Daughter of the Deadman III
Chapter 9: Developments
Two days had passed since Angel had woken up and they had established that most of the damage from the accident for her had been internal rather than external. The only things that seemed to be affected were her mobility, her speech, her eye sight and her memory. She couldn't remember her childhood or events that had happened just before the accident, but everything else was there. When Taker walked into the room with Wyatt, Angel was still sleeping. Kristy was sitting next to her bed, looking exhausted.
"Mommy, have you been awake all night?" Wyatt asked.
"Not all night. I managed to catch a few hours." Kristy said.
"I'm going to call Adam to come and pick you up. You can go home and rest." Taker said.
"Don't worry about it, Uncle Taker." Kristy said.
"Kristy, I'm calling Adam so that he can come and get you. You're exhausted." Taker said.
"OK. She's been sleeping most of the night, Uncle Taker. The doctor has been in every hour or so to check on her and give her a shot of pain killers if she needs them." Kristy said.
"What about speaking?" Taker asked.
"Not a lot really. I think she just wants you at the moment. She asked for you a million times." Kristy said.
"Well, as long as she was OK...I'll be right back. I'm going to call Adam so he can come and get you." Taker said.
Kristy nodded. Taker left the room. Wyatt walked over and climbed up on his Mom's lap. He could see that she looked completely exhausted and sad and worried. He flung his arms around her in a big hug.
"Don't be sad, Mommy. And don't worry. Aunt Angel will get better. I know she will!" Wyatt said.
"I know, baby, it's just hard for me to see Aunt Angel like this." Kristy told him.
"I know. Is she supposed to sleep this much?" Wyatt asked.
"It's the medicine they're giving her, baby. It makes her sleepy." Kristy said.
"Like when you use my bedtime bath stuff?" Wyatt asked.
"Something like that, baby." Kristy said.
Just then, Taker walked back in with the doctor coming behind him. The doctor did his hourly check up on Angel and then left. Taker sighed. He looked like he was thinking about something.
"What?" Kristy asked.
"Nothing really. The doctor was talking to me." Taker said.
"What did he say, Uncle Taker?" Kristy asked.
"He took a look at her CAT Scans and X-Rays to see if there was a way to fix her eyes and her retinas aren't even there anymore. There's nothing they can do..." Taker said.
"So she's going to be blind?" Kristy asked.
"It looks like it." Taker said.
"But...then she can't wrestle..." Wyatt said.
"If I can do it deaf, she can do it blind!" Kristy said again.
"Kristy, we don't know for sure what is going to happen. We'll just have to wait and see." Taker said.
"Right now Aunt Angel has to rest up. Right?" Wyatt asked.
"Right, Little Man." Taker said.
Just then, Angel stirred a little bit. She seemed to be getting uncomfortable again. Taker leaned over and took her hand. Angel jumped and then relaxed when he said she was alright and that it was just him.
"Dada..." Angel said.
"It's me, baby girl." Taker said.
"Why dark?" Angel asked.
"Baby girl..." Taker started.
"Should we tell her?" Kristy asked.
"We have to. I just need to find a way to explain it." Taker said.
"Just tell her that her eyes are resting right now because of the accident." Kristy said.
"OK. Baby girl, you were in an accident and you hit your head..." Taker started.
"Broken..." Angel whispered.
"A little bit. Your eyes are just resting right now." Taker said.
"Dad dark?" Angel asked.
"What did she just ask?" Kristy asked.
"She asked if that's why it's dark." Taker said.
"Oh." Kristy said.
"Exactly." Taker said.
Just then, there was a knock on the door and Adam came in. Wyatt beamed and ran to his Dad and gave him a hug. Kristy got up and gave him a hug too. Then she turned and looked at Angel and Taker.
"OK, Ang, I'm going to go home and get some rest." Kristy said.
"Dada?" Angel asked.
"I'm going to stay here with you, baby girl. Until I have to go and pick Lea up at school." Taker said.
"Sister." Angel said.
"Sister?" Wyatt asked.
"Baby sister." Angel said, trying to explain.
"Lea is at school Ang." Kristy said.
"You'll see her later, baby girl. Don't worry, alright? She's fine." Taker said.
Angel nodded. Kristy walked over and gave her best friend a hug. Wyatt ran over and Kristy lifted him up and he gave Angel a hug too. Then they left. It was then that Angel started to cry. Taker just looked at her. She had looked like she had wanted to cry for the last few minutes, but there was a sort of delay there.
"Forget." Angel said by way of explanation.
"I know, baby girl." Taker said, wrapping her in a hug.
"Sorry forget, Dada." Angel said.
"Hey. Don't be sorry, baby girl. It's not your fault." Taker said.
Angel nodded again, but Taker could tell just by looking at her that she was upset with herself over not being able to remember the simplest things. He just hugged her and sat there with her, telling her that she would be alright until she finally managed to relax.
"Dada...I broken." she said, looking worried.
"I know, baby girl. I know you are, but you'll be alright soon." Taker said.
"Hope so." Angel said.
"Baby girl, you're talking." Taker said.
"Trying hard." Angel said.
Taker nodded. He could see it in Angel's face. She was trying hard to carry on a conversation with him. Every word she said—new or not—was a struggle for her, but at the same time, Taker couldn't help but be happy that Angel was managing to speak to him.
"Baby girl...you had an accident." Taker said.
"Know, Dada." Angel said.
"Can you remember anything that happened before the accident?" Taker asked.
"Yes. Not lots." Angel said.
"Can you try and tell me what you remember?" Taker said.
"Um..." Angel started.
"Even if it's just small things, baby girl." Taker said.
"Mama...she...gone but she not gone." Angel said.
"So you remember your Mom and what happened to her when you were little?" Taker asked.
"Yep. Mama." Angel said with a nod.
"What else, baby girl?" Taker asked.
"Um...bad person make Mama go..." Angel said.
"That's true, baby girl. Can you remember anything else?" Taker said.
"Pretty lady. Not Mama. Someone else. But...forget...name" Angel said, struggling to find the right words.
"You mean your Grandma?" Taker said.
"No. Someone else. Keep me. I only little." Angel said, looking confused.
"You mean Amber." Taker said.
"Think so, Dada..." Angel said, quietly.
"It's alright, baby girl." Taker said.
"I sorry..." Angel said quietly.
"It's alright, baby girl. Really." Taker said.
Angel nodded. She leaned back into the pillows. It wasn't long before she drifted off again. Taker sighed and took her hand. He let his tears fall. He felt completely powerless as to how to help Angel. He wanted her better, but wasn't sure what exactly to do.
Suddenly, he felt someone touch his hand. He looked up and saw Beth standing there. She looked worried about him. When he looked to his other side, he saw his mother standing there. She looked just as worried as Bethany.
"I don't know what to do. I want to help her. I feel helpless." he said.
"Mark, don't worry. You're doing everything you can right now. All you can really do is be there for her." Leanna said.
"I know. But...how long is it going to take? She can barely speak, she doesn't remember. She can't walk and she can't see. She's so limited and it's scary." Taker said.
"She won't be limited forever, Mark. She's doing well already. She was carrying on a conversation with you a few minutes ago." Beth said.
"Granted, it was a struggle for her, but she was still managing it." Leanna said.
"I know. But what about her sight...her mobility...her memory?" Mark said.
"She can get the mobility and the memory back, Mark. Don't worry. It's going to take a lot of work though. I hope you're ready for it." Beth said.
"I'll do whatever I have to. I just want her to be better again." Mark said.
"As for her sight...well, there are ways that she can cope with that." Leanna said.
Taker nodded. Just then, Angel woke with a start. She looked around frantically and then started to cry. Beth and Leanna looked at Taker. He didn't need to be told. He reached out and wrapped his arms around Angel. She relaxed slightly.
"Baby girl, it's OK. Nothing here is going to hurt you." Taker said.
"Remember..." Angel whispered.
"What do you remember?" Taker asked.
"Hurt." Angel said.
"Who got hurt?" Taker asked.
"Me. When I small. Man do it. Hurt me and hurt lady too. Did bad stuff." Angel whispered.
"Oh, baby girl..." Taker said.
"He hurt me lots times. Where he? He come get me?" Angel asked.
"No, baby girl. He's gone. He can't hurt you anymore." Taker said.
"Good." Angel said.
Just then, there was a knock at the door. Angel jumped. Taker looked and saw the doctor standing there. It was a different one then the one who had been caring for Angel since she had arrived at the hospital. What's more was he wasn't alone. Taker looked at them curiously.
"Can I help you?" Taker asked.
"Hi. You must be Mr. Calaway and this must be Angel. I'm Angel's new doctor. I'm going to be looking after her now. I'm doctor Kellon. Doctor Summers decided he needed to reduce his patient load." the man said.
"Hi." Taker said.
"This is Ms. Evans. She's our psychologist but she also works as an Occupational Therapist. She's going to be helping Angel out with her speech and memory. And she's also going to be teaching her how to use Braille. Doctor Sanders will be doing her physiotherapy." the man said.
"OK. I just have one condition for all this. Someone is to be here with Angel at all times during therapy. Understood?" Taker said.
"That's perfectly fine. If it's alright, I'd like her to start on her physiotherapy now." Doctor Kellon said.
Taker nodded. The doctor left and got a wheelchair. Taker picked Angel up out of the bed and placed her in it. She looked around, scared. She felt scared. She wasn't sure where she was going and if her Dad was going with her or not.
"It's alright, baby girl. We're going to start making you better by exercising your legs. I'll be with you. Don't worry." Taker said.
"OK, Dada..." Angel said.
He followed Doctor Sanders to the physiotherapy room, pushing Angel in the wheelchair. Then he picked her up and laid her on the table. He was nervous. They had done physiotherapy when she was in her coma, but that was sure to make sure her muscles didn't go stiff, but now Angel was awake and this would probably hurt her. They worked for about an hour. The whole time, Taker held Angel's hand and told her that she was doing fine. When they finished up, Taker set Angel back in the wheelchair and took her back to her room. When he got there, he saw Kristy, Wyatt, and Kane there. They all looked worried.
"Don't look so worried you guys. Angel had physiotherapy." Taker said.
"I fine. Sore." Angel said.
"Aunt Angel are you hurt again?" Wyatt asked.
"No, Wyatt. It happens, baby. When you start working your bones and muscles again after being hurt really badly, it does hurt more." Kristy said.
"Like when Daddy hurt his neck? Or when Uncle Bret and Grandpa Davey get hurt?" Wyatt asked looking at his Mother.
"Just like all that, baby boy. Only it hurts Aunt Angel more because her bones are still healing from her surgery." Kristy said.
Taker smiled at Kristy by way of saying thank you. He knew that Wyatt was smart for his age, but even he had a hard time understanding this. He was thankful that Kristy had a way of explaining things to him that helped him to understand better. Just then Kane, who hadn't said a word, spoke up.
"So big brother, when did she start her physiotherapy?" Kane asked.
"This afternoon. She's also going to start learning braille and start speech therapy soon too. We've got a new doctor and he thinks it will be good for her." Taker said.
Kane, Kristy and Wyatt smiled. They all liked the idea of Angel having a new doctor. The other one had been mean and had painted a bleak picture of Angel's future, which made them feel as though there was no hope for Angel after all she had been through.
"Papa Taker, do you think Angel will be able to wrestle again?" Wyatt asked.
"I don't know, Little Man. We'll have to wait and see on that. Somehow I don't think Vince will allow her to, given that she's blind and has a brain injury..." Taker said, cringing a bit as he said the last part.
"But you know what, Baby Boy? It will all be alright because Angel will still be able to be on the road with us. And who knows, she might do backstage stuff for the company. You never know what could happen." Kristy said.
She said all this before Wyatt could ask what Angel would do with herself if she couldn't wrestle for the WWE anymore. She also knew that Wyatt was scared for his Godmother and it was understandable given that all he had seen her do was wrestle.
"Uncle Taker, are you alright? You seem really worried about something." Kristy said, noticing the look on Taker's face.
"I'm just worried about Angel, Kristy. Wrestling is in her blood just like it's in yours. It's all she's ever done. You don't know what will happen if Vince doesn't let her stay in the company." Taker said.
"I think that's a bridge that we'll cross when we get to it, Uncle Taker. Don't think about it right now. We just need to hope that Angel will get better. When the time comes we'll see what happens with Vince." Kristy said.
"Kristy, I don't know what it is, but something has changed about you in the last few weeks. I don't know if it's because you're a Mom or what...but..." Kane said.
Kristy shrugged. It was true that she was a lot more calmer than usual over the last few weeks, but it was because she felt she had to be. She didn't want to be losing her temper a lot because her Uncle Taker had Angel to worry about. It would only make things worse and she knew Taker didn't need that. Right now, he needed to focus on Angel getting better.
"Right now, Uncle Taker has to focus on Angel getting better. Flipping my lid is not going to help anything." Kristy explained to him.
Kane couldn't help but nod in agreement. He looked over at Angel, who was still sitting in the wheelchair. She looked like she was in a lot of pain and in serious need of some rest. Taker picked her up and placed her in bed. Angel settled in, leaning back into the pillows. Wyatt beamed and pulled something from his pocket. He put the object in her hand. Angel's eyes widened. Then she touched the object for a few minutes as though trying to figure out what it was. Then she beamed.
"Angel?" Taker asked.
"Remember." She replied after a minute.
"You do?" Kristy asked.
"Um...gift. Bracelet. Daddy give it. After...big match win." Angel said, trying to find the right words.
"That's right, Baby girl." Taker said.
Angel nodded. She tried to open the locket, but it slipped from her hand and landed on the bed. Wyatt picked it up and handed it to Taker. He opened the locket for Angel and handed it back to her. Angel touched the picture of Beth on the right side.
"Mama..." Angel whispered.
"That's right, baby girl." Taker said.
"I wonder how many times she opened that up and looked at it..." Kane said.
"Lots." Angel answered.
She touched Amber's picture on the other side. There was a second delay, but Angel's face changed from calm to slightly angry. Everyone watched, waiting for some sort of explanation from her. They could see that she was looking for words to describe her feelings.
"Remember..." she started.
"OK, Baby girl." Taker said.
"She...do bad thing. Tell lie. Just so she have me.." Angel said, looking very upset.
A second later, she burst into tears. Taker reached out and hugged her. Now he knew what she had remembered. She remembered the fact that Amber had lied on her adoption application, not mentioning Jason at all, let alone him being an abusive drunk, just so she could have Angel. Taker waited for Angel to calm down.
"Dada...change..." she said, pointing to the picture.
"You want me to change the picture?" Taker asked.
"Yes. Change. Want Dada..." Angel said.
"OK, baby girl." Taker said, beaming.
"Did she just ask you to take Amber's picture out and put yours in there?" Kane asked.
"Yeah, she did." Taker said.
"That means Aunt Angel remembers that you and Nana Beth are her Mommy and Daddy. Right Uncle Taker?" Wyatt asked.
"That's right." Taker said.
Wyatt beamed and gave Angel a hug. After a second, she smiled. Then Kristy walked over. She pulled Angel's necklace out of her pocket and handed it over. Angel put her hand down on it, trying to remember what it was. Then she smiled again.
"Ring. Mama. Mine chain." Angel said, trying to explain.
"OK, baby girl. Hand it to me and I'll put it on for you." Taker said.
"Please." Angel said.
He took the necklace from her and undid the chain. Then he put the necklace around Angel's neck and did it up again. She beamed and gave Taker a hug. Then she looked around, obviously thinking about something.
"Dada...I...lots trouble. Sorry." Angel said.
"You're not trouble, Ang." Kristy said.
"Yeah, Aunt Angel. You're not trouble." Wyatt said.
"Feel like it." Angel said.
"It's OK to feel that way, Little Angel, but we want you to know that you're not trouble." Kane said.
"Right. You're not any trouble to us, baby girl. Promise. Now, you need to rest a bit. I've got to go and get your sister from school, OK?" Taker said.
"Lea?" Angel asked.
Everyone looked at each other with smiles. Up until this point, Angel had only referred to Lea as "baby sister" rather than by name. It was a small step forward, but at this point, small steps were about all they could hope for.
"Yeah, I'm going to go and get Lea, baby girl. I'll bring her back to visit you as always." Taker said.
"Good." Angel said with a smile.
Taker smiled and gave Angel a hug. He told the others to keep an eye on her and if she fell asleep, to just let her relax and rest since she hadn't been sleeping well. They agreed and Taker left. Kane walked over to the window and looked out.
"What's going on in that crazy head of yours?" Kristy asked.
"They have no idea..." Kane said.
"Want to explain what the hell you mean?" Kristy asked.
"The fans. The WWE Universe. They have no idea what's happened to her. All they know is that about six months ago, she disappeared and she hasn't been seen since. Vince knows and Hunter knows...and Stephanie too of course, but that's it." Kane said.
"Uncle Taker told them?" Kristy asked.
"He had to. Vince and Stephanie had the same sort of reaction. Basically take all the time you need and if you need anything, call them right away. Hunter was livid. Screaming at my brother that he didn't care how hurt Angel was, she was getting back in the ring and if she didn't she was fired." Kane said.
"Ugh, whereas if it was one of his girls, he'd be devastated." Kristy said.
Kane nodded. They waited around for Taker and Lea to come back. While they were waiting, David came in. He looked very uneasy and if Kristy didn't know any better, she could have sworn that he didn't want to be there at all. Wyatt noticed this too and he glared at his uncle.
"How...how is she?" David asked.
Kane launched into explanation, telling David about the new doctor and what he wanted to do for Angel. David looked even more uneasy as he listened to Kane speak. When Kane finished, he sighed. He walked over and gave Angel a hug. Then he pulled out a jewelry box and opened it. It was a brand new promise ring with a sapphire on it. He took it out and put it on Angel's finger. Angel hesitated and then looked down, obviously looking for her hand.
"Ring?" she asked.
"Yeah. It's a promise ring, sweetheart. Do you remember?" David asked.
Angel nodded. She knew that at one time she had a promise ring from David and that the one she had was red and this one was different. She just couldn't say it. She smiled and David gave her another hug.
"Angel, honey, I have to go back to work. But I promise I will check in every day and I want to hear that you're making progress." David said.
"Go?" Angel asked.
"Yeah, I have to go, but I promise I will come back as soon as I can, OK?" David said.
"OK." Angel said.
David hugged her one more time. Then he left the room. Angel sighed and leaned back into the pillows. She was just about to doze off to sleep when Lea came running in. Kristy and the others noticed that she was in tears. She ran to Angel's bed and climbed up. She flung her arms around Angel's neck and cried.
"What happened, Uncle Taker?" Kristy asked.
"Sienna's parents pulled her from school today. They're home schooling her now." Taker said.
"The bullying is that bad?" Kane asked.
"Yeah. The older kids...they threatened to beat her to death." Taker said.
"By older kids, you mean the ones in her class. Right?" Kristy asked.
"No. The first and second graders." Lea sobbed.
"Oh, my god. It's that bad?!" Kristy asked.
"Apparently word travelled up. Lea over heard them talking about it. She told Sienna and Sienna's parents decided to home school her." Taker said.
"Oh, well, that's OK then. Lea can still be friends with her then." Wyatt said.
"Yeah, but she won't have anyone at school. People don't like Lea either." Taker said.
"Lea home." Angel said.
"Angel?" Lea asked.
"Lea home." Angel repeated.
"You want Lea to be home schooled too?" Taker asked.
"Lea home." Angel said with a delayed nod.
Taker sighed. He wasn't entirely sure what he should do. After a few minutes, he told Lea that he would talk to Sienna's parents to try and arrange them to be home schooled at the same time. Lea nodded and then apologized for making extra trouble that Taker really didn't need.
"Don't say sorry, Lea. You're important too." Taker said.
"I know. But you need to worry about Angel, Daddy." Lea said.
"Lea, are you jealous that Angel is getting all this attention?" Wyatt asked.
"No! I am not! It's not her fault! She didn't ask to be hurt you know! She didn't ask for any of this to happen to her! She didn't ask to get all this attention thrown at her!" Lea snapped at him.
"Lea..." Angel said.
"It's true, Angel. You didn't ask for this. And you didn't deserve it either." Lea said, hugging her sister tightly.
"Lea...thank you..." Angel whispered.
"Alright, let's let Angel rest now, OK?" Taker said.
Lea nodded. She hugged her sister again and then climbed down. As usual, Lea stayed until just after dinner. Then Kane took her home so that she could have a bath and go to bed in her own bed. Angel was asleep by this point. Kristy offered to stay with Angel again, but Taker said it was alright and that he would stay. He couldn't explain it, but he felt he needed to be with her for the night and he knew that Lea was safe with his brother. After Kristy left, Taker sat down next to the bed and took Angel's hand. He was sure it was going to be a long night.
