CHRISTMAS 1974

 

 

It almost seemed like a normal Christmas; the type of Christmas he had always thought he would have. Tree in the corner, decorations around the room, turkey waiting to be cooked. All that was missing was his family.

 

Family? He had always thought he would be married by now. Married with children, no doubt. Grown up children at that, maybe even a grandchild toddling around the place. He was just about old enough, wasn’t he? Why not? If Face was young enough to be his son, just about, and Face was more than old enough to have children himself, then he was old enough to be a grandfather.

 

Boy, that made him feel old. 

 

Looking around the room, Hannibal hesitated for a moment, wondering what it would have been like to have had a family. Children running round the place. Noise and excitement. His wife cooking in the kitchen. Presents under the tree. 

 

Now it just seemed too quiet. It was just him, the decorations, the tree and… 

 

“Give me that back. BA! Oh come on big guy. You know I didn’t mean it. I just thought it looked cute.” 

 

Noise flooded the house as the front door opened, three figures stumbling in. 

 

“Get off me, fool.” 

 

“Oh come on, you know you always miss the snow.” 

 

“He’s right, BA. You did say that.” 

 

“I did not!” 

 

“Did too, big guy, even Face remembers. Hey, you okay there, Face?” 

 

“Do I look okay, Murdock? You’re the one who left me with all the bags to bring in. And half of its *your* stuff.” 

 

“Sorry, muchacho.” 

 

“Here, Murdock, you take this bag. They’re your presents anyway. BA, there’re still some more bags in your van. And no peeking in them. It’s supposed to be a surprise. Hey, Hannibal.” 

 

Hannibal couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow and grin as Face staggered through the door into the room. The kid was trying to balance one too many bags in his arms, and Hannibal grabbed the top one before it could fall. It seemed to contain prettily wrapped boxes. Presents of some kind. He couldn’t help but take a closer look and was surprised to find that the top present had his name on it. ‘To Hannibal, from Face’ he read. Intrigued, he put the bag down, picking up the present to see if he could get a clue as to what it was.

 

“Oh, not you too, Hannibal,” Face practically whined making the colonel jump a little. “I’ve had Murdock taunting BA about his presents, and then BA was trying to take a peek at the packages whenever my back was turned. Both of them are acting like little kids. You’re not going to tell me you’re the same way too.” 

 

Hannibal just grinned, putting the present back in the bag. “Of course not, kid.”

 

It was clear that Face didn’t believe him.

 

He quickly changed the subject. “So, what was the snow argument about then? What’s Murdock got now? Not hundreds of little pieces of paper?”  

 

“Nope,” Face replied, bending down to place the wrapped presents under the tree. “Worse. He’s managed to get hold of one of those new fake snow sprays you can get and has been trying to spray BA with it.” 

 

Hannibal glanced out the window and grinned as he watched Murdock chase BA around, trying to find out where BA had hidden the can while they carried the rest of the bags back to the house. 

 

“Sounds like Murdock,” Hannibal said. “Reminds me of a Christmas in Nam, the one just before you came. Murdock got it into his head to shower BA with thousands of little pieces of paper, pretending it was snow. I thought BA was going to kill him. So did Ray.  Of course Ray had reason to worry.  Murdock had taken refuge behind him and the cooking chicken.”

 

Face smiled as he stood up and moved away from the tree. “Ray coming this year?” 

 

Hannibal shook his head. “Murdock got a call from him saying he wouldn’t be able to make it. Something about this being the year Trish finally gives in and says yes.”

  

“Good luck to him, then.” 

 

Hannibal just grinned. 

 

Just then, Murdock and BA rushed back inside, Murdock waiving a package in the air.  “Hey, looky what I’ve got here, BA. ‘To BA, from Face.’ I wonder what that could be.” 

 

“Give it here, fool.”

 

“And have you try and sneak a preview before Christmas? No way.” 

 

And it started again, BA and Murdock back to their friendly bickering. Goading each other over one thing or another. Hannibal just watched as he lit himself another cigar.

 

He knew it was a kind of distraction, especially on Murdock’s part. Even before his breakdown, the pilot had always been known for his distractions: comics, hobbies, random theories that would keep his mind off the war. For a while after the camps those distractions hadn’t been enough though and Murdock had turned to drink.

 

Now, though, BA seemed to be Murdock’s distraction, especially around Christmas time. It was no secret that the big guy missed his mother, especially at this time of year. Murdock, it seemed, had taken it into his head to distract BA from the fact he was away from his mother and blood family, while at the same time managed to distract himself from whatever it was that still haunted his dreams, and sometimes his waking moments. 

 

If the chases through the apartment were anything to go by, Hannibal mused that in some ways, Murdock’s idea had worked.  

 

Hannibal smiled.  Maybe he didn’t need children running around the place. It seemed like his boys were quite capable of making enough commotion between themselves, although he did vow to make sure BA got to meet up with his family next year, even if it was after Christmas. 

 

“You okay there, Hannibal?” 

 

Taking the glass he was offered from Face, he nodded then grinned at the twenty-four year old. Twenty-four? It was strange to think of the kid as being still so young. So much had happened in the past few years, first ‘Nam, then jail, then going on the run. It was easy to forget just how young the kid still was.  

 

“I’m fine,” he replied. 

 

Face just nodded, raising his glass. 

 

“Merry Christmas.” 

 

Hannibal smiled. “Merry Christmas to you too, kid.” 

 

*-*-*

 

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