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  Help! 
 by Darth Stitch  

 

Help! By Darth StitchDISCLAIMER: Not mine. Belongs to 2 TV gods by name of
Frank Lupo and Stephen J. Cannell and is now a movie directed by Joe
Carnahan. Will put the toys back when I'm done. DISCLAIMER TO SAVE MY SOUL
FROM GOING TO HELL IN A HANDBASKET: Too late. But this is going to be a
fun ride! :P 

When I was younger, so much younger than today, I never needed anybody's
help in any way. But now these days are gone, I'm not so self assured, Now
I find I've changed my mind and opened up the doors.

Help me if you can, I'm feeling down And I do appreciate you being 'round.
Help me, get my feet back on the ground, Won't you please, please help
me?- Paul McCartney & John Lennon, "The Beatles" Honestly, falling in love
with his commanding officer was the absolute last thing on Templeton
"Faceman" Peck's mind. While Face had always known that his door had a
bi-directional hinge, it normally leaned towards those delightful
creatures of the very feminine persuasion. He'd been perfectly happy to be
that way, damn it, even if there was that time when he'd thought he had a
good thing going with Charissa Sosa and then she promptly took his heart
and stomped on it with those sexy high heels of hers. Maybe if she hadn't
left like that, maybe he would have had a chance to forget He really hated
tragedies, romantic ones most of all. Face figured life was too short and
he'd already gone through too many things he'd really rather not think
about anymore. Dwelling on the past and doing the whole therapy thing
wasn't his kind of gig	he'd only have to look at Murdock for that. He
knew his buddy hated the whole head-shrinking deal  Murdock was happiest
in the air, marching to the beat of his own drum. Sometimes, Face envied
his loopy buddy. Murdock had a purpose in mind, even if it was one only
known to himself and he was perfectly contented with that. Maybe his
friend had the right idea there. In fact, Face initially joined the Army
because his own life was pretty much running from yet one mess into
another and so far, all he'd been doing to deal with things was wing it.
And then he met Colonel John "Hannibal" Smith and learned an all new
definition of "winging it." He thought he figured the older man out at
first  yet another one of those wise mentor-types, taking the brash young
idiot under his wing, making a man out of him  to help him, so to speak.
Yeah, right  he'd been there and done that and he'd delighted in
disappointing those types. The way Face figured it, it was better he made
it clear to them what they were going to be in for  he didn't want them to
waste their time any more than he wanted to waste his. Hannibal surprised
the hell out of him. Hannibal seemed to take everything Face did in
stride, with that infuriating twinkle in those steel-blue eyes and even
gave him an idea or two. Or three, the Colonel being what he was, with
that fine-tuned mind that never seemed to think in any conventional
pattern. Face had gotten hold of the man's service records (one just had
to know how to talk to the right people) and any sane person wouldn't have
credited all of the stunts Hannibal had pulled over the years. But Face
had seen his C.O. in action and even though he'd thought he had pulled off
some crazy-ass scams, Hannibal had him beat hands down. And they always
got off scott-free, each and every time. Even when plans went south, as
they often did	somehow Hannibal got them out of there and safely home.
Face had lost count of the number of times Hannibal would place his life
on the line for any of the men who had ever served under his command, even
him. Finally, Hannibal did what Face personally thought was the craziest
stunt he'd ever pulled off in his entire military career. He went and
promoted Face as his second-in-command. Face would never forget that
conversation. "With all due respect, Colonel, are you out of your mind?"
Face had told him, in the privacy of Hannibal's rarely-used office. Those
remarkable eyes regarded him steadily and with more than just a hint of
mischief. "No more than I usually am, Lieutenant." The stress on the title
was deliberate, meant to provoke him. "You really should try it sometimes 
it's very liberating." "No, thanks  somebody has to be the voice of sweet,
sane reason around here," Face retorted. "See? You're being a good
second-in-command already. Knew I was right on the money with you, kid."
Kid. Hannibal had always called him that from the very beginning  not that
the age gap between them was that huge. Hannibal had been one of the
youngest men in the service to make Colonel, as a matter of fact. Face had
a brief burst of semi-hysterical laughter. "Okay, Colonel  enough with the
jokes. I'm trying to be serious here." "So am I," Hannibal returned
evenly. Jesus. There was no mistaking that look on Hannibal's face this
time. And that prompted Face to ask the most obvious question. "Why?" Why
him, when even the top brass had written him off for the numerous scams,
pranks and escapades he'd pulled off in the Army. Sure, he'd done a lot of
these things now to help out his buddies  somebody had to make sure they
were getting the stuff they needed to fight out in the field and then some
extra. "Because I know you can do it," Hannibal answered him. "And there's
no other man I'd want to have at my six." Face couldn't say no after that.
Because in that moment, he had just realized that there was no way in hell
he could bear to disappoint John "Hannibal" Smith. Not this particular
man. And then God or Fate or Whoever it was that decided things like these
decided to take up Their cosmic baseball bat and smack Face upside the
head with this whole insane falling in love business. It just wasn't fair
to do that to a man, it really wasn't. It wasn't just that it was against
the Rules  Lord only knew that Face had done his fair share of stomping on
whatever Handbook of Life people tended to throw at him. Face knew the
truth  it had done its share of sneaking up on him on those dark, cold
nights when there were no distractions or barriers between him and his own
personal demons. The simple hard truth was that while Face was dead
certain that his Colonel, commanding officer and friend cared about him
deeply	it would never be in the same way that Face felt about him. And
Face knew he didn't have the right to ask for anything more than that. He
didn't deserve it. Unrequited love always hurt like a son of a bitch. Face
had quietly sworn to himself that he would keep this proof of his own
questionable sanity dead quiet, buried deep in the back of his head, never
to brought out in the light of day. It was enough that he'd been lucky
enough to serve with the bravest, most brilliant commander in the entire
U.S. Armed Forces. It was enough to be told that Hannibal would always
want him watching his back and no other. It was enough to know that he had
this man for a friend and a brother-in-arms. He'd kept this secret
successfully for so long, even as Hannibal ended up heading the A-Team
with B.A. and Murdock and once again cheerfully dragging Face into that
mess. Okay, so maybe Face getting a little too friendly with that corrupt
Mexican general's wife was part of the reason why he and Hannibal met B.A.
and Murdock in the first place. But still! Be part of a crack commando
unit? End up being known as that particular Special Forces group who
specialized in the ridiculous and the insane? Yeah, as long as Hannibal
was leading the way, why the hell not? And then, Murdock had to go and
figure him out. Fuck. Maybe Face shouldn't have been so surprised that it
was Murdock who sussed the truth out of him. Or maybe because Face
probably let his guard down more than he normally did. He'd seen Hannibal
in more than his fair share of near-death experiences but the Colonel had
usually gotten out of it without a single scratch or at least nothing
along the lines of the life-threateningly serious. That day  Face just
knew he would be having nightmares about it for years to come. He didn't
know how Hannibal knew there was a sniper out there. He'd just yelled at
Face to get down, in that unmistakable voice of command that no one in his
right mind would dare disobey and then he felt Hannibal's weight pinning
him down on the ground. Dazed, when he'd finally looked at his C.O., he
saw that they were both covered in blood. And after that, instincts and
training that Face had been given but had never expected to use kicked in
and he was the one giving out the orders to get them back home, to save
Hannibal's life. It scared the shit out of him. And he knew he could do
that again in a heartbeat if it meant the lives of his team. Because
Hannibal had chosen him as his second in command and Face wasn't about to
let his Colonel down. So maybe he had been careless that day. He'd been
worried sick, praying that Hannibal would make it. He'd seen just too many
people who hadn't  their life wasn't just about the fun and games.
Perfectly understandable that maybe his emotions were laid out right in
the open and thank God he only had an audience of one at the time. You
don't just love him like we all love him. You're in love with him, aren't
you? Sometimes, though he would never tell his buddy this, there were
moments where he was prepared to swear up and down that Murdock was
downright psychic. He knew he could trust the other man to keep his
secret. The thought of a matchmaking Murdock was just too terrifying to
contemplate. When B.A. had come in to tell them that Hannibal was going to
make it  it was as if Face could breathe again. Of course, they had to
deal with a couple of weeks of trying to deal with a certain cranky
convalescing Colonel after his release from the hospital but was not yet
cleared for active duty. That was a hell of a lot easier to deal with than
thinking about the man nearly bleeding to death in his arms. "Buck up,
muchacho," Murdock had told him one day as he was busy grilling up some
steaks. B.A. was out of earshot for the moment, having gotten some tools
for his bike. "The course of true love never did run that smoothly. It's
got a lot of turbulence. Or something like that, I think." Whiskey. Tango.
Foxtrot. Murdock hadn't brought up the subject of their little top-secret
conversation in Hannibal's tent until now. "Murdock" Face growled
threateningly, sitting up from his relatively comfy easy chair. The manic
pilot grinned. "Now, Facey, don't you look much better? 'Course I'd rather
see you mad than sad but happy's the best, muchacho." "You're not going to
let me live this down, are you?" "Live what down?" B.A. suddenly put in,
having caught the tail end of that conversation as he returned. "All I'm
sayin' is," Murdock continued, without missing a beat, "is that if Facey
runs around lookin' like he's done lost his own true love, Colonel's gonna
worry about him. And y'all know that ain't good for a man recoverin' from
a bullet wound." B.A. looked at Face consideringly. "Fool's right, LT. You
don't look so good." Oh hell. Was he that obvious? "The Boss is getting
better by the day," Face said, hastily trying to shift the subject a
little bit. "Seriously, B.A., I think it's gotta have something to do with
being the X.O," Murdock said conspiratorially. To Face's complete horror,
B.A. looked like he was prepared to play along. Worse yet, it looked like
he was actually tuned in to Channel H.M. Murdock this time around. "Yeah,"
the burly corporal drawled. "Gotta be something they put in the water in
X.O. school or somethin.'" "Bosco, you've been corrupted," Face gasped.
The two idiots ignored him. "All X.O's are required to do the Mother Hen
bit, worrying about the whole team, especially their C.O's. And if their
C.O. happens to be Hannibal Smith" Murdock said, pausing dramatically.
B.A. raised his eyes heavenwards. "May God have mercy on their souls."
Face flipped both of them off. "Now, now, boys, didn't your mamas tell you
to play nice with each other?" drawled a very familiar, slightly gravelly
voice, with just a faint hint of a brogue. "Jesus, Hannibal, what are you
doing out of bed?" The minute the words were out, Face wished he could
take them back. It had to be written all over him that even B.A. could
figure it out. "I rest my case," Murdock said triumphantly. Hannibal took
out one of the currently-forbidden cigars (and how he managed to get a
hold of that, Face hadn't a clue because he thought he managed to hide
them all and he was supposed to be the one with the knack for finding
whatever the Team needed). To his credit, he didn't light it up just yet.
"I'm not in the hospital anymore, Face. Walking around for a bit isn't
going to kill me." Face leaned back on his chair, already trying to figure
out how he could temporarily nick those cigars from Hannibal. At least
until he was completely cleared by the docs. "Hey, just looking out for my
C.O., that's all" "You'll make someone a beautiful little mother someday,
Templeton," Hannibal teased, lips quirking in that familiar grin. Oh damn.
Face willed himself not to blush. Also willed himself not to flip his
commander off because KP duty was not high on his list of favorite things
to do, no matter how that wee little devil in the back of his head chanted
it was going to be worth it "Awww.isn't that sweet?" Murdock cooed.
"C'mon, Bosco, I think we'd better give 'em some 'alone' time." Oh no he
wouldn't. he wouldn't fucking dare! Face struggled out of his chair to
tell Murdock off but Hannibal had already pulled up a seat beside him. And
B.A. and Murdock had already wandered off, leaving them alone as promised.
Oh. Shit. Face was SO going to get that crazy pilot for this later. "Hey,"
Hannibal said, pinning him with those intense steel-blue eyes. "You okay,
kid?" "I'll live, Boss," Face answered him as truthfully as he dared.
Because you're alive and you didn't waste your life saving my sorry ass.
It's not worth losing you, Hannibal. It really isn't. Face had a sinking
feeling that Hannibal was seeing right through him this time and honest to
God, he was far more terrified of that than anything else he'd ever gone
through in his life. He couldn't live with it if Hannibal had figured it
out and Face had finally managed to disappoint the one person he swore he
would never fail "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down
his life for his friends," Hannibal quoted the familiar old Bible verse
softly. "I'd do it again in a heartbeat, Templeton." They'd gotten used to
the familiar nicknames so much that Face had almost forgotten that
Hannibal had rarely called him by his real name. And to his horror, part
of the truth came tumbling out. "I'm not worth it, Hannibal " Shit, were
his eyes prickling with real tears? He blinked them back, angrily, looking
away. Hell, no	he wasn't going to cry like a little girl in front of
Hannibal, of all people. "You are worth it," Hannibal insisted fiercely,
clapping a hand on Face's shoulder and getting him to look him in the eye
again. "All of you are worth it. Believe that, Lieutenant, you hear me?
That's an order!" Face let out a shaky breath. "Yeah." At the expectant
look on his Colonel's face, he abruptly remembered the familiar protocols,
came to attention as much as he could, sitting on that chair and snapped
off a salute. "Yes, sir!" "And I better not hear something like that out
of you again, you hear me, Lieutenant?" "Yes, sir!" Satisfied, Hannibal
shook his head, smiling. The smile faded when he found that his cigar had
suddenly been plucked from his mouth and had somehow ended up in his
lieutenant's hands. "With all due respect, Colonel, doctor's orders are
for you to stay off these until you're cleared for duty, sir!" Face could
lay it on really thick if he had to and he needed some distraction because
Hannibal had been a hairsbreadth away from figuring it all out. And then,
Hannibal shook his head in exasperation and a hand reached out to ruffle
Face's hair in that old, familiar affectionate gesture. "Smart-ass kid,"
the Colonel grumbled. Face was still smiling as Hannibal ambled away back
to his tent. The smile turned into a far more rueful expression the minute
the older man's back was turned. You are worth it. All of you are worth
it. Just as ordered, Face found himself believing the man who said those
words. And believing in him. Right now, it was more than enough. - end -
AUTHOR'S NOTES: I know, I know, I know. George Peppard's Hannibal doesn't
have a brogue. Liam Neeson's Hannibal does though and it makes me melt
each time. It amuses me to no end that the brogue is there and that
because it's movieverse, the canon can be tilted in a slightly different
direction. Anybody who's got a story about movie-verse Hannibal having
Irish in his background out there? Please? Pretty please? Of course, the
Bible verse our favorite Colonel quotes is from John 15:13.   
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