Rediscovering You

twenty-five

note: just wanted to quickly point out that I'm not going to be going in depth into the ACL recovery etc. I've tried to do as much research as I possibly can but I'm not overly confident in being able to provide accurate details so there will be no in depth details.

18th May 2023 - one year and sixteen weeks old.

The week that has followed her surgery has been a struggle to say the least; the pain has been so much more intense than she anticipated and mentally she's been struggling a lot more with not being able to do the things she wants to do. Today is day seven post-surgery, one whole week and the movement in her leg has definitely improved as a result of the daily exercises she's been doing with the help of Lia and the physios. She's yet to make it into the training centre so one of the physios has been checking in with her daily just to make sure everything is as it should be.

'Mama!' Rory squeals as Lia makes her way into the living room with the little girl balanced on her hip; for the first couple of days Rory had stayed at her mum's place purely so Leah could focus on getting her pain under control enough to properly function but she's so glad to have her back home.

'Hi, my girl...' Leah says softly, a smile on her face as Lia carefully places the little girl on her lap.

'Did you have a good sleep?' Leah asks smiling as the little girl cuddles into her chest.

'Are you hungry? Do you want me to make you some food?' Lia asks causing the blonde to shake her head.

'I'm alright just now actually.' Leah replies smiling. Taking a seat on the armchair, Lia smiles as she glances over at the blonde who kisses the top of Rory's head.

'I think I might come into the training centre tomorrow... Do my physio there and see all the girls for a little bit.' Leah says causing Lia to smile.

'Yeah? I think the girls would like that. They've been asking about you all the time.' Lia replies.

'Do you want to come to the Champions League final with me? Keira can get me some tickets and I just- I obviously can't go on my own and I think getting away will be good for you.' Leah says.

'Sounds good. Are we taking Rory with us or?' Lia asks and the blonde glances down at the little girl in her arms.

'I don't know. I'm still going to potentially be using crutches and I just- It's one thing you having to look after her here, I don't want you to have to look after her over there as well.' Leah says shaking her head.

'I don't mind looking after her wherever we are, Le. I've told you this time and time again.' Lia replies smiling.

'Do you wanna go see Auntie Kei and Luce?' Leah says softly as she moves some hair out of the little girl's face.

****

'Hey, you... How you doing today?' Imogen asks softly as she makes her way over to the blonde and immediately leans down to wrap her arms around her.

'Hey... I'm okay. How was training?' Leah asks pressing a kiss to Imogen's shoulder before pulling her down to sit beside her.

'It was alright. I rolled my ankle but nothing major.' Imogen replies carefully tucking herself into the blonde's side.

'I'm going to come in for my physio tomorrow.' Leah says.

'Yeah? That'll be amazing. It'll be good to see you out and about.' Imogen replies and Leah nods her head.

'How's your pain been?' Imogen asks, her hand running over the top of the blonde's thigh.

'Manageable today.' Leah replies. Taking a deep breath, Imogen sighs as she rests her head against the blonde's chest.

'I spoke to my dad the other day... I know we promised not to keep things from each other and that's why I'm telling you now but at the time you were freshly post-surgery and I didn't want to put this on you as well when you were dealing with so much already.' Imogen says quietly.

'Yeah? How did that go?' Leah asks.

'It was okay, I suppose. I just- I felt like I needed to try and get answers and I knew I wasn't going to get any from my mum.' Imogen replies and Leah nods her head.

'Did you get any answers?' Leah asks and Imogen shakes her head.

'Not really. He said he hasn't seen Logan, said he has no intentions of seeing Logan but that Mia and I need to try and see this from mum's perspective.' Imogen replies feeling the blonde immediately take a sharp intake of breath.

'And how does that make you feel?' Leah asks after taking a few moments to process the information.

'Like they're trying to diminish everything we went through. That they're saying it's time to move on from what he did to us.' Imogen replies quietly.

'I think your feelings are perfectly valid, babe. I think it's perfectly understandable that their actions have and continue to hurt you and Mia.' Leah says feeling the brunette sink further into her embrace.

'I just don't know where we go from here. I don't know if there is any coming back from this.' Imogen almost whispers and Leah tightens her arm around her.

'I'm sorry, Ims. I'm sorry you're going through this right now.' Leah says.

****

'I'll spend forever wondering if you knew, I was enchanted to meet you. This is me praying that, this was the very first page, not where the story line ends. My thoughts will echo your name, until I see you again. These are the words I held back, as I was leaving too soon. I was enchanted to meet you.'

She can't help but smile as she watches through the monitor at Imogen gently rocking a sleepy Rory in her arms as she sings softly. She glances over at Lia who places a cup of hot chocolate down on the table in front of her.

'She's so good with her, isn't she?' Lia says softly as she peers at the monitor over Leah's shoulder.

'Mm-hmm... She's always been good with her, even when she was tiny.' Leah replies smiling.

'What do you think about inviting her to the final with us, Le? You said getting away would be good for me, and it will be, but I think it might be good for her as well.' Lia suggests as Leah glances back at the monitor before nodding my head.

'Yeah, I might suggest that actually... Would you mind if she came along? I wouldn't want you feeling like you were being third wheel or anything?' Leah asks and Lia shakes her head.

'Don't be silly. I'd be more than happy for Imogen to come along with us to the final. It'll be fun.' Lia replies shrugging her shoulders as Leah leans over to place the monitor down on the table.

'Still feeling up to coming to Colney tomorrow?' Lia asks and Leah nods her head.

'Yeah, I think so... I think now is as good a time as any. I'm managing my pain a lot more than I was and I just think I'm in a much better place than I was immediately after the surgery.' Leah replies.

'Mm... I think it'll be good for you.' Lia says smiling.