~Aurora.
I have never felt as powerless as I was right now. For the first time in my life, my brain, and mind could not provide any proper suggestion for a real life problem. My mind was numb, my brain, dead, and my eyes, overflowing with tears.
It was a really terrible thing to watch, heck! It was the worst experience of my life. Seeing my son quivering and shaking from some illness was worse than what I have experienced throughout my years of work.
“Call an ambulance!” a voice yelled as the door to my room burst open as Ethan ran in with Sam racing behind him. “Call an ambulance, Sam!” He rounded the bed and took Arne in his arms, “hey son, keep your eyes open you hear me, keep your eyes open,”
I had noticed Arne’s increased temperature last night after my conversation with Ethan but for some reason unknown to me, I brushed it off only to wake up in the middle of the night to a crying and shivering Arne. I panicked and shouted and Sam, who I supposed was doing his rounds, heard me.
“The ambulance is on the way, Dr. Rory, you have nothing to worry about, the kid will be fine” Sam said as he tucked his phone in his pocket and moved closer to Ethan,
“Help me take his clothes off, will you,” Ethan pulled off his shirt as he dashed into the bathroom and emerged with his shirt dripping with water and wrapped it around Arne’s body, pressing the wet shirt to his body to reduce his heating body.
From the corner of the room, I stood helplessly, with tears flooding my face, watching as Ethan and Sam; two men without any medical knowledge, save my child. I wanted to move, really, and I moved towards Arne and gave him all the first aid treatment he required before the ambulance got here, but, that was all in my head.
I was saving my son in my head, while Ethan was doing the best he could to save Arne. I saw the lines of worry that ran throughout his face as he stared down at Arne, I saw the way his chest rose and fell, and I could tell he was worried about Arne, Ethan was genuinely worried about my son,
“My king, the ambulance is here.” Sam withdrew from the window from which he had been checking for the ambulance and moved towards the bed and tried to carry Arne but Ethan beat him to it.
“Help me with the door,” Ethan said, but he was already running out of the room before Sam could reach the door. Still, I stood motionlessly, hyperventilating and crying silently as the room turned empty. And quiet.
“Dr. Rory,” Sam called as he ran back into the room, “we have to go. Now.” I sucked in sharply as my senses and the ability to will my muscles returned. Wiping off my tears with the back of my palm, I nodded and followed Sam downstairs.
...
The sun was already beating the earth when I woke up from my slumber, or so I thought, by Arne’s bed. He had been admitted immediately we arrived and was given immediate treatment. His temperature was better now according to how it felt under my touch though, I still needed to get a better judgement from the doctor. The previous night had taught me not to neglect the rulings of a thermometer.
I caught a figure in the room from the corner of my eyes, and I shifted them to see Ethan seated calmly on the couch in a corner of the room.
“You looked so peaceful sleeping, I didn’t want to disturb.”
“I thought I had lost him,” I blurted. I still don’t know why I did so, perhaps, I had so much fear in me, I needed to let go of.”
“But you didn’t. He is alive and okay.”
“The doctor said it has a very high fever.”
“I was told so, too.”
“I don’t even know how it happened.” A sigh escaped my lips as I turned my eyes to Arne and back to Ethan, “what would I have said had anything had happened to him?”
“But nothing happened to him, and none of this was your fault.”
“ No, don't say that, it was. I am a bad mother, I paid no attention to my son. I could not even do anything to help him, he needed me, and I couldn't do anything to save my son.”
Ethan stood up from where he was seated and walked closer to me, “you had every right to be scared. He is your son, and you have always been protective of him, this took you unawares, and you handled it very well.”
“By standing and watching my son fight for his life?"
“That is not what I mean. And besides, I was there, you know, I was there to be your strength when you were weak, that is how this works.”
'I will be your strength when you are weak, Aurora, always.' Ethan's words ran back into my head and echoed.
It was a promise he made to me years ago. Years ago when we were still young and in love, years ago before I saw the stone heart under that sexy face of his.
“Yeah,” I muttered, “thank you for saving his life.”
He shrugged, “it's not like I had any other options. Arne is like a son to me. I love him just as much.”
It took every training I had in medical school to keep my face from showing the shock I witnessed from Ethan's confession.
How was he saying that? How could he when he had threatened to kill Arne himself? Was he sorry for what he did? Or was this a way of making tell him the truth, so he can keep to his words?
“Hey, hey,” Ethan said as he cupped my face in his hands, searching my eyes, “you have no reason to shed tears, Arne is fine, and I am here with you.”
Only he wasn't, physically? Yes, but, he wasn't with me. He was neither with me nor my son.
Shuddering, I let my tears flow freely, the reasons for my tears I couldn't tell, but I knew I wanted to cry, to let the pains and hurt injuries I had in my heart ease a bit.
Ethan pulled me into him and I fisted my hands in his shirt and I soaked them.
“There there,” he brushed my hair off my face as I pulled away from him. “Are you done or do you want to cry some more because I can assure you, we can do this all day.”
I chuckled and sniffled. Without letting go of my face, he ran his thumb along my lower lip before slowly dragging his eyes up to mine. His hold on my jaw tightened as he held my gaze.
“Auro-”
A quick knock came on the door and Sam walked in immediately, “My king, a lady-” he paused as he darted his eyes between Ethan and me.
I pulled away from Ethan's hold as he slowly let his eyes turn towards Sam before fully turning his body to him.
“Yes. Sam?”
“A lady is here to see you. Tiffany Sorenson.”
“She is here? Why?”
“She says it's important.”
He nodded, “give me a minute, I will be there shortly.” He turned to me.
“You should go, you have an important guest and I need to get some more sleep. I need to go and bring Arne a change of clothes, in fact.” He nodded and followed Sam out of the room.