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plutothe-pup · 1 year ago

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Maybe It's Time || Amy & Milo

TW: None, really. Summary: Milo gets an update at his Physical Therapy appointment that he doesn't quite agree with. Ft. Amy (@exsqueak-me)

MILO:

It was a beautiful Monday afternoon.

Which meant that Milo was sat inside suffering at the doctor’s office (as he did three times a week) trying to look like he wasn't gritting his teeth against another sharp wave of pain as the physical therapist continued to stretch his shoulder back. Without work or school, PT had been the closest thing Milo had to a schedule since everything had happened. It wasn’t… the worst thing ever. Amy always came, and sometimes Pip too, whenever he wasn’t busy. Part of him had been hoping it might’ve even filled the void left from no longer being able to go to the gym or lift at the Market (it was like exercising right?), but instead Milo was always left with a new kind of frustration. The kind that only came when things he used to be so attuned to were now like completely foreign concepts. Squeezing small foam balls in his right hand felt more like he was trying to grip the final card in an elaborate card house. Lifting those small 2kg weights over his shoulder felt like lifting a car - and like now, having the therapist pull his arm back felt like torture.

Further and further, little by little. Milo tried not to focus on it, and instead pushed a breath through his lips. He found Amy’s gaze, trying to focus on her, on keeping the rise and fall of his chest even, rather than the throbbing pain that radiated closer and closer. Keep going, a little—"—정지." Milo gasped, pulling away with a wince as his resolve finally broke.

His hand went to his shoulder, rubbing absently at it as Dr. Moore stepped back, eyeing him lightly in a way that Milo pointedly tried to ignore. He knew he was supposed to be able to move further than that without issue by now. Especially given that despite how long it had felt, Milo knew his arm hadn’t even moved that far before he’d called uncle. Yet weeks had gone by, day after day of therapy, of exercise. Of doing these silly little motions over and over again, but still, that tension returned and made him feel like his muscle was going to snap if he pushed any further. Like something was tugging from the opposite direction and holding him back.

“...Doesn’t really feel like we get very far with that one, do we?” Moore finally spoke as he pulled away from Milo completely to slip his file back into his hands, leafing through some of the documents. “Outside of PT, is that shoulder still bothering you?” The therapist asked, though it wasn’t even a full second until Milo's response of “Nope.” followed. So quick of a response that he was wincing at himself for not being more convincing as Dr. Moore’s gaze immediately shifted towards Amy with a small raise of his brow - disbelief evident.

AMY: Despite everything that ever happened in Swynlake, Amy was an optimist. She’d been born that way! And you know, she grew up coming to Swynlake, spending loads of time here because of her grandparents. So when the demon event happened, of course it was absolutely horrific stuff, just the pits really – but Amy bounced back as she knew she had to. She was Aunt Amy– and she needed to be strong for her kids. And so with a big smile and constant encouragement, she’d made sure Pip got back to school, and was there for every appointment for Milo, poor kid. She was hopeful that soon they’d see some improvement. And hey, there was SOME improvement, but– well, she was no doctor. And she was impatient. She was starting to wonder about the proposed timeline that the hospital had given them at the start of Milo’s treatment. Everyone was different, ‘course, and it did depend a lot on how much work each individual put into their PT… but… Milo was a hard worker. He’d wanted to get back to work. It couldn’t be his fault. And so that led Amy to this appointment today, that worry bouncing around in the back of her head. The look on Dr. Moore’s face did not bode well either. Amy frowned and sighed. “It definitely bothers him,” said Amy, chiming in for Milo, not bothering to look his way. She was sure he didn’t want her saying that. But too bad, kid! “Whenever he uses it at all. I mean, I dunno what level of pain he should be in but, I dunno, when we first started, we were told things were gonna be looking up at this point…”

MILO:

There was only a brief look passed to Amy when she failed to cover for him - but why would she? Milo knew she was right. His shoulder did bother him anytime he used it, and he knew Amy noticed. He knew Pip noticed. It was obvious whenever he went to grab something off a shelf, or tried to lift something with the wrong hand. Even if he shifted on the couch during movie night to pet Booboo.

Lying to the doctor wouldn't get him anywhere, he knew as well. Part of him was just hoping if he could pretend it was fine hard enough it would be.

"...By this point we were hoping his level of pain would be at minimum. Occasional stiffness, soreness with extended use. Not immediate pain with extension." Moore explained, placing the folder down and immediately returning to Milo's side. He urged Milo to move his left arm - up, down, in a full circle. The complete range of motion intact and without even a wince to his features. Easy. "...alright, now give that a go on this side. Just so we can get a full picture of where we're at."

Milo blanched at the mere thought of it. A breath slipping through his lips as he tactically chose to start by moving his arm down. Then to the front. That was no sweat. It was just the rest of it that made him hesitate as he grit his teeth lightly. A moment passed before he raised his arm. There was an immediate tremor that started down through the tips of his fingers, curling them into his palm as he pushed up. He'd barely raised his arm above his shoulder far at all before a searing pain had him flinching it back to his chest as he bit down on the far less appropriate words threatening to slip.

He’d barely heard Dr. Moore’s own sigh over the thumping in his ears. "...When Milo first came in, his injuries were extensive. Multiple people suffered incredibly extensive injuries... You both understand how small our staff can seem when these things happen. Especially when our own are a part of the hurt. So the emergency unit's main concern was triage and stabilizing patients. Milo, you had lost a lot of blood. They had been concerned about doing anything more invasive at all, given your state. Most of what they did do was to minimize blood loss, not to physically reconstruct or contain any sort of muscle or ligament damage." The doctor explained, his hands moving to gently expose the still raw scarring that covered Milo's shoulder.

"...We went ahead with PT to see how far we could get. There was always a chance things could heal on their own, and we will always try the least invasive and most simple paths to recovery first. Unfortunately, there was also always the chance that physical therapy alone was not going to rehab the damages either. I believe that's where we currently stand."

AMY: Amy flinched along with Milo. She couldn’t help it. She’d always been on the sensitive side, one of her greatest strengths and also her greatest weaknesses (according to Pip, who would always make his opinions known, and known loudly). But he wasn’t wrong. It was why she’d never abandon Maggie, even when Maggie lied to Amy or stood Amy up. It meant that she couldn’t help but feel the pain of Milo now, even if it was mostly in her head. She shuddered and swallowed roughly, like the exercises were happening to her. And she tried to brace herself for what she assumed the doctor would say next. Yup, no surprises there. Amy cast a sorry glance toward Milo, then reached out to him. She laid a gentle hand on his wrist. “Right,” she said to the doctor. “So Plan A’s out. There’s got to be a Plan B, right? A surgery or something?” Amy assumed as much. She’d seen enough Grey’s Anatomy, plus her own dad had to get surgery for his hip after a bad fall and physical therapy hadn’t worked for him. Makes sense that they’d take a similar route for Milo.

MILO:

Plan B. Surgery. Surgery!?

Milo's gaze snapped up immediately, his wrist twitching slightly beneath Amy's hand as he nearly held his breath waiting for the response.

"Yes." Oh no. "The Plan B option is surgical repair followed by the same physical therapy routine. That one should fare much better once the actual ligament is fixed. There's a few different approaches they could go with, given we seem to think his main issue is likely the torn rotator cuff.” Dr. Moore started to explain, easily going into the three different approaches they typically used and when. His fingers lightly tracing over Milo’s shoulder as he explained the process of each one, the difference in incision sizes and which he thought they’d likely use for Milo’s case - but Milo himself wasn’t listening.

Instead his brows furrowed deeply as he stared down at the floor, his mind racing a mile a minute. He couldn’t do surgery! That wasn’t an option. He didn’t… want to do that again. Not when he could only imagine how much money all of this was already going to cost Amy. The financial burden he’d put on the Seville's by existing was likely already too much - much less from having his initial surgery. His hospital stay. All these weeks of rehab!! The medications! Not to mention he was still out of work, he couldn’t even begin to help pay any of this back if Mr. Moon wouldn’t let him even do minimal odd jobs. And now they wanted him to do another procedure? Another hospital stay? Another round of PT?

Not to mention… he was downright terrified of going back. He didn’t want another surgery. He didn’t want to do it. It was fine without. It would stop hurting eventually, right? He just couldn’t do full rotations! Fine. He’d live without - he lived without much more for years, he could handle this! Plus then he’d go back to work sooner. Start earning money again sooner, be less of a worry and a burden sooner.

His gaze slipped back up as Dr. Moore had stepped away, grabbing his clipboard and a pen, still mostly addressing Amy. “So - I can write up the referral and then they’ll call you to get that sch——” “—No.” Milo interrupted then, his own voice startling him as his cheeks blushed lightly once the doctor’s gaze snapped to him with obvious confusion. “...I’m sorry?” The older man had said, hesitating with his pen against the paper.

“I--... No. I-.. I don’t…I don’t want it. The.. the surgery. I’m… I’m not going to get it..”

AMY: Amy listened and nodded and at some points– stopped the doctor to repeat something so she could take notes. She didn’t consider herself a smart person, after all. In fact, if asked, Amy Seville would say she was pretty dumb. School hadn’t been for her. It was why she dropped out in the first place, why she had wanted to do something that made more sense. For her, food had always made sense and food was fun. But surgery? Medical procedures? Wayyyyy out of her wheelhouse. But as a guardian, she needed to do her best to show up for her kids, y’know? So she got out that phone and took some notes. She asked questions. She already knew she needed to call somewhere for a second opinion– you always had to get a second opinion on things, especially if you didn’t understand it yourself. Amy opened up her mouth to agree to the referral. But she didn’t get that far. “No,” said Milo. Amy’s head swiveled, as she looked at him in surprise. Instantly, she reached forward to grasp at Milo’s wrist. “Hey,” she said. “It’s okay. I know, this is all super overwhelming. For now, we can just ask questions, huh?” she said gently. “We’ll go to this referral and see what they say. We’ll get a second opinion. Don’t worry, we’re not rushing you into the hospital tomorrow, buddy.”

MILO:

Amy’s hand was back on his wrist, her words soft and reassuring, but Milo was already spooked, his head shaking in disagreement almost immediately despite the logic in her comment. He didn’t want to ask questions. He didn’t want a second opinion (unless the opinion was that he would be fine without, thanks). Milo did not want to think about these alternatives at all, but he also was quickly pushing the repercussions away from his mind too.

He’d work on it himself. He’d go back to the gym, he’d just… start over with his strength training. He’d continue practicing the stretches and the pulls - Milo was disciplined, he could do it just fine without medical intervention. Worse case scenario; he’d grin and bear it. He’d become great at that over the past few months anyways, right?

“...they’re just going to say the same thing.” Milo argued quietly, his tone holding a slight pleading edge. “No surgery.” He forced himself to say again with a more certain firmness, as if it was a decision he was making logically and not one of anxiety and panic. It was Dr. Moore’s hand that slipped back onto his shoulder then, Milo’s gaze shifting to him as he felt himself stiffen. “...Milo, I understand you might be nervous, but as far as procedures go, it’s a fairly easy one with incredibly high success rates. Most people go on to regain their entire range of motion with no continuing pain afterwards. You have to understand without the proper fix, your shoulder may continue to heal incorrectly. You might lose some of that function permanently.”

Most. Might. No guarantees either way, right? It was a shoddy way to look at it, but Milo could only cling onto that thought as it worked in his favor, shaking his head again. “...I said no.” Milo pressed, eying the doctor and not missing the way his jaw had shifted slightly. Dr. Moore stepped away entirely then though, finishing writing his initial paperwork before tearing it off and handing it towards Amy.

“...Very well. I’m still going to give you the referral. For if-” He glanced at Milo. “-you change your mind. It’s valid for six months, if…you want to get different opinions or explore your options before speaking with them. After that, the outlook and recovery timeline would begin to change and we’ll have to re-evaluate.” The doctor finished, glancing between the pair of them before he turned back to Milo with a frown on his lips. “I highly recommend considering it, Milo. Medically. Personally. You’re young, you’re active. Don’t subject yourself to a lifetime of chronic pain over this...”

AMY: Yeah, no, Milo was getting the surgery. Amy was not a good mom– she was probably not even that good of an aunt. She’d never imagined herself as either of those things, honestly. Only after she had met Pip, that sweet little baby, had a part of her heart opened that she hadn’t even been aware had existed. Maybe if Pip hadn’t been so dang cute– so dang smiley all the time! If he’d been a miserable little thing that cried, maybe she wouldn’t have fallen in love with him. But he’d been adorable. She loved him from the start, loved to babysit him, loved to hold him, and when Maggie’s addiction got even worse, it had been a no brainer for Amy to take him. She couldn’t let that sweet kid go to the Kims. They’d raise him so strictly that he’d forget how to laugh. Right now, Amy felt the surgery was a no brainer too. She didn’t have to be the World’s Best Aunt to know that. Buuuuuuut…she was also a stubborn person who hated listening to her parents. So she wasn’t going to tell Milo he was going to get that surgery. She’d let him sit with it, and they could talk about it a little later. She’d tell Pip, and he could help support Milo. It was a shame Pip wasn’t here now. She was sure he would have known the right thing to say to Milo so they could get this thing on the books. For now, Amy just reached for the information. “Yes, please, we’ll take the referral anyway. Just in case.” She smiled. “Thanks again! We’ll be in touch.” She shook the doctor’s hand, then got up and walked with Milo out of the room. After checking out, they emerged back into Swynlake. “You hungry? We can stop by at Hatter’s or some place on the way,” she said.

MILO:

Milo pulled away the second they were dismissed, righting his shirt and pulling his sling back over his shoulder so that he could tuck his arm back against his side. As much as he despised the thing,... it hurt a whole hell of a lot less when it was like that, especially after PT when he felt like all of his muscles were on fire as they walked back out onto the street. Perhaps if he wore it longer than recommended, it would help the recovery more. You know what else would help? The surgery, dumbass.

His gaze shifted, looking down at Amy as he realized she’d addressed him, his brows furrowing as his mind fought to catch up to the words. Quite frankly, he was sure his appetite had all been zapped from him, but even if it hadn’t his answer would have been the same. They had food at home… How could he want to continue to spend more money? He wanted to ask Amy. How much had this entire thing cost her? How much would be coming in bills to their doorstep? How big was the number he was going to have to add to the already large number of his notebook. The one that seemed to grow every day with no means of lessening it. He’d tried to offer her rent. He’d tried desperately to pay back Amy and Pip - but they never wanted to accept it. Which meant they’d just keep giving for him and he’d never get to pay them back for it.

It wasn’t right.

Milo couldn’t help but wonder if Amy knew everything she did now - if she would have still brought Pluto home that day.

“...oh -...no, I’m fine.. Thank you.” Milo waved off a few moments later, shaking his head softly as he watched a few birds hop around on the pavement across the way. Being a bird might’ve been nice… At least they could fly away, right? “...I uh--...I just want to go home.” He admitted softly, a sigh pressing past his lips before he glanced at Amy again. “....if that’s okay..”

#c: Amy #p: Maybe It's Time #x; Amy #just a lil thing to give context #and bc milo is so dumb #but also milo is me

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