The flood subsides, and the body, like a worn sea-shell emerges strange and lovely. - D. H. Lawrence
Hannibal watched from the window, frowning slightly. Face was walking slowly along the beach, carefully stooping now and then to pick up a shell, a small stone. He'd been out there most of the morning, and the colonel wasn't dumb. He wouldn't come in until he wanted to talk, and that could take...
Well, he'd make him come in for lunch, anyway.
They had a few days to talk, after all. Just the two of them. No Murdock and his... intensity. No BA threatening Murdock. No Frankie irritating everyone. Best of all, no Stockwell or Ables stalking around.
It would be perfect except for the why.
Why Hannibal had decided the two of them needed to get away from Langley. He sighed. He knew the kid was stressed. Really stressed. Not that Hannibal blamed him. It sucked being stuck at Langley while the general insisted on the rest of team going out on his little 'errands'. Certainly wasn't helping his recovery. But what choice did they have?
Well, this one. Get Face away from that gilded cage, for one thing. Let him relax, maybe get some of that frustration out in the open. And maybe, just maybe, start working on getting his second-in-command back.
It had been way too long since he'd seen him.
*****
Face watched the waves.
In. Out.
In. Out.
They weren't big waves. Not like the ocean, but the large bay was nice, too. What he needed today. It was calming. Peaceful. Quiet.
He smiled. Quiet because it was just him and Hannibal. No Langley. No Murdock driving him nuts with his guilt-driven hovering. No BA being solicitous - which was just plain scary. No listening to Frankie's inane attempts at 'entertaining' him. Best of all, no Stockwell and his Ables.
It would be perfect except for the why.
Why the colonel had suddenly decided they needed to get away. Just the two of them. And right after that last doctor's appointment.
So maybe this was it. Maybe Stockwell wasn't going to be as patient as Hannibal. Get rid of the excess baggage. Hell, maybe Hannibal had made a deal with Stockwell. Give Face his pardon and let him go.
No. No, Hannibal wouldn't do that. He wouldn't just toss him out. Not without talking to him first...
Shit.
*****
It was the third day of their 'vacation'. They were seated at the picnic table under the biggest tree, sipping their morning coffee. Face was rubbing the smooth side of a shell he'd kept, smiling contentedly. Neither had said more than "Morning" yet. They had time. No rush. The sun was barely up, after all.
They'd done a lot of talking yesterday. A lot. Hannibal sighed. So many things Hannibal had thought were long past, so many things he had to explain, yet again. So many new things to discuss.
Face straightened in his chair. Carefully yet. He smiled ruefully at Hannibal's frown.
"Couple more weeks, right?"
Hannibal nodded. "Yeah. Limited duty, remember. But..."
"Better than sitting on my ass while you guys get shot at."
The colonel chuckled. "You'll have plenty to do in the meantime. We have to be ready, one way or another."
"You sure about that? I mean, the 'one way or another'?"
"With you setting up the contingencies? No doubt at all. And I know the others will agree. We're all ready for this to end."
Face nibbled at his lip. "What about the medical bills? I mean, they aren't going to go away. Not for a while yet."
That had been the one they hadn't talked about. It could be months before all the 'fine-tuning', as Murdock put it, was finished. Hannibal knew he could work that in with the pardons. If they just walked out...
He smiled. "Don't worry about it. I talked to your sister yesterday."
"Hannibal - "
The colonel scowled. "I didn't ask her for anything. She just wanted to know how you were getting along. But she had some news."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. AJ didn't leave you two high and dry after all. She told me about a couple of Swiss bank accounts..."
FINI