Hey, all. Sorry this chapter took so long. It took a long time for certain things to fall into place in my head. I have had a crazy few weeks and haven't had much energy to write until recently. So here ya go. Enjoy!
Chapter 8: Baby Steps
The following afternoon, Spike walked into the living room to find Adele looking at more photos. Taking a cue from the photos Jules had given them, they had spent the morning walking around Cherry Beach, where they had had their first date in June of 2009.
As Spike watched from the doorway, Adele lightly ran her fingers over the photos, pausing on two photos framed together. They were in New York City, where they had got engaged, under a cherry blossom tree in Central Park; the second, of the two of them in Times Square, waiting for the ball to drop on New Year's Eve. A passerby tourist had taken the photos for them.
"Did you have fun today?" Spike asked her.
Adele looked up. "Yeah," she said, "it was a good day. I think I'm gonna go lie down, though."
"Headache?"
"Yeah."
"Bad one?"
If Spike hadn't been watching her every move, he would have missed the barely perceptible nod of her head.
"Come drink something, then get some rest," said Spike. "When you wake up later, I'll make us some dinner."
"Okay," said Adele, before following him into the kitchen. "Spike, Cherry Beach, that was a good day, too, wasn't it?"
"Yeah," said Spike. "Do you remember?"
"Yeah," said Adele, washing down her pain pill with some apple juice. "It was our first date. I met Sophie and Clark and Dean, and Shelley and Wordy and their girls. We barbecued and you lit off fireworks and flew a remote control helicopter for us to watch."
Spike nodded. "Yep," he said, smiling. "Fireworks are my specialty, next to bomb defusing."
"You and I had our first kiss on the dock."
Spike nodded.
"I hope we have more of those days," said Adele.
"We will, Adele," Spike said, smiling. "We will."
"Then you and I decided to take a trip to New York City, just us," said Adele, walking with him back to the bedroom. "I'd always wanted to go there. We toured the city and got engaged under a cherry blossom tree."
"In Central Park," Spike said, nodding and smiling.
"Then we spent New Year's Eve in Times Square?" Adele asked.
"And watched the ball drop," said Spike.
"We got married in June," said Adele. Spike nodded. "And your dad... he died that August."
Spike nodded solemnly. "And I asked you how do you do it," he said.
"How do I do what?"
"How do you deal with what your husband does for a living? How can you bear watching me walk out the door every morning, not knowing if I'll ever come back? And you know what you told me?" Spike asked. Adele looked up at him silently. "You told me it's a burden you choose to carry. You, Shelley, Sophie, you all chose it. If you didn't, you wouldn't still be here. And no one can make that decision for you, nor can they take it away from you. Not without a fight anyway. And you know what?"
"What?"
"It's the same for me, right now," Spike said, sitting down on the bed as she got in it, and pulling the covers up to her shoulders. Then he sat back, to let her finish tucking herself in with dignity. "I choose to be here for you, right now, always. On our wedding day, I promised you me, and I'm gonna keep that promise. I'm not going anywhere. And I'm not gonna let you go anywhere, okay?"
"Thank you, Spike," Adele murmured, pulling the covers up to her chin as the painkiller took effect. "That's very comforting."
Spike smiled. "Holler for me if you need anything, okay?"
"Copy that."
Satisfied, Spike nodded and got up from the bed. He went over to the door, pulled it almost closed, then went out to the living room and sank down onto the couch in exhaustion.
"Spike... Spike!"
The panicked call jolted the bomb tech out of sleep and had him running across the hall before he was even fully awake. He flicked on the light switch to find Adele curled up in a fetal position on the bed, her elbows on her knees, crushing her palms to her temples, her jaw locked in an attempt to swallow the groan of pain that threatened to escape.
"Adele?" Spike was amazed that his voice did not belay his terror.
"Spike..." she gasped. "I think I need to go to the hospital..."
"Spike, what happened?"
Jules hurried toward Spike, who was sitting in the waiting room, leaning forward on his knees, wringing his hands worriedly.
"Adele called for me and I found her curled up on her bed in a ball, her hands on her hand, in some serious pain," Spike explained. "I called 911, figured it'd be faster than me driving her."
"She let you call for help?" Jules asked in surprise.
"Let me? Jeez, Jules, she asked me!"
"You might as well grab coffee and breakfast with me at the Coffee Corner, Spike. It looks like it's gonna be another long night..."
Having eaten breakfast, Jules and Spike were just returning with coffee in hand, when the nurse wheeled Adele back into her private room. Adele lay unmoving on the gurney. Three nurses lifted Adele onto the bed, then tucked the sheet around her and plumped her pillows, before leaving her alone to sleep.
"Doctor Craven told me to tell you that the scans went very well, and that Adele should be waking up from the sedative very soon," said the first nurse quietly, smiling. "Doctor Craven will be with you shortly."
Spike and Jules nodded and sat back to wait.
The two partners sat in comfortable silence as they watched Adele fight through the fog and heaviness of the sedative and return to consciousness. Her eyelids fluttered, then she opened them, looking around for a sign that she wasn't alone.
"How are you feeling, Adele?" Spike asked.
"Tired. Where's the doc?" Adele asked.
"On his way. Are you in pain?" Spike asked.
"Some," said Adele. "'S not bad, though... Anyone else here?"
"The Sarge, Ed, and Sam are in the waiting room," said Spike. "Nurses would only let your, er... 'primary caretakers' in at the moment." He smiled wryly. "They'll be let in after we've heard the verdict and you've had some rest."
"Okay," said Adele softly. Her head dropped as she began to give in to the pull of the sedative, to sleep off the rest of it.
"Hey, don't go to sleep yet, Adele, I'm here," said Doctor Craven, announcing his arrival. "I have good news."
Adele's head snapped up. She clutched her head and winced in pain, regretting the motion. "Ow... What's going on?"
"The new scans show us that the swelling has finally abated," said Doctor Craven. "The reduction of the swelling has relieved pressure on the nerves and nerve bundles, causing your acute pain. The headaches are a result of the trauma the edema and swelling has caused the nerves, and unfortunately, as you've experienced, they can be extremely sudden and extremely painful. For now, I've prescribed a much stronger painkiller for you to take as soon as you feel a headache starting, Adele. If you feel they don't provide enough relief, I want you back here, stat."
"Can I go home?" Adele asked.
"I'd rather you stayed until the sedative was completely out of your system," said Doctor Craven. "However, if you can give me your word that you'll go straight to bed when you get home..."
Adele was out of bed and pulling her jeans over shaking legs, before the doctor finished his sentence.
"Do you have someone to stay with you, Adele?" asked Doctor Craven.
"I will," Jules and Spike said in unison. Adele smiled.
Adele was out like a light as soon as her head hit the pillow, upon returning home.
A few hours later, Spike looked up, hearing the shuffling of feet.
"Thought you were sleeping?" he asked Adele, appraising her quickly and seeing no sign of pain or illness.
"I was," said Adele, "but I can't stop thinking."
"About what?"
"Everything," said Adele. "The explosion, the memories... how long it's been since I saw Lewis and Kanya..."
"Get some sleep. If you feel up to it tomorrow, we can go see them tomorrow."
"Really? Thank you, Spike." Adele smiled, walked over to kiss him, then turned around and fell back into bed. She listened to her husband's soft footfalls fade into the room next to her, then her breathing evened out and she fell asleep.
The next morning, Adele woke relatively early, around eight. Spike was sitting in the kitchen, reading the newspaper.
"Morning," Adele murmured, making a beeline for her teapot.
"Morning," Spike responded, smiling.
As she waited for the water to boil, Adele turned to face Spike and saw his dreamy expression. "What?" she asked softly.
"I, uh, well..." Spike stammered. "I'm just... so glad you're back."
Adele nodded. "Me too," she said quietly, not quite meeting Spike's gaze.
Noticing Adele's distant body language, as the teapot whistled, Spike asked, "What's wrong?"
"I just feel so... guilty," said Adele. "How could something like that actually happen?"
"Adele, you have a traumatic brain injury," said Spike. "It wasn't your fault."
"I should have been stronger, Spike," said Adele, tears shining in her eyes. "No one in their right mind just forgets about their family."
"Adele, you didn't just forget," said Spike, standing up and going over to her. "And you weren't really in your right mind. But I'm not criticizing you."
Adele nodded vaguely.
"You're still recovering," said Spike, stroking her arm. "It's only been five days since the incident. Give it some more time. Your memories are back; it will just take time to readjust. And you're still dealing with the physical recovery as well. Don't be so hard on yourself."
Adele nodded again.
"Are you ready to go visit Lewis and Kanya today?" Spike asked.
"Yes," said Adele, nodding. "I want things to return to normal as soon as possible. I want to see them. I'm sure they've missed me."
"I know the feeling," Spike said, kissing her forehead. "Let's eat some breakfast, then we'll head over and surprise them."
Adele smiled. "Okay."
Spike smiled to himself, watching Adele laughing as she played with the twins on the floor. Kanya was laughing from underneath a laundry basket Adele had placed over her, both laughing every time she got out and Adele placed it back over her again. Lewis was transferring stickers from a book to pieces of paper with the assistance of Adele's mother and stepfather, Stella and Jack. They peeled the stickers from the book, then gave them to Lewis to place on the paper.
Later that evening, they read to the twins, before tucking them in for the night. Once the twins were asleep in their cribs, they went into the living room and sat down on the couch. Stella and Jack joined them.
"What's up?" Jack asked casually.
Adele looked at Spike, unsure of where to begin.
"We wanted to talk to you about the possibility of bringing the twins home," Spike began.
Stella and Jack nodded.
"Really?" Stella asked. "Already?"
"Seems really soon," said Stella.
Lost for words, Adele looked quizzically at Spike.
"We were thinking about starting with having them back on weekends, to start," said Spike. "Start slow and work our way up."
"Mom, Jack," Adele said, "you guys and I both know that stability is one of the best things for a child. I think getting the twins back home with us as soon as possible is what's best for them."
"Adele, we don't want you to be overwhelmed," said Stella. "You're still dealing with a lot."
"Mom, it's not just about me," said Adele. "I may still be dealing with shit from the explosion, but my children need me. Look, things are gonna be weird for a while, but—"
"Things are weird already," said Spike. "They deserve to come home."
Jack nodded. "It's a good thought," he said. "I say, let's give it a try. We can always slow things down if the need be. Baby steps."
Adele's face lit up and she broke into a grin. "Really?" She and Spike hugged happily, laughing. "Thank you."
Smiling, they leaned back against the couch and cuddled close.
Thanks to all who have read, reviewed, favorited, alerted so far. I really appreciate it. I'll post chapter 9 as soon as possible. Please review! Thanks.