Beep. Beep. Beep.

Murdock slowly opened his eyes to find himself in a hospital room. He felt groggy and a dull headache still pounded. How had he ended up here? His eyes scanned the room as he took in his surroundings. His brain was too groggy to remember specific details, but Murdock vaguely remembered wandering outside for awhile. That must have been quite a walk he'd taken to wake up here. He gripped the rail of his hospital bed and tried to sit up. The room spun dizzily around him and Murdock fell back against his pillow once more. When the room had settled back into its former position, he took a closer look around. I.V. drip line, various machines and monitors with flashing lights, and a chair beside his bed.

Just then, a doctor came into the room. He held a clipboard in hand and offered a polite smile.

"Good morning, Murdock. I'm glad you're awake. How are you feeling?"
"Tired." was all he could manage in response.

The desire to sleep was fast overtaking him and his eyes were already closing. The doctor's voice faded off into the distance and all went quiet.

"You can see him for a few minutes. The sedative still hasn't worn off fully yet."

"Thanks, Doctor. We'll keep it short."

Was that Hannibal's voice Murdock heard?

"Crazy fool. Why'd he have to go and do something stupid like this?"

Good old B.A. Never afraid to speak his mind.

"B.A., don't say that! He might hear you."

Face's voice sounded worried.

"Well, maybe tomorrow he'll be awake. We'll come back in the morning."

Sounds of footsteps echoed loudly and Murdock wished the noise would stop. He sighed with relief when the silence returned. Unconsciousness welcomed him back and engulfed his body entirely.

The next time Murdock woke up, the fog seemed to have finally lifted. He managed to sit up without difficulty and a nurse came into the room. She was a pretty little thing, he thought, as he watched her adjust the I.V. line.

"It's mighty good to see you awake, handsome." she said, smiling.

Murdock liked the sound of her Southern accent and felt something stir in him he hadn't felt in a long time.

"Thanks, darling. You're pretty cute yourself." he replied.

Her laughter filled the room as she checked his blood pressure. He liked how her laughter bubbled out so freely.

"Aren't you a bit young to be working here?" he asked, teasingly.

A rosy flush colored her cheeks and Murdock knew he'd charmed her.

"Oh, I bet you say that to all the pretty girls you meet."

She pushed a few buttons on one of the monitors and bestowed a dazzling smile on him.

"I'll go and get the doctor now. He's been waiting an awful long time to look at you."

This little Southern belle was too much, Murdock thought, as he watched her leave his room.

His head didn't seem to ache so much anymore but his heart was skipping beats.

A docotr came in then and Murdock recognized him from earlier.

"Nurse Darlene tells me you're awake and in good spirits."

So that was her name. He filed that away for musing on later. The doctor was unsuccessfully trying to hide a smile as he sat in the chair next to the bed.

"How are you feeling now, Murdock? Headache? Blurred vision?"

"Slight headache, my eyes are fine. How'd I end up here, Doc?"
"Your friends brought you here in an ambulance. You collapsed and hit your head. Do you recall anything about the accident at all?"

Murdock frowned, "Not too much. I think I was wandering around outside or something. How long have I been here?"
"Two nights."
Darlene peeked in then and blushed as Murdock gave her his best charming smile.

"Doctor, Mr. Murdock's friends are here."

"Tell them I'll see them in just a few minutes."
She turned and secretly winked at Murdock as she left. He felt his heart skip another ten beats.

"So, " the doctor spoke again, "I'd like to keep you here for one more night before releasing you. Just want to be sure you have a clean bill of health."

"Okay, Doc. Can I see my friends?"

"Yes, I'll send them in shortly."

He headed out of the room, and Murdock settled back against his pillow. While he waited, his mind turned to thoughts of Darlene. A smile twitched at his lips as he thought about their brief meeting. Such a pretty little thing she was.

"Knock, knock." Hannibal's voice sounded, breaking him out of his reverie.

Murdock smiled and sat up as they all came in the room.

"It's about time you woke up." Face said, teasingly.

"How do you feel?" Hannibal asked.

"Oh, I'm all right. Bit sore, but no complaints."

"Glad to see you're okay, Murdock." B.A. said, gruffly.

"Thanks, big guy. It's good to see you all again. Maybe one of you could fill me in on what happened."

Face and B.A. both looked at Hannibal who obligingly said, "You slipped on some wet concrete on your way into the psychiatric hospital when we dropped you off. We were still in the parking lot when it happened and called an ambulance. You must have hit your head when you fell, Looks like you only have a minor scratch on your forehead, that's good."

Murdock slowly processed the information, and somehow the story Hannibal told didn't seem right. That sure wasn't how he was recalling it happening.

"How long ago was this?"

"Oh, just two days. Tuesday, I think." Face quickly said.

B.A. nodded, "Yeah, that's right."

Why were they all so eager to make him believe Hannibal's story? Making a mental note to try remembering the details later, Murdock pasted on a smile. He'd go along with them for now.

"Tuesday huh? Boy, I sure have been asleep for a long time."

They all laughed, rather nervously, in his opinion. Darlene came in then and Murdock was glad for the distraction.

"Well, I'm glad to see y'all getting along in here."

Face cleared his throat and glanced at Murdock, "Why, I didn't know they allowed sixteen year olds to work here."

Darlene's laughter pealed out again but she made no attempts at bantering with Face. Murdock was secretly pleased at seeing her ignore him. She looked at him instead, and he was nearly swept away by those beautiful blue eyes of hers.

"If there's anything I can get you, Mr. Murdock, just press the call button."

"Thanks, darlin'. I'll be sure to let you know."

That rosy blush colored her cheeks once more as she left the room. Hannibal broke the romantic moment and glanced at his watch.

"We'd better get out of here. Doctor said to keep it short. Glad you're okay, Murdock."

"Thanks, I'm sure I'll get out of here tomorrow."
"We'll pick you up in the morning then." Face said,

B.A. and he followed Hannibal out of the room and Murdock settled back against the mattress. Darlene reappeared, this time with a cup of water.

"Thought you might like something to drink." she said, shyly.

Their fingers touched as he took the cup from her, A jolt seemed to run up his arm at the feeling.

"Can I get you something to eat maybe? You must be awful hungry by now."

Murdock nodded and listened to her listing off options for him. He could listen to her Southern drawl for hours on end.

"What do you think?" she was asking.

He snapped back to the present, "Oh something light sounds fine."

She smiled that beautiful smile at him again and turned to go, "I'll be right back."

Murdock watched her leave. She could bring him fried snails and he wouldn't even care.

Feelings long ago buried were swirling up in his heart again. For now, Murdock chose to ride the wave till the very end. He knew there were jagged rocks soon to come, but right now, he'd focus on the glorious ride. Darlene returned a few minutes later with a tray of food and carefully placed it on his lap. Murdock gave her his most charming smile.

"Why you didn't have to go to all the trouble of cooking this meal just for me."

That melodic, bubbly laughter filled the room once more and Murdock savored every echo of it.

"I'll be back later."

They exchanged smiles and he felt the wave of forgotten feelings inside him swell just a bit higher. He watched her leave and shook his head. What a girl.