Chapter 17: Dom

I felt that. I definitely, one hundred percent, felt that. Danil did something to my legs. I thought I might have felt something when I was coming, but I just passed it off as my imagination, but Danil must have felt it too.

"My legs moved," I whisper over to him.

"They did," Danil replies. "Now let me get up, and I will clean us off and we will see what you can feel. But we're calling the doctors immediately."

"Danil, I think the doctor's office will be closed by now," I say over to him as he carefully climbs off me.

"We need to call someone," he demands.

"We can tomorrow," I say as gently as I can. "Now if you wouldn't mind cleaning me off, and maybe we could have some food."

"Yeah, sorry."

Danil walks out of the room, still stark naked. I have to admit that I love that he doesn't feel like he needs to put clothes on after we have had sex. That he is comfortable enough with me to be like that. The moment I hear the tap in the bathroom, I look down at my legs and try to move them, and nothing. I try again, and there is nothing. Danil must have been mistaken.

I pinch the top of my leg and yes, I can definitely feel that. So, why can't I move my legs? Maybe I'm starting too big, maybe I need to concentrate on something smaller. Can I wiggle my toes? I look down at my feet and concentrate, and nothing. What made them move if they're not moving now? Was it the sensation of my coming? No. Its more than that. I felt Danil when he was sucking my dick.

Taking a deep calming breath, I look down at my toes and think about them moving. I am about to give up when I see toes move. It's the smallest of movements, but they moved. For the first time since the accident, excitement fills me. I could feel my toes and I was able to move them a little bit. Maybe, just maybe the doctors were right and I will walk again.

I hear taps in the bathroom shut off and the sound of feet padding along the floor and Danil re-enters the bedroom. I consider telling him that I managed to move my toes, but decided not to. I don't want to give him any false hope. I know I need to talk to the doctor about what is happening with me.

"How are you feeling?" Danil asks, and he leans over and wipes my chest with the warm washcloth before drying me with a towel.

"Still in shock, I think," I tell him honestly.

"If I knew riding you was going to get your legs moving, I would have done it sooner," Danil says, giving me a wink.

"I cannot believe you just said that," I state, looking over to him, giving him a smile. "Your ass isn't some type of healing orifice."

"I disagree," Danil states, but before I can argue with him, he quickly changes the subject. "Now, are you ready to sit up?"

A loud rumble from my stomach answers for me.

"I will take that as a yes. Come on, let me help you up," Danil states, coming over to me and helping me to sit up, placing my legs over the edge of the bed. "Do you want to wear just boxers or your sleep shorts and T-shirt?"

"I think as we are eating, shorts and T-shirt," I tell him.

Danil goes over to the chest of drawers, opens a drawer, and pulls out some clothes. Coming back over to me, he hands me the T-shirt to put on. I can vaguely feel him as he lifts my feet up so he can slip on the shorts and pull them up as far as he can. Helping me to my feet, he pulls them up the rest of the way.

"Ready for the living room?" Danil whispers in my ear.

"Aren't you going to get dressed?"

"I will when you are settled, and we have ordered food." And then he is sweeping me up, my arms now instantly going around his neck. After being carried so often, I have a feeling it is going to be very strange walking from room to room.

"Do you promise to sweep me off my feet at least once a week when I am back to walking?" I ask him as he places me on the couch.

"I think that can be arranged."

Danil leaves me on the couch before walking back into the bedroom, only to emerge moments later just wearing some boxers.

"Scoot over," Danil asks. "Let me get in behind you."

I move down the couch, and when Danil is settled behind me, I lean back into him. The warmth of his body seeps through my T-shirt.

"How are you feeling?" I ask him, twisting to look at his face. "You know after…" I trail off feeling a little strange asking how he is feeling after bottoming.

"Good. I will probably be a little sore. But it was worth it."

"Thats good. It felt pretty amazing to me."

Danil kisses the back of my head. "Yeah it was pretty amazing. I wouldn't be averse to doing that every now and then."

"Really?" Because I was not expecting to hear him say that. I know when we have spoken about it before he said that he preferred topping.

"Yeah, it was so much better than my other experiences."

"Oh," I reply, as I am not sure what else to say, but I do feel rather proud of myself that I potentially made him change his mind about bottoming.

"Anyway," Danil says. "Food. What are you in the mood for?"

"Sushi," I venture.

"You're kidding, right?" Danil exclaims at my suggestion.

"What's wrong with sushi?" I demand.

"Where do you want me to start? Raw fish, rice, its cold," comes Danil's reply.

"How the hell could we have been going out for what, four months, and I didn't know that you don't like sushi?" I question.

"You were in a hospital for a month out of those four," Danil says back. "And the other three, you always seemed to let me choose."

"I am in shock. I don't know what to do. My boyfriend hates sushi. If I'd known, I'm not sure I would have even started dating you. Maybe we should end things," I tease him.

"Over sushi? You want to end things over sushi?" And I know that he is playing along with me. "But it does seem to be a valid reason. If I had known you liked the stuff, I probably would have stopped pursuing you, too."

"Three months is a long time to give up over raw fish, as you put it," I say.

"True, and our sex life is amazing."

"Again, that is true, maybe we need to look past this. I agree to never eat sushi in front of you, if you never complain about me liking it."

"Deal."

The pair of us crack up at this point. Both laughing at the stupidness of the conversation, but neither of us have laughed like this since I woke up at the hospital, and given what happened earlier, we both need it.

"How about Chinese?" I say when the laughing has finally stopped. Chinese, I know, is one of Danil's favorites.

"Yeah, that sounds good. I'll get it ordered." Danil's cell appears seemingly out of nowhere and he taps the screen before placing it down. "All ordered."

"Great. Did they give any time estimate?" I ask, as my stomach gives another large rumble.

"No. I'm sure it won't be long. Maybe we can watch some TV, get your mind off food."

We channel hop for a while, but nothing grabs our attention. It just seems to be soap operas or reality tv, neither of which interests us.

"Have you thought about what you're going to tell the doctor tomorrow?" Danil asks.

"About?"

"About how you figured out that you had feeling in your legs. I can't see you telling him all the details," Danil explains.

"My plan is to just tell him that I moved my legs and hope that is the end of that."

"Do you want me to stay with you, if the doctor is able to see you tomorrow?" Danil asks.

"What about your work?" Because Danil cannot keep taking time off. His work has been understanding, but I'm sure they have their limits, and the last thing I want is for Danil to lose his job over looking after me.

"They understand."

"Once I know if he can see me, we can go from there, but you dropping me off and picking me back up will be fine," I say over to him.

"Someone should be there with you. What if the doctor recommends exercises to do at home?" Danil adds.

"Then he can tell me. I will be the one doing them," I answer.

Danil doesn't say anything more to me, and a strange atmosphere settles around us. I think I may have upset him by telling him not to come to the doctors with me, but I know that this is the right thing to do. Plus, I want to see the doctor without Danil fussing in the background.

The sound of the security buzzer going off breaks the silence in the room, and Danil pushes me forward so that he is able to get up off the couch, walk over to the phone and pick it up. He doesn't say anything, just tells him which floor we are on.

"Food's here," Danil mutters over to me.

I keep looking at the TV, trying to be interested in the show that's playing, but I am not. I am not even really hungry anymore. My intention was never to hurt Danil, but that is clearly what I have done, by not agreeing for him to come with me. However, I'm not going to apologize for something I need to do for myself.

"I need you to let me know if you can feel this," the doctor says to me.

"Doctor, I know the drill now. Close my eyes, etc." I reply.

When I called the doctor this morning, he recommended that I come to the hospital immediately, but warned that it could be a long day. They wanted to check me over and run some tests before sending me over to PT. This did make it easier to tell Danil to go to work. There was nothing he could do when I was being sent for tests, but he still wasn't too happy about it.

I close my eyes and wait. I am not expecting to feel anything, but suddenly I feel a sharp scratch on my big toe.

"My big toe," I say out loud.

"Any now?" the voice comes again.

I feel the same scratch on the side of my foot, near my ankle. "Ankle," I tell them.

"That's very good. I think we are going to need to look at changing up your physical therapy. Starting today."

I spend the next few hours going over exercise after exercise. I basically have to learn how to walk again. The therapist gets me standing, but it feels like I'm standing on numb legs. They don't get me walking today, but they want my body to get used to holding its own weight again. The day has taken its toll, and I am now exhausted.

Pulling out my cell, I type out a message to Danil.

Dom: Hey, I'm done if youre able to pick me up.

I keep staring at my cell, waiting for a reply, and a few minutes later I see the bubbles appear, letting me know that Danil is replying to me.

Danil: Shit, they just pulled me into a meeting. Let me see if I can get out of it.

Well, this is just my luck. Looking at my phone I see its late in the afternoon, so G and Frank have probably left for the restaurant already. I think about calling Alessia and go to open my cell to call, when I remember that I can't. I'm so tired, that for the briefest of moments, I forgot that Alessia isn't here anymore, that I'm never going to be able to call her again. Yet, I still open up my cell, go to her number and hit call.

The number connects straight to her voicemail, and I'm able to hear her voice again. I discovered that her cell hadn't been disconnected by accident one day. I don't even remember why I tried to call her number, but I remember hearing her voice. A voice that I thought I would never hear again, and it gave me a sense of comfort. I never leave a message. I usually cut the call just as her message ends.

I'm tempted to call it again, but my cell vibrates in my hand, letting me know that I have another notification, and it's from Danil.

Danil: I cannot get out of the meeting, but I called Rory, and he is going to come and get you. I will try to get home as soon as I can, but it could be a few hours.

Dom: Get to your meeting, I will see you at home later.

I'm not sure how I feel about Rory coming to get me. After yesterday, I'm just not feeling that comfortable around him. Which doesn't make any sense. All I heard when I came home from the hospital was how helpful he had been with Danil. I'd felt such gratitude that Danil had someone to help him, but now I'm not sure. At the moment, all I want to do is get home and nap.

"Dom," I hear my name being called, and someone gently shakes me.

"What?" Opening my eyes, I look around.

"You must have nodded off," Rory says, crouching down in front of me.

"Rory, oh yeah." Realizing that I must have fallen asleep waiting for him to come and get me.

"I think we need to get you home. You look awful."

"Thanks," I say, trying to sound sarcastic.

"I just mean you look exhausted." Rory starts getting back up to his feet, moving behind my wheelchair and pushing me out.

"I need to warn you, my car is old. I got it from my grandfather," Rory explains as we leave the hospital.

"If it can get me home, I really don't care," I say to him, but when we finally get to his car, I see he wasn't exaggerating. This car is old, and I can see pockets of rust over the wheel arches.

"Let me help you inside," Rory states, and I almost want to argue and say that its probably best that I get a cab.

"Have you had this car for a long time?" I ask, once I am finally settled in the passenger seat.

"My grandfather gave it to me a few years ago. I should probably get rid of it, but you know, its sentimental now. We lost my grandfather a few years ago."

Looking at Rory, I try to read his face. He's saying all the right words, but there doesn't seem to be any emotion behind them. His whole persona is confusing me more and more, but it could also be that I'm so tired, that I'm seeing things that aren't there. Leaning back, I close my eyes for a second. Rory is Danil's best friend. I need to remember that.

"Dom," Rory says gently. "We're home."

"Did I fall asleep again?" I ask, trying to stretch, but there really isn't much room in the car.

"I don't think I even got into the drivers seat," Rory explains before getting out of the car, going to the trunk for my wheelchair. "What on earth happened today? Haven't seen you this exhausted."

"I think it was going from test to test and then PT working me hard. It's taken its toll on me today," I explain, as Rory helps me from the passenger seat into my chair.

"Danil told me that you got feeling into your legs. You must be so pleased."

Rory genuinely sounds pleased for me, and I want to kick myself. He really is a good guy and a good friend to both of us. He wouldn't be doing everything that he does for me if he wasn't a true friend.

"Its very early days. There is a long road ahead of me. The therapist warned me today that it could be months before I can walk unaided," I explain.

"But you will walk unaided," Rory states.

We don't say anything to each other as we make our way to Danil's apartment, and I try to keep my eyes open. I really have no idea why I'm so tired. With the naps at the hospital and in the car, I thought I would be more awake now.

Arriving on Danil's floor in the elevator, Rory pushes me out. As we get closer, I see a white box with a red ribbon around it on the floor outside the door. Stopping just before it, Rory moves around and picks up the box and hands it to me.

"Does someone know you were in the hospital today?" Rory asks.

"Only Danil. I didn't want to tell my folks or brothers in case it wasn't good news," I say over to him.

"Look, there's an envelope sticky-taped to the corner. Let's get inside and see what it is. I bet that Danil organized something for you."

I'm not so sure that this is for me. My gut is telling me that this is another present for Danil, and not the other way around, and I really hope that my gut is wrong.

Once we're safely inside the apartment, Rory pushes me over to the couch and I consider sitting down, but once I have looked into this box, all I want to do is get into bed and sleep.

"Want me to help you on the couch?" Rory asks.

"No thanks. I think I want to look in this box and then get to bed."

Rory comes around me and sits on the couch, looking at the box with as much fascination as me. Carefully, I pull the ribbon off and open the box. There inside is about a dozen heart shaped sugar cookies. With Danil's name piped in the center of them.

Closing the lid, I rip off the envelope, not caring if I am damaging the box. I also know that I shouldn't be opening it. This present is clearly something for Danil. Someone who knows that sugar cookies are Danil's favorite type of cookie.

Turning the envelope around in my hand, its just like the one from the flowers. There are no distinguishing marks, no name on the front. Just completely plain. Pulling out the card from inside I read the note Danil, Thanks for today. Was great to see you. My love always X.

"Rory, can you see if the card is still on the flowers from yesterday?" I ask him. Danil doesn't own a vase, and so the flowers were just left on the side, but I don't remember seeing Danil throw it out, so I am hoping it is still there.

Rory goes over to the flowers, and I turn my chair around to watch him as he pulls out the card and brings it over to me. I look at the cards side by side, and there is no mistaking it, the writing is the same.

"The handwriting is the same," I mumble.

"What?" Rory states, and I hadn't realized I had said it so loud until Rory is next to me looking at the cards.

"The handwriting is the same." and I turn the cards to show him.

"Oh, Dom."

Rory doesn't need to say anything more, his reaction gives me all the information that I need. Danil has to have been lying to me. Probably this whole time, and I know that I cannot stay here any longer.