Lynn's Christmas Gift

Thanks for understanding my one less post for the week.  I feel some bonuses coming up, so I'm posting this one a little early :)  I hope everyone had a good holiday!
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I woke up early the next morning, nervous and excited about going to see Lynn.  I had talked to her several times since the accident, but I couldn't help but remember the horrible feeling of seeing her battered body in the hospital bed.  I wondered if she'd look and act more like her old self today.  Selfish as it was, I wasn't sure if I could handle seeing her broken again. 

I tried to slip out of bed carefully so I wouldn't wake Brody up, but I heard him shift as I got my first foot on the ground.  "For being so small, you sure do make a lot of noise," he said sleepily.  "Where are you going?  It's early."

"Can't sleep," I said back quietly.  He held a hand out to me, and I slid back into bed.  He pulled me close and I nestled against his chest.

"Nervous about seeing Lynn?" he asked.  I nodded, once again impressed at his ability to know what I was thinking.  He didn't say anything else, but his fingers found the back of my neck and massaged my tense muscles gently.  I yawned; my eyelids were still heavy with sleep.  I relaxed against Brody, focusing on his fingers working against my neck, and eventually drifted back into sleep.

When I woke again, I was alone in the bed.  I was baffled that Brody had managed to get up without waking me.  I looked at the clock and was surprised to see it was nearly 10, over 3 hours after I had initially woken up.  Apparently I needed the sleep.

I stumbled towards the sound of voices and found Brody and my dad sitting at the kitchen table.  "Uh oh, it's alive!" my dad said, regarding my disheveled appearance with a smirk.

"Shhhh," Brody said back, returning my dad's smirk.  "I've heard it's particularly aggressive and hostile in the mornings."  My dad cracked up and I rolled my eyes and walked to the fridge.  They quickly returned to their conversation, arguing about who they thought would be in the Superbowl.

"Where's mom?" I asked, sitting down with an orange and a glass of apple juice.

"Good morning, dear daughter.  I'm delighted to see you as well!" my dad said back with a smile.  "Your mother went for a walk.  She thought you might like to go with her, but she got tired of waiting about an hour ago and left.  You know how she is."  I nodded, carefully picking all the gross white stuff off the outside of my orange.  "What time are you going to see Lynn?"

"1 o'clock," I said back, swallowing my first section of orange.  "Hey, this orange is really good."  Brody and my dad both looked at me strangely.  I frowned.  "What?"

"Nothing, honey," my dad.  "Leftovers for lunch okay?" I nodded.

Soon it was time to get ready to go see Lynn.  I was now more excited than nervous.  I called Kathy to see if there were any limitations on what I could bring into the facility for Lynn, and she said no.  I grabbed her Christmas present and the keys to my mom's SUV, and we left around 12:30.  I stopped at our favorite little coffee shop and got two chai lattes and coffee for Brody, and we drove to the rehab facility.  Brody was coming along for moral support, but planned to wait in the waiting area.  He assured me he'd be fine there as I fussed about letting him take the car and find something else to do.  He promised he'd let me know if he changed his mind.

Finally, I couldn't put off going inside any longer.  I told the receptionist who we were, and she smiled a friendly smile at me.  "Lynn is so excited," she said warmly.  She showed Brody to a small, comfortably furnished waiting room and took me down a hallway.  I was surprised to see Lynn standing next to her bed with a walker.  Aside from a cast from foot to thigh on one leg, the walker, and a still healing scar across her forehead, she looked so much more like her pre-accident self.  She squealed when she saw me, and almost lost her balance.  She sat down quickly on the bed, wincing.

"Can I hug you without hurting you?" I asked tentatively.   She nodded and reached for me.  I hugged her carefully, and was shocked at the force with which she hugged me back.  I picked up the paper cup from where I had set it on the table and handed it to her.

"You didn't!" she exclaimed.  "Oh, I haven't had this amazing chai in ages."

"I brought you a Christmas gift too," I said, handing it to her excitedly.  She had been complaining about the shoes she was allowed to wear.  Apparently, she would be stuck in properly supportive shoes for several months after the accident while she worked on getting her badly damaged leg working properly again.  I had scoured the internet until I found shoes that fit the criteria but were still reasonably cute and Lynn's style.  I'd sent the link to Kathy, who had double checked with the doctor overseeing Lynn's rehab, who had approved them.

She tore the paper off, and opened the box.  "Are these Dr. Heidelberg approved?" she asked in amazement, turning one of the shoes this way and that.

"They are," I said with a smile.

"You know me so well," she said, grinning broadly.  "I don't love them, because there's no such thing as a supportive shoe that I love, but these are the least ugly Dr. Heidelberg approved shoes I've ever seen!"  I laughed.  "Thank you, Liv.  You are seriously the best."

We chatted for a bit and she filled me in on her rehab.  She was standing with the walker for short intervals, but she still couldn't walk, and her body was too weak from the accident to use crutches at the moment.  She was still having a hard time with her memory, but she said that they were impressed with her speech and motor function otherwise.  I was so happy to see her feeling better and in good spirits.

"Hey!" she said suddenly, looking at me.  "Did Brody come home with you?"

"Yeah, he's waiting for me," I replied.

"Wait, he's here?!" she squeaked.  I nodded.  "And you were going to keep this from me?  I demand that you bring him back here immediately!"  I couldn't help but laugh at her enthusiasm.

"Okay, okay, give me a minute to go get him," I said.  I walked out to the waiting area.

"Done already?" Brody asked in surprise.

"No, Lynn wants to meet you.  Is that okay?"  I asked, a little nervous suddenly.

He smiled.  "Of course, I'm dying to meet her.  If she's up for it, let's go."  I led him back to Lynn's room, almost getting lost on the way.  She had laid back on the bed while we were gone, and I could tell the visit was draining her.

She sat up when we came back in though.  I introduced them, and Lynn promptly turned to me and said, "He is easily the hottest guy you've ever dated."  I blushed bright red, and so did Brody.  She laughed.  "Sorry," she said, turning to Brody.  "My social skills are even worse than Liv's."

"It's true," I agreed.  "She did that purposely to make you uncomfortable."

We settled into easy conversation and talked until Lynn looked seriously worn out.  "Lynnie, we should go so you can rest," I said softly. 

"No..." she protested weakly.

"Yes," said a firm but gentle voice from the door.  "They're right, that's quite enough excitement for one day."  We all turned, and a young nurse standing near the door greeted us cheerfully.  "She thinks she's capable of a lot more than she really is.  Most of the time, it's good because she's very motivated, but she definitely needs people to keep her in check."

"Sounds like my Lynn!" I said, chuckling.

"You must be Liv, then?" the nurse asked.  "I'm Casey.  Lynn's been talking about your visit for days."

"Have not," she argued softly, her eyes closed. 

I ignored Lynn and introduced myself to Casey.  Casey firmly repeated to Lynn that it was time to rest and offered to walk us out.  We said goodbye to Lynn, and she made me promise to call.  On the way out, I asked Casey if we could stop by for just a short visit again the next day before our flight.  She confirmed that that would be okay, and thanked us for making Lynn's day.

When we got back into the parking lot, I exhaled a breath that I felt like I had been holding all day.  Wordlessly, Brody held his hand out for the keys and got in the driver's side.  "You okay?" he asked, after adjusting the seat and mirrors.

I grinned.  "I'm great.  It was so good to see her acting so normal.  I'm just a little overwhelmed."

Later that evening, we had dinner and drinks with a bunch of my friends from the area.  Amy jumped up from her seat when we walked in and hugged me.  I introduced Brody to the people there he hadn't met when we were here after Lynn's accident.  We enjoyed our dinner while they caught me up on gossip from home and I told them about living in Colorado.  Amy mentioned coming out to visit in the summer, which I really hoped she was serious about.  We were home by midnight so we could get up and stop by to see Lynn before our flight.