Hold My Hand (Sequel to Saved: Adopted by Brendon Urie)

Chapter 10

The images showed that Abby had a very good chance of a full recovery, including walking again. The doctor emphasized that spinal injuries could take time to resolve but that while Abby may require a wheelchair for some time, it was highly unlikely to be permanent based on what he could see. It was the first bit of encouraging news since the accident.

Abby had physio every day while she was in the hospital. The hope was to get some movement back in her arms and get her fitted for a wheelchair so she could go home finally. She'd still have intensive physio but some of it could be done at home. Some would have to be done at the hospital. But Abby was encouraged and finally in a much better mood. She could see a light at the end of the tunnel.

Brendon smiled as he watched Abby in physio. She worked hard and his heart sang when he heard her laughing with her physiotherapist.

One evening, after they'd been in L.A. for almost two weeks, Abby's dinner came and Brendon started preparing to help her. He'd been feeding her since she couldn't use her arms.

"Okay," Brendon said after taking the cover off Abby's plate. Dinner was a macaroni casserole that actually didn't look too bad. "I'm just going to grab more paper towel, then, dinner. Cool?"

"Yup," Abby said.

"Actually, I also have to pee. I'll be a sec," Brendon said.

"Gee. Thanks, Dad. I needed to know that," Abby smirked.

"Smartass," Brendon smiled at his daughter.

Brendon went into the washroom and did his thing. He looked at himself in the mirror as he washed his hands. He was paler than he normally was, but he'd barely been outside in weeks. Now that Abby was doing so much better, they'd go sit outside after her physio sessions.

"Dammit!" He heard from Abby. What was she up to?

Brendon finished washing up, dried his hands and grabbed some paper towels to use as napkins.

He was not expecting what he saw when he went back into Abby's room.

"Look, Dad!" Abby smiled through a mouthful of macaroni casserole. In her left hand, she held her fork. On her pyjama shirt was a forkful or two of macaroni casserole. But Brendon didn't care. Abby had fed herself!

"Abs!" He exclaimed. "You did it! You moved your arm! You fed yourself!"

Abby grinned at her dad.

"Watch this," she said. Brendon watched as she lifted her right hand to her tray table. She dropped her fork onto the tray and, using both hands, picked up her milk carton and brought the straw Brendon had put into it to her mouth and drank down some milk.

Abby's fine motor skills would take time to come back, they both knew that, but Abby's left hand was holding the milk carton while she pushed it against her right hand to support the carton.

"Abby!" Brendon exclaimed, excitedly. He ran over to her, took the milk carton from her, moved her tray table and pulled her into a hug. "Abby! That's amazing! I'm so proud of you!"

Abby hugged her dad for the first time in two months. She could feel the texture of his t-shirt. Tears flowed from her eyes.

"Hey," Brendon said, as he sat her back in her bed and wiped a tear from her cheek. What's this?"

"I can feel your shirt. I could feel the milk. Like, where the milk is in the carton. The cold and the warmer part. I could feel the fork."

Brendon smiled at Abby. He couldn't have been prouder of her than he was right then. She'd been working so hard to regain movement. And here were the rewards of all her hard work.

Brendon brought her tray back over and helped Abby feed herself her dinner.

They told her nurse, Pam, when she came in after dinner to help Abby start getting ready for bed. Because Abby still had no feeling below her waist, she was in a diaper. The nurse would come before bedtime and change her, give her a sponge bath and change her pyjamas every other day or so. Being back in L.A., Zack and Kala came by almost every day and would bring fresh changes of clothes for Abby and Brendon.

Pam was almost as excited as Brendon and Abby were. She watched as Abby picked up the milk carton again. Only now it was empty.

"Abby, that's awesome! I guess it's time for some occupational therapy, get you working on that fine motor movement, huh?" Pam smiled.

Abby grinned.

Once Abby was ready for bed, Pam let Brendon back in Abby's room and he finished their bedtime routine by brushing Abby's teeth. Although he did let her try first. It was not a total disaster.

Once that was all done, Brendon turned the TV on and sat holding Abby's hand while they watched together. Abby squeezed her dad's hand. He looked at her, smiled and squeezed her hand back.

Later that night, Brendon had a dream. He was in a foggy place. Or misty. All he knew was he couldn't see very much. But he could hear a voice.

"She's going to be okay, Bren."

"Sarah?" He looked around.

"Hi, babe," she came out of the mist. She looked like she did the day before she went missing. "Abby's amazing. You've done so great with her. I'm so glad you opened your heart to her."

"I will never stop loving you. I miss you so much, but yeah, Abby's filled in some of that empty space losing you left."

"She's going to be okay. It's going to take time and patience, but she's going to be alright. But Brendon, please remember you have to make time for her when you go back on tour," Sarah said.

"When? When I go back on tour. You mean if," Brendon said.

"No. I mean when. Abby is going to recover and you'll be back out on tour. I promise," Sarah said.

"I miss you so much," Brendon said, reaching for his late wife.

"I know. I miss you too," Sarah said. "But now you have Abby."

"Abby doesn't take your place," he said.

"I know. Of course not. But she needs you. She needs your positivity. Your energy. Your love. You give her so much of that as it is, but when she's recovered, you need to remember she's still just a child. As independent as she is, she's still just a kid. You have to make time for her on tour. Kala or a tutor/nanny isn't a substitute. She needs her dad. She needs you."

"I know. I know. I messed up and that's how we wound up here."

"She's going to surprise you, Bren. She's a really great kid. Don't hold her back, but don't cling too tightly. She's going to do amazing things."

Brendon smiled at his late wife as she blew him a kiss and walked away.

"Wait!" He cried out.

"Wake up, Brendon," Sarah was saying. "Wake..."

"UP!" Zack was standing over Brendon.

"What the hell?" He sat up.

"You were shouting in your sleep. You woke Abby up," Zack said.

Brendon looked over at Abby who was staring at her dad.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

Brendon wiped his face with his hand and felt tears. He missed his wife so much. But he loved his daughter even more.

Brendon smiled at Abby.

"I'm fine," he said getting up and hugging his daughter. "I'm great."