Coming Home

“Will he be able to walk again?”

“He needs a lot of physiotherapy, and it will hurt and it will take time.”

“So… yes?”

In the clutter of voices around him, Derrick heard her voice like a chime. He knew he was alive, and it didn’t matter if he could walk or not, all it mattered was that he was alive. She sounded so stubborn, and Derrick could almost imagine her biting her lip.

“How long more will he be unconscious?”

It was Sampson, and his father’s presence rang coolly against his mind. He felt numb, unaffected by the man who was supposed to be his mentor and guider.

“He needs time to heal-“

“I need to be back at the polling stations, figure out what to do with this-“

“Then go.”

It was Cassadee’s voice again, cruel and cold. He wondered if she knew he could hear her. If he was capable of bodily functions, Derrick would have kissed her on the cheek.

“Cassa-“

“Sampson, we are not having this conversation now. Go do what you think is important.”

It was his mother. For a moment there was no noise, and Derrick thought his brain had shut off again.

“Jenny-“

He had never heard Sampson call his mother by her pet-name before. And hearing it now made it sound like his father, the almighty leader of the NDP- was pleading. He sounded small, and Derrick finally knew who made the decisions in their family.

He felt a hand lace itself around his fingers, he felt the warmth permeate through his body. He tried to squeeze back, but he couldn’t. He felt the hand squeeze his own, sending a silent rush of love into his own. He would have to apologise to her for making her worry, and probably making her cry again. She had felt worse the previous time, and the fact that she was here, right by his side made Derrick eager to face the day again.

Then a flutter of her lips on his cheek, and the next thing he knew- Derrick was plunged into darkness again.

~

“I quit.”

That was the first thing Derrick said when he saw her. Cassadee barely had time to let his words sink before she latched herself onto his broken body, feeling his skin and blood thrum under her skin. The doctors had inserted a metal joint to replace his shattered knee, and he wouldn’t be able to be fully functioning in a long time, but it didn’t matter to her.

He had a thick scar running down his neck, and a couple of stitches on his face. He didn’t look good, but the fact that he was alive, blood pumping through his body- made Cassadee brave again. For once she didn’t cry at the sight of his injuries, but when he managed to lace his own hands around her and squeezed her towards him, she almost did.

He used to be able to do much more than a gentle squeeze, but Cassadee didn’t allow that to bother her. She didn’t even care if she had to travel to and fro from work to the hospital just to see him. She knew that recovery was waiting for them- that his pale and unhealthy skin would fade back to normalcy and that the pain that engulfed him in waves would eventually fade.

When it was announced that the NDP had won by a clear landslide, no one even cared. Sampson had made his appearances in the hospital scarce, and it made Cassadee sad thinking that Derrick’s father had to resort to hiding from everyone to escape from the hate and shame. She decided that she would forgive him in due time, just not now. Both Cassadee and Derrick never got the justice that they wanted, with Derrick being out of politics for good- Vincent’s atrocities lay buried with his death. It was a bitter part of her that would never fade away, and a curdling of relationships between both of them and Sampson that would not go away for a long time.

Tobias had almost collapsed in relief when Derrick told him about resigning and leaving politics for good. Caleb and Angela arrived home 3 days after the accident, with Angela sporting a small baby bump and no ring on her finger yet. They had cried- and Cassadee didn’t know whether in happiness or sadness. But they were all back together, and it was okay.

At times when everything seemed sorely bleak, with Cassadee being buried under her work and Derrick’s healing process- Crystal was the one who took Cassadee out for ice cream and coffee breaks. Her house was now partly Crystal’s as well, thanks to the numerous sleepovers and girly pampering nights. 4 years of institutionalization and Crystal had finally graduated from what she called ‘college for the insane’ and was now pursuing her long-awaited studies at a local university.

Cassadee found herself wondering, in the days that had passed- if this was what it meant to be truly happy. In all the hurt that had happened, this was their silver lining.

So it really wasn’t much of a surprise when a year after everything that had happened, Derrick proposed to Cassadee.

Of course she said yes.