"Get me out of this mess? How?"

"Face, there's no way I'm gonna let Decker lock you up. I've got a plan and that involves you being in full command."