The next day, Jessica woke up and looked over at the time 11:30. It was really uncharacteristic for her to sleep this late, but she had a long night with her father. She was still so frustrated with her dad. All she wanted to do was spend the night with Michael and he was insistent on it being a no. When she got home he talked about going with her and she was still so mad at him and told him no, he can go separate from her. He called her stubborn, she said he was being unreasonable; typical arguments they would have here and there. Michael would be home at exactly 5:00. Polly was having everyone over for dinner at 5:30. She had so much to do. She wanted the house to be perfect for him when he had gotten home. She would be going over at 4:00 having Mae and a few staff members come with her to clean and start preparing for dinner. Meanwhile at the hospital, Michael kept looking down at his watch. Polly scoffed, "time will not be moving any faster if you keep looking at it," never looking up from the paper she was reading. Michael rolled his eyes, "I just want to get out of here, thats all." He had been pacing back and forth. Polly looked up. "Sit down before you hurt yourself and they make you stay here longer." "You know mom," Michael started and Polly raised an eyebrow. He lowered his tone seeing she was ready to argue, "Mom I just want to get out of here. I can't be in here anymore. I just want to be home with you and Jess." Polly looked back down at her paper, "Just a few more hours Michael. They have to come in do a few test, and then we will be walking out this door," she patted the seat next to her for him to sit down.
Jessica looked at the clock on the wall 4:55. She smiled and looked at the work in front of her. Mae and a few other had come over to do a deep cleaning of Polly's place. As well, Jessica had them put bouquets of flowers everywhere to brighten the place up. Dinner was being prepped by their house chef and a beautiful table was set for dinner with the family. She also had a new bed put in for Michael a more comfortable one. She sat in a chair staring at the door. Tik tok tik tok. Time felt like it was moving so slow. Tik tok 4:59. The doorknob started to turn. Jessica stood up, the door opened and in walked in Arthur, John, Tommy, and Ada. John immediately saw the disappointment in Jessica's face. "What's wrong Jessica, not happy to see us?" John laughed. She got up to help them bring some stuff in, "Haha guys. How are you. No, I'm just excited to have my boy home. Thats all and I thought it would be him and Polly." After they put everything on the table, Ada grabbed onto Jess and hugged her a little longer. Jess didn't want anyone feeling bad for what had happened to her. She hadn't spoken to the family about it, nor did she want to do it today. Today was Michael's day. "Ada," Tommy cleared his throat. Ada turned around. Tommy addressed the room, "I know we all want to talk to Jess about what happened to her, but not today. Today is a happy day having Michael home, ok?" They all nodded. Suddenly the door handle started to move again and they turned towards the door. In walked Polly and Michael. Cheers were around the room. Tommy shook Michaels hand and patted him on the back, "Welcome home Michael." Michael hugged everyone and then saw Jess. She stood there waiting for her turn to hug Michael. His eyes lit up and smile instantly on his face when he saw her. She walked towards him going on her tippy toes and threw her arms around his neck. "Welcome home."
Janik walked through the front door. Mae ushered everyone to the dinner table. Drinks were poured and then everyone got silent. Tommy stood up. "Now today is a very happy day having Michael home. And although Greg Blake is still out there, we are going to let this day be all about being home together right now. Looking forward to having the whole family back together when this is done and over. And this will be done and over, when Michael pulls that trigger." Tommy nodded his head towards Michael and everybody drank. Laughter filled the room. They hadn't had this in such a long time. Michael looked over at Jessica. Her, Ada, and Polly had been laughing about something. He turned to look at Tommy who was taking a shot with Janik, Arthur, and John. This is why he needed to be home. These moments were the ones he would cherish. Moving out of the village to be with Polly gave him the opportunity to make new memories with his family. These were the moments he would remember. If things had turned out different the day Greg shot him, they might not be sitting here together. Jess realized Michael had been silent. She moved her hand over his and gave him a squeeze. He smiled at her. He realized all he needed was in the room right now. And the person he needed most, was sitting right next to him.
Everybody had left about 5 minutes ago. Tomorrow they would be having a family meeting to discuss the next steps to end Greg Blake. Jessica walked into Michael's bedroom ready for bed. It had been a long day, but she was so happy to have him back home. She was about to get changed when she looked in the mirror at herself. Her shirt had been off and she could see the bruising on her chest and neck from what Greg and his men had done. At the touch it was still sore. You could see the imprint of fingers around her neck. She closed her eyes. She could remember Greg having her by her throat, breathing heavily into her ear. Telling her he wished he had gotten the job done with Michael. She was taken out of her thoughts with the door closing behind her. She turned around and covered the brusing with the shirt that was in her hand. "Hey what are you doing?" Michael asked concern. "I uh.." Jessica stuttered a little. "You ok?" Michael asked coming closer. "I was uh, I was looking at the bruising. I wanted to see if it looked any better because I felt better." She was still looking at the floor. When she looked up Michael had his shirt off and she could see the scars from the bullets. 3 holes that were stitched up. 3 bullets that Greg Blake had put in him. He walked closer, "There's nothing to be ashamed of baby." Jess was hesitant looking at Michaels chest. Seeing the 3 scars made all what happened so real. Jess took her free hand and gently traced each bullet wound. A tear dropped from her eye. She almost lost him and these 3 scars will always be a reminder of what happened. Michael hadn't felt her touch in a while. With every gentle stroke of her finger touching each spot, Michael craved for more.
With her other hand Jess dropped the shirt slowly that had been covering up her bruising. Michael moved her hair behind her neck. He kissed the bruising on her neck and chest gently. Making sure each kiss was light enough not to hurt her. Jess was breathing heavy with each touch. It had been so long since they had been together like this and they were craving each other's bodies. He laid her down on the bed getting on top of her, making sure not to hurt her. Jessica took off her pants and unbuckled Michael's. He moved her underwear to the side and gently slid in. This time was different then their other times. Michael was going slow making sure to get every inch inside her. He hovered over her, taking in every inch of her body. Jessica's hands were holding on to his shoulders. Each time he moved in their chest touching together. He rolled them over and his back against the wall sitting up with Jessica on top. He touched her neck lightly as she moved up and down. Looking at the bruising on her hurt him so bad. Jessica saw the look on his face and moved his hands to her hips. Helping guide her up and down. She started to move faster. Michael moved his arms up her back pushing her closer to his body. Her hands moved to the back of his neck. One final push and her backed arched in his hands. They both has been panting completely out of breath. She rolled to the side and went under the covers. Jessica fell asleep with her hand on Michael's chest tracing the outline of his scars. Michael looked at her chest beating up and down. Now that he was home, he knew the war would be coming to an end. And he was the one who was going to end it.