Under Dr. Tucker's care, B.A. made rapid improvement. Face and Hannibal recovered their voices and strength too, to the point of Murdock and Stella having to force them to finish their medicines. Hannibal was under strict orders not to smoke, which led to the pilot having to be creative about places to hide the Colonel's beloved cigars.
B.A., although he was getting better, was still weak and coughed occasionally. The doctor told him it may be a lingering effect, and that he should take it easy for the foreseeable future. He agreed. Angel berated him for lying after Dr. Blake left. He laughed, which made him cough again, and Angel quit scolding him.
She didn't stop giving him dirty looks, however.
Everyone was grateful for Dr. Tucker's care—he told them to call him Blake, but no one except Stella seemed comfortable enough to do so. He was a gracious host, and reassured each of them he had no intentions of telling anyone they'd been there.
He tried to joke that luckily none of them had gunshot wound, or he'd be required to report it. The flat stare he received from Hannibal made him backpedal and apologize.
Murdock chauffeured Face and Hannibal back and forth as needed. Dr. Tucker's clinic wasn't technically equipped to keep patients long-term, so Stella's house was still where they stayed. The doctor also asked Stella to help with B.A.'s care, to minimize his staff's involvement with wanted criminals.
Hannibal hadn't looked happy when he heard that either, but didn't say anything.
Murdock was tuned to his teammates' moods, however, and knew that something was niggling at his boss. He'd finally caved and gave Hannibal a cigar, hoping that that would relieve some of the tension. To cover himself, he also announced the direct threat that he would go straight to Stella if it was lit.
The undercurrent of bad feeling hadn't abated, however. Hannibal chewed on the end of the offering in his peevish way, like he had a personal vendetta against cigars and this one in particular.
Unfortunately, it became apparent what Hannibal's issue was.
As the Murdock pulled the van around to the back of the clinic, he caught sight of Dr. Tucker and Stella in his rear office. The embrace they were sharing wasn't platonic.
"Oh shit," he muttered half under his breath. He wondered if Hannibal suspected this; the boss was always suspicious and looking for ulterior motives in people.
"What?" Face asked, from the second row of seats. He leaned forward. "Oh."
"Oh shit," Murdock said again, completely under his breath this time. He hadn't meant to speak aloud the first time, in case Hannibal hadn't looked through that window. But Face's question would definitely bring the Bossman's attention—
Whether or not Face opened his mouth—and apparently, whether or not Murdock had either—made no difference. Hannibal crushed the coveted cigar in his fist. Hannibal had seen.
He was out of the vehicle almost before it stopped completely. Neither Murdock nor Face was quick enough to grab him as he sprinted for the rear door of the clinic. Both of them shouted,
"Hannibal!" and "Wait, Hannibal!"
Both of them were ignored.
Apparently the van had made enough noise on the gravel of the parking lot to alert Dr. Blake and Stella, because just before Hannibal made it to the door, Stella came out and closed it firmly behind herself.
Hannibal skid to a stop in front of her. His chest heaved with effort, not because of the short run he'd just completed, but because his lungs weren't quite ready for exertion yet. For a moment he was unable to speak.
Stella stepped closer and reached for his hands. She kept herself between him and the door.
"John. John! Listen to me. Look at me!" she said. "I know what you saw—"
"What I saw?" he roared. "You know what I saw? How about what I know? How about what I'm thinking?"
"John, please—you have to calm down. This isn't helping you, this will aggravate your lungs and make it worse for you—"
Still trying to catch his breath, Hannibal shook off her grip. "What? What'll make it worse? Finding out—finding out that-that you're—"
He had to cut himself short to cough.
Although she'd been brushed away, Stella took him by the shoulders and stood by him while he hacked. When he was able to finally take another deep breath without choking, Hannibal shrugged her off again.
"So how long . . . how long has this been going on?" he asked bitterly.
Stella became prickly. "That's none of your business."
"None of my business? You think—"
"You expect me to believe you've not ever been with another woman? Ever? You're—"
"—I don't have a right to know—"
"—traveling all over the world, no strings—"
"—that my, my—"
"Your what, John? Your what?"
"My—what do you mean, no strings?"
The overlapping argument pinned Murdock and Face in the van.
"I don't like it when mom and dad fight," Murdock whispered.
Face took his hand, but couldn't offer any other comfort.
Stella and Hannibal had paused after the heated questions. They were both panting, and Stella looked dangerously close to crying.
Hannibal straightened. "Is this why you wouldn't let us pay for B.A.'s treatment? Murdock told me you gave all the cash back."
Stella glared at him. When she didn't answer, it seemed to provoke him more. He boomed,
"Goddamn it, Stella! I don't let Face whore himself out, I certainly won't let you do it either!"
Murdock gasped and Face flinched, even though both of them weren't anywhere near the epicenter of the explosion.
The tears Stella had been struggling to hold back fell as she burst out into sobs. Her stony resolve crumpled, and it was obvious to the men in the van she struggled mightily to bring herself back under control.
For a moment, the two in the van sat immobile. Then Murdock clenched his jaw and said,
"I am going out there."
Face didn't try to dissuade him from leaving the van, and followed.
As they crossed the parking lot, they saw Hannibal's storm pass too, and he stepped forward to try and apologize, to try and erase the words he'd just punched her with. Before he could do much, however, both Murdock and Face were there, buffeting him out of the way and wrapping themselves around Stella.
The dark look Murdock gave him didn't stun him as much as Stella accepting their sympathy and allowing them to take her away from him.
The three of them disappeared into the building, leaving Hannibal to make his way back to the van and curse himself.