After Bad Rock

Warning: This following story contains extreme,graphic, and repetitve physical, sexual and psychological torure. We love Face, but we were not nice to him at all in this one. Consider yourself warned...read at your own risk...and hopefully enjoyment!

Chapter 34

It was all starting to make sense now. He had often wondered why the colonel bothered with him in the first place, and now he knew the truth. John "Hannibal" Smith did not like to lose and would go to great lengths to come out on top. It was one of the qualities that made him such a good leader and an inspiration to his men. Face just wished he hadn't decided to play games with his life.

But why would he keep Face around all these years later? The answer to that was simple: to get them things. Face could get whatever was asked of him no matter where they were and under any circumstances. 'Hannibal must have gotten used to the luxury and decided it was worth putting up with me even after the bet was over,' Face thought feeling stupid and used.

'I sure wish Face wasn't shot…the reason I keep him around is to get us medical care when needed.'

Those were the words Face first heard when he was coming to after the City Hall shooting. At the time he thought Hannibal was kidding. But he wasn't…he was being completely honest at a moment when he thought that Face couldn't hear him. He closed his eyes and went back to that day once more.

There was an intense pain in his shoulder that brought him out of his haze. Something…make that somebody…was pressing down on top of the wound.

'I sure wish Face wasn't shot…the reason we keep him around is to get us medical care when needed.'

Face's eyes fluttered open to see a serious Hannibal straddle over him and applying pressure to slow the bleeding.

'Han…bal.'

'Don't talk…just be still.'

Hannibal was all business and Face did as told. He didn't have the energy to do much more anyway.

Murdock was rummaging through the med kit, but he took the time to look up and smile. 'Glad to see you back with us, buddy.'

Even B.A. who was bringing in their gear from the van came over. 'You gonna be just fine, Faceman.'

Face looked back to Hannibal who refused to meet his eyes. Something felt wrong…the colonel looked angry…but at who?

'Facey, we're a bit low on supplies,' Murdock said gently. 'We don't have anything to numb you up…you have to be real quiet so the neighbors don't hear.'

Face nodded his understanding as Hannibal and Murdock switched places.

Murdock held one side of him and B.A. the other as Hannibal robotically went about stitching and cleaning the gaping hole.

Murdock and B.A. had talked to him the entire time trying to distract him from the agony, but what was more distracting was the lack of support from Hannibal.

Face was drenched with sweat and shaking viciously by the time it was through. He remembered trying to talk but not being able to form a sentence before falling unconscious again.

What happened in the room after that Face didn't know. He was out cold for another day and a half before waking up back in the van on their way to a new location. But now that Face had the time to reflect upon it he realized that Hannibal must have been angry at him for not having the supplies he needed. 'That's the only reason he wants me around…and I failed.'

A knock on the door brought him out of his thoughts with a jolt.

"Face, can I come in?" The muffled voice came through the door.

It was a female voice and Face's heart began to race. 'Sue…she's back! I have to get out of here.' He climbed out of the bed as quickly as his mending body allowed.

"Face?"

He was halfway across the room when the dizziness hit and he fell to his knees on the floor.

Maggie heard a thump and immediately opened the door. "Face!"

"No…please…no more, Sue."

Face's eyes were wide open and he was looking at her, but obviously seeing something else. "Face…it's Maggie. Can you hear me?"

Face looked like a train running out of steam. "I…Maggie? No…it's a trick…I…can't…no…"

Maggie inched forward. "It's okay…just calm down. It really is me. Sue is in jail…she can't hurt you anymore."

Face looked into her eyes and saw that is was really Maggie. "Thank God." He sagged all the way to the floor breathing hard and trembling.

Maggie knelt down beside him and held his head in her hands. "Come on Face, let's get you back to bed, you'll get cold on the floor here."

She helped him up but he was leaning heavily on her. One step revealed that his legs were not going to support him and his knees gave out. He sagged down again. Together they made another attempt but there was no way Face would stand on his own legs again, let alone walk. He was trembling with exhaustions by the time Maggie had lowered him to the floor again.

"Let me get you some blankets and then I'll remove the mattress from the bed for you to lay on. Last thing we need is you getting sick from cold, besides the floor is hard and uncomfortable."

Maggie wrapped a blanket around Face's trembling shoulders and he realized just how cold he felt.

"T…th..anks Maggs."

Another thought struck him. He couldn't even get up, he couldn't care for himself and there was no way he could protect Maggie. If Sue came back now he would get Maggie in trouble again with nothing he could do. Sue had proven to be good at stalking him out and finding the moments when he was weak. She would be here any minute, the whole team was gone, he was left with Maggie and the whole damn thing would happen again, they were sitting ducks. He could not let that happen. Not only would he never forgive himself for getting Maggie in trouble again but Hannibal would probably kill him. Now that he knew how weak his position on the team was he couldn't risk anymore screw ups if he wanted to stay among the guys. Getting them supplies counted only so much, he was replaceable. He had to protect Maggie and he had to work extra hard to get the team all the supplies they needed and then some.

"Maggie, quick, get out of here… you're not safe. Go …go to…the Holmes'…to Hannibal."

"Face, this is my home, I'm perfectly safe here, don't worry honey."

"No,no…she…she'll come…she'll come again and I can't protect you…go..hurry." Face was breathing faster; his eyes were darting around the room lingering on the window before darting back to the door.

"Face, you need to calm down, Sue is in prison, she can't hurt you. It's over Face, you're safe and so am I. Calm down."

"No…please…go."

The ringing of the bell startled both of them.

"Oh no…go..go through the window…she wants me , you can get away safe..hurry."

"Face, calm down, she's in prison. I'm going to answer the door, maybe someone needs my help."

"No, no…it's a trick." Face had grabbed Maggie's arm and wasn't about to let her go to the door where Sue waited, he was sure of that.

"Mags?"

"Hank. Back here, Face's room."

"No, no, it's a trick…get out of here, fast."

The door opened and Hank came hurrying inside. "Mags? What happened?"

When Face saw that it really was Hank all energy drained from him and he would have hit the floor had Maggie not held him up. He was relieved but also felt stupid for having putt up such a fuss.

"Hank you're my savior. Help me get him back on the bed."

Together they maneuvered Face on his bed being careful of his many injuries. Face was out cold before they even reached the bed.

"What happened here?"

"He was afraid, or rather terrified, that Sue would come back. He insisted I should go. The poor boy wanted to protect me; I guess he feels guilty for freezing the other time."

"Poor kid, I really don't want to be in his shoes. But she's safely locked away, just saw her and now my deputy is keeping an eye on her, that lunatic." Hank took a closer look at Face. "I came to say goodbye but looking at him, do you think it's such a good idea to let them go? He looks really terrible and weighs almost nothing. I can keep her a little longer, might attract some trouble but our town owes them that much."

"I know, but they need to move. If we raise to many questions and the military starts snooping around here I can't help them if they need me. Besides I think it's good for him to move. I know it doesn't look that way but physically he's healing. What I'm concerned about is his mental state. He expects to see Sue behind every corner."

As they talked they heard a car coming to a stop outside and soon after that heard the chatter between Hannibal and James.

Face, too, heard voices around him but was too worn out and humiliated from his outburst to face anybody. He kept his eyes shut and played possum while listening in.

"Do me a favor, Hank. Can you go tell Hannibal that I need to speak to him in here real quick before the Holmes' come in?"

"Sure…you got it."

Hannibal entered the room a few moments later. He took one look at Maggie's pinched expression and asked, "What's wrong? Is Face okay?"

Maggie shook her head. "He panicked while you were gone. He thought I was Sue…"

"Did he hurt you?" Hannibal interjected.

"No…he didn't lay a hand on me."

"I shouldn't have left you alone with him…" Hannibal didn't mean it to come out the harsh way it sounded. He had accepted that Face had demons that went all the way back to his childhood…accepted and understood…they all had. "He isn't safe."

Face's eyes flew open at those words. Hannibal's back was to him, but he could see the horror in Maggie's eyes as they met his own.

"John…" Maggie tried to warn Hannibal.

"It wouldn't be the first time he hurt somebody …"

"John…" she said louder.

But Hannibal kept on rambling, oblivious to the fact that Face was hearing every word he said. "In Nam he almost snapped a doctor's head and it happened several times that he even wrestled BA to the ground. He is a trained killer, he's dangerous…"

"John, stop it."

"I know you like him and don't want to hear it but it's true. He had issues before and the war took a lot out of him. If it wasn't for our status he could have long gotten help at a VA, he…"

"John, shut up!"

"But…"

It was all Face could take. He bolted out of bed and into the far corner of the room. On his way he took a chair along and had it ready in front of him to use as his defense.

Hannibal moved in front of Maggie and threw her an 'I told you so' look on his way. "Kid, calm down. It's just a dream, you're safe here. Come on put the chair down." He took a step closer and Face only took a more aggressive stand.

"Lieutenant, that's enough, stand down." Hannibal tried his colonel voice which usually got through to Face when he woke up disoriented. But this time it didn't show any results.

"Face, you were dreaming, come on, it's me, Hannibal."

"John, he wasn't dreaming."

"What? What do you mean?"

"Get away from me, just leave, you won't lock me away in any VA. Get out of here, or rather, switch positions with me. Get to the back of the room here and I'll move to the door, nice and slow, I'll leave and you won't ever see me again."

Face started to move to the side and motioned for Maggie and Hannibal to do the same until they had reversed positions. All the time Hannibal was talking. "Face, no, I didn't mean it like that, you know I would never lock you away in an institution."

"Do I? It sounded different when you thought I can't hear you. What did you do to get Murdock out? If I wouldn't spring him, often against your wish, he would rot there."

"Face, no, come on, you know that's not true. I care for you boys and sometimes it's best for Murdock to…"

"You know what? I'm sick and tired of people knowing best what's good for me."

"Face, kid, you know me. I would never do anything to hurt you."

"Do I? I learned a lot of new things about you in the past few days. I'm out of here colonel and don't try to find me."

Face inched closer to the door.

"Face, stop. You're not up to moving that much, you'll reinjure yourself. Lieutenant, freeze."

"I knew you would tell me what's best for me. Sorry colonel, you lost your bet, I'm still not about to obey you. Maggie, I'm sorry, I'll take your car until I get a different one, I'll tell you where to find it."

He pulled open the top drawer of the dresser and grabbed his gun. Though he knew it wasn't loaded, the others didn't. "Don't try and stop me…I'm dangerous, right colonel?"

Face was out the door and down the stairs before he remembered about Ella and James. He heard their voices coming from the kitchen and for a brief moment reconsidered his plan. But much as he wanted to see them, he had to get away from Hannibal and the others so he continued on out the door.

He felt no pain as he ran; he was moving on pure adrenaline. He would never survive being locked inside the VA. And even if Hannibal was telling the truth about not sending him there, they thought he was risky to have him around. 'And they're probably right…it'll do everybody good to have me gone.'

Face was ducking to get into Maggie's car when he heard Hannibal yell, "Face, stop!"

Face sat, pointed his gun out the window to stop him from coming closer and yelled back, "Have a nice life, colonel." He turned the key that he knew Maggie left in the ignition and sped off.

Hannibal stood in place watching the car disappear in a cloud of dust. "What have I done?"

Maggie had gone to the kitchen to get Hank and they came jogging up behind him while Ella and James stood watching from the porch.

"Hannibal?"

"Maggie, I've lost him for good," Hannibal said still looking in the direction the car went.

"No, John…not for good. He needs you…"

"For what," Hannibal interrupted. "To let him down like everybody else in his life has?"

Maggie realized it was time for some tough love. "You can throw your pity party later, Colonel Smith. Right now we have a sick and injured man out there driving a vehicle. You need to go after him before he hurts himself."

"We can take my car," Hank offered.

Hannibal took a deep breath and exhaled slow. Looking at Maggie he smiled, "Thanks, Mags…I needed that." He held out his hand to Hank for the keys. "I'll drive."

As Face drove and began to calm down emotionally, he also began to feel again physically. His stomach ached and his shoulder throbbed. He knew he had no business being behind the wheel of a car and once he found a safe place to pull over he was planning to do so.

It was a bumpy country road and he did his best to keep the vehicle steady. But he didn't see the large hole in the ground until it was too late.

"Argh!" Face gasped as his body was jostled. His vision blurred for a moment from the pain, and when it began to clear he was looking at headlights coming straight toward him.