Seven Years (#3 in Military Series)

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

One week later . . .

It had been three days before Marc was given permission to leave the base.

Injured in the RPG blast that took out Jules's building, Marc had been medevac'd back to base and sedated.

By the time he came around, Jules had already been flown back to England for a surgery to remove a clot in her brain.

With Commander Strong's blessing, and the knowledge of their engagement, he put Marc on the first plane out.

And that is how he came to be there, in a hospital in the centre of London, stood outside of Jules's room and afraid to go inside.

She was awake, she had been awake for the past hour, but Marc couldn't bring himself to step through those doors.

What did he say to her? How did he explain why he wasn't there when she woke up from surgery?

Pacing up and down the hallway outside her room, Marc froze when a nurse left her room and walked over to him.

"Yes?" Marc asked, stood in his uniform. He had not bothered changing, instead coming straight here.

"She would like to see you," The nurse nodded to Jules's room with a smile.

"Thank you," Marc sighed; Jules had seen him acting like a fool and called him out on it.

"She's very weak though," The nurse warned him.

He nodded, said that he understood, and stepped inside, shutting the door behind them. The room was like most hospital rooms with white walls, tubes and a monitor in the corner forever bleeping about something.

A floor-to-ceiling window let in the late morning sunshine and giving Jules a view down onto the car park.

Jules was sat up in bed as she watched him walk in, a pleasant smile on her lips and wearing pink pyjamas, with her left arm up in a sling.

Marc did not think anything about it, his eyes travelling to the bandage taped to the side of her head.

A strip of hair on the left side of her head, behind the ear, had been shaved for the surgery but they had not taken much.

Jules saw him looking, "They tried to help me keep my hair," She spoke softly, lifting a hand and softly twiddling with the hair that had brushed over her right shoulder.

Marc nodded, "You still look beautiful to me."

Jules shifted uncomfortably in the bed.

"I'm sorry I didn't come sooner, I got stuck at the base in Afghanistan." Marc apologised, taking the seat beside her.

Jules shifted a little bit away from him as she turned and watched him carefully, her fingers entwining on the bed sheet in front of her.

"Jules?" Marc frowned, wondering why she hadn't shouted at him yet.

Julia lifted her eyes to look at him in shock, nobody called her 'Jules' but she pushed it aside. The doctor did say she may be a bit groggy after the accident.

"Are you-" Julia searched his face, "Are you a soldier?"

Marc froze, "Jules? What are you talking about?"

"I didn't mean to offend you-"

Marc frowned, she didn't mean to offend? Jules would never have said that.

"-I just thought that the uniform and you mentioned Afghanistan- Are you not a soldier then?" Jules asked meekly, afraid.

"I'm a Marine," Marc muttered, unsure of what to say or what was happening.