The Christmas Wish

Chapter Twelve

Luke's POV

It's been several days since I was cleared to be transported to Landstuhl Regional Hospital on base in Germany. One step closer to home and trying to figure out how I am going to provide for my family. This has been on my mind since I woke up, and now it is my main thought.

"Everything is ready for your transfer. Are you ready?" The doctor asks as he and my nurse come in to help me.

"As ready as I can be. I don't have much to take with me. I've got everything here in this bag."

They help me into the wheelchair and we head out to the ambulance to take me to the waiting airplane. I spend the next several hours in my own head. There are a few other passengers with me, but I am not in the mood to talk. I can't help sinking into my own self-pity. I can't believe it has come to this. How am I supposed to be the man I am meant to be? My love is home alone, struggling to keep everything afloat, and my little girl is acting out. My whole world is falling apart, and there is nothing I can do about it. All of a sudden my ankle starts to throb, and I reach down to rub it and remember that it is no longer there. Throwing my head back against the headrest and a tear slips from my eye. The guy next to me tries to talk to me, but I just turn and face the window, trying to ignore him. I am just not in the mood to talk to anyone. A few hours later we finally arrived in Germany and I was taken to the ambulance. Thankfully, I was alone on the ride to the hospital. Once we reached it, several nurses came out to help me up to my room. They didn't say much, and I think they could sense that I didn't want to talk. They helped me into my bed and left. It was eerily quiet, and I turned to the wall and fell asleep. It felt like minutes when I heard someone trying to wake me up.

"Luke, hey can you wake up." I hear a deep voice say as he softly shakes me.

"Leave me alone."
"Come one. I just need to talk to you a bit. Go over your schedule."

"Not in the mood right now."

"I will go for now. I will be back later. Maybe you will be in a better mood then."
I hear him walk away, and the door closes behind him. I know he means well, and I guess maybe he is my therapist, but I don't care to talk to anybody.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I have been here for about a week, and I haven't moved from this room. I just don't want to face the world or talk to anyone. I have learned that my therapist's name is Josh and he comes in every day to talk to me, and I just ignore him. I know he is only trying to help, but I don't want his help. Today, he came barging into my room.

"Alright, now it's been a week, and you need to get over this self-pity. I have let you have your time, but you need to get moving and work to get back to your family."

"My family won't want me."
"Your family loves you and wants you home."
"They haven't even contacted me."
"You haven't even given them the chance. You won't talk to anybody. I heard you told them to stay away, but I have someone that wants to talk to you."

I slowly turn my chair around, and there stands Cam and Tommy. I can't believe they are here.

"Hey man, good to see you alive and well." Cap says as he reaches out to shake my hand and I quickly take it.

"I told you I would be back." Tommy says as he leans down to hug me.

"You shouldn't have come."
I say as I turn my chair back to the window. I'm sorry they have come all this way, and I don't want them here. I don't want anyone here. I wish they would just leave me alone.

"You're looking good, Luke. You've done really well. They say that you can be fitted for a prosthetic and begin your rehab so you can go home." Cap says as I hear the smile in his voice. I know he is trying to make me feel better. I stay silent. I don't know what to say. Can I really go home and be the man I need to be? How am I going to be able to get back into society? The military is all I know.