Through it all

Truths

He woke first the following morning and was surprised to see Connie still fast asleep cuddled close to him. The morning sunlight slipped in through the curtains and he smiled as he looked at her. She looked beautiful as she slept and he ran his hands gently through her hair,

"Good morning," he spoke quietly, so as not to startle her. He needn't not have worried and she stretched out her legs and smiled up at him,

"Did we sleep like this all night?" She asked almost shyly,

"Yes," he smiled, "why, would you have preferred me the other side of the bed?"

She looked up at him and shook her head, "it's nice... It's been a long time since someone held me through the night,"

He kissed her forehead firmly, "I'll hold you through the night anytime you like," he told her sincerely and she cuddled back into him. She felt the way his arms tightened around her and she instantly felt like there was nothing to worry about in the world.

"Do you have work today?" He asked as his hands continued to run up and down her smooth skin,

"No," she smiled, "do you?"

"No," he replied, "do you want to go to the beach, we can grab some food on the way?"

She knelt up onto her elbow and looked at him, "that sounds lovely," she nodded.

"You prepare the picnic and I'll drive?" He bargained and she nodded,

"Deal."

"It's supposed to reach almost thirty degrees today," she smiled as she reappeared to find him in her kitchen, packing a bag full of food.

"Does that mean I have to drive now?" She asked and he shook his head as he handed her a coffee.

"No," he smiled, "drink this, I'll just have a quick shower."

She nodded and busiest herself with tidying the kitchen. She sighed, leaning back against the work surface. She wasn't sure what she was doing letting him get so close to her. She'd had meaningless nights with strangers since her husbands injury, but nothing like this. She liked spending time with him, and she knew that if this continued her marriage may finally be over.

They arrived at the beautiful beach and Connie got out of the car, slipping her glasses over her eyes and leaning back against the car momentarily.

She felt Jacob beside her and smiled, "let's go and get set up," he offered. She followed him and watched as he moved easily, laying out their towels and a wind breaker. The sun was hot and they found that their clothes soon needed to come off. She sat on the towel beside him and massaged sun lotion into her skin.

He took the bottle from her hands and massaged it into her back, resisting the urge to kiss her slender, curved neck now her hair was in a side bun.

He glanced at her as she read peacefully on her front. She looked simply incredible and he sighed, she was out of his league and he knew it .

She placed her book down and stood up, playfully holding out her hand, "swim with me?"

He stood up, "it's the first hot day of the year, it'll be freezing," he laughed, following her regardless and she jogged down to the sea front.

"Ready," she smiled and squealed as he picked her up and ran into the sea. They swam side by side, heading for a small rocky island that was about half a mile away. He was impressed by her speed and stamina, and she felt safe swimming alongside him.

He pulled himself up onto the rocks and helped her to do the same,

They stood in silence, overlooking the beach, "it's so beautiful over here," she breathed and he nodded,

"That it is,"

He watched her shivering as she dried off and he pulled her into him, wrapping his strong arms around her.

He pressed a soft kiss to her hair and her temple, "it's nice to see you happy... And unstressed," he told her gently,

She nodded, "I never used to be like this... It's not work that stresses me out,"

She slipped her hands up his chest, pressing a gentle kiss to his cheek before someone shouting caused her to pull away from him. "I think they're drowning Jacob," she uttered and she watched momentarily as he jumped into the water, before she followed seconds after him.

Jacob reached the struggling man first and cursed as he hit him out of panic, he swam with him to the shore and Connie yelled that someone called an ambulance. Someone handed her a towel which she wrapped around herself before they began CPR on the sand.

She leaned forward and shook her head, "nothing... Go again,"

They both breathed a sigh of relief as the man coughed, his breathing heavy as she coughed up water as Ian and Jez arrived.

She stood close to him as they took the man into the ambulance, accepting the graze kit they handed her.

"Sit," she told him gently, running a finger across his bruised eye socket,

"I'm fine," he told her and she smiled, "let me just clean you up,"

He watched her as she cleaned up the small cut above his eye, before kissing his cheek gently and running her thumb across his skin,

"All done,"

"Save a man and he ruins your good looks... What thanks is that,"

"Oh, I don't think you look too bad," she smiled.

She found herself sat between his legs as he leaned back against the wind breaker. Her head lulled peacefully against his shoulder and she snuggled against him as the sun hit her skin.

"Our marriage was far from perfect before he had the accident," she told him, grateful as he took her hands and held them gently. "I'd given him an ultimatum... Said I'd give him six months to stop drinking and picking up girls in bars, and I don't think he really even tried. He was driving his motorbike drunk, took a corner too fast and ended up coming off it and severing his spinal cord... They took him to Holby and fixed him up as best they could. He'd broken so many ribs and had such a bad chest infection he had a trache for a while on HDU. He was then transferred to a rehab centre and is now a paraplegic... He's in a chair, and he's strong and could easily live a good life how he is now... But he's so angry Jacob, he's had head CTs and MRI brains and there was no head injury." She sighed, curling up her legs and curling into him, "I could cope with the wheelchair if he still had the personality he had when I married him... It's the anger and the abuse that I can't manage."

She took a sip of her drink and when she returned to his arms he tightened his grip on her as glassy tears rolled down her cheeks, "I want a divorce... I promised that in sickness and in health I'd love him... But I can't... I feel like an awful human being, but I can't be this unhappy anymore."

"You deserve to be happy," he told her kindly, "and you are far from awful,"

"I feel like I'm a mess," she admitted, "the house is too big for me, but I don't know if I have the energy to hunt for a new one."

"I can help you... I like house hunting," he smiled, and she laughed lightly, "and you may feel like a mess, but you certainly don't look like one,"

"I was pregnant..." She admitted, "when I first found him in bed with someone else... I can't explain how it hurt... I lost the baby, and I..." She shrugged, "I blame him for that."

"Oh Connie," he uttered, pressing his lips against her forehead as she found the tears finally stopped,

"Sorry," she spoke quietly, "I hate crying."

He brushed her cheeks gently, "everyone needs a good cry from time to time...

"I don't expect you to help me house hunt," she told him quietly and he smiled,

"Tell me what you're looking for."