HELL ON WHEELS

By Beej

A Jake Mitchell Story

The direct continuation of

Till Death Us Do Part, Part Two

Part One:

Three months had passed.   Jake was healing physically, but he was an emotional wreck.   He put all his energy into his physical therapy with Kevin, but as soon as the sessions were over, he wheeled himself across to Lupo’s run and spent the day with him.   He spoke to no one but Kevin, and only in Maori.

The family were at a loss.   They couldn’t break through the emotional wall he’d built up around himself.   He was hurting physically and emotionally, but he’d shut everyone out.

Jenny kept in daily contact with Angie, calling with all the news from Sydney, and asking about Jake’s progress – or lack of it.   She’d been spending most of her days in the office trying to work out how she could help Jake and Angie, and she was finally ready to reveal her plan.

“It certainly wouldn’t hurt to try, Jen,” Angie sighed.   “We’ve tried almost everything, but let’s give it a go.”

Four days later the morning calm was shattered by the sound of a helicopter, its rotors slicing through the fresh clear air.

Jenny stepped down from the chopper and ran across the paddock to where Angie and Sam were waiting.   After hugs all round, they got into the jeep for the short drive up to the house.   They were sitting in the kitchen sipping hot tea when Jake wheeled himself in.   He spotted Jenny and stopped the chair.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” he demanded.   Angie gasped in horror at his tone.   Jenny squeezed her hand and smiled.

“It’s okay, Angie…well, hello to you, too, Jake.  You must be feeling better to snap like that.”

Jake rubbed his hands over his face and looked full of remorse.   In all the years he’d known her, he’d never spoken a word in anger towards her.   Letting out a heavy sigh, he wheeled himself across to where she sat and took her hand.

“I’m sorry, Jin.   I didn’t mean to snap. It was just a surprise seeing you here…why are you here?”

Before she could answer, Jake looked at Angie and Sam, who were both smiling like Cheshire cats.

“What?” he asked.

“Those are the first words in English you’ve spoken in months, AJ, and a lot better than the last time you spoke to me.”

Jake blushed, realising the last thing he’d said to Angie was that she would be better off leaving him and finding herself a real man.

Jenny broke the tension by getting up from the table to hug Jake.

“You’ve got more colour than the last time I saw you, boss.   I have to say that grey didn’t suit you at all.   I think you’ve put on a bit of the weight you lost as well.”

“You saying I’m fat?”

“No, silly.   I’m saying you’re looking 100% better than you did three months ago.  I’ve missed you, Jake.   Everyone has.”

“You’ll all get used to it,” he replied quietly.

“Whether or not that’s true, it’s a moot point,” Jenny said, opening her document case and rummaging inside.   “Pretty soon there won’t be anyone left to miss you.”

“What do you mean?”

Jenny handed Jake a bundle of papers and sat back down.

“What’s all this?”  Jake enquired.

“I suggest you read them, Jake.”

Jake started sorting through the papers, and the colour he’d regained since leaving the hospital drained from his face.   He looked up at Jenny.

“Is this all for real?”

“I’m afraid so, Jake.   Both Mike and I have done what we can, but it hasn’t made a lot of difference.”

Jake dropped the papers onto his lap, turned the wheelchair around, and moved off down the hallway to his room.  They heard him close the door quietly behind him.

“I need to go to him,” Angie said, rising from the chair.

“No, Angie.  I think it’s better to leave him on his own for a while.  He needs to do some thinking.”

“Could someone tell me what’s going on?”  Sam asked.

“Jenny came up with a plan to get Jake back in the land of the living,” Angie answered.

“I got all the senior staff to write letters of resignation, and the reason for their decision, Sam.  I thought that might be the way to try and get Jake back mentally.”

“Well, I always knew women were devious.  This time it’s for a good cause, though.  Let’s hope it works out the way you want it to,” Sam said, laughing.  He picked up Jenny’s bag and took it down to the guest room while Jenny and Angie went out to the garden to pick some veggies for dinner.

“Where’s Emily?” Jenny asked.

“Oh, she flew out a couple of days ago to visit her brother.  I think she was going to ask for some advice about Jake.  If your plan works, she’ll be thrilled.”

“All we can do is hope.”

An hour later, dinner was almost ready so Angie went down to the bedroom she shared with her husband and quietly opened the door. Jake was sitting in his chair by the huge picture window.  A letter hung loosely from his hand, and he was staring into space.  As she walked closer, she could see a tear run down his cheek.  She knelt down beside him and took his hand.

“What’s wrong, AJ?”

Jake looked down at her and sighed, handing her the sheet of paper that was in his hand.  She read is quickly and took a deep breath.  It was from Star, and it was heartbreaking.  Although Angie knew that none of the resignation letters were real, she knew that the sentiment in them came from the writers' hearts.  Star had written a wonderful, poignant letter stating all the reasons she first relocated to Sydney, and all the reasons she could no longer stay with the firm without Jake at the helm.  Angie tried hard not to cry along with Jake.

“They’re all like that, Luv.” What am I going to do?”

“Well,” Angie replied, getting up from the floor.  “First of all, you are going to come with me to eat your dinner.  After that, you’re going to talk with Jenny, then have a good sleep.  I know you’ll be able to think better in the morning.

Jake reached out for her hand. “I don’t deserve you,” he whispered. 

“Oh, yes, you do,” she grinned in reply.

It was the most pleasant dinner at the farm in three months.  Jake made an effort to speak to everyone, and seemed more like his old self.  When they’d finished, Jake took Jenny down to his office to talk in private.  They were left alone for over two hours, and just when Angie thought it was time to see if they were going to make a night of it, the door opened and they came out.  Jenny bent down and gave Jake a kiss goodnight, then saw Angie walking towards them and hugged her, wishing her a goodnight, too.

Angie followed Jake back into the kitchen. “Would you like a drink before we go to bed?”

“Yeah, Luv, that would be good. Shall we have it in the lounge room?”

“You go ahead, AJ. I’ll bring them in.”

Jake wheeled himself into the lounge room and turned a couple of table lamps on low.  He searched for the remote and started the music system. When Angie entered a few minutes later with a tray, Jake was on the sofa, and there was sweet music playing low.  Jake turned to her and smiled.  The lamplight reflected off his eyes giving them a sparkle not seen for many a month.

“Here you go, darling,” Angie said, handing Jake a steaming mug.

“My favourite,” he answered, grinning at the floating marshmallows on top of the rich hot chocolate.

“I thought you might like some bikkies to go with,” Angie laughed as Jake snagged a couple even before she managed to put the plate down on the coffee table.

“Ta, Luv,” he smiled.  “I’m sorry I’ve been such a pig since coming home.  Seeing Jin, and reading all those letters have made me realise how selfish I’ve been.  I’m going to try and make it up to you, I promise.”

Angie kissed him as they sat arm in arm watching the dying embers of the log fire that had been lit earlier in the day, and chatted about this and that, never once mentioning Jake’s chat with Jenny.  Jake was grateful for that as he had a lot of thinking to do before he broached the matter with anyone.

Angie woke up with the watery winter sun streaming through the window.  She stretched and reached out instinctively for Jake…the space beside her was empty.  He had been sleeping in a spare room close to Kevin since they came up to the farm months before, but last night it all changed, and Jake had fallen asleep in her arms.  She looked at the clock, just past 8:00 am.  Why hadn’t she heard him get up?

After a quick shower in the en-suite, she dressed rapidly in leggings and one of Jake’s old t-shirts, and opened the door.  She could smell coffee and bacon, and wondered who was cooking.  Padding quietly down the hallway, she stopped at the kitchen door and smiled.  Sam was at the stove, and Jake was wheeling to the table, crockery on his lap, laying out places for four.

As he went to set the final place, he dropped the fork on the floor.  Before he could stretch down to try and retrieve it, Angie was there, picking it up and giving him a morning kiss.

“Morning, Luv.  Didn’t hear you come in.  Ta for rounding up the stray,” Jake smiled, as he took the fork from her and went to exchange it for a clean one.  Angie was relieved. A couple of days ago if that had happened, he would have exploded in a rage at anyone trying to help him.

Angie went over to the stove and peeked round Sam to see what he was up to.  “What’s cooking, good looking?”

“Well, good morning to you, too, niece-in-law,” Sam grinned as he turned from the pan and gave Angie a hug and kiss.

“Hey, put her down! She’s spoken for!”   Jake teased.

“No worries, sport.  She has curves in the wrong places for my liking, and I’m spoken for as well,” Sam laughed in reply. “Now both of you sit down out of the way while I create the brekkie of all brekkie’s.”

Jenny walked in just as Sam was dishing up.  “Morning, all.”

“Morning, Jen,” Angie replied.  “Perfect timing. The men have done all the work.

“Really?  What did you do, Jake?”

“I put the coffee on, laid the table and made a pot of English breakfast tea for one of the special ladies in my life,” Jake smiled.

“You seem more like your old self this morning, Jake.”

“Getting there, Jin.  You gave me a lot to think about yesterday.  It’s hard for me being like this, but I need to try and snap out of it…for everyone’s sake.  It’s not going to happen overnight, and I’m sure it will be one step forward and three steps back, but I hope you’ll all be there to give me a shove when I need it.”

“Make no mistake about that, you’ve been hell on wheels since you came up here.  It’ll be good to find the old Jake again.”  Sam replied, sitting down opposite Jake.  “Now, eat up before it gets cold.”

When breakfast was over, and the kitchen tidied, Jake asked everyone to come to his office.  He followed them in and closed the door.  When they were all comfortable, he began to speak.

“You’ve been here less than 24 hours, Jin, and you seem to have managed to do what everyone here has been trying to for over three months.  You’ve made me realise I can’t hide up here for the rest of my life.  It looks like some people actually miss this ugly mug around the place, and I need to get back down to the city before they all jump ship.”

He wheeled across to Angie and held her hand. “How do you feel about going back to Sydney, Luv?”

Angie beamed with joy.  She loved it up on the farm, but she couldn’t stand watching Jake become more morose every day.

“Oh, Jake, that would be great.  Now I can tell you what I’ve had done to the apartment.  They’ve been adapting it for you…just so you can get up and down the stairs.  They said the en-suite was already ideal.  Kevin can stay in the guestroom.”

“Good idea, darl.  I think he let his unit go when he moved up here.  At least we can give him a place to stay until he decides what he wants to do about looking for a new place.” 

“Great,” Jenny chipped in.  “I’ll give Jim a call and get him to bring the jet up to Coffs.  Shall we all get packed?”