Day 10 Face the problem.

The next three months seemed to drag by for Marcus as he healed from his injuries and worked hard to get the mobility of his arm and shoulder back.

His physical therapist was very pleased with his progress but, Marcus was frustrated. He wanted it done yesterday, but there always seemed another tomorrow to get through first.

He was discharged from hospital but still had by-weekly physio appointments as well as by-weekly sessions with his therapist, both one on one and group sessions. During the group sessions he worked out that he didn’t have PTSD as bad as some, but he had it worse than others.

Yes he had the nightmares, and sudden loud noises would have him diving for the nearest cover. But the worst was when suddenly with no warning at all he seemed to be right back there watching as his buddy burned to death in front of him. The world would move on around him, but he was stuck in that place unit the episode passed or someone managed to pull him out of it.

He had become good friends with Connor and understood why he had been as bitter as he was when he met him. He had broken up with his childhood sweetheart only a few days before he lost the battle to keep his leg. For him it was all part of the same deal. The pair talked about the women in, or not so in, their lives once the lights were out at night. Both found it easier to talk when they couldn’t see the other.

It was during one of these talks that Marcus realised there was a good chance that the baby Carrie was carrying was his. He still had the email that contained all the information that had been gathered about her and her life since he had left. Some it was hard reading, but knowing that she was about to become a mom, and he could be the dad was what he couldn’t get out of his mind.

It was mid December when Marcus and Conner, who had shared an apartment while they continued their recovery, had a back slapping hug and promised to keep in touch before heading off in separate directions to see what they could make of their lives now. Connor went back to his folks place in Sausalito, while Marcus was going to head to New Zealand to find Carrie.

~#~

Time seemed to be going so fast for Carrie, and she put it down to being happy for the first time in her life since she was a child and had a family and a home.

She enjoyed working in the café and when she wasn’t making coffee she helped out in the kitchen.

She did a lot of cleaning, Jeff told her it was because she was nesting, but he was wrong, she cleaned because Jeff wasn’t much good at it and the placed looked better when it was sparkling clean.

She would have loved to do more, like change the old faded lino and replace the large window where kids had scratched their names into the glass. A good lick of paint would be good too. But that would have to wait for some other time.

One thing she really liked was that she still got to see her friends because they came in to get the coffee, which they all agreed was much better now that Carrie had taken over.

One thing she didn’t like was that Jeff had not been very well.

He said it was nothing, a cold, something he ate, just a headache, whatever came to mind when she asked him if he was ok, but Carrie was beginning to wonder if it was something more.

He was tired all the time, he didn’t eat and he had lost weight. He was looking gaunt with the black circles under his eyes being shown up even more by his pallid skin.

However it was hard for her to stay focused on his health when she was being so careful with her own.

She kept every appointment she had at the clinic and was amazed at how a child was growing inside her. It was true, she wasn’t sure she was ready to be a mother, but at the same time, she could hardly wait to meet the little one growing under her heart. So far she had decided not to ask what the sex was. There were precious few true surprises left in life, but this one she wanted to save until the child was born.

As December began she realised this would be the last one when she would be the child…. old as she was. After this there would be a new child and she would have to build new traditions for the pair of them.

~#~