A week and five days later, was when he came back stateside. The day after that, he was done with the second surgery and it looked like he didn't need any more surgeries before his leg got the chance to heal a bit.
The sight of his new brace was not for the faint-hearted. The surgeon had called it an Ilizarov frame, or apparatus, or something like that. It looked like something which belonged in a nightmare, especially when it was accompanied by his bruised and battered leg.
But at least he was back in the US.
His brother-in-law had been by on the first day he was back with necessities and stuff to keep him from going stir crazy, and had promised to come back a couple of days later with Amy and the kids.
A couple of days later there was a knock at the door and his sister's family rolled in.
It was Amy and Robert, and their three offspring, Jack, Chris and Helen. Chris and Helen was still young kids, but Jack was already 16.
Amy held Chris by the hand, and Robert had Helen seated on his arm.
"UNCLE!" Chris beamed and tried to pull Amy with him. The five year old was beyond excited to finally see his uncle again.
Helen who was a bit younger was leaning in his direction and making grabby-hands as soon as she saw him, "Untle!"
Amy shushed a bit as she kept a firm hold of her youngest son's hand, "We talked about this. You have to be careful with uncle scotty now. You can't climb on him, he's hurt."
Chris stopped in his tracks and glanced up at his mom with big eyes, before he looked over at Full Metal with equally big eyes.
"…But… Hugs?" Chris pouted.
"Oh, I need my hugs…" Full Metal chuckled, "But mom or dad will have to help you up to me…"
Chris nodded like his life depended on it.
Full Metal smiled and watched as his sister picked up his youngest nephew, giving him stern instructions to lay still and not bump his uncle's leg, before she laid him down on Metal's left side. Robert walked around the bed and placed Helen on his right side.
Chris snuggled close, but once that was done he stayed as still as could be.
"Missed you too, little guy…" Metal said as he pulled the kid closer in a hug, then he pulled Helen a little closer as well, "And you, little lady…"
Helen mirrored her brother, before she jammed her thumb in her mouth.
Metal then looked around the room, "Missed all of you…"
"Does it hurt?" Jack asked after they had been there for a while.
Full Metal glanced down at his niece napping on his right shoulder, then at his youngest nephew, then his oldest nephew. "Later?"
Jack understood that his uncle wanted to shield his younger siblings, and nodded, "Later."
After Helen had woken back up again, Robert suggested that they'd go down in the cafeteria to buy ice cream.
The two youngest got excited by the idea, and soon enough Robert and Amy had helped their two youngest back down from their uncle's hospital bed.
"Okay, we'll go down and buy ice creams…" Amy declared, "Do you two want some?"
Full Metal shrugged. Jack nodded.
"Not really feeling it?" Robert asked, looking at his brother-in-law.
"Don't really have an appetite for anything these days." Metal shrugged back.
"How about we buy an ice cream for you, and you just eat how much you want?" Amy suggested.
"You don't have to…"
"Well, I know for a fact that you LOVE ice cream…" Amy said, crossing her arms over her chest, "And you could use a pick-me-up right about now…"
"Hey, choose your battles wisely…" Jack winked at Full Metal, "You of all should know that by now…"
Metal chuckled a bit, "Alright, you win."
Amy nodded, then she acted like she got a brand new idea, "Actually, we might go check out the playground outside. Why don't one of you shoot us a text when you start missing us too much. Then we'll come back with ice creams."
"Good plan." Full Metal nodded.
Jack agreed.
"So. Pain?" Jack asked as soon as the door closed behind his parents and younger siblings.
Full Metal nodded, "Yeah. It's definitely there."
Jack rolled his eyes, "Not a question of if, a question of how…"
Full Metal sighed, "It's pretty bad. Hurts… Constantly."
Jack nodded.
"But hey, could always be worse."
Jack shrugged, "Yeah, I mean… You could've been attacked by a shark, on land…"
Metal chuckled, "Good one, kid… Good one…"
"Did uncle Trent work his medic magic?"
Metal nodded, "He did…"
"Did it bleed a lot?"
"Before the tourniquet was on? Yeah."
"Can I take a look?"
"Not really sure you want to…" Metal shrugged, "It looks bad on every sort of scale."
Jack nodded a little, "Trying to shield me as well now?"
"You're still a kid…"
"And in about two years, I'll wear a uniform and a few years after that I'll be gunning for uncle Trent's job." Jack reasoned, "Come on…"
"You're still set about that?"
Jack nodded.
"Okay. Look, my thigh looks the least horrific. I'll show you that first and if that doesn't freak you out, then maybe I'll show my lower leg and foot."
Jack nodded, "Alright deal."
"It's very colorful." Full Metal grabbed a hold of the covers covering his legs and lifted it aside enough to show off his lower thigh.
"Ouch."
Full Metal chuckled, "Sure you're not gonna be a writer instead? The wizard of words that you are."
Jack chuckled, "Pretty sure. But I do want to see the rest of your leg as well.."
"You're not normal…" Full Metal chuckled.
Jack shrugged, "No, that would've been a shame..."
Metal chuckled, "Sure would've been…"
"Can I see?"
"You might regret it…"
"Mom would be thrilled if something managed to change my mind…"
"She would be relieved." Metal nodded, "It's not easy being the mom of someone who decides to become a soldier. Especially not of someone who wants to be a part of special ops."
Jack chuckled, "Did you think of grandma when you joined?"
"To be honest, I didn't." Metal shook his head, "But it was a different time. It was before 9/11."
"Okay, yeah… That's a point."
"It is…" Metal nodded.
"So… May I see?"
"Yeah… But you're gonna have to help me remove the covers." Metal shrugged, "I can barely reach my knee from this position."
Jack nodded.
"And be careful… It's…" Metal frowned, "It hurts having it still. ANY movement tenfolds it."
Jack nodded, "I'll be more careful than I've ever been."
"Oh dear…" Jack frowned, causing Full Metal to chuckle.
"You sounded exactly like your mother right there."
Jack shrugged as he studied his uncle's leg for a few more seconds.
"Well, at least you're not turning pale…" Full Metal shrugged, "So that's something…"
Jack nodded, "Man, this…"
Metal nodded, "Long road ahead…"
Jack nodded once more.
"Any thoughts?"
"Sure gives another meaning to 'Full Metal'…" Jack shrugged, "Or in this case, 'Full of metal'…"
Metal chuckled a bit, "Yeah, it does."
"How long will you have to have that thing on there?"
"The last surgeon put a 'no timetable' on this…" Metal shrugged, "Four to six months seemed to be the minimum."
"That sucks…"
"Sure does." Metal nodded, "I just hope the pain subsides soon…"
Jack nodded, "I can imagine."
"So… Are you going to be on crutches or are you getting wheels for a while?"
Metal shrugged, "I don't know yet. But I can't imagine how painful it would be to hobble along on crutches right now. Kinda hoping for some wheels to roll around on for a spell."
Jack nodded, "I hope you know you can ask me for help when you need it. If you need someone to drive you somewhere, or get groceries… Or just someone to keep you company."
Full Metal smiled a bit.
"I know your teenage nephew probably isn't the first person you'd like to hang out with, but…" Jack shrugged.
"No, you know I love spending time with you. All three of you kids." Metal shot in, "Never doubt that."
Jack chuckled, "No, I know…"
"That's good."
"How many breaks did you have?"
"Lots." Metal answered scratching his neck, "They didn't give me a solid count."
Jack nodded.
"But could you put the covers back over?" Metal asked, "I don't like looking at it too much."
Jack nodded and carefully draped the covers back over his uncle's leg.
"So, didn't manage to change your mind on what you want to do with life?"
"Pfft… I've seen uncle Trent's arm since I was a kid."
Metal chuckled, "Okay, fair."
The rest of them returned back about 10 minutes after they sent the text. And they brought ice creams.
It was a welcomed treat, but he didn't manage to eat more than about half of it.