Bo went to bed that night on his own, as Luke went outside to continue his work in the barn after being forced by both Bo and Jesse to eat his meal slowly and to relax a little bit. They have never outwardly expressed their concern to him directly about the work load he had taken on, not wanting to make it seem like they didn't appreciate it or that he had failed them, but they dropped subtle hints during the dinner by gently teasing him about quick he was moving and eating.
Of course, now that Luke had lost time, Bo had no doubt that Luke would push himself harder and as he lay back in bed, listening to the sounds coming from the barn he got a small feeling that something was not going to go as perfect as Luke wanted it tomorrow. He dismissed it however as coming down with the nerves that usually gathered before therapy sessions and gently reprimanded himself, telling himself that these were now going to be Luke therapy sessions, and they already promised to be better because of that.
He fell asleep not too long after being put to bed, listening to the sounds of the night and Luke's work, praying as his eyes drifted closed that tomorrow would go well and that nothing would hinder his progress with Luke further, not after Luke had worked himself to the bone making the equipment. For that, Bo had to admit he felt a little guilty and had said as much to Jesse. While Luke would have told Bo to stop being so stupid, Jesse was more truthful and said he supposed it was to be expected seeing as he was the one who had put the idea into Luke's head in the first place, however it was Luke who had taken it upon himself to push himself so hard and because of that honesty, Bo felt more comfortable about it.
Luke didn't arrive back into the house until much much later, when everyone else in the house was deeply asleep, the rooms and hallways black. He could feel his eyes practically fall closed as soon as he stepped into the dark house, and the image of his bed and the phantom feeling of that warm comfort blanketing him making his legs wobble weakly beneath him as his body demanded the rest it deserved to which Luke complied. He staggered into the room, careful to avoid making any noise to wake Bo, and glanced at his watch in the thin stream of moonlight, seeing the time set at half two am. He had the chance to get at least 3 hours sleep before he could put the equipment he had made to the test and really start to move Bo forward in his recovery.
Stripping off quickly to his boxers and climbing into bed, Luke was asleep as soon as his head found the softness of the pillow and the covers surrounded his body. With a small sigh of content his eyes closed, and his mind drifted clear of the work load he carried.
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Jesse snuck quietly into the bedroom the next morning, having not seen Luke when he had woken up he assumed that tiredness had finally got the better of him and now his work was finished he was allowing himself to have a well earned rest.
However he was sorely disappointed when he found only Bo sleeping comfortably in his bed and Luke's already empty and made. With a small sigh, he crossed to his youngest and carefully woke him, chuckling at the much missed protestations of being woken up so early. He helped Bo into the wheelchair and guided him to the kitchen, pushing him to his place at the table just as the door opened.
Bo looked up with a smile, that soon fading as he saw the state in which his older cousin was in. He heard Jesse take a quite, but deep breath as he noticed too and they were both thankful that Daisy had already gone to work. Luke was slightly pale underneath his dark tan and his muscles underneath his shirt, both of them could plainly see, were twitching a little in what Bo suspected to be either anticipation or pain. His face of course didn't betray that feeling, but it did betray his true weariness. The dark circles were growing more pronounced underneath his eyes that were, despite the misleading signs, bright and alert.
Even his smile to Bo was weary as he crossed over and sat at the table, depositing the egg basket full of the eggs he had collected on the kitchen side before taking his seat next to Bo, not noticing the worried glances Bo and Jesse gave ach other….it couldn't be that Luke had gone out and done his chores too….
"Luke…you uh….you feeling okay?"
The concern and worry was evident in Bo's voice, and Bo didn't even try to disguise it. Luke however, waved it off with a smile and a pat to the shoulder, his voice cheerful even if it held weary undertones.
"Yep, all the chores are done so as soon as you're ready we can go outside and start workin' on those exercises'."
Bo looked slightly uncomfortable at the prospect, even though he hid this from Luke and directed at Jesse but this time but he realised now that it wasn't because he was scared of doing them….he was frightened of the thought of Luke helping him do them. The feeling of something being amiss was too strong to ignore now that he had something to provide the evidence that it could go slightly wrong and he so desperately wanted Jesse to put his foot down….which he did…sort of.
"Luke, do you really think it's a good idea to be taking Bo out there today?"
Luke frowned and finally looked up, seeing now the worry etched into their faces.
"Of course I do….why what's wrong?"
Bo sighed and shook his head, getting now a little bit angry that while Luke had stressed upon the importance of taking care of him, he had neglected to remember that little nugget of information and now it was like he was denying the obvious signs he had to be feeling that he had overdone it.
"Luke….look at yourself…..you're overworked, c'mon we can do this another day…"
But his sentence was silenced by a determined shake of Luke's head and he spoke before Bo could continue.
"No Bo, I'm fine. I can do this today and so can you. I'll rest at the weekend ok, how's that?"
"But Luke it's only Monday!"
Jesse could sense the ensuing argument, and quickly stopped before it could escalate. He couldn't risk both boys getting mad at each other again, not when their relationship was under enough strain as it was so they were incredibly edgy and sensitive. The last thing he wanted was another out-of-hand argument that would result in either one of them saying things they would regret.
"Boys, that's enough. Luke I don't think it's a good idea you going out today son, I really don't. But if you really feel that everything is good enough to, then I ain't about to argue with you. But if you so much as feel too tired to continue, you come straight in and rest, got it? It ain't just Bo that could overdo it today."
Luke sighed, about to argue gently back until he realised that Jesse and Bo were only both looking out for him. He knew that he had been neglecting his basic needs for food and rest since the transfer of the therapy sessions, but he could handle it for a few more days. He had been a Marine for four years where those things had to be neglected a majority of the time, and so he didn't think anything of using the same techniques to get him through until Bo was surer of himself. However, purely to placate his Uncle and cousin he nodded in agreement and started the discussion off with Bo on what he wanted to work on today and how the routines were going to start working.
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Bo sighed with relief as he finally managed to get to the other end of the bars, and gratefully accepted Luke's help to sit on one of the pre-arranged hay bales that had been turned into make shift benches at the end so he could rest up. They had been easier to tackle than in the hospital, because Luke could now walk alongside him, support him and encourage him whereas the Nurse had refused to let him do that, something that really irked Bo and had made him unwilling to do as she said.
Luke grinned widely as he helped Bo to the seat and gently handed him the bottle of water on standby and the towel he had brought in. Like any exercise, Luke knew the importance of keeping Bo positive and hydrated and so talked to his younger cousin about what they had done, focusing on the positive aspects of his achievement before gently suggesting ways and techniques of improving. Bo was already doing far better, both could see that, and neither could wait till the end when he would try it again in front of Jesse and Daisy. Of course, he would be more tired by then and it was guaranteed he would make more mistakes, but because Bo was now powered by a determination to succeed, he was likely to put on one heck of a show.
After a good twenty minute rest, filled with gentle bantering and relaxing conversation, they quickly got back to work, to tackle the last big thing of their workout for the day. Luke stood and helped Bo over to the staircase, encouraging him to walk as much as he felt possible but making sure Bo's legs weren't put under too much strain by keeping a large amount of Bo's weight on him.
By the time he had Bo positioned between the bars on the bottom step, Luke realised that his muscles in his arms were now starting to gently ache with a weary pain and his legs weren't far behind that. Luke shook his head and took a quick swig of water himself before focusing again, letting himself feel the excitement and adrenaline of seeing Bo succeeding as Bo climbed onto the first step. He too climbed the steps on the other side of the railings, encouraging Bo by showing him and explaining the muscles in his legs and how they worked as he guided him up the steps.
He managed to get Bo up three steps, the easier ones that were no more than two inches, before Bo had asked to turn around and go back down, saying that the others were still too big for him yet and his legs hurt too bad to even try to lift them up any higher. This was why Luke was planning on leaving the stairs as the very last exercise. Doing the other exercises first would stretch and warm up the muscles in Bo's legs and make it easier for him to move around for longer periods, however he did see that to able to work on getting him up the steps further, the other exercises were going to have to be cut shorter so they didn't wear Bo down as much.
This whole re-teaching Bo to walk and to do the simplest of things, was as much a learning experience for Luke as it was for the youngest. He could clearly remember helping to teach Bo to walk when he was younger and how to walk up the stairs of buildings and things….but then again that was different, he had Uncle Jesse and Aunt Lavinia's help before and also Bo was just a kid then…..he was a grown adult now. Still, he used many of the techniques he could remember from that time to help Bo, and was pleased when they seemed to be working.
He smiled gently and helped Bo to turn around, now showing him how to walk back down the small steps, which proved to harder than going up, because it involved more of balancing on one leg as he moved his foot down to the next step. Still, he and Bo were both so pleased when he managed to succeed in the challenge with much help from Luke. The two cousins sank back onto the hay bale again and spent the rest of the session just talking about how it had gone, the strengths and weaknesses and what Bo would want to work on in a couple of days.
As Bo watched his older cousin, laughing and joking, he realised that nothing seemed wrong with him now. His face was back to its normal colour and he didn't seem to be tired at all. He figured that it was probably just the fact that Luke had only just got up when he saw him in the kitchen and hadn't had time to freshen up, no one liked how they looked in the morning….and yet seeing that Luke could look like that still worried him….he just hoped that Luke knew when to stop and rest.