Part two: Murdock

"That was amazing!" Murdock announced as he bounced out of movie theatre. His energy seemed to be boundless and he turned to look at his companion. His eyes were dancing, excited by the movie and the endless runs of songs now playing through his head.

"It was alright," Face laughed, shrugging his shoulders. He'd found something more interesting when a group of pretty girls had sat down next to them. He glanced back over his shoulder, looking for the group that the girl that had been directly next to him. Blonde, long eye lashes, and a pretty complexion… He could allow himself that, right? Maybe, just maybe, he could forget his nightmares for just a few minutes.

"Alright?" Murdock howled, his expression exaggerated. "Just alright, Faceman? It was awesome! I liked the little people… The Oompa Loompas."

"Yeah, they were great, buddy," Face answered distantly, eyes scanning the crowd.

"Oooh," Murdock murmured, propping an elbow up on his friend's shoulder. "You're looking for the pretty lady on your other side?"

Face grinned, nodded, and continued looking. The pilot at his side joined in on his grin and pointed. "There she is, isn't she?"

"Yeah," the shorter man acknowledged, watching the pretty girl stride towards them. She smiled and batted her eyes.

"Hiya. Couldn't help but notice that you weren't watching much of the movie," she said, her voice light and airy.

Murdock hid a smile as he watched the conman work his magic. The girl giggled as Face whispered something into her ear and the pilot turned to find her dark haired friend next to him. He felt a blush creeping up to his cheeks as she inched closer. "So what's your name, handsome?" she asked.

"HM," Murdock managed, feeling awkward all of a sudden.

She smiled, her teeth white and pearly. "What do you do, HM? Are you a student? You from around here?"

"Nah, I'm out of Texas originally, and I finished up school several years ago. I'm a pilot."

"Pilot?" the girl echoed, her interest peeked. "Jane, you hear him? He's a pilot!" she called to the blonde girl. She turned back to Murdock."Who do you fly for, Captain HM?"

"United States Army," Murdock responded proudly. "We're on leave over here after a rough patch in 'Nam."

Her entire expression changed and she took a step away from him. "Army? You're a baby-killer?" she asked with her nose wrinkled.

"Hey now," Face said from his place. "You don't know a thing about it, lady."

"Bullshit we, don't," Jane, the blonde, growled out, stepping away from Face. "We've seen the video on the news. We know what you people do over there. You're horrible! You should all be put on trial for what you've done."

The conman glanced over to Murdock who had grown very quiet. The pilot tugged his cap down over his eyes and pulled his bomber jacket closer to his body. "Ya know," he said quietly, but firmly. All eyes turned to him and he glanced up, feeling awful sore suddenly and just wanting to get out of there. These women didn't know, after all, because they'd never seen it. They heard what the news told them, they knew what their fellow hippies said… "You don't know," he said at last. "You've never been there. You've never seen what we have to do to protect our teams… the civilians there. You don't see what the VC do to those people. You don't know!"

Face's blue eyes widened a bit and he put a steadying hand on Murdock's shoulder. He knew the haunted look that was currently residing in the expressive brown eyes. It was the same look he saw in them when he rushed in checking on the lanky pilot when he woke up screaming. It was the look of a man who'd seen hell on earth. It was a look that appeared very strange on HM Murdock. "C'mon, buddy, let's head out."

Murdock's dark eyes followed the blonde and brunette as they wrinkled their noses and turned away. "They don't know anything. It doesn't matter," he heard Face say, but he was wrong. He knew he was wrong. It wasn't that those two particular women held any deep influence against him, but they did appear to be a generalization of their generation. It hurt, somehow, that they'd worked so hard and sacrificed so much only to come home to this.

Face sighed and slung an arm around his taller friend's shoulder. "Are you proud of what we've done?" he asked seriously as they began walking.

Murdock thought for a moment, face very serious. The expression looked foreign on his playful features. "I'm proud to serve my country," he said at last, sounding very sure, "and with my team."

"There ya go. It doesn't matter what they think then," the conman answered with a grin. He received no response from the pilot and the silence bothered him. He stopped and turned to face his friend. "Murdock, are you okay? Really okay, I mean. We… went through a lot… I know you don't remember a lot of it, and I'm not asking you to, but those sorts of things can mess with your head, you know?"

A strange sort of smile spread across Murdock's lips. "I think so, Face," he said genuinely. "I dream a lot, but I bet you do too, don'tcha? I think I'll be okay as long as I've got ya'll around."

Face nodded, accepting the answer and the two men walked on.

They had three weeks left on their leave time, and then they'd be right back into it. Murdock was a little more comfortable with that idea after coming to his own revelations within his own mind. True, he'd probably always wake up to his own screams and only pieces of what had happened in the dark of the Vietnamese jungles that he may or may not ever put together to make a whole memory. He wasn't sure he wanted to. In any case, he had his team and his team would have him. If the entire world turned its back on them, at least he knew that would be a constant truth.