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A fresh cup of tea warmed Templeton Peck's hands as he watched over the shivering figure on the bed. Steam rose up from the white cup carrying with it a honey sweet aroma.
Murdock shifted under the covers and blearily opened his eyes. "Face?"
Face gingerly sat on the edge of the bed. "Right here, Murdock. I've got your tea." He helped Murdock sit up, propping a couple of pillows behind his back.
"I don't feel so good," Murdock said woozily. "I think there's something wrong with me."
"I know, sweetie. It's the meds remember, you're having withdrawal."
"Don't like it," Murdock pouted like a small child. Face put the cup in his friend's hands and urged him to take a sip. After a few swallows, Murdock's hands started to slip and his head rolled back as a wave of nausea overtook him. Face quickly rescued the cup from his hands and set it aside on the nightstand. He shifted closer to Murdock, slipping a hand behind his back. Murdock leaned forward, drawing his knees up. Face rubbed circles gently over his back.
"Know that feeling when you're on a roller-coaster and your stomach does that little flip just before a big dip,” asked Murdock.
"Yeah?"
"Well I think my insides went to Disneyland and ate too much cotton candy while they were there."
"Do you need to get to the bathroom?"
Murdock shook his head. "No. I'd just really, really like to get off the ride now."
"I'm sorry, Murdock. I wish there was something more I could do." It hurt Face to see his friend suffering. "As soon as Hannibal and BA are done tying up a few last loose ends, we'll get you back to the VA."
"Sorry I wasn't much help."
"Nonsense. You were great." Murdock had been fine the first two days of the mission, though he hadn't been quite his normal crazy self. In fact, in retrospect, he'd been downright docile. Face hadn't thought too much of it at the time, not until he saw the pilot's hands tremor and sweat drip into his eyes while he tried to land the helicopter they'd used for their latest escape. He got them down safely, but after that it was clear something was seriously wrong. Murdock insisted on not going to a hospital. It was too dangerous with the newest Agent Lynch hot on their trail, so they hightailed it out of there in BA's van. After getting a safe distance away, the team stopped at the most out of the way motel they could find to hold up for the night.
It took a little coaxing, but Murdock had finally confided in Face that the doctors back at the VA had put him on some new medication. He usually hid the pills under his tongue to spit it out later, but apparently one of the nurses had caught on and started to sneak them into his food. Murdock only realized what had happened after he started to feel strange, like he had become disconnected from his body. Face really didn't like the sound of that. It still took Murdock a while to deduce how they were secretly dosing him, but by the time he had it figured out, Face had shown up to break him out.
And now he was going through withdrawal. Face was going to have some words with that nurse when he got back. Well not Face exactly, but an exceptionally handsome and talented young doctor who'd make certain there would be no more secret dosing. And if that didn't work, well, he'd have to figure something else out, even if that meant breaking Murdock out permanently. It wasn't like Murdock was that much of a handful. Okay, he was, but there was a certain skill (like a circus balancing act) to giving Murdock just enough freedom so that he didn't feel trapped or smothered, while also keeping him from getting too close to the edge. Face thought he had a pretty good handle on that after all these years. And Murdock was pretty fun to have around most days. Life was never boring at any rate and if there was anything Templeton Peck really couldn't stand, it was boredom.
"Face?"
"Yeah?"
"Can you tell me a story?"
"Aw, I don't know. There's not really anything to read around here." The motel was just this side of seedy, Face doubted he'd even find a bible in the nightstand drawer.
"No, one of your stories." Murdock turned slightly, looking up with his big brown eyes. "You're good at making up stories."
Back when they'd still been in the army, there had been quite a few times when neither could sleep, because they were too wired from a mission or because bombs were blasting off in the distance just close enough to set everyone on edge. They'd tell each other stories then, real or made-up, usually a mix of both. The more outrageous the better. Anything to escape the reality of their situation for a moment. "It's been a long time, Murdock."
"Please?"
Face never could say no to Murdock, not when he gave him that pleading sad look. It got Face every time. He sighed. "Alright."
Murdock smiled and snuggled in closer to the lieutenant.
"Let me think... There once was an orphaned prince. He had no family, no kingdom. He was all alone in the world, save for the kindly monks who had taken him in."
"Did the little orphan have blond hair and blue eyes?"
"He did. And when he grew, others told him that he was very handsome and charming. And yet still the prince was alone. He tried to fill his life with other people, but they never stuck around for long. Brokenhearted, the prince felt lost and alone. So when he heard that his country needed soldiers, the prince joined up. He had nothing else to live for, so why not? It wasn't like his life was worth anything. If he died in some war, in a far off land, there wouldn't be anyone to miss him. So off the little prince went, with no clue to what trouble he was heading into."
Murdock tightened his arms around Face's waist. "He's going to be okay right? The little prince? I don't like sad endings."
Face petted Murdock's hair. "I wouldn't want to give away the end, but I'll warn you, it gets worse, before it gets better. You still want me to go on?" Murdock nodded his head. Still running his finger's through Murdock's brown hair, Face continued. "The prince had no idea what he was getting into. He thought he was escaping his old life, but it turned out he was only trading it for something infinitely darker. It was like waking from a dream, only to find yourself in a nightmare. But even among this darkness and chaos, the prince found three companions and in the heat of war, they became not only comrades in arms, but true friends."
"I like this part better."
"These men were brave, valiant knights. A little crazy too, but that craziness got them through some rough scrapes. While the prince counted each these men as his friends, there was one among them that was especially so. He was tall, with eyes that twinkled like they held some secret joke. And he could fly, boy could he fly. The way he flew, on his great big steel winged steed, the other soldiers thought he was mad. But the prince knew better. Oh, he was pretty crazy all right, but he was also the bravest man the prince had ever met, willing to risk anything to help his friends.
On one particularly memorable Christmas eve, the prince had been on the road when his team got pinned down by enemy fire. The enemy had appeared like wraiths rising from the sand, raining down fire and destruction. The noise was almost deafening, but somehow the prince heard the flapping of the knight's winged horse approaching. He turned, just as a bullet barely grazed past him and saw the knight above them, a halo of light surrounding him as he blocked the morning sun. It's sudden appearance had distracted the enemy too, giving the three soldiers just enough time to escape to the safety of an embankment, where the Knight landed his giant steed just long enough for them to climb aboard, then without a moment's hesitation, took off again even as the enemy forces tried with all their might to take the mighty steed down. But the knight was too quick for them and he soared through the air, getting his friends back to the safety of the camp. Later that night, the prince went to see the knight to thank him for the rescue."
Murdock shrugged. "He was only doing what any knight would have."
Face shook his head. "There's not many pilots who would fly that close into a firefight to deliberately draw the enemies attention away from a few stranded soldiers. How did you know we were in trouble anyway?" Face dropped the pretense for a moment as it struck him that he had never actually asked the pilot how he knew that he was needed. Murdock just always seemed to know somehow and after awhile Face had just accepted it.
"You weren't at the rendezvous on time," Murdock said, breaking the fairy tale for a moment too, "And you had Hannibal with you, so I knew it had to be something bad to keep you from getting there."
"Hmm. So if it had just been me?"
"I probably would have figured you'd met some pretty young thing on the road and stopped to chat."
Face scowled, but when he looked at the pilot, the twitch of Murdock's lips and crinkled eyes revealed that he was kidding.
"Feeling better?"
"A little," but Murdock frowned as he said it. "Still feel like I've got creepy crawlies under my skin though."
"Do you want to try to get some sleep?"
Murdock shook his head. "Not yet. You haven't finished the story. Have to know if it has a happy ending."
"Okay.” Face shifted a bit getting more comfortable. “Well, after the prince got patched up, he went to see the knight to thank him. Only when the prince got there, the knight wouldn't look the prince in the eyes."
Murdock buried his face a little further into Face's shirt. "Maybe the knight was afraid."
"Afraid of what?"
"That he'd almost lost the prince. Maybe he realized how much he cared for the prince."
"And that was a bad thing?"
Murdock shook his head. "But if the knight lost the prince, he wasn't sure he could take it. He thought maybe that if he lost his heart, he might lose what was left of his mind too."
"But don't you see Murdock, by pushing the prince away... it left them both hurting."
"Don't think I like this story anymore." Murdock mumbled against Face's shoulder.
"No, its not a very happy story is it." Face nudged Murdock so that they could look at each other. Stroking Murdock's hair and cheek he said, "But it does have a happy ending."
"It does?" Murdock's eyes widened hopefully.
Face nodded. "Even after everything that had happened the two stayed friends. Good friends."
"Best friends," Murdock agreed.
"But one night," Face hesitated slightly, "One night, years later, when the prince was holding his sick friend, he realized just how much they had missed, because they were both too afraid of getting hurt. Two brave soldiers, who'd fought a war together, faced men bigger and scarier than them on a daily basis and still came out on top, but somehow they couldn't risk opening their hearts to getting hurt again. Seems kind of silly in retrospect doesn't it?"
Murdock tried to sit up. "Face?"
After everything they'd been through, the prince and the knight deserved a happy ending. Maybe fairy tales weren't real and happiness is fleeting, but at that moment Face didn't care. Resolved, he cupped his friend's cheek, leaned in and pressed their lips together.
Murdock's hand tightened its grip on Face's shirt as he pushed him back against the headboard in a deep, bruising kiss. The kiss seemed to last a lifetime and Face was in no hurry to see this story come to an end. So he kept kissing and never let go.