Incest Justin Thyme by Callicious

[Ramesh_Rocky]

It was ten o'clock Sunday morning when Dr. Thomas Meechum rang the doorbell. Stephanie looked at herself with disdain, but hurried to answer the door. She had thrown on some ratty shorts and an old tee-shirt when she got up just a few minutes ago, but then she had not expected anyone to stop by, and she planned to get a shower before going out with her mom. She had heard her mom stirring in her room, but had not seen her as of yet.

"Yes, can I help you?" she asked as she opened the door slightly.

"Hi, you must be Stephanie. I'm Tom Meechum. I work with your Mom at the hospital. Is she available?"

"Not right at the moment. May I give her a message or anything?"

"Yes, she forgot her pocket book last night when she left work. I tried to wait until I thought she would be up, but I know she was really tired after pulling a double twice in the last three days. Here, you can give it to her for me."

"Tom, is that you?" Mary called from the hallway. "Whatever brings you out this time of day? Steph, let him in. I'll be out in just a minute."

Stephanie stepped back and opened the door for him. "I'm sorry, but we try to be careful about opening the door to people."

"That's wise! You didn't know me, and anyone can claim to be someone, or to know your name or your mom's."

"I apologize for my condition, too. I wasn't expecting company."

Tom just laughed. "You should see how I am dressed around the house! It's usually an old pair of cutoff jeans and tee shirt, too, and only rarely, shoes. This is your house. Be comfortable." Stephanie started to feel more at ease and began to like the guy. As he stepped into the house he stopped just inside the door and stared at the picture on the wall above the piano, and at the folded flag in the holder on the piano beneath it.

He looked from the picture back to Stephanie's face, searchingly. "Don't tell me you are Staff Sargent Winter's daughter."

"Yes, sir. Did you know him?"

"Yes, yes I did." Tom's voice was faint and distant sounding and his face was drawn. "Please, may I sit?"

"Certainly, I'm sorry. Can I get you anything?"

"A glass of water, perhaps?"

Stephanie hurried from the room to get his water and on her return found him sitting, hunched, on the couch with face in hands. A muffled sob came from him, and a tear trickled between his fingers.

"Tom, whatever is wrong?" Mary came hurrying into the room, to find him on the couch so.

Tom lifted an agonized, grief stricken face from his hands. "I didn't know you were Staff Sargent Winter's widow, Mary. I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry," and his face dropped into his hands again as he sobbed, broken hearted.

Mary sat down on the couch and laid a comforting arm across his shoulders, while Stephanie still stood in the middle of the floor holding a glass of water, with no idea what to do. "It's OK, Tom. It's been ten years now. We've moved on. Yes, we miss him, but it's OK."

Tom shook his head, "No", and struggled to get his breathing back under control. Finally he looked up at Mary and Steph with tear streaked cheeks. "No, it isn't OK. I was there, and I live with it every day. Winters was the bravest man I ever knew, and I owe him my life." Stephanie handed him the water and sat down on his other side on the couch, wanting to learn something, anything about the father she only vaguely remembered as a seven year old girl when he left home for the last time.

Mary removed her arm from his shoulders and took his hand in hers, much the same way as she did her patients. "What can you tell me, Tom? Maybe it will help?"

"We were going in to Fallujah trying to relieve a pinned down platoon when we ran into an ambush. There was a lot of commotion, and the Ell Tee stepped on an IED, and it blew off both of his legs. I was the medic and was trying to stabilize him for evacuation when Staff Sar'nt Winters saw a guy point and fire an RPG at us. He pushed me down onto the LT and covered both of us with his body. The RPG hit a Humvee by us, and shrapnel got him in the back. I tried to save him, I really tried, but I couldn't do it. I lost the Ell Tee, too. If it wasn't for Staff Sar'nt Winters I'd be dead. The last thing he said to me was, 'You're a hell of a Devil Doc. Why don't you go to school for the real thing?', and I did when I got out."

Tom took a couple of tissues from the box Mary offered him and wiped his eyes and blew his nose and drew in a ragged, shuddering breath. Mary squeezed his hand in gratitude and smiled up into his eyes. "Thank you, Tom. That means a lot to me. All I heard from the Marine Corps was that he had been killed in a firefight, but nothing about what happened."

"You mean there wasn't anything with his decoration?"

"No, all we got was the Purple Heart, and all it said was for 'wounds received in action near Fallujah."

"That's strange. I know he was put in for a decoration. I'll look into that."

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