V-I-T-C-O-R-Y

Dave quietly sang to himself as he typed on his computer. He was finishing up on a case file before heading home for the night, and only two other agents remained at the office with him. J.J. was finishing off on signing her files and Luke, like Dave, still had to finish writing his report up.

Victory, victory, that's our battle cry

Dave continued to sing to himself as he remembered the successful case they had had. James Winter, 33 year old male, had been kidnapping little boys who reminded him of his son. The team had brought them all home safe and unharmed and James was arrested without incident.

S-O-L-D-I-E-R

Dave continued to sing a bit more enthusiastically, a smile on his face about the fact that this team, his group of soldiers, had come out of this battle unscathed for the most part. That was a rare occurrence that Rossi did not take for granted and he counted his blessings on every blue moon occasion that it happened.

Soldiers, soldiers, that's who we are

Dave thought about that verse for a moment as he stopped singing. They were in a way soldiers, fighting a war on the home front against an impossible enemy. It's why he took every good case as a blessing and also why every bad case drove him to bust his ass harder. Unlike most of the team, Luke being the obvious exception, he was a soldier. No he was a Marine, and that was something that would never change. It wasn't just a job, it was a life style and a personality all on it's own.

C-O-U-N-T-R-Y

For duty, honor, country, I'd give my life

Rossi continued singing, as this line always hit home for him and he could physically feel it in his heart every time he sang it. He would lay down his life for this country, he didn't want to die but if he needed to then he'd bear that cross with honor.

Six to the front and three to the rear,

that's the way we do it here,

Dave at this point was fairly sure he was mixing up the Marine and Navy version of the cadence but honestly both sides rang true so he didn't much care. And he continued to sing as he no longer typed, just focused on the words.

If I die on the old drop zone,

box me up and ship me home,

tell my mom I did my best,

pin my medals upon my chest,

Dave sang as he remembered all his friends who had died in combat in Vietnam. At 18, it wasn't just hard, it was impossible to handle but he did some how. 18, damn, what an age to go to war, fresh out of high school and no idea what life had planned for you. To be dropped in the middle of a war zone and forced to watch friends die...well it was difficult to say the least.

Tell my RDCs I did my best,

Tell 'em I was buried in a leaning rest.

Dave finished off knowing for sure now that he had definitely gotten the Navy and Marine versions mixed up somehow. He looked up when he realized someone had been listening to him. J.J. and Luke, both smiling, stood at the door and watched him quietly. He regarded the two agents wearily as what they had watched had been a very personal moment for the old Marine.

"You happen to know another one of those?" J.J. asked curiously as she slowly walked in and sat down in front of his desk. Luke followed J.J.'s lead a few seconds later and also took a seat.

"I know a few," David replied as he watched two people he considered to be like surrogate kids to him. For him to do this, even if it seemed like nothing, was for him to open up to them about the past a lot. There would more than likely be questions about what had happened during his 22 year military career and Rossi wasn't sure he was ready for that. He did know one thing though... If he was going to open up to anyone he was glad it was these two.