Disclaimer I don't own them, they all belong to Mr. Sorkin and Co. No disrespect is intended.
Author's note: This is a sequel to "Cry For Help." It picks up in Sierra Tucson. I didn't intended to write a squeal but it just came to me so I wrote. This is Jenny's POV. Her emotions and feeling about Leo's recovery. I know it cheesy but I like it. Special thanks to AJ for the help with this. Please don't archive without telling me where it's going thanks.
"The Man I Love"
I never knew how much my life would change when I got married; all I knew at that point was that I was madly in love. If someone would have pulled me aside that night and said to me, You will have your ups and downs like any marriage but you will be happy and raise a wonderful family. I would have said, "I can live with that."
If someone came up to me that night and said listen your life will turn into a nightmare. The man you love, Your world will drink until he can't stand anymore and make himself sick. Become a drug addict to hide the pain that his drinking causes him. I would have said they're crazy. That won't happen to me, Leo is not like that.
But now, today I realize that I am living this nightmare, this is my life. The person that is my world, the man I love, is now so consumed by his demons that he is in a room talking about them and this hurts me. It hurts me because I can't be there to help him. I can't see him. I should be able to help him and I can't. I feel as though my heart has been ripped out. My world is upside down.
I get to see him today for the first time in four weeks. My heart is jumping with anticipation. First I speak to his doctor; he warns me Leo has change- for the better. I walk from his doctor's office down the hall, and into his room. He is staring out the window but he turns around when he hears me enter the room. He has tears in his eyes; they are contagious as I feel tears well up in mine. This hell he has been living is my hell too and I have to help him through it. I run into his arms. He holds me tightly; we kiss for the first time since I left him here. His touch is gentle but commanding, I have missed that feeling for so long I almost forgot how safe it makes me feel. He is whispering to me now tell me how much he loves me. I tell him I love him too. We spend a few more moments in each other's arms before we break free from the embrace. He hasn't let go of my hand since I entered the room but I could care less, he can hold me as long as he wants. We sit down on the bed and talk about Mallory and Jed. He squeezes my hand tighter, looks me in the eye and bends down to kiss me softly on the neck then he looks back up at me. He says that we have to talk that we have to be honest with each other he says he is better now and I believe him. He says that he no longer needs drugs or alcohol and I believe him. He says that he has learned how to control his habits and I believe him. I love him and the man I love is back in the room here today, the man I didn't know, the one that was distant and selfish is gone. I love this man, he is my world.
There is no doubt that this has tested our love and commitment for one another, it has and I think our love is stronger now then ever before. As we sit here and talk about what has changed we get reacquainted. I open up to him about my fears, especially my fear of loosing him. He rubs my back and kisses me again to try to calm me and it works. I tell him how much he means to me, how much I need him in my life. How much I love him.
We only have a short time together now, I will have to leave soon, as I snuggle up against him I realize that he is truly fighting for himself. He wants his life back and I am proud of that, of him. Here comes the doctor now he tells me that I have to go. He walks out to give us one last moment together. I lean over to my husband and kiss him again He kisses me back lovingly and walks me to the door. We stand in front of the door in each other's arms, each unwilling to let the other go. I tell him I love him and slowly slip from his gentle warm hold. I will not cry anymore neither will he we know that in another two weeks we will be together for good and heading home to spend the rest of ours lives together.
As I leave I think to myself that this hell that I have been living is over. He loves me and I love him and we will get through this together. The man I just left in the hospital room is not the one I helped on to the plane three weeks ago. The man I just left in that room is the man I married my world. The man I love.
The end