Title: Weapons Grade Smile

By: Junkfoodmonkey

Rated: G

Summary A little fifth season musing from Murdock. Very short and hopefully sweet.

Disclaimer: The A-Team doesn't belong to me, I'm not making any money from this.

Weapons Grade Smile

Murdock stretched to look at the dashboard clock. 4:16am. It was very quiet in the van, he and BA were the only ones awake. The only sounds were occasional soft murmurs from Frankie in the back of the van. Face and Hannibal slept in trained silence.

“Hey, big guy, how much longer?” Murdock asked quietly.

“Coupla hours.”

“Think Stockwell will have made us pancakes for breakfast?”

BA just gave a grunt in reply to this and Murdock fell silent again and tried to doze off. He folded his legs up to his chest, turned sideways in the seat, curling up into a ball. Opposite him Face stirred a little in his sleep, and as Murdock watched expressions flickered across his face, each transient, gone almost before they were there, a fleeting frown, a grimace, then, just for a second the ghost of a smile. Murdock watched intently, fascinated, but Face became still again. Murdock gave a sigh, he’d have liked that last one to stay a bit longer, the smile. It was so rare now. Since they had come under Stockwell’s “protection” the team had changed, Face perhaps most of all. He was more subdued and serious and most noticeably he didn’t smile as much.

Murdock considered Face’s smile. Or rather his Smile. It had always deserved the capital letter. Face had told him once that it was the most powerful weapon he had, both as a conman and with women. Very few, marks or women, could resist it. Murdock had never been able to resist it either, had always done whatever he could to make it happen. And not just the weapon Smile, the real one. The Smile that appeared when Face was on the jazz, which he loved as much as Hannibal, despite his complaints, the Smile he gave his team-mates when the plan did come together.

Only last week Murdock had asked BA if he had noticed that Face didn’t smile as much now. BA of course had called him a fool, soft in the head and said he had better things to do than monitor the Lieutenant’s facial expressions. But then he’d said, quietly. “Yeah. I’d noticed.” A moment later he added. “Guess none of us got much to smile about right now.” Then he’d gone off to work on the van, his usual retreat, clearly feeling he’d revealed enough emotion for the day.

The movement of the van finally lulled Murdock into a doze, until he was jolted awake by the sound of the side door of the van sliding open.

“Wake up, Murdock,” Face said, “It’s your stop.”

Murdock blinked sleepily out of the door, recognising the entrance to his apartment block and moved to get out of the van, past Face.

“Get some rest, Captain.” Hannibal said, through the open window of the passenger door.

“Yeah,” Murdock, said, stretching, turned to go in, then turned back to the van. “Hey, why don’t you guys come in for breakfast? I’ll make pancakes.”

“Stockwell’s gonna be waiting for our report,” Hannibal said.

“Nuts to Stockwell.” Murdock said – and he almost missed it because he was still looking at Hannibal - but it happened suddenly, brightening the grey early morning like sunlight breaking through cloud. Face smiled.

And he kept on smiling as they all sat around Murdock’s kitchen table eating pancakes.

end