Jennie had never been so relieved in all her life. She could feel her toes!
Lisa rushed to the hospital as soon as Rosé called her, telling Jess to cancel the rest of her appointments for the day as she hurried out. Practically running up to the front desk, Lisa got directions to Jennie off the man behind the counter and set off searching for her.
As she walked into the ward, she saw Jennie sat on the edge of a hospital bed, her legs dangling over the edge as Rosé sat in one of the chairs, talking to her. Jennie looked up, almost as if she could sense Lisa's presence. Her face split into a smile, and Lisa's mirrored her expression as she rushed over to the bed.
Lisa sobbed as she pulled Jennie into a tight hug, kissing her on top of her head. She drew back, cupping Jennie's face as she smiled through her tears.
"I can feel my toes," Jennie smiled widely, her eyes filled with tears.
"You can feel your toes," Lisa replied, laughing in disbelief.
-----
It turned out the severe bruising and compressed spine that Jennie had sustained to her lower back during the accident had caused temporarily paralysis as it struggled to repair itself. There was a very high chance that she would have never regained sensation below the waist, but by some miracle, she was one of the lucky few.
It was like a huge weight had been lifted off their shoulders. This was everything Jennie had wished for since the accident. Her optimism came back full force as she vowed that she would walk again, no matter how long it took.
They upped Jennie's physical therapy sessions to three days a week, making real progress with Jennie's muscle strength and the sensation in her legs. Every morning Lisa took her to the pool, easing the pressure on Jennie's joints as Lisa held her afloat.
It was another month before Jennie wiggled her toes for the first time.
It was early on a Sunday morning, and Lisa was helping her get dressed. As she grabbed Jennie's foot to put her sock on for her, her finger touched the bottom of Jennie's big toe. It just so happened that Jennie was ticklish, and her big toe twitched in response to Lisa's touch.
"Oh my God!" Lisa gasped, smiling up at Jennie from where she was crouched in front of her, "you just moved your toe!"
"What?! No way!" Jennie exclaimed, pushing herself up onto her elbows from where she lay on the bed. She could make out her feet in Lisa's lap, one hand gripping her heel as the other held the forgotten sock.
"Can you do it again?" Lisa asked, staring at Jennie's feet in amazement.
Frowning in concentration, Jennie willed her toes to move. Ever so slightly, she managed to wiggle two of them on her right foot.
"You did it!" Lisa clapped in excitement, rising from her crouch to lean forward and give Jennie a kiss.
"You'll have to show everyone tonight!" Lisa smiled, her face filled with joy. She was so happy she felt like she could burst, Jennie was really getting better.
-----
They were at Jackson's favourite pizza place that night, crowded around a table as they devoured three giant pizzas between the five of them.
"Hey, do you guys want to see something cool?" Jennie asked, buzzing with excitement as she looked around at their faces. Lisa gave her a knowing smile, filled with her own happiness.
"What is it?" Jisoo asked, taking a bite out of her slice of pizza.
"Can you help me a second?" Jennie asked Lisa, gesturing at her feet.
Lisa gently unlaced Jennie's shoe and took her sock off.
"Hey we don't need to smell your feet at the table," Rosé complained, wrinkling her nose as Lisa straightened Jennie's leg out, holding her foot in her lap.
"Just watch," Jennie commanded, smiling as she scrunched her face up in concentration.
Everyone stared in puzzlement, and Rosé took a sip of her drink as she waited for Jennie to say or do something.
"What are we- OH MY GOD!" Jackson yelled, drawing the attention of everyone in the restaurant as he pointed at Jennie's foot. Rosé choked on her drink, shooting out of her seat to give Jennie a big hug.
"This is fantastic!" Rosé laughed, kissing Jennie on the cheek, "you have to tell mom!"
"Way to go little Kim," Jisoo congratulated her, raising her glass to her as she flashed her dimples.
-----
By the end of the next month, the leaves had started to fall, painting the city a thousand shades of orange and red as leaves blew down the street and collected in puddles in the road.
Jennie could stand.
Not without support, but it was standing all the same. They were at her physical therapy session and Jennie was grasping the bars of the railing either side of her as she used her upper body strength to keep herself from crumpling to the floor. Lisa stood in front of her, her arms outstretched, ready to help Jennie back into her wheelchair when she got tired.
She had made a lot of progress over the past seven weeks. It was like her paralysis had been slowly creeping away without her realising, and bolted at the last minute. All of a sudden Jennie could feel everything. She couldn't walk yet, her body still orienting itself around its newfound ability to move again.
"You're doing great," Lisa murmured in support, watching as Jennie let her legs take some more of her body weight. They shook slightly under the pressure, and Jennie grimaced as she strained herself.
"Okay, that's good," Lisa said, helping Jennie back into her wheelchair, "don't push yourself too hard though."
Jennie sighed, "I know, I'm just getting impatient, it's been so long."
Lisa bent down, giving her a quick kiss, "and you're doing amazing, I'm so proud of you."
Jennie smiled up at her, basking in her praise. Lisa's words were true though. Jennie had been working hard to get back up on her own two feet, she'd made great progress, and she was glad she had Lisa to remind her not to push herself too far.
"How go to that new Thai restaurant you've been wanting to go to as a reward for all your hard work," Lisa said, raising her eyebrows suggestively.
"Sounds perfect," Jennie smiled, taking one of Lisa's hands and pressing a kiss to the back of it.
-----
It was Lisa's birthday again. This time it wasn't a secret, Jennie had told Lisa she was planning a surprise for her, and she had to play along. Lisa agreed, somewhat reluctantly, but trusting Jennie not to do something that Lisa wouldn't like.
The morning of her birthday, Jennie woke her up with breakfast in bed. She'd snuck out of bed as quietly as she could, making sure not to make too much noise as she dragged herself into the wheelchair. Making breakfast had been difficult, but she'd managed it and wheeled herself into their bedroom with a proud look on her face. She'd tied a huge bunch of balloons to the handle of her chair, and carried a giant bouquet of plumerias in with the food.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Jennie yelled as loud as she could, startling Lisa from her sleep. She looked shocked, a hand pressed to her heart.
"Jesus Christ Jennie, you scared the shit out of me," Lisa laughed, brushing her hair out of her face. Her shoulders dropped and her face softened as she looked at the tray Jennie was holding. She thanked Jennie as she accepted the flowers, pressing her nose into them as she smiled.
"How did- never mind," Lisa laughed, taking the tray off her and setting it on her lap.
"It looks great, thank you," Lisa smiled, as Jennie wheeled herself around to the other side of the bed and pushed herself forward, flopping onto the bed and wriggling until she rearranged herself.
"And now, I believe this is the part where I feed your breakfast to you whilst naked," Jennie said, wiggling her eyebrows at Lisa, who laughed as Jennie speared a strawberry and offered it to Lisa. She chewed it quickly, smiling as she leant forward to kiss Jennie.
"Oh, right, gift time!" Jennie beamed, rolling herself to the edge of the bed and awkwardly sitting herself in her wheelchair. She was only gone for a moment, before she returned with a large wrapped box balanced across her knees, and a smaller one on top.
"For you," Jennie smiled, placing the box on Lisa's lap.
Lisa smiled widely, ripping open the wrapping paper to expose the picture of a telescope on the side of the box.
"I know it's not a big fancy one, and you could probably build a better one yourself, but I know how much you love space," Jennie babbled, looking at Lisa with a hopeful expression on her face, waiting to see if Lisa liked it.
"Thank you," Lisa beamed, hugging the box to her chest, "I love it, I love you. Come and give me a kiss." She held one of her arms out towards Jennie, and Jennie leant forward as much as she could, grasping the back of Lisa's neck as she pulled her closer to kiss her. She tasted like strawberries.
"There's also this one," Jennie said after she pulled back, handing over the smaller gift.
Lisa tore the paper open, laughing as she took in the NASA logo on the grey t-shirt. "This is perfect," Lisa said, her eyes sparkling as she held the t-shirt up. Two tickets fell out of the shirt as it unfolded, dropping into Lisa's lap.
"Oh," she exclaimed softly, setting the t-shirt down so she could read the tickets. Her face split into a wide smile and she quickly whipped her head up to meet Jennie's gaze.
"No way! This is the best present anyone has ever gotten me," Lisa choked out, her eyes shining with tears, "thank you, Jennie."
Jennie's eyes crinkled at the corners as she smiled at Lisa, gently stroking Lisa's cheekbone as she cupped her chin. She'd bought her tickets to the NASA centre for tonight. A surprise meal for both of them after a private after hours tour around the compLeo. Of course, it was open to the public during the day anyway, but Jennie may have used Rosé's FBI connections and dropped Lisa's name to get them their own special evening.
"There's another gift for you too, but you'll have to wait until tonight for that one," Jennie told her, gently kissing her again.
-----
Lisa insisted on going into the office for the morning, and Jennie insisted that she would be fine home alone. She ended up going in for an extra physical therapy session with Rosé instead, enjoying their time together as Rosé helped Jennie with her session. Usually she was at work, so she rarely came, but Jennie liked it when she could come.
Rosé came back to Lisa's apartment with her after the session was over. Lisa came home at lunch time, just like she had promised Jennie, and found Rosé, Jisoo and Jackson there with gifts and cards. Lisa was embarrassed by all the attention but appreciated the love she felt from all of them. Even Jessica had passed a gift along to Rosé to give to her.
Jennie wheeled herself over to the fridge whilst Lisa was distracted opening her presents. She slipped the cake out and poked some candles in it, lighting them as quietly as she could. As she wheeled herself back over to everyone, Lisa looked up seeing her holding the cake.
As the four of them sang her happy birthday, Lisa buried her face in her hands, turning red. She laughed as she blew the candles out, making a wish at Jennie's insistence. Jisoo helped cut the cake into slices, dishing it out to everyone.
They left not long after finishing the cake, leaving Jennie and Lisa to get ready for their birthday celebrations.
-----
Inside the NASA building, Lisa pushed Jennie around the complex, softly exclaiming or gasping at things that caught her attention. She explained the mechanics behind some of the machines to Jennie as the tour guide led them around.
They ended their tour in the observatory. The glass roof gave them a brilliant view of the clear sky, even if the stars weren't as brilliant due to the city lights. A table for two was set in the middle of the room, and the personal sushi chef that Jennie had hired stood next to the table.
Lisa wheeled Jennie into place behind the table, before sitting herself down. Jennie poured them both a glass of wine, and held it up to toast Lisa.
"Happy birthday, Lisa. I- there are no words to describe how much you mean to me," Jennie whispered, smiling as she gently clinked her glass against Lisa's, "I love you more than you will ever know."
Lisa smiled, "believe me, I know."
She gestured to the wheelchair and Jennie let out a small laugh. Lisa had a point there, but still, Jennie didn't feel like that was enough to express how much she loved Lisa. She was so grateful to have had her with her over the past eight months, even if it had been hard for them both. Jennie couldn't imagine her life without her. Even now, their meal for two under the stars served as a reminder of the gift Jennie had bought Lisa for her last birthday, which they had never gotten around to using.
They ate their meal as they talked, soft music playing in the background. The personal sushi chef was the same chef from Lisa's favourite sushi restaurant, and she loved every bite of the food. She thanked Jennie again. She didn't think the night could get any better.
"I think it's time for your last surprise," Jennie smiled, her eyes lighting up with excitement.
"Oh, okay," Lisa said, setting down her glass of wine as she patiently waited for Jennie to tell her what it was or give it to her.
Taking a deep breath, Jennie wheeled herself backwards. She wheeled herself over to Lisa, taking her hand and leading her to the open space next to the table. Wheeling herself backwards away from Lisa, Jennie stopped her wheelchair. With a deep breath, she braced herself on the arms of the wheelchair, slowly pushing herself up. She stood shakily on her own two feet, nothing to hold on to for support.
She smiled at Lisa, who smiled back at her, one hand slightly extended, ready to dart forward and catch her just in case Jennie started to fall.
Slowly but surely, Jennie took her first wobbly step in eight months, and another, and another until she fell into Lisa's waiting arms. She could feel Lisa shaking with silent sobs, and maybe laughter, as they clutched on to each other tightly. Lisa pulled back, her eyes wet with tears as she looked at Jennie, who gave her a tearful smile in return. She pressed a soft kiss to Lisa's lips, putting as much love and happiness behind it as she could.
She could walk.