Sequel to Memories. A few weeks after their wedding, Olivia and Antonio return to normality from their honeymoon. Both jumping straight back into work, will they adjust to the post-honey phase? Will things continue to run smoothly or will their hect...
"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in getting up every time we fall." – Confucius
Physical therapy rehabilitation, a very crucial part of recovery from such a serious injury. For Chase, his journey was just beginning.
Two Weeks: Two weeks after being discharged from the hospital, now that his other injuries were healing well, Chase was able to start some more intensive physiotherapy on his leg.
"Are you sure you'll be alright? Because I'm sure Chief-"
"Heidi, go to work. I'll be fine." Chase told her, giving her hand a squeeze.
"Liv's going to be leaving any minute." He added, noting the time on his watch. Heidi had spent the night with Chase after Olivia and Antonio had told her she was welcome to stay round whenever whilst Chase was staying at theirs during his recovery.
"Ugh fine." She moaned.
"But let me know how it goes." Heidi told him as she grabbed her bag from the corner of the room. Chase had his first official intensive therapy session today with his PT (physiotherapist). Up until now he had been doing basic leg exercises with his PT but now that he was able to move more, they were upping the intensity.
"I will." He nodded.
"Hmm, I'd much rather stay here with you." Heidi stopped and turned to give him a kiss.
"I'd prefer that as well but you have to go to work and I have physio." Chase gently nudged her.
"Urgh, fine." Heidi finally gave him.
"Wait." He grabbed her arm to stop her. He pulled her over to him. He leant forward and crashed his lips against hers. Heidi deepened the kiss and after about a minute, he pulled away.
"Now go." He encouraged her, knowing she wanted nothing else but to stay there with him.
"Love you." She smiled and grabbed her keys before she left.
Five Weeks: "So, I think you're ready to take the brace off." Carter, Chase's PT, told him.
"Really? It's only been 5 weeks." Chase said, shocked.
"Normally we'd say a minimum of six weeks in the brace but you're healing well. We'll start out of the brace whilst you're at home and gradually up the amount of time you spend out of it. I'd still like you to wear it when you're out and about though." Carter explained.
"Okay." Chase nodded.
"And I know you ditched the crutches at home last week but if you're comfortable, I'd say you're ready to ditch them full time. Just use them if you feel like you have to." Carter explained as he undid Chase's knee brace.
"Now stand up and tell me how it feels." Carter told Chase as he stepped back. Chase carefully turned and stood up from the bed. It felt weird when he put weight through his leg without any support on it.
"It feels weird." Chase laughed a little.
"That's normal. We'll work on building the muscle back up in it. It's had a lot of support on it over the past 5 weeks so it will take a few weeks to feel normal again." Carter stated as he jotted a few notes down in Chase's physio log book. Carter saw the nervous look on Chase's face. It's never easy recovering from an injury like this, especially for someone like Chase who lives such an active life.
"Hey, as Theodore Roosevelt once said, 'believe you can, and you're halfway there'." Carter told Chase, making him smile a little.
"Yeah." Chase nodded, knowing this was all part of the recovery process.
Early the next morning, Olivia let herself into the house. She knew Antonio was already at work as his truck was gone.
"Good morning."
"Jesus Christ." Olivia jumped out of her skin as she walked into the kitchen, completely not expecting Chase to be up and about yet.
"Sorry." Chase laughed as he handed her a glass of orange juice. That's when it hit her.
"Oh my god! No brace!" She cheered happily when she noticed his bare leg, making Chase smile.
"Yep. I'm allowed to go brace free around the house and increase the amount of time I spend out of it. Still have to wear it out and about for a few weeks whilst I build up the strength in it." Chase explained.
"That's great news though!" Olivia smiled.
"How was work?"
"It was good. Pretty busy."
"Do you want some breakfast?" He asked her as he continued making himself something to eat.
"No thanks, we ate this morning after a call." Olivia shook her head.
"I'm going to go take a shower and get a couple hours of sleep." Olivia told him before she disappeared up the stairs.
Nine weeks: 9 weeks after his release from hospital, Chase was doing better than anyone had expected. His leg was healing very well. He had been completely brace free for the past two and a half weeks and he was feeling good. Being able to slowly get back to the gym and build up his strength had not only been helping his physical recovery, but his mental one too. Being out of action and so vulnerable for so long after the accident had really taken a toll on Chase. But now, with the help of his regained mobility and his friends, he was in a much better place. He had slowly been getting himself into a routine of breakfast, gym, lunch, chill time and then a walk or jog in the afternoon. With his back to work clearance meeting fast approaching in just a week's time, Chase was nervous. He felt ready but he was worried the department wouldn't think he was ready to come back. Putting those negative thoughts to the back of his mind, Chase tried his hardest to keep things positive as he went on with his daily activities. It's important to remember that the good days will always outnumber the bad days, even if it doesn't always feel that way.
"Recovery is about progression, not perfection." – Unknown
"Your body can stand almost anything. It's your mind that you have to convince." — Anonymous
—————————————————— A/N - As someone who has recently gone through a lot of physical therapy for an on-going back issue (that I will unfortunately have for life), there are good days and bad days. I have been a little slow with updates as I have been going through a major writer's slump. Plus, I can't sit down for long periods of time without pain or discomfort due to my back but we're getting back on track! More updates to follow soon!
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