Alex entered the O.R. with a pair of nurses on her heels. "Rick," she greeted with a smile. "I'm glad to see you're awake after your trip. Not having any regrets are you?" She stopped next to the occupied bed.
"Nah," Rick replied. "I'm just curious about how you plan to complete all the work in those designs of yours." She noted that since he seemed to be in a better condition the Midwestern twang in his voice was audible.
"It's all about installing the devices in a way that allows them to fold in on themselves. Most of the projectile weapons have telescoping barrels."
"Ah, well then let's go ahead and get this started. I've got someone waiting for me." He smiled weakly.
Project Guardian ran as smoothly as it could, their candidate Rick Barnes was a police officer who had been just too close to a mysterious bag in an airport when it exploded. He had realized it was a bomb too late, at the same time that a little boy came running by. He'd made a snap decision to tackle the boy to the ground shielding the child from the force of the explosion.
The child survived with some minor burns and scrapes. The hero officer was hospitalized with no available medical treatment that could save him. Until Dr. Lawrence visited him and managed to get him conscious long enough to agree to the procedures for Project Guardian.
She had only seven months to repair his damaged body and refit it with the weapons and tools that McDowell had designed for him. Lawrence worked night and day on the cybernetic replacements of his damaged organs and tissue. There was too much damaged tissue, and the work to replace it was costly. Twice she almost lost funding in the first month.
By five months in the scientists still watching over Penny had begun the brain stimulation. A series of steroids and hormones were injected into the developing brain tissue. Alex at this point had just begun to wake up Barnes. She had only two months to get him through therapy and adjusted to his new body.
"Now Rick, you've got to treat your thoughts a little differently. All your thoughts on physical movement won't be any different. Thinking to walk will get you moving, but if your thoughts wander at all, you'll lose continuity of thought." Alex was explaining. Rick, seated in a wheelchair was listing to her intently as she paced back and forth nervously.
"You're as jumpy as a June Bug." Rick commented with a smile.
"We don't have as much time as I would like you to have." Alex replied stopping to look at him. "Now please, pay attention."
"I'm all yours." Rick joked. Alex gave him a severe glare but said nothing.
"Thought Continuity is the most important thing you need right now. Distractions at this point will be adverse, and possibly painful. You have to keep your mind focused, now I know that's hard with neural interface, but you'll have to learn to ignore the Heads Up Display sometimes."
"Got it." Rick nodded. It'd been two weeks since his surgery, Alex wasn't quite ready to get him walking, but, she had no choice.
Rick gripped the armrests of his wheelchair and pushed himself up. He held onto the chair as he tried to get a feel for his legs. Surprisingly enough he still had a great deal of feeling in his limbs, they weren't as numb as he had expected. Alex had told him that the cybernetic prosthetics were designed with a series of nerve-like fiber optic relays allowing for smooth control and a sense of feeling.
He lifted first his left leg and then his right. There seemed to be no discernable difference between the legs he had been born with and the enhanced prosthetics. "Good, now try standing on your own." Alex suggested. She was watching him intently.
Rick slowly released the wheelchair and let his arms drop at his sides. He felt slightly unbalanced for a brief moment, and then his body seemed to adjust all on it's own.
"Excellent." Alex congratulated. "Now about walking…" she trailed off. Rick nodded and took a step forward. He kept his thoughts on his legs and the first step came out a little awkward and forced. He took another step. He was beginning to feel at ease. He took a few more steps. And as she had predicted his movements became less forced as he went.
"We'll have you ready for Penny in no time." Alex remarked with a smile. Rick snapped his head to her. He'd nearly forgotten about Penny. As his thoughts traveled from one task to another his legs locked up. His right leg was off the floor and before he could react he fell face first on the floor.
Alex winced. Rick mumbled a swear under his breath. "Ain't that just dandy," he commented as he pushed himself into a sitting position. Alex giggled and offered him a hand. Rick took it grateful for the gesture, but neither one of them was quite used to the increase in weight the cybernetic prosthetics had caused.
Alex and Rick tugged at the same time on each other. Alex wasn't strong enough and Rick ended up yanking her down onto the floor with him. He quirked an apologetic smile. Alex shook her head laughing. "Looks like we have a few long hours ahead of us."