Title Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Author Dawn
Rating PG 13
Spoiler Info: We all know the CIA was very involved in our defeat of Saddam Hussein, and who else is going to be in the middle of it but our favorite ex-marine.
Chapter 8
Terri arrived at work early. The thought of spending too much time alone in the house only upset her. When she walked into OTS Joshua was leaving something on her desk. "What are you doing Joshua?"
"I'm following orders from the Major." Terri looked and their was a package sitting on the desk. "Mr. Stiles is not good at wrapping either, so we had to enlist Vicki to do that."
Terri smiled as she opened it. It was a teddy bear wearing a Marine uniform. She just started to laugh. She picked up his note. "Just wanted you to have a marine to sleep with while I'm gone. I love you." Joshua could see that she was very in love. He was impressed with what Stiles was doing for her.
Lex and Terri had a lot of work to do. Lex was getting tired of looking at his computer screen. "Hey Terri you want to grab a cup of coffee?"
"Sounds good to me."
They got their coffee and sat down. "You doin' ok Terri?"
"I miss him, but I'll be fine."
"He is a great guy. I'm really happy for you two."
Gage walked up. "Good morning Lex, Mrs. Stiles. You do want us to start calling you that, right?" She really didn't have to answer him the smile on her face when he said it was enough.
"I love hearing it." they all laughed. "Thank you for everything Sir."
"If you need anything you let me know. Enjoy your coffee."
General Stiles walked in and saw Terri and Lex. "Hi Lex. Hi Terri. Do you mind if I join you?"
Lex was nervous around the General. "Sir I was just heading back to work. You can take my seat."
"You don't have to leave Lex." Lex got up and left. "I saw a Marine teddy bear on your desk."
"Stiles had Joshua leave it for me this morning."
"I used to leave notes around the house for them to find when I was gone. After a while they would tear the house apart to find them all the first day." she laughed. "A. B. is not known for his patience. I'm glad you're coming to dinner tonight. We'll see you tonight. 1800 hours."
"I'm looking forward to it Dad. Pat was so excited about little league try outs, I can't wait for him to tell me all about it."
"Don't worry, he will."
"Was Stiles like Pat at that age? That's how I picture him."
"Exactly. Its almost like having 10 year old A. B. running around the house again. I'll have Hannah get some pictures of him growing up for you, if you'd like."
"I would love that thanks."
General Stiles was in a meeting with Gage and Reese. Jackson walked in. "We just received word from Stiles company. They are on schedule and should be in Baghdad day after tomorrow." Everybody was glad to hear this report.
Carl asked "Have you told Terri yet."
"No not yet. I was going there now."
"Good" Gage said "I want her to be kept up to date an all reports from Stiles"
"Yes Sir." Jackson said as he was walked out to go see Terri.
He gave Terri the report "Thanks Jackson. I'm glad to hear everything is going as planned."
"It was a great wedding the other day Terri."
"I still can't believe everything he did."
"He did most of the wedding plans himself. We just made sure everything was set." Jackson looked at Terri very seriously. "I know a lot of us gave you a hard time in the beginning. He is a great guy. I'm really happy for the two of you."
Terri smiled "Thank you."
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Terri arrived at the Stiles' house right on time. Hannah was so happy to see her. Terri and Hannah sat in the kitchen talking about everything. Hannah took out an album she had started working on. "Fred said that you would like some pictures of A. B. growing up. I started an album for you." Terri looked at the pictures as Hannah told her a story about everyone of them.
"Thank you so much. I can't tell you how much this means to me." Hannah just hugged her and smiled.
Pat came in from baseball tryouts. "I made the team. They're going to let me pitch." Kathleen came walking in behind him.
Terri hugged him "That's great. When is your first game? Is it ok if I come and watch?"
"Saturday morning. Can you come?"
"I wouldn't miss it."
Kathleen and Terri went upstairs to check on the boys. "Terri, if you want to talk about anything, you know things you don't want to say in front of Mom."
"I miss him so much."
"I know."
"I can't imagine what it is like for you Kathleen. You are doing great with 4 kids. I don't think I could make it without your brother."
"Terri don't talk that way. I hope you never have to find out. A. B. told me that you are the strongest person he ever met. That was one of the many reasons he fell in love with you."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. He told me to remind you of that every so often." Terri laughed. "He really loves you."
When Terri got home her phone was ringing, she ran in to get it just in case it was Stiles. It wasn't it was her mom. She wanted to talk about things for the wedding. What she was really doing was what Stiles asked all of them to do. Try to keep her busy so she wouldn't spend all her time thinking about him.
**************************************************************************
Stiles and his group were discussing their mission. One of the men with him was from the coalition, he was Jordanian. He would be able to help them translate. Stiles thought about what Terri might be doing now. One of his buddies for years was in this group this was the first chance they had to talk. "Hey Stiles, I guess working in the Pentagon isn't all its cracked up to be?"
"Its great." He smiled "I got married before I left."
"You're kidding. I never thought I'd see the day. Stiles off the market. Who is she?"
"She works for the state department. Her name is Terri. She is the most incredible woman I ever met. We've actually been on assignments together. We helped set up the state department in Afghanistan. I'm really happy."
"She sounds great." Stiles showed him a picture of her. "She looks great too." Stiles laughed.
"Yeah, she does."
Author Dawn
Rating PG 13
Spoiler Info: We all know the CIA was very involved in our defeat of Saddam Hussein, and who else is going to be in the middle of it but our favorite ex-marine.
Chapter 8
Terri arrived at work early. The thought of spending too much time alone in the house only upset her. When she walked into OTS Joshua was leaving something on her desk. "What are you doing Joshua?"
"I'm following orders from the Major." Terri looked and their was a package sitting on the desk. "Mr. Stiles is not good at wrapping either, so we had to enlist Vicki to do that."
Terri smiled as she opened it. It was a teddy bear wearing a Marine uniform. She just started to laugh. She picked up his note. "Just wanted you to have a marine to sleep with while I'm gone. I love you." Joshua could see that she was very in love. He was impressed with what Stiles was doing for her.
Lex and Terri had a lot of work to do. Lex was getting tired of looking at his computer screen. "Hey Terri you want to grab a cup of coffee?"
"Sounds good to me."
They got their coffee and sat down. "You doin' ok Terri?"
"I miss him, but I'll be fine."
"He is a great guy. I'm really happy for you two."
Gage walked up. "Good morning Lex, Mrs. Stiles. You do want us to start calling you that, right?" She really didn't have to answer him the smile on her face when he said it was enough.
"I love hearing it." they all laughed. "Thank you for everything Sir."
"If you need anything you let me know. Enjoy your coffee."
General Stiles walked in and saw Terri and Lex. "Hi Lex. Hi Terri. Do you mind if I join you?"
Lex was nervous around the General. "Sir I was just heading back to work. You can take my seat."
"You don't have to leave Lex." Lex got up and left. "I saw a Marine teddy bear on your desk."
"Stiles had Joshua leave it for me this morning."
"I used to leave notes around the house for them to find when I was gone. After a while they would tear the house apart to find them all the first day." she laughed. "A. B. is not known for his patience. I'm glad you're coming to dinner tonight. We'll see you tonight. 1800 hours."
"I'm looking forward to it Dad. Pat was so excited about little league try outs, I can't wait for him to tell me all about it."
"Don't worry, he will."
"Was Stiles like Pat at that age? That's how I picture him."
"Exactly. Its almost like having 10 year old A. B. running around the house again. I'll have Hannah get some pictures of him growing up for you, if you'd like."
"I would love that thanks."
General Stiles was in a meeting with Gage and Reese. Jackson walked in. "We just received word from Stiles company. They are on schedule and should be in Baghdad day after tomorrow." Everybody was glad to hear this report.
Carl asked "Have you told Terri yet."
"No not yet. I was going there now."
"Good" Gage said "I want her to be kept up to date an all reports from Stiles"
"Yes Sir." Jackson said as he was walked out to go see Terri.
He gave Terri the report "Thanks Jackson. I'm glad to hear everything is going as planned."
"It was a great wedding the other day Terri."
"I still can't believe everything he did."
"He did most of the wedding plans himself. We just made sure everything was set." Jackson looked at Terri very seriously. "I know a lot of us gave you a hard time in the beginning. He is a great guy. I'm really happy for the two of you."
Terri smiled "Thank you."
************************************************************************
Terri arrived at the Stiles' house right on time. Hannah was so happy to see her. Terri and Hannah sat in the kitchen talking about everything. Hannah took out an album she had started working on. "Fred said that you would like some pictures of A. B. growing up. I started an album for you." Terri looked at the pictures as Hannah told her a story about everyone of them.
"Thank you so much. I can't tell you how much this means to me." Hannah just hugged her and smiled.
Pat came in from baseball tryouts. "I made the team. They're going to let me pitch." Kathleen came walking in behind him.
Terri hugged him "That's great. When is your first game? Is it ok if I come and watch?"
"Saturday morning. Can you come?"
"I wouldn't miss it."
Kathleen and Terri went upstairs to check on the boys. "Terri, if you want to talk about anything, you know things you don't want to say in front of Mom."
"I miss him so much."
"I know."
"I can't imagine what it is like for you Kathleen. You are doing great with 4 kids. I don't think I could make it without your brother."
"Terri don't talk that way. I hope you never have to find out. A. B. told me that you are the strongest person he ever met. That was one of the many reasons he fell in love with you."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. He told me to remind you of that every so often." Terri laughed. "He really loves you."
When Terri got home her phone was ringing, she ran in to get it just in case it was Stiles. It wasn't it was her mom. She wanted to talk about things for the wedding. What she was really doing was what Stiles asked all of them to do. Try to keep her busy so she wouldn't spend all her time thinking about him.
**************************************************************************
Stiles and his group were discussing their mission. One of the men with him was from the coalition, he was Jordanian. He would be able to help them translate. Stiles thought about what Terri might be doing now. One of his buddies for years was in this group this was the first chance they had to talk. "Hey Stiles, I guess working in the Pentagon isn't all its cracked up to be?"
"Its great." He smiled "I got married before I left."
"You're kidding. I never thought I'd see the day. Stiles off the market. Who is she?"
"She works for the state department. Her name is Terri. She is the most incredible woman I ever met. We've actually been on assignments together. We helped set up the state department in Afghanistan. I'm really happy."
"She sounds great." Stiles showed him a picture of her. "She looks great too." Stiles laughed.
"Yeah, she does."