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The next few days were nerve-wracking, as everyone waited to find out the extent of Frank's brain damage. He'd managed to become more coherent, but they were horrified to find out that Frank's right arm and hand frequently went numb.
"That's his gun hand," Cody had whispered, earning dismayed looks from the others.
Along with that, Frank was having difficulty thinking and occasional trouble speaking. He kept calling Jake 'Cody' and Cody 'Jake', which would've been humorous had it not been such a bad sign. He sometimes couldn't think of a word, and when he could think of it, sometimes he simply could not say it. He would get extremely frustrated, and would shut everyone out, simply staring at the wall, not responding to anyone. The only thing the team could do was sit with him quietly, one of the girls usually laying a hand on his arm, in silent support.
It was killing them all watching Frank go through something like this. It hit them the hardest the day the doctor wanted Frank to try to walk. It shocked them that he would try to get Frank up and around so soon, until the doctors explained that the sooner, the better.
"If he's to recover all his motor function, then we have to start it immediately. If he stays in bed the entire time his brain heals, without trying to regain the act of walking, his brain may not give him the capability back."
So the team watched anxiously, as they brought Frank in a wheelchair to a room where a physical therapist waited.
"Aww, you mean you couldn't even get the poor guy a woman?" Cody quipped, when they saw the man walking over to them.
"We need someone strong enough to hold him up," the doctor answered, having come the first day to observe, and make sure that Frank could handle the therapy.
"Oh yeah," Cody said, feeling like a moron.
"Hi," said the man. "My name's Jim, I'll be your physical therapist." He held out his left hand to Frank, knowing his situation.
Frank automatically started to raise his right arm, but then dropped it and shook the doctor's hand with his left.
"You ready to get outta that thing?" Jim asked, gesturing to the wheelchair.
Frank smiled slightly. "Yeah."
Jim smiled back, and gently pulled Frank up out of the chair, as Frank hadn't the strength to get up on his own.
Once standing—for the first time since his injury—Frank's knees buckled, but the therapist was ready for it and held onto him tightly. He brought him a few steps over to the parallel bars.
"How's your arm right now? Is it numb?"
"No," Frank said, swaying and breathing heavily with the effort of trying to remain upright.
"Why didn't he stop there?" Alex asked the doctor. "Frank obviously can't handle it yet!"
"He has to do it," the doc explained. "The longer we wait, the harder it'll be."
It was almost as difficult for them to watch Frank as it was for poor Frank to walk. The therapist helped him to stand between the bars, but he was too weak to hold himself up, so Jim had to help hold him there, as Frank tried to walk.
It was extremely slow going, and Frank seemed to not be handling it well, breathing heavier and heavier until Jim told him to stop, to catch his breath.
Frank obeyed gratefully, sighing in frustration over his slow progress.
"How long they gonna keep this up?" Jake asked the doctor.
Before he had a chance to answer, they suddenly saw Frank drop to the floor. They ran over to where he sat, his left hand on his head and his right arm in his lap; shaking his fingers in an effort to stop the tingling they knew was obviously there.
Jim quickly knelt next to Frank, grabbing him on one side as the doctor grabbed him on the other. He shook his head, angry at himself. He'd relaxed his grip on Frank for only a second, but it turned out to be the wrong second. He hadn't expected him to drop like a rock, too fast for him to even try to catch him. Frank was obviously still too weak to hold himself up with two arms, nevermind one, when his other had been struck by the numbness.
"Frank?" Monica said, worriedly.
Frank said nothing; eyes closed tightly, his hand still resting atop the bandage around his head. Realizing that he was in pain, they were quiet as they let him rest there for a minute.
Finally he opened his eyes, with a shaky sigh. He tried to lift his right arm, but the numbness was spreading, instead of diminishing.
"I think that's enough for today," the doctor said, looking at Jim.
"I agree," said the therapist.
Helping Frank up, they gently sat him in the wheelchair.
"Tomorrow?" Jim asked.
The doctor nodded.
"Okay." Jim put a hand on Frank's left arm. "Don't worry, it'll get easier."
Frank sighed, not looking convinced.
********************
Frank's therapy continued, and he was slowly regaining some strength. He still couldn't walk unsupported, but he was able to stand for a short time without help.
His right leg was weaker then his left, and he limped slightly on it. The doctor assured them that the limp would disappear if he remained diligent with his therapy.
The team had asked Frank if he remembered his mother, to find to their dismay that he didn't.
"What do we do now?" Alex asked. "His mother should be here at a time like this."
"I can keep looking," Cody suggested.
They shrugged, knowing that that was the only thing that could be done.
"What's her name?" they heard.
They looked at Frank to see that he wasn't asleep, as they had thought. He was looking at them intently, eager to regain a lost memory. His bandage was off, and they could still see the staples along the incision, but his hair was quickly growing back on that side, so it didn't look so bad.
"Her name is Alanur, Frank," said Alex. "We don't know that much about her though, we only met her once."
"Oh," Frank said, disappointed.
"She has long, wavy, black hair," Jake told him. "She's about 5'5. Pretty lady."
Frank smiled.
"She dotes on you, Frank," said Monica. "You're her pride and joy."
Frank's smile got bigger, before starting to fade. "But I don't remember her," he said, sadly.
Everyone sighed.
"I…remember you," he said to the team. "In a way. I know I know you, you look familiar now, but…" he shrugged. "I couldn't remember your names, and how I knew you."
"It'll all come back to you, boss," said Cody.
Frank looked at him, with a frown. "Boss?"
Everyone suddenly realized that they'd only told Frank he was their friend, not mentioning work at all, wanting to keep the stress of it away from him at such a time.
"I guess we left something important out," Jake said, with a sigh. "You're our boss; you head a unit of agents that go undercover to catch wanted criminals."
Frank looked shocked, to hear that.
"We're the whole team," Alex said. "You've been our boss for almost two years."
Frank said nothing, trying to think. For a second it sounded familiar, but then it was gone, as soon as it had come. He sighed heavily.
"Frank?" Monica said, in concern.
He said nothing, raising a hand to rub an eye. He didn't think to use his left instead of his right, and it abruptly went numb, dropping back to the bed. With a growl, he slammed his left fist into the mattress in frustration, but then had to close his eyes when the motion sent a wave of pain through his head.
"Oh Frank," said Alex, patting his left arm, hoping to calm him down.
"Don't," Frank said, his voice sounding strangely choked up.
No one knew what to do, unused to Frank Donovan showing emotion. He was never a man who displayed fear openly, or sadness; he never pitied himself or gave up. What they were seeing now was the human Frank Donovan, rather then the 'machine', and they realized that the injury was the reason; Frank didn't remember his usual behavior.
"It'll be all right, Frank," Monica said.
Frank said nothing, sighing again, and seeming to fall asleep.
Jake took the remote that controlled the bed's position, and hit the button that made it lower itself, so he wasn't sleeping sitting up.
"I have an idea," Cody whispered.
"What?" everyone asked, interested.
"I'll go to his apartment and get some pictures, ones with his mother and grandfather and stuff."
"Great idea!" said Alex, smiling.
"Go now," Monica demanded.
"Yes, ma'am!" Cody said, and ran out the door.
********************
Frank awoke to soft laughter. Opening his eyes, he looked to see what was so funny.
"This is the cutest one," Alex said. "He was the most adorable child!"
"I like the one with him and Alanur," said Monica. "What a tiny baby he was!"
When Frank heard the name 'Alanur', he knew it was familiar somehow, but he didn't quite remember the conversation they'd had.
"Frank! You're awake."
Looking up, he saw the team come closer to him, holding something in their hands.
"Cody went and got pictures," said Alex. "We can show you your family."
Frank's eyebrows shot up, and he looked around for the control that made the bed rise. Monica found it, and hit the appropriate button that would sit Frank up.
Frank smiled his thanks, and took the pictures she handed him.
"That's my favorite," she said.
Frank looked at the picture. It showed a woman holding a baby. She was smiling ear to ear, her long dark hair flying in the wind. "My mother?" he asked.
Everyone nodded. "Alanur Bay Donovan."
Frank stared at it for a minute, trying to remember her. Suddenly he had a fleeting image of himself…
He was standing on hot sand, with the sun glaring in his eyes. He was a child, holding a wooden sword, and fighting with another boy a little older then him. Suddenly he tripped somehow, and the other boy accidentally hit him in the face with the sword.
"Amma!" the boy yelled, running a short distance away.
From where he sat on the sand, Frank saw a woman come out of a tent, and run to him. It was Alanur, his mother.
She quickly knelt and took his face in her hands, looking at the scratch on his cheek. "Keyf ilhehl?" she asked.
Frank nodded. "Aywa."
Alanur smiled, and kissed him on the forehead.
"Frank?! Cody, go get a doctor…"
Frank blinked, suddenly realizing that he'd zoned out. For how long, he had no idea. "Bi kheyr," he said.
Everyone looked at him funny. "Huh?" Jake asked.
Frank began to shake his head, but stopped a split second into it. "I'm fine. I had a flashback…" he frowned. "What language was that?" he seemingly asked himself.
"You grew up in Egypt," said Alex. "That was Egyptian Arabic."
Frank looked at her, amazed. "I saw myself, in the desert, as a child. I was fighting another boy with a wooden sword, and…my mother was there."
Everyone smiled ear to ear, overjoyed that Frank had remembered something.
"This is wonderful, Frank!" Monica exclaimed. "It's a sign you're brain is healing!"
At that, Frank gave a very human smile. It made everyone's hearts feel a little lighter.
"Keyf ilhehl?" Egyptian Arabic for, "Are you all right?"
"Aywa." : "Yes."
"Bi kheyr." : "I'm fine."