Terri's story

[KissMyGrits]

The hours turned into days. The days turned into weeks. Finally after nearly a month Terri showed signs of waking. Jack had sat by her side most of that time. Terri's mom had been wonderful. Taking the kids and making sure they were fed and got to school. Jack was laying his head on the bed and was holding Terri's hand when he felt her give his hand a gentle squeeze. At first he thought he had imagined it, but then he felt it again. He was suddenly wide awake and hit the buzzer for the nurse. They came into the room just as Terri's eyes opened.

"Welcome back Mrs. Tripper."

Terri tried to speak, but found it incredibly painful. She looked at Jack and suddenly the memories came flooding back to her and her eyes filled with tears. Jack held her hand tighter. The doctor's determined that she would be okay. She was released shortly after she woke up. Jack came to pick her up from the hospital. He smiled as he walked into her room.

"Hi beautiful! Ready to go?"

Terri nodded and said sadly "Yes."

He looked at her and said "What is it Terri?"

Her eyes filled with tears and she said "I failed you. I lost the baby and..."

"Terri, you didn't fail me. It just wasn't meant to be. He just wasn't strong enough to..."

"A boy. Our baby was a boy...."

Jack nodded and said "Yes."

The look on Terri's face was one of complete and utter heartbreak.....

[KissMyGrits]

rri arrived home and the memorie came flooding back. All of the times she and Jack sat on the couch. Talking about the baby. His hand on her stomach. It was almost physically painful to think about.

Jack took her hand as they walked up the stairs. She immediately spotted the room that was to have been the babies nursery. She felt a cry catch in her throat. Jack immediately noticed and said "Are you sure your up to this honey?"

She merely nods her head, but says nothing. Instead she continues to their bedroom. She climbs into the bed and curls up. She closes her eyes. Jack sits next to her and says "Is there anything you need honey?"

She merely shakes her head and says "No. I just need to be alone."

Jack nods his head and says "The kids will be home soon. They miss you."

Terri says nothing. Jack sighs and leans down to kiss her. His heart breaks when he hears a muffled sob escape her lips. He wishes threre was something he could do to make her feel better. He sat there in silence for a few minutes and finally sighed as he got up.

Downstairs in the kitchen, Jack's mom has brought the kids home. They are excited about seeing their mom. Jack tells them that she is sleeping and they can see her later. They go outside to play. Jack's mom looks at him and says "How is Terri?"

Jack sighs and says "Not good mom. She won't talk to me. She won't eat. She doesn't seem all that excited about seeing the kids."

Jack's mom smiled sadly and said "She just lost a baby Jack. Give her some time."

"How much time mom? I hate seeing her hurting like this."

"I can't answer that Jack. Just be there for her. To hold her when she needs to cry."

Jack smiles and says "I can do that. If she lets me."

Upstairs Terri is crying herself to sleep.....

[KissMyGrits]

Jack walks quietly into the room. He sits on the bed with her. She feels him beside her and breaks into great gulping sobs. He grabs her and holds her tightly. He wasn't sure if it was the right thing to do or not, but it was killing him to listen to her sobbing. Soon her sobs stopped and Jack could tell that she was asleep. He laid there and watched her. Even though she was asleep, her face looked anything but peaceful. She had a pained expression on her face. It killed him to look at her. He wished there was something he could do to take the pain away from her. He kissed her softly and soon he too was fast asleep.

Jack's mom was still downstairs when Terri walked down a few hours later. Terri sighed when she saw her. She didn't want to talk right now. She couldn't bring herself to be rude though, so she sat down next to her at the kitchen table. She smiled softly and said "Hi mom."

Jack's mom smiled. It had taken Terri a long time to get comfortable calling her mom. She loved hearing it. She had always wanted a daughter. She smiled softly and said "How are you doing Terri?"

Terri shrugged and said "I feel terrible. Physically I am okay. Emotionally though..."

Jack's mom nodded in understanding and said "I understand what you are going thru Terri."

Terri stared at her for a few moments. Finally she said, somewhat sarcastically "How can you possibly understand what happened?"

"I had a miscarriage too. I was 8 months pregnant. The baby was a little girl. I went into early labor. Everything would have been fine except...."

Terri sucked in a deep breath, she hadn't know this. She looked at Jack's mom and said "What happened?"

Jack's mom had tears in her eye and finally said "Well, apparently the baby had managed to get the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck. There was nothing the doctors could do to save her."

Terri listened in silence as she went on "Jack's father and I were devestated. We had wanted a little girl for so long. It almost destroyed our marriage."

"But you and Jack's dad are so close."

"Now we are, but back then we shut each other out. I refused to talk to him. The more I pushed him away, the worse I felt. Don't make the same mistake as me Terri. Jack loves you. Talk to him. He is going thru a lot of pain himself."

Terri looked down at the floor and sighed. She felt a tear slip from her eyes. Jack's mom took Terri's hand and said "If you need to talk I am here for you."

Terri merely nodded and looked at the closed door to the living room. She looked back and saw Jack's mom smiling at her as she said "Go talk to Jack. I'll be here for the kids."

Terri mumbled a small thanks and walked towards the stairs. She climbed up them slowly and smiled sadly as she walked inside. Jack was sitting up in bed. He smiled sadly as she walked into their bedroom. She looked at him and said "We need to talk."

Jack let out a deep breath and nodded. He knew they needed to talk, but was afraid of the possible outcome.....

[Subspace]

This is very good. I'm sorry I wasn't around to comment on it earlier. Keep it up, hope to see more.

[KissMyGrits]

This one is one hiatus also. Am getting ready to move so I might try to update it sometime in the future, but for now I am going to have to concentrate on getting ready to move..... Sorry to all my loyal readers, but it can't be avoided....

[Subspace]

We understand, RL can get in the way of fanfiction writing and RL must come first. Take all the time you need to get settled in at your new place... we'll be waiting.