Disclaimer: I don't own the A-Team and I make no money from this.

Chapter 24 Slipping into the New Normal

Murdock woke with a start when Ray smacked his foot.

"Wake up, kid. It's time for breakfast."

Turning his head sideways, Murdock noted that Face's bed was still made. Apparently he and Maddy'd had a really good time together.

Scratching his head as he sat up and stretched, Murdock asked, "What's on our agenda today, Ray? You talk to Hannibal yet?"

"Hannibal said we get the day off."

"Oh. Great."

Murdock was having trouble working up any enthusiasm for R&R, as he considered what to do with his free day. Personal problems aside, he knew he needed to address the Kyle issue head on and get it resolved, the sooner the better. He didn't want to go up in the air with another totally unknown peter pilot again like he'd been forced to do for the last mission. Though he considered Kyle a good friend, he simply couldn't let the young AC's problems adversely affect the safety of his Team.

"You ready, Murdock?" Ray asked.

"Um, you guys go ahead," Murdock said, looking up at Ray, Gravy and BA, all standing there waiting for him. "I got some work I need to take care of."

Gravy raised an eyebrow at him. "We got the day off, timoun. What kinda work you got?"

"That's a damn good question," Ray said. "Hannibal ordered a day off, Murdock. You need it as badly as the rest of us."

Running his hands back through his hair, he said, "I gotta deal with this Kyle issue before it comes round to bite me in the ass."

Ray grimaced and gave a grudging nod. "That is important. But don't let it eat up your whole day. I'm betting the colonel has plans for tomorrow, so you need to take the R&R while you can."

"Yeah."

As his three teammates filed out, Murdock hesitated. Maybe he should have asked Ray to accompany him. He shook his head. He was going to have to get used to the new playing field with Syd at some point and now was as good a time as any.

Needing her input on what had happened with Kyle so he could make an informed decision, he knew there was no credible reason to delay. He reached into his locker and grabbed one of his collection of baseball caps and slapped it on his head before striding out of the barracks.

The door to Syd's hooch was propped open, and he could see her through the screen. He leaned on the doorjamb.

"Knock, knock."

She looked up, surprise quickly hidden behind a carefully guarded gaze. "Hey, HM. What brings you over here?"

"Told ya Lew wouldn't be back today."

Having stood and moved to the door, she pushed it open and stepped out. She gave a one-shouldered shrug.

"It was as good an excuse as any to leave you alone with Kate. How did your date go?"

Murdock really wasn't ready to talk about Kate yet, especially not with Syd.

"Alright, I guess. Anyways, that ain't why I stopped over. Uh, Kate mentioned last night that you had talked with Kyle and got him to go see Jim Lafferty. I could really use some help with that whole mess, Syd. Kyle won't even talk to me about what happened, he won't get in a chopper, and I'm runnin' outta ideas."

Her expressive features tightened with genuine concern. "I can only tell you what Ky told me. He's not getting past it, is he?"

"Apparently not. Harris is really worried about him, and I need to make a decision. I need a co-pilot that can do what needs to be done no matter how dicey things get. The shit we do is too risky to have a timid second, let alone one I can't get behind the damn stick. I gotta have someone I can count on and that's always been Ky, but now I'm not so sure."

Syd grimaced. "I hadn't even thought about that aspect of the problem."

"Well, I'd really appreciate any insight you could give me, sugah – uh, Syd."

The immediate tension in the air at his little slip of the tongue was unmistakable and Murdock silently kicked himself. He had to be more careful. Then his stomach rumbled. Sydney chuckled and he let himself relax marginally, offering her a lopsided grin.

"Haven't had breakfast yet," he said.

An internal struggle played itself out on her face. Finally she looked up at him with a tight smile.

"I haven't had breakfast either. How about we discuss this over dried eggs and leathery sausage?"

"Sounds like a plan."

At the mess tent they got their food and moved to the sitting area. Murdock noticed the guys sitting with Jakowski and his crew. Knowing he was going to end up answering a lot of questions just based on Ray's probing look, he raised a hand in greeting and gave the second LT a placating smile.

Then he ushered Syd toward a quiet corner of the tent. Their discussion required some privacy and Ray would understand that. At least once Murdock explained it to him… and he was sure he would be explaining it to him.

Sitting across the table from Syd, he opened the dialogue, keeping himself very focused on the issue at hand.

"I need your insight regarding Ky, Syd. Whatever you can give me, I'd really appreciate it."

Murdock ate while she talked, taking him through what had happened and what she had observed in a logical, thorough and perceptive narrative. He inserted periodic questions, but for the most part just let her go. The predicament with Kyle and Jimmy had obviously weighed on her, and she'd given it a lot of thought. Her analysis of the situation was very helpful, even if it wasn't encouraging where Kyle was concerned.

Setting his fork on his empty tray, Murdock considered what she had said as he stared at her nearly-untouched food. About all she'd eaten were a couple bites of egg and some toast. He pointed at her tray.

"You better eat or you're gonna waste away to nothin', Syd. And there ain't that much of ya to begin with."

She pushed the tray away, shaking her head. "Not hungry. At least not for this."

Murdock bit back the solicitous response that leapt to his lips. He suspected Syd wouldn't appreciate him trying to handle her, and it probably wouldn't do any good, any way. Where Sydney was concerned, he was going to have to become creative to ensure she was taken care of.

He shoved his tray to the side and leaned his arms on the table, refocusing on the topic of his co-pilot. "Sounds to me like Ky's lost his nerve. I was afraid of that."

"I hate to say it, but I think you're right. He could probably get it back, but it's difficult to be certain and it isn't likely to happen overnight."

"Can't afford to take chances 'round here, though, and I don't have time to wait. I'll have to go have a talk with Vickers, then… guess I'll be lookin' for a new co-pilot."

"I'm sorry, HM. I know that isn't what you wanted to hear."

"Not your fault. Was bound to happen eventually. Harris is hangin' up his rotors here in a month, anyway. If I gotta make a change, might's well make it wholesale."

"What are you gonna do?"

"I've had my ear to the ground for a month or so. Even before this cluster. Basically ever since Harris showed me his final orders. Got it narrowed to a couple prospects." He gave an unamused snort. "Unfortunately, one of them is your boyfriend's crew."

Syd pressed her lips into a thin line. "Jak isn't my boyfriend –"

"But he wants to be."

"That's irrelevant. All he's ever going to be is a friend. In fact, that's all I'm looking for from anyone I meet here. Friendship. Anything else is just too… troublesome."

Smirking, Murdock said, "Troublesome is an interesting word choice. Is that what I am, troublesome?"

Blue eyes flashing, Syd glared at him. "Don't be an ass. You know as well as I do that I care for you. It's not like I could deny it. You're… you and Face, both, are probably my best friends. And perhaps you haven't noticed, but that's pretty important to me. I don't make friends easily, HM."

Properly chastised, Murdock gave her what he hoped was an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Syd. I keep thinkin' I'm getting the hang of this new playbook we're goin' by, but I think it's gonna take some practice."

Her face softened and she gave a little chuckle.

"I know. I'm sorry I snapped at you. I just don't want to screw up our friendship. It's too important to me. Besides, I think Kate has already fallen pretty hard for you. And I'd like to think she could become a good friend, too."

Murdock sighed. "She already is a good friend, Syd. She really likes you. She told me so."

"Well, she told me she really likes you, too," Syd said. "I think that makes us both pretty lucky people."

Pressing his lips into a thin line, Murdock said, "I guess it does."

They both startled when Ray took a seat next to Syd at the same time Gravy plopped himself down next to Murdock. BA lumbered to the end of the table and made an imposing presence with his feet planted shoulder-width apart and his arms crossed.

"Hey, guys," Murdock said. "How was breakfast?"

"Thought you had work to do, ti gason," Gravy said.

"We were working," Syd said, casting a quelling look at Ray who was staring at Murdock with barely-veiled anger burning in his gaze.

Ray's eyes slipped to Syd's face, and the look softened. "What's up?"

"Kyle," Murdock said. "Syd's talked to him. Got him to set things straight with his peter pilot. I figured she could get me up to speed on what was going on. It's not looking favorable."

"Shit," Ray muttered.

They all liked the current air crew. Were comfortable working with them. Given the dangerous missions they flew that was important. Murdock knew that and it was why he was so careful when it came to choosing a crew.

"What do you guys think of Jakowski's crew?" he asked.

Ray snorted. "Oh, you mean that kid that apparently whipped your ass at cards last night?"

Consciously unclenching his teeth, Murdock managed a tight smile. "He didn't kick my ass. I threw in the towel before that happened. I'm not stupid."

The truth was that Murdock was fairly certain Jak had tried sharking him. He'd held his own early in the game, but as the night wore on, Jak had stopped toying with him and started playing serious poker. That was when Murdock realized he was severely outclassed. It was the first time he'd ever met his match in a card game.

"Was that afore or aftah ya lost all yer kob, ti gason?" Gravy asked with a snicker.

"I didn't lose too much," Murdock said. "Cut my losses and quit before I lost as much money to Jak as you've lost to me, ya goddam coonass."

"You played poker with Jak?" Syd stared at him, wide-eyed. "Last night?"

"I did. And if the kid's as good behind the stick as he is with those fuckin' cards I think I could have a rival for my howlin' mad title… as well as other things." He cast a suggestive look at Syd.

She smirked back at him. "You shouldn't approach him as a rival, HM. You should approach him as a potentially significant asset."

Shaking his head, Murdock stood. "Spoken like a true CIA agent, Sydney."

"That's why she's still hangin' around, isn't it?" Ray asked.

Murdock acknowledged the truth in the statement by making a face at his teammate. Ray's responding shit-eating grin irritated him, but he knew the man had both Syd's and his best interests at heart.

At this point, though, things between Sydney and him seemed to be settling into something he thought he could live with, at least for now. He really didn't want Ray, or Face for that matter, poking their noses in and screwing it up. Having decided that it was of the utmost importance to keep some kind of connection with Syd, he certainly wasn't going to quibble over the specific form of their relationship. What was critical was that they had a relationship.

He picked up his tray. "I gotta go talk to Vickers and then to Kyle and company. After that hopefully I can take our new potential chopper crew for a trial run on ass and trash. Got a long day ahead of me – especially for a day off. See y'all later."

As he walked away though, his thoughts were on Sydney. He had been allowing his physical desire to eclipse the other things about her that had initially attracted him. Her thoughtful intelligence was a big part of her appeal and their conversation this morning had reinforced that. He had forgotten how stimulating it could be to simply sit and talk to her. He still loved Sydney – probably always would. But if she could only do friendship, he'd take it.

He'd take whatever she was willing to offer.

rrr

Syd's gaze followed Murdock until he was out of sight. Ray shook his head and smirked at her. When her eyes finally met his, she frowned.

"Don't say it, Ray."

"I don't have to," Ray said. "But if you're both ok with the status quo, I'm thinking it's probably just as well right now."

Sydney stood. "Just as well, period."

She stepped out of the seat. Ray stood, too.

"Where are you running off to?"

"I already had my run this morning, Ray," Syd said with a grin before turning to walk away.

"Li'l fi bein' kinda cagey, eh?" Gravy said. "Wonder what she up to?"

Ray sighed. "Can't be anything good."

BA giggled. "She just knows it makes you nuts not knowin' what she doin', Ray. I think she's got yer number."

"You might be right," Ray said with a smile.

sss

Outside the mess tent, Sydney turned toward her hooch. She was exhausted, having stayed up most of the night. Her first chore had been to go through the files in the CIA offices, which had been a total wash. She had then spent an inordinate amount of time composing a letter ostensibly to Lee Zemekis, but coded for her ghost supervisor, Peter Quinn. The letter, with the film from her visit to Campbell's hooch, had gone into the post very early this morning. She was hoping to hear back from Quinn in short order, but had no idea how long it would take.

She had then tried to sleep, but after tossing and turning for a couple hours had gotten up and started reading the material Robbins had sent her. When Murdock had shown up she was just about ready to give up the pretense at work and lie down to try to catch some shuteye, again. At least now she was fairly certain she would go to sleep and not just lie there and obsess about… everything.

"Hey, Syd!"

She turned to find Face jogging to catch up with her. His shirt was hanging open, he was sporting a day's growth of fine whiskers on his square jaw with his hair mussed attractively, and his jacket was slung over his shoulder. It was impossible to deny just how rakish, and sexy, the handsome conman was. He fell into step beside her and she raised an eyebrow at him.

"I take it you had fun on your date with Maddy."

His responding grin was wide. "Oh, yeah. She could give Vi a run for her money. She's a real wild woman."

"Rivals Vi, huh?" Syd chuckled. "Now that is saying something."

His smile turned almost dreamy. "Just imagining a threesome with those two makes me hard. Damn."

"Good grief, Face. I hope you don't say things like that to other women."

"Naw, only you. Talkin' to you is kinda like talking to one of the guys… different but the same. It's a little weird, actually." Face's brows had knitted together but as he cast a sideways glance at her, his expression cleared and he gave her a lewd grin. "Different in the sense that if you were interested in a threesome… with either Maddy or Vi, I could definitely go for that."

"You're so full of shit that those blue eyes of yours are gonna turn brown, Lieutenant."

"Was that a 'yes, I'm interested' or a 'get the hell away from me, you sex-crazed asshole?'"

"Actually, neither," Syd said with a shrug. "As for you being a sex-crazed asshole, that doesn't really bother me. But if you start pointing that thing in your pants in my direction you're likely to lose it."

"I'm starting to understand why Murdock never closed the deal with you," Face said as he deliberately moved a step away from her. The grin he turned on her a moment later was teasing, though. "You are one weird woman, Sydney."

Syd shook her head. "You think I'm weird. Look in the mirror."

They walked in silence for a few seconds. Face shifted so he was walking next to her again and looked down, his expression suddenly uncertain.

"Hey, you haven't, uh, maybe seen Murdock this morning, have you?"

"Yeah."

Several beats of silence and Face asked, "He didn't seem… pissed off, did he?"

Syd suspected she knew what Face was worried about and decided it would be fun to mess with him.

"You mean because you abandoned him last night on his date?"

"Aw, shit." Face grimaced. "He was pissed, wasn't he? I knew it. It's just… Christ, when Maddy offered to lick that chocolate mousse off anything? I mean, honestly, what the hell is a guy to do? You just don't pass up an offer like that."

Syd's eyes widened and she doubled over in silent laughter.

Face turned and looked at her. "What?"

Catching her breath, Syd managed to choke out, "Oh. My. God. You are such a sex addict, Face. You know, I think there are twelve-step programs for people like you."

She lapsed into breathless giggles, again.

"You find this amusing. One of my best friends is going to pound me into a pulp and you're entertained."

Syd stifled her laughter enough to say, "You can rest easy. Murdock isn't pissed at you… at least as far as he told me."

"Oh. So you didn't see him?"

Expression sobering, she considered the movie debacle the previous night. If Face hadn't been so busy making another sexual conquest, he would have been sitting with Murdock and Kate – meaning she could have avoided it. Even if Murdock wasn't angry at Face, she came to the conclusion that she definitely was. She crossed her arms and glared at the conman.

"Oh, I saw him, alright. Kate even saved Jak and me seats. So I got to witness the whole fucking date up close and personal. Thanks a whole hell of a lot, Face."

Good mood entirely evaporated, Syd continued to fume at the lusty lieutenant. Him and his goddam libido had left her high and dry and riding shotgun on a date she'd never intended to be on. The disaster of an evening was now front and center in her thoughts, with her hopes for sleep dying in the stranglehold of her personal obsession – HM Murdock. The man was going to make her fucking insane.

"Geez, Syd, I'm sorry." Face turned to look at her, shaking his head and looking perplexed. "But why the hell would you sit with them?"

"Kate was practically flashing a neon sign when we got to the theater. I tried to ignore her, but Jak waved and then I couldn't ignore her, and I didn't want to hurt her feelings. I mean, she thinks Murdock and I are good friends. How was I supposed to explain why I wanted to sit as far as absolutely possible away from them? How, Face? Tell me that?"

It had all spilled out in a rush, her voice becoming shriller the longer she spoke. Syd grimaced. She sounded so… female.

Face's eyes were wide and sympathetic. Wrapping a comforting arm around her shoulders, he pressed his cheek to the side of her head as he squeezed.

"You and Murdock are good friends, Syd. This situation is just a little… awkward and uncomfortable. It'll pass, but it's probably going to take some time. I really am sorry. If I'd been there I could have run interference for you. I didn't even think about it."

As often happened when she was shown sympathy, Syd felt her protective barriers falling. She fought to maintain her control as tears threatened. Shrugging off Face's arm, she picked up her pace and cleared her throat.

"It's fine. It all turned out fine. Murdock seemed to enjoy the movie. He and Kate were snuggled together all the way through it. That was the goal, right?"

Face's eyebrows shot up. "Snuggled together? Really?"

"Yeah. Really."

"Guess I'm not such a bad matchmaker."

Swallowing a lump in her throat, Syd managed, "I gotta go, Face."

She absolutely refused to break down in front of him. If he knew how hard this was for her she was certain that he'd feel terrible. Face might be a player, but deep inside he harbored a true heart of gold – especially where his friends were concerned. At least she was pretty sure they were friends.

"Syd, hang on." He grabbed her arm and she reluctantly turned to face him. His tone was serious as he searched her eyes and asked, "Are you ok?"

Taking a deep breath, she patted his hand.

"I'm fine, Face. I'll be fine. You and I both know Murdock's better off with Kate, anyway. You even said it – Kate's the kind of woman Murdock can settle down with, not me…"

"You heard that? Damn, Syd. That's not what I meant."

Over Face's shoulder Syd caught sight of a familiar figure. What was Colonel Lionel Warrington doing in Nha Trang? The last time she'd seen him was when she was up in Da Nang with the USO.

Grateful for the distraction, she squeezed Face's hand as she disengaged it from her arm.

"I really need to get going, Face. I'll talk to you later, ok?"

"Syd…"

"Later. I promise."

Face's grip tightened on her hand, and she looked up to find his worried expression locked on her.

"Over a fifth. After dinner. Just you and me and we'll talk this out. Deal?"

Syd smiled at him. He really was a good friend.

"Deal."

anananananan

A/N: Thanks to SandraSmit19 and wotumba1 for the reviews.