Entry One-The A-Team
Title: Safe Secret
Author: Quetzal quetzals_nest
Fandom: The A-Team (2010)
Character: Murdock
Genre: Gen
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1177
Disclaimer: I own nothing
Beta Reader: hexeengel
Author's Note: This is all post-movie, so I’ve tied in some elements from the TV show.
The V.A. hospital was like any institution: it was a large, white building, with not unfriendly-looking staff. The rooms were comfortable and the place was always spotlessly clean.
Murdock rather enjoyed living there.
The ward he lived in was devoted to schizophrenia and dissociative identity. There were not many people in the ward; only about a dozen any given month. The schizophrenics cycled through very quickly. They were given medication, put under observation for a couple weeks, and then there would be a joyous reunion with their family.
Usually, cupcakes were involved.
There were two people that had full-blown cases of dissociative identity. One was an older man who had split sometime after the Vietnam War. He was in the process of integrating, but the nurses would always gossip among themselves, saying that there was no way he would ever leave the ward. He was too old and too stubborn to ever fully integrate.
The other, a younger woman, had refused point-blank to integrate. She had been in Iraq, from what Murdock had learned by listening in on the nurses. However, there was some evidence to suggest she had split before, because in Iraq she had tried to pass as a man named “Gerald” who had been in the Second World War.
Now, however, she had yet another alter who called herself Scorpio. The doctors tried to tell her that she was not even a Scorpio, and that she was born in May. Scorpio did not listen, and insisted that she was indeed a Scorpio. She had then tried to “sting” the psychologist with a filed nail on her hand, laughing as he recoiled.
“There are six of us, besides me,” Scorpio would tell anyone who listened, “There is the host body Marissa, then there is Claire, Gerald, Baby, Peggy, and X, like the letter.”
Murdock had met three of the alters besides Scorpio.
Gerald had fought in WWII as a medic. He had been in France for the most part, until near the end of the war, where he was in Holland.
“I used ta love dem French girls,” Gerald would say, luxuriously smoking on a cigarette, “beautiful girls. Went back every chance ai got. Too old for ‘em now.” He would then learn forward, “It ain’t pretty getting old, Murdock, it ain’t pretty. You’re young still, ya spent too much time here. Get out, get some girls while you still can.”
Baby was a toddler. She didn’t talk very clearly yet. She liked to draw and colour, so her room was always covered in pretty drawings of rainbows and ponies. She adored ponies.
“Mistor Murdock?” She would say in her baby voice, holding out a picture.
“Is this for me?”
She nodded furiously.
“What a pretty...pony?” He turned his head, hoping he had guessed right.
Again, she nodded.
“Well, thank you Baby.”
He had collected a rather small stack of pictures Baby had drawn. Most of the nurses had stacks too.
Faceman had met X first. He had been posing as a doctor to break Murdock out of the hospital.
“Haven’t seen you around here, Doctor,” she was standing in the door frame dressed in a pair of Daisy Dukes and a tight, torn shirt.
“I’m new.”
“Will you be my Doctor?”
“What? No; if you’ll excuse me I need to get to another patient.”
“You know why they call me X?” She chewed on her lip, “Because I’m like a porn star and will do anything.”
At this point, she had jumped up on him, wrapping her legs around his waist as he fought furiously to push her off.
Scorpio, however, was out the most. She was a fascinating creature, Murdock found. She liked to wear shiny PVC when the nurses would let her.
“Afternoon,” She nodded to Murdock as he passed her in the common area of the ward. She had a slight British accent which none of the other alters had. In fact, Marissa had been born in Connecticut.
“I see they let you put on your plastic clothes again.”
She looked down at her red and black cat-suit; “They got tired of fighting with me.”
“Doesn’t that get hot?”
She shrugged, “Not really. The meds they give me make me cold.” Scorpio had been on a type of sleeping pill for the last two months when the other medication had been doing little to get Marissa to come back out. “Who is that man that always comes to get you?”
"Murdock was surprised at that question. He had no idea she noticed how often Face came to bust him out, even if he always returned."
Scorpio leaned forward, hands on her knees, “Are you, you know, gay?”
“What?” He sputtered out, flushing a shade of pink. “What makes you say that?”
“You know, we’re not as unobservant as the doctors here think. Baby knows how to sneak around.” She straightened up. “You know, that isn’t allowed here.”
He slumped down in a chair, “You’re not going to tell on me, are you?”
She waved the words away, “Why would I do that? You know how Gerald talks to the women here and I won’t lie that some of them are intrigued by it.” She laughed again, “Besides, you always play a very specific combination of music when he’s over. Baby heard, and she told me.”
“Who else knows?” He asked quietly.
“Just us, I think. If anyone else knows, they are being incredibly quiet about it.” She stood, “I have to meet with Dr. Bester. She wants to up my pills again. No one is gunna know I talked to you about this.”
“What’s wrong Murdock?” Face asked. They were in the van on another assignment. Hannibal had just lit another cigar, smoking away as he formulated a plan.
“You need to be more careful when you come visit me. Do you remember that girl, X?”
“What about her?”
“She and all the alters know.”
“How the hell did they find out?”
“Baby.”
“Who?”
“One of her alters, the child one that draws all those pictures. She told Scorpio, and now she’s covering for us. You need to be more careful Facey.”
Face sighed, “I still want to know how a toddler figured it out.”
“Baby is smart, she just doesn’t talk much.” Murdock shrugged, “By the way, do you think we could make a quick stop?”
Scorpio found the big, brightly wrapped box on her bed. In fancy script, the tag read: “To Baby”. She placed the box in Baby’s art corner, so that next time she came out, she could open it.
“What do you have there Baby?” Dr. Bester asked one afternoon when she was out.
“Pony...” Baby said, as if Dr. Bester was truly stupid for not realizing it. It was a beautiful toy horse, a beige Clydesdale. It was big and soft and cuddly. Baby liked using it as a pillow.
“Where did you get the pony Baby?”
“Murdock...” She said, “For pictures.”
From somewhere inside Baby, Scorpio smiled. His secret was definitely safe with them.
Author: Quetzal quetzals_nest
Fandom: The A-Team (2010)
Character: Murdock
Genre: Gen
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1177
Disclaimer: I own nothing
Beta Reader: hexeengel
Author's Note: This is all post-movie, so I’ve tied in some elements from the TV show.
The V.A. hospital was like any institution: it was a large, white building, with not unfriendly-looking staff. The rooms were comfortable and the place was always spotlessly clean.
Murdock rather enjoyed living there.
The ward he lived in was devoted to schizophrenia and dissociative identity. There were not many people in the ward; only about a dozen any given month. The schizophrenics cycled through very quickly. They were given medication, put under observation for a couple weeks, and then there would be a joyous reunion with their family.
Usually, cupcakes were involved.
There were two people that had full-blown cases of dissociative identity. One was an older man who had split sometime after the Vietnam War. He was in the process of integrating, but the nurses would always gossip among themselves, saying that there was no way he would ever leave the ward. He was too old and too stubborn to ever fully integrate.
The other, a younger woman, had refused point-blank to integrate. She had been in Iraq, from what Murdock had learned by listening in on the nurses. However, there was some evidence to suggest she had split before, because in Iraq she had tried to pass as a man named “Gerald” who had been in the Second World War.
Now, however, she had yet another alter who called herself Scorpio. The doctors tried to tell her that she was not even a Scorpio, and that she was born in May. Scorpio did not listen, and insisted that she was indeed a Scorpio. She had then tried to “sting” the psychologist with a filed nail on her hand, laughing as he recoiled.
“There are six of us, besides me,” Scorpio would tell anyone who listened, “There is the host body Marissa, then there is Claire, Gerald, Baby, Peggy, and X, like the letter.”
Murdock had met three of the alters besides Scorpio.
Gerald had fought in WWII as a medic. He had been in France for the most part, until near the end of the war, where he was in Holland.
“I used ta love dem French girls,” Gerald would say, luxuriously smoking on a cigarette, “beautiful girls. Went back every chance ai got. Too old for ‘em now.” He would then learn forward, “It ain’t pretty getting old, Murdock, it ain’t pretty. You’re young still, ya spent too much time here. Get out, get some girls while you still can.”
Baby was a toddler. She didn’t talk very clearly yet. She liked to draw and colour, so her room was always covered in pretty drawings of rainbows and ponies. She adored ponies.
“Mistor Murdock?” She would say in her baby voice, holding out a picture.
“Is this for me?”
She nodded furiously.
“What a pretty...pony?” He turned his head, hoping he had guessed right.
Again, she nodded.
“Well, thank you Baby.”
He had collected a rather small stack of pictures Baby had drawn. Most of the nurses had stacks too.
Faceman had met X first. He had been posing as a doctor to break Murdock out of the hospital.
“Haven’t seen you around here, Doctor,” she was standing in the door frame dressed in a pair of Daisy Dukes and a tight, torn shirt.
“I’m new.”
“Will you be my Doctor?”
“What? No; if you’ll excuse me I need to get to another patient.”
“You know why they call me X?” She chewed on her lip, “Because I’m like a porn star and will do anything.”
At this point, she had jumped up on him, wrapping her legs around his waist as he fought furiously to push her off.
Scorpio, however, was out the most. She was a fascinating creature, Murdock found. She liked to wear shiny PVC when the nurses would let her.
“Afternoon,” She nodded to Murdock as he passed her in the common area of the ward. She had a slight British accent which none of the other alters had. In fact, Marissa had been born in Connecticut.
“I see they let you put on your plastic clothes again.”
She looked down at her red and black cat-suit; “They got tired of fighting with me.”
“Doesn’t that get hot?”
She shrugged, “Not really. The meds they give me make me cold.” Scorpio had been on a type of sleeping pill for the last two months when the other medication had been doing little to get Marissa to come back out. “Who is that man that always comes to get you?”
"Murdock was surprised at that question. He had no idea she noticed how often Face came to bust him out, even if he always returned."
Scorpio leaned forward, hands on her knees, “Are you, you know, gay?”
“What?” He sputtered out, flushing a shade of pink. “What makes you say that?”
“You know, we’re not as unobservant as the doctors here think. Baby knows how to sneak around.” She straightened up. “You know, that isn’t allowed here.”
He slumped down in a chair, “You’re not going to tell on me, are you?”
She waved the words away, “Why would I do that? You know how Gerald talks to the women here and I won’t lie that some of them are intrigued by it.” She laughed again, “Besides, you always play a very specific combination of music when he’s over. Baby heard, and she told me.”
“Who else knows?” He asked quietly.
“Just us, I think. If anyone else knows, they are being incredibly quiet about it.” She stood, “I have to meet with Dr. Bester. She wants to up my pills again. No one is gunna know I talked to you about this.”
“What’s wrong Murdock?” Face asked. They were in the van on another assignment. Hannibal had just lit another cigar, smoking away as he formulated a plan.
“You need to be more careful when you come visit me. Do you remember that girl, X?”
“What about her?”
“She and all the alters know.”
“How the hell did they find out?”
“Baby.”
“Who?”
“One of her alters, the child one that draws all those pictures. She told Scorpio, and now she’s covering for us. You need to be more careful Facey.”
Face sighed, “I still want to know how a toddler figured it out.”
“Baby is smart, she just doesn’t talk much.” Murdock shrugged, “By the way, do you think we could make a quick stop?”
Scorpio found the big, brightly wrapped box on her bed. In fancy script, the tag read: “To Baby”. She placed the box in Baby’s art corner, so that next time she came out, she could open it.
“What do you have there Baby?” Dr. Bester asked one afternoon when she was out.
“Pony...” Baby said, as if Dr. Bester was truly stupid for not realizing it. It was a beautiful toy horse, a beige Clydesdale. It was big and soft and cuddly. Baby liked using it as a pillow.
“Where did you get the pony Baby?”
“Murdock...” She said, “For pictures.”
From somewhere inside Baby, Scorpio smiled. His secret was definitely safe with them.