Okay, so I was listening to some country music. And a line in one of the songs sparked a scene in my mind.

This one starts out as pre-series. Like… in the 90's… You'll catch up… I know you will…
(Also, slight CSI crossover. Nick Stokes goes by Nick Dalton in this one… And he changed to his mother's maiden name when he started working for the CSI, in my fictional world…)

Hope you enjoy.

Jack had just come home from his second tour with the Delta Force. He was drained. Lots of things had gone wrong, his best buddy had been blown up due to a road mine. The man had died in his arms, only luck caused Jack to return home to Texas. Dumb luck…

He sat on the front porch waiting. He hadn't announced that he was returning, he never did. He had seen too many friends announcing that they would be home in a month, a week, a few days… Only to fall casualty when their Jeep hit a landmine.

Hell, that had almost been him this time around. That HAD been Tyler Red this time.

A familiar vehicle made its way down the gravel road from the east. A banged up, black Silverado, with country music blasting from the speakers. It sounded like home. Sounded like comfort.

Jack remained seated on the front porch swing. The car parked on the open lot in front of the family home. Jack heard the doors open and shut.

He heard familiar voices bickering as two sets of footsteps crunched towards the house. For a minute, he almost wished to be back in the sand. Back to gunfire, back to chaos, back on duty. Back to adrenaline.

The two people reached the stairs. The steps creaked like always.

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Nick froze as he saw the military cap and green duffel bag. It took him a second or so to realize his brother was sitting on the front porch. That he was home.

"JD?" Rita gasped, she was their youngest, older sister.

"Jack, you're home!" Nick beamed, but his face fell into a frown as his mind processed what his eyes saw. "What happened to you?"

"Nothin…" Jack drawled as he rose to his feet.

"That sling says otherwise…" Rita claimed as she stepped closer and leveled her gaze with Jack's. The heels she wore made her roughly the same height as her brothers.

"Look, Rizz… I'm fine." Jack adjusted his sling, and flinched as his shoulder dealt him a fresh wave of pain.

"Fine my ass…" Nick countered, and stepped closer to his twin. "Get in, I'll take your bag. What happened?"

"Just pulled out my shoulder…" Jack sighed and rubbed his neck with his free hand. He didn't want to tell the truth about his injury, so he settled for a half-truth. His shoulder had been dislocated too. "In other words… Nothing…"

"Yeah, well. You know the drill… No work for you for the next four weeks. At least!" Nick ordered, and gestured for Jack to get in the house.

"No sports either…" Rita added as she held the door open for her brothers.

Jack offered a half-hearted nod, as he stepped into his childhood home. It smelled just like it always had. It smelled of their dad's tobacco, their mom's home cooking, coffee, all with a tint of cattle farm. It smelled like home, it smelled like safety. And it damn near broke Jack's walls down.

He took a deep breath, and chewed the inside of his cheek to keep from crying.

"How's Misty?"

"Oh, she's doing well. Started working as a nurse in Houston a couple of weeks after you left…" Nick informed Jack about their oldest sister's whereabouts.

"Mary?"

"Living with Brett down in Austin. She's preggo, again."

Jack smiled. "Good to hear. They're still getting along?"

"Like they were made for each other…" Nick filled in.

Jack nodded, licking his lips. "Good."

Jack stepped into the kitchen. He turned around and leaned on the counter, right beside the sink like he always did.

"Chrissy?"

"Christine is doing a lot better. She's even starting to put on some weight…" Nick said with a sense of pride.

"Is she still living here?"

"Yeah, but she won't be home before suppertime. She's planning this project for her students. You know how she gets when she has a project at hand."

"How could I forget? She practically drowns herself in them, it's a miracle if she comes out to see the sun…"

Nick and Rita smiled and nodded in agreement.

"And Tess?"

"She's got a boyfriend…" Rita answered rolling her eyes.

"Is it serious?"

"Kinda…"

"Should I scare him a bit? Make sure he treats our little gal with respect?"

"Well, remove the uniform and you look about as scary as a six week old puppy right now…" Rita smirked.

"Rizz, come on…" Jack moaned, "I can be scary…"

"Of course you can…" his older sister winked back. "Just not now…"

"And you two?" Jack put his left hand where one of his side arms used to be. "Status quo?"

"Studies…" Nick sighed.

"What kind?"

"I'm taking pre-med…" Rita smiled, "Nick decided to study forensics…"

"Goes to prove that you've both got a good noggin at the top of your shoulders." Jack grinned, proud of his siblings. "Ma and Pa? How are they?"

"Same old, same old…" Nick nodded. "They worry 'bout you every day. You're always in our prayers…"

"Aaahh… That's why I'm still alive…" Jack tried to put it across as a joke, but it fell flat.

"That's not funny…" Nick shook his head, "We are worried 'bout you. All the time. And then you come back home with a sling around your neck… We'd much rather have you back here…"

Jack shook his head, "Nah… It's not for me…"

"Why not?"

"What should I do?" he didn't meet any of their eyes, "I'm not made for studying. That's not for me…"

"Jack, you know damn well that you're just as smart as me. Probably smarter…"

"Some of us aren't made for sitting behind desks half our lives. You remember how much trouble I caused in school…"

"If I remember correctly, I was to blame for half of that…" Nick crossed his arms over his chest and leaned on the counter on the opposite wall of the kitchen. His place to hang.

"Well, you actually liked school. I liked PE."

Nick couldn't help but chuckle. Images of their time in school flashed before his eyes. And to be fair, Jack was at his best when he had the chance to move around.

"Okay, fair enough…" Nick nodded, "But couldn't you at least find something safer to do than to run around risking your life on the other side of the planet?"

"What's that I hear? You talking smack about the military?" Jack raised his eyebrows, but there were no threat in his voice. Not only were they from a family with strong military traditions, but they lived in the middle of the great state of Texas too.

"No, you know better than that…" Nick mimicked his twin's expression, "Just saying that there are safer assignments than the freaking Delta Force!"

"True that…" Jack nodded, "But someone's gotta do it…"

"At the peril of sounding blasphemous, I wish you were home, here with us. All the time…" Nick confessed, earning himself an agreeing nod from their sister.

Jack winked, "I won't tell anyone…"

"You hungry JD?"

Jack shrugged with his left shoulder, not daring to move the right one an inch.

"I can make pancakes. You better eat something before Nana comes over… If she sees that you've lost weight… Well… You know what will happen…"

"Ah, Nana…" Jack grinned, "I can't count how many times we've left her house painfully stuffed on food."

"Almost every time we stepped up on her front porch…" Nick smiled.

"How's she doing?"

"Nana? Spunky as ever!" Rita grinned, "She missed her favorite grandchild on her 74th…"

"I'm not her favorite…" Jack grinned back, well knowing that he was.

"Oh, yes you are…" Nick pointed a finger at him. "My theory is that it's because you're the one who ate most…"

Jack chuckled, then winced as his shoulder protested. After all, a dislocated shoulder was the least of his worries.

"It's a bad one this time?" Nick asked, his eyes locked on his twin's right shoulder.

"Not the mildest, no…" Jack figured he had to admit to that much.

"Okay… You. Couch. Now." Rita ordered, pointing towards the living room. "I'll dish up some pancakes for us. Dinner won't be served until all the animals are fed."

"Yeah, I remember…" Jack nodded, gently pushing off the counter.

"Need any help in here?" Nick asked Rita, pushing himself off the opposite counter.

"Nah… Keep JD company…" she smiled back, "I've got this covered…"

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"So, was this a planned leave?" Nick asked, eyes lingering on his brother's injured shoulder.

Jack nodded. He sat in his corner of the couch, feet propped up on an ottoman, his left arm draped over the sling supporting his right arm.

"So… Why the sling?"

"Shit happens…" Jack ground out, closing his eyes. "You know how I always got hurt around the time summer vacation rolled around?"

Nick chuckled, "Yeah, we could all see it coming from a mile away after a few years. We even made bets on what kind of cast you would end up with year after year…"

Jack nodded, gently. "Yeah, it was like that…"

"So, what happened?"

"Dislocated my shoulder…"

"Yeah, but how?"

"Had to climb a truck. Lost my footing, yanked the socket straight out…"

Nick winced in sympathy, and started kneading his own shoulder. He had never been that unlucky himself, but he had secondhand experience to make up for it.

"That sucks, buddy…"

Jack hummed in agreement, shooting his shoulder a glare.

"You know what?" he suddenly asked, leaving Nick with a puzzled look, "I think I'm good for a shower. Will ya holler when Rizz is done in the kitchen?"

Nick nodded, and watched as Jack got up and walked towards the stairs.

Okay, so…

Just a few hours left of this bad joke called 2016… Wohoo!