Chapter 20—

A/N: I hope everyone is liking the story this far… I would greatly appreciate any ideas. Please advise.

It had been a couple of days since Jeremy had been diagnosed with the infection in his knee. He had been under heavy doses of antibiotics, several times a day, which usually left him very tired and quiet. Dr. Bartley had demanded that Jeremy not do a lot of walking, because he wanted to keep the knee and the leg elevated; so that forced Jeremy to stay in bed with the leg elevated. Jeremy had never been a person that liked to sit still; he had always been an active person. It had only been a couple of days, but Jeremy was still feeling like a caged animal; a caged blind animal. Everything he would have done in the past; he could not do now without sight. He could have read a book, but he had not learned Braille yet. He could have played a computer game or a video game, but it is hard to drive an electronic race car when you cannot see. Jeremy was bored stiff. The only excitement that he had in the past couple of days included: when the nurse came in to change the IV bag and check on him, when he received a visit from anyone, and listening to his IPOD.

Frank and Denise came to visit every chance they got. Colonel Holden and Claudia Joy came to visit; unfortunately Amanda did not come with them. Jeremy knew that he had hurt Amanda; even though that was not his intent. It was going to take time for Amanda to come to terms with the decision that Jeremy had made. In time, Jeremy believed that the friendship would always be there. Jeremy found it difficult to talk to Colonel Holden. In the past Jeremy had seen Colonel Holden as a father figure, especially when his own father was away, but that was before Jeremy had enlisted. Now, Jeremy was a soldier and Colonel Holden was a senior officer. Colonel Holden was no longer a father figure, but someone in authority.

Jeremy was lying in bed wishing he could get up and walks around, but he had made a commitment to Dr. Bartley that he would not try to walk on the infected leg. Actually when he did try to walk (on the very rare occasion) there was a lot of pain and pressure on the knee. Also it was very difficult to walk with the immobilizer, as the immobilizer did not allow any bending of the knee.

Frank and Denise decided to surprise their son. They knew that Jeremy was going stir crazy in his room alone, so they decided to convince Amanda to come and talk to him. She was still pretty hurt by his words, but she knew that he needed a friend at this time.

Jeremy was half listening to his IPOD when he heard a knock on the door. He thought it was the night nurse, telling him that she was coming in, so Jeremy responded accordingly,

"Carol, if that is you, just change the IV…" Jeremy was trying to be sarcastic. The nursing staff liked Jeremy, as he really did not let this set back turn him angry. They just knew he was tired, and ready to start a new life.

"Jeremy… um… it's not Carol." Amanda said quietly walking into the room.

"Amanda… what are you doing here?" Jeremy questioned with surprise; as Amanda was the last person he expected to visit him.

"Hello, to you, too." Amanda said.

"Sorry, you are the last person I expected." Jeremy admitted.

"I know… but I thought I should come and talk to you before I leave." Amanda said.

"What do you mean…'before you leave'?" Jeremy secretly knew that she was heading off to college, and that is what he wanted for her.

"After our talk the other night… I realized that I have to get out of here. I still want to be with you, and I know you want to be with me. It is your pride and ego getting in the way. But there is some truth to the fact that I need to have my own experiences. My dad told me that he came and talked to you." Amanda was biting her lip.

"He did… and I think that he was glad that I wanted you to have a life beyond me." Jeremy said quietly.

"Wait a minute are you saying all this to win my dad's approval?" Amanda asked, hoping that is not why that Jeremy pushing her away.

"Of course not… I was never looking for your dad's approval. Look, I think the world of you, and I love you, but right now I cannot give you the life that you deserve. Amanda, look at me, I have been here in the hospital for months. I am, and I have come to terms with that, sort of, but I have been in a controlled environment, I have no idea what the real world is like for a blind ex-soldier. I know that I have a future, but it not as defined as yours. I am not saying that we can never be more than friends, but we are 19 years old." Jeremy said feeling a headache coming on.

"Jeremy, I know what you are saying… and I think that I understand. When Dad and I talked, he made me realize you have to find your own life, which may or may not be with me. But that does not mean that we cannot be friends." Amanda said with a sigh of relief. She had practiced this monologue many times.

"I am glad that you understand. I am also very happy that you are going to college… I wish you all the best." Jeremy said with a pained smile. He truly was happy that she had made the right choice, but he was still going to miss her.

Amanda stepped closer, and gave Jeremy a small kiss on the cheek. She touched his cheek, and then stepped away, and said,

"Jeremy, are you ok?" Amanda was concerned, because Jeremy felt very warm.

"No not really… I have so many antibiotics being pumped into me, that I feel very tired. Why?" Jeremy was not feeling very good, but again he assumed that it was from all the things that were going into his body.

"Because you are very flushed, and you feel pretty warm… do you have a fever?" Amanda asked.

Right at that moment, a nurse walked in and noticed the same thing that Amanda did. The nurse quickly took Jeremy's temperature… it was 101.4 degrees. The nurse immediately contacted the doctor. The doctor was even more concerned with this latest development in Jeremy's condition.

Amanda had left by the time that Denise and Frank arrived at the hospital for their nightly visit with Jeremy. They were both surprised when they walked into his room to find Dr. Bartley, and a couple nurses probing Jeremy.

"What is going on here?" Denise questioned.

"Major and Mrs. Sherwood, may I have a word with you in the hall please?" Dr. Bartley asked.

The three of them walked into the hallway, and Dr Bartley started to explain,

"Jeremy, spiked a fever of over 100… 101.4 in fact. This could be a good sign based on the fact this is the body's way of fighting of an infection. However, I believe that Jeremy is also having an allergic reaction to one type antibiotic. The reason that I know this is because of the shingles on his chest."

"Oh my God, this cannot get much worse." Denise said knowing full well that it could get worse.

"Mrs. Sherwood, I am sorry, Denise… we have given Jeremy a significant dosage of Benadryl to help with the shingles, and I have prescribed a low dosage of aspirin to bring down the fever. Finally I have also given him mild sedative to get him to rest. Again the fever could be a good thing, as that is the body's way of fighting the infection."

"Doctor, is there anything that we can do?" Frank said shaking his head in disbelief. He could not believe that this was happening.

"No not really… if you would like to stay with him, that is fine." Doctor Bartley said as we walked back into the room.

Denise looked at Frank and suggested that she stay with Jeremy. Frank would not hear of it.

"Dee, you need to get some sleep, I will stay with the boy. Besides you have to be back here at 0600 tomorrow morning to work. Please go home and get some sleep." Frank was firm; Denise was exhausted.

"Frank, you need sleep too. And besides I can stay here, and get some sleep, and be here for work in the morning." Denise was tired but it still made sense to her to stay here at the hospital.

"Look… go home and sleep in our bed, please." At that point, Denise was too tired to argue any further. She agreed to go home. Denise kissed Frank good night, and walked away. Frank on the other hand walked in to the room and took a seat next to Jeremy's bed, where he was sleeping. The nurses and doctors left; and Frank leaned back in the chair and dosed off. He was awaken by Jeremy's voice,

"Dad, is that you?" Jeremy said quietly.

"Yeah, Jeremy it is me." Frank said with a groggy tone.

"I am sorry if I woke you." Jeremy apologized.

"Do not worry about it, son. Is there something that you need?" Frank asked willing to get anything that Jeremy needed.

"Water?" Jeremy asked. Frank quickly poured the water that was on the table in a small cup and put it in Jeremy's hands. Jeremy quickly drank it down, and replied.

"Thanks… Dad, I am sorry." Jeremy said in a low voice.

"Sorry for what?!" Frank asked not knowing what Jeremy was thinking.

"I am sorry that I have put you through all of this. I feel like I am being punished because of what I did to Mom. I am sorry." Jeremy replied almost in tears.

"Son, we have put that behind us you are a different man now. This is not a punishment for anything." Frank was a little surprised at Jeremy's reaction.