A/N: Sorry it took me a while to update. I went camping on my days off, and I've only been able to work on bits and pieces of this in between work and everything else. Thank you to everyone who reviewed! I hope you guys continue to enjoy the story. This chapter is actually longer than I thought it would be, just kinda happened that way. And just a small FYI, *disclaimer*, some of the information in this chapter comes from the season 1 episode "A Nice Place to Visit", so if you recognize some stuff, that's why. I actually went back and rewatched that episode about five times to make sure I got it right. And I know there's some confusion about Ray's rank, because the show never explicitly states it, and I could never get a really good look at his uniform in the episode, even when I paused it. The summary on the IMDB website says he was a captain, so that's what I was going with, and while I'm pretty sure the insignia on his uniform in the episode was probably that of a major, or even lieutenant colonel, it never told us whether he stayed in the Army after Vietnam or not, so that rank could have been earned afterwards.
Anyway, that's my little FYI. Hope y'all like this chapter!
1969
It was supposed to be a relatively simple mission. Help deliver supplies and establish a working relationship with the local village. But Charlie activity en route changed the journey into a firefight, and by the time they'd reached the village, it had already burned. The whole thing was one big shitstorm, and Hannibal said as much in the debriefing.
The team had done well. But seeing things like they found in that village, well, Hannibal knew he wouldn't be sleeping well tonight. BA had headed straight to the motor pool as soon as they'd gotten back to base, and Hannibal was content to let him stay there as long as necessary for him to make peace with the horrors of this war. Reyes and Combs had roped Murdock into a game of basketball with some guys from another team that had been out there too, but the colonel knew that they would all inevitably still end up hung over in the morning. Ray had gone to write a letter to his girl back home. It was how the captain coped, he reminded himself of everything good that was waiting for him on the other side of the world. Hannibal had no clue where Peck was though. His new lieutenant had disappeared almost immediately after they'd finished the debrief.
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Peck threw back another shot. He was halfway through the bottle, which the bartender had the insight to leave in front of the lieutenant after the fourth shot. Running a hand over his face as he refilled the shot glass, Peck attempted to force himself to not think about how bad he'd screwed up on the mission.
It had all started going downhill as soon as the convoy started taking hits. In his two months in country, he had been over the wire before on patrols and a couple recon ops, but this had been his first firefight. The entire time he'd felt like he was drowning, and struggling just to keep his head above water to breathe. It was more terrifying than when he was five, wandering the streets without a clue of where he was or where to go. And just like then, he had no clue what to do now.
"Hannibal's been lookin' for ya."
Taking another shot, Peck refused to look at the man who'd just sat down next to him. He was surprised the captain was even speaking to him. The guy had witnessed his incompetence first hand when they'd bailed out of the jeep and he lost his helmet. The man hadn't said anything, just gave him his own helmet and kept going. But Peck knew what he, and everyone else, was thinking.
"I'm right here," Peck said, trying to sound nonchalant, but it came out almost as a dare.
Mumbling his thanks to the bartender for the beer, the captain didn't miss the kid's set jaw or the anger bubbling right under the surface. Taking a sip of the beer as Peck threw back another shot, Ray waited a moment before he spoke.
"When I first met Hannibal, I was barely out of training. It was a real hot mission." He let out a hollow chuckle. "I was scared shitless." Looking over at the young lieutenant, Ray saw he'd stopped taking shots. "But Hannibal didn't have a clue. You know why?" Sighing when Peck still wouldn't look at him, Ray continued. "Because I let my training take over, and I did my job, and did it well."
Peck didn't say anything, but poured another shot and threw it back quickly. Ray took a drink of his own beer.
"No matter how scared you were, or what you're thinking now…You did good out there today," Ray told the kid seriously.
Finally chancing a glance over at the captain, what Peck saw surprised him. He didn't see disgust, or disappointment, or pity. He saw understanding, and sincerity. Not sure what to do with that, the lieutenant turned back to his bottle and refilled his shot glass.
Ray took the hint, and stood up. But before he left, he spoke again. His voice was softer, but just as serious. "What we saw out there today was bad."
Peck closed his eyes. He didn't want to even think about what they'd seen in that village.
"And that –" Ray gestured to the now almost empty bottle in front of the lieutenant. "May help you get through the night. But it won't make you forget."
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Murdock, Reyes, and Combs were laughing as they stumbled their way back to the team hooch. They were definitely feeling the tequila shots they'd had with the guys from the other team. Reyes and Combs were leaning against each other, trying to stay upright, as they were almost doubled over at Murdock's impression of the other team's sergeant. The guy was as big as BA, but as dumb as a bag of rocks, with a long Southern drawl to boot. And Murdock's impersonation was spot on.
But the laughter died down when Combs stopped and said, "Hey guys, isn't that Peck?"
The pilot and medic looked down behind the building where Combs was pointing and indeed saw their new lieutenant. But he wasn't alone. Murdock didn't recognize the two bulky privates who were on either side of Peck, each with one hand on his collar and the other arm wrapped around the lieutenant's, holding him in place. The guy in the kid's face, however, Murdock did recognize. His name was Sergeant Powell, he was one of the helicopter mechanics.
They couldn't hear what Powell was saying, but they saw Peck's expression twist and set defiantly before he kicked out, catching Powell in the stomach with a force that almost had the man doubling over. But he responded quickly, sending punches into the lieutenant's ribs and then a solid right hook to his jaw.
Peck's three new teammates reached the group just as he spit blood into Powell's face.
"What's shakin' Sergeant?" Murdock asked lightly, though his tone was not the carefree one he usually had, and the look in his eyes was dangerous.
Powell's arm froze mid-punch as he noticed the newcomers. "Nothing to concern yourself with Captain Murdock."
Murdock smiled widely, but it was more crazy than playful. "Now, see, that's where you're wrong."
"You mess with our LT, you mess with us," Reyes finished firmly, a blatant challenge.
The privates actually looked nervous. Their eyes darting between the lieutenant between them, who hadn't said anything, just scowled, to the two sergeants staring them down, to the captain everyone on base thought was crazy, which at this moment he looked it, and then finally to Powell. Powell took it all in, and finally sighed, holding his hands up in concession.
"Fine," he said disgruntledly. But then looked at Peck and growled, "But we're not done pretty boy."
"Go to hell," Peck spat back.
The privates let go of him, and followed Powell off into the night. Murdock, Reyes, and Combs watched them go before turning back to their lieutenant, who had already started walking the other direction, back to the hooch.
"What was that all about?" Combs asked as they caught up to him.
"Nothing."
"Didn't look like nothing LT," Reyes commented.
"Well, it was!" Peck retorted hotly, his voice rising as he turned on them. "And you should've kept your noses out of it."
The two sergeants glanced at each other, both getting a strong whiff of the whisky on the lieutenant's breath. But Murdock just kept looking at Peck.
"We're a team," he said softly. "And when one of us has a problem, we all deal with it…together."
Peck scoffed, rolling his eyes as he turned back and kept walking.
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"Hey! Watch it!" BA barked as the hooch shook when Peck stormed in, followed closely by Murdock, Reyes, and Combs.
"What happened?" Ray asked, seeing the latter three's faces.
But no one answered. The pilot shared a look with Ray, an almost imperceptible nod to the lieutenant, that told the XO his fellow captain was worried about the kid. Reyes and Combs had simply gone to their bunks and flopped down unceremoniously.
"Man, you stink," BA said, breaking the silence that had fallen. He was looking at Peck. "Why didn't you shower and change when we got back?" The sergeant's question made the others realize that Peck was still wearing the same fatigues he'd had on during the mission, still covered in sweat, dirt, and blood.
While BA hadn't asked in a mean way, in fact he'd been genuinely curious, Peck's response was vicious. "Well, I'm taking one now! Happy?" He held up his towel and clean fatigues for good measure before storming back out of the hooch toward the showers.
"Punk," BA grumbled, going back to the letter he'd been writing his mother.
Ray looked back at Murdock. "Ok, what the hell happened?"
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Murdock heard a soft hiss when he entered the showers. There was only one person in there, and the pilot made his way around to the stall where Peck was stripping off his dirty fatigues.
"Holy macradoodle," Murdock drawled in shock upon seeing the lieutenant's naked torso.
Peck's head snapped up, startled. He hadn't heard the captain come in. "It's nothing," he said quickly, trying to turn away from the pilot's stare.
But Murdock wasn't having it. Grabbing the kid's shoulder, he turned him back around to get a good look at his side, where, in addition to some colorful bruising, the skin was sliced and bleeding freely.
"It's not nothing!" the pilot argued. "You were shot! Why didn't you say anything?!"
"It's just a graze," Peck retorted, trying to shrug him off. "I'll be fine. My shirt just got caught on it, that's it."
"And those punches to your ribs were just helpful little love taps." Murdock rolled his eyes at the kid's stubbornness, which seemed to be just as bad even when he was three sheets to the wind. "You need stitches."
"I do not!" the lieutenant snapped. He'd been trying to sound cool and nonchalant, but now he was just angry.
However, the fury did nothing to deter the lanky pilot who viewed annoying BA as an enjoyable pastime. Though, while Murdock knew BA would never seriously hurt him, the captain wasn't so sure he could say the same about the kid in front of him. But still he stood his ground.
"You need to go to medical and get that taken care of by a professional," Murdock insisted calmly.
"No," Peck ground out firmly.
The captain sighed. "Fine," he shrugged casually. "I'll just go get Hannibal."
Murdock turned to leave, but Peck's hand shot out to grab his arm to stop him. "Wait!"
The pilot hid his smirk and turned back to the lieutenant, who suddenly looked a lot younger and definitely less snarky than he had seconds ago.
"Just…" Peck let out a long breath. "Just don't tell Hannibal. Okay?"
The small voice, and that pleading look in his eyes, made Murdock wonder just how young the kid really was. Nevertheless, it was the first time the lieutenant's cocky mask was lifted, the first time the captain felt like he was seeing a real side of Peck. And it had him conceding.
"Ok," Murdock agreed quietly.
The relief on the kid's face was instantaneous. But just as quickly as it had appeared, it disappeared, and the lieutenant Murdock had been seeing since he arrived on the team was back.
Peck turned back around, switching on the water, then glance back over his shoulder at the pilot. "You mind?"
Murdock shook his head. "Sorry," he muttered, exiting the stall as the lieutenant finished stripping and stepped under the water.
Sighing heavily, Peck closed his eyes when he heard the pilot leave. He kept them closed letting the water run over him for a minute. When he finally opened them back up, he looked back down at his side. He knew Murdock was probably right, he did need stitches. But Peck hated doctors, and going to one voluntarily didn't seem like a smart move. Plus, it would mean admitting that he'd screwed up on the mission and gotten shot.
A few minutes later, the lieutenant turned the water off, wrapped the towel around his waist, and stepped out of the shower. He was looking for something to clean up the wound with when he heard someone come in.
"Jesus Christ Murdock!" Peck growled in annoyance when the pilot walked in with Reyes. "I thought you agreed you wouldn't tell anybody?"
"Hannibal," the captain corrected with a small smile. "I said I wouldn't tell Hannibal."
Sighing, Peck rolled his eyes.
Reyes smirked. "Come on LT, you can let me patch you up, or we can go get BA, and drag you to medical." Seeing the lieutenant's glare, the medic added, "I may not be as pretty to look at as some of the nurses, but at least if I treat you this can stay between us."
Peck took a deep breath, and looked back and forth between the two men. Both the pilot and the medic had unwavering expressions that told the lieutenant he wasn't going to get a third option. "Fine," he muttered unhappily, rolling his eyes again.
A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed that chapter! I've actually already got some of the next chapter written because my brain skipped ahead on me when I was writing this one, but I've got a lot going on in the next few days so I can't guarantee a quick update. I'll try to have the next chapter up within a week or two though. As always, reviews are greatly appreciated!