O'Brien's last day and Murdock got up bright and early to make sure he didn't miss the old doctor. Far too early, actually. Five o'clock.

Damn Army habits. O'Brien would be tucked up in bed with his wife for another couple of hours yet. Then a shower, dressing, picking out just the right tie for the last time. A nice breakfast, a leisurely drive to work. Be here around nine maybe.

Murdock would be waiting.

Sitting up, hugging his legs, Murdock thought about Richter. He'd sat in on all Murdock's sessions lately, listening to O'Brien's slow and careful probing. The old guy went deep, Murdock would give him that. Would Richter do the same? Would they continue this slow dance? If they did, then just how long was Murdock going to be here?

He felt ready to go home right now, actually. They'd tweaked the dosages of his medication until he wasn't living in a fog, but he wasn't screaming about bugs in the walls either.

The thump of a wagging tail on the linoleum floor stirred him from his thoughts. Soft woofing noises sounded. Billy was dreaming and Murdock should be dreaming too. He lay down again. Sleep. Hours to go before he comes to say goodbye.

~o~

Hannibal needed sleep, but what he needed most of all right now was breakfast. In fact the whole busload of people wanted the same thing, and they were glad to find Clara and the other women in the kitchen already laying out the food. The smell of freshly baked bread filled the house.

The returning heroes settled down and, despite their triumphant mood, barely spoke two words to each other, all too busy eating. Hannibal would have liked some bacon, but you couldn't have everything, and there was plenty of what they did have. BA seemed to be eating an entire loaf of bread by himself.

Billy wandered from one person to another, begging for scraps with a pathetic 'please feed this poor starving dog' look in his eyes. Hannibal disapproved of that, even though he knew it was their own fault for feeding him scraps around the campfire. Still, he passed the dog a crust or two.

Billy. There's another problem that needed fixing, he thought. A country dog like him wouldn't be at home in LA. And, to be brutally honest about it, he'd be a burden to them. A loyal burden they were all fond of. But still, it needed thinking about.

He took a mug of coffee outside after breakfast, and found Ed and Fred out there, and the girl that Face liked, Bluebell. The twins were assessing the repairs while Bluebell wandered around the edge of the yard, picking flowers and singing. Head full of sunshine and little else, that one, Hannibal thought.

"Guys," Hannibal said, forgetting about the girl and walking up to the men. "We need to get out of here." They looked puzzled, not understanding the rush.

"So soon?" Ed asked. "You're welcome to stay as long as you need to."

"I appreciate that, believe me. But we have things to do."

"Well, where are you heading?" Fred asked. "Let me drive you at least part of the way."

Hannibal hesitated. Never leave a trail. Even people who meant them no harm might still be questioned, or give something away without realising.

"Guys," Bluebell said from behind Hannibal, He turned to find her close by, flowers in her hair and a dreamy look on her face. "I was just thinking. Isn't it about this time of year you normally take a trip to San Francisco to visit your aunt and uncle?"

San Francisco, Hannibal thought. Well, that was an idea. The team could easily make its own way on to LA from there. And if anyone managed to track them as far as the commune, then, as far as Fred and Ed knew, they were in San Francisco.

"There's still a lot of repairs to do here." Ed looked around doubtfully. "Filling in this big hole for one."

"Oh, you're always saying the youngsters need to take more initiative around the place," Bluebell said. "Why not leave Jeffrey in charge? Perhaps he'll turn the big hole into a swimming pool."

Her smile wasn't so dreamy this time, Hannibal thought. More like full of mischief. And he began to wonder if her head wasn't as high in the clouds as he thought.

"Well, I guess..." Ed shrugged and turned to Hannibal. "Is Frisco any good to you, John?"

"Oh, Frisco was always good to me. I left my heart there in fact. Always been meaning to go back and get it."

"That means 'yes'." Face's voice came from the kitchen door. When Hannibal turned to him, Face smiled and nodded. "San Francisco sounds fine to me."

"All right!" Fred rubbed his hands together. "Road trip! Come on, brother, let's round up the goods and chattels and hit the road." He grabbed Ed's arm and pulled him, still arguing, into the house.

"Spontaneous folks, aren't they?" Face said, coming outside.

"Very." Hannibal looked at Face, dressed in fresh clothes now, hair neatly combed and chin closely shaven. "There is one possible problem. Travelling in a school bus with a bunch of flower children, there's a tiny chance we might stand out a little more than usual. Maybe we need to change our appearance a little."

Face smirked as he got the point. "Ah so what you're saying is… If you're going to San Francisco."

Bluebell joined in at once, laughing with him and they both sang the next line.

"Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair."

~o~

Murdock almost missed O'Brien. He came back from watching television in dayroom to find O'Brien checking in on each of his patients on the ward. Saying goodbye.

Murdock wanted to rush up to him, but O'Brien was talking to someone else, and a nurse came and hustled Murdock into his room to wait his turn.

Oh, best thing, he thought. Now he had time to prepare some refreshments for his guest. He got soda out of the fridge, pushing Billy out of the way when he tried to poke his nose into it, then arranged some cookies on a couple of paper plates. After that, he sat on his bed to wait, throwing pieces of cookie for Billy to catch, laughing as the dog jumped for them.

In a while, O'Brien knocked at the half-open door. Murdock slid off the bed to greet him and noticed crunching under his feet. Billy must have missed some of the cookie.

"Hey, Doc, come on in. I would have got you a retirement gift, but they won't let me go to the store. Here, though." He waved a hand at the plate and plastic cup. "Some refreshments."

"Thank you, Murdock, very kind." O'Brien took the offered cup and plate.

"So, Doc, give me the low down. Do you think the rookie's got what it takes to figure me out?"

"Doctor Richter is a very promising man," O'Brien said. "Some of his methods may be a bit unusual," he glanced at the fridge, "but they seem effective."

"Yeah. He'll probably have me fixed up and out of here in another couple of weeks."

The look on O'Brien's face suggested this might not be the case.

"A couple of months?"

"Sit down, Murdock." O'Brien turned and closed the door. Murdock sat heavily on the edge of the bed. This can't be good.

"Murdock." O'Brien came over and sat beside him. "You have made excellent progress. We've adjusted your medication to stabilise you. But there's still a long way to go."

"But, I've been doing good, haven't I?"

"Yes, you've done very well. You've worked hard, and I wish I had longer to work with you. But this takes a long time, Murdock. A long time."

"But... with the meds… If I keep taking them, I don't have to be in here, do I?"

"We need to monitor you longer before we can be sure your medication will be effective long term."

"Oh." Murdock looked down at Billy, who sat at his feet, gazing up at him.

Of course, the doctor may have a point.

O'Brien put his hand on Murdock's shoulder. "Have faith, Captain. I know you can get through this."

"You can... can see that, right? Like in a few months, a year, you can see me being better?"

"I can't see it, because it hasn't happened yet. But I believe it can happen. Murdock, don't think of the future as some light at the end of the tunnel you are struggling towards. Your future is what you build."

He stood up and held out his hand. Murdock rose too and shook the offered hand.

"Good luck, Murdock. And work hard."

"Good luck and take it easy," Murdock said, with a grin. "If you get bored with golf, come and visit me. Plenty of cookies."

"Thank you, I'll do that."

He left the room and Murdock walked across the crumbs on the floor to watch him all the way to the elevator. Then he went back to lie on his bed, looking up at the ceiling he was already much too familiar with.

Better start getting used to this place.

~o~

Fred and Ed loaded the bus with food and camping gear, while Face and Hannibal secured everything for the journey.

The twins kept giving Face and Hannibal odd looks, probably wondering why they'd suddenly taken to dressing in clothes borrowed from the commune, suitably accessorised with headbands and strings of beads.

Hannibal looked up as Face suddenly laughed and pointed out of the back door. Bluebell stood there, carrying a couple of big bags, but Face wasn't laughing at her. BA stood beside her carrying two big boards covered in hooks.

Hannibal laughed too. It wasn't the tie-dyed band with trailing ends that BA wore around his bald head. Nor was it even the heart-shaped sunglasses. No, it was the rows and rows of brightly coloured beads he wore around his neck that sent both of his teammates into a fit of giggles.

"Hey, um, Dan," Face said. "That's a new look for you, isn't it?"

"Shut up, Alvin." BA's scowl belied the message of the large, sunshine yellow peace sign on his shirt.

"They're mine," Bluebell said, climbing aboard. "My stock. I'm coming along to set up my stall at a crafts fair."

"This was the easiest way to carry 'em." BA protested when Hannibal grinned at him again. "I ain't got no hands free."

"Hey, I'm not criticising," Hannibal said. "Looks good on you." BA snorted in response to that and started helping Bluebell load her gear. Hannibal turned to speak to Face quietly.

"You know, this trip could take a few days. This bus is slow and the whole thing is a family outing, so they're in no rush. You okay with that? We could have them drop us off somewhere before San Francisco."

Face looked at him, surprised for a second, though pleased Hannibal was consulting him. Might wear off though, this taking his opinion into account, so he should make the most of it.

"It's okay," Face said. "I know I wanted to get back to LA quick, and yes, I still do. But we're heading in the right direction and we're not walking. And anyway…" His gaze wandered over to Bluebell, securing her display boards. "I think this trip will have its compensations."