That afternoon, Grace, William, Charlotte, Tom and Julie came to visit with Jack. Jack was still in the wheelchair, so they sat in the family room, sharing stories. William had a few that Elizabeth wished he'd forget.
Charlotte had an arsenal of Tom and Jack antics that had everyone laughing in tears. Including one that involved Jack tying a young Tom to a calf and smacking it on the butt, letting it buck all around the pen.
"Needless to...s...say, T...Tom didn't last eight s...s...seconds." Jack added.
The room filled with bursts of laughter. It had been a very long time since Jack had laughed so hard. He had been in Iraq for sixteen months before the attack that sent him home. He and his platoon had enjoyed some laughter but nothing like this. He was finally once again surrounded by the people he loved.
After a while of conversations, Jack was becoming very tired. Elizabeth took him to his room while the others went home.
"Please stay," he pleaded with her.
"I can't, Jack. I need to go home, shower, change. I'll be back tomorrow."
A nurse and an orderly came in to help get Jack back into his bed. Once they left, Elizabeth took her place on the edge of the bed, holding Jack's hand.
"I...can't change...your mind?"
"Sorry, no, Jack. I really need to get home. You need to sleep anyway."
"I s...sleep b...b...better with you here."
Elizabeth placed her hand on his cheek, "I know, Jack. I'm sorry. But I really to go home. I'll come back early in the morning."
"Okay," Jack reached up and touched her face. "Can I at..l...least get a k..kiss goodbye?"
Elizabeth leaned down and kissed him passionately. Jack's enthusiasm evident in his kisses. She leaned back, still holding his face. "I'll see you tomorrow. Alright?"
Jack nodded. "Bye." Sadness was in his eyes.
"Bye, Jack."
Once Elizabeth was home and showered, she slipped into bed, exhausted but unable to sleep. She missed Jack's arm around her, his lips on hers, the smell of his cologne. She grabbed the extra pillow and pulled it next to her, wrapping her arm around it. After tossing and turning for an hour, Elizabeth finally drifted off to sleep.
Jack laid in bed, staring up at the ceiling for what felt like hours. He didn't want to sleep; he knew what would return if he did. Only Elizabeth's presence seemed to keep the nightmares at bay recently. He didn't want to relive that day anymore. He fought his fatigue for as long as he could but finally had to give in.
OOO
Jack was walking through the empty streets of Hope Valley. As he reached the jail, he heard a noise behind him. He turned to see the mercantile changing, taking form of an abandoned brick building. The café followed, then the saloon. Eventually all of the buildings changed. Jack found himself back in Iraq. Humvees passed in front of him. He yelled, but no one looked his way. He could see the soldiers through the windows, confusion taking over him. Burke...it was Private Burke sitting in the front seat.
"Burke!" he yelled, but Burke couldn't hear him.
That's when he noticed the driver...it was himself. No, this is the day. Then it started. The front Humvee was hit with the RPG; then the back one. The gunfire began. Jack could see himself and the others attempt to open their doors to get out and help only to be forced to close them.
The Humvee pulled out and sped away. Jack ran after it, willing it to miss the IED that was hidden in the street. There's a loud explosion and the vehicle flipped and rolled. Flynn and Hickam are thrown, Jack's door opens and he falls out.
He can see the man walking toward him, the one that crushed his hand. Jack closed his eyes and turned his head when he saw the man lift his gun up, getting ready to swing it down toward his hand. When he looked back, Burke was rounding the Humvee, shooting the man before he could kill Jack.
Then he saw Burke pick him up, carrying him to cover. Until he fell, dropping Jack.
OOO
Jack shot straight up in bed, sweat dripping from his face, tears stinging his eyes. He fell back into his pillow, holding his head. Unable to sleep, or rather, unwilling to sleep, Jack turned the TV on. After clicking through the channels, he stopped on a channel showing a Big Bang Theory marathon.
Elizabeth woke at 6 a.m. She quickly got ready, putting extra thought into her outfit, wanting to look nice for Jack. She put special care in styling her hair and applying her make-up as well. Once she was satisfied with her appearance, Elizabeth headed out the door and to the hospital.
She entered Jack's room to find him asleep but restless. She watched him for a short while, not wanting to disturb his sleep, but when he was clearly in distress, she gently tried to wake him. When he finally woke, he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her in to him, his body shaking.
She held him until he was ready to let go. Elizabeth sat up onto the bed; Jack's gaze locked on her face.
"That must have been a horrible one," she said, holding his hand tight in hers.
"Yes. I could...s...see everything h..h...happening; like I w...was outside my body."
"Do you want to tell me about it?"
"No." Jack was not going to give Eliabeth the horrific images that he couldn't get out of his head.
"Okay." She turned his hand over in hers, running her fingers along his palm. "So, what would you like to do today?"
"I w...want out of h...here. C...can you bust me out?" He answered with a forced smile.
"I don't know if they'll let you leave, Jack." Just then, Elizabeth thought of something. "I have a plan but it's going to take some work. I'll be back but it might be a while. Okay?"
"Yes. I'll w...wait if it g...get's me out of here."
She started to stand but Jack gently grabbed her arm, stopping her from getting off the bed. She turned to see his pleading eyes, gazing into her soul. He placed his hand on cheek, rubbing it with his thumb, eyes darting from her eyes to her lips. He wanted to taste her again, feel the electricity that each of her kisses sent through his body.
Just when he was about to pull her in, Elizabeth cupped his face in her hands, meeting his lips with hers with a force that fed the fire in him, creating an inferno within his body. He moved his hand to the small of her back, pulling her in tighter. He found the hem of her shirt and slipped his hand underneath it; sliding it up her back. The feel of her warm, soft skin was amazing and fanned his fire even more. Jack began to get more eager, his hand wandering.
Elizabeth stopped and pulled back, grabbing him arm to stop him. "Jack."
Jack pulled his hand from the back of her shirt, a mortified look on his face. "I'm s...s...so s...sorry."
"No, Jack. I am. I shouldn't have kissed you like that."
"No, it's my f...fault. What you do to m...me, it makes me c...crazy...in a g...good way." He smiled.
Elizabeth blushed and Jack touched her cheek again.
"And p...please, don't ever s...stop kissing me like that."
Elizabeth spent the next hour making phone calls and plans, getting everything line up. She arrived back to the hospital with Charlotte, Tom, William, Grace and Faith.
"W...what's all this?" Jack asked, grinning.
"Well, Sergeant, I think my daughter is busting you out of this joint for the day." William answered.
Elizabeth walked up to Jack; a bag draped over her arm. "This is for you," she said as she laid it over the chair. "Tom and Faith will help you with it."
"What's g...going on?"
"You'll see," She smiled as she bent down and kissed his cheek.
"William, would you like to stay and help?" Tom asked him. "We might need it."
"Certainly," he replied.
Elizabeth, Charlotte and Grace left the room.
"I hope this works," Elizabeth said, excitement all over her face.
Charlotte and Grace looked at each other, smiling.
Thirty minutes later, Jack's door opened. Elizabeth looked in to see Jack sitting in his wheel chair, smiling from ear to ear, dimples showing. Elizabeth covered her mouth, her breath catching in her throat. Jack was in full dress uniform and she couldn't take her eyes off of him. William pushed his chair out and into the hall.
Elizabeth bent down and kissed his cheek, then whispered in his ear, "You look extremely handsome, soldier."
"You look beautiful," Jack replied in a whisper. "How did you get my uniform?"
"Dad got ahold of some of the guys in your barracks and they brought it to us."
Everyone gathered around Jack, commenting on his uniform. Elizabeth had taken an old pair of dress pants and cut a slit up the leg so they could get it around his cast. His right arm was through his jacket but was draped over his left shoulder, allowing his hand to rest on a pillow. His hair from his brain surgery had grown back, only leaving a slight line across the side of his head from the scar. And with it washed and combed, Jack's appearance had Elizabeth's heart racing.
"So, w...what is going on?" he asked.
"We are taking you to church," Elizabeth said with a huge smile, very proud of her idea.
Jack's smile diminished slightly, "Oh." He didn't want to hurt Elizabeth, so he forced his smile back and continued, "that's great."
The group made their way down to the first floor and out the door where a van was waiting for them. The door opened and a wheelchair lift lowered to the ground. William pushed Jack onto it, locked the wheels and waited for it to lift back into the van.
He kissed Elizabeth on the head, "We'll meet you there."
Elizabeth climbed into the van and sat next to Jack. Jack smiled at her, but she could see a change in it.
"Are you okay?"
Jack looked at her, "Yes, why?"
"You don't look happy."
"No, I am. V...very happy to g...get out of there," he forced another smile.
Elizabeth dropped it, knowing that when he was in those moods he wouldn't open up.
The van pulled up in front of a large, beautiful church. Two white doors at the top of the steps were opened, inviting everyone in. Stained glass windows flanked each of the doors as well as a large one above the doors, reaching up into the gable. It was mosaic of colors, featuring a golden cross.
When Jack was lowered from the van, a small group of soldiers all dressed in their dress uniforms approached him. "Good morning, Thornton." "Hey there, Thornton." "Looking good, Sergeant." They all said.
Jack looked up and smiled with excitement at the sight of them. He shook hands with them all as they exchanged banters and pleasantries.
Once inside, the cathedral ceilings and a rainbow of colors filtering in through the windows, set a majestic stage for the sermon. The church was a sea of black jackets, covered in ribbons and medals; marking different accomplishments or awards each soldier had received. They took their seats, placing Jack at the end of a pew in the aisle, Elizabeth by his side. Jack's friends took up the pew behind them. After a few songs and announcements, the middle-aged pastor stepped up to begin his sermon.
Jack was unfolding and refolding the church program he held in his hand, looking down at it when the man began to speak.
"Every Christian will face a storm at one point or another in their life. It would be easy to turn our backs or blame God during the storm. We must learn to praise God through all storms of life. As hard as this may sound, it can be quite easily done if you trust in God and turn your troubles over to Him.
Your inner demons can take hold of your heart if you allow them to. They can begin to invade your thoughts, your actions. But turn to God, pray to Him; ask him for guidance and He will in turn, banish your demons and light up the path before you.
Nothing in life creates more deep-seated anxieties than the false assumption that life should be free from anxieties and problems. We will have problems in our lives, that's a given.
John 16:33 says, "I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth, you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world."
Elizabeth noticed that the pastor held Jack's attention. The look on Jack's face made him appear to be battling his own demons as the man spoke. She saw a single tear slip down his cheek and took his hand, intertwining her fingers with his and held it tight.
"2Corinthians 4:16-18 tells us, "That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are quite small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us an immeasurably great glory that will last forever! So we don't look at the troubles we can see right now; rather, we look forward to what we have not yet seen. For the troubles we see will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever."
Some people, when faced with a tragedy, will chose to turn their back on God, blaming Him for the event that is causing them pain. But that is time to turn to Him, give it over to God.
Psalm 121:1-2, "I look up to the mountains, does my help come from there? My help comes from the Lord, who made the heavens and the earth!"
Enduring storms builds enduring spirits and keeps us focused on our future.
In closing, I'm going to read a poem by an unknown author.
I refuse to be discouraged,
To be sad, or to cry;
I refuse to be downhearted,
and here's the reason why . . .
I have a God who's mighty,
Who's sovereign and supreme;
I have a God who loves me,
and I am on His team.
He is all wise and powerful,
Jesus is His name;
Though everything is changeable,
My God remains the same.
My God knows all that's happening;
Beginning to the end,
His presence is my comfort,
He is my dearest friend.
When sickness comes to weaken me,
To bring my head down low,
I call upon my mighty God;
Into His arms I go.
Let us pray."
The pastor prayed, they shared in communion and collected the offering. Then before they were dismissed for the day, the pastor returned to the front and picked up a microphone.
"Congregation, today we have a special visitor." He stepped down and walked toward Jack.
Jack watched him nervously as he approached. His friends all stood, one of them pushed Jack to the middle of the aisle and they encircled him.
"Staff Sergeant Jack Thornton returned to us from Iraq three weeks ago." He walked up to Jack and placed his hand on his shoulder. "Jack, we are very thankful to God that you are here and joined us today. Congregation, I'd like to do a special prayer for Sergeant Thornton. Please, everyone gather around."
Everyone stood and made their way to center of the church, each person placing their hand on the one in front of them. Jack's friends all laid their hands on Jack, some of them kneeling beside him. Elizabeth still had a grip on his hand, she was squeezing her tight. Tears had found their way to his eyes and were spilling down his cheeks now.
"Our dear heavenly father, you are the great physician. I pray to you today that you lay your healing hands on Sergeant Thornton. Heal his physical wounds so that he may be without pain. Heal his emotional wounds so that he may be without fear. You know what Jack needs, Lord. Please bring him strength and peace. We thank you Lord, for bringing Sergeant Thornton home to us so that he may heal. Thank you, Lord, for hearing this prayer. We trust in you and submit to your will. And all the people said,"
"Amen" the congregation said in unison.
Elizabeth opened her eyes to find Jack taken over by his emotions. His friends stayed around him, talking to him quietly, hugging him, praying with him. Elizabeth stepped back to let them continue, knowing that they knew more of what Jack was going through than she did.
The pastor joined Elizabeth and her family. "Good morning, William, Grace. Hello, Elizabeth."
"Good morning, Frank," William said as he shook his hand. "Thank you for what you just did for Jack."
"My pleasure. His friends there approached me before you guys arrived and let me know that Jack would be here." He motioned to the soldiers near Jack. "They asked me to pray over him."
"Well, we greatly appreciate it. You should join us for lunch."
"I'd love to, William. Thank you."
Elizabeth felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to find Rosemary and Lee.
"Rosemary, so good to see you," she said as she hugged her. "What are you two doing after church?"
"No plans really."
We're having lunch at The Lodge. Can you two join us?"
"Yes, we'd love to."
Elizabeth saw Abigail and Bill approaching them. "Abigail," she said as she gave her a hug. "Can you join us for lunch at The Lodge?"
"Yes, wouldn't miss it."
Elizabeth made her way back to Jack who had been watching for her. He held his hand out for her and when she took it, he pulled her close to him. "I need f...fresh air."
"Okay." She pushed his chair out the doors and down the ramp, stopping in the shade of a large oak tree around the side of the church. "Are you alright?"
Jack took a deep breath before speaking. "Yes. I'm n...not sure w...where to start. It was g...great to see everyone...again. I have missed those g..g...guys. But when the pastor prayed over m..me; I felt something wash over me; a c...calming. I have clarity now, after listening to his s..s...sermon and his prayer. I was a bit upset when you first told me w...where we were g...going. I have been angry at God since the attack and didn't w...want anything to do with Him." Jack pulled her closer to him. "I want to thank you, Elizabeth."
He lifted his arm and moved the pillow, signaling for her to sit on his lap. She gently lowered herself down onto his lap, laying the pillow on hers and lowering his hand onto it. He lovingly touched her cheek, looking into her eyes and pulled her in for a kiss. His kiss was tender and full of love. He released his kiss and Elizabeth pulled her head back slightly. Jack looked her in the eyes, rubbing her cheek with his thumb, "Elizabeth, I love you."
Elizabeth's heart stopped; a tear slipped down her cheek. "Oh, Jack. I love you too."