New story! Woot! Hopefully this one will be fun because I'm pulling out all sorts of different aspects of my life to put into this one. So, leave feedback, let me know what you think and let me know that someone is reading my drivel.

O o o o o o o o o o O

It was time yet again for the annual O'Hara "Halfway to St. Patrick's Day" bash. Hosted at their home in Georgia, the weather was still pleasantly balmy without the heat that the height of summer promised. It was an excuse to get their family and friends together, drink and generally have a good time. Shana, known better as Scarlett to her military cohorts, had missed it for the past three years. This year, she decided to make a concerted effort to make it to the shindig. To make up for her past absences, she intended to drag as many team members as she could with her.

Now life in the military, especially in an elite unit like G.I. Joe, was far from predictable. Leave can be hard to come by and can be cancelled in a heartbeat, but the challenge just made it more fun for her. She had everyone put in for leave, overwhelming the poor personnel clerk and her best friend, Lady Jaye. She couldn't pick and choose which of her comrades should come with her and who would stay behind, so she was essentially letting General Hawk pick. When she had her list of attendees, she informed her father and made travel arrangements, all the while praying that Cobra would stay quiet long enough for her and her friends to enjoy a much needed break.

She was a little surprised at who the General chose to send, but he was the boss and so he must know what he was doing. Beach Head, Duke and Lady Jaye. She was mainly surprised at the decision to send Beach Head and to leave Flint out, but God knew that Beach needed a vacation, so that may have influenced his decision. Flint was not happy with being denied leave, but he and Jaye had been at each others' throats lately and Jaye was enjoying flaunting that she was getting a vacation while he was stuck in charge of the misfits. Flint tried to convince Beach Head to stay back on base in command and allow him to take the empty space, but General Hawk put a rapid stop to it.

So on September 16, the motley crew of Joes boarded a civilian aircraft to fly to Shana's hometown and to meet her family. They had met briefly during the Cobra kidnapping fiasco, but that wasn't really a good time for chit-chat and getting to know one another. Now, not only would they be meeting her father and brothers again, but most of her extended family from this side of the ocean (and a few from the other) converged on Atlanta to tap a keg of Guinness and enjoy some good Jameson's. Then they also included all close family friends and neighbors, so this was a party of epic proportions, that usually involved travelling from home to home. They had heard many stories about it from Shana and seen the pictures she had stashed away of her escapades from her youth.

Duke was nervous; he was a bit uncomfortable meeting Shana's family after what had happened between them. It wasn't something that a girl would tell her family hopefully, but he wasn't sure if he was willing to bet his life on it. He and Shana had smoothed things over nicely after the incident, but he knew he was the bad guy in the situation and four men, very protective of Shana and very skilled in martial arts, being on his case was not his idea of a good time. He wondered why he put in for the leave anyway, he should have stayed back on the base, and maybe Flint would have been able to come instead. He stole a glance over to Jaye and Scarlett, sitting next to each other on the plane. Shana looked over at him and grinned, and he smiled and nodded back before turning away. In truth he said he'd go so she knew he was really ok with everything and wasn't uncomfortable, even if he was.

Beach Head kept a face of stone as he clenched and unclenched his jaw. He hadn't put in for the leave, but Hawk told him he was going anyway. Apparently Psych-Out thought he could use a vacation. He made plans to give Psych-Out a vacation when he got back. Until then, he had to play along and seem like he was enjoying himself. He shuddered a bit at that prospect, but Hawk had been clear that for every report that he heard about the Drill Instructor being a wet blanket or dismal, he would give him an additional week of vacation. A very effective punishment, Beach Head vowed that he would get through this weekend and then get back to his job. He even mustered a smile when Jaye and Scarlett looked at him so no one could complain about his attitude on the flight. He just had to make it through three more days.

Lady Jaye was thankful that Flint had gotten stuck back at base. He had been a royal pain in the ass lately and she was tired of fighting with him. Truth be told, she was beginning to wonder if she should just break off the relationship entirely. When Hawk had been sorting through all the leave requests, she asked him for a favor to not allow Flint to come, which he readily granted. He said Beach Head needed a break and he'd send him along instead. They got a good laugh at that. She couldn't help missing Flint though, much to her dismay. Hopefully a weekend full of handsome young men and alcohol would make her forget her worries.

Scarlett was a nervous wreck. She hadn't actually expected Hawk to grant Duke's leave request; she supposed Jaye had something to do with it. But now she was stuck with bringing him home with her. It was just so awkward a lot of times and she couldn't think of a way to convince him that she was really ok with what happened. She closed her eyes, wishing things weren't so complicated. She tried to focus instead on her family and remember all the family members she would be reuniting with. Trying to remember all the members of her rather large family wasn't an easy task. Her father had three sisters and three brothers. Each had on average two children, some more, and many of those children now had children. Jeannie, married to Lynn, their children Chad and Wendy. Chad's wife Carla, their three children Taylor, Tyler and Toby, Wendy's now ex-husband Joe, their three kids Jade, Seth and Myra. Mary and Joe, at the moment her favorite aunt and uncle, had no children and had never married, except for Mary's long-term non-relationship with a gay man. Patricia and Vern, their children were Tammy, Beth and.... "Shit," she said aloud.

Jaye looked over at her as the plane taxied to a stop, "What's the matter?"

Scarlett chuckled, "Nothing. Just trying to remember all my cousins and failing hopelessly."

"You don't remember all of your cousin's names?" Jaye seemed incredulous.

"Umm, not so much. Large Irish Catholic family. My dad was towards the end of the line, I have cousins that are almost his age. It's pretty much impossible to remember everyone and their relation to me." She grinned, "It used to be a family tradition on the way to holiday meals that we would quiz each other on who would be there and how everyone was related. Bonus points for pets."

Jaye looked at her like she had grown a second head, "That is just bizarre and not normal." Scarlett stared back at her for a second and then they both burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" Beach Head said gruffly as he reached up to unload bags from the overhead compartment.

"Do you know the names of all your first cousins off the top of your head," Scarlett demanded.

Now it was Beach Head's turn to look at Scarlett like she was crazy, then he thought for a moment, "No. We weren't close with a lot of extended family."

"Thank you!" Scarlett chirped happily, giving Jaye a triumphant look as she walked off the plane.

Duke stepped up beside her as they walked through the terminal to get their bags, "Are we renting a car or being picked up?"

"Picked up I imagine," she said mildly, stopping at the baggage carousel. "Either that or they hired a driver for us."

Everyone gathered their luggage and looked to Scarlett for direction and she shrugged, heading for the area for people waiting for cars or drivers. She didn't get too far though before her eyes opened wide with surprise and she dropped her bags and walked quickly over to a man with sandy brown hair and glasses, much to the surprise of the other Joes.

When she arrived at the man, he quickly swept her up into a bone-crushing hug and twirled her around once, "It is so good to see you Shana. I've missed you, beautiful!"

The other Joes stared at Scarlett for a moment then shifted their gaze to Jaye who held up her hands defensively, "Hey, I don't know who he is either."

"I've missed you too. Did my brothers come with you?" Shana scanned the crowds for their familiar faces. She saw them and then ran over to them, giving them tight hugs as well. "How are you? Being good for dad?"

Brian gave a mock look of hurt, "Us? Misbehave? Never!"

Scarlett rolled her eyes when she heard Jaye clear her throat behind her, bringing her to her senses. "Oh I'm sorry, you guys have met my brothers already, right?" Everyone nodded as Shana slipped her arm around the stranger's body, "This is Patrick."

Patrick held his hand out to shake the Joes' hands politely, "Nice to meet you. So you're the ones keeping her away from me," he smiled as he spoke and slipped an arm around Shana's waist comfortably.

"Is he a cousin?" Jaye wondered aloud.

Brian was quick to answer before Patrick or Shana could, "No! Patrick's her fiancé!" He grinned as Jaye, Duke and Beach Head stared at a blushing Scarlett.