The Maroon Beret

-Brayden-
There’s no doubt in anyone’s mind, Sean is a totally different person now that he’s seen Charlie. He’s finally happy again. And I mean really happy. I’m really excited right now because we’re on our way back to the hospital to visit her, and this time a bunch of us are actually getting to go in. Sean talked to one of the nurses this morning and she reserved a sunroom for our group so we’re not bothering anyone. Pretty much half the team is here to see her.

Sean told us last night about his visit with her. He told us about all of her injuries and what she looks like now. Though he didn’t tell us much about her leg except it’s a huge shock to see. I know he didn’t look at any pictures of amputations online, but I did. So I have some sort of idea what to expect. The main thing he just kept saying was how beautiful she is. Of course, we all know she’s beautiful. But I guess it’s different for him now that she almost died.

We pull into the parking lot at the hospital and I think we’re all a little bit nervous. It’s been five months since any of us have seen her, and a lot has changed. Apparently her personality is the same, since she called us monkeys yesterday. But I have a feeling things will be very different.

Sean leads the way into the hospital and there are about ten or fifteen of us following him. He stops at the front desk and says something to the woman, who stands up and leads us down a hallway. I’m surprised to see how nice the hospital is. I mean, of course it’s nice because it’s for wounded veterans, but it’s definitely top of the line. The woman opens a huge glass door at the end of the hallway and motions for us to go in. We all thank her as we pass by and she gives us a smile in return.

The first thing I notice about the room is how warm it is. It’s not too warm, but it’s just the right temperature for a t-shirt and shorts. Definitely not the same as the late-November weather that’s outside. There are couches and lazy-boy chairs spread across the room and a couple of lower tables, like you would find in a living room. The entire area is just comfy. The second thing I notice is the brunette sitting at one of the tables, talking to a man with his arm in a sling. She has a blanket over her lap, and her arm is in a cast. She looks up and smiles at us all.

“Hi guys!” Charlie greets us.
Sean makes the first move and heads right over to her, giving her a big kiss and sitting on the couch beside her. One by one, the guys take their turns giving her hugs and kisses, welcoming her home. I’m the last in line and I let out a sigh of relief when it’s finally my turn.
“Damn I missed you.” I say, wrapping her in my arms and holding tight.
“I missed you too, Brayden.” She responds, kissing my cheek. “I heard you and Janine took really good care of Sean for me. Thank you.”
“That’s what friends are for.” I kiss her forehead and take a seat on the couch next to my friend. Everyone ‘awe’s when Sean laces his fingers with Charlie’s and kisses her hand.

“Oh! I almost forgot. Guys, this is Matt. He’s a new Marine friend of mine. We were in the same humvee together the first time we were supposed to come home, and spent that extra week together both at the Army base and the Air Force base.” She says, pointing to the guy with the sling. “Matt, these are the guys. Obviously you recognize Sean from yesterday... The rest are all interchangeable.” She laughs, gaining a few protests from my teammates.

“It’s nice to meet you all. I’m sorry to say I’m not a fan, but I do recognize most of you.” Matt says, nodding to us all.
“Matt is from St. Louis, but I told him we were going to change his loyalties.” Charlie laughs.
“Hell yeah we are!” Rinaldo shouts.
“St. Louis isn’t a bad city!” He protests. “It’s the gateway to the west!” We all chuckle. “Anyway, Charlie. I actually have to go to therapy now. For some reason they’re insisting I learn how to use my arm again.”
“Oh, you’re such a buzz kill.” Charlie chides. He stands and gives her one of the most awkward hugs I’ve ever seen. They seem comfortable with each other, it’s just that he’s got a sling and she’s got a giant cast.

“So who’s he?” Luke asks as soon as the door closes behind Matt, wiggling his eyebrows at Charlie.
“Oh, don’t!” Charlie chuckles. “We were almost killed together. That kinda makes you become fast friends.”
I see Sean’s face contort and I know he doesn’t appreciate the ‘almost killed together’ joke. Most of the guys don’t seem to like it either. Hell, I don’t like it.
“So what’s new with you guys?” Charlie asks. “Tell me everything I’ve missed in the last 5 months.”

Everyone starts talking about different highlights from the season so far, and she genuinely seems happy to listen to our crazy banter. From there, she begins asking about everyone’s personal lives- how the girls are doing, how TJ and baby Aiden are doing, and how the single guys are enjoying living it up.

“What about you, Schenner?” She asks, pulling me back into the conversation. “What’s going on in your life?”
“Uhh..... Well, Janine and I are having a baby.” I say with a big smile.
“Oh my gosh!” She exclaims. “That’s so exciting! I can’t wait to spoil my future niece or nephew.” I laugh.
“Thanks. We’re really excited.”

“So what about you?” Giroux asks. “Obviously we know what’s been going on, but how are you holding up?”
She pauses for a second.
“I’m okay, I think.” She says. “It’s definitely different. And it’s not going to get any easier for a while. But I’ve got a lot of resources available to me here that are going to make this transition easier. So that’s good.”
“And you’ve got a kick-ass support system at home!” Simmonds yells. Most of the guys chirp their agreement. Charlie laughs.
“I do have the greatest group of monkeys behind me, don’t I?”
“We don’t appreciate you calling us monkeys.” Jake states, giving her a pointed look.
“I don’t really care.” She jokes. “But seriously, I think everything will be okay soon. I mean, I already got measured for my prosthetic this morning. So that’s progress.” Everyone seems pretty interested to hear that.
“How does that work?” Luke asks.
“It’s pretty simple, actually. They had to measure around my thigh and then from the end of my leg to the ground. They compared everything to my other leg and basically matched it.”
“When will you get it?” Raffl asks.
“A couple of weeks. They sometimes put a rush on it and get it sooner, but since I’m stuck in this cast still it’s not a big deal. It’s not like I can do any walking in therapy anyway, you know?”
Everyone is nodding their heads. It makes sense.

“Actually, I have a question for you all....” She starts. “One of the psychiatrists suggested I get involved with the Wounded Warriors Project. He said they’re looking for someone at the beginning of their rehab to document it through social media. I’d have to run an Instagram and Twitter account and just post stuff often about what I’m doing and whatever. I agreed to do it so.... Would you guys follow me?”
“Charlie, you don’t even have to ask if we’d follow you!” Hartnell says. “Of course we will. And we’ll tell everyone who follows us to follow you too.”
Charlie smiles. “Thanks, Hartsy.”
“Let’s take a picture right now and you can put it up. Show everyone how important it is to have awesome friends like us.” Giroux suggests.

We all squish together and ask the nurse in the room to take the picture.
“When you put it up, tag us in it. So we can follow you.” Simmer says.

The door opens and another nurse sticks her head in.
“Senior Airman, it’s time for therapy.” She says.
Charlie sighs.
“I’m sorry, guys. Therapy is pretty much all I do now. All day, every day.”
“How dare you try to get better?” Giroux jokes.
“Yeah! I thought we were more important than being normal!” Rinaldo adds.
“Hell, none of us are normal!” Mase yells.
Charlie just laughs. “Sean, will you help me get into my chair again?”
“Of course. Do you want to do what we did yesterday or should I just pick you up?”
“I don’t have the walking boot on my cast, so pick me up.” She responds.

The nurse wheels her chair over and Sean easily lifts her from her seat. I catch a glimpse of her leg and it shocks me how upset the sight makes me. Charlie is one of my best friends. She’s such a good person. She doesn’t deserve to be in this situation.

“Alright, boys. Time to say goodbye.” The nurse says.
Everyone gets up and gives Charlie a hug and a kiss on their way out. Eventually it’s just me and Sean left. I know he wants a minute alone with her before we have to go back home, but I take my time giving her a good hug.

“I’m so excited for you and Janine. I really am.” She says.
“Thank you, Charlie. We’re excited too.” I respond, pulling back and pressing a kiss to her forehead.
“Thank you again for taking care of Sean for me.”
“Like I told you before, it’s what friends do. If the situations were reversed, you would have taken care of me until Janine came home.” She smiles. “Now don’t hold him up too long, we’ve got to head home so we aren’t late for practice.” I laugh.
“I’ll try.” She sends me a wink.

I head out the door and meet my teammates in the parking lot. It’s only about five more minutes before Sean joins us, and we all pile into the cars to head back to Philly for practice. A couple of minutes into the ride my phone buzzes and I see that I have a notification from twitter. I open it up and a huge smile grows on my face.

“@SrACharlieC: Monkeys make the best support system! #WWP @28CGiroux @RinaldoZac @MReader24 @Hartsy19 @jachobe @Bschenn_10 @Simmonds17 @michaelRaffl”

Attached is the picture we just took.

I immediately retweet it and follow her, noticing that most of my teammates are doing the same thing. I type out my own tweet before closing my eyes and taking a nap.

“@Bschenn_10: Welcome home, @SrACharlieC It’s good to see your beautiful face again. #FollowHer #RealHero”