Moving On
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters to which I am writing about.
General Note: This is my first fan-fiction. Your reviews are appreciated and encouraged, but please be respectful and gentle.
PART 1
Denise Sherwood was standing in the nurses' station when she saw her husband Major Frank Sherwood came throw the corridor. The look on Frank's face was strange, as he was generally a very tough and disciplined man, which he had learned from the army, but there was something different in his face. Denise was startled when she looked up and saw Frank standing in front of her.
"Frank, it is nice to see you, but what are you doing here?" Denise asked curiously with a smile.
"Dee, this is not a social call, I just got word that Jeremy's unit that was stationed in Iraq was ambushed. And many of the soldiers were killed…" Frank was very matter of fact, his pause left Denise scared.
"What is it? Is Jeremy?" Denise had a hard time thinking clearly at this point.
"No, Jeremy is alive." At this point Frank's face turned from being disciplined soldier to a relieved father. His son was alive, but there was more.
Frank continued, "He is alive, but with a lot of injuries, I have not been briefed as to the extent of his injuries or when he is coming home."
By this point, Denise was in tears. She walked out from behind the nurses' station and into Frank's arms. Frank just stood there and held his wife. He did not know what more to say to his wife. Frank knew that he would be briefed further, but at this point his concern was for his wife's well-being.
Denise was a strong woman who had endured a life in the army; her earliest memories were of her father wearing combat boots, and fatigues. She knew what the causalities of war could be but she had always hoped that her family would not be causality, especially after the rash decision of Jeremy to enlist in the army. Jeremy had left the family's home after Frank had returned from Iraq, and had been told about Jeremy's violence against Denise. This enraged Frank, thus forcing Frank to disown his only son. Jeremy had no where to go after being dismissed from his parent's home on post, so he did what he thought was right: enlist in the army.
The sequence of events was running through Denise's head. Like any mother, she was thinking, how could I have allowed my son to enlist in the army? She pressed her face into Frank's uniform, and then looked up at Frank and said,
"What do we do now? Do we go to Iraq and get him?"
"No, we do not go to Iraq; we are going to have to wait for more information. I have a call into my contacts at the Pentagon, but nothing yet." Frank said with a reassuring smile.
"But I cannot just stand here and do nothing." Denise sniffled through her tears.
PART 2
Two days later Claudia Joy, Roland, Roxy, Pamela, and Denise were sitting in the Sherwood's living room talking about Jeremy's homecoming because in 2 days the Sherwood's had learned the condition of their son. He was arriving home at the end of the week with many serious injuries.
"According to Mike, the insurgence happened right outside of Bagdad." Claudia Joy relayed the information that her husband Colonel Mike Holden had been speaking about for the last few days.
"Yeah, that is what we were told as well. Jeremy has suffered included flash burns to the eyes, a bullet wound to his left knee, and a lot of internal bleeding. The doctors were not sure as to the damage that the flash burns to the eyes caused, because there as so much swelling. He could be blind, but best case scenario is that he will be visually impaired. And the knee was badly damaged; the bullet tore right through the ACL and the knee cap. According to the army he was lucky. " Denise was not sure as to how lucky Jeremy was going to be feeling. At this point, Denise's emotions were raw, and she was numb with fear and emotional pain for her son.
"Yeah, lucky… I would hate to see what the Army thought would be unlucky." Roxy said. Roxy was relatively new to this club of Army wives. She did not have the understanding nor was she able to articulate in a manner where it did not seem like she was disrespecting the Army.
"Roxy… these are very serious injuries. But they could have been a lot worse, or Jeremy could have ended up coming home in a body bag." Pamela said, shooting Roxy a very disapproving look.
"I am sorry; I was not trying to be difficult. It is just that I am trying to understand the Army." Roxy said in rebuttal.
"Roxy, it is ok, I have a spouse in this Army for almost twenty years. And I am mental health professional and I have yet to completely understand the Army." Roland stated with a smile, and small chuckle, which made the rest of the women's mood lighten a little.
"Denise, is there any thing that we can do, to help with Jeremy's homecoming? Have you talked to him?" Claudia Joy questioned.
"No we have not talked to Jeremy. We have, or at least Frank has spoken to the doctors. From what Frank has told me, is that they have been keeping Jeremy sedated to keep him from hurting himself further, and to reduce the amount of pain he is in. And his homecoming is more of a hospital coming, because they are going to move him to the hospital/rehab facility. I am just not sure how this is all going to work, because when Jeremy left the tension was very high, and Frank kicked him out and disowned him. Now he needs us, and I will definitely be there for him, and so will Frank, and I just not sure that Jeremy will let us in." Denise said with an exhausted sigh.
"Perhaps, we should ask the mental health person in the room… doc… any ideas?" Roxy said looking right at Roland.
"The only thing I can say is that you all are going to need time to heal. And when Jeremy is ready he will talk. But I would recommend that you do not push him to hard, as he may also be suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and he will need to deal with his past, the present and the future in his own way. Of course he will need a good support center, and I am sure you and Frank will provide that. But he still needs time, as he has a lot of recovery to do." Roland trying to be reassuring.
"And he may experience some sort of depression, based on the fact that he has suffered injuries that are life changing, and he is going to have to figure all of this out. Again, it is only going to take time. However, Jeremy is a strong kid, and he will be ok." Roland continued.
"Thanks Roland, I think that I needed to hear that. Medically, I know that I can help him, but Frank and I just have not talked about what we are going to do when he comes home from the hospital." Denise stated with a sigh.
"Not that I want to throw my two-cents where it may not belong, but from the sounds of it, Jeremy will not becoming home any time soon from the hospital… I mean. Denise, you have even said that Jeremy has a long road ahead as far as recovery and rehab. And like Roland said it is only going to take time, and support for all of you." Roxy moved closer to Denise in a sign of support.
"No you are right, there is just so much to think about. There are so many unknowns and uncertainty right now. I am just not sure as to what Frank and I are going to do. Oh, Claudia Joy how is Amanda?"
"Well, Amanda did not take the news well; actually I think that you took the news better than she did." Claudia Joy answered.
"She wants to know what she can do, and I told her that only time will tell, and she needs to be patient with the situation and Jeremy when he gets back, as he has a long recovery." Claudia Joy continued.
