Opera Buffa, Opera Seria

AN: I didn't intend for this to become the series it is. This is also a long chapter but it felt to me like it had to be to reach a good resolution. I am inclined to leave this as the final chapter of the "Opera" story unless anyone wants more.

The two operatic arias Murdock sings are: Don Giovanni's aria "Deh, vieni alla finestra" from Act 2, Scene 1, of Mozart's opera of the same name; and Hoffmann's aria "Ô Dieu! de quelle ivresse" from Act 2 of Jacques Offenbach's opera "Les Contes d'Hoffmann" (The Tales of Hoffmann). You can hear both of these arias on YouTube. The version of "Don Giovanni" with Peter Mattei is very good. As far as Hoffmann's aria, I have no favorites. For purists, I have used both tenor and baritone arias in this series. If there is no orchestra backing the voice, a baritone can just as easily lower a tenor part and sing it.

Disclaimer: I do not own The A Team movie or television series or any of the delightful characters found on The A Team.

Part 5. Romantische Oper

"We found her." B. A. growled those three words and stopped short in the doorway of the living room of the beach house. He cast a frown back at the Colonel before letting the older man proceed him through the door.

Way the fool looks, Hann'bal better handle it. I'm likely ta put my fist through a wall, the hurt I see him in. An' it's bound ta get worse once he knows.

B. A. knew there had been no change in the pilot's demeanor since they watched him painfully trudge up the steps and into the house. Now Hannibal knew it, too.

Murdock lay on his back on the sofa, staring moodily up at the white plaster ceiling. A bright multicolored crocheted afghan covered him from his feet to mid-chest. His left forearm was slung across his forehead. Dangling his right arm over the edge of the couch, he ran his fingers absently over the contours of the head of a dog that was not there.

The pain medication he had been sent home with was on the end table along with a glass of water. B. A. couldn't tell if either had been touched. The whiskey bottle beside the glass had been.

If either man expected some kind of reaction to the Sergeant's announcement, Murdock disappointed them. There had been no movement from the figure on the couch except a brief slowing of the petting motion at the three words B. A. spoke. With a barely audible sigh, the pilot resumed stroking the imaginary dog's head.

Ain' right we went ta all the trouble of trackin' Dani down an' he don' ask 'bout her. Maybe he don' wanna know, but if he loves 'er he should at least ask.

"Well, sucka? Ya wanna know where we found 'er or don'tcha?" B. A. pushed forward until he stood, hands clenching and unclenching to the right of the pilot's view.

The brown eyes shifted his direction but the feelings behind the look were difficult to read. For a moment, the Sergeant was unsure what to say or do. The pilot's expression was a confused tangle of emotions. Then he turned his gaze back to the ceiling without saying a word.

"Where's Face, Captain?" Hannibal barely caught the small shrug Murdock gave in response.

"He left ya 'lone here?" B. A.'s voice was a rumble of disbelief and anger.

Another shrug was accompanied by a grimace as the pilot readjusted himself on the couch.

"Ya know ya shouldn' mix whiskey 'n' painkillers. Whatcha tryin' ta do? Kill yerself?" B. A. seized the capped liquor bottle from the table with the intention of emptying it down the kitchen sink.

Before he could move any further with it, Murdock gripped his wrist with one hand and the bottle with the other. He snarled, "Leave it!"

Catching Hannibal's nod, B. A. released his hold. In a gesture uncharacteristic to the black man, he held both hands up chest high and backed away but only to the foot of the couch. Murdock hugged the bottle to himself and turned onto his left side, his back to the room and the Colonel.

"Where's your firearm, Captain?" Hannibal's voice was full of authority as he grasped the pilot's shoulder and pushed him onto his back again.

"Ain' got it. Don'tcha think ah woulda used it if ah 'membered what ah did with it? If yer so worried 'bout it, go look out in th' van." Murdock's slurred drawl worried the Sergeant. The pilot glared up into Hannibal's eyes. Twisting away from the Colonel's hold, he turned again onto his side.

B. A. knew what Hannibal wanted him to do even before he said it. He was on his way out the door to the parked vehicle seconds later. Murdock's Browning was not in the van's storage locker.

Did the crazy man lie ta us? Maybe he's got it hid so he can use it later when we ain' 'round. He wouldn't really do that, would he?

Looking down toward the beach, he was relieved to see the familiar figure of the Lieutenant pacing with a determined air toward the bungalow. He looked upset.

It figured Murdock would drive Face from the small house so he could have some privacy while he drank away his anger and sorrow. B. A. scowled, thinking of how much internal pain the man was suffering to do that.

B'tween the Faceman and the Colonel, they should be able ta get the fool to the point of listenin'.

At least he hoped they could. He rarely saw the pilot in such a depressed state.

While the other two men kept Murdock busy, B. A. pressed hard to find the handgun. After they told the Captain why Dani had not come to the hospital when he was released, he was positive the safest place for the weapon to be would be under lock and key.

oooooo

Face turned bitter eyes on his friend as he stormed into the living room. "You know, I don't care what you have to say to me anymore, buddy. You can insult me, yell at me, whatever." He approached the couch and spoke to the pilot's back. "All I said was there might be a good reason why Dani didn't show up to go with us to the hospital today to get you."

The Captain mumbled into the couch cushion. "Wasn' no good reason 't all."

Hannibal spoke in a quiet voice from the armchair where he sat waiting for B. A. to report. "Yes, there was."

The Lieutenant noticed the pilot's muscles tense as the words registered. Murdock turned and slowly pushed himself into a sitting position on the couch. In confusion he stared at the older man.

"What poss'ble reason'd she have 'cept t' dump me? I know she's been 'fraid she's gonna get me killed. Well, I could say th' same. We don' 'zactly play 'round with choir boys." The pilot became more agitated, throwing the afghan to the side.

He staggered to his feet, sucking in a sharp breath and clutching his side as the stitches pulled. Growling under his breath, he paced the length of the room, slightly swaying as he did.

"Faceman!" B. A. gestured to him from the doorway. "Gotta ask ya somethin'."

The Sergeant cast an uneasy glance at Hannibal and shook his head to his unspoken question when he thought the pilot wasn't looking.

"Outside," he muttered as the Lieutenant drew closer.

As soon as they were standing with the closed door between themselves and the two men in the beach house, Face ran one hand over his hair. "So where'd you guys take off to after you dropped us off?"

"Went ta see if anyone at the VA knew anythin' 'bout where Dani went to. Look, ya know any special hidin' place the fool has for his gun?"

Face thought for a few moments, rubbing his hand along his jaw. "Bogey, his teddy bear, has a secret compartment. You might try there. Why? You don't think he'd do something to himself, do you?"

B. A. frowned at him in response. "Look, man. First, I get his gun an' lock it 'way. Then we all three of us sit down with 'im an' talk things out."

Before Face could ask anything more, B. A. went back inside. Moments later he left the beach house by the ocean-side exit and went to the locker in the back of the van. Placing a gun in it, he relocked the box and came back to the house.

"Now we can go in an' get this all hashed out with him." The Sergeant held the door open for the conman.

"I don't even know what you and Hannibal have to tell him," Face sniffed resentfully.

As they entered the living room, Murdock sullenly turned to face them. They tried to disregard his white-knuckled fists and the bitter tears that were spilling uncontrolled down his cheeks.

"Come sit down, Captain. We need to talk," Hannibal murmured as he stood and took the pilot by the elbow to lead him back to the couch. B. A. sat on one side of Murdock and Face sat on the other while the Colonel resumed his seat in the overstuffed armchair. Both men felt the trembling fury inside their friend as he waited for someone to speak.

Drawing in a deep breath, Hannibal began. "What do you know about a patient on your floor that goes by the name of Chuck Lazarby?"

Murdock anxiously looked in wide-eyed terror from Hannibal to B. A. and back again. There was no mistaking the threat Lazarby must be to the others on the ward. Both of them noticed his face pale at the mention of the name. His voice was a low apprehensive croak. "Why?"

The Colonel leveled his serious gaze on the pilot. "He's the reason you didn't see her earlier."

oooooo

While Hannibal tried to use the gentlest way to tell Murdock what Lazarby had done to Dani during her shift the previous evening, they could not prevent him from reacting violently.

The pilot got to his feet, took the whiskey bottle and threw it at the opposite wall as hard as he could. It shattered and the liquid splashed down the paneling and onto the wood floor. That was followed by the bottle of pills which came uncapped and spilled its contents across the puddle of whiskey.

Face winced at the mess he was going to have to clean up, all the while watching out in case the Captain decided to launch into one of them in his blind rage.

"He ain' gonna get 'way with this. Ah ain' gonna let 'im. He's a dead man. He's a dead man . . . " Murdock rambled, hunching his shoulders and clenching his fists while he decided how best to avenge what was done to Dani.

He staggered into the bedroom he used while checked out of the VA hospital. A few moments later he stomped back out, carrying his stuffed bear. Going nose to nose with B. A., he screamed at him, "Where the hell d'ya put it? Where is it?" He shook the bear violently in the Sergeant's face and threw Bogey onto the floor.

It took everything the three men could muster to calm Murdock down. Face took his left arm and B. A. grabbed his right as they forced him backwards until they had him pinned against the wall.

"You aren't going to solve anything by going after him, Captain. Doctor Richter is fast-tracking the papers needed to send him to a maximum security psychiatric facility. He won't touch her or anyone else again." Hannibal had both hands on the pilot's shoulders. He tried to enforce eye contact, knowing Murdock wasn't seeing anything but what his imagination was conjuring up about Lazarby's attack on Dani.

"I gotta see 'er," he muttered, wildly peering around the room to locate his bomber jacket and cap. "I gotta know how bad he hurt 'er."

"No, you don't. Trust us. He didn't violate her and she didn't need to stay in the hospital. She's shaken, bruised and scratched up but otherwise okay." Hannibal attempted to make his voice soothing but he wasn't as good as Face was at it and he knew it.

"Ah don' b'lieve you. She needs me." The Colonel dodged the kick the pilot sent his way. Murdock held back a gasp as pain shot through his right knee where Big Lon had carved into it. Helpless, he snarled at the two men restraining him and wrestled against their hold.

"She don't wanna see you right now, fool. She knew ya was gonna act like this an' she's hurtin' bad 'nough. She don' wanna hafta keep you from goin' ballistic an' doin' somethin' stupid." B. A. growled out the words as he fought to keep Murdock from slipping out of his hands.

When he heard that, all of the struggle seemed to drain from Murdock and he sagged between them. "She said that?" he whispered hoarsely.

"A little nicer than that and with more tears, but yes. It's only for a couple of days. She'll call us if she needs anything but for right now, she wants some time to rest and mend." Hannibal watched to see what effect his words would have.

Murdock stared numbly at his CO before nodding his understanding. After Face and B. A. released him, he trudged back to the couch. Lying down on his left side again, he covered himself from head to toe with the multicolored afghan, hiding his face from view in its folds.

oooooo

The next day when Dani called to ask about Murdock, he refused to talk to her.

The day after that, Dani called again and Face insisted the pilot answer the phone. He took his cup of coffee out on the deck while the Captain talked for over an hour to the nurse.

To the Lieutenant, it seemed like his friend had come to his senses, like maybe he missed Dani more than he was willing to admit. When Face came back into the beach house, Murdock was restless with nervous energy.

"I wanna go see 'er. Couldja drive me there, Faceman? Please?" The pilot gripped the lapels of the conman's suit jacket when he didn't give an immediate response. "Pretty please with marshmallows on top?"

"I think that's sprinkles on top, but yeah. Sure. I can do that." Face saw Murdock remove a small velvet-covered box from his bomber jacket and smile at it before popping it back in the pocket. "That isn't what I think it is, is it?"

His friend turned gleeful eyes on him. "Don' know. Whaddya think it is?"

Face shuddered slightly. "Well, I'm not intimately acquainted with the practice but are you going to propose to her? Is that a ring?"

Murdock nodded, a huge lopsided grin in place. "It was my Ma's ring. I had a dream in th' hospital 'n' this seems like somethin' I'm s'posed t' do b'fore Dani 'n' I go any further."

"If you want to take her out so you can propose, you can have the keys to the Vette, you know."

The Captain shook his head vigorously. "No. I got somethin' planned. I'm gonna want ya t' wait for me 'til I'm sure she'll let me in. I mean, I've been kind of a rat 'n' she might not."

Face gave him a skeptical puzzled look but took out his keys and led the way to the car.

oooooo

In about forty-five minutes, the conman and his best friend were stationed across the street from Dani's apartment on Kelton Avenue in Westwood. Face glanced at Murdock and sighed in exasperation.

The pilot had remained fairly quiet throughout the trip to the building. Once in a while his hand slipped to the box in his pocket or he rearranged the bouquet of daisies and red roses they had purchased at the florist's shop. Whenever he did, he chuckled softly to himself and returned to dreamily staring out of his side of the car.

Face was surprised Murdock insisted on buying real flowers. He had said at one time that silk or plastic flowers were cheap and tacky and real flowers died too soon. Evidently he believed this occasion called for something special.

And why Murdock insisted on wearing his tuxedo T-shirt and navy blue suit jacket when the two of them were going to stay at the apartment and talk was beyond him. If he was Murdock, he would have chosen to take her to Serensetti's to say the words, if they had to be said at all.

The conman shuddered again and reminded himself that Murdock was different and Dani was special. The two of them were good together. The married life would suit them fine. It just wasn't the type of life he would choose for himself.

He watched as his friend strode around to the fire escape under Dani's window. As soon as he heard the first strains of the Italian opera, he swallowed and hoped no one would call the police on either of them.

Oh God, please let Dani be home and willing to allow him in to see her. And soon.

oooooo

Murdock positioned himself close to the privacy hedge below Dani's window and gulped in a quick breath of air to encourage himself. His hands were sweaty as he held the flowers waist level and looked up.

Hope you were right, Billy, 'n' Dani comes t' th' window quick b'fore her neighbors call the cops on me for disturbin' th' peace.

Of course he wasn't a playboy like the Don Giovanni of Mozart's opera but the aria he selected had the words he wanted to tell her even if she wouldn't understand the Italian lyrics. Another deeper breath and he began.

"Deh, vieni alla finestra, o mio tesoro; (O come to the window, beloved;)
Deh, vieni a consolar il pianto mio. (O come and dispel all my sorrow!)
Se neghi a me di dar qualche ristoro, (If you refuse me some solace,)
Davanti agli occhi tuoi morir vogl'io! (before your dear eyes I will die.)"

Her second story window opened and she leaned out. Even from that distance, Murdock saw the bruising around both eyes and the swelling along her jaw. He was shocked at first at how brutal the attack must have been. His grip tightened around the stems of the flowers in his hands.

If I hadn' promised Face 'n' Hann'bal I'd be good 'n' not make Lazarby inta mincemeat . . .

He refocused on her as she called down to him. "H. M.! What do you think you're doing?"

"Serenadin' ya, darlin' angel o' mine." He grinned and sang the next lines, keeping his eyes on her.

"Tu ch'hai la bocca dolce più del miele, (Your lips are sweeter than honey,)
Tu che il zucchero porti in mezzo al core: (your heart is sweetness itself:)
Non esser, gioia mia, con me crudele, (then be not cruel, my angel,)
Lasciati almen veder, mio bell'amore! (I beg for one glance, my beloved!)"

"H. M.!" Her tone became almost desperate. "Someone might call the police."

"For singin' t' ya that yer lips're sweeter than honey, 'long with yer heart? For askin' my angel to take 'way all my sorrow from being 'way from 'er fer three whole days?" His eyes twinkled with amusement as he saw her blush. "Wanna hear more?"

She shook her head at him. "You'd better come on up."

He took the fire escape steps two at a time and stopped short when she groaned in mock exasperation at his eagerness. "I meant come on up by way of the front entrance."

She backed away from the window to let him climb through and then closed it behind him. Her blue eyes immediately went to the bouquet in his hand.

"For you, angel darlin'." He presented it to her with a small bow and a flourish. He followed her into the kitchen where she removed a cream ceramic vase from the cupboard, filled it with water and arranged the flowers into it.

She savored the scent of the roses for a moment, then admired the simplicity of the daisies. Smiling up into his brown eyes, she murmured, "You remembered I liked daisies. And these roses! These are so beautiful, H. M."

As soon as she placed the vase on the kitchen countertop, he snaked his arms around her waist and drew her into an embrace. "Oh God, I missed ya, Dani." He breathed in the scent of her hair and slowly swayed back and forth with her.

Pulling back, he carefully examined her jaw where the patient had punched her. One side of her mouth was bruised as well. He traced the injuries with his fingertip and gently kissed them. She closed her eyes and he kissed them as well.

"Better?" he murmured into her ear.

"Better," she whispered.

After several seconds of holding her, he gingerly brushed her lips with his in a tentative kiss. "Does that hurt when I do that? Much 's I wanna do that a whole lot more, if it hurts, ya gotta tell me 'n' I'll stop." He searched her eyes for any hint of discomfort.

She returned the kiss, then whispered against his cheek, "It hurts a little but it's worth it."

Impulsively he pulled away with a lopsided smile and took her hand to lead her to the couch. Once she settled onto the cushions he sat facing her.

"I got 'nother song I can sing t' ya. I'll translate as I go, okay? And then I have somethin' I gotta ask you." Her eyes sparkled with such love that he almost forgot to breathe. Even with the bruising, she was truly the most beautiful woman in the world to him.

"Here goes." He felt his cheeks blaze with a suddenly shy blush. Did he even know if she liked opera?

She must. She's heard me sing it b'fore on th' ward.

He reached out to take both of her hands and saw the two fingernails she had torn fighting off her attacker. The backs of both hands were black and blue with broken blood vessels beneath the skin. He kissed her hands one at a time and sang to her softly.

"'Ô Dieu! de quelle ivresse
Embrases tu mon âme!
Comme un concert divin
Ta voix m'a pénétré!'
Roughly translated that means 'O God, with what intoxication you fill my soul! Like a divine concert, your voice has entered me.'"

Her intent gaze almost made him falter but he continued.

"'D'un feu doux et brûlant
Mon être est dévoré;
Tes regards
Dans les miens ont épanché leur flamme,
Comme des astres radieux.'"

For a second he forgot to translate. He felt like he was losing himself in the depths of her blue eyes. "What does it mean, H. M.?" she gently prompted.

"'With a sweet, brilliant fire my being is devoured; your glance has poured its fire into mine like radiant stars.' Dani." He hesitated to sing any more. The last of the aria was so intimate he couldn't trust himself not to make it reality for the rest of the day and into the evening.

"What, H. M.?" Her words were a soft whisper as if she knew what he was feeling because she was feeling it, too.

"I love you." The three words were so inadequate to describe how precious she was to him.

"I love you, too."

He gulped and closed his eyes so he could finish the aria without losing control.

"'Et je sens, ô ma bienaimée,
Passer ton haleine embaumée
Sur mes lèvres et sur mes yeux.'"

When he opened his eyes again, he found she had closed hers and had a faint smile on her lips as if she were waiting for a kiss. Caressing her cheek with his fingertips, he crooned, "'And I feel, my beloved your sweet-scented breath pass over my lips and my eyes'" and leaned in to skim the surface of her face with light kisses.

She caught her breath and murmured, "I never knew opera could be so beautiful, H. M."

"And now, Angel, darlin', I gotta have your attention." Reluctantly he pulled away from her and reached into his jacket pocket. Like in his dream he opened her hand and carefully curled her fingers around the velvet-covered box. "I can't kneel on th' floor 'cause o' my knee but I gotta ask ya somethin'."

She stared down at the small box and then into his eyes. Her lips parted slightly in a surprised silent "Oh!"

"Open it, darlin'."

He waited until she removed the ring from its place before he spoke again.

"This ring was my Ma's weddin' ring. She wanted me t' put it on the finger o' the gal I knew was the right one." Suddenly he was afraid to ask the question, afraid of the answer.

She waited, her eyes beginning to shine with tears. As the seconds passed, he noted her starting to gnaw on her lower lip, always a sign she was worried.

I gotta say somethin'. I can't lose 'er now.

With one more heavy swallow, he blurted it out. "Daniela Scalatini, will you marry me?"

She gasped and took a short breath. "Yes," she whispered, trembling as she nodded her consent. Holding her left hand, he slid the gold and diamond band onto her finger.

He leaned in to kiss her as the phone rang. Fumbling for it, he let the receiver rest on the table top and only faintly heard Face's voice on the other end.

"Everything alright, buddy? Am I free to go?"

But Murdock and Dani were too caught up in the moment to respond.