The greatest way to hurt someone is to make them think they are worthless. - Unknown
Hannibal walked slowly along the path, barely paying attention to his surroundings. Even the cigar hung unlit from his fingers. He was aware of the guys seated by the pool, the sound of their voices, but the words passed by unnoticed.
Five weeks since the shooting and Face was not healing as quickly as expected. Definitely not as quickly as Face wanted. And that was a problem. He was pushing himself too much, too anxious to get back in the game, frustrated at being left behind when the rest of the team went on missions. He didn't care that they were milk runs. He only cared that he wasn't there.
Two days ago Hannibal had a meeting with Stockwell and Face's doctor. It had become routine for the three men to discuss the lieutenant's progress, since Face was still too muddled with pain-killers to follow any discussions for long. At first, Hannibal hadn't been happy including Stockwell, but as he held the purse strings there wasn't much choice. To his credit, Stockwell had rather forcefully informed the doctor that any reports would go through Hannibal, acknowledging that the colonel knew how to deal with his men better than anyone.
Hannibal had gotten Murdock and BA alone that night, tasking Frankie with keeping Face occupied in another room. The doctor's latest news hadn't been good. Even if Face could be convinced to be more patient, do only what he was supposed to, when he was supposed to, it would still be months before all the damage was dealt with. And the plain fact was that he would never be 100 percent.
Hannibal was still stalling, trying to decide how to tell Face, but that morning BA had twisted the knife.
"You gotta tell him, Hannibal. Maybe he can't physically chase the bad guys any more, but he can still give us a better chance of winning. You gotta convince him he can, and 'specially that you know he can. And that ain't gonna be easy. You already been pushing him aside, almost since the day we got here. Giving Murdock the jobs he woulda done, spending time with Frankie 'stead of him. Hell, sometimes you act like he's just another grunt. Why you think he's trying to so hard to get back to work? You have to remember who he was before we got here, and help him be that again. Especially now. Got it?"
BA's way with words was often brutal, but it was what Hannibal had needed. He saw clearly how the dynamic with Face had changed, and suddenly the subtle changes in Face's behavior became billboards. He looked over at the guys, still by the pool. BA was watching him, waiting. He gave him a small smile, nodding as BA started moving Murdock and Frankie toward the house. Yeah.
He got it.