Mending the Soul (34 page)

"Don't get too excited Jenna.  You are going to have some stipulations on your discharge.  First of all, you are on strict bed rest.  Hire a housekeeper, a babysitter, and a chef if you have to, but under no circumstances are you to lift a finger until I say so.  The life and health of your baby depend on it."  Jenna's OBGYN instructed.  "Second, I want to see you in my office at least once a week until further notice.  And third, if you feel anything out of the ordinary, if something doesn't feel right to you, you call me…day or night, got it?"  The doctor smiled at her and squeezed Jenna's hand in both reassurance and understanding.

"Don't worry doctor, I'll be keeping my eye on her, so she will follow your orders to a 'T'."  Nicholas agreed with the doctor, sending a silent warning to Jenna.  "I'll be taking care of things around the house too."

"In other words, we'll be eating take out on paper plates all the time."  Jenna teased.

"Ha-ha, funny lady.  Let's get you sprung out of here."  Nicholas said, happy to be taking his fiancée back to their house.  He couldn't wait to reunite the kids with Jenna again, they hadn't seen her since before the accident.  Both Nicholas and Jenna worried that it would be too scary for them to have to visit her in the hospital.

While Jenna signed her release papers with the doctor, Nicholas went down to the parking lot to drive his SUV up to the doors.  On his way down, he made a few phone calls, hoping that his plans weren't too last minute.

After loading all the flowers and balloons into the Xterra, Nicholas made one final trip into the hospital, for the most important thing…Jenna.  He wheeled her down the corridor, and as they got closer and closer to the doors, Nicholas could see her shoulders tense up.  He stopped her wheelchair at the passenger door to the vehicle, and crouched down next to her.  Nicholas looked into her eyes and saw the fear.

"It's a pretty scary thing to get back into a vehicle after what happened, huh?"  He understood.

"I know I'm being foolish, but I can't help it.  What if it happens again Nicholas?  What if I'm not so lucky next time?  I am never, ever going to be able to control what the other drivers do, that's how I got into this mess."  Jenna worried, letting her emotions get the best of her.

"Baby, I don't have all the answers, and I can't promise you that nothing like this will ever happen again.  The only thing I can promise is that I will do everything in my power to stop it from ever happening again.  Every day we are going to face risks in our lives, no matter what we do.  But we can't constantly live our lives in fear of what might happen, because that's not living at all.  And yes, you were very lucky this time…we were very lucky.  Obviously someone is watching over us, and it's not in their plan to take us from each other right now."  Nicholas said, finishing with a small smile

"I know you're right, but please don't get upset with me if I get nervous while you're driving.  I think it's just going to take me a little while to get comfortable in a vehicle again."  Jenna said, feeling a little more comfortable with getting back in the car.  After all, Nicholas made an excellent point, if it was her time to go, then she wouldn't have made it through the accident.  "Ok, I'm ready."  She said with a slow smile.

Nicholas opened the passenger door and lifted Jenna from the wheelchair to the passenger seat, laughing at the shouts of protest from Jenna.  "Get used to it babe, I'll be carrying you a lot over the next couple of weeks."

"I think I can manage to get from the wheelchair to the seat on my own."  Jenna argued and rolled her eyes.  "Besides, you won't be able to carry me much longer.  I'm getting pretty big now."  She said as she looked down at her bulging belly.

"And I'm loving every minute of the growth."  Nicholas told her, his whole face glowed as he ran his hand over her pregnant belly.

Jenna rolled her eyes again.  "Yeah, keep telling yourself that, especially when I'm just about ready to pop.  We'll see how much you love it then!"  Jenna strapped the seatbelt around her body and closed the door, leaving Nicholas to return the wheelchair to the hospital lobby.

Nicholas returned to the vehicle and hopped into his seat behind the wheel, clicking his seatbelt in place before turning the key to start the ignition.  As the engine roared to life, Nicholas looked over at Jenna.  "You ready?"  He asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be."  She said and took a deep breath.  "Just go easy on me."

Nicholas knew this was the perfect time to try to lighten Jenna's mood, and she left herself wide open for it.  "Isn't that what you said the first time we made love?  You didn't think you could handle a stallion like me."  Nicholas knew that was stretching the truth, they both knew how nervous he was their first time, though he quickly lost his inhibitions once things got heated up between them.

Nicholas pulled onto the street, and slowly drove away from the hospital.  He decided to take a different route home, since the usual short cut led right past the scene of Jenna's accident.

Jenna nearly choked on her laughter.  "Yeah, because you were such a smooth operator, huh?"

"Hey, I didn't hear any complaining…I seem to recall screams of pleasure though."  Nicholas reminded her.  "I think I had you begging for more too."  He made a few turns, driving them further from the hospital and closer to their destination.  "Oh Nicholas!  Give it to me!  Oh, harder!  Oh yes, that's it right there!  Oh yeah!  Give it to me!"  He teased in a high-pitched voice, sending them both into fits of laughter.

"Ah, but the begging went both ways, didn't it 'Oh Wild One'."  Jenna laughed.  "I remember a night not too long ago where you could barely wait to get out of the bar before having your way with me."

Nicholas nodded.  "I think the feeling was mutual that night.  I don't think either one of us could think of anything other than being together that night."  Nicholas recalled.  "But just think of all the fun we had making that baby, whether we were aware of what was happening in your body at the time or not."  He said as he pulled into the driveway and turned the engine off.

"We're here already?"  Jenna asked, looking around, completely unaware of the fact that they had driven all the way home.  There was no doubt in Jenna's mind that Nicholas was the perfect man for her, and it was amazingly clear how much he cared for her.

Nicholas slid out of the vehicle and ran around the front to get to the passenger side.  He opened the door and began to gather Jenna in his arms.

Jenna softly touched Nicholas's face, engaging him to look into her eyes.  "Thank you."  She said as she gazed deep into his eyes.

"Hey, what are fiancé’s for if not to carry their future wife?"  Nicholas asked with a soft smile.

"No, not just for that, well, yeah that too, but for everything.  For loving me, for caring about me, for loving the kids…for everything.  Thank you for being you most of all.  And thanks for helping me get through my first car ride without having a nervous breakdown."  Jenna said as her eyes started to mist over.

"Well, thank you for not leaving me."  Nicholas said as he wiped the tears from her eyes, then leaned in and kissed her softly.  "Now, let's get you inside."  He smirked, picking her up in one fluid motion, never breaking a sweat.

"You know, you're going to have to let me walk sometime."  Jenna pointed out.

"I know, but let me enjoy this while it lasts."  He said, walking up to the front door.  He gave the door three sharp kicks down in the bottom corner, and like magic the door opened.

Jenna's jaw dropped as she looked into a crowd of people.  Hanging over their heads was a banner that said "Welcome Home".  Nicholas carried her through the crowd and laid her gently on the couch.  One by one, everyone came to greet her, giving her cautious hugs and reprimanding her to never scare them like that again.  Friends and co-workers milled about her, talking and laughing, but Jenna felt like something was missing.  Where were the kids?  Where was Diane?  Where was Nathan and Vanessa?  The most important people to her, besides Nicholas, weren't there.

After her well-wishers backed off a little, Nicholas went and sat next to Jenna.  He could tell that even though she appeared happy on the outside, something wasn't quite right.  "What's wrong baby?"  He asked.

"Nothing, this is great."  Jenna said, a little too flatly.

"But…?"

"But where are the kids, and your mom, and Nathan and Vanessa?"

"Well, see I called everyone on the way down to get the car at the hospital, so not everyone could make it on such short notice."  Nicholas explained.

"But, you'd think that they, of all people, would want to be here when I got home."  Jenna felt like crying.

"Sweetie, they wanted to be here, but they were busy already."  Nicholas said, fighting the urge to smile.

Jenna nodded her head solemnly, and said goodbye to some of her guests.  No one was able to stay long, they all just wanted to come over and see how she was.  When the last guest left, Jenna was feeling really down.  The ringing doorbell didn't even get her attention.  "Someone must have forgotten something."  Nicholas said as he got up to answer the door with a smile on his face.

Jenna watched him disappear down the hallway, wondering how she was going to get the strength to be cheerful if someone was coming back.

"I was right, someone forgot something."  Nicholas yelled from the front door, and before he could finish his sentence, two small blurs came barreling through the living room.  "Kids, be careful and don't hurt her."  Nicholas yelled after them.

The two kids ran into Jenna's open arms, and she hugged them tight as tears spilled down her face.  None of them wanted to break the embrace that they were held in.  She just wanted to hold them and never let them go…not realizing that each kid was feeling the same way.

"You know how much it took to keep them from running over here when you guys pulled up?"  Nathan said as he entered the living room carrying a big pink cake box.

"Nathan bribed them with $20 each."  Vanessa ratted Nathan out.  She set the paper plates and plastic silverware on the coffee table that sat in front of the couch.  She took the cake box from Nathan and put it on the table, opening the lid to show Jenna her favorite pistachio cake.

"Hey, don't forget the $20 I had to give you not to run out then, too Vanessa."  Diane said, bringing up the rear with a jug of milk.

Jenna laughed at the group as they all gathered around her.  She was finally home, it finally felt right…and home never felt so sweet.  She knew that she was on a long road to recovery, but with the help of her truly wonderful family, Jenna knew everything would be alright.

They spent the night sitting around eating cake, listening to the kids telling stories about thing that happened in school, and talking.  As the sky got darker, the kids began to lose steam.  Nicholas took that as his cue to put the kids to bed.

Colby leaned over his mom and gave her a big hug.  "I missed you and I'm glad you're alright."  He told her.

"I missed you too kiddo."  Jenna said and ruffled his hair.

"I'll let that slide this time."  Colby told her with a smirk on his face, making Jenna laugh at her son's antics.

Next was Emma's turn.  She wrapped her arms tightly around Jenna's neck and hugged her tight, not wanting to let go.  "It's ok, I'm not going anywhere.  I'll be here when you wake up."  Jenna tried to reassure her.

"Daddy told me that you're getting married.  Does that mean I can call you mommy now?"  Emma whispered softly in Jenna's ear.

"If that's what you want sweetheart.  You don't have to if you don't want to though."  Jenna whispered back.

Emma released Jenna from the tight hold she had around her neck and ran up the stairs after her father and Colby.  As she got to the top landing she turned around and yelled, "Goodnight Mommy!"  She giggled then ran into her room.

Jenna smiled with pride as she watched her, and laughed when Nicholas rushed out of Colby's room with curiosity.  He winked at Jenna and finished tucking the kids in.  Diane was touched at the special bond that her granddaughter and future daughter-in-law shared, and was pleased that they got along so well.

As Jenna looked back on the night, she couldn't have imagined a better, more perfect homecoming, and she owed it all to Nicholas.

Jenna shifted on her side, feeling the soft feathery pillow beneath her head give ever so slightly as she moved, the mattress hugging her every curve.  The strong, comfortable arms of the man she loved with all her heart tightened around her, reassuring Jenna that he was still there.  Somewhere between a dreamy state and being awake, Jenna smiled from the inside- out at the feel of his body next to hers.

It was one of the things she missed most while she was in the hospital, not being able to sleep in the comfort of her bed with her loving fiancé.  Her mind pondered that thought for a moment…her fiancé.  The one she wanted to spend the rest of her life with, the father of her unborn baby, her lover, best friend, and protector all rolled into one.  Jenna no longer thought about what her life was like before Nicholas, it was almost as if she really started living the day they met.  And now, they were engaged to be married.  She felt like a giddy schoolgirl.

"Isn't it too early for you to be smiling and in such a good mood?"  Nicholas whispered as he kissed Jenna's cheek good morning.