"I moved my arm!" Taylor laughed, "I moved my arm!"
The nurse came running into the room to see what the trouble was. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw that Taylor was in fact using her left arm.
"I'm going to go get the doctor." The nurse said
Taylor laughed out of relief and then tried to move her right arm as well. She tried to put her right hand in her lap and tears of joy streamed down her face when she was able to slowly do so.
"It was only temporary." She thought.
The doctor entered the room.
"Let's see it." He smiled
Taylor clasped her hands and put them in her lap.
"Well I'll be." The doctor smiled, "Very few patients ever have that kind of success in these situations. Can you feel or move your legs?"
Taylor concentrated hard and tried to move her legs but grew frustrated with the lack of results. The doctor could see the frustration on her face.
"Okay, one step at a time. You're moving your arms again so that was apparently only a temporary thing. We'll continue to go through the treatments and hopefully we'll get your legs going again and you can walk out of here."
Taylor nodded in disappointment.
The doctor smiled and patted her on the leg, but she couldn't feel it.
"Small victories Ms. Taylor. Small victories." He said before he left the room.
"Easy for him to say." She said to herself. "He isn't lying in this bed."
Shane Davidson walked over to the bunk that was Taylor's. He looked at some of the photos that were stuck on the outside of her locker door. He studied them, looking for how he could perhaps gain acceptance in the squad.
"I know what you're going through." He said to one of the photos with her in it.
He looked at his arms that had a few burn scars on them and he smiled slightly.
"We've never met, but we have more in common than you realize."
He walked back to his bunk; his steps had a slight limp. He took a picture out of his bag. It showed him and a couple other guys in desert camo. His smiled shinned a sparkling white on his tanned face. He sat down and starred at the picture in his hands. A small tear trickled down his face.
He didn't realize that he was being watched though. Walsh stood silently at the top of the stairs. He wasn't sure what to say. So he silently approached.
"You were in the military?" Walsh asked
Shane was slightly startled; he wiped his face quickly before turning to face Walsh.
"Yeah, the Marines." Shane replied
Walsh wasn't sure what to say next so he decided that the best course of action was to let Shane speak.
After a few moments of silence Shane smiled.
"These guys in this picture..." He said. "They were my brothers. Jacob and Tony. We grew up in the same neighborhood. When we graduated high school we decided to join the Marines, never figuring that we'd be split up. I moved around a good bit. Spent some time in the Pacific. That's where I was when the terrorist attacks occurred. Tony was in New York at the time on leave visiting some of his family. Decided to go and see the Towers that morning."
Walsh could see where this conversation was going.
"His brother worked on the 87th floor in Tower 2. They were both there that morning. Those bastards killed them." Shane choked up. "Days afterwards, we watched the news, we knew we were going to Afghanistan. I waited to hear from him. Then I got an e-mail from my mom saying that Jacob was dead. I swore that I'd get revenge." He stopped again
"I'm sorry." Walsh said
"You've got nothing to be sorry for believe me. I feel sorry for the loss you guys suffered. I saw the plaques downstairs. 343 brothers is a lot to lose in the same day." Shane replied
Walsh nodded.
"That's where I got re-united with Tony. We were stationed at the same base." He stopped. "We got sent to Iraq together, in the search for Saddam. We were stationed together again."
Walsh watched with a new respect for the man that they had treated so unfairly earlier.
"Man I miss home." Tony said
"Yeah, mom's hot homemade apple pie." Shane smiled
"I almost forgot how good a cook your mom was until you said that." Tony laughed
"We'll be eating it again in no time. Figure Saddam can't hold out much longer." Shane said arrogantly.
"Not with the two of us on his tail." Tony laughed
The Humvee they were riding in passed another one and a couple of other armored military vehicles.
"I can't wait to get back to the comforts of home; I'm tired of this sandbox." Shane said
"You're the one that re-upped." Tony replied with a shrug
"Because I wanted to honor Jake." Shane replied
"And you did." Tony replied
"You're still here." Shane said
"I got 57 more days and I'm out of here." Tony smiled
Shane stared at Walsh for a moment and tried to fight back the emotions that he could feel building. They were the same emotions he had every time he told the story.
"57 days was all that Tony had left." Shane said, "57 days until he got to come home to his fiancée and start building a life with her."
He continued back to the story.
It sounded like a bottle rocket going off. There were people screaming and gunfire going off. Then suddenly a loud explosion occurred.
Shane had tears going down his face.
"I couldn't hear or see anything." Shane said, "I couldn't feel anything either."
Walsh listened patiently as Shane explained what happened next.
"I woke up in a medical center. Couldn't move at all. They said that my Humvee hit an IAD." Shane choked up. "I was the only survivor. There I was unable to move and found out that my best friend was gone."
"Were you paralyzed?" Walsh asked
"There was shrapnel that had lodged in my back. They said that's why I couldn't move. It took months of therapy to get back to the point of moving my hands and arms, and eventually my legs." Shane replied
"So Taylor's paralysis could be temporary?" Walsh asked
"Yeah. It's very possible, especially since early on she could move her hands." Shane replied
Walsh looked at him.
"She's very important to all of you. I can see that much." Shane began, "But she doesn't want to see you right now- I understand where she's coming from. But don't get discouraged. It's overwhelming with everyone coming in and out. If YOU care so much about her, go and see her- but don't treat her like she's paralyzed. She needs people around her right now."
"Thanks." Walsh said
"For what?" Shane asked
"For the advice." Walsh replied
"It's more of a suggestion." Shane grinned
Walsh stood up.
"So why'd you join the fire department?" He asked
Shane looked at him, "Because that day, your brothers- my brothers- fought a battle that was the most courageous battle in history. No matter what the odds were everyone who was there had one goal- to get everyone out alive. We know now that it couldn't end that way, but no one ever gave up. When I couldn't go back to the Marines I inquired about the fire department. Then took the test and ended up wearing blue. I can help make a difference in someone's life, that's how I've spent my entire life. Joining the fire department was a new beginning, gave me a reason to push that much harder. "
They were interrupted when the alarm sounded.
"Squad 5-5, Ladder 100, Adam 5-5-3 respond for a residential building fire. 108 and Lexington."
Before leaving the bunkroom Walsh stopped.
"Shane, no matter what those guys think, I'd be honored to have you backing me up out there." He said
"Thanks." Shane smiled
The nurse returned to Taylor's room with Beth Taylor.
"Are you ready for therapy?" The nurse asked
"The change of scenery would be nice." Taylor quipped as she closed the magazine that she was reading.
Beth smiled. "Feels good doesn't it?"
"It'd be better if I could move my legs again." Taylor replied
"Give it time honey, you'll get there." Beth said
"I'm not giving up until I do." Taylor added
"That's the spirit." The nurse smiled as she helped Taylor into her wheelchair.
"I guess I don't have a choice do I?" Taylor smiled as she looked at her medals that she earned.
Her mom thought that seeing them would help encourage her recovery.
"I'm walking up to that stage on Medal Day to get my medals." Taylor said. "I WILL walk up there!"
Beth smiled.
"That's my girl." She said.