Housing A Dragon

Keri checked on him from time to time, debating upon waking him for lunch, but she let him be and decided to fix him something when he woke. He slept through lunch and didn't wake until almost five o'clock that afternoon. She heated up an early supper and Zeke enjoyed it very much. Even though the hospital food wasn't all that bad, he tired of it quickly and looked forward to a real home cooked meal.

He wasn't able to help her with dishes and she wasn't going to let him anyway, so she shooed him out of her kitchen and ordered him to sit down and watch TV. He flipped through the channels, but really found nothing to his liking. The baseball games wouldn't start for another hour or so and none of the teams scheduled to play interested him. He watched ESPN for an hour and Keri joined him on the sofa and settled against his good shoulder.

"It's so good to have you home," she remarked.

"It's good to be here." Zeke was fidgeting a bit and was restless. "Do you want to take a short walk?" he asked.

"Sure," she replied, "if you're up to it."

After they walked for about ten minutes, Zeke tired and they headed back. They didn't talk much, but held hands and enjoyed each others company and that was all they could ask for. They spent the rest of the evening watching TV, snuggled against each other and thankful the other was there. When it got to be around nine o'clock, Zeke was tired enough to go to bed. Keri helped him get his tee shirt off, but he needed no other help. Keri couldn't help but notice the bruising about his ribs and back. It was the first time she had seen it and she wondered how it must have looked in the first days after the accident.

Keri went to the bathroom to use the toilet and brush her teeth. While seated, she touched herself and felt a little tremor go through her. She brought her fingers to her nose and sniffed them, hoping she smelled good for him. She smelled clean and natural with just a hint of sexual muskiness. After she wiped herself dry, she brushed her teeth and went back to her bedroom.

Keri laughed to herself when she returned and her heart melted just the same. Zeke was sound asleep on the bed, not even having the strength to take off his pants. "Well, maybe in the morning," she giggled. She undressed quickly, turned out the lights, and pulled the covers over her love as she snuggled against his shoulder. It was good to have him home.

* * * * *

The next few weeks of his recovery went well as he gained strength each and every day. By the time he was home two weeks, he estimated he was about seventy-five percent of his former self. True to her desires, Keri didn't leave him alone and it was a rare day when they weren't pleasuring the other in some way. She didn't know who enjoyed their sexual activity more, Zeke or her. His hand and mouth were all over her breasts as she rode him until she exploded. Sometimes, she would simply straddle his face and let his mouth and tongue work their magic. He never tired of tasting her and exploring her nether regions and would let his tongue separate her soft folds until he found her sweet center. With flicks of his tongue, he never failed to bring her to climax, whether it be earth moving or having soft, sensual waves flow through her. Keri never felt more content or loved and she never failed to go to work with a smile on her face.

After his cast was removed, the real part of his rehabilitation began. Regaining his strength and range of motion would be the key as to whether or not he would be able to pitch professionally again. Each day, he would drive to the Sports Medicine Facility at St. Elizabeth's Hospital for treatment, weight training and exercises. His shoulder and arm was noticeably smaller and he looked slightly deformed.

As fall went into winter, Zeke became less and less encouraged by his progress. Although his arm and shoulder had gained some strength, it was not enough to bolster his hopes. They ached most of the time and his left shoulder was still smaller than his right no matter how hard he worked it. There were times where his hand would feel strange and go numb and it wouldn't feel normal for a few minutes or an hour. When he told the team doctor about it, he was put through a battery of tests to determine the cause.

Keri tried to be as supportive as possible, but she could see the frustration growing each day when she came home from work. One evening, a few days after the testing, Zeke was even more down than usual.

"What's wrong, Zeke," she asked.

"I think I'm just kidding myself," he began.

"Kidding yourself about what?"

"I just don't think my arm's ever going to come around." He was sitting in the couch with his elbows on his knees. "It's just not getting any stronger and I think it's useless for me to keep trying."

Keri sat down next to him and put her arm around him. She had been thinking the same thing for weeks now and had discussed it with Cathy several times. "What makes you say that?" she asked.

"It's the same thing as always. It's all pain and not enough strength. I don't think a year of rehab would help. I know my body and it's just not responding like it should."

"It's only been four months. It was a pretty serious injury, Zeke. Maybe it only needs a bit more time before you'll see real progress."

"You don't understand," he said hotly, his voice raised. "It's a feeling in my gut. No doctor has to tell me. No therapist can tell me what I already know. Keri, they tested my hand strength today and it wasn't even fifty percent of my right hand. That's the truth of it. It should have been a lot stronger than that. I know it. The doctors know it. And I think you know it, too." There was silence on both ends as Zeke tried to calm down. His injury and rehab was starting to put a strain on their relationship. He had bit her head off several times in the past week and he hated himself for it. Maybe it was time to quit and accept the inevitable. He didn't want to take out his frustrations on her any longer.

"So, what do you want to do?" she asked quietly.

"I don't know," he said truthfully. "Part of me wants to keep trying, but most of me wants to settle down with you, get a real job, and get on with my life. I'm just tired of the whole thing, I guess."

"I know you are." So am I, she thought to herself. So am I.

* * * * *

"I know you're anxious to hear what we've found out, Zeke, so I won't beat around the bush." Zeke was sitting in the office of the Reds' medical director, Dr. Miles Rawlings. He expected bad news and had steeled himself for it.

"Okay," Zeke replied.

"We've found extensive nerve damage in your shoulder and near your wrist where the one break was. Now, we can try to repair the damage, but it's been my experience that you probably will never get more that seventy-five or eighty percent of your strength back."

"I see." Zeke didn't bat an eye as he knew his career was finished. At seventy-five or eighty percent, he was done, finished as a ballplayer.

"I think you should go ahead with the surgery anyway," Dr. Rawlings said, "so we can help alleviate the tremors and the numbness. Of course, you can continue your rehabilitation, but I would recommend that you retire from baseball. I'm sorry, Zeke."

"Thanks," Zeke said, almost relieved at the news. Now, he knew he didn't have to keep beating his head against the wall thinking his arm would get better. There was a reason for his problems and he would go through with the surgery, if only to be able to hold a pen normally again or to be able to do computer work without pain.

He was sad that his career was over, but he had already resigned himself to that fact and the news wasn't as bad of a shock that it could have been. His thoughts turned to his family and Keri. He knew they'd be disappointed for him, especially his parents. They had always been so supportive of his career. As close as he and Cathy were, she was probably the least supportive of his baseball career. She always thought he was wasting his time and should have been using his finance degree instead. But, she knew how much he loved to play, so the subject didn't come up too much.

He had a standing offer from a business associate of his father's to join his company in their accounting department, but he had no idea what he should do about it. Even though it would be good money to start, there was no way he was going to leave Keri behind. He didn't think it was fair of him to ask her to pull up stakes and move to Hot Springs when she had lived her entire life in Dayton and was established with a pretty reputable law firm for the past four years.

Keri wanted him to call her at work when he got home, but he decided to wait and talk to her when she got home. He called Cathy instead and he could feel the relief in her voice when he told her.

"I really am sorry to hear that," she said sincerely, trying to tone her thoughts. "What did Keri say?"

"I haven't told her."

"Oh?"

"I'll tell her when she gets home."

"What are you going to do, you know, job-wise?"

"Well, Mr. Jankowski has always told me I had a job at Lexing Corp. whenever I wanted it, so maybe I'll look into that."

"You mean you'll move back permanently?"

"I don't know, Cathy. It's an option, I guess. I have no idea what I want to do right now. I have to think about Keri, too."

"Of course you do," she replied.

"Either we move back to Arkansas together, or I stay in Dayton with her."

"Are you going to marry her?"

"If she'll have me."

"She'd be crazy not to," Cathy said.

"Thanks."

"Or just as crazy to be with you," Cathy continued, laughing.

"You're all heart, sis," he said, managing to smile for the first time in the last few hours.

"That's why you love me."

Keri called him when she finished her work for the day, irritated with him for not calling her. "So, how did it go with Dr. Rawlings?" she asked when he answered.

"Not good."

"How so?"

"Well, you won't have to worry about road trips anymore."

"Oh, Zeke," she sighed. "I'm so sorry."

"I know," he replied. "Why don't you come home and we'll talk about it."

"Okay, I'll be there in a few minutes. I love you, Zeke."

"I love you, too, babe."

Zeke alternated between sitting and pacing as he waited. For the first time in a long while, he knew exactly what he wanted to do with his life and with whom he wanted to share it. From the moment he heard her voice from her office, he knew he had to have her in his life forever. He just didn't know where they would live. He would be perfectly happy anywhere they lived, but he would be happiest in Arkansas near his family. Zeke didn't know if Keri could say the same thing about her family. She didn't discuss them much, although they weren't on bad terms. In fact, she talked to them almost every week, but Zeke felt they weren't particularly close. The only disagreement he knew of between them was the about he and Keri living together. They were totally against it, as they had been with Michael, and it was a sore subject between them.

Keri gathered him in her arms as soon as she entered the apartment, her anger having already melted from within when she talked to him on the phone. "I'm so, so sorry, Zeke," she said. "Tell me what he said."

They sat down and he told her everything that happened without getting angry or upset about it. He explained it matter-of-fact-like and held his emotions in check.

"So, you're going through with the surgery?"

Zeke shrugged. "I don't know. I need to get a job first, then I'll worry about the surgery. I need to help you more with the bills either here or in Arkansas."

"Arkansas?" she asked.

"Plus, I need to get an engagement ring for you...."

"Engagement ring? Whoa, back up the horse, here. Zeke, what are you talking about?"

Zeke smiled. "I have an offer to join a business in their accounting department back in Hot Springs. Either I go there with you, or I stay here and find a job. Either way, a guy has to support his wife."

Keri gulped and stared at Zeke.. "Are you proposing to me?" Keri asked softly, her eyes shining.

"Yes," he replied. Zeke looked down for a second before meeting her eyes again. "I've never been real good with words when I really need to be. I think I started loving you from the moment we had that talk that one morning. I just want to be with you forever. Even if I could pitch again, it would mean nothing if you weren't there to share it with me." He looked away again. "I don't have a ring for you, but I'll get one as soon as I can..."

"I don't care about a ring," she cried as she threw her arms around him, pushing him into the cushions and hugging him. "I just want you. I don't care where we live. I can find a job in Arkansas if I have to. I don't care as long as I'm with you."

Zeke hugged her to him and felt at peace with himself. Joy radiated through his body and he knew he would be okay without baseball. Would he miss it? Yes. Could he live without it? Only if the woman in his arms was in his life forever. Keri was all he wanted and needed now.

Zeke kissed her forehead and moved some strands of hair away from her face. "I know you'll like Arkansas," he whispered in her ear before kissing her again.