A/N: It has been a while since I updated this story. I know and I'm sorry. Life is pretty hectic at the moment. I do hope you'll enjoy this long(er) chapter to make up for the long wait. Thanks a million to to all those who follow and/or review this story.

CHAPTER 6

Hannibal wasn't just worried about the physical damage done to his second-in-command because he was sure his body would heal eventually like the doctor said. He was more worried about the psychological damage done to Face by Kyle. He knew Face was strong and could handle nearly anything, but the whole ordeal had been very personal. Kyle deliberately wanted to hurt Face to get to Hannibal. Although he didn't want any of his men to see it, the matter had hit Hannibal hard as well. He cared deeply about each and every one of his team, but had to admit that he had a soft spot for his Lieutenant. He kept a close eye on Face while the latter was sleeping peacefully.

"Jeez, kid. What has he done to you? You look a mess right now. He got you good. I'm sorry I wasn't there to get your back. I should have stayed with you. Darn it."

He sat there for a while in complete silence watching over Face with a serious look on his tired features. Murdock noticed the seriousness in the expression on his Commander's face straight away upon walking back into the room. He knew Hannibal blamed himself for what had happened. He exchanged a worried glance with B.A. who also immediately knew what was going on.

"Don't worry, Hannibal. Face. He's strong. He'll make it."

"Yeah Colonel. The big guy is right! Here, why don't you have a cup of coffee."

Hannibal gratefully accepted the offered cup.

"It's not his injuries I'm worried about," he stated.

"I know what you mean, Colonel. But he doesn't have to do this on his own. We'll be right here for him."

"I know, Murdock, but will that be enough?"

"I hope so."

They all watched Face as he was still sleeping peacefully in his hospital bed and decided they all needed to get some rest as well. One of them would be on guard and the others would take over after a couple of hours. Luckily for them nothing happened that night and Face didn't wake up either.

When morning came, the doctor decided to check on his patient. Face was still asleep, but woke up during the examination.

"Ah. Hello there, Mr. Peck. I'm glad you decided to join us."

Face didn't react. He was trying to do his utmost best to get rid of the sleepy feeling and focus on the conversation which was pretty hard for him to do. He vaguely noticed a change in his surroundings, but had no clue how he got there. The doctor explained to the worried team that Face was on a very strong painkiller due to his injuries.

"Hi, kid. You're in the hospital now and we're all here with you. You did an amazing job with those clues. We found you and got rid of Kyle. He'll be in the slammer for a very long time."

A small smile appeared on Face's tired features. Meanwhile, the doctor finished examining his patient. He decided Face still needed to get fluid and antibiotics, but he wanted to cut back on his painkiller to assess his condition further.

"We need to make sure you get some food into your system to regain your strength. And I'll make sure you get some breakfast as well, gentlemen. I'll be back in a little while to check on you."

With those words, the doctor left Face's room. Hannibal grabbed a chair and sat down next to his Lieutenant. Face's eyes were drooping.

"Oh no you don't Lieutenant. You need to keep your eyes open and stay awake."

"I can't. Tired."

"I know you are, son. But right now you need to focus and have something to eat."

"You ain't got no meat left on them bones and you was skinny already."

"Not hungry."

"You ain't got no choice."

"He's right you know, Face. You have to eat whether you want to or not."

At that exact moment, the nurse entered the room carrying a tray with breakfast for Face.

"Hi, Mr. Peck," she said. "I'm glad to see you're awake. I've got some breakfast for you."

She put the tray down next to his bed.

"I'll be right back. I'm going to get breakfast for the others."

Face looked at the tray with food and scrunched up his nose in disgust. He so wasn't hungry.

"Would you stop it, kid. Whether you like it or not, you are going to eat something."

"Hannibal's right. You eat or I'll make you eat."

Face merely sighed. Hannibal and Murdock helped him to sit up in bed which wasn't easy with his injuries. Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, but he tried to suppress the need to cry out in pain.

"Are you okay, kid?"

"I'm … f-fine."

B.A. raised the top half of the bed and Murdock put some soft pillows on the bed to help support his best friend. Hannibal gently eased him back down a bit. Face closed his eyes for a second as he tried to breathe through the intense pain.

When he opened up his eyes again, Hannibal was seated next to his bed.

"You're doing great, kid. Now I know you're in a lot of pain, but you need to try and eat something at least."

Face nodded his head. Hannibal handed him a slice of toast. Face took it and slowly started to munch on it. He took a couple of bites and handed it back to his Colonel.

"Want to drink something, Face?"

Hannibal offered Face a cup of coffee and he eagerly started to drink. Meanwhile, the team also ate their breakfast. Face didn't finish his. He drank all of his coffee, but only ate about half of the slice of bread. His friends encouraged him to eat some more, but he shook his head.

He was exhausted and in a lot of pain although he didn't mention that to his team mates. Hannibal noticed this anyway.

"Want to lie back down, kid?"

"Yes … thanks."

B.A. lowered his bed again and Murdock and Hannibal both helped Face to ease back down. Face was doing his utmost best to block out the pain that was slowly consuming him. It seemed to get worse with every breathe he took. He couldn't even tell what hurt the most.

"Hey, littl' brother. You ain't lookin' too good."

Face vaguely heard his team member saying something, but he didn't seem to register that he was talking about him.

"Hannibal …"

"Yes, Murdock. Must be the pain he's in. The doctor told me he would reduce the amount of painkillers to assess Face's injuries properly."

"It ain't right. He ain't supposed to suffer."

"I know, big guy. But like Hannibal said the doctor needs to assess his condition to be able to fix things again. I hate seeing my pall like this too."

"We all do, Murdock. Let me see if I can find his doctor."

Murdock and B.A. both stayed with their friend and kept a close eye on him as they watched him struggle with his ever consuming pain. They were relieved when Hannibal returned shortly with the doctor. He noticed the distress his patient was in straight away.

"Mr. Peck, I know you're in a lot of pain right now but I have to examine you so we can find out how just how badly injured you truly are. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Face had shut his eyes firmly to block out the pain, but managed to nod his head.

The doctor carefully but thoroughly started his examination and Face was able to somehow indicate how much pain he was in during the examination. The doctor said out loud what he discovered during his examination.

"Broken nose, broken cheekbone, no signs of further head trauma. He has bruised but also cracked and fractured ribs. His broken wrist still worries me the most. It's a complex fracture, so we'll need to operate. But let's get him x-rayed first."

Hannibal felt his anger rise once again and noticed the angry expressions on both faces of his team mates.

"He's a very strong young man. The pain must be overwhelming."

"Yeah, you can say that again. The kid sure is a strong one."

They all looked at his pale face which clearly showed his struggle with the intense pain he was in. He had shut his eyes firmly in the process of trying to deal with everything.

"It's over now, Mr. Peck. I'm so sorry you had to go through this. Let me give you a strong sedative for the pain before we take you over to radiology."

They all stood and watched as the sedative slowly started to do its job. The pain slowly ebbed away and a small smile appeared on Face's pale and tired features as he once again was able to open up his eyes.

"Feeling better already, Lieutenant?"

Face weakly smiled at his commanding officer. Hannibal decided to accompany Face while he was taken to radiology. With the strong sedative in his system, Face no longer felt any pain and he also couldn't stop talking or flirting. Hannibal watched in amusement as he was still able to seduce the female nurses and assistants he encountered despite the state he was in and how much he enjoyed it.

After he had been taken back to his room, the doctor talked about the results with the rest of the team. Since he was no longer feverish or dehydrated, they would be able to schedule the operation to his wrist. His broken nose and jaw had to heal by themselves and his ribs were already taped. The doctor told them that they would keep him on the sedative at least until after the surgery to his wrist.

The doctor also explained to the team what he would do during the operation. Face's wrist stood in an awkward position due to the fact that both bones were broken and had shifted in the process with one bone ultimately piercing his skin. In order to correct the position of the broken wrist, the doctor would have to use metal plates and screws. These were to remain about 6 weeks into the wrist while it would be immobilized. After 6 weeks they would re-evaluate the whole thing by taking x-rays once again and also set a date for follow-up surgery as the metal plate and screws needed to once again be removed from the wrist. The doctor also explained that there would be a minor scar from the procedure which would heal nicely within the period of about 6 months.

Since Face only had a light breakfast, the operation would be scheduled in 6 hours. He wasn't allowed to eat anything anymore which wasn't much of a problem, but was allowed to drink up to two hour before the scheduled operation. Now all they could do was wait …