Author's Note: Although Percy and Elsie Curtis were first introduced in my stories 'Breakfast Meeting' and 'Light Lunch' it is not essential to read those stories first. Many thanks to Eleri and Patti for betaing and advice.

Quiet Heroes

Elsie watched over her husband's shoulder as he turned the page of the photo album. It had been years since they had last had them out, but a spring cleaning of the bookshelf in the living room had proved them to be in serious need of dusting. Of course she had barely lifted the four albums down when Percy had taken them. She frowned at the dust now lightly coating the surface of her recently polished dining table.

"Have I mentioned this guy?"

Elsie leaned a little closer in, squinting at the small, square black and white photo. "I have no idea. Wait while I get my glasses."

By the time she had located her spectacle case – Percy had the bad habit of putting the newspaper on top of anything lying on the table after he finished reading it – he was huffing and puffing as if she had done something annoying instead of the other way around.

"Well, are you ready?"

She slipped her reading glasses from their case and put them on before pulling a chair up alongside him. There was no point in being uncomfortable. Speaking of which – "How about a cup of tea first?"

"Oh for goodness sake, you just had one a half hour ago!" He was getting all huffy again so she decided to humor him – yet again. If he got into one of his moods it would take him days to get out of it and they were expecting a visit from their son and his family on Saturday. Paul and his father had enough trouble getting along with all the head butting and stamping of feet they did without Percy being in a bad mood to start.

"If you don't want to look…"

There he went again. He had gotten more impatient as the years passed. She gave him a glare over the top of her glasses. "Of course I want to look. I wouldn't have gotten my glasses if I didn't, now would I?" She looked again at the photo he had first shown her. It was clearer now. There was Percy, looking very young and handsome, if a trifle thin, holding a broom handle in one hand and a trash can lid in the other, as if they were a sword and shield. Another equally young man was facing him with matching lid and broom handle. It would have looked like they were in the middle of a battle if it wasn't for the expression on their faces. Elsie peered more closely and smiled as she realized both men were in their pyjamas. Behind them was a Quonset hut, with a group of men standing near its open door, laughing as they watched.

"What on Earth were you doing?"

"That's Andrew. It was when we were forward deployed. I was stationed at an RAF base in England and that's the day before we shipped out. We'd been there for weeks and I struck up quite a friendship with Andrew, but I lost touch with him after that. I've always wondered what happened to him."

Elsie lifted the old album closer. The boy – because that's what they both looked like, boys barely young enough to shave – with Percy had light colored hair and a wide grin on his friendly face. "He looks nice. Was he in the Marine Corps?"

"Nope. He wanted to fly – Air Corps." His smile faltered. "Too many of them died on bombing missions over Germany. Far too many."

"Maybe he didn't. Plenty came back home as well. Why don't you see if you can find out for sure?"

"After all this time? How would I do that?"

She turned the album's pages, seeing the formal group photos of young men, all dressed up and neat in their uniforms, in ordered rows staring solemnly at the camera, and thought about how for many these were the last photos their mothers would have of them. Perhaps Andrew's family was out there somewhere with a similar photo lying forgotten in a dusty album?

"You should find out what happened to him." Elsie said it with conviction, sure that it was the right thing to do. And when Percy did find Andrew or his family, she would see they got a copy of this picture and could remember the man when he was young and carefree, before the war caught up with him.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

"I don't know where to go next." Percy threw the letter he'd just received down and took off his glasses. "It's another dead end."

"Surely there's somewhere else?"

Shaking his head, Percy picked up his discarded fork. "I can't think where." He took a mouthful of salad and chewed. "It's li…"

"Don't talk with your mouth full!"

He chewed a couple more times, swallowed and began again. "It's like Andrew vanished off the face of the Earth. All I've found out is that he was shot down over Germany during a bombing raid and was a POW. I think he probably died in the camp."

"But wouldn't there be records if he died as a POW?" Elsie asked.

"I thought there would be, but I suppose I don't have enough information so…" Percy picked the letter up again, putting his glasses back on. With its official wording and impressive letterhead he had only given it a quick glance when he first opened it, but maybe there was something he'd missed. "This doesn't say Andrew died, just that there is no further information on him." He read further. "They moved the records in 1959 and it says some might have been lost – and in the 70's as well - and in 1995." He looked over the top of his spectacles at his wife. "That's a lot of moving. I can see how some records may have been lost."

"You should ask Paul."

"And why should I do that?"

"He could look it up on his computer – google it."

"I don't need my son's help. I don't have to rely on a computer for everything."

Pushing her chair back, Elsie began clearing their lunch dishes from the table. "Paul and Judy would be happy to help, you know."

"He's never shown any interest in things like this before, so why would he now? I asked if he wanted to look at my photos and he said they were boring."

"He was twelve!" The plates clattered together as Elsie virtually threw them onto the kitchen counter. "Of course he thought they were boring. And you never asked him to look at them again.. He was saying just the other week how he wanted to know more about our family history. I think now he's got children of his own he understands the importance of knowing where you come from."

"Yes, well, it's about time." Percy stood, bringing the cups and saucers across so that Elsie could add them to the washing-up. She didn't say anything and he could see her lips were held in a thin line. "How about I keep the albums out and see if Paul wants to look at them with me on Saturday?"

Elsie's frown cleared and although she didn't look up from scrubbing the plates, he could see she was cheering up and her next words confirmed it. "That would be lovely, dear. I'm sure he'll enjoy looking at them."

"But I'll see if I can find out more about Andrew on my own. I don't need a computer. We never had computers before…"

"Yes, dear, and we didn't have microwaves before either, but it doesn't stop you using one to heat your leftovers."

Feeling very tempted to mention cell phones and Elsie's contention that they zapped your brains, Percy just grunted.

Then he had a sudden and very inspired idea.

"Paul Davis!"

"Who?"

"Colonel Davis. Remember I told you the colonel who took me to see General O'Neill in the hospital was called Paul as well. Paul Davis." He turned and went into their bedroom and began rifling through his bedside drawer. "I'm sure I had his card somewhere. Have you seen it?"

"If you kept your things tidy…" Elsie had followed him from the kitchen, wiping her wet hands on her apron. She was now sitting on the edge of their bed, slipping off her shoes.

"Yes, yes – oh." He pulled the business card from between the mess of old receipts and correspondence. "Here it is. I'll call and ask if he can help me find Andrew."

"He's an important man at the Pentagon. Don't be too disappointed if he tells you he can't do anything. I'm sure he's very busy."

Percy shook his head. "You didn't meet him. He was very nice. He said if I ever needed anything to just call, so now I'm calling."

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

"That's it, isn't it, Colonel?" Major General Jack O'Neill leaned back in his chair and began to relax as he waited for Colonel Davis to answer. It was nearing the end of what had seemed to be a very long week and he was looking forward to getting home and taking a long hot bath then vegging out with a glass of beer and a good book. Sometimes the simple pleasures in life were the best. He could barely repress a sigh when Paul hesitated in the act of standing. "What? Is there something else?"

"Well, sir, I wasn't going to mention it, but I had a call from Mr. Curtis yesterday."

"Curtis? Do I know him?"

Paul nodded. "He's the ex-marine who helped when you were shot last year."

"Ah, yes, I remember. He visited me in hospital didn't he?" Jack thought for a moment then continued, "It's a bit hazy."

Actually it was a little embarrassing. Mr. Curtis' visit had been early in his hospital stay and all he could really remember was that he fell asleep and didn't even notice when the man left. Jack had meant to get in touch with him when he recovered, but things conspired to push it from his mind. It seemed as if the past year had lurched from one crisis to another with no time to breathe in between.

"What did he want?"

"It was a rather unusual request, General. He's looking for information on an old friend from the war."

"And?" Jack gestured to a chair. "Sit down again and tell me about it. I take it you've had some trouble or you wouldn't have mentioned it to me.'

"Thank you, sir." Paul put the folder he was carrying on Jack's desk and took the offered seat. "It's actually a little odd. On the surface it would be an easy task to find Mr. Curtis' friend. He met the man while they were both in England in 1942, just before Mr. Curtis was shipped out. Apparently his friend was a bombardier in the Army Air Corps. He was shot down and imprisoned in Germany. Mr. Curtis has all the information that would normally be required, including his state of origin, but when he hit a dead end he asked me for help – and that's where it gets strange.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, sir, the records are classified."

"What?" Jack sat forward, leaning his elbows on the desk. "Classified?"

"Yes sir, that's why I mentioned it to you. I wasn't sure what to tell Mr. Curtis. I was wondering if you could look over what I've found and see what you think?"

Jack straightened in his seat, suddenly interested in the whole business. This was intriguing, plus it was the perfect opportunity to make contact with Percy Curtis again, and this time he would thank him properly for helping to save Jack's life.

"Is that the information?" He pointed to the folder now sitting on the edge of his desk and at the colonel's nod picked it up. "Leave it with me. I'll go through it now and we'll discuss it in the morning."

"Thank you, sir." Paul stood. "Was there anything else?"

"No, that will be all. Have a good evening, Colonel."

Jack was already reading the first page of the file when Colonel Davis closed his office door. On the face of it everything seemed straightforward. He scanned the personal information Paul had located, reading the details of the young man who grew up in Indiana before the war. It was when he saw the man's home town that he began to really sit up and take notice. There was something familiar about it. Then it hit him. He turned the pages more rapidly, his eyes darting backward and forward. What he found was totally unexpected.

Jack glanced at his watch before reaching for the phone and calling a number he knew very well.

"Hi Carter, glad I caught you. Tell me something, didn't your dad's family come from Muncie, Indiana?"

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

TBC