"Oh wow, oh wow," he kept repeating.
"MURDOCK!!" they shouted, pulling him back into the car.
"You did it Facey!!!!"
"Did what? " asked Face, still trying to calm Murdock down.
"You told her" whispered Murdock, in an offside dramatic stage whisper.
"I told her?" Face repeated, thoroughly bemused.
"Yeah, man, you told her that you love her!"
Face and Amy stared at him.
"Well yes, I did, I mean I do love her, but how did you know? I mean we only talked last night, well, this morning really, but you weren't there. How do you know?" By now Face was completely confused. Murdock looked over at Amy and dropped all pretences.
"Face, you've been in love with Amy for as long as we've known her. You didn't know, she didn't know, but I did. You just needed to grow into it. Think about it man, you've always been protective, you've always put her first and you always stood up for her. You always made sure she was fine after a mission, even if you were draped over the nearest leggy blonde. She always came first for you. " Face looked at him, and then at Amy. She was looking at Murdock, stunned, a small contented smile beginning to play around the corner of hr mouth. She drew her eyes back to Face. His eyes were beginning to dawn with the realisation that Murdock was right. He'd always loved Amy, always would. Amy smiled softly at him, only to be interrupted by Murdock.
"Oh and you're not getting away so easily Triple A!"
Face reached over and intertwined his fingers with Amy's, grinning and leaning in to kiss her on the tip of her nose.
"Yep, babe" he grinned evilly. "Your turn!"
Murdock watched the two of them. He'd always known this would happen; it had never been a question of 'if' rather of 'when'. Like B.A., Murdock had worried that Face had lost his chance when Amy had gone to Indonesia, but unlike B.A. Murdock had known that they eventually would be together and now his dreams for his best friends had come true. He turned and smiled at Amy.
"You, my dear, have always been partial to Facey here, whether you knew it or not. You followed him with your eyes and cared for the inside of him, when the outside could have been seen to present a rather less than appealing image. " At Face's raised eyebrows, Murdock explained" Sorry, what I mean is you cared for him even when he was chasing the ladies and treating you as a friend. It was obvious to one such as I, schooled in the art of psychiatry that you were nuts about him!" Amy groaned at his joke and made an admission of her own. She looked at Face.
"Well, actually, he's err, not that far off, really. Sort of."
Chapter 19Face turned his blue eyes on her, grinning insanely. So, she'd always been attracted to him then? Amy had had plenty of practice at reading his expression and knew exactly what he was thinking. She reached over and thumped him on the shoulder. He grimaced in mock agony, just as he had done in the hospital corridor.
"OY! You see that Murdock? One day of knowing she's the love of my life and she wants to beat me up? What does that say about us then?" Amy glowed at his reference to her as the love of his life. Jeez, she loved Face. Their eyes met and he leaned in for another swift kiss.
Murdock grinned evilly. He raised his eyebrows.
"That, my dear boy, makes you ", he paused and leaned out of reach, "Kinky!!" he cackled, giggling hysterically at Amy's immediate crimson blush and wincing himself at Face's thump on the shoulder.
"So. Can I drive then?" said Murdock, leaving Amy and Face gaping at the sudden change in direction. Saying nothing, Face got out of the front and surrendered the driving seat to Murdock.
Stunned, Murdock sat down, feeling the smooth leather seats and the fascinating dashboard. Face must have it bad to surrender the 'vette so easily. He smiled as Face pulled Amy over and into the back seat with him. She grinned and curled into him. They gave Murdock directions to Amy's house, Amy holding Face tightly as she stopped him from wrestling control from Murdock when the car pulled away in a series of Kangaroo hops.
"Murdock!!" Face whined at him. "Take care of my car"
Amy turned to him and whispered, "Sod the car Face, why don't you take care of me?" and she leaned in and caught his lips in a soul-searing kiss. Murdock glanced into the rear-view mirror and grinned.
Breaking the kiss, Amy looked deep into Face's eyes.
"Happy?" she asked.
"Delirious" he said. "I love you Amy"
Amy's heart glowed. She looked at him closely, as if considering how to say something.
Chapter 20"I love you too, but,"
"What?" asked Face.
"It's just, " she stopped
Face's eyes bored into her, looking almost into her very soul.
"It's just that we'll be on probation, or something like that. Hannibal will be watching every move we make. We can't let 'us' get in the way of our work. We've got to work something out"
Face interrupted her, "I know what you mean. I've always believed in what we do, and I still do. I've never really looked at it like it was a job. But then again, I've never really been in love, apart from, " he stopped, looking sideways at her. Amy finished the sentence for him, "apart from Leslie. And you still love her, of course you do. We all hold a special place for first love. Don't worry, Face, I understand, she was a part of you life. She's part of your history."
"And you're my future and we need to make a way of both parts of our lives working. Maybe we could try it as if our work for the Team is a job, that we go home to each other after that. Not that the team is a job, but you know what I mean, don't you?"
"Best friends while we work, up to us on personal time, that it?"
Amy smiled and Face leaned in again, pulling her into a long, passionate kiss. Amy held him tight, loving him with all of her soul, holding him tighter when he began to struggle against her as Murdock ground the gears of the 'vette with a horrible scrunching sound. Amy looked up and met Murdock's worried eyes in the rear view mirror. She kissed Face again, taking his mind off the fact that his treasured car was being murdered. She looked up and met Murdock's eyes again, this time they held a grateful glow as he realised Amy had found an extremely pleasurable way of taking his friend's mind off the treatment of the car. Face kissed Amy without inhibition, and Murdock grinned, making the most of the chance to get the car to the Allen home in one slightly shuddery piece.