'Author's Note: I don't own Grease nor Grease 2 or any of the Character. The only thing I own is the plot to the story and a few characters of my own

Summary: Grease 2 Au. One Shot. What if the T-Birds and Pink Ladies hadn't turned up just as Michael was about to reveal the true identity of the 'Cool Rider' to Stephanie? How would that have changed the course of the movie?

AN: Alright here's Chapter 35. Thank you to those that reviewed the last chapter.

Chapter 35

11th February 1971: Frankfort, Kentucky.

I stared at the ceiling of the sleeper. I hadn't had that nightmare about Vietnam in a year or so. The dreams or rather nightmares where a lot less frequent then they had been when I had first come home from Vietnam in late May of 1968.

I swung my legs over the edge of the sleeper and stood up. I yawned and stretched. I pulled on a semi clean shirt.

Half an hour later I walked into the truck stop on the outskirts of Frankfort. I shook my hair to dry my wet hair. It had started raining about twenty minutes ago.

I saw some familiar faces of drivers I had made friends with during the two and bit years I had been working for Hank. I took a seat near the back of the dinner of the Truck Stop.

14th February 1971. Rydell California.

"Michael"

"What" I said rubbing my sore head after I had hit on the underside of the Peterbilt.

"It's Patrick. He's fallen off the bandwagon or something. Sam called before." Steph said or so I could make out from where I was lying under the Peterbilt.

"What happened" I asked as I stood up from getting out from underneath the Peterbilt.

"They've had some argument yesterday. He took off and hasn't come home yet or something like that."

"Alright I'll go find him." I said giving her kiss before I headed inside. I grabbed my T-Birds leather jacket, keys, wallet, helmet and goggles. I unlocked the shed where I kept my motorcycle.

I found Patrick's car parked outside Red's when I rode passed. I rode around the block again and parked beside Patrick's car.

"Hey Pat" I said taking a seat on the barstool beside him. He didn't look good. His eyes where blood shot from either lack of sleep or the grief of losing his and Sam's first child just a month ago or maybe both.

"Samantha send you" He asked taking a sip of his beer. I told the bartender to get me a beer.

"Yea well sort of. She called Steph. What's going on Pat." I asked as the bartender handed me my own beer.

"We got in fight over fuck I don't know. She start fucking tell me I wasn't grieving or something half ass crap. Fuck it Michael he was my son to. You don't think I don't think about him every fucking day." He said slamming his beer down on the in frustration.

"We all grieve differently Pat. Samantha's just as cut up and hurt as you are about losing the baby." I said trying be supportive for him.

"I know that Mike. I don't want to sound like an ungrateful bastard. But you've never gone through this" Patrick said taking another sip of his beer.

"I do know that grief Pat. You remember when I was wounded in August of 65." I said. I took a long sip of my beer. I had never told anyone about this.

"Yea. Everyone was worried you weren't going to make it. What about it Mike"

"Steph was pregnant at the time. She had a miscarriage during those… That week you guys thought I was going to die. She was three and half months pregnant." I said taking a sip of my beer.

"Shit Mike. Why didn't you say anything" Patrick was a loss for words at what I had just told him.

"It's hard Pat. Like you I think about that child everyday . What she or he be like or what they'd look like" I said taking a shaky sip of my beer.

"Does anyone else know besides me, you and Steph" Patrick asked.

"Marie and Anthony" I said thinking back to the day that Steph told me. It had a few days after I had woken up after being wounded.

"But how the hell did you and Steph move on from it"

"We never really moved on from losing that child Pat. We are or rather I am thankfully for the four health and active kids we have. We both think about them we take each day as it comes." I said taking another sip of my beer.

"I probably should go talk to Sam hey." Patrick said draining the last of his beer.

"Yea. Did you want me to come with you" I asked finishing off my beer and putting my money on the bar.

"No I'll be fine. Mike about what you told me. It'll stay between us. And thanks for coming. I needed to talk to someone who knows the pain I'm well Samantha and I are going through." Patrick said.

"It's what's brothers are for Patrick" I said as we walked outside to the parking lot.

It was late. Just after eleven thirty. Everyone else had gone to bed hours ago. I had been tossing and turning for two and half hours. A lot of thoughts and shit was going through my head.

I splashed water on my face from the tap in the skin in the kitchen. I rested my hands in sink and let my thoughts wonder. I turned off the tap and dried my face with the tea towel.

I grabbed a beer from the fridge and cracked the top off it. I rolled myself a cigarette and lit it. I stared blankly at the photos I had of my time in Vietnam stationed at Chu Lia.

There were other photos of my time stationed at Camp Pendleton with Red, Clinton and Tex before we had deployed to Vietnam. War had fucked up me worst then it had Billy or Tex for that matter.

All the shit I had been through and had witnessed in Nam had affected me more than I was willing to tell other people. I tried to block out the painfully memories of Nam and all the pain and anger associated with it.

I took a long sip of my beer and picked up one of the photos from Nam. It had been taken maybe a weeks before Clinton had been killed.

13th August 1965, Chu Lai

A half smoked cigarette lay in my hand as I read the newest letter from Steph. I laid my head bunk against the thin pillow on my bunk. My eyes ran over words that had shocked me.

Not in a bad way. But a good way. I folded the letter and put in with the other letters I had received from home. I took another drag of my nearly finished cigarette.

I rested one hand behind the back of my head as I let my thoughts to what the future may hold for Stephanie, me and the baby when I came home or rather back stateside for good.

"Mike what are doing in here moping or something" Tex said walking into the bunker we shared with Kirkpatrick, Sorrows and Bowen.

"Nah just thinking about the future is all Tex." I said sitting up and swing my legs over the side of my bunk.

"Or rather you're going to do when you get back stateside"

"That horse has already bolted Tex," I said pulling on a shirt over my head I pulled on my combat jacket.

"What do yea mean that horse has already bolted mate" Tex asked confused.

"It's nothing mate. What'd you want anyway?" I asked shoving my half empty packet of cigarettes in my top pocket.

"Clint and I are going to Mass Tent for a couple drinks. He wanted to know if you're coming or not. Or if you are too busy daydreaming about your fiancé's"

"McBride if you don't want me to shove your teeth down your throat then I wouldn't try and fished that sentence if I was you." I said cutting him off. We walked out of the bunker and over to the Mass Hall Tent.

"Nice of you guys to join me" Clint joked as we sat down. I rolled my eyes and took a sip of my beer.

"Did you hear about scuttle buddy that we're going into battle in six to seven days" Tex commented.

"Yea. I heard about it" Clint said as he fumbled with his lighter.

"Top Brass has been pretty tight lipped about it. Captain Bradshaw's said he wanted to debrief company Sargents in three days." I said taking a sip of my beer.

After going back to bed at about a one in the morning. I slept fitfully. Battle scenes and various other memories flashed through my mind. I woke in a cold sweat and maybe mumbling in my sleep.

I glanced at the clock on my side of the bed. It was just after ten thirty in the morning. I got out of bed and stood up.

I headed down stairs about ten-twenty minutes later. I heard a vaguely familiar voice of my sister in law Janice. She was Steph's older sister by five or so years. She could be a real bitch at times and a bit of stuck up snob.

She had married into some big law firm family out of Boston or something like that. It was funny though. Her husband my brother in law Ralph was a nice and easy sorting going guy for a lawyer compared to her.

From the moment she had met me. She had never liked me for some reason or other. Maybe it was because I didn't come from money or wasn't good enough for her only sister.

"You know I ran into Matthew Keller the other day." I heard Janice say to Steph. He was some old friend of the family or something like that.

"What about him. He and his family moved to LA years ago"

"Oh nothing. It's he's just doing really well for himself. He's working for Gibson and Williamson law firm in San Francisco" Janice commented as I walked into the kitchen.

"Oh hello Michael" Janice said notching I was in the kitchen.

"Janice. Morning babe" I said saying a good morning of sort to her and Stephanie while grabbing a beer from the fridge.

I headed towards the back door before Janice could send a snide remark my way. I found Ralph sitting on the back porch watching the kids as they played in the back yard.

"Morning"

"Morning." I said cracking the top off my beer.

"A little early in the day for alcohol " Ralph said glancing at me sideways. I merely shrugged my shoulders and watched my kids play with Ace and Sarge.

Their three boy David, Christopher and Bryan where sitting to one side of the yard. Not even interacting with their younger cousins. Their clothes where clean compared to my kids who covered in dirt and such from head to foot.

I watched as Connor went over to talk with his older cousins perhaps to get them to join in.

Ralph Winters glanced over at his brother in law that sat beside him. Janice was somewhat judgemental of her younger sister's husband. As far as Ralph was concerned Michael Carrington was a good man, a loving husband and father and dame hard worker.

Why Janice had such distain for him was anyone's guess. Their three boys hardly knew their Uncle Michael or their cousins. The last time they had been back in Rydell had been Christmas of 1967.

Michael had still been deployed to Vietnam at the time. Janice had not at all been supportive or happy that she was going to have another Nephew or Niece. Marie and Anthony where ecstatic about having another grandchild.

"So Marie said your driving trucks for some company here in Rydell"

"Yea for McCabe Brothers Transport. I do mostly interstate work." I said rolling myself a cigarette.