Chapter 1
Zerrick Collier pulled into the back parking lot of St. Anne's Hospital and saw the sign for the rehabilitation center. He parked as close to the entrance as possible, hoping to navigate the slick pavement with his crutches for the least amount of distance.
He had torn the anterior cruciate ligament and all the surrounding cartilage in his left knee playing basketball two months earlier. After extensive reconstructive surgery whereby the patellar tendon was taken from beneath his kneecap and used to replace his ligament, Zerrick was now ready to begin getting his knee back into shape.
A bitter February wind went right through him as he carefully made his way across the parking lot to the entrance of the rehab center. He now wished he had worn something warmer, but usually the cold didn't bother him. This day was different.
Shivering after entering the warm building, Zerrick crutched slowly to the reception desk. He was told to have a seat and someone would be with him in a few minutes. Through the glass, Zerrick looked into the rehab center. There didn't seem to be very many patients there that day, but they were scattered about doing various exercises and weight training. Some were working with trainers while others worked by themselves. There was a running track and Zerrick could see an entrance to a swimming pool in the far corner.
Fifteen minutes later, Zerrick was reading a magazine when he heard his named called. Looking up, he saw a small, slightly built female waiting patiently for him at the door. She looked to be five foot nothing and maybe ninety pounds soaking wet.
Slowly, he got up and walked with his crutches over to her where she held the door open for him. At five feet ten and around one hundred and seventy pounds, Zerrick felt like a giant when he went past her.
"I'm Theresa Stanton," she said in a pleasant voice. Theresa stuck out her hand and Zerrick took it. "I'm going to be your therapist while you're here." She glanced at her clipboard.
"I'm glad to meet you," Zerrick replied.
He looked at her more closely. She seemed even more petite than when he first saw her. Theresa appeared to have almost no bust under her loose fitting green polo shirt, but she did have very shapely legs coming out of her khaki shorts. Her wavy brown hair was shoulder length and matched her chocolate brown eyes. She looked to be about his age, no more than twenty five or so.
Theresa looked at his knee which she could see was encased in a bulky brace under his sweat pants. "How is it feeling today?" she asked.
"Not too bad," Zerrick answered. "I'm able to put a little bit of weight on it without too much trouble. Dr. Fitzsimmons wanted me to take it easy until I saw you guys."
Theresa nodded and jotted notes on her clipboard. "Well, today we're going to show you around and maybe put you on a stationary bike to start working on your flexibility."
"Great.".
He wanted to get started. Zerrick had been very antsy not being able to do anything since the surgery. He wanted to get his knee in shape so he could get back to work on a light duty basis. He was an insurance adjustor. His surgeon warned him that it could take between six and nine months for his knee to get back to one hundred percent.
Theresa walked with him slowly as she showed him the different stations of the rehab center. There were eight stationary bikes, four weight machines, two electronic stimuli machines, and other training apparatus. In the middle of the main area there were six sturdy padded tables where exercises and manipulations took place. She also showed him the swimming pool where most of his early rehab would take place. Theresa introduced him to the trainers in that area, too.
As they walked out of the swimming area, Theresa asked, "Did you wear shorts under your sweat pants today?"
"No," Zerrick replied.
"From now on," she instructed, "wear shorts. And bring along a swimming suit for your pool work. We have towels here so you don't have to worry about that. The locker rooms are through that door." She pointed to the left.
"Okay," he said.
They were near the middle of the room by then.
"Go ahead and take off your coat and we'll do a little bit of work," Theresa said.
Zerrick shrugged off his coat and handed it to Theresa, who put it on one of the tables. He then followed her to the stationary bikes.
"Hop up on the bike and we'll have you go about five minutes and see how it feels," she said.
Zerrick got on the bike with a little bit of difficulty while Theresa stood by with his crutches. When he got seated, his left knee was in the upward position and he was in quite a bit of discomfort. He tried to move the knee to start, but he found he didn't have the strength.
"What's the matter?" Theresa asked, although she already knew the answer.
"I can't get it started," he replied. "It's too stiff."
Smiling to herself, Theresa put the crutches aside and moved to the knee. With both hands surrounding the brace, she gently forced the leg down until his good leg was able to continue the cycle. Theresa kept her hands on the knee for a few more rotations until Zerrick got into an awkward rhythm.
The knee was very sore from his non-activity since the surgery and he grimaced each time he had to bend it. Theresa watched him as he continued his struggle. Sweat beads were starting to form above his eyebrows.
It was a nice change of pace for Theresa to get a patient who was around her age and a man, too. Most of her patents were of the geriatric variety and they almost always were female. Most of them had knee or hip replacements and she had to be extremely careful with their regimen. It was nice to have a young, strong individual whom she could work hard.
She liked the looks of Zerrick. He had black hair with eyes to match and below his high cheek bones was a sharp, angular jaw. As dark as his eyes were, they still had warmth about them.
Theresa could see he was fighting through the pain and discomfort and that pleased her. He had a pain tolerance with which she could work.
When the five minutes were up, Zerrick stopped pedaling and exhaled loudly. His knee was throbbing and tired.
"Okay," Theresa announced, "now we'll do it in reverse for five more minutes."
Zerrick looked at her in surprise. "You've got to be kidding," he exclaimed. "It's hurting enough as it is."
"It hurts because you've been too easy with it," Theresa countered. "This rehab of yours is going to hurt, so you might as well get used to it. I'm going to work you hard so that it gets better faster. That's what you want, isn't it?"
"Well, yeah..."
"Then quit your bitching and do what I ask."
Theresa looked at him to see if he was going to accept her challenge or quit. "Come on," she said a bit more nicely, "you'll get through it with no trouble."
She knelt down as before, wrapping her hands around the brace covered knee. She then started his knee in the opposite direction. This exercise was even more awkward for Zerrick, but he did the best he could. After about three minutes, though, he couldn't continue and stopped pedaling.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
