Michael ended up cheekily turning down Edwardo's proposal that day. Not completely, he just insisted on getting something a little more public and romantic.
The next few weeks went by in a flash. In the wake of the historical verdict, omegas all over the country were suing their workplaces for discrimination and harassment. Reporters were swarming for interviews now more than ever, going so far as to stakeout Ryan's physical therapy clinic, Scott's parent's bakery, and even Edwardo's home. Irritating was an understatement, and while the public's opinion was mixed most media was at least putting the events that happened in a positive light.
Michael, for his part, had completely devoted himself to the city's PR campaign after quitting Howard's bakery with an apology. With Edwardo's help he was finally able to start some psychotherapy, even if he wasn't sure it was helping yet. He and Edwardo had finally finished getting the rest of Michael's stuff moved over to Edwardo's place, and they were already talking with contractors on turning some unused bedrooms into a functional studio space.
They'd also finally had their interview, televised much to Michael's surprise, to confirm their relationship to the public. That's where Michael got the proposal he'd been waiting on. Edwardo had worked it out with the interview crew ahead of time, arranging spot lighting, a balloon drop, and everything. So, after half an hour of telling the city just how much Edwardo loved his boyfriend, he once again asked Michael that oh-so-important question. Michael said yes, of course. The stunt gained them even more media attention and gave both a boost to their social media following. Between the two of them, they now had a decent fan base to start promoting their new photography venture.
Ryan was taking things pretty well too. While he still wasn't up for an in-person, face to face interview, his therapist had suggested starting an anonymous blog to help him process his history, trauma, and physical recovery. Scott had even bought him a laptop for that exact purpose. He still wasn't brave enough to enable comments, but the increasing view counts were enough to keep him motivated.
Considering all the media attention for all involved, one thing everyone was secretly happy about was that there wasn't going to be another court case. Jack and his nephew had accepted a plea deal in exchange for a lighter sentence.
And in the light of all that, Ryan was ready for the next major part of his physical recovery. With the physical therapist on one side of him, Scott on the other, and a nurse recording with Scott's phone, Ryan stared down the set of parallel hand rails in front of him. He'd been doing well with the water treadmill, and could barely contain his enthusiasm when the therapist finally said he was strong enough to try walking on his own.
Scott patted Ryan's shoulder encouragingly. "Okay Hot Stuff, whenever you're ready. The therapist and I are right here, we won't let you fall."
Ryan nodded, then reached out and made sure his grip on the handrails were steady. Supportive hands held him under the arms and on his back, and with a decisive bracing of his muscles, he was able to stand upright in one smooth motion.
Ryan wasn't going to celebrate standing up. He'd been doing standing exercises for a few days now, and he knew the major hurdle was the next part. Both Scott and the therapist had very secure holds on him. He knew they weren't going to let him fall.
"Fantastic! Okay Ryan, one little step at a time," the physical therapist instructed. "Don't worry about making it to the end. We'll have your wheelchair behind you if you need to take a break."
Ryan nodded, staring determinedly ahead. He grit his teeth, sliding his right foot forward maybe an inch. This was harder than he thought it would be. He took a deep breath, and placing his absolute confidence in the people supporting him, shifted his weight and swung his leg forward. One step down. He scooted his hands up, then shifted and swung the other leg. Two steps down. Definitely harder than he thought it was going to be. He paused to catch his breath. One more step. Another short break. Another step. Another break.
"You're doing it!" Scott cheered. "You're walking!"
Ryan couldn't help but grin through gritted teeth. He was doing it! He stumbled a little, tripping over his toes, but Scott and the therapist kept him upright.
"You're doing great, Ryan" the therapist praised.
One more step. One more pause. One more step. Ryan quickly found himself out of breath, but the feeling of finally reaching the end of the hand rails made it all worth it. He knew they were going to make him sit down now, but he wasn't done yet! Surprising everyone and making them scramble to accommodate, he put both hands on one handrail, and with a little shuffle got his body rotated and turned back around. The nurse manning the wheelchair quickly backed out of the way and got repositioned. Ryan took another step forward.
At the end of it all, Ryan was absolutely exhausted, and sweating with exertion. He was more than thankful to be lowered down into the waiting wheelchair. He did it though! He did a full lap of the parallel handrails! It was a damned good feeling. He raised his fist in victory, letting out a weary cheer that was soon echoed by everyone else in the room. That's when Ryan heard a wet sniff, and looked up to see Scott barely holding it together.
"Oh no, Cuddlebug, why are you crying?" Ryan reached up to caress Scott's arm comfortingly.
"I'm so proud of you!" Scott wiped his eyes and grabbed Ryan's hand, leaning in to kiss Ryan's forehead. "You've worked so hard, I'm so unbelievably proud of you!"
"You've put in a lot of work indeed!" the physical therapist echoed. "Let's have you rest a few minutes, then see if you can do that again, hm?"
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Naturally, Ryan's chosen dinner spot as a reward for his breakthrough and hard work that day was his favorite restaurant in the whole city. He was still wheelchair bound, mostly because the physical therapist didn't want him pushing himself too hard, but in a day or two he was supposed to be getting a new and fancy wheelchair/walker combo. He couldn't wait!
"Someone is in a VERY good mood today!" Scott said good naturedly from the opposite side of the table.
Ryan beamed, grinning from ear to ear. "How could I not be? I WALKED today! I'm that much closer to independence!"
Scott smiled fondly at him. "Guess I won't get to carry you around for too much longer…" He sighed wistfully. "I'm going to miss that, you know."
"Well, I miss going where I want, when I want." Ryan sobered up a little. "I mean, I couldn't really before, since I was working all the time, but I also kinda can't now either with the curfew still in effect and all the reporters still trying to corner me for an interview."
Scott reached across the table to grab Ryan's hand, rubbing it soothingly. "You know, there's a very major holiday coming up."
Ryan grinned and decided to play dumb. "What holiday?"
"Oh, you know, just the one where the whole world celebrates a certain somebody's annual trip around the sun."
"Really? Who would that be?"
"You probably know him. He's a hard worker, determined, and unbelievably handsome. In fact, you might just call him the most wonderful man in the world."
Ryan blushed, trying to keep a straight face. "So, how does one celebrate this apparently important holiday?"
"We'll have dinner of course, but if I say too much more I'll ruin the surprise."
"Do I get a hint?"
"There will probably be flowers and chocolate involved, but that's all I'm saying."
Ryan tried to weasel more clues out of him to no avail until well after they were done with their meal and had gotten in the car to go home. He knew Scott had been talking about his birthday, which fell on Valentine's Day. He didn't expect Scott to go all out like he'd done with his own birthday, but curiosity was eating at him. Part of him was sick of surprises, but part of him was looking forward to what would hopefully be a fun one, too.
Then a realization hit that almost took the wind out of his sails. With his recovery going well, the day would come that Scott had to go back to work. This excess of time together, for all its hardships, was temporary.
"Are you okay?" Scott asked. "You got quiet all of a sudden."
"I was just thinking, I'm getting stronger and stronger every day. And soon enough I'll be able to do most things for myself and you'll have to go back to work."
"…Well yes, I'll have to go back to work at some point." Scott conceded.
"So, what am I going to do while you're at work all day?" There wasn't a hint of malice in Ryan's question at all, just some sadness and general concern. "The omega curfew is still in effect, so I can't go anywhere by myself, and the doctor at the therapy place said it's going to be a while before I'm strong enough to work any of the part time jobs an omega like me can get, if I even recover that much at all. Then there's the worry of who would even hire me. I mean, I sued one of my previous employers and won. That doesn't look good on a resume."
Scott listened to Ryan's concerns very seriously. He made some good points. "Well, is there anything you've ever wanted to do? Jobwise? Or education? I know options are limited, but there's a few certification programs open to omegas."
"Can I be honest that I haven't thought much about it?"
"Well, you have plenty of time to think about it. Though, if you wanted to get into medical billing, I remember the director at the fertility clinic where I work had mentioned before about wishing he could hire an omega for the front desk. Apparently he thinks it'll help put our omega patients more at ease. It's mostly sitting, so I don't think it'd be too strenuous."
"But, don't most companies frown on relationships between employees?"
"I don't think it'll be that big of an issue. Our head pharmacist is married to one of the nurses. This wouldn't be that different."
"Cuddlebug, do you think I'll ever go back to being normal?" Ryan asked. "I heard you and the therapist talking about getting a permanent disability tag for your car.
"I asked if he thought it was necessary. I'm getting a temporary plate for sure, but it's too soon to tell what the lasting effects could be. You'll probably have good days, then be sore when the weather changes, fine one day, might need a cane the next. Maybe some days it'll even get bad enough where you need to use a walker or wheelchair. It's all up in the air."
Ryan sighed. He figured as much, given how some days were already better than others. So much to think about. Maybe working with Scott at the fertility clinic wouldn't be so bad? Scott was right, it's not like he had to decide right now. For now, he walked today, he was supposed to go out with Michael tomorrow, and Scott was planning something for his birthday.
Life wasn't over because he got hurt.