Author's notes: Just a couple of things before this final (eleven page) chapter of the saga. There's a reference to MacGyver and the DXS somewhere towards the middle. I couldn't help myself. Characters might be out of character, but I was working on this until three in the morning last night, or rather this morning. Other than that, I don't own any of the characters that originated on the show, and hope you enjoy! :~)
****
It took over an hour for Murdock and Lola to get themselves together enough to face the rest of the group. When they reentered Decker's kitchen, everyone except Decker gave the couple concerned looks. Face opened his mouth to say something, but Lola cut him off.
"Everything's ok, guys," said Lola. "Have you come up with a plan yet, Hannibal?"
Hannibal managed a small grin around his cigar when Murdock nodded to show him that everything was indeed fine. "I believe I do," he answered. "We need you to call Stockwell and try to arrange a swap—Billy for that computer disk."
"What about using the disk to nail Stockwell? We can't let him get away!"
"We won't give him the real disk, of course. We'll give him a fake."
"He'll check it! And then he'll kill us!"
"Hold on, Lola, let me explain the plan fully before you start objecting. You set up the exchange, and then while we negotiate at the meeting place, one of us sneaks into Stockwell's office, copies all his files off the computer, and takes it all over to the newspaper and the police. We'll have Stockwell and the rest of his operation pinned in a corner, all nice and neat for the authorities and the six o'clock news."
"There's only one problem with that plan. He'll expect the whole A-Team, including myself and Frankie to be at the swap. Who's going to go hack into Stockwell's computer?"
"I'll go," interrupted Amy. "Stockwell won't expect me at all."
"We can't let you go in alone, Amy," said Face. "He'll probably have someone guarding the jet."
"I'll go wi' ya," said BA.
"No, BA, Lola's got a point," Hannibal said. "We need someone who Stockwell will never suspect to escort Amy."
Slowly everyone in the room turned to face Decker. It took several moments for Decker to realize that everyone's eyes were on him.
"Oh no! Don't you even think about it, Smith!" Decker growled. "I've already let you into my house against everything I stand for, I'm not about to help your team complete a 'mission'!"
"Don't be so melodramatic, Decker," Hannibal sighed. "You'll be protecting an innocent citizen--"
Decker snorted.
"—From a real criminal," Hannibal finished.
"C'mon, we're juvenile delinquents compared to Stockwell," added Face. "If you still want to save face, your best bet would be to get him rather than us."
"Why—that—you—ah!" Decker sputtered. His face contorted in disgust and rage as he wrestled with his conscience about whether or not to take up the A-Team's offer. Finally, after a full minute of muttered curses and strange gestures, he said, "How about I tell you where I stand after Miss Sanchez calls that dirt bag about an exchange?"
"Sounds reasonable," said Hannibal. "Lola, you've got Stockwell's number, right?"
"Wish I didn't, but I do," answered Lola. She reached over for the phone and asked, "Do you mind, Colonel? It's still a local call I believe."
Decker shrugged. "Doubt I have much of a choice anyway. I can't believe I'm doing this!"
"You got another phone, Decker?" asked Hannibal. "I'd like to listen in on this, unless of course you'd rather do it."
"If you don't mind, I'll go listen in upstairs," replied Decker as he stood up and stalked out of the kitchen.
"Here goes nothing," muttered Lola as she dialed once she heard Decker pick up the other line. "This is Cain One. I need to talk to Empress One."
"I'm sorry, Empress One can't be reached at this time," answered a singsong voice.
"Carla, you know damn well it's Lola Sanchez! I know Stockwell's around there somewhere with my son, so you'd better get his ass on the line right now!"
The voice on the other end of the line cackled, sending shivers up Lola's spine. She knew that laugh…
"It's not Carla, Lola. It's your dear old friend Robyn. And you're right, Stockwell's here, but I'm the one who's got your bouncing baby boy. He is a cutie. I can see why you and your boyfriend want him back so bad."
"Knock it off, Robyn!" the brunette snapped. She was terrified Decker would put two and two together and figure out who Billy's father was. "We're prepared to exchange the disk for Billy."
"I'm glad to hear that, Miss Sanchez," said Stockwell. "We were starting to think that you didn't care about the brat."
"Unlike you, Stockwell, most parents care about their children," said Lola.
"Since you want him back, be at the abandoned cannery down by the docks at three o'clock. Don't forget the disk or your friends, Miss Sanchez, or else you'll have to drag the bay for your precious little brat."
Lola's knuckles were white from holding the phone in a death grip. She spat a curse at Stockwell before slamming the receiver down. "We're meeting at the docks at three," she said, trying to suppress her rage.
"That doesn't leave us much time to set Stockwell up," said Hannibal.
Decker reentered the kitchen with a look of utmost disgust on his face. "Stockwell's even more of a scumbag than I thought!" he exclaimed. "Who threatens to murder an infant?"
"So you're helping us out then?" asked Hannibal.
"I'd be violating my duty as an American citizen and former member of the armed services if I didn't," replied Decker.
Hannibal's eyes gleamed with the jazz. "All right then, here's the plan…"
****
Stockwell hung up the phone grinning. He had Lola exactly where he wanted her. He knew he should be more on his guard since both she and the A-Team were most unpredictable when someone thought they had them cornered. He mentally reviewed all the possible ways the A-Team could get the upper hand, but came up empty. Stockwell grinned even wider. He was in control.
"Good chat with your daughter?" asked Robyn, snapping Stockwell back to the present. She sat in the chair across from his desk bouncing Billy absentmindedly on her knee. Carla stood next to her curling her lip at Billy's presence.
"She has no other choice but to show up with the A-Team and the disk," said Stockwell.
"She could go to the press," said Robyn.
"If any of them do, Abel Three and Abel Five will take care of them," said Stockwell, waving his hand dismissively. "Speaking of the press, Carla, call Lestrange and tell him we've saved his behind yet again before he decides to threaten us further."
Carla nodded and trotted out of the office to make the call.
"And you can just kick back and take care of the brat until we have to meet his whore of a mother," Stockwell said to Robyn. He spun around in his chair as the blonde left with Billy. He smiled again and steepled his fingers. "Everything's falling into place."
****
At 2:30 that afternoon, the A-Team, Lola, Amy, and Decker stood outside the abandoned cannery admiring their handiwork. It had taken them hours to rig up the surprise for Stockwell since the area was set up to trap any early arrivals. Two warehouses with partially caved in roofs formed an "L" opposite the rickety dock into the bay, leaving only one way to enter or exit. Anyone who arrived first had little to no cover from whoever came in behind, and there was no height advantage without roofs on the buildings. It was obvious why Stockwell chose this place for the exchange. He knew the A-Team liked to be a little early for a confrontation, but here they could've been boxed in.
"You'd better be sure this is going to work, Hannibal, because I'd hate to think of the consequences," said Lola.
"Of course I'm sure," said Hannibal around a cigar. "Stockwell's as predictable as they come, just a different kind of predictable than we're used to."
"Don't you find it's just a tad odd we haven't seen hide nor hair of any of the Abels since we got here?" asked Lola.
"Don't worry, Lola, we'll get Billy back safe and sound," said Amy as she laid a hand on the brunette's shoulder. "We'll make sure Stockwell gets what he deserves."
While working together on the trap for Stockwell, Lola and Amy bonded amazingly well, almost to the point that they now acted like best friends. None of the men could figure it out and chalked it up to them being two women surrounded by six men.
"Now that I've seen you guys at work, I can see why you eluded me for so long!" exclaimed Decker. "No one else would think of using a leaky faucet as a delayed fuse! That old sink slowly fills with water until it submerges that live wire, which in turn lights the fuses for the explosives. Who would possibly come up with something as crazy as that?"
"Actually, I've heard rumors about a troubleshooter over at that spy outfit called the DXS," said Face. "They say that he can make a bomb out of Q-tips and a Swiss Army knife. Now I seriously doubt that it's really true, but he's supposed to be the best at this sort of thing. I think we're the best, personally--"
"I'd hate to break up the party, but Amy and Decker should be heading off for the airfield before Stockwell and his gang show up," said Hannibal.
"We'll call you on the mobile phone once we've gotten the disk to the Courier and the LAPD," said Amy. "Be careful all of you!"
"Same to you, kid. And Decker, you'd better take good care of Amy--"
"Or else!" growled BA.
"You guys do your job and I'll do mine," said Decker. "And off the record…it's been a pleasure working with you, Smith."
Hannibal grinned, the jazz gleaming in his eyes. He held out his hand and shook Decker's. "If you don't rejoin the army after this is all sorted out, we could use a man like you on the team," he said. "That is, if you're interested."
"We'll talk later," Decker said. "We've got one nasty son of a bitch to bust."
Each group waved to the other as Decker and Amy drove off in Amy's car. Once the sedan was out of sight, the A-Team and Lola did a last check of their trap before taking their places to wait for Stockwell and his entourage to show.
They didn't have to wait long; within ten minutes of finishing, the six heard the engines of two cars approaching. As expected, one car swung across the only clear way out, blocking it. From behind the car came Abels Three, Four, and Five. Abel One and Abel Two got out of the front of the visible car and opened up the rear doors for Stockwell and Robyn. The blonde placed Billy in a stroller and pushed it behind Stockwell. Lola gasped and tried to run to her son, but Murdock grabbed her hand.
Stockwell sneered. "Well, well, the gang's all here. Do you have the disk, or am I going to have to use force?"
Both Abels drew revolvers and pointed them at the A-Team.
"Five thugs, Stockwell?" drawled Hannibal. "That seems rather overconfident, don't you think, Face?"
"Yeah, he must think that his spooks can actually hit the broad side of a barn," said Face. "Or he's trying to save money on bullets. Either way they're not much of a threat."
"Oh, how I missed your witty comebacks," said Stockwell. "How about this one: put your hands up, or someone dies. I don't really care who."
The A-Team and Lola complied and put their hands on their heads. "Some friend you turned out to be, Robyn," Lola growled. "You sell out your friends and then you team up with this bastard to take my son."
"At least I wasn't stupid enough to get caught by the cops and then knocked up by a psychotic loser," retorted Robyn.
Lola launched herself at Robin, screaming unintelligibly. Robyn laughed as Murdock and Hannibal struggled to hold Lola back.
"Temper, temper, Lola," said Stockwell. "You don't want to do anything rash and force my hand, do you? Now all of you put your hands up before someone gets a hole in them."
Once again the A-Team and Lola placed their hands on their heads. Abels One, Three, and Four proceeded to pat down each of them in turn while the other Abels trained their guns on the six. When he was finished, Abel One stepped back and said, "All unarmed. Here's the disk." He pulled a disk out of Lola's jacket pocket and handed it to Stockwell.
"Nice work," said Stockwell. "Well, that was easy enough. Now all of you get over to the dock."
"What about our deal?" asked Lola. "What about my son?"
"Deal's off, Lola," said Stockwell. "There's nothing keeping you from going to the authorities about what's on this disk, so I'm afraid all of you are going to have to die, including the brat."
"You bastard!" spat Lola.
"I wish I could say it's been nice knowing you, but it hasn't."
"Same here, Stockwell," said Hannibal, grinning and eyes shining. "You know, you remind me of this playground bully when I was a kid--"
"What do you think I am, Smith?" laughed Stockwell. "One of your stupid fringe organized crime bosses you used to bust?"
"Exactly. You just happened to find us when we were desperate enough to believe your façade. That's the only reason why you caught us. But we know now who you really are, and you're the same as all those scumbags we put away over the years. You think you've got us, but you forgot one thing: we're the A-Team."
Suddenly the buildings behind the group exploded, debris and dust flying everywhere, and all hell broke loose.
****
Decker stood over Carla's bound, unconscious form and brushed off his hands in pride. "She didn't put up with much of a fight."
Amy slid into the chair behind Stockwell's desk and stuffed a blank disk into the computer drive. "Let's just hope she's the only one around this place," she said as her fingers flew across the keyboard.
"Don't worry," said Decker, "I checked it out. Smith was right. Stockwell's so stupid he didn't think that we'd come here to nail his ass. All he left was his secretary. How long are you going to be, just in case something goes wrong?"
"Less than ten minutes, hopefully. Stockwell's whole hard drive is full of files linking him to all sorts of crimes—espionage, larceny--"
"And murder," interrupted a cool voice that sent chills up Decker's spine and made Amy jump.
A tall, rail thin man with pockmarked cheeks materialized in the doorway to Stockwell's office. He leered at the two intruders, displaying pearl white teeth that contrasted with his greasy blond hair and skin. Even though the man wore an immaculate three-piece black suit, something felt dirty about him like a sewer rat trying to be pawned off as a pet.
"Don't get up, Miss Allen," said the man. A hand appeared at his side holding a gun aimed at Decker. "Please go stand behind Miss Allen, Colonel Decker."
"Who are you?" growled Decker.
"Why, I'm the infamous Robert Lestrange, at your service," said the man with a slight bow. "I know the both of you have heard of me since you would not be here otherwise. Now please move behind Miss Allen, Colonel."
"What are you doing here? I would think you'd want to be as far away as possible given the circumstances."
"I knew I couldn't trust Stockwell to handle this situation, so I decided to stop by and make sure that you meddling fools didn't ruin my lucrative business. Stockwell's been getting an inflated ego ever since he managed to dupe your friends the A-Team into working for our—excuse me, my company. He never thought that either of you would be a threat, but he stupidly forgot that Miss Allen's a very good friend of theirs and that you, Colonel, don't forget anyone who's made a fool out of you. I'm much the same way myself. Anyway, please go stand behind Miss Allen before I shoot you, Colonel."
Thinking fast, Amy slowly raised her hands so that Lestrange would think she was surrendering. Instead she backhanded the pencil holder on the desk so all the pens flew into Lestrange's face. Lestrange instinctively threw up his hands, and Decker launched himself at him.
Amy jumped out of her seat and froze, watching the two men wrestle for the gun. Decker managed to get an elbow free and slammed it into Lestrange's face, knocking him out cold. Decker stood up and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "That bastard's not as tough as he thinks," he muttered.
"I'm just glad that you were here to break his nose," sighed Amy.
"And you'd better tell that to Baracus to make sure he doesn't do the same to me after this is all over."
"Trust me, when we make it out of this alive, I'm giving you the biggest hug before I lobby the United States Army to take you on again as a full colonel with any assignment you want."
****
After the cannery exploded, the A-Team tackled the stunned Abels and Lola grabbed Robyn's throat. BA easily knocked Abel Two and Three's guns out of their hands and tossed the spooks into an unconscious heap. Hannibal, Face, and Murdock took on the remaining Abels while Frankie ducked out of the way to keep from getting hit by flying bodies or guns.
Lola pinned Robyn and beat the blonde's face into a bloody mess even though the second punch had knocked out Robyn. "I'll show you a psychotic loser, you two-faced, lying, conniving, disgusting bitch of a whore!" Lola growled.
Someone fired a shot, causing everyone still conscious to freeze. Stockwell stood over Billy's stroller while pointing a pistol at the wailing infant. Murdock instinctively dropped the gun he took from Abel Four and raised his hands. Hannibal and Face followed suit.
"Don't!" screamed Lola. "You've got what you want, now go!"
"Oh no, Lola," sneered Stockwell. "All of you are still alive, and it looks like it's up to me to remedy that."
Lola stood and planted herself between Stockwell and the A-Team. "What would it take to keep you from killing my son and the A-Team?"
"I'm having a severe case of déjà vu, how about you? Don't you remember asking me that same question just about a year ago when your 'friends' were on trial?"
"How can you even joke about murdering your own grandson, Stockwell?" interrupted Murdock. Stockwell raised his eyebrows. "Yeah, we know Lola's your daughter."
"Is that supposed to shock me?" asked Stockwell. "Of course I know your whore is my illegitimate daughter. She's just like her hooker of a mother."
"You leave my mother out of this!" growled Lola. "This doesn't concern her."
"Tell me, Lola, what did your dear departed mother say about me?" asked Stockwell in a falsely sweet voice. "Did she tell you about how she loved me?"
Lola gave a hollow laugh. "You bastard!" she hissed. "You know you raped her and left her to fend for herself. She was only fifteen for Christ's sake!"
It was Stockwell's turn to laugh. Lola shuddered at the sound. "It seems like lying's in your blood. Your mother propositioned me when I was on my way back from a mission for the CIA in Puerto Rico. She was about twenty, but looked young for her age. I needed a woman's love to get rid of the tension and she was more than happy to oblige. Just as I was leaving after finishing the mission, she confronts me, says she's pregnant, and that it's my responsibility to marry her and take care of the baby—you. I told her to forget it and left, but I kept track of you through the years until you would be useful to me."
"You're lying! You've lied to me as long as I've known you!"
"Oh come on, Lola. You know I'm telling you the truth. Your mother put herself into poverty to make you and everyone else around her feel sorry for her."
"You're lying, you're lying, you're just screwing with my head!" screamed Lola, covering her ears. "You raped her, you took away her dignity, and you left her a broken, scared girl!"
"You know what? I think I did love your mother. She was a pretty girl, full of fire and spirit… a lot like you actually. You look so much like her. I can see why Murdock slept with you. I should've known from the beginning that he'd fall for you and Peck wouldn't. Peck doesn't like the smart ones."
Stockwell reached up to brush away a strand of hair out of Lola's face, but she slapped it away. "Don't you dare touch me, asshole," she growled.
Stockwell chuckled. "I bet you think your mother said that to me, don't you? Don't you want to know about your father? Don't you want me to hug you, to make everything better? Haven't you always wanted a father to take care of you, to love you? Isn't that why you've always fallen in love with older men? You know I love you. You just won't admit it. I love you because I'm your father."
Lola glared directly into Stockwell's eyes and growled, "I don't have a father, and even if I did, he wouldn't be you!"
She grabbed the gun in Stockwell's hand and tried to wrench it from his grasp. However, Stockwell seemed prepared for such a move and wrestled Lola for the gun. Murdock watched, powerless to help Lola and fearing the gun would go off and hit Lola, or worse, Billy.
BANG.
The sound chilled Murdock's blood. He glanced over to Billy to make sure that he was ok. Billy's screams told him that his son was fine for the moment.
BANG.
Murdock whipped around to see Stockwell and Lola nose-to-nose, frozen in place, and staring into each other's eyes. "Looks like karma finally caught up to you, Stockwell," Lola whispered. "See you in hell."
The gun fell to the ground with a clatter. Stockwell kept staring at Lola for a few more moments, then made a gagging noise and slumped to the ground. A deep scarlet puddle formed around his lifeless body. Lola fell to her knees, one hand against her chest, and slapped his eyelids shut, finally rid of her worthless father.
Billy continued to wail, snapping his mother back to the present. "Billy!" she whispered as she pushed herself to her feet. She left behind a bloody handprint as she staggered over to Billy's stroller. Murdock noticed and dashed to her side.
"Are you ok?" Murdock asked Lola.
Lola ignored the pilot and kneeled in front of the stroller to see that her son was safe. "Oh God, Billy, I missed you! Are you ok? Don't worry, Momma's here. Shhh…It's ok, Chiquito…" Lola leaned forward to scoop Billy up in her arms, but she fell face first onto the ground, almost knocking over the stroller.
"Lola!" exclaimed Murdock as he knelt at her side and rolled her over. She had turned powder white and shivered even though she broke out in sweat. A scarlet stain spread across her chest with alarming speed: Lola had been shot.
"Guys, I'm gonna need your help over here!" Murdock called to the others as he tore Lola's shirt away from the wound.
Lola wheezed, blood dribbling from her lips. "Don't bother, Murdock. I'm dying."
"No, you're not," said Murdock as he took off his flannel shirt and pressed it against Lola's gushing wound. "You're gonna be fine. All of us here have been shot before an' we're still here."
"Yeah, well, I've been shot too, but I knew then that I wasn't going to die. I know I am now." Lola coughed, spit up more blood, closed her eyes, and shuddered.
"You stay awake, Lola! Don't go into a coma yet. Think of Billy. You gotta stay awake for Billy."
Hannibal knelt beside Murdock and lifted the makeshift bandage to check the severity of the wound. The colonel shook his head. "She's losing blood fast, Murdock, and it looks like the bullet punctured her lung. At that close range, the bullet did a lot of damage to her."
"Yeah, but Face got shot exactly like that earlier this year, and he was fine."
"He got shot level in the stomach. Lola's lung has a gaping hole in it and is filling with blood as we speak. You know that, Murdock."
"She still has a chance if we get her to the hospital quick."
"Murdock?" Lola choked, even more blood staining her lips and streaming down her cheek onto the ground. The pilot leaned closer so he could hear her better. "You'll take good care of Billy for me, won't you?"
"Sure," said Murdock, "until you get out of the hospital."
"You know that's not what I meant. You'll be a good daddy for Billy, and I know Amy will help you."
"Now you leave the crazy talk to me. We'll get you patched up in no time."
Lola gave Murdock a smile that looked more like a wince. "No, I'm finally getting what I deserve, and don't you say anything different. I love you, Murdock, and you'd better tell Billy every day of his life that I love him more than anything else in the world. Thank you for giving me such a gift as motherhood. It was the only thing that finally straightened me out. I'll keep an eye on you and Billy if He'll let me. Goodbye, Murdock."
Lola closed her eyes as she breathed her last, shuddering breath and lay still.
****
Present day…
Billy lounged in the sofa, his long legs hanging over the arm almost to the floor. Now that he was sixteen, halfway to his seventeenth birthday, everyone agreed that he was the spitting image of his father, right down to his lanky, six-foot-three frame and infectious grin. Next to him his thirteen-year-old sister Angela sat upright watching The Fairly Odd Parents with him and their eleven-year-old brother Alex, who was sprawled out on the floor. Angela looked every bit as much like her mother as Billy looked like Murdock, but Alex was a true blend of both parents.
"Tengo un cerdo en mis cortos!" exclaimed Billy, quoting Cosmo.
Angela smiled and shoved Billy off the couch. "You don't have a hog in your shorts," she sighed.
"C'mon! Cosmo's the man!" cried Billy as he untangled himself.
"How can you not like Cosmo?" added Alex.
Angela opened her mouth to reply, but stopped when she heard their parents go upstairs. "There they go again," she sighed. "Dad always gets really quiet and moody right around the end of September."
Billy sat up, guilt in his large brown eyes. "Yeah…it's been sixteen years since my mother died, and he still thinks about her."
"Do you remember anything about her?" asked Alex.
"I was six months old when she died," said Billy. "All I remember was her singing Frank Sinatra…and I'm not even sure that's a real memory. Mom and Dad say that she was half Puerto Rican and almost as pretty as Mom."
"Obviously you didn't inherit that trait," teased Angela.
Billy grabbed Angela's arm and yanked her to the floor in a heap. "C'mon! Them's fighin' words!" Billy yelled in a mock Texas accent. He grinned, dragged his sister to an open space on the floor, and then lifted her up over his shoulder.
"Let me go!" Angela shrieked with glee. She hit her brother in the back to get him to release her, but Billy let her slide further down his back so he was holding onto her ankles.
"I can't touch the floor!" cried Angela.
"I know that, midget," laughed Billy. "BA keeps telling you to drink more milk, but do you listen? No!"
"Angela, stop being silly and put your hands down!" exclaimed Alex.
"But where's the fun in that?" said Angela.
Murdock and Amy sat on the stairs, watching their children horsing around. Alex was now begging Billy to pick him up over his head.
"Well, adopting Billy and having children of our own doesn't seem to have affected Billy much," said Murdock.
"He's a good kid," said Amy. "Lola missed out on so much, but I know any mother would be proud of a son as great as Billy. I'm pretty sure he sometimes feels like he only has a connection to you, but he knows that we all love him and Alex and Angela don't care if he's not their full brother. Sometimes blood isn't thicker than water."
"Yeah…kinda like the A-Team, huh?" smiled Murdock.
"Speaking of which," said Amy, "they're coming over tomorrow for the sixteenth anniversary of the A-Team's freedom--"
"And our fifteenth wedding anniversary," finished the pilot as he kissed Amy.
Amy smiled. "And that means we have to clean this place up. Go get the kids and we'll be finished in no time."
"Yes, ma'am," grinned Murdock as he stood up and sauntered into the living room. "C'mon, guys, time to clean the house."
"Aww, Dad!" moaned Alex. "Billy hasn't flipped me over yet!"
"All right, down you go, Angela," said Billy as he set his sister on the floor.
Angela fell into a giggling heap on the floor, but managed to stand up. "I'll go get the Pledge," she said as she scurried off into the other room.
"Now come here, Al!" Billy said as he grabbed Alex and hoisted him over his shoulder. "Reporting for duty, sir!" he said as he saluted Murdock.
Murdock grinned and returned the salute. "Acquire the vacuum from the broom closet and proceed to dispatch all dust bunnies, Lieutenant," he barked.
"Sir, yes, sir! And the private here will clean the latrine, sir!"
"No, I won't!" retorted Alex.
"You have no say in the matter, Private!" teased Billy. "I'll swap if you really don't want to do it though."
"Thanks, Billy!" said Alex. "Besides, I'm better at dispatching the dust bunnies than you."
"And no making chlorine gas by mixing ammonia and bleach like last time, Billy!" called Murdock as Billy jogged out of the room towards the broom closet with Alex over his shoulder.
"That was an honest mistake!" called Billy.
"I know it wasn't because you were talkin' about how your chemistry teacher told you that in class the day before."
Billy began singing "Swinging on a Star" at the top of his lungs, pretending to not hear his father. Murdock smiled and shook his head. Like father, like son, he thought. The pilot still couldn't believe that Billy had his driver's license and was a month into his junior year of high school. The only way that Murdock could believe fifteen years had passed was to look at his oldest son. Fifteen years…the same amount of time the A-Team spent on the run, and they still would be running if Lola hadn't come along.
The pilot found himself heading towards the bathroom. He leaned against the doorframe, watching Billy scrub the sink.
Billy looked up and shot his dad a quizzical look. "What's up, Dad?" he asked. "You've got that weird look on your face."
"You look so much like your mother sometimes," said Murdock. "Especially when you give me that look. Her last two days she always had that worried expression… she wanted you back so bad."
"Yeah, I know I was abducted, Dad, and I know my mother died trying to save me. Why bring it up if it upsets you?"
"Because I don't want to forget her. She's one of the few good memories I have."
Billy went back to scrubbing the sink. "How long did you know my mother anyway?" he asked. "You never really said."
"We were together a total of five days over the course of fifteen months," said Murdock, "but it felt like a lifetime."
Billy stopped cleaning and stared at his father. "Wow…I always thought that you'd known her for at least a year from the way you talk about her. So it was almost a one night stand?"
"No, Billy. We shared something that few people get to experience. I can't explain it to you. I just hope that you can love someone that much someday."
"You love Mom though, right? I mean that's why you've been married fifteen years, right?"
Murdock smiled. "Of course I love Amy. She kept me from goin' back to the VA after your mother died. Amy's more stable than your mother was before she had you. Plus she's raised you like her own even though she didn't have to. Don't worry, your mother's memory won't drive us apart. Amy knew her. They got along great."
Billy smiled. "Just checking. Sometimes I worry about you."
"Now you sound just like Amy!" exclaimed Murdock.
"Well, I should! The woman raised me, didn't she?"
"That she did." Murdock caught Billy by surprise in a bear hug. "Amy did a better job of raising you than I ever could possibly imagine."
"You sure you're all right, Dad? Normally you're not this…sentimental."
"'Course I am! Now think of a song to sing while we pick this place up."
Billy grinned. "How about my favorite Sinatra one, 'Fly me to the moon, let me play among the stars,'" he sang.
Murdock smiled back as he joined in singing. "'Let me see what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars…'"
The End
****
Finally! I just want to thank all of you who've stuck through this thing to the end: for part one, K. H. T., Love-of-rock-n-Roll, MG, Kathy S., Bob, Paige, tom, A-Team person, Deana, Monika4, Teri, and Tans_N; and for part two, Naomi SilverWolf, snickers, Caligurl, Crazy, Amanda, jd burns, and MG. But most of all, thank you, Jenn, for letting me bounce ideas off of you and then using you as a beta. You're fantastic!
I won't write any more A-Team stories, unless I get a strange urge to actually write a crossover with MacGyver, which probably won't happen at this rate. So here's the end. Tell me what you thought of it, please. I don't care if you flame me, just as long as it's your honest opinion. So long! :~)