Face spent much of the next week recovering in his bedroom. He didn't know how to act in front of the guys anymore. They looked at him with pity in their eyes…that is when they would look at him at all. He often would catch one of them looking at him, only to quickly look away when Face made eye contact.

There was an elephant in the room, and right now it was blocking Face from their view.

Face knew they were starting a new job in few days, and that if they were ever going to work as a team again, they had to remove the elephant.

"Hey guys, can we talk?" he asked, joining the others as they sat in the living room watching a game on TV.

"Sure Face," Murdock smiled, moving over on the couch to make room for Face.

"Did you guys really not know about what…um…what happened in Nam?"

Hannibal pulled a cigar out of his pocket out of habit. "We were separated a lot in the camps. We would see you after you were taken away for hours and knew you were beaten, but didn't know it went beyond that."

B.A. fidgeted nervously with the gold around his neck. "We probably should have realized, man. But I guess we just didn't want to see it."

Face nodded regretfully. "And I never ever talked about it. In fact, I just about managed to block it out of my mind until she came along."

Face hadn't planned on ever talking about what happened a few weeks earlier, but suddenly it just felt right. Father Maghill had always told him as a child that 'the truth would set you free'. He took a deep breath and started his journey towards that freedom.

"That night everything was fine. We had a great dinner and then she invited me back to her place. Then before I knew it she started tying my arms to the bed post." Face stopped and looked at his friends unsure if he should continue. When he saw nothing but support and concern in their eyes, he continued. "I tried to go along with it at first. But then as soon as she tied down my legs, I panicked. Bam…I flashed right back to Nam. I asked her to stop. I told her no. I'm not sure I even knew where I was anymore…but I was so scared. She kept hitting me and scratching me and then she…she…" He looked down and started wringing his hands together; he didn't want to say it out loud.

Murdock reached over and put his hand on Face's shoulder. "Just say it," he encouraged. After all the years of therapy he has endured, he was well aware that in order to move on, one had to first admit and accept their problems.

"She raped me," he whispered, and allowed Murdock to pull him into a hug. Hannibal and B.A. each took their turns embracing him and telling him how sorry they were for the past, the present, and for doubting him.

Once they had all settled back down, Hannibal looked at Face and said, "You know, we can postpone our next job a few more days if you'd like."

"Thanks, but no need. I'm fine," he replied to which B.A. snorted and Murdock shook his head in amusement. "Really, I'm fine."

"Somebody need to get you a dictionary, Faceman," B.A. teased. "So you can look up the meanin' of the word fine."

Face shrugged his shoulders and conceded, "I might not be fine right now." He forced a grin. "But I know I will be."

Hannibal put his arm around Face's shoulder. "I know you will too, son, but maybe you should talk to somebody about all of this."

"I am talking to somebody…I'm talking to all of you, aren't I?"

"That's not what I mean…"

"Look, I know what you mean," Face interrupted, "and I don't want…no, I don't need to talk to a shrink." Face stood up and started to pace. "I dealt with this stuff once before on my own, and I can do it again."

B.A. stepped in front of Face stopping him in his tracks. "You ain't gonna be on your own this time."

"Yeah, you got us muchacho. All four of us."

"Four, Murdock?" Hannibal questioned.

"You," Murdock pointed to Hannibal first, "me, the big guy, and Billy."

A genuine smile formed on Face's lips this time. "Thanks, guys." He sat back down in his chair and the others joined him.

"But if you ever do want to talk to a professional, I'm sure Murdock can help set that up."

"Sure can, colonel…because you know how I love it when a therapy session comes together."

"Oh no you just didn't," B.A. muttered.

Hannibal rolled his eyes. "Cute, captain, real cute."

Face relaxed amongst the comfort of the familiar banter. He didn't know what the future held; perhaps at some point he would be ready to seek some help. For now, however, he chose move ahead and not look back.

Was that the right thing to do? Would it come back to haunt him later on? Face didn't have the answers to those questions. But he did have the guys and they had a new case…for the moment that was enough.

The End (for now at least…considering a sequel)