Title: Deception 6/?
Author: Murdock's Crazylady
Rated: PG-15, for violence to a child
Archive: Yes, Please! All of Deception may be archived, but please lemme know if ya do.
Summary: Alex and the guys are back home, and Alex is re-cooperating from her little war
Warning: none, unless my intermittent memory loss is back and I forgot something
Disclaimer: I don''t own the team. Not that I wouldn''t mind having Dwight for a big brother though
Copyright: 2000 Murdock's CrazyLady (MCL)
Author's notes : In this and almost all other chapters there will be violence. Consider yourself warned. I don't want to get flamed for not warning you. It's not like it's graphic, but it's violent. Expect a lot more from this, especially a twist, this is my first FanFic, so please don't be too hard on me!
Thanks to Kelly for Beta reading Deception for me, and thanks to Susan for the Title idea.
Deception
Part 6
Face was glad he was wearing his old jeans as he sat on the ground in the middle of the field. It was just beginning to get dark, and the sky was pink and purple. The stars had just popped out, and as Face stared up at the beautiful sky, he thought to himself, sometimes out loud. If someone had walked up behind him, they might have thought he was talking to his horse, Starbuck, whom was standing near-by, with it's nose to the ground nibbling at the grass. One of the reins hung from his side and lay on the ground, and he kept just nearly eating it with the grass.
Face sat and watched the sky until he could see the stars as plain as day, poking out like a sore tooth against the dark midnight blue sky. His thoughts were of Alex. He'd raised her from the day she was born, she'd called him daddy, since she began to talk. He remembered her first words, "Da-Da" and nearly burst out crying. His eyes stung and he tried to fight back tears. He reached up and rubbed at his eyes like a sleepy child, trying to work the sting out of them. Now, six years later, he wasn't daddy anymore, but just another person in her life. Face dreaded her calling him ''Face'' and he decided to ask her to please call him Templeton as he finally worked most of the sting out of his eyes.
Face felt the moisture of the dewy ground through his jeans and he decided he'd better go back up to the house before Hannibal got mad and yelled at him, he'd probably say Face was going to get sick. Hannibal always acted as Face's father, and Face loved him like he would be his real dad. Face stood up and picked up Starbuck's dangling rein. Starbuck shook his head as Face patted him and got back up into the saddle. Face gave the blonde pinto gelding a gentle nudge to the ribs and Starbuck walked off.
Alex tried not to cry. Murdock was trying so hard not to hurt her back. During her bath, she barely felt the sponge as he ever so carefully wiped over her back. She was beginning to be afraid to let anyone see her without her clothes on, but she still trusted Murdock. Her conscience told her he would NEVER to That to her. Now, she was completely dressed except for her matching ''Range Rider'' jammie shirt. Murdock noticed the pain on Alex's face and took the shirt back over her head gently.
Murdock put the shirt on her dresser and said nothing as he left her room with an idea. He went down the hall to his room and opened the top drawer of his dresser. He looked for a minute and then spotted what he wanted. He pulled a dark blue tee-shirt from the drawer and left, letting the drawer open and clothes dug up. That was one of his habits Hannibal wouldn't be able to break him of no matter how much he tried.
Murdock went back to Alex's room and when she saw him hold up the blue shirt, she smiled. Murdock unfolded it and wrung it up in the back, then he put it over Alex's head carefully. Alex giggled and put her arms in without any pain. She loved wearing Murdock's clothes. They made her feel safe and close to him when she slept. The tee-shirt hung off of her and could have been a dress, because it hung almost to her ankles. Alex was a very smart child, but even she couldn't read upside down. She had been staring at the shirt since Murdock had put it on her. Murdock smiled and thought she was the cutest kid in the world. She pulled the shirt away from her a little trying to read it again as Murdock picked her up, kissed her and sat her gently on her bed.
"Daddy." Alex said, liking the feeling she got when she called Murdock daddy. He smiled as he covered her with her horse comforter. "Yeah little muchacha?" he asked. "What does my shirt say?" Alex asked still pulling away from her. "It doesn't say anything, it's just a shirt." Murdock answered smiling to see if she would catch his little joke. Alex did and she laughed as she looked up from the shirt for a minute. "Daddy! Really, what does this say?" Alex asked running her finger over the faded word. "Oh, ah, it says Napoleon." Murdock answered and Alex nodded her head sleepily.
She was going to ask him who Napoleon was, but her eyes got heavy and they began to sting. She started rubbing at them and Murdock saw her. He saw her eyes beginning to droop and he stood up from her bed. Alex rolled over onto her belly from her side and ignored it when a little burning pain came from her back, rubbing her eyes. Murdock squatted down to her and kissed her. Alex kissed him back and yawned. Then she remembered something. "Daddy, you jackie. I need it." Alex mumbled nearly asleep. "Okay, I'll go get it." Murdock said, glad B.A. had read to Alex already, for how tired she was. HM went back to his room and took his jacket from the foot of his bed and slung it over his shoulder. He looked out of his window and caught a glimpse of Face returning to the stables on Starbuck and felt the need to talk to him. Face had been gone all day, and Hannibal said he was just off thinking, much like he did when Alex had died. Murdock went back to Alex's room and smiled to see she was still awake, barely, waiting on him. He walked across her room and gave his baby his jacket. She snuggled into it and mumbled something as she drifted off into dream land. Murdock smiled at her and pulled her horse throw blanket from the foot of her bed. He covered her with it and smiled at her before he left her room.
Face had just come in and was going to the kitchen for a cold drink when Murdock saw him and followed. Face took a bottle of Eveon water out and twisted off it's cap with one twist of his wrist. He gulped half of the bottle down in one drink. After drinking until he couldn't breathe, Face put the cap back on and noticed Murdock standing against the doorway. He gave Murdock a quick glance and smile as he sat down at the dining room table. Murdock followed him and sat down. "Face, why did you wait so long to tell me? I've been out of the VA for 4 years now." Murdock came right out and asked. Face stared at his Eveon bottle.
"The truth is, I don't know. It was hard enough to tell you now, let alone back then. I didn't want to hurt you and Alex anymore than I had to. I didn't know how to tell you, I just couldn't even bring myself to think about how I was going to tell you until the day Alex ran off and tried to rescue you herself. That was the wake up call, she had proved to me that she was ready to know. She'd proven to me how much she really loved you. I hope you can forgive me for not telling you sooner, I'm sorry." Face replied and Murdock understood, it was hard at first, but now he understood.
Face was trying to do what he thought was best for both Him and Alex. Murdock told himself that Face had done the right thing, and he agreed with himself. Murdock reached over and patted the back of his little brother. "It's okay Face. There's nothin to forgive you for. I understand." Murdock said smiling. Face smiled back, a smile of relief, sadness and happiness all wrapped up into one. He knew Murdock would never leave them and take Alex, so things should be relatively the same.
Now he could focus on getting Trent toned down. He had noticed a huge change in Alex already, where as prior to her getting shot and kidnaped, she would fight every chance she got. Where as now Alex fought a lot less. Face had to hand it to Murdock, he sure knew how to tone Alex down. Alex had always been a sweet child, but now even her temper had almost faded like a nightmare did after you woke up. Alex still sparred and learned new moves from B.A., and she would still fight if she absolutely had to, but she was totally different from before.
The next morning, after Hannibal cleaned Alex's cuts, she got dressed with his help, and Face saw to it that she ate a bowl of oatmeal before he would let her go and play. After finishing breakfast, Murdock took her up in the chopper, he wanted to have a special talk with her, and he'd done it this way so nobody but them could hear the conversation. He knew Trent was constantly spying on them, trying to find any reason to get Alex in trouble. "Okay captain, we gotta talk." Murdock said to Alex. She smiled. "Okay captain daddy." Alex answered giggling. She loved being up in the chopper, and she knew if he wanted to talk to her this was the best place, because she would talk to him for days as long as they were in the air. He smiled as he watched where he was flying. "Now, I know Faceman had a ton a rules, and I know how much rules stink, but even I gotta have a few." Murdock said and Alex nodded. She didn't need a list of rules with him. She knew how far she could push him before he would scold her. And you could count those times on one hand minus 3 fingers. Murdock saw her nod and continued.
"First, I want you in bed at nine every night, except for the weekends, or unless we're on a mission, then it's okay if you are up late." Murdock said. He got an ''okie-dokie'' from Alex. "Second, I don't want you fighting Trent unless you really are sparring and B.A. or one of us are around to watch. Or, unless he really truly started it first, because if you fight and then you can't prove it, you'll be in trouble." Murdock said and Alex winced at that. Murdock had never punished her. He'd never even sent her to her room or yelled at her. The only thing he ever did was tell her no in a stern voice when she was little if she was going to get hurt by doing something like sticking her finger in one of the light sockets.
She was glad he'd taken her up in the chopper to tell her that, away from Trent. He'd use that against her if he knew, she was absolutely and positively sure without a doubt about it, he would. "And that's it. I'm not being too hard on you, am I muchacha?" Murdock asked a little worried. "Nope. Dad--er, I mean Face had a ton of rules. I had ta write em all down once as punishment cos I kept forgettin em an gettin in trouble." Alex said, remembering the idea had come from Hannibal. Murdock laughed. "Yeah, I remember that." HM said and then he let Alex fly the chopper for awhile by herself, and found out that she was very good at it. He knew she could have easily flown it alone without him being there, but she knew he'd have her hide if she ever did. That was one rule he didn't need to tell her. An hour passed and Murdock let her land the chopper back home.
As Alex landed, perfectly, Trent watched from the big bay window. When he saw it was Alex at the controls, he got an evil smile and jumped down and went outside. The blades slowed and stopped, and Murdock and Alex got out. Alex grabbed Murdock's hand and he gave it a gentle squeeze. Trent ran up to them and Alex smiled at him. She beamed with pride knowing her father was right beside her. "Did you fly all by yourself?" Trent asked. Murdock saw this coming before he even gave Alex the controls. "Yep." Alex answered proudly. "I'm tellin dad!" he said and she smiled. "Go ahead. Tell him. He's standin right here." Alex said pointing up at Murdock. "He ain't dad, you idiot!" Trent yelled back. Alex glared at the ten-year-old. "He is too! Ask Face. He's my daddy!" Alex said grabbing Murdock around the legs. Murdock stroked her head and Trent wouldn't believe it. "Fine. I will. I''ll prove it, you''ll see!" Trent replied as he walked off.
Alex waited for Trent to go into the house before she tugged on Murdock's pants and he looked down at her. "Yeah baby?" he asked. "I wanted to kick his butt for sayin you wasn't my daddy, but I dinnit cos I knew you would be mad if I did." Alex said still wanting to rip Trent's tongue out. Murdock bent down and she climbed onto his back. "You did great muchacha. I'm proud of you." Murdock answered and she patted his face. He blinked and smiled as he carried her to the house. Fatherhood was like Woody Wood Pecker cartoons 24 hours a day and all the Twinkies you could eat. He'd dreamed of how nice it would be to be someone's daddy, but his dreams could never compare to the real thing. The real thing was 100% better.
Murdock carried Alex inside and into the kitchen. He sat her on the counter and got them a Coke from the fridge. Then, Trent came in dragging Face behind him. B.A. saw him dragging the lieutenant and followed behind him, just to see what was going on now.
"Okay, now dad, tell Alex Murdock isn't her dad! She said he was and that you weren't! She called you Face and everything!" Trent yelled, pointing at Alex as she took a drink of the Coke she and Murdock were sharing. Alex smiled at him. "Trent, Murdock IS her dad, she wasn't lying. You're mom was her mom, and Murdock is her dad." Face said and Trent's jaw dropped. "You mean all this time I've hated her and she's not even... your kid?" Trent asked.
Alex heard him and she was ready to cry and fight at the same time. Murdock saw her statement and put his hand on her knee. She looked at him like a stunned rabbit in a headlight and he shook his head no slowly, saying ''no fight. You can cry if you have to, but no fighting.'' Alex looked back at Trent and saw the hatred in his eyes. She thought he'd hated her, always getting her into trouble, but she wouldn't let herself believe he hated her for real. Alex's brown eyes welled up with tears and she grabbed Murdock so hard that she nearly toppled off of the counter top.
Murdock held her gently, talking to her as she cried into his chest. He started humming a Beatles song to her, "Love me do", and she heard him and calmed down a little. Face glared at Trent. Then, seconds later, Alex wasn't the only one who was crying. Face turned and saw Hannibal slap Trent across the face. Trent was stunned. He hadn't even known Hannibal was there. Hannibal had heard every word Trent had said, and he felt that the slap he gave Trent was long over due. "Go upstairs. Hatred is not tolerated in this house young man." Hannibal said in his sternest voice ever. Trent went, as everyone watched, stunned. Hannibal turned to Face after Trent was gone.
"No offense Face, but you should have done that a long time ago." Hannibal said and B.A., even though he loved kids and didn't agree with hitting as punishment all the time, he thought the slap was justified. He knew he would never talk that way even now with his mama and live to talk about it. "It's okay Colonel, I was about to do that myself." Face answered and Hannibal looked over at Murdock. He saw the worry in his captain's eyes and walked over. Hannibal put his hand on Murdock's shoulder and HM nodded. He slowly let go of Alex and she sniffed and looked up at Hannibal. "Trent hates me for real." Alex said almost crying again. Hannibal shook his head. "Trent is a dirt ball Alex. He doesn't even like himself. We need you Captain Murdock, and nobody hates you in my house or on my team." Hannibal said and his words clung to Alex like fuzz. She smiled. He'd never called her Captain before. She jumped down and hugged his legs. He smiled like he was on the jazz, and behind him, Face and B.A. smiled too.
"Even on the jazz to help Alex to feel better, amazing." Murdock silently said and Face saw him. Hannibal didn't hear him, and Face smiled. "Thanks Colonel grampa." Alex said wiping her nose on her sleeve. He smiled and put his hand on her head. She looked up at Murdock and he smiled at her. "Now, captain Murdock, let's go. We've gotta clean those war scars of yours." Hannibal said and Alex was scared, but she nodded okay. She felt her trust for Hannibal and Murdock, but she didn't know about B.A. and Face. He took her hand and began walking off with her when she let go and ran back over to Murdock.
She hugged his legs and wouldn't leave until she heard him promise he would be here when she came back. She looked up at him. "I love you daddy." she said and he sensed her fear that he wouldn't be there. "I love you too, now go with the Colonel muchacha. I''ll be here to hug when you get back. I promise." Murdock said and she saluted him before she ran back and grabbed Hannibal's waiting hand. They left the kitchen and Murdock sighed in relief.
Trent's words had hurt Alex. It showed both B.A. and Face as well as Murdock himself how much Alex had changed since she had ben kidnaped. Face speculated to himself a few reasons for it, but he told himself they were too horrid and pushed then out of his mind. Murdock sat down at the table and B.A. got out a gallon of milk from the fridge. He got a huge glass from the cabinet known to the whole team as strictly being B.A.'s milk glass and sat down at the table with it. Face joined them. "Y'want some, Crazyman?" B.A. asked.
"Yeah. Sure." Murdock answered. "Thanks big guy." B.A. got back up and grabbed Murdock a glass from the dish drainer on the counter. Then he sat back down and poured the glass almost to the top with milk. "Face?" B.A. asked as he slid the glass over to Murdock. "No thanks, B.A., I've still got my Eveon." Face answered. B.A. shrugged and drank his glass down in minutes. It amazed Face how much of that stuff the sergeant put away. Murdock drank half of his and was going to dump the rest down the drain, but a warning glare from B.A. changed his mind and he gulped the rest down. He rinsed the glass out and sat it back into the drainer when he was done. Then he sat back down and talked to Face awhile about a new trick he'd taught Starbuck.
Hannibal had Alex's cuts all taken care of in ten minutes, and he hadn't hurt her once. "Okay captain, you can move out." Hannibal said putting Alex's sweatshirt back down over her back. Alex sat up slowly and looked at Hannibal. "Am I gettin better?" She asked about her cuts that still hurt like they did the day she got them. He smiled. "Remember that shot I gave you?" Hannibal asked. She nodded. She'd bitten B.A. when he'd stuck her with it on the way home in the van. "It was antibiotics, it's what makes your body fight infection. It's helping your cuts heal. The ones on your rear are almost completely gone. Sure, you're getting better, and you'll be off of your belly in a couple of weeks." Hannibal said and Alex was glad. "I'm gonna go an find daddy!" Alex said saluting him. He smiled and saluted her back. She smiled and ran out of her bedroom door.
Out in the hall, Trent caught her eye. She turned around and looked at him. He had a revengeful smile across his face. She couldn't figure out why, until he held out one hand and revealed a lighter he'd stolen from Hannibal's jacket pocket earlier. Then he held out his other hand and revealed Murdock's leather jacket. Alex almost lunged at him, but then, Murdock's rule popped into her head and stopped her. Trent saw her stop in her tracks and smiled.
"Whats a matta captain sludge? Can't fight me? Are ya scared? Got no guts?" Trent asked being the pompous little jerk he always was. Alex's feet spread apart. They were plated into the hallway carpet, her fists raised tightened into fists went up. Her face read kill. Now all she needed was a reason to attack. Trent waved the jacket at her and Murdock's voice yelled the rule again inside her head. Hannibal heard Trent challenge her, and got up from Alex's bed. He walked over to the door and leaned against the door frame. "Captain, that sounded like a challenge to me. Go ahead. I give you the order that it is okay." Hannibal said and got a nod from a concentrating Alex, whom hadn't taken her eye off of Trent once.
Trent looked like he was going to wet his pants as Alex lunged at him and kicked him in the gut as hard as she could. He groaned and dropped the jacket. Alex landed and picked the jacket up. She slid it on and wiped her mouth on the back of her hand. Then she went back into ready. She knew Trent wasn't down for good yet. Trent got back to his feet and tried to get Alex's ribs with a spin-kick, but she was ready and she back flipped down the hall, avoiding it. She again went ready, with a cocky smile to Trent. Trent ran at her, preparing a running punch, and she caught it, bending his arm back the wrong way. He hit the floor, screaming and yelling in pain. Alex saw him drop the lighter finally, and she kicked it over to Hannibal. He caught it with his boot and picked it up. "Nice Alex." Hannibal said and she nodded.
Murdock, Face and B.A. came running from the kitchen after hearing the screams. They ran up the stairs to see what was going on. When he got to the top of the stairs, he saw Alex still bending Trent's arm back. He looked at Hannibal. "He challenged her. I was right here, he had your jacket and he was going to burn it. Remember I couldn't find this yesterday? Guess where I got it from." Hannibal said holding up the light blue lighter. "Then he made the mistake of challenging your daughter to defend you. She didn't touch him until I gave the order that it was okay." Hannibal finished and Murdock looked at Alex. He saw that she had a smile on. Along with his jacket.
"Okay Alex. Break." Murdock said and Alex instantly let go of Trent. Trent laid on the floor and whined, but didn't shed a single tear. Alex stepped around him and walked over to Murdock. "What the Colonel said's true, I obeyed your orders. I dinnit fight unless I had to an not without an order from the Colonel first. I couldn't let him burn your jacket up. But I wouldn't have fought without the Colonel sayin it was okay first." Alex said and Murdock nodded. She was able to prove it. The colonel would never lie to him about Alex's fights. He hugged her and she sighed in relief.
"It's okay muchacha, I believe you. You had the order, and you did save my jacket. It's half yours now, and you had a right to defend it. I know you wouldn't lie to me and go against what I said. I'm proud of you, muchacha. Great job, captain." Murdock said and Alex grabbed his neck in a hug. "Thanks for not gettin mad, daddy." She whispered into his ear. "No problemo muchacha." Murdock whispered back. Alex let go and turned around and stood in front of Murdock. She watched as Face and B.A. helped Trent up. Face checked his arm and made sure it was okay. It was, and Face said, "Trent, chill out. If you try anything like this again, I won't warn you. Get my drift?" Face warned and Trent nodded, shocked at Face's talking stern to him. Face then sent him to his room as good measure.
Trent went stunned, and when Face looked around, everyone was smiling at him. He turned to Hannibal. "Nice luteniant." Hannibal said and Face smiled. For now on, Face vowed to raise Trent right, and not let him say what goes. He is the father. Not Trent, and he told himself that Trent was just going to have to learn that and accept it. Alex gave Face thumbs up and a smile and he gave it back. Murdock ruffled Alex's hair and she laughed. If you were there, and you looked around at everyone, and you listened really hard, you could almost hear Hannibal say,
"I love it when a plan comes together!"
End of part 6,
but not the end of Deception!
Part 7 coming soon!!