Chapter 10

"No Face, nobody is here, come on, it's save to come out. Come on, we need to run."

Face moved his head from side to side signaling 'no'. 'They messed with your head, I'll kill them slowly.' "I'm here Face and nobody else is, come here, hurry up man."

Face tentatively crawled closer.

"That's it, come on, just a little further and I can reach your arm, come on Faceman, you are doing good."

BA couldn't see Kyle again but he heard rustling in the hut. He knew they needed to hurry. Just as he could reach Face's arms he spotted Kyle's hand with an uncapped syringe. He lunged for Face's both arms and pulled him through the hole as fast as possible, but Kyle managed to stab the syringe into Face's calve and apply some pressure to the plunger before Face was ripped away. Face screamed from the pain of being pulled through the wall roughly and then started to shake wildly.

"My god you are cold, come on we need to get to the safety of the van." BA urged him forward and half pulled him along to the safety of the van, the fight was still going on at the other side of the house and he didn't want to risk alerting the wrong people while they were both relatively helpless. He also didn't want to waste time and have Kyle come onto them or shoot through the hole. Half way Face went limp though and BA had to pull him over the dry ground, opening up old wounds in the progress.

He managed to reach the place, pulled Face into the side of the van and then proceeded to the driver's seat. He started the engine and drove toward the stables while shooting at the ground around the fighters. That gave the distraction needed to let his guys get the upper hand for now and enable one man who got the hint to run off and get the other van. BA went rounds around the fighters shooting until he almost run out of ammo. Luckily the other van appeared fast and they all jumped in and took off while BA fired off his last rounds. Once they were a safe distance away BA let one of his friends take over driving and collapsed from the pain in his leg.

Murdock had rushed right to Face's side and was currently trying to cover him in blankets while the van swayed here and there to get away fast. "Give me all the blankets from the back, come on Faceman, don't give up on me now, open your eyes buddy, he's so cold but his forehead is hot."

"Move over Murdock, I got some heat to spare." Hulk moved closer on the floor and removed his jacket and shirt. Not an easy task in a van packed with almost ten muscle bound men. He carefully pulled Face's body onto his legs and leaned his back into his own sweaty body. Then he used his jacked that still held his body heat to cover Face's front. Murdock wrapped the blankets around the two of them to contain as much heat as possible. Then he removed his own jacket and wrapped it around Face's legs. More men followed suit and gave their jackets to warm Face's cold body.

"Hand me the phone and press the repeat dial button please." Whoever was currently occupying Hannibal's usual seat handed the phone to Murdock, having to reach over BA's unconscious form who was having his legs in the middle of the front part of the car and his upper body on top of the person sitting in that seat.

"Dr. Richter? We got him. He 's out, don't know if he was responsive before. BA got him and he's out too. BA just told me Kyle was beating on him and has stabbed him with a syringe. He's way too cold, grey skin. Some wounds but they look minor, lots of black and blue spots though."

'How cold?'

"Don't know exactly, we are trying to warm him up, we'll be at the Hospital next to the VA in ten."

"Make that five." The driver said.

Just that moment BA came around and groaned.

'Was that Face?'

"No, BA. Hey big guy, was Face responsive when you found him?"

"Yeah, well, to some extent, seemed confused, was barely able to move on all fours. Slurred." BA spoke through clenched teeth to get the pain under control. The other guy moved to the side as much as possible to give some more space for BA."

'I'll call Mike to let him know. They'll be prepared by the time you arrive.'

"Thanks doc, the other van is heading straight for the house so you'll be relieved soon."

Once BA had himself under control he told Murdock all details he could. Murdock would accompany Face alias John Baker into the hospital while the rest of them would move to the house. That was the plan at least. It was too risky for BA to be seen around the hospital again.

BA ended his briefing with handing over the syringe he had put into the glove department. "He injected Face in the calve, no idea how much of the shit went into him. Give it to the docs to analyze."

Once there Face was carefully transferred onto a gurney that was waiting for him outside the hospital, complete with special heating blankets, and then whisked away. Hulk got out of the van and replaced his shirt and jacket before following Murdock into the hospital.

"Go to the house, I'll keep you informed, we need to keep a low profile."

"Sorry Murdock, being half frozen and beaten into oblivion doesn't go with low profile anyway. Besides I may be of help if we need to run, and I just want to be here and make sure nobody does him any harm again." Together they went to the waiting area. Soon Dr. Richter joined them but he too couldn't get any information. It felt like ages until Mike came and asked them to his office. In reality it wasn't too long but they were all anxious to get news.

"We don't want to be in your office doc, how is my friend doing? Can I see him?"

"He needs to rest, he had an extremely low temperature, he was close to 85 degrees ,the idea with the body warmth was good. We placed him in warming blankets and gave him heated infusions to get his temperature out of the extreme regions. He's still too cold but slowly getting warmer in a controlled way. He has been beaten badly, has a lot of bruises, several cracked ribs, some cuts, nothing that won't heal. The biggest problem is infection right now. His mouth shows clear signs of continuous vomiting, also we found a number of different bacteria causing diarrhea and other digesting problems. He hasn't stirred and I don't really expect him to in the next hours. We are still analyzing the drug he was given. The container still held more than half of the content but we don't know how full it was to begin with. For now all we can do is to give him fluids and control his body temperature.

"Can we see him?"

"He's in intensive care, you can see him through the glass wall, we can't risk more bacteria in the room and the risk rises with every person going into the room."

"Okay, I understand."

"You are his room mate at the VA right?"

"Yes, and friend since Nam."

"Does he have family?"

"They came to see him only once since he was transferred from Washington."

"I see."

They walked to the intensive care unit and looked at Face. A nurse was in the room with him monitoring his vitals and the temperature of the IV as it run into Face's arm. He was wrapped into these special heating blankets like a bug in a cocoon. There was nothing they could do but wait. As the evening neared the doc came to see them again.

"We analyzed the drug, it's a mixture of different things, one of them the poison of the globefish, then there is snake venom, spider poison and other nice ingredients. It was mixed in a way to render the recipient helpless but not to kill. Whoever is given this drug will not be able to control his muscles but his mind will be as sharp as ever. I guess that also explains the state he was in earlier. The substances are not something the labs usually scan for and the old blood samples are not there again, I checked. We can't be sure but I guess it was the same drug."

"You mean it just has to wear off and he'll be back to his usual self?"

"No, it's not that easy. He has to train to get all his functions back. Some will return on their own but things like fine motor skills and speech need to be trained. The faster the better, lack in rehabilitation can lead to a permanent loss or permanent inability to fully use his speech or maybe pick up small things. But he's in good hands at the VA, don't worry. You can go home now, I'll call Dr. Richter should anything happen but I guess he'll just sleep through the night, seems he didn't get much rest during the last days. We have him on an IV and on antibiotics, there's bacteria in him that is only typical with certain animals, no telling what he went through ever since he went missing."

As much as they wanted to stay they had to leave to not cause any raised eyebrows. Murdock went to his room, Hulk to the house and Dr. Richter straight to his office.

"Did it work?"

"Sure thing. He's been howled away to prison."

"Good." He dropped the receiver and run a hand over his face. Then he went to Murdock's room.

"Good news captain."

"He's awake?"

"Not that good. Kyle is in prison."

"Huh?"

"When you informed me that Face is safe I called in some markers. The police found him in the hut trying to bandage up his leg. All his so called associates had run, with the exception of two that were still laying around unconscious. My contact also made sure they found some of Ron's things around, once he can't be held for hurting all of you maybe we can at least pin Ron on him. Even if it means his real killer will be able to run."

"Maybe. I just hope he wakes up soon, I feel lousy."

"He'll be fine, don't worry."

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Hannibal woke to a lot of noise in the house. While he was still very weak, the secondary infection he had caught in addition to his injuries left him wiped out, he had more lucid moments. He called out to BA through the open bedroom door.

"What's it Hannibal, you need something?"

"Hulk, what are you doing here?"

"Helping with the household."

"Any news from Face?"

Hulk knew Hannibal had not been informed about the latest developments but not to which extend. "He's still at the VA."

"Isn't he getting better?"

"I'm not too sure, just know he's there. Sure Murdock knows more but he'll only be back tomorrow morning."

"Kay. What's the noise?"

"Just some friends, we are watching the game." That was true, two of the guys had decided to stay for a bit.

"Kay."

"Need anything?"

"No, just tired."

"Okay, we'll keep the noise down."

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The next morning Face hadn't stirred, the next evening too. And when Murdock returned the next morning Face was still out cold but had been moved to another room. His vitals were stable and his body temperature, while still too low, was back to acceptable regions.

"He always feels cold, can you cover him in a thicker blanket?"

"Don't worry Murdock, we are checking on him regularly. You can go to your art course; Rose was here yesterday to see John and told me about it. Maybe he'll be up when you return in the evening."

"Yeah, sure. Is it normal that he hasn't woken up?"

"He's very weak, his body has taken over command and makes sure it gets what it needs. His vitals are normal. The antibiotics are also sapping some of his energy. Don't worry. Rose too said she'll be back today and I practically have to throw Richter out of the room for the patient to have some peace and quiet."

"Okay, I'll be back in the evening. Wake up Face, you hear me?" He run a hand over Face's hair and then left the room.

Some hours later Rose was sitting beside him spending her lunch break with the patient she had grown fond off.

Face slowly drifted back to awareness. The first thing he noticed was that he was warm.

'It's warm, warm all around. And soft and cozy. Am I dead? Is this what dead feels like? Maybe I'm in one of this stuffed coffins. So warm, just my head is cold, not a coffin then. Kyle is playing with me. He'll take the soft blanket away again, I'll not move to not show him I'm awake.'

The next thing he became aware off was a hand gently rubbing his belly, and then the pain in his belly.

"That bacteria got you good boy, cramps over cramps, no wonder you don't wake up, I wouldn't too."

'Rose? Rose's voice? But how? …BA, BA had been there, he had hauled him through the hole and this time nobody had beaten him. Had BA rescued him, or was it all a dream? 'If it was a dream he could risk opening his eyes. Slowly he tried to pry his eyes open. It was more difficult than he had thought. On the second attempt he managed to get them open a crack. There was most definitely Rose by his bedside and he wasn't in the hut again. His eyelids dropped again, he was so incredibly tired. The cramps in his belly kept him from drifting off again, they also told him this was not a dream. With some effort he managed to pry his eyes open again. He tried to look around but found it difficult to move his head, his eyes roamed the place and he could see no one but Rose. Where was BA? Where were the others? Oh no, something must have happened to them, that was why Murdock didn't come back for him, he is hurt, or worse. He had to find out from Rose.

'Rose, where are my friends?' "ughgh" 'oh no, not again, Kyle said he had the drug, but he didn't inject me, no please, not again' he tried moving his limps and came up with the prove that he was in a similar state as before.

"Calm down, calm down boy, all is well, you'll be just fine, don't worry, calm down you'll hurt yourself, shh, that's it, keep calm. Welcome back, it was about time you woke up, you've been out for more than two days. I'll call the doctor."

'I need to tell her, I need to ask her.' He was in panic but knew throwing his body around would not help matters any.

"Rrrrr, rrrr" Damn, not even her name, how was he going to get answers if he couldn't ask.

"shh, let the doc look at you before you stress yourself, you have been given more of that drug but a smaller dose. We will train together as before, don't worry. Your room mate Murdock was also here this morning, he'll be back in the evening to see you, maybe you can also be moved to your room at the VA."

'Murdock was here? He's okay? I'm not at the VA? No, looks different, like a hospital.' Before he could finish his thoughts or even try to sort them Richter and the doc he knew from before, when they were making tests with him, arrived. He didn't trust Richter too much and he certainly didn't trust the other guy.

'Leave me alone!' He started to struggle and make noise but was unable to move away or even cry for help.

"Calm down, I'm here, nobody is going to hurt you again, shh, calm down John, I know you've been through a lot.'

'Rose, Rose please stay, wait…John? Hannibal is called John, not me…oh …the scam, my name is John…wait…John Doe? No, ah, I remember, John Baker.' In his musings he forgot to struggle, his mind was so foggy and he felt lousy.

"Rose has a very calming influence on him. Find yourself another nurse for the day, Rose is going to stay here."

"Mike, you can't just steel my nurse, you know I can go to your boss and report you. Anyway, I'm afraid even the Pope in person would not be able to move her out of this room today."

"Damn right doc."

'Doc? Oh yes, the doctors, Rose stay, please, damn I'm so helpless, I hate this. Get this IV out of my arm, please, they are drugging me, Kyle didn't inject me, I know that much.'

"Calm down, please, I'm here for you, don't worry, we'll get through this, just like last time, you'll see."

'Where is my team, are they hurt, do they need me, please, tell me something.'

"He is so upset."

"No wonder. We can only imagine what he went through in the past days. Has he tried to speak?"

"He has but without much success. He was forming sounds though. His eyes are also able to focus as opposed to last time."

"It was a smaller dose, Kyle was not able to press the plunger all the way before he was rescued. You've been lucky Face, the full dose would have killed you in your current state. Murdock said he would return early from his art course today. Maybe you'll see him soon. Rest up, Rose will stay with you."

'Art course? What are course? Murdock isn't hurt? Where is BA? Where is Hannibal? Kyle didn't inject me!'

The doctors couldn't do anything again and left the patient with Rose. Mike returned to his other patient, Richter hurried to his phone. He had promised Murdock to inform him the moment Face woke up.

Murdock had been sitting in the van all day. He jumped as the phone finally rung.

"He's up but a lot like before. Come and see him but not too early."

"Okay."

They didn't want to talk too much to keep the possibility of being traced low. Last thing they needed now was the military. Murdock jumped out of the car and run into the house to inform BA. It was two in the afternoon now, with the usual afternoon traffic he would need close to an hour to get to the hospital. Visiting times started at three, that should fit. Early or not he needed to see Face.

When he arrived Face was asleep.

"Rose?"

"He can't talk and the coordination of his muscles he has worked so hard for is also lost again. Who can be so cruel?"

'Kyle can.' "He'll be fine Rose, he's a fighter."

Said fighter was rather a sleeper. His transfer to the VA had been arranged but he had yet to wake up. Murdock waited by his side but Face slept.

"Murdock go to your room, you'll miss supper, we'll bring him there shortly. Doc said he'll be transferred latest six, before his shift ends. He wants to make sure he's well settled." Richter who had come to see Face gave Murdock a sign with his eyes signaling him to move. He had been here for long, the chance of somebody recognizing the duo was getting too high, even though Face was hardly looking like himself at the moment.

Murdock let go off Face's hand and left. "See you soon Face."

When Face was getting prepared for the transfer he woke up. Rose was there, Richter, the other doc, some other nurse, but no team mate. He was tired and hurt all over. In addition the cozy blanket was gone and he was feeling cold. They gently lifted him and transferred him to a wheelchair but he cried out in pain. His ribs were on fire along with other parts of his body. By the time he could focus on something else than pain he was flat on his back again. A gurney on wheels was pushed alongside his bed.

"That will be easier on you."

Again he was transferred and while it hurt it was better than being forced in a sitting position. He had nothing to do than to lay on the gurney and get pushed around but he was wiped out when he arrived at Murdock's room. Murdock was there watching cartoons. He came over to the bed and helped getting him transferred, it was all so confusing. Murdock was not hurt but he had not come back for him, instead BA who had a broken leg came to his rescue. But now BA was nowhere to be seen and Murdock had not come to see him at the hospital while he had nothing better to do than watching cartoons, and where was Hannibal? Maybe now that he was back with Murdock things would get normal again, maybe if he trained hard like before the team would take him back. Had he disappointed Murdock with his slow performance? Was that why he hadn't come for him? He was so tired and found it hard to focus.

"Hey Face, how are you?" Murdock was holding his hand and running his other hand through Face's hair but he didn't respond. He was starring at nothing and within the minute his eyelids dropped shut.

"He needs rest Murdock, he's very weak from all the injuries and the bacteria, not to mention the drug."

"I know, I wish I could do more for him."

"I'm sure he knows you are here for him."

Face slept through the night and far into the morning. Around nine in the morning Rose found it odd that Murdock was still around, seemingly waiting for his friend to wake up. He had been sitting with the sleeping man ever since her shift had started at six, had even eaten in his room.

"Murdock, don't you need to run for your art course?"

Murdock was about to tell her it has ended when Richter who had just come inside interfered. "They are starting late today, but you should really get moving, he's in good hands here. Murdock, I need to get some mail posted, get ready and then do me a favor and pass my office to take it along."

Murdock threw him a look but said "Sure doc." He got up to get dressed and moved to Richter's office.

"Doc I can't leave him alone, he needs at least one of us around."

"The art course is your cover to come and go every day, if you blow that cover you can't leave the VA like you do now, I'm not as creative as Face. Besides you need to check on the others too and update them on his condition. Just return early, maybe two. We can say they are short of teachers or something."

"You think he'll wake up soon?"

"No telling, maybe, maybe not."

"Okay, I'll go, but call me the moment he wakes up."

"Deal."

Murdock left and it didn't take long for Face to wake up. The promised call had one hitch, Murdock didn't pick. Either he had no reception or he was out of the van to buy something. Richter couldn't tell. He would just have to try again.

Face looked around. To his relieve he could manage to move his head around with less effort than the day before, he seemed to gain some control. He saw Rose, but Murdock was nowhere to be seen.

"Good morning dear. How are you feeling today."

'Lousy.' He didn't even try to speak, no sense in it. Murdock was gone, nobody else had come for him too. They left him at the VA for them to do whatever they want.

"Hey how about you say hi to me? Come on, try."

'Just leave me alone. Anyway, it isn't your fault and I need my speech now that I'm on my own.'

"Hhhh….hhhhh."

"Hi is somewhat difficult. How about good as in good morning."

"gggooo…ggggoooooood."

"Great. How about breakfast?"

"yyyyyssss"

"I'll get you something in a minute. Let's see how your arms and legs cooperate. Raise your arms." He tried and came up with the result that at least they moved somewhat in the desired direction, but just one at a time and with a lot of effort and concentration. He was back to square one, or maybe two, and it was frustrating to no end. He managed to swallow some of the food Rose pushed into his mouth but that too was difficult and he fell asleep.

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Hannibal was doing better every day but he too still slept a lot and was weak. He managed to get out of bed and do the few steps to the bathroom but that was about it. He was laying in his bed where he had started reading the paper for the first time in a long time.

"BA can you get the phone to me or me to the phone? I need to call Face."

"The phone is in the hall and the cord is not too long but the Hulkster can help you over to it. When do you want to make the call?"

"Now, knowing Face he's waiting to hear from me. When was the last time any of us called?"

"Murdock is there every night, maybe still is, he's late today. We told you."

"Ah, yeah, now I remember, sorry BA, my mind is still foggy. Can you call Hulk for me?"

"Sure." BA used his crutches to get back to the living room and inform his friend. Soon Hannibal was sitting in a chair next to the phone and dialing Murdock's number.

"Hello?" Rose picked the phone.

"Hello? I want to speak to ahh, John Baker."

"Sorry Sir, the patient is asleep. Maybe you can try again."

"Asleep? Uhm, what would be a good time?"

"He's just napping, if you could call in two hours I think he should be awake by then."

"Okay, I'll call at 11.30. Please inform him when he wakes up. Tell him his Uncle Mr. Smith called."

"Okay Sir, I'll tell him."

"Thanks." Hannibal replaced the receiver. "He's asleep this time in the morning, that' strange, Murdock said he was getting better, I really need to talk to the kid."

Hulk helped Hannibal back to bed and he too fell asleep after the short tour. By the time Murdock arrived five minutes later the place was quiet. BA was watching sports on TV and Hulk was about to leave the house and do some shopping.

"You are late fool, how's the Faceman?"

"They had him transferred to the VA. He's in a lot of pain, can't talk and has a hard time getting his muscles under control. Much like the first time if not as severe. The injuries make it extra hard on him. He was still asleep when I left."

"Damn."

"Yeah."

"Hannibal tried to call him but he was asleep then too."

"I think it would be good for him to hear the colonel."

"Sure."

They fell into silence again.

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Somewhere around 11 Face opened his eyes. "Hey there, thought you wanted to sleep all day. You missed a call from your Uncle Smith."

Face's eyes moved to Rose and she saw something like hope in them. It was then she remembered that his Family had gotten him transferred here but had visited him just once at the first day.

"You miss your uncle? He'll call again at 11:30, said I should inform you."

Face's eyes wandered around and finally found the clock at the wall. It was five past eleven.

"Time will fly, you'll see."

Time didn't fly, it crawled. He willed the phone to ring but it didn't. He willed Murdock to come back but that too didn't happen. BA had a broken leg so his appearance was not likely, he wished so anyway. Maybe Hannibal in disguise as an uncle would come to get him.

The clock moved to 11:30 but nothing happened, it moved on to 12 and still nothing. Rose stuffed him with more food and he used all his willpower to not fall asleep. He managed to stay up until 13:15 but nothing happened. Finally his body gave out and he fell into a deep sleep.

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Hannibal woke up and felt like lead, the way you feel when sleeping very deep during the day. He checked his watch. 'Damn, I told the nurse I'll call at 11:30 and now it's getting to two.'

"Hulk. BA?"

"What's it Hannibal?"

"Can you help me to the phone, I need to call Face."

"Sure." Hulk helped him over and again the same nurse picked.

"You are late, he was waiting for your call, now he's asleep again."

"Again? I thought he was getting better."

Rose was getting angry. This man was not visiting his nephew and obviously didn't care about calling in time too.

"Maybe you should care a little more, he's been through a lot and is entitled to sleep and heal. Just leave a number so we can reach you when he's up."

"Sorry, I'm at a payphone. I'll just try again later."

He hung up again with no result. Sleep and heal? Just what had Kyle drugged him with. "Has any of you talked to Face lately, where is Murdock?"

"No, not in the last days. Murdock is gone back to the VA to be with him." BA didn't want to be the carrier of the news. Sometimes it could be hard to convince Hannibal to not kill the messenger.

"I have a feeling that I'm not up to date with my information's, I'll just sit here for a while and try again in half an hour." Hannibal knew when information was held away from him but he also knew he wouldn't get anything out of BA and Hulk was unlikely to know more than himself.

"Are you sure? This chair is not really comfortable. I can always help you back over."

"Thanks, I'll manage." He was angry and worried, and a little stubborn.

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Back at the VA Face was still asleep when Murdock arrived. The sleep was short-lived though as he begun to trash and whimper in a nightmare. Murdock tried to talk him out of it as he was used to do but it didn't work. Face became more and more worked up to the point where his whimpers turned into tormented screams of horror and several people were needed to keep him from further hurting himself. By the time he did wake up he was not in a mental state to recognize much around him. Murdock took some wet towels and bathed his forehead but he couldn't find any recognition in Face's eyes before he drifted off again.

Rose was more angry than before. "His uncle called today and had the nerve to ask why he is sleeping. His family should be ashamed of themselves, they move him here all the way from Washington to then not come and see him. He had so much hope in his eyes when I told him his uncle called and would call again at 11:30. He kept watching the clock and willed himself to stay awake but I could see all hope leaving his eyes as time passed. Can you imagine the uncle did not call back until close to two. Of course he couldn't stay awake that long. And then he had the nerve to ask why he was asleep again. Just terrible to have such relatives that don't give a damn as soon as he's not good enough in their eyes. They should just see how hard he tries."

"Don't worry Rose, maybe there was a reason why he didn't call in time."

"He hasn't come to see him all the time since he was brought here unless on the first day, he wasn't also around to make inquiries when he went missing, what kind of family is that?" Rose arranged the blankets around Face's shoulders, Murdock insisted they always cover him in two blankets the way he liked it, and run a hand over his hair. Then she left the room to go home as her shift had ended some time ago, leaving Dr. Richter and Murdock with Face.

Murdock was thinking. Did Face feel the same way as Rose did? Sure he must now they all care, or did he? Hannibal had not had a chance to talk to him in ages and Face didn't know how bad off Hannibal had been. Maybe all he needed was his team around him, in the past it had always helped his recovery to be around his teammates, no, for him it was more, it was his family, the only family he had.

"Doc, I think it's time Mr. Baker was transferred back to Washington, obviously the uncle that had asked for his transfer is not able to see him as often as his aging parents in Washington do."

"Huh?"

"I'll take him to the house tomorrow, you need to issue his transfer back to Washington to end the false paper trail."

"Murdock you can't, he is not ready, you can't care for him and the other two, it will put too much strain on you and not help him too."

"He's more than ready, Rose was right, he needs his family around, needs reassurance."

"Just make sure he can hear Hannibal on the phone for a minute, in addition to his problems caused by the drug his injuries need to be treated and his breathing has to be monitored, the coughs are hell on his ribs and the cramps are really bad, how do you want to do that without proper equipment and by yourself?"

"He's been worse before, we are used to treat each other and he carves the contact of his team when he's sick. I should have taken him along earlier. Some words on the phone will not cut it Doc."

"Murdock would you see reason? BA has a broken leg, Hannibal needs care himself. How are you going to manage Face on top?"

"Hulk is there to help, besides this is not about me, it's about Face and Face needs his team around, I can't keep him away from his family any longer."

While they continued arguing for a while Face started to shift and moan, this time it wasn't a nightmare that haunted him but he was hit by another nasty stomach cramp. Dr. Richter tried to keep him from curling up to tight to protect his ribcage while Murdock tried to massage his belly through spasmed abdominal muscles. They faintly registered the ringing phone in the background but nobody had time to pick it.