A/N: Enjoy! This is sorta like at least a few weeks after the surgery and trying to get everything back to normal.
Chapter 26
"Ali…Ali… Ali…"
Alison groaned and spun around, "You okay?" she mumbled, opening her eyes to see her girlfriend beside her on the knee's, "What are you doing?"
"I'm bored," Cece pouted.
Alison sat up a little and squinted at the clock, "It's 3 in the morning! Why are you even awake!?"
"I've been sleeping forever, Ali," Cece shrugged, "I guess now my body is ready to be awake!"
Alison smiled tiredly, "Impeccable timing as usual."
Cece ducked her head, "I'm sorry," she mumbled guiltily.
"It's okay, baby," Alison murmured, placing a hand on Cece's face, "It's nice to see you so alert."
"Alert," Cece echoed, "I hate being so sleepy all the time. It sucks. My brain feels like clay. I can't even think straight let alone talk, it's like being paralysed. I want to talk sometimes but I can't find the right words…" she frowned.
"It sounds awful," Alison pulled her girlfriend in for a hug, "But it will only get better," she kissed her cheek, "Plus, look at you now. You're more awake than you've been in weeks."
Cece nodded, "I know, I feel good for once," she smiled, "I love you, Ali."
Alison smiled, "I love you too."
"I hate this stupid bandage," Cece grumbled, her hand on the bandage that encircled her head, "I look so silly."
Alison chuckled, "No, you don't," she rolled her eyes, "You look cute!"
"You have a funny idea of cute," Cece snorted, "You're just trying to make me feel better, which I appreciate but – "
Alison's lips cut her girlfriend off. She felt Cece melt into the kiss and moan quietly as she did so. Cece rolled on top on her as her tongue entered Alison's mouth hungrily. Alison responded just as enthusiastically, her hands grasping at the hem of Cece's singlet. The two broke apart breathless.
"I've missed that taste," Cece breathed.
Alison grinned, "Me too, baby."
Cece smiled and ducked her head into the crook of Alison's neck and began sucking. Her hands trailed over Alison's body.
Alison hesitated, "Hey, maybe we…shouldn't," she said reluctantly.
Cece stopped to look Alison in the eye, "I've missed this, Ali. Haven't you?"
Alison bit her lip and nodded, "Of course, I just want to make sure you're okay – "
"I'm okay," Cece insisted, "Please don't treat me like a patient, babe. I'm your girlfriend," she said, wide eyed.
Alison sighed and nodded, "I know you are. I'm sorry, I just worry," she smiled, "But you're right. Just promise me you won't push yourself too far, okay?"
Cece smiled, "I promise," she kissed Alison's lips, "And thanks for worrying. I'm so lucky to have you," she murmured, "You're so sexy when you're being all caring."
Alison chuckled, "Really? You think so?"
Cece grinned, "Yeah," she kissed Alison's cheek and down her jawline, "I like when you take care of me," she murmured, continuing down her neck, "But I like taking care of you too," she nipped Alison's neck as her hands pushed up her girlfriends top, "Let me show you."
Alison sighed in pleasure, running a hand through Cece's hair, "Okay," she breathed, "Show away."
"I'm over being tired," Cece grumbled to her doctor at her latest check up, "Can't i stop taking the sleeping medication yet? I'm tired of sleeping."
The doctor hmmed, "And the pain around the wound-site?"
Cece shrugged, "It's not that bad. Headaches sometimes but it's fine."
"Well, if you want to stop the medication, you can," the doctor said slowly, "But if you start getting pain again, it's okay to go straight back onto them, normal dose, okay?"
"Sure, i'll be fine," Cece claimed, "Can I get the bandages off yet?" she asked hopefully.
The doctor smiled, "Not quite, though I do need to change them," she began unravelling the bandages, "It is healing quite well, though. It's just really important to keep the area protected. The last thing you want is an infection."
"The last thing I want is a stupid bandage around my head," Cece grumbled, a tad petulantly.
Her doctor smiled, "I know, but trust me, it's for your own good," she promised, "It should only be for a few more weeks. Now, how about everything else? Memory? Moods?"
Cece sighed, "It's all been fine," she waved a dismissive hand before thinking, "Well, sometimes... when I'm talking I can't find the right word. It's like I get a blank... is that bad?"
Her doctor shook her head, "No, that's quite a normal symptom and it can hang around for a while. Have you noticed anything else? How's your appetite? Concentration?"
"Appetite's fine," Cece shrugged, "Concentration sucks. I can't read for very long and audiobooks are the worst thing ever. Sometimes if I'm watching a movie, I end up losing track of the plot. Sometimes I forget what people are talking about too, especially if it's more than just me and Ali."
"That's okay. Again, it's all normal after brain surgery, the brain can take a while to get back to normal. You just let me know if it starts to get any worse, won't you?"
"Sure," Cece nodded.
"And you should try to keep reading if you can," the doctor encouraged, "It's good to exercise those parts of the brain. It will encourage them to heal faster than if you stop using them altogether."
"I'll try," Cece agreed.
"Maybe if it's getting too hard, you could get Ali to read you," the doctor suggested, "She has a nicer voice than those terrible audiobooks, I'm sure," she smiled.
Cece grinned, "Hey, that's a pretty good idea!"
"Hey, Ali!" Emily chirped as she sat opposite her friend in a booth of the brew, "Isn't Cece coming?"
Alison nodded, "Oh yeah, she's just in the bathroom."
"Oh, good!" Emily nodded.
Hanna, Aria and Spencer joined them.
"So, how is she… with the whole brain surgery thing?" Hanna asked not so subtly.
Alison looked over her shoulder, "She's doing pretty well. I mean, she gets really tired easily so she can be really quiet sometimes… but I think she's starting to improve. She saw her doctor today and she said everything's going pretty well."
"Brain surgeries are full on, it can take a long time to get back to normal," Spencer said matter of factly.
Cece returned, sitting beside her girlfriend, "Hey guys," she smiled.
"Hey," Hanna smiled awkwardly.
Aria smiled too.
Spencer smiled politely.
"Hey, it's good to see you!" Emily rolled her eyes at her friends, "Um, how are you feeling?"
Cece smiled, grateful for Emily treating her normally, "I'm alright," she shrugged, "Mostly tired which is sort of driving me crazy because everyone just tells me to rest all the time. But hey, my head doesn't hurt so much like it did the first week."
"That's good," Emily smiled.
"Resting sucks," Spencer sympathised, "I'm no good at that either."
Cece laughed, "It's okay. I mean, my head gets all foggy anyway so it's not like I can do much sometimes but… at least, I have Alison," she smiled at her girlfriend, "I'm the luckiest girl in the world."
Alison bit back a smile and placed a hand on Cece's back, massaging it gently, "I love you," she murmured.
"Love you too," Cece kissed her quickly.
"Okay, okay, we get it," Hanna rolled her eyes.
Alison grinned, "What? My girlfriend is the strongest, bravest woman I know," she shrugged, "I'm never going to hide how much I love her."
Hanna couldn't help grinning, "Sweet."
"The sweetest," Cece murmured and kissed her girlfriend again before yawning a little and resting her head on Alison's shoulder.
"Hey, you want to head home?" Alison asked softly.
"Nah," Cece said, "I'm comfortable right here," she nuzzled into Alison's shoulder, only half listening to the conversation going on around her.
"So, doc had an idea today. You know how I keep getting frustrated because I can't read properly?"
Alison smiled, "You mean when you throw a book across the room and throw a tantrum? Yeah, I've noticed."
Cece blushed, "I know, I know I'm a six year old."
"It's okay," Alison kissed her cheek as the two lay on the bed, "What was the doctor's idea?"
"You might think it's kind of silly," Cece mumbled.
Alison tilted her head, "Tell me, Ce."
Cece bit her lip, "Well, maybe you could read to me."
Alison's face lit up, "Really? But I thought you hate listening to people read."
"That's those stupid tapes," Cece said, "But you have a nice voice. A pretty voice, a cute voice, a - "
"Okay, okay," Alison laughed, "I get it. Of course I'll read to you."
Cece grinned, "Really? You don't mind?"
"Of course not, silly. I'd do anything for you," Alison said and picked up the book she knew Cece was reading, "Plus, this is kind of nice," she murmured as Cece rest her head on her chest. She began to read aloud. Cece smiled, enjoying the sound of her girlfriends' voice and the rise and fall of her chest beneath her head.