Unfixable

Building Bridges

Gavin grinned as he looked at the crumpled letter in his hand. It had only just arrived. He knew it was from Nines. The faded paper, dried dirt, and creases told him as much. He was the only person on the front he expected to write to him. He also recognised the neat swirl of his handwriting. Pretty cursive. It would have looked nice written in fountain pen, but ballpoints were the standard on the front. They were less likely to smear, and easier to refill and transport. He slipped the letter into his pocket as he hobbled down from his room on the second floor to visit Elijah on the first.

It had been three weeks since Nines left. He was getting used to the cane now. He could even take normal steps without wobbling, though he always gripped the banister on the stairs. It was his regular check-up day. He rarely had them with Elijah. This was the first since he'd been fitted. The pain was still there. That raw, burning rub against his skin. He started suspecting that the prosthetic might be the cause. The thing had been strapped to his leg pretty much daily, and he'd seen little improvement. He knocked and entered as Elijah called from within.

"Gavin! Come in..." He smiled over his shoulder as Gavin shut the door and crossed to the examination table. He didn't waste any time as he hopped up. Elijah scratched his head with the end of his pencil as he finished up the papers on his desk. It looked like a weird diagram, probably another new toy he was designing. He slipped the pencil into his messy tail before giving Gavin his full attention. "How have you been?" Gavin was pretty sure he was talking about the prosthetic. His brother rarely cared about anything else.

"It's a little sore..." Gavin replied as he reached down to loosen the laces. He knew Elijah would want to check both the prosthetic and his stump. Chloe had made him a little cotton cover for his leg, sort of like a thick sock. He tugged it off so that Elijah could press and examine the raw pink skin beneath. His brow furrowed a little as he lifted beneath his knee. Gavin tried not to squirm and twitch as he ran his thumb along the dark scars and rubbed the angry pink swelling. He hummed as he turned his attention to the prosthetic itself, clicking his tongue in thought.

"It shouldn't be bothering you this much by now...I'm sure the measurements are right..." He moved off to a small workbench, where he picked up a tool to check the diameter. Gavin waited awkwardly. It had been a while since he'd spent any sort of time with his brother. They never even crossed paths around the mansion. He was always shut up in his office working or seeing other patients. Gavin almost resented the fact he'd been brought here as a toy to be picked apart and played with when it suited him. "You're right about the soreness. You've been rubbed raw." Tell me something I don't phcking know...

"Well done, genius. Want to tell me why?" Elijah ignored the griping tone as he grabbed a dilation tool. He couldn't do this too much. The wood wouldn't expand indefinitely. If he pushed too much, it would crack. He worked slowly, pressing and teasing the wood and leather base. Hopefully, all he needed to do was give him that extra millimetre of space.

"The fit might be a little too tight..." Gavin ground his teeth as Elijah finished and returned to the table. "What about the thigh strap? Any problems there?" Gavin shook his head. The corset was a pain in the ass to lace every morning, but it was snug and secure with Chloe's cotton sock in place. It didn't hurt the way the base did when it press against his stump. Since there were no further problems, Elijah handed the leg back with a nod. Gavin seemed unconvinced as he took it back and slipped it on.

"It doesn't feel too different..." It was still good and tight. Having said that, there was maybe a little more give around the leather base. Maybe his stump was sitting a little more comfortably. Still hurts though...Elijah didn't seem surprised as he stepped back and checked his charts. Besides the persistent soreness, things were going well. It would be a while before he was fully confident with the cane, but he was making excellent progress. His medication level had dropped significantly. He had a bottle of strong painkillers in the event the phantom pain became too much, but the series of antibiotics had finished and he no longer needed to be medicated on a daily basis. He noticed Chloe had prescribed an ointment for the soreness, but that was to be expected.