We were Best Friends

The Jackson Parents

My eyes leave the scene unfolding in the tent, and back to the name on the stone in front of me.

"You should be here. You should see the idiotic move Tony just decided to pull. Totally Tony for yah. I wasn't actually expecting him to show his sorry behind today." I stand and stare at the stone, smiling faintly until it starts to rain. Why is it always rain and never hail or cats and dogs.

A black umbrella appears above me, Tony is standing right beside me looking at the name Jack L. Winsome  and at the same time watching me.

"He was my best friend while I was there. Always had my back and a good comment to throw at or with me." Without thinking I lean over slightly, pressing my shoulder to his. "He found out who we were liberating. You being the person. He found me as soon as he could, let me know and tried to talk me out of it. He knew I wasn't wanting to see you like that."
"Meaning?"
"Probably bound, held in a small room and maybe bloody."

The pressure between our shoulders is constant, reliable, comforting even. "Well, I wouldn't have wanted you to see anyone you cared about like that. Preferably in a less violent way. Just as a different convoy being sent to save me, not being split up. Staying together and getting to the captured- as you all call me- together and safely. With your family still intact."

I look at him. Really look at him.

The divot in front of his ear where I hit him with a screwdriver at age nine, the glasses that used to be his fathers. He'd call them vintage and classic. The look in is eyes as he looks between the stones I was looking at only a half hour earlier.

Before all the speeches, before being shoved towards the podium.

The look hidden behind his fathers sunglasses may not be obvious to most people, but when you know someone for your whole life you get to know them even when they are hiding behind shades. "What are you thinking?"

He turned his head to me, eyes tearing from Jacks tombstone. "Just how you would prefer to stand out here with him, in the rain mind you, than over with all the living people. It shows you how much you cared."
"I'm not just with him, I'm with Tim and Ethan too. They were my family."

We stand in silence for awhile, only the patter of the rain in the thin cover above us.

"Have you ever met Pepper?"
"No. Just saw her on the news channel once in awhile, she was covering for you. Oh, I also saw her the day you shot me."

He gives me a nod not saying anything about shooting me.  Sam starts his way over to us. "Steve just called. Mc'Soldier is needing some help. I'm going back. See you when you get there (N/N)?"
"Yah. I'll be back soon."

He gives a low chuckle and get going, head ducked to avoid the rain. "How's he getting home?"
"He has my keys."

A fancy sports car peels out. "That's definitely one way to stay under the radar." I watch the tail lights until they disappear over a rise in the road, even with them gone from my sight I look on hoping to catch another glimpse.

Minutes pass and my name is called once again, I am escorted back to the tent with my hand in the crook of Tony's arm. Just like how our parents taught us to walk for our graduation.

That feels like a life or two ago.

They wanted me for a picture, holding the name tags of the fallen. The fallen that I was with, that I should be with. The tags feel heavy in my hands, I end up sitting down staring at them while people approach and take pictures.

A calloused hand picks up one, J. Jackson "you know, when I made my son join the army I expect him to come home."

Looking up I see a man that was once blond, but now very grey. Blue eyes and broad shoulders. Metals pinned to his uniform. There's a woman clinging to his arm, small and blonde but greying as well. Palest blue eyes I've ever seen. I give her a nod.

Robson told me to watch out for Jackson's parents. Guess I forgot. "Sir?"
"My son Jason. He was in the 737th with you. Do you remember?"
"Not much of him sir. But I believe he was only there for a week or so?"
"That's correct. He was to your left."
"To my right actually."

The man eyes me, I look away and look back at the pile of tags in my hands. Shifting them so I can see all three of my friends. "These three here were my family. I don't have any siblings and my parents died on my third tour. They got me laughing again. I knew Stark long before we were sent to rescue him. We grew up together, they knew that and were one hundred percent ready to stay behind with me so I didn't have to see him again. Your son and Ethan became friends while we were there. He offered to stay behind with me too. But, I had listened to him and Ethan talking about their families and how they never missed a chance to become greater than they already were. Just to please their parents and family. I went through with the mission so that they could become amazing. They were already great." I can feel eyes coming from behind me. I can tell their Tony's. "I wasn't sure what to expect when I got out in the middle of the group, I was going to switch places with Jason but as I was going over to him I got yelled at and had to stay where I was. Otherwise your son, your son Jason would be alive."

The woman moves, sitting beside me with one hand gently patting my leg. "You probably don't know but Jason sent home a letter. One per day in fact. Each day there were tales of the friends that he had made. He said that two of them met by one putting worms down the others shirt. I'd like to know who those people are."

Smiling at her I lay all the tags from my hands down on my legs, the three that were my family and Jason's on one leg closest to her, the rest on the other. Finally I unpin my own, placing it down with the others. It looks at home there. "Take a guess as to who it was."

While she looks at the names I beckon Chris and Marci over, and add their name tags to the group with Jacks in it.

After a few seconds of consulting she grabs hold of two tags. Ethan's and my own. "You have mine correct. But it wasn't Ethan. Pick another one."

After a few more second of me watching her she reaches for Jacks. "Correct. He thought it would be a good idea to put them down my shirt just before parade started. It caused me to stand with them in my back for almost an hour before I could get rid of them."

She smiles at me, giving me a nod. "What happened next my dear?"
"I made him eat them. Well, only one."

She looks surprised, but she sets the names down and asks another question.

"My son also said that there was a boy that managed to sneak into the girls bunks and cover one in shaving cream?"
Laughing I nod remembering the night more vividly then when Marci and I discussed it earlier. "Yah, that was Ethan actually. He thought he was covering me in the stuff but got Marci instead. We had swapped bunks after she had fallen out of the top one and wanted the one closer to the ground."

His mother laughs, and his father steps around us and takes a seat in my other side. "Is it true, that Jason managed to pin you to the ground during a random sparing attempt?"

Smiling I tell him it is, even managing to come up with the reason for the spar.  One of the other soldiers calling Jason weak, saying that he couldn't pin a girl. So, I said that we 'fought' and he got me to the ground. Then I took on the guy that commented to Jason and pinned him to be ground successfully. I even went as far as saying that Jason got a fair bit more respect after all of that.

None of this is true, but it's good to make a dead sons parents feel better.

As people slowly start to head out, I get a ride back to my house with Chris T. and Tony, knowing it's going to another long and awkward ride I turn in the AC and radio right away.