Chapter 21: You're not warm, you're hot
The days came and went. Summer turned to fall, and all into winter. A chill had descended on the valley, bringing with it plenty of time to share with Lucia. She didn't exactly have a ton of work in the winter.
This wasn't all good news, though. Her funds were tight, and the pickings slim. In order to combat this, she'd been spending more and more time in the mines. Sebastian wished he could help more, but even he was in a tight spot. With the end of the year looming, people just didn't seem to have a lot of work for him.
Still, they'd been spending most nights together, and he was grateful for the time. Her home had become a second home to him. Sometimes it would be days between visits to his family home. And yet, no one seemed to be bothered. Robin just considered it him spreading his wings.
Things were good, and Sebastian still hadn't come down from the cloud he'd been on since the two had started their relationship.
But on this particular morning, things weren't so calm. It all started off with a fever. Lucia woke looking pale, other than the flush in her cheeks. Sniffles and coughs followed. But she still got up and did as much of the work as she could manage before Sebastian beat her to it.
"Lucia, you really should rest…" He advised, pressing his hands to her forehead, "Hot. You're not warm, you're hot."
Lucia grinned coyly. "Well, thank you."
Sebastian rolled his eyes. "Not like that. I mean, yes, like that too. But that's not what I meant in this instance… You've got a fever. I really think you should take it easy today."
Lucia groaned. "I have one bulletin board job for Abi, but after that, I swear. It'll be quick." She said.
Sebastian sighed. "Alright." It was moot to fight her. She would do it anyway. "Just bundle up really well, and get home quickly, alright?" He asked.
Lucia nodded. "I promise."
That in mind, she bundled up in sweater, coat, hat, gloves, and boots, then she was off. But he couldn't shake the foreboding feeling in his gut.
Sebastian began to kill some time by cleaning up the house. Then doing some repair work on the farm. Some of the old fences needed repaired. He checked the animals to make sure they were well. And waited. And waited some more.
About four hours in, Sebastian started to get uneasy. Maybe she'd gotten to chatting with Caroline or Pierre. He wasn't sure but he was about to go find out.
Gearing up, he headed out into the town. First the general store. He asked Pierre and Caroline if they'd seen the redheaded farmer. Neither had since this morning. "Can I talk to Abi?" He asked. Pierre looked thoughtful. "I think she went to Jodie and Kent's to see Sam." He muttered. "Best try there."
So, Sebastian was off again to his best friend's home. At the door he was greeted by Jodie. "Ah, Sebastian! Sam and Abi are in his room. When are you kids gonna pick up the band again? It was so wonderful to see you all work so hard!"
Sebastian rubbed the back of his head. "Maybe after the baby. Wouldn't want Abi to overwork herself." He said, a bit uneasy. After, he was let back to Sam's room. Knocking on the door, Sam called for him to come in.
Sam was there, practicing his guitar. And Abi, looking through baby magazines.
Sam looked utterly thrilled to see Sebastian, and yet, Sebastian made straight for Abi. "Abigail. Lucia said she had a job from you today. Have you seen her."
Abi looked thoughtful? "Not since this morning. She came by for more details, then took off. Why?" She asked, a little disdainful. Abi was not a huge fan of the relationship between the object of her affection and the farmer.
Sebastian looked nervous. "Where did she go? What did you have her do?" He asked, hoping she could shed some light on why it was taking Lucia so long. Absently, Abigail put her nose back in a magazine. "Oh. I was craving Lava eel maki, and I heard that Lucia hit level 95 in the mines, so I commissioned her to get to 100 and fish me up a lava eel."
Sebastian groaned. "Fuck, Abi, she's sick! Fever and all."
"Ohhh. That explained why she was so pale."
He looked astounded at the aloofness the girl displayed. "Do you ever pay any attention to anyone but yourself?! She's sick and you sent her to the mines on a whim… Shit, I hope you grow up some before the kid gets here, or it's fucked." He snapped before heading out.
Even Sam wasn't impressed. But he kept quiet.
Sebastian's first stop was home. He wasn't so foolish as to go unarmed. Rifling through the garage, he knew there was something in here. He just had to find it.
Finally, he was able to dig up a bent metal bat. His own father had given it to him after the divorce, because it seemed the man had known nothing about his own son. At one point, pulling into the garage with his bike, he'd run over it and bent it. It had never served a purpose. Not until now, at least.
Finally, he was off to the mines. At the elevator he looked at the panel. 100 was still not available yet. That meant she hadn't made it there. The feeling in his gut was twisting tighter and tighter as he took the elevator to floor 95. By the time he got off, Sebastian was racing to find the ladders down that Lucia had taken. Each floor he searched from top to bottom, all whilst fighting off the variety of enemies that would come after him. Finally, on the 99th floor, he found it. A trail of blood leading to a ladder. It was fresh.
She must have only very recently made it down to the bottom floor. He was quick to get down there, and on arrival, he spotted her leaned up against the wall, propping herself up with her sword. Her shoulder had a decent gash in it, wide but not too deep." Tossing the bat to the side, he ran to her, and came to knees beside her.
His hand pressed against her forehead, and it was so hot that he had to pull back. She was sweating, and breathing was labored. "Damnit… Damnit, Lucia. C'mon love… Look at me…" He said, shaking her uninjured shoulder. She cracked an eyelid. "Sebastian…" She muttered weakly. "Look… I got it…" She said, holding up the eel. "Why are you down here?"
Sebastian was too busy looking her over for other signs of injury to roll his eyes at that. "Gut feeling… Abi told me where you were headed." He kneeled down before her, back to her. "Can you climb on by yourself?"
It took some doing, but Lucia managed it, holding tightly to him. He wasted no time in taking the elevator back up. It was a slow trip, but as soon as those doors were open, the raven-haired rescuer was off and running. By now her wound had stopped bleeding, but not before soaking the shoulder of his shirt.
At the clinic, Sebastian was frantic as he called out for Harvey. Maru stood with a start on seeing the girl slung over Sebastian's back. "Doctor, bring the gurney!" She called. Harvey was quick to respond, rolling out the wheeled bed. He helped Sebastian lay her down, and other than some cursory information gathering, the two were wordlessly off, leaving Sebastian lost and quite frankly, scared witless.
It was a few hours, but finally Harvey came out. "She's going to be okay. She gave me consent to tell you things as her medical proxy before we started treatment." the doctor said, taking a breath. "We gave her a transfusion as she lost quite a bit of blood, and some medicine to bring her fever down. You can go back to see her. I need to check her labs to figure out what she's got going on."
Sebastian barely heard the last part as he barreled back, screeching to a stop before her bed. She was still out. He sat beside her and held her hand. Thankfully, his presence seemed to rouse her some. "Hey." She muttered sleepily. "I feel like a got in a fight with a speeding semi…"
Sebastian smiled a bit for her sake, but he was still ill at ease. "Well, you look better than you feel. Promise." He teased lightly, to make her smile.
She did. Well, until she caught sight of the gnarly looking stitches in her shoulder. "Ooooh. That's gonna leave a mark." She said with a sigh.
Sebastian rolled his eyes. "That's what you're worried about? A scar? Lucia, what were you thinking, taking a job like that?!" He asked. "You could have-..." He couldn't bring himself to finish the thought. Shaking his head, he looked at her. "Well?"
Lucia looked sad. "I-I just wanted to earn a little money. So, I could get you a birthday present. It's coming up soon, right?" She said. "You do all these things for me, and I'm always coming up short. I wanted to give you something really special."
Sebastian winced. "I shouldn't have been so mean. Lucia. Thank you, but you should know… I never want you to be unsafe for my sake. No gift could ever fix what losing you would do to me." He said as he kissed her hand. "Things come and go. But I want you to stay for as long as humanly possible."
It wasn't too long before Harvey strolled in, clipboard in hand. "Lucia, it looks like you've just got a garden variety cold. Normally I'd indicate ibuprofen to keep the fever down, but given your condition, acetaminophen is more appropriate."
Lucia blinked. "My condition?"
Harvey looked her charts over. "Oh! I forgot. I guess I should have said this first… It looks like you are pregnant." He mused.
Pregnant. One word, and it threw two adults for a total loop.