AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Thank you so much for being patient with me while waiting on this update! I had a crazy week, but hopefully I am back on track now! I'll try not to go that long without another update again!
I hope you enjoy this update and be sure to leave a review!
Chapter 27: I'm Still Standing
SEBASTIAN
Ever since Artie had received his repaired ReWalk for Christmas and he'd promised that Sebastian could tag along to one of his physical therapy appointments, Sebastian hadn't let him forget it. He'd taken some time off from physical therapy because, for lack of a better explanation, life just got busy. But, thanks to Sebastian's incessant begging, once the pressures and responsibilities of Grease and Regionals were over, and after submitting a few of his college applications, Artie had scheduled a handful of weekly appointments in the therapist's office to get him back on track.
The day had finally come for Sebastian to accompany Artie to his appointment during the first week of February. Sebastian had been a little surprised when Artie had invited Kitty to come along too, but he supposed he shouldn't have been. When Artie had arrived home from the dinner from hell, he'd told Sebastian all about her crazy bitchy sister, but he'd also mentioned their kiss and that they were "officially official" now. Sebastian only guessed that along with the title of girlfriend, came Kitty's PT privileges.
Artie was in joggers and a hoodie as he wheeled into the physical therapist's office, Sebastian and Kitty trailing awkwardly behind. In his hands, Sebastian held Artie's leg braces. They were mostly made out of plastic and metal, and Sebastian was intrigued to see Artie use them, as he never did so at home. The receptionist, a round Black woman with the brightest smile Sebastian had ever seen, greeted them when they entered the building.
"Artie Abrams! It's been a while since I've seen you here!" She exclaimed, as Artie sheepishly smiled and nodded.
"It's been too long, I know," he admitted. "And I'm sure that Kyle is gonna say the same thing when I get in there."
She nodded, knowingly. "Well, he's in there waiting for you. Go put in some hard work, then we can catch up when you're done."
Artie nodded and waved goodbye as he headed into the gym. The facility was relatively empty, save for one patient and therapist working together in the far corner of the room. A tall guy with shaggy, dirty-blonde hair (that kind of reminded Sebastian of Sam's) had his back to the trio as they entered, but the tell-tale rattle of Artie's chair made him turn around.
"Well, I'll be damned," the guy said, shaking his head with disbelief and crossing his arms over his chest. "I saw your name on my schedule for the day, and I was ready to bet you wouldn't show up."
"Alright, I deserved that one, I suppose," Artie said, wheeling closer to the guy to give him a high five.
"Looks like I get an audience while I torture you today," Artie's therapist said, nodding towards Sebastian and Kitty, who were now standing awkwardly off to the side. "Who's the entourage?"
"This is my step-brother, Sebastian, and my girlfriend, Kitty," Artie introduced them. "Seb and Kitty, this is Kyle. He's been my physical therapist since… well, forever, I guess."
"The asshole! Right!" Kyle exclaimed as he shook Sebastian's hand. "Good to put a face to the name."
Sebastian glared in Artie's direction, causing the other boy to turn beet red. "I may or may not have been ranting to him when we were at odds last year." Artie bit his lip. "Sorry, dude."
"I'm more than just his physical therapist, I deal with his pressing emotional needs too. So if you wrong him, I'm gonna hear about it." He looked between Sebastian and Kitty with a raised eyebrow. He said it so deadpan that Sebastian wasn't sure if he was joking or not.
"Really?"
"Hell no. I would never trust him with that responsibility." Artie shook his head and rolled his eyes at the way that Kyle was messing with his guests for the day. "My unresponsive lower half? Sure. My emotional well-being? Never."
"Alright, enough of the chit-chat," Kyle said, clapping his hands together. "We have some work to do."
Kyle didn't even have to say anything more before Artie lined his chair up with the table and used his upper body to swiftly transfer. He then pulled his legs onto the table one by one before laying back. Sebastian and Kitty sat down on two of the rolling stools nearby as the therapist and patient caught up like old friends.
As Artie filled him in on what had been going on in his life since the last time he'd come for therapy, Kyle started their session off by guiding Artie's right leg in some stretches and range of motion exercises to warm up his muscles. Sebastian recognized these movements as the ones Nancy- or Griffin, if he was around- usually helped Artie do before bed. Sebastian had helped once or twice too, but, if he was being honest, he didn't really see what the point was. It's not like Artie used those muscles on a regular basis.
He wasn't about to ask the therapist to explain, but it seemed like Kitty was wondering the same thing. And she wasn't quite as passive as Sebastian was finding himself to be in that moment.
"Sorry to interrupt," Kitty butt in. "But, what… um, do those stretches do? For Artie, I mean. And, don't take this the wrong way," she turned to Artie. "But his… condition is permanent right? So is there hope for him walking again?"
Sebastian raised an eyebrow at the girl's bluntness, and he was sure that Artie would have turned pink at her curiosity, but, to his surprise, his step-brother seemed completely unfazed.
"'Therapy is to preserve and maintain'," Artie answered, in a high-pitched nasal voice and using air quotes, mimicking the sentence that he'd undoubtedly heard too many times since the accident, whenever the topic of his therapy came up.
The others laughed before Kyle began sharing his expertise.
"Well, I'm going to go ahead and guess that you're a cheerleader," Kyle said, nodding to the Cheerios uniform Kitty was still wearing underneath her letterman jacket, before briefly turning back to Artie. "Congrats, by the way, on the good-looking cheerleader. I always knew you had it in you, when I was telling you to be patient all these years. Like I always said, chicks dig the chair."
That last sidebar comment was all it took to get Artie visibly flustered as Kitty crossed her arms over the school's emblem on her chest, glancing questioningly at Sebastian, who just shrugged. Kyle turned his attention back to Kitty now, so that he could answer her question.
"Anyways, before you do any of your stunts, you stretch out, right?" Kyle asked, to which Kitty nodded. "Well, it's the same thing for Artie. He's gonna be doing his version of… flips and stunts… today. Gotta make sure those muscles are warmed up. The range of motion exercises are to ensure that his joints stay healthy and movable. I help him by extending them like this since he can't do it on his own anymore."
Kitty nodded, and so did Sebastian. When Kyle explained it like that, it all made perfect sense.
"All of this to make sure he stays in the best shape that he can. Which is why he's got to find a way to make room in that busy schedule of his to make PT a priority," Kyle said, glancing down pointedly at Artie, who just averted his eyes.
"I sent some college apps to schools in LA last week," Artie shared, effectively changing the subject. "They're on a rolling admissions process, so I should know if I get in pretty soon too. I have a few more finishing touches to add to my applications to the Brooklyn Film Academy and NYU, then those ones will be ready to go too."
"Damn, it just hit me that you're old now," Kyle said as he switched his focus to Artie's left leg. "What happened to my little buddy?"
"If I'm old, you're older," Artie reminded him before turning to Sebastian and Kitty, who were both suddenly feeling very out of place. "I was his first patient."
"Yep, and he was so easy that it gave me a false sense of reality for everybody else going forward," Kyle reminisced. "This kid was so motivated. I've never met a harder worker."
"That sounds like Artie," Sebastian nodded. "Was he stubborn back then too?"
Kyle laughed, nodding. "Oh, yeah. We spent an entire session one time just rolling up that little ramp in the corner." He pointed to a small incline across the room. "It was the first time he was trying it on his own in his first custom chair, and he refused to move on to anything else until he'd mastered it, even though I told him we could take it slow."
"I choose to remember myself as determined," Artie replied, crossing his arms over his chest as the older guy continued to manipulate his leg. "And guess what? Rolling up that damn ramp ended up being the most useful little victory ever. It set me up for, like, every day of the rest of my life. Plus, it was good to have gone home feeling like I'd achieved something. Moments like that were few and far between in those days, when I was dependent on everyone else for everything."
With that, Kyle set Artie's leg back down on the table.
"Time to stand!" He exclaimed, rubbing his hands together with a mischievous look on his face that got Artie to roll his eyes as he pushed himself up to a seated position.
Artie pulled his chair closer to the table and carefully lowered himself into it. Sebastian and Kitty followed him over to where Kyle was standing by a strange-looking contraption nearby.
"What the hell is that thing?" Sebastian asked, cocking his head to the side like a confused puppy as Artie locked his wheels in place beside it and prepared to transfer again.
"It's a standing frame," Artie answered. "I sit in this chair right here, we strap my legs in, and then Kyle will raise me up until I'm standing. It's supposed to be good for my bone density or something."
Kitty and Sebastian peered over curiously as Artie situated himself in the frame's seat. Kyle fastened the velcro straps and secured the padding around his knees as Artie seemed to be buckling some sort of harness around his chest. To Sebastian, this just looked like a lot of effort for something as simple as standing. One of the most important life lessons he'd learned since becoming so close to Artie was to never take the little things in life for granted because they could all be gone tomorrow.
"Ready?" Kyle asked when he was finished securing Artie in place, to which the younger guy nodded. Sebastian and Kitty watched in awe as Kyle began to pump the lever on the side of the contraption, and it slowly but surely raised Artie into a standing position.
When he was standing vertical, Artie appeared to be focusing on his breathing, as he closed his eyes, and took some deep breaths. This was only the second time Sebastian had ever seen Artie upright, and it still had that same foreign, emotional effect on him. What he didn't count on, however, was Kitty having the same reaction.
Artie's eyes were still closed as he tried to adjust to the change in altitude, so he missed Kitty wiping away the stray tear that slid down her cheek, but Sebastian had seen it. When Artie did open his eyes, he was met with his two guests for the day beaming back at him.
"Ta-da!" Artie said with a hint of weak enthusiasm.
Kitty took a few steps towards where Artie was standing and, placing her hands on one of his arms for balance, rose up on her tip-toes to plant a (very PG-rated) kiss on his lips. When they broke apart, both of them were grinning like idiots.
"That was…" She began before Artie cut her off.
"Weird?"
"I was going to say awesome, but, yeah. Weird works too." The two of them were still so lost in one another's eyes and Artie was still wearing that goofy smile, giving Sebastian no choice but to roll his eyes.
"Hey, Romeo," Kyle called, waving his hand between Kitty and Artie's faces to get his patient's attention. "Better start pumping those arms or you're gonna pass out."
Artie groaned as Kitty stepped back so that she was standing beside Sebastian again and he did as he was told. There were two levers in front of him, and if he pushed one and pulled the other at the same time, his legs would smoothly glide back and forth.
"Hey, that's kind of cool! It's like the elliptical we have at home!" Sebastian commented as he squatted down beside the active standing frame to see how it worked. "But, uh, what did he mean by pass out?"
"My body is so used to me sitting down all the time, that my circulation is a little wonky. If I'm standing for long periods of time, the blood starts to pool at my feet and I get dizzy and light-headed. And, yes, I have passed out on a few occasions," Artie explained with a small giggle as he continued to pump his arms. "But if my legs are moving, my muscles start to spasm a little, and it sends that blood back up to my heart where it belongs."
"This is his cardio training," Kyle added helpfully.
Kitty and Sebastian continued to make conversation with Artie to keep his mind off of the weirdly detached feeling he felt when he was standing up. It didn't take long before he began to tire out and Kyle lowered him down to a seated position. Without being asked, Sebastian retrieved the water bottle that he knew was in the backpack hanging off of the handles of the nearby wheelchair. He handed it to a very pale Artie, who accepted it gratefully.
"It probably wasn't smart of me to take you two along to my first appointment back," Artie laughed. "I can usually last way longer than that. I've got to build up my stamina again."
"Got any energy left for the fun stuff?"
Sebastian didn't know what kind of "fun stuff" Kyle was referencing, but Artie gave a noncommittal shrug and a tired smile in response. He looked exhausted, but also like he wanted to make sure that Kitty and Sebastian left this therapy session impressed with what he'd done, which he didn't realize they were going to be anyway.
"Fine," Artie answered. There was some excitement present in the smile playing on his lips now, as Artie handed the water bottle back to Sebastian. Kyle helped to undo the straps around his legs so that he could transfer back into his chair, and when he was settled, Artie wheeled over to retrieve his leg braces from where Sebastian had deposited them on the floor by the exam table where he'd been warming up. Setting the large braces on his lap, he wheeled back over to where the others were standing.
Artie explained how the braces were called KAFOs, and that their use was to stabilize and support his legs and muscles as he stood.
"Without them, my knees would just buckle beneath me," Artie said, as Kitty and Sebastian watched intently again as Kyle helped strap Artie's legs into the braces before slipping his shoes back over them.
When he was securely strapped in, Artie led the others over to the set of parallel bars in front of a mirror. He parked his chair at one end of the apparatus, locking his wheels in place and reaching for the silver bars. He gripped and regripped his hands a few times in order to get just the right grasp he needed. When he was ready, Kyle counted to three and lifted Artie at the hips, helping him up into a standing position.
Kitty had been clinging to Sebastian's arm out of anticipation and she began to jump up and down and cheer when he got up. Sebastian let out a sigh of relief that he hadn't even realized that he was holding until that very moment.
"Way to go, Art! Look at you!" Sebastian praised him.
Artie gave a strained smile as he carefully lifted his right leg up, swinging it forward a little before planting his foot back down on the floor and doing the same on the other side. He was huffing and puffing as he methodically ambulated down the twelve-foot length of the bars. Kyle was seated on a rolling stool behind him, steadying Artie's leg at the knee with each stride, and making sure that his feet didn't turn inwards.
"Now you're just showing off," Sebastian commented, causing Artie to pause and let out a small laugh in response, careful not to let it upset his balance.
All jokes aside, Sebastian suddenly felt this wave of emotion come over him, just as he had the first time he'd seen Artie on his feet. Only then, the robotic walking machine had pretty much been doing all of the work. But now, it was all him. Sebastian inconspicuously took a deep breath to steady his emotions. He would absolutely never hear the end of it from Artie if he saw that Sebastian had been moved by what he'd seen in today's session.
Lucky for him, Artie seemed too focused on his foot placement to notice much of anything else. He had a death grip on the bars, his knuckles turning white as he relied heavily on his upper body to do much of this work. Sebastian now realized why Artie was always so exhausted after his therapy sessions. He could only imagine having to retrain his body to do things so much differently the way Artie had done over the years.
When he reached the end, Kitty couldn't help but skip over and gently wrap her arms around her boyfriend's midsection, tilting her head up to kiss his jawline. Artie's hands remained on the bars as he kissed the top of her head before resting his chin on it. Sebastian noticed Artie's eyes water at the chance to see his girlfriend eye-to-eye. He wouldn't have expected that kind of reaction from the other guy, but, then again, Artie was always surprising him.
When Kitty stepped aside, it was Sebastian's turn. He smiled as he wrapped a strong arm around his step-brother and carefully pulled him into a close embrace.
"Thanks for inviting me today. You were awesome."
"I'm glad you wanted to come."
After a slight moment of hesitation, Artie slightly released the death grip he had on the metal bars, lifting one hand to hug Sebastian back. It was kind of weird, being chest to chest like that, but it was a moment that Sebastian would remember for the rest of his life and wouldn't trade for the world.
