Impossible Odds

last, twelve hours after arriving in Djibouti. I lay down wrapped in a thick sleeping bag and strapped into a canvas medical stretcher on the biggest cargo plane I’ve ever seen, this one bound for a U.S. military base in Italy. I was soon oblivious and slept soundly for most of the trip, unperturbed by the noise of the engines or the other people around me. It was my first safe sleep in months, and that narrow little stretcher was a beautiful luxury. The sense of peace and safety was so strong, a deep slumber held me in its grip throughout the flight.

CHAPTER THIRTY
    Erik arrived in Italy to learn that the authorities wouldn’t allow him to see Jessica yet and required him to wait until the following day. The psychologists with the hostage reintegration program had long experience in working with hostage returnees and believed even five minutes together might be too much for reunited loved ones. Their experience showed them how immersion back into one’s life needs to be slow and careful, like climbing into a steaming hot tub.
    Jessica remained in a private room with the first real bed she’d been on since her capture. The staff traded her ragged clothing for fresh, warm winter items and the first shoes she had felt in months. She was surprised by how strange it felt to have real shoes on her feet.
    The next day she paced the floor in her room with the door cracked open a few inches while she waited for Erik to arrive for their first brief session together. She gasped when she saw his fingers reach around the edge of the door and pull it open. A moment later, there he was for her and there she was for him, and they fell into each other’s arms, both of them openly sobbing.
    “Jess,” Erik struggled to speak, “before we say anything, I want you to know your family has been so strong—all of us are muchcloser because of this—and they feel the same as I do. We’ll do anything we need to, in order to get you one hundred percent back to your life. I want you to know that whatever happened to you, Jess, I don’t care. I love you. I’ll always love you. If you need time away from me, just tell me. Please. I’ll give you all the room you want.”
    “Stop,” she quietly told him. “Stop. I don’t need time alone and we aren’t splitting up.”
    “Jess, as long as we’re together, I can do anything. I want you to know I’ll do whatever you need me to do. Anything you need.”
    “Listen,” she whispered into his ear. “Listen to me. We’re not splitting up. You aren’t going anywhere. I’m not leaving you. Erik, I never thought I’d see you again. It was the thought of us together that kept me alive. “She leaned back and looked into his eyes. “But we’re going to have to do things differently, now.”
    “Okay.”
    “More time together. No more workaholic hours.”
    “Yes. Okay. Good.”
    She smiled at him. “And I want us to go right back to starting our family. I want a baby.”
    He threw his arms around her again and suddenly neither of them had much more to say except to assure each other that no damage to their love and devotion had taken place. They spent most of that first session holding each other and murmuring terms of endearment.
    Before they knew it their scheduled hour was over. They made arrangements to meet for lunch the following day for a longer session under doctor’s supervision, for more detailed conversation and the million questions each one had. By the time Erik left her there after that first encounter, not even her happiness and gratitude could escape the exhaustion gripping her.
    They met the next day for a much longer session. Theemotions were powerful, but by the time their second day’s meeting was over, Jessica and Erik knew their relationship had survived. They went through the rest of their family reunions as a dedicated couple, amazed at their good fortune and determined not to waste this second chance at life.
    For John Buchanan, as well as Jessica’s brother and sister, the final payoff came when they all united in Portland, Oregon, to spend a week together and do nothing but work on reconnecting with one another. His steadfast patience and faith in the eventual outcome had brought him back to a full reunion with all three of his children.
    •  •  •
    President Barack Obama addressed the press about the rescue in Somalia by SEAL Team Six on January 25, 2012, saying, “The United States will not tolerate the abduction of our people, and will