Emma removed the ice pack that was wrapped around the knee of her friend and patient, David Nolan, then turned to speak to his wife Mary Margaret, who was sitting in a chair along the wall.
"I am SO glad that you were able to come with David today, and that I'm one of the first people to hear the news!" she exclaimed, as her friend stood up to give her a hug.
"Well, it just worked out since I took the day off to go to the doctor. We were pretty sure that I was pregnant, but it was exciting to get it confirmed!" Mary Margaret said, giving Emma an extra firm squeeze.
David walked over and put his arm around his wife's shoulders, smiling down at her adoringly. "Yep! Best news ever!" he gushed, brushing a kiss to Mary Margaret's temple.
"Dave?"
Emma turned to see Killian arriving for his appointment.
"Killian Jones!" David called out. He walked over to Killian and pulled him into a hug, pounding him on the back a few times. "How the heck are ya, buddy?"
Emma looked between the two of them. "You guys know each other?"
David answered, "We went through basic together. Jones was in the bunk right next to me." Turning to Killian, he said, "I'm sorry about what happened to you... and the others," he glanced over at Emma. "I saw Will Scarlett leaving here the other day when I came in for my session. He says he's about ready to go back on active duty."
"Aye. He had the most minor injuries of any of us. Locksley is coming along too. He should be returning soon after Will."
"How about you? How's your recovery going?"
Killian's eyes settled on Emma for a few seconds, then focused back on his friend. "I'm doing well, thanks to the world's best physical therapist."
David chuckled, "That she is!"
Emma's cheeks reddened at the compliments.
"So why are you here?" Killian asked.
"Remember how I was having problems with my knee while we were in basic? That's part of the reason why I didn't reenlist. Turns out I had partially torn my meniscus, and over the years, it kept getting worse. I finally had surgery about five weeks ago, and Emma is helping me recover."
David turned around to his wife, gently pulling her forward. "Killian Jones, I'd like for you to meet my wife, Mary Margaret. We just got confirmation today that we're expecting a baby!"
"Oh wow! Congratulations!" Killian said, shaking his friend's hand. "And to you, Mary Margaret," he added, turning to her and holding out his hand. But she moved to him with her arms open to give him a hug instead.
"Thank you, Killian. David told me all about the guys he met in basic training. It's nice to put a face to the name."
"Well, listen man, we'd better get going so you can get your treatment started. Why don't you give me your phone number? We'll have you over for dinner sometime soon," David said, reaching into his pocket for his phone.
"You don't have to go to that trouble," Killian protested.
"We WILL have you over," Mary Margaret insisted. "We usually invite Emma to dinner a couple of times a month, don't we Emma?"
"They do, and I'll attest to the fact that Mary Margaret is an excellent cook."
"Hey! What about me? I'm no slacker!" David whined, handing Killian his phone so he could punch in his number.
"You're a wonderful cook too, sweetheart," Mary Margaret soothed, winking at Emma.
The group said their final goodbyes, and Killian walked over to sit down on the table that Ashley had just finished covering with paper.
"Small world, huh?" he said, scratching behind his ear, then smoothing the hair down at the nape of his neck.
Emma started putting the exercise bands around his wrist. "Yeah. I had no idea that you knew David."
"Sounds like you have more of a connection to them than just being Dave's therapist."
She nodded. "When I transferred to a four-year school after attending community college, I answered an ad in the paper looking for a roommate. Mary Margaret was one of the people living in the house. We ended up sharing a room for the next two years and became good friends. We've stayed in touch, and now we live just a few blocks away from each other."
"She seems very nice."
"She definitely is. She and David are a perfect match. I was in their wedding party about three years ago. I'm so happy that they're gonna have a baby!"
Killian hummed his agreement. "Do you live far from here?"
"Nope. Just about fifteen minutes from the base. It's great living so close to them. They watch my dog if I have to be away overnight."
"Ah! You have a dog!"
"Yeah, a little white Maltese mix named Evie. She's a rescue from the shelter where David works."
"It doesn't surprise me that he ended up working in a place like that. He's one of the most compassionate guys I've ever met."
Emma nodded. "You got that right. He's pretty special. He's almost like another brother to me."
They continued trading stories about their friends, as Killian worked through his exercise routine. Emma was pleased to see him talking and laughing about his memories with David, and relieved that he seemed to have moved past the sullen mood that he'd displayed at the end of the previous session.
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"I wonder if Killian is seeing anyone?" Mary Margaret asked, as they drove home.
"Will told me that he was dating a woman for a few months before he was injured," he replied. "But she broke it off when he was transferred back to the base hospital. Will was in the bed next to him, and he heard her tell Killian that she didn't want to be with a cripple. She called him damaged goods."
"That witch! I want to claw her eyes out!"
David looked over in surprise. He didn't remember ever hearing such venom in his sweet wife's voice before.
Mary Margaret saw the shock on his face. "I am NOT sorry! How dare she treat him like that? He's a hero!"
David turned his eyes back to the road. "Nobody deserves to be treated like that, least of all Killian. He's already lost everyone he's ever loved. Poor guy mostly kept to himself at the beginning of basic. Eventually he warmed up a bit and we got to know him. He's a really good guy."
"I can tell that he is." She snuck a glance at her husband. "I also think that he might be interested in Emma."
"What? How can you tell that after meeting him for all of five minutes?" David spluttered.
"I'm a reading interventionist. I've been trained to observe all kinds of responses, both verbal and nonverbal, so I notice these things. I saw the way that he looked at her, and," she continued quickly, to cut off her husband's protests that she saw coming, "she looked at him pretty much the same way."
"Mary Margaret, please don't push anything. They've both suffered significant losses recently."
"I know that they've had their hearts broken in two," she replied softly. "But maybe, two halves could make a whole."
David shook his head. He knew that once the seed was planted, his wife was going to keep trying to get it to grow. He just hoped that she wouldn't do anything to upset Emma or Killian.
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"My medical doctor submitted my discharge papers yesterday," Killian shared with Emma at the start of his next appointment.
Emma wasn't sure if she should congratulate him or not, so she decided to ask a question instead. "So, how do you feel about that?"
Killian shrugged. "Well, I wasn't planning to re-enlist when my time was up, I just wish it hadn't happened this way. I had no intention of making the Army my career, I only joined in the first place because…"
He seemed to catch himself. Emma looked up at him. "Because what, Killian?" she coaxed.
He took a deep breath. "Because my father died and I didn't have anywhere else to go."
"I'm sorry to hear that," she said. She watched him do a few reps with the weights. "I, uh, I know what it's like to lose a parent. My mom died when I was 17 after losing her battle with cancer. She's the reason that I decided to be a physical therapist. I helped her do exercises throughout her entire illness. It was one way that I felt like I could help her."
"I'm sure that wasn't easy, Swan."
They went several minutes without talking, while he continued his exercises.
Finally Killian broke the silence to ask, "You said you have a brother. Is he your only family?"
"No, I have my dad, Marco. He's a woodworker. He's so talented that he can make a carving look like it could actually come to life."
"Does he do it all by hand, with one of those...things?"
Emma chuckled, "You mean a chisel? Yeah, most of it. He's got probably fifty different types of chisels. I remember a couple of months after Mom and Dad adopted me, I was out in his workshop snooping around. He came in and caught me attempting to use one by pulling it toward myself. He grabbed it away and I thought he'd start yelling at me. Instead, he explained that the tools were very sharp and he didn't want me to get cut. Then he let me hold it while he guided my hands to carve into a piece of wood."
She continued her story as she unstrapped the weights around his ankle. "We worked together for several hours, using different chisels that I chose. He helped me make a little treasure box. I was pretty clumsy with the tools, but he was so patient with me."
She started massaging the muscles in his forearm. "I had always kept everything that I owned in a garbage bag. It made it easier to move from one foster home to another. After our time together in Dad's workshop, I went upstairs, unpacked, and threw the garbage bag away for good. I finally felt like I was home."
Emma finished her story and looked up at Killian. "I'm sorry. You probably didn't care to hear about all of that, did you?"
"Nonsense, Emma. I like learning more about your beginnings."
Just then, Ashley came over with the ice packs and helped Emma place them on his arm and thigh. After her assistant left, Emma asked, "What about you? Do you have any other family?"
Killian fidgeted on the table, before he answered in a monotone voice. "No, they're gone."
Emma could almost feel the walls going up around her patient. She murmured, "I'm sorry," but she knew that their conversation had come to an end.
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Killian sat at the desk in his room, looking at the three pictures sitting on top of it. He picked up the one of his mother, his brother and himself. He remembered that day very well, even though he was only about six years old. It had been a good day for his mum, who often couldn't go outside because of her lung condition. They had gone to the beach, and the picture was taken by his father after Killian and his mother had buried Liam in the sand, with only his head and toes sticking out. Alice had her arm slung over her youngest son's skinny little shoulders and they both had huge smiles on their faces. Liam had his tongue sticking out and his eyes crossed. Killian ran his finger over the picture, tracing his mum's face and then his brother's.
He replaced the picture and reached for the one beside it. This one had three people in it also, but this time it was the two boys and their father. It was taken soon after they had moved to the United States. They all had smiles for the camera, but he could tell that there was sadness in their eyes. In this one, they stood beside each other, but weren't touching. They had all dealt with their grief in their own way, and it had been very isolating since none of them wanted to express their feelings out loud. It was even worse after Liam was killed. Even though he and his father were close, there always seemed to be an emotional barrier of sorts between them.
Then he turned his eyes to the last picture. He didn't even know why he kept it after the way that she had left him. It was almost like rubbing salt in the wound to look at her smiling face and the way she had her arms thrown around his neck. He remembered the day that this picture was taken also. He had just earned the rank of sergeant and she came to his pinning ceremony. She'd insisted that he put on his dress blues to go out to dinner. Throughout the evening, she'd taken every opportunity to parade him around in front of people, even though it made him uncomfortable. Looking back on it, he could understand why his buddies kept telling him that she was only seeing him because she wanted the recognition of being with a man in uniform.
Killian pushed his chair away from the desk and stretched his arms over his head. He was ashamed of how his therapy session with Dr. Swan had ended that day. Why had he been short with her, especially after she had just shared such a personal story with him? His family had all been gone for years now and it shouldn't hurt as much to talk about them. He guessed that old habits were hard to break when it came to being emotionally vulnerable.
Grabbing a towel and washcloth out of the linen closet, he went to take a shower. As he stood under the hot spray, he came to a decision. At his next PT appointment, he was going to share more information about his family with Emma. He felt like maybe she really could identify with his feelings of loss and sadness.
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Killian spent the next session making small talk with Emma while he completed his exercises. After she finished his massage and ice treatment, he lingered. His appointment was always at the end of the morning and he knew that she didn't have another patient until after her lunch break.
"I, uh, I'm sorry about not giving you a better answer to your question the other day, Swan," he said haltingly.
"Which question was that?"
"The one about my family."
Emma kept her eyes on the table that she was wiping off. "You don't have to apologize for that, Killian. I completely understand if you don't want to talk about such a painful subject."
When he didn't speak again for several moments, Emma looked up and met his gaze.
"I was born in Ireland," he began. "It's where my mum was from. We lived there until I was thirteen, which was when she died of cystic lung disease. My dad, my brother Liam, and I moved here soon after she passed. Liam was eighteen and had just graduated secondary school in Ireland. He went to college to get his bachelor's degree, and then enlisted in the Navy because he wanted to become a Naval Aviator."
Killian stopped. His throat had clogged and he was finding it difficult to speak.
Emma saw that he was struggling. She put a hand on his shoulder and softly said, "Killian, you don't have to tell me. I can see how hard it is for you."
He shook his head. "No, I want….I want you to know." He swallowed hard and closed his eyes for a moment before he continued. "One day he was flying a training mission and something went wrong with one of the engines. He kept trying to get the jet under control, and ejected too late. It crashed, and he...he was killed."
Emma squeezed his shoulder, giving him her silent sympathy that she couldn't seem to voice at that moment.
"My dad died of a heart attack three years later. That's when I joined the Army," Killian finished in one breath, as if he was just trying to get it all over and done with.
When he finally lifted his eyes to Emma's again, he saw what he had been hoping to see - not pity, but understanding.
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