Of the Fells

[KieranSoares]

When Valentina made one last cut, Alex jolted but thankfully Theo had a good hold of him and it didn't effect Valentina's work. Vincenzo was deeply concerned, knowing the mix should've kept Alex out for far longer with no pain.

 

[heartofcourage]

"It's alright, bambino." She whispered softly as she made the last cut and started to close up the wounds with a sure hand and the finest stitching that she could do. She wanted the scars to be as fine as possible as her baby healed.

 

[KieranSoares]

When Valentina cut the loose end of the thread, Theo finally let Alex go and Vincenzo brought up the bandages and painkilling salves they used for such surgery wounds. Normally he'd do it for her as she'd just been through a difficult surgery, but he knew she needed to do it herself for her own peace of mind.

 

[heartofcourage]

Valentina tended to the wounds herself, kissing Alex's brow as he whimpered groggily, flailing slightly until she lifted him from the bed and carried him to her soft chair by the fire. She sat down with a sigh, cuddling her boy close as he clung to her until he fell back into slumber.

"Love, would you have Chessie make some beef broth? He'll need to eat when he wakes up." Valentina whispered as she pressed her cheek against Alex's hair.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Yeah, love," Theo murmured, kissing her cheek before he stepped out. It'd give him a chance to deal with the shock of it all too. Vincenzo quietly cleaned everything up before coming to sit across from Valentina, watching her cradle Alex as if he might just slip away.

"He'll be alright, cara mia," Vincenzo assured her softly.

 

[heartofcourage]

"I know, Papa." Valentina said softly as her father told her that Alex would be alright. "I still can't help but worry since I'm his mother, though. Just like you worried about me every trip that I took to Italy, even though you knew that I was in the best of care."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I'm proud of you, though. I don't think I would have the strength to do the same thing. At least not without a long time to prepare myself." He stood and kissed her cheek, leaving her to be with Alex as the boy began to awaken little by little and Theo returned with the broth.

 

[heartofcourage]

While Alex slowly woke, she gently whispered to him so that he wouldn't be frightened. When his eyes opened and he looked around in a daze, she gently hugged him a little tighter, kissing his brow.

"You did so well, bambino." She whispered, giving him a gentle smile. "Even Papa was impressed with how well you did."

 

[KieranSoares]

Alex wanted to speak in return, but he could only manage to swallow painfully and curl closer against Valentina. He was still terrified, but secure in Valentina's reassurance. When Theo returned again, he knelt by Valentina's side and kissed Alex's cheek. "Hiya, lad," he muttered, smoothing the boy's hair back. "Chessie sent along a little somethin' for ya when yer ready for it."

 

[heartofcourage]

"And Nonna will come see you soon with Anna. You need to get some rest right now." Valentina said as she pressed her cheek against his hair. "Mama and Da will be right here for you when you wake up again. I promise."

 

[KieranSoares]

Alex could only comply, too tired and sore to do anything else. He slept off and on for hours and hours, waking only to take couple painful swallows of water or broth now and then, until he finally settled into a proper sleep for the night.

 

[heartofcourage]

Valentina was exhausted when she finally got Alex to sleep for the evening. She had trouble putting him alone in his bed. She feared that he might slip away from her when she left expected. The little boy meant the world to her and she wasn't going to risk letting him die.

 

[KieranSoares]

Theo was there beside her and he wrapped an arm about her waist. "Y'can stay with 'im, love," he whispered, knowing it was as difficult for her as for him. But he still had work to do. Valentina needed to focus on Alex above all as a patient and their son.

 

[heartofcourage]

"I know." Valentina murmured as Theo wrapped an arm around her waist and held her tightly. "And I know that he'll be alright, but it's still painful. He's just a little boy. How is any of this fair to him?"

 

[KieranSoares]

"Th'world doesn' owe any of us anythin'... some jus' get a worse lot than others. But yer here t'make sure Alex doesn' 'ave t'die for it. He'll get th'chance t'grow up an' be happy, when 'e might not 'ave if you 'adn't found 'im."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I'll stay with him tonight. In the morning, Ma can watch over him while we get some rest." Valentina said softly as she hugged Theo tightly. "I love you, mi amore."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I love you too, darlin'," he murmured with a tired sigh. They were all worn out, but he wanted to stay as much as she did.

 

[heartofcourage]

Valentina stayed the entire night with Alex, tending to him the few times that he woke coughing. He looked absolutely miserable, but she knew that he would soon get better. She had to believe that. If she thought otherwise, she wouldn't be able to function.

 

[KieranSoares]

The upside to the situation was that Alex could breathe again. The downside was that the plague had also resulted in a mild case of pneumonia made far worse by his stitched throat and coughing. Just before sunrise, he began coughing up blood but it was clear by the color that it wasn't from his lungs. He had broken some stitches inside his those where one of the worst plague shoes had been.

 

[heartofcourage]

Valentina was rocking her boy, tears silently coursing down her cheeks as she wished there were more that she could do for him. He was miserable, scared, but he could breath and that's all she could ask for right then. Every time he coughed, she held her breath. It was only when he stopped that she would breathe a sigh of relief.

 

[KieranSoares]

At sunrise, Vincenzo took over, forcing Valentina to go to bed with a promise that it Alex's condition changed at all, she'd be the first to know about it. Theo was just as reluctant, but Chessie came with food for them and made sure they got to bed.

 

[heartofcourage]

Valentina had a hard time sleeping after she and Theo had been sent to bed. She lay in his arms, sobbing about her little boy like the mother she didn't get to be when she was tending to him.

 

[KieranSoares]

"He's gonna be okay, love," Theo murmured, even though his voice cracked as he held her so tightly. Though with Alex having caught pneumonia, that sentiment wasn't so sure anymore. It was an issue some young and old werefolk had dealt with in Ireland and a few died from, but it would impede his healing immensely and moved his breathing problems from his throat to his chest.

 

[heartofcourage]

"I know what this means, Theo." Valentina said sniffling as he held her so tightly, struggling with his own grief. "We might lose him even though I've done my best."

 

[KieranSoares]

"No, love... we promised," Theo told her, burying his face against her hair. "An' I'll be damned if we break a promise li'that t'Alex."