It turned out that they didn't have to tell Face anything; he had heard the whole thing. It only took one look at the now open blue orbs to know that he had overheard something.

Hannibal realized he couldn't just ignore the topic so he asked, "How much did you hear?"

"Enough.' 'Enough to make me feel sick.'

"I'm sorry, Faceguy. We know how much Amy means to you and…"

Face cut him off quickly. "What do you mean by that?"

"You was talkin' in your sleep, man."

Face's eyes widened at B.A. for a brief moment before he schooled his features. "Look, I was out of my head…I don't know what I was saying."

"Kid, it's okay to be upset."

"I'm not upset, Hannibal." He tried to keep his tone as even as possible. "It's only a car…I can buy another one."

Hannibal narrowed his eyes. "It's more than that, Face."

"It's only a car," he said again robotically. "When can I get out of here?"

Hannibal took a step closer to Face but stopped when he saw the younger man flinch. "Face, you were hurt pretty badly. Your feet were…"

Face's nostrils flared in anger. "I was there, colonel, I don't need a play by play."

It was Hannibal who flinched this time. "I'm sorry."

"No…I'm sorry." Face averted his eyes from the team. "It just…it's just that it's been a rough couple of days."

Hannibal, Murdock and B.A. all nodded their agreement; there was nothing they could say. It was the understatement of the year, but they weren't about to call him on it.

With Face pushing too hard only resulted in him shutting down completely. As frustrating as it could be, they knew they had to back off and wait until Face was ready to talk. The trouble was, sometimes that time never came and he just buried his feelings deeper inside.

They could see the signs already; Face was going to downplay what happened and pretend that everything was okay. He was obviously suffering, yet when Dr. Moore came to examine his wounds later he was in full con-man mode. He answered all questions the way he knew the doctor would want him to in order to get released. He didn't make a sound as his dressings were changed and his hip was palpitated. And when offered more pain medication he flashed a smile and said, "No thanks…I'm good."

Face's performance could have won him an Academy Award. But as soon as the doctor was gone they saw Face's entire being sag; his body trembling in a delayed reaction to the treatments.

"Who you tryin' to fool, man?" B.A. questioned.

Face didn't expect them to believe his act; they knew him too well and had been together too long. His voice was shaking almost as badly as the rest of him as he answered, "I just want to go home."

"We know you do, buddy, and after that routine you're getting your wish. But why don't you at least take something for the pain?"

Face shook his head "no". The physical pain he could manage; it was the mental games that the drugs would play with his mind he was trying to avoid. He wanted…no he needed…to be in control right now.

"There's no need for you to suffer, kid."

'Too late,' Face whispered just loud enough for them all to hear it.

"Face…"

"Hannibal, please drop it," Face pleaded.

"Okay," Hannibal sighed reluctantly. "The doc says you can leave in the morning. Let's all try to get some sleep."

Hannibal listened to Dr. Moore's instructions on how to care for Face's injuries while B.A. pulled up the van and Murdock stayed with Face. By the time they got him settled into a makeshift bed in the back of the van, he was already looking so sick that Hannibal's head told him to bring him right back inside. But his heart argued that what Face needed most in order to heal, both inside and out, was to feel safe and to be in comfortable surroundings. So, ignoring the nagging voice inside of his head, Hannibal took his seat next to B.A. and they started on the journey back to his condo.

B.A. drove slowly but it was still a torturous ride for Face. Each bump sent shockwaves of agony through his hip and arm, leaving him dizzy and breathless. The only reprieve he got was when halfway through the ride when B.A. pulled over at a phone booth so Hannibal could alert the authorities as to where they could find Morandi. It was such a relief to be lying still that it took all his will not to roll over and cry when they started moving again. That is if he could actually roll over.

"Well, with all the evidence in that warehouse Gianni and his men are looking at years behind bars."

"You hear that, Faceman?" When there was no answer, Murdock looked back at his friend. "Face, you okay buddy?"

Face had his jaw clenched and his eyes screwed shut.

Murdock scrambled out of his chair. "You're not okay, are you?"

"Sick...gonna be...sick," Face gasped.

"B.A., stop the van!"

"What for, fool? We just started…"

"NOW!"

B.A. looked in the rearview mirror and saw that Face had a hand cupped over his mouth. He pulled over instantly.

Once stopped, Hannibal jumped out the passenger side door and ran around to the back of the van to find Murdock already had the door open for him. Hopping inside, he took hold of Face's torso and said, "Let's roll him onto his good hip."

Face cried out in pain as he was positioned on his side. But that pain was nothing compared to the pure hell of when he began to retch uncontrollably.

"Oh God," Face moaned in between heaves.

Hannibal knelt in front of Face and held him steady as Murdock was behind rubbing his back. Finally the attack subside and they rolled Face back. His skin was a sickly shade of gray and his eyes were glazed over.

"You're going to be okay, pal," Murdock said gently.

"Murdock's right, kid. Just take some deep breaths."

A grunt came from the front seat. "The man don't need no deep breaths...he need to be back in the hospital."

"No...please...B.A...sorry about van."

B.A. whipped his head around at the sound of the weak voice. "Don't care about my van, Faceman...I care about you."

The van went silent as it was rare for B.A. to make such a statement. Hannibal looked from B.A. to Murdock who shrugged and mouthed "I don't know." Hannibal didn't know either, but he had to make a decision.

The last thing face remembered before losing consciousness was Hannibal saying, "I think Face will be okay...stay the course sergeant."

And when he woke up next in a bed Hannibal was still by his side, but this time sitting upright in a chair.

"Welcome back, kid."

"How long?" Face asked, his voice rough and gravelly.

"How long have you been out?"

This time Face settled for just nodding.

"A little over a day. I was starting to really worry." Hannibal poured a glass of water and offered it to Face. Face smiled appreciatively, but when he reached out with his good arm to take it Hannibal could see that his hand was shaking terribly. "Here, let me help you."

Face felt uncomfortable having Hannibal feed him the water, but the heavenly feel of the cool liquid going down his throat made up for it.

"Better?" Hannibal asked when face was done.

"Yeah...thanks. Where's Murdock and B.A.?"

"Getting some sleep...though I had to order them out of here." Hannibal smiled. "B.A. practically had Murdock by the throat as he dragged him out the door."

"Why don't you get some sleep too...you look awful," Face tried to joke, knowing full well he must look ten times worse.

"I thought maybe we could talk a bit first."

"About what?"

Hannibal resisted the urge to roll his eyes and instead answered gently, "Face, I think it's kind of obvious."

Face looked down. "I don't want to talk…I just want to move on."

"Face…" Hannibal tried once more.

"Colonel, please let it go." Face's bottom lip started to quiver.

Hannibal could see that Face was about to lose control and the look on his face tore at his heart. "Okay, kid. But you know we're here if you need us."

Face nodded and gave a small smile. He shifted to get more comfortable and winced as he jostled his hip.

"How's the pain?"

"Only hurts when I move," Face lied with a fake grin. It just hurt more when he moved.

"You want something for it?"

"No…I'm okay. Why don't you get some sleep?" He pointed to his feet. "It's not like I'm going anywhere."

Hannibal could see the wall going up right before his eyes. Face was turning on his charm and deflecting him with his wit.

Hannibal reluctantly stood. "Okay. I'll be right down the hall." He was halfway out the door when Face called out to him.

"Colonel?"

Hannibal turned back, "Yeah, kid?"

"Thanks."

Hannibal smiled at his lieutenant. But as soon as he turned away and exited it was replaced with a frown. Shutting the door behind him, he realized he was also shutting the door on the conversation. At least for now.

TBC…