"Hey Bookworm, how you feeling" Sonny asked as the rest of Bravo followed him into the hospital room, Jess was currently in the process of emptying her stomach not by her own choice
"M'kay, just ate bit to much" Jess said after she'd finished throwing up
"Here, I'll go dispose of that" Jason said immediately removing the emesis bag that Jess had been using from her hands
"Thanks Jason" Jess said as she watched him quickly enter the bathroom with the bag
"Where's Trent" Ray asked looking around expecting to see him in the room, but he was no where to be seen
"Around here somewhere, thanks dad" Jess said accepting the bottle of water her dad had handed to her to rinse her mouth out and her tin of anti-nausea lollies, to help get rid of the taste in her mouth
"How's Luca" Jason asked keen to change the subject on Trent's whereabouts
"He's doing good, pain pump surgery was a success, they'll do the first round of injections tomorrow, all going well he'll be discharged 48 hours after he's had the injections" Jess said happy with the news that everything was going well for her husband, sure she wanted to be there with him but that wasn't how it had worked out, she was just glad his pain was under control
"Then that's it, this regenerative therapy was successful" Jason asked
"His pain is sorted, but as far as the regenerative therapy it's to soon to tell, he's gotta go back for follow up injections, they won't know if it's successful till after the first 4 rounds of injections have been done and given time to work, we're talking a 6 month wait from the first injections" Jess said explaining the timeline
"So if it works, he'll continue, if not" Ray asked
"He'll continue monitoring for changes, but at least his pain is under control a lot more" Jess responded, even if the therapy didn't work, the pain was under control
"Heard how Laura's going with the horses in Tennessee" Brock asked eager for some news, he'd had a few messages, but he suspected that Jess may have been in more frequent contact through Zalie
"She's picked out a few to bring home for herself, and some others are coming back for intensive training, think they're bringing back 25 or 30 all up, Zalie wasn't sure" Jess said
"How long before she's back" Brock asked hoping that they'd get a chance to see each other, and not find themselves separated again due to deployment or horses being in trouble, Brock had to admit however, Laura would certainly find ways to keep occupied while he was away, he was certain about that
"She's on her way back at the moment with a trailer load, she'll be home about mid day tomorrow, after she's got the load settled in to quarantine and checked in with Tahlia" Jess said informing Brock that he'd get to see Laura after she got back from Brad's facility and she'd checked on the residents next door, the rescue in Tennessee had had an adoption event scheduled to be held in 5 weeks time, but we're struggling to get available horses ready, the ones they had were all fairly green requiring advanced riders, they had nothing suitable for beginners or kids, Tahlia had offered to transfer a group of suitable horses from Happy Tails to help compensate for the lack of available horses for the adoption event, and Happy Tails would take the ones that Brad had brought back to train once they were ready in exchange, the trailers were due to leave at the end of next week with the horses that were being transferred, Laura would have a busy few days getting paperwork sorted so the horses could travel, but at the moment the decision hadn't been made on who was going so she had a few days to relax at least
"So when are you two gonna tie the knot anyway" Clay asked eager to find out what the plans were
"Give us some time to work it out, we need to get things organised like a dress, catering, someone to marry us" Brock said to him, he and Laura were just enjoying being engaged at the moment, not worrying about the logistics
"Exactly, just because my dress was done in 10 weeks, doesn't mean that's standard for getting them done by, it's usually 6 months minimum, bridesmaids dresses are usually 4 months" Jess said in support of Brock and Laura not choosing to rush things
"You can't get the same seamstress who done your dress to do Laura's" Ray asked, Jess had looked absolutely stunning in her dress after all
"It's up to Laura if she wants to use Hanna to make her dress, but I had a rough idea what I wanted and what suited me, she's got zero idea what she wants" Jess said making it clear she wasn't going to interfere with how Laura wanted to go about getting her dress done, secretly she hoped that Laura would at least go shopping once to try dresses on before going to a seamstress to have a dress made, so she could at least get a feel of what she wanted
"Except that she wants to be able to ride a horse in it, that's the only thing she's sure about" Eric interjected, Laura may not have known what style of dress she wanted, but she had been dead set on that requirement
"Except that" Jess said laughing, she had a few ideas on what type of dresses she thought Laura should look at, but she was keeping them to herself unless Laura asked for her help
"Hey Bookworm, serious question here, you know anything about Trent having a new lady friend in his life" Sonny suddenly asked interrupting the wedding talk
"Define new, he's got plenty of friends who are girls in his life" Jess said with a sly grin on her face, she knew exactly what Sonny was asking
"That's not what I meant, you know is he" Sonny asked looking confused as he tried to work out how to ask Jess if Trent had a new woman
"Is he what Sonny" Jess asked pretending to be ignorant about what Sonny was asking
"Is he, you know" Sonny asked trying again to convey his question without actually asking Jess
"No I don't know Sonny" Jess said continuing to toy with him, thoroughly enjoying every second of doing it
"Sonny, she's not going to give you a straight answer, check out the grin, she's playing you" Ray said as Sonny started to look really frustrated over Jess's refusal to answer the question
"Where is he anyway" Brock asked eager to catch up with Trent, hoping he could get an answer to the question about the possibility of the new woman a little more subtly than what Sonny's attempt had been to get the answer, they had a private bet between the pair of them on who could get the answer first, winner got a bottle of their favourite alcohol from the looser
"Aubree needed his help with something" said Jay letting Bravo know what he and Jess knew
"They in the training room" Brock asked
"It may actually be her office, I'm not sure" Jess said guessing it was more likely Aubree's office that the pair were in
"I'll go and find them" Brock said as he took Pepper to go and find the missing medic and nurse
"You got some nausea still" Jason asked as he saw Jess reach for the antiemetic dissolvable tablets that was sitting by her bed
"It's manageable" Jess said as she quickly removed the tablet from its packaging and placed it under her tongue to start dissolving before checking her phone that had started beeping
"Luca" Ray asked seeing the smile appear on Jess's face
"Zah, she was sending me pictures of the 10 new horses Laura's picked up for herself, she'll finalize the adoptions over the next 12 weeks" Jess said reading the message aloud
"She got her selection down from 15 to 10, I'm impressed" Jay said knowing that Laura could have a hard time choosing between horses to take at times, especially if there was a chance who she didn't choose would end up on the meat trucks, but these horses were not going to end up on the meat trucks, they were already safe, just in desperate need of training and potentially some mental health care, in those situations Laura would often look for horses who met the body type requirements she had for reining, or whatever discipline she was looking for a horse for, and then it came down to who needed the home with her the most, the horses who would most likely become long term residents in the rescue if she didn't take them, Bailey and Donovan were both desirable on their own, but were a bonded pair who didn't like being separated, at the auction they'd been rescued from, there had been 7 horses in the original lot, sadly Tahlia had only been able to save Bailey and Donovan, the rest were sold to a kill buyer and there had been nothing they could do, when the kill buyer had come to the pen to remove the horses he'd purchased, Bailey had started reading up to try and protect his friends as he cried out for help and Donovan actually bit the kill buyer twice after charging him continually to try and stop the kill buyer from taking the other horses, Tahlia had been furious at the sight when she got to the pen, both Bailey and Donovan had blood and open cuts from being whipped by the kill buyer and were huddled together crying for their lost friends, Laura had already made up her mind to adopt Bailey when she saw him in the ring, he was built for reining, but at the site she saw in the pen, she knew she'd be taking Donovan as well, they wouldn't cope being separated, by time Tahlia had reported the condition of the horses she'd purchased to the auction owner, the kill buyer was loaded up and out the gates with his horses
"Oh he's a handsome fella, and there's a little friend for Donovan" Clay said looking over Jess's shoulder at the photos, Zalie had written under each photo if the horse was a mare or gelding and the breed
"So what did she get" Jay asked curious to find out about the new arrivals
"Tennessee walker gelding, Tennessee walker mare, warmblood mare, Arabian gelding, Missouri Foxtrotter mare, mini gelding and 2 quarter horse mares, quarter horse gelding and a graded filly" Jess said running down the list
"That's a mighty fine looking horse" Sonny said getting a glimpse of one of the photos
"That's the Tennessee walker gelding" Jess said looking at the photo Sonny mentioned
"They sure he's a purebred, never seen those markings on anything other than a paint" Sonny asked curiously
"He's a registered show horse that's been sawed and had his tail tendons cut, they've got his papers, she's surprised he's not buggered in the back end, but his x-rays all look really good and sound, so he may not have been doing it for very long as he's only 5 years old, they've called him Moo" Jess said reading the information that had been sent on him
"I like that, he does look like a cow with that pattern" Ray said laughing at the name of the horse, it certainly suited him
"They know how he ended up at auction" Clay asked
"Big lick castaway, apparently the horses are inspected for sawing, so the owners wrap their legs to hide the scars, one of his legs was pretty nasty looking so most likely he couldn't pass inspection because of how bad a job someone done with it" Jess said reading more information about the horse
"So he was sent to auction in the hopes that he was purchased by a kill buyer and shipped to slaughter" Eric asked putting the pieces together
"Precisely" Jess said, she was already suspecting that Laura would be dealing with a fair bit trying to help that horse get its head sorted out
"That Arabian looks like he'll be a handful" Sonny said noticing the picture of the chestnut Arabian
"He needs starting again according to Laura, there's a lot of really big holes in his training and he doesn't like men being around him, he's got a few scars of his own on his chest and head, he's also a bit troublesome to load" Jess said reading the information on the Arabian
"Probably been abused by men in the past, they're a temperamental and flighty horse at the best of times according to Emmett" Sonny said mentioning his dad, Jess had noted that Sonny only mentioned his dad when it came to talking about the horses
"So when's the new dog get here" Brock asked entering the hospital room again with Pepper in tow, he'd been unable to find Trent and Aubree so had returned to the room to wait for Trent to return
"Next week, we're arranging to fly him up so it's not such a long drive in the car" Jess said excited for him to arrive
"Who'd you get" Jason asked, he knew that Luca had his eyes on one in particular, but Jess and Luca hadn't mentioned who they'd decided on
"Dunlop, though we'll probably rename him Weary after Weary Dunlop, the Australian army surgeon who was held as a Japanese POW in WW2 and worked on the Burma railroad" Jess said, he was the original candidate they'd looked at, Laura hadn't seen anything in his medical file that would affect his quality of life, she'd suggested looking into massage, chiropractic and acupuncture treatment to help with his stiff leg and hip, but that was all treatments she could do herself as she had done the extra training to help provide better care for the animals she looked after, and she could easily do the fluid therapy for the kidneys, everything was manageable in her opinion and he could have a long and happy life with the family, with that knowledge going into the meet and greet, as soon as Dunlop had come out to meet them, and passed his introduction with Cerbs and Pepper, there was no question about looking at another dog
"That's pretty impressive knowledge you have there Bookworm" Sonny said impressed at Jess's ability to recall inform like that, he thought it was limited to EOD and other stuff, not world war 2 history
"He's part of Australian history, didn't you learn US history in school" Jess asked looking at them all surprised
"Yeah school wasn't exactly that great for us like it was you" Ray admitted to Jess
"What makes you think school was so great for me" Jess asked surprised
"You were a straight A student and your folks had plenty of money, no offence Jay" Clay said not wanting to offend Jay, but Jess had advantages growing up with her privelliged childhood, she probably went to all the top schools and breezed through he thought
"None taken Clay, but trust me when I say it wasn't easy for Jess" Jay said realising that Clay hadn't meant to offend them
"How bad could it have really been, I mean you had everything obviously" Jason asked looking at Jess, apart from the fact she would get in trouble for fighting or having an attitude with her teachers because she was bored and not challenged, it couldn't have been that bad
"Ah let's see, private schools where everyone has money, 2 parents at home, appearance is everything and all the students are white, here I am tall, skinny, mixed race kid, who constantly has to think about what she's trying to say because she mixes her languages up when she's talking in class, one parent is deceased, the other one is constantly away for work, so she's either dropped off by her stepmother or grandparents, other students and parents had a field day with the bullying, high school was probably worse than primary school" Jess said reeling of everything she went through
"That's the same as elementary isn't it" Ray asked wanting to make sure he was comparing the grades right as they were divided into elementary, middle and high school in the US
"Primary was kinder to year 6, high school was year 7-12" Jess said clarifying the difference between the schools to her brothers
"Remember in high school you got into that fight against the daughter of our manager, she didn't even realise that her father worked for us, it was after your grandfather had passed on" Jay said remembering the story
"I remember, my first experience with entitled parents, when grandma showed up to the school, they tucked tails and backed down fairly quickly on their threats to sue me" Jess said remembering the story, the rest of Bravo were now obviously eager to hear what had happened
"She had just turned 14, broke their daughters nose" Jay said explaining why the parents had wanted to sue Jess at such a young age
"She thought she was a big tough girl, shoving people in lockers, tripping them up, knocking their belongings over, stealing from other students" Jess said letting her brothers know what the girl had been doing
"So what did she do to you to earn your wrath" Brock asked intrigued
"She'd taken my phone and broken it thinking that it would get me in trouble with dad and Alie as they were 'obviously paying it of', poured her drink bottle over my test in class and tried to take my locket, saying it was hers to the teacher, because there was no way my parents could afford something like that" Jess said explaining how the girl had ended up in her firing line
"Wait, you said her daddy worked for you" Sonny asked realising that this girl clearly hadn't realised that they didn't have the amount of money that Jess had
"He did, but she didn't know that, she tried to grab me by the neck after class one day to take my mum's locket, so I punched her to get her off me" Jess said finishing up that part of the story
"Her parents assumed because of Jess's skin colouring, she was a scholarship student" Jay said explaining the mistake that the parents had made
"Thankfully Mr Keaton was there to verify what she'd done to my phone and had seen her grab me first in the hall" Jess said remembering her favourite science teacher from back then
"And there was the other teacher Ms Hamilton, who verified the incident with the test" Jay said reminding Jess there had been a second teacher stand up to call the girl out on what she'd done
"And grandma insisted that the school security cameras be checked, and that the police were called for attempted murder as she'd grabbed me around the neck and I had scratch marks from her nails if the parents were going to pursue the case to sue me" Jess said recalling the conversation she'd heard sitting outside the principal's office waiting to hear what would happen to her, her dad's mum was never quiet when she spoke to people who were aggravating her, and she'd given Jess some good tips on dealing with entitled people when she took her home from school after the incident, including the one about never letting their behaviour go without consequences, as they'd never learn, as soon as the father recognised Jay's mother and realised who Jess was he quickly took his wife and daughter out of the principal's office apologizing for the misunderstanding
"That girl learnt a hard lesson a few years later, her father hired her to work for one of our stores over Christmas break, she'd racked up a credit card debt that her dad couldn't afford to pay of, and when she was caught stealing from the store, obviously there was no choice but to fire her and press charges, what was worse for her father however was he had not been given permission to hire her, and he'd disobeyed the rules we had in place about the hiring process for family members, so he lost his job to" Jay said letting everyone know that the girl hadn't gotten of scott free for her poor attitude, and her father had paid the price as well
"Hiring process for family members" Eric asked pleased to hear that the girl had been eventually held responsible for her poor attitude
"That they must be approved by the director, which was me, not even the CEO could give the approval, and that they must not be involved in any disciplinary matters involving the family member, it must be immediately referred to HR and overseen by the CEO and reported to me, he tried to cover up his daughter stealing from the store, and he'd not passed on any complaints that was received about her behaviour" Jay said explaining how the dad had screwed up
"She literally refused to do any work because 'her daddy is the owner of this place' and 'she could get everyone fired if they try to make her do anything she doesn't want to', she sure liked talking to the males who came into the store, about the only thing she did do" Jess said, she'd go in and help out in the shop during the busy period as soon as she was old enough, her grandmother had suggested it as being a good way to learn how people functioned in the real world, that not everyone had money like she did and to be appreciative of what she had, the value of hard work, and the importance of respect in the workplace, and it was an opportunity to learn all the aspects of the business empire she'd one day inherit
"She seriously thought that her daddy owned WST Tactical" Clay asked laughing at the thought
"Technically it's WST Tactical and Outdoor design, I just shortened it to WST Tactical, we still have the outdoor portion of the business" Jay said explaining the origins of the company
"WST, I've been meaning to ask where it came from" Ray asked, uncertain whether it was just some random letters or it actually had significant meaning
"Walter and Sedura Turner, my grandparents who started the company, it got handed down over the years, I just added the tactical part to it when I inherited it" Jay said mentioning his grandparents
"Aha, so it was your grandparents who built a multi million dollar business" Jason said realising that the company was a lot older than what he realised
"You seriously thought that I built everything in the what 8 years I've been out Jason, I'm good, but I'm not that good at building a business empire, I had some help" Jay said laughing at the thought that he could have achieved everything he had done in business in such a short amount of time
"Sedura, that's not English" Clay asked looking at Jay
"My grandmother was a Berber from Libya, she met my grandfather when he was stationed there with the Australian 9th Infantry division, a night of unbridled passion resulted in my father being conceived, so my grandfather did the honorable thing and married her, after the war was over, she came to Australia as a war bride" Jay told Clay giving Bravo the brief rundown of his grandparents romance
"And here we were thinking that your family history was limited to Australian and the middle eastern heritage, now we find out you've got African as well" Brock said looking impressed
"And American, don't forget that I've got US citizenship through mum's family, she was born over here after all" Jess said proudly
"Sara's father was working over here when she was born, so she got her dual citizenship through 'Jus Soli', they returned to Syria about 3 months after she was born due to diplomatic relations being severed following the 6 day war in 1967" Jay said explaining how his first wife had earned her dual citizenship which she had passed on to Jess when she was born
"They weren't diplomats were they, Sara's parents" Eric asked curiously
"No, but they found that they were outcasts due to the severed relations, the US wasn't interested in supporting their businesses, so they packed up and went back to Damascus" Jay said confirming that Sara's parents were in the business industry
"So how did you two meet exactly, Damascus is a long way from Sydney" Ray asked
"Sara was studying at the local university near the base I was stationed at, we were introduced through mutual friends of our family's, the rest is history as they say" Jay said answering Ray's question
"What was she studying, was she as smart as Bookworm"
"She had a bachelor's of political, economic and social sciences with honours and then she was currently studying a Master's degree in international security with a specialisation in foreign languages" said Jay, Sara had been given permission to study abroad by her father, with the plan being that Sara would use her degree to help run the family business, she had had zero intention of finishing school, getting married and settling down, and the education options for women at the time in Damascus were still limited, so Sara's dad had agreed to allow her to study abroad providing she had some form of family or friends near by, an old friend of Sara's parents had moved to Sydney a few years prior to work as a doctor, and had a daughter the same age as Sara who would be attending University in Sydney, he offered for Sara to stay with them and study
"So she was smart, and good with languages I'm assuming" Brock said looking at Jess
"Incredibly smart, and she knew a good 30 or more, where do you think someone else gets it all from, she had 6 or 7 down fluent before Sara died" Jay said, he hadn't been even the slightest bit surprised to find Jess being multilingual, he'd come home from deployments and he'd hear Jess talking a whole new language with her toys, when he'd ask Sara what she was saying, Sara would happily translate
"They say children have the ability to learn languages a lot quicker the younger they are, mum would tell me stories and sing songs in different languages when I was a baby apparently" Jess said, she obviously didn't remember being a baby, but she remembered the songs and stories from when she was around 3, there was a sense of familiarity about those songs and stories
"That she did baby girl, she could role them of just as easy as you can without hesitating" Jay said to his daughter
"So Jess is just like her mum" Ray said recognising the connection
"There's a lot of me in there as well, don't worry about that, she got her mum's love of foreign languages, politics, history and social science, but she's also got my knack for science and maths, and my love of the water and being outdoors" Jay said confirming that Jess had the best of both of her parents
"Best of both worlds, but where did she get her creativity from, and her music" Clay asked looking at Jay
"Music is from her mother, her creativity, that's probably me" Jay responded smiling
"Those movies she made" Brock asked
"We were bored okay" Jess immediately protested, it didn't take Jay long to realise which movies Brock was referring to
"He found the redone versions of toy story I take it" Jay asked looking at Jess
"Laura showed him one night" Jess responded
"Toy story" Jason asked looking at Brock and Jess for answers
"Rated R for very good reason" Brock said smiling as he remembered the movies Laura had showed him
"We were drunk when we done them okay" Jess said immediately at Brock's response that they were rated R
"Some of the scenes would make Sonny blush" Brock said looking at Sonny
"When you say we were drunk, I'm guessing that this was" Jason asked thinking he knew who was involved but was wanting to be certain
"Critter and Dede" Jess said as Trent entered into her room carrying 2 khaki coloured cases and a brown package
"What's in the cases and package Trent" Eric asked
"Medications, for Jess, Aubree and I were reviewing the new set-up, and how we're going to carry them in the field" Trent said as he sat the cases down on the tray table so he could start taking Jess and the others how the set up would work
"So how's it going to work" Jason asked eager to see how it would all work, Trent picked up the brown pack that looked similar to a MRE pack and opened it up, there was 9 smaller packs inside and a collapsible soft sided container
"Jess's chemotherapy will come packaged like this, packages 1-7 are the days of your treatment cycle, package 8 is your injections to increase your red and white blood cells, package 9 is the medication that doesn't require a set time to administer, so your biophosphates and your bowel motility medication" Trent said explaining the numbers on the packages
"Cool, looks like a ration pack" Clay said admiring the packets
"Except packaging is a little more advanced, it's padded, insulated and everything to eliminate the need for refrigeration in the field for the week" Trent said explaining the benefits of the packaging
"So what's in these" Brock asked picking up the smaller case
"Personal first aid kit, the the big one for base camp use, so it holds all the medication and supplies like gauze, pads, cleaning solution, plus plenty of backups, then this will be carried in the field, you can thank your dad for the design, and theirs space for adding the chemotherapy medication packages" Trent said opening the case to show the inside, they were molded and when you opened them they had zipped compartment that when they were opened, contained more sleeves that held the various medication and supplies, the other side had compartments that could hold the chemotherapy medication packages
"There's some low vis ones as well coming in the smaller size" Jay added
"Basically Jess isn't to be given any medication that's not in this case, Aubree is still packing the other cases, so Jess and I will both be carrying one of these, then there's 2 more cases to be divided amongst the group in case we're separated and a case is lost or damaged" Trent said explaining the situation, by dividing the supplies there was less chance of the supplies getting lost, the only thing they couldn't duplicate was the chemotherapy medication
"Considering those cases are a kevlar, zylon, graphene, carbon fibre and titanium composite in construction, they're pretty hard to damage Trent" Jay said running through the material he'd used in construction of the cases
"Still, it potentially could happen, they are waterproof as well, so the contents won't be affected when we do anything old school" Trent said explaining how the cases were versatile
"That's actually pretty neat set-up" Ray said opening the case to examine the contents
"So each case carries medication to help with clotting, pain relief, antiemetic, antibiotics, glucose injections and tablets, antiseptic cream for cleaning, gauze and dressings, tape, scissors, tourniquets, emesis bags, port access cannulas, obviously Jess has the okay for standard fluids and oxygen, but actual medication needs to come from here, there is space to add other medications if needed, they're actually quite roomy and well set up for their size" Trent said, he'd been quite impressed at the design of the cases, when the cases were opened up, all the life saving medication was located right there, the other medication and supplies were packed in underneath
"I'll say, mini pharmacy" Brock said
"Atropine injection" Jason asked
"Right there with the clotting medication and tourniquet, Jess starts bleeding, this could potentially help prevent her from bleeding out before medical help can arrive, it should become standard issue in the next 6 months or so, they're waiting on the injectapen delivery device to be officially approved for use as an option for administration, it's past all the civilian tests, but it hasn't been tested by the military yet for use in front line combat" Trent said explaining the new medication
"So Jess is being a guinea pig again, like she is the pain medication" Jason asked a little annoyed
"Someone has to be" Jess said looking straight at him
"The medication is standard for administration in trauma cases in the ER Jason, it's just traditionally administered through a IV, but studies have shown it to be just as effective when administered through IM injection, it was felt that with the risk of Jess potentially having low platelets in the field, they thought that Jess was an ideal candidate for trialing the medication" Trent said explaining that Jess was not just trialing a medication that didn't have any possible benefits for her
"So this is all first line emergency medication in this section" Eric asked making sure he understood what medication was what in the kits, it would be highly unlikely that Eric would ever have to administer any of it in a high pressure situation as was rarely in the field with the them, but he wanted to make sure he was familiar with it just in case
"Everything that could potentially save her life in a time critical situation is in that section sir, so we're not searching for vital meds and supplies in a time critical situation, including port access cannula, and an emergency glucose shot" Trent said to Eric
"That's pretty neat actually, so who's getting the extra kits" Brock asked looking at Trent
"I'll be taking one, that's not open for discussion, Ray, either you or Clay will carry the other one, when we divide up that should leave a spare kit with each group, as well as Jess carrying her own, Brock, you already carry extra gear for Pep, we can't ask you to take on any more when the rest of us could be helping out" Jason said making it clear that it wasn't open for discussion
"That would work" Ray said agreeing with Jason's opinion on how to divide the kits up
"I'm not getting a say" Jess asked
"Nope, not this time around" Jason said smiling at the young EOD
"Oh, and Aubree said this arrived for you as well" Trent said producing a smaller box he'd put into the bigger case
"What is it" Jess asked curiously looking at the box and then her dad
"Beats me" Jay said equally stumped at what was in the box
"She said she wanted to wait till the nerve ablation procedure was completed, Luca had asked her about them" Trent said filling Jess and the rest of the group in on what Aubree was talking to him about with regards to the box and it's contents
"I wanna see what it is, what is it" Sonny said no longer content to wait as he took the box from Jess and opened it up pulling out the 2 soft mounds that were inside and holding them up
"New wearable prosthetics, looks good on you Sonny" Jess said unable to stop herself from laughing at the sight of Sonny holding up the wearable prosthetic breasts Jess could use whenever she wanted to give herself more shape instead of being flat chested, Sonny was holding the prosthesis up to his chest
"It's not sequined enough for him" Clay said laughing himself as he pulled out his phone and snapped a photo
"What nerve ablation procedure" Jason asked curiously looking at Jess
"I had it done a few days ago, where the doctor permanently deadened the nerve endings that were causing the phantom pain, it's a lot more manageable now" Jess said explaining the procedure she'd had done
"Even if she can't feel her butt properly anymore" Trent said smiling
"Lesser of 2 evils Trent, lesser of 2 evils" Jess said reminding him that the alternative was harder for her to deal with
X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X
"Well, that's your last IV in here, feel good to be finished" Doctor Masterson asked as he unhooked the last chemotherapy IV from Jess's body, as soon as it was disconnected Jess immediately began the process of flushing the line, she'd be doing TPN and fluids tonight, so there was no need to take the cannula out till tomorrow morning
"Definitely, so when can I get out of here" Jess asked as she finished doing everything she had to do
"Don't rush it Jessica, you need to allow your body to recover" Doctor Masterson said sternly warning her to take it easy
"Think she more just wants her own bed to sleep in" Poppy said with a smile looking at Jess
"Can you blame me, after having you lot asking me how I'm feeling, what my bowel movements have been like, checking temperature and blood pressure every 4 hours for the last 7 days, I want some privacy and decent sleep" Jess responded sarcastically, she knew that the nurses had their job to do, but she also wanted to have a decent sleep
"Nope, not in the slightest" Poppy said to her
"How long before Luca is home" Doctor Masterson asked Jess while checking over some other readings in her file from overnight
"Ah, they've just arrived at the airport, probably 8 hours" Jess said, trying to work it out, Luca and Alie had flown to North Carolina this time, that way Luca could relax and stretch out on the flight back, instead of sitting in the car for the whole trip
"They getting picked up from Dulles" Doctor Masterson asked looking straight at Jess now
"Yeah" Jess said curiously, wondering why Doctor Masterson would be asking her, Nova only flew out of Dulles, instead of Norfolk, and he knew that that would be the airline that they would be using
"Good, well Alie and Luca can stop by and pick you up on their way back from the airport, we just need to make sure there's been no reactions, but there shouldn't be any problem" Doctor Masterson said now smiling
"You'll be back on duty before you know it Jess, hear that you're actually going to be on a training course before you deploy this time, your old stomping grounds" Poppy asked, she knew that Jess was eager to get back to duty, and had heard the rest of Bravo talking about the training course
"Yay me" Jess said really sarcastically and unenthusiastically
"You don't sound to impressed about going back, or is it the training course" Doctor Masterson asked picking up on Jess's district lack of enthusiasm about what was happening
"Training course, let's just say Waterhen base doesn't exactly have the best memories for me, and that's where we're staying" Jess said, she'd kept her mouth shut when Eric had mentioned that the course was being held at Waterhen base, she'd half expected it as it was the home base for the clearance divers and the mine hunters, but she had been silently hoping for it to be held at fleet base east, as it was bigger and had more training facilities, as well as being more centrally located
"I'm sure it's just nerves" Poppy said reassuringly
"Besides, I'm sure there's plenty of things you'll get to do why you're there that you've missed, places you get to see, I hear Sydney is quite the tourist attraction" Doctor Masterson said to her, Eric had pulled him aside a few days ago to check on the process for visiting a foreign base and whether they'd need to disclose Jess's medical condition to the base doctors, and make sure they had appropriate identification for Jess's medication and supplies in case they were questioned
"Exactly, and I doubt you'll be glued to the base for the entire time you're there, you'll have some down time surely" Poppy said trying to convince Jess that she would be unlikely to be confined to the base for the duration of the visit
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