Page 28 of The Exception

That question alone was enough to stop Sonya in her tracks. Frank was suffering from severe PTSD, and depression was currently his major presenting symptom. That and the substance abuse that kept landing him back in this bed. He’d shown little interest in anything when he was here, so the fact that he’d asked for more information was a step in the right direction.

“Army. 18 Delta,” Trav responded.

Frank sat up straighter in bed. “Special Forces… how long?”

“Fourteen years. Thought about reenlisting, but decided to take my chances out here. Sometimes I wonder if I made the right choice.”

“Why’s that?”

Trav shrugged and leaned back in his chair, his long legs stretched out in front of him. “It’s just… weird. When you enlist, they wipe you clean and then reboot you with only what you need to make it in that world. But out here… that can be too much and not enough all at the same time. Does that make sense?”

There was a long break as Frank seemed to ponder that before whispering, “Yeah.”

Frank looked like he was going to shut down, but Trav quickly asked, “You’re ex-Marines, right? How long were you in?”

Sonya smiled to herself, impressed with the way Trav was coaxing Frank into engaging in a way that, honestly, no one else on the floor could. It was the shared experience that Frank had latched on to, and if that had been Trav’s intention, maybe he should’ve followed in his father’s footsteps and become a doctor.

“I did twenty… eight tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

Trav released a low whistle. “I sometimes wonder how I made it out in one piece after three, but eight—you’re a goddamn hero.”

“I didn’t make it out in one piece,” Frank muttered. “If I did, I wouldn’t be in here.”

They’d entered into sensitive territory, and Sonya debated going in there to diffuse it so they could take this win without being forced a few steps backward right here at the end. Talking about his illness always initiated a shut down with Frank but there was a difference here.He’dbrought it up, and the need to see where this could go kept her planted just outside the room.

Trav shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck. “No shame in getting help, my man. I’ve been talking to someone ever since I got out.”

Really?

Sonya leaned her shoulder against the wall as she processed Trav’s revelation. She’d been an advocate for providing mental health services to soldiers before they reached crisis ever since college, maybe even before that. Getting help early could’ve helped her dad better deal with the civilian world when got out of the Air Force. Maybe they could’ve helped him find something to ground him, maybe he wouldn’t have been so lost for so long. Most significantly, maybe it would’ve helped him not destroy his relationships with his family that they were still struggling to rebuild. Maybe instead of just having a father, she’d still have her dad.

Frank eyed him. “Yeah?”

Trav gave a single nod. “I’m learning that we’re always going to carry the things that happened to us over there around with us, so it’s not about making it go away. It’s about making it easier to carry.”

Yes!

That was exactly the right message and the fact that it had come out of her intern’s mouth had her beaming with pride. He was still annoying and he had a lot to learn, but maybe he wasn’t the lost cause she’d written him off as.

Maybe this could work.

“Did you find your intern yet, Sonya?”

She cursed Dr. Holbrook’s timing and nodded.

“Yes. Thanks, Amanda.”

“Looks like you’ve been caught loafing by your C.O.”, Frank whispered just as she pushed through the door.

Trav leapt to his feet, sending the chair he’d been sitting in tumbling over in the process. He fumbled picking it up on the first attempt, sending it clattering back to the tile floor and she thought she heard Frank snicker in the background. Did she really have this ex-army special forces soldier so shook that the mention of her turned him into a bumbling mess? It looked that way.

Biting her lip to hide the grin that idea had blossoming across her face, she advanced to Frank’s bedside. “How’s it going today, Frank? This guy isn’t bothering you, is he?”

Frank shook his head. “No, ma’am. We were just reminiscing about our days in service of this country.”

She hummed and picked up the empty ice cream cup from the nightstand.

“Over ice cream?” She glanced over at Trav who must be a terrible poker player because the guilt was written all over his face. For some reason, that added to the wave of affection that had started in the hallway. He really did have his moments. She pulled her gaze back to Frank. “I thought the dessert on Wednesdays was apple cobbler.”

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