Thank you for your reviews. Again sorry for the wait. I promise I'm trying to update regularly, but sometimes life just doesn't allow that. I have some prewritten and I plan on trying to get back into the swing of things as the holiday break nears for me. I really love everything about this story and the characters, and have a lot that I want to do with it. :)
Let me know what you think. Enjoy!
Ally could tell the words she said to the employee bothered Austin, but she couldn't stop herself. Watching the woman look at him like he was some sort of deformed creature sent her blood boiling and before she knew it, she was snapping, like she was used to, in order to prove a point. He didn't say anything about the gesture, but by his face, she knew better.
So, she just hoped it was soon forgotten. She wasn't going to apologize—was there a point to that—and knew if she continued to dwell on it, it would ruin the day. His first outing since getting hurt, something she was already too nervous about, too worried that somehow something would go wrong, he would get hurt, or sick, and she'd have to explain to the hospital that she injured him further. Besides, the car ride here had been bad enough. Well, the trip itself wasn't horrible—traffic was light and the breeze on their faces felt nice, but once they arrived, getting Austin out of the car proved more challenging than either of them probably thought. The enclosed space of the vehicle made it hard for her to help him maneuver himself, and several times they both got up close and personal with body parts that she wasn't too keen on seeing, unless they were her boyfriend's.
"Ally?" Austin's voice took her from her thoughts.
She forced a smile and looked toward him, "Sorry. Mentally trying to map out the day a bit. Where do you want to head to first?" She showed him the pamphlets of exhibits, knowing she had favorites to see (penguins and the sea lions) but was not surprised when he looked up only seconds later and grinned.
"Sharks," he demanded without second thought, pointing in the general direction of the aquarium area. "Let's see them. I bet they're huge."
They probably weren't that big, she wanted to counter. Most huge sharks did not do well in captivity, so they kept ones that only grew about ten or so feet. Still, sharks were creepy and way up a guy's ally, so she followed along while they tried to figure out the map. The elevator was way out of the way, far beyond the stairs in the middle of the enclosure which would've led them right there. Ally was growing more agitated by the second, her pulse throbbing every time someone nearly bumped into Austin or tripped over his chair. He would say excuse me countless times but the conversations made it hard for everyone to hear. But those who did see him? It was like the parting of a sea, people nearly stumbled to get out of the way, and that bothered her too.
Ally hurried along, reminding herself they were supposed to be having fun. She made a mental note to keep tabs on his appearance, just to be safe, but she was surprised when she caught back up with him, to only see peace on his face. The people didn't bother him, or at least he wasn't letting it show.
"Have you been here before?" Austin asked as they finally got onto the elevator, people pushing themselves against the wall to make room for them.
Ally nodded, "A few times during school. I haven't been here in years though."
"I don't think I've ever been here," he admitted. "The school never took us on this big of field trips. They were too broke."
She made a face. The aquarium couldn't be that far from most of the public schools of the area, and it was a relatively cheap fare, she reasoned.
"Oh." She smiled brightly. "Alright. We're here, let's do this."
The shark exhibit proved a bit daunting. There were a lot of people, as it was almost mid day, swarming the huge tank like lightening bugs in a dark field, moving quickly and proving it nearly impossible for the two of them to find an opening to enjoy. Ally never realized how exhausting and frustrating it could be to have the unfortunate inconvenience to not act like them. She knew it was not his fault, but the wheelchair was already proving difficult to see with. The handicap accessible area was covered with children, using the extra space to climb closer to the deep water and observe with their faces plastered to the glass.
"I can't believe how big they are," Austin said, craning his neck at such an awkward angle to see the ones toward the top of the tank. He pointed at something, as if oblivious to it all, "Whoa! Check out the teeth on that guy!"
A little boy turned around at the sound of that and began to stare at Austin instead. He was of course unaware, grinning ear to ear at some shark's teeth while Ally tapped on her foot, willing him with her eyebrows to stop. Where were the kid's parents? He inched closer to the chair, now effectively mentally strapped onto Austin's missing leg.
Then, he spoke, "Mister, did a shark do that to you?"
Austin broke out of his trace to see the wide-eyed child staring with horror filled eyes.
She watched as Austin stumbled, probably unsure how to answer such a question. He seemed both taken back and a bit afraid of the question. It occurred to her he probably did not know how to answer it, or what was even an appropriate answer for a child to hear.
Then, he responded and something inside of her properly melted, "Yes, actually." Other children were listening as he leaned forward in the chair, and she instinctively reached out to grasp the back in case it rolled, "You see, I was a world class diver. I swam deep into the seas!" He used his arms to make a large gesture and then continued, "I fought many sharks in my time! Great Whites, Tigers, Bulls! But one day, I was in the water, ready to take on a shark when it came up to me… we battled! It was long and hard. We wrestled under the water, I punched him, and he pushed me! I thought I would never make it out! Soon, we came to the surface…"
She lost track of the story for a moment, too shocked to see the children in a mix of shock and excitement at the crazed tale.
She caught the end and couldn't help but laugh, "So, I told him it was a hard fought battle and though he had lost, he could have my leg. It only seemed fair. I don't need two, and then I got a pretty cool scar out of it, right?"
The little boy who asked nodded wildly and began to lift his shirt, "I got a cool scar too, mister! Look!"
Ally saw a long and jagged scar down the side of his body, to which Austin exclaimed something in return and the body nodded again, "I fell off my bike last year! It hurt very bad, and there was this piece of glass where I fell. I cried only when they took it out!" He grinned, "Did you cry when the shark took your leg?"
Austin's smile faded for a moment, and he nodded, "Yes, I did. The shark deserved to have it, but I miss it very much sometimes. I don't need both legs, but sometimes it is very handy to have two." He put a tiny smile on his face. "I get a cool chair to ride around in now, so I mean, I think I'm still doing very well." Her heart swelled at the comment and she could hear in his voice that he didn't quite believe that. Her hand reached out instinctively to squeeze his shoulder and it seemed in those seconds Austin forgot he wasn't just with children. He glanced up at Ally and she smiled down at him, and then turned back to the children. "Alright, kids. I have to go. You guys stay brave, and have fun today, okay?"
"Okay, Mister! I hope your leg grows back soon!"
The children ran off and the space cleared, allowing Austin to roll all the way up. She leaned against the display, smiling at him. "A shark, really?"
He shrugged, "They loved it, why not?"
"You were good with them."
"I wasn't prepared for the question," he admitted. "I guess it's better that a kid asked me first."
"If an adult flat out asks you, I'm punching them."
Austin snorted, "Yeah, in kitten heels?"
Ally scowled this time, "Damn it, Austin!"
He chuckled beside her and she found she could not hold her scowl. Instead, she gently shoved his shoulder and they stopped before a display of brightly colored fish. In silence, the two of them read about the tropical water animals and she felt herself relax a little. Austin had survived two awkward encounters so far and it seemed neither situation had dwindled his spirits or attempt at having a good day. Maybe she should try a little more to do the same.
"Where to next?" he said, grabbing the paper from beneath his good leg. "I feel like we have a lot to cover in a short amount of time."
Ally nodded and glanced at her own pamphlet, "We could see some of the outside attractions. There is also a sea lion show in about twenty minutes. We could watch that."
"I vote yes," he declared, and Ally jogged to keep up with him. They were soon outside in the hot Florida sun, and weaving between large groups of people, the majority parting at the sight of a wheelchair now, thankfully. Ally hurried along, realizing that she was having a hard time keeping up, also struggling to find the handicap entrance to the large dome-like attraction. Finally, with some help of an employee, they were in front of the ramp-entrance and reading signs. Many were general cautions about staying in seats, not bothering animals… there were also a couple that Ally barely glanced at, which included leaving strollers in a designated area to keep spaces neat.
Austin reached the bleacher section first, scanning the first row for the handicap sections that the employee had spoke of. Much to their dismay, since the show was starting in only ten minutes, most of the seating was covered. Ally pointed to the far left where she could see an open area. But, just as they reached it, a woman with a toddler and an expensive, large stroller pulled up. The toddler, looking as if the stroller would not be necessary (he was climbing the bleachers freely and shrieking into the general direction of the large tanks), nearly toppled into Austin twice before Ally felt the familiar urge to hurt someone.
There was still enough space for her to sit, but with the stroller in the way, Austin could not.
"I'll just ask her to move it," she told him in a quiet voice with a tight smile. "Excuse me, Miss?"
The woman looked up and Ally knew she met her match. In designer clothes and an expensive hair job stood a blonde woman clearly not amused. "Yes?"
"Can I ask that you move your stroller to the designated area down there?" She pointed to the general area. "This area is actually for wheelchairs and other handicap accessible related seating, and we would truly appreciate the space."
Before Ally could even finish her sentence the woman snapped, "Excuse me? Who the hell do you think you are? This is an expensive, brand new stroller that my son needs!" Her son was now about seven or eight bleachers high, with other parents and guests staring in shock at the unwatched child. "I will not place it down there."
Ally tried once more to be nice, knowing that Austin probably did not appreciate her normal mouth. "Miss," she tried again, "You are not supposed to have them in the attraction area. I just ask that you even move it a few feet away. This dome is very crowded and my friend does not have the ability to sit on the bleachers so his chair is necessary."
The woman quickly turned her back, "That sounds like a personal problem."
Just as Austin went to say, "Forget it Ally, we'll come to the next show—" Ally lost it. She grabbed hold of the stroller while the woman was blindly looking for her child and began to push it in the direction of the stroller area. The woman, obliviously calling out to the little boy did not notice until she was almost there. Then, she began to squawk in the most inhumane way about personal privacy and the action of theft. Security came rushing over and the two women pled their cases to two very confused employees.
Austin just hung back and from the corner of her eye, Ally could see he was mortified.
"This little bitch stole my stroller!"
"I asked her nicely twice to move it so my friend could sit—"
"I got there first!"
"You're not supposed to have it!"
The security officers finally held up their hands, and quietly began to sort out the mess. Much to Ally's surprise, the woman was asked to see herself out of the dome, stating she would have to catch the next show. Once she was done throwing a second fit, the security officer on the left turned to Ally, "I saw the majority of that. My apologies. Next time, just call one of us over immediately."
She nodded gratefully and hurried back over to Austin, who clearly did not enjoy all the attention on them. He barely looked at her as she sat down.
"I'm sorry," she said quietly.
He shrugged, "Next time, can we do without a giant fight?"
She nudged his shoulder gently, "I can't do small. You should know that by now."
He gave her a tiny smile, but he didn't say much else. The show started, and Ally got the feeling that the conversation wasn't over.
The show was fantastic, and Ally took the time to relax during it. There was not a single worry on her end as Austin was seated and safe, and most people's eyes were on the colorful characters that were sea lions. They laughed along with everyone else, even got splashed by one of the creatures a few times. All in all, so far, it was the best experience of the day. The two waited for most of the dome to clear out before attempting to leave, and they weren't far into the sun again when Austin asked if they could maybe stop for lunch. The way he said it made her realize he wanted more than lunch.
So, she agreed. They decided on one of the several food shops, a pizza place and got their meals. She worried as they entered the doors, as they were narrower than it looked in pictures, and when he had to wait on the line that was just as thick. Finally, they were seated in the far end of the restaurant and Austin spoke, "We need to talk."
She went to protest, but he put his hand up.
"I get it," he said first, which surprised her. "You're a nervous wreck. I'd be lying if I wasn't a little worried myself this morning." He took a sip of his soda and then smiled. "But look at us. We're doing fine. I see how far you've gone out of your way here, and I really appreciate it. But please, please calm down. You're not helping things if you're in a constant state of panic." He leaned forward against the table, as if what he was about to say might hurt her feelings, "Actually, in that kind of state, you're probably more of a danger to me."
She wanted to protest, argue with him and tell him he was wrong. But she saw the soft look in his eyes, and understood what he was saying and what he wanted from her. Besides, she'd argued with enough people in the last hour. What surprised her more than anything though was that he was aware of her nerves. She thought she was hiding it well.
It seemed as if she was more of an open book lately than she realized.
"You're handling this better than me," she finally complained. "People are making me angry. It's like they've never—"
Austin laughed a bit, "Don't worry about other people. If I want you to beat someone up, I'll tell you. In the meantime, just have fun, okay? It might be my first time out in a while, but you're not babysitting either. You can have fun too."
She managed to smile this time, "Just promise me that if something does bother you or something happens, you'll tell me."
He put his pinky out to her, "I promise."
"Okay," she replied. "Then fine. Austin and Ally's aquarium adventure is officially in the reboot stage. I hereby demand that we have all the fun we can in the next two hours!"
Ally relaxed. She let Austin take the lead, still keeping an eye on him (because that was her job and sometimes she noticed he got a little too excited) and they spent the next hour hitting as many exhibits as her legs and his wheels would let them. They saw the sharks (again, because apparently sharks were still cooler than anything else there), a giant octopus (in which Austin made about five jokes on Ally's expense), a beautiful tropical fish display that even made Ally speechless (another joke on Austin's end), and the otters (something which made her feel very happy).
"We have about an hour before we have to head back," she noted, checking her phone. "Where to next?"
"I want to pet a sting ray," he practically demanded, sounding child-like. "Let's go there next!"
He raced off and Ally followed, getting used to being left in the dust. They found the display near the back of the aquarium and surprisingly, it was quite empty for the early afternoon. Ally let Austin roll up first and leaned over herself to peer into the shallow water, a dark brown ray immediately coming up to her and flapping it's body. "Ew!" she shrieked as it soaked her shirt, to which Austin laughed hysterically. "Oh that's so gross!"
"They're like dogs, Ally," he said through a fit of giggles. "They think you're going to feed them." He reached forward to pet it gently on it's smooth head, grinning like a child as it excitedly proved him correct. She thought they were cool, but kept her distance this time as Austin reached forward to pet a white one that demanded attention as well.
The relaxation he asked for was probably the lapse in her judgment, as in those seconds, one of her worst nightmares almost came true. Austin leaned forward in his chair to pet another excited ray and the chair to slid backward on him (the wheel locks were not in place—a dumb and unnecessary mistake to make), making him stumble forward, the wet, rocky surface slippery on his unsuspecting hands. Thankfully, her reaction time was on par and she grabbed the back of the chair just in time before he would've toppled to the floor, barely clinging to the surface and the edge.
"Oh God," she murmured, carefully holding the chair with the back of one knee while she tried to get his arm with the other.
"I'm alright," he was murmuring quietly, but she could tell the event had startled him.
Together, they got him situated and Ally immediately put the locks on and surveyed his body. She could tell he was trying to mask pain and crossed her arms defensively before demanding, "Pain scale. 1 to 10, now."
"I'm fine," he mocked, rolling his eyes. "It's barely a four."
"Four?" she gasped back. His pain had been well managed the last couple of days. He'd even told the nurse that he was practically pain free that morning, so a high jump in any sort of pain made her a nervous wreck. "Austin—"
Austin put his hands up, blotted red from gripping the rocky surface so hard. "I swear, it's temporary pain from the jolt. It's already fading. I'm fine. I would tell you otherwise."
She let her blood pressure slowly return to normal levels, still mentally scolding herself for doing something as stupid as leaving the wheelchair unlocked when they were seated.
"I knew those damn things were trouble," she murmured, looking at the unaware sting rays, who continued to beg at the side of the rocky enclosure. Austin just laughed, waited for her to unlock the chair and then took off again, leaving her wondering why he was handling all of this better than she was. Still, she followed after, watching as he explored tank after tank with more enthusiasm than any child who passed them. Maybe that was it—take the world as it comes, revel in the good things, not the bad? She wasn't sure she could do that, but she'd try.
"I want to check out the top floor one last time before we go," he told her, as she jogged to keep up.
"Only if you stay away from stairs," she deadpanned back, only half kidding. He made a face but she meant what she said. Falling from a small distance would not be fun, but falling down a flight of stairs she would never be able to explain. She knew he wouldn't appreciate her watching him like a hawk, but still made a mental note as they reached the elevator to be a little more careful. By the time they reached that floor, Austin was babbling about the outdoor display that incased all kinds of insects and reptiles.
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because they're bugs," she groaned. "No. I refuse to go in."
Austin made a face, "But you have to go in with me!" he whined. "I can't go in alone. Bad things could happen!"
She pointed a finger at him, "Don't try and guilt me into it. I'm not doing it. I don't like snakes, I don't like bugs, and I certainly don't want to discover what else is in those dark walls."
"Come on," he whined again. "Please?"
She put her foot down and he slumped in the chair. "You're no fun."
"Sorry," she sneered playfully and he raced off, toward the tank and the stairs. Ally groaned a second time in minutes and watched as he sped around, probably to drive her insane. There were limits to how 'nice' she could be. She didn't care if he had waited years to see the exhibit. He would have to come back with someone who was willing. There were few things that truly scared her—and creepy bugs were one of them.
"Do you want to hit the gift shop before we leave?" he asked after a few minutes of aimless wandering around. "I'd like to bring something back for my room."
"Sure," she agreed. "There's also a photo booth near there."
"What does that mean?"
"You'll see."
Ally thought a true way to prove she was trying, in terms of their friendship and in bettering his life would be a picture. It required more work on their part to get him into the photo booth (as that was not handicap accessible), but they were able to get him in, and with the insertion of several dollars, together they waited for the old fashioned machine to light up numbers and tell them to prepare. They then made silly faces, angry faces, and the like until their film was complete, each of them receiving a copy of their adventure, complete with the Miami Aquarium name across the top.
But Ally wasn't done. Beside the booth was a decorate mural of an underwater tropical scene. She stopped an employee who walked by and asked if he'd take a picture of the two of them on her phone, and with that, she stopped by his side and smiled brightly, hoping he did the same. Only when she got her phone back from the man did she see the bunny ears he'd put up behind her.
The employee chuckled, "Lucky guy you are that your girlfriend hasn't started yelling for that one yet."
At the same time, the two of them laughed awkwardly, "Oh she's not my—"
"We're not dating but—"
They both stopped, staring at each other with furrowed brows. "Thanks," Ally finally said quickly, shutting her phone off and putting it back into her pocket. "We appreciate it."
"No problem," the guy replied, though he seemed clearly amused by something. "Have a good day. Hope you enjoyed the aquarium."
They stopped in the gift shop, neither of them talking while they picked up a few things. Ally got a stuffed penguin for her bed, and Austin got a few board games and other things to do in the hospital. He also got a large calendar, and when Ally asked what he planned on doing with it, he just smiled. "You'll see."
