A/N: Here's a second update! Oh my gosh, Sad-Blue-Eyed-Angel was MIA and now here's a second update.
Hope you enjoy. I don't utilize the aid of a Beta reader, I proofread all of my own works so any mistakes are my own.
Sad-Blue-Eyed-Angel 2010
Alan sighed as he raked his finger through his hair, panting heavily as he walked on the treadmill at an incline. He looked at Lacey who was eyeing her watch to keep an idea of how long Alan was warming up. She'd kept her word and had steadily increased both Alan's and Fermat's level of activity and over the last three weeks since Lacey met with Fermat and Alan, she'd encouraged them to give her their all with every appointment. Alan and Fermat talked about it a number of times and they'd both vowed that they'd attend each other's appointments and root for the other to keep them motivated. Fermat had gotten better with walking and his limp was now barely existent.
Both boys had improved greatly and were astounding their families every time they showed them what they could do. Returning his focus on the task at hand, Alan glanced at Lacey, signaling that he needed a drink of water and Lacey brought him his hospital cup by the window.
"You're doing an amazing job Alan, I need you to give me two more minutes and then we'll step it up a little to see if we can get you back into jogging." Lacey said as she walked over to her iPod dock. She scrolled through before selecting a song and turning up the volume. Alan smirked at the song and he couldn't keep the smile off his face as Lacey looked at him.
"C-Come on Alan!" Fermat said from his seat by the window. He gave his best friend two thumbs up and tried to smile encouragingly at his best friend. Alan smiled back and tried to keep his hands off the handle bars. That was one of his main goals, to avoid using the handlebars on the treadmill. He was determined to maintain his own balance without the help that the handlebars on the treadmill would provide.
Before he knew it, Lacey was calling time on Alan to let him know that he was about to increase his speed. He took a deep breath before watching Lacey's hand snake over the control board to the speed control and increase from the fast walking speed to a slow jog. Lacey kept an eye on the watch, having told Alan prior to him getting on the treadmill that she wanted him to maintain a jog for three minutes after walking for three minutes. Fermat kept up trying to encourage him and he greatly appreciated the inspiration.
"C-Come on Alan!" Fermat cheered from his chair, throwing his fist in the air occasionally. Alan gave a breathless laugh at the Eye of The Tiger song flowing from the speakers. He had to admit that the song did raise his spirits a little and it did get him pumped up enough to not focus on the clock and to instead shoot for the stars like his grandma always told him to do.
When Lacey called time again, her hand once again snaked up over the control panel and she slowed the treads speed to a slow walk so that Alan could begin to cool down. Sweat was pouring down Alan's face like many tiny rivers and he smiled despite his fatigue. He panted hard as he grabbed the handlebars when Lacey encouraged him to do so. Now that he'd done what he'd set out to do, he felt proud of himself. He couldn't be upset if he tried.
"Way to go Alan, when you're finished here I'm going to do a few more balance exercises with you and then we'll do your cool down before we switch to Fermat." Lacey said as she drummed the palms of her hands on the control board before she walked away to allow Alan to cool down on the treadmill while she went to go get the other equipment set up. Fermat in the meantime stood up and went to go talk to Alan without having to shout it across the room. He leaned against the treadmill rails and offered his hand to give Alan a high five. They talked while Alan gradually slowed his speed to a crawl. When he finished on the treadmill, Alan accepted the towel and took to mopping up his face as he climbed off the treadmill and walked over to the mat Lacey laid out for Alan to do his cool out stretches.
"Don't lay down yet Alan, we've still got a few of your balance exercises to do." Lacey said as she walked over with a balance ball. "Just a few more Alan, then we'll call an end and I'll get started with Fermat."
"Okay, I'm just trying to catch my breath." Alan replied as he drank deeply from his hospital cup. Once he had sufficient time to take a break, Alan set down his cup and walked over to stand by Lacey. "Ready when you are."
"Okay, I want you to come over here." Lacey said as she walked away from Alan and over to the wall still carrying a balance ball. "I'm going to have you do a wall sit, but we're going to incorporate the balance ball in to strengthen your core. Laying in bed for as long as you have had probably caused your core to lose some of it's tone and that could cause you more pain or discomfort in the future, so to mitigate any of that…we're going to work on strengthening your core."
"Let's do this." Alan said, happy that he was slowly being reintroduced to his regular activities and he was pleased to say that he was being weaned away from his crutches. He hadn't been having to use them except when he had a slow start. His grandma often said it was a 'hitch in his get-along' but Alan simply said it was a pain in his ass.
Working through his exercises, Alan laughed breathlessly when he finished. Lacey walked up and leaned over Alan, laughing at him when he laid on the floor and raised his arms limply.
"Is this your dying bug impersonation Alan?" Lacey asked when Alan tried to roll over onto his side.
"No, this is my turtle impersonation." Alan replied as he began rocking from side to side, groaning a little at the strain moving put on his sore muscles. "I didn't even know I had those kinds of muscles in my stomach."
"We'll still do some of those exercises tomorrow, though I'll probably not push you quite as hard as I have been." Lacey said, grinning at Alan who was still rolling from side to side on the floor. "Are you going to be okay Alan?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine. Just leave me here and I'll eventually manage to get up." Alan replied as he still rocked from side to side. Fermat and Lacey both looked at him with bemused grins on their faces. Fermat went to help Alan up, but he waved the younger boy away. "Go on ahead Fermat, I'll be here when you get done."
"Y-Yeah, but I may n-not be a-able to help y-you up w-when I'm d-done with t-therapy." Fermat argued before offering Alan his hand and helping to pull Alan up. When the older was up and seated in Fermat's vacated seat Fermat went to Lacey, walking over to her with a barely visible limp. He smiled a bit more confidently than he had when he'd initially begun physical therapy while still at Manhattan General hospital.
"Okay, Fermat. We'll be doing a bit of the same that I had Alan doing a bit ago. The only difference is that we're going to have you start by strengthening your leg." Lacey said as she grabbed some equipment from across the room and brought it over for Fermat to use. Alan remained in his seat, doing the same for Fermat that the younger did for him.
"Come on Fermat! You can do it!" Alan cheered, sending two thumbs' up to Fermat and continuing to cheer him on when Fermat and Lacey worked to complete the first of several exercises. After they completed most the of exercises as decreed by Lacey, the physical therapist told Fermat to take a quick water break before she had him start using the elliptical shortly followed by a stair stepper. By the time they finished Fermat felt like his legs had shin splints in them and he panted deeply as he dug his inhaler from the pocket of his basketball shorts and took a deep puff.
"You doing alright kid?" Lacey inquired as she walked up behind Fermat and lightly put her hand on his back. She observed Fermat inhaling deeply after taking a single puff off his inhaler and she relaxed a little when Fermat turned to smile at her.
"Yes, t-thanks." Fermat replied after he pocketed his inhaler. With the completion of the stair stepper, Fermat looked with trepidation at the treadmill. Lacey smiled as she walked over to the treadmill and turned to look at Fermat.
"Come on. Last one for the day then you can do your cool down stretches. Just another few minutes until we're finished with your appointment." Lacey said, trying to encourage Fermat to complete his therapy for the day.
"Let's go Fermat!" Alan cheered from his seat, trying to psyche Fermat up for the last leg of his therapy appointment.
TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB
Jeff sighed softly as the cab pulled up outside of the rehabilitation hospital that Fermat and Alan were in. He exited the vehicle and turned to pay the driver as Brains climbed out of the vehicle also. When the cab driver pulled away, Jeff and Brains looked up at the imposing building. They'd been contacted by Dr. Juno for a meeting with Dr. Andreesen and herself regarding Alan and Fermat's care.
Dr. Juno didn't give much away during her brief phone call to Jeff and Brains, simply saying that she wanted to set an appointment time that she could talk with both fathers together as their boys were together most of the time at the rehabilitation center. Most of their talks concerned both boys since Brains and Fermat were residents at the same household as the Tracy's.
Striding with a confidence that he didn't feel, Jeff held the door for Brains before following closely to the front desk where the receptionist that now knew them by first name greeted them before calling for Dr. Juno to let her know that Jeff and Hiram were here for their meeting. The father of five kept hoping that this meeting might tell him more about how Alan is progressing with his walking ability and how much longer he'd be in the rehabilitation center.
While they waited for Dr. Juno, Jeff and Fermat both walked over to the family waiting room and took a seat. They sat in silence, both caught up in their own thoughts as they waited for the doctor to arrive. In their silence, both Jeff and Brains heard the telltale clack-clack of Dr. Juno's heels as she walked up the long hallway to their location. It felt like the longest two minute walk before they were greeted by the doctor.
"Hello, thank you for meeting with me at such short notice." Dr. Juno said before she turned to walk back the way she came. "Right this way please."
Jeff and Brains followed Dr. Juno and when they arrived at her office, they were greeted by Dr. Andreesen from Manhattan General. The other doctor stood up and smiled as he greeted the two fathers. "Hello Mr. Tracy, Mr. Hackenbacker. How're you two doing?"
"We're okay, mostly wanting to learn how our sons are doing." Jeff answered noticing Brains nod as if to answer along with him. "So how are they doing doctor?"
"Far better than originally expected if I'm being honest." Dr. Juno said before she walked over to a monitor on the wall. "Lacey has been keeping a video diary for each of your sons to document their progress and I must say that they've improved greatly since arriving here in our facility several months ago. Let's have a look here."
"Okay, this is video log #15. I've previously recorded these videos and now we've got some progress to show off. My first client is A. Tracy and he's improved beyond anything I've ever seen in my career as a physical therapist before." Lacey turned away from the camera and across the room to stand with Alan.
The teen was standing unassisted beside Lacey, his crutches leaning against the wall and he nodded happily albeit it anxiously before he took his first couple of steps with as much confidence as he could muster.
Jeff watched the video, his throat growing tighter every second the video played as he watched his youngest child walk across the room with a modicum of confidence that Jeff feared Alan had lost. He smiled, feeling like he traveled back in time in that moment to the first time Alan took his first steps when he was just a small baby. Jeff couldn't help but to allow the simple yet loved memory to surface.
'Alan, come on Alan. Come to daddy, come on my brave boy…come to daddy.' Jeff had rolled up the pantlegs to his work pants, sat on the living room carpet and tried coaxing Alan to come to him after Lucy swore she thought she saw Alan trying to walk. The eight month old sat on the floor, drooling on his fist looking at Jeff like he'd grown a second head.
"Come on honey, show daddy." Lucy cooed as she knelt behind Alan and smiled at the baby who tipped his head back to look at Lucy. "Show daddy what I saw you do earlier."
Alan returned his attention back to chewing on his fist and cooing aloud as if he was holding a one-sided conversation before he fell forward and started crawling. Lucy huffed in mock anger before Alan crawled over to Jeff and grabbing his shirt. Jeff was about to gently untangle Alan's slobbery fingers from his shirt when Alan pulled on Jeff's shirt and stood on his own two feet. He wobbled for a second or two before letting out a cheerful squeal and a peal of laughter. Jeff and Lucy both laughed at Alan and the baby squealed once more before he pushed away from Jeff and took several steps away from his dad.
"He's doing it Luce, he's walking!" Jeff crowed happily and a voice overflowing with awe.
"He's doing it Luce, our boy is walking." Jeff whispered to himself before he felt a pat on his back, glancing over to see Brains smiling back at him. The scientist was there now instead of his beloved late wife, but Jeff knew that Brains was just as happy if not happier that Alan had regained his ability to walk again.
"I take it you're proud of him, huh dad?" Dr. Juno asked as she hit the stop button before moving on to the next video on her screen which was a similar video this time showcasing Fermat's newfound walking ability without an aid. Brains sat ramrod straight, impossibly proud of his boy and his face showed his happiness and relief that Fermat could now ditch his walker and walk with little changes found in his gait as once was feared.
Brains himself was thrown back into his own memories of when Fermat was a young one. Brains own wife hadn't been able to see Fermat past his six month anniversary having died unexpectedly at work in a science lab explosion. Brains had been on his own when Fermat had taken his first steps in their apartment.
'C-Come on F-Fermat. C-Come to d-d-pops.' Hiram asked halfheartedly of his infant son who tipped his head back and bestowed the grieving father with a gummy grin. The forest green glasses with the matching elastic strap reminding Hiram of his beloved wife who claimed her favorite color to be that which was Hiram's.
They'd met of all places at the hardware store when Brains was debating on a paint color to paint his bedroom. He'd been a junior in college and his aging grandfather had insisted Hiram move in to the apartment complex he owned and gave Hiram permission to paint whatever he wanted in the apartment he selected. Hiram's late wife worked at the hardware store and she'd offered to mix the paint for Hiram and had begun gushing over how Hiram had picked her favorite color.
The more Hiram went in to gather various supplies for maintaining his own apartment, the more he saw her and soon they had established a rapport which eventually allowed him to ask her out on a date and the rest for them was history. They dated for several years before they got married and she began working at her dream job in a science lab, soon discovering she was pregnant with Fermat.
The more the memories inundated Hiram the sadder he became, soon he longer took notice of Fermat who had stood up on his feet, but keeping his hands firmly planted on the floor with his butt stuck up in the air. He started trying to walk like that and had started giggling softly before his laughter grew in volume and ripped Hiram out of his grief. The widowed father stared at his son in awe before he smiled tearfully.
He missed his wife now more than ever, especially now when his wife was missing one of Fermat's greatest milestones. The father choked back a sob as he watched Fermat somersault and sit up with a wide smile and rosy cheeks, his laughter making Hiram laugh honestly. "Y-You're such a g-goof, just like y-your m-momma."
Dr. Juno turned off the video and looked between both dads, a curious look adorning her face. She didn't say anything, but she did give Dr. Andreesen the opportunity to talk. The physician remained in his seat, but he did open the patient files he'd been keeping up to date on Alan and Fermat to compare notes from their time at Manhattan General hospital.
"When we initially moved Alan and Fermat to this new facility, we…myself and Dr. Warner weren't anticipating that Alan and Fermat would progress as far as they have at this rate of speed. They've surpassed my initial belief that they'd recover in no less than a year. Your boys are determined, I must give them that and that has shown me that with the right inspiration anyone facing these trials can push past them." Dr. Andreesen said, mumbling a little before he realized that Jeff, Hiram and Dr. Juno were looking at him with expectation.
"What exactly are you saying doctor?" Jeff inquired, more than a little puzzled by Dr. Andreesen verbal goose chase.
"What I'm saying is, Alan and Fermat are further along than I initially thought they'd be at this stage and I'm going to reduce their time that they have to be admitted." Dr. Andreesen said, watching Hiram's jaw go slack and his eyes grow remarkably wider even behind his magnified lenses. Jeff looked impressed, but Dr. Andreesen knew he'd need to offer more of an explanation. "Listen, Alan and Fermat have recovered at a pace that I'd personally consider to be leaps and bounds. As seen on the videos Dr. Juno just showed us, both Alan and Fermat have recovered exponentially. They're both walking without their crutches that had been given to them for recovery purposes and if I'm not mistaken, Lacey has her agenda for both boys written out and she'll soon be increasing their activity to jogging at a brisk pace which once they've figured out the mechanics of running, there won't be much they won't do."
"Wait, so let me get this straight…" Jeff said as he held both hands up to shape a "T". The look on both his and Hiram's faces told both doctors that they were blindsided by the revelation that Alan and Fermat could soon be permitted to go home. "Are you really saying that…?"
"Yes, Alan and Fermat are in their last phase of recovery. Initially, when I started as their care physician I was not anticipating that they'd be out of my care anytime before the end of the following year. I've cared for patients in the past that were less injured than either of your sons and they took longer than expected to fully recover and a few of them never regained their ability to walk or quality of life. I mean it when I say that Alan and Fermat are farther along than I ever initially expected they'd be."
"S-So then…y-you're saying t-that Fermat a-and Alan m-might be soon a-allowed to go home a-and carry o-on with t-their lives?" Hiram asked as he even seemed to have a tough time coming to the same conclusion as Jeff. Both fathers looked at each other in confusion before looking back at the doctors to see they each smiled back.
"Yes, that's exactly what we're saying." Dr. Juno said as she cut in and took the words right out of Dr. Andreesen's mouth. "Alan and Fermat will soon be discharged. I can't quite say when as it is entirely dependent on the continued progress of each of your sons."
"I know that news like that may come as a bit of a shock, especially after all this time but I think it's about time we begin taking the steps necessary for discharging Alan and Fermat in the coming weeks." Dr. Andreesen said as he leaned forward and steepled his fingers as he rested his elbows on his knees. "What do you think?"
"This isn't a dream, right?" Jeff asked as he digested the news.
"This isn't a dream, but like I said it will be totally dependent on the continued progress of both boys. I won't agree on releasing them at the projected time if they cease their progress." Dr. Juno said before pausing for a moment. When she did continue, she offered a 'but' statement. "But, as you are their parents you could legally signs your sons out against medical advice however I wouldn't recommend that because if something were to happen, you both would assume all medical liability."
"No, trust me when I say that I would never remove my son from the hospital against medical advice." Jeff said. He looked at both doctors as well as his friend and relaxed when he saw the doctors smile.
"We know, we are just required to periodically remind patients or family of patients that removing a patient AMA requires that either the patient or the patient's family assume all medical liability so that the hospitals or rehab facilities aren't held responsible for any injuries the patient sustains outside of the hospital. Not to say that you would remove either of your boys from our care prematurely." Dr. Juno continued softly before she moved her mouse icon to a folder on the screen and opened a folder with pictures on Alan and Fermat at various stages in their recovery.
Jeff couldn't believe his eyes as Dr. Juno pulled up one of the earliest photographs of Alan as well as Fermat when they'd initially been admitted with injuries. A photo of Alan on the ventilator and Fermat lying in the same room, in beds placed across the room from one another. Alan was unconscious as was Fermat and both boys looked like they'd seen far better days. There was another photo pulled up from the many photos in the file folder that showed the progress of the boys over the many weeks they were admitted in Manhattan General hospital.
Jeff could see the varying degrees of healing in his son, but Jeff took notice that the photos faces were blurred to protect Alan and Fermat's identities. He knew the photos with the blurred faces were the photos used in the court case and Jeff was more than surprised to see those photos again.
Hiram was stunned to see some of those photos again. He never thought he'd ever have to keep reliving seeing his son when he was at his worst. It reminded him too much of when he had to identify his late wife after the science lab explosion had resulted in her demise. He closed his eyes and looked away from the monitor on the wall, not wanting to look any longer at his boy's injuries.
TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB
Later that evening, Jeff and Brains revealed what the doctors told them to the family waiting expectantly at the dinner table. Grandma Tracy placed a calming hand on her heart as she smiled tearfully skyward. "Thank god, my boys are coming home soon."
Scott, Virgil and John high-fived one another while Gordon sat in silence as if he were contemplating something. Gordon's silence seemed to catch Jeff's notice and it was brought to the gathered party's attention. When Jeff did ask Gordon about his silence, he replied back with a decision that took everyone by surprise.
"So, should a few of us return to the island and start preparing for their return? I mean when I was getting out of the hospital, you all made it some sort of unusual family affair to prepare for my coming home. I remember you all planning a welcome home party, as well as a 'welcome home' party by adapting my condition to the layout of the house. It was touching, but it was also a little morbid. Maybe we should go and begin preparing the house so that they don't have difficulties when they are released to return home."
"That doesn't sound like a bad plan, but Alan and Fermat's situation is significantly different than yours was. Alan is no longer wheelchair bound like you were and Fermat's gait has improved as well. We shouldn't have to change the layout of the house as drastically as we did for you." John said as he realized exactly where Gordon's thoughts had gone. "Alan and Fermat can walk again, that's cause enough for celebration. And they'll soon be permitted to go home, even more cause for celebration."
"Yeah, but you can't blame me for being a bit of a wet blanket." Gordon said, rolling his eyes.
"Yes, and with an outlook like that is what may discourage Alan and Fermat." John retorted back before he stood and walked around behind Gordon, leaning over his shoulder and using his fingers to pull up the corners of Gordon's mouth in a forced smile. "There! Now you're smiling as you should be."
Gordon couldn't help but to roll his eyes at John, but he obliged his older brother's attempt to discourage a negative stance.
"Okay, whatever you say Johnny." Gordon said after he managed to pull his head away from John. "I'll play nice, but I still think we should consider preparing the house for their return."
"Okay, what do you suggest we do that we haven't already done? We have lifts in several parts of the house, we converted the grand staircase into a giant ramp and we got rid of the single steps to make the areas sloped. I don't know what you suggest we do to make Alan and Fermat comfortable that we haven't already done."
"I'm talking about the fire pits that light up every night on the lanai. Alan and Fermat are terrified of fire and if they're out there when the fires start, they'll practically jump out of their boots and they may hurt themselves trying to get away." Gordon said. "I'm just trying to look out for their well-being."
"Good point Gordon." Virgil chimed in before he pulled out his cell phone to call the island. "I'll ask Kyrano to go discontinue the timers so there isn't a chance of them coming on after Alan and Fermat come home."
"So, did the doctors give you an idea of when Alan and Fermat would be allowed to go home?" Grandma asked, excited for the first time all day. She'd been knitting most of her day and was already over halfway done with one of the afghans she'd been knitting.
"Unfortunately, they didn't give either of us anything conclusive. The doctors both say that it's entirely dependent on how fast the boys recover. We can't rush their recovery even if they as the doctors say are recovering by leaps and bounds."
"Well, there isn't much we can do about that except to keep cheering the boys on." Ruth said as she leaned back in her seat. True, she wasn't happy to not know exactly when her boys were getting out of the hospital, but she'd have to be content with knowing that the doctors were willing to reduce the time left.
"Well, maybe now that we do know that the boys will be getting out soon. We should give Tin-Tin the green light to plan a little shindig for them. She was chomping at the bit a while back because she wants them to come home and she has a whole list of things drafted that she should probably begin to narrow for Alan and Fermat's sake." Scott advised with a wry grin as he recalled the three-page activity list that Tin-Tin had been drafting of things to do when Alan and Fermat were allowed to go back home and resume their normal lives and activities.
"Yeah, that might be a good idea." Virgil agreed as he too remembered the pages loaded to the margins with Tin-Tin's script. Alan and Fermat might be hating us for the the rest of their lives if we don't try to convince Tin-Tin to limit the activities to something doable for the boys. I know for a fact that Alan would just as soon stay in the infirmary than to go out on the yacht, especially since he rarely likes going out on the water on a good day."
"He does hate that yacht doesn't he. In fact, he's probably the only teenage boy that doesn't like the yacht." Scott said with a grin that resembled the Cheshire Cat.
You know why, and I for that matter don't blame him." Virgil said with another roll of his eyes.