chasing demons. ***completed***

#20 recovery

seering pain shot through her body. "Come on keep moving. you need to work through it." Emma glared at her physical therapist. it was like being tortured on a daily basis. working through the pain gritting her teeth as she tried moving her body towards her tormentor. when she woke up, she was told she would need to build her strength back up in her body. she didn't figure it would hurt this bad. she slowly moved one leg after the other as pain was the only feeling in her right now. the only thing she couldn't take away. "Emma, I need you to concentrate and make it to the end of the bars, ok? keep pushing. " Emma wanted to yell at the girl but kept it inside knowing that lashing out at her wouldn't change anything. she took another step. until she finally reached the end. sweat was pouring down her face as she slumped into the wheelchair.

"Finally." she said to no one in particular. Emma knew she had a long way to go. weeks of therapy and then counseling and helping her through the tragic incident. she was grateful the old man who helped her made it through. it was touch and go for a while, but his family had visited her and let her know he made it and would recover in time. "This is hard. why does it have to hurt so much?"

" The pain goes away with time. unfortunately, you have to go through it for now. did you see you were picking up your feet more this time?" she placed her hands on Emma's. "You are going faster than most in your position. you had a lot of spinal cord damage and I have no doubt you will end up walking like before. even running after your little one. he has a lot of energy. " Emma gave a weak smile. Kathy wasn't a bad person. always encouraging her to push harder. walking was the most painful. it sent pain up her back. she did have to admit that she was starting to be able to move her legs and lift her feet a little more. Rory was gone now. everyone told her what his parents tried to do. she couldn't even believe they had the nerve. they never wanted anything to do with Xavier before but as soon as they felt they could take him away they tried. it made her skin crawl. that alone made her endure everything. that alone gave her the drive she needed. they would never get her son. "Kathy this sucks but like hell are those monsters getting my son because I gave up."

Kathy smiled at Emma. she knew she had the drive to keep working at it. "well then Emma, how about we get you back to the other side before we call it a day. after lunch we can do water therapy. it will help build strength and endurance and it will be less painful in the water." Emma agreed lifting herself from the chair. she needed to be able to walk into court in a week. she needed to prove she was more than capable of caring for Xavier. they already created one monster and she was never going to allow them to make her son into one.

she pushed herself until she made it to the end of the bars and fell once again into the wheel chair. "yup I think the water sounds like a good idea later." Emma smiled through her pain.

Kathy helped wheel Emma back to her room." how is that gorgeous man of yours?"

"here every day. Xavier loves him to death."

"and you?"

"I love him. I'm in love with him. I just don't want him to have to take care of me like this. I feel guilty."

"no! that man loves you. don't push him away." Emma knew she had been pushing him away. keeping him at a distance because of her guilt. she didn't want him having to take care of her like this and she knew he was trying everything to do anything she needed. if she was honest she wanted him there. she wanted him there helping push her more but she didn't know how to let him in. she felt she was closing herself off from the world. maybe Kathy was right. she did need to let go of what happened and embrace his presence in her life. he did give her the biggest gift anyone ever could. he gave her life. Kathy stopped her chair in front of her hospital room door. "Emma you need to walk in there. someone special is in there and I think walking in is good for you." Emma watched as Kathy winked at her.

"you are a slave driver you know that? I just gave you at therapy." Emma grumbled as she stood up from her chair. she wasn't graceful yet. she knew the swelling on her spine would take time and she needed to rebuild her muscles but she would do the best she could and walk into her room.

Emma felt Kathy behind her as she opened the door and slowly walked into her room. her eyes went wide as she saw the room. it was beautiful. there were flameless candles in glass jars all over and the room smelled of vanilla and roses from the flowers that filled every space available. Emma's hands went to her mouth gasping as she stopped moving forward. in the middle of the room stood Xavier in a black suit. it looked like it had been made just for him and right next to him in a matching tailored suit was Dan. they both got down on one knee looking at her. she watched as Xavier pulled out a small little red box and opened it for her. she felt Kathy behind her urging her to move forward towards the two most important people in her life. she took a deep breath and closed the distance between them. she was exhausted in every way. her body still had bruises that would take time to heal. her hair was in a messy bun and she was in sweats and a t shirt. she looked like a mess but here they were not caring. she heard Dan clear his throat. "Emma the day I met you I knew right away there was something special about you. I think I never believed in love until you. now I don't think I could ever love anyone but you. you gave me something I never realized I was missing. you gave me a purpose a reason to breathe. you gave me a home. please do us the honor of marrying me and making me the happiest man ever." tears were coming out of her eyes pouring on to her cheeks. she slowly and painfully knelt down to them. she was speechless. she couldn't believe he was asking her to marry him. she realized they were both waiting on her to say something. She was under his spell unable to make a sound. This man loved her in spite of trying to push him away.

she came out of her daze and grabbed his hand. " yes," her answer came out as a whisper barely able to be heard. "yes, I will marry you!" she watched as Xavier pulled the ring out of the box.

"put it on your mom's finger little man. she said yes!" she held her hand out as he slipped it on. she gave Xavier a kiss as she fell into Dan's arms from pure exhaustion. "I got you." he whispered into her ear as he picked her up from the floor and placed her on the bed. she knew that he always would. he had become more to her than she ever thought possible. she loved him but it was more than that. in the small amount of time they had been together he had become her family and her home. he had become the light she needed when darkness had been cast on her. he didn't care about anything but her love for him. he looked past everything and he still loved her. he gave her strength when she wanted to give up. she knew he would always be there by her side fighting for her. fighting with her.

"I love you captain." he smiled as she pulled him closer to her. "thank you for not giving up on me. I know I've been difficult lately. "

"I will never give up on you. I will carry you when you feel weak. you give me strength. I love you Emma." and she felt it. deep inside her, every word he spoke. she felt it in her heart. he would always fight for her even when she didn't have any fight left. he always would. she kissed him softly on the lips. home.

******the end******

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