Chapter 7

Bam wheeled himself inside as Jenn walked close behind him carrying two large metal objects in her arms. Bam's face was still flushed from all the work he had done at his physical therapy session. He wheeled into the kitchen where April was busy washing the dishes.

"Hey Ape." He said winded "Could you get me a glass of water? I need to take a painkiller now."

"Oh sure. So Bam how was physical therapy?"

"Work."

He took the glass of water that April filled for him and went over to the counter where the pill bottle rested in waiting for him. Jenn came into the kitchen and rested the metal objects against the table.

"Bam, tell her what the therapist said."

Bam swallowed a pill and took a swig of the water. "She said that I'm making great progress and that uh… she thinks that I'm ready to try those." He tilted his head towards the table in order to point.

"What are they?" Asked April, stepping away from the sink and drying her hands.

Bam wheeled himself over to the table with one hand, while holding the glass with the other. He then lifted one of the metal objects straight up so April could see it better.

"Oh they're like crutches." She said, examining it.

"They are. They're special crutches, see I actually stick my hands through these rings on top and hold onto the bars down here. It's just for extra support.

"I'd like to see you use them."

"What, now? But I'm so tired."

"You wouldn't have to walk very far, just enough to show her." Jenn said "Here let me help you."
Bam sighed "All right. But I can barely walk even with them."

"That's ok, just seeing you standing with them will be enough for me."

Jenn stood in front of Bam, helping him with the crutches. She then moved over to the side of his chair and helped him into standing position. Bam wobbled for a second until he got his crutches in place. Then with all of his strength, he moved his crutches forward and slowly shuffled up to them, making it a good foot away from his wheelchair. This was enough to bring a broad smile to April's face, and she walked up to him, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"Bam! I'm so proud of you!"

"But I barely went a foot. And even that much wore me out."

"It doesn't matter to me how far you went. Besides a week ago you couldn't even do that much!"

Bam smiled weakly at her then looked at Jenn "Could you help me back into my chair?"

Phil entered the kitchen just as Jenn was helping Bam lower himself into the wheelchair.

"What's going on in here?"

"Oh Phil you just missed it. Bam just showed me how far he's gotten in his physical therapy. If it wasn't so hard on him, I'd have him show you what he did."

"What'd he do?"

"Hang on Phil. Maybe I'll be up to showing you after my pain pill kicks in." Bam removed the crutches and leaned them against the table. "You guys have no idea how much that little bit takes out of me."

"Well, what little bit did you do?"

"See these crutches Phil? With these I was just able to move from here to here." He said pointing to the spots on the floor. "Might not seem like a lot for you, just by me telling you about it, but for me to actually do it… I'm exhausted."

"To be fair, Bam, you did just come home from physical therapy. I saw you going farther than that during your session."

"That's true."

"Wow, sounds like you're making a lot of progress. I'm proud of you, son."

"You'd be even more proud once you see him in action." April grinned

Bam gazed down to the end of the narrow aisle that he stood before. He closed his eyes and held his breath as he tightened his grip on the bars that were on either side of him. Using the bars for support he slowly walked down, the aisle. About half way through his knees buckled and he stopped.

"Come on Bam you can do this, just a little farther." The therapist said

Bam cringed as he held his head down "I can't."

"Yes you can, just keep trying."

"No I can't. If it weren't for the bars, I'd be on the floor right now." He lifted his head toward the therapist "I really need to rest now."

"Ok Bam, you can rest for a few minutes and then you're trying again."

The therapist brought Bam's wheelchair over to him and helped him back into it. Jenn, who had been watching the therapy session from across the room, walked over to the exhausted Bam.

"You're doing great."

"No I'm not. I'm doing worse than I did last week. Last week I made it further than that through the bars."

"Don't let that discourage you, Bam. Besides you've made a lot of progress this past month, and you're doing a lot better walking with the crutches. Pretty soon you won't even need your wheelchair for anything. I'm very proud of you." She finished by giving him a kiss

"I suppose you're right. I just hate having to go through all of this physical therapy shit."

Jenn walked into the house after yet another physical therapy session, pushing Bam's empty wheelchair in front of her. She stopped in the living room where the others were, and pushed the chair right next to the couch.

"Where's Bam?" Asked Novak, looking up at her

Jenn looked behind her then at Novak, Phil and April "Oh he was right behind me. Hey honey!"

"What?" Came Bam's voice

"Come here!"

"I'm on my way, hold on!"

Bam appeared in the entrance to the room with his crutches and a big smile. He began to walk with his crutches up to where Jenn stood, then stopped part way and frowned.

"What's the matter Bam?"

"Jenn come here." Bam said with a soft voice

"Why?"

"Just come here."

She went up to him and he whispered something to her. Then a moment later Jenn walked away from him, carrying the crutches, and she sat down on the arm of the couch. The four of them watched Bam as if they were waiting for him to do something. Bam took a breath and let it out before he took a wobbly step forward. He paused and regained his balance. Then slowly, but steadily, he made his way over to the couch without the aid of his crutches or relying on another person for support. This was the first time in months that he was able to carry off that task.

Bam smiled as he placed his arms around Jenn, causing her to smile as well. He exhaled heavily as he pulled away from her and looked at the other three. April stood up and went over to him. She gently held the sides of his face in her hands for a second and then gave him a kiss on the cheek as she hugged him.

"Bam I knew you could do it."

"You proud of me?"

"Of course I'm proud of you. Bam that was like watching you take your first steps all over again."

Later that evening, Bam and Jenn were blissfully lounging together on the couch. Bam leaned his head against Jenn's shoulder as a grin lay lightly upon his lips.

"Bam you were amazing today. I still can't get over you doing that."

"Maybe I'll do a repeat performance tomorrow." He rolled his eyes up toward her "You know I've been planning on doing that for a while. I just figured that was the perfect time to try."

"Took you long enough to do it." She joked "I really admire how well you've been during all of this. I can't even imagine how hard everything has been on you."

"This past year and a half has really been fucked up, hasn't it?"

"Yeah sure has. I just hope that this is the end of it all."

"It is… I know it is."