Rescue Mission: Recovery

[notjustaface]

As far as hiding places go, there are worse places to recuperate than a hotel in Mumbai. At least it's quiet (for a developed city in India) the boss has been content to let Murdock take after him until he can make his way around the small room on his crutches without difficulty.

He's standing by the window, watching the city sprawl out around them when the door opens, expecting Murdock to be returning from the nearby market. "Oh, did you bring back any books this time?"

"I'm afraid I haven't got much in the way of reading material." Hannibal replies with a shallow half-laugh.

"Sorry, Boss, thought Murdock came back."

"Not yet." Hannibal shakes his head when Face turns toward him and crutches toward the end of the bed. "Good to see you up and about."

"Yeah, well... you know how it is. I'll be back on my feet in no time."

A long silence passes between them as Face settles himself at the foot of the firm bed, watching the colonel with thinly veiled interest. It was clear he didn't come to check on him, there was always something else.

Finally, Hannibal says; "We need to talk about Baghdad."

"Really? Because I was under the impression that job was done - with a ten thousand dollar bonus I might add."

"You killed an officer..."

"Who was aiming to take down the chopper! I saved your ass!"

Hannibal frowns deeper; "Your orders were shoot to disarm."

"I couldn't get a better shot, colonel. I made the right call."

A long silence falls between them before Hannibal says; "Murdock disobeyed a direct order when he waited before taking off."

"He doesn't believe in leaving a man behind. None of us do." He raises his eyes up to their leader; "At least I never thought you did."

"We all knew it had to be an option on this one..."

"You're seriously not still making a big deal out of thirty seconds..." Face shakes his head; "He made a decision and everything worked out fine."

"Thirty seconds our whole team was in danger, two civilians..."

"Well... it worked out fine." He shrugs, leaning back on his arms. "And you really need to back up off Murdock about it. He did the right thing."

"He did the stupid thing. You two are a liability the way you're carrying on..."

"Oh!" He says loudly, rolling his eyes; "Now I see what you're really talking about here. This isn't about Baghdad... this is about you hating our relationship!"

"I don't hate it, damn it Peck..." Hannibal sits down heavily in the single chair in the room, glaring at him; "I hate that you two can't look beyond yourselves and see the bigger picture."

"I see the big picture just fine. I see this being over, I see us getting out of this..."

"Until we clear our names..."

Laughing loudly, Face shakes his head. "You don't get it, do you? I'm ready to walk away. The only reason I came back is because Murdock is convinced it's right thing to do and that you can actually fix things."

"That is just like you..." He scowls, "always ready to cut and run when things get tough."

He shrugs again; "I just call it like I see it, boss. There's no way out of this mess. They're just gonna keep coming after us until we have no choice."

"Always so pessimistic... we can do this! We have people on our side, people that know what happened to us was wrong!"

"Fine," Face sighs, "you know what, you keep believing that. And, you know, I'm not going anywhere because Murdock believes that and I'm gonna watch his back." He leans back on the bed, swallowing hard; "If you can't stand the fact that we're gonna watch out for each other, then cut us loose, Colonel. I'll leave that on your hands, but you need to just get over what happened in Baghdad."

Hannibal doesn't respond. He stands up slowly and shakes his head, silently passing by Murdock as he leaves their room to go back to his own.

Comments

[notjustaface]

Turning over in itself is an exercise in not letting it show just how long it had been since he'd taken his pain killers as his weight brushed against the gauze covering his graze. Landing on his back, he let out a held breath.

"I... I think I managed that." He laughs, smiling over at him before popping open the button on his fly. "Did I earn more than a kiss?"

[notthatcrazy]

"Oooh yes."

He rests his hand on his his partner's hip again, taking the time to just look at him. Even a bit battered and worse for wear, he's still, well... beautiful.

"Let's take it nice and easy though... you look like you're still pretty sore."

[notjustaface]

"I was shot and broke my ankle three days ago..." he snorts, wiggling closer to kiss him.

"Pretty sure I'm not going to be running the mile or getting down on my knees any time soon."

[notthatcrazy]

"If you'd stop bein' a stubborn ass and take your painkillers, you'd be feelin' better."

He gives him a stern look before kissing him tenderly.

"Maybe we can get some endorphins goin' though, huh?"

[notjustaface]

"Endorphins... good." He murmurs against Murdock's kiss; "Pain killers make me sleepy, I'd rather remember every minute."

If he can't persuade him with sweet talk, he'll be bluntly honest. He doesn't like not feeling in control of his body.

[notthatcrazy]

"Aw, babe. You don't wanna talk to the boss about gettin' some pills that don't make you feel so fuzzy?"

The weaker stuff probably wouldn't help as much, but it might take the edge off a little. He knows how set in his ways Face is, though, so he's not expecting him to go for it.

"Well anyway... lemme chase those aches and pains away."

[notjustaface]

"I'll be fine..." he protests anyway, reaching for him to squeeze a strong hand around Murdock's shoulder. "Promise. You take good care of me."

Great care, even. All things considered, he didn't much like being babied but Murdock was good to him. Good for him.

"You've got a great bedside manner."

[notthatcrazy]

"Of course you will." Comments about his bedside manner aside.

Hooking a finger under his waistband, he pulls Face's jeans further down his hips..

"Tell me if this hurts."

[notjustaface]

Letting out a soft murmur of approval, Face lifts his hips as best as he can and lets the weight rest on his good leg.

"I will... I'm a pretty tough guy, you know?"

[notthatcrazy]

"I know, but that doesn't mean you have to be tough when it's painful."

He gives him a look as he eases his jeans all the way down.

[notjustaface]

He sees that look, Murdock... but he's a little distracted between the ache when it comes to maneuvering the jeans over his brace and the fact that he's getting very close to naked times.

Settling back against the mattress with a grin, he mutters; "Yes, Dear..."

[notthatcrazy]

It's a loving look, really. One that clearly says 'stop being pigheaded and let me make you feel better.'

"Don't you 'yes dear' me," he teases, still smiling as he finally gets rid of the pants. Face's bad ankle gets an extra-gentle whisper of a touch before he moves back to rest his hands on his chest.

[notjustaface]

Letting out a soft groan, Face closes his eyes and reaches for him - caressing gently.

"Right... right... yeah..." he chuckles, rolling his eyes. "Thank you for taking care of me."

[notthatcrazy]

"You're welcome, baby."

He quickly sheds his own clothing to lie down beside him, letting his hands roam.

"I love you."

[notjustaface]

He can't help but purr as Murdock's hands trace warm trails over his skin - he never realized just how much he would miss having that touch whenever he wanted until they were yet again in a position where they went days without that delightful touch.

"Love you too..." he sighs, licking his lips. "Kiss me?"

[notthatcrazy]

He does kind of love being able to take his time. He kisses him deeply, rubbing his shoulders some more.

"So how do you want to do this?"

The injured leg makes it just a little awkward.

[notjustaface]

Sighing into each warm kiss, he nips at his lower lip - pushing back against him as best as he can.

"Any way we can manage..." he chuckles, kissing him again.

[notthatcrazy]

After a few highly enjoyable moments, he pulls back to add his kisses to the gentle touches, anywhere he can reach.

"Gotta bow to your expertise in this situation," he smiles, ruffling his hair affectionately.

[notjustaface]

"Oh, so now I'm the consulting expert?" He raises a wry eyebrow, catching his lips again for another sweet kiss.

"We'll work it out..." he murmurs; "what are you in the mood for?"

[notthatcrazy]

"Yep."

Like it or not, Face does have more experience in the whole bedroom area.

"Anything you want... I don't wanna hurt you."

[notjustaface]

His eyes softening, he trails his fingers over Murdock's wrists and murmurs; "You're not gonna hurt me... promise."

Letting his touch linger while his brain traipses over the possibilities, he comes to an easy conclusion; "You could always ride me..."

[notthatcrazy]

"Hmm..."

He runs a hand down his leg, still continuing the rubdown.

"Sounds pretty good to me."

[notjustaface]

"And before that..." he purrs, pushing into the touch as best he can.

"Well, I'm sure we can use our imaginations..."

[notthatcrazy]

"Yes, we can."

He moves his hand inward, tracing the line between his hip and thigh, before leaning over him to nuzzle his neck.

"This good for you?"

He's being overcautious, he knows, but he wants to make sure.

[notjustaface]

The gentle rake of stubble on his neck does almost more for him than the touch slowly working it's way down lower, drawing out his arousal with obvious intent.

"Everything you do to me is good... just wish I could be pinning you down right now."