Authors' Notes: Well here's the last chapter of this part folks, we hope you've enjoyed it and be on the look out for part 5 titled "High Stakes" everyone ends up in Vegas. But for now on with this part. :) In this chapter Charissa gets to know Murdock a little better and gains an understanding of him.
Murdock was pleased to see Sosa, "Cap'n!" He exclaimed, holding his arms out for a hug as he saw her enter his room, "Oh I'm so glad you're all right. Is everybody outside? I know visitin' hours are over..."
Charissa eyed the bandage on her arm and sighed before giving Murdock a small smile, "Yeah they are and everyone's good. I got clipped by a bullet though." She nodded at her left arm, "Five stitches too." She muttered.
"oooh." He looked, "They give ya the special colored stitches? They give those to the little kids sometimes, today there was this little blonde girl, Annie, she had pink stitches in her arm, she said it made her feel like Barbie."
She smiled as she gave Murdock a hug and stepped back, "Nope, just regular for me. Though I probably would've gotten blue ones if I had known. Blue is my favorite color." It was easy to talk to Murdock, she sometimes wished she could have him nearby always just for that purpose.
Murdock smiled and leaned back in his fluffy pillows. "Blue's a nice color, it's a pretty color." he tilted his head at her, "But you didn't come in here just to show me your stitches. You all right?"
She sighed, "I don't know." She shifted a little, "Just worried about you… and still feeling guilty." She kept the small smile across her lips, "And other things." She looked away from him for a moment, staring at her hands before looking back.
Murdock attempted to crawl his way out of bed to get to her, but nearly fell onto the floor instead, "Oomph! Owww..."
"What do you think you're doing!" She moved swiftly and helped him, "Are you crazy?" She got him settled again and settled on the side of his bed, her hand over her heart for a moment, "You about scared the shit out of me."
"Sorry," He cracked a grin, rubbing his arm gently, "I keep forgettin' I'm tied down. Gravity's a real bitch, don't you think so, mm?" He laid back in the pillow, but took her hand to keep her from moving away, "I hate it. Flying's what keeps me grounded." He giggled at the odd phrasing, "I love being up in the air. I love risin', I love flyin', hell I even love fallin'. As long as I know I can jump up again." His eyes glittered, then darkened, "It's when I can't get up that I start to feel scared."
She smiled a part of her wishing she could be like him at times, "I think I understand perfectly." She said, her mind wandering to thoughts of the things that kept her grounded the most and what scared her, "And yes, gravity is a bitch." She agreed with a small chuckle.
"I can't get up from here." he said in a low voice, squeezing her hand but not meeting her eyes, "I'm not only tied down, but my body ain't hearing what I'm tellin' it to do and that's pretty damn scary too." he lifted his legs slowly, making motions as though he was raising them out of molasses, "I can't run right now, hell I can't lift anything bigger than a water cup and they tell me I'm gonna get better but I wanna be better now."
She nodded, remembering how she had felt in Korea when she was recovering in the hospital, "Yeah it sucks. Especially when you don't like these places." She gave his hand a gentle squeeze, "But you'll be back in the pilot's seat before you know it." Charissa assured him.
"Can't wait. B.A. probably can though." Murdock grinned, "That big ugly mudsucker tell you that I'm the reason he's afraid to fly?"
She laughed, "No, but I tried to get it out of him earlier." She turned and settled back on the bed next to the Captain, shifting a little so she could face him while he talked.
"Well, see, there was this time in Mexico, back when we didn't know each other." He nodded, "Back when it was just Hannibal and Face, scammin' people and doin' missions. The Colonel ran into B.A. on the road, took a shot in his arm, can you believe it?" he grinned. "They pulled Face outta a tight spot and then came lookin' for me. I was in a psych ward," here he frowned, "and they came in lookin' for me, did he tell you I was a doctor and gave him a lightnin' bolt stitch?"
She listened with rapt attention, "Actually he did as I was heading off to get my arm taken care of. That's pretty cool by the way." She smiled in a way that made her nose crinkle a bit.
Murdock let out a whoop of joy as he continued, "Anyway, we took off in this big ol' hunk of junk helicopter, a big rustbucket, because we were bein' chased. In the air, well, we had a few scrapes and narrow misses and B.A., he fell out the side. Face pulled him back in, but, he thought he was gonna die. After that, well, no more flyin' for him." He nodded.
She laughed, "Best story ever. Seriously. I feel like I missed out on that." She sat up and eyed the time, "I better go, you need to rest and we've got one more job to do soon." She moved to stand then stopped and sat back down for a moment, "Thank you for being a fighter with this, I don't think I could've lived with myself if you had…" She didn't finish the sentence; she didn't want to say it.
"Oh, I'd come back and haunt you." Murdock teased, "You and Faceman, I'd be the best house-ghost ever, I'd turn on the tv in the middle of the night and go dancin' across the ceilin' like Fred Astaire. I'd make breakfast in the morning and watch over you all day an' make sure you two are okay." His smile was a little sad, "And I'd go flyin' all the time."
She smiled, "You'd have to haunt B.A. too, he'd be upset if you didn't." She gave the pilot another careful hug and then stood, "When I get back to D.C. I'm getting you that Ipod and some cds too. What do you like to listen too?"
"Oh, any ol' thing." He relaxed into the pillows, "Fill me up with some classic rock and some new stuff. Listen to the radio for an hour and get me every song you hear." He chuckled.
She nodded, "Alright. I'll see what I can do." She smiled and turned leaving the room, a brow arching as the sound of Murdock whistling a very familiar tune followed her out. She made her way up to the lobby and eyed the guys, "I'm good, let's go."
B.A. looked up at her, " How many?"
"Five." She sighed, "The nurse was good too, hardly a tugging sensation."
"That's great!" Face nodded, "Is Murdock doing all right?"
Hannibal was signing some paperwork, "Heading back to the hotel...get a good night's sleep...start planning for the American raid. Murdock can't be moved, so we'll have to come back for him afterward."
She nodded, "Yeah, he's almost his old self again." She came up to Face and leaned against him, the pain killers they had shot into her starting to take effect.
Eddie swallowed hard watching her go to the other man, a part of the Scot wished it was still him she would run to… but the rest of him understood that it never would've worked out anyways. She wasn't the settling down type, he had learned that after a few years of keeping tabs on her.
B.A. shook his head, "Ain't no way I'm gonna be able to sleep Hannibal. I'm too pumped."
Hannibal shook his head. "Then find those two young ladies you were with. Or go for a swim, or a run. Just please don't do anythin foolish."
Face wrapped his arms around Charissa, gentle but strong. He rested his head on hers, tilting his chin against her hair, "Let's go back."
B.A. laughed, "Yes, sir." He headed out the doors.
Eddie stood a moment longer, watching them and then slowly followed B.A. exhaling a heavy sigh as he did.
B.A. being more observant than most tended to give him credit for arched a brow, "She's where she belongs. Leave it fool." He instructed the Agent as he climb into the backseat of the guy's ride.
Eddie nodded slowly, "Yeah. I know…it's just at one time I thought it was me she'd be happy with."
The Sergeant nodded, "I don't completely understand but I hear ya." He didn't get all this love business; it was too complicated for him. Sure he liked having a good looking girl or two on his arm but as far as a girlfriend well, it was again too complicated.
Charissa sighed and put her arms around his middle for a moment as she breathed him in, he smelled like gun oil, aftershave and something else… something that was just all him, "Yeah. Let's go." She shifted out of his arms and headed outside.
The end, well sort of. I'll have a eplogue up here soonish to wrap it all up for you guys. :)
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