Even though Louise would not be released until later in the afternoon. Bob and Linda still opted to keep Tina and Gene home from school on Wednesday. The apartment was mostly ready for Louise's return. The floors had been cleared of any junk and some furniture had been moved around to make it easier for Louise to maneuver her chair. Louise's kitchen chair had been moved to the basement. She was becoming proficient in transferring herself but there was nothing in the kitchen suitable for her to safely grip onto for transfer. Next steps would be to switching her and Gene's rooms. Even though Tina had confirmed with Bob and Linda that she was willing to trade rooms. They still decided it would be better for Louise if she had Gene's room. It was smaller and more private. Both things that Louise appreciated. While still being close enough to Bob and Linda's room that they could easily check on her and help her out if needed. Gene's room being off the living room. Would also allow Louise to be closer to the family. Even when she was having a bad day. Her doctors and therapists had warned that she may end up falling into a depression over her injury and advised the family to get her a therapist. They had given several numbers and even made recommendations for the rest of the family.

The rehab hospital was not near as horrible as Louise had imagined. She definitely could do without the Hollywood wannabes dressed up as Disney Princesses and other various characters they falsely assumed every child would just adore. Going around spreading nonsense about how inspiring and brave she was. First of all, that was the most idiotic mentality. Even before she became a "Wheelchair kid" she despised that mentality. Seriously it was the twenty-first century, two thousand twenty-three for Pete's Sake! Didn't people get the memo that handicapped people were just like everybody else? How the hell was she inspiring just because she couldn't walk? She wondered if Benj felt this way too. She made a mental not to ask him when she returned to school. God, was she actually looking forward to returning to school? Maybe she had hit her head in that fall.

Yep, things certainly were not as miserable as she had imagined but she was still beyond grateful to be going home. She missed her family. Of course, they visited every day and Teddy had maintained his offer to rent them a hotel room, but it was not the same. She missed home. She missed her room with its quietness and privacy. The hospital was loud, and it was hard to relax when she had hours of therapy every day and even in down time. There was somebody coming to check on her every five minutes. She missed her collectables. Tina had brought "Good Kuchi Kopi" to the hospital her first day there, but the others remained at home. She missed playing games with her siblings. Though she wondered if she still could play the games she enjoyed. No more jumping on Gene's bed or bouncing off the furniture. Throw Louise was out too, at least for now. Since she had to be careful about further damaging her spinal cord. No more bounce houses. The playground at Wagstaff wasn't at all wheelchair accessible. She had no idea how Benj enjoyed recess. Especially given that the art room was only open during recess two days a week. What did he do on the days he couldn't work on his puppets? What would she do? She liked making the shadow puppets for her Amelia Earhart project OK and that marionet she made was kind of cool, but she didn't see herself as a puppet maker. She liked drawing OK but most of her art would definitely land her in Frond's office. She really enjoyed writing poetry, but she still had to be inspired. Wagstaff wasn't the only inaccessible playground. The play area at the park was dilapidated and barely accessible for able bodied kids. There was an accessible park in Bog Harbor. Tina's Thunder Girl's troop had raised money to help build it and then helped clear the land for it. Louise had only been there once when she was five and they had a reception for the people who made it happen. It was actually pretty fun, but it was almost an hour away. Visiting would be a rare treat. She was eager to go home but she was also afraid of being bored.

The rest of the Belcher family breathed a heavy sigh of relief upon entering Louise's room. The energy was completely different knowing they were finally about to bring Louise home. It had only been two weeks, but it felt like an eternity. They could not imagine what it must have been like for Louise. She hadn't talked much during her stay. When she did talk, she mainly deflected. By either talking about one of her hyper fixations or asking Tina and Gene for the latest gossip from Wagstaff. Bob knew it was not good for Louise to shut down but decided she had enough stress with being in the hospital. He decided to wait until she was home and acclimated before really pressing her.

"Alright Louise! Everything is all signed. We just have to wait for the nurse, and you are going home!" Linda cried.

"Finally," Louise scoffed.

The nurse entered the room with the loaner wheelchair. It was definitely a step up from the one Louise had used in the regular hospital, but still a far cry from the sleek model she had used during her inpatient stay. Somebody had brought her a catalogue from the local mobility store "Mo Mobility, Mo Problems" Which in Louise's opinion was a dumb and almost insulting name, but Seymour's Bay and the surrounding towns had a long history of punny names and to be fair mobility was kind of hard to work with. The catalogue remained on Louise's bedside table until the nurse had snuck it into her suitcase thinking she didn't notice. She knew she had to pick out a wheelchair eventually. She just wasn't ready yet. There was part of her still hoping it was all a sick joke or horrible nightmare.

"Alright Ms. Belcher if you transfer yourself from your bed to the wheelchair. You will be free to go." Nurse Kendra announced.

"OK" Louise sighed.

"Do you need help?" Tina asked.

"I'm a paraplegic! Not a quadriplegic!" Louise snapped.

"Louise that was not very nice. Your sister was just being polite." Kendra warned.

"Pardon me for not being the rolling smiley face you see in cartoons!" Louise scoffed.

"Is she always like this?" Kendra asked in far too loud of a voice.

"Before the accident she had really mellowed out but yeah this is typical." Bob assured.

"Can we please just get out of here?" Louise pleaded.

"Do you have any questions?" Kendra asked.

"Yeah" Louise replied.

"Go on" Kendra instructed.

"Where do babies come from?" Louise asked with a smirk. In reality Bob and Linda had explained that one to her in second grade when her teacher Mrs. Warner announced her pregnancy, but she still asked unsuspecting adults. Especially stupid ones every chance she got. She was pretty sure Mr. Frond wet himself when she asked him last year.

"Oh well uh you see." Kendra stammered.

"She knows. She just likes to fool." Linda laughed.

"Oh well if I had known that I would have arranged for a special visit from the No Prank Fairy!" Kendra cried. Kendra had an obsession with dolls that was almost as creepy as Mr. Frond's.

"I really need to introduce you to my guidance counselor." Louise sighed.

"Oh, is somebody a match maker?" Kendra cooed.

"Get me out of here! Please!" Louise cried.

"I'll go drive the car around." Bob replied.

"I thought you said I was free!" Louise whined.

"You are but we can't block the entrance until we are ready to go." Bob explained.

"I was ready to go a week ago." Louise scoffed.

Moments later Bob returned with the car and Louise was finally free to go. Louise remained silent on the drive home, grateful that the family was letting her be. She was in no way ready to talk about it. Bob and Linda carried on a conversation in the front seat. Something about renovations to the apartment. Something completely boring on a good day. She was grateful to be in the back with Tina and Gene. Tina was gushing about Jimmy Junior as usual, and Gene insisted that his friend Ken had been one of Christopher Reeves' physical therapists. Even if Ken were real. He would have been a child when Christopher Reeve died. Still Louise humored her brother by acting interested and taking the business card Gene had hurriedly scrawled on a napkin.

It was only a forty-five-minute drive from Bog Harbor but for Louise it had felt like a thousand-year journey. She had never imagined missing home this much. Bob had offered to unload her out front, but she needed to get used to wheeling herself. She had mastered it pretty well, but it was still a work in progress. Bob parked at the end of Ocean Avenue. He helped her out of the car while Linda retrieved the wheelchair. She had wanted to transfer herself but there were cars on either side of the only space available and the family had not gotten the special handicapped sticker. That would allow them to park in front of their home. Bob placed Louise into her wheelchair, and she wheeled herself across the parking lot. She did not realize how fast she was going until the wheels of her chair met with the sidewalk. Suddenly she lurched forward flipping out of her wheelchair and landing with a thud on the sidewalk. Her front teeth digging into her lips.

"Oh my, God! Louise! Are you OK?" Bob asked rushing to her side.

"Oh, my baby! My poor baby!" Linda cried.

"LOUISE!" Tina and Gene cried in unison.

"I am fine" Louise insisted reaching up to wipe away the tears that had formed in her eyes.

"You bit your lip pretty hard. Do you want to go to the emergency room?" Bob offered.

"No way! I have had enough hospitals for ten years." Louise insisted.

"We'll see" Bob sighed.

After inspecting the wheelchair for damage. Bob returned Louise to her seat. Linda carefully pushed Louise's chair onto the sidewalk the way she had been shown a few days prior. Louise's hands and wrists were pretty sore from the fall. So, she begrudgingly allowed Tina to push her home. Tina wheeled the chair so slowly that Louise was convinced she had aged ten years in what had once been a less than a minute walk. She had never noticed how high the sidewalk was before. She guessed that was another piece of her independence gone.

At long last she was home. Bob lifted her out of the wheelchair and carefully carried her upstairs. She watched from over his shoulder. As Linda folded the chair and lugged it up the stairs. She bit her already sore lip. Her condition sure was making things harder for her family. Tears formed in her eyes and stung her cheeks. God, she hated her circumstances so much. Bob carried her to the kitchen. Linda unfolded the chair and returned her to the seat. Tina disappeared down the hall and returned moments later with the first aide kit. Linda poured what seemed like a gallon of peroxide on her scraped hands and knees. She closed her eyes and prepared for the burning. Before long, her hands burned as if they were on fire, but the pain never came to her legs. Just for a second, she forgot she was paralyzed and gave her family a confused glance. Then it all came back to her, and fresh tears formed in her eyes. Bob gave her salted water to gargle to sanitize her lips. At least the bleeding had stopped, and Linda confirmed that she did not need stitches.

"OK you are all set! Where do you want to go now?" Linda asked, once the bandages were on her knees.

"My room! I just want to go to my room!" Louise insisted.

"As you wish madam." Linda said in a bad English accent.

Much to her relief Bob took the handles of her chair and guided her to her room. Except it wasn't her room. He instead wheeled her to Gene's room. It was Gene's room, but her stuff was in there for some reason.

"Why are we at Gene's room? More specifically why is MY STUFF in Gene's room?!" Louise demanded.

"Because well your room is not exactly handicap accessible. Even if we took out the loft bed. It's just too small. So, Gene offered to trade with you." Linda explained.

"Tina didn't offer? What a monster?" Louise scoffed.

"I am sorry! You can have my room! And all my stuff!" Tina insisted.

"Lighten up, Tina! I wouldn't want your room anyway. It would take ten years and the entire CDC to de puberty that place enough for me to stomach living in there." Louise teased.

"Louise" Bob warned.

"Sorry" Louise sighed.

"So, what do you think?" Gene asked eagerly.

"It's nice I guess but I mean I feel bad making you move into the closet. It's so tiny." Louise confessed.

"Are you kidding? It is amazing! I feel like a starlet who moved to Manhattan to make her way on Broadway. Only to learn the city is not so kind to a small-town girl! I face critics who say I am too plain! A boss who is a jerk! And my roommate Leroy who is a major slob! Even though I said in the application I was going to be the Oscarette Madison of that dynamic!" Gene declared.

"Wouldn't it sound better if you were Madison Oscar?" Louise questioned eternally grateful that at least Gene acted normally around her.

"Madison Oscar Queen of New York City!" Gene sang as he twirled down the hallway to his new bedroom.