INDEPENDENCE DAY
Doctor Devon Woodcomb leaned over in the bed and kissed his new wife, Doctor Eleanor Faye Bartowski Woodcomb. "Mornin', sweetness," he said, caressing her silk-clad stomach. "Happy Fourth of July."
Ellie gave a little moan as she opened her eyes. "What time is it?" she asked.
"Six o'clock," Devon said, kissing her gently on the forehead. "You told me to wake you up because you had an early shift."
"Five more minutes," Ellie pleaded as she screwed her eyes tightly shut and tried to roll over.
"No, no, no, babe," Devon said, rolling her back over. "Don't you remember? You made me promise last night to make sure you got up."
Ellie moaned softly again, a sound which brought a pleasant smile of remembrance to Devon's face. She opened her eyes and squinted at him. "You've already been for a run, haven't you?"
"Ride, actually," Devon said with a grin.
"Coffee?" Ellie asked.
"Comin' right up, babe. If you promise me you'll get up."
"I promise, I promise. Just get me coffee," Ellie pleaded.
Devon laughed and headed out of the bedroom toward the kitchen. Ellie levered herself slowly out of bed and padded toward the bathroom. She glanced at Chuck's room as she passed. His bed, once again, had not been slept in. She muttered a silent prayer that meant he had spent the night at Sarah's and not an all night video game session at Morgan's. It really was too bad Morgan had cancelled his move to Hawaii. He was such a bad influence on Chuck.
Once in the bathroom, she turned on the shower and slipped out of her nightgown. Sleepily scratching her head, she stuck a hand under the shower to test the water. As she stood there, hand in the stream waiting for the water to warm up, she felt an arm wrap around her waist and caress her stomach. "So, babe, want me to wash your back?"
Ellie slapped Devon's hand away. "I have to get to work," she said. "I don't have time for this."
"It'll be quicker if I help," Devon smiled.
"Out!" Ellie commanded, laughing. Devon reluctantly turned to comply.
"Wait!" Ellie commanded. Devon stopped and turned, a broad grin spreading across his face.
"Thought you'd see the light, babe," Devon said.
"Leave the coffee," Ellie replied.
Devon grinned, set the coffee on the counter, kissed his wife on the top of the head, and left the bathroom. No doubt to do his upside down sit-ups. Why did she ever marry a morning person?
After the shower and coffee, Ellie felt almost human. She dried her hair, fixed her makeup, and pulled on her ubiquitous scrubs. They weren't flattering, but they were comfortable.
Ready to face the world, she stepped down the hallway into the kitchen. "Protein shake?" Devon asked, holding up a large glass of something that looked like pureed seaweed in a glass.
"Oh, God no," Ellie replied, backing away. "I'm in a hurry. I'll just grab a bagel."
"Most important meal of the day," Devon chided.
"I know, I know," Ellie said, splitting the bagel and sticking it in the toaster. Devon came up behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist, and started nibbling on her neck. She bumped him away with her butt. "Devon," she whined. "I'm going to be late for my shift."
Reluctantly, Devon pulled away. "Don't forget, we're meeting Chuck, Sarah, Morgan and Anna for the big fireworks show tonight," he said. "We're all meeting here at six and walking over to the park." The City of Echo Park's fireworks were set off at a park near their apartment. It wasn't the most elaborate display in Southern California, but it was something of a Bartowski/Woodcomb tradition.
"I don't know if I'll make it," Ellie sighed, pulling the bagel from the toaster and slathering on some low fat cream cheese. "I traded with Pamela to get last Tuesday off so we could exchange the duplicate wedding presents, so I'm handling her shift this afternoon. I won't get off until late."
"But it's the Fourth of July fireworks, babe," Devon. "Rockets red glare and all that. Oohs, ahhs, and making our own fireworks afterwards."
Ellie shook her head. "We'll see. If I get off early enough, I'll meet you guys over at the park. How's that?"
"It'll have to do, I guess," Devon said. Ellie kissed him and hurried out to her Prius for the commute to the hospital.
It turned out to be a long, hard day. Holidays seemed to bring out the crazy in people. She dealt with four cases of heatstroke, two near drownings, and shrapnel wounds in two kids who tried to make their own fireworks out of black powder and PVC pipe. And that was on top of the usual shootings, stabbings, auto accidents, and other 'routine' emergency room cases.
By the time her shift was over, she was late, tired, hungry and in no mood for watching fireworks. But, she had promised Devon. Unfortunately, she had neglected to bring a change of clothes and she refused to go to the park in her scrubs, so she headed toward the apartment.
Traffic was a mess as people made their way home from their days at the park or drove to the various fireworks displays around town, so Ellie was running even later and was in an even worse mood when she pulled into the apartment complex. She glanced at her watch. The fireworks were supposed to start in the next couple minutes. There was no way she could get changed and make it to the park in time for the display.
Cursing, she grabbed her purse from the car and hurried into the apartment complex. Out of habit, she checked the mailbox before she remembered that it was a holiday, so there was no mail delivery. She muttered another curse under her breath and started across the courtyard toward her apartment.
She glanced over to see her neighbor, John Casey, coming out of his apartment. He turned and hunched a little as he reached down to lock his apartment door. He was dressed in jeans and a knit shirt. Ellie couldn't help noticing how well he filled out his jeans. Hey, she might be a married woman, but that didn't mean she couldn't appreciate a nice butt.
She was just about to call out a 'hello' when there was a loud 'whoosh', a 'crack', a brilliant flash of light and a loud 'boom.' Ellie glanced up at the first of the fireworks of the Echo Park show. She caught movement out of the corner of her eye and glanced over to see Casey dive to the pavement and roll behind a stone planter.
Startled, she started toward him. Casey glanced at her from behind the planter. His eyes were wild. Just then, there was another 'whoosh', 'crack', flash, 'boom.' Casey winced and hunched a little lower behind the planter.
Ellie ran over to him and hunched down beside him. She touched him lightly on the arm. He flinched slightly, but allowed her to put her hand on his shoulder. She could feel him shaking slightly. He was sweating and breathing rapidly. Ellie didn't need to be a psychiatrist to recognize the classic symptoms of PTSD - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. She knew John was ex-military, but he never talked about his service. Obviously, it had been something more than a desk job at the Pentagon.
"John," Ellie said, soothingly. "John, it's okay. You're okay. You're at home. Echo Park. Your apartment. Everything is okay."
Casey looked at her, his eyes unfocused and for a moment it seemed he didn't recognize her. Slowly, the look of panic faded and was quickly replaced by a look of embarrassment. "Ellie," Casey whispered hoarsely. He looked around. "Echo Park... California."
There was another 'whoosh', 'crack', flash, 'boom' and Casey winced again, but not quite as much as before. "Not Afghanistan," Casey whispered.
Ellie ran a hand across his back, feeling the tension in his muscles. "Let's get you inside," she said. "It'll be better."
Casey shook his head as his eyes came back into focus. "No. No, it's okay. I'll be okay." He pulled away from her, stood, and turned his back to her.
Ellie grabbed his arm and pulled him toward her apartment. "Come on," she said. "You're coming with me."
"No," Casey protested, but he didn't resist as she pulled him toward her door. There was yet another 'whoosh', 'crack', flash, 'boom', but this time Casey didn't flinch at all. Ellie took her hand from Casey's arm long enough to fish her keys from her purse and unlock the door.
She stepped inside and turned to Casey, who stood rooted to the ground just outside the door. "I'm fine. I'll be fine," he said. "I'm sorry for the trouble." He turned, just a little reluctantly, and Ellie grabbed his arm. She noted, not for the first time, that he was even more solidly built than Devon.
"Come on, John. It's okay."
"Is Devon... is your husband here?" he asked.
Ellie shook her head. "No. He, Chuck and Sarah are down at the park, watching the fireworks." Casey visibly relaxed. She pulled him inside and led him over to the couch. "Can I get you a drink?" she asked. "Scotch, isn't it?"
"I don't want to be any trouble," Casey replied, looking down at the floor.
Ellie picked up the decanter from the wet bar and poured a little of the amber liquid in a glass. She stepped over to the couch and handed it to him. "It's no trouble," she said. Casey took the glass and stared into it for a long moment.
Ellie stepped over and sat down in one of the armchairs facing the couch. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked.
Casey shook his head.
"John," she said softly, laying a hand on his forearm. "It helps to talk about it. You were remembering Afghanistan, weren't you? The fireworks. They triggered a flashback."
Casey nodded. "You won't tell anyone, will you?" he asked, still looking down into his glass, unable to meet her gaze.
Ellie managed a small smile. "Good neighbor confidentiality," she said. "It's even better than doctor/patient confidentiality."
Casey looked up at her with haunted eyes. "Sometimes... Sometimes I get these memories. Like you said, flashbacks." He paused.
"Tell me," she prompted.
Casey sighed and looked at her. At her kind, gentle expression. He seemed to be having some kind of inner struggle. Ellie waited patiently, meeting his gaze. Finally, he spoke.
"It was hell," he said. "We were on a patrol in the mountains north of Kandahar. I was leading a LRRP - a long range recon patrol. We walked right into an ambush. It was all my fault..."
***
Laughing at one of Morgan's non-sequiturs, Chuck unlocked the door to the apartment. He was brought up short when he saw Ellie sitting in an armchair in the living room and John Casey sitting across from her on the couch. Two empty glasses sat on the coffee table between them. Ellie and Casey looked up as Chuck, Sarah, Morgan, Anna and Devon trooped in.
"There you are," Ellie said, standing and gliding over to give Devon a kiss. "The fireworks ended half an hour ago."
"Morgan had some sparklers that he insisted we fire off before we came back," Devon said, slipping his arm around Ellie's waist and giving Casey a sidelong glance. "I didn't know you were home."
"I just got home a little bit ago. Work was murder," Ellie said. "I saw John in the courtyard and invited him over to keep me company until you guys got home."
"Uh huh," Devon said, pulling Ellie just a little closer to him.
Casey slapped his knees and stood up. "Well, I better be going," he said. "Thank you, Doctor Bar... Woodcomb, for the drink." He nodded to the assembled horde and slipped out.
Chuck glanced over at Sarah with a confused expression. Sarah simply shrugged.
"Hey," Morgan said, breaking the silence. "I've got a few Black Cats in my bag. Who's up for continuing the fireworks?"
FIN.
Author's Note: Happy Independence Day to all, and a special 'Thank You' to those who have sacrificed to allow each of us to enjoy our 'life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.'