It was a Tuesday, the day before Jeremy Sherwood got out of the hospital. He'd been in the Fort Marshall Medical Center for two weeks and Emmalin Holden had visited him almost every other day. The Sherwoods had decided to forgo a stay at the PTSD clinic in Raleigh because it would interrupt Jeremy's physical training for his broken rib, he would however be in intense therapy and closely monitored. As worried as she was about him, Emmalin couldn't be help but be happy that Jeremy wasn't leaving for a month.

That day Claudia Joy and fellow members of 'the tribe' decided that surprising the Sherwoods with a clean house would be a welcome homecoming surprise, since they had spent the last two weeks in the intensive care unit. Emmalin had somehow been talked into it, she was happy to help but honestly no seventeen year old wanted to spend the day housecleaning, especially not a house that wasn't even their own.

"Should we do their laundry? Even Frank's. You think he'd be the kinda fella that's bothered by another lady touchin' his shorts?" Roxy LeBlanc asked, her thick Alabama accent disrupting the silence that covered the Sherwood living room.

Her mother turned to the newest army wife, an amused smile decorating her face, "I've honestly never thought about it, Roxy. But if I had spent the last two weeks living in the hospital I wouldn't complain about who touched my underwear." Claudia Joy's voice was filled with soft laughter as she replied.

"I think any good man can appreciate his shorts being clean, doesn't necessarily matter who cleans them as long as they're clean." Dr. Roland Burton remarked. Emmalin really enjoyed Dr. Burton's company, he was someone she knew she could confide in and the psychologist often gave her amazing advice.

Strolling further into the living room Emmalin could see it, the dark crimson stain that flawed the otherwise perfect tan carpet. The discolored spot was near the couch, he shot himself near the couch she realized, her stomach suddenly doing backflips as a wave of nausea washed over her. Following her daughter's gaze, Claudia Joy noticed the tarnished carpet.

"We'd better take care of that before tomorrow. I'll have a professional wash it this afternoon." Claudia Joy announced.

"It's dark, they might have to take out the carpet." Roxy attributed, a sad look covering her features.

"Alright, how about I take care of the living room, Claudia Joy takes the master bedroom, Roxy gets the kitchen and Emmalin can clean Jeremy's room?" Dr. Burton suggested, clearing the air of the uncomfortable silence. While the Sherwood home definitely wasn't dirty ,or even remotely messy, it had gathered plenty of dust in the two weeks since being temporarily abandoned.

"And whoever's finished can start the laundry, kay?" Roxy finished, in agreement with the physician. The seventeen year old nodded before walking down the hallway to a linen closet, pulling clean bedding from the confines. She paused at the door, realizing she had never been in a boy's bedroom before, her long slender fingers gripped the door knob and pushed the door open gently.

Instantly her senses were assaulted by the smell of her crush, his clean scent bringing a smile to her face. Jeremy's room was surprisingly clean, with the exception of his unmade bed. She surveyed the deep blue walls, frowning at the scantily clad girl posters that hung around the room, Emmalin wondered if it would be considered invasive to pull the slutty pictures free from the walls. Her willowy legs carried her around the room, Emmalin didn't consider herself nosy, this was just curiosity.

The Holden girl pulled the top drawer of his dresser open, glancing at the socks and boxers neatly organized in there before pulling it shut. She almost had to laugh at how color coded everything was, on second thought this was definitely an invasion of privacy. She pulled the second drawer open, revealing Jeremy's orderly t-shirt drawer, Emmalin quickly grabbed one off the top, a plain navy blue cotton shirt with short sleeves, and pulled it to her chest feeling the softness, inhaling the masculine sandalwood scent she loved so much.

"Having fun?" Dr. Burton asked, chuckling. Emmalin turned around startled, holding the evidence behind her back, ashamed.

"Sorry…don't tell?" The brunette blushed, embarrassed to be caught going through Jeremy's things. She neatly placed the shirt back in it's proper location.

"This'll stay between us. So what's going on with you and Private Sherwood, anyway?" Dr. Burton promised, walking farther into the room.

"Nothing." Emmalin answered a little to quickly, as she began stripping the bedding. Emmalin pulled the messy, still rumpled sheets at her feet and began pulling the clean flannel one's over a corner.

"You're sure? Doesn't look like nothing to me, Emmalin. Come on, I'm not going to tell anybody." He grabbed an end of the sheet and pulled it over one side of the bed.

"I can't stop thinking about him. Is that wrong? I mean he dated Amanda, and he's older, and…and he's sort of suicidal at the moment." She sighed

"Well let's ignore the PTSD for a minute, does he make you happy? Is he someone your looking to be in a committed relationship with? Is your attraction purely physical?" Roland asked, glad to help the confused teen.

"He makes me happy, not really for any apparent reason, he just does. I don't think we could date right now, but if he asked I'd probably say yes. And I swear I don't like him just because he's fun to look at!" She answered quickly, smiling as she joked with the doctor.

"Promise not to run away with Jeremy?" Roland raised an eyebrow, teasing his young counselee.

"That was a one time thing!" She laughed, knowing that the doctor was just kidding her.

"Then you are the one who needs to decide if having a relationship with Private Sherwood is appropriate, and then your parents should decide if the answer is 'yes'. If you really feel that he's someone you want to pursue then you should pursue, it's perfectly healthy and normal to have feelings for someone your sister dated. Him dating Amanda doesn't mean that he can't or shouldn't be involved with you, provided that you both aren't using the relationship to replace Amanda… And I think he likes you back."

"Really? What makes you say that?"

"Frank might of mentioned something."

"Like what?"

"Frank was telling me that lots of girls, pretty ones, were flocking to Jeremy's bedside, but you're the only one he paid any attention to. He's pretty notorious for being a lady's man."

"I'm not surprised that he's a lady's man. Jeremy graduated a few years ago and his name's still on all the bathroom stalls and he even made top five on the Wall."

"The Wall?"

"The Wall, you know the wall of best kissers in the girl's room. He's number three out of at least a hundred."

"God, girls keep a best list in the bathroom? Back in my day, we never ganged up on dates like that. I wonder how many girls Jeremy's kissed to get to number three?"

"Ha ha ha. Things change."

"Not that I condone snooping, but did you check under the mattress for Playboy's yet?"

"You think Jeremy's got any?"

"Well when I lived with my mother I kept everything I didn't want her to know about under my mattress."

"Hmm I wish you had asked me that before we made the bed, there's no point in checking now since I'd just have to remake it!" She laughed.

"Well something's of a man's are just private and not something a woman should know about. Like how much money was really lost at Poker Night with the guys."

With that Dr. Burton swiftly exited Jeremy's bedroom to start his work in the living room, Emmalin laughed as she started cleaning…really cleaning this time.