CHAPTER 9
Face was fast asleep by the time the team arrived at Hannibal's place. Murdock tried to wake up his best friend which turned out to be a lot harder than he expected. After a while, Hannibal got in the van to check what was going on. He had been busy gathering spare blankets to cover up his Lieutenant so he could rest and relax some more in the living room.
"Murdock, what is taking you this long?"
"I can't get him to wake up, Colonel?"
"What?"
"Oh no. Not like that … He's breathing and all. He just doesn't wanna wake up."
"Here. Let me try!"
Hannibal tried to get Face to wake up using various methods, but nothing seemed to do the trick. He still slept peacefully.
"What do we do now, Colonel? We can't let him sleep in the van all day long in this heat."
"I know, Captain. There's only one solution."
Hannibal went inside his house to get B.A. and he carried his injured teammate bridal style into the house and carefully laid him down on the couch. Murdock covered him up with some warm blankets. Still Face slept peacefully.
"What's goin' on with him, Hannibal? I don't like this. This ain't right. He's been doin' nothin' but sleep."
"It's alright, B.A. His doctor informed about all of this. The sedative could have this effect on him and he'll probably still be sleepy for the next couple of days. No need to worry, guys. I think he needs the rest anyway."
It wasn't until noon when Face finally stirred. He became aware that he was no longer sitting in his chair in the van, but lying down on Hannibal's couch.
"Hi, sleepyhead. Decided to join us?"
"What time is it?"
"Lunch time, kid. Murdock is preparing us all some food."
"Hope the crazy fool knows what he's doin'. He ain't gonna poison all of us."
"Now come on, B.A. Have a little faith, will ya?"
Murdock emerged from the kitchen wearing a white apron and a white chef's head.
"Ah. I see the patient is awake," he said in a heavy French accent. "Good. I'm preparing a gourmet meal."
"Better be good, fool. Face needs his strength back."
"I know that, Big Guy. Don't ya worry 'bout that."
"So what are we having?"
"Soup."
"Soup? Man! I can't do with just soup!"
"Yes, I know that. But that is something Face can have and it's good for you. Plenty of vegetables in it."
"I agree, Murdock. Soup is always a good thing to have."
"Yeah and I happen to know that Facey is crazy about soup. Aren't you, you handsome devil?"
"Yes, you're right about that Murdock. I would like some soup. I'm kinda hungry too."
"That's a good sign, kid."
Murdock emerged from the kitchen with a cup of warm soup. Hannibal helped him to sit up somewhat so he could eat his soup.
"This stuff smells really good, Murdock."
"Why thank you, O Facial One. I do try."
Face was also grateful that Murdock had poured the soup into a cup so he could sip it rather than making a mess of things will trying to eat with his left hand or heaven forbid have one of the guys feed him. Hannibal also made sure he took his medication. Face still wasn't up to doing much of anything. He read the newspaper, talked to his friends for a little while and watched cartoons with Murdock before falling asleep once again. Hannibal watched his second-in-command snoring softly.
"Will he be okay again, Hannibal?"
"I'm sure he will be okay again physically very soon, B.A. I have no clue about the psychological impact though. He doesn't talk about it at all."
"Yeah. Fool's always pretendin' t be fine when he ain't."
"We all know that, B.A. But the doctor said not to force him to talk about it for now. His body needs to heal first. We'll deal with the rest later."
Face stayed with Hannibal for the next couple of weeks. At first, he still slept most of the time. As time passed, he didn't need that much rest anymore but started to get bored. There wasn't much he could do really with his injuries and he hated losing his independence. Still he was happy and grateful that Hannibal and the team were there for him.
Up until now, he hadn't opened up to anyone about what had happened to him. He acted as if nothing had happened at all and claimed to be alright. But Hannibal knew better and so he kept an eye on his second-in-command. He already noticed some small changes in his behavior. He was well enough by now to walk around the house and yet if he needed anything whatsoever from the basement he always came up with an excuse of some sort. Hannibal also noticed how he hated to be left alone even for a short period of time. He tensed up every time someone left and only relaxed long after they returned.
Hannibal decided to get in touch with Maggie to talk things through. She knew the team and she was also a bit worried about Face's behavior.
"I'm not sure what's going on with him, John. He may just be traumatized, but it could also be more serious."
"How serious?"
"He might suffer from PTSS. You need to keep an eye on him, John. If he has flash backs on top of his other symptoms we'll know for sure."
Hannibal decided to share the information he obtained with Murdock and B.A. They both admitted that they shared the same worries about their team mate. Face pretended to be happy and without a care in the world, but his friends knew better. Now that his injuries had healed except for his broken arm, he was able to go outside into the 'real' world again, but he had so far declined every single offer from his friends. He always came up with some sort of excuse not to have to go out to dinner in one of the fancy places he liked so much or to go shopping or to go to the beach to relax. So they all kept an extra eye on him.
One night Hannibal woke up after hearing his Lieutenant screaming in pain. He nearly jumped out of bed and headed over to his guest bedroom where Face slept. He ran to his bedside and noticed that Face was still asleep, but his breathing had picked up and his hair was sweat soaked. Hannibal pushed back his covers and noticed how Face was trembling. He knew he had to act cautious as to not scare his Lieutenant even more. He very gently ran a hand through his hair while he tried to wake him up.
"Face? Kid?"
His breathing picked up even more.
"It's me, kid. Hannibal. It's alright. You're just having a nightmare."
Face sat up straight in bed still trembling and now started to gasp for air.
"It's okay. I've got you. I've got you."
A pair of unfocused blue eyes looked at him.
"Face, I want you to listen to me," Hannibal said while grabbing a hold of Face's trembling form. "I need you to get a grip on your breathing again, kid, or you'll pass out. Now I want you to do exactly what I tell you to do. Okay?"
Face still didn't react and Hannibal knew he had to do something. He grabbed a hold of his Lieutenant's face and made him look directly at him. He also decided to use his Commanding Officer's tone of voice.
"You do what I tell you to do, Lieutenant. That's an order!"
That seemed to do the trick. Hannibal held Face's shoulder reassuringly while he told him what to do next in a calm tone of voice.
"Now I want you to breathe in slowly and deeply with me. That's it, kid. Now out again very slowly. And again. In … and … out."
Face obeyed Hannibal's command. He was still trembling and tried to breathe in and out as slowly as his body allowed him to do. Hannibal kept his hand on his shoulder to support him at all times and kept on encouraging him. Finally, Face got a grip on his breathing again.
"Face, my boy, you did a great job."
Hannibal was relieved that the whole ordeal was over, but also worried because Face looked exhausted. He wasn't about to leave the kid alone now.
