Beneath the Surface

Into Calmer Waters

My recovery this time around was longer, and more painful. Not only did I have to get used to missing one foot, but I also had to learn how to walk on a prosthetic. It wasn't easy, but I made myself do it, determined to get around. The prosthetic, at least, was comfortable, and visually appealing, so there was that at least. 

Part of my recovery also included hydrotherapy this time around, and I felt free every time I stepped into the water.  Not only did it help me walk with more ease than on dry land, it also helped release a lot of tension, relieving most of the stress I'd been laboring under ever since being admitted for the second time. And the warm water did wonders at calming my nervous system down. 

Not to mention it was fun walking on an underwater treadmill

The weeks passed, and with each day, I felt myself getting stronger. The prosthetic felt better each time I put it on, and though I'd never have full range of movement again - thanks also in part to Ben's refusal to let me wear my special shoes after the original accident - I was determined to get about as best I could. I'd definitely never be able to dance ballet again, but when I was in the water, I felt as if I was floating on air. 

Sometimes, though, I simply enjoyed floating on my back, letting the water cradle me, and this, to me, was the best therapy of all. 

Time stood still when I let myself relax like this, and I think even my therapist was impressed by how calm I was every time I climbed out of the water. And it did my sore heart a world of good, knowing that I had this rather more dependable ally, someone who wouldn't betray me or abandon me on the words and whims of another.

Ben had, so far, stayed true to his word in that he never came to see me - not that he was allowed to - but he did ban the rest of my former pack from coming to visit me. This hurt, since I knew they no longer believed Sarah about my being the instigator of all the trouble between us, but I refused to let that hurt get to me. I wasn't going to waste time on my recovery wondering how on earth I'd let them know I was okay. I had to focus on myself. I knew that, once I was out of hospital, I had to leave Bath, but I was determined to get word to the rest of my former pack, no matter what Ben said. He was neither my uncle nor my alpha any more, and he had no power over me. I was an adult, and I had every right to at least let my other cousins know I was okay.

Of course, Ben had come up with a contingency plan for this. On the day I was to leave Bath, I found out that my former pack had, somehow, fallen for his lies. I was aghast when I discovered this, since I knew they'd started to come on side after my confrontation with Sarah that fateful night. But though I was crushed by this news, I refused to let it get me down. If they were so willing to fall back into line with Ben's enabling ways, then they weren't a pack I wished to have anything to do with. 

So I consigned them to the scrap heap in the back of my mind. If they were so keen to cast me on their own mental scrap heaps, then they deserved the same fate. 

"I do have an alternate plan for you," my doctor told me on my release day. "I believe you have a grandmother in Blackpool."

"I did," I said, "but she's never gotten word to me - or was probably never allowed to, right?"

"Right," my doctor confirmed. A kindly man with grey eyes and greyer hair, he was definitely a far cry from the doctors who'd been so cold to me the first time I'd been in hospital. "I cannot say why your uncle wished for her to be denied contact with you after her son died, but that is neither here nor there. I reached out to her after you were admitted the second time, and she has agreed to take you in."

I sighed in relief. "Thanks, Dr Marsh," I said. "I really appreciate that."

Dr Marsh nodded. "I would not have you cast out alone," he said. "You deserve far better than what your uncle would have for you, and don't you ever forget that, young lady. You might not have a wolf, but you are as much of a werewolf as the rest of us, and you deserve your day in the sun."

I grinned. "I like that," I said. 

"I thought you might," Dr Marsh said with a wink. "Now, get you going, young lady. I've arranged for a taxi to take you to Bath Spa, and your grandmother has arranged to meet you at Blackpool North, from which you will then drive to her home."

"Thanks, Dr Marsh," I said, rising and shaking his hand. "I appreciate everything you've done for me."

Dr Marsh returned my handshake firmly. "Anything for a niece," he said, and I blinked. 

"Niece?" I said, confused.

Dr Marsh nodded, tears in his eyes. "I couldn't tell you, because I wasn't allowed," he said, "but I am your uncle, and it grieved me when my brother passed away. Benjamin swooped in before I could take you and your mother in, saying it was better for you to be with his side of the family, and I decided not to press the issue. I wish I had, though. You would never have suffered the way you had had I been able to take you and your mother into my home. She misses you dreadfully, by the way."

I took a deep breath, stunned and relieved. "Can you please tell her I'm okay?"

"I can do that," Doctor Marsh said, giving my hand a squeeze. "And please, call me Uncle Perry."

I smiled. "Thanks, Uncle Perry," I said. 

Uncle Perry gave me a warm smile in return. "Be well, Charlie," he said. "And I promise I shall look in on you as often as I can. I can't do much for you, since I don't want Benjamin to suspect our ties, but I will do all I can from afar."

"That I can live with," I said. 

My head was still spinning when I left Uncle Perry's office, but I felt warm again as I made my way to reception, where the promised taxi driver was waiting for me. Losing Ben as an uncle had hurt me deeply, but gaining Uncle Perry - that more than made up for it, and I felt my heart lift for the first time in a long, long while. Even though he wouldn't be able to do much, I was so, so relieved that I had family who'd do all they could for me, despite Ben's desire to see me on my own. 

But he wasn't getting that. I still had family, and I knew they'd protect me better than Ben ever had.