His Return [xlillyx and HR]

[HopelessRomantic]

His secretary was an old woman in her fifties. She'd been there ever since he'd first joined the company and became his secretary when he moved up to his most recent job. Amy was definitely a life saver when it came to his job. He wouldn't want anyone else. "She's good. Her son recently had her eighth grandchild." He smiled. "A little boy called Aaron. She was showing me all the pictures she'd received the other day." Reece glanced at Julia smirking a little. "Think that'll be my mother sometime after the wedding?"

They'd never really talked about children but he did want them. He wanted a whole bunch of them been as he came from a large family. He already had two nieces and three nephews due to his sisters.

"Would you like kids at some point?" He finally asked. "Little us running around the house. Wouldn't seem so small then." He grinned.

When she mentioned not going on a honeymoon Reece frowned. "We wouldn't go that night, of course. The boys and I would be drinking and probably too stupid. I was thinking of going a few days later. If not, then I can forget honeymoon." Reece had wanted to take Julia away though for just some one on one time. Him and her, travel before things got serious again. He forced out a smile. Last thing he wanted was to make her feel bad that he wasn't getting a honeymoon.

"Oh. Same thing. Right. Okay. That's okay. Got a church in mind or do you just want to look around at the ones near here and pick whichever has the available date?"

[xLillyliciousx]

"Oh, God. Eight children? I could never handle that many." Julia commented with a light laugh. She shrugged her shoulders, when he asked about his mother. "Hopefully, a couple of years after the wedding." She looked up at him with a smile. Julia was only 22, she didn't want kids until she was at least 25. Of course, she loved kids, and seeing other people awing over their own kids or grandchildren; but for herself, kids wasn't on the top of her list.

Harry was the only sibling Julia had, she liked that. Only two kids. "I would like a girl and a boy. But two girls or boys is fine. I just know two is my limit." Julia knew that Reece come from a big family, she never knew how their parents were able to have those many kids running and screaming around the house. It would drive her insane.

Julia looked up with a frown when Reece talked about drinking. She was never a person who liked the idea of drinking. She never figured out why people thought it was fun, getting drunk, throw your whole stomach up, and having a headache in the morning. Plus, she thought people were able to have more fun when they were sober. "I didn't really want drinking at the reception. I was thinking to just have champagne for like the toast but that was it." She commented. "Why would I want to leave the house, after a few days of the wedding? I would be tired and worn-out. We can just spend time at home; there isn't much difference from spending time at home or going to a different place. Home is just more comfortable."

Julia looked back down at the paper and started to doodle. She was getting a little bored from all of this wedding talk, since she already had everything planned out, and now she was just going over it for Reece to know. "I was thinking that cute Gothic Catholic church. I always thought those Gothic churches looked cool. I like old, unique churches."

[HopelessRomantic]

First she shot Reece down about the kids and then he was shot down with drinking and finally the honeymoon. Suddenly this whole thing wasn't as exciting as when he'd started. "You don't have to drink, Jules. And I swear right now us drinking won't wreck anything. It's just a celebration of us tying the knot. There won't be any fighting or anything like that, I promise. Everyone will just be merry. You don't have to drink a drop and you won't be spending your wedding day cleaning up sick, either. I promise that too."

Reece didn't want to start a fight, but he wanted some say in the wedding plans. "And don't you want a holiday where me and you can just lie back and relax, sight see, enjoy some time to ourselves either in the snow or the sun. I could get a nice cruise, or what about the Bahamas? Or Paris, Rome or somewhere like that?" Reece suggested. Home was so... they were there all the time. This was the one time he'd be able to get away with a week or so off work.

"Think about a honeymoon for me, please? I know you'll enjoy it. I promise I'll pick the right destination and you'll not want to come home. Just give me some things you like about a holiday destination that you'd like and I'll find it." He told her.

When she brought up the gothic catholic church, he nodded. "Sounds like a good one. We should go there later today, make sure May 10th is available for us." He smiled, trying to look on the bright side of things. At least Julia would be his wife, even if he had no honeymoon and no alcohol at the wedding.

[xLillyliciousx]

Julia crunched up her face when Reece continued to talk about drinking. "Why do you need to drink to celebrated us getting married? Shouldn't you be sober so you can remember the night of the wedding? You can have has much fun or even more fun sober, at least you won't be tempted to do something stupid. Plus, I don't want to smell it on your breath the whole night. It's disgusting." She continued to doodle as she commented back about the drinking.

Julia rolled her eyes and sighed. "Relaxing and sight seeing is for vacation." She shook her head when he talked a cruise. "I will never ever get on a cruise. They crash all the time. I am not going to die on a boat." She didn't see why Reece could just be happy staying home instead of going on a honeymoon. "Whatever, I'll think about it." She agreed but she only agreed to think about to shut Reece up about it.

"Afternoon to go see the church sounds fine." Julia smiled before she placed the pen down and yawned.

[HopelessRomantic]

Reece tried so hard to be understanding about why Julia wanted no alcohol. Tried. But she seemed to be getting all controlling and not let him have a say in planning anything. It seemed she had everything under control and he couldn't even make suggestions. After last night's outburst though he didn't dare speak his mind. He didn't want want to set off something else that ended in her cutting again. "People like to drink, Jules." Reece spoke finally.

"I know you hate the stuff, but a lot of people like it. It's at most weddings. People enjoy a good drink and we won't act stupid and we won't be pigs or anything. I'll even clean my teeth like 500 times so you can't smell it on my breath. And I remember everything, I don't wake with hangovers either."

Reece figured this was a lost cause. Julia seemed adamant on no alcohol whatsoever. No honeymoon whatsoever. This was their wedding. A once in a lifetime thing. Something that was special. They were supposed to go all out. So far, it wasn't seeming that special at all. "Well, you've given me the colours and the date. I guess that's all that we can do til we get the date confirmed." Reece told her. "I'm going to grab a shower."

With that, Reece left the room hoping a shower would cheer him up.

[xLillyliciousx]

Julia shrugged her shoulders. "I don't want alcohol. If someone doesn't like it, they can leave. Not all weddings have to be the same." She stated. She placed the papers neatly on the coffee table, and looked over at Reece. "Okay. I'll be in the studio if you need me after your shower." Once Reece left, Julia stood up, and left the living room.

She walked down the hallway and into the studio. She was happy about the wedding, she knew it would be perfect. Once she got to the studio, she flipped the switch on, and went over to her painting station. Though Julia wasn't sure what she would paint right now, she grabbed a paint brush, and tapped the tip against her chin.

All of sudden though, her mind started to wander, and her thoughts went to Jamie. She wondered what he was doing right now, if he was keeping up on his walking, and if Harry hadn't killed him. Her lips started to burn though, she closed her eyes, and remembered their kiss that they shared before Jamie kicked her out. Julia did want to go see Jamie, to see if he was alright, but she figured that it would be awkward, and there would probably be a high chance they kissed again.

Julia opened her eyes, she smiled as she started to paint, she knew what she was going to paint now. She started to hum to herself, as she worked. Painting always made her happy and calm.

[HopelessRomantic]

Reece was frustrated as he had his shower. He was sure though that he could get either alcohol or a honeymoon at this wedding. It wasn't fair on him to take out both. And alcohol wasn't even that bad. He didn't even see the problem. His friends never misbehaved or got violent on alcohol. Everyone just got merry. Reece had gotten drunk a good few times on nights out. Alcohol wasn't a problem. Sighing, he hoped Julia would at least be okay with a honeymoon. He wouldn't say anything more on the subject. But he was going to plan a surprise for her. It wouldn't be on a boat. She was scared of boats, but he'd take her abroad somewhere. They needed the break and they were going to have a great holiday. Julia might be reluctant but she'd have a great time once out there, he decided.

Once out of the shower, Reece dried off and got dressed before taking a seat on the sofa and flicking through the tv until he landed on the sports channels and found a football game to watch. He needed to clear his mind of wedding plans for the moment and he knew that Julia would be in her studio. Maybe he could take her to some art galleries in Paris for a honeymoon. They had some of the best art galleries. Yes, he'd do that. He wasn't too found of looking at art, but he was sure Julia would love it.

With his plan in mind, Reece grabbed his laptop and started to do some research on Paris.

---

Jamie had spent time after Harry had left working at his legs to get rid of his hurt and upset that his best friend wasn't going to give him the time of day. He was starting to hate being back home. He'd ruined everything. This was not how his life was supposed to play out. He was supposed to still be killing people in the field with his team. He'd stayed away from town, even on his leave, because he knew the damage he'd caused. He had messed up.

And Julia hadn't come by to see him, which told him a lot.

If he ever recovered enough to go back into the military, Jamie decided at that moment that he was going to go straight back. He wasn't welcome here anymore, or it felt like it. This time he'd tell Julia and Harry. Julia would be happily married though so probably wouldn't give a damn anymore. He just didn't belong here anymore. This wasn't home. This wasn't his family. He'd made a trainwreck of everything. And now he wasn't sure if the military was even his family anymore now that he'd gotten his team killed.

Jamie took a deep breath. He couldn't think like that anymore. It wasn't right. He had to think positive because he'd just end up going deeper into a depression that was taking over him. He'd been given talks about it at the hospital and denied been depressed or having PTSD after losing his team and in the end it got him medically discharged from the military. That and the fact that he had next to no mobility in his legs still.

And Jamie made up his mind. He grabbed his chair and wheeled himself out of his room and moved out of the house. Tony was watching tv and didn't notice his son leave the house. He wheeled his chair down the street. He needed to get out of the house and away from everything, and he knew just where to go.

These days his ranch was run by the hands as Tony had decided to take time off to help Jamie fully recover. It took him a while, but he finally got down there. Jamie had loved riding before he'd left. It was always something that put his mind at peace and he'd only do it when he wasn't with anyone. It was his secret thing to do even before he left. Julia had been the only one to know that Jamie did it, but even then, it was still something he did alone.

The hands were shocked when they found him struggling to get down to the stables in his chair. His chair wasn't made for bumpy, rocky, sandy dirt tracks. In the end, one of the hands, Mark managed to get him down to the stables.

"What you doing here?" He frowned.

"I'm coming to ride Sapphire." Jamie spoke about his horse.

"Is that a good idea?" Mark asked warily.

"I'm riding him whether you help me or not. I can still ride. My legs might be useless right now, but I can ride still." Jamie told him. "I just need you to help get him ready and help me up. And you can not tell my father I'm here."

"Jamie..." He sighed.

"Fine. I'll do it myself." Jamie told him, heading for the horse.

"Wait, let me do it." Mark gave in, knowing Jamie was too stubborn to change his mind. He was going to get on his big black stallion if it was the last thing he did. And after thirty minutes, Jamie was up on the horse and out into the fields, riding off against Mark's wishes. He tried to get in contact with Tony, but the phone was engaged, because Tony had found his son missing and was now calling everyone and leaving messages on their phones asking if they'd seen Jamie. He'd even left one on Julia's machine in his rush to get through everyone and find where his son was.

[xLillyliciousx]

Julia wasn't paying much attention to things around her. She was to busy focusing on her work, she already had the starry night and full moon done. She started to work on the dark grass, but soon she started to hear something in the background. Julia turned around towards her door, she realized that it was a football game, she rolled her eyes. Well at least she knew Reece was out of the shower. She turned back around and started to work on her painting once again.

After ten minutes, the grass was done, and the big oak tree was also done. Julia only had one thing left to paint, that would be two people standing under the tree and moon, kissing. Most people would think that she would draw herself and Reece; part of it is true. It would be herself standing there but instead of Reece it would Jamie. Julia would make it that it would be their silhouette so people wouldn't know who the kissing couple is.

Once again, Julia started to hear a sound in the background. She turned around, she didn't realize it was the phone until after someone started to leave a message. She walked out of the studio, went to the phone, and replied the voice mail. A sigh escaped her lips, Jamie was actually missing. The thing is, Julia knew exactly were he was though. She picked up the phone, and called Tony. It was busy.

'Hey, Tony. It's Julia. I know where Jamie is. I'll get him home safety.'

Julia hung up the phone once she left the voice mail. She went up to her bedroom, quickly got changed into some clothes, grabbed her purse, and went downstairs. "Hey, Reece. Tony can't find Jamie so I'm gonna go look for him. I'll be back later." She explained to Reece as she was slipping on her sneakers. Without waiting for a reply, she left the house, and went to her car.

It took Julia about an hour to get to the ranch. She pulled up in the parking lot, got out, and headed towards the stables. She shoved her hands into her pockets as she headed towards Sapphire's stables.

[HopelessRomantic]

Mark tried to convince Jamie not to go out on his own. He would have gone out with Jamie except he was just the hand, he couldn't actually ride a horse. He wouldn't have tried to get Jamie up himself except he knew that Jamie would try himself and get hurt in the process. He gave up fighting. Jamie would only get hurt if he didn't do as the man wished. He just hoped that Tony got there soon. Especially as he watched Jamie struggle on his horse for a few moments scaring Mark half to death before they took off in a slow walk before getting to a trot and disappearing.

Everyone knew Julia on the ranch. Many of them had worked there for years, so when Julia arrived, Mark knew that she was looking for Jamie. "He's just left about ten minutes ago." He sighed. "I tried to stop him and I can't get a hold of Tony. He's on Sapphire. He'll get himself killed." Mark seemed worried. "I would have gone after him but I can't ride a horse."

He paused a moment and looked at Julia. "Can you ride? I could show you the direction he went in." He told her, hoping that she could catch up with him.

[xLillyliciousx]

Once Julia got to the stables, there was no sign of Jamie; that made her heart beat quickly. He could get himself killed if he went out, and tried to ride Sapphire. Thankfully, she found Mark in the stables. She nodded her head as he explained where Jamie had went. "I called Tony, told him I would find him, and get him home." She explained. Of course, Julia knew how to ride, Jamie was the one that taught her.

"I'll find him, don't worry." Julia started to head towards a stable. "Hey, Sebastian. How have you been?" She asked to ask the black stallion. Sebastian was Julia's horse, he was the horse that she learned on how to ride, and they had formed a bond. Even though Jamie had left, Julia would come down here, and ride.

Julia pet the horses nose as she went to get a straddle. After a few minutes, Sebastian was ready, and Julia was on top of him, heading out of the stables. When Mark pointed the direction that Jamie left, she said her thank you, and the two left in a trot. Julia needed to find Jamie before something bad happen. If Jamie fell off of Sapphire, he wouldn't be able to get up, and walk for help; plus he might even hurt his spine even more.