Hoping my description of Hannibal's military funeral is okay - I winged it without much research. Enjoy!

Chapter 3

Amy Allen stood unmoving as the final round of a gun salute sounded around the graveyard and faded into the quiet. She watched as the American flag that had been draped over Hannibal's casket was expertly folded by Murdock, Face, and B.A., ending in Murdock's hands as the senior ranking officer. He held it in his left hand and saluted it alongside the other two men, then with a sharp barking order he dismissed them. Even in the past as younger men, Amy rarely saw them so stiff and orderly, and it both impressed her and sobered her. She knew they had always given their best efforts and deepest respect to their commanding officer, both during his life and now at his end. As Murdock looked down at the folded flag tucked onto his arm, Amy saw the mixed emotions in his eyes reflected in the others' as well.

It's like they've lost the one thing that gave their lives purpose... a team without a leader, she contemplated soberly.

"Well... it's done." Face stated, looking from one to the other.

They nodded. There was nothing more to do there now. B.A. began walking towards the van and the other men followed, but Amy lingered a moment longer at the graveside. She held a small bouquet of white clover she had plucked before the service, and laid it on the casket.

"Well, Hannibal, it was wild ride." She chuckled through watering eyes. "You gave me more than just good stories to write and exciting breaks. You gave me a family I didn't know I needed. You taught me how to protect myself and how to be selfless."
She glanced over her shoulder at the guys. They were standing there waiting for her, talking amongst themselves, but the tallest of them still stared at the flag in his hands.

"You told me something long ago that made me turn my life upside down," she continued speaking to the box, decisiveness in her tone. "I listened to you, and I've questioned my decision ever since. Now you're not here to tell me what to do, and things have changed. So I'm going to do it. And I hope I'd have your blessing."

She sighed, then turned to go when a gust of wind brought a scent to her nose. Cigar smoke? It was faint, or was it even there at all? A glance around the cemetary showed no one else nearby. She smiled up at the sky.

"Thanks, Hannibal. I knew you'd come around."

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

There wasn't much to do after that afternoon after the funeral, since they had decided to leave Hannibal's larger items and furniture for dealing with the next day. Since Face's penthouse was the roomiest for them all to hang out in, they settled in there for rest of the day and brought the colonel's most personal belongings to go through. It was a small box, and held his dog tags, military medals, a few postcards and letters, and various other trinkets he had collected through the years.

Amy listened intently as the guys recounted how their leader had earned each medal, hanging on every detail but resisting the urge to write it all down on paper. She was off-duty here, and her purpose was to be present for them in whatever way they needed her to be. She had been laughing with them, silent with them, serious with them, and she could see how much healing had come to them just in the last twenty-four hours. They had begun telling her about their missions since she had left the team, and she could hardly believe how much she had missed - so much her heart ached.

It must have showed on her face because B.A. reached over at one point to pat her knee and give her a nod of sympathy. Face noticed the motion and cleared his throat before changing the subject off of their stories.

"So, you've been back from Jakarta for a few years. Meet anybody special?"

Since he seemed genuinely interested in the answer and not flirting with her, she decided to answer honestly.

"Oh, I've had dates here and there, but there hasn't been anyone I really thought I could be serious with. What about you, Face?"

He scoffed at her question and Murdock let out a short sputtering laugh that was echoed by B.A.'s snicker.

"Faceman settle down and marry? Boy, he'd have to get royally scammed by a better con artist than himself before you'd catch him at the altar!"

"Hey!" Face protested. "At least I'm putting myself out there! When was the last time you had a date?"

"Ain't nobody crazy enough to go out with this fool!" B.A. commented from the opposite couch, recieving a pen thrown at him by the pilot.

"Oh ye full of optimism! And I sure haven't seen you out with any ladies, you big angry mudsucker!"

Amy laughed and leaned back into the over-stuffed couch, drawing her feet up and under her in comfort. It was like old times, with Face the subject of teasing and Murdock and B.A. bickering as usual. The only one missing was Hannibal, standing by observing the others with a twinkle in his steely-blue eyes and a cigar playfully twisting between his fingers.

And just like that her laughter ceased, replaced by a shadow of sadness across her features.

"Amy?"

She looked up to see them staring at her with concerned expressions.

"We didn't mean to upset you, mama." B.A. offered. "We was just pokin' fun like always."

"Oh, I know!" She answered, shaking her head slightly. "I was just thinking about Hannibal. Hard not to, I guess."

They nodded, sharing a moment of silence at the rememberence of their fearless leader.

Amy then took a breath in slowly, and gathered her courage to speak.

"I... never told you guys why I didn't get in touch after I came home from overseas."

"We know you'll tell us when you're ready," Face stated.

"Are you...?" Murdock's question trailed off open-ended, leaning forward slightly.

Amy nodded with a sigh.

"I suppose so. I had said before that I couldn't come back to the team. I felt I had no choice but to stay away, because... Hannibal's the one who told me to leave, to take the job in Jakarta."

"Hannibal?!" All three reacted in shock.

"Yes," she continued, feeling heat rise up her neck and into her cheeks. "He felt that I was a danger to the team, and that my leaving was the best way to protect you guys."

"Danger? What danger?" Face shot up from the couch. "We were always in danger! You being there didn't change that much."

"Yeah," Murdock added, his expression still one of incredulity. "If anything, you tried to keep us out of danger more than once!"

Amy shook her head, trying to figure out how to best explain.

"He said I was becoming a distraction and hindrance, and that missions could become sloppy and put you all at greater risk of injury."

"That makes no sense," the pilot reasoned, knees bobbing rapidly up and down in his nervous habit. "Why did he let Tawnia join us then? Now, that gal definitely got in the way more than once!"

"I can only tell you what happened," Amy tried to conlude. "I trusted Hannibal. I had to agree that he had a point, and besides that, Jakarta was the big break I had been waiting for all my career - I knew it was! The reporter in me had to go anyways."

Face crossed his arms, still standing, so she reached up to tug him back down onto the couch. He reluctantly sat, and she looked each man in the eyes.

"Now that I'm back with you guys, I can see now that I really regret leaving. No amount of salary or fancy office could ever replace the jazz I felt with you all. I've missed out on so much of your lives, and... I never got to see Hannibal again."

She pushed the tears away that smarted her eyes and smiled a little when Face offered her a clean hankerchief.

"We're glad you came back, Amy," B.A. said and the other two nodded.

"Thanks," she said. "It's good to be back."