Concussed Chapter 4
"Next exercise is walking through an obstacle course and building stamina up to running through the obstacle course with your gear on." Caleb said, declared their water break over.
"I look ridiculous." Kim worried as she tried to keep her balance, walking on a balance beam and climbing over obstacles and sometimes swaying and knocking into the course.
"You?" Matt asked incredulously. "I look like a drunken college student you should be arresting right about now." He complained about his lack of coordination.
"Well the truth is, you will never be this bad again. You can only go up!" Tiffany said cheerfully, carefully watching how they walked and how they reacted to their environment.
"Okay, last stop is the sensory room. It's a cozy room covered with dark velvet wall coverings that make the room feel soft. Pillows cover the floor and the lights are dimmed so as not to hurt your eyes. Quiet music played in the background but just loud enough not to distract you.
You will come in and we will do some brain games. Today we will do a memory game. We will put 10 items on this tray. You will have 30 seconds to remember as many items as you can. " Tiffany explained. "Ready, set, go…" the timer started.
"Now write down what you remember." Caleb continued. Kim was writing consistently, but Casey was stop and go. Kim remembered 6 things and Matt remembered 5 things.
Your homework is to play a game since you can't watch tv or read that will help your brain, like boggle, scrabble, bananagrams, cards etc.. " Caleb reminded them that they have a role in their recovery too.
"We have a bunch of those games at the firehouse, you should come and play them sometime Kim." Matt invited her to Station 51. "Plus I make a mean pulled pork sandwich."
"Sandwich and Scrabble?" Kim offered up a name for this date. Matt nodded his agreement.
"Now for the good part, You get a neck massage and head massage and heat before you go." Tiffany promised them.
"You just want us to come back." Kim argued, with a knowing smile. Neither Caleb or Tiffany denied her claim though she realized. The massages were as good as advertised.
"See you tomorrow Burgess!" Matt Casey called back to the police officer as he was leaving to go home to the loft he shared with Kelly and Stella.
"Bye Casey!" replied Kim as she walked to the main part of the hospital for her visit with Dr. Charles.
A few hours later..
"Something smells good in here." Jay commented happily, happy to come home and have someone to share it with, instead of the usual empty, quiet place he was used to.
"Hey babe." Kim greeted Jay from the kitchen, the smell of chocolate and brownies drawing him in. There were batches of brownies scattered across his kitchen
"They are for the squad at 51." Kim declared at his unasked question. "I'm going over tomorrow for Sandwich and Scrabble with Casey. Plus I want to thank them for all the work they did to get us out."
"That's super thoughtful of you." Another reason he loved Kim Burgess. "Should I be concerned about Casey making moves on my girl?" He teased her as he wrapped her up in his arms.
"And by the way, you look great in an apron." he said with a wink. She also had some flour on her cheek, which he brushed off with a gentle thumb before going in for a kiss. "I look better in a police uniform or plain clothes." Kim complained mildly before she was kissed and before more words could come out.
"Don't worry I saved a batch just for you and the guys." Kim promised, seeing his puppy dog eye look at the thought of all these brownies going to the firehouse. "Cops don't just love donuts you know." Jay said excitedly.
"How was Brain Camp?" Jay asked as he forced Kim to sit and talk to him about her day. Dr. Charles said it was important to check in daily with a set time if possible and ask and answer at least one question to foster communication about their traumatic experience.
"It was good, I got to see Caleb and Tiffany." She began positively, leaning into his side, she had missed him after spending all the hours together the last few weeks, and now he is going to work and she is going to therapy.
"I didn't know they worked at Chicago Med." Jay replied surprised, his fingers slowly winding through her curled hair.
"Yeah and they have an amazing TBI program, Return to Work and Play protocol, and Concussion Rehab and Therapy." Kim rattled off the details proudly. "They even have programs for kids there and Alzheimer patients."
"That is awesome." he agreed, before asking his next question. "How do you feel after therapy, after both therapies?" Jay wondered how open she would be about these two things.
"Tired, emotionally and mentally." She admitted slowly. " We had to memorize 10 items in 30 seconds. And I only got 6 right. It was frustrating." Kim confessed. She loves her job, she is good at it. She wants to be back putting bad guys away instead of playing scrabble.
"Did they give you any homework you can practice at home?" Jay asked helpfully. He knew Kim held herself to a high standard.
"Yeah, play games like Scrabble, boggle, scattergories, bananagrams." Kim stated.
"Well, we will go to Target tomorrow and get some games and do some Brain Camp at night." Jay declared matter of factly.
"We should play for favors." KIm suggested playfully with a raised eyebrow.
"What do you have in mind, Burgess?" Jay wondered, pulling her closer to him, invading her personal space.
"Well Detective, I guess you will just have to figure that out for yourself." She said with a laugh as she headed to the kitchen as the timer beeped on her ziti in the oven.
"Be warned, I just want you to know that I don't play to lose. It doesn't matter the game, I play to win." Jay Halstead boasted as he kissed her fiercely before he let her go rescue dinner.
He loved when she got all flustered after he kissed her. She would blush (his favorite part) and then brush her hair back away from her face, then avert her eyes from him and finally she would bite her lips.
"Jay," Kim whined playfully. "The doctor said nothing strenuous." She reminded him gently,but frustrated.
"He told you not to do anything strenuous." Jay lobbied back. "I made no such promises." Kim's laughter brightened up his whole day. He winked at her. "Don't worry babe. I'll do all the work." He smirked as he pulled the covers over the both of them. Her laughter lit up the dark corners of his heart that he had hidden away for so long.
"This not having coffee rule really sucks," Kim complained as she sat at the island in Jay's kitchen eating a bowl of cereal and a cup of orange juice and a cup of tea.
"Well think about how you not having coffee affects me." Jay fake complained, holding a hand to his heart dramatically, making her laugh.
"Have a good day at work." Kim stated quietly as she leaned back in for another kiss before he had to pull away. He was just as reluctant to leave her, "Have fun, see you after shift."
She walked into the hospital less perky than normal and a lot less caffeinated, but she found Matt in a similar condition. "You never know how much you need coffee until you can't have it." He muttered as they walked to the clinic together. Kim nodded her head in agreement, cursing Tiffany and Caleb in her mind.
It was another busy day in the rehab facility for the pair, as they also had to do an exertion test on the treadmill to test their ability to maintain their heart rate while exerting energy. After their massages, Kim and Matt headed over to Station 51.
"Make yourself at home." He encouraged her to sit in the common quarters of the kitchen/living room. "I'm just checking on the pork in the crock pot. Should be ready in about an hour." Matt declared.
"Hey Kim!" Mouch called from the living room, Ritter and Gallo also greeted the police officer. Sylvie and Violet hearing Kim's voice rushed down to see their friend and another female in the station.
"How's Brain Camp?" Sylvie asked as the three females gathered on the couch to catch up. Kim smiled at the idea of the thought of Matt talking with Sylvie in his spare time. "I just want to get back to work." Kim stated. "But it's good. At least I've got Casey to keep me from losing my mind." She laughed when she realized what she said.
"How's Jay?" Violet wanted the gossip on her relationship, instead of the work gossip. "He's great. A little jealous though, when I told him I was coming to play Scrabble with Matt." Kim said with a laugh, shaking her head. And she was jealous of him, going out into the city, working.
"Can I give you a tour?" Brett offered and Kim accepted. She had been in the fire house before but not for any extended amount of time. She was curious how it all worked. "Do you have a fireman's pole?" she asked excitedly. When Violet nodded, Kim was super excited, going down a real fireman's pole was on her bucket list.
"Hey Burgess!" A voice called out from Kelly Severide's office. Stella, one of Kim's best friends ran out to give her a hug. "Kim! What are you doing here?"
"Matt and I are hanging out after therapy." She explained. "I'm so bored at home."
"Home or at Jay's?" She teased and Kim blushed at a question only a close friend could ask.
"How do you like sleeping here?" Kim asked Stella, when she ran into her and Severide in the Officer's quarters. She wondered what it would be like if they had sleeping quarters at the police station. She would have to remember to tell Jay that.
"Lunch is ready!" Casey called and the fire station came alive with firefighters and paramedics and other staff pouring into the common area. It was a little overwhelming the number of people that were in one place. Kim was used to her little family of seven, tucked away in a corner of the 21st district and most of the time they were out in the field.
She found herself between Stella and Ritter and across from Sylvie and Casey. Her friend swore that her and Casey were just friends, but there were definitely sparks between them.