Of the Fells

[heartofcourage]

Valentina excused herself from the elderly woman that she was treating, giving her a kind smile and a pat on the hand as she relaxed on her bed.

"I'll be back in just a moment, Mrs. Tate." She murmured softly as she exited the cabin and looked towards the rider with a frown. "What can I do for you?"

 

[KieranSoares]

The rider was one of Cole's best men, one who only left Cole's side in emergencies. "Alex is 'avin' trouble breathin', Miss Val. Yer father isn' sure what it is." Alex had been out of sorts and coughing a bit for a couple days, but for him to suddenly be having trouble breathing at all was a definite sign of something terribly wrong.

 

[heartofcourage]

"I'll be there as soon as possible. Tell my father to give Alex something to relax him. And tell Theo to watch him closely." Valentina said, concerned that her son was having trouble breathing, but knowing that she had to finish her current task.

She entered the cabin again and took care of Mrs. Tate, leaving her husband with an herb mixture that would help her get the rest that she needed before she saddled up Raul and headed back towards the keep. When she arrived, she grabbed her satchel and allowed the stable hand to take care of her horse.

Soon, she was entering Alex's room, trying her hardest to not panic and think as a healer instead of a mother. "Oh, bambino, what's wrong?" She asked as she picked Alex up from his bed and hugged him tightly.

 

[KieranSoares]

She could already hear Alex's coughing when she stepped into the west wing of the keep. When she found him, he looked terribly pale and she could see a trace of blood on his lips that immediately pointed to tuberculosis or something similar.

Vincenzo was pacing, flipping through his old journals to see if he'd ever dealt with such a thing. "I don't understand. No one else has caught this," he told Valentina which ruled out tuberculosis. "His throat is almost swollen shut but his lungs are fine aside from a hint of pneumonia."

 

[heartofcourage]

Valentina kissed Alex's brow, hugging her boy tightly as he coughed and clung to her as if she were his only lifeline. Sitting on the edge of his bed, she picked up Anna and offered her to him, kissing his cheek as he weakly took his fox and snuggled up with her.

"Papa." Valentina murmured softly, catching her father's attention before she spoke in Italian to not startle Alex. "What if it's the were plague?"

 

[KieranSoares]

"How could that be? He's human," Vincenzo answered in Italian, looking suddenly much more worried. "And if it is, I don't know anything about it. I've never treated it."

 

[heartofcourage]

"We don't know his family history." Valentina murmured, keeping her voice calm as she rocked Alex. "His mother was human, but what about his father? And his eyes have the same blue flecking that any cubs would have. I treated this in Ireland, but this is different. This is my son."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Talk to him, see if he remembers anything about his mother and father's families," Vincenzo said with a nod. "I'll be right back." He stepped past to go fetch some things from their rooms.

"Mama?" Alex asked weakly. "Am I gonna die like Ma?"

 

[heartofcourage]

"No, bambino." Valentina murmured as he asked if he would die like his mother. "I won't let that happen. I promise. Besides, that would make Gran very sad and I want to keep her as happy as I possibly can. She loves spending time with you."

Once she had calmed Alex down, she moved to lay them both down in bed. She tucked him beneath the covers, his blue blanket pulled up to his chin as she brushed his hair away from his forehead.

"Tell me about your father, bambino." Valentina murmured softly. "Do you remember him at all?"

 

[KieranSoares]

"Ma said he had to run away," Alex muttered hoarsely. "She said hunters wanted his fur."

 

[heartofcourage]

Valentina knew then just what they were facing and she felt so sorry for the little boy that she loved so dearly. She kissed his cheek and held him tightly, cuddling him until Vincenzo returned.

"He says his father had fur." She murmured softly in Italian, knowing that they were dealing with the plague.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Half were, then..." Vincenzo sighed as Theo arrived. He'd gone to settle Kitty after she'd panicked over the boy. "I'll follow your lead, cara mia. I don't know what I'm doing," Vincenzo admitted. He would never pretend he knee everything, especially with a life on the line, let alone family.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Bambino." Valentina murmured as Theo finally arrived. "Do you remember when we went to Ireland and Mama had to help the wolves that were sick? Well, Mama needs to do the same for you. I know I promised that none of us would get sick, but I didn't know that you were part wolf. Papa is going to give you something to make you sleepy and then Da is going to hold you while Mama works. Think that you can be a brave boy for me?"

 

[KieranSoares]

Tears of absolute terror filled Alex's eyes and he buried his face against her shoulder. "Can I talk to Nonna first...?"

"Of course you can," Vincenzo murmured, touching his cheek before rising to get Kitty. It would upset both of them, but Vincenzo was more concerned with getting Alex to cooperate and feel comfortable putting his health in their hands.

 

[heartofcourage]

"How about we let Nonna watch Anna for us." Valetina murmured as he tearfully buried his face against her shoulder. "I think they both need the company while they worry about you."

 

[KieranSoares]

Alex nodded, and when Kitty arrived, they were given a moment alone together. No one knew what words were exchanged, but Kitty took Anna with her and managed to keep from bursting into tears until she was out of Alex's sight. The rest of the family had become aware of what was going on, and Brogan was there to comfort his mother and take her to her parlor.

When his parents returned, Alex curled between Valentina and Theo and murmured, "Don't let me die... I don't want to leave..."

 

[heartofcourage]

"You're not going to die, love. Mama won't let you." Valentina murmured as she kissed Alex's brow. "And when you wake up, everything will be better. I promise."

She glanced at Theo, needing his calm strength to get her through this. Alex was her world and she needed him to survive. If he didn't, she very well might slip away as well.

 

[KieranSoares]

"When it's over, we'll be righ' here," Theo promised him, but it was just as much a promise to Valentina that their son would still be with them in a few hours

Vincenzo mixed up a potent painkiller and anesthetic with honey so Alex could drink it without too much trouble. A small bout of coughing later, Vincenzo asked him simple questions until he drifted off.

 

[heartofcourage]

Valentina stayed there with Alex until he was completely asleep. Pressing another kiss to his forehead, she stood from the bed and walked towards her tools. She had to take a few calming breaths, considering what she was about to do.

"I need to think about this." She murmured to no one in particular.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Take your time, cara mia," Vincenzo murmured, adjusting Alex's head gently with his chin tipped up. "We have time."

 

[heartofcourage]

Valentina gathered her sharpest tools and her finest thread to close the wounds that she would have to make. Slowly, she started to think of this as a patient and not as her son. That was the only way that she would get through this surgery with Alex.

"Theo, would you hold his head?" Valentina asked as she turned back towards the bed with her tools at the ready.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Yeah, love," Theo murmured, settling at the head of the bed to hold Alex in place. For the first time, Vincenzo was Valentina's assistant, watching and learning from her in case he ever faced more cases like this one. Alex's throat was nearly entirely blocked by the dark plague sores. Vincenzo had seen plague as a young man, but never like this.

 

[heartofcourage]

Valentina was patient, working on her son in a slow and methodical manner. She made sure to only cut when it was necessary and to be careful not to effect his chances for healing in the future. As she worked, she had a narrow minded focus, blocking out the fact that she were working on her very ill son.

She calmly explained things to her father, teaching him as he had always taught her. She knew that he would need the skills in the future to fight this illness and the opportunity had presented itself in the most horrifying way.

 

[KieranSoares]

Alex never stirred, but Theo held him anyway, perhaps for his own sake. He needed to constantly monitor Alex's breathing anyway, but it was all that was keeping Theo from outwardly panicking. On the inside, he was so afraid that he felt ill.

As Vincenzo watched Valentina work so carefully, he asked them both, "Did you have any patients whose vocal cords were effected?"

"Some," Theo muttered. "A handful're gonna 'ave rough voices fer th'rest o' their lives, but no one was gonna lose their voice completely... Val made sure o' tha'." It was a small price to pay to live through a vicious plague that, anywhere else, could wipe out half the population of a region.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Only one was in danger of losing it completely and that was because the sores had covered part of the vocal cords. His voice was getting back to normal when we left." Valentina murmured as she cut out a particularly nasty sore and Alex whimpered in his sleep, his brow furrowing before he settled again.

"Hold on, bambino. Mama's almost done." She murmured, mostly to herself but loud enough that they could all hear it.