Please, Receive Me
By: Emma Greening
You said that you wouldn't scare me again.
That you wouldn't try to change me again.
But you broke that promise when you left me alone,
On my own.
Oh, Momma, Momma believe me,
Oh, Momma please receive me.
Oh, Momma try to believe me,
Oh, Momma, receive me
And don't ever try to leave me.
Cause I'm too young, just too young to die.
Face curled up in the back of the van, his eyes closed, pretending that he was asleep. He started sending mental glares at the radio, and squeezed his hands into tight fists. A single tear suddenly streamed down the one cheek that he was trying to keep hidden. He hated this song.
He turned as he felt someone patting him on the shoulder. It was Murdock.
"Hey, Faceman? Are you okay, muchacho?" He asked, his chocolaty, brown eyes filled with a brotherly concern.
Face scrunched up in a tighter ball, and rolled his head around on the headrest. " 'm fine." He mumbled, trying to hide his eyes by folding his face into his arms.
"Is it the song, Face?" His friend prodded, wrapping his arms around his friend. He hated for his friend to keep secrets, and not tell him about what was troubling him. "I mean, we can turn it off if you want. Why didn't you tell B.A. to change the station?"
Face shook his head. "Didn't want to bother anybody. I'm just a little tired, Murdock. I don't need any help. Really." He tried to reassure the Pilot, pulling off his suit jacket and covering his arms with it, like a blanket.
Murdock rolled his eyes, and turned to Hannibal, who was watching the conversation extremely intently. "See if you can do something with him, Colonel. Can't make hide nor tail of him." He pleaded.
Hannibal turned to his Lieutenant. "Face, what's wrong with you?" He questioned gently, swiveling his chair around, and taking his turn at patting Face on the shoulder.
"I told you guys, I'm fine. Really. It's nothing." Face repeated, shutting his eyes again and trying to make himself oblivious to everything going on around him. He didn't even open his eyes when the van ground to a halt.
"Kid, seriously what's wrong? You're not normally this quiet." Hannibal forced himself up out of his seat, and slid open the van door, putting his hands on his hips.
Face drew himself up to a sitting position, and crossed his arms defensively. "Why don't you guys pick on somebody else? We all know that we need to get to Bad Rock before mid-day, and…" He stopped mid-sentence, as B.A. grabbed him by the collar, and forced him against the wall.
"Hey man, when the Colonel says talk, you talk!" He growled, holding a ringed fist up to Face's nose.
Face nodded, and tried to work the big guy's fingers off of his lapels. "This song just brings back a lot of memories, that's all. Really bad ones. I don't feel like I want to talk about my life. I know that all of you are going to say that I don't have to be afraid to talk about my past. But I still feel uncomfortable about discussing it. People tend to judge others by their pasts, and I don't want you to start judging me according to my past."
Murdock's jaw dropped open. "Faceman, we wouldn't think about you that way! We've been through hell and back together, do you really think we would so that sort of thing to you, not to mention each other?" He slapped Face on the back, watching his friend's eyes widen.
Face turned away. "I-I didn't mean to. But it's just the way I've been brought up, and I can't help it. Excuse me, for expressing myself." He replied coldly, and turning to stare out of the window.
Hannibal brought him back into the conversation. "Eyes front, Lieutenant! We're not going blaming you for being upset. Little things like this affect everybody! We're all human, you forget! Besides, we're not unsympathetic to your troubles, we've been through things just as bad."
"But you weren't dropped off at an orphanage at age five, and mistreated, kept busy or hidden when people came there to adopt a child! All of you had parents, and we still go to visit B.A.'s mom! How do you think I feel about being left behind? Do you think I like it? And can you honestly say you've been through things just as bad?" Face said calmly, trying to keep up the mask, but his eyes filled with emotions.
"Hey man, leave my momma out of this!" B.A. threatened. "We ain't talkin about her, we's talkin about you, fool!"
Hannibal drew in a sharp breath. The conversation was going somewhere, now. And not exactly to a favorable subject. This one had always made everyone a little uncomfortable, including Face. He gave Face a warm glance with his cool, blue eyes. "We've all been through things, kid. If we weren't dropped off at an orphanage, we all lost our parents eventually. You have to put all that behind you. As for your miss-treatment, that could have happened to any of us! My parents might have miss-treated me, just like some of the staff did to you at Angels Guardians. There's always a chance of something happening. God just keeps an eye on us, that's all."
Face gave a curt nod. "Yeah, kept an eye on the three of you, alright. It's not that I don't have faith, but it's just hard to accept that what's happened to me is for a reason and for the good. But I think Maggie will be waiting for us, we should probably get back on the road now." He urged, hoping that the conversation would be over.
Hannibal shook his head. "Not till this is resolved, Face. So, I'll conclude this conversation with this: it doesn't matter what your past has been like, as long as you try to change for the better. And, you don't need to worry about a family. We're a family, always have been. We can help you change for the better, if that's what you need. We can also help keep up your spirits, which is why when we get back on the road, everything is going to return to normal, and we're going to change the radio channel."
Face gave Hannibal a grateful look. "Thanks. I-I hate to admit it, but I guess I really needed this talk."
Murdock grinned, and patted his friend on the back. "Dr. Richter always says that talking is the best medicine, Faceguy. And we're just glad it's worked wonders on you!"
"Sure seems to have. Let's stop standin around, and get back on the road, Hannibal! I'm hungry, and I don't know how much longer I can go, without slamming the two fool's heads together!" B.A. grumbled, sending another scorching glare in Face's direction.
Hannibal gave one of this Cheshire cat smiles. "Point taken. Alright, go B.A.!" He winked at Face as the van shot forward, and the Lieutenant sprawled onto the floor, turning a lovely shade of green.
"I think I'm gonna be sick…" Face faded off, listening to the laughter of his team mates around him. He blushed, it hadn't taken long, but they were all acting as if it hadn't happened. And he was glad of it.
Finis