"I don't want to do this..." Tom groaned as Doug pushed him toward the local theraputic center.

"Don't you think you've put it off long enough?"

"Well...No."

Doug simply sighed and shook his head as he opened the door for the two men to enter. "to bad... Now I'm going to go check you in don't try to speed off I always was faster than you, and I still am..."

"In your dreams."

"Whatever..."

As he watched Penhall head toward the check in window Hanson felt the butterflies return to his stomach... He had been so nervous the night before he doubted he even slept an hour, this was it the defining moment that proved him a cripple...An incompatent... A helpless... And he was having more than a little trouble dealing with that. Captain Fuller, Ioki... Hoffs, Blowfish, even Booker and of course Penhall had all conspired against him, thats how it felt... Their speeches... Thier little comments, he knew there would be no shutting them up until he met with this damn doctor.

But didn't he gat a say so in this? Didn't he gat a choice? It was after all his life... Even if people seemed to be living it for him these days. It all made him so sick he could hardly find it inside him to breathe... Lately he had even began to wonder if maybe it would have been better if the bullets that shot into his back hadn't only taken his legs, but taken his life as well...

His palms were sweating now as he looked around the white walls of the room that was suddenly seeming smaller by the minute, there was only one other set of people in the room, sitting in the chairs on the far side of the room obviously waiting for someone inside... Someone who he wondered if like himself was a tortured soul with no where to turn, no say so in the things they do... and who they were anymore...

Penhall watched the look on his best friends face as he took a seat down next to him, but he chose not to say anything,... After all what could he say? There was nothing... Hanson needed to be here, he needsd to face up to the physical aspects of his recovery and no matter how tough it was Doug would push him to the breaking point to force him to do so.

"Doug?" Hanson cleared his throat coming out of the thoughts inside his head and back into reality once he finally noticed the chair next to him was now filled...

"Hmmmm?"

"What do you think is the story of those people over there?"

Dougs brows furrowed, "What?... Man I don't know... Why?"

"Just wondering I guess..." Tom answered after a moment... "You know don't you do that sometimes, think about the people around you?"

"Not really... But I guess they are here for help like you."

"Yeah..." He rolled his neck from side to side and then went silent again, normally the two men would never let a moment of quiet between them... There was so much to talk about things to be said... But right now none of those seemed appropriate or even important.

It was a good five minutes before the door leading into the back section of the building opened and out walked a young girl who could not have been more than 6 he knees wobbled as she balanced on two crutches... Not the type you use when you break your legs... the other kind, the permanent kind... Tom felt a sadness wash over him, his own self pity now accompanied by pity for the small girl with the blonde ringlets in her hair...

But she wasn't frowning... She was actually smiling... Happy... Tom blinked a few times wondering if his eyes were playing tricks on him, how could she be so happy... like that?

As the two people who had been sharing the waiting room with Penhall and him, obviously the young woman's parents rose to their feet, Hanson noticed her smile was now directed his way... "Hi!" She chirped out happily her blue eyes glistening...

"Hi..." Penhall answered first, Tom juust now noticing that he too had taken note and intrest in the child.

"Hi." He let the corners of his mouth curl slightly giving a half smile as he waved lightly.

The little one was not fooled however as her parents and her made their way toward the exit her smile only widened, something Hanson did not think was possible... "Don't be sad..." She said softly, "I was in the wheelchair too... This place is going to help you..."

Toms jaw dropped and he didn't answer as the door closed and the three of them were gone...

"From the mouths of children..." Penhall said a few seconds later patting his friend on the shoulder.

"yeah..." Was the only response he could give as the large wooden door opened and a middle aged woman came to the enterance.

"Thomas Hanson..." His name rang through the silent air now surrounding him as he looked up to find the small woman with a welcoming smile on her face looking right at... Almost through him.

"That would be him." Doug rose to his feet.

"You can actually wait out here if you like." She said a cetain sing song to her voice and Tom found himself thinking that this woman was way to happy to be working in this kind of job.

"I want him to come with me."

The nurse nodded opening the door a little wider, "Well alright then, as long as your comfortable with it."

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Both men were wide eyed as they looked around the therapy room, all sorts of contraptions and equiptment surrounding them, bars, tables, and even a large whirl pool...

"See this place doesn't look so bad." Penhall offered trying to sound optimistic.

"Wanna switch places if you like it so much?"

"I just meant that you know I think you made it out to be a lot more than it-"

"Excuse me gentlemen..." An older man Tom would guess no younger then fifty and no older than fifty-five interupted clearing his throat. "My name is Larry Carver, and I am going to be Mister Hanson's therapist." He extended his hand first to Doug then to Tom, "And I take it your Hanson?"

"Does he look like he needs therapy to you doc?" Tom's voice couldn't help but sound slightly sarcastic... "Of the physical sort I mean." He smirked.

"I suppose not."

"So uhhhh, what do you do here?" Penhall chose to ignore the last comment that seemed to fly so easily from his friends mouth sticking his hands in his pockets as he often did and shrugging his shoulders...

"We get your friend here back on his feet..."

"Yes, I gathered that Doctor Carver... But how?"

"Please call me Larry..." The man insisted

Tom snickered to himself, why was it that men who always intruded on your life and came in to wreck it without warning always insisted you call them by their first name?

"Alright, Larry... How do you... you know help them?"

"Well... it's quite the complicated process, but most of our patients here are willing to work as hard as they possibly can to better their situation, so they stick with it and they never give up..." He smiled down at Tom, what was meant to be a warm and genuine smile, but to the man in the chair appeared to be evil and almost so cold a chill ran up his spine... "First we are going to have to assess the damage... Tom's chart says that the accident was over four months ago, so we are off to a little bit of a late start... However not to worry... I'm sure we can work it out and get things progressing quick enough to satisfy all of us..."

"Right." Hanson mumbled under his breath with a sigh leaning back in his chair as he was greeted with a hard nudge in the shoulder by Penhall who was listening intensely to the doctor's words.

"And then..." The doctor cleared his throat adjusting his white over coat and pretending not to have heard the snyde remark. "Then we will begin therapy... more than likely we can get started today... A few simple streching excersises is probibly the best place to start. I know that there is an in home nurse who visits you Tom, and some of these are similar to the ones she does... but many are also different..."

"I see..." Doug nodded understandingly, "and then what?"

"Well then depending on his progression rate in a few months hopefully we can have him begin some of the harder work outs like the bars and the leg braces, we have many pieces of equiptment here that we will use to simulate standing... and then hopefully walking and help regenerate the nerve and muscle tissues..."

"I'm sorry did you say months?"

"Well these things take time... and effort Tom... therapy isn't just something you can do two or three times and then find yourself doing the jig in the middle of the street..."

"I don't want to do the jig..." Hanson snapped, "I just want to get back to my life... my job..."

"I thought your file said you were already back to work?"

"I am... filing papers and answering phones! I want on my feet again, out in the field where I belong!"

"And you will be..." Doug nodded, "Just give it time man..."

"I don't have time..."

"Of course you do!"

"Oh yeah? Well whose to say there won't be another 'accident'? And that next time I won't die? No one has time Penhall No one is garunteed anything... Now I want out of this damn chair and I want out as soon as possible so that I can live my life the way I want to not the way everyone else wants me to!"

"Tom calm down man..."

"Don't tell me to calm down..." It was as though something inside the now red eyed man snapped. Maybe it was his surroundings, looking at all these things... these contraptions... all ment to help but only making life seem more unbareable for those locked inside. Or maybe it was the thoughts of Booker and his father that were etched in his mind... Or the words of that little girl in the waiting room playing over and over in his mind like some never ending record of a lie... He didn't want to be like her, it broke his heart to even look at her he wanted to be himself... The man who could hop through the window of his mustang... Hell the man who could drive his mustang, chase down criminals and do anything he wanted...

"Maybe I should give you two some time?" The doctor watched the scene unfolding before him, and didn't know if he really wanted to stick around for the second act, "I'll be right over here when you guys are ready to proceed."

"Thank you doctor." Penhall grunted and kneeled down in front of his friend, "What the hell is your problem man?"

"You want me to pick just one?"

"That's a start."

"Okay how's this?...SOME STUPID ASSHOLE DECIDES TO SHOOT ME IN THE DAMN BACK AND NOW I HAVE TO SUFFER WHILE HES STILL OUT WALKING THE STREETS..."

"We're going to find him..."

"WHEN?"

"Soon..."

"NO..." Tom cleared his throat lowering his voice as he now noticed all the hospital staff watching him intensley... "No man, soon would have been a day... a week after... Now... Now is to long, face it Penhall your not going to find him."

"We will... but, on the slight chance that we don't... thats still no reason for you to let yourself sit in that chair and rot, turning a rude and cold shoulder to anyone who tries to lend you a hand..."

"I don't need a hand, I need legs!"

"And this place is trying to help you get them!"

Hanson shook his head in defeat, there was no use going around in circles like this, eventually he would give in and Penhall would get what he wanted, that was always how it went down, why should this time be any different?

"Just try it man... Please, just come a few times and then if you really feel like this isn't going anywhere after say 3 months... You can quit without another word from me, and I'll even make the others lay off you as well..."

"3 months?"

"That's the deal dude, take it or leave it..."

"fine." He mumbled.

"What?"

"Okay, fine..."

"Thank you..."

111111111111111

"Where are Hanson and Penhall today?" Booker tried not to let worry seep through his voice as he tool of his leather jacket and drapped it over the back of his chair before taking the few small step to Judy's desk.

"Hanson has his first therapy session today... So Penhall took him..."

"His first one?"

"Yup."

"Is he alright with it?"

"I guess so..."

"Well didn't you ask him?"

"Well... No..."

"And why not?"

"Just didn't think about it..." Hoffs sighed looking up from the paperwork she was currently scribbling on, "look Booker if you want to know everything so bad why don't you just talk to Hanson about it yourself?"

"I don't really..." The man lied clearing his throat, "I was just.. trying to make conversation that's all..."

"Well can you go make conversation in someone elses ear please? If I don't get these papers done by tonight Fuller is going to have my head..."

"Alright... Alright geez sorry..."

"Just... forget it..." she shook her head in dismissal as the man made his way to the back of the chapel...

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Thank you all for your wonderful and honest reviews. I am sorry for the length of time it took me to write this darn thing, but with the holidays come Christmas jobs and thats running me about 50 hours a week! But I did my best to get this out for you. You are going to see more of the therepy sessions I promise you as well as a lot of Booker and Hanson interaction. (but remember this is not a slash fiction, so it will not be in the sexual way!). I know that there are sometimes mistakes in my writing and I am doing my best to correct that on this slow old little comp of mine... but I am hoping to have a new one with a grammar and spell checker very soon. It's just hard when you type as fast as I do to sometimes catch your mistakes...

I promise it will be no more than a few days before your next chapter I'm already working on it even though it is 230 am darn near.