The Cobra's Gaze and Bite [Cobra Commander x OC]

Entry 04 : Power Outage

Entry 04 : Power Outage

29 | 1700 | Z | DEC | 20

Frustration, however, dogged our every step into the initial days of our physical therapy sessions.

Our sessions with Dr. Cox were always at around noon, since the two of us usually slept late but this did not concern Dr. Pershing. He said it was good sign of our recovery, that our bodies were taking advantage of the situation and getting all the rest they can get. The room in which we had our sessions was like a customized gym. White-washed walls and various exercise equipment, of which a lot of it looked custom built.

For myself, I could barely grip anything with my right hand and movement of my right arm, in general, was extremely limited. It didn't help that instinctually I tried to do things with my dominant hand and then realize that I wouldn't do things as well as I used to and pay the price with some pain and shakiness. Rex fared no better, and he had more to work on than I did. He was already attempting to walk on his own, Dr. Cox having decided to start him on that since he was already motivated to walk again. Progress was slow for both of us.

I still could not properly hold a pen.

Rex still could not walk a straight line.

Dr. Cox however still gave us what we call his signature smile. It was a calm, patient one and he always encouraged us with what little progress we could achieve. Another such session had recently ended, Rex assisted by the nurse that had been assigned to both of us. Her name was Ruby, a kind African-American woman, and while she got along well with me she was always nervous around Rex. I could guess why, as Rex no longer looked what people would call 'normal'. Pale, healed skin and even paler scars and the black respirator with its mechanical breathing definitely deterred 'normal' people.

Ruby helped Rex sit on his bed, and after a quick smile in my direction, she left. I stared at the door even after her departure for a few moments, then turned gaze to Rex. Apparently, he had also been staring at the door and our gazes matched at the same moment. I cracked a small smile at him before saying, "You do know you scare her right?"

My roommate simply shrugged, the smile beneath his respirator reaching his eyes. I raised an eyebrow. "I do know that you can't help it, but still. We don't need you scaring Ruby, she's nice enough."

Another shrug, and I could only really sigh. Albeit exaggeratedly, so to keep that smile on his face. We both appreciated the kindness of Dr. Pershing and Dr. Cox, but as we discovered we found better support from each other. Rex and I better understood what we felt, the pain we suffered and now tried to heal from. So for the past few days we would do little things either during of sessions behind Dr. Cox's back or when we were alone to entertain ourselves in the Burn Unit to bring our spirits up a little more. This did more than Dr. Cox's signature smile.

The door opened again and another nurse rolled in a cart. There were a few plastic trays on its shelves and I could see steam rising from them. The nurse smiled at us, though probably a little too brightly, and handed me a tray. She glanced at Rex briefly before reaching lower on the cart, coming back up with a stainless steel thermos and an odd looking straw of the same metal. The nurse left quickly and as quietly as she entered. Rex and I gave each other a questioning look before he lightly shrugged. I matched the shrug and a smile returned to his blue eyes.

"You going to want help with the straw?" I asked him, but he lightly shook his head. I gave him a nod and started on my lunch as he fiddled with a cap that was well hidden on his ventilator near the front. It came off with a faint hiss and quickly, but carefully, Rex slid the straw in and proceeded to intake his blended lunch. I made a gagging motion between two bites of my own lunch, almost making him choke a little but the creases of his smile around his eyes was worth it.