Chapter 17—

A/N: Thank you for the very kind words about my fanfiction. I am having fun writing it… I still have a few chapter ideas… however, I would greatly appreciate others.

Jeremy quickly changed into the shorts that were on the bed, and walked around the room trying to get his bearings. Finally, he crawled into bed. He fell asleep quickly thinking… what is tomorrow going to bring?

Jeremy woke up; he did not know what time it was… and really never knew what time it was without asking. This was one of the many things that he hated: Never knowing what time it was. He lay in bed, but could not fall back to sleep. He decided to get up and try to take a shower and get dressed. Jeremy never thought up to this point that showering and getting dressed could be such an adventure. He tried to visualize in his mind what the room looked like before he left; he was pretty sure that his parents had not moved anything since he left. Ok, he thought to himself, lets try this, first he tried to stand up, and pain resonated from his injured knee, which had become accustomed to, only because the muscles and tendons tighten up at night from lack of use. The physical therapists and doctors told him that this painful sensation would eventually go away as the knee healed.

Next he grabbed the cane from the night stand, and opened it. He maneuvered through the room with a few minor bumps. He was able to find the basics from the dresser drawers. He found a t-shirt, a pair of work out pants, socks (that he hoped were white.), and underwear. Jeremy was feeling pretty pleased that he had accomplished this very simple task. Next was the bathroom, which was luckily connected to his bedroom. Again, he maneuvered in there with little incident. Just like mom, Jeremy thought… to make sure there was soap and shampoo in the shower.

The hot water felt good on his face. He let the warm water consume his thoughts. It was nice that he was at home; he had spent the past few months at the hospital, and there was no comparison like being at home. It was glad that his mother had worked it out with the doctor to let him come home at least for one night as a test run. Finally, he shut the water off, and reached for the towel that his mother had always insisted be on the towel bar next to the shower. He wrapped himself in the towel, and left the shower stall being very tentative as he stepped, as his knee did not need any set backs; like a slip or a fall. Jeremy stood in front of the mirror; he knew this only because he felt the sink in front of him. He reached for the toothbrush, that he knew would be in the toothbrush holder on the counter, and next to it was the toothpaste. He could not remember if this was the way it had always been or if his mother specially designed this for his first night home. After Jeremy brushed his teeth, his hand touched his cheek.

He realized that a shave might be a good idea, but he really was not in the mood; nor was he looking forward to the adventure of using a straight edge razor. The use of a straight edge razor was just not something he desire this morning.

Jeremy carefully walked back into the bedroom. Every step was cautious for two reasons: 1 being that he was not wearing the knee brace and the second was the fact that he was still learning to maneuver his room. He finished getting dressed and tried to make the bed. He had no idea what it looked like. However, Jeremy was confident that the state of the bed making process was not the Army standard, but the effort was made.

It was time that Jeremy maneuvered the stairs by himself. Using the cane he made it down the stairs without incident. He was also trying hard not to make too much noise, as he did not want to wake his parents, as he was pretty sure that it was very early. As he walked through the house he would occasionally bump into things… finally he made it to the couch. Jeremy sat down, and must have fallen asleep, when he heard Frank run down the stairs. The noise startled Jeremy out of his slumber.

Frank had peered into Jeremy's room and saw that the bed was made… and actually it was not too bad, he could not bounce a quarter off it, but it was not bad. When he did not see Jeremy, he was little concerned, but he knew that Jeremy must not have gone too far, especially at 0400. As Frank walked into the family room he saw Jeremy on the couch, to what he appeared to be asleep. But Jeremy broke the silence, as he sat up,

"Morning, Sir." Jeremy was still half asleep.

"Good Morning. What are you doing up so early?" Frank asked surprised to see his son awake so early, as Jeremy had never been a morning person.

"Well, I woke up, I did not know what time it was. I tried to go back to sleep with no luck, so I got up and showered and came down here." Jeremy replied with a yawn.

"What do you mean that you did not know what time it was? There was a clock next to your bed." Frank no sooner said that, and realized what he had said. He basically was telling his blind son to read the clock next to his bed. Jeremy started to laugh.

"Yeah, I should have done that… but well um…" Jeremy found this very amusing at this time of the morning.

"Sorry Jeremy. It is pretty early in the morning… it's about 0430." Frank said trying not to laugh at his stupidity.

"Do not worry about it. I should have realized what time it was when I heard you come down the stairs… you always run between 0400 and 0430 every morning." Jeremy now remembering why he would rarely run with Frank before Iraq; Jeremy was once the poster child for not being a morning person.

"Yeah, that is where I was heading… but when I saw that you were not in your room I was a bit concerned." Frank replied.

"You know what… since you are awake, why don't you come running with me?" Frank offered.

"I would like that… but I am not supposed to run yet with my knee in the brace." Jeremy frowned, as he would have liked to go with his Dad.

"Umm… that is a problem. But can you take a walk?" Frank asked, because lately his morning run had turned into a morning walk, but he had not told anyone that.

"Yeah… I just do not want to cramp your style." Jeremy said.

"Ok, lets go" Frank said, as he picked up Jeremy's cane and put in Jeremy's hands. He watched Jeremy unfold the cane, and marveled how that this small stick could make his son's life just a bit easier. Jeremy did not take Frank's shoulder, he let the cane guide him, but he still knew that Frank would make sure that he did not get hurt.

The two men walked out of the house. After they were a couple of blocks away from the house, Frank started the conversation,

"Jeremy, you mentioned last night that you wanted to go to college. Is this true?"

"Yeah, I would like to go to college at some point. Steve, my physical therapist, and I talked about it yesterday. However, he suggested that I learn Braille and some other technologies to make it easier. But yeah, I would like to go to college… to study what I do not know." Jeremy said trying to concentrate on each step since he did not let Frank guide him.

"If that is what you want to do… go to college… that's great!! Now that you are in the Army you would be eligible for the GI Bill… I can find out more information for you if you would like." Frank was very enthusiastic about the prospect.

"I would like to know more, but I want to talk with Steve again about learning Braille, and the other stuff." Jeremy admitted.

Frank saw Michael doing his usual morning run. Frank saluted, forgetting to announce Michael's presence.

"Good morning." Michael said.

"Good morning, sir" Jeremy saluted.

"Jeremy, I thought that you did not have the clearance to run yet." Michael probed.

"Sir, I do not, but I woke up early and Dad and I decided to go for a walk. I think that I may be cramping his style a bit this morning." Jeremy admitted.

"No, Jeremy, I do not think you are… umm… your father has not been running as much as he used to. I see him out here most mornings just walking." Frank had not realized how observant Michael was.

"Yeah, well I like to save my energy." Frank replied kiddingly.

"Energy for what?" Jeremy and Michael asked.

"Never mind." Frank said.

"Jeremy, I was wondering if I may speak to you a moment?" Michael asked changing the subject.

"Yes, Sir" Jeremy replied wondering how much that Amanda had told him and Mrs. Holden the night before.

"Actually, you are going back to the hospital today right?" Michael asked.

"Yes sir." Jeremy was getting a bit nervous.

"I would like to meet you for a cup of coffee say about 1300 hours. Unfortunately now is not the time or the place to talk about my daughter." Michael said. Jeremy could not read his tone of voice.

"Yes, sir, 1300 hours for a cup of coffee." Jeremy sighed, knowing full well he was going to have to explain what transpired between him and Amanda the night before.

"Yes you will. I will see you then." Michael turned to leave.

"Son, you are going to have to explain what happened last night that made his little girl so unhappy. I want to tell you that I believe that you have Amanda's best interest at heart, but you are going to have to sell it to the Colonel." Frank grimaced at the thought of Jeremy explaining the situation to Michael. Frank had a similar situation with Denise's father many years ago, and it was a nerve racking experience.

"Great… Dad what time it is?" Jeremy asked wanting desperately to change the subject.

Frank looked at his watch, wondering if there was something that he could get for Jeremy that would tell him the time.

"Its about 0630. Why are you ready to go back?" Frank asked.

"yeah, my knee is a little sore." Jeremy admitted.

The two men walked back to the house, but this time Frank leading Jeremy. The men talked; both started to have a new understanding for the other. They were laughing at some off colored jokes when they walked through the front door. Frank and Jeremy walked into Denise in the kitchen making a large breakfast.

"Well good morning… I hope you are hungry, because I have pancakes and omelets." Denise said. Both men's mouth was watering. They knew Denise made a mean breakfast.

"I know that I am hungry. Mom, I have a question?" Jeremy asked.

"Can I take some aspirin for my knee?" Jeremy asked only because he was never sure at the hospital what meds he was given. Since his mother was a nurse, she would have a better understanding.

"I think so, why? Do you want me to look at your knee?" Denise was little concerned.

"It is just very sore this morning. I do not think that you need to look at it, as it is just sore." Denise went to the cabinet and took out some aspirin and gave it to Jeremy.

"Thanks Mom… Lets eat." Jeremy said.

The family sat down for breakfast. Denise relished in the fact that her family was together again. After breakfast, Frank left for work, and Denise and Jeremy left for the hospital. Jeremy was scheduled for an MRI follow up visit for his knee this morning and Denise wanted to be there. Denise drove to the hospital, Jeremy was dreading the conversation with Colonel Holden.