Ralph sat at the table barely paying attention to Toby as he tried to engage him with the day's lessons. Toby had to make him move to the other side of the table so Ralph couldn't see his Mom sitting with Walter. Even still every time Toby's head turned Ralph looked back.
Regardless to what his Mom told him he felt profoundly guilty for having frozen in the path of the horse.
As Toby droned on Ralph's mind drifted back over what had happened. He'd heard the terrified neigh of the horse and he looked up and saw it snap the tether and began charging straight at him. He heard his Mom yell out his name but he couldn't even look over at her. Then in the peripheral of his vision he saw movement, vaguely aware it was Walter running his way.
He heard the collect scream of everyone telling him to run but still his feet failed to act. He saw the look of fear and determination in Walter's face as he got closer. Finally he was able to at least say something as he called out "Dad".
And then he saw Walter slam into the side of the horse as everything went into slow motion. Walter's massive arms went around the beast as he struggled to somehow stop the horse. Ralph heard a horrible sound as Walter continued to wrestle with the horse and his left arm looked funny as Walter's feet landed and Ralph saw the veins and muscles in Walter's neck pop out as he unbelievably began lifting the front end of the horse up into the air.
Ralph's hair felt like it was standing on end as his skin prickled with energy and then he heard an even louder sound and Walter's left leg faltered but he continued to struggle and the horse toppled over on to it's side as Walter fell down on top of its left side and both the horse and Walter slid along the ground.
He felt Walter's left leg strike his legs so hard he remembered flipping end over end before slamming into the ground. And then his Mom was there as the rest of the company ran past towards Walter.
Ralph turned his head as his Mom was trying to make sure he was okay. He saw the horse was running away and he saw Walter covered with blood before everyone was blocking his view.
Toby stood there staring down at him. "Earth to Ralph, come in Ralph."
Ralph's head jerked up and he saw Toby leaning right down into his face. "I'm sorry."
Toby shook his head. "Okay, close up your books we're not making any headway here. You are clearly too upset with what happened to try and learn. I probably shouldn't have tried. I'm sorry Ralph."
Ralph nodded. "I'm sorry too Toby. I just can't seem to concentrate."
Toby smiled and rubbed his head. "It's okay. Just don't bother your Mom with a lot questions or anything. She's still recovering from saving Walter's life."
Ralph nodded as he turned his chair around and just sat staring over at this Mom sitting beside Walter.
Toby quietly walked over to where Happy sat with Alicia and he reached down and lifted Alicia up.
Happy looked up at him questioningly.
"Ralph needs you. With his Mom distracted with the fatigue and worry over Walter he needs his Godmother. He won't talk to me." Toby explained.
Happy looked at Ralph sitting there and nodded as she stood up. She kissed Alicia and then Toby and moved over and grabbed a chair and turned it to face Ralph before she sat down.
She reached out and gently punched Ralph in the shoulder. "What's up squirt?"
Ralph looked over at her and then shook his head.
Happy reached out and put her hand on his shoulder. "Since when don't you want to tell me what is going on?"
Ralph looked down at the ground. "I'm worthless."
Happy looked surprised before she grabbed him and pulled him in for a hug. "Why would you ever say that?"
"I almost got my Dad killed." Ralph told her as he began to cry.
Happy smiled. "You did no such thing."
Ralph shook his head. "If I hadn't have froze he wouldn't have had to try to save me."
Happy hugged him even tighter. "Squirt, you are only nine. The worst thing you have had to worry with is if another kid wanted to steal your lunch. Anyone in your place would have frozen at that horse charging at you. Heck I would have frozen. The thing is Walter loves you, so much that he was willing to risk everything to save you. And thanks to your Mom, her training and faith she was able to heal Walter. So don't worry about it. When Walter wakes up, and he will wake up, he'll only be happy that you are safe. He won't blame you, trust me."
Ralph slowly hugged her back as he nodded his head. "Thank you Happy."
Walter had been having such weird dreams he had no clue why but weird was the best he could describe them. He'd never dreamed he was a girl before. And then he felt pain, sharp and hard. It felt like the worst cramp in his life. Only it seemed to start somewhere under his breastbone all the way down into his upper thighs. As the cramping receded his eyes opened and he was instantly confused. He seemed to be back in the Keep. He was naked on a bed.
His knees were raised and pushed back and for some reason his stomach was extremely fat. Most puzzling was he had large breasts. Another wave of cramping struck and he groaned out but his voice seemed odd to his ears, much higher pitched. A woman he had never seen before, but nonetheless he felt completely at ease with, moved over and up and in between his legs. She touched him in the groin but the feeling was unlike any he'd ever felt before.
Walter felt his hand being held and he looked over and saw Drew holding his hand. Drew looked over at him and ran his other hand across his cheek. "I love you so much."
"Okay my Lady, it is time. You can start pushing now." The woman told him.
Walter looked down at the woman puzzled then it all seemed to click in place. Somehow he was experiencing Paige's memory of when Ralph was being born.
"How was this possible?" Walter questioned just before his thought disappeared as the woman smiled. "Here comes the head. Very good my Lady, give me another strong push on the next contraction to get the shoulders out."
The next contraction struck and he grimaced as his eyes closed and then there was relief and then the sound of a tiny cry. His eyes opened as the woman held up a small baby. "You have a son my Lady."
The woman handed Ralph to Drew and did something separating the umbilical cord and then Drew passed Ralph up to him. Walter felt waves of happiness and relief rush through him as he began crying tears of joy. Drew kissed him before Walter adjusted Ralph's position to look at him. Looking at all ten of his tiny fingers and toes and then kissed him several times before lowering him down to try and nurse him.
With the pain no longer intruding Walter was able to think for a moment and then he remembered the horse running scared towards Ralph. Walter made a mad dash as he leaped from his chair. There was no way he could reach Ralph in time to pull him to safety. He was going to have to stop the horse. He didn't even stop to consider if it was possible, he just knew he had no choice but to do it. He refused to fail.
The distance between him and the horse was closing as he ran at an angle towards a point about twenty feet before Ralph. His breathing was coming in huge gulps of air as his legs drove his feet hard into the ground and he pushed off of it as his arms pumped back and forth. It was going to be close and then he collided against the horse's shoulder. He felt something in his shoulder falter but he didn't have time to worry with that as he struggled against the horse.
He threw his left arm around the front of the horse's neck as he slid his right arm down and under his ribcage. He couldn't get any traction on the ground as his feet were driven back up each time he tried to plant them. Ten feet from Ralph his feet felt a small depression and he planted them and shoved with all of his might.
He felt his left arm break and he screamed in frustration. He was not giving in. The horse's trajectory was slightly changing because of the purchase his feet had in that depression and he struggled harder with his right arm and felt the horse rising up and then it began tipping over as he felt his left leg snap and then both of them crashed into the ground.
Walter was incapacitated by the pain of both limbs being broke and then more pain as his left leg clipped Ralph's legs first. He vaguely felt the horse begin thrashing but he was unable to do anything. He was then kicked in the ribs and knocked backwards. Then he was kicked in the chest and he felt massive pain in his chest. Then oblivion swarmed over him as a least one hoof kicked him in the head.
The damage must have been severe, so bad Paige only had one choice. She had to use the gift of lay on hands to save his life. It was the only thing that explained the memory of Ralph being born or the other 'dreams'.
His eyes snapped opened and it was nighttime. He could see an orange glow from the fire pit. He felt a comfortable weight upon him and he slowly moved his arms up and around Paige. He hugged her tightly feeling her snuggled against him as he inhaled the fragrance of her shampoo. Then he realized that the sides of the tent were up so he looked about and saw Ralph lying next to them sleeping.
He smiled as his right hand released Paige and he moved it over to touch Ralph's head. He was tired and hungry. He wasn't sure how long he had been out of it. He couldn't see the moon so he wasn't sure what time it was and he wasn't even sure if it was the night of or several nights after saving Ralph.
He began humming softly. He needed energy so he could get up and eat and then he was going back to sleep. He was definitely going back to sleep.
Cabe sat talking quietly with Sylvester when he looked around. "Do you hear something?"
Sylvester frowned and looked around straining to listen. "Is that humming?"
Cabe nodded. "I think it is. But where is it coming from?"
Sylvester stood up and walked back towards the back of the camp as Cabe got up and walked towards the front. Cabe looked over at the pavilion that Lady Paige lay under with Walter and Ralph and smiled. He walked over towards them as the humming got a little louder. He looked down at Walter. "Good morning Walter."
Walter's eyes opened and he saw Cabe smiling at him and he smiled back. "Good morning Cabe. How long have I been out?"
Cabe grinned. "About eighteen hours now."
Walter nodded. "No wonder I am so hungry."
Cabe waved at Sylvester and he began walking over. "I would imagine. We've got some fine stew by the fire if you'd like me to, I can bring you some."
Walter shook his head. "Let me see if I can extricate myself first and I will come over."
Sylvester heard them talking as he got closer and he smiled. "It is good to hear your voice Walter."
Walter smiled at Sylvester as he tried to gently move out from under Paige but found himself firmly trapped with Ralph on his right and Paige's lower body on his left. He chuckled and then kissed the top of Paige's head.
Paige frowned but tilted her head back and looked up towards Walter's face and saw him smiling down at her. Her eyes opened wide as a large smile erupted on her face and she scrambled up and began planting kisses all over his face.
Sylvester grinned at Cabe and jerked his head back towards the fire and they both walked back to give them a little privacy.
Walter began laughing at all the kisses Paige was bestowing on him. "I love you too Paige."
Paige grinned. "I know you do. I love you too."
They shared a deep kiss and then Walter looked at her. "Do you mind if I get up to eat something? I'm starving."
Paige smiled as she shook her head. She moved off of Walter and they both slowly got up. Neither of them felt particularly strong and rather than walking hand in hand to the table they walked arm in arm, half leaning into each other.
"Thank you Walter. You saved my baby." Paige told him.
Walter smiled. "I'm so glad I was able to do something. Thank you for saving my life."
They both sat down as Cabe and Sylvester got them coffee and stew to eat.
"I was so confused at first. I thought I was having these weird dreams of being a girl. It wasn't until I was reliving your memory of when Ralph was born that I realized I must have been hurt so bad you had no choice but to use your lay on hands ability on me." Walter told her as he kissed her cheek.
Sylvester looked at him as he sat down. "How do you know about that?"
Walter smiled. "I'm a Lore master as well as a Bard Sylvester. There isn't much about Paladins I don't know. Though there was one thing I learned about Paladins that the lore is completely wrong about, but I have no plans to correct that."
Paige looked at him with a frown. "What would that be?"
Walter smiled. "Maybe I will tell you later."
Cabe sat across from them and after Paige prayed over their meal he looked at Walter. "So you relived our Lady's memory of giving birth to Ralph. What was that like?"
Walter laughed as Paige looked at him. "Painful, it was like one huge cramp from my ribs to my thighs and at one part disturbing."
Paige looked at him puzzled. "Disturbing?"
Walter nodded as he made a face. "After Ralph was born, Drew handed him to me and then kissed me or you rather."
Everyone broke up laughing.
Greetings! Hope everyone is well!
My story Megan wasn't talking very much but this one was so that is what I went with.
Okay so that is two votes against Walter turning bad in this story. lol
Franxine - I saw your comment on Consequences earlier. I'm glad you liked it so much you've read it 3 times now. Which unfinished story was you wanting me to work on?
To the Adventure! -Tim