After kissing my beautiful wife goodnight I go back to the kitchen to clean up. My mind drifts back to the events of the last week and a half and how much it had changed our lives. Poor Jennifer has been so brave through so much pain. The first week home has been so overwhelming, I have to be strong for Jen, knowing that if I can get her through these first couple weeks she will then be mobile on her crutches with no stopping her.

I know darn well when we go to the doctors next week and he says she can end the bed rest she will be back in the office the next day. Of course the trial will be starting shortly so she has to get back to the office. I so hope that she doesn't overdo it. She is such go-getter I'm not sure she will listen when her body starts saying enough. It's kind of ironic, these two weeks I'll be worrying about her having to lay in bed doing nothing, after that I'll be worried about her doing to much.

It occurs to me we will have to trade cars once she starts driving again. I am not sure if she will be able to get in and out of her little Mazda Miata with the cast on her leg. Of course she can take the SUV where she shouldn't have any trouble with the size of her cast. But she loves her sports car so much she will probably insist on driving it anyway. I smile at the vision of her riding around with the top down with her crutches sticking out of the car and her hair blowing in the wind.

I finally finish cleaning up after the dinner and take care of some other chores. I am tired and ready to go to sleep myself. I enter the bedroom and am struck by the beauty of Jen as she lay silently in the dark with her leg covered in the cast. In the dim light I look at her painted toes extruding from the end of her cast. The enormity of her vulnerability goes through my heart like a bullet as I look at her lay there with her poor shattered leg propped up on the pillows. I lie down beside her and quickly fall fast asleep in her arms.

Tuesday lends itself to more of the same we had encountered in the last week. Of course I would make her wheelchair trips part of the daily ritual taking us as far as Jen could stand it. Jen quickly decides that the trips out are a mixed bag. While it is such a great boost to get out of the house in the great weather, I can see the pained look grow back on her face after about 45 minutes of it. After Tuesday we decide we need to make the trips late in the day so that the onset of pain won't keep her from her work.

On Wednesday Sid comes over and works with Jen on the case for more than 3 hours. After he did not come over all day Tuesday they had a lot of work to do. While worrying about her trying to do too much too soon I am encouraged as I see that glow on her face she gets when she is wrapped up in her work. The comfort that she is doing what she loves tempers my thought that she is doing to much. We take our walk in the evening after dinner despite a light rain. She holds an umbrella over us as I push her. I placed plastic over her cast before we left to ensure her cast didn't get wet. Neighbors peeked out there windows at us as we laugh playfully in the rain.

Thursday finds Jennifer in more pain. Perhaps it is from the rainy weather, maybe it was working for 3 strait hours Wednesday. We can not decide why she is in more pain today but none the less she sits up for four hours strait working with Sid. Angie stops in with some exciting news at one point. Jennifer and Sid seem to be on a roll with the case. I am reluctant to interject that Jennifer needs her rest. She is scheduled after all, to go back to work Tuesday if the Doctor says it's Ok.

Around 5:30, I send Angie and Sid away. Jen has spent most of the time in her wheelchair which made it easier for her to work being able to roll up to the table. We go for our now ritual walk after dinner. I can see that Jennifer is in additional pain, probably from sitting in the chair so much.

Friday Jennifer is in less pain, she go to bed at an earlier hour and sleeps through the night for the first time since the fall. While still seeing the pained look on her face while she crutches, I cantell by her more natural movement that she isn't in as much pain. Friday marks two weeks since her horrible accident, while she is still in a lot of pain when the leg hangs down there is certainly improvement from those first agonizing days she spent in the hospital.

Renee stops by Friday afternoon and suggests taking Jennifer to the mall. I think about it for a few moments but vetoed it. While she is able to get around some in the chair, she hasn't taken a car ride since the trip home from the hospital. In the end, I think it is not a good idea since I know Jen will be pushing things to the limits soon enough.

I try my best to keep my desires at sex under wraps knowing how much pain Jen is in. A sponge bath every night allows me to look at Jen's beautiful body in a way most husbands probably don't get to see there wives. While this do hold its pleasures it doesn't prove to satisfy the way quenching our lust did.

Saturday I wake up in a depressed mood. I think it is just all the events of the last couple weeks catching up with me. I do my best to keep my sour mood from Jen. I serve her breakfast in bed after helping her with another painful trip to the bathroom. I try to hide my depression as I think about the beautiful day we are missing outside.

After breakfast she goes online on her laptop and sends some emails to some friends and logs on to her office network to do a little work. After reading some more depositions again, I bring her some lunch. She takes a nap after lunch while I try to relax watching the ball game. Of course, I can't relax too much knowing that her bell will ring any minute.

Wouldn't you know it, at two out in the ninth, with the Sox rallying and down by one run, the bell rings. I try to contain my disappointment at missing the end of the ball game, as I go into the bedroom to see what she needs. «What is it, honey?» I say as I enter the room. «Can you help me up to go to the bathroom?». «Of course, honey» I reply.

Jen's progress allows her to move around a lot better on her own. I more or less just play spotter and am prepared to catch her in the event of a fall. Of course, I still see the grimace when the leg hangs down and the blood flows to the site of the fractures. As she enters the bathroom I click the game on the bedroom TV to see if I can catch the end of the game. «That has to be best ending to a Red Sox game this season» the announcer says. «With that two run homer the Red Sox win the game and take over first place in the division» the announcer continues. I click the TV off disappointed that I missed the end of the game.

Jennifer comes out of the bathroom and hobbles back to the bed. I help her get back in and help her put her leg up on the pillows. I stroke her cheek as I sit on the edge of the bed thinking how much I want to make love to my beautiful wife. I can tell by the pained look on her face that she is in pain from the trip to the bathroom and the time is not right. She fades back off into her nap.

I do some of my chores around the house. As I work I try to keep my perspective on this situation and that I had to keep up my spirits for Jen's sake. How to I keep my sanity through all this I think to myself. At least things will be a little more normal when if we both return to work Tuesday.

After her nap, I ask her if she would like to go outside in the wheelchair and perhaps we could have a little cookout. «That's a great idea» she says with some enthusiasm. «Why don't we invite Renee and Rob» she suggests. «Are you sure you're up for company?» I ask with a raised eyebrow. «Sure, if my life is going to return to normal we have to start somewhere».

I call to invite them and they think it is a great idea. They will bring some items and some beer and will be over around 5:00. I get a hint of excitement myself as I think about the prospect of some human interaction beside nurse-patient.

I give Jen her sponge bath and help her get dressed in some shorts and a light linen blouse. I put a sandal on her healthy right foot and then help her into the wheelchair. Of course I put the pillows under her shattered left leg to make her as comfortable as possible.

Around 4:30 I roll her out onto the back slab. I work on getting the grill into working order as this is its first use of the season. I clean it and get it ready to cook the steaks. Right around 5:00 I hear a car pull up in front of the house and see Rob and Renee coming around the corner her carrying a dish and Rob dragging a wheeled cooler.

«Hi guys, how's it going» I shout. «Great, what a great idea this was» Rob says as they approach. «How you doing girlfriend» Renee says as she leans down to hug Jennifer. «I'm doing better, I'm even getting around in the wheelchair some now» she says with a smile.

«Did you see that game this afternoon?» Rob asks me with enthusiasm. «Some of it» I reply. «But I missed the end» I say. «Boy what was a great ending» and he proceeded to tell me all I missed thinking he was doing me a favor.

Rob and I cook the steaks while we drink some beer. Renee pulls up the patio chair next to Jennifer as they engage in some sort of girl talk. I notice out of the corner of my eye that Renee is handing Jennifer a beer. I wonder what effect it may have on her given the number of pain pills she has been on.

As dinner is ready I roll Jennifer up to the table and prepare her a plate of food. We sit at the patio table and enjoy Renee and Rob's company. For a while I actually forget that Jennifer is injured and we just seem like a normal couple entertaining friends.

After watching a beautiful sunset Rob and Renee depart after helping me clean up. We wish them farewell and they both give Jen a hug. I can tell Jen is getting a bit of a buzz from the 3 beers she has had.

As I help her into bed I can tell her motor functions are a bit impaired and that she is also in a frisky mood. As I help her lay back she pulls me close and kisses me. «Oh honey, I love you so much» she says. «I love you too baby» I say as I take the kiss a bit deeper.

We find ourselves in an impassioned kiss with me fondling her breasts. «Do you think you are up for it?» I ask the obvious question. «There is only one way to find out» she says in her sassy voice. I lie beside her naked body and suckle her breast. I do my best to keep her motion and movement to a minimum to keep from hurting her leg. «Take me» she says. She kicks her right leg out fully exposing her clit. I assume the missionary position leaning towards her left trying to avoid her casted leg.

As I attempt to penetrate, my right hip bumps her casted left leg. I feel her weight shift to the left as I realize her leg has fallen off the pillows. It hits the bed and bounces up coming back down off the side off the bed. I hear a horrible sounding hollow clunk as the cast hits the floor beside the bed. «OOOOWWWW» Jennifer screams. I grab Jen and assure the weight of the cast won't roll her off the bed. «Oh honey» is all I can say as I run around the bed to see her leg hanging off the bed with the heel resting on the floor. Jen is wailing loudly.

«I'm so sorry honey» I say as I gently pick up her leg and carefully set it back on the pillows. As Jen lies with her hands over her face I look at the cast to see if it has broken. It looks fine to me as I examine it. «Are you ok Jen ?» I ask as I try to comfort her from the horrible pain I know she is in again. «I don't know» she gets out between blubbers. I rub her shoulders and comfort her. «Oh god, it hurts so bad» she half shouts. What was going to be a beautiful moment has turned into just more terrible pain for Jennifer. «Do you think you rebroke it?» I ask. «I don't know, it hurts so bad» is all she says.

I move in closer to the foot to see if there is any unusual swelling in the toes. «Can you move the toes?» I ask. They wiggle with the same amount of vigor they have for the last 2 days. «Well that's a good sign» I say somewhat relieved that she hasn't rebroken anything.

I again hug her as she calms a little more. «Get me my pills» she says, trying to relax a little. I bring her medication and she takes four. «Honey, you are only supposed to take 2 of those, and don't forget you have been drinking» I stress. «I'll be fine» she says as she gulps them down. «Are you sure, do we need to take you to ER to get it X-rayed?». «No, really, it feels a little better now, I think it will be alright» she says wiping the tears from her eyes.

I hold her hand and try to comfort her. It all seems so cruelly ironic. So wanting to relieve my beautiful wife's pain and stress, I end up causing her so much pain. «I'm so sorry honey» I offer gently patting her hand. «It'll be ok, I'm sure» she says softly. «Are you sure?» I ask knowing she is in excruciating pain. «Yeah I think it scared me more than anything. It reminded me of when I fell 2 weeks ago. That sudden shock of pain...» she tapers off. «It was like a flashback» she continues. «I remember when I fell. How I felt all that tension build up in my leg as it twisted. And then those terrible snaps seemed to echo through the whole basement» she says breaking into more tears.

«Oh honey, it's ok, I'm here with you and you're on the road to recovery» I try to reassure. «But it's going to be so long» she continues. «Don't worry about it, we'll get through this. Just think in less than a year this will all be history for us and we will be even stronger for having survived it». «Oh baby, you're so great, you know just what to say. You've been so wonderful through all of this». «Like I said it's nothing you wouldn't do for me if the situations were reversed» I remind. «Oh I don't know, I'm not sure I would be as patient as you have been» she says. «Well I got into this for better or worse, I guess this is some of the worst, we just have to keep our eye on the better to come» I philosophize.

I lay next to Jennifer holding her hand hoping to make more of her pain go away. I slowly drift off into sleep holding Jen's hand. I awake around 1:30 and look over to see Jen sleeping on her back with her shattered leg propped up on the pillows. The poor thing, she has been laying in basically this same position ever since the accident.

«You awake?» she says startling me. «Oh honey, you're not sleeping?». «No, my leg is still throbbing» she says. «You poor thing, how much pain will you have to go through?» I ask rhetorically. «Can I get you anything?». «My water glass is empty, could you refill it?» «Of course » I reply instinctively as I pull myself out of bed and head to the kitchen.

«Thank you so much» she says taking the water and taking a big gulp. «You're welcome honey» I say climbing back into my side of the bed. I again take her hand and assume a snuggle position with her. I slowly fade off into slumber again.

I awake Sunday morning to the sunlight peeking through the shades. I look over at my wife to see she is sleeping peacefully. I carefully extricate myself from the bed trying my best to not jostle my darling injured wife. I stop and look at her toes as she sleeps. I examine them closely to make sure there isn't any strange swelling after last night's incident. Her toes looked as beautiful as ever with there light pink toenail polish on them. I hope that she hasn't misaligned the bones of her shattered leg.

I retrieve the newspaper from the driveway and look at the sports page. I don't need to be reminded again about the great ending to the Sox game yesterday, but of course that is the headline. As I sit at the dinning room table I hear Jen rustling in the bedroom. I peek around the corner to see she is awake.

«Hi honey, how you doing?» I ask. «Ok I guess, but looking back on it now, maybe we weren't ready for intimacy» she says in her best smart-ass voice. «Well how does it feel?» I ask again looking at her toes. «Well it feels better than it did 2 weeks ago, but not as good as it did 3 weeks ago». Encouraged by her humor I begin to think that at the least we haven't moved any of her knitting bones. «Can you wiggle your toes?» I ask. Again the toes move with the same vigor they have lately. «That's good, maybe I didn't rebreak your leg» I say apologetically.

«Well it does hurt a lot more than it did yesterday, but it doesn't hurt nearly as bad as it did even a week ago». Those are some of the best words I have heard since she first shattered her leg. I kiss her big toe. «Thank god, hopefully I didn't hurt you any worse than you already were» I say thankfully.

As I enter the room with her breakfast I see her looking through her day timer and turning the pages. I see a sad look on her face. «It looks like I have ruined my whole summer. Its May 19th today, 12 weeks will be the beginning of August before I even get out of this long cast. That means it will probably be sometime in September or October before I am even able to walk again. Then it starts getting cold again and I have missed my whole summer» she says sadly.

«Look honey, nothing can be gained by dwelling on these things. Yes it is going to be a while. And yes it is going to be a struggle. But we have to try to stay as positive as we can and concentrate on the things we can do together».

«Do you think we should cancel the vacation?» she asks. «Let's wait and see how you are doing. I'll call the agent and tell him to look for an opening later in the summer, but we can play that by ear» I say.

The two of us spend most of the day reading the paper and taking it easy. After last night's events I am afraid to push her to much. About 4 o'clock Jen suggests that we go for our walk. I help her out of bed and into the wheelchair and we take a nice long walk for nearly an hour.

I can tell by her less than enthusiastic approach to the day that she is in more pain that she has been. I know I will feel better after tomorrow's doctor visit and his assessment of the situation.

I make some pasta for our dinner. We eat it in the bedroom where she rests after our long walk. We laugh and have fun as we enjoy our meal. After dinner I get ready to give Jen her sponge bath. «Honey, she says. I think I'm ready to try a real bath». «Are you sure?» I ask. «Let's try, see what happens».

Thinking through the situation I decide it might be easiest to get her in to the tub before we put the water in it. She crutches into the bathroom and gets herself sitting on the edge of the tub. Slowly she lowers herself into the empty tub with my help. I lean her back against the wall behind the tub. Her casted left legs remains propped up on the side of the tub.

«How does it feel?» I ask. «Can you put a pillow under my leg?» she says with a slight wince. «Sure honey» I say as I retrieve 2 pillows from the bedroom. I carefully pick up her shattered leg and place the pillows under it. «How's that?». «Better, thanks» she replies.

«So are you ready to have it filled up?». «I think so» she says tentatively with a smile on her face. I plug the tub and watch the water slowly fill in around her. I closely monitor the temperature to ensure it wonít scold her. I put some bath beads in the water while it runs and make sure she is still comfortable.

Jen looks so at ease as she slowly pours the rising water over her body. She playfully splashes some water at me. «Careful honey, you don't want to get your leg wet» I scold. I leave Jen to enjoy her bath while I go clean up after dinner. I leave her bell with her incase she should need me.

I stop back in a few minutes and wash her hair for her. She looks so lovely with her head cocked back and the water flowing down over her breasts. I give her a scalp massage as I rub the shampoo into her beautiful hair. I poor more water over her hair to rinse it. After finishing the bath we reverse the process to get her out of the tub. I let the water out first so we don't have to deal with it. I hand her a towel to start the drying process before she gets up. After she gets a good start on the drying process, we begin the delicate operation of getting her out of the tub.

With me lifting and her pushing we get her back to a sitting position on the edge of the tub. A little more drying and she is ready to go. She slowly crutches back to the bed and gets in. I again help her lift her shattered leg up on the pillows and tucked her in for what would be a good night's sleep. I lay down beside her and again embraced her for the night.

We awake Monday morning anticipating Jen's first follow-up with Doctor Anderson. Again I bring her breakfast in bed with her newspaper. After cleaning up for breakfast I help Jen dress for the trip to the doctor. Jen crutches out to the SUV and is even able to negotiate the steps fairly easily. I put her in the back seat so she can rest the leg across the seat with a pillow under the leg. When we get to the Doctors office we reverse the operation and head into the office. We sit a few minutes in the waiting room. Jen puts her casted leg in my lap while we wait. I gently stroke her toes while she reads a magazine.

«Miss Bailey» a nurse calls. We get up and head back to an X-ray room. After the X-rays we head back to an exam room and I help Jen up on the table. I sit in the chair as we await the doctor.

«Good morning, young lady» the doctor says entering the room. «Let's see how this gam of yours is looking» he says as he puts some x-rays on a viewer. «Good morning doctor» she replies. «How have you been feeling?» the doctor asks not turning his head from the x-rays he is studying. «It has been feeling better, but we did have a little problem the other night» she says. Jen proceeds to tell the whole embarrassing story of our attempt at intimacy.

«Well it doesn't look like you damaged the bones, all is looking well on the x-rays» the doctor reassures. «So can I get out of bed and get back to work now?» she asks. «I don't see why not, from here a lot of the decisions will be yours, you are going to have to let pain be your judge. Now that the heeling process is beginning you can start getting around as the pain allows» he continues. «With the exception of weight bearing and a few obvious activities, you are basically allowed to do what you can bear». «What about intimacy» she inquires. «There again, if it isn't causing you pain, it should be ok» he says. «Tom you're going to have to take it a little easier on your wife» he says to me with a wink.

«It looks like you are entering the next phase of your journey. We have the leg stabilized now. I'll just have you coming back every 2 weeks and say to give me a call if there are any problems» he says with a smile.

«So how long do you think I will be in this long cast?» Jen asks. «It's still too early to tell» he says. «When I say you need to let pain be your guide, that means you need to listen when things are hurting. I don't want you be running around with this foot down for 8 hours a day. How well this heels is still up to you. Even though it is stabilized, don't kid yourself, this is still a long journey. You will have to start PT as soon as we get you into a short cast. It's going to take months of grueling rehab to get that leg back in shape. In the long run I will be more worried about your ankle. Leg bones usually heal quite well, but the ankle fracture, together with the soft tissue damage, the torn ligaments and whatnot can actually lead to longer term problems. We may in fact have to do some surgery on that ankle somewhere down the road. I don't say this to scare or discourage you, I just want you to realize what is ahead».

We leave the doctors office heading for home. Jen decides to ride up front. With no place to prop her leg I can see the pained look emerging on her face as we ride. We discuss what the doctor said. I can tell Jen is detected at the prospect of the months of pain that are ahead of her rehabilitating her shattered leg.

When we get home we graduate Jen to the couch. While she is cleared for more activity we don't want to do too much too soon. Jen spends most of the day on the couch. We decide to go out for dinner to celebrate her liberation. We get Jen dress up in a nice dinner dress wearing a black flat on her right foot. As we head out to the car we feel so happy to know we are going out for the first time since the accident. We do want to be careful being mindful of the fact she has a long day at work tomorrow.

By the time we get to the restaurant I can tell Jen is experiencing some pain from having the foot hang down for the ride. As the valet helps her out and hands her her crutches I can see that pained look is well ensconced on her face again. We get a table near the window and I set her injured leg on a chair.

We toast to Jen's newfound independence with our wine. Dinner is great and Jen seems more relaxed once she has sat for a few minutes with the leg elevated. Dinner comes and we enjoy it immensely. After dinner we consider going down to the harbor to see the sunset, but we think better of it. Again as we ride home I can see the pained look emerging on Jen's face as her leg hangs down.

When we get home Jen go strait into the bedroom and we proceed to undress her. We know it will be a long day tomorrow and Jen will need her rest. After a few minutes of having her leg elevated I can see her relaxing again. Slowly we slip into slumber in each others arms.

We awake early to the alarm. After getting her a light breakfast I help her get dressed for her first day back at work. She wears a conservative suit and a flat on her right foot. In just a little while we have her ready for her first day back. We decide it is best if I drive her in as she is not ready to operate a care yet. Again we get in the SUV. All the way to the office I remind her all the things to do and not to do. «Remember to keep it elevated as much as you can, don't let yourself get too stressed and don't get up until you need to. Remember you need to save yourself for when the trial starts next week». «Yes dad» she replies sarcastically as we pull up to her office.

«Are you sure you donít need any help?» I ask as I kiss her before she gets out. «Nope, I'll be fine» she says despite the fact that she is already wincing from the leg hanging down. «Well don't overdo it, call me when you are ready to go home» I say as she heads toward her office on her crutches with her casted leg swinging as she moves. I pull away hoping Jen has a good day.