Carrying the Torch

Chapter 19

I've stopped counting days. He's home. Or he will be in a couple weeks.

He's been in the hospital for two days. They have awful food but I refuse to leave. I'm laying in bed next to him. We're holding hands. We just finished a terrible lunch of cold turkey sandwiches and jello.

A nurse walks in with a smile on her face. "Hey Luke! How are you doing?" she says.

"I'm doing amazing. How are you?" he asks.

"I'm great. But you have a big day ahead."

"That's right! You get to walk today!" I say excitedly. "You'll be one step closer to getting home. Haha. Get it? One step closer?"

He turns to whisper in my ear. "And one step closer to putting babies in you."

I feel myself blushing as I hit his arm.

"Doctor Adams should be down from ortho in a minute. I will go get you a walker and be right back," the nurse states.

She leaves the room and I sit up in bed. "Are you ready?"

"I'm ready to leave and go home with my wife," he says with a wink. Sometimes I hate the affect he has on me.

I climb off the bed and go around to his side. I help him sit up. When he does, he winced slightly. I know his ribs hurt, being broken and all, but he thinks he has to be all brave for me.

His hangs his right leg off the bed with ease, but his left leg is harder. It's in a brace and I know he's in pain.

He grabs his thigh and pulls it to hang off the bed next to his other one.

I don't think I've quit smiling since the nurse left. I'm excited for him.

I stand between his legs and rest my forehead against his. He smiles and presses his lips to mine.

As our lips move against eachother I hear someone walking in the room.

"Okay Luke," I hear Doctor Adams say. She stops when she sees us.

Luke takes a deep breath and turns around to glare at her. "Bad timing," he bluntly states.

"Come in," I say to her and the nurse, laughing.

She laughs. "It looks like you're ready. Let's get you up and moving," she says excitedly.

The nurse comes to stand in front of Luke so I move to sit on the bed next to him. I set my hand on his thigh and he sets his on top of mine. He squeezes my hand and smiles at me.

The nurse sets up a walker in front of Luke. She holds a strap in her hand.

Doctor Adams stands in front of Luke. "Okay, Luke. Point your toes to the ground." He does. "Great, now point them up." He does. "And now to the right." He does. "And to the left." He does as told. "Awesome! Now draw a circle with your toe." His foot makes a circular motion.

"Luke! You did it!" I say taking his face in my hands and kissing him. When we pull away he has a smile on his face.

"Okay. Ready to stand?"

"Let's do this," Luke says.

The nurse wraps the band around his waist. He puts both of his hands on the walker before sliding off the bed. I hear his feet hit the tile floor and I know he did it. I stand up next to him, beaming. The nurse stands behind him with the strap in her hand.

"Remember Luke, take a step, get your balance. You can do it," Doctor Adams says.

And he does it. He takes a step. And then another.

He walks all the way to the nurses' station a few doors down the hall and back again. I follow him the whole way.

We get back to his room and he sits on the bed, exhausted.

"That was great!" Doctor Adams says. "You did really well. We are going to keep you walking and increase your distance every day. And you need to stretch. Do the ABCs- draw the alphabet with your left foot. It helps with your flexibility."

"Okay," Luke replies.

"I will let you rest. You did great work today."

Doctor Adams and the nurse leave the room. Luke lays back on his bed. "I'm going to sleep now."

"Okay," I smile. "I love you." I take the few steps that it takes to get to him and kiss him.

"I love you too." And he is out.

I pull the chair from the corner of the room to the side of his bed. I hold his hand and I don't let go.

))

It's been a week since Luke started walking again. He's been assigned to walk around his floor six times today. The bruising in his ribs has gone way down. His head has quit hurting as well.

We are on the way back from his last lap. We reach his door and he collapses onto his bed. "Lay with me," he instructs.

I crawl into the small bed with him. Our hands instinctively lace together.

"I didn't cry," I say, staring at the ceiling.

"What?" he asks, confused.

"I didn't cry. When you left I did but when I got the call I didn't. She said you got shot and I didn't cry. She said you asked to be closer to me. I didn't cry. She said you went into surgery and I didn't cry. And I feel bad."

"I'm sure I've gotten you all cried out by now. I've probably made you an emotional wreck. I have that affect on people."

I slap his chest. "Shut up. I feel bad."

"You don't need to feel bad. I've put you through hell and you don't deserve it. I'm not offended and you don't need to dwell on it."

"Okay," I whisper.

The next few minutes are spent in silence.

Doctor Adams comes in with a smile on her face. "I have good news," she says. "I think it's time for you to go home. I am going to discharge you in the morning."

"You what?" he asks as he sits up. "I get to go home? Like home home? With my wife?" His grip tightens on my hand, a smile spreading across his face.

"Yes. You can go home and be with your wife. We have to do one final exam but yes, you should be fine to go."

"That's amazing!" I exclaim. "Thank you so much!"

"Thank you," Luke says.

She smiles at us. "I'll see you in the morning." She walks out, leaving us alone.

We instantly turn to eachother and press our lips together. "Luke! We get to go home!"

"I know," he hasn't stopped smiling yet. "I know."

"Rico misses you. He's still mad at me."

"Yeah, he's kind of an ass."

Luke is coming home. I can't wait for us to start our life together. We lay back down together, my back against his chest. "Luke," I say.

"Yes babe?"

I shouldn't have started this sentence. "How soon do you want to have kids?" I just blurt it out.

"I'm not sure. What about you?"

"I don't know either. I want to soon, but I don't wanna get pregnant, you know, my first time, our first time. And I want us to be happy before we do. I don't know."

"I can't wait to start our family together. How about we use protection the first time and see what happens after that?"

I nod. "Okay."

"I love you Mrs. Reynolds," he kisses my neck.

"I love you too." I feel his arm snake around my waist, his thumb rubbing my exposed hip bone. This moment is perfect. I have everything. I have Luke. Luke is my everything.