Nero: Age 6
Nero might have been happy his parents didn't automatically leave the room when either one was in sight, but it still made him warm and fuzzy when they all sat in the living room together. Granted, no one was talking to each other, but it was better than when Mommy would turn up the television to bug Father, or he'd misplace her computer and forget where he'd put it.
So while he was happy right now, but he was still kinda bored, even if his mother running her fingers through his hair was nice as he cuddled into her side. "Mommy, can we play outside?"
Father glanced up from the book he was reading. "Nero, your mother only returned from her expedition this morning. She's tired."
"It's okay." Mommy said calmly, before smiling sweetly at Nero. "We can play, but just for a little while, alright? It's going to get dark soon and we can't stay out after that."
Nero nodded. He'd just always sort of accepted certain rules, like no leaving the backyard, no staying outside late, and not telling Mommy where Father kept his sword. "Yeah, okay!" he hopped off the couch and raced to the screen door, unlocking it and waited for Mommy to catch up.
His brow furrowed when he noticed Mommy seemed a bit flushed just from such a short distance, and her gaze was a little hazy until it focused on him. She smiled though, and gestured for him to head out.
Nero did so, squinting against the glow of the sun against the trees along the fence and the grass. He turned his attention to the slide parked near the living room window. It was attached to a tunnel he could crawl around through. Nero had wanted one just like Mommy's at her old home, but both she and Father agreed it would take up too much space in such a small yard. When he pointed out the obvious, just get a bigger yard, Mommy laughed.
She wasn't laughing now though, in fact, she seemed to be moving a bit oddly. Mommy staggered, rubbing her brow as she followed after him. A sheen of sweat formed on her forehead.
"Mommy, are you okay?" Nero asked.
She nodded, smiling but it looked strange. "Yes, sweetheart. Just a bit dizzy, that's all. It's probably just from having been working too hard."
Nero shrugged, and pulled her to the tunnel. "I'm gonna go exploring, like you! Wait for me on the other side."
Mommy chuckled softly, stroking his hair. "I will. Have fun, dear."
Nero beamed, and ducked into the tunnel. It wasn't dark because he could see the other end, but it was cramped. Maybe he was getting too big to crawl through anymore. Hmm, he wondered if his parents would install a gym like at the park then. Or maybe a pool, that would be nice.
When Nero came out on the other side of the tunnel, he frowned. Mommy wasn't waiting for him like she promised. "Mom-" he looked around, and his eyes were wide as saucers as he stared at his mother, lying on the ground and unmoving. "Mommy!" he screamed, rushing to her as fast as his legs would carry him.
He dropped to her side, shaking her shoulder. "Mommy?!" Tears pricked his eyes as his mother wouldn't answer. Her eyes were closed, and she was red and sweaty. Her skin almost hurt to touch it was so warm.
"Nero." He almost jumped at the sound of his name, his father already there and kneeling beside them. Father pressed two fingers against Mommy's neck, but his gaze was on Nero. "What happened?"
Nero's heart was pounding in his chest. "I-I don't know. I went through the tunnel and-and when I came out M-Mommy wasn't moving." he cried, and he couldn't keep the tears from streaming down his face as he hiccuped uncontrollably. "You saved her before, daddy, please, do it again!"
It felt like forever as his father stared at him, before his eyes narrowed and his jaw set tightly. "Nero, get inside, now." Father slid one arm under Mommy's back and the other under her knees before picking her up. Nero rushed inside, scurrying to get out of the way as Father placed Mommy on the couch and went to the sink.
Nero shook like a leaf, staring at his mother as she remained unconscious. Why wasn't she waking up? What was happening to her? Nero backed into the chair his father had been sitting on as the man came over with a cloth. He placed it on Mommy's forehead, and she finally moved a little. Nero tensed up when Father looked at him with that same stern expression.
"Stay there, and don't move."
"I'm sorry." Nero whispered as his father made for his room. The man halted, before he kept going and Nero felt more tears roaming down his cheeks. He wiped them away, in time to jump as Uncle Dante came stumbling out of Father's room, looking put out before his eyes widened when they landed on Mommy.
"What the-"
"Enough." Father said harshly as he came back in. "Watch Nero, I'm taking Lara to a hospital."
"You couldn't have just called an ambulance?" Uncle Dante asked in disbelief.
"That would require wasting valuable time sitting here just waiting. This is much more efficient." Father replied, picking Mommy up again.
Uncle Dante called after him as Father headed back for his room again, "At least tell me what hospital you're taking her too!" When there was no reply, Dante let out a frustrated noise and wiped his hand over his head. "Damn it, Vergil."
Nero was too shaken to call him out for swearing. "Is Mommy going to be okay?"
Uncle Dante froze, and his eyes widened again before he grinned. "Of course she is, just wait, she'll probably be back on her feet in no time. Your mom's tough, she's not just gonna drop dead on you."
That sent Nero into a fresh set of tears, sobs building in his chest.
"No, I didn't mean to say she'd, like, die or anything-ah! Why did Vergil think I was the best to comfort a crying kid?" Uncle Dante gripped his head, shaking it before he went back into Father's room. Unlike Father though, Uncle Dante only came back with his father's cell phone. "Here, talk to your grandma."
Nero clutched the phone with blurry eyes, sniffling. "Hello?" he murmured.
Grandma Eva's tone was warm and gentle, "Oh, Nero, don't worry, alright sweetie? I'm sure the doctor's will do everything they can to make your mother better."
Nero wiped his eyes, blinking hard. "I wanted Father to save her, like he did before."
Grandma was silent for a moment, "Yes, he did, but this is different. Your father saved her from a concussion, a head injury. That's caused by something outside the body. What's happening to your mother is caused inside her body, and that requires doctors to look after her. Your father still helped her by taking her to the hospital though."
Nero sniffled again, bottom lip wobbling. "Really? So Mommy will get better?" Will she hate him though for hurting her? Father already blamed him for it.
"Yes, I'm sure she'll get better, but now we need to get off the phone so if your father calls he can tell Uncle Dante where to take you to see her, alright?"
Nero nodded, before realizing she couldn't see it. "Alright."
"That's my brave boy. Now, put your uncle back on." Grandma said. When Nero did so, Uncle Dante winced before mumbling a 'bye' to Grandma.
"So, are you hungry? Do you want to eat something while we wait? I can order a pizza." Uncle Dante said, though his gaze kept flickering back to the phone.
"Not hungry." Nero muttered, but blushed when his stomach growled.
"Right." Uncle Dante drawled. "Then what do you want for when you do get hungry?"
Nero bit his lip. "Peanut butter sandwich."
Uncle Dante nodded, and steered Nero towards the table. "Alright then. Sit here and we can not be hungry together while we wait."
Nero climbed onto one of the chairs, but his mind kept flickering to his mother lying on the ground, his father's angry stare. His insides twisted, but he wasn't sure if it was because of hunger or shame. Mommy was hurt, and it was all his fault; Father warned him about it even. The bread tasted bland, and the peanut butter even worse when Nero finally got himself to nibble on it. All he could think about was where his mother was and if she was being helped. Time ticked by, and he almost jumped when Father's cell phone rang.
Uncle Dante answered with a glower, "About time, where are you?" he paused, narrowing his eyes. "Yeah, I got it. Uh-huh, sure, fine." He clicked off the phone, and his smile seemed less strained when he looked at Nero. "Great news, kid. Your mother's being looked at, and we can go see her. I need to make a few calls though, so go get ready."
Nero nodded, abandoning his sandwich to hurry to the door. He slipped his shoes on as in the background Uncle Dante was talking to people, his tone more serious than he'd thought possible. Nero pulled on his jacket and Uncle Dante grabbed the keys from the hook by the door. "Wait, the screen door."
Uncle Dante took a detour and made sure it was locked. "Good eye, kid. Now lets go."
Nero was ready to cry again, this time out of frustration. The hospital they were at didn't know where his mother was, and Uncle Dante looked about ready to lose it too. It was only by the third try they found Father sitting in an empty room, unoccupied chairs around him. He was leaning over, elbows on his knees and fingers steepled together as his gaze was pinned to the coffee table.
"Verge." Uncle Dante called, sitting down beside him and Nero clambered up beside his uncle. Father didn't reply, but Dante didn't seem to care as he continued, "What's with the private room? It took forever to find it."
"When you informed Lord and Lady Croft about the whereabouts of their daughter, they had her transferred to a private room and brought in their personal doctor. She arrived not long before you did." Father explained, his tone calm.
"So you don't know what's wrong with her yet?" Uncle Dante asked.
"No, I have only been informed she's been stabilized and they're still trying to determine a diagnosis." Father replied.
"Well, I got in contact with Jonah, he'll be able to tell the doctor what happened on the expedition that could have caused this." Uncle Dante said.
Nero flinched. Would everyone be mad when they found out Nero caused this? Father was already mad at him, and Mommy would be too, he didn't want everyone else to hate him. He sucked in a breath when the door to the hallway opened, and Mommy's parents came in.
Grandmother looked at him, eyes brimming with tears and puffy. She sniffled and pulled Nero into her arms. He tensed up, before hugging her back. "How are you feeling, dearie?"
Nero bit his lip. "I want Mommy to get better."
"And she will, champ." Grandfather said, pushing his glasses back up his nose.
Grandmother released him, and patted Dante on the shoulder before she leaned down and hugged Father. If Nero had tensed, his father was like a statue. "How is she? How are you holding up?"
"The doctors still haven't determined a diagnosis for what's ailing Lara." Father explained, his voice tight. He didn't relax even when Grandmother let him go as the doctor came out of the room at the back.
"When can we see our daughter? Is she alright?" Grandfather asked.
The doctor, and her name tag read 'Montague', glanced between them. "I am sorry things are stressful for you, but these things take time, and until we know exactly what happened on the expedition your daughter was on, we can't make any final judgment calls."
"Her friend Jonah was on the trip with her, he should be here soon to give you the information." Uncle Dante said.
Dr. Montague paused, her eyes flickering between Dante and Father, before she nodded. "We'll be sure to keep an eye out for him. For now, we've got her sedated and on an I.V. You can see her, but it'll have to be one at a time."
Grandmother nodded, and glanced at Father. "Would you like to go first? Can you tell us if she's doing better than when you brought her here?"
Father's expression didn't change, but his shoulders tightened just a little. "I believe you should be the one to have the right to see her first."
When Grandmother hesitated, Uncle Dante got to his feet. "I'll go check on her. I saw her at the house before Vergil left with her."
Dr. Montague stepped forward, brow furrowed. "Sir, I'm afraid visitation is only for family-"
"He is though," Grandfather said, "he's our son-in-law's brother. It's quite alright."
The doctor said nothing as Uncle Dante walked into the back room, but her brows were furrowed as she checked her clipboard. She smiled, though a bit hesitant as she nodded. "I'll be back soon. No longer than ten minutes for visitation."
When the doctor left, the grandparents took a seat on the other side of Father, while Nero tried not to fidget guiltily.
"You didn't have to say that. I'm sure Dante would have gone to see Lara anyway." Father said, his voice low. He stiffened when Grandmother reached over and grabbed his hand, patting it in hers with a gentle, if watery, smile.
"I know you and Lara probably aren't going to be changing the arrangement you both have any time soon, but it's just better to say this now so the doctors can't keep your family from seeing her either." she explained, and Grandfather nodded.
Father's gaze flickered between them, his expression unreadable. He didn't have time to say anything though when the door opened again, and the other grandparents came in. Father pulled his hand away as the grandmas hugged, another fresh set of tears springing from Grandmother's eyes. Nero felt his own eyes prickle, and his guilt grew.
Everyone glanced to the back room when Uncle Dante came in, and he rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, good news is that she's looking less like death warmed over at least."
Nero burst into tears.
"Dante!"
