VA Meeting

Jessica, one of Sam's longest attendees, was just raising her hand to speak when Sam noticed Steve at the doorway at the side of the hall. He kept his focus on Jessica but gave a little head nod so Steve would know he'd been seen. Steve didn't seem to want to make a fuss, so Sam kept quiet about it. Plus, this was the veterans time, not his.

"The thing is," Jessica said, bringing Sam's full attention back to her, "I think it's getting worse. A cop pulled me over last week, he thought I was drunk. I swerved to miss a plastic bag. I thought it was an IED."

Sam could hear the worry in her voice and see it reflected in the eyes of many of the other veterans present. "Some stuff you leave there," he replied, "other stuff you bring back. It's our job to figure out how we'll carry it. Is it gonna be a big steamer trunk or an overnight bag? Hard to say. But I can tell you one thing, we've all been trained in how to not only carry our kit, but to pack it as well. We can carry the extra stuff when we need to, but we also know how to repack it don't we? So we all need to take a good, honest look at what we are carrying and decide how best to pack it."

Several heads nodded in understanding and Sam spared himself a small smile. "Looks like that's it for time. As always, if anyone wants to talk with me one-on-one, I'm available any time."

Unexpected guests

It had been a good run, though Sam was disappointed not to have run into Steve. He was probably out saving the world or something. Still breathing heavily, Sam opened the fridge, grabbed his jug of OJ, and was just about to drink when the doorbell rang.

Sighing, Sam put the OJ back, closed the fridge, and answered to door to find Steve and that cute redhead who had picked him up the other after their run.

"We have no where else to go," Steve says tersely before Sam even has time to wonder how they knew where he lived.

"Everyone we know is trying to kill us." The redhead said.

When put like that, Sam didn't even have to think about it. "Not everyone..." He said, stepping aside to let them in. Once they passed him, he checked both ends of his street and then the skies above for bogies. All clear.