Hannibal and Murdock don't speak a word as they hold their wake. It seems to last an eternity, but at last Maggie comes out of the room. The two men quickly get up, anxious to hear the news.

"She's stable now guys. She is going to make it." Maggie explains. "She has 2 bullet wounds, one in her lower back and one which fractured her left shoulder. She has a lot of healing to do. Care to help me move her to the spare bedroom?

Murdock's smile nearly splits his face in two. He looks at Hannibal, eyes bloodshot from crying but smiling anyway. "She's going to make it."

Hannibal put his hand on the Captain's shoulder. "She'll be fine Murdock." He shoots a grateful look at Maggie.

Maggie nods. "She's asleep. I gave her some strong sedatives, so she shouldn't wake up when you move her."

Hannibal turns to Murdock again. "Get her to the bedroom and be there when she wakes up. That's an order Captain." He smiles when he says it though and Murdock understands. He leaves quickly to continue his wake.

Maggie turns to Hannibal. "Did you have to be so blunt about it?" she asks him.

"I know him. He would've sat there for the entire time anyway. This way he can do it without feeling guilty he lets the team down. He's under orders after all." explains Hannibal. He winks at Maggie. "I'm a lot more clever than you give me credit for you know."

Maggie pokes him in the ribs. "Oh shut it Smith!"

They look up as Murdock exits the surgery with a limp Cassie in his arms. She doesn't look quite so pale anymore. Murdock enters the bedroom, as per orders.

Grinning, Hannibal puts his arm around Maggie. "Let's give him a moment alone with her." He leads Maggie to the couch. Her eyes look confused, she doesn't know what to make of that last comment.

"So Smith, where are Peck and Baracus?"

-

In the bedroom, Murdock puts Cassie down gently. She doesn't wake up at all. Her face looks totally relaxed, and he pushes a lock of her hair out of her face. Even like this she does look beautiful. She's always been beautiful, Murdock just hadn't noticed before. She always was buddy, a friend. But when he saw her fall after the gun went off, he thought he had lost her.

He sits like this for a while, lost in thought. He holds her hand between his as he sits on the edge of the bed. Leaving her behind when they go on missions isn't an option, he knows this in his heart. But he considers the possibility of her dying out there. If she died, she'd be gone. Gone from his life. And he doesn't know if he can live like that. He realizes he loves the team with all his heart. They are his best friends. If they died he would be distraught and would grieve terribly. He would, however, be able to move on. If she died, this girl who had been accepted by the team so easily, he wouldn't know what to do with himself. Murdock realizes this with a shock. If she dies, he'll be lost.

The door opens and Hannibal enters. He looks at his pilot sitting there, holding Cassie's hand, as if he hadn't expected anything else. He smiles at him. Murdock smiles back. Hannibal kneels next to the bed and softly caresses Cassie's hair. "How did she get us to care about her so much Murdock?" he whispers.

Murdock looks at his commander and smiles. "She's part of the team Colonel. We just didn't know it back then."

Hannibal shakes his head. "No it's more than that. I've never had a daughter before, but I feel like a father now."

Murdock looks from Cassie to Hannibal. He's never heard him say anything like that before. Hannibal doesn't let people in easily.

Murdock takes a big breath. "I know what you mean Colonel. She just snuck in, I suppose."

Hannibal smiles at his pilot. "Yeah, she just snuck in." He leans over and gives the girl a kiss on her forehead. "Get better Cassie." He turns to Murdock again. "I'll get the van out of sight and set up a perimeter. I'll be outside with Maggie. Let me know when something changes, ok?"

"Yes Hannibal." Murdock answers. Normally he would salute or something like that. Not today. Today he simply turns away from his leader and back to the girl in the bed.

The door closes. He doesn't even flinch.

He just sits there waiting. At one point Maggie brings him something to eat. He eats it almost without tasting. It's gone in minutes, just another plate for the washing up. Time seems to slow down there in the bedroom. At one point Murdock relocates to a chair, never letting go of Cassie's hand. He has just made himself comfortable, when her fingers twitch slightly. Murdock is immediately on high alert. Her situation doesn't appear to have worsened. It was only a little twitch. He gets up to call Hannibal, but now she squeezes his hand. It's a light squeeze, but it's definitely a squeeze. The pressure on his fingers almost makes him jump out of his skin with joy.

"Cassie, are you awake?"

He studies her face intently and almost crushes her fingers as her eyes open.

"Hey silly." she whispers.

"Hannibal!" he shouts loudly. "Hannibal she's awake!"

He hears a stumble from outside the door as Hannibal bursts in the room. Immediately he locks eyes with the girl he thinks of as his daughter and he smiles broadly. He quickly comes closer.

"You scared us there girl. We didn't know if you were gonna make it."

He sits down as well and caresses her cheek. Cassie smiles at him.

"It takes more than this to get rid of me old man."

He smiles broadly. "You've been shot twice." he starts explaining. "Your shoulder blade is fractured, so you'll have trouble moving your arm. You're going to lay low for while."

"What happened with the mission?" she asks. She looks at Murdock. "What happened after, you know? After he shot me?"

Hannibal looks at his pilot curiously. He hadn't mentioned that part at all.

"I killed him, Cas." Murdock explains grimly. "Shot him. He's dead. The others were all on the floor, so I told Martin to keep them under control until the cops came and brought you to Hannibal." He smiles at her. "Now you've got to sleep Cas. Go to sleep."

Cassie looks at him and smiles. Hannibal looks at the girl and his pilot together and smiles to himself. He isn't needed anymore. "Come on Murdock. Let's leave her be. She needs to rest." Before they exit the room, they can hear a soft snoring from the bed in the corner. Cassie was already asleep.

"Hannibal, I really feel like I should be with her." Murdock starts to protest. He looks pleadingly at Hannibal, but he won't budge.

"Look outside Captain." he says.

Murdock looks and sees it's dark outside.

"It's time for us to get some sleep as well. You're not helping her if you exhaust yourself."

Murdock sees the logic in this and allows his commander to drag him to the couch.

-

Later that night Hannibal suddenly wakes up because he heard a noise. He gets up to investigate. When he gets to the living room, he sees that Murdock's couch is empty. He sighs, and goes to check up on Cassie. He finds his pilot there, fast asleep by the foot of the bed. He smiles and closes the door.