Merry with a Captain (Love Beach, Holiday Collection)

Chapter 5

5

F letch’s first physiotherapy appointment had been rescheduled, so today was his inaugural poke and prod day. He’d filled out all the forms and was ready for whatever came his way.

He arrived at the clinic and registered at the reception desk.

“Have a seat. Matthew will be right with you.”

“Thanks.” Fletcher looked around the waiting area and selected a chair by the window. He sat. He'd never done physiotherapy before, and hadn't really thought about who would do the therapy, male or female. He didn’t really care, as long as he got the therapy, whatever it entailed so he could get back to his life.

A few minutes later, his physiotherapist came out to meet him.

"Fletcher Crockett? I’m Matthew. I’ll be doing your physiotherapy today."

Fletch stood. "Fletch is fine, glad to be here. Sort of." He smiled, but Matthew didn't, so he knew this was going to be a serious appointment.

He followed Matthew down the hall to the examination room.

“Have a seat.” Matthew indicated a chair beside the desk. “Right, then. I see you’ve done the intake forms. Great. I’ve reviewed them. From the sounds of your injury, what we’ll be doing to help you get back to one hundred percent is basically balance and agility, stretching, and manipulation which may cause some discomfort. I’ll give you some exercises to do at home. It’s important that you do them, it’ll help with your healing process.”

“Whatever I need to do I’ll do to fix me. The sooner I get back to normal the better,” Fletch told him.

“Right then let’s go out into the exercise area so I can get a look at how you move your leg.”

Fletch followed him, and there were two other people also getting a session.

The next few minutes, Fletch did as Matthew instructed. Taking orders from a physiotherapist wasn’t as bad as he’d thought it would be. Normally not an order-taking kind of guy, this was different and crucial to his full recovery.

Thirty minutes later, Fletch had built up a sweat from the exercises. They were way more difficult than he’d imagined, and he already ached from one session.

"Well done. You’re all set for today,” Matthew said as they walked back to the front reception.

"That definitely wasn't as easy as I thought it would be,” Fletch commented, knowing he’d really feel it later.

"You might find yourself tender for the next couple of days. Listen to your body, but also don't give into it. Shall we make another appointment?"

"Yes. How often do you recommend?" Fletch asked.

"A couple of times a week would be best, but definitely at least once a week," Matthew advised.

“Today's Monday, so how about Thursday? What are your hours around Christmas?"

"I got you in for Thursday, 9:30. We’re closed on the 25th and reduced hours on the 24th." Matthew answered.

"Let's book in next Monday as well then, and we'll play it by ear for the next appointment." It wasn’t like he was in high demand these days, but you never knew what might pop up.

“Gotcha. See you Thursday. And remember to do your exercises,” Matthew reminded him.

"Will do. I feel like I'll be bruised from head to toe after today's session.” Fletch grimaced when a pang shot through his hip.

"Some physiotherapists think if you're not left with bruises you haven't done a good job." Matthew grinned.

"Seriously? That's barbaric. Anyway, see you in a few days." Fletch hobbled to the entrance and as he left, he heard a burst of laughter from one of the offices. He glanced over at the closed door; he liked hearing people laugh. He smiled as he left the clinic.