A/N: Day dream sequence is in italics. In these next few chapters I'm trying to take you along with Spencer and Ashley on their journey through some of their therapy. It's a little rough writing because I'm not quite sure how to write it, but here goes.
Chapter 25
After Spencer's therapy she went to the visitor's lounge instead of her room…
"Spencer…" Ashley said walking over to where she was sitting. "Spencer, I'm sorry about yesterday I was not feeling well."
"Ashley I…"
"No, Spencer, please let me talk," she said using her left hand to touch Spencer's hand that was lying in her lap. "I'm frustrated, see I can raise my hand to touch your face but I can't feel that I'm touching it. I can't even caress it the way it should be caressed because I don't even know I'm caressing unless I see myself doing it. So I basically don't know or realize what I'm doing with this hand unless I'm looking at it and really concentrating. I have to even concentrate on just holding a fork in my hand. It's just there, attached to my wrist… dead."
"Ashley you of all people should know it's going to take time and patience to get better. Look at me I've had to wait six weeks to get the cast off my leg to restart my therapy. You just have one hand you can't use right now. I'm lacking sensation below the waist along with two non working legs. But I'm not going to give up, to wallow in self pity. I'm going to do what I have to do to get them working again. Patience, Ashley and being able to endure some pain, is the key. I wish I could feel the pain, I would cherish it," Spencer said squeezing both of Ashley's hands. "Let's help each other Ashley. I'm here for you if you want me to be. Don't shut me out of your life now. I need you in mine more than ever now. I need your encouraging words to push me to continue when I feel things are not going well. No matter what happens here at this Center, whether I walk out of here or wheel out of here, I'm going to live my life to the fullest and I want to live it with you. I love you Ashley Davies and I know you love me. Let's help each other."
"Spencer I do love you, I do," Ashley said hugging Spencer and crying. "I need another kind of help too. I think I've gotten too dependent on the pain medication. I've been stealing pain medication off the medicine cart and out of some of the patient's rooms."
"Why would you do that Ash?"
"My hand would be hurting me so bad and Aiden wouldn't increase the dosage of my pain medication or give me an extra pill. So one day I was walking by the medicine cart and I saw some pills that belonged to the other residents that look like the ones I was taking, so I took them. The extra pills made my hand feel so much better. Well," sighing, "one pill led to another, than another. You get the picture. Now I need them just to get me through the evening and night, they make me feel like I can do anything. Then they wear off and I'm in pain again" Ashley explained.
"Come on Ash, I think you need to go and tell this to Dr. Dennison. You need help and he's the one that can get it for you."
"I love you Spencer."
"I love you too Ashley," Spencer said, as Ashley bent down to give her a kiss on her lips. Then another kiss on her cheek.
Knock, knock…
"Come in," Aiden said. "Ashley, Spencer come in. What brings you two here this evening?"
Ashley looks at Spencer. Clearing her throat, "Aiden I… I want to apologize for my outburst yesterday."
"Apology accepted Ashley."
"And I'm…"
"Go on Ashley tell him," Spencer whispered.
"You were right. I've been stealing meds off the medicine cart and taking them for the pain in my hand. Aiden you don't know how bad the pain gets, especially after my therapy. It's excruciating. It's so bad it makes me physically sick and it also makes me realize that as long as the pain continues the less lightly, I'll be able to get back to surgery. Than I become depressed. My life is surgery and… Spencer, Aiden. I want to be able to touch Spencer with both hands, not just one. And I want to feel what I touch, when I touch her," Ashley said looking at Spencer who was blushing. "But I realize now it's going to take time and patience."
"Thank you Ashley for coming to me and confessing about the pills. It was also you taking the meds from some of the patient's rooms too, wasn't it?"
Holding her head down in shame, "yes I'm guilty of that also. I'm sorry."
"I've got a friend who is willing to come here and help you. She'll evaluate your mental status and than you can start sessions with her here. Her name is Cynthia Taylor. She's been a psychiatrist for about seven years. She has her own practice."
"Seven years, how old is she Aiden? She hasn't been a psychiatrist for very long."
"She's been a doctor as long as we have. She took a leave and changed her career. I've known her on a personal level for ten years. She's good at what she does. I've talked to her about you a few days ago and if you're willing to accept her help, she's willing to come and counsel you. Ashley, are you willing?"
"Yes, I think it's time to get this monkey off my back. I can't be strung out on drugs and protect my lady too."
"Your lady?" Aiden said. "So are you two official now?"
"No, Dr. Dennison but we have established that we want to be in each other's life no matter what happens here," both ladies smiling at each other.
"Aiden can you do me a favor?" Ashley asked. "Sure."
"Well I haven't been to my condo since the accident."
"I've already been there and talked to your neighbor. Nice lady, a little nosey, but she seemed nice. Anyway she's been keeping an eye on your place and she also put your mail that had accumulated outside your mailbox in a box that she keeps in her place for you. I go once a week to pick it up from her. And I had a cleaning company go in to clean the glass and blood up. You owe me for that, missy. It wasn't cheap."
"Thanks Aiden, what would I do without you?"
"I'm your best friend remember. That's what best friends do. I'll get Dr. Taylor here tomorrow. You two have a good night and Spencer… thank you."
"No thanks needed she's my best friend Dr. Dennison," Spencer said.
/
"Okay Ms. Van Der Meir let me get this straight. You want me to spy on Dr. Davies and Spencer Carlin while they are residents at the Center. You just want me to watch them, than report back to you."
"Yes, Boz that's correct."
"Well, why don't you just visit them like everyone else does? I don't like the idea of spying on them. That's like invading their privacy or something. You're not just asking me to report on the progress of their therapy. You want to know personal, intimate stuff."
"No Boz it's not like that. I'm unable to come on a daily basis myself. But I need to know how they're doing physically and mentally, so when I do come to visit, I'll know what to do to help them more. They are very dear friends of mine and for your efforts Boz I will pay you very, very well. I know you need the money to help your mom."
"Alright Ms. Van Der Meir, I'll get that information for you. Make sure you have the money ready when I give you the lowdown."
"Very good Boz, I'll look forward to hearing from you in a few days. See you later."
Alex's POV
This is great. Now I've got the therapist who actually works on both of them to keep an eye on them for me. What good fortune for me to have been at the bank talking to my friend when Boz came in trying to stale the bank from foreclosing on his mom house. Yes, my good fortune indeed. I can get all the information I need without upsetting my father and if things go my way, maybe I can get him to sabotage Spencer and Ashley's budding romance.
/
"Okay Spencer let's get these braces on your legs. I want to see you get out of your wheelchair," Sherry said. "Hmpt, okay Sherry I'm standing now what?"
"Here grab the bars and try to walk the length of it. Go slow, it's about twelve feet long so don't rush it. Okay left… right… left… right. Just a little further Spencer, you're almost there. How do you feel? Are you getting tired?"
"No, I'm fine, no pain, no cramping."
"Very good, five more steps and you'll be done. Left… right… left… right, great Spencer, here's your wheelchair. Now turn slowly and sit down. That was great," Sherry said. "See how the muscles in your upper body are helping to support what you are unable to move normally in your lower body. Now I want you to do twenty arm reps each using the fifteen pound dumbbells, while I take your leg braces off. Than I'll get you on the table to massage your legs and back. Tomorrow we'll do just the leg exercises."
"Okay Sherry, I did really good today and I feel great."
"Yes Spencer, excellent."
/
"Come on Ashley give me a grip. I want to see you squeezing that ball."
"I'm trying, my hand won't do it."
"Okay, let's try this," Sean said. "Close your eyes and imagine yourself on a baseball field and you're the pitcher on the mound. You're a southpaw, you got the ball in your hand and you're twirling it around between your fingers gripping it, squeezing it getting ready to throw it to the catcher."
"Okay Sean." Ashley closed her eyes, but it was not the pitcher's mound she imagined herself standing on or a baseball she was twirling around in her hand.
She was with Spencer in her bedroom… "Spencer I want to touch you. Let me touch you." "Yes, Ashley I want to feel your hands on me." Spencer pulls off her top and starts to unclasp her bra but is stopped by a pair of hands. Ashley's hands. "Let me do that Spencer." Moving her fingers effortlessly she unclasps the bra and takes it off her. Then she takes the pad of her thumb and rubs Spencer's nipple softly. She uses her thumb and forefinger to gently squeeze the nipple, making it hard. "Hmm, Ashley," Spencer moans. " I can feel your skin Spencer, so soft." Ashley takes both of Spencer's breasts in each hand, gently massaging them like a baker kneads dough, rubbing the palms of her hands over Spencer's already harden nipples. "Ashley… Ashley."
"Ashley!" Sean finally shouts her name startling her out of her trance.
"Hmm! What?!"
"You see how you're squeezing the ball?"
"Huh?" Ashley said, still trying to refocus her thoughts.
"Ashley are you ok? You look a little red around the cheeks."
"Uh… um… yes I'm fine. I just got a little warm squeezing the ball," she said embarrassed by what she had been imagining. Now I need a cold shower.
"Well that was the best movement I've seen since you started your therapy. Wow! You were really squeezing that ball."
"Okay Sean I believe you," Ashley said still blushing.
"How's the pain in the hand?"
"It's hurting."
"Okay on a scale of one to ten where is your pain?"
"It's a seven now."
"Alright I'll get your pain meds, it's time for you to have them."
"Thanks Sean."
"Hey Dr. Dennison, Ashley did really well with her therapy today. She was really squeezing the ball."
"Oh, and how did she managed to do so well?"
"I told her to imagine she was a southpaw on the mound getting ready to throw out a pitch. She must have really been trying to get that batter out because she got kinda flustered and her cheeks got so red."
"Okay Sean, I'm sure Dr. Dennison and the person with him, are not interested in the color of my cheeks. Pain medication, remember."
"Oh yeah, sure thing I'll be right back."
Aiden looked at Ashley, "baseball mound or someone else's mound, Ash?"
Ashley looked at the floor blushing again. "Is your pain still severe after your therapy?"
"Yes."
"Give me a number, Ash."
"Seven."
"Hmm, that's not too bad after the exercise Sean said you had, he said chuckling."
Ashley looked around Aiden to the person standing behind him.
"Oh! Yes, Ashley I want you to meet Dr. Cynthia Taylor. Dr. Taylor, Dr. Ashley Davies."
"Nice to meet you," they both said. Sean came back with Ashley's pain medication than left.
"Ashley, Cynthia I'll leave you two alone. Cynthia I'll talk with you later."
"Alright Aiden," Dr. Taylor said.
"So Ashley do you want to talk here or go somewhere else?"
"If you don't mind I'd like to go back to my room, at least for the first session."
"That's fine, lead the way."
A/N: Kinda sappy, but that's me. Okay that's Ashley's therapy, next up Spencer's therapy continues. Thanks for reading.