AN: Shout out to Pinkgymnast93, Ghostwriter, sabina21, and SpecialK92 for your reviews! It's great to hear what you're thinking about this story! Now- on with the story.
"You did what with Ollie?" Kim shrieked as Tommy grimaced, but he stood his ground. Kim was finally keeping time and staying awake for most of the day which let him get a lot more done when it came to Hayley, Ollie, and the rest of their family. It also meant that it was time to catch her up on everything that had been happening since she had gotten hurt. "Tommy!"
"It was for three days. Someone stayed with him at all times and we were able to do testing and we found out the basics of what Hayley had dosed him with. Rina helped me create an antidote that was able to more securely break through her experiments on him and should make him less susceptible if she comes after him again. We also were able to access her research database and Tanya ran it through a few cleaners before we moved a copy over to an isolated system and destroyed her copies. She did give parts of it over to the police and Hayley's doctors," Tommy explained as Kim stared at him and he let out a sigh. He knew that she didn't agree with locking Ollie down and he didn't like it. If he had had another choice that would have kept his family safe- he would have taken it. This was the only thing that he could think of that would keep all of them safe while he made sure that this was finished. "Babe, he took Opal. That terrified him and he desperately wanted to make sure that he couldn't do that again. So he agreed while we figured it out and Jason stayed with him whenever I couldn't be there."
"He took Opal?" Kim asked as Tommy looked down at his hands. He finally felt like he could tell her everything, but there were so many things he had kept from her over the last month. There were so many things that he knew she was likely to be furious about and he hoped that she would understand why he had felt it was necessary to not explain it as it happened. "Tommy."
"Look, I know, but I couldn't tell you this over and over and wreck you while you healed. I'm glad you don't remember the first few weeks, but there was so much that we told you over and over again. You've been stable enough for the last week that Billy agreed I could bring you up to speed on everything," Tommy said as she glared at him and he let out a long sigh. It didn't matter to her how things had been at first, she hated that he hadn't tried to tell her this earlier. "I don't know what you wanted me to do. I didn't have…I don't have any easy choices right now, Kim."
"You can't keep stuff like this from me," Kim said and he let out a groan. Normally, he wouldn't keep stuff like this from her, but they were so far from normal right now. "How can I help if I don't know what is going on?"
"You can help by getting better and focusing on that. Billy still has to replace the part of your skull that he had to excise so that your brain could swell and I don't know how the backside of that surgery is going to go. The stronger you are going in, the better," Tommy said as she stilled and locked eyes with him. She knew that Tommy was worried about her, but it suddenly hit her all of the things that must have gone through Tommy's mind over the last month. The foremost being that he could lose her. He had moved past most of his ranger nightmares over the years, but the ones where he lost her still left him screaming in his sleep.
"Oh Tommy, I'm going to be okay," Kim said as she cupped his cheek and he leaned into her. The silent tears streamed down his face and she scooted closer to him as she pulled him into her body. "You're not going to lose me."
"You don't know how close she got," Tommy forced out and she jerked back to look down at him. Was there something else that she didn't know? "The night that Ollie grabbed Opal, she came here. Best we can tell she planned to kill you, but Adam got in her way and I got back in time. I need you healthy and whole and that's at least one more surgery and a crap ton of rehab before…"
"Okay, I get it. I don't like it, but I get it," Kim whispered as Tommy reached up and gently clasped her neck, massaging the spot right below her surgical scar. "I need to see them, Tommy."
"I know and Mom is going to bring them by after school. Now that Opal can't pull out tubes and so long as none of them smack you on your right side, it should be fairly safe," Tommy said as Kim let out a laugh. Of course, part of this was also because of their very curious fourth child who really knew no fear and was still learning how to listen. "They've missed you."
"And Ollie is coming too?" Kim checked as Tommy just nodded and she let out a sigh of relief. One look at Tommy let her know that that was another reason he'd held off the kids coming to see her when she was awake. He wanted to make sure that Ollie was safe to come too. It would help him to start healing if he was able to see her with the rest of his siblings. "How is he?"
"Not great. Billy got him in with a therapist that is trustworthy and the first session ended with Ollie yelling at her and telling me that he never wants to go back. So, we may have to find another therapist. One that is better at PTSD and things like that," Tommy said as Kim's face paled and she gave him a small shake of the head. "He remembers a lot. He knows what he did to you. He's told me about all of these little things that were tests throughout the years and how it ramped up this summer. He remembers Autumn confronting him about how he was acting and fact checking everything she said. As best as we can tell, Hayley found him and dosed him before he could break himself out at that pont. He remembers terrifying Mom, Landon, and Sean when he took Opal. He remembers fighting it and getting close to breaking through, but each time Hayley interfered. I can't…I never actually worked through the times I was evil. I don't want to make the same mistake with him."
"I know," Kim whispered as he absentmindedly ran one of his hands up and down her thigh, trying to calm himself. "I know you didn't want him to ever experience…handsome, how are you?"
"Not good, but you're getting better and Billy has the next surgery scheduled for about a month from now so long as you continue to heal and are stable," Tommy said as Kim gave him a confused look. "That's why they are fitting you for a helmet."
"You're shitting me, right?" Kim said as Tommy just shook his head as she reached up and felt the affected side of her head and Tommy watched as a realization washed over her. He had kept her from doing that for weeks, but he had forgotten to stop her this time. He didn't care what shape she was in, he was just so glad that she was alive, but he knew this was going to be a hit for her. "What do I look like?"
"Hair grows back and the scar won't be obvious forever…" Tommy tried to pacify her as she began scanning the room for a mirror. "Beautiful, I don't care. You're alive- that is what matters."
"Can I see myself?" Kim asked and Tommy let out a sigh. He knew this day was going to come and had hoped that it would be after she had been able to take a real shower. The nurses had been great and did bed baths on a daily basis, but it wasn't the same. Kim had just gotten to the point where she was walking with assistance. They didn't really trust her to take a shower on her own just yet. "Please."
"Okay," Tommy said as he walked into the bathroom and grabbed a mirror. He handed it to her and watched as she took herself in. Her face fell as she saw how oily and matted her hair was. She turned to the side and saw the thick red scar on the side of her head and she gulped as she put the mirror back down. She locked eyes with him and he saw the sadness there. They had both been through a lot of injuries in their time together, but this was definitely the worst either of them could remember. "I can ask if you can get a real shower or if they're okay with me helping you with one."
"I just want my hair washed and brushed and…" Kim broke down and he scooped her up and held her tight. "Tommy…"
"I know," Tommy whispered as she clutched to him. He had carried this weight on his own and he wished she would have let him carry it for a bit longer, but that wasn't who his wife was. She was not going to let him keep things only on himself when it was a burden that she could share as well.
"Yeah, we can figure out a shower," Camila said as Tommy leaned against the nurses' station and gave her a smile. He was relieved that she was on shift today and not one of the other charge nurses, he knew that they were much more likely to push back on this kind of request. "Are you sure about the other stuff though?"
"I know her. It'll help," Tommy said as Camila smiled at him and shook her head. "She's going to hate the helmet."
"But she's alive…how much hate…" Camila trailed off as Tommy gave her a look and she then held her hands up. They had gotten to know Tommy well over the last month and had found out that he knew his wife better than anyone else. Any time he had predicted something would be a problem it was and his solutions, while confusing, almost always worked. "Apparently a lot. We'll grab a chair and some wash things and get her in there in a bit. Have they talked to you about long term rehab?"
"Yeah, Billy mentioned it. I..it's…I need to discuss it with her. The plans are going to go over like a lead brick," Tommy said as Camila nodded and then nodded to one of the nurses.
"Stacy will pick this stuff up from Dr. Cranston and be in there in a few minutes," Camila said as Tommy gave her another grateful nod and then headed back to Kimberly's room. PT and OT had gone really well this morning, but she had needed a long nap after that and everything he had revealed.
"I would kill for some of your Broccoli Chicken Casserole right now," Kim said as Tommy looked at the lunch and grimaced. It was the fourth day in a row she had had some version of chicken, veggie, carb and while she could do that easily any given work week, everything was off for her right now.
"I'll make it as soon as we get you home," Tommy promised as she picked at the food and he gave her a sad smile. She knew that she needed to eat, but she had always struggled to force herself to eat. "I can ask my mom to make some if you'd like it before…nope…that is a mine face."
"I hear someone would like a real shower?" Stacy asked as she walked into the room, carrying a chair and Kim gave her an excited nod. "Dr. Cranston dropped off that bag a little while ago as well, said you'd know what to do with it?"
"Yup. Let's see- there's your shampoo and body wash, face wash, moisturizer, whatever those things are that you use after showering," Tommy said as he pulled out Kim's entire skincare routine and Stacy gave him a look as she saw the clippers in the bag as well. "So- how do we do this?"
"We," Stacy said, pointing between her and Kimberly. "Will take a little walk to the bathroom and I'll help her out. I'll stand right out here while she bathes and then I'll help her get back to her bed. You can do whatever you need, take a bit of a break…"
"Don't waste your breath on trying to get him to go take a break," Kim said as she started slowly scooting towards the edge of the bed. "I know, you love me. I'm glad you're here, but you can take a break."
"The last time I did that you nearly died," Tommy whispered as they locked eyes and she understood even more. This was past Tommy's normal protectiveness and it was something that he wasn't likely to shake until Hayley was completely neutralized. "Go, shower. Feel a bit more like yourself."
Stacy grabbed the back of Kim's gown as she walked over to the bathroom, Tommy keeping an eye on her but not crowding her. Three labor and deliveries had taught him that once she was able to move herself, she did not want more help than absolutely necessary. If not for Billy being insistent on a few more things, he was sure she would have told the nurse to just give her, her stuff and leave.
Tommy walked over to a much smaller mirror, grabbing her brush from the bag and he started brushing through his hair. A few minutes later, Stacy stepped out of the bathroom and gave him a confused look as he neatly parted his hair and then put the rest of it up in a ponytail. When he plugged the clippers in her eyes widened and he locked eyes with her before taking the clippers to the section of hair. It fell into the garbage can and he calmly continued until the entire section of hair was shaved.
"Did I miss any?" Tommy threw over his shoulder as Stacy jumped and he forced back a laugh. "Sorry."
"No, it looks like you got it…why…" Stacy trailed off as she heard the water shut off and Tommy's eyes tracked to the bathroom and she paused for a moment. "Why?"
"Because I'll do anything to make her feel even a little bit better. You didn't see her face when she saw…I can't make her hair grow back, but I can do this."
AN: FFN is having some issues today- feel free to jump over to AO3 to see my works this weekend while they try to get everything back together.