NOBODY SAID LOVE WAS GONNA BE EASY
Chapter Fourteen
It had been three months since Jack came home
from the hospital. In that short time, there had been no change in his
condition, but Rose had given birth to a baby girl that they had named Emily Anne.
The birth of the child had lifted Jack out of the dark depression that had
overtaken him when he had arrived home, so now Jack was almost back to his old
self. He still had bouts of depression, but his baby daughter had inspired him
to take back up the art he had abandoned when he had returned home after his
coma.
Rose had slipped into motherhood
effortlessly. Between taking care of Jack and their daughter, she all but
forgot about her ordeal with Cal. It was at night that the nightmares plagued
her sleep and fears of Cal coming to get her back threatened her. When that
happened, she would scoot closer to Jack’s sleeping body, trying to feel safe
in his warmth. She often thought of getting a gun. With Jack in a wheelchair, a
weapon might be their only course for protection, especially against the
O’Connors, who also seemed to be laying low. Anna dropped by regularly, vowing
to keep a close eye on her husband and father-in-law. Robert and Christina
weren’t too happy about Anna’s visits. Both felt that Anna was placing Jack and
Rose in danger. But such things were never spoken aloud. Jack needed friends
right now, and unfortunately, Anna was one of those friends. To forbid her to
even talk to Jack would have been cruel.
Jack was in his wheelchair one day, sketching
Rose at the sink, when it happened. It wasn’t much, only a tingling sensation
and a tiny twitch, barely noticeable. It was the second time that it had
happened. Jack took notice and called Rose to the table. For the first time,
Jack allowed himself to feel hope for getting his legs back. Rose called the
doctor, who agreed to make a house call that night.
Jack and Rose waited nervously, trying to
keep themselves busy. Rose tended to Emily, while Jack sketched a picture of
himself standing behind Rose as she held their daughter in her arms. The doctor
arrived just as Jack was staring at his masterpiece, wondering if someday he
really would be standing again, making the picture a reality.
"Mr. Dawson," the doctor greeted as
he took off his coat and approached Jack, medical bag at the ready. "So,
some feeling in your legs is returning?"
"I’m not sure." Jack frowned.
"It only happened twice. I had a tingling sensation in my legs, and they
moved a little. It wasn’t much…"
"Hmm…but it was something, enough to
call me in. I’m just going to examine you, see if I can make a diagnosis here.
If that’s impossible, I’ll take you to the hospital to do tests. Does that
sound all right with you?"
Jack looked up at Rose, who frowned at the
thought of another night away from her husband. She didn’t like being away from
Jack’s company for even a minute. She had insisted that he be at her side at
the birth of their child, and always kept him nearby as she did her morning
chores. She wasn’t sure if she would be able to survive a night alone if the
doctor took him to the hospital.
"Would I be able to come home tonight if
I did need to go to the hospital?" Jack asked.
"I would think so. We’d want to keep you
under observation. But if you insisted on coming home, there probably wouldn’t
be a problem." Jack sighed and nodded. He took Rose’s hand as the doctor
began his examination, which mainly consisted of the doctor pressing steady
fingers to his spinal cord.
"Hmm…" The doctor sighed as he
finished the examination. "It would seem that your injury is healing. I
must say I’m surprised. I’m going to recommend that you start physical therapy
as soon as possible. Keep in mind that you may never return to the way you
were, but you’ll be out of the wheelchair, at least. Congratulations, Mr.
Dawson. It seems like you’re going to do the impossible."
Rose squealed with joy as she hugged Jack
tightly. He was getting better. To her, life was getting better and better. The
day of complete and total happiness was soon to be at hand…or so she thought.