"Good morning, Kai," Gina smiled as she walked into the room and kissed him.

"Morning, George," Kai smiled back.

On hearing a throat clearing behind her, Gina turned, then blushed seeing Nate grinning at her.

"G'Day, Georgina," Nate winked.

"Oh, hello, Superintendent."

"When are you going to drop the rank? It's Nate, or Thomo, okay?"

Gina nodded, "Okay, Nate. You're here bright and early this morning."

"Yep, I'm taking Kai on a trip."

She turned to face Kai. "Where are you off to, if you don't mind my asking?"

"Swimming!" Kai grinned, sitting up in bed and waiting for Nate to bring the wheelchair closer.

"Shall I call for some help?" Gina asked.

"No need. I got it,"  Nate replied, waiting for Kai to push back the bedclothes and move to the edge of the bed.  Gina watched as Kai wrapped his arm around Nate's neck and allowed his friend to lift him from the bed and gently place him in the chair. He winked at Gina. "He wouldn't let anyone else get away with that."

"How's Lissy this morning?" Kai asked.

"I left her sleeping."

"Nate, can we take a short detour down the hall?"

"Your wish is my command, oh broken one."

"Cheeky bugger!" Kai muttered good naturedly.

They were soon in Alicia's room and Kai wheeled himself closer to her bed, gently stroking her arm.  She murmured in her sleep and then stretched like a kitten. Slowly opening her eyes, she smiled in surprise.

"Kai, what are you doing out of bed?"

"I'm off to the pool, but needed to say G'Day to my little princess before I go.  How are you today, Baby?"

"A bit tired, but better now I've seen you out of bed."

"We'll drop by on the way back and I'll shake my wet hair over you if you like."

Alicia giggled and sat up, leaning over to hug Kai.  "See you later," she said as they waved goodbye to her.

"Wait a minute," Gina said.  "Do you think the therapist would mind if we came along too?  Maybe we can cheer you on."

"There's one way to find out," Kai said.  "Pop your robe on, Lissy, and we'll be on our way."

Lissy was soon out of bed and sitting on Kai's lap as Nate pushed them down to the lift.  They were soon on the ground floor and outside the therapy pool.  They were ushered in and Gina and Alicia were made welcome, sitting where they couldn't get splashed.

"Okay, Mr. Jensen.  If you hang on two ticks, I'll get the hoist over."

"No need, Luv," Nate said, stripping off the tracksuit he was wearing to reveal his surf shorts.

"Very fetching," the therapist grinned.

Nate helped Kai with his t-shirt and sweats then wheeled the chair closer to the edge of the pool.  Placing one arm under Kai's knees and the other around his back, he effortlessly lifted his friend out of the chair and walked down the steps into the therapy pool.

"There ya go, Luv.  He's all yours."

"Oh, I don't know.  Seeing as you're wet already I think you may as well help Mr. Jensen."

"Please, it's Kai.  Mr. Jensen is my Grand-dad."

"Okay, Kai. Do you mind your friend helping you out down there?"

"Not a bit.  Just tell us what to do."

An hour later, Nate helped Kai to the side of the pool and got him sitting on the edge.  He got out of the water and brought the chair close, placing a thick towel on it before lifting Kai and placing him back in the chair.  Gina wrapped another fluffy towel around his shoulders and Alicia was soon sitting on his lap, drying his hair.

"Was that good, Kai?" she asked.

"I think it was, Lissy.  I could move my legs without my knees screaming at me."

"That's a good start, Mr...sorry, Kai.  Hopefully we can get you down here every morning, and before you know it, we'll have you up on your feet again."

"Really?"

"Oh yes.  I think to start we'll just have you in the deep pool with your friend here, and then as your legs get stronger we'll take you to the shallow pool. That one has balance bars in there and we can get you walking in the water."

"Hey, mate, you'll be like a racehorse!" Nate laughed.

"You're not wrong. It's the same kind of thing. Kai will be learning to walk again with the water acting as buoyancy.  When you're strong enough, we'll do the same thing on dry land."

"Cool," Kai answered.

The therapy went well, and within a couple of weeks, Kai was able to walk as far as Alicia's room using elbow crutches, which was a good thing as while Kai got stronger, Alicia seemed to grow weaker; yet still her spirits were high every time she saw him.

"G'Day, Lissy. How's my favourite girl this morning?"

"I'm good, Kai. I'd be better if they would let me out of bed, though."

"Let me see what I can do about that," Kai winked, turning to Nate, who was standing behind him in case he fell. "Nate, could you do us both a favour and see if you can persuade Dr. Bea to let us take Lissy outside?"

Nate winked at his friend and headed off for Bea's office. He knocked on her door and heard her bright voice call out to come in.

"Morning, beautiful," he smiled.

Bea looked up and beamed at him. "Good morning, Nathaniel. Is this business or pleasure?"

"It's always a pleasure to see you, my Love.  This is kinda business, though. Kai asked me to come and speak with you about Alicia.  It's a ripper of a day, and we were wondering if it would be possible to take her out in the gardens, in a chair, of course."

Bea looked up into Nate's sea-green eyes and was lost. How could she deny him anything? Standing up, she went to her files and took one out to read. in the hospital gardens

"She's been stable for a couple of days, but is still quite fragile. I think the fresh air would do her the world of good. Is Georgina in agreement?"

"Um, she's not here right now, something about having to see her bank manager about something. We can text her, letting her know where to find us, though."

"Okay, then, on one condition...make Kai go in a chair as well. I'll come along and push Alicia."

"Deal, Luv," Nate replied, planting a kiss on her cheek.

They arrived back at Alicia's room with the two chairs. Kai raised an eyebrow when he saw them both, but nodded in agreement realising that the gardens might be too far for him to manage. Nate lifted Alicia gently into the chair, wrapping her up in a soft blanket, then helped Kai sit in the other. Before Bea could grab the handles, though, Kai had Nate push him behind Alicia so he could grab hold.

"You're in charge, Lissy," he laughed. "Are we ready to roll?"

"Ready," she replied.

The little train moved out of her room and down the corridor, bringing smiles and laughs from everyone they passed, especially as Lissy was waving to everyone like a princess. They were soon out in the hospital gardens enjoying the warmth of the morning sun. Nate and Bea left them alone while they went back inside for some refreshments.

"You okay, Little One?"

"Oh, yes, Kai. It's beautiful out here. Thank you so much for getting me out of my room."

"You need to thank Nate. He did the negotiating with Dr. Bea."

Lissy smiled and held Kai's hand as they both sat there enjoying the view.

It was a couple of hours later when Georgina arrived, She had a worried look on her face, but smiled when she saw the two most important people in her life enjoying themselves in the fresh air. She kissed her daughter then turned to Kai and hugged him as though her life depended on it.

"You okay, George?" he asked, looking worried himself now.

"I'm fine, Kai, especially seeing Alice out here looking so bright."

"I'm glad you're here. I've got something to tell you both. They're letting me go home for the weekend, just to see how I cope in 'normal' surroundings. I'll be back on Monday morning, though, so I don't want you to forget me," he grinned.

"That's great news isn't it, Alice?"

Lissy looked a bit sad as she nodded her head.

"What's wrong, baby girl?"

"I'll miss you, Kai."

"It's just for two days, Luv. I'll make sure you're the first person I see when I get back on Monday...I promise."

"Okay," she smiled.

Friday soon arrived and Nate pushed Kai down the corridor to say goodbye to Lissy. Gina got up and squeezed her daughter's hand. "Do you mind if I walk down with Kai?"

"No worries, Mum. Just don't get any ideas about getting in the car with him."

"You're older than your years, young lady," she laughed.

Out by the car, she leaned over to kiss Kai goodbye and he held her hand. "We're going to have a little talk on Monday, Luv. Just you and me. Okay?"

"I'd love some you and me time, Kai. Have a good weekend at home."

She waved him off and stood watching until the car was out of sight, then walked back into the hospital to try and keep her daughter happy until Kai got back.