Trauma
Takes place: between NATSM and NATBM
…
"…so I think we should have pink flowers instead of white," Hilda continued. "That way, they won't blend in against your dress."
"Good idea," Florence mused. "What kind of pink flowers are there, Neil?"
"Pink roses," Neil replied. "Pink carries with it the connotation of grace and elegance, as well as sweetness and poetic romance. Dark pink roses are symbolic of gratitude and appreciation, and are a traditional way to say thanks. Light pink roses are associated with gentleness and admiration, and can also be used as an expression of sympathy."
"Perhaps not roses, then," Florence said, chuckling. "How do you know all that?"
"Ahkmenrah and I studied all kinds of flowers so that we could be useful when the problem of flowers comes up in conversation with you two," Neil replied. "How about Forget-Me-Nots?"
"Forget-Me-Nots?" Florence repeated, cocking her head on one side.
Neil beamed. "Forget-Me-Not plants symbolize true love. And as the name suggests, they are given or used to decorate gifts with the hope the recipient will not forget the giver. It also symbolizes faithful love and memories."
"Yes, I like that," Florence agreed. "Faithful love and memories. What colour are they?"
"Light blue," replied Neil. "They would also go well with white."
"Yes, I-."
At that moment, Florence was interrupted by a loud yell of her name. She and Neil both spun round and found Sacagawea running towards them, her hand out, palm up. As she got closer, Florence realised that a miniature was standing on the native woman's hand.
"Akna?" Florence drew nearer, frowning down at the miniature. "What's going on?"
"Sheriff Jedediah is in trouble," Akna replied, worry showing on her face for the first time since anyone had known her. "Please help."
"Show me."
Sacagawea led Florence and Hilda towards the janitor's closet, inside which they found a small, locked toolbox with Octavius standing next to it, trying to pick the lock.
"What happened?" Florence demanded.
"J-Jedediah got locked inside this toolbox," Octavius replied breathlessly. "He's p-panicking."
Florence bent down beside the toolbox on the counter and gently tapped on it with her finger. "Jed?"
"GIT ME OUTTA HERE!" they heard the cowboy's terrified voice screaming, before a panicked bashing noise started up from inside the toolbox.
Reacting quickly, Florence hurried to the key safe on the wall and grabbed the toolbox's key. She moved everyone away from the toolbox, knowing that Jed would be in a bad state when he got out. "I need you all to leave."
"What?" Octavius shook his head firmly. "Jedediah is my best friend and I-."
"Octavius," Florence snapped, turning to glare at him. "Get. Out."
Sacagawea swiftly picked up Octavius and took Hilda from Florence's shoulder, before taking the three miniatures out of the room. Florence quickly shut the door and locked it, before hurriedly unlocking the toolbox. Amongst the pile of tools lay Jed, curled up in a ball, almost being crushed between a hammer and a screwdriver. Florence reached into the toolbox and cupped her hands around the miniature, bringing him out of the suffocating space. She made sure to flatten her hands so that the miniature cowboy wouldn't still feel confined. She watched anxiously as Jed relaxed from his curled up position, but his eyes didn't open. "Jed? Jed, can you hear me?"
When the cowboy didn't respond, Florence fell silent and slowly rocked her hands, softly rubbing him with her thumb and blowing gently on him. After a few tense minutes, Jed took in a deep, shuddering breath and let it out again. "F-F-Flo…?"
"Lie still," Florence instructed him. "How are you feeling?"
"S-Stiff," Jed croaked. "W-Where's O-O-Ockie?"
"I sent him and the others out," replied the nurse. "I thought you might not want your best friends to see you like this."
"G-Good call…"
Florence sat down on the old armchair in the office and shifted Jed to one hand, allowing the miniature to lie on his back to recover.
"Do you need anything?" the nurse asked.
Jed slowly shook his head and didn't speak.
"You probably think I think you're pathetic," Florence began, "but I don't. The claustrophobia you felt was stemmed from being put into an hourglass and almost suffocating. It's normal for that to happen. PTSD often triggers extreme fears. It did it to me, too."
Jed opened his eyes again and stared up at her. "What?"
"My experience of being threatened by Kahmunrah," Florence explained. "Sometimes, I still feel his hand on my shoulder and his blade against my back. It may not seem like it, but now I'm deathly afraid of being touched from behind. That's why I punched Teddy in the face when he came up behind me and tapped me on the shoulder two days ago."
Jed chuckled weakly. "I rem'ber tha'."
"It's also why I constantly keep looking over my shoulder," added Florence, shivering as she forced herself not to do the exact same thing now. "Even though I know it won't happen, I keep thinking someone's going to attack me from behind again. That stemmed from the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder I received from being ambushed by Kahmunrah."
The miniature cowboy rubbed his wrist slowly. "Yeah…I git tha'. I guess tha's why I don' like bein' under stuff no more…"
"It reminds you of being under the sand," Florence stated softly.
"Yeah…" Jed shivered. "So it's normal tha' I'm still scared o' cramped spaces?"
"Completely normal," Florence assured him. "Some PTSD never goes away, some lessens with time, and some does disappear completely. But no matter what happens with your trauma, know that you aren't weak or pathetic. Whether it increases in strength, decreases in strength, or goes away completely, I promise you don't have to feel weak."
To her relief, Jed seemed to be understanding and believing what she was saying. "Th-Thanks. I think I'm ready ta see mah friends again."
Florence nodded and stood up. The cowboy also got to his feet on her palm as she unlocked and opened the door, finding Sacagawea standing a few metres away with the miniatures arguing loudly on her hand.
"Please stop arguing," Sacagawea was begging.
"I told you not to play with the toolbox!" shouted Hilda angrily. "You KNOW Jed is scared of small spaces!"
"We didn't play with it!" Octavius shouted back, matching her anger. "Jed wanted to get something from the desk but he tripped, okay?! I had NOTHING to do with this!"
"GUYS," Florence snapped, coming up to them. "Jed is FINE."
She held out her palm next to Sacagawea's, and the three other miniatures hopped over to join Jed. After Sacagawea left, Florence placed the four miniatures down on a bench and sat down on the floor next to it, watching them closely.
None of them seemed to know what to say. Eventually, Jed said, "So… I'm fine now."
That flipped Hilda's switch and made her grab Jed in a tight hug. "Are you okay?!"
"Y-Yeah, Hilda, I'm fine." The cowboy tolerated the hug for a minute, before pointedly pushing the Viking away. "I'm fine. Jus'…please don' let meh do that ever 'gain. 'Kay?"
Hilda laughed weakly. "Don't worry, brother; I'll never let anything like that happen again."
The miniature cowboy matched her laugh, before turning to Octavius, who had stayed silent so far. "Ockie?"
"I…" The Roman cleared his throat. "I am glad you are okay."
Seconds later, Octavius found himself being hugged by Jed. In the few seconds it took for him to relax into the embrace, Hilda and Akna had joined them as well.
Florence smiled as she watched them. Just like she herself had Neil and Ahkmenrah to help her get over her trauma, Jed had Octavius, Hilda, and Akna. The four miniatures had become such a close-knit family, even Akna, who had only joined the group a few days previously. It was almost astounding, considering how different their four civilisations were.
But then again, thought Florence, I'm getting married to an Ancient Egyptian pharaoh and my best friend is the first man on the moon. And WE all get along just fine.
She made brief eye contact with Jed, who gave her a weak smile. She smiled back. It was going to take some time, but they were doing it.
They were healing.
