The Brothers Too
I would like to thank Dale for being my beta reader. She guides me gently to stretch my brain. And I need to add once in awhile: I don't own the boys - wish I did, I don't own the series - if I did it would be out on DVD, I don't make any money off this - just have the pleasure of sharing my stories with others. Hope you enjoy. Feel free to tell me what you like or don't like.
Chapter 1
Goniff thunked into the dining room on the wooden crutches, casted foot held up behind him. Terry, setting the table, absently pulled his chair out for him. The Englishman plopped himself in the chair, leaning his crutches back against the sideboard.
"Thanks, Love," he said in a dull voice.
Terry stepped around behind him and rubbed the top of his blond thatched head. She would be glad when that bloody cast came off next week. For a broken ankle, it was the bulkiest heaviest thing she had ever seen. She could have put one on better than that, and had in another lifetime. Heck, she was sure Actor could have done a much better job, and she had never seen him put on one before. The thing had been weighing the quicksilver second-story man down for five weeks now. It had not only weighed the slight man down physically, but mentally also. A depressed Goniff was a sight she did not want to see repeated. She had pretty much run out of ways to cheer the guy up.
Goniff watched her move around the table. Maybe it was his imagination, but Terry seemed to move with more grace than she had when she had first arrived at the mansion. And she was starting to wear skirts and sweaters. Actor's teaching was having a definite effect on the woman. It weren't a bad change, thought Goniff, but at least the bleedin' arrogant man weren't able to change her personality.
He tried to move the casted leg into a more comfortable position and clunked it against the pedestal leg of the table. Blimey, it would be a relief to get that thing off in a week. It was going to be a long week. He couldn't wait to be able to get around on his own two feet again. The only drawback was he would be able to go on missions again. That meant no more time in the mansion during missions alone with Terry. She weren't no different with him than she always was, but it was nice not to have to share her with the other blokes. She had even driven him down to the Doves a couple times and had a pint with him.
Terry started bringing out the platters and bowls of food. She made sure to set the platter of pork chops in front of the Englishman. She swore he would be happy if she made pork chops everyday of the week. She was rewarded with a bright smile which she returned.
"Come on, guys," she called. "It's on the table."
The others came into the dining room and took their seats. There were exclamations of "pork chops!" You'd think she couldn't make anything else decently. But if it made them happy, that was okay. She almost had to laugh at the habitual seating arrangement. It had not been planned, but had just seemed to fall into place. Craig was at the head of the table, Actor at the foot, the two 'leaders' facing each other. Casino and Goniff were on one side of the table, Casino closest to Garrison. Chief and Terry were on the other side. From the first meal together, Actor had seated her beside him. It had just stayed that way. Terry reflected how the faces had changed, but the ritual of the evening meal was little different from the one she had grown up with. Granted the conversation was more about heists and missions than cattle and horses.
They were partway through the meal when a knock sounded at the door. Craig and Terry exchanged looks as did the rest of the men. Nobody knocked at the door. Terry shrugged and got up to answer it.
"Do we want to buy encyclopedias?" she joked.
Terry opened the door and looked into the top of a chest. Following it up into blue/brown hazel eyes beneath a thatch of straw blond hair, she exchanged shocked stares with the young man on the doorstep. With a shriek, she threw her arms around the man's neck and was lifted off her feet to be engulfed in a hard hug. She was held tightly as she clung to him, her tears running freely into his neck.
The uncharacteristic scream from Terry brought Garrison and the men to their feet and into the foyer. Craig looked at the six foot tall blond in shock. His vision blurred as he strode forward and threw an arm around both of them. Terry was openly crying now. The cons watched silently. The three rocked together. Terry made an effort to control herself. She was let back down on her feet, but an arm stayed clutched around her. The young man's other arm moved around Garrison's back and they hugged tighter.
Casino eyed the younger version of the Lieutenant. "Great," he growled in a low voice, "another Garrison."
"So it would appear," Actor murmured softly.
Kelly Garrison looked down at his sister and asked, "What the hell are you doing here?"
"Forget that," said Terry. "How did you get out?" She rubbed at her cheeks with both hands and stepped back to look up at him. A light touch to her arm alerted her as a clean white handkerchief was tucked in her hand. She wiped her face and dabbed at her nose with it.
With his usual cocky grin, Kelly said, "I guess you could say I went out with the dirty laundry.
"How did you get here from Russia?" asked Craig. He kept a hand on the near shoulder that was almost at the same height as his.
Kelly shrugged, "Walked, stole a Kraut uniform and a motorcycle, hopped a couple trains, got to France and finally hooked up with the Maquis." He sniffed the air, "Do I smell Terry's pork chops?"
"Yeah," said Craig. "Come on in and we'll get you a plate." He stopped to introduce everyone. "This is my brother, Kelly. Kell, these are my men." He pointed them out. "Casino, Goniff, Chief and Actor."
Kelly took a longer look at Chief. "Sioux?"
"Apache," Chief replied.
"You speak it?" asked Kelly with interest.
The other men were silent. Chief was so defensive about his heritage, they were afraid of what he might do.
"Yeah," answered the Indian.
"We only speak Lakota. Sorry."
"He's teaching me," said Terry.
"Great!" grinned Kelly. "He meet Monty yet? Where is Mon anyway?"
"Monty hasn't been out here yet," said Craig. "He's stationed outside of London."
They went back to the table. Terry put Kelly at her place. "Finish it up and I'll get you some more."
Kelly dove in like he hadn't eaten in a year. Craig eyed him worriedly. Under the loose clothes, he figured there was a tall lanky frame covered in skin and no meat.
"We gotta get you back home and let Ma and Cinder fatten you up some," remarked Craig.
Kelly's hand paused with fork in midair. "Don't start, Brother, or I'm out that door. You ain't sendin' me anywhere."
"Kelly, you're underage."
Terry came to the doorway. "Craig, let him eat. Then we'll discuss it."
"There's nothing to discuss. He's going home."
Kelly put his fork down and pushed his chair back.
Terry's eyes flashed. She spat a word out in Sioux at her older brother. Both Garrisons and the rest of the men looked at her. Terry turned and went back into the kitchen.
Kelly's eyebrows shot up. "Damn, she bites now." He looked at Craig. "You must have really pissed her off in New York."
"Drop it," warned Craig. "Finish eating."
Kelly pulled back into the table and picked the fork back up. "Where's Chris?"
Craig shook his head. "I can't keep track of her."
"She's still over here though?" said Kelly between bites.
"Yeah, I couldn't talk any sense into her either." Craig sounded disgusted.
"Gee," grinned the younger brother, "She's underage too."
Terry's voice carried from the kitchen. "Kelly, don't bait him. He doesn't have a sense of humor anymore." She came out of the kitchen and set another plate of food in front of Kelly. "Crystal's in France with Dirk and Tinker."
"OSS or Maquis?"
"Maquis, whatever else she can get into. No OSS."
"Good," said Kelly adamantly. "If I ever run into Donovan, he's gonna get an earful."
"If I ever run into Donovan again it isn't his ear that's going to get it," said Terry adamantly. She went to take the spare chair from beside the wall and set it between Kelly and Actor at the corner of the table.
Kelly eyed her apparel and frowned. "Did I interrupt something?"
"No,' said Craig, "Why?"
"What are you all dressed up for?" the younger man asked his sister.
Terry's face turned the faintest shade pinker. Actor noted her distress and smoothly stated, "This is Europe. She is merely becoming more acclimated to her surroundings."
Kelly stopped in mid-chew and stared at the aristocratic Italian accented man. Slowly his eyes roved around the other men at the table. An Italian, a Cockney, a New Yorker who could have fit in with the mob, and an Apache, none of which were in any kind of uniform. He turned his eyes to Craig. "What kind of an outfit are you running, Brother?"
"Special forces," said Craig vaguely. He cut another bite of meat and popped it in his mouth.
Kelly glanced around at the men again. They were watching him too.
Casino grinned, "We're cons, Baby. We work for the army."
Garrison closed his eyes and shook his head. When he looked back up, Kelly was staring at him. He shrugged. "That's it in a nutshell."
Kelly looked at his sister narrowly. "So what are you doing here?"
"Oh, I'm chief cook and bottle washer, nurse . . . "
"Wheelman," put in Goniff brightly.
"Confidence woman," added Actor with amusement.
Kelly took another bite of potato, not at all surprised. "Damn war. I missed out on Italy."
"You were never going to Italy," said Terry sourly. "You're bad enough as it is without Zia's influence."
She caught Casino's eye and pointed at the basket of rolls in front of him. He grinned at her and picked out one, cutting it in two and buttering both sides. He put the two sides firmly together and threw it at her. She caught it deftly, and shook her head at him. Overgrown kid. Actor and Garrison both gave him a look of disapproval. Terry went back to watching her younger brother.
Craig looked at his kid brother with curiosity. "How did you find us?"
"Easy," replied Kelly between bites. "I came up through Folkestone. Brandonshire's on the way to London. I knew Kit was at the Fox. I figured she'd know where you were."
"Kit knew you were here and didn't call us?" demanded Terry taking a bite of bread.
"I told her not to," said Kelly. "I was gonna surprise Craig, but dang, Sis, you surprised me! How did you get here? Thought you were in Washington."
"It's a long story," said his sister, not inclined to get into that at this point.
"She got sent here to spy on us," remarked Casino.
Terry gave him a dirty look. "I am not spying on you, Casino. I don't have to. All I have to do is look at you and see the trouble you're in."
"She's got you there, Mate," laughed Goniff.
"You oughta talk, Limey," shot back Casino. "You get us in more trouble with those sticky fingers of yours."
The English voice took on a wounded tone, "I can't 'elp it if things just pop up in me 'ands."
That brought chuckles from the others at the table. Actor, seeing that she was not going to get much more to eat than a roll, cut up the remainder of his pork chop and held his fork out to her. Terry glanced at him in surprise and gave a quick smile, accepting it. She popped at piece in her mouth and turned back to her younger brother.
Kelly looked at his sister with curiosity. "So how long have you been here?"
"I got here about the time you ended up in the prison camp," she replied.
"And you go in with them?" he asked in disbelief.
"On occasion," admitted Terry.
Kelly just shook his head. He was beginning to wonder about his family. Craig was normal, kind of. He knew he and Chris were doing things they shouldn't be doing. Now Terry was going on missions with a bunch of crooks. Well, the family always had been a little strange.
The others had finished eating, but no one seemed to be in a hurry to leave the table. It had become unusually quiet as the cons watched the three Garrisons. Actor got up and retrieved a bottle of brandy and some glasses. He poured some into two glasses before handing the bottle to Goniff. Taking his seat again, the Italian passed a glass to Teresa. She accepted it with a smile and touched hers to his. They both sipped. The glasses and bottle made the rounds of the table, finally stopping at Chief.
"Where's mine?" asked Kelly.
"You can have yours in six and a half years," said Craig.
"You're joking?" said Kelly in disbelief.
"No," said Craig firmly.
"Fine," said Kelly unhappily. "So can I at least have a cigarette? I've only had one in the last three months." He eyed his older brother narrowly. "And you can't say anything about that. You started smoking when you were eleven. I just want one."
"When did you start smoking?" asked Terry.
"When I got to France," replied the younger brother. "They have good cigarettes. Better than that anemic stuff you smoke."
Terry and Craig exchanged looks. This was not the little boy they had both left on the ranch. Terry shrugged. Craig reluctantly picked up his pack of Chesterfields.
"Got anything that ain't American?" asked Kelly, pushing the point.
Craig paused. Actor sent him a questioning look. After a second, Garrison nodded. Actor pulled his pack of Gauloises and lighter from his jacket pocket and passed them to the boy. Kelly took one out and lit it before handing them back.
"Thanks," said Kelly.
The Italian took them back with a nod and placed them back in his pocket. From the other pocket he pulled out his pipe and tobacco and started to fill the bowl.
Goniff had been sitting watching the action at the table, fidgeting a bit. He saw the tension in the Warden and Terry. It made him worried about a major argument with the brother they had just gotten back.
"So 'ow'd you end up in a prison camp in Russia?" the Englishman asked.
"Somebody gave us up," said Kelly. He took a drag on the cigarette and started the story. "I went into Yugoslavia with money and supplies for one of the partisan cells. Made contact and went to one of the caves they were holed up in. Krauts knew. They were all over us."
"How come they didn't just shoot you for a spy?" asked Chief in his quiet voice.
Kelly shook his head. "I think they figured I was an American, they could use me later on for a bargaining chip. I don't know."
Actor spoke next. "Were they aware you are the son of an American general?"
"I don't think so," said Kelly. "They never said anything, and I figured it was none of their damn business who my father is."
"So how did you get out?" asked Craig.
"I watched. There were a couple tunnel attempts. They failed every time. I didn't plan on going out that way. I studied the routines. The laundry for all the camps was done at one camp. The truck came at the same time on the same day, every Tuesday. One Tuesday, there was a snow storm, wind blowin' like an Alberta Clipper." That got a grin of understanding from Craig and Terry. "So I snuck out. You couldn't see your hand in front of your face. I got to the truck and got in and under a pile of dirty sheets. The Krauts are methodical. They couldn't see, but they left anyway. I waited until we were a couple miles down the road and jumped out. They never saw me."
"Yeah?" said Casino derisively. "And how come you didn't freeze to death?"
Kelly eyed him narrowly. "All of us Garrisons know winter survival. We have to where we live."
"Sure," continued Casino. "I can see your sister lastin' all uh three seconds in a blizzard."
"She'd last a lot longer than that, Ferretface," said Kelly defensively.
"Kelly!" barked Garrison angrily.
Terry backhanded the younger brother on the arm. "You watch your mouth! You were brought up better than that."
"That's all right, Terr," said Casino with a smug grin. "He's still just a little boy. One what was hatched under a rock."
"That rock gets around," muttered a very quiet Italian voice.
Terry kicked Actor lightly on the leg under the table. Smothering a grin, she shot a look at him with twinkling eyes. He gazed back at her with his own smug look.
"Okay," said Craig, seriously, "conference, my office, now." The three Garrisons pushed back their chairs. Casino and Goniff pushed theirs back too. "Not you," said Garrison. Casino shrugged and pulled back to the table.
The four men sat quietly at the table as the Garrisons walked away. They waited until they heard the door close to the Lieutenant's office.
"That one's a ruddy handful," remarked Goniff.
"You can say that again," said Casino.
"He has put himself in a position in which he has had to grow up much too soon," added Actor, contemplating his own teen years.
Chief looked at Actor, "You think he really got himself out of that camp and back here?"
The Italian nodded. "Most likely. If nothing else, the Garrisons seem to be resourceful."
Goniff reached for another roll. "Think 'e'll stay 'ere with us?" he asked of no one in particular.
"Naw," said Chief. "He'll go back with Chris. He ain't gonna want to take on the Warden and Terry together for too long."
"I give him two days tops and he'll have flown," predicted Casino.
Goniff grinned, "That a bet, Mate?"
"Nope," replied the safecracker, "too much of a sure thing."