I do not own Rookie Blue or any of the characters.

AU after series 4 - Andy stayed with Nick instead of getting back together with Sam and now they are married. Established Andy/Nick.

Chapter 25 : Rehabilitation.

Nick's stay at hospital had been extended by another 3 weeks and this had caused both husband and wife a great deal of stress, but, by the end of August, he was finally ready to go to a rehabilitation centre. Most of their friends from Divivion-15 had been to see him and to support Andy, but Nick had been in so much pain and he had quite depressed that he had not really spoken to anyone. During the weeks in hospital, Nick had still been in shock, struggling with being in pain his back and, generally, depressed, and Andy had felt the same, but now that he was due to start recovery and rehabilitation, he was a bit happier, because it was about making the most of what he could do, instead of lying in a hospital bed. Andy hated seeing her husband in this much pain, but she hoped that it would be better. The Dr had also warned Andy and Nick about the possibility of PTSD, a condition of which Nick was very aware because of his time in the Army, but Andy knew that, if that were also a factor, her husband would deal with it. He seemed to be a bit stronger now and far less depressed than he had been after initially waking up, but the nights and the mornings were still hard, because it was very painful for him and he hated not being able to do anything for himself; that was why he was looking forward to rehab, so that he could learn to be as independent as possible, even something which had previously been easy, like putting socks on and even sitting up had was very painful and he was worried about Andy, because she was so tired and always with him.

Clare had taken Andy down to get some food and, when they returned to the hospital room, Nick was finally out of the bed. He was sitting in a wheelchair, for the very first time. Andy's heart ached. Nick saw the heartbroken look on his wife's face so he wheeled over to her and grabbed her hands, "Andy, look! I can move around. It's like I'm a F1 driver!"

Andy laughed, but she had to adjust her brain. Nick had always been taller than her and now he was smaller, because he was in a wheelchair.

Clare left them alone and Andy sat down in a chair and asked, "How are you feeling?" The night before he had been very sick and had thrown up almost everything he had eaten, but he seemed to be feeling better now and her husband was so honest she knew that it must be what he was really feeling. Neither of them could ever hide a thing from the other.

"I'm feeling better now. I managed to have some bread a couple of minutes ago and the pain isn't as bad as it was last night." He titled his head and smiled, "Andy, you don't believe me, do you?"

Andy shook her head and leaned down and kissed her husband as she smiled, "No, I do. I'm so glad you're going to rehab."

Nick nodded in agreement. "I couldn't agree with you more! I'm so excited to leave this place and try to get back to normal- whatever that is, now." He smiled and indicated to Andy to sit on his lap, which she did, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Andy, I'm going to be at rehab for about a month, so why don't you go back to work? Speaking of normal?"

Andy looked at her husband as if he were insane as she replied, "I can't do that. What if you need me?"

Smiling at the goodness of his wife's heart, Nick took hold of her hands and squeezed them, looking into her eyes. "Andy, the whole point of rehab is so that I learn to be as independent as possible and, despite what the last few weeks have been like, it's not just about me. You need to go back to work, you need to do it for you and the rehab centre's close to the station anyway. You can't be with me every single second of the day and I'm feeling much better than before and you need to go back to work. For you, Andy. You need work and I want you be to be happy and I don't want to see you this tired. We both need to be as strong as possible for what's ahead and I'm doing that with rehab and you can do that by going back to work. I'm not going anywhere." He smiled and closed the gap between them, kissing her softly, before he broke his kiss, kissing his eyes closed as he whispered, "Andy, I'm worried about you. You need to go back to work."

Even though she didn't want to, Andy knew that he was right and she also knew that she would need as much strength as she could for when she and Nick moved into their new home, when their future would be so very clear to both of them. Nick was also right; she couldn't be there all of the time, because he needed to learn to be as independent as possible and she also didn't want Nick to be worried about whilst he was recovering. Andy nodded and admitted defeat. "You're right. I'll ask Frank about some half-shifts over the weekend. You're moving on Friday, right? I'll help you get settled and see if I can take a Saturday day-shift. Will that stop you from worrying?"

Nick just nodded. "Of course it will." He suddenly winced because of the pain in his back and he hissed in pain and Andy wished that she could take away his pain.

Friday arrived. Thursday night had been an awful night, with Nick being in so much pain he had vomited for about 3 hours and Andy had had to call a Dr to help Nick get back into bed, but it was the morning and Nick managed to move himself into his wheelchair, for the very first time.

The rehabilitation centre was 10 minutes away from the station and it was very nice place, which made Andy feel far more comfortable about leaving Nick there. The room which was assigned to Nick had an en-suite and Nick felt very happy there; here, he was going to learn to be as independent as he possibly could. It was now the afternoon, by the time Nick had settled in and she and Andy had spoken to the nursing staff and had lunch together, so Nick said, "Andy, you need to go and ask Frank about a day-shift tomorrow, don't you?"

Andy shrugged and replied, "I've got plenty of time. I'm helping you to get settled in."

Before Nick could say anything, one of the physiotherapists walked into the room. She was a woman in her late 50s and she walked over to Andy and Nick, smiling. "You must be Nick and this is your wife, Andy? Are you ready for your first session?"

Nick winced in pain slightly before nodding, "Yes, I am." He looked over at Andy and reached out for her, kissing her lightly on the lips. "I'll see you later. I love you."

Andy kissed him back and hugged him before she whispered back, "I love you, too, Nick."

Frank was very surprised to find Andy at the station, but he also understood that it was important for to work at such a time and, as Nick had said, he was going to be in rehab for about a month and she needed to work, for some normalcy in her life.

Saturday morning arrived and Andy was very grateful for the presence of Jem, because waking up without Nick was strange. She texted him to say good morning and he immediately texted her back, wishing her good luck with her first shift.

When Andy was in the locker room, changing into her uniform, she wasn't surprised to see Tracey and Gail walking over to her and the former gave her a hug and asked, "Hey, how are you doing? How's Nick?"

Attaching her radio to her belt, Andy replied, "He's-um- he seems better now he's in rehab. Less depressed."

Tracey and Gail glanced at each other, before Tracey asked, "What about you, Andy? How are you coping?"

"How do you think I am, Trace? My husband's been paralysed and he's in so much pain that he throws up and he can barely do anything for himself! I'm here to work-not to think about the fact that my husband will never walk again and he'll probably always be in pain!" She did not mean to snap at Tracey and she also knew that her best friend would understand.

For the first shift back, Andy was with Gail, who seemed almost as devastated by Nick's condition as she was, because she had known Nick when they had been very young and knew how active and fit he had been.

As soon as her shift was over, Andy changed, then walked to the rehab centre, where she found that Nick was happy because he had been able to dress himself, for the first time since the explosion. Andy tried to hide her tears, but Nick instantly knew that she had been crying, so he wheeled himself over to her and held his arms out to her and she fell into them. All she needed now was her husband and she felt so bad, because he was the one in pain and, yet, she was the one who crying, but Nick also knew that her feelings had been building up and he was glad that they were finally coming out because she had been so strong when he had been depressed. They were in this life together, no matter what.