Chapter 9

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Jordan woke up. She wondered what time it was. Perhaps 2:00 A.M.? Something was different. She listened. Charlie was sleeping peacefully. She reached over and touched him. His skin was cool. She sighed with relief. She leaned over and kissed him gently, and snuggled against him. In his sleep, Charlie pulled her closer to him. Jordan closed her eyes, and drifted back to sleep.

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Charlie slowly woke up. It was morning. He turned and saw that Jordan had already gotten up. He rolled onto his back, and realized his stomach didn't hurt anymore. He still felt lousy, but the nausea and cramping were gone. The room was warm, but not as horribly hot as it had been.

Charlie slowly sat up. He wasn't dizzy. Good. He stood up, visited the bathroom, then padded down the hallway.

Charlie glanced up, and saw Jordan outside, through the shattered window. She had made a fire in the grill, and had a pot on top. Charlie smiled to himself, and made his way to the door.

"Good morning." Charlie smiled at her, as he stepped outside. The cool breezes felt wonderful after so many hours in the stifling heat of the bedroom. He saw that Jordan had already brought two of the kitchen chairs outside. He slowly eased himself into one.

Jordan smiled at him. "Good morning." She walked over and kissed him.

"What are you making?" Charlie eyed the pot.

"Soup."

"Soup?" He snickered.

"Mmm Hmm. You know of any other way to make it?"

Charlie laughed. "No, I guess not. What are you making soup for?"

"For you, silly. You haven't had anything in your stomach in two days, aside from the ginger ale." She stirred the pot. "You need to eat something." She grinned at him. "You know, if we were home, I'd be making you eat green Jell-O."

Charlie made a face. "I hate Jell-O. Especially the green kind."

Jordan laughed. "Yeah, I know."

"So I guess I should be thankful that we are stranded here, without electricity and running water." He grinned.

Jordan laughed. Using an oven mitt, she picked up the handle of the pot, and poured the soup into a big mug she'd found in the cabinet. She carefully brought it over to Charlie.

"Here you go. Bon Appetit."

He laughed, and looked into the cup. "Umm, rice, and chicken bouillon?"

Jordan put her hands on her hips. "Look here, now. You are not Seinfeld, and I am not the Soup Nazi." She laughed. "This is all I could find, that I didn't think would make you sick."

"I know," Charlie smiled at her. "Thanks."

He tasted it. It was actually pretty good. It felt good to have something hot in his stomach. Jordan sat down next to him, and enjoyed the breeze.

Charlie chuckled softly.

Jordan looked at him. "What?"

"The Soup Nazi?" Charlie started to laugh. "That was the funniest episode."

Jordan laughed, and shook her head at him. "Eat your soup, Charlie."

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Two hours later...

Charlie and Jordan sat on the front steps of the cottage. Directly behind them, on the porch, sat their luggage.

Jordan sighed, "I hope they didn't forget to come get us."

"Nah. I just hope the roads are cleared enough to get to us." He took her hand.

Ten minutes later, a minivan came into view. It stopped on the street in front of their cottage, and the driver climbed out.

He was young, blonde, and Charlie judged him to be in his early twenties.

Charlie and Jordan stood, and eagerly came down the steps.

The driver looked at Charlie. "Professor Charles Eppes?"

"Yes. Thank you for coming to pick us up. I hope you didn't have any trouble."

"Umm, no. Thanks." He eyed Charlie curiously. "No offense, Professor, but you are the youngest professor I've ever met."

Charlie smiled. "Yeah, I get that a lot."

The driver looked over at Jordan. She flashed him a smile. He saw her face and her neck. He frowned, and turned an icy look on Charlie.

Jordan saw the change in the driver's expression. she started shaking her head. "No. It's okay..."

Charlie was carrying the luggage, and turned when he heard Jordan. "What? Oh. No." Charlie shook his head at the driver. "No. She was attacked. No, I do 'not' beat my wife."

The driver looked at Jordan. She nodded. "It happened two days ago."

The driver relaxed. "Did it happen here? I'm sorry to hear that."

The Eppes climbed into the minivan.

"Yeah," Jordan told him. "He came in on me when I was by myself." She frowned, and stared out the window.

Charlie looked at her sadly, and put his arm around her.

The driver glanced at the Eppes' in the mirror. He shook his head sympathetically.

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Charlie and Jordan boarded the airplane. They settled back in their seats. Charlie fit the carry-on bag into the overhead, and tucked his lap top at his feet. He glanced over at Jordan.

She stared out the window. "I'm sorry, Charlie."

"What? What do you mean?"

She turned to look at him. "This whole thing was my idea. I should have listened to you. We knew there was a tropical storm. We should have rescheduled. I didn't listen to you. I'm sorry." A tear slipped down her cheek.

Charlie pulled her close to him and kissed her. "Now stop," he told her. "We both made the decision to come. We didn't know it would actually become a Category 3, and we didn't know it would wobble. This is not your fault."

Jordan wasn't convinced. She swiped at her eyes and stared out the window. She was ready to go home. She missed her home, and things being normal. She missed her little Riley. She missed Don drinking all the beer. She missed tripping over Charlie's bike, and all his piles of papers. She missed Alan leaving his glasses and newspaper on the dining room table. She turned and looked into Charlie's dark eyes. She smiled and took his hand. "I love you," she told him.

"I love you." Charlie touched her bruised cheek. He hated to see her sad.

He hesitated a moment, then suddenly brightened. He looked at Jordan; his eyes sparkling. He patted his pocket. "I have the Dramamine." He grinned.

Jordan made at face at him, and chuckled. "Brat."

"You know it." He winked at her, and opened the bottle. "Here you go."

She eyed him. "I think you should take one yourself."

Charlie grinned. "I don't 'get' motion sickness."

"Uh huh. Umm, Charlie, do you really want your stomach to enjoy some turbulence today?"

Charlie frowned. "Umm, no. I'm not quite ready for that yet."

"I thought not."

Charlie dutifully got out some Dramamine for himself. He sighed.

The flight attendant brought them cups of ice and two cans of ginger ale. The Eppes' were thankful to have something cold.

They settled back, and soon they were both asleep.

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Alan, Don, and Riley stood watching the passengers, waiting for Charlie and Jordan to come in. Alan scooped Riley into his arms so she could see better.

"There they are!" Don exclaimed, and pointed.

Alan had a big grin on his face, as Riley started loudly calling, "Mommeeeeeee! Daddeeeeeeeeeee!"

Jordan, hearing her child's voice, turned immediately towards them. She instantly reached over, grabbing Charlie's arm. Charlie turned, and saw them. He grinned. Charlie and Jordan hurried towards them.

Jordan ran ahead of Charlie, and plucked her daughter from Alan's arms. She hugged Riley, and covered her with kisses. Riley clung to her, happy to have her mother back.

Charlie came up and grabbed Jordan and Riley together in a hug, and kissed his little daughter. Riley reached for him. "Daddy!" she squealed.

Charlie happily took her from Jordan and cuddled her. He had missed her so much. Riley gave Charlie an accusing face. "Daddy, my tess-ract is lost."

"Your tesseract?"

She nodded. "Mmm Hmm. I didn't get to sleep with it last night." She gave Charlie a pitiful face.

"I promise we will find it." Charlie looked hopefully at Jordan, who was hugging Alan tightly.

Alan couldn't stop staring at the bruises on his daughter-in-law. As he hugged Jordan, he looked over her shoulder at Charlie. Charlie saw his Dad's expression shook his head at him. "Later," he mouthed. Charlie looked at Don, and his brother nodded at him.

Jordan tried to discreetly wipe her eyes, and smiled at her daughter. "We'll find it."

Alan shook his head. "Donnie and I looked everywhere." he made a face at Charlie. "Why she doesn't sleep with a doll..." he shook his head and grinned. "Like father, like daughter, I guess."

Charlie hugged his Dad. Alan tousled his hair good naturedly. "Hey!" Charlie laughed. "I'm not a kid anymore, Dad."

"You're still 'my' kid!" Alan grinned at him.

Jordan hugged Don. "I missed you all so much," she told him.

"We missed you too. Dad has gotten lazy with the cooking. We've had take-out every night." Don grinned.

Charlie hugged Don.

Don said quietly in Charlie's ear, "I was worried Buddy. Glad you're back."

Charlie smiled. "Yeah, me too. Thanks Don."

"Well, I guess I've gotten a little spoiled in the last five years." Alan winked at Jordan. "Used to, I cooked all the time."

Jordan laughed. "I'm not cooking tonight. But I'll made something good tomorrow. Promise."

Don whined. "Aww! We have to wait another day for decent food?" He winked at his sister-in-law. and grinned.

"Yep. I'm afraid so." she grinned at Don.

The Eppes' family headed home.

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A week later...

Charlie was dreaming. He was teaching a class, and was in the middle of calling on a student for an answer, when Jordan stood up in the middle of his class and screamed.

Charlie woke up with a start. Jordan lay next to him, sobbing in her sleep. He reached over to shake her.

"Jordan, wake up. Wake up... you're dreaming."

Jordan's eyes popped open, and looked at Charlie in pure terror. She screamed.

Charlie grabbed her shoulders. "It's me! Jordan, it's me! It's Charlie!"

The bedroom door burst open, and Alan stepped inside their bedroom. "What's wrong? Is everything okay?"

"She was having a bad dream." Charlie looked over his shoulder at Alan, as he tried to comfort his wife.

"Bad dream? More like a nightmare." He looked at his daughter-in-law. "Are you okay?"

"She's fine, Dad." Charlie told him. "I've got it."

Alan gave Charlie a look as he closed the door.

Jordan stared at Charlie, her eyes huge. "Hey," he said softly. He gently cupped her face.

"Charlie?"

"Yep. Just me." He smiled.

Jordan threw herself into his arms, and sobbed. Charlie held her tightly, kissing her, and whispering to her. She clung to him. He continued to hold her for a long time after the tears had stopped.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked her quietly.

"It was him again."

Charlie looked at her sadly. "I'm so, so sorry."

"It's not your fault. I've told you that."

"That son-of-a-bitch," Charlie muttered angrily. He looked at her. Charlie wished he'd beat the hell out of the guy while he'd had the chance.

Jordan didn't answer. She looked at him sadly.

"Do you want some tea?"

She shook her head at him sadly. "No. I'm sorry I woke everybody up. I just want to go to sleep."

"Okay." Charlie said, and laid down, pulling her down with him. Jordan pulled away from him, and rolled over with her back to him.

Charlie was confused. In five years of marriage, rarely had Jordan ever been upset enough to pull away from him.

She had insisted that she didn't blame him. She was sobbing in his arms just a while ago. Now she was pulling away.

Charlie tried to not take it personally. She was upset. She just needed time. He looked at the ceiling, and tried to go back to sleep. He sighed.

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Two weeks later...

Charlie frowned as he looked down into his mug.

Alan sat next to him. "Would you pass the half and half?"

Charlie didn't hear him. Alan sighed, and reached for it himself.

"What's wrong, Charlie?"

"Why do you always assume something is wrong?"

Alan stirred his coffee. "Because when you have 'that' expression, something always is."

Charlie stared down into his cup. "I'm not sure what is going on with Jordan." He turned red. "She won't even let me touch her."

Alan looked at his son. "The hurricane, and then nearly being raped was traumatic for her. You got food poisoning right after that, so it was easy for her to ignore what had happened to her, and she focused completely on you. Now she's home, where she's safe. She is still trying to process it all, and deal with what happened. I know it's frustrating Charlie, but trust me, that girl loves you, and it'll all be okay."

Charlie nodded, and continued to sadly stare down into his cup.

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The next day...

Jordan was cleaning up from breakfast. Charlie was already gone. Riley sat on the floor, at one end of the kitchen, lining up blocks, and muttering numbers to herself. Jordan had to snicker. Who would have thought that Riley would turn out so much like Charlie?

Jordan's thoughts were interrupted, as Alan came into the kitchen to rinse out his coffee cup.

He looked at her. "I'm about to leave to go volunteer at the shelter." He hesitated. "Jordan, I know it's none of my business, but is everything okay between you and my son?"

Jordan looked at Alan. "Umm. Yeah." she looked down. "I know I probably haven't... well... I just need a little more time." She looked up at him. "I love Charlie... I just..." she shook her head. "I just need a little more time."

Alan studied her. "Do you think it would be a good idea to maybe see a doctor? Talk to somebody? You can always call Megan, too."

Jordan sighed. "Maybe." She sighed. she could feel herself getting upset. Tears welled up in her eyes. Her stomach was upset. Nausea hit her hard and fast. Grabbing the garbage can, Jordan vomited.

Alan rubbed her shoulder and handed her a wet paper towel. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah. Thanks. I'm sorry. Maybe you're right. I guess I should go see someone. Sheesh. I can't believe I got sick." She shook her head, disgusted with herself.

"Well, you've been through a lot," Alan said sympathetically. "I'm glad you're going to see someone." He looked at his watch. "I need to leave. See you later."

Alan left.

Jordan picked up the phone, and dialed the number to their family doctor.

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Three days later...

Charlie came in the front door, his backpack slung over one shoulder. he followed a delicious smell into the kitchen.

Jordan stood at the sink. She was drying her hands. She looked over at him, and for the first time in weeks, her smile reached her eyes.

"Hi Charlie!" She walked over, slid her arms around his neck, and kissed him. He looked at her, startled.

"Are you sure?"

Jordan cupped his face in her hands, and kissed him deeply. Charlie had no doubts. She was sure.

He had missed feeling her against him, and he held her tightly.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered in his ear. "You didn't deserve the way I've been treating you."

"Shh... it's okay."

"No. It's not." She pulled back a little and smiled at him. "But I found something today."

"What did you find?"

"The math plaque I got you. I thought we'd lost it!"

"So did I!" he grinned. He thought a minute, then frowned. "Hey. You never got a souvenir though. That's not fair."

She grinned at him. "Yes, I did."

Charlie thought a second, then shook his head. "No. No, you didn't. You bought Riley the Florida snow globe. You got me the plaque. But you never bought anything for yourself, and, I didn't get the chance to." He looked at her guiltily.

Jordan laughed. "Oh, I got a 'souvenir', alright."

"What souvenir? What is it?"

She kissed his nose, and looked into his eyes. "I don't know. But we'll find out in about eight months." She smiled happily.

Charlie's eyes grew huge. "What? You're... pregnant?"

"Yep." she grinned.

Charlie grinned at her, as tears welled up in his eyes. He kissed her, and pulled her close. Jordan clung to him.

Riley came into the kitchen. "Daddy!" she squealed, and ran to hug his leg.

Standing in the kitchen, with his arms around his pregnant wife, and his little girl clinging to his leg, Charlie was overjoyed. He couldn't imagine being happier.

THE END