I DO NOT OWN EMMERDALE OR ANY OF IT'S CHARACTERS, LIKEABLE OR NOT. THEY ARE ALL PROPERTY OF THE ITV STUDIO

"...and then I went in and took her off him", laughed the bloke with the crew cut red hair. The other bloke in the blue T-shirt turned, "See...I told you, just because you've had your leg blown off by a landmine it doesn't mean you can't show your woman a good thing or two"

Jackson piped up with a cheeky grin, "But he only NEEDS ONE thing to please her!"

Red hair laughed with him, "Yeah, and that's all in good working order thanks very much!"

Jackson had attended the therapy sessions at the community health centre for 3 weeks now. At first he thought it was going to be a room full of dirty old men whose limbs had been lopped off with some illness in old age, but he was surprized that there was a lot of younger lads there too, most were squaddies, whose legs or whatnot had been blown off during their tour of duty.

Red hair, or Jake as he was called turned to Jackson as they went to the kitchen for a brew, "so what's your story then...didn't see you in Afghanistan"

Jackson blew out a laugh, "and you aren't likely too neither...NOT that I'm dissing you in any way mate"

Jake shrugged, "So what happened?"

Jackson made the brew, "I got knocked down by a car...lost my leg...nothing spectacular or owt"

The other bloke in the blue T-shirt, Jamie, screwed his face up, "But I thought you said you were saving someone"

Jackson turned and shrugged it off, "Just some idiot not looking where he were going...you know the sort"

Jamie took a mug off Jackson, "You still saved someone, that's pretty heroic in my book"

Jake agreed as he sat in a nearby chair, "Yeah...too right...you don't have to be at war to be a hero"

Jackson turned back to the tea making, "Steady, You are making me well up here", he said with sarcasm, "...I don't think it was all that...HOW MANY brews am I making here anyway", he asked changing the subject.

Jake looked a bit a cheeky, "I'll tell you what, there's a boozer round the corner, the Flying Horse, fancy a pint?"

Jackson and Jamie didn't need telling twice.

Later at the pub, Jamie sat in his wheelchair. He was the only one with two legs missing.

"So you keep your falsie on all day do you Jackson?", he asked as they were gathered at a table with their pints.

"Yeah...I don't want to be using a wheelchair or owt, no disrespect, I rather just hop about or crawl about the floor if I leave the thing off"

Jake nodded, "Me too...but it does get painful"

Jackson had to agree with that.

"You said you were a builder? This must have put the downers on your work and that"

Jackson pulled a sigh, "Has at the minute...got no money coming in...that's why I'm stuck at my Dad's at the minute...but I'm sure I'll be able to start something soon...when I've got my head round this and that"

"It takes time...3 years down the line, and I still look at it and weep", said Jake with a slight hint of a chuckle.

Jackson looked at his own leg through his jeans, "Yeah...I know the feeling"

Jackson arrived home, and Jerry was putting dinner on the table. The builder sat down at the table and looked up, "I'm sorry about having a go at you these past few weeks, it's just that...well"

Jerry sat down and nodded, "It's okay son, if experience is anything to go by, you best not keep it bottled up"

Jackson picked his fork up and tapped the top of the cremated sausage.

"Just the way I like it...hard"

Jerry rolled his eyes.

Jackson looked up from his dinner, "Jack upstairs is he?"

"Yeah...and he was LATE again, I thought you said he got excluded from after school club after shoving that boy's head down the pan"

"take a wild guess"

"Aaron..."

"He won't find him...not on his pushbike he won't...besides I've been thinking about Jack...I think it'll be best to send him to Scotland to live with his Mum"

Jerry left his fork standing in the mash, "What? Why?"

Jackson widened his eyes as to say 'HELLO' "I need to get myself sorted out...and I can't do that AND be with Jack...Jack deserves better, and anyway, last time he was up there he loved it"

"...Jack was saying about getting a paper round to help out"

"Nice thought...but it's never gonna happen, Jack's moving away, if he like it or not...he may not THANK me...but at the minute, I'm not good for him to be around..."

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