Chapter 34:

He was thrashing from side to side mumbling in his sleep. "Please stop, no, ow, please." As he did so he was trying to curl into a ball and Hannibal watched out for his bad hand while Murdock was watching his leg. Then he stilled just to whimper and cradle his arm the next moment. They tried to wake him but it didn't work. The dream had a hard grip on him and the painkiller plus the exhaustion made it impossible for him to escape it. All they could do was to watch the show and make sure he doesn't hurt himself anymore.

He moved again this time laying straight, just throwing his head here and there mumbling, "Please Sister Margaret, …ow you're hurting me, …please stop. I didn't mean to ….oww….it wasn't my fault….oww, it hurts...please." Then he went on to "Hannibal, please help me. Don't let them do it again." Closely followed by "Please, Sister Margaret, stop, don't be mad at me."

Those scenes repeated themselves without a pattern and at a point tears were streaming out from under closed lids. After minutes that seemed like hours to the team and Maggie, he stilled again and continued sleeping, the dream having evaporated.

"He was dreaming about the camps again." Murdock had a faraway look in his eyes, fighting his own demons.

"Sounded like, mixed with something from the orphanage" Hannibal wished he could make it all better for Face. He felt like he was failing him, not being able to rouse him from his sleep and help him fight his dreams.

BA spoke in a very quiet but dangerous unusual tone. "If this doctor triggered the memory of when they broke his arm I'm gonna pound him for sure. He never spoke of it."

They were all silent for a while, lost in bad memories. After some time Hannibal decided Maggie deserved an explanation. "He was taken for interrogation and they broke his right forearm. They were in a hut…we couldn't see him but we heard him scream. Face hardly ever screamed. When they brought him back hours later his arm was at an odd angle and he couldn't even talk; he was just laying on the floor crying and whimpering and cradling his arm. We had nothing to use as splint. All we could do for him was set the bones. He later on told me they broke it and then twisted it to get him to talk. They came back for him after two days and when he came back the arm was at another odd angle. They repeated this several times. He developed a fever and I feared he would lose the arm even if we managed to get away. When they came again he cried for me to help him, to not let them do it again but there was nothing I could do. I couldn't protect him. After that they didn't do it again and to our surprise the arm healed. The doc later on said it was a wonder he recovered fully. By the time we escaped he couldn't use it much."

They remained in silence for another half an hour until Face woke up.

"Hey there kid. How're you feeling."

"Hand still hurts. Nauseous….pain killer."

"Try to breathe through it Face." Maggie helped him move to his side until he felt better.

Murdock saw the look in Face's eyes and knew he remembered his dream. He decided for a frontal approach. "Weird dream?"

Face sighed, "I spoke?"

"You did. Who's Sister Margaret?"

"Was really weird. She was in the camp tending to my broken arm in the dream. She wasn't that bad, just had too much to do and got rough when we caused her extra work. In her eyes getting hurt during sports or playtime was causing her extra work. She would make sure scrubbing the wound hurt more than getting it in the first place. Whether it was your fault or not didn't matter. There were a group of bullies that had it in for the smaller ones once she was on duty."

B.A. mumbled angrily and wrung his hands together. "And you was one of the small ones."

Face nodded and then instantly paled. "Ugh," he moaned. This time Hannibal helped him roll to his side and grabbed the bucket just in case. He rubbed circles on Face's back as he fought the nausea. Once it subsided again, he remained on his side and started talking again. "Dr. Matthews had that same look in his eyes and the same tone of voice. I was just another inconvenience." Under his breath but loud enough so they could hear he added, "just as I am to all of you."

"Face, you are not an inconvenience," Maggie asserted. "That Matthew's creep should have his medical license revoked."

Face shivered as a pain shot through his fingers. "God, my hand hurts," he whimpered. "Are you sure it's getting better?"

Maggie smiled reassuringly. "The discomfort is a result of the examination. It's healing nicely. The creep said so before leaving…he even said that the wire could be removed in a couple of weeks."

"Wonderful, more pain," Face sighed.

"Yes, it will require another surgery," Maggie admitted. "But this time you can be sedated and the end result will be worth it."

"What a relief, Facey," Murdock beamed. "Because you wouldn't want to set off any alarms at the airport next time we fly."

"I ain't flyin' nowhere!" B.A. growled.

"Calm down, B.A. We're not flying anywhere yet," Hannibal said. "But we are going to be changing scenery. It's time we move on." Hannibal didn't want to go into detail of why; Face had enough to worry about. "Think cabin, Face."

Face paled again and this time lost the battle with his stomach.

When he was done being sick, Murdock handed him a glass of water and joked, "If you didn't want to go the cabin, you could have just said so."

Face grinned sheepishly. "You know how I love the wilderness," he rasped.

Hannibal was thrilled that Face had made even that small attempt at humor after the events of the day. Perhaps this could be a new start for him…for them all. "Okay, get some rest troops…we leave tomorrow morning."

The three hour drive to the cabin was difficult on Face who was still feeling the after effects of the pain killer. They made him as comfortable as possible in a makeshift bed in the back of the van, but his hand seemed to throb with each bump they hit and even his foot was starting to ache. He was close to asking B.A. to pull over right when the big guy announced that they had arrived.

They set Face up on the couch in the hopes that he would feel less cooped up and more a part of the group. The ride had taken a toll on him and he immediately fell into a deep sleep. One of the two bedrooms of the cabin was taken by Murdock and BA and the other one by Maggie and Hannibal.

"Here's the plan," Hannibal said, unlit cigar between his lips. "Mark will be coming here in about ten days to check on Face and hopefully remove the wire. I didn't want him to know our location, so B.A., you'll pick him up."

"Right," B.A. said.

"Until that time we focus on relaxing and try to keep things as calm as possible. If the surgery goes well, we will head back to Los Angeles as soon as Maggie and Mark say it's okay."

Hannibal glanced at the sleeping Face on the couch and said a silent prayer. 'Please God, watch over my son."

"Colonel, when did you speak to Mark?" Murdock was confused. They had been in the van together and Hannibal would have said something had he spoken to him before they left.

"I didn't. He left a message on Maggie's car phone. Said he left in a hurry and had only her number on him. Also said that that creep Matthews would be coming to check on Face and that he would be back in approximately three weeks…meaning less than two from now."

"That at least explains why we didn't know that doc was coming."

They had picked Maggie's car from the parking garage on their way. She has not had any access to the phone before then.

"Everybody out now, enjoy the fresh forest air. But keep it quiet as long as Face sleeps, he still needs the rest." Maggie took over command and received three mocked "Yes, sir" in return. It was good to see some friendly banter among them again. The team was also healing.

Face woke up a while later and took in his surroundings. He was alone on the couch in a bare living room. The bag containing his belongings stood in the corner next to a small bag with bandages, meds and other medical supplies. They had finally come to their senses and run.

From his position on the couch he could see the kitchen cabinets. All doors were open and they were empty. They would surely not leave him out here without any food while he isn't able to fend for himself. It wouldn't make any sense to leave him the medical supplies then. Were they still around? Maybe he had slept for only a few minutes and they were still unpacking the van. But the door to the cabin was closed. It would be open if they were going in and out to unpack. He could yell to find out whether he was alone but if he was not and they came running, how would he explain the yelling without making a complete fool of himself?

The physical sessions had gone well and by now he was able to walk a few steps between his teammates without the risk of passing out. He could sure make it the few steps from the couch to the window and look outside. Decision made he sat up, waited for the room to stop spinning and then lowered his legs to the floor. He allowed himself a moment to get used to it and then carefully stood up. Again he had to wait for the world to come to a standstill. Just as he prepared to take the first step the door opened. Panicked, he wanted to drop back down to the couch and pretend as if nothing had happened but that wasn't an option. Instead he remained in his position.

"Just what do you think you are doing? I don't recall having lifted the part of your restriction that says stay put."

"Face felt his cheeks burn red and lowered his head to hide it. "I'm sorry, I just….just…"

Hannibal looked around the room and understood. "You just thought we had finally left you and wanted to check if it was true, right?"

Face nodded, gaze still at the floor.

"Kid, we only didn't want to disturb your sleep by clattering about in the kitchen. And our bags are in the bedrooms. Sorry, we should have thought of it and left somebody to sit with you." He sensed Face's discomfort and embarrassment and decided to change the topic. "Since you are standing and you seem to be doing well, why not go over to the window and take in your surroundings?"

Face was grateful for the way out and relieved that his fears had not come true. He carefully took the five steps to his destination and leaned on the window still. There was a small clearing in front of the cabin, they were surrounded by forest and through the trees he could see a nearby lake. It struck him that he had not realized any of that when they came here. He was in too much pain then to take it all in.

Murdock was currently crouched on the floor at the far side of the clearing, discussing something with a formation of leaves. The moment he saw Face at the window he jumped up and shouted for Maggie and BA, pointing at the window with the biggest smile on his face. They all waved at him.

"Let's get you back to the couch kid. Don't overdo it." Hannibal was behind him and took him by the elbow. Together they made it back to the couch. Just when Face was settled BA and Murdock came in carrying bags of food.

"Was 'bout time them foods got outta my van. What did you buy, fool? Somethin' s smellin'."

Face looked at Hannibal. "I'm sorry."

"What are you now sorry for? I hear that way too often lately."

"We had to leave your place because of me and I'm not up to scamming something bigger than this."

"We didn't have to leave because of you."

"Yes we did. After that doctor came there we could not be sure if he can be trusted and he came because of me."

"We are moving around all the time. If it was someone's fault then it was Mark who decided to get this creep involved without asking us." Hannibal had never met Matthews but hated him with a vengeance for what he had put Face through. "And besides, what is it you don't like about the cabin you rented?"

"I rented?"

"Yes you did. If it was not for all your carefully constructed aliases complete with background and credit cards, I could not have gotten us this place. This was your doing Face; your thinking ahead for emergency situations."

"But…but if I could do my job, I could have scammed us something bigger. Where I could be out of the way in another room and you wouldn't need to keep quiet because I sleep."

BA shook his head and muttered, "It's a wonder I'm still intact, stuck with two fools and a jazz addict." A bit louder and looking at Face he added "Ever thought that maybe we don't want you out of the way? You could easily fit in with me and Murdock but I don't want you to hide in a bedroom all day. You had enough solitary time in the last house, got your chance to think through whatever it was you needed to think through. Now it's about time you stopped leavin' us alone. I'm goin' bonkers with that fool… he's your pet."

Face was at a loss of words. He was overwhelmed. They wanted him around, had just given him some space to think. And BA had said it. BA who normally disapproved of him the most. He was beaming on the inside. But outward he was a heap of mixed emotions unable to form a coherent sentence.

"I…I…thanks." No words were needed anyway. His eyes sparkled again and he had a genuine smile on his face. That was worth more than a thousand words to his team.

Over the next few days he improved a lot. He was allowed to go outside with the help of someone and could now walk around the clearing on his own; he only needed help when it came to taking the few steps in and out of the cabin.

One evening, when the sun set, Hannibal found him sitting with his back to a tree at the far side of the clearing, wearing a satisfied smile on his face. His eyes were trained on BA, Murdock and Maggie who were preparing a barbecue close to the cabin.

"Penny for your thoughts, kid?"

"I just thought that after all there must be something good to me."

"That will earn you only half a penny. I want the full story."

"Ehm, I mean, if I deserve people like you to stick around for so long, I can't be all bad."

Hannibal laid a hand on Face's shoulder. "You aren't kid, not at all. I'm glad your thoughts finally took the first step in the right direction."

"Me too," Face grinned. "It felt like I was losing my mind. I'm finally feeling like myself again only…," he paused.

"Only what?" Hannibal prodded.

"Only…more relaxed. I'm actually starting to like me a little bit."

"Well, we happen to like you a whole lot," Hannibal gave the shoulder a small squeeze.

They stayed that way, side by side, for a while enjoying the moment. The moment was interrupted by the bellowing of B.A. "I pity the fool that messes with my burgers!"

"Guess we better be getting back, huh?" Hannibal asked.

"Yeah, something tells be Murdock may need our help." Face said while struggling to stand up.

Hannibal held out his hand. "Need some help?"

Face grasped his hand and held it for a second before moving. At that moment he realized how many times Hannibal had been there to pick him up when he was down. "Thanks," he smiled. "For everything."

B.A. was cleaning his van a couple of days later when he noticed Face walking toward the cabin He had been fishing with Murdock earlier, but stayed after the pilot left to enjoy the fresh air. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Face stop suddenly and start to sway. B.A. ran over and grabbed him under the armpits.

"You okay, man?"

"Yeah, I guess I just overdid it today. Got kind of dizzy," Face said, as B.A. helped him over to the van and slid open the side door so he could sit.

"Just rest here a minute and then I'll help you back in." B.A. continued washing the car as he was never one for small talk. When he looked over at Face a few minutes later he saw a faraway look in his eyes, and felt he needed to say something. "Penny for your thoughts."

"Hannibal wanted to give me a penny the other day…the price has risen. It'll cost you at least a nickel," Face joked.

"Put it on my tab," B.A. retorted. "You thinkin' about tomorrow, ain't ya?"

"I'm nervous. What if something goes wrong?"

"Mark's good at what he do, man. Don't worry...you'll be fine." B.A. hoped he was right.

Face looked down at his cast and spoke. "It's my shooting hand, B.A. What good would I be to the team if I can't even handle a gun.?"

"You'd still be just as important." It was B.A.'s turn to look down. He was embarrassed at sharing his feelings. "Especially to me."

Face looked up in awe; he was rendered speechless.

"You very important to me 'cause you keep the fool out of my hair," B.A. continued. He looked at Face and smiled impishly, but the gleam in his eyes meant that it was much more than that. "Let's head inside, Faceman. You got a big day ahead of you tomorrow and I have a long drive."