Chapter 42

This is what Jade is wearing later on. 

"Okay, Jade one more set and we are done for today." Jade groaned as Andrea pushed Jade as she stood behind her as she made Jade push herself off her seat and lower herself back down. Her arms and shoulders ached from muscles she hadn't used in a while as sweat started to drip down her face. Before a simple task like this would have been easy, now it took all her strength to push her own dead body weight up.

Her arms shook with fatigue as she tried to push herself up with the help of Andrea lifting from under her armpit. They shook even if she couldn't get her bum off the seat and they shook as she lowered herself back down.

"Good Jade, just one more." Jade tired, she tried to push but her arms gave out and felt like noodles beside her. Jade huffed out a breath of hot air as she grabbed her towel and wiped the sweat off her brow. Andrea said she was improving, but she felt like she wasn't. Her body wasn't getting any stronger and her mind was still a jigsaw with many missing pieces. Like this morning she tried to put on her joggers and it was like her brain forgot. She didn't understand because yesterday she was able to put her own shoes on and today it was like her brain forgot.

"You did good today Jade. Next week I want to start focusing more on your motor skill. Have you given any thoughts to coming in for an extra session? We can do one session for your motor skills and another for moving around." Jade had thought about all week since Andrea suggested last week and with the progress, she was making she knew she wasn't going to get anywhere if she kept doing what she was doing now.

"I have. I think it would be a good idea. I know you said I am improving, but I don't feel like it. This morning I forgot how to put on my shoes I sat there for 20minutes trying to remember how I did it yesterday and just came up blank." Andrea looked at Jade to see the defeated look on her face.

"That's okay Jade. The brain is a delicate thing that we still don't fully understand. You went through something traumatic. I am surprised you are able to do as much as you can from what I read in all your scans and reports. Many people who have gone through trauma like you are not so lucky and not able to function as well as you. Focus on that and the fact you are alive and breathing, that in itself is a miracle on its own." She gave the shoulder a squeeze and offered to push her out to Noah who was going to take her to her next appointment.

Noah and Sophia were on a rotation until she moved into her new place. Noah would take her to all her appointments one day and Sophia the other and help with things like cooking and cleaning. Jade worked with them so when she moved into her new place Sophia would be there in mornings and afternoon to help her change every weekday, while Noah would take the middle of the day shift on Monday Wednesday and Fridays on the days he had his son while he was at school. Noah and Sophia were both flexible and said they could help over the weekends, but for now Jade was happy with there plan and if she needed them depending on the day one of the would always be on call.

Noah was reading a book when Jade was pushed out and he stood up with a smile and walked over to Jade who had a frown on her face.

"Everything alright?" Jade just nodded, and Noah took over pushing her.

"Make sure she keeps doing her leg exercises and ill call you tomorrow about squeezing you into another day." Andrea smiled at Jade ad watched as her carer pushed her away.

"How did it go?" Noah asked as he helped put Jade into the car.

"Hard. Everything is so weak. I was thinking about maybe getting back into the gym. I know there is one close to the house, I could push myself there and back or if I needed to get a lift. I need to start getting strong again." Noah hummed as he drove to Jade next appointment one she had been dreading all week. Couples counselling.

She hadn't spoken to Marcus all week despite texting him to see if he was still coming. She tried to wait for him to come home one day to yell at him for being an ass, but when the night began to draw close and Sophia came over to help her get ready for bed she gave up and hoped she could catch him the next day.

She had seen Marco who smiled and came over for lunch the other day, but when she said about Marcus he just sighed and said he was being an asshole again which Jade responded with a string of curses that made Marco smile.

They pulled up to the building where Dylan would be waiting for them and hopefully Marcus if he decided to show. Noah helped her get out the car and helped push her inside.

"Do you need me to hang around or should you be okay." Noah didn't mind waiting until Jade was finished it was his job after all.

"No, go. If I need a lift ill call Sophia she should be on call. Hopefully, Marcus turns up." She grumbled with distaste as Noah nodded his head and left Jade. Jade smiled to the reception lady and held her breath when she heard the front door open. She turned around with her heart beating in her chest and felt I drop when she saw it wasn't Marcus.

"Jade." She smiled at Dylan and pushed her way into his office. Dylan was a very large African man that wore the sweaters, bowties and thick-rimmed glasses. Looking at him first glance you wouldn't put two and two together, but the style worked for him and Jade would be the first to admit the man was attractive. With his Green eyes that shone against his dark complexion, there was no denying that Dylan was a very good-looking man.

"No Marcus today?" Jade sighed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"It would seem that way." She said angrily, and Dylan took note of the hostile air surrounding Jade.

"We can start without him and let hope he shows up. So, Jade how was your relationship this week with Marcus." Jade let out a bitter laughed as she thought what relationship.

"Wouldn't know. He has been avoiding me all week." She pursed her lips and shrugged her shoulders. Dylan knew he had a lot of work to do with this couple both were hard-headed people and stubborn down to the bone.

"Okay, so last week we were trying to work on communication, I'm assuming that didn't go too well this week." Jade was about to reply when Marcus walked in.

"Sorry, I'm late," Jade grunted as Marcus came and sat down on the couch next to her. He had obviously come from work as his cameo pants hugged his waist showing muscle from his ass down to his ankles where thick heavy black boots rested. Jade at that moment longed to feel the weight of those boots on the bottoms of her feet as she spent house parading around on concrete in the sun. she moved her eyes away from the black boots and saw the tight black fitted shirt he wore that was tucked into his pants that were held up by a thick belt.

If Jade wasn't so angry at him she would have noticed how her body was reacting towards the sexy man sitting next to her, but all she felt was anger.

"So nice of you to show up." She grunted as she starred Marcus in the eyes daring him to say something.

"Sorry I had work." Jade scoffed.

"Oh yeah, work, guess you were too busy to even text 'hey Jade going to be late' or even better how about 'sorry Jade, super busy with work I'll talk later'. But no, you decided let's not message Jade all week because you were too busy with 'work.'" She air quoted with so much sass in her voice that it was dripping with sarcasm.

"Well sorry, but some of us have to work." He said back angrily, and Jade was just about to fire up again when Dylan stopped this before it became too destructive.

"Okay. How about we both calm down and talk like civilised people and not say hurtful things you will regret later." Dylan hummed and watched as Jade and Marcus looked away from each and other and back to him.

"Good. Let's start with Jade why do you think Marcus hasn't communicated with you all week?" she looked over to Marcus who raised one eyebrow and was looking at her with an expression that said the floor is yours.

"Does because he is an ass count?" Jade watched Dylan shake his head and she sighed. "Fine, he doesn't like the fact that I am moving. We went to an open house, which I bought by the way and he wasn't happy. He doesn't want me to move but doesn't understand why I want to move. It's not to get away from him as a person, but what he stands for. Which is a working person who can do everything while I can't? I don't want to resent him for doing a job that I want to do." Dylan nodded his head this was good because both these people needed to work on better communication with each other.

"Okay, Marcus and how does that make you feel hearing what Jade just said." Marcus rubbed his hands over his face. He wasn't one to talk about his feeling and he liked to withdraw from troubling problems in a relationship which he knew he needed to work on, but he didn't overly enjoy sharing his feelings with a stranger.

"I get why she wants to move if situations were reversed I would probably feel the same way. I don't understand why she has to move so far away." Jade rolled her eyes feeling herself getting angry again.

"I'm 10 minutes away."

"10 minutes too far. What if something happens I'll be 10 minutes too late." Marcus counteracted.

"Nothing is going to happen."

"How do you know? Do you have a magic ball?" He raised an eyebrow as Dylan sighed a little to himself.

"You are being so fucking dramatic. Your acting like I'm moving halfway across the country."

"Sure, bloody feel like it." Dylan knew this was the moment to step in. He was all about couples trying to talk out their problems, but he knew when conversations weren't going anywhere, much like this one they were having at the moment.

"Alright how about we both take a breather and try and break this down okay." Marcus waved his hand giving the doctor the floor while Jade just nodded her head.

"Okay. So Marcus lets think logically here okay. Jade wants to move so she doesn't resent you thus resenting the relationship correct." Marcus nodded his head.

"Excellent. You know Jade instil in the area 10minutes if I am correct that sounds reasonably close. Yes." Again, Marcus nodded, and Dylan smiled.

"She also isn't really living alone, is she. She has 2 carers that come by morning and afternoon almost every day. Yes." Marcus sighed. He knew the doctor was being reasonable, but he couldn't shake this bad feeling off his chest that something was going to happen, and he would be too far away.

"Good. So, Marcus has people to look after her, she is still living close. So, what the real reason you don't want Jade to move?" Marcus looked at Jade and back to the doctor there were a few reasons and none he really wanted to share but knew he should.

"I have seen too many good people take their own lives. My best friend after a rough tour killed himself. I found him hanging in his bedroom because I was 30minutes too late. He called her and I didn't pick up the phone and by the time I did, it was too late. I rushed over to his, but I was still too late. I found out later if I had been there 20minutes earlier I could have saved him." Marcus looked down at his hands and glanced back up to jade and sighed and reached over to grab his hands.

"You don't think I have lost people too? I don't know what worse losing someone while fighting for your country or to survive all that shit overseas to come back and still die. I know my mental state hasn't been good and I don't have the best past history, but I am getting better. I feel good and I will have bad days Marcus, but that is why I have a network of people to help. I have Helen, Sophia, Noah, you." Se gave his hands a squeeze and he gave them a squeeze back.

"I feel like with you moving I don't fit into your life anymore. That's why I didn't call. You have all these people to help you and I don't know where I fit in. I'm so used to being the only one supporting you and I know you have a great team and it makes me feel like you don't need me." He couldn't look at Jade and Dylan because he felt so stupid and weak. He hated that he felt like this that he felt so needy.

"Marcus, I do need you, but not in the way you think I need you. I don't need you to be my carer I don't need you to be my support worker. I need you to be my partner. I need you to love me, care for me and everything that goes with being in our relationship." They both looked at each other. It has been so long since Marcus had been in any form of relationship that wasn't a one-night stand and his track record wasn't the best so he just sighed.

"This is good guys. Changing dynamic's in a relationship is always hard. As people grow and change so do relationships and that is fine. Jade is moving forward and now needs something else from you Marcus. So, for homework this week, I want each of you to write down what you both need in the relationship and when we come next week we will discuss it. So, no sharing."

They talked about minor topics before they parted ways and Marcus pushed Jade out.

"Do you want to grab dinner with me. I need to apologise for being such an ass all week." Marcus said as they stopped on the corner of the street.

"I would love that. Ill text Sophia and let her know about the changes." Marcus pushed Jade to the car and helped her get in before taking them back to their place to get changed. When they arrived, Sophia was waiting with a smile on her face and a tray of some sort of food.

"I bought some cake." Jade smiled and grabbed it from Sophia and placed it in her lap.

"Hello, Sophia." Marcus greeted and helped push Jade into her apartment. "I'll come to get you at 5:30 pm." Marcus lent down and gave her a kiss on her forehead and left Jade with her carer.

"So I am guessing today went well?" Sophia asked as Jade grabbed herself a bottle of water.

"It wasn't great, and it wasn't bad either. I'm still pissed at him for not speaking to me all week." Jade went to take the cap off her drink and found she couldn't. She tried to think. She tried to pull it off, but it wasn't working so she passed it to Sophia who just smiled kindly at her and turned it and gave it back to Jade so she could try.

"Place a hand on the bottle and the other on top of the lid and twist left," Sophia explained and Jade blushed that she had to be told how to take a bottle cap off. After to attempts, Jade was able to it herself and smiled and she took a long sip.

"It will get easier. I would also still be angry at him. Don't let him get away with it so easily make him work for it." She smiled at Sophia as she looked at her watched and saw she should probably shower.

"Can you help me in the shower. I don't need to wash my hair, but I need help getting in." Jade had recently bought much to her dislike a wheelchair like a device that says in the shower that she can sit in while she showers. It felt so humiliating when she went to the shops with Noah to by it, but he explained how it would give her more independence in the shower which it did.

She could now wash her own hair and body and only needed help getting in and out. She was even getting better at drying herself.

"No problem. Let's get going. Then we can find you something sexy to make Marcus drool all over you." Jade laughed as she pushed herself into her bathroom despite her muscles that ached from a hard days' worth of work. Sophia helped Jade into the shower and left her alone while Jade washed and tried to shave her legs. She thought she did a pretty good job and even though she was sure she missed some spots she didn't care because this was the first time she had managed to do it herself. Normally Sophia helped her.

After drying herself off the best she could she called for Sophia you put a clean towel on her wheelchair, so it wouldn't get wet before helping Jade into it. She had a towel wrapped around her body to cover her modesty not that it really bothered Jade.

"So, I may have been looking through your wardrobe and I have got two options for you because you don't have many going out clothes. One is this blue skirt or this maroon knee length knitted dress." Jade looked at her options.

"The dress. I have a cute pair of boots that go with the dress." Jade wheeled herself back into the bathroom where she turned on her hair straighter before rolling back into her room.

"Okay, you want to try and put your bra on yourself?" Sophia asked. Getting her bra on was something Jade had been struggling with. Her mind couldn't process the small holes the clips had to go into. She went out and bought a few bras with zippers on the front to make it easier for her, but she wanted to able to put on a proper bra.

"Sure, we can try." Jade tried for 10 minutes while Sophia watched before she gave up and slide her arms into the straps of the black lacy bra and waited for Sophia to clip her up. Sophia then helped her put on her underwear, which Jade found very hard to do herself.

"Okay, how do we want to do this over the head or step in." Jade looked at the dress and put her hands in and slide it over her head.

"I'll try and push myself up." She was able to lift herself off her chair just enough for Sophia to pull the dress over her bum and smooth it on her legs. Her arms shook the whole time, but Jade didn't care as she smiled proudly at herself. She heard the beep for the hair straighter go off a second time and she wheeled herself into the bathroom and did her hair and makeup

"Girly you look amazing." Sophia sad when Jade wheeled herself out with a black clutch sitting on her lap. Her brown hair was straightened and pinned behind her ears while dark thick lashes framed her eyes. She had big gold hoops hanging from each ear and a gold bangle on her wrist to match.

"You know this is our first ever date. Can you believe that?" Sophia hummed as she smiled at Jade.

"Well he should be here in a second so let put your shoes on." Sophia helped Jade into her black ankle boots when Jade started laughing.

"I just realised I can finally wear strappy stiletto shoes out and not ever have to worry about getting sore feet." Jade laughed as she looked down at her feet that would never have to endure the pain and spending all night in ridiculous shoes and taking them off to walk on dirty concrete because your feet were swollen and tender.

"See a silver lining to everything." Jade chuckled for a few more seconds before her doorbell rang. She smiled at Sophia and pushed herself over to the door. She was nervous. Her palms were sweaty, so she wiped them on her dress. She didn't know why she was nervous. Maybe because she had never dressed up for Marcus before or maybe she was worried because this would be her first date since Grant. Pushing thoughts of that man aside she took a deep breath and opened her front door. 

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Hi everyone a small cliffhanger. Can you believe Jade and Marcus have never been on like an actual date? Shocking. So the next chapter will be the dinner date and moving day. Let's hope it all runs smoothly. 

So we got a little insight to where Jade and Marcus are in their relationship, they have a lot of work to do but don't all good relationship. Also get to see Jade trying to do more things herself and how everyday challenge her that we take for granted. 

Anyhow hope you all enjoyed.