Chapter 40
The three car convoy drew many gazes as it passed under the hospital car park barrier and approached the main drop off zone. People probably thought it was a celebrity or a member of the royal family and they didn't try to hide their curiosity as the doors on the front and the back car opened and half a dozen men in suits with earpieces stepped out and converged on the middle car.
Behind the tinted window Jasmine had learnt to wait for the door to be opened for her from the outside so as she waited she turned and smiled reassuringly down at Safia. Her hands were clasped nervously in her lap as her long legs stretched out in front of her.
"It's going to be okay," Jasmine reassured her and Safia just nodded her head before turning to look back out the window. Jasmine smiled sadly at the scared young girl and tried to understand what it felt like to be taken from everything and everyone you'd ever known. The foster system had given her new clothes, hot meals and shelter helping to add weight to her emaciated body but Jasmine knew she needed more than that, she needed love and that is what she hoped to get her today.
Soon the doors of the car were opened from the outside and they all stepped out. Safia and her social worker Mrs Neetham, a woman in her mid-forties with bangs and a shoulder-length bob who looked like she didn't have a maternal bone in her body, walked around the back of the car and they all walked into the hospital together. She rather reminded Jasmine of one of those old school matrons whose job it was to make your life miserable. Jasmine didn't miss how the people around them quickly moved on and put their camera phones away when they realised that it wasn't a celebrity in the car.
"Mrs Neetham I think you are going to really love-" Jasmine started to speak as they waited for the elevator when the straight-backed social worker interrupted her.
"-There is no need for that," Mrs Neetham reassured her, "This is just a short introduction."
"Yes of course but their parents have already been caring for Safia and Safia likes them," Jasmine reached out and gently squeezed the girl's shoulder, "She told me so and if you'd seen them-"
"-There is a lot more to consider than just if they like one another. Trust me ma'am, I've been doing this for years," The social worker shut down her attempts to speak when the elevator pinged and the doors opened before them, "Shall we?" She held her arm out. Jasmine let Safia go first before she followed her in and then Mrs Neetham and a single bodyguard. The walk to the hospital room where Lieutenant Langdale was being kept felt like it took years but soon they were stood outside the door and Jasmine could hear laughter on the other side which made her smile as she thought about the last time she saw them when nothing was certain. Raising her hand she knocked and waited a few seconds before a laughing voice told her to enter. Opening the door a little she poked her head around where she saw Marc propped up in bed and Jules sat at the bottom by his feet before she turned her head to see who it was and her lips parted in surprise.
"I've brought someone to see you," Jasmine smiled before she opened the door fully to reveal Safia stood in the doorway, her hands still clasped together and her eyes moving around the room hesitantly. Jules slowly stood up, her eyes wide as she carefully walked around the bed as if afraid that she would scare the small girl if she made any sudden movements. The room was silent as everyone watched Jules kneel on the floor a few feet in front of Safia, her eyes sparkling.
"Safia?" Jules whispered as she tried to catch the young girl's gaze with her own, "Do you remember me?" Julia couldn't get over how different she looked. Her skin was clean and seemed to be glowing, her hair was smooth and combed and her cheeks held some colour to them. Her heart was racing, unsure of how Safia was going to respond, when she looked at her and realised who she was. Jules's heart nearly burst out of her chest when Safia cried her name and ran straight into her arms. Wrapping her arms around her tiny body Jules pressed her face into the crook of her neck and breathed her in.
"I'm so happy you're safe," Jules cried into her shoulder, "We've missed you. I'm so sorry we haven't been to see you sooner," Jules pulled back and cradled her face carefully, running the pads of her thumb over her cheeks when she heard Marc's bare feet across the room and looked up to see him carefully kneeling down next to them, his eyes staring at Safia in disbelief.
"Hello Safia," Marc's whispered carefully as his brow drew together, unable to believe that she was stood before him and he knew that everything had been worth it.
"Hello," Safia whispered back quietly, her eyes hovering over the bandage on his neck, before she launched herself into his arms and pressed her cheek against his chest. Marc let out a small sob as he wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head, squeezing his eyes shut against the tears that threatened to spill over.
Crossing her arms over her chest Jasmine turned and smiled obnoxiously at Mrs Neetham as she witnessed the scene and knew that even she could not deny this couple's love for Safia. And neither could Carlos and Twitch as they stood up in the corner of the room and Jasmine turned around to look at them when she realised that they weren't the only ones in the room. Her eyes hovered over Carlos for a second before she looked to the man by his side and smiled. His athletic frame was hunched over as he struggled on the crutches but his red hair was as appealing as ever.
"I think we should give them some privacy," Carlos said as he stepped between her and Mrs Neetham and stood outside where he waited for Twitch who was following close behind. Jasmine caught his gaze when looked up as he passed her and her breath caught in her throat when he smiled at her, his walk slowing as they looked at each other for a moment when he pressed down on his crutch but it suddenly slipped out from underneath him, pitching him forward. Reacting Jasmine quickly stepped forward and caught him, her arms holding him around the waist as his hand came to rest on her shoulder and for a split moment their lips were less than an inch apart. Jasmine could feel his breath on her face when he nervously righted himself and thanked her for catching him.
"No problem," Jasmine whispered, not quite sure what had happened there, "Least I could do." Twitch gave her a tight lipped smile before he lowered his head and ducked outside with Carlos leaving her stood there feeling confused.
In the hallway Carlos waited until they were a few feet from the door before he turned and started on Twitch to distract him from what was happening inside the room and how it was going to change everything, "What did you do that for?"
"Do what?" Twitch frowned at him as he focused on trying not to fall over again and probably rip his stitches out, "I didn't do anything."
"Exactly!" Carlos exclaimed, "Jasmine was clearly into you."
"Don't be stupid. She's the prime minister's niece," Twitch scoffed, "She's probably got some hot shot lawyer or MP for a boyfriend, why the hell would she be interested in me?"
"Maybe because you helped to save her life?" Carlos suggested, "I've found things like that tend to sway a woman."
Twitch glared at his friend and the way his eyes seemed to glaze over with warm memories. Letting the crutch rest against his body he held up his hand and snapped his fingers in front of his face, "Hey, earth to Ramirez?" Carlos rolled his eyes and swatted Twitch's hand away.
"All I'm saying is that you should go for it," Carlos shrugged, "Something tells me that our little quarto is going to get smaller." He looked over his shoulder back at the room.
Twitch frowned, "You don't think Jules and Marc would leave, do you?" He looked back at the room in panic.
Carlos shrugged, "She's been through a lot. I would understand if she wanted to. Anyway, go back and ask for Jasmine's number."
"No." Twitch told him adamantly as someone in the hallway shoved past him and he nearly went flying as he struggled to gain his balance, "Look at me, I'm crippled. What would she want with me?"
"You need to stop putting yourself down," Carlos told him, "You won't be in that thing forever and let me tell you chicks dig scars." He winked at him as a smile crept across his lips.
Twitch laughed, "You don't actually bel-"
"Um, excuse me . . . Twitch?"
Coughing in surprise he slowly turned around, the crutches tapping against the floor, and saw Jasmine stood there, her doe-like green eyes staring up at him as her tongue darted out to lick her dry lips nervously.
"Yeah, hi," Twitch felt the corner of his lip pull up involuntarily as his heart began to race. Turning his head a little to the side to hide it he gave her a small smile conscious that Carlos was stood right next to him with an amused expression on his face which Twitch really wanted to punch right then.
"I um-" Jasmine let out a small chuckle of nervous laughter before she closed her eyes momentarily and seemed to gather her courage, "I just wanted to give you this." She held out a folded piece of paper.
Resting his forearm on the crutch so as not to fall over he held out his hand to take it, "What is it?"
"My number," Jasmine smiled sweetly as she tucked a strand of light brown hair behind her ear, "I just thought that if you wanted to have dinner this week then I would, um, totally be up for that."
Twitch didn't know what to say as he stared from the paper and back up at her with her warm rosy cheeks and youthful expression. Her hair was pulled back into a sophisticated bun and she was wearing office clothes which made her appear older than her twenty five years.
"Or not," Jasmine panicked when he didn't reply straight away and she tried to limit the damage, "In which case that's fine and-"
"-Ignore him," Carlos stepped forward and took the folded piece of paper from Twitch's hand, "He doesn't do well in front of beautiful women. I'll get him to call you."
"Yeah?" Jasmine's face lit up as she looked back at Twitch and saw the way his cheek was suddenly tugged back by some invisible source and she smiled.
"Absolutely," Carlos reassured her.
"Okay thanks," Jasmine started to walk away when she suddenly turned back to them, "Oh and Twitch?"
"Yeah?" He suddenly found his voice, enchanted by the way she was walking backwards in the hallway with a smile on her face and then he realised that she was smiling at him.
"Carlos is right, women do dig scars," She laughed before she turned back around.
Twitch watched her until she disappeared back into the room, the guard watching disapprovingly from the hallway, before Twitch turned back to Carlos and saw he was grinning at the fact Jasmine proved him right.
"Told you," Carlos laughed, "And I think I'll hold on to this for you." He was about to slip the paper into his jeans pocket when Twitch reached out and snatched it from his fingers.
"Give me that," Twitch was embarrassed he let him take it in the first place, "I'll call her myself. I don't need a matchmaker."
"Okay but just remember that I've already memorised it so if you don't call her then I'll do for it and drive you to the date myself-"
"-What are you, my mum? I said I'll call her so I will," Twitch told him, "Now can we change the topic please?"
"Fine," Carlos laughed. "So where are you gonna take her?" He asked a few seconds later.
Twitch let out a long sigh but there was a smile on his lips as he did so and knew that actually he did want to talk about it.
*
"I've given you a lot to think about," Mrs Neetham closed the pad of paper on her lap and began to pack it away in her bag, "Take a few days to discuss it before you get into contact, this is a very big step to take and it shouldn't be done so lightly."
Jules nodded absentmindedly as she reached out and ran her hand over Safia's hair, "Can we see her again tomorrow?"
Mrs Neetham's reluctance was obvious, "You should really think about this between yourselves for a few days, but we can see." She got to her feet along with Marc and Jules, "Safia say your goodbyes."
"No," Safia cried as wrapped her arms around Jules's waist, "I stay!" She shouted in broken English.
"Ssh it's okay," Jules leaned down and kissed the top of her head, "You're going to come back to us but you need to go with Mrs Neetham and Jasmine for now, okay?" Safia's ebony eyes were wide and stubborn as she clutched hold of Jules's top once again. Looking over her shoulder at Marc who saw this she began to softly ease Safia's worries whilst Marc turned to Mrs. Neetham.
"What happened to the other children?" He asked her.
"They've all been discharged from the hospital and are being monitored carefully by our psychiatrists," Mrs Neetham told him, "We have already managed to place a few into temporary foster homes."
"Temporary?" Marc frowned, "What does that mean?"
Mrs Neetham frowned at him and replied in annoyance, "Yes, it means non-permanent."
She clearly wasn't used to being questioned and Marc wanted to desperately roll his eyes but he thought it was not in their best interest to get on the wrong side of the woman who would have the power to grant them adoption of Safia.
"Safia, let's go." Mrs Neetham walked towards the door.
"We can see her tomorrow though yes?" Jules asked as she walked to the door with her, not wanting to be a part from her any longer than was necessary.
"I think you should have some time to think but I shall see what I can do," Mrs Neetham replied before she stepped back to let Safia walk ahead of her.
Safia and Jules shared one last hug where Jules breathed in deeply and smelt the shampoo in her hair, "I'll see you very soon, I promise." Julia felt Safia's hands squeeze her back a little and she vowed to feel that again, and again every day for the rest of her life. She will adopt Safia and make her an official part of her family because, after everything they had been through, they were already tightly bound together.
"Safia, it's time to go now," Mrs Neetham impatiently told them and Jules knew she had to let her go for the moment.
Standing up straight she felt Marc stood beside her as they gave Safia a reassuring smile and it made Julia choke up a little when Safia returned the smile and gave them a small wave and she thought that she looked happy.
Jules watched Safia and Mrs Neetham leave and Jasmine was about to follow them when she turned around and gave them a quick reassuring thumbs up before running after Mrs Neetham. As the door shut behind them Jules let out a breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding and felt Marc's hand at the base of her spine, supporting her.
"She's right," Julia sighed, she didn't want to say it out loud but it needed to be discussed but Marc just looked down at her in confusion. "Mrs Neetham," She added, "She has a point about who is going to look after Safia if we're both deployed."
Marc's hand dropped from her back, "Our parents can help though I'm not so sure I want her around your mother for long periods of time. We'd probably come back and find she's shipped her off to boarding school," He half-joked as he turned and sat back down on the bed when he began to feel a little tired.
Jules ignored the jibe at her mother because she wasn't hundred percent he was wrong, "We can't ask that of our parents and I don't want her to be on her own or one of those army brats that grow up to hate us."
"Then what do you suggest?" Marc asked as he pulled his thin blue nightgown tightly around him, "Give it up the marines?"
Jules looked down at her feet sadly and Marc got to his feet, his brow furrowed deeply in the middle, "No," He gasped, "You're a marine through and through, you couldn't give it up!"
"I could for her," Jules lifted her head and looked at him, "And you."
"Jules . . ."
"No listen," She walked over to him and gripped the lapels of his nightgown, feeling the thin fabric in her hands, "This time when we were out and you got injured . . . I've never felt a fear like that. I was terrified, Marc," She looked up into his eyes as her own filled with tears, "I'm not sure how much longer I can go through that, watching you run head first into danger."
"I watch you run into it too remember, in fact I reckon I watch you head straight into it a lot more than you watch me," He smiled a little.
"Yeah, but I don't think I could handle seeing you in another hospital bed. It would affect my actions in the field."
"I know," Marc raised a hand and stroked the side of her face before he cupped her cheek, "I hate seeing you in harm's way too but we're great together, especially out there."
Jules curled her fingers into fists around his nightgown as her eyes stung because she knew he was right. They were great and did great together but they couldn't deny the fact that they had encountered a lot more drama than most military couples, "Maybe it would do us good to separate our work and home lives. I can stay with Safia and-"
"-You would never be happy as a stay at home mum," Marc scoffed, "You'd be pulling your hair out and I couldn't ask that of you, to stay behind and watch me ship out," He shook his head a little and she saw the turmoil in his depths.
"I wouldn't leave the military completely, just ask for a transfer to a desk job somewhere and then maybe in the future we can see about alternating tours," She tilted her head a little to the side and rested it in the palm of his hand where they shared a sad smile, "Besides," She added with a smile, "I think my decision has already been made for me."
Marc frowned in confusion as he stared at her, "What do you mean?"
Taking a small step back she took his hand from where it had been resting against her cheek and rested it against her abdomen. She watched his face as the frown on his forehead relaxed, his eyes widened and his lips parted in surprise. Seeing the joy erupt in his eyes made her smile.
"Do you- Are you-" He stumbled over his words as he lightly trailed his hand over her stomach.
She nodded, "I took a pregnancy test- in fact I took three," She laughed, "They all said pos-" She didn't get to finish her sentence before Marc had swooped down and captured her lips with his in an explosion of happiness. Julia could almost feel her body melting against his as the passionate kiss sent sparks through her body.
"But-" Marc pulled back and looked at her, "How- I mean when? You weren't pregnant before we left and . . ."
Jules raised her eyebrows at him and waited for him to figure it out as he remembered the time in the apartment and his lips formed a small 'o' in surprise before he suddenly started to laugh. When he didn't stop she raised her hand and hit him on the arm.
"What's so funny about that?" She snapped.
"Nothing, it's just-" Marc shook his head, his shoulders still shaking in laughter.
"Marc," Jules said his name in warning.
"It's just ironic," Marc told her as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close against him, "That out of all the babies we've made it would be the one we created in Afghanistan to make it."
"He's not here yet," Jules closed her eyes in a silent prayer that he was right when she felt Marc rest his forehead against hers and take a deep breath.
"He will," Marc whispered and Jules didn't know how long they had stood there in that embrace but she never wanted it to end.