He had been taken off the PCA machine on Sunday. Now it was Wednesday, and he was slowly being weaned off of the painkillers Dr. Chavez had used in substitution of the morphine. The phantom pains still plagued him occasionally, but just as he was growing stronger and healing, they were gradually weakening and going away. He found that it usually helped just to lie perfectly still and quiet. Unfortunately, he was never allowed to lie there for very long. Now that he had been freed from the IV’s that bound him, he had been forced to get up and out of bed more often. The first few days, “getting out of bed” just meant moving into a recliner. But then he was introduced to a woman who would change everything.
Her name was Susan Drevil, and she was a physical therapist. A nice-looking woman in her late twenties, she probably would have been someone that Nick liked, had it not been for the fact that the first thing she did after a round of introductions and brief spurt of small talk was give him a pair of crutches and help him out of bed.
Nick had never realized how difficult it would be to hobble around on a pair of crutches. Still weaker than usual from the surgery, it took all of his strength just to support his weight, and standing up left him feeling dizzy and unbalanced. Despite the time he’d spent on crutches the previous year for the fracture that had started this whole mess, he had never quite mastered the art of walking on them, and it was scary to think that if he lost his balance now, there was no left leg for him to come down on to catch himself. Luckily, Susan had remained at his side the entire time, assuring him that she would not let him fall.
His strength was sapped after just a few wobbly laps around the room, but his confidence had been solidified. Being able to get out of bed and move around again, despite the energy it took, was liberating and made everything just a little better.
So maybe he did like the physical therapist after all.
Along with getting him up and walking (well, okay, more like hobbling, hopping, whatever you want to call it), Susan had shown him a set of exercises to do while lying in bed that would strengthen his limbs and prepare him for learning to walk on a prosthesis.
“And that will be when?” Nick had questioned eagerly. He had seen and heard of amputees who could not only walk on artificial legs, but run, swim, rock climb, even sky dive, and he had begun to long for the day when he could do the same. Well, maybe not all of those things, but walking... just walking would be good.
“Well, with a little more practice, I think you’ll be able to get around fine on crutches,” Susan had told him, sending his heart plummeting. He didn’t want to be restricted to crutches, which were just awkward and slow and hurt his arms. But her next words sent his heart soaring again. “So I think you’d be ready to start on an initial prosthesis on Wednesday.”
Wednesday... Wednesday...
That was the word he had chanted in his head through the days of painfully hobbling around on crutches and the long minutes of uncomfortable exercises, which he dutifully performed like he was supposed to.
And now it was Wednesday afternoon.
The day had started out rather unpleasantly, with Dr. Chavez showing up after breakfast for a wound check. She had sawed off the cast, and for the first time, Nick had seen the actual stump of his leg. And truthfully, it had freaked him out. The skin was slightly red and swollen, especially puffy between the row of sutures that ran like train tracks across the end of the stump, creating a bumpy, uneven look. He had stared at it in horror, queasiness ripping through his stomach. “Couldn’t you have at least sewed it straight?” he had asked feebly.
He had only been half-kidding, but Dr. Chavez had chuckled and replied, “Hey, no bashing now. This is the best you’re going to get, hon.” Smiling, she’d assured him, “Don’t worry. Once the swelling goes down and the sutures come out, it will even out and get smooth.”
Nick had nodded, turning his head away even so, as the eggs he had choked down for breakfast scrambled around in his stomach, threatening to come right back up.
After examining how the end of the stump was healing, Dr. Chavez had put on another cast, but this one was different from the first. Attached to the end of it was a long, metal pole, called a pylon. At the end of the pylon, there was a foot, and at the top, right below where the cast ended, there was a bendable “knee”.
“This is your IPOP,” explained the doctor. “Immediate Post Operative Prosthesis. You’ll leave this on for about a week and learn to walk on it with your physical therapist, and after that, if everything is still going as expected, we’ll probably be able to remove the cast and sutures and transfer you to a preparatory prosthesis, which you’ll be able to take off when you want.”
Nick had nodded, staring at the device in awe, anxious to give it a try. He had been instructed to wait for Susan to come later that day though, and wait he did.
AJ and Brian were there waiting with him now, while Kevin and Howie were off representing the group in a meeting with their management and public relations people. So far, the media and public hadn’t gotten wind of the amputation yet, but it had already been a week, and everyone knew they couldn’t keep the news under wraps for much longer. A press conference would need to be held, and the public, fans in particular, would have to be informed. Though he knew it had to happen at some point, the thought made Nick nervous. How would the fans react?
He tried not to think about it much, for it was just one more thing that made him feel like throwing up, and that was the last thing he needed.
“So, Nick, when’s that physical therapist of yours supposed to get here?” Brian asked, glancing at his watch. It was just after two in the afternoon.
“I dunno,” Nick replied with a shrug. He wished she would hurry up though; he was getting anxious and wanted to move around a little. He eyed the recliner parked a few feet away from his bed, in which AJ was stretched out happily, and announced, “Hey, J, get your ass up, I wanna sit there.”
Giving Nick a disdainful look over the top of his green-tinted sunglasses, AJ remarked, “Well, certainly, your majesty, your wish is my command. And would you like a cool drink as well? Rok, better fetch a couple palm fronds cause I’m sure King Nickolas will need to be fanned. And maybe when Claire gets here, she can put on her coconut bra and give him a massage.” He grinned wickedly.
Nick rolled his eyes, trying to hide his smirk. Actually, that didn’t sound too bad... especially that last part...
“You need help, Nick?” Brian asked, giving AJ a playful smack upside the head as he came over to Nick’s bed.
“Um... maybe... just a little,” Nick grunted, struggling to sit up straight. He managed to perch himself on the edge of the bed, and, with Brian’s help, he stood up, putting weight only on his right leg and leaning heavily on the pair of crutches AJ quickly brought him.
“You know, you look kinda like a pirate with that leg,” AJ commented, eyeing the makeshift prosthetic leg, which Nick carefully prevented from touching the ground as he hobbled awkwardly over to the chair. “Can we start calling you Peg-Leg? Peggy for short?”
“AJ! Shut up and help me!” Brian hissed, glaring at AJ as the two of them helped Nick sink slowly down into the recliner. “Quit teasing him!” Nick heard Brian whisper sharply into AJ’s ear as AJ stooped to put the footrest of the recliner up for Nick.
“What?” AJ replied loudly. “Nicky doesn’t mind. Do you?” AJ looked up at Nick, meeting his eyes.
“No,” answered Nick, cracking a smile. In truth, he really didn’t. He knew AJ wasn’t being mean; he was just handling an uncomfortable situation the way he always did – by making jokes. Brian eyed Nick warily, but only shrugged and let the issue drop.
“Hey, I’ll be right back,” AJ said suddenly and dashed out of the room before anyone could ask where he was going.
“What is he up to now?” Brian mumbled, rolling his eyes, yet smiling at the same time. He and Nick exchanged amused looks, as if to say, “That’s just AJ.”
‘That’s Just AJ’ returned a few minutes later, supplied with a smallish gauze pad and a roll of thin gauze. “That one nurse Samantha is great,” he announced merrily, as he stood over Nick, purposefully unrolling the gauze.
“Um, AJ? What are you doing?” Nick asked nervously, glancing up at his friend.
“Shut up, let me work.” Grinning amusedly, his tongue between his teeth in concentration, AJ pressed the pad up against Nick’s left eye and barked, “Hold that.”
“AJ!” Nick laughed, now knowing exactly what AJ was doing. Snickering, he obeyed, holding the pad in place while AJ stretched a long piece of gauze across the pad and looped it around his head, ripping it off and tying it in the back. “There’s your patch, matey,” AJ said, stepping back to admire his work. “Hm, you need something else though...” He glanced around the room, and then his eyes lit up. A devilish grin spreading over the width of his face, he went around to the other side of Nick’s bed, bent down, and picked something up. As he brought the object back over to Nick, Nick recoiled.
“AJ, no! Get that thing away from me!”
“Hey, it’s clean!” Cackling evilly, AJ lowered the stainless steel bed pan upside down onto a squirming Nick’s head. “There’s your pirate hat, ye scurvy landlubber. Brian, look! Presenting Long John Carter!”
Brian stared, his mouth twitching between expressions of amusement and disgust. Shaking his head, he finally gave him, laughing until his eyes watered. Then, “Ugh, Nick, take that thing off your head, that’s nasty.”
“What, it’s been sterilized,” AJ defended. “And anyway, he’s the last one who used it. Don’t take it off yet, Nick, we gotta show Kev and D.”
“Kevin’s gonna freak out,” snickered Brian.
“Which is exactly why we gotta show him!” AJ exclaimed with glee. “Nick, you gotta practice your pirate lingo. Like, go ‘Arrrrr!’ a lot, and then when Kevin and Howie get here, you gotta go, ‘Ahoy therr, mateys!’ Okay?” Nick just snorted. “Okay?” AJ prompted again, urging him on.
“Arrrrr!” Nick growled dutifully, causing AJ to double over in hysterics.
“That’s my boy!” AJ wheezed, holding his stomach as he laughed. Brian’s reaction was not so animated; he was clearly amused, but at the same time, looked guilty for being amused. “Dude!” exclaimed AJ, slapping Nick a high five. “Wait till Kevin sees this; he’s gonna totally flip and bitch at me for ‘making a mockery’ of you or some shit like that.” He chuckled to himself, then sobered, glancing at Nick. “You don’t care though, right, Nick? I’m not offending you, am I?”
Nick blinked in surprise. That was probably the first time in history that AJ had checked to make sure he hadn’t hurt Nick’s feelings. Although it seemed like a caring gesture, Nick didn’t like it. Guys were supposed to bag on each other without the threat of hurt feelings, and that’s how it had always been with the group. So many things had changed... he didn’t want that to be one of them.
“No,” he answered quickly. “’Course I don’t mind you making a mockery of me.”
AJ paled and swallowed hard, looking stricken. “Nick... I-I didn’t mean to-“
“Yo, I’m kidding, J, chill,” interrupted Nick.
AJ visibly sagged. “Oh... thank God. S-so you’re okay, dude?”
“Hell yeah, I’m fine,” Nick said gruffly. “And hey...” He held out his arms. “Instant Halloween costume, right?”
AJ roared. “Well, there ya go, Kaos! We just need to get you a parrot or somethin’, and you’ll be all set!”
Nick’s laughter was cut short by the sudden appearance of his physical therapist, Susan, who was there all of a sudden, standing in the doorway, an astonished expression on her face as she took in the scene before her. Feeling his face flush bright red, Nick whipped the bed pan off of his head and tore away the “eye patch.”
“Hi,” he squeaked, offering her a sheepish grin, while wishing he could just sink through the floor and disappear.
“Hi...” Susan said slowly, stepping into the room, her lips twitching in amusement. “Am I, uh, interrupting something, guys?”
“Well, heeello,” said AJ, putting on his most charming smile as he sidled up next to Susan. “You must be the physical therapist, am I right?”
“You’re right,” replied Susan, holding out her hand as she introduced herself. “I’m Susan Drevil.”
“AJ McLean. Just AJ is fine though. And this here is Brian, by the way.” Brian nodded in greeting. “So,” continued AJ, “you’re gonna teach Captain Nicky here to walk on that peg-leg?”
Susan glanced from AJ to Nick, her eyes dancing with laughter. “Captain Nicky, huh? Well, if you’re feeling up to it, we’ll head down to the physical therapy room and get a start on that. I don’t have a plank for you to walk, but I do have a nice set of parallel bars.”
“Sounds good,” Nick mumbled, smirking.
“Excellent. I’m just going to grab a wheelchair from the hall so we can get you down there, okay?”
“Sure,” replied Nick.
“Hey, excuse me, Susan?” Brian caught the therapist as she started to leave the room. “Are we allowed to come to the therapy session too?”
“If Nick doesn’t object, you’re more than welcome to watch,” replied Susan, glancing back at Nick, who hesitated.
“Um... you guys mind if I do it alone this time?” he asked, glancing from Brian to AJ. It wasn’t that he didn’t want their support, but the thought of having the two of them watch his every move as he struggled just to do something as simple as walk made him uncomfortable.
“Oh... sure, Nicky,” replied Brian. “We’ll just hang out here then, okay?”
Nick offered him a grateful smile. “Okay.”
Susan returned a moment later with an empty wheelchair. “Your vessel, Captain,” she said, motioning to it.
Okay, so it looked like the pirate jokes weren’t going to end anytime soon now that AJ had gotten them going. But that was okay with Nick. It was easier to laugh with them and pretend the whole situation was a big funny joke than to mope and feel sorry for himself and have everyone else pity him as well. So he grinned and bore it, all the while fighting the nervous butterflies that were fluttering ever more frantically in his stomach.
***
