Josta
I don't own the A-team and I'm sure Murdock in particular should be grateful. This part contains lots of angst.
I am no doctor and the only thing I know about medicine is that you can take an aspirin when you've got a headache. All medical actions in this story are therefore totally, completely and utterly non-sense.
BA and Kelly run to Murdock, who's still hanging from the wrists. They quickly untie him and carefully lower him to the ground. He groans dully and looks at them with an expression filled with pain and relief.
"Just in….. in time, big guy….. Your mother?" he pants.
"I brought her, man. She's fine. What happened?"
Murdock doesn't answer, his sight falters and he's about to faint. Kelly answers for him.
"He couldn't ward them off. He tried so hard, but they got to him anyway. I'm glad you came back in time." BA looks at her.
"If you hadn't fired those shots, I would have been too late; they would have killed him for sure."
BA takes Murdock, who lost consciousness, in his arms and brings him to Kelly's consulting room. The pain makes him come round again. It's pretty obvious he's suffered a great deal again, for the bandages are soaked with blood. They remove them and see the sutures are torn. His back aches almost worst than before and his heart rate is far too high. Kelly injects a tranquilizer to get this back to normal and starts stitching all over. She can't use an anesthetic on top of the tranquilizer because that could cause cardiac arrest. Murdock moans loudly and Kelly is about to cry because he's in so much pain again, but she just hurries as much as possible. After she's done BA gently picks up Murdock, who is like dead weight in his arms, carries him back to the guest room and gently lowers him into the bed.
"You try to rest, fool, I'll be around."
BA is mad and would love to go after the men like a raging bull but he knows he can't leave now. Just imagine what would happen if they got back to find his mother, Kelly and a completely helpless Murdock….. He can't bear to think about what could happen to them. He's due to stand guard until Hannibal and Face get back.
It isn't long before Hannibal and Face do come back, spotting the Van right away. They hurry to the house to see how Murdock is doing. BA meets them on the steps.
"Good to see you back, BA, everything okay here?"
He shakes his head and they visibly pale. Murdock can't be…..
"No! I was in time to pick up my mother, but I just barely made it back here in time. Those bounty hunters have been back and beat up Murdock again. He is badly hurtand if Kelly hadn't interfered they would have killed him for sure."
They get inside and meet up with Kelly. She gives them a detailed account of what happened. When she tells them about the desperate battle the injured Murdock had to fight against four men, followed by the extremely cruel torture with the cattle prod, Hannibal pales with anger.
"It's time to take those men out of the circulation, guys." He asks Kelly: "How is Murdock doing now?"
"He's doing even worse! He is in excruciating pain and I had to redo the stitching. I can't give him anything for the pain because I had to give him a tranquilizer to get his heart rate back to normal. He is very weak due to the strength of the current. He should be hospitalized."
"How's his chance of survival if we keep him here?"
"Probably good, but I have no idea how much more he can take and in a hospital his recovery will be much quicker."
"Sadly we have to take the slower option. We are wanted men, you know. If necessarily we will take him to a hospital, of course, but if there is another option….."
"You can stay as long as needed. I only hope they won't come back again."
"I do!" BA growls. "We'll give them a warm reception…..And squeeze the life out of them!"
Hannibal enters the guest room. Murdock is just barely conscious, his skin is pale and the pain makes him nauseous. His breathing is fast but shallow; his eyes are missing their usual gleam and his whole body is screaming agony. "How are you doing, captain? Can you bear it?"
"Don't ask….. colonel, so I won't….. have to….. to lie," Murdock groans panting.
Hannibal hides his surprise well. Murdock admits he isn't feeling very well and that's not something he usually does! He truly must be in a lot of pain! "We will take you to the hospital," Hannibal decides.
Murdock is getting anxious. If they do and get caught those bounty hunters are allowed full play….. He sounds panic stricken: "No….. don't….. do that….. Too dangerous….. for you! I am….. just….. just….. tired….. So….. very….. tired….." His voice falters.
Hannibal understands only too well this isn't true. Murdock is in a lot of pain but Hannibal sees his confusion and gives in to spare him. "Okay, you get some sleep now, we'll wait three hours, but not a minute longer. If you aren't doing better by than, we will take you to River View Hospital. Agreed?"
Murdock just nods.
Hannibal leaves the bedroom and looks worriedly at the others. "He's really not doing well, guys. He's in a lot of pain and admitting it as well! Kelly, he's getting exhausted. Is there nothing you can do for him?"
"If I give him a painkiller he might die. The tranquilizer I administered doesn't work well with painkillers. They conflict and that could cause a stroke. That's too great a risk to take because that cattle prod did a lot of damage. His resistance is just about zero."
Hannibal nods understandingly, but he just can't accept Murdock is sentenced to inhumanly suffering.
"We must do something! If he's not doing better in three hours, we'll take him to the River View."
It sticks in Face's throat too his friend is doomed to endure such pain. "Wouldn't it be better to take him there right away, Hannibal?"
"No, Face, he doesn't want to hear about it because it's too dangerous for us, but I told him we will decide what to do in three hours."
BA's mother gets up. "I will stay with him to keep an eye on him."
The others come with her and Kelly checks Murdock's heart rate. His breathing is irregular and every now and then he writhes with pain. He seems to be unconscious, but Kelly says he isn't.
"He's asleep, but his heart rate is very irregular and way too fast. If there's any change, you must warn me immediately."
Now all they can do is wait. They make themselves as comfortable as possible in the living room and after mature deliberation they decide to wait the three hours Hannibal promised Murdock. After that they will decide whether to take him to the hospital or not. They are of course talking about today's events and about how lucky it was Kelly was only just in time to save Murdock from being tortured to death.
"If I hadn't heard him scream in agony I would have stayed in the basement, like he ordered me to. He probably would be dead by now if I had."
Hannibal, Face and BA look at each other shocked. Screaming in agony? Murdock? That gives them a good notion of the amount of pain he must have been in, because, except for the period Chao in Vietnam, they've never heard him do that.
Kelly gets them all something to eat and then checks her patient again. Hannibal wants to stay updated and joins her. Mrs Baracus is worried because Murdock is extremely restless; it's obvious he's haunted by nightmares. They don't have to guess where those come from. In his dreams he is reliving all torture over and over again and he's drowning in a pool of mortal fear and excruciating pain. They can only hope he's able to overcome them without developing a new psychosis of fear like he did after Vietnam. His fever too is back with a vengeance but until his heart rate is back to almost normal, Kelly can't do anything about that.
She stares sadly at Murdock who is literally shaking with fever and has trouble breathing while sweat pours down his ashen face. She turns abruptly; she doesn't want Hannibal to see she's crying, but he understands her weakness. He too is horrified by Murdock's suffering and is afraid of a bad ending.
BA relieves his mother besides Murdock's bed. No power in the world can make him leave now. Until this crisis is passed he will stay, no matter how long it takes. Kelly says he must warn her if anything changes and they leave the room.
A few hours later Murdock wakes up moaning and shivering and sees BA sitting beside him.
"B….. BA….." he mumbles.
"Hey, buddy, how do you feel?"
"Pain….. So much….. pain….. can't….. take….. any….. more…..," Murdock pants.
BA is terrified. If Murdock says a thing like that, he must be on the verge of succumbing. The time he almost died of traumatic fever he didn't even say something like that…..
BA runs into the living room: "Kelly, hurry! There's something wrong!"
Kelly runs to the guest room, followed closely by Hannibal, BA and Face.
"What's going on?"
"We have to do something about the pain. He's succumbing. He says he can't take anymore!"
They look at Murdock who indeed looks like he's about to die. In the short while it took BA to get the others he's worsened. His breathing is hardly detectable and he's trembling in pain. His face is ashen and he's only barely conscious. Kelly checks his heart rate and looks shocked. It's looking bad…..
"Come on, H.M., bear with us! Don't go to sleep now! I know you're tired, but you have to stay awake! Hang in there, you hear? You mustn't give in!"
She explains tothe others, who are looking puzzled, why they have to keep him awake: "If he surrenders to fatigue and falls asleep, he will never wake up again!"
It's clear Murdock tries to stay alert, he's groaning with the effort and perspiration stands on his brow but no matter how hard he tries, he just can't do it. He seems to be abandoning the fight and is slowly slipping away…..The pain seems to be beating him…..
"We don't have a choice anymore, I must give him a painkiller. There's a slight chance it will work. The end justifies the means, without help he's doomed."
Hannibal agrees and she administers the injection. The painkiller is strong and almost immediately takes effect, but in reaction to the medicine Murdock starts convulsing and he foams at the mouth. He spasmodically vomits and seems to suffocate. His eyes turn in their sockets and he loses consciousness completely. Hannibal, Face and BA are scared to death by this; they are sure Murdock is dying and it's understandable; it looks horrific!
"What did you give him?"
"Morphine, a high dose." And to Murdock: "Come on, wake up! Show us some life, boy. Come on, you can do it, I know you can. Wake up! Bear with us!"
It takes some time but at last he's reacting; Murdock is regaining consciousness. He is disoriented and pretty upset but he soon improves. They wash him and change the bedding and he's terribly ashamed to have to be changed like a little kid but of course the others don't mind this at all. When he's settled Murdock is dead-beat and feels extremely wretched.
"Give him something to drink if he wants," Kelly says. "After what he's just been through he can use it. And it's okay for him to sleep now."
BA gets something to drink for Murdock out of the kitchen. He helps the pilot to sit up and wants to hand him the glass but Murdock isn't able to hold it. He is still shaking so BA helps him to drink and gently lowers him back into the pillows. Murdock is, although exhausted, still fighting sleep. He does want to sleep but he doesn't dare to. He is terrified those bounty hunters will come back again to assault him….. He pleadingly looks up at BA: "Stay….?"
BA sees, as do the others, mortal fear in his eyes. Each one of them isoverrun by feelings of pity. BA nods, the 'big guy' has a very tiny heart. …..
"Of course I will stay, buddy, as long as you want me to. You rest easy, I won't let you down."
Murdock is reassured and closes his eyes. He falls asleep like a log.
Night.
The house is quiet, everyone's asleep, but outside…..
A soft breeze whispers through the foliage, no other sound is heard.
It's new moon and pitch black. The only light comes from the lantern at the back door which casts a soft yellow glow on the surroundings. In the dark shades of the garden four man stealthily move. It's the bounty hunters…..
Very carefully, making no sound at all they sneak to the house and go to the room in which Murdock is fast asleep. BA is nowhere to be seen.
The Indian uses his knife to jerk open the window and they calmly climb in. It's almost as if they always come to visit like this.
Royco and Tannen sneak on both sides of the bed towards Murdock. They are armed with cattle prods and smile viciously at the thought of being able to torture a completely helpless man. Tannen has a red-hot burning iron in his other hand. Here's his chance!
Their father and Chazz both are holding a double-barreled rifle aimed at the sleeping man and Chazz has his inseparable whip in the other hand. Should Murdock be able to resist the cattle prods and the burning iron, he's determined to actually beat him to death this time.
Tannen lays a hand on Murdock's mouth and holds the burning iron just inches from his chest, ready to pound.
Murdock wakes up screaming in terror; he is in total panic…..
tbc