Take me Home - S01 E45

Story 2 years ago

Take me Home - S01 E45

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 45

The next week and a half passed in a blur. Jade was getting used to living in her new house and Marcus was busy at work. Jade's appointment at the doctors didn't give her much new news. Her brain scans were basically the same and the doctor gave her some new medication to take on top of her already overflowing pile she had to take daily. The only good thing that had happened this past week was that Jade started hydrotherapy. She did her first few lessons with Andrea at the local pool with Noah watching and a few sessions at her home.

Jade found she was making better progress with this than any other form of occupational therapy. She had exercises to try and she found herself doing them with Noah every 2-3 days. She found in the water she was able to stand with the support, because her body felt weightless and she didn't have to rely on her body to keep her standing.

"You seem distracted today Jade," Andrea asked as she tried to get Jade to push herself off her chair again.

"My family is coming around for my birthday tomorrow. Haven't seen them in a while." She shrugged her shoulders as she started to push herself off her chair.

"Well Happy Birthday and I'm sure it will all be fine." She helped Jade move into a different chair showing her where to put her body weight and move around. They finished up their session with Jade trying to pick up and move items around to work on her cognitive development.

"You are getting better at this Jade. We can start moving to harder objects." She smiled as Jade picked up the glass of water from point A and moved it to point B without any trouble.

"You are also getting stronger. When do you start back up at the gym?" Jade helped Andrea put a few things away because it helped her, in the long run, trying to build up that muscle memory.

"This week. I had to get all cleared from the doctor first which happened last week. Just have been really busy with the move and everything." Andrea nodded her head and walked out with Jade as she pushed herself.

She found Sophia waiting for her because Noah had to go and do something with his ex-wife today but, would be round later that afternoon.

"I shall see you next week Jade. Enjoy tomorrow." Jade smiled and waved her hand as she left with Sophia.

"How was it today?" She asked as they got into the car and Jade explained on the way to the shops. Sophia was going to help Jade with the shopping that was needed for tomorrow. They arrived at the local supermarket and grabbed the wheelchair trolley that Jade had requested so she could do the shopping herself.

"You got the list," Jade asked as she grabbed some fruit and put it into her basket.

"I do." The shop took half an hour to grab everything they needed for tomorrow. Both women walked out of the supermarket laughing as they loaded the shopping into the car.

When they arrived, back at her home Jade put shopping bags in her lap and wheeled herself into her house. She placed them on her bench before she proceeded to take out the perishable items and put them in the fridge.

"Knock, knock," Noah said as he let himself in as they left the front door unlocked knowing he would be over soon.

"Hey, Noah." Jade waved as he put his bag down in the kitchen.

"You ladies need any help?" He asked looking through the bags. Jade smiled and shook her head. Over the last few weeks, Noah and Sophia had become more like friends then carers. Which Jade appreciated, because she needed some friends in her life. She was also hoping that once she was able to function by herself that they would all stay friends.

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"So, Jade, you ready for the pool?" Noah asked as Jade nodded excitedly. It had been a hot day and she was dying to jump into the cool, crisp blue pool that was waiting for her.

"Sure. I want to try and change myself today." She smiled at Sophia who smiled back. Jade went into her room and grabbed out her black bathing suit and started to get herself out of her clothes. She unbuttoned her shorts that she was wearing and with one arm lifted herself off the chair a little while the other hand pulled down one side. Once one side was down a little she did the same to the other.

The first attempt didn't work and after 5 minutes she successfully got her shorts past her bum. She found it easier to push down her pants and underwear at the same time as it avoids her spending too much time trying to get clothing past her ass.

She repeated the process to get her swimmers on and gave herself a pat on the back when she got her bottom half dressed. Leaning back in her chair she knew she needed to pull the rest of the bathing suit on but, all that effort made her tired. Not wanting to give up she took off her shirt and pulled the top half of her swimsuit on. Jade looked at herself in the mirror and saw herself glowing.

This was the first real achievement she had accomplished since being confined to the chair and she was proud of herself. Proud that she was able to do something by herself for the first time without help. Though it took much longer then she expected she had gotten herself changed.

Looking at herself in the mirror, for the first time since she woke up she felt like she could do this. Jade felt like she could live in this new life that had been given to her and that everything was going to be okay. She smiled at herself one more time before grabbing a towel and meeting Noah outside for some hydrotherapy.

Marcus had been hoping his week would be a bit quieter, so he could spend some time with Jade, but, his week had not stopped. The new recruits were causing him some problems that made teaching them to be very difficult. Not only that, he had his supervisor breathing down his neck about some paperwork that hadn't been processed yet and he had no idea where it was. They were time sensitive files that had seemed to go missing and he was on a warpath trying to hunt them down and find them.

Sighing he got into his car and slammed his fist on the steering wheel as he let out a frustrated sigh. If these documents weren't found, he was going to have his ass handed to him and he wasn't in the mood for an ass beating.

He wasn't in the mood to go home so he started his car and drove to Jades. When he arrived, he found the front door open, so he walked inside. He was still in uniform when he walked into the kitchen and saw Sophia cooking dinner. 1

"Oh, hi Marcus I didn't see you there. They are outside." Marcus smiled and looked outside the glass screen and saw Noah and Jade in the pool doing her exercises. The first time he saw them he felt jealousy hit him like no other. He felt like he needed to hit something or someone when Sophia told him to go take a breather before he even thought about greeting Jade. As the weeks went on he still felt that jealousy that he wasn't the one helping Jade, but he was able to hide it better and realise that Noah just wanted to help.

"Thanks, Soph." He took off his shirt as he walked into Jade's room and changed into some board shorts and walked out. Sophia glanced up when Marcus came back in not surprised to see he was without a shirt. At first, it was a shock to her system, but she learnt that he just didn't like wearing clothes it seemed. Like the other night when he stayed over, and he came out in nothing but a pair of very tight underwear briefs. Not that she was complaining. The man was built like a god, so he showed off his god-like figure. Jade was a lucky girl she thought to herself as he opened the sliding door. 4

Jade was standing upright in the pool, with Noah holding her hands for balance and a pool noodle between her legs, when she heard the door open. Thinking it was Sophia she glanced over her shoulder and her mouth dropped open when she saw Marcus standing there in nothing but a pair of board shorts.

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This wasn't the first time she had seen him without a shirt but, this was the first time her body reacted. It was like she had gone into shock and she couldn't move. She knew Noah was talking to her, but all she could focus on was Marcus's hard chiselled chest. She watched as each step allowed his muscles to pull and flex as he stretched his arms over his head no doubt getting rid of the days' worth of stress.

She watched and drooled as he stepped into the pool and she followed his every movement. She watched as he reached the last step and dived in, swimming to the other side before coming up for a breath of air. Jade blinked a few times as he ran his hands through his wet hair and smiled at her. She watched as he walked through the water towards her, as water glistened down his tanned bare skin that made her feel all sought of naughty sinful things. She wanted to lick every droplet of his hard-chiseled chest. She wanted to feel his warm muscles beneath her skin as she did very naughty things to his body, that would have him groaning in nothing but pleasure.

As he got closer Jade swallowed loudly as he kissed the top of her head and smiled at Noah.

"You're going to catch flies love if you don't close your mouth." He whispered in her ear, Jade closed her mouth and licked her lips as she tried to calm down her beating heart.

"Jade," Noah said again smiling as she faced him with something like lust and bewilderment on her face. Jade cleared her throat pushing down these feelings she hadn't felt in a while and tried to focus on Noah.

"Sorry, can you repeat what you were saying." Noah chuckled and looked towards Marcus.

"I said, I want to try and get you walking in the water. I will be holding your hands and Marcus is going to move your legs." Jade looked behind at Marcus who was grinning down at her which caused her to blush. Marcus had known that look on Jade's face. It was a look that he hadn't seen in a while. A look of desire, a desire for him and it made him proud and a little cocky at the same time.

"Okay, let's do this." Marcus moved to the right side of Jade and nodded to Noah. Jade took out the pool noodle from between her legs and took a deep breath.

"Okay, we are going to take this nice and slow." Marcus lifted Jade's leg from her thigh and moved his forward, at the same time Noah pulled Jade forward a little before moving to the left side and doing the same to her other leg.

"You took a step, Jade," Noah said. Though she didn't do anything by herself it was all about muscle memory according to Andrea. Though her leg may not be working, it was good to build up her muscle memory in case one day she might get movement back. The scans still showed up negative and each specialist said that the possibility of walking again would be highly unlikely. Sighing Jade allowed both men to move her around the pool until the sun started to set and Jade's fingers were like prunes.

"I shall see you tomorrow Jade. Is it still okay if I bring Conner?" Noah asked sometime later after they had all had dinner because Jade insisted her eat before he leaves.

"Of course. I would love to meet your little boy. Plus, my niece and nephew will be coming over." Noah nodded as Jade saw him out of the house. Not long later Sophia went, but, not before checking if Jade needed anything else.

"I'm all good Sophia. Marcus is spending the night." Sophia gave Jade a knowing look and she laughed and rolled her eyes. Once Sophia had left she found Marcus already lying in bed with his eyes closed.

"Rough day." She whispered as she wheeled her chair close to the bed. She lifted up one leg before throwing her whole upper body onto the bed. Marcus felt the bed jolt and laughed when he opened his eyes to see Jade stuck.

"Need some help love." He laughed as he pulled her into bed.

"Shush you. I still haven't found the best way to get into bed. Throwing myself onto it seemed like the best way so far." Marcus chuckled as he pulled Jade into his warm and inviting chest. Over the past few days, Marcus had taken a liking to calling Jade, love. At first, she was annoyed by the pet name but, it was growing on her and she smiled every time he called her that. 4

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"The new recruits are giving me a headache and my commanding officer is going to have my ass if I can't find these missing documents." Jade hummed into his chest as he ran a hand up and down her back.

"Have you tried punishing the recruits. Make them do really unpleasant jobs if they give you a hard time. Try and break them and it will flush out the ones who really want to be there." Marcus had thought about this but, he wanted to see if they would pull their heads in without having to break them. They both fell into silence as Jade listened to Marcus' heartbeat in his chest.

"You still awake?" Jade asked after some time and Marcus just hummed. She waited a moment as the words were on the tip of her tongue.

"I think I love you." She whispered into his chest and closed her eyes and waited for him to respond. She could feel the rise and fall under her head as he stayed silent. She thought maybe he didn't hear her, so she glanced up and saw that he was already asleep. Not wanting to wake him she smiled to herself and closed her eyes and hoped she dreamed of nothing. 4

***

"They should be here soon," Jade said as she wheeled around the table grabbing a piece of cheese that was on the table spread outside.

"Relax everything will be fine," Marcus said while squeezing her shoulders. Jade hadn't gotten much sleep last night. She had woken up in the early morning from nightmares that also woke Marcus up. After that, she tried to get back to sleep but it was no use, and she watched some movies until the sun had started to rise.

Just as Jade was going to grab some more cheese her doorbell rang. She looked up at Marcus with a nervous smile and wheeled herself over. She took a deep breath and opened the door and smiled when she saw Sophia, Noah and his son Conner.

"Hi guys, come in." They both came in with plates of food that they offered to bring over

"Happy birthday Jade. I would like you to meet Conner. Conner this is the lady I work for." Jade smiled at the young boy who was sucking his thumb with a bunny in his arm.

"Hi, Conner. That's a cute rabbit you got there." Conner smiled at Jade giving her a toothy grin as he thrust his bunny towards her.

"Dis, bunny. He my bwest fweind." Jade took his bunny and inspected it before giving it back to the little boy.

"Well, he certainly looks like a very good friend. How about I go show you where all the lollies and cakes are." She watched as the little boy's face lit up as she picked him up and wheeled him outside where all the food was.

Marcus was watching the whole exchange with a soft smile on his face, as Jade interacted with the small boy.

"Watch out, you are looking a little clucky there Marcus." Noah laughed, and Sophia joined in as he watched Jade give Conner a blue cupcake.

"We are nowhere near ready for children." He admitted though he knew Jade would make a wonderful mother when the time for them was right.

"Cute babies make anyone clucky Marcus. Where are you keeping the drinks?" Marcus showed Noah the esky and grabbed himself a beer. The next person to arrive was Jade's friend Rebecca as she blew into the house with a bottle of wine and a card and Marco.

"Where is Jade?" Marco asked when he found his brother.

"She is outside with Conner. I'll let her know you and Rebecca have arrived." Marco looked outside where Jade was chatting to a little boy with a bunny in his hand.

"Hi. I'm Marco, you must be Noah and Sophia." He introduced himself to Jade's carers.

"I'm Rebecca. How do you know Jade?" She asked. She knew who Marcus and Marco were from her drunken night, but these two people were new.

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"We work for Jade," Sophia said as she put some food into the oven. She passed Rebecca a wine glass as she poured herself a drink. As Jade was coming back inside the doorbell rang and Sophia left the kitchen to go grab it.

"Aunty Jade." A high-pitched voice screamed and came running towards Jade. She had enough time to quickly pass Conner off to Marcus as Emily came barrelling at her and jumping into her lap.

"Emily, I told you to wait for your father and me." A stern voice said, and Jade laughed.

"She is all good Nicole." Jade smiled at her sister-in-law as she came in with a baby capsule with her nephew Eric in it. 1

"Aunty Jade, you have a pool, can we go swimming please?" Emily bounced on her lap and Jade was grateful that she couldn't feel anything in her legs.

"Emily get off Jade." Emily pouted and stood back on the floor.

"You missed my tea party. You better make it up to me by attending my next one." Jade laughed at her and promised her she would be at her next one.

"Happy birthday Jade." Her father greeted her next and gave her an awkward hug. The last time she had seen her father she had been a mess and was surprised that they even wanted to come today.

"Thanks, Dad." He gave her a card that she knew she would open later.

"Well how about we all go outside where the food has been set up," Sophia said as Marcus started the music. She saw her brother walk past her and gave her the cold shoulder. She went to go say something to him, but she found she couldn't think of anything to say. 7

"You okay?" Marcus asked once everyone was outside. Jade sighed and closed her eyes wishing she had slept last night. She was tired, and she didn't want to deal with her moody brother. She just wanted to enjoy the day with her friends and family without any drama.

"Yeah." She smiled up at him before she joined the party outside.

The party was in full swing. Emily and Conner were chasing each other around the backyard. Her brother and dad were talking to Noah, Marcus and Marco while Sophia and Nicole were inside getting lunch ready. She tried to go in there and help, but she was told to go away and don't think about coming into the kitchen again.

"So, you are looking better Jade." Her friend said, and she smiled as she took a sip of her wine Rebecca just poured her.

"I'm feeling better. The medication is a big help, but I still have my bad days. How is the kid department going?" Last she heard Rebecca and her husband wanted to start trying for children.

"Good. We decided to just let nature take its course. I mean we are having lots of sex practising as Brad would say, but we aren't tracking my cycles just yet. Don't want all the stress." Jade nodded her head.

"So please spill the gossip on you and Mr sexy over there." Jade laughed, and Marcus turned towards the two women as if he knew they were talking about him.

"We are working on it." Her friend groaned and guzzled the rest of her drink.

"Please, I'm not a virgin. I want details." Jade went into a little bit of detail about how she and Marcus were going, and Rebecca frowned when she realised that Jade's accident really messed her brain up.

"So yeah. It's weird. I moved out to be away from him to find my own two feet again, but I want him over all the time. He stays on the weekend, but I find myself wanting him over on the weekdays as well." Rebecca smiled at Jade and gave her a knowing look.

"That's an easy fix, ask him to move in with you." Jade laughed as she finished off her drink.

"Not going to happen." She poured herself another glass when she could feel someone staring at her. She looked over to see her brother glaring at her before her father elbowed him.

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"Well, I am going to go see my sexy man as you put it." She giggled as her friend raised her glass towards her as she wheeled herself over to Marcus.

"You enjoying yourself," Marcus asked as he flipped the steak on the BBQ. Jade hummed as she closed her eyes. She was so tired and wanted nothing more than to go to bed, but she had people who were over to see her.

"Why don't you go and lie down for a bit. I'm sure nobody will care. The food won't be ready for another 15 minutes." He looked down at Jade and saw she had her eyes closed. She had dark circles under her eyes she tried to cover with makeup.

"I'll be fine." She opened her eyes and smiled at him as he gave her a kiss on top of her head.

Once lunch was served and finished Emily wanted to go swimming, so Paul and Noah took both their children in, while Jade sat with Nicole and Rebecca and her father.

"So, can I finally meet my very cute nephew." She cooed over the smiling boy who was blowing raspberries. Nicole passed Eric over to her and Jade sat him on her knee.

"I can't believe he is already 4 months." Jade smiled at the chubby baby with dark hair that lightly dusted the top of his head. 7

"You tell me. They grow up too quickly." Eric giggled on her lap as she tickled his sides. As the mood and conversation turned sombre.

"I wanted to apologise for how I have been the last couple of months and the way I treated you guys. Especially you Dad. I treated you like crap and you didn't deserve it." Her father gave her hand a squeeze and gave her a smile.

"There is nothing to apologise for Jade. I understand and I don't blame you for anything. I am just glad that I get to spend more time with you." Jade smiled at her father as she wiped away the few stray tears.

The afternoon passed quickly and soon they were all gathered around the table singing happy birthday to Jade. She had Emily on one knee and Eric on the other as she smiled for a photo she was going to hang up in her room.

"Make a wish Jade." She smiled at her friends and family and blew out her candles as they all clapped and cheered. 3

Nicole grabbed Eric as Jade cut up the cake and served it to everyone. Coffee and tea were also passed around for those who wanted it.

"Before everyone starts digging into their cake I just want to make a quick speech." Her father said, and Jade smiled at her Dad.

"I just wanted to first say happy birthday Jade. I know I haven't been there for all your birthday and I am truly grateful that I get to spend this one with you. A few months ago, I thought I had lost you. Those were the scariest months of my life and I am glad you are here Jade and on the road to recovery. So happy birthday baby girl the big 30 next year." Jade laughed, and everyone joined in before they all started eating their cake.

"Should you really be drinking that Jade." Her brother asked her sometime later as she sipped on another glass of wine. She had felt him judging her the whole party and he was only brave enough to say something once most of the guest had left. 6

Noah had to get Conner back to his ex and he took Sophia home as they carpooled. Rebecca was still floating around chatting to Marco about different places they had both travelled.

"I'm allowed to have a few glasses, Paul, besides it's my birthday." She could see him glaring daggers at her as she took another sip.

"Well, I don't want you drinking around my children. I don't want you touching them while you are drinking." He sneered at her and it took all her effort to keep a calm composure. 18

"What. You think I will hurt them." Her brother didn't say anything but gave her a look that told Jade everything she needed to know.

"Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic, right Jade." Everyone went silent and Jade looked at her brother and shook her head.

"You're a coward you know that right." She started to turn her chair around to roll away from the situation when her brother spoke again while he laughed.

"Me, the coward. I wasn't the one that was trying to kill myself. I wasn't the one who drank until they couldn't remember their name because life was so hard they couldn't cope anymore. I'm not the one who pushed everyone away because they were scared. So who is the coward now." He yelled at her and Marcus clenched his fist ready to go over and give her brother a piece of his fist. How dare he. 16

Jade didn't say anything as she faced her brother and stared him down. She wished she could stand up and face him face to face. Instead, she looked up at him with a look of disgust on her face. She tried to keep her emotions in check especially with her niece still hanging around but, it was hard. She wanted to yell and scream at her brother, however, she took a deep breath and thought about approaching this with a calm cool and level head.

"You know what. Your right I was a coward. I couldn't cope with the situation I was in. I still struggle day to day to cope with this new life, but you want to know something. I am fighting every day, every goddamn day. I am fighting my body, I am fighting my brain and each day I wake up better than the last." She made sure not to back down from her brother.

"You want to know the difference between you and me. I keep fighting. You gave up. You gave up on me when I was 15 when you left me with mum, you gave up on me when my behaviour became too difficult for you. You ran like the coward you are, and you will never change. I am just the sister that has too many problems for you to deal with, so I give up. I don't want to speak to or hear from you again. Your family is welcome over because I won't deny Emily and Eric the chance of knowing me, but I don't want to see you over here ever again. So, you can leave." She pointed towards the door expecting to feel some sort of loss but, she didn't.

He chose to be this way and Jade was done with having people in her life letting her down. So, she was letting go of all the negativity in her life. If she wanted to get better, she needs to let go of those who wouldn't help her healing process.

Jade didn't know if it was what her brother said or watching her niece running around and wanting to chase after her and be able to stand up and have a drink with her friends, but she wanted to prove them wrong.

Jade didn't know when her attitude changed about everything that had happened to her, but she wanted to fight. She wanted to prove everyone wrong and show them that she was going to walk again. Not maybe, not could, that she will one day walk again and would keep trying until her dying breath. She was going to prove all her doctors wrong and be that 1 in a millionth person to come back and walk again from the trauma she has been dealt with. She made a promise to herself that day on her 29th birthday, that she was going to stand up out of that godawful chair and walk by herself even if it killed her. 40

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