I would like to say Thank You to Book 'Em Again for betaing this.
Author's Notes/Disclaimer: I don't own any show or characters except my own. All of Kinch's family are characters of my own invention.
This story will be told in flashback and will be incorporating elements of show episodes. If a chapter is named after an episode, it will deal with the episode or with the timeframe right around it and it may contain canon dialogue. Every chapter will be from Kinch's POV, unless I state otherwise.
Finally and most importantly, this fanfiction will be about an undiagnosed case of autism or autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The disease was diagnosed in America for the first time in the 1940's, and the initial cases, as documented in the book In A Different Key: The Story of Autism, were used as partial inspiration. I am writing this to raise awareness of the challenges and to celebrate the differences of special needs people and of course no offense is intended.
"Kinch had confided in him that his nephew was a partially deaf mute, which gave him the idea, Poor kid suffered from 'nerves', was given to tantrums and seemed to be in a world all his own." – Actions Speak Louder Than Words by booey875
Wild Boy of the Brewster Projects
Prologue – Detroit, Here I Come
January 1945
The Allied courier plane took off quickly from an open field located near Hammelburg, Germany. It was a seamless takeoff considering the circumstances, although the pilots were hardly out of harm's way until they got past the German border.
Sgt. James Ivan Kinchloe, nicknamed "Kinch", gazed down at the war-torn countryside below. He had been a POW at Stalag 13 for the last three years, but he had been in no way just an ordinary prisoner. There had secretly been an underground rescue and sabotage operation located there for years and Kinch had played a key role in being the radioman of the group.
And now? Kinch was actually going home to Detroit.
At the rate these guys are flying, I could be home in time for Hank Greenberg's first game back with the Tigers, Kinch thought.
Kinch was surprised he was going home but he shouldn't have been; he had always believed that his team had made the impossible happen every day. So why would he be surprised that they could send him home?
He remembered the looks on everyone's faces when he left the Stalag. There hadn't been a dry eye on the faces of his fellow POWs and he was convinced that his German captors were happy for him, too. Although no one said anything, he was sure almost all of the POWs secretly envied him.
Kinch, however, wondered if it was the right call. There were rumors that the war was winding down, but he personally didn't see it. The mere fact that his courier plane had to avoid certain areas due to the Battle of the Bulge proved that Germany still had fight left.
He had always believed that the war was a just one and he felt proud that his country had recruited him from the phone company. So why was he so torn? Was accepting the assignment home the right decision?
Kinch thought about the reception he would receive upon returning home. He wished to be honored for his service, but he doubted it could happen. He wouldn't be allowed to talk about the role he played, and even if he did, he was sure people would give credit to only the white people involved. He admitted to himself that future prejudice at home frightened him, and for that reason he would have been better off at Stalag 13 where he was treated as an equal.
Air turbulence jostled the plane, but his seatbelt kept him from flying out his seat. As he fell forward, a photo fell from his pocket.
Kinch choked up as he looked at the photo.
The black and white photo was of his almost four year old nephew, Billy, sitting on the grass back home. The picture of the child was ordinary in every way except for the boy's facial expression. While most children would look and smile back at the camera (and most likely the parent holding it), this child stared into space. For not the first time, Kinch wondered how it was possible for him to appear so apart from society while within it.
Kinch gulped. Yes, he thought, this was the right decision.
But could he really make a difference in his nephew's life? He hoped so—it had to be worth a try.
Battle of the Bulge at: www. army . Mil / botb /
Hank Greenberg at: baseballhall org hof / greenberg-hank
