Learning to Walk, a City Hospital Novel Read online

  “Cool.” Kit beamed again. “And no one tells my dad. Trust me, you don’t want my dad trying to make us spend time alone together.”

  Neil started laughing at that, then the laughter faded away. “You really haven’t had anyone touch you except professionally since the accident?”

  “Just my dad, giving me a hug.” Kit looked away, not sure how Neil would react and not wanting to see pity. Sympathy he could deal with, but pity was hard.

  “You really do know how to push all the right buttons to make someone forget they have a working relationship to maintain, don’t you?”

  “Apparently without trying.” Kit shrugged a little ruefully.

  “Well, the way I see it we have a couple of choices.” Neil waited ‘til Kit had his T-shirt back on and started pushing him back to the kitchen. “We can keep on as we are and try to keep thing professional. Or I can find you another therapist.” Neil shook his head. “The problem with the second option is that I firmly believe that having consistent care is important. We already have a routine, a working rapport. I have plans for moving things forward on the swimming and climbing front to combine that in with your therapy...”

  “I don’t want another therapist.” Kit frowned at the thought. “I’m used to the way you work, and I get a little crabby; I don’t want to break in a new person.”

  Laughing, Neil nodded. “I can see that. Okay. Lots of focus on the work, then. We have extra motivation to get you back on your feet, don’t we?”

  Kit gave him a close look and asked, “Are you going to get mad if I make the occasional slip and try to get you flirting? Because I know myself well enough to know I’m going to try.”

  “I won’t be mad. I may even respond. We can’t take it further than that, though. I would feel like I was taking advantage.”

  Kit rolled his eyes and tried not to laugh. “Take advantage. I don’t mind. Really.”

  Neil met his gaze, head on. “I would, though.”

  Well. Kit sighed and nodded. “All right. If it’s that huge a deal to you, I’ll try my level best to respect that.” Not that it would be easy, mind you, but nothing much had been easy for a long time. “Can you use the meat thermometer on the roast, please?”

  “I really do like you, Kit. In more than a you’re-my-patient way. You’ll see, the time will pass quickly.” Neil took the thermometer and opened the oven. “What temp am I looking for?”

  “About one-fifty. I hope the time goes quickly -- if only so the exercises get better. It’s hard, forcing muscles to work in ways they’re not used to and don’t want to. It’s only been in the last few weeks I’ve become convinced they’ll ever work again, honestly. For a long time I couldn’t even wiggle my toes.”

  “I think you’ll find that now that your muscles are starting to respond, they’ll improve more quickly.” Neil turned to look at him. “Just think of it as a really long courtship.”

  “Will there be flowers?” Kit smiled and checked the side dishes, lifting each pot down carefully so he could get a good look. “Candy? Serenades?”

  “Trust me, you don’t want me singing to you.” Neil took out the roast. “It’s done.”

  “Oh, fantastic. I mean about the roast, not about the singing.” Kit put his current pot back and took a trivet to the kitchen table. “Could you put the roast here to rest? It’s low enough that I can slice it over here in a few minutes.”

  Neil grabbed the roasting pan and put it on the table. “It’s all going to work out. You’ll see.”

  “I’ll make every attempt to match your optimism.” He even meant it, too. Kit set to making their meal, for once seeing a brighter future.

  Chapter Five

  It was nearly a month before Neil was able to arrange private time at the pool that matched both his and Kit’s schedules. Today was the day, though, and Kit had been more enthusiastic about it every day. He just hoped that all went well. A setback here, where Kit thought he was going to do well, could put him back in all areas.

  He glanced at his watch. Kit should be here any minute and then Neil would take him up to the pool.

  “Morning, Meg!” Kit’s voice sounded not only cheerful as he greeted the nurse at the station, but loud as well, like couldn’t contain himself. A moment later, Kit and his wheelchair arrived at the door. “Ready!” Kit was grinning at him with all his teeth showing. “Come on.”

  Chuckling, Neil grabbed his keys. There were towels upstairs, and he had his trunks on under his sweats. “Are you wearing your swimming suit already?”

  “Hell, yes. I’ve been ready since six.” Kit wheeled himself back and gave Neil room. “I was all ‘I’m gonna use a cane!’ and my dad was all ‘You so are not, idiot. Eat your breakfast before I report you’. Total party pooper.”

  That had Neil laughing harder. It was great to see Kit so enthusiastic.

  The man had been doing well with his therapy, and the flirting hadn’t been too outrageous. Neil loved seeing Kit like this, though, all enthusiastic eagerness. He liked what he saw, and that boded well for how they might get along when they were friends and possibly more instead of therapist/patient.

  “Do you know if there’s going to be anyone else in there?” Kit asked as they made their way to the elevator.

  “No, we’ll be on our own. That’s why it took so long to book it -- I wanted to make sure you didn’t have an audience for your first time.” He took care of his patients, their needs.

  “Thanks.” Kit flashed him a smile, the one that Neil thought of as his smile. It was a little different, a little special, and Kit didn’t give it to anyone else, ever. “And we have a full hour?” They got in the elevator and Kit expertly got his wheelchair facing forward.

  “Nope.” He bit his lip to keep from laughing at Kit’s crestfallen look. “We have an hour and a half. I figured if you got tired of actually swimming, you could just float.”

  “Don’t do that to me!” Kit looked like he was trying to be mad, but the fist pump just didn’t go along with it. “Can this elevator go any faster?”

  Neil couldn’t help but tease. “I set it to slow.”

  “These is no such thing. And here I thought you might want to see me in my bathing suit. Now I have my feelings all hurt and stuff.” Kit couldn’t even stop smiling long enough to act offended.

  Neil just snorted, the sound cut off by the low ding of the elevator, and the doors sliding open. The smell of chlorine instantly filled the air.

  “Oh.” Kit sniffed, inhaling deeply. “That’s horrible. Get me in it.” He moved forward, already following the signs.

  “We need to get you stripped down first.” He took hold of Kit’s wheelchair and moved it to the stairs with the railing, then locked the wheels in place.

  “I thought you’d never ask.” Kit was eyeing the pool, though, his flirt only at about half its usual innuendo. “Is it warm?”

  “Yeah, most therapy pools are kept much warmer than regular ones.”

  Kit tugged off his hoodie and then his T-shirt. “Okay, let’s get in there. Now, now, now.” He was laughing, but he was stripping down fast.

  Neil joined in the laughter, but he didn’t help Kit with his pants -- they’d slow the man down long enough for him to catch up. Which he did, stripping down quickly so he could get into the pool before Kit did.

  “Wait for me!” Kit got his shoes and socks off and then worked his sweatpants down, shifting his weight from side to side until he could pull them off his legs. “Okay, here I come!” He reached for the rail and pulled himself up, using his arms and upper body, but finally letting his legs take some of his weight. “Spot me.”

  Neil moved into place. “Easy now.”

  “Uh-huh.” Kit nodded and changed his grip, slowly moving himself closer to the water. “I don’t think I can do stairs at all. What’s the plan?” He shifted again, his face intent as he concentrated hard on what his body was doing.

  “It’s a ramp not stairs -- you should be able to manage that.”


  “Damn it.” Kit snorted and kept going. “Thought I’d get a little help.” He kept going, his upper body strong from months of working out and carrying his weight. “Stick with me, ‘kay?”

  “I’m not going to let you drown, Kit. That would put a real kibosh on the whole get-you-healthy-so -I-can-do-you scheme.”

  “I’m glad we’re on the same page.” Kit’s feet and lower legs were in the water, and a wave of goose bumps rose on his arms before settling down again. “It’s not slippery.”

  “Nope. In fact they use a bumpy material that’s specially designed not to become slippery.”

  “It’s weird, but you know. Keeping me off my ass, which means not drowning is happening.” Kit moved a little more into the water, his arms and back working. “Not drowning is good. Swimming is good.” He sped up a little.

  “You’re doing great, Kit. This is just like the bar work we usually do. Only, you know, wetter.”

  “How are you going to know when I’m sweating and stuff?” Kit flashed him a grin and winked. “That’s when you usually start giving me grief about slowing down.”

  “I’m guessing you’ll be a little more honest with how hard your arms are working when them giving out means going under water.” He wasn’t going to tell Kit that he usually went by the look on Kit’s face rather than how much sweat was being generated.

  “I’m always honest,” Kit said, which was a blatant lie. He was, as far as Neil knew, honest about everything in his life and their budding relationship, but Kit lied like a total fibbing liar about how hard he was working. It was a game.

  “Uh-huh.” He watched Kit’s progress, nodding as things seemed suddenly a little easier as soon as Kit was more than waist deep.

  “Oh, nice.” Kit sighed and his eyes closed for a moment. “What’s the plan?” He moved a little deeper.

  “You get to swim. Fool around, move how you’re comfortable.” That way he could assess Kit’s abilities and develop exercises from there.

  “Oh, how I wish I could fool around.” There was the flirt, full force. “Okay, here I go.” Kit lowered himself and let go, his grin huge as he rolled to his back to float.

  Neil laughed like he was supposed to and kept a sharp eye on Kit. This was supposed to be a good experience. Almost drowning would not be.

  “Oh God.” It was hardly the first time Neil had heard Kit moan and groan, and not even in a good way. Still, Kit was damn close to frolicking.

  He couldn’t help but share the joy, laughing away and watching with a huge smile on his face.

  “This is amazing.” Kit floated, his arms moving lazily. “Give me three seconds and I’ll actually try to do some work. Three seconds to just float.”

  “Take as long as you want.” They had an hour and a half -- there was no way Kit could do actual work that long.

  Kit just moved his arms again in the lazy wave that sent him slowly across the pool. In a moment he did it again, with one arm only to turn himself and made his way back, rather crookedly. “Okay, boss. Give me plenty of breaks like that and I’m all yours. Aren’t you coming all the way in?”

  “I can see better from the edge here. I want you to float on your back and propel yourself as far as you can, just using your legs.”

  “Jeez, I hope you brought a book to read. This won’t be very fast.” Kit floated a moment longer and then took stock of where he was in the pool. “Down that way?”

  Neil shifted Kit so he would be doing the pool across the width instead of the whole length. “There you go. Take as much time as you need.”

  “All right.” Kit’s face grew determined: his Work face. “Feel free to jump in anytime.” He lay back in the water and, using his arms to keep himself afloat and not to move, he slowly started across the width of the pool, his gaze fixed on the ceiling.

  Neil had to smile. He’d bet Kit would never have believed he could do as much with just his legs as he was doing right now.

  “How can something suck so much and be so cool at the same time?” Kit asked, panting slightly as he worked.

  “Focus on how cool it is. Half full glass always trumps half empty.”

  “Did you read that in a book?” Kit grunted and moved his legs, one more than the other and threw himself off balance. He spluttered a bit but got himself righted and floating again without panic. “Damn.”

  “No, you’re doing fine. The recovery is important.”

  “What with the not-drowning directive.” Kit nodded and got himself back on track, floating on his back. “Okay, other side of the pool. I want a party when I get there, ‘cause it might be my birthday by that time.”

  Neil chuckled. “You’re doing fine, Kit. You’re going faster than you think.”

  “Surely you jest.” Kit panted his way to the other side, though, only cheating with his arms a little bit.

  “Would you have believed a month ago that you could actually propel yourself through the water with just your legs? How about two months ago?”

  “Well... maybe not.” Kit shrugged one shoulder at him, the other arm busy holding onto the side of the pool. “Want me to go to the other side again? Seriously, you should get in the water. It’s amazing in here.”

  “I can see you better from where I am.” Neil wasn’t in the pool for fun. He had to be responsible. Which he had to keep reminding himself of, because Kit was one sexy guy, especially right now, with Neil being able to see so much of him. God, he could so fall hard for Kit. He possibly already kind of had. He made himself focus; Kit was his patient. “And yes, I’d like you to go back to the other side. Take your time, just float when you get tired.”

  “If you’re in the water you can touch me,” Kit pointed out. He got onto his back and started across the pool. “I’m just saying.”

  “Kit!” He chuckled and shook his head; he not only had to fight his own baser instincts but Kit’s as well.

  “What? Like you weren’t thinking it,” Kit teased.

  “Thinking it or not, I still can’t do it.” He’d kind of pushed all those thoughts into a box, closed it up. Again. He needed to get a stronger imaginary lock for the imaginary box and door he was using to keep his illicit thoughts at bay.

  “I know.” Kit nodded, which looked funny with his head mostly under water, and propelled himself across the pool. He was working too hard to keep talking, which was probably for the best.

  Neil was going to stop Kit after he made it to the other side, just let the guy float and use his arms to swim, have fun without working too hard.

  This time Kit didn’t cheat with his arms at all, nor did he flounder around and have to reset himself, but by the time he got to the wall Kit was breathing hard. “I guess the Olympics are out.”

  “Who cares? That was awesome! Go you.” Neil even clapped. “Okay, you can just have fun now, do whatever you want in the water.”

  “And then more work?” Kit wiped his face. “That means you have to get in the water with me, if I’m on a break. Come on, now.”

  “No more work, you’ve done enough for today.” He knew Kit would still get some work in just swimming around, having fun.

  “Seriously?” A long, slow smile crossed Kit’s face. “Get in here.”

  “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.” Could he keep his hands off Kit with all that bareness?

  Kit gave him a level look. “If you’re not coming in, I’m getting out.”

  “All right, all right, I’m coming in.” He wasn’t going to cut Kit’s time short just because he wouldn’t wade on in. He was a big boy; he could control himself.

  Kit smiled and rolled onto his front, his arms working hard to propel him toward the ramp. “Oh, right.” He switched to his legs for the last few feet, laughing.

  Neil couldn’t help but grin at Kit. It was good seeing the man smiling, laughing, clearly having a good time. He liked this Kit a whole lot.

  “Want to race?” Kit held onto the edge of the pool with one hand.

  “Sure. I’m not
going to let you win, though.”

  “Phht. So you think. I’m sneaky.”

  “Oh-ho, you’re planning to cheat, are you?” Somehow, that didn’t seem out of the realm of what Kit might do to win if he was really motivated.

  “It’s called strategy not cheating,” Kit assured him. Kit’s grin kicked up a notch, though. “No arms, just legs. Deal?”

  He frowned. “Both of us?” How the heck was Kit planning to win with just his legs?

  Kit just smiled at him. “When was the last time you propelled yourself across a pool just using your legs? I’m betting that you get tired before me -- I’m totally used to agony.” He winked.

  “Yeah, but you’re already ti--” Neil cut himself off. If Kit was willing to do more work with just his legs, who the hell was he to refuse it? “Length-wise or cross-wise?”

  “Do I look totally insane? Across. I’ll go lengthwise, but not with just my legs. Not today.” Kit appeared to consider it. “Next time.”

  “Okay, deal. Are we wagering on our performances?”

  “Sure.” Kit splashed a little. “What do you have in mind?”

  Suddenly all he could think of was kisses and fondling and various handjobs. “Uh...”

  “You’re blushing. I’m all in.”

  “Uh. How about a shoulder massage?” Still not entirely appropriate for Kit to give him one, but it was better than the other alternatives his mind was supplying.

  “At my house?” Kit asked immediately. “Not in your office or somewhere?”

  “Sure.” The word was out of his mouth before he’d thought about it, and he groaned internally. His body was conspiring against him.

  “Nice. And if you win...?”

  “Same thing.” Damn it, Kit had given him a pass, and his stupid mouth had spewed out an answer before he could accept it.

  Kit looked smug. “I’m totally going to collect. Come on, then. Right next to me so we start from the same place.”

  He moved next to Kit. “One, two, three, go, and go on go?”

  “Uh-huh.” Kit’s shoulder rubbed against his. “Arms and hands for balance only, power from the legs. Ready?”