Chapter 9: Meeting the Folks

Mikey and Gus were on the couch in the living room watching some wrestling. Though they weren't huge fans they still caught the occasional show and besides, Spinelli was watching from the kitchen and neither of them wanted to invoke wrath of Ashley Spinelli.

"Want to change the channel?" Mikey asked Gus.

"Eh..." Gus replied.

"You're right."

Spinelli was in kitchen with Gretchen still trying to talk Gretchen into telling about her little secret. "Come on Gretch, all this sneaking around may give Vince the wrong idea. Plus you're not happy when you're not around him. I can see it in your eyes. They seem so alive when you're around him and now not so much."

"Okay, fine, I'll tell him the next time I get a chance. It's just how are we going to manage? We're not married or have steady jobs and the baby should be due before school is out plus how will I deal with school and being pregnant?" Gretchen asked Spinelli in a worried tone.

"You'll manage. At least you'll have each other and the rest of us can help out 'til you two get on your feet. But look at the bright side of things. You'll be a mother and I have to settle for just Aunt Spinelli." Spinelli piped up directing the last of her comments to Gretchen's abdomen.

"Spin, what if you get married and change your last name? Shouldn't the child be able to call you Ashl"

"Don't say it! Listen, I'll think about it just don't"

"Say you're real name I know."

"Good. Hey look," Spinelli turned Gretchen's attention through the living room and into the entrance hallway. "Vince is back and looks like he brought a friend."

"And quite hunk too. Wonder where Vince found him?"

"Hey Gretch, you're with Vince so he's mine." Spinelli replied as she and Gretchen got up from the kitchen table and walked into the living room where Vince was making introduction.

"This is Gustav Griswold," Vince started.

"Just call me Gus, sir." Gus said with a standing salute before sitting back down.

"Mikey Blumberg,"

"Nice to meet you." Mikey said with a wave.

"This lovely woman is my girl Gretchen" Vince began as he started to move towards her to give Gretchen a hug and peck on the cheek.

"Grundler." TJ said shocking all that were present in the room. How could this man know Gretchen's last name ran through everyone's minds. What ran through TJ's mind was; 'Oh my god Vince and Gretchen finally hooked up' when TJ realized who everyone was.

"You had the highest SAT score in the high school's history; 1580." TJ commented. "She's your girl Vince? Bout time that happened."

"Who the hell are you?"

Everyone's attention was drawn to Spinelli who had her hands placed on the couch back and was staring daggers at TJ.

TJ was taken back for just moment. There she was in front of him and she didn't know it was him. Drawing himself up TJ simply pronounced himself to the group. "I'm Theodore Jeremiah Detwieller." A still silence followed. "You guys don't recognize me do you?" TJ said with a neutral tone in his voice.

A synchronized shaking of head no ensued. Spinelli was the first to comment. "That man is dead. So whoever you are you should stop playing games."

"It's true, the man you say you are was listed as a casualty in a fire fight in Iraq some two months back." Gretchen said in a small voice.

"Casualty generally means the wounded. Fatalities are the dead." TJ replied in his stead calm voice. "Where was the gun battle?"

"Takrit." was the simple answer that Spinelli provided though TJ could hear a hint of a falter in her voice.

"The Battle of Blood Cry. I was there. Lost all the men in my outfit. That's where I got this beauty." TJ said indicating his scarred cheek. "Still don't believe me heh? Well how about this?" TJ took out the bundle of letters from his inner vest pocket. "These are all the letters you wrote me Spin." TJ said as he handed them to Spinelli.

Everyone save TJ gathered around Spinelli as she undid the bundle and looked at them. There was a hole in the middle but Spinelli could still read the writing that was indeed her own. She had written a lot of letters to TJ but she never realized that she had written so many.

Giving the letters to the rest of the gang to look over Spin slowly walked up to TJ and looked over his face. It was scarred on the cheek but apart from that Spinelli could see that it was really TJ by his eyes. His soft brown eyes that always had a special twinkle to them when she was around. "TJ?" Spinelli questioned while still looking up into his eyes to make sure it was him.

"That's my name don't wear it out." TJ said with grin. "Bout time someone believes me."

Spinelli tentatively tried several attempts to hug TJ but found that she didn't have the courage to do it. Finally TJ just enveloped her in a big bear hug lifting her helplessly into the air like he used to do when they were younger.

"It's really you TJ?" Gus asked. TJ drew his attention back to the rest of the gang. Vince had his arm around Gretchen's waist who looked like she was going to well up. Mikey looked about the same but then he had always been the more emotional of the guys in the group.

"I can't believe you didn't tell us Vince." Gretchen said hitting Vince lightly on the chest.

"I wanted to see your reactions." Vince said with a sort of pleading look to TJ who decided to go alone with Vince's idea.

"Ya, priceless as I said. So... tell me what's new." TJ said.

All this time Spinelli was still hanging helpless in TJ firm but comforting hold. She had learned long ago that resisting was futile, he was taller and it was far too warm and comfortable to spoil with even a fake struggle. Hoping that TJ wouldn't notice Spinelli snaked her arms around him and nuzzled into his jacket a bit. However TJ did feel these movements and sucked in his breathe sharply and quickly but strain fully asked Spinelli to let go.

"No, it's not your fault. It's just I had two ribs cracked in my last mission and I'm still healing." TJ explained upon seeing Spinelli's and everyone else's expressions of concern and worry. "You mind if I sit down in my own home?"

"No. Go right ahead." Vince said and took a seat in a chair and Gretchen planted herself in his lap. Gus and Mikey pulled up chairs and Spinelli sat at the other end of the couch with TJ.

"Really, what's new here?" TJ asked as he took out a flask from vest.

"Not too much." Gus started.

"School's around the bend again." Gretchen said from her perch, as she played with Vince's hair, which was pretty hard to do since he had the same buzz cut that he had in, elementary.

"Ya, the football season is upon us. Practices will be a pain." Vince told TJ.

"At least you have Gretchen here to rub you down afterwards." Mikey said nudging Gus.

"VINCE!" Came the immediate response from Gretchen.

"Right, so tell me how this came about." TJ asked Spinelli since Gretchen was all worked up at Mikey's comment.

"It just sorta did. Well, they did dance around each other a bit until the guys and I decide to lock them in a room together. Well the rest is right before you." 'I wish could end up like them.' Spinelli thought the last part in her head as she waved a hand at Gretchen who had calmed down and was now trading mumbles with Vince.

"So how did you all keep in touch with each other over the years? I mean the whole gang is here, how you guys manage that?" TJ asked while he took a swing from his flask.

Again Spinelli answered. "We all live here. It cuts down on living costs since we all share spending and it's near the college... What's in that flask of yours?" Spinelli changed the subject. She was sure that TJ had offer the house to just her and she in her turn had offered it to her friends. Even though TJ was kind hearted and probably didn't mind Spinelli couldn't help but feel bad that she had never told TJ about this arrangement in all her letters to him.

"Oh this. This is part of what the boys call the victory pack." TJ reached into his vest and took out a pack of cigarettes and put them on the small living room table. "You got your victory cigar or cigarette, and your drink of choice. Now this just holds some gin." TJ explained.

"Oh, so you smoke and drink now?" Gus asked.

"Yup, welcome to the Army Gus. Well to the Infantry Divisions at least. We get the hardest work and so there's some perks we get. Don't you guys even drink?" TJ asked.

"Well... Vince started and just looked up at Gretchen who went a deep red.

"Socially yes."

Spinelli and Gus choose not to answer.

"Well I'll tell you it helps kill the pain mostly and the cigarettes are for burning bullet wounds shut. All of which just plain hurts." TJ said plainly because that was what he used his 'victory pack' for. He wasn't a smoker or heavy drinker though he had been in a few bar fights before.

"You... you ever have to do that?" Spinelli said with a cringe at the thought of shearing bullet wounds shut and she was supposed to be the tough one.

TJ started to take off his vest and shirt but stopped. "You mind ladies?" TJ asked.

Gretchen just looked at Vince and waved her hand for TJ to carry on with his story. Spinelli tried to hide her private want to see TJ topless by just nodding no.

TJ took off his vest, folded it and placed it on the table. Next came off his shirt followed by his tank top.

Everyone gasped in the room but all for a different reason. Vince, Mikey, and Gretchen were just plain shocked at the amount of scarred tissue that was displayed on TJ's torso. Gus was in awe that TJ had so many battle scars and Spinelli was speechless. She had seen TJ topless before during the hotter days of the year and while he still had his well-packed abs and toned chest they were covered with many scars. Most were small scratches but a few really drew attention to them. Several healed over bullet wounds were clustered around the center of his abs. Another adorned his right shoulder, two more his left biceps, and yet another in his middle of his right hand that Spinelli just noticed.

"How you get so many?" Gus asked with the awe clearly evident in his voice.

"Well, serve in the 504th and you'll see a lot of action. They had to disband the 504th because 75% of the company was killed." TJ plainly stated.

"Oh."

Well chapter 9 done. Ideas to where to take this? More to come. LockDown out...