A/N: Sorry it's taken me so long to update. I actually had the majority of this wrote last week, but we're short staffed at work and I've been pulling extra shifts, so I haven't had a lot of time to work on it. Thank you to everyone who reviewed!

1969

"LIEUTENANT PECK!"

The colonel's yell woke up the entire hooch, except for the one whose name he was yelling.

"Go away," Peck grumbled, pulling the pillow over his head.

Hannibal seethed. He bent down and flipped the lieutenant's cot over, sending the kid sprawling across the floor.

Despite being obviously hung over, Peck bounced up immediately, fury across his face. "What the hell is your problem?" he yelled back, his fists clenching.

By now the rest of the team were watching aptly.

Hannibal moved around the cot to get nose to nose with his new lieutenant. "My problem, Lieutenant," he ground out. "Is that I was just informed a Sergeant Powell filed a complaint against you. He claims you assaulted him last night."

Reyes and Combs shared a quick look, but it was Murdock who spoke before Peck could open his mouth.

"That's not true, Colonel. We were there." Murdock motioned to himself, Reyes, and Combs.

Hannibal stared at the scowling lieutenant for another moment before turning his attention to the pilot. "Then how did Sergeant Powell end up with a boot print on his stomach, Captain?"

"Because I put it there."

Murdock's mouth snapped shut as Hannibal turned back to glare at the lieutenant after his clear admission of guilt.

"It wasn't his fault Hannibal," Combs spoke up.

The colonel looked back towards them.

"They were ganging up on him, Colonel," Murdock added.

Hannibal sighed. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before he opened his eyes back up and turned back to Peck.

"What happened Lieutenant?" Hannibal asked, his voice calm.

The anger that had been in the kid's eyes was slowly dissipating as he shrugged. "Just a misunderstanding." Then added with an eye roll when Hannibal raised an eyebrow, "Sir."

But Hannibal's eyes narrowed, and he took a step closer to the lieutenant. "Misunderstanding about what, Lieutenant?" His hard tone suggested he already knew, or at least had an idea.

Peck had the sense to know he was in trouble. He looked down for a split second, but then looked right back at Hannibal with the same cold look that the colonel had seen in the jail cell. "It was nothing. Sir."

Hannibal blew out a long breath. After a few long moments, he finally nodded. Then asked lightly, "Powell give you that?" He'd grabbed the kid's jaw to get a better look at the bruise forming, but Peck shoved his hand away. The colonel sighed, but as he opened his mouth, Reyes answered the question on his mind.

"He's ok Hannibal, I already checked him out."

The colonel looked over at the medic for a moment, then nodded before looking back at Peck. "Fine. But you and I are still going to have a very long chat about this later. Is that clear Lieutenant?" There was a warning in Hannibal's voice.

"Yes, Sir."

Staring at the lieutenant for another moment, Hannibal nodded once. "Good."

As soon as the colonel was back out of the hooch, Peck sighed heavily and his shoulders sagged, fists unclenching. It was as if his body just deflated. Though from the expression he was wearing, none of the team could figure out if it was from relief or annoyance.

"Man, you must love pissin' people off."

Peck looked over at BA and smirked. "What can I say?" He shrugged. "It's a gift."

Ray and Reyes snickered. Combs and Murdock were smiling. BA just rolled his eyes.

"What's the deal with you and Powell anyway?" Murdock asked, curiosity written all over his face, as Peck began to fix his cot.

Casting a quick glance over at the pilot, Peck gave him a nonchalant smile. "Don't worry about it," he said lightly. "It's my problem, not yours."

Rolling his eyes, Combs retorted, "Man, you just don't get it, do you?"

Confused, Peck furrowed his brows. "Get what?"

"We're a team dumbass," Reyes stated bluntly.

Seeing the lieutenant shake his head as if he was still waiting for the punch line, Ray intervened. "What they mean is that it doesn't just affect you, it affects all of us."

"Whatever," Peck muttered, rolling his eyes. "It's no big deal. So just forget about it," he told them seriously, ignoring the collective sigh of exasperation.

0

"Ready Willy?"

Murdock's young co-pilot, Lieutenant Wilson, shook his head at the chipper captain, who bounced around the helicopter like a little kid on a sugar high. "Everything's all set."

Grinning broadly, Murdock hopped into the pilot's seat. "Then let's get this show on the road!"

Chuckling, Wilson slid into his own seat as Murdock's fingers made their way across the controls as smooth and graceful as a classical pianist playing Bach at the symphony.

They were just doing a simple supply run out to one of the firebases. But Murdock didn't care, as long as he was in the air.

As he started the rotors up, Murdock saw Powell come out of one of the hangars. "Hey Willy," he started casually, trying to act like he was paying more attention to the takeoff than watching for his co-pilot's reaction. "What do you know about Sergeant Powell?"

Wilson cast a sharp glance at the captain, then looked back out over the airfield and saw the sergeant. Sighing, he replied carefully. "Just what my roommate told me when I got here."

"Yeah, what's that?" Murdock's curiosity was peaked by the guarded tone the lieutenant was using for the subject, but tried to hide it behind his nonchalant flying demeanor.

"That he's not someone you should hang around," Wilson answered seriously. "And that if someone that does hang around him is anywhere near your bird, you better double and triple check every single inch."

Murdock's head snapped over to stare at his co-pilot. "Why?" he asked slowly, a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach telling him he wasn't going to like the answer.

Smirking, Wilson let out a small, bitter chuckle. "Drugs. What else?"

"He sells drugs?" The captain was watching the jungle pass by below, but his mind was turning at top speed.

Wilson shrugged. "Couldn't tell you. But that's the impression I got."

Murdock sighed heavily.

0

"Ok Lieutenant, what happened last night?" Hannibal's voice was controlled as he stared down at the kid, demanding the truth.

"Nothing," Peck answered firmly, staring defiantly right back at the colonel.

Hannibal sat down on the edge of the desk, glaring at the kid sitting in front of him. "Lieutenant," he growled in warning.

The colonel saw the lieutenant fighting the urge to squirm, but still the kid said nothing. Hannibal had to give him some credit. Despite whatever nervousness the lieutenant was hiding, he still held the colonel's stare steadily.

Sighing, Hannibal's tone softened. "Is Sergeant Powell your supplier?" Peck looked away for a split second, and the colonel had his answer. "Kid –" he started, but the lieutenant cut him off forcefully.

"I'm not a snitch." Peck's tone and expression were hard and unwavering.

Suppressing the urge to smile at the kid's loyalty, however misplaced it was, Hannibal kept his face impassive. "I'm not asking you to turn him in Lieutenant," the colonel told him simply. "I'm asking you to tell me what the hell is going on."

Peck's expression went from hard to reassuring in an instant. "It's nothing you have to worry about."

"Kid, if it involves my team, it is something I have to worry about," Hannibal ground out in a tone that left no room for argument. But the lieutenant either didn't notice or didn't care, because he opened his mouth to say something, but the colonel spoke first. "And like it or not, you are on my team. Key word being team." Peck rolled his eyes, but Hannibal continued firmly. "That's how we work Lieutenant, as a team. When one person has a problem, we all deal with it. That lone wolf bullshit you're used to doesn't fly on this team, and you need to get that through your head right now." The lieutenant looked away, but Hannibal grabbed his shoulder and turned him back so that they were face to face again. "So I'm gonna ask you one more time, and I expect the truth Lieutenant… Now, what happened last night?"

"I listened to you, that's what happened!" Peck snapped, standing so fast he almost knocked over the chair he had been sitting in.

Hannibal didn't say anything, just waited, watching as the kid start to pace.

"You told me to quit selling drugs, so I did." The lieutenant was flustered, pacing like a caged animal with too much energy and nowhere to go, and his voice reflected that as well. "I told them I was done with it, that I was out. Then last night Powell and his goons jumped me. Told me it wasn't that simple, that I wasn't done until he said so. So…" Peck paused for a second before finishing in a calmer voice, "I told him where he could stick it."

This time Hannibal couldn't contain the smirk. But he quickly sobered when his lieutenant stopped pacing and had his head down, refusing to look up at the colonel. "That when he decided to use you as a punching bag?"

Peck nodded.

"And that's when Murdock, Reyes, and Combs showed up?"

Again the lieutenant nodded, but he also rolled his eyes in annoyance.

There was silence for a few minutes. Hannibal watched his lieutenant shuffle his feet unsurely a couple times, despite the kid's effort to seem indifferent.

Finally, the colonel sighed, and stood up, walking over in front of the kid.

"Let me see."

Peck glanced up at the colonel, furrowing his brow in confusion. "What?"

"Let me see," Hannibal repeated, a little firmer, gesturing to the kid's side.

"It's just a few bruises, no big deal." The lieutenant was acting perfectly casual and nonchalant.

Hannibal raised his eyebrows in a challenge. "When did getting shot become no big deal?" The colonel's voice was light, almost amused. But his words caught Peck off guard. Hannibal smirked. "I know everything that goes on with my team Lieutenant."

Rolling his eyes, Peck retorted sullenly, "Let me guess…Murdock?"

"Murdock didn't tell me anything kid." Peck raised a disbelieving eyebrow. "Seeing a medic with his med kit when we're not on a mission is a giveaway someone's hurt and doesn't wanna go to medical," Hannibal half-chuckled. Peck rolled his eyes. "Now," Hannibal said seriously. "Lift up your shirt and let me see the damage Lieutenant."

With a heavy sigh, Peck reluctantly untucked his shirt and pulled it up. Though he averted his eyes and struggled to remain still as the colonel began to examine his side.

Hannibal looked at the gunshot wound carefully. Though he counted six stitches Reyes put in, the laceration itself didn't look more than an inch deep, if that. Blue and purple bruises, in addition to a couple that were starting to yellow and fade, were scattered across his ribs and stomach, but that seemed to be the extent of the damage. No cracked or broken ribs, and just a few abrasions that Hannibal knew were from the obstacle course and mission.

"You got lucky kid," Hannibal finally said, letting Peck tuck his shirt back in. "Could've been a lot worse."

"Well, it wasn't," was the insolent retort.

The colonel made Peck look him in the eyes. "Next time…go to medical."

Something flashed in the lieutenant's eyes, but it was so quick Hannibal couldn't tell what it was.

"Are we done?" Peck droned. Then added flippantly, "Sir."

Letting out a long breath through his nose as he tried to get a read on the kid, Hannibal finally nodded. "Yeah, we're done. For now." Peck turned to leave, but the colonel grabbed his arm. "No more fights Lieutenant. And if Powell, or anyone else, becomes a problem, you come to me. Understood?"

Rolling his eyes, Peck sighed. "Yes, Sir."

A/N: Hope you enjoyed that chapter! I'm gonna try to have the next one up within the next couple weeks. Hopefully sooner, but no promises. As always, reviews are greatly appreciated!