More Than Just a Broken Arm Chapter 32/?
Title: More Than Just a Broken Arm 32/?
Author: softballchic34
Characters: Steve McGarrett, Danny Williams
Spoilers: Season 1 episode 20
Rated PG-13 for language.
Disclaimer: I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or any of the characters, nor do I make any profit from this.
Summary: A broken arm is the least of Steve's problems.
Chapter 32
Over the next few weeks things start to pick up more for Five-0. As they get more cases and there is more for Steve to do he settles in more and doesn’t mind going to work so much. Now that he has something useful to do at work he feels less like he is just there taking up space and more like he is actually helping the team solve cases.
At the moment, Steve is on his way to his appointment with Dr. Freeman; today is the day he will finally get the neck brace off. It’s been exactly twelve weeks since he was injured and Steve is more than ready to be rid of the annoying brace.
The first thing that happens when he arrives in Dr. Freeman’s office is he is sent down to radiology for another x-ray and MRI of his neck to make sure his fractured vertebra has healed completely. It takes nearly an hour for him to have both the x-rays and the MRI and then he has to wait another twenty minutes for Dr. Freeman to arrive.
“Sorry I’m late Steve. There was an emergency downstairs that held me up.”
“That’s alright. So, can I ditch the brace?” Steve doesn’t beat around the bush, the sooner it comes off the better.
“Let’s take a look at your scan and x-rays and we’ll see.” The doctor pulls the films out of the envelope and hangs them on the light box. He studies them for a few minutes before turning back to Steve. “Everything looks really good, Steve. I think it is safe to remove the neck brace.” Dr. Freeman goes to the cupboard and pulls something out before he starts undoing the straps that hold the brace in place around Steve’s neck. “Now, your muscles are going to be stiff and weak for a while since they have been immobilized for so long. I want you to wear this soft collar for support.” Steve scowls disdainfully at the soft foam collar. “I know you don’t want to wear it, Steve, but your muscles need the support. You’ll still be able to turn your head and nod; it will just give your neck some support while you regain your muscle strength and range of motion.”
Steve heaves a sigh but allows Dr. Freeman to place the soft collar around his neck. He has to admit though that after having the brace off for just a few minutes, he can feel his neck muscles burning already. They are stiff and it hurts to move but it feels even better to be free of the restrictive brace.
“How long will I have to wear this?” Steve asks as he rolls his shoulders, trying to loosen up his stiff muscles.
“Probably just a week or two. I’ll leave that up to Stacy. You’ll go down for some physical therapy when we are done here and she will go over some more things with you about your neck and about wearing the soft collar. My only stipulation is you put the brace on again if your neck starts to hurt more than just the muscle aches. If you hear or feel any abnormal popping you need to put the brace back on and get your neck checked out right away. Understood?”
“Yeah.”
“Good. Now, how are things going with the seizures? It has been nearly a month since we changed your medication.”
Steve shrugs slightly. “I have been having a seizure at least once every week. Last week I had two.”
“Have you noticed a pattern?”
“Not really, just that they seem to happen every five to eight days most of the time, sometimes they happen more frequently. I can’t really predict when one will happen until the aura starts. Sometimes I’ll get them in the middle of the night when I’m sound asleep and other times it will be the middle of the afternoon or evening. I don’t think anything I do really impacts or triggers the seizures, or at least not that I have noticed anyway.”
“Ok, well since you have been on this medication for a month and it clearly isn’t helping, I’m going to go ahead and switch you to a different medication.”
Dr. Freeman asks some more questions about the seizures and when they happen before finally deciding that it is time to try out a combination of three medications. He writes Steve two prescriptions for two different medications that he will take in addition to the Carbamazepine.
“Start these tonight and I’ll see you again in a couple weeks. Stacy is expecting you downstairs for therapy. I’ll let her decide when it is safe for you to stop wearing the soft collar since now it is just a matter of strengthening your muscles.”
“Thank you.” Steve says, taking the two papers and sliding off the table.
“Don’t forget this.” Dr. Freeman holds up the old neck brace.
“Right.” Steve says, taking the hated brace from his doctor. Upon leaving Dr. Freeman’s office, Steve heads down a couple floors to the physical therapy ward.
Stacy is waiting for him when he arrives. She smiles and greets him, “Hey Steve, how’s it going? Good to see you out of the brace.”
“Thanks, its going. How are you?” Steve replies, sliding onto the table that Stacy motions for him to sit on.
“I’m good, thanks. How’s your neck feeling?” Stacy steps up in front of Steve and proceeds to remove the soft foam collar.
“Stiff. It feels like my head is going to fall off; feels good though to be out of the brace though. Even if I do have to wear that thing.” Steve waves a hand at the collar Stacy is now setting down on the table.
“Well I assure you your head is going to stay firmly attached to your body.” She grins at him, “But I can tell you that you are going to have to live with that stiff feeling and sore muscles for a two or three days.”
“I can live with that.”
“Good to hear, today we are going to start with some basic exercises moving your neck forward and back with a little bit of side to side movement but I don’t want to overwork your muscles too much on the first day so tomorrow we’ll start with more of the side to side stuff. I want you to take it easy today so you don’t strain your muscles and have a setback.”
Stacy spends the next half hour going over range of motion exercises and stretches for Steve to do, both at home and some that he will only do in therapy.
“Alright Steve, two more of these and then I’ll massage your muscles and you’ll be done for today.” Steve is currently laying belly down on the table with his head hanging over the end; he’s bending his neck down towards the floor and bringing it back up to a neutral position. When he finishes the two reps she instructs him to roll over on this back and slide down so his head is resting on the table. Stacy then stands behind him and begins to massage his neck to help relax the muscles and loosen them up a bit.
“How does that feel?” Stacy asks once Steve is back in a sitting position on the table.
“It hurts a little but it feels good to be able to move again.” He says as Stacy fastens the collar around his neck again.
“The pain is normal, it will go away in a few days as your muscles loosen up. You can alter hot and cold packs on your neck to ease some of the aches and take some Motrin or whatever Dr. Freeman has okayed for you to take if it really bothers you.”
“How long will I have to wear the soft collar? Dr. Freeman said he was going to leave that up to you.”
“I think you’ll be completely out of it by the middle of next week, maybe earlier but I think by this time next week you’ll be free of it. You can take it off when you are laying down resting or are in the shower but otherwise I want you to wear it whenever you are up. Try not to make any sudden moves with your neck either.”
“Alright and Dr. Freeman said if I hear any abnormal popping to put the rigid brace on and get my neck checked out right away. Anything else I need to know?”
“If you don’t have it on and you feel a seizure coming, you need to put either the soft collar or the brace on right away before the seizure starts. Your bones are healed but they are still fragile, we don’t want you jerking your neck around during a seizure right away and damaging your freshly healed vertebra.”
“No that definitely wouldn’t be good.” Steve agrees.
“Do the range of motion exercises like I showed you again tonight and in the morning but don’t overdo it.” She gives him a stern look before continuing, “If you don’t have any more questions, you are free to go and I will see you tomorrow.”
“Thanks Stacy.” Steve bids goodbye to his physical therapist before heading down to the parking lot. Just as he is stepping outside to call Mary to let her know he is done, she pulls up in front of the building with Bo in the passenger seat. Bo has an appointment with the vet to have his leg checked out and maybe get the cast off today if all is looking well.
“Hey Bro!” Mary greets him as he climbs into the truck. “Not quite collar free, huh?”
“No, I have to wear this dumb thing for another week.” Steve grumbles; he has to push an excited Bo over a bit so he can sit on the seat. As soon as he is seated, Bo tries to sit on Steve’s lap and lick his face in greeting; he doesn’t fit as well as he used to though. Bo has been growing steadily over the last few weeks and it takes Steve more of an effort to pick him up and carry him than it did when Steve first got him.
“How come? I thought your neck would be fully healed by now?”
“It is, this is just for support until my muscles have strengthened again.”
“Bummer.” Mary can tell her big brother is annoyed at the prospect of having to wear the foam collar for a while longer. “At least it’s better than not having the brace off at all.” She tries to point out the bright side.
“I guess.” Steve turns his attention to Bo who is starting to chew on the corner of the big pocket on the side of his cargo pants. He keeps the puppy, who just wants to chew, distracted for the remainder of the drive to the vet clinic.
Dr. Adams takes an x-ray of Bo’s leg and determines that the bone is completely healed. Steve tries to keep Bo still while Dr. Adams removes the cast from Bo’s hind leg. After the cast is off, Steve sets Bo on the floor, he hobbles a little and at first he doesn’t seem quite sure how to walk with four fully functional legs now but after a couple minutes he gets it figured out and loses the hobble he’s developed after five weeks in a cast.
Dr. Adams then takes Bo over to the scale to weigh him. Bo has been growing like a weed lately. He now weighs twenty nine pounds, up from the thirteen pounds he weighed when Steve found him five weeks ago. His shoulders come up almost to Steve’s knees now, so while he is still very lean and on the small side he is growing steadily and Dr. Adams is happy with his progress so far.
Steve is pretty sure most of his growth is happening in his ears though. They just seem to get bigger and bigger by the day. They are starting to stand up, some days they will be completely floppy and others they will stand up with just the last inch or two of the tip flopping down. Sometimes they will both be up but leaning to the center like a TP or one will be up and the other down. Dr. Adams assures Steve that Bo will grow into his ears and that by the time he is done teething in a few months his ears should stand up completely straight as they gain strength and the cartilage develops. It amuses Steve to see which way his ears are standing (or flopping) throughout the day.
Bo is given a clean bill of health, along with the freedom to run and go for longer walks now that the cast is off and his leg is healed. Steve leads Bo, who still has to learn his leash manners, out to the truck.
While Steve and Bo were in the vet clinic, Mary was looking around and doing some shopping in the strip mall that is next door to the vet clinic. As Steve walks Bo in the grass outside he sends a quick text to Mary to let her know they are ready whenever she is. She replies back a couple seconds later that she will be out in a few minutes.
Steve keeps Bo on the leash but lets him play and sniff around in the grass outside the clinic while they wait for Mary. After looking at his watch he sees that by now it is nearly two pm and he hasn’t had lunch yet. He decides that instead of heading back to work, he just wants to get some lunch and go home to relax. He has had a busy morning; his neck is aching from physical therapy and the ache in his neck has traveled up into his skull for the beginnings of a headache. He sends a text to Danny, Chin, and Kono letting them all know that he won’t be returning to work today.
Mary steps out of the nearby deli with a bag of sandwiches for lunch since neither of them have eaten yet. “Hey I got you your favorite Kalua pig sandwich from the deli.” She says as she walks up to Steve who is leaning against his Silverado, watching Bo roll around in the grass.
“Hey. Thanks Mare.” Steve says pushing off against the truck before calling Bo, who obediently comes running over to Steve.
“You wanna eat then head back to work?” Mary inquires, heading around the truck to the driver’s side.
“Nah, there isn’t much point going back this late in the day.” He replies, lifting Bo into the cab.
Mary watches closely as Steve climbs into the truck and can see that he looks tired and his brow is pinched in pain. “So Bo got a clean bill of health?”
“Yeah, the vet said he is looking good and catching up with his growth.” Steve replies, giving Bo a good scratch behind the ears. The rest of the drive passes silently. Steve concentrates on keeping Bo from chewing up Mary’s purse.
Once home, Steve lets Bo wander in the back yard for a bit while he and Mary eat on the lanai; then he plays a game of fetch with Bo to burn some energy before he herds the puppy inside so they can both take a nap. Steve decides to head upstairs to his room for his nap since Mary is doing one of her yoga DVDs in the living room.
Bo follows on his heels and is content to lay down on his dog bed for a little siesta. His time with Steve in the Five-0 office, along with his trip to the vet, and game of fetch wore him out a bit so he is more than happy to have nap time on the floor next to his master.
Before Steve lies down he unfastens the foam collar and sets it on his bedside table. He thinks it is a little sad that he is excited to sleep. For the first time in twelve weeks he can lie down comfortably without an annoying, restrictive neck brace to prevent him from really getting comfortable in bed. His entire life he has always been a stomach sleeper so these last twelve weeks being forced to sleep on his back or his side, with extra pillows under his head, have been a struggle for him.
At first, his neck hurts a little to be turned so much to the side for the first time in twelve weeks as he lies down, he arranges his pillows and arms so that there is less strain on his neck and so that it isn’t turned so far to the side. But after a few minutes the muscles and ligaments stretch out and relax a bit so it is less uncomfortable for him.
Less than five minutes later he is fast asleep with a smile on his face. He can finally sleep in comfort.
-H50-
Later that day Steve is dressed in board shorts and is heading down to the beach. He still can’t go for a swim but he decides it is time for Bo to be introduced to the water. Steve has kept him off the beach and away from the water since he got him because of the cast on his leg. He didn’t want Bo getting it wet and then having to replace the cast or risk getting sand caught in it that would cause skin irritations for the puppy.
Bo is a little unsure what to think of the water at first, he kind of paws at it and tries to catch the waves that come onto the beach with his mouth. He can’t figure out though why they come and go. He stares at the waves curiously with his head cocked and his ears perked up.
Steve throws a ball into the water for him, just a few feet out to see if Bo will go after it. Bo acts like he wants to but he still isn’t sure about going in the water. It isn’t until Steve and Mary are both in the water up to their knees and Steve starts calling Bo to come. Bo paces back and forth, letting out the occasional bark and a few whines. After a few more minutes of Steve calling for him, he finally decides to venture into the water and once he is in he loves it. He runs and splashes through the water excitedly, still trying to catch the waves. Steve watches Bo play with a smile on his face; who knew a puppy could provide so much entertainment. He moves towards the shore so the water comes up just above his ankles. He doesn’t want to go out too deep in case he has another seizure.
This is the site that Catherine comes home to shortly after five. It warms her heart to see Steve looking so happy and relaxed. Having Bo in the house has definitely changed Steve for the better and Bo is helping Steve cope with his injuries and the PTE much better than he had been coping before Bo came into his life. Cath just stands on the lanai and watches the siblings laugh lightheartedly at Bo’s antics in the water. She snaps a few pictures on her phone before retreating inside to change out of her uniform and into something more comfortable and beach appropriate.
Catherine walks down to water; she wraps her arm around Steve from behind. “Hey Babe, how did today go?”
Steve turns so he is facing his girlfriend; he wraps his arms around her and leans down to give her a kiss before replying, “Hi, it was pretty good. I have to wear this for the next week or so before I’m finally free. Bo’s leg is healed and he got the cast off. How was work?”
“Good. Bo looks like he’s enjoying the water.” Mary is throwing the ball for Bo who happily chases after it and then plays keep away from Mary for a few minutes.
“Yeah, it took him a while to work up the courage to come it but once he finally did he loved it.”
They spend another hour in the water before heading back up to the house. Mary and Cath work together to make fajitas, Spanish rise, and guacamole for supper. After they eat, Mary heads out to meet up with an old friend, they are going to go listen to one of their old high school classmates sing at a coffeehouse. She has reconnected with several of her old friends from her childhood. Steve is glad that she finally has some friends who aren’t into drugs or who aren’t junkies or deadbeats.
Steve and Catherine head to bed shortly after Steve takes his last dose of medication for the night. They one more day of work before they both have a three day weekend. Monday is the Fourth of July so the Five-0 team is off unless a major case comes up. Steve and Cath are planning on having a barbeque on Monday with the team to celebrate.
TBC
Author: softballchic34
Characters: Steve McGarrett, Danny Williams
Spoilers: Season 1 episode 20
Rated PG-13 for language.
Disclaimer: I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or any of the characters, nor do I make any profit from this.
Summary: A broken arm is the least of Steve's problems.
Chapter 32
Over the next few weeks things start to pick up more for Five-0. As they get more cases and there is more for Steve to do he settles in more and doesn’t mind going to work so much. Now that he has something useful to do at work he feels less like he is just there taking up space and more like he is actually helping the team solve cases.
At the moment, Steve is on his way to his appointment with Dr. Freeman; today is the day he will finally get the neck brace off. It’s been exactly twelve weeks since he was injured and Steve is more than ready to be rid of the annoying brace.
The first thing that happens when he arrives in Dr. Freeman’s office is he is sent down to radiology for another x-ray and MRI of his neck to make sure his fractured vertebra has healed completely. It takes nearly an hour for him to have both the x-rays and the MRI and then he has to wait another twenty minutes for Dr. Freeman to arrive.
“Sorry I’m late Steve. There was an emergency downstairs that held me up.”
“That’s alright. So, can I ditch the brace?” Steve doesn’t beat around the bush, the sooner it comes off the better.
“Let’s take a look at your scan and x-rays and we’ll see.” The doctor pulls the films out of the envelope and hangs them on the light box. He studies them for a few minutes before turning back to Steve. “Everything looks really good, Steve. I think it is safe to remove the neck brace.” Dr. Freeman goes to the cupboard and pulls something out before he starts undoing the straps that hold the brace in place around Steve’s neck. “Now, your muscles are going to be stiff and weak for a while since they have been immobilized for so long. I want you to wear this soft collar for support.” Steve scowls disdainfully at the soft foam collar. “I know you don’t want to wear it, Steve, but your muscles need the support. You’ll still be able to turn your head and nod; it will just give your neck some support while you regain your muscle strength and range of motion.”
Steve heaves a sigh but allows Dr. Freeman to place the soft collar around his neck. He has to admit though that after having the brace off for just a few minutes, he can feel his neck muscles burning already. They are stiff and it hurts to move but it feels even better to be free of the restrictive brace.
“How long will I have to wear this?” Steve asks as he rolls his shoulders, trying to loosen up his stiff muscles.
“Probably just a week or two. I’ll leave that up to Stacy. You’ll go down for some physical therapy when we are done here and she will go over some more things with you about your neck and about wearing the soft collar. My only stipulation is you put the brace on again if your neck starts to hurt more than just the muscle aches. If you hear or feel any abnormal popping you need to put the brace back on and get your neck checked out right away. Understood?”
“Yeah.”
“Good. Now, how are things going with the seizures? It has been nearly a month since we changed your medication.”
Steve shrugs slightly. “I have been having a seizure at least once every week. Last week I had two.”
“Have you noticed a pattern?”
“Not really, just that they seem to happen every five to eight days most of the time, sometimes they happen more frequently. I can’t really predict when one will happen until the aura starts. Sometimes I’ll get them in the middle of the night when I’m sound asleep and other times it will be the middle of the afternoon or evening. I don’t think anything I do really impacts or triggers the seizures, or at least not that I have noticed anyway.”
“Ok, well since you have been on this medication for a month and it clearly isn’t helping, I’m going to go ahead and switch you to a different medication.”
Dr. Freeman asks some more questions about the seizures and when they happen before finally deciding that it is time to try out a combination of three medications. He writes Steve two prescriptions for two different medications that he will take in addition to the Carbamazepine.
“Start these tonight and I’ll see you again in a couple weeks. Stacy is expecting you downstairs for therapy. I’ll let her decide when it is safe for you to stop wearing the soft collar since now it is just a matter of strengthening your muscles.”
“Thank you.” Steve says, taking the two papers and sliding off the table.
“Don’t forget this.” Dr. Freeman holds up the old neck brace.
“Right.” Steve says, taking the hated brace from his doctor. Upon leaving Dr. Freeman’s office, Steve heads down a couple floors to the physical therapy ward.
Stacy is waiting for him when he arrives. She smiles and greets him, “Hey Steve, how’s it going? Good to see you out of the brace.”
“Thanks, its going. How are you?” Steve replies, sliding onto the table that Stacy motions for him to sit on.
“I’m good, thanks. How’s your neck feeling?” Stacy steps up in front of Steve and proceeds to remove the soft foam collar.
“Stiff. It feels like my head is going to fall off; feels good though to be out of the brace though. Even if I do have to wear that thing.” Steve waves a hand at the collar Stacy is now setting down on the table.
“Well I assure you your head is going to stay firmly attached to your body.” She grins at him, “But I can tell you that you are going to have to live with that stiff feeling and sore muscles for a two or three days.”
“I can live with that.”
“Good to hear, today we are going to start with some basic exercises moving your neck forward and back with a little bit of side to side movement but I don’t want to overwork your muscles too much on the first day so tomorrow we’ll start with more of the side to side stuff. I want you to take it easy today so you don’t strain your muscles and have a setback.”
Stacy spends the next half hour going over range of motion exercises and stretches for Steve to do, both at home and some that he will only do in therapy.
“Alright Steve, two more of these and then I’ll massage your muscles and you’ll be done for today.” Steve is currently laying belly down on the table with his head hanging over the end; he’s bending his neck down towards the floor and bringing it back up to a neutral position. When he finishes the two reps she instructs him to roll over on this back and slide down so his head is resting on the table. Stacy then stands behind him and begins to massage his neck to help relax the muscles and loosen them up a bit.
“How does that feel?” Stacy asks once Steve is back in a sitting position on the table.
“It hurts a little but it feels good to be able to move again.” He says as Stacy fastens the collar around his neck again.
“The pain is normal, it will go away in a few days as your muscles loosen up. You can alter hot and cold packs on your neck to ease some of the aches and take some Motrin or whatever Dr. Freeman has okayed for you to take if it really bothers you.”
“How long will I have to wear the soft collar? Dr. Freeman said he was going to leave that up to you.”
“I think you’ll be completely out of it by the middle of next week, maybe earlier but I think by this time next week you’ll be free of it. You can take it off when you are laying down resting or are in the shower but otherwise I want you to wear it whenever you are up. Try not to make any sudden moves with your neck either.”
“Alright and Dr. Freeman said if I hear any abnormal popping to put the rigid brace on and get my neck checked out right away. Anything else I need to know?”
“If you don’t have it on and you feel a seizure coming, you need to put either the soft collar or the brace on right away before the seizure starts. Your bones are healed but they are still fragile, we don’t want you jerking your neck around during a seizure right away and damaging your freshly healed vertebra.”
“No that definitely wouldn’t be good.” Steve agrees.
“Do the range of motion exercises like I showed you again tonight and in the morning but don’t overdo it.” She gives him a stern look before continuing, “If you don’t have any more questions, you are free to go and I will see you tomorrow.”
“Thanks Stacy.” Steve bids goodbye to his physical therapist before heading down to the parking lot. Just as he is stepping outside to call Mary to let her know he is done, she pulls up in front of the building with Bo in the passenger seat. Bo has an appointment with the vet to have his leg checked out and maybe get the cast off today if all is looking well.
“Hey Bro!” Mary greets him as he climbs into the truck. “Not quite collar free, huh?”
“No, I have to wear this dumb thing for another week.” Steve grumbles; he has to push an excited Bo over a bit so he can sit on the seat. As soon as he is seated, Bo tries to sit on Steve’s lap and lick his face in greeting; he doesn’t fit as well as he used to though. Bo has been growing steadily over the last few weeks and it takes Steve more of an effort to pick him up and carry him than it did when Steve first got him.
“How come? I thought your neck would be fully healed by now?”
“It is, this is just for support until my muscles have strengthened again.”
“Bummer.” Mary can tell her big brother is annoyed at the prospect of having to wear the foam collar for a while longer. “At least it’s better than not having the brace off at all.” She tries to point out the bright side.
“I guess.” Steve turns his attention to Bo who is starting to chew on the corner of the big pocket on the side of his cargo pants. He keeps the puppy, who just wants to chew, distracted for the remainder of the drive to the vet clinic.
Dr. Adams takes an x-ray of Bo’s leg and determines that the bone is completely healed. Steve tries to keep Bo still while Dr. Adams removes the cast from Bo’s hind leg. After the cast is off, Steve sets Bo on the floor, he hobbles a little and at first he doesn’t seem quite sure how to walk with four fully functional legs now but after a couple minutes he gets it figured out and loses the hobble he’s developed after five weeks in a cast.
Dr. Adams then takes Bo over to the scale to weigh him. Bo has been growing like a weed lately. He now weighs twenty nine pounds, up from the thirteen pounds he weighed when Steve found him five weeks ago. His shoulders come up almost to Steve’s knees now, so while he is still very lean and on the small side he is growing steadily and Dr. Adams is happy with his progress so far.
Steve is pretty sure most of his growth is happening in his ears though. They just seem to get bigger and bigger by the day. They are starting to stand up, some days they will be completely floppy and others they will stand up with just the last inch or two of the tip flopping down. Sometimes they will both be up but leaning to the center like a TP or one will be up and the other down. Dr. Adams assures Steve that Bo will grow into his ears and that by the time he is done teething in a few months his ears should stand up completely straight as they gain strength and the cartilage develops. It amuses Steve to see which way his ears are standing (or flopping) throughout the day.
Bo is given a clean bill of health, along with the freedom to run and go for longer walks now that the cast is off and his leg is healed. Steve leads Bo, who still has to learn his leash manners, out to the truck.
While Steve and Bo were in the vet clinic, Mary was looking around and doing some shopping in the strip mall that is next door to the vet clinic. As Steve walks Bo in the grass outside he sends a quick text to Mary to let her know they are ready whenever she is. She replies back a couple seconds later that she will be out in a few minutes.
Steve keeps Bo on the leash but lets him play and sniff around in the grass outside the clinic while they wait for Mary. After looking at his watch he sees that by now it is nearly two pm and he hasn’t had lunch yet. He decides that instead of heading back to work, he just wants to get some lunch and go home to relax. He has had a busy morning; his neck is aching from physical therapy and the ache in his neck has traveled up into his skull for the beginnings of a headache. He sends a text to Danny, Chin, and Kono letting them all know that he won’t be returning to work today.
Mary steps out of the nearby deli with a bag of sandwiches for lunch since neither of them have eaten yet. “Hey I got you your favorite Kalua pig sandwich from the deli.” She says as she walks up to Steve who is leaning against his Silverado, watching Bo roll around in the grass.
“Hey. Thanks Mare.” Steve says pushing off against the truck before calling Bo, who obediently comes running over to Steve.
“You wanna eat then head back to work?” Mary inquires, heading around the truck to the driver’s side.
“Nah, there isn’t much point going back this late in the day.” He replies, lifting Bo into the cab.
Mary watches closely as Steve climbs into the truck and can see that he looks tired and his brow is pinched in pain. “So Bo got a clean bill of health?”
“Yeah, the vet said he is looking good and catching up with his growth.” Steve replies, giving Bo a good scratch behind the ears. The rest of the drive passes silently. Steve concentrates on keeping Bo from chewing up Mary’s purse.
Once home, Steve lets Bo wander in the back yard for a bit while he and Mary eat on the lanai; then he plays a game of fetch with Bo to burn some energy before he herds the puppy inside so they can both take a nap. Steve decides to head upstairs to his room for his nap since Mary is doing one of her yoga DVDs in the living room.
Bo follows on his heels and is content to lay down on his dog bed for a little siesta. His time with Steve in the Five-0 office, along with his trip to the vet, and game of fetch wore him out a bit so he is more than happy to have nap time on the floor next to his master.
Before Steve lies down he unfastens the foam collar and sets it on his bedside table. He thinks it is a little sad that he is excited to sleep. For the first time in twelve weeks he can lie down comfortably without an annoying, restrictive neck brace to prevent him from really getting comfortable in bed. His entire life he has always been a stomach sleeper so these last twelve weeks being forced to sleep on his back or his side, with extra pillows under his head, have been a struggle for him.
At first, his neck hurts a little to be turned so much to the side for the first time in twelve weeks as he lies down, he arranges his pillows and arms so that there is less strain on his neck and so that it isn’t turned so far to the side. But after a few minutes the muscles and ligaments stretch out and relax a bit so it is less uncomfortable for him.
Less than five minutes later he is fast asleep with a smile on his face. He can finally sleep in comfort.
-H50-
Later that day Steve is dressed in board shorts and is heading down to the beach. He still can’t go for a swim but he decides it is time for Bo to be introduced to the water. Steve has kept him off the beach and away from the water since he got him because of the cast on his leg. He didn’t want Bo getting it wet and then having to replace the cast or risk getting sand caught in it that would cause skin irritations for the puppy.
Bo is a little unsure what to think of the water at first, he kind of paws at it and tries to catch the waves that come onto the beach with his mouth. He can’t figure out though why they come and go. He stares at the waves curiously with his head cocked and his ears perked up.
Steve throws a ball into the water for him, just a few feet out to see if Bo will go after it. Bo acts like he wants to but he still isn’t sure about going in the water. It isn’t until Steve and Mary are both in the water up to their knees and Steve starts calling Bo to come. Bo paces back and forth, letting out the occasional bark and a few whines. After a few more minutes of Steve calling for him, he finally decides to venture into the water and once he is in he loves it. He runs and splashes through the water excitedly, still trying to catch the waves. Steve watches Bo play with a smile on his face; who knew a puppy could provide so much entertainment. He moves towards the shore so the water comes up just above his ankles. He doesn’t want to go out too deep in case he has another seizure.
This is the site that Catherine comes home to shortly after five. It warms her heart to see Steve looking so happy and relaxed. Having Bo in the house has definitely changed Steve for the better and Bo is helping Steve cope with his injuries and the PTE much better than he had been coping before Bo came into his life. Cath just stands on the lanai and watches the siblings laugh lightheartedly at Bo’s antics in the water. She snaps a few pictures on her phone before retreating inside to change out of her uniform and into something more comfortable and beach appropriate.
Catherine walks down to water; she wraps her arm around Steve from behind. “Hey Babe, how did today go?”
Steve turns so he is facing his girlfriend; he wraps his arms around her and leans down to give her a kiss before replying, “Hi, it was pretty good. I have to wear this for the next week or so before I’m finally free. Bo’s leg is healed and he got the cast off. How was work?”
“Good. Bo looks like he’s enjoying the water.” Mary is throwing the ball for Bo who happily chases after it and then plays keep away from Mary for a few minutes.
“Yeah, it took him a while to work up the courage to come it but once he finally did he loved it.”
They spend another hour in the water before heading back up to the house. Mary and Cath work together to make fajitas, Spanish rise, and guacamole for supper. After they eat, Mary heads out to meet up with an old friend, they are going to go listen to one of their old high school classmates sing at a coffeehouse. She has reconnected with several of her old friends from her childhood. Steve is glad that she finally has some friends who aren’t into drugs or who aren’t junkies or deadbeats.
Steve and Catherine head to bed shortly after Steve takes his last dose of medication for the night. They one more day of work before they both have a three day weekend. Monday is the Fourth of July so the Five-0 team is off unless a major case comes up. Steve and Cath are planning on having a barbeque on Monday with the team to celebrate.
TBC