Charolette's POV...

It's been 9 days since our first ultrasound. Nine days of injecting myself with progesterone and my levels are very slowly inching their way to normal. I have an appointment this afternoon for bloodwork again. I'm beginning to feel like a pin cushion, although this is a walk in the park compared to my radiation treatments.

"Hey Love...I think I can make it to the door this time," Levi chuckles from the bedroom. When I look over to him, I see him standing in the door way with both hands on the door frame. He's been practicing this all week and the best part, is his humor about it, which I adore.

He has a good twenty-five steps before he reaches our front door. Usually he grabs onto a stool, or the counter or couch along the way when his knee decides to buckle under him. This time, he's going all the way. Hopefully.

I'm so impressed with how well he's been handling everything, he's even been standing close by, rubbing my back while I inject myself with needles every evening. I know he doesn't like me having to do it to myself every night, but he wants to be right here with me, supporting me.

I move to stand in his path, half way between our bedroom and the front door, waiting to kiss that handsome face of his when he passes by. Slowly, he begins his stride, concentrating on each step and trying very hard not to reach for any support.

The smile on my face is inevitable, watching him conquer his next step causes my heart to beat like the trombone in a marching band.

"Stay right there so I can kiss you and hug you on my way out," he gives me a wink. I'd like to do way more than just hug and kiss this gorgeous man if he makes it all the way to me.

He approaches me without a hitch and engulfs me into a hug. His plump lips connect with mine. I could kiss him all day. My insides are twisting with pride and I do everything in my power to hold back from ripping his shirt off and pushing him onto the couch beside us. His focus is on making it to the door Charlotte... get a grip.

"I'll see you in a few hours. You're going to crush those test results today," he cups my face and gives me a hopeful look.

"I'm almost to the door," he winks at me again.

"I know! Now keep going," I give him a light tap on his sexy ass.

Awestruck is what I am, watching him succeed, with one step left before he completes his mission.

"Ah!" He stiffens up and grips his lower back with one hand. Refusing to give up, he pushes his leg forward until his other hand lands on the door for support.

"I did it!" He grunts through the muscle spasm and smiles at the same time.

I can hardly contain my excitement and concern for him, so I rush over to congratulate him. Obviously,  I make sure he is okay too.

"Yes, you did it Babe! And I'm so happy for you," I tell him while rubbing his lower back with my fingers. "You okay?"

"I'm good yeah, just a mild one. Caught me off guard right at the end there," he smirks.

"That was amazing!" I lean in and tease his neck with my lips before planting a light peck at the crease directly above his collar bone; his whole body shivers.

"What are you doing to me woman?" He grabs my waist and pulls me into his chest. His hand reaches behind my neck, fingers gliding up the back of my head while he gives my hair a gentle tug. I feel his warm breath by my ear and the butterflies fluttering below my navel region threaten my body to implode. He can feel my body's reaction to his and he moans in my ear before I feel his teeth nibble my earlobe. "Two can play this game," he says. Clearly trying to leave me a hot mess.

Levi turns, grabs his crutches that he leaves by the door and slides his forearms into them. He uses them during his two block walk to therapy, and I give him credit for acknowledging how far he's able to push himself each day. He is slowly accepting some of his limitations, and that is huge for him.

Twenty-five steps seems like a short distance, but for someone who's nerves and muscles function differently, it's an exhausting distance. I worry about him after he leaves here.

"Hey...I'm fine Love," he says when I can't hide the fearful expression on my face. "And you can do all the stretches to me you'd like before we pick up Mark and Landon at the airport."

"Oh my God! I've been so worried about my appointment, I forgot they were coming today," I palm my forehead.

"No worries Beautiful." His accent is so alluring.

"Please relax this morning and don't worry about me, I promise I'll take it easy... Now kiss me again so I can leave." I lean in close and do as he says.

My morning off is spent catching up on laundry and cleaning. It's not relaxing, but it needs to be done and distracts my mind from worrying about Levi or my appointment later.

A few hours pass before I walk into the rehab center. "Hey Derek, how was he this morning?" I ask Levi's therapist before heading to my office.

"Tight...He's over compensating with his right side. He forgets his right side has limitations too and I'm afraid he's going to realize that the hard way one of these days." Derek is a straight to the point kind of guy. Perfect for Levi's physical therapist.

"I know, I'm sorry Derek, my fault I didn't get to his stretches before he left this morning. Where is he now?"

"In the hot tub."

"Is he having a lot of pain?" I ask.

"He says he's not, but I know when he's hiding it and he seemed to tolerate most of the exercises until I sent him to the tub."

"Thanks Derek!"

I quickly drop off some paperwork onto my office desk before jetting to the women's locker room. I peek into the pool area on my way by and see Levi in the hot tub, his head leaning back against the side, his eyes closed. He looks relaxed.

I almost think he's fallen asleep when I enter the tub and he still has his eyes closed. "Hey Love," he surprisingly says, eyelids pealing apart to look at me.

There's a calmness to his demeanor, unlike when he really is in pain. Maybe, I shouldn't be as worried as Derek makes me think I should be. Or maybe this is the calm before the storm. God, I hope not!

"Hey handsome, how was therapy?"

"It was good. Derek is all over my case about using the right side of my body too much. I mean it works for the most part, I don't need a brace on my right leg and my arm can handle my weight fine," he shrugs.

I move my body towards his back. "Scoot up a little so I can sit behind you," I tap his shoulder and he leans forward slightly.

I begin massaging his neck and shoulder blades as I speak. "Yes Babe, your right side is strong enough to hold your weight so you can stand and walk..." I pause momentarily, thinking of the exact words. I never want to say the word, "can't" out loud, but there are things he can't quite do yet with his right side. His muscles are stronger on that side but the way they connect with his nerves hold his range of motion and his pace at a slow-normal stride. He has yet to be able to move his right side quick enough to jog, stairs give him a problem, and jumping is out of the question for now. There's a chance he might never be able to do those things, but there is also a chance that he will some day. I don't want to discourage him in any way. There's no easy way of talking about it when he experiences the obstacles every day.

My fingers move over all the knots I feel along his spine and around his right pelvis area. He should be in some significant pain from what I can feel going on in his back, yet he doesn't squirm when I press harder. I haven't even moved to his legs yet. Derek is right. The storm is coming.

"It's been nearly over a year and a half since your injury and you've made significant gains since that day, but Derek is right about being careful with your stronger side," I tip toe around my real thoughts.

No response, so I finish massaging his back and then move to sit near his right leg. He leans back, closing his eyes again, his features relaxed. This is a good sign, I hope.

I rest his right leg on my thigh and massage his strained hamstring and quad. He doesn't wince until I bend his knee and push his thigh outward to stretch his groin and hip. His eyes immediately fling open, his torso rigid while his hand reaches for his leg. "Ah! Fuck!...Okay, Okay, I get it." He squeezes his hip with his hand and sucks in a painful breath.

"I'm not trying to prove a point or hurt you, Babe! It's just a stretch," I tell him.

"I know.. but fuck! That hurts!"

I ease up on the stretch and massage the area again. That was obviously painful and I want to make sure he can still use this leg after.

After moving his leg around a few more times to make sure he's okay, I help him out of the hot tub so he can sit on a chair and dry off.

Taking a seat beside him and handing him his brace, I watch him fasten it to his leg. "I'll try to do better," his head is down, avoiding eye contact when he speaks.

My arm slings around him and I kiss his cheek. "You're already doing great, you don't need to hurry everything along, it will come."

"We're having a baby and she will turn into a running toddler. If I can't keep up with her, how am I supposed to keep her safe?" He looks at me with his huge blue eyes, searching mine for all the answers.

My hands find his and I look at him. The ocean is stirring around in those orbs. I can see everything he's feeling.

"You're going to be an amazing father and even if you're unable to run, I have no doubt that you'll be able to protect our child."

His lips part slightly, giving me permission to lean in and show him how confident I am in him.

"Now let's go crush that bloodwork," I smile, handing him his crutches that I know he relies on during these appointments.