A/N: Here is another story I've been tossing around in my head for some time now. I'm sure there are a lot of Soldierward stories out there, but I'm hoping you will find mine to be pretty unique? I'd love to hear your thoughts on it.
Parts of the story are taken from actual events, but are meant in NO WAY to be condescending or belligerent to those involved in the actual events. If anything I am hoping that it will help to shine a light more on what actually happened. I was not there…so everything you read in this story is either fictional (from my own thoughts as to what happened) or from the reports I've read about it.
This story is also a tribute to what I feel is a very worthy cause, the Wounded Warrior Foundation. If you have a moment please, as Edward would say, "you can Google it". It tries to help those brave heroes that have given so much to the service of our (the USA) country, but have come back forever wounded. I hope to incorporate more of this into the story as it goes along.
Thank you for taking the time to read my writing and telling me what you think. All constructive criticism is welcome, anything that isn't constructive, well keep that to yourself.
Twilight is owned solely by Mrs. Stephanie Meyer. No infringement is intended in the use of her wonderful characters.
**UPDATE** Another authors note is at the bottom detailing to my readers about "Judgement". For those reading that story please take a moment to read that note if you read nothing else. Thank you!
November 5th 2009
The day started out pretty standard. I got up, took a hot shower, dressed in one of my favorite tops; that just happened to be one of the few remaining that would still cover my ever growing belly, pulled on a pair of comfortable Capri leggings and walked down our private drive towards the newspaper box at the end of our road. Just like clock work as I was walking back towards my house my mother-in-law walked across our private drive from her house towards me with a glass of ice cold milk for me and a hot blueberry muffin. We sat on the porch swing quietly enjoying the morning together while she sipped her coffee.
To some a simple quiet life like this would have seemed boring. We lived fifteen minutes outside of the nearest town, which wasn't exactly a booming Metropolis. It did have a Wal-mart though that met pretty much any need you could have, but not a lot else that carried a big name. But it was quaint, warm, and peaceful. It was home for me, my husband and our soon to be born baby girl.
When Edward and I found out that we were expecting he was adamant that we move close to his parents so I would never be alone. We both knew and accepted the life of a soldier and knew that he could be called away at a moments notice. But it was the life that we had both grown up in and were comfortable with. Edward's father, Carlisle, is a retired Army Chaplain and my father Charlie, is a Brigadier general. So a military life was all we knew.
I didn't mind however. I loved where we lived and knew it was exactly the type of environment that I wanted our children to grow up in. It is a place where neighbors look out for one another. They carried a quality in their characters that let you know they weren't nosey but rather concerned and truly cared for you. It was comforting.
I slowly rubbed my belly, lost in my thoughts as Esme and I continued to gently rock back and forth on the porch swing. A November day in our part of North Carolina meant that it was still comfortable enough that we could stay outside without getting to cool. The leaves had turned and most had started to fall from their branches. We rarely ever saw snow so we didn't have to worry about the weather getting too bad. Except for the occasional crackle of a branch by some animal scurrying about somewhere in the woods, there was almost no noise to break the tranquil peace.
The morning passed without any fuss. Like always around eleven I slowly made my way to my in-laws house to help Esme begin making lunch. I had a hankering for a turkey sub sandwich with lots of mayo and some of Carlisle's fresh from the garden tomatoes. Nothing beats that and a tall glass of cold sweet tea. We all sat at the table and held hands as we said the blessing.
"Dear Lord, it is with humble hearts that we bow our heads today in thanks of all that you have given to us. We ask that you use this food to the nourishment of our bodies so that our bodies may continue to carry out your will dear Lord. Protect those that we love most Lord." I could never make it past this part of Carlisle's prayer without tearing up at the thought of my Edward so far away. But I had to remind myself to be grateful that he was at least still in the States and not like so many of our brave men and women stationed on foreign soil. "Help us to forgive those that wish to do us harm, and give us wisdom to seek your comfort in all things. In your son's precious name I pray, Amen." We all chorused his amen before opening our eyes. It didn't escape my notice that Esme dabbed at the corners of her eyes before raising her head. We all missed Edward dearly. The empty chair between me and Edward's father was hard to see sometimes.
As we all began to eat my little girl decided it would be the opportune time to let me know she was there. Her first kicks took me by surprise, feeling more like little butterflies in my stomach swishing around. But now there was no mistaking her presence, she sometimes kicked so hard you could actually see my stomachs shape shift slightly. Right now she seemed overly excited. I wrapped my arm around my belly taking deep breaths trying to ride out the fit she was apparently having. "Bella, sweetheart are you alright?" Esme reached over and held my hand as I continued to try to calm my daughter by rubbing my belly. Carlisle was immediately by my side as well seeing how distressed I was becoming. In my mind I realized something didn't feel right. My baby had never been this agitated before. Her kicking only got overly excitable lately when I'd Skype with Edward before bedtime. His voice always sent her into motion more than usual. We all teased him about how much of a daddy's girl she was before even being born but he loved every word.
"I don't know what's wrong, it feels like she's upset or struggling or something." Carlisle and Esme exchanged glances before Carlisle jumped up and grabbed the car keys. Esme was up getting our coats before I could say another word. I had one parent on each side of me holding my hands as we slowly made it out of the house towards the car. Esme was doing her best to soothe my worries but all I could think about was how Edward would never be able to forgive himself if something happened to our baby and he couldn't be with me. We had just opened the door to the back seat of their car when our attention was drawn to the sound of crunching gravel coming up the driveway.
Normally we wouldn't have given this a second thought except this car was different. It was a dark blue Ford Taurus and you could tell the men inside where dressed in uniform. We all stood motionless as the car came to a stop and the two men stepped out. Each step they took as they came nearer drummed in my ears and I began silently begging them not to be here for me. I always thought it was a cliché but it was just like you see in the movies. "Sir, Ma'am, we need to speak to Mrs. Edward Cullen." My knees went weak. Carlisle and Esme both wrapped their arms around my waist holding me upright. The soldiers gave one another a nervous look before turning back to face us. Funny, they are tough as nails on the battle field but put them near a pregnant woman and they turn to jello.
I couldn't seem to find my voice at the moment, thankfully Carlisle spoke up for me. "This is his wife, and mother and I am his father. How can we help you?" It felt like my blood had turned to ice water as I tried hard to listen to their words all the while begging them not to tell me what I feared was true. I mean why would the military send these men if not to tell me the worst? Wouldn't they have just called if Edward were hurt? Perhaps more terrifying was the fact that my baby had stopped kicking completely as the men spoke.
"It is our duty to inform you that Sergeant Major Edward Anthony Cullen was critically wounded today."
I was afraid I hadn't heard them right, Edward was injured but not dead? But why, how?
"That must be some sort of mistake officer, my son isn't serving in battle right now. He's stationed at Fort Hood in Texas. He's not set to deploy for several weeks." I tightened my grip on Carlisle's hand, how could this be happening. Edward was hurt at his base?
"There was a shooting this morning Sir. At approximately 1:34p.m. a soldier entered the Soldier Readiness Center where your son was working and opened fire. Your son was one of several who were injured in the encounter."
A/N: My biggest fear is that I won't do justice to this story. This event really happened at Fort Hood, Texas. Those of you who aren't familiar with the story I will be giving out more details as the story unravels.
Please forgive my use of dramatic license by having the men appear at their home to tell them that Edward was injured. From everything I've read the normal practice is to either have someone call the home to inform them or to have the soldier call home if they are able too. But I thought it put more into the drama of it all to have them come and notify the Cullen's of what happened.
I believe in HEA's so please don't fret. This story is based off of the poll I put up on my profile. So I must ask…is it interesting? Do you want to keep reading? I sure hope so. Thank you for your time.
**UPDATE Judgement** To those of you who have been reading Judgement please don't think that I have forgotten it. If you care to know, this is what happened. As some of you know I've gone back to school for my masters degree in History. Unfortunately one of the requirements in order to get there is to take English writing courses. I've always thought myself a decent writer. Granted my grammar sucks big time, but content wise I've always thought I did well at putting a story together. I found out that I was wrong when I took this last English course. My stories were torn to shreds for many different reasons and ended up giving me HORRIBLE writers block. I'd sit down at the computer and literally cry because the words just wouldn't come out. Everything I did type out I ended up erasing because it sounded like crap. I've since found a way to work around this problem, and don't think me crazy for it.
I'm writing Judgement backwards.
That's right, I'm writing it from ending to where it currently is. And surprisingly it's making it flow out a lot easier. I'm really happy with what I've written so far. I hope that you continue to be patient with me and stick with the story. I will not abandon it to die a lonely death. It will be finished. To all of you loyal ones who have blessed me with a read and or a review, thank you so much. Thank you for your patience and your thoughtfulness. I promise to have another chapter of Judgement up as soon as possible.