Life is just fine and then a hiccup
Chapter 13B
Justin was truly happy to hear all the good news Brian had to share. He was glad it would be Amy doing his outpatient therapy, he liked her and she respected him, even when he was being a nelly queen. He was even more excited to hear about going home. While the time here was significantly less brutal with Brian close by, he really wanted to get home. He wanted to get messy in the studio, sit on the back deck and sketch for Rage all morning while drinking way too much coffee, he wanted to be in his own house.
"Justin, Justin, are you in there?" Brian was snapping his fingers in front of Justin's face. His look was a combination of frustration and weariness.
"Yea yea, I'm just thinking about all the stuff I want to get started when I get home. I'm sick of being here. I want to get out. I want to be home. I want to have us home."
"While I'm with you on all of that, there are still a few things we need to consider before you leave here. Thanksgiving is in two days. What are your feelings on that? I know you have to stay here, I know that won't make most of our family happy. But making them happy is bullshit, I'm more concerned about you. Had you considered what you would like. And don't waste my time telling me what I want to hear, this time I want, no scratch that, I need you to be really selfish. Think about what you would really like to do."
"I hadn't thought of Thanksgiving much. When I do it just pisses me off that I'm here." Justin began to clench and unclench his hands while he talked. Brian took notice of it right away. The repetitiveness of the movement could trigger cramping or pain. He wanted to stop him without dousing his spirit. Justin was angry and talking about it, that was a good thing. He didn't want Justin to stop because he called attention to his hands. Luckily, he did not have to, at that moment Amy walked in to check on him and take him to therapy.
"Hey Justin, ready to go?"
All conversation about Thanksgiving and Justin's pissy attitude concerning it were shut down. Justin's face lit up and he cleaned up his pens.
"Yea, let's go."
"Great, do me a favor, if I wheel your chair over to the bed, can you get yourself into it while I update your log here." Amy brought Justin's chair to the side of the bed and locked the wheels in place, then she reached into the bedside stand
and took out his chart to look it over. The whole time she did her little bits of checking and updating, she was stealing looks at Justin while he made the transfer.
He did a super job, he stood briefly and then sat down with ease in the wheel chair. He even rolled himself to the door, calling over his shoulder, "I'll just get started and meet you there."
Amy immediately closed the chart and turned to Brian. "How would you like to take Justin on a little field trip for Thanksgiving?"
Brian's face lit up, "I thought the whole 'get yourself into the chair' was a bit too obvious, but he didn't suspect a thing. Are you serious?"
"Yes, Ken and I had a separate meeting with Will earlier this morning. While we don't think Justin's ready to be home permanently, we don't think a few hours with family will hurt. In fact we all agreed that it would help. Do you have somewhere close you can go? Family in town here having a gathering? I don't want him in the car for more than twenty minutes max."
"Shit yea, I know about ten family members who would host for this. Let me make some calls."
And that was how the year of Justin's accident Thanksgiving was held for all by a very happy and thankful Novotny/Bruckner household.
Brian and Justin did not have to do anything accept arrive, eat, and chatter with family. That is just what they did. They arrived around noon. Justin's face was set to crack with the smile he had on it since they left the unit. Truth be told, so was Brian's. While he had done all he could to bring the real world to Justin, the man had become somewhat isolated after so many weeks in his controlled world. It was as if even the air felt better to Justin.
Everyone who could come, did. Jennifer and Molly, Deb and Carl, Emmett and Boyd, Ted and Blake, Hunter and his newest girlfriend Glora, Daphne stopped in later in the day for a short squeeze and cry with Justin, even Justin's Dad showed up. The two were still estranged, but a truce had been reached years ago, and while Craig still did not understood his son, he did make the effort. Brian held more against Craig than Justin ever would, but he kept it to himself. It was enough that they still talked civilly to each other. More than enough. Brian was a bit disappointed that no one from the Canadian contingency could make it, so was Michael, but they had promised to try to work something out for Christmas or January. Brian would never let on he was disappointed he couldn't be with Gus, usually the two of them would fly up to join the Marcus/Peterson family for the Canadian Thanksgiving, which fell earlier on the calendar than the US version. This year, that didn't happen. But there were no regrets about it.
This Thanksgiving was not a day for being sad, it was a day for laughing. For silly jokes about dressing turkeys, and eating too much. A day to be with family, your real family, not always the one you were born into. A day for warm wine, warm houses, and cool whip on Deb's killer pie. Today, above all else was a day to be thankful. And both men knew they had more than they could possibly imagine to be thankful for. Justin was doted on by every member of the family all day, but he accepted everyone's attention graciously. Everyone wanted to be near him, to make sure he was comfortable, to verify he had enough to eat to drink. Both mothers cried quietly while they sat with him at separate times during the day. He smiled and told them to stop, the worst was behind him now. But both of them said the same thing, 'These aren't tears of sadness, they're tears of joy. Happy to have you here and whole.' Ben seemed particularly interested in Justin's physical well being. He helped prop his legs when they got stiff. He even did a little easy PT to help loosen them up as the day went on and he noticed Justin shift uneasily several times.
While the day ended earlier than expected, it was a super day. Brian could see Justin's fatigue and wanted to get him back before the little tremors he had been watching all day could intensify. So they said there goodbyes around five and returned to the unit. They ate leftovers later and took a quick shower. They settled in bed early to watch Brian's favorite cheesy classic, Dirty Dancing. Justin barely noticed the way his hands twitched, but Brian did. He wrapped a blanket around him, and sat behind him for the entire movie. Justin did not notice how Brian smoothed over his hands, settling them. He continued his ministrations until they stopped twitching. Justin yawned and fell asleep before Baby ever got put in the corner. Brian smiled and thought to himself that this had been the best Thanksgiving he could remember, bar none.