Of the Fells

[KieranSoares]

"He won't tell anyone, an' yer brothers're too preoccupied at th'moment t'notice, love. But if we're gonna be t'gether... they're gonna know eventually. I can 'andle it when they do. They won' run me off if y'still want me." Theo took both of her hands then. "I promise."

 

[heartofcourage]

Valentina was still quiet as he took both of her hands, trying to process everything that had happened in such a short amount of time. She loved Theo and she had enjoyed what they had done that afternoon, but she was incredibly embarrassed to know that people in the keep would know what she had done. It wasn't how she imagined her beautiful afternoon going.

 

[KieranSoares]

Theo sighed quietly and lowered his head slightly. "So... d'ya want me t'come with ya t'Wick?" He wanted to go with her especially because he could help her, but he also knew he could be just as useful if he stayed at Inverness to await her return with her mortally wounded brother. "It's yer choice," he murmured.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Of course I want you to come with me." Valentina said softly, looking at Theo as he tried to gauge her reaction. "I'll need all the help that I can get with Brogan. He's as stubborn as they come."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I just wanted t'make sure. I was worried y'might think I should stay t'help th'others, 'r ye'd be so embarrassed that ye'd want t'get away a while." Theo offered her smile then, "Besides... Yer right. Brogan's a handful even when 'e's in perfect health. I can't imagine that double he'll give ya now." Despite the seriousness of the situation with the king, Theo knew that being sad and worried wouldn't help at all.

 

[heartofcourage]

The next morning, Valentina woke before dawn to start packing the things she would need to travel to Wick. She was still deeply embarrassed that her father knew what she had been doing with Theo behind her locked bedroom door, but she needed to push that out of her mind and focus on the task at hand. She was to bring Brogan and Julia home safely.

"Papa, I need some of your tools to check on Julia." Valentina said as she entered his rooms with an empty satchel. "And some more of those numbing herbs just in case Brogan needs them."

She paused as she saw her parents sitting there on a bench, each looking at her with an expectant look on their faces. She suddenly felt a little trapped as she glanced between them and then back at the door she had walked through. Running away was something a child did and she was no longer a child. She moved slowly, like she was being taken to her execution, and sat in the chair across from them.

"Did you tell her?" Valentina asked, looking at her father with a sheepish look on her face.

Her mother already knew. The look in her eyes told her that.

 

[KieranSoares]

"He didn't have a choice," Kitty said quietly. Kitty knew when something was on Vincenzo's mind, and she knew how to make him tell even his deepest secrets. Vincenzo looked fairly guilty for it.

"I'm sorry, cara mia. She can get anything out of me..."

"But I already suspected it when you and your highlander disappeared. Normally you'd be working all day with everyone in their current condition whether you could do anything to help or not," Kitty reasoned. As difficult as their relationship as a mother and daughter had been in Valentina's early days with Tamblin around, Kitty knew Valentina as well as any of her children.

 

[heartofcourage]

"I can promise the two of you that nothing happened between us." Valentina said, her cheeks flaming red at the thought. "I thought that we were being discrete about it. I didn't think the entire keep would notice if I disappeared."

 

[KieranSoares]

"The entire keep was asleep and the only people who noticed were your father and I," Kitty assured her. "And we're not going to tell anyone, I promise. But I did want to talk to you about this man... He's perfectly lovely and he's wonderful to the children and the family, but I'm concerned."

"Your mother and I had a long talk last night about this," Vincenzo began. "She agrees with what I told you, about letting it be as long as you two were careful and good to each other... but she's worried about Theo's emotions and your own here... We're both wondering how serious this really is, and whether Theo, what with his past, is serious about you."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Ma, he loves me." Valentina said, a little heartbroken that her parents would think that Theo was not serious about their relationship. "We've already talked about traveling together. He wants to go to Seamus's vineyard in France with me and then we want to go up and see the Fells together."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I'm just..." Kitty sighed and began again. "I had the same problem with Christopher when I saw him take an interest in Kayla, and I imagine I'll have the same issue with Selena's wolf when I finally meet him..." It was a remnant from Tamblin, a distrust of the men who came to call on her daughters and a fear that one would be another Tamblin. It had taken her so long to truly trust and be sure of Vincenzo in their younger days, and it would take her even longer to accept that the men who loved her daughters really did love them. "I suppose it's my own experience that makes me like this, but I do genuinely worry that Theo's loss of his family will effect how he acts toward you. I'm concerned that he might back out suddenly if some memory comes up or he realizes he's not looking for another love, regardless of whether he is truly in love or not."

 

[heartofcourage]

"He's not like that, Ma. I promise you." Valentina said, feeling sorry that her mother worry so much about her relationship. "Ma, you know that my hearing wasn't your fault, right? You don't have to feel guilty or protective of me because of that."

She knew her mother carried a great deal of guilt because of what Tamblin had done to her when she was still in the womb. He was a man with a lot of demons and it seemed that learning his wife had conceived a child with another man was too much for him to think of.

 

[KieranSoares]

Kitty didn't answer for a long moment, her gaze falling to the floor. "Just... be careful. I adore Theo, I really do... and I'm glad you do too. My own inhibitions aside, I know he'll take care of you."

Vincenzo took Kitty's hand, knowing it was difficult for her to essentially drop the shield she'd held to protect her daughter for so long.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Ma, I promise you that I'm not going to get hurt." Valentina promised, standing from her chair to wrap her mother in a tight hug. "You're not going to lose me. I promise you that. Never again."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I sincerely hope so, love," Kitty whispered before finally letting Valentina go. "Just make sure you say goodbye to the others, and tell Brogan and Julia we love them and we're waiting for them." She kissed Valentina's forehead and Vincenzo took her hand to offer her comfort in her fear.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Take care of her for me, Papa." Valentina whispered to her father, kissing his cheek before she stood up and looked at them before for a long moment before she turned to leave. "And...be careful. I don't want any other brothers and sisters running around this keep by the time I get back."

She was teasing them, giving them both a rare smile that lit up her dark eyes. She loved both of her parents beyond reason. She had always loved them both, even when she was living with Warwick and Ashelin. They had always been honest about who her parents were, even if she was too young to understand. She was thankful for them as much as she was for the two that had given her life in the first place.

 

[KieranSoares]

As Valentina set out with Theo and a few other extra healers who would help the people of Wick and the wounded warriors, their way was clear and easy and peaceful. The journey was quick considering the season, and only when they arrived in Wick did snow begin to fall. A warrior took Theo and Valentina to the room in Wick keep where Brogan and Julia were resting. Upon entering the room, Valentina found an exhausted healer changing the bloody bandages around Brogan's throat and she caught sight of the horrible gash Brogan had inflicted upon himself out of misery, depression, and hopelessness. He'd really meant to kill himself and had dug deep, but his body was too strong to give in.

 

[heartofcourage]

Valentina dismissed the healer, taking over her brother's care for herself. It did Julia a world of good to see Theo since the man had protected her so fiercely during her time as a captive. The two were in the other room talking quietly as Val applied new bandages and herbs to her brother's throat.

"You really did it this time, Brogan." She murmured softly, leaning down to kiss his brow gently as she smoothed back his thick, dark hair.

 

[KieranSoares]

Brogan's dark, dull, clouded eyes opened slowly at Valentina's voice, and he simply held her gaze for a long moment before closing his eyes once more to block out the world. He wasn't himself. He still wanted to simply waste away and die. He felt it was all he deserved and it would be a favor to his family's honor and his wife whom he believed he'd betrayed.

 

[heartofcourage]

Valentina saw the look in her brother's gaze and knew that he took the weight of the world on himself to keep anyone else from feeling pain. He was a stubborn man, one that was too stubborn for his own good most of the time. She leaned down and whispered a simple promise against his ear.

"I will not let a little boy and little girl grow up without their Da. I know that pain, Brogan. It will not happen for your children." She said softly, knowing that she would safe his life and pull him kicking and screaming back into the land of the living if she had to.

 

[KieranSoares]

He didn't even attempt to speak or answer in any way, simply still and silent. He wouldn't talk until he was ready, even after he healed. Theo eventually stepped back in with Julia, coming to Valentina's side.

"Either o' you need anythin'?" He asked the two women softly.

 

[heartofcourage]

"No." Valentina said as she gave Julia a tight hug. "He'll be fine for right now. I'll leave some herbal tea for him to drink if he is in any pain. In the meantime, you need some rest."

Once her sister-in-law was safely tucked into bed, she left the room with Theo. Settling into a chair with a long sigh, she glanced over towards the man that held her heart and took his hand gently in her own.

"This might be tougher than I thought." She said softly.

 

[KieranSoares]

"I'm sure it will be." Theo nodded and pressed a kiss to her hand. "But with Julia beside 'im, I think 'e'll be alright in th'end. An' as long as 'e knows 'is family is waitin' for 'im, I don' think 'e'd leave you all behind."

 

[heartofcourage]

Valentina gave him a smile as he tried to reassure her that everything was going to be alright. She was a good healer and she knew how to keep her family in line. That was what meant the most to her, especially since Theo believed in her so much.

"My Ma knows about us now." She finally confessed. "Papa had to tell her. She was upset, but I think she's alright with the idea now."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I hope so..." Theo sighed. "I really adore yer Ma. I'd 'ate fer her t'not like me 'r think I'm some kinda danger t'you " he wanted nothing but to make her happy and keep his easy friendship with her kind family that had taken him in without a thought.