Hello hello everyone! 20K VIEWS! AND MORE THAN 100 REVIEWS! YAHOO! I will have a drink tonight! THANK YOU, TO ALL OF YOU!
Ahem, *serious face and tone*...
I took much more time to update this story because I didn't write it before today, therefore of course I didn't translate it, BUT I also couldn't find a proper name for this chapter.
The title has a double meaning, and you will find them in this story. For those who just joined me for this fanfiction, every title is a clue (sort of) to what will happen in the chapter.
Oh, and... I cried when I read the end of this chapter.
If you can post a review about your feeling(s) for this chapter, or anything else, it would be great, because it helps a lot (writing the next chapter, because I have no idea right now).
THANK YOU AGAIN, and have a good reading ^^ And sorry for my mistakes (again).
Chapter 23: First contact
Five days passed. Five long and endless days during which Kelly and Shay watched over Matt, with Antonio and his sister Christie. His heart was becoming stronger, with a more regular heartbeat, he was still having a few minor incidents but nothing alarming. Dr. Riley had run some new tests on his brain, to see if the swelling had come down. Much of the swelling was gone now, but there remained a small oedema still compressing his memorial area. Gradually, Matt was learning again language, speaking better and better, decreasingly stammering. And on the other hand, everyone was learning sign language with Christie, Emily, but also Dr. Kinsley and Matt. This would become unnecessary over time, but if Matt would have another problem or would be too tired to talk, it was his only way to communicate and be understood. Emily had also convinced the cardiologist to let Matt breathe on his own after a long debate: he could stay off the breathing machine for a few minutes a day, the time to see if his heart could bear it, but also to give him time to adjust to spontaneous breathing. Therefore, when Matt was dependent of the ventilator, he was in smart ventilation mode, as before the second aortic dissection. Since two days, he had also started to eat and drink again. It was not a feast, just some yogurt and jelly here and there and water. During these five days, Matt hadn't stopped asking about Gabby, what she kind of injuries she had during the accident, but Kelly, Shay and Christie had made a promise to each other: not tell him now, for fear of risking a new crisis and stress his heart. But not knowing was causing even more stress on Matt. He didn't really know why he was reacting like this, why he cared for a woman he didn't know. They explained to him that his body remembered her and therefore reacted without memories. This more than anything else was annoying him.
"You... Will t-tell me?"
Kelly plunged his gaze on Matt's, frowning.
"About what?"
"Gabby".
"Matt...", Kelly sighed then. "We don't want to stress you".
"You... Know what is stres-sing me?" Matt challenged. "Being s-sidelined... About Gabby".
Kelly sighed again, looked down and lowered his head.
"I get it. I will explain. But I warn you", he said raising his finger toward Matt. "If your heart is dancing rumba in your chest..."
"I know, I say stop", Matt interrupted.
Kelly smiled, nodding slightly. He cleared his throat and began his explanation.
"You already saw the video of your accident, you remember?"
"Uh uh".
"We first took care or the car, and the driver said he hit a couple. A... A part of your team did the search but didn't find anything. And the... The driver told us he heard you scream 'Gabby'. That's when we understood".
He stopped a moment, leaving Matt the time to digest what he heard, redistributing all the informations in his head. After two minutes, Matt asked Kelly to continue.
"Not far from the accident site, there is a Starbucks. Gabby and you like to go there to eat breakfast before or after shift. It's a kind of a ritual. We understood then that the couple was... Yours".
"And... You found us".
"A young woman came at us, telling us she found an injured woman, barely conscious. And then we found you. You were under a car".
"U-under a c-car?"
"When the car hit you, it embarked you on the hood on about a block, and you've ended your course under the car".
Matt was listening attentively, taking some breaths of pure oxygen. Although he didn't remember these past nine years, he was a firefighter for long enough to know that it was not every day someone could survive this kind of accident.
"Then Hermann and me had an argument about the way to free you and... And it might have caused... It might have caused you all these problems... If..."
Kelly couldn't end his explanation, but Matt understood what he meant: 'if we hadn't lost time by bickering with each other instead of saving you'. Matt places his hand over Kelly's right hand and squeezed it. He rose his head, his eyes filled with remorse.
"Kelly. I'm alive, that's the m-matter, isn't it?"
Kelly nodded, still not convinced. He was blaming himself, he was still blaming Hermann. But Matt was right: he was alive, it was the most important thing.
"I'm sorry", he managed to whisper to his bedridden friend.
"Hey, no".
Matt looked his brother annd frowned.
"You lost w-weight?"
"What?"
Kelly straightened his head to meet Matt's eyes.
"Uh... Well... I'm here most of the time, we don't eat fabulously in a hospital!"
"The... Ca..."
Some words were still hard to pronounce for Matt, and it annoyed him.
"Cafeteria?" Kelly asked then.
Matt nodded, sighing in frustratio.
"Matt, it'll come okay? You will talk again as before in no time".
It wasn't rassuring him, but he feigned a smile.
"So? The... Ca... Fet'?"
"Oh! Yeah! Uh... Guilty. Food is great there".
Matt smiled, then Kelly. Suddenly, someone knocked and two men entered the room. They didn't know them.
"Hello gentlemen!"
"Hello... Uh... You surely took the wrong room", Kelly stated.
"Nope! We're on the right one! Sorry, we didn't meet already. I'm Dr. O'Brien the orthopedist, and this is Sacha, physiotherapist".
"Nice to meet you", he said with a big smile on his face.
Matt was still looking at these two men who entered the room from head to toes. Then he turned to Kelly and began to sign. He knew Kelly learnt these signs he would make.
I don't want them to touch me.
Kelly had understood 'touch', the wish sign and the negation one, and he deduced that Matt didn't want to be touched by these men. Kelly took a deep breath and tried to sign as well as we could. He knew the sign for 'help' and he knew that pointing them, making the sign for 'help', then pointing Matt would mean they were there to help him.
Matt, they're here to help.
They won't touch me unless they tell me why they're here.
Kelly slightly frowned: this time, he didn't understood everything. He'd recognized some signs, but not all of them. He thought and after a few seconds, he try to explain.
"He wants to know where you're here", Kelly announced, sure about this.
He turned his head toward Matt, and a smile appeared on his face.
"Oh, yes. Sorry. We're here to take you and take some x-rays of your legs and right arm, and if all goes as panned, we'll remove your plasters", the doctor explained with a smile.
Matt's eyes widened, astonished. Remove the plasters, already?
"We... Can?"
It was the first time the two doctors were hearing Matt talking. It surprised them, but they didn't show it.
"Absolutely. Your bones should have had the time to heal properly".
"But... But it's not even a month since Matt's admission!" Kelly finally said. "Bones take much longer to heal, right? Specificly femurs!"
"That's right. But not with the new way".
Kelly sighed in despair, spawling himself on one of the chairs.
"An experience, again..."
"It's not experimental for months, and it has already been successfull".
"Then go ahead?! Explain?!"
Kelly was tired seeing Matt as a guinea big. First the cerebral defibrillator, then the aortic stent, and finally this.
"We used an infiltration of minerals found in the bone enamel to accelerate the healing. It's... It's like a bone transplant if you want. It's called bone cement. Healing is generally two times faster than usual. We just have to remove the plaster at the right time otherwise the process won't work".
"And how will you know if it worked?" Kelly asked sighing and closing his eyes.
"With x-rays. If the cement worked, then it won't be no sign of fractures. If we find just a sign, we won't remove the plasters".
The orthopedist took his file then.
"According to the recent x-rays, Matt has no sign of fractures anymore. We would like to see a second times before removing them".
"And... Then?" Matt asked, curious.
"Then Sacha will help you to move slightly to relieve your soreness. He will come every day to your PT and he'll show to your friends and family how to work with you as well".
Matt didn't show it, but he was scared and anxious. Kelly was the only one who noticed it.
"Matt, look at me".
He turned his head, meeting Kelly's eyes.
"Everything will be alright, it's just x-rays".
"They will r-remove these p-pla... P-plas... Ters".
"It's a good thing you know? It means you're healing".
Matt nodded after a few seconds and the doctor took Matt for some x-rays. He had the confirmation that the broken bones were perfectly healed and therefore, they could remove the plasters without any problems an d worries. It was now Sacha to take over. Once the plasters removed, the physiotherapist asked Matt to clench his right fist. Matt was scared but he told himself that he was the specialist and knew what was right or wrong. He took a breath and commanded his hand to move. Very slowly, his fingers approached each other until coming together to be this fist Sacha wanted.
"Excellent Matt! Now, we'll move your wrist".
Matt's eyes widened and he turned his head toward Sacha.
"W-we?"
"You and me, together. There is a high possibility for your muscles to be sore and weak, even slightly atrophied".
Matt nodded, looking down at his arm and to see what Sacha was going to do. He grabbed carefully his wrist, massaging it slowly. He asked him to loosen his fingers and try to move his rigth wrist at the same time. After several minutes and with a lot of help, Matt could now move it in almost every way, if he didn't force too much.
"Very good! One last step: your elbow".
At this precise moment, Matt froze. This time, his fear was too high to bear. He had a flash, an image who came back into his head. He frowned, thinking about this image again.
"Matt? There's a problem?"
Matt didn't talk, didn't move. He wasn't really here, present. Concerned, Sacha tapped his shoulder and Matt startled, moving his elbow without wanting it. The pain was extreme, but fadded as soon as Sacha grabbed it to immobilize it.
"Oah, take it easy, calm down...", he murmured. "You were not with me for a moment".
Matt shook his head, his head lowered again to see his arm.
"It was... Weird. It was just a... A feeling, but... It was as if the p-pain came back".
"You can explain to me? I'm the physiotherapist, but if it can help you feel better".
"Thanks... I just saw... A car and... Felt this car hit me and... My elbow was hurting me so bad".
"I see. I have the list of your injuries and I also know how you had them. Your elbow joint had been slightly dislocated at the impact".
"Oh".
"Yes, oh. Explained the pain when you moved it, and also your flash when I talked about your elbow. Most of the swelling faded, your memory will come back gradually", Sacha assured.
Matt sighed. He was still feeling this intense pain at his elbow.
"My elbow is still hurting badly..."
"Okay, I've got an idea".
He rose and took his phone to call someone. Fice minutes later, someone knocked and a woman appeared, giving something to him. He came back next to Matt and explained.
"This is a special splint. It's conceived to move your joints, but I can also block your movements if necessary".
Matt didn't understand anything and showed it. Sacha smiled.
"I'll place it, and you'll understand, okay?"
Carefully, the physio applied the splint. It came from the joints of his fingers to the middle of his arm. After some adjustments, Sacha proposed Matt to move his fingers, then his wrist and finally his elbow. Anxious, he did it and became surprised. He could move his wrist much better, but his elbow were locked.
"You... You selected my m-movements?"
Matt had finally understood, making Sacha smile and himself.
"Alright! Now, we can try your legs?"
Matt didn't realize he had held his breath, thinking about his legs. He noticed it when the breathing machine rang and inhaled for him.
"You're scared?" Sacha asked calmly.
"To be in pain", Matt admitted.
Sacha smiled, and placed softly his hand on his left thigh.
"Well, we'll do this smoothly, at least with minimal pain. I can't guarantee anything".
The physio waited a reaction from Matt. He nodded, trusting against his will this man he didn't know.
"Ok! First, we'll keep your legs straight, and we'll try to lift them the higher possible without any pain".
Matt swallowed nervously, clenched his two fists, took a breath and began to lift his right leg. He just barely moved it, but the pain paralyzed him, lacerating his whole body. He clsoed his eyes, wincing, and couldn't help but scream of pain.
"Ok, ok, ok... We'll rest your right leg okay?"
softly and with the helo of Sacha, his leg came back onto the matress in an unusual crack.
"It's nothing, don't worry. You hadn't move in a month, you have some air pockets in your joints and these pockets are now breaking".
Matt didn't understood anything.
"I... I don't understand".
"Ah, uh... Ah! Your joints are cracking because it's been a long time you've moved an inch. Better?"
Matt smiled and nodded.
"M-much better. T-thanks".
"We try the other leg?"
Instinctively, Matt shook his head from left to right, fear still paralyzing him.
"Matt, you right leg is the one that took most of the damage. Your left leg should be less painful".
After a few minutes, Matt finally accepted and lifted his leg. He frowned and lifted it at 45 degrees before feeling a slight pain in his hip.
"That's good Matt! I told you it will be less painful".
Matt sighed in relief. He felt good. The therapy session ended an hour later, during which Sacha massaged him to release some soreness muscles and break some air pockets blocked into his joints. When they came back into the room, Kelly was still there, eating a big sandwich with coke. Matt burst into laugh as he could.
"What?! I'm hungry!"
"I didn't see you eat like this s-since... I'm awake".
"First time or second time? You slept like a baby these past few weeks...", Kelly said ironically.
"Ah. Ah. Ah".
But soon after, Matt laughed too, approaching his left hand to his chest, more by instinct than pain.
"You hurt?"
"No sorry... Reflex".
Kelly nodded. Sacha was still there, taking the bad at its place, but Matt stopped ihim before clenching the brake.
"A problem?"
Matt shook his head and looked to the left. Gabby. Each time he was looking at her, his stomach was like a nest of butterflies newly hatched. Kelly had immediately understood what Matt wanted. He put down his sandwich, got up and came alongside Sasha. He whispered in his ear and the latter smiled and then nodded. He put down the left rail of Matt's bed, while Kelly put down the right rail of Gabby's bed. Then Sasha and Kelly approached the bed until Matt was next to the woman she loved without knowing her. Instinctively, his left hand passed gently on her soft and cold skin, on her cheek, on her shoulder, on her right arm, then finally reaching her hand. Paying attention to all the wires, he took her hand in his, stroking it, squeezing it gently and tenderly. He felt good, he had never felt so peaceful. But the therapy had exhausted him to the extreme and he wanted to sleep. Then he closed his eyes and fell asleep peacefully near his beloved. Kelly smiled at this scene, but Sacha panicked a bit when he heard an alarm sound.
"Don't worry", Kelly assured, whispering. "He's just deeply asleep".
Sacha nodded.
"You seem to know him, to the point to know what he wants the most in this world", he stated the obvious.
"Matt and I are like borthers. We have some arguments, but he's my best friend. He needs Gabby to get better, and Gabby needs him to wake up. Reunite them, it's like allowing them to look after each other".
