Ghis (closed)

[KieranSoares]

"It's nothing that will hurt Brogan, I promise. He'd already have it anyway. It wouldn't even hurt Kitty." Vincenzo came to take a look at Ashelin too, finding her unaffected thus far. "Heather will go through chills at first, then it'll be a fairly intense fever. But as long as she drinks plenty of water and doesn't get too warm, she'll be alright."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I'll keep an eye on her." Julia promised, slightly worried for her little girl, but knowing that she was in the best of hands with Vincenzo watching over her. "We can hope that it doesn't get too bad. I hate seeing them so miserable."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I'll let Val and Theo know so we can keep a constant watch." Vincenzo left them with a few instructions on what to do when the fever really set in, before he left to begin preparing things he might need.

 

[heartofcourage]

Heather was soon fussing loudly, cranky as she sought to get comfortable. Julia pulled her from the crib and rocked her, gently talking to her baby as she fussed. She felt so terrible for Heather, unable to understand the aches that the fever would bring. Heather was finally calming as Brogan entered the room, Heather's stuffed cat in his hand.

"She's miserable." Julia murmured softly as she pulled Heather's blanket a little tighter around her small form.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Vincenzo jus' told me," he muttered, coming to join her side. His presence and the stuffed doll helped a little, but Heather ended up having to tire herself out to get to sleep.

 

[heartofcourage]

Julia glanced towards her husband as their little girl finally tired herself out, her face tear streaked and red from the fever. It broke her heart that she couldn't take the pain away, but she could try and support the baby as much as she possibly could.

"We'll take turns until she's better. Valentina and Theo said that they would watch her overnight." Julia said, knowing that she had no intention of leaving Heather for any stretch of time.

 

[KieranSoares]

Brogan wrapped an arm around Julia, his hand resting lightly on Heather's blankets. It would be a long couple weeks looking after her. Later that day, Brogan let his guards know not to allow young children into the keep lest they get sick too, and he warned the rest of the family about it too, particularly Annie and Leon for Lucy and Danny's sake.

 

[heartofcourage]

Ashelin's fever was far less intense as her twin sister's had been. Once she got better, she spent time away from the keep with Ciaran, camping in the woods as her parents cared for Heather. Julia would weep at night as a way to get rid of the stress of the moment, frightened that she might lose her daughter.

Heather cried in pain, refusing sometimes to drink and eat even though it was what would make her better. She simply sat there, crying for her Mama and Da. Both would cradle her, rocking her to sleep and hoping that when she woke things would be better.

 

[KieranSoares]

Even though Vincenzo and Valentina kept a constant watch over Heather and she was beautifully cared for, the fever raged for days until one morning Brogan rose with Julia to feed Heather and found she wasn't in her crib. She and Valentina were both gone, and Theo was just stepping in, looking for them. "Julia," he said softly, and Brogan froze beside her, expecting the worst.

 

[heartofcourage]

Julia wsa not expecting Heather to be gone from her crib that morning. She felt her blood run cold as Theo stepped into the room and addressed her in that soft tone. Either something was seriously wrong or her child was dead.

"If she's dead, I don't want to hear it." Julia said in a soft voice that was full of pain.

 

[KieranSoares]

"No, love, nothin' like tha'," Theo told her quickly, coming to hug her tightly. "She's actually doin' a lot better this mornin'... But Val was feedin' 'er earlier an' we realized she didn't get out o' this unaffected."

"Jus' say it, Theo," Brogan murmured.

"She's blind," Theo finally told them. "We're no' sure jus' how bad it is, but she's never goin' t'see again."

 

[heartofcourage]

Julia felt as if she had been punched in the belly with that news. Heather was blind? She had been able to see just hours before and now she couldn't? That certainly wasn't the news that she had expected to hear.

"Blind?" She murmured softly as she felt Brogan's arm wrap around her waist. "No. No, you have to be wrong."

 

[KieranSoares]

"If you need proof, love, go get her." Theo told her. "We figured it out when Vincenzo picked 'er up an' she got scared til 'e spoke."

 

[heartofcourage]

Julia was off at that moment, pushing past Theo and Brogan to get to Heather. She found her eating with Valentina, sitting in her chair while she waited for another bite. Julia stopped in the doorway, watching as Heather reached out to touch Valentina's arm as if to see if she were really there. Then she opened her mouth for the bite, humming to herself as if she didn't have a care in the world.

"Sweet Heather." Julia said softly as she stepped into the room, watching as Heather looked in the direction of her voice with a startled expression.

 

[KieranSoares]

Valentina looked up and laid the bowl and spoon aside. "Julia," she said softly. "She's alright. Things are just going to be a little different now."

Brogan came to stand at Julia's side, watching in silent pain as his little girl looked this way and that, trying to understand why the world was so dark now.

 

[heartofcourage]

Julia's heart ached fiercely as she knelt down beside Heather and gently touched her daughter's cheek, drawing her attention towards her. Her green eyes were the same, bright and vibrant with a slight dullness that was not there before.

"Mama." Heather said softly and Julia felt tears well in her eyes.

"Mama's right here, sweet girl." She whispered softly as she gathered her close and held her tightly. "Mama's always going to be right here."

 

[KieranSoares]

Valentina let them be for the moment, closing the door behind her. Brogan remained standing as if petrified beside the door. He couldn't decide whether he was completely shattered by Heather's blindness or relieved that she'd gotten off so easily from such a vicious fever.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Da?" Heather murmured as she hugged her mother tightly.

"Da's here too." She said softly, turning to look at Brogan.

She scooped Heather up and brought her towards her husband, letting the little girl reach out to touch his beaded face. Heather lit up instantly, smiling brightly as she realized that he was there too.

"DA." She called out, passing from her mother's arms into her father's embrace.

 

[KieranSoares]

Brogan gingerly cradled Heather in his arms. "Hiya, lass," he murmured, kissing her forehead and letting her rest against his chest. He had to sit down, feeling a little weak at the knees. Being blind had terrified him enough, but it was much worse knowing his own daughter was going to spend her whole life in the dark.

 

[heartofcourage]

Heather was content to sit in her father's embrace, her forehead pressed against his cheek as her fingers played with his beard. It was like she were memorizing him with her hands, teaching herself a new way of seeing that would serve her for the rest of her life.

"It's alright, love." Julia said softly as she saw Brogan sit down heavily. "It's going to be alright."

She had to trust in that as well. She had to hope that her daughter would be fine, in spite of no longer having her eyesight.

 

[KieranSoares]

"She's alive," Brogan murmured. "Tha's all tha' matters... Jus' like when Rho lost 'is arm. Long as they make it an' they can be 'appy..." He didn't really believe in his own words at the moment, but they were the facts and they were what the two parents needed to hear.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Kitty, Mama." Heather called to her, not even looking up at her mother as she asked for her stuffed cat.

"Sure, love." Julia said as she retrieved her stuff cat from her chair and tucked it into Heather's arms. "I'll get your blanket too."

She left Heather with Brogan and went to retrieve her blanket. She was suddenly filled with rage against the situation and she stopped in the middle of the hallway to burst into angry tears. Fate couldn't be so cruel as to take away her children's eyesight after everything that had happened to them.

 

[KieranSoares]

Ciaran was the one who heard his mother crying, and he was round the corner and at her side in a moment. "Ma?" he asked softly, drawing her into his arms. "What happened?" They all knew Heather hadn't been doing well, and seeing his mother like this, he was expecting the worst.

 

[heartofcourage]

"She lost her sight." Julia muttered miserably as her son held her tightly. "She'll never see again. Oh, God, Ciaran, what do we do?"

 

[KieranSoares]

Though that news struck Ciaran deeply, he didn't let it show too much. Instead, he hugged his mother a little closer. "We make sure she can live a normal life," he murmured. "We ask friends for help, like grandpa's brother Van, and Queen Sarah's wolf Shia. There are some werefolk in the villages who can help too. It's not the end of the world, Ma. She's so young that she'll never remember this fever and she'll grow up thinking it's normal."