Just Remember

Chapter 16 Sleepless nights, and Saddles

As the months passed Grace was now back on her feet, she had taken up her exercise routine, again, and was over joyed not only that she could attend to her son without help from anyone, and insisted that J.J. return to playing full time, much to his dismay. He was worried about her because she still wasn't sleeping very well after months. It was the day before his first away game in two years, and he awoke to find, Grace gone from the bed, as had become normal for her, since she found it impossible to sleep passed four thirty in the morning these days. He entered the kitchen to find her cooking away at the stove, with a piece of toast with strawberry jam sticking out of her mouth as their now one year old son kicked joyfully in his high chair as he crammed a hand full of cheerios into his mouth before attempting to offer some to his smiling dad.


"Please tell me that you plan on eating more than toast for breakfast," J.J. said as he wrapped one arm around Grace's waist and stole the other half of her toast from her clenched teeth making her growl at him?
"Hay, I was making your breakfast. That was my toast, you can make your own," Grace laughed as he kissed her neck.
"I could, but it tastes better when I know that it was in your mouth first. So, what do you have planned for Lee's party, since you and mother are keeping me completely in the dark about this," J.J. asked with a smile?


"I'm making that cake that you love so much, and cookies, and your mom is making the potato salad, while your dad is grilling the meat. Becky and Brad said something about a special surprise for Lee that they had to pick up, that only leaves you to fill the Piñata, and what are they doing, out there with that pony? There's no way in Hell," Grace snapped as she turned the fire off and stomped from the house angrily upon seeing Bradly unloading a little black pony from their trailer, along with a small pony cart. "Bradly Runyon, what exactly is that doing in my yard," Grace growled as J.J. exited the house with Lee in his arms?


"What does it look like Grace, it's a pony for Lee," Bradley said as he placed the harness onto the pony and hitched him to the cart with a smile.
"And do you expect for me to just allow my only child to ride that , that, thing when he might have not even been born the last time that I was on one of those monster's," Grace growled glaring at Bradly?
"No, he's not ever going to be left alone with the pony, or in the cart. We just thought that you'd like to teach him like your dad taught you. We also brought a present for you," Bradley said pointing to the trailer behind her where Becky was unloading a jet black stud colt , that made Grace's face pale, before she grasped her head in her hands and ran in horror for the last place that they expected her to step foot in for a long time.


J.J. handed Lee off to his stunned mother who had just arrived, and ran after her, to hear her sobbing and hyperventilating from inside of the General's old stall. "Grace, babe, it's okay, calm down, it's not him," J.J. soothed.
"Justin, I can't, handle this, every time that I haven't been able to sleep since I've been able to walk on my own, I've been coming out here, trying to make sense of it all, trying to make the nightmare of my body flying through the air stop replaying in my head, trying to remember what the Hell happened to me in the first place, and why I can't find the will to even touch a horse again, and then it suddenly is so vividly clear, that I'm scared. God Justin, I'm so fucking scared," she sobbed into his arms as he knelt on the shaving covered stall floor and pulled her into his arms.


"Grace, babe, please talk to me. What do you remember?" he asked.
"Justin, it happened during the super bowl didn't it," Grace asked not knowing if she really wanted to know if she was right or not?
"Yes, babe, it did. That was the worse day of my life, because I thought that I was going to lose you, forever," J.J. admitted.
"Justin, I can remember the entire performance, the crowds, the way that General was acting weird that day. Tell me the truth, that crazed woman at the hospital all of those months ago when you brought me home, was that my mother," Grace asked looking up into his eyes,"


"Yes, I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to be afraid of her. Are you angry at me," J.J. asked noticing the cold expression that entered Graces' hazel eyes?
"No, I understand, why you did it. I also know why she attempted to get me killed, or placed permanently into her care. She didn't bargen on me actually being married to you. Where is she now," Grace asked?
"She's in the women's unit in Huntsville at this moment awaiting transfer to The William, P. Hobby Unit," J.J. said as he helped Grace back to her feet and pulled her into his arms again.


"So she's in Prison, for what she did to me," Grace asked wanting clarity?
"Yes, and so is her little accomplish who drugged the General with high doses of Steroids. That's what's caused him to go nuts that day. Grace, I know that you don't want to ride anymore, but That horse that Becky brought to you, is the last bred foal that was born from the General's sire, He's a direct full brother, to the General, so she thought that you'd like to have him. I know that you don't want to ride, but at least use him for the breeding program," I'd like to see you get back into the training and the other aspects of horses, the way that you were before the accident," J.J. said as he pulled her from the stall, and removed General's name plaque and placed it into her hand as Becky led the Black Stallion into the barn with a worried expression on her face.


"Grace, are you alright? I honestly didn't mean," started Becky before Grace stepped up to the stallion and looked him over before taking the rope from Becky's hand and leading him into the stall that was once occupied by his older brother.
"He's beautiful, Rebecca. Thank you for such a thoughtful gift. I can't guarantee that you'll ever have the pleasure of seeing me ride him, but I'll keep him, and maybe see what he can do in breeding and producing foals," Grace smiled as she removed the halter, from the horse, and shut the stall door before hanging the halter upon a hook. "Well we've got a first birthday to celebrate, don't we?" Grace smiled as she stepped to the barn door and watched as Bradley rode around the yard pulled by the pony in the cart with little Lee squealing happily clasped in his arms.


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The next day, Grace drove J.J. to the airport and he frowned as he yet again begged her to come with him, and she refused,. He leant over and kissed her, before opening the back seat of the Humvee and giving Lee a kiss on his head of cute strawberry blond curls before grabbing his gear and giving Grace and his little boy one last look before he entered the building for his trip to play his first away game in two years. Grace smiled in the reflection of the rear view mirror and winked at her son before pulling out into traffic to return home with a plan to get back to her old self in secret boiling away in her head.


So that nobody would guess or even suspect what she was doing, she Started going out to the barn every night and slowly started riding again. The First night that she had done this, J.J. had almost caught her just as she had slid off her boots and slid off her riding breeches that she wore under his old height school jersey. She had barely managed to push her boots under the sofa and stuff her breeches down into the cushions of the sofa when she heard him calling her name softly so as not to wake their sleeping son, and looked up innocently from a photo album of her riding with a smile on her face, each time giving him the excuse that she just couldn't sleep.


Though this was true, it wasn't for the reason that he firmly believed, and she smiled at the thought of the surprise that she would give him once she managed to accomplish what she was fighting so hard for. When she arrived home from leaving J.J. at the airport she had decided upon a defiant plan of action. First she would work with the horses, and then she'd work on getting Big Tex back into the swing of things. As the time passed, J.J. continued to complain when she refused to accompany him to his away games, not to mention the fact that by his reasoning, there was simply no way in Hell that she shouldn't be pregnant again.


He strongly suspected that she was taking birth control pills in an attempt to wait until Lee was at least two before they had another baby. It had passed on up until Lee's second birthday, in this manner, and J.J. was still blind to his wife's secret activity. Undenounced to him, she had contacted MacNair, and a few select others when J.J. was at Practice so that he wouldn't know and made bold plans that would shock J.J. to his core.


Out on the practice field, J.J. was going through his paces, getting ready for the last game that would make or break the Texans chances of taking the Super Bowl win again. He didn't see the point in even working out for it if it was going to be an away game and if Grace was not going to attend with him, but both Grace and MacNair were firm on what they wanted. Macnair's phone rang as he watched the Texans out on the field, and a smile lit up his face as a familiar voice came onto the line. He was about to call out to J.J. knowing how jealous he was with his wife, only to be stopped mid thought by her stern words.


"MacNair, if you ever want Big Tex and I to get back onto the field, you'd better not let J.J. know anything that I'm about to say to you," Grace snarled.
Macnair turned away so that J.J. couldn't see him and moved so that he wouldn't be over heard, before he spoke. "Grace, What do you mean, If I want Big Tex back on the Field.? Of course I want both of you back on the field, but if it's going to risk your health and but J.J. through that Hell again, than You'd better not," MacNair said.
"Macnair, what are the chances, of the Texans making it to the Super Bowl again this season," Grace asked?


"Right now, our chances are looking pretty good. The game that we're scheduled to play tonight will be the deciding factor on if we take another trip to the Bowl. Why do you want to know? It's not like you're planning on going with us is it," MacNair asked?
"MacNair, J.J.'s been grumbling at me for the last two years because to his knowledge I have not bothered to even touch a horse or ride it. If you can motivate the Team to get into the Super Bowl, I'll make sure that J.J. is there, and I'll have a large surprise for the Halftime show, and for every touch down after that. Just don't tell J.J. anything," Grace warned.
"You have my word G.G. I won't tell anyone," Macnair said before the line went silent.


Later that night after the game, J.J. rushed home feeling like he could fly. The only thing that would make his night complete at that moment was being with his wife. When he got home he noticed that the second floor office light was on, and knew exactly where Grace would be at that moment. When Grace heard the kitchen door shut she thickly changed her computer screen to show a horse related page, so that J.J. wouldn't see the fact that she was working on her Super Bowl Routine. She looked up when he bounded up the stairs and leapt over the desk shutting her laptop, and knocking her to the floor making her scream in shock.


"Justin James, Watt, what the hell has gotten into you," Grace streaked as she rubbed the back of her head and noticed that he had managed to break her office chair?
"Sorry about that, babe, but I just couldn't help being so excited. I didn't hurt you did I," J.J. asked as he helped Grace to her feet?
"No, I'm fine, but what the Hell, did you have to break my favorite chair when you tackled me," Grace asked as she looked into his sparkling blue eyes?
"Babe, we're going to the Super Bowl again," J.J. smiled as he picked her up and spun with her in his arms excitedly.


"Really, Justin, that's awesome! Where is it going to be held this year," Grace asked not letting on the at she already knew the answer to that?
"Dallas, it's not far, babe. I know that you don't like attending the away games, but will you please attend with me this time," j.J. asked with a pleading expression in his eyes?
"I don't know, Justin. The Super Bowl is more than a tender spot for me. Can I think about it and give you my answer later," Grace hedged?
"Of course, Grace. It would just be nice if you'd consider it. I miss having you on the field. Hell truthfully the only reason that the fans keep on returning is because we continue to win, and in the hopes of seeing you and Big Tex again. Nobody expects you to ride, we just want you on the sidelines once more. Anyway, its late, why don't you join me in a shower," J.J. asked with a devilish wink?
"Honestly you and showers, Justin," Grace laughed as she allowed him to swing her over his shoulder and carry her downstairs and into their master bathroom .


-------

For the next few weeks leading up to the Super Bowl, Grace enlisted and sworn to secrecy Connie and Becky so that she could get Big Tex ready for the biggest show of his career. The two women were floored the evening when Grace had called them over and they saw her moving around the track leaping on and off of the Black Stallion that she named Lone Star, with ease as she spun two flags. She laughed at their reaction when she brought Lone Star around and to a stop and slid from his back. "What, you ladies look as if someone just walked all over your freshly washed laundry," Grace giggled as she led her horse over to the hot walker and removed his saddle so that he could cool down from his work out?


"G-Grace, you're riding," Connie stammered in clear shock.
"She's more than riding, she back," Becky squealed as she grabbed Grace around the waist and squeezed hard in excitement!
"Oh My God, does J.J. know about this? He'll be ecstatic," Connie asked bouncing like a giddy teenager?
"No he doesn't know, and both of you are forbidden to inform him," Grace said crossing her arms.


"But Grace, he won't like that you hold something like this from him. He'll have a fit, if he finds out from someone else," Connie said in a serious tone.
"Look you two, I've managed to get back into the saddle since shortly after you gave me Lone Star, Becky. I am tired of everyone commenting on how I'm not myself. I'm tired of J.J.'s constant fretting over how he misses the me that I sued to be. I wanted this back just as much as he did, and that's why I'm planning a rather large surprise for him that will blow his mind. All I need from the two of you, is for you Mom to babysit Lee while J.J. and I are in Dallas next week. Becky I'll need you to get the farm fully running again. Let the trainers that I've hired know that I'll be taking over after the Super Bowl," Grace said calmly.


"Wait a minute, You're going to the Super Bowl," Connie blurted?
"Yes, but J.J. must not know, that I'll be taking part in the halftime show, or he'll more than likely try to stop me This is the final hurdle to get over before I will be free to live my life the way that I always have, and to free myself from those nightmares. I want this more than he knows," Grace said as she carried her stunt saddle back into the tack room and grabbed her grooming tools to attend to the horse before returning him to his stall for the rest of the night.


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It was now two days before Super Bowl, and J.J. was strongly debating upon not playing. He wanted Grace to come with him, but thus far she had not given him an answer to his question on rather she would join him or not. He awoke when the alarm screamed in his ear at five thirty that morning to find Grace surprisingly had the truck hooked up to her large Luxury trailer, and she was sitting in the front seat with the engine running sipping from a hot spill proof mug of coffee, and handed one over to J.J. as he slid into the passenger seat with a puzzled expression on his face.


"What's with the trailer? Aren't you going to the Super Bowl with me," he asked frowning as she threw the truck into gear and pulled out into the quiet of the early morning street?
"I'm sorry, Justin, but I can't go with you. Though I will try to be there to watch you play. I got a call from a breeder in Fort worth, who says that he has a stallion that he thinks would be worth my money, and I have two horses, to deliver to a ranch not far from the Stadium," she said without looking in his eyes as she drove towards the airport.
"Well I can't say that I'm happy about it, but, at least you're slowly getting back into horses, and you'll be there on game day. I guess that I can deal with that," J.J. said with a sigh.


"Look, sweetie, I know that you really wanted me to be there the whole time, but, I'll make you a deal," Grace smirked as she thought on how she had stopped taking her birth control ever since J.J. had been too tired to even move once he hit the bed the past week.
"What kind of deal?" J.J. asked curiously as he sipped his coffee and nibbled at a chocolate muffin?
"Well, If you play the way that you always do giving one hundred and ten percent, and bring me home a super bowl ring that you actually played an entire game to earn, I will stop taking the birth control and we can give Lee a baby brother or sister," Grace smiled.


J.J. sputtered and spat his coffee making it splatter the windshield, in shock at his wife's words. She patted his back before handed him a small towel to clean up the mess that he had made in her truck with a grin. "I knew that you were taking something. Damned it that was hot," he said as he attempted to clean the mess.
"I told you that I wanted to wait until Lee had turned two. Frankly I stopped taking it the day after his birthday. I'm surprised that you were so tired that you didn't even attempt to jump my bones, and make the windows shake with my screams of passion," Grace smirked as she pulled into the unloading lane at the airport.
"So let me get this straight. If I play and make our team win the Bowl, you'll give me another child," J.J. asked still in a state of shock?
"Yes, I might give you more than one, if you're a good boy," Grace teased as she pulled him over for a goodbye kiss before pulling away from the terminal as he stood there with a goofy grin on his face.