Chapter 157: "Stress Balls"

"Never a lip is curved with pain that can't be kissed into smiles again." – Bret Harte

"The trick is not how much pain you feel – but how much joy you feel. Any idiot can feel pain. Life is full of excuses to feel pain, excuses not to live, excuses, excuses, excuses." – Erica Jong

"Life is a series of moments, to live each one is to succeed." – Cortia Kent

"If you have a job without aggravations, you don't have a job." – Malcolm Forbes

"The highest reward for a man's toil is not what he gets for it but he becomes by it." – John Ruskin


Sydney stood for a minute, laughing and then went to get the laundry from the dryer. She brought it up and peeked in on Vaughn. She noticed he'd shifted slightly, but he still looked like he was sleeping. She put the laundry basket on the floor and moved into the room a little more.

She smiled, watching him for a few minutes, and he started to stir. She stayed where she was, watching as he woke gradually from his somnolence.

He yawned and stretched slightly, but stopped short in what she could only guess was pain. She sat down on the bed, and he looked over at her when he felt the bed depress with her weight.

"You ok?" she asked softly.

"Yeah…"

"Good nap?"

"Mmmhmm…woulda been better with you here…"

She smiled, "I know…"

"What did you do while I napped?"

"Mmm…really exciting stuff…I did laundry…and dishes…then I talked to your mother, who says you should be the paradigm of a good son and call her…and she loves you."

"What did she call for?"

"Just to check up on you."

"Ah…"

"Then I called Tom."

"Why?" Vaughn asked, confused.

"Weeellll…I was looking at the refrigerator and one of my old charts caught my eye. Chart says you can get the splits off this week…so I called to see, because on top of that…I realized – we took a shower with your splints on…I'm sure they got sufficiently moist…Tom will be making a house call, most likely with his fiancée in tow and they'll be here in about a half hour."

"I never even thought about it…"

"Me neither…I think we both had other things on our minds…"

"Cool…" he held up his right hand, "It'll be nice to have them off…although I can't do anything with this hand really…"

"No…but it's another step Vaughn…"

"I know."

He took a deep breath, "It'll be better when I don't have the sling anymore…"

Sydney smiled, "Oh yes it will…"

He smirked, "You should get ready then."

"I'll be prepared Boyscout, don't you worry…"

He chuckled, "Tom's coming over with Kaia then…"

Sydney snorted, "Yeah, as soon as they're both done…coming…"

He gave her a strange look.

"It seems we aren't the only couple who spend copious amounts of time occupied sexually…"

Vaughn grinned, "Well…I bet they haven't broken a chair…"

"You are SO proud of that aren't you?"

"Oh, yes, I consider that one of our greatest accomplishments, something to tell the grandkids about…put on a resume. 'Once broke lawn chair whilst having sex…which led to grass sex.' I think it'll go nicely with 'CIA senior officer.'"

Sydney giggled uncontrollably, "Yeah, it has a nice ring to it – you could put it under 'qualifications: can easily break lawn chairs while having sex.'"

He smirked before an 'ACHOO!' escaped him. He sniffled and smiled at her.

She smirked back at him, "Tom might ask about your cold…"

"Well…we'll just tell him why I have one then…"

"Mmmhmm…you gonna brag?"

"Probably…"

Sydney smiled, "Let's just not be too graphic…"

He smiled slyly, "Ok…" he paused and then asked, "Why can't we just take these off ourselves?"

"Well, I think for one, it's to check to make sure you should have them off. And two, he's gonna need to like…I don't know – manipulate them, I suppose, help you get them working again. And three, I don't know how to take off splints…so…there."

Vaughn smiled, "You'd figure it out," he said with a wink.

"Well, it's too late anyway – if they're done having sex, than they're on their way…"

No sooner did the words leave Sydney's mouth then the doorbell rang. She smiled at Vaughn and went to the door.

The couple that greeted her was humorous in their appearance. Tom was wearing a 'cat that ate the canary' grin, and sporting a rather large hickey on his neck as he leaned on the doorframe. Kaia looked the vision of bliss, she had made an effort to make her hair look slightly less disheveled, but it didn't exactly work.

Sydney just giggled, "Come on in."

Tom smirked and moved in the house, Kaia following closely behind.

"Well…did you two have a nice time? That was quicker than I thought."

Kaia smiled appreciatively, "He has a knack for being wonderful and quick when we need to be."

Sydney chuckled and started to walk to the bedroom.

Tom and Kaia entered behind her, and Tom moved straight to the bed, "Hey Mikey!" he said cheerfully.

Vaughn smiled widely and grabbed the hand that he extended in a buddy handshake.

Tom leaned down to give him a gentle hug, squeezing his shoulder, "You look better."

"Thanks, I feel better too…"

Sydney sat down on the bed next to Vaughn and Kaia stepped into place next to Tom.

"Hi," Vaughn said smiling at Kaia, "I'm Michael…" he said.

She smiled back, "I know."

"Well, I figured, last time we didn't really 'meet,' so I thought I'd be formal."

"Well, I'm Kaia then…" she replied.

"So…you guys had some fun before you…" Vaughn cleared his throat, "came over…"

Tom chuckled, "Yeah…that's right…and shut up – cause I'm sure you did too."

"Well," Vaughn said, turning his head, "Perhaps…"

Tom smiled, and then swung into 'doctor mode.' "So how have you been feeling…really."

Vaughn looked over at him, "Better…really…I've been feeling better. I mean – we took a shower this morning…that was great. I haven't taken a shower in like a month."

Tom smiled, "That's great Mike…and hence why we're here – the splints got wet…"

'ACHOO!' "Yeah, I didn't even think of it…"

"Me neither," Sydney added.

Kaia smiled, "It happens…"

"Bless you," Tom said, "You getting a cold?"

Vaughn smirked, "I think I already have one…"

"You make sure you call if it gets worse…" Tom sat down on the bed, "Well, let's take a look at the splints…"

Vaughn stretched out his right hand to do first, since it only had one splint. Tom gently took his hand and examined the splint first, checking for any signs of damage to the splint. It looked soggy, but intact. He peeled at the tape that covered the splint and held it in place, and took his time removing it. Once the tape was off, he gently prodded at the edge of the splint and skillfully removed the metal and fiberglass casing. The last step was to remove the gauze and cotton layer that covered his finger.

Sydney and Vaughn both watched intently as Tom removed the splint, both fascinated by the technical side of it all. Kaia stood smiling at Tom, her arms crossed over her chest as she watched her love do what he did best…well…second best. She smirked at his determination and his ever-mindful gentleness. He was a wonderful doctor.

Tom carefully peeled the gauze and cotton off of Vaughn's finger and examined the area, scrutinizing and prodding gently before saying anything. Kaia moved closer to look at it as well, loving the way Tom's eyebrows furrowed when he looked at something like this.

"K," Tom started, "Now, you're gonna notice the skin is slightly discolored, that's normal," he said looking up at Sydney and Vaughn. Kaia smiled at his bedside manner; that was why Tom was so good with children.

He continued, "Now…I'm sure these have healed…on the off chance that they haven't…this is gonna hurt like hell when I have you do this…k?"

Vaughn nodded.

"Ok, because you had multiple fractures here, on all the fingers…and because the splint was over the joints, your finger is gonna be really stiff for a while. And it's gonna take awhile before you regain the full range of motion for them. This one will obviously be easier than your left hand, because that one has three broken fingers…"

Vaughn nodded again, Sydney listening intently.

Tom started again, "And…I'm not sure yet the extent of the damage, but to regain the mobility, you're going to have to do exercises…"

"How do I exercise a finger?" Vaughn asked.

Tom smiled, "Well…do you have a stress ball? Those always work well…"

"Um…no…but now that you mention it, maybe I should have had one a long time ago."

Tom laughed, "I've got one in the car…I'll get it later…" He held Vaughn's hand in his own and moved it slightly so that Vaughn could bend the finger, "Ok, it's gonna feel stiff, but I want you to try and bend your finger…if it hurts, like instantly, then stop moving it…"

"That makes a lot of sense Tom," Vaughn said with a smile.

"Well, I have to say that."

"I know," Vaughn said. He gingerly bent the pinky, his face setting into a grimace. Sydney looked between him and Tom and Kaia worriedly, but he didn't cry out in pain.

Sydney finally had to know, "Does it hurt honey?" she asked.

"Mmm…no…" he said, "just…really…stiff is a great word," he said as he finally got the finger to bend completely.

"Good." Tom said, "That was really great Mike…just keep flexing it…you sure there's no pain?" he asked.

Vaughn smiled, "I'd tell you man."

"Just checking…" Tom said with a smile. He looked to Kaia, who smiled sweetly at him, nodding in approval.

He let Vaughn flex the finger for a few minutes, "It getting any better?"

"A little, yeah…"

"You wanna do the other fingers?"

"Yeah, ok."

Tom got up and removed the sling from Vaughn's arm and sat closer to him to take the splints off of his left hand. Vaughn was engrossed in the movement his right pinky could achieve and was mostly oblivious to Tom's removal of the rest of the splints.

Sydney leaned over to look however, interested to see how Tom would get these off, since they were slightly different than the other one.

Tom made sure that Vaughn's shoulder was stable before he started and then slowly peeled the tape like the first splint. Since three fingers on his left hand were broken, and were all in a row, the splints had been taped together to make it easier for Vaughn. He had to remove a copious amount of tape before he even reached the metal and fiberglass of the splints. He patiently separated the splints and started on the first one, taking each one at a time. He took off the casing and then the gauze and cotton. "Ok, try this finger," he instructed.

Vaughn stopped flexing the right hand and concentrated on the next finger. "Damn," he said.

Tom smiled, "Yeah, I'm thinking this hand is gonna need more therapy than the other…"

"Well, that was the point, wasn't it?" he said quietly.

Tom looked at Sydney, not knowing exactly how to respond to that. She just smiled sadly and nodded to keep going. Tom risked a glance to Kaia, who was still observing the whole scene. She smiled at him too, and he moved on to the next finger. He took the casing and wrappings off of the other fingers, "Ok…go ahead."

Vaughn, "Ok…that sucks," he said sharply.

Tom monitored him closely, "Did that hurt?"

"No, but it might as well, I can barely feel it."

Tom said softly, "Time Mike…you gotta be patient."

Vaughn sighed heavily, "Yup," and kept at the flexing.

"I'll go get the stress ball," Tom announced, and kissed Kaia quickly before walking out of the room.

Vaughn looked over at Kaia, "Ya know, I know we don't know each other or anything, but you make Tom really happy…I just wanted to tell you…"

Kaia smiled, "Thank you."

Vaughn smiled, "When's the wedding?"

"We were thinking October…the 24th specifically."

"Wow," Vaughn calculated in his head, "that's…only three months away."

"Yes, it is."

"You can plan a wedding that quickly?" Sydney asked.

Kaia smiled, "Tom and I can…"

Sydney smiled back, "Well you were quick today."

Kaia burst out laughing, "Well, he's not always that quick," she said with a smile.

Tom came bounding back in the room, looking strangely at all the people smiling at him, "Did I miss something?" he asked as he tossed Vaughn the stress ball. "Kings," he said with a wink.

Vaughn smiled, "That's great Tom…really…thanks."

"What did I miss?" he asked uncertainly.

Kaia moved over to hug him from the side. He pulled her closer. "We were just talking about our timeliness."

Tom smiled, "What cause we planned a wedding in less than like a day."

"A day?!" Sydney exclaimed.

"Well…we knew what we wanted…called...and got it," Tom said simply with a smile.

Kaia smiled, "I knew what I wanted the moment I saw him."

Tom smiled bashfully, "Well…yeah…the feeling was mutual."

They chatted about plans and dresses for a few minutes while Vaughn started to make his fingers flex around the ball. Sydney looked over at him a few times, watching him in his determined stare, his brow in deep concentration. She leaned over and kissed his cheek.

He looked over at her, smiling, "What?"

"Nothing…just…you."

"What about me?"

"I swear all you have to do yet is stick your tongue out and have it absently lick the side of your mouth and you'll morph into an eight-year-old."

He smiled, dimples slowly emerging.

"Don't work too hard, I plan on using your new skill later…" she whispered in his ear, making him shiver slightly.

Tom cleared his throat, "I can SEE you, you know…"

"Well, compared to what I HEARD earlier Tom, that was QUITE mild."

Tom smiled, "True…"

"You guys wanna stay for dinner?" Sydney asked.

Tom looked to Kaia, who answered for them, "We'd love to."