For a moment, it was as if the world had come to an abrupt halt. The waiting room was engulfed by the worst kind of silence—the kind where nothing moved, and nobody breathed. The kind of silence found in a cemetery. Three pairs of wide eyes stared in disbelief at the man standing before them. Merida found she couldn't even blink.

Hiccup was the first to speak, but his voice was no more than a husky whisper. "Jack is…blind?"

The words hit Merida like a punch to the gut. That sentence was extremely, utterly, completely wrong. The only time it should've ever been spoken was when Merida teased Jack about his hair or his fashion sense. It was never supposed to be literal. There had to be some mistake…

But when the doctor let his clipboard fall to his side and gave his head a subtle shake, she knew that there was no mistake. "I'm truly sorry to have to tell you this."

Somehow, the words just weren't sinking in. A part of Merida held tightly to the hope that the doctor was wrong, that Jack would wake up and be just as he was before—vision and all. She couldn't accept that he would have to live with a disability as great as this. He was only eighteen!

As an afterthought, Merida glanced over at Rapunzel in concern. The girl was shaking again, her breath hitching with every inhalation. One small hand covered her mouth.

"Punzie…" Merida muttered, making her way over to her friend. She wrapped a supportive arm around her shoulders.

"Oh my god," Rapunzel breathed in disbelief, leaning weakly against her. Then she went silent, wide green eyes staring aimlessly at the floor.

Merida wasn't sure what she expected from the girl. Part of her expected tears while another part was waiting for her to fall into hysterics and adamantly deny the whole thing. When neither happened, she prodded her in concern. "Punz?"

Rapunzel's hand fell away from her mouth. "Is he okay?" she murmured.

Merida's brow furrowed. "What?"

The blonde stood up a little straighter and took a shy step toward the doctor. "Besides being…besides what you said, is Jack okay? Nothing else is wrong with him, right?" Her voice was soft and frail, but Merida couldn't help but marvel at the bravery she heard in it.

"We won't know for sure until he wakes up," the doctor replied. "He'll most likely have some memory loss. We can't tell how much, but it's common after a head injury. Aside from the usual symptoms, though, it looks like there won't be any other problems."

Rapunzel took a deep, shaky breath and nodded. Merida could see her hands trembling as they clutched at the sleeves of Jack's sweatshirt. "When can I see him?"

The man shook his head. "Not for a while, I'm afraid. We're waiting for him to wake up so we can better monitor his condition. And even after that, it might be a while until he's fit for visitors."

The tears Merida had been waiting on finally pooled in her eyes. "Why can't I see him now? While he's sleeping?" she asked, her voice taking on a pitiful begging tone. "Please, just for a minute. I just want to see him for a minute."

The doctor ran a hand through his hair with an exasperated sigh. After seemingly mulling it over for a few seconds, he turned to Hiccup and motioned to the far hallway with his clipboard. "Can I talk to you for a minute, please?"

A look of confusion passed over Hiccup's features before he glanced at Merida. She gave him a brief nod. She watched as he followed the doctor into the hall, where they disappeared around a corner. Curiosity burned strongly in her breast, but she quickly stifled the urge to follow them for the purpose of eavesdropping and turned her attention to Rapunzel instead. She looked like she wanted to follow them as well and was rapidly blinking away tears.

Merida wetted her lips. "Why don't we sit down?" she suggested lamely and proceeded to sink into a chair. Her ears itched to hear what was being said just down the hall, but all she could make out were muffled, incoherent murmurs.

Rapunzel dropped into the seat beside her with a frustrated sigh. "I'm not a baby, you know," she muttered under her breath.

"Huh?"

"I'm not some baby that needs to be protected." Rapunzel was glaring at her clasped hands.

Merida shifted in her chair. "Punzie—"

"Don't 'Punzie' me!" she snapped. "You and Hiccup have been coddling me ever since this thing started, and I'm sick of it. You don't need to protect me like some little kid! I'm not fragile—I'm not going to break."

Merida actually had to sit back in surprise. It wasn't often that Rapunzel showed anger. And when she did, it always frightened Merida for some reason. Seeing violent displays of anger from someone as sweet and caring as Rapunzel was actually quite terrifying.

She tried to calm her friend. "You know that's not what—"

"Yes, it is! Hiccup won't talk about the accident in front of me and you guys wouldn't let me go with Jack in the ambulance. And now they're talking privately about whether or not I can handle seeing him." She flopped back in the chair with a huff and crossed her arms. "I know that's what they're doing. I wish you all would just stop. I just—" Her voice suddenly hitched with a broken sob. "I just want to see Jack. Th-that's all I want." A fresh wave of tears leaked from Rapunzel's eyes and she dropped her face into her hands to cry.

With a sigh, Merida reached out a hesitant hand and laid it on the girl's back. "Shh…"

"I'm not an—an idiot," Rapunzel sobbed. "I know he looks bad. I know that, but…but I want to see him. He needs me, Merida! What if…what if he wakes up and I'm not there? H-he won't know where he is, and he'll be surrounded by all those horrible d-doctors and—" Suddenly she began to sob harder, her chest racked with hiccups. "And…and he can't even s-s-see!"

Merida pulled her into her arms once again and held her while she cried. Her heart ached for the girl. She didn't even want to think about how she would feel if their positions were reversed. The situation was hard enough on her as it was. The thought that Hiccup could've been the one in that hospital bed instead… Merida shuddered.

But if there was one thing she knew for certain, it was that Rapunzel had lied. There was no doubt that the girl was strong. Merida had witnessed it countless times—the way she stood up for what she believed in, the way she could calm people down when they were upset (namely Jack—she was the only one who could coax him out of his shell when he clammed up, and Merida could vouch for the fact that it was not an easy feat), the way she could keep her head and act as the voice of reason when the rest of them were arguing up a storm—and that was just the beginning. She possessed wonderful qualities that Merida could only marvel at and wonder how in the world he managed to do whatever amazing thing she did. Yes, in many ways, Rapunzel was strong.

But she was also fragile. She'd always been the baby of the group, if one could call it that. Aside from the fact that she was the youngest of the four, Merida supposed it was her sweet, innocent nature that made her so. The other three had always felt this unspoken need to protect her. Whether Rapunzel agreed or not, they were scared she would break. She was the type of person that you never wanted to see upset, so naturally they wanted to shield her from situations that could hurt her.

This was the first time she'd ever outwardly resented that protection. She said she wasn't fragile, that she wasn't going to break, but Merida knew that was a lie. Just listening to the way she blubbered and bawled in her lap made it obvious that she'd already broken. It had always been hard for her to see others in pain. Her tender, empathetic heart had a difficult time handling it. And now that the person she cared for the most was the one in pain… Merida couldn't imagine how much she must be hurting right now. She herself had never been the most compassionate person, and while she felt for her friend, she couldn't exactly sympathize.

She tried to think of something to say to console Rapunzel, but she didn't think that giving her empty promises like "everything will be okay" would help much right now. She never had been good with this kind of thing. So she continued to rub circles into the blonde's back and fight back tears of her own. Her head was still reeling from all that had happened in the past few hours.

Hiccup reentered the waiting room a few minutes later. Merida raised her eyebrows inquisitively, but he only shook his head, a defeated expression on his face. She felt her own face fall.

Rapunzel pushed away from Merida when she heard his feet shuffling on the floor and looked up at him with tearful eyes. "Well?"

He plunked down rather ungracefully into a chair. "They're not letting any of us see him, Rapunzel. Apparently they've got more tests to do…" He waved a hand around in the air. "Or something like that. I couldn't really keep up with all the terminology, but that's what I gathered. Point is, they won't let us in."

Rapunzel's chest shuddered and another round of violent sobs burst from her.

Hiccup looked alarmed. "Did I say something wrong?"

Merida just shook her head and gave him an "I'll tell you later" look. Then she turned to Rapunzel again. "Hey, Punz, why don't we head back to the lodge? Now that there's nothing else we can do here, I think we should go get something to eat. And maybe some sleep."

She was prepared for resistance on the matter. From the way Rapunzel had been carrying on, Merida thought for sure she wouldn't let herself be dragged from the hospital without seeing Jack first. So she was considerably shocked for a third time that day when Rapunzel said, "Okay," and compliantly let them lead her to the car waiting in the parking lot.


A heavy cloud followed all of them around for the rest of the day. They ordered dinner from the lodge's café that evening and ate in silence. No one smiled. No one even so much as tried to lighten the mood. What was the point, really?

It was all wrong. This wasn't how things were supposed to be. Merida couldn't remember the last time they'd been together and not laughed. She was supposed to be bickering with Jack and rolling her eyes at his lame jokes. She was supposed to be listening to him and Hiccup go back and forth in some kind of sass war. She was supposed to be watching him offer Rapunzel the pickles off his sandwich since she liked them. But there was none of that.

The empty chair at their four-person table sat like a constant reminder of Jack's absence and seemed to mock their misery. Merida tried not to look at it.

"We were supposed to go for a walk."

The whisper was so low that Merida almost didn't catch it. She glanced at Rapunzel. "Huh?"

"He wanted to see the woods," she uttered. "I told him how pretty they were and he wanted to see them. I…I promised him we'd go together." Her eyes watered again and her lower lip trembled. "He'll never get to see them now."

The words felt like a stab to Merida's chest. A physical ache grew in her stomach. Hiccup lowered his sandwich as if he'd suddenly lost his appetite. He looked at Merida across the table and she could've sworn there were tears in his eyes.

"He'll be so scared," Rapunzel continued, toying with a lock of hair. "Waking up in a strange place and…and not being able to see anything. I should…I should be there for him."

"He'll be fine, Punz," Hiccup offered, evidently trying his best to sound upbeat. "Jack's brave. I'm sure he'll be just fine."

"And besides," Merida added. "You will be there for him. Maybe not right away, but as soon as they let us in you can be there beside him, like you want."

Rapunzel stared into her untouched bowl of soup. "I guess you're right." Then she pushed her dinner away and stood abruptly. "I'm going to bed."

Merida and Hiccup watched her walk away, hugging herself as if she was cold. Once she was gone, Hiccup sighed loudly and slumped over the table.

"What're we gonna do now?" he deadpanned.

Merida propped her head on her fist. "How should I know? You're always the one with the plan."

"Yeah, well, for once, I got nothing."

She poked at her salad lazily with her fork. "What did the doctor say?"

"Not much, really. He just doesn't think it's a good idea for anyone to see Jack for a while since apparently he looks god-awful. And he's not doing so hot right now."

Merida nodded. She had gathered that much. "I think Rapunzel's angry with us."

"Why?"

"Because she wants to see Jack and she feels like we're keepin' her from him."

Hiccup let out a breath and pushed himself back. "I was afraid of that. But I really think it's for her own good. I wouldn't want to see her if she saw Jack like he is now."

"I know. I think she's just scared. For him."

"I wouldn't expect anything else." He was quiet for a moment, tracing the grains in the wooden tabletop with his finger. "You know we're supposed to head back to Burgess in two days."

Merida nodded. She'd thought about that before. Winter break ended that weekend, and they'd been planning to return to town the Saturday before to get settled before school began again. The thought of school made her feel sick now. "I don't know how we can," she admitted.

"They'll have to transfer Jack to the hospital up there. That should make it easier for everyone."

"Yeah." She fiddled with the corner of a napkin, wondering whether or not she should say what was on her mind. But before she could think too much about it, she blurted, "What do you think it'll be like now that Jack's…uh…you know…?"

"What do you mean?"

Merida ripped off a piece of the napkin. "I mean, do you think he'll go back to livin' in your apartment or decide to live at home, or…?"

Hiccup gave her a sad smile. "It's a little early to be thinking about that, wouldn't you say?"

"I was just wondering."

He shook his head. "I…really have no idea. I think we should just worry about what we're going to do now, for the moment."

Merida knew that thinking about the future was just as painful for him as it was for her. Probably more so. He and Jack had shared an apartment for the first semester of college and she knew that spending a second semester alone would be tough for him. How any of them would be able to cope after this was a real mystery, Merida thought.

Come to think of it, how they would manage to get through the next few days was a mystery as well. It's not like any of them would be able to enjoy the lodge's activities after this, but sitting around the hospital waiting for Jack to wake up wasn't a good option either.

"I still can't believe this happened," she muttered, letting her head sink onto her arms.

Hiccup rubbed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. "Yeah."

It was then that Merida noticed how exhausted he looked. His eyes seemed vacant and haunted and were ringed with dark circles. It hadn't dawned on her before now that this whole thing must have really been taking a toll on him. After all, he was the only one that witnessed Jack's accident. She felt awful for not having realized it before. Slowly, she reached out and rested a hand on his arm. "Hey…you all righ'?"

He let out a slow breath and flashed her a tired grin. "Yeah."

"Why don't you go to bed, Hic?"

"Mer, it's like nine o' clock."

She frowned. "I think you need the extra sleep."

He gave a halfhearted laugh. "I guess you're right."

"Of course I am." They stood together and began to clear away their dishes.

After they threw away their trash, Merida felt Hiccup's arm snake around her waist and pull her close to him. "Are you going to bed too?"

"Mm, probably," she answered, placing her hands on his chest.

"I think you should."

She nodded sarcastically and patted his shoulder. "Thanks for your input, Hic."

"Hey, I'm just looking out for you."

"You sure that's the reason?"

"Well, that and it's not fair if I have to go to sleep and you get to stay up."

Merida whacked him lightly in the ribs. "That's what I thought, ya big baby." Then she sobered and peered up into his face with concern. "Are you gonna be all right by yourself?"

He smirked. "'Course I will."

She leaned in a little closer to him. "I'm worried about you."

"I'll be fine, Mer. I'm so tired I'll probably pass out as soon as I get to bed anyway."

"If you're sure." She reached up and fiddled with the little braid at the back of his head. "I'll see you in the mornin' then?"

"I'll meet you in the lounge." He threaded his fingers into her mane of curls. "Take care of Rapunzel, okay?"

"'Course," she muttered.

Hiccup leaned down and pressed a firm kiss to her mouth. Merida marveled at how good he was at lifting her spirits, even when his own were at rock bottom. She wished they didn't have to part, but she could already feel sleep tugging at her eyelids despite the earliness of the night. The day must have taken more out of her than she thought.

She felt his lips leave hers and her eyes fluttered open.

"Sleep well," he muttered, and planted one last kiss on her forehead. "I love you."

"Love you too," Merida returned.

They went their separate ways at the stairs. She felt a pang in her heart as she saw him turn the corner and disappear.


I'm sorry that there's not much to this chapter, but it was necessary in preparation for the next one. I'm thinking there will probably be one or two more parts to this arc, but we'll see.

Thank you all for the wonderful feedback! I really appreciate it and it's my main motivation to keep writing!