A/N: Yeah, yeah, I know. More delays. I'm a despicable person. The worst part is that none of my other stories have been updated either. On that note, please do check out my other story Verdict. Oh and speaking of, after this chapter I will mostly focus on that story since it's going to be pretty short and I should get it out of the way. Of course this won't be discontinued, but as this is a series of one-shots the actual continuing story will take priority. Sorry for those who are not really into it. :/
Wow, long author's note. One last thing:
I have no medical knowledge whatsoever, so I've taken a lot of liberties here. If this kind of thing bugs you, feel free to skip it and come back for the next one! :) (It's not proof read yet, because I'm in a bit of a hurry, so sorry for any mistakes, they'll be fixed in the morning).
Disclaimer: Artemis Fowl belongs to Eoin Colfer. Though if he doesn't write another book, I will. It just might not get released. Oh well.
Chapter 4: Secrets, Books and Allergies
The next year Mr. Fowl got into a new, thriving business that forced him to spend even more time away from home. For young Artemis, there shouldn't be much difference, however this allowed him one privilege he had always been too afraid to ask for.
The manor itself was filled with books. Back then there was a large bookcase in almost every room, when the library wasn't set up yet. It was actually because of this incident that they placed them all in a room as thoroughly maintained as what is now the library of the house. The greatest collection of books in the house though, was in Mr. Fowl's study. Needless to say, Artemis took the opportunity to go just there.
Despite the possibilities of being in there, he knew not to try anything without his father's permission, which he didn't have to begin with. Even going in there to read could get him in a lot of trouble. But if there was one thing the kid knew at his seven years was that said father never came home early.
So one day he isolated himself in the study like he always did right after lunch. Every now and then I would check on him, to make sure he was ok or that for heaven's sake he didn't break anything. That was something neither of us dared to even think about. Sometimes I wondered who would get into more trouble if anything went wrong. By the end of the day I was going to find out.
I was just outside the study when I heard coughing from the other side of the door. Cautiously, I knocked on the door and sneaked a peek inside. Icy blue eyes looked at me expectantly while the rest of the boy was busy coughing into his hand. He held up his other hand for me to wait and loudly cleared his throat.
"I apologize for that," he said eventually, his rough voice sounding slightly comical with the cute baby face he still had and hated. "Did you want anything specific or did you just come by to check?"
"Just checking…" I muttered. My charge was currently sitting on the thick carpet like he always did as to not accidentally disturb anything, yet he seemed to be squirming uncomfortably. "Are you ok?"
"Sure," he waved me off, his attention going back to the book open on his lap.
"You don't look like it."
"I don't?"
"If you're not comfortable, you can sit on the couch, you know," I offered. The more I thought about it though, the less likely it seemed this was bothering him. "Or is it something else?"
Artemis looked up at that and gave me that small smile of his I had come to recognize. No, no, it wasn't the… what did you call it? Vampire smile? Oh, I see your point. But, that wasn't it. No, it was the kind of sweet smile which came only at times when he needed to calm me down. Was it honest? Well… I seriously doubt it.
"I'm fine, Butler, thank you for your concern. Perhaps I'm a little anxious. Who knows… what will happen if he comes?" By the end of the question his eyes have taken a faraway look. It bothered me every time, that look. Mostly because it usually appeared while he was pondering on things considerably less than pleasant.
"Hey," I snapped him out of it. "You don't need to worry about that. You know I will warn you immediately."
"Thank you, Butler. I appreciate it." I nodded and turned to leave with the promise of coming back later before he added. "Oh, and Butler? Could you please…" Another cough. "… please bring me a glass of water? I think my throat it a bit too dry for its own good."
With a sharp nod I left and headed for the kitchen, all the while wondering whether I should tell Mrs. Fowl to call the doctor or not. He couldn't be making himself sick, could he? Maybe he was coming down with a cold or something?
Well, he's coughing a lot… I should make sure he's perfectly fine. Though Mr. Fowl will scold both of us if I call the doctor over for mere coughing… Oh, who cares? He probably won't even notice…
A slight feeling of déjà vu came over me outside of the study, where once again a young boy's coughing could be heard. There was only a small but crucial difference this time.
It was way more violent.
"Artemis?" I yelled, abruptly opening the door, only to find the kid on his hands and knees, coughing painfully, his chest moving rapidly. I was on my own knees and at his side in an instant. "Artemis! What's wrong?"
A small hand grasped my jacket in a white knuckled grip that increased in intensity each time a cough wracked his body. Artemis raised his head towards me and for the first time I was at loss.
The boy was staring at me, eyes wide and wet with tears, his face paler than usual, paler than death. The coughs had been replaced with wheezes, painful sounding attempts to take enough oxygen to shake away that dreadful color. And still, despite how much he was shaking, I managed to catch him mouthing two words, a plea from a child who didn't look a day older than his seven years at the moment.
Help.
Me.
"What happened to you?" My voice almost cracked with desperation. This couldn't be a cold.
Another word.
Asthma.
I didn't question how he knew that, even at his early years it was clear this boy was beyond clever. What I did question however was how in the world I hadn't realized it sooner. Maybe it was because Artemis had never showed any signs of asthma before. Maybe it was because I was getting too emotional too soon. Whatever the reason there was a chance my mistake would cost me greatly. There was no time to waste.
Ignoring how mortified by my action both the boy and his father would have been under normal circumstances, I picked him up bridal style and hurriedly carried him out of the room. The way he clung to me instead of wanting to get away only served to show me just how bad the situation was.
"Mrs. Fowl! Mrs. Fowl!" I yelled as loud as I could.
The woman was down the stairs in seconds. She knew there could be only one reason for me to be yelling like that. Once her eyes fell on her son, a hand flew to her mouth, shock clear on her features. "Oh, my… Arty? Arty, sweetheart? Butler, what on earth is going on?"
The kid let out a shaky cough, shuddering violently in my arms. Absentmindedly, I started rubbing circles on his back in a pathetic attempt to provide some sort of comfort.
"He's having some sort of asthma attack, he needs to go to the hospital." Forgetting my manners, the least I could care about right then and there, I turned my back on her and headed straight for the door.
She followed suit, a coat and a mobile phone in hand. "An asthma attack? But Arty doesn't have asthma!" Cough. Cough. Wheeze. "Sweetheart…" His mother whimpered.
"In any case, we need to go."
My words were enough to make her hurry up and close the door behind us, without a single look back, her mind only on the child in my arms.
We most likely broke every speed limit there was on our way to the hospital. By doing so however we managed to make it there before Artemis could get much worse. I hurried to the emergency room, the boy once more placed safely in my arms, Mrs. Fowl following closely behind us.
The next half hour passed in a blur.
A few nurses took Artemis away, tried to stop me when I followed and soon thought twice about it. After that both his mother and I were allowed in the room they had him in as long as we didn't bother them while they worked on him.
Now I don't remember much about that part. The only thing I could pay attention to then was the oxygen mask placed on the seven-year-old's face and the pain, the discomfort in his narrowed eyes. The feeling of helplessness that washed over me back then, I never wanted to go through it again. Fat chance with that kid, but that's another matter for another time.
Thankfully, it was soon over and a few minutes after his breathing had returned to normal, the exhausted boy was sleeping peacefully on his hospital bed.
A round of questions and tests later, we found out it wasn't even asthma. Allergic reaction they said. Dust mite allergy.
Mr. Fowl was going to be pissed.
Yes, Mr. Fowl was indeed irritated by the news. Having a dust mite allergy certainly meant a few renovations needed to be done in the house. Something that would cost him greatly, considering the size of the manor. But that wasn't what angered him the most. That one came with a single question:
"How did this happen? Where was he?"
In my defense, I did try to redirect the question as much as possible. Still it was Artemis Fowl we were talking about and whether it was the first or the second, you couldn't pass anything by them. Funny thing, in the end it was his mother who ratted him out, who was too shocked to realize how she had doomed her own son.
I don't know exactly what went on between the two in the hospital room. At first I tried to get in but he not so discreetly kicked me out of the family talk. Some family.
Mr. Fowl came out twice as mad and a few minutes later left the hospital altogether. Without hesitation I promptly took his place.
Walking in, I saw my young charge lying on the bad, one arm in front of his eyes, blocking the light. The boy looked absolutely exhausted, his usual composed pose replaced by a clear droopiness and fatigue. The empty chair next to his bed was quickly occupied by me and the next few moments were spent in a soft silence not quite awkward but not exactly comfortable either.
"Artemis? How are you feeling?"
So slowly, the boy removed his hand from his face and turned to look at me. He was made to wear a nasal canula just for precaution, yet it worried me a bit.
"Yes, I'm alright now," he whispered, blinking wearily at me. "Thank you… for helping me…"
"Of course I did, Artemis. I'm glad you're ok. I didn't see this coming."
He sighed softly, his eyes dropping closed for a moment. "Hmm… I made quite the mess, though."
"I'm sorry about that… How much trouble did you get into?"
"It could have been worse," he shrugged dismissively. "Apparently even he could tell I wasn't feeling very up to it… Hey, Butler…"
"Yes?"
"Was it really that bad? What I did?"
My fists clenched at my sides at the question. "What are you talking about? Sneaking in the study?"
"Yes." The boy bit the lower of his lip.
"Artemis… Artemis, listen to me. First of all stop doing that," I ordered despite our normal positions, looking pointedly at the teeth tearing his lip. "Secondly, I'm not going to say you're smart, because you're going to look at me derisively and you'll be right to do so. No matter how you look at it though, you of all people should be able to tell when something is really wrong or not. You sneaked in the study, so what? You were always careful not to mess anything up. You didn't even look around like most people would. The only thing you did was read. Exercise that huge brain of yours," I said, smiling. "I'm not saying don't follow orders because you should, but this isn't a thing you should get worked up about. Do you understand me?"
A sharp nod from the much more awake boy showed me I had gone through to him. "Yes, you're right. Of course you're right. I don't know what got into me. Perhaps I'm still somewhat fatigued from the whole ordeal. I'm sorry."
"Don't be, sir. You just focus on getting better and we'll see to everything else better. Speaking of, we'll need to see what we can do to help with your allergy."
Artemis settled himself on the bed more comfortably and gave me the more characteristic smug grin of his. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to get some rest. Don't worry about the allergy measures, I'll make you a list later."
With a quiet chuckle, I rolled my eyes at his attitude. "Of course you will, Artemis. Of course you will."
A/N: Abrupt endings for the win! Yes, this chapter went absolutely nowhere. For the record, next up is Artemis Senior's departure unless anyone has a request for me.
Despite the medical disaster this chapter was and the weird lack of Artemis, I do hope you liked it! Please leave a review! It makes everyone write faster, I promise!
