A/N: Thanks for reading and reviewing!
Chapter 27: Dressing up.
Grace, bag in hand, was walking fast, eager to reach her father´s room and leaving Lou and Charlie various feet behind. She entered the room without knocking, at the same rapid pace she was maintaining since she got out Grover´s car at the parking lot. Smiling from ear to ear when she was happily surprised at seeing her father sitting up on a chair near the window, she run the rest of the way towards him and, with all her love and strength, hugged him. "Hey monkey, It´s so good to see you. I missed you so much". He hugged her back tenderly and with the strength that he disposed for, burring his nose on her hair and closing his eyes.
They had been together less than twelve hours before, and Danny sounded still as if he hadn´t already seen her in months. But Grace understood him completely, acknowledging his traumatic experience. Breaking the hug, she kissed him on his cheek and then did something that she knew will do him right. She smiled one of those smiles that made him happy for the rest of the day and washed all anguish and problems away. She then laughed openly at a silly face of her uncle, who Danny recognized was luckily on his goofy mode again, and went to hug him when he motioned her to embrace him with open arms. Steve was distracted to prevent Charlie, who entered running, to jump on his father´s lap to give him his hug along with a crayon drawing with child inscriptions in it. The sudden physical contact took Danny a little unprepared and he couldn't suppress the painful groan that escaped him, but was able to quickly camouflage it onto a happily synchronized murmur.
"Charlie! Be careful, dad´s not ok already". The young lady prevented his brother while moving the handbag she was still holding and placing it on the bed.
"It´s ok… what a great hug. I´m so lucky for those hugs. What do you got there buddy?"… Father and son occupied themselves analyzing the handmade card when Lou made an entrance, obviously very tired and fatigued. Steve greeted him with asking eyes while casually picking Charlie up and lowering him to stand on the floor beside his father and relieve his friend from having to ask his son to get down.
"I just couldn't keep in pace with them". He cleared his equally asking eyes from perspiration. His askance was referred to Steve´s reddened eyes. The commander avoided the implicit question by barely shaking his head. Lou understood the matter was resolved and was too personal and private, but although he had a very good guess about the events. Lou approached Danny and affectionately pressed and massaged his neck with one big hand. "It´s good to see you up Danny, and let me tell you, that's the hell of a drawing". Winking an eye to the ever smiling child, he then moved towards Steve and Grace by the bed.
"Hey, why don't you guys go to pick up some snacks or something to accompany that super chocolate we brought, uh?" Lou copied the gesture he had with Danny now on Steve´s neck. "Come on, you too, go clear your mind and take some fresh air". Steve knew what Lou intended, and apparently Grace was an accomplice because she took his hand and started pulling him towards the door. "Come on Uncle Steve, let´s go to the cafeteria to pick something up for Danno". After a moment of indecision and obstinacy, he finally nodded and let himself be guided out of the bedroom by Grace, while an enthusiastic Charlie grabbed his other hand and started pulling as well to make him hasten his pace.
Danny made a mocked playful face to his daughter as she glanced at him while leaving for the moment. As soon as they left, Lou reached the door and closed it.
"I heard someone said chocolate?" Danny tried to lighten up the moment.
"Yes you certainly did." Lou rummaged through the handbag and took the enormous piece of almond-milk chocolate wrapped on a shiny paper. "Grace´s idea, she wanted to buy you something".
"Nice". Danny smiled proudly.
"Let me tell you man, that girl still adores you". Grover took the handbag from where it was left on the bed and brought it towards Danny, placing it on the wheelchair that was beside the detective.
"What do you mean ´still´?
Lou smiled graciously, opening the zip of the handbag further and then he started pulling out his friend´s clothes and placing them on "Steve´s" bed, at Danny´s reach. Maybe Danny had the energy necessary just to put on the t-shirt, but said nothing and, as usual, his stubbornness made him try doing it all by himself first. Lou respected the need of his friend to do things on his own. Besides, the doctors and therapists recommended that everything that he could do without help he tried to make an effort to because those were important steps on his recuperation. Easy to say, hard to do, but not impossible. What Lou didn´t know that Danny had already made a personal promise to himself: he would do and try his best, for him and also for his family and friends who were always watching over his wellbeing. Anything less was not an option; anything less was disrespectful to himself and everyone else for the entire difficult road they had already transited.
"Ask me if you need help" Grover moved to busy himself by accommodating some untidy beddings and towels to give Danny some privacy, but staying alert in case he needed to assist his friend.
"..k" Danny slowly and with effort lifted his arms to tie off the knot of his gown on the back of his neck. When his still stiff and goofy fingers managed to success on the task, he lowered his trembling arms to rest a little bit on his lap, along with the gown which he accommodated carefully to avoid any unwanted and embarrassing moment. When his arms finished hurting of exertion, he reached and picked up the t-shirt. Oh, he smiled, how he loved this cotton t-shirt; it was soft; it was comfortable; it was his favorite one. His heart expanded because of how well he was known by the people that loved him. The simplest and smallest details like this were the most important ones to him, because they spoke about a love that was implicit and present at all times.
Danny unfolded the t-shirt and, with a bit of difficulty, slowly slid his arms through the sleeves. He paused a moment again, to regain strength. This was resulting more difficult that he had anticipated. His four-month-non-used arms were apparently angry at him, refusing to work properly and aching with renewed intensity at any new intent of movement and effort. Now, not placing a lot of trust on his arms, Danny tried to help them by arching his back and bowing his head to avoid lifting the trembling limbs too much and finish putting on the shirt. He has just managed to pass his head through the hole when his back was a victim of a cruel shooting pain that traveled each one of his vertebras, from the top one down to his coccyx. He tensed and stopped moving, barely able to control and keep the grunt that almost escaped his throat at bay.
He didn´t have to ask and was very grateful when a pair of hands came at his rescue, first pulling the t-shirt down the rest of his torso and abdomen to complete the task of which he was unable to and then grabbed his biceps and guided him back to rest on the chair. Danny sighed as the consequences of the spasm faded away and closed his eyes to regain his equilibrium as the change of angle of his head made him a little dizzy.
"Hey Danny, you ok?" As his friend didn´t show any sign of movement, Lou tentatively asked, bending with his hands on his knees to be able to look directly on Danny´s face. "Hey buddy…"
"Yeah yeah, just… give me a minute. I´m kind of dizzy, I moved too quickly or something". Danny opened his eyes to mere slits, testing his sight, and saw Lou hunched in front of him, worry written unwittingly on his face. "I´m ok Lou". Danny closed his eyes for a moment more. He felt his knee being patted and heard Grover straighten up and moving in front of him. Danny opened his eyes again and glanced at the rest of his clothes. The mere thought of moving and receiving another painful experience made him reconsider any intent of finish dressing by his own. Apparently his friend read his thoughts because he approached him and picked up his boxers.
"Come on, let´s finish with this before they come back, ok?"
"Yeah ok…" Danny tried to sit straighter. With difficulty he achieved to gain a not so laid back position. "Damn it…" The self-spoken curse was evidence of not being able to reach down to be able to help his feet through each garment.
Lou pretended he didn´t hear the last remark, and, bending down and kneeing at Danny´s feet, he assisted him on passing each foot through first the underwear and secondly the soft cotton sweatpants, being very careful with the healing ankle. The Captain lifted them up to Danny´s knees and stiffly got up, motioning him to grab the waists of both clothes together. "I´ll help you stand and you try to lift them up, can you do that?" Danny nodded and did as he was told. As Lou delicately but firmly grabbed him under the armpits and helped his stand with the strength that Danny lacked at the moment, the detective managed to lift his underwear and pants and put them in place while the discarded gown fell soundlessly to the floor. Task accomplished, Danny´s mind realized his legs weren´t able to support him, and actually they weren't. Starting to panic when he realized he could fell backwards, Danny reached forward and desperately grabbed Lou´s shirt to avoid going down, blinded by the fear and not realizing that Grover still had a firm grip on both his arms to prevent him from falling.
"Easy, easy, I got you Danny, you won't fall, you won´t fall…"The big ex-Swat captain adjusted his grip on the restless patient and placed a massive arm on Danny´s back, to make him feel some support. "Ok, I´ll guide you to sit back down on the chair now, ok?"
Danny nodded, hating himself for this unannounced weakness and wave of fear that attacked him. He didn´t released his firm grip on Lou´s shirt though after he was slowly and carefully guided down to the comfortable chair. Danny just realized he was still doing so when he felt his friend´s hands over his. Grover, still bending down and unable to straighten up, didn´t intend to pry them open but instead squeezed them affectionately, showing his ever present support. The motion brought Danny back from his far away lost space he had fallen into, and his light blue eyes focused again, looking up for Lou´s dark ones. "I´m sorry Lou…" He released his hold on his friend Hawaiian shirt, leaving it all wrinkled and stretched.
"Don´t ever say you´re sorry Danny. You ok now?" The big man reached for the last clothe prepared on the bed. He wouldn´t have used it but now Danny was slightly trembling, maybe not of cold but a bit of warmth wouldn't be unappreciated. He did all the work while putting on Danny´s cotton sweater while his friend mentally zoomed out again, shaking like a leaf. Finishing accommodating the sweater to make it comfortable, Lou rubbed Danny´s arms up and down to bring him warmth. "Mm, you ok?" He asked one more time, intending to bring Danny back again.
The detective abruptly cut his mental rambling and looked at Lou again, a bit confused but regaining his whereabouts immediately. "Yeah yeah, I´m ok, thank you Lou". He gave his friend a shy smile, and Grover was able to hide his worry behind a smile of his own.
"Ok then, do you want the slippers on?" At an approving nod, Lou bent down again and they silently finished the task. Danny tried to help by lifting his feet, and then rested his aching back tiredly on the chair, closing his eyes for a moment. Lou took the opportunity to check his cell phone, which had buzzed a few minutes before. He checked something he already knew, Steve wanted him to notify him when it was clear to come back with the kids, so he gave him the green light.