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A near death experience makes Jack remember unpleasant memories from his past. Origin Story for Jack and Diane.

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I am an American Special Forces Soldier! A professional!

The sounds of my ears ringing was deafening. It was like as if someone put old rotary phones in my head and called them all at once. My vision is beyond blurry, and the sudden darkness does not help. I stare at what I believe is the remains of a poorly lit exit sign as it flashes. I try to look around and take in my surroundings but the moment I move my head I feel dizzy, and uneasy. I can not tell if the floor below is stable. I feel like I'm rocking back and forth then side to side. I try to push the rock off my chest and the pain paralyzes me. Even though I can not hear I'm sure I screamed. I try and feel the urge to cough unsuccessfully. The pain makes me more dizzy. I am unable to move my legs I think they're also buried by rocks. As I feel start cough I taste my own blood. I hope that I've only bit my tongue and li and this blood is not coming from somewhere deeper. Ignorance is bliss... and short lived. I cough up more blood and the metallic taste stains my tongue and makes me nauseous.

I lift my head and try to do my own blood sweep. Check my own injuries. My hands are bloody but I'm cannot see where it's coming. My head falls back I'm too weak to hold it up.

"Oh my god, Jack..." I see Mac he does not look good. I can see the fear in his eyes. I try to speak but I cough up more blood.

Oh man... this is bad. Everything gets dark and I feel alone. I try to relax and accept death as I have before. I hope Mac and Riley are okay and don't do anything crazy trying to get me. I'm a goner. I hope they get to safety.

"You gonna stay down there forever, JJ?" My eyes shoot open at the familiar voice. No one has called me that in at least twenty years.

"Dad?" I see my dad standing above me. I quickly look around again. Surveying my new surroundings. "What the... what's going on?" I say using his help to stand. "Am I dead?" I ask sill looking around. I'm in a park. The grass is the greenest I've ever seen. The sky was the perfect blue with just a few clouds. My father wanders over to the only bench I can see.

"You're pretty damn close. Only time will tell. Come sit," he says opening up a newspaper.

"Sit? Where the hell are we?" I ask. I cannot help but panic. No matter how far I run or walk away the moment I turn around it's like I have not moved at all. My father is just casually reading a newspaper on the bench. It's a daunting image reminding me of my childhood.

I remember eating cereal with my sister as we got ready for school. My father would sit next to us reading the newspaper telling us what's wrong with the world. How it's ever changing would make us weak and a target.

"Quit thinking and come sit," he said putting the paper in his lap.

"Wha..." I stutter. My brain still is unable to process what's going on. I can feel a breeze. I can take a deep breath and there's no pain. There's no blood in my mouth. I do another blood sweep and there's no blood. I lift my shirt and there's no cuts, no bruises, no broken bruises... even the scars I've earned over the years are gone. I put my shirt back down and notice it's clean. The chili stain from a well deserved gas station chili dog gone. Mystery grease stains gone.

"Man, you are hard headed as ever, boy. Come sit." My father says grabbing my arm. Normally I would've pulled away but I can feel my him touching me. My fathers been dead for ten years. I reach out hugging my dad. "You gotta sit."

"Huh? Okay..." I say shaking my head fighting my tears. I can take my eyes over my dad. He's younger than I remember. He was very sick when he died, but he looks great now.

As I sit down on the bench our surrounding change again. My father seems totally oblivious as he begins reading his newspaper.

It went from a beautiful sunny day to a chilly rainy night. The poorly lit street lights flickered and the full moon gave us enough light to see.

"Where are we?" I ask wincing from the rain hitting me in my face. I can't tell if it looks familiar or if I've thought about it so hard... I'm confused. "What about Mac and Riley? Are they okay?" I ask my father who smiles. He continues to read the paper that remains dry like my dad.

Before he answers a car drives past us. The muffler made my ears ring again. I wince but feel no pain. The car was loud and dingy. The car pulls up to the only house I can see. The is rusty and barely a bumper. I approach the vehicle. It looks familiar. The front panel is a different color than the rest of the car.

"Come here, baby." I hear a soft voice say. A child begins to groan, probably asleep.

"Diane!" I shout. Her curly hair almost acting as a soft pillow for little Riley.

"She can't hear you." My father finally speaks. I see Diane's mother and father run out to greet her. Her father, Al, takes little Riley inside. Diane's mother Dorothy just holds Diane as she cries.

"What is going on?!" I yell to my dad. "One second in dying and now what? We are time traveling? What year is it?" I ask, and my dad throws his newspaper to me.

"Don't yell at me, JJ."

"1994?" I ask studying the newspaper. "Diane?!" I chase after her as she runs inside to escape the rain. Once inside I run right into my father. "Wha..."

"She can't hear you."

"Let me see." Dorothy says inspecting Diane's bruises. Seeing the bruises make my stomach turn and blood boil.

"They look worse then they appear." I can see her hands shaking. Dorothy wipes Diane's tears away.

"You did the right thing. He's no good. You and Riley can stay as long as you want."

"I know... I know... I'm going to get to it together. Get my life together. Tomorrow I'll go into town, and I'll get a job." She says standing. She has always been a force to be reckoned with. "I'll save up get us a house with a big yard for Riley. I'm going to focus on just her and I." Diane cries as her voice begins to fail her. Tears begin streaming down her cheeks. "What if he finds us? What if..." she breaks down crying into her mother's arm.

"What is going on?!" I say I can feel myself getting angrier and angrier. As I turn around to face my father our surrounding have changed yet again.

"Relax."

"Where are we now?" I ask in a loud panic. Louder than I had wanted.

"Dalton? You alright?" My head snaps in another direction hearing yet another voice.

"Major Bradley?" I whisper.

"He's not a major yet." My dad answers.

"I'm alright. Just tired, sir." I watch myself as a younger version of me walks off the giant military plane.

Damn! I look so young. No wrinkles. A good ol' high tight hair cut. My uniform is a little dirty, but man oh man. I'm a looker.

"Everyone who was apart of the fire fight is getting checked out by medical." Bradley ordered.

"Yes sir," young Jack replied.

Major Bradley was my first delta team leader. The man was a war hero and a super human soldier. I have not seen him in years. To see him upright and talking gave me goosebumps. I watch young Jack carry the rutsack that I remember weighing more than me. Carrying the M60 nicknamed the noisemaker in my other hand as I hobbled to medical.

"Come sit," my father says putting his hand on my back.

"This has to be some kind of hallucination, right? I... I uh, I had to have hit my head. This is all some kind of concussion dream, right? This isn't real?"

"It's as real as you and I."

"You're dead! You... you've been dead, dad." That's it! I feel like I'm in the twilight zone.

"JJ, you're having a near death experience. These are your memories."

"But... Diane?" I stutter again.

"You've talked about how she left her husband and came home. That's just how you imagined it."

"This is my life flashing before my eyes?" I chuckle trying to reel my emotions back.

"Kinda." He shrugs.

"Why start here?"

"Ah... 1994, North Carolina? That's a good question. A question I should ask you." He says with a smug look.

"Ask me? You brought me here."

"Did I?"

"Stop! No Jedi mind shit." I argue and my dad laughs before his voice turn serious.

"You better watch your mouth, boy. I know you think your grown, and I know your scared. I'm here to help you." He scolds me like when I was a boy.

"1994... I was stationed in Bragg and North Carolina. I must've just come back from Somalia. I met Diane here." I say looking down trying not to meet his harsh gaze.

"Oh man... this gonna take a while."

What do you think? Please review! How long were Jack and Diane together for?