"Happy new year, Face!" Murdock said as Face shuffled into the kitchen on the 1^st of January. Decker and Murdock were already in there, Decker at a counter, making breakfast, Murdock sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee. Face flopped into a seat at the table and put his head down on his arms.

"Face?"

Face looked up blearily at Murdock.

"You look awful." Murdock told him.

"Well thank you, Captain Obvious." Face said, his voice very hoarse. He didn't need to be told this. He'd already caught a glimpse of his pale, gaunt face and bloodshot eyes in the mirror in his bedroom. He'd looked away quickly.

"Captain Obvious?" Murdock grinned.

Decker came over and put a cup of coffee in front of Face, looked down at him with little sympathy.

"He drank too much." Murdock said. Decker just shook his head and went back to making breakfast. Face managed to raise enough strength to pull the cup in close. He sipped the coffee. That soothed his throat, which was raw and sore. The heat made his nose start to run. He wiped it on his sleeve.

"It was a good party though." Murdock said, smiling.

Yeah, Face thought, what he could remember of it. He remembered music. He remembered dancing. He remembered drinking a lot of the wine and beer they had carefully saved up for the holiday season.

And he remembered going into the radio room.

Face groaned and put his head down again. That's where it had all gone wrong. He'd only wanted to say "happy new year" to Shila. He was vaguely aware at the time that he might just be a tiny bit too drunk to flirt with his usual panache. But it didn't matter anyway, because she wasn't there. Captain Baker was instead.

Face sure didn't want to flirt with him, but even so he couldn't make himself stop talking. A small, sober part of his mind began jumping up and down, waving its arms and yelling "no!" as Face's mouth started asking Baker if Shila was cute, how old she was and if he, Baker, thought that she, Shila, would go on a date with him, Face. Baker replied that he really couldn't comment on Shila's age and appearance, and Face, too drunk to detect the sub zero tone in the Mountie's voice, had chuckled a bit and asked if Baker was trying to keep her to himself.

Face groaned again. No, you dummy, he just doesn't like the idea of a wanted criminal, a foreign one at that, trying to chat up his staff, no doubt for nefarious purposes. When he remembered it now he could hear the ice in Baker's voice as he'd said Face should probably get to bed, that Face sounded very... tired.

Face was certainly tired this morning. Genuinely tired now, not "tired and emotional". Garbage detail was his job today. He planned to get that out of the way fast and go back to bed. Take some damn strong painkillers first though, for his head and his aching joints. Well, if he ever got up off this chair. He wasn't inclined to do so just yet. Maybe if he was lucky he could sleep through till spring, just hibernate. Sounds like a plan.

Decker spoke, making Face wince. Decker's voice was too loud for Face's sensitive head. "It's almost ten o'clock. I'm waking Smith and Baracus up." His voice faded away as he left, muttering about chores to do. Face managed to raise his head, and then stand up.

"I need something for this headache," he said to Murdock. "You need anything?"

Murdock shook his head. "I'm not hung-over, even though I drank as much as you. That must be infuriating."

"Um, yeah." Face frowned at him. "Yeah, it is."

He turned and dizziness washed over him, making his grab at the chair. After a second he pulled himself together. Really should eat something, he thought. Painkillers first though. That was the priority.

Walk. Infirmary is next door to the kitchen, he knew that. Need keys first though, for drugs cabinet. He rubbed a hand over his face. He was sweating. Was it too warm in here? That was unlikely. The keys were in the office. Face paused at the door, frowning. So... which way was the office again? He swayed.

"Face?" Murdock's voice came from a long way off behind Face. The door frame tilted and bent at a crazy angle, the floor reared up and threw him backwards. And the last thing he remembered after he hit the tiles on his back was Murdock bending over him, calling his name and then turning and yelling, "Decker!"

~~~~

"He's coming around." BA said.

Murdock turned away from the drugs cabinet and hurried over to where Face was stirring on the examination table in the infirmary.

"Hey, buddy," Murdock said, plastering a forced attempt at a reassuring smile on his face. "How you doing?"

"What happened?" Face said, in a whisper. He put a hand up to his throat and winced.

"You fainted," Murdock said. "Here, pop this under your tongue." He put a thermometer into Face's mouth.

"I 'idnt 'aint." Face took the thermometer out, tried again. "I didn't faint."

"Think so, Face. One second walking, next second flat on your back."

"Then I passed out." Face insisted, in a croak. "I didn't faint."

Murdock rolled his eyes. "Okay, sorry. You passed out, in a completely manly way. Now eat your lollipop." He put the thermometer back in Face's mouth. Face left it there this time.

"Did he hit his head?" BA asked. BA stood by the door, leaning heavily on the door frame. He had a blanket wrapped around him, and looked awful. His skin was grey and sweating. Murdock could see him shaking.

"Sit down, will you," Murdock said. He and Decker had hauled Face up onto the table easily enough, but he didn't fancy doing the same with BA.

BA staggered over to a chair and flopped into it.

"Did he hit his head?"

"Don't think so." Murdock had already felt around the back of Face's head and found no bumps or blood.

Decker came into the infirmary from the corridor. "Smith's sick too. Fever, aching all over, headache. I told him to stay in bed and -"

"Get outta the way, Decker." A croaky voice came from the doorway and Hannibal pushed Decker aside to get into the infirmary. Like BA Hannibal had a blanket wrapped around him, over a red flannel union suit. He wore no shoes, his feet encased in thick woolly socks. Decker scowled.

"And of course he didn't take any notice of me."

Hannibal glanced at BA and went over to Face. He took out the thermometer.

"Hundred and two point six. Get him to bed, Murdock."

"I'm not that - " Murdock began and thought better of it. He noticed Hannibal was leaning very heavily on the examination table. "You and BA too, Colonel. Looks like you've all got the flu." He smiled at Face. "And of course having a beast of a hangover doesn't exactly help."

"Yeah, yeah." Hannibal said. He staggered backwards to sit on a chair. "I'll go in a second there..."

"Come on, Face," Murdock said, "Let's get you to bed before you faint - sorry, I mean pass out, again. Then you two are next." He glanced at Hannibal and BA, and then looked at Decker. "Wanna give me a hand here, Colonel?"