chapter 11

Ken Redding was a super soul. He would have to be to work with the likes of Justin Taylor. Brian had sat in on two sessions before Ken asked him to be an active part of the therapy. It was Ken who ignored Justin's whines and got him standing for the first time.

He supported one side of Justin's shaky frame as Brian held the other. Brian was nervous, worried about Justin's frailty. He did not think Justin was ready to be on his feet. Ken assured both of them that Justin was behind on this part of recovery, he had a lot of ground to make up, and he needed to literally plunge in with 'both feet.' And just like that, he had swung Justin's legs to the side of the bed, shifted his body forward, and told Brian where to stand and how to offer support.

Justin had moved from bed to chair before. Moving from one to the other was relatively easy. Justin did not need to stay upright for long, basically he was helped to stand and immediately helped to sit. He did not need to support himself for long. This was different, this time he was supporting himself. And even with the 25 lost pounds, it would be difficult to stay standing for any length of time. He started complaining before he was even out of the bed.

"I don't think I can do this right now, I'm really tired. Let's wait until tomorrow."

Ken let out a huff, "That's what you said yesterday. I bought it them. I don't buy it today. This is what's going to happen. Brian will be on one side, me on the other. We'll help with the push upwards to standing, but once you're up, we will only offer balance support. You keep yourself upright. If you feel done in, say so, and we'll sit back down." Ken pointed to the chairs at the table, "Brian, bring one of them over here, Justin when you want to stop standing, you're going to sit in that chair. It's high enough you should be able to sit without any strain on your knees. Are you both ready?"

"Justin?" Brian asked, "Let's start this, the sooner we do this the sooner you move on to bigger and better things." Brian raised his eyebrows and winked with a little smile.

"Yea, okay. The sooner I can stand the sooner I can do other more devious things, right?" Justin could only smile back at the inviting comment.

Ken shook his head. All of their banter was new to his completely heterosexual ears. He had been married to the same woman for the last 16 years. He had two kids, and never in his wildest dreams would he have thought he would be listening in on a husband and husband pep talk. None of it offended him, 'Hell it's probably making me a better person" he thought to himself. Without so much as another word, but with a little chuckle, he leaned over Justin.

"Let's go then, on the count of three." Brian leaned over and held on to Justin the way Ken had showed him. "One, two, three and up."

Justin came up easily. Then Brian followed Ken's lead and moved a fraction of an inch away from Justin, so that he was supporting his own weight. It was a shaky start. Justin's arms and hands were still slightly unpredictable so his upper body had a shake. His legs were weak and they gave their own shake. But today was a good day, and neither movement stopped the exercise. Justin raised his head after watching his legs in the initial moments and cast a smile on Brian.

"Hey, it's a genuine Sunshine smile. It only took six weeks to get here. Nicely done, Justin, nicely done." Brian's compliment was heartfelt. This one thing, standing independently, seemed to be a massive step forward. 'Too long coming' Brian thought to himself.

"Next step running with you two in the morning." Justin laughed, recognizing that the men beside him had bonded over their early morning runs through the grounds three times a week.

"How did you know that was next?" Ken smiled. It was then that Justin faltered. His left leg, the more heavily damaged in the accident gave out on him. "Whoa, whoa, Brian grab his elbow there. Justin you okay? Okay, lets get you to the chair." And just like that the exercise was over, he was positioned over the chair with Brian and Ken's help, and sat down.

"Justin? Justin, here have a something to drink. You okay?" Now it was Brian's turn to fret over him.

"Yea, I'm fine. Knock it off, really. Christ, I'm not dying here. Just a little wobbly on my legs. I'm okay." Justin looked at Brian with anger, but then it softened when he saw the concern on his face. "Honestly Brian, it's okay, stay happy would you? I was standing, all by my little self, standing. Don't worry now, be happy it worked."

That day Justin was reluctant to work, but in the end he was truly happy at his success. Today was a different story. Today was a totally new ball game. Today they had...water sports.

That's what Justin referred to aqua therapy as. 'Great, another day of water sports.' he would say. Ken had decided that walking in the pool would be the best way to simultaneously accomplish several goals. Justin could work on balance with the support the water provided, sessions could be longer because his knees would not feel the same impact in the water that they would if he walked in the therapy room, the small amount of resistance the water did offer would strengthen his already weakened leg muscles, and finally, the water would also diminish the impact of his unpredictable arm spasms. So water sports they did. Practically every day. For a solid sixty minutes in the water. And by sixty minutes in the water, that's what Ken meant, not twenty minutes prep for forty minutes in the water. He didn't start the clock on therapy until Justin was in the pool. If Justin was too tired to walk the entire time, they did arm circles and other upper body control exercises until time was up.

The therapy pool was an Olympic size pool. The only difference was that the first three lanes of its ten lanes were just four feet deep. They had aluminum rails between them so someone could hold onto one or both sides for support while they walked the entire length of the pool. The rest of the lanes were deeper with no rails. This came in handy after several sessions, when Brian joined in the fray. Justin really hated walking in the water, he thought it was boring and after several times up and down the length of the pool he was done. Brian asked if he could replace Ken on the walks, giving Justin someone else to abuse, and possibly offering other distractions while he exercised. Ken was only to happy to comply. He took the time to catch up on paper work pool side while the two men walked up and down the length of the pool.

The days had their routine. Brian and Justin arrived at the pool. They got changed and met Ken pool side. After some warm ups , Brian rolled the pool's transport wheelchair right into the water with Justin in it. Once on level ground in the pool Justin could pull himself up and start walking. The first time he tried this particular exercise he made it half the length of the pool. These days he could make it up and back four times before he was worn out. Ken had commented to Brian that you could see the benefit the pool was having. Justin's legs were beginning to fill out again, and a lot of the wobbling on his feet was gone. Brian agreed and secretly thanked the maker that all the abuse he received was not in vain.

Justin usually walked in the third lane of the pool so Brian could walk or swim in the fourth. Brian would walk an entire course up and back with Justin, then leave his side to swim laps. Every time their paths crossed, one of them would reach out and physically touch the other. It was a small gesture, but both fed off of it. Brian did not want Justin to feel as if he was 'showboating' his whole body and its abilities by swimming laps. And Justin did not want Brian to feel trapped by his slow moving frame. The tap or tickle or caress kept them on the same page. When the third lane was occupied by 'another one of us gimps' as Justin called them, Brian would walk with him the whole time in whatever lane was available. These were the days that Justin complained the most. He felt like he was holding Brian up, he should have better things to do, not plod along like a Romero zombie back and forth.

In truth, Brian did not mind the pool at all, even if he only walked with Justin. It was a relief to see Justin on his feet for such long periods of time. Brian had looked down on Justin for so long in his recovery, it was beginning to take its toll. It was as if he was on the cusp of forgetting this man was whole and upright, and an equal. The time in the pool reminded him that he was. Justin was not a weakling in need of constant care. He was a vital man who was on his way to coming home. A man who deserved his respect for all he had been through and all he was going through. He was not someone who needed his pity at his shortcomings. The pool helped him see all of this. It was a great internal 'mind check' for Brian. So he smiled and took every bit of abuse Justin offered on their wet walks, knowing that with every step Justin was closer to coming home.

That was how it happened today. The third lane was open when they arrived and Justin commenced walking. Brian was swimming his laps, and had just tagged Justin's groin playfully when he passed him. He swam a few more strokes when he felt the flow of the water change. He stopped short and turned under water to look back at Justin. All he saw was arms and legs flying in the water. Then he saw blond and realized Justin's head was submerged. Brian swam back with a burst of energy. At the side of the pool, Ken heard the loud yelp and looked up to see Justin fall. He dove into the pool and swam towards his patient. Brian got to him first. He grabbed Justin under his arms and stood up with him. Justin sputtered and coughed.

"Justin, Justin, what the hell happened? Are you okay? Justin, say something." Brian's questions came out rapidly, he was panicked.

Now Ken was there too, supporting Justin at his trunk, feeling his pulse and looking into his face, "Justin, look at me. Justin, what happened?"

He waved his hands and shook his head. "I'm okay, I'm okay. It was my own stupidity. My hand slipped and I lost my balance. Then when I fell I couldn't reach the rails and I panicked. It's okay, really." He turned away from Ken to look over his shoulder at Brian, who was still holding him up. "It's okay, really. Don't overreact like you do. Okay, Brian, okay. I'm no worse for wear."

Brian nodded his head and then turned Justin in his arms to hug him. Ken took a step away, and when he knew all danger was passed, he walked to the end of the pool to retrieve the wheelchair. The two men kept their embrace the whole time. Brian stroked Justin's head, and told him, "You twat, you scared the shit out of me. Tell me, seriously, this had nothing to do with me grabbing your dick, did it? He leaned back and looked all over Justin's face with a nervous smile.

"Hell no, you've been grabbing my dick in this pool for days now, this is the first time I fell. I have to admit, it does make me stop just a minute, but in a good way, not in a 'I'm gonna fall down now way.'" Justin smiled up at Brian and gave him a kiss. Brian leaned into the kiss and offered another of his own when Justin broke away.

"Okay okay, you're both overwhelming the geriatrics in the pool. Break it up." Ken was back with the wheelchair. With regained confidence Justin sat himself down and let Ken wheel him out of the pool. Brian held his head higher than normal as he passed several other patients working out in the pool.

Once out of the pool, he knelt down in front of Justin, "Are you sure you're okay now? Ready to shower and head out? But before you answer, let me suck your face a bit more, because I don't really care what these other people have to say, and you just scared the shit out of me." He kissed Justin with more passion than he had allowed himself to show his partner recently. He felt Justin's shaky arm slide around his waist and pull him in, and even with its slight tremor he held on tightly to Brian's mid section. Brian let his hands roam over Justin's neck and head as if making sure all really was well.

Justin whispered in his ear, "I'm really okay. Let's get out of here for today. I'm cold, I'm hungry, and I think I need you to keep doing what you are doing when we get back to the unit."

"God you two are hopeless. I thought my wife was the only person who got this worked up over PDA's" Ken smiled at both of them, "Get a room will ya?"