I remembered it, but I didn't think about it. - Hannibal
His mama was bustling around the apartment preparing for the celebration party tonight - friends from the neighborhood, and relatives BA hadn't seen in years. He wanted to see them all, and yet he was nervous. After all, he was still a convicted murderer, even if he did have that pardon. She didn't see it that way. This was the celebration he should have had when the war ended, when he came home a decorated hero. She'd never believed that robbery nonsense, let alone a murder conviction! She was equally convinced that no one else who knew her or BA believed it either.
BA had driven north to visit his mother for a couple weeks; the others had flown back to California. Hannibal had gone to Bad Rock, of course. Murdock was working with Richter and some lawyer to try and become a legally licensed pilot again. Frankie was running around the studios, hoping to get back into special effects. He still hadn't decided if he wanted to keep working with the team or not.
While he was more than happy to visit his mother without having to watch for the military, he was restless. He'd expected the team to go back to LA, set up shop, and get back to doing what they did best. Instead, Hannibal suggested taking some time off first. BA thought he understood when he found out about Bad Rock. Made sense. But it wasn't until Murdock started talking about his license that he really understood. The colonel was still in 'Stockwell mode' - pretending the crazy man wasn't crazy anymore. BA still wasn't sure about all the stuff he'd had Murdock doing back East.
He knew Face felt like he did - just get back to work, back to being themselves, free of Stockwell. So when Hannibal told him Face had disappeared almost as soon as they hit the tarmac, BA knew why. Intent on reconnecting with his list of contacts, getting the groundwork done. BA hated to admit it, but he'd felt good when Hannibal got caught in Hong Kong. Not that he'd gotten caught - hell, no. But it was good to see Face act like the XO again. The man needed that bad.
He wandered around the neighborhood for a while before heading for the lake. His mother, finally running out of patience with his attempts to help prepare for the party, had shooed him out of the apartment. He sat on a bench and watched the ships off in the distance. Idly, he thought about getting a job on the docks. Or maybe aboard ship. Ships needed good mechanics as much as cars did, after all. He dismissed the idea, of course. His place was with the team.
Maybe. He sighed, watching the ships again. He thought back to the way they'd been in Nam. Didn't matter what happened - good or bad - they were in sync. They kept each other on an even keel, pulled each other up when things went south, kept each other safe when the Jazz blew up...
Hadn't been like that for a long time. Before the escape from Bragg - that was tough. Not knowing what had happened to Murdock or why, the frustration about Morrison's orders... Afterwards wasn't that much easier. Helluva lot different operating in LA than Nam. But then they found Murdock, and started taking jobs the cops couldn't touch. Doing what they knew.
But it still wasn't the same. Underneath it all was that simmering anger. The bitterness. Tried to put it down, keep it down, but... And each year that passed, with their situation never changing, losing hope it ever would, they started slowly drifting apart. About the only time they'd gotten together was for jobs or training. Otherwise, hell, they barely let each other know what they were doing.
He looked at his watch, shook his head and started for home. He'd have just time to clean up before all those people started coming. See how many would welcome him 'back', how many would be polite only for Mama's sake...
How many would even bother to show up.