Chapter 34

On Friday afternoon, Jack picked Lisa up from Fairfield to drive her to get her cast off. She was excited to get it off, but she was nervous, too. She hoped that everything had healed correctly, and the idea of the saw being that close to her arm kind of freaked her out a bit as well. Once it was off, she felt so much relief. Her arm looked a little skinny, and it didn't smell the best either. There was also some physical therapy in her future to build the muscle back, but the doctor was pleased with how everything had healed.

As they were leaving the doctor's office, Jack asked, "Do you want to go to Maggie's for some coffee?"

Lisa considered Jack's question, "Thanks for the offer, but my arm stinks. I just want to go home and take a shower. I can't wait to take a shower. It has been so long."

"Okay, it was just an idea. Let's go home." Once they got to the truck, Jack helped Lisa in, and they made their way to Heartland.

That first shower was the best feeling in the world to Lisa. She could feel how weak and stiff her arm was, but at the moment, all she cared about was having her whole body under the water. Lisa's shower ended up being longer than usual, but she felt like she was making up for all the time she had taken a sponge bath or just used wipes. By the time she was done, she was kind of tired, but she felt clean for the first time in almost six weeks. There were so many little things that Lisa hadn't really been able to do with her cast on. Even though it was a little warm, she put on a lightweight long sleeve shirt just because she could.

Jack was sitting on the couch when Lisa finally came out of the bathroom. He loved seeing her look so happy. She almost looked relieved. "Hey, how was your shower?"

Lisa's face lit up even more as she sat down next to Jack. "Oh my god, that was the best shower I've ever had. Okay, maybe I've been in fancier showers, but this shower was absolutely amazing. I forgot how good it was to get my whole body clean."

Jack put his arm around Lisa. "I can't imagine how nice that was, but then again, I can't imagine going that long without a real shower. I was feeling impatient for you to get out of the shower, but then I thought about how I would feel, and I'd probably take a long shower, too. So I was wondering something.

"Yeah? What's that?" asked Lisa.

"Would you like to go out for dinner tonight to celebrate being cast-less? I'm not sure what everyone else has planned other than Lou and Katie who are working at Maggie's, but I don't think we're needed here, and I'd like to take you out." Jack wanted to celebrate this milestone with Lisa, and he wanted to take her out on a date.

"I'd like that. Can I drive, though? It has been so long and I miss it." Lisa looked up at Jack expectantly.

Jack couldn't resist that face. Even though he normally liked to drive them around, he couldn't blame Lisa for being excited to drive again. "Sure. It drove me crazy that I couldn't drive for a few days when I hurt my back. I couldn't imagine not driving for six weeks. I'd be driving just to drive." He bent down and kissed Lisa.

Lisa felt her stomach do a little flip. Her relationship with Jack was complicated and confusing at times, but she realized that she had put off deciding on anything until she got her cast off. Now that the cast was off of her arm, Lisa knew that she had to start thinking about things more seriously. The thought that her house would be available in about a week crossed her mind, but she wasn't sure if that would be the right choice.

The kitchen door opening and closing forced them apart. Amy walked in with Lyndy. "Hey, you two. Oh, yeah, that's right. You got your cast off today. That must be a relief."

"Yes, it is. I already took a shower. It was amazing." Lyndy went over and plopped between her great grandparents, and Lisa wrapped her arms around the little girl and pulled her into her lap. "Hello, young lady. How was your day?"

Lyndy told them all about the things that had happened at school and then about the errands she ran with her mom in the afternoon. Then she got up and ran to her room to play. Jack, Lisa, and Amy laughed at the boundless energy of Lyndy.

Amy sat down in a chair and looked at Jack and Lisa. "So what's the plan for dinner?"

Jack looked over at Lisa and then back at Amy. "Lisa's taking me out to dinner tonight."

Lisa swatted at Jack's arm. "You asked me out to dinner to celebrate getting my cast off, I just wanted to drive because it has been so long, and I miss it."

Amy chuckled at the two of them. "Okay, so if you're going out. Maybe we'll just go to Maggie's for dinner. I'm going to go check on Lyndy and see if she'd be up for that."

After Amy left the living room, Jack scooted closer and kissed Lisa again. Lisa leaned into the kiss and then remembered where they were and pulled back. "Okay, we need to cool it, or we're going to get caught before we're ready to answer any questions. I'm going to go find something to wear for dinner."

"What you're wearing is fine," Jack said while gesturing to her outfit.

"I know, but I can wear whatever I want now, and I'm kind of excited to try on something else. One thing about getting amnesia is that it's like I woke up from the accident with a whole new wardrobe. Since I had the cast, I couldn't wear most of it. I have no idea what most of it looks like on my body." Lisa got up and started walking to the bedroom.

"All of it looks good," said Jack. He was smirking at Lisa.

Lisa just rolled her eyes and walked away, shaking her head. She appreciated that Jack liked how she looked no matter what. She thought back to the times when she looked particularly rough after the accident, and he still flirted with her and told her she was beautiful. Lisa sat down on the side of the bed and looked at her clothes. Her mind wandered to Jack. She knew that she was falling for him, but she hadn't worked out exactly what that meant for her yet.

As they were getting ready to leave, Peter and Georgie walked into the house. Jack looked surprised to see him. "Hello, Peter! It's good to see you!

Peter reached his hand out to shake Jack's hand as he approached. "Hey, Jack. Georgie picked me up at the airport. I wanted to drop my stuff off and change my clothes. Then we can go into town and surprise Lou."

Lisa walked out of their bedroom after she finished changing her clothes. "Hi, Peter."

Peter walked over and gave Lisa a hug. "Hi, Lisa." As he pulled back from the hug, he noticed Lisa's arm. "Oh, you got your cast off. Congratulations! That must be a relief!"

Lisa smiled and held up her arm. "Oh, it is. It's a little skinny and stiff, but it's so nice not to have to have it in a cast. I think I was most excited about being able to take a shower. I've missed it, and I didn't even realize how much until I took one."

"I thought she was never going to get out of the shower earlier," Jack joked.

"It looks like you two are going out. How's it going with you two? Is this a date?" Peter looked at Jack and Lisa curiously.

"We're just celebrating me getting my cast off," explained Lisa. "I'm going to drive for the first time in six weeks."

"Okay, well, have fun." Peter was looking at the two of them skeptically, but let it go. He went to get changed.

Georgie looked at them apologetically. She stepped closer to them and said in a quiet voice, "Sorry, the family is starting to figure it out. I don't know how much longer you have, to be honest."

Jack and Lisa looked at each other shyly. Lisa reached out and squeezed Georgie's arm. "We are aware. Thank you for not saying anything. It has been nice to figure things out without tons of pressure. We're already under a microscope, so if they knew anything, it would be ten times worse."

Jack looked at the clock and then back at Lisa. "Are you ready to go? I don't want to get there too late. Then we'll have to wait for a table."

Lisa found a cute top and paired it with a pair of black trousers and some black boots. Jack wore black jeans and a nicer shirt. When they walked out to the car, Lisa was practically giddy about driving her car again. She got into the car and adjusted everything. Amy was the last person to drive the car, so things weren't too far off for Lisa. Once she had things set the way she liked them, she went to put the car into gear, but realized that she didn't have a whole lot of strength in her right hand and arm. After a bit of maneuvering, she got the car in gear and headed into town to the steakhouse that they had decided on for dinner.

Jack looked over at Lisa driving and smiled. He loved seeing his wife happy, and she looked thrilled to be back in the driver's seat. "It's nice to see you so happy."

Lisa glanced over at Jack. "Have I seemed unhappy lately?"

"No, but you seem happier than you have in a while. I get it. The cast was a constant reminder of what you're dealing with." Jack just liked seeing his wife happy, and he had made it a goal to always make her happy.

"It was. I could never get away from thinking about it because the cast was always there to remind me. In a way, that was probably a good thing. I might have tried to run away from my problems. With the cast, I was extremely limited in what I could do, and I had to face things head-on." Lisa had to face different things with her cast off. She just hoped that she was ready.

After they were seated at the restaurant and had ordered their food, Jack asked Lisa, "So what would you think of going up to the fishing cabin tomorrow for the day? The weather is supposed to be good and I thought it might be nice to get away for the day." Jack hoped he wasn't jumping the gun with this, but he really wanted to spend some time alone with Lisa before she went back to work full time.

Lisa wondered if it would help to trigger her memory since it was the last place she'd been before the accident, but she didn't want to get her hopes up. "I'd be okay with that. I don't know if I'd be able to fish. I don't think that I remember how, but I would like to go to the fishing cabin. It's the last place we were before the accident."

The two of them had a lovely dinner and enjoyed spending time together. A few people they knew were also there and stopped by to say hello. Jack always made sure to greet people by name so that Lisa always knew who they were.

After dinner, they went to Maggies to get some pie and ice cream. They saw that Georgie and Peter were still there. Lou and Katie were busy waiting on tables. All of them greeted Jack and Lisa as they came in. The couple made their way to two empty seats at the counter.

Katie walked over first. "Hi guys! Oh, Lisa, I haven't seen you since you got your cast off. How are you doing?"

"Hi, Katie. I'm good. My arm is pretty tired, but I'm so glad to be without my cast that I don't even care."

Katie pulled out her order pad. "What can I get you?

Jack leaned forward. "We'll take a couple slices of Saskatoon berry pie with ice cream."

Katie wrote down the order and said, "Okay, GG. I'll go get it right now."

Lisa leaned over to Jack and said, "She's so cute in her Maggie's uniform."

Jack nodded in agreement. "Yes, she is. She's growing up so fast. It seems like just yesterday, she was twirling around the house pretending she was a ballerina or a princess. It makes me feel old."

"Well…" Lisa started.

"Hey! That's not nice." Jack protested.

Lisa might have been worried at Jack's response, but he was laughing right along with her.

After Katie delivered their dessert, Lou came over to say hello as well. "Hey guys. How was dinner?

"It was really good."

"Did you guys know Peter was coming home?" asked Lou.

Lisa shrugged. "Georgie mentioned it to me earlier this week, but Jack didn't know. She wanted to spend some time with her dad before she went back to Florida, so she got him to come home. She also wanted to surprise you because we all know how much you've been missing him."

Pointing at Lisa's arm, Lou asked, "How is your arm feeling?"

"It's kind of tired. I haven't used it for so long it has lost most of its muscle tone," replied Lisa. "In fact, I kind of want to get home. I want to get some sleep. Jack wants to go up to the fishing cabin tomorrow for the day."

"Oh?" Lou looked between Jack and Lisa suspiciously. "That sounds fun. You two always enjoy getting away up there."

"We haven't been back since the accident, and I want to make a new memory that doesn't involve the accident," explained Jack.

Once they finished their dessert, they headed home. Lisa was tired. It had been a big day, and she wanted to get some rest if they were going to go up to the fishing cabin the next day. Jack wanted to get up early and get all of his chores done so that they didn't get a late start.

When they arrived home, Amy was heading out to do night check in the barn. They waved to her as they pulled up to the house.

After they got out of the car, Amy called out, "Did you have a good time?"

Jack replied, "We did. Thanks for doing night check."

The couple went inside and went into the bedroom to start getting things together to get ready for bed. Jack stopped what he was doing and walked over to where Lisa was bent over a drawer, pulling some clean pajamas out to wear and pulling her to stand up straight. He wrapped his arms around her and held her. She wrapped her arms around him as well. "I realized that I hadn't held you in my arms like this since the accident, and I needed to do that. It's nice that there's no cast or sling in the way."

Lisa snuggled closer into Jack. "It is nice."

After they went to bed, Lisa felt a little nervous about sleeping in the same bed as Jack. In the past, she had her cast that prevented them from doing anything. That barrier had been removed, and she was left wondering if it would have any impact on things in bed. She tried rolling over onto her right side, but her arm wasn't ready for that, so she went back to lying on her back. She looked over at Jack and saw he was already asleep and had begun snoring quietly. Lisa chuckled to herself and rolled onto her left side facing Jack. She realized that she was being silly and eventually fell asleep.

To Be Continued

Author's Note: Sorry for the delay with this chapter. I had some pretty major writer's block. I just kept sitting in front of my computer unable to write anything and then when I did write something, I hated it. I'm still not completely pleased with everything, but I'm in a much better place with this story than I was. I think it was good to take the time to figure things out. Thanks to TheRealTC for her advice on how to get over that hump and just being a listening ear when I get stuck and don't know what to do.

I wish this chapter was longer after such a big delay between chapters, but I have some good stuff coming up. Chapter 35 and 36 are done and just need to be edited and I know what I want to do for Chapter 37 and 38. Hopefully they are easy to write!