By Suzy
Copyright 1999
Buck gestured for Doc Barnes to leave them alone for a few minutes and walked over to Kid's side.
'For God's sake Kid, can't you do this for yourself. You are the only one who can try to make your legs work again. If I could do it for you, I would but I can't. This is the only thing that is completely up to you.' Buck pleaded with him his voice angry
'What if I can't Buck, I won't let myself hope if it's all for nothing. I can't take that disappointment too' he turned back to Buck, Buck saw the devestation in his eyes but refused to let him sink in self pity.
'You have so much to hope for, you can't just give up.' he tried to convince him
'I meant what I said, I won't ask Lou to come back here if I can't walk to her' he stated
'So what if you can't walk, she loves you, she just wants to be with you. So what if you need a cane or braces on your legs or even a chair. That doesn't make you any less of a man.You don't need legs to love her or your baby, and all your baby needs is your arms to hold it and your lips to kiss it' Buck tried to explain to him
'She's had to work so hard all her life. I just want her to be able to enjoy life more.
'She can't do that if she is looking after me' Kid spoke completely ignoring the pain that words of his child invoked. Unable to even talk about being a good father to his baby.
'Well dammit Kid help us to help you, work with us not against us. You know that I'll help anyway that I can.' He clasped the hand of the man who had become his closest friend trying to get through to this proud stubborn man.
Kid nodded his love of his wife outweighing his fear of permanent disability prompting him to at least try to help himself.
'I'll get Doc Barnes' Buck spoke softly as he walked to the door and admitted the waiting doctor.
He walked to Kid's side and lifted the braces again.
'Kid there is no guarantee that these will work but anything is worth a shot.' Doc Barnes smiled hopefully. Kid nodded and pushed himself up to a sitting position.
'I didn't want to say anything but there's something wrong with my legs' he started, watching the astonished faces of Buck and the doctor, fly to his face to search his eyes for some sort of meaning.
'I've been getting a tingling feeling in my feet and very mild cramping pains in my thighs, so mild that I hardly even feel it' he spoke
'That's the only feeling you have.' Doc Barnes asked frowning.
'Yes, and only for the last day or two.' Kid answered eager to find if this was good news or not.
'Kid I don't want to lie to you, but I have no experience with this sort of thing. I have no idea if that is good news or bad, but I should think that it is good' he spoke
'Feeling anything should be good news shouldn't it' Buck didn't quite understand how it could be anything other than good news.
'I don't know Buck, but if he is regaining feeling then maybe he will regain full use of his legs. Nobody has ever documented anything like this, at least that I have read, so I just don't know.' Doc Barnes apologised to his young friends. 'I wish there was more I could do for you.'
Kid lay passively while the braces were fitted to his legs, they fitted him quite firmly over his clothing to mid thigh with a large cumbersome hinged contraption on either side of his knees. They kept his legs quite straight and short of toppling over, his legs would hold his weight. When they were fitted Buck lifted him from the bed and held him tightly as his head spun, it had been almost four weeks since he had been upright and the sensation of standing again flooded his head with dizziness.
Buck waited until Kid opened his eyes again and handed him the crutches that had been leaning against the bed. Kid swallowed and placed one under each arm, gripping the wooden handpeices so tightly his knuckles turned white. Walking the crutches valiantly , he tried to drag his legs behind him, in some semblance of walking, but if Buck had not been there to catch him he would have fallen on his face on the floor. Buck placed him back on the bed and stood back frowning.
'It's useless.' Kid spat, 'I knew it would be.'
'It's the first time you have been on your feet in almost a month. Give it some time.' Buck spoke.
'Your legs will be weak, it will take some time to make them work at all. You could try getting Rachel to massage them, make the blood circulate a little quicker, see if that helps at all. Apart from that I can't offer you much, the wound on your back has healed quite nicely so now it all depends on your legs.' he stated and watched carefully.
'Do you think I will walk?' he looked pointedly into the doctor's eyes.
'I think that if you beleive that you will walk you will. I have seen your determination before. When you really want to do something nothing stops you.' he answered 'I'll let you two adjust for a moment, when you're ready to go back to the station, call me if you need help.' he turned and walked from the office
Buck waited for the doctor to leave the office and resumed his post at Kid's side.
'Well,' he spoke.
'Well what?' Kid looked at him the emotional upheaval of the last hour enough to make Kid weary.
'Well it appears to me that you are the only one who doubts that you will walk again.'
On to Chapter Twelve
