Justin scrambled awake, feeling hot bile rise in the back of his throat. He reached for the small trash can he kept beside his bed, only to breathe sharply in pain.
Wait, where am I? What happened?
He turned back to the room, scanning the empty stone walls and spotless stone floor. His bed was just one in a line of them, several with ocean blue curtains drawn around them for privacy. He caught his breath, and his stomach settled, but the pain still remained. He tugged off the aqua blanket, his heart stopping when he saw the bandages wrapped around his waist, marked with a thin line of half-dried blood.
The memories felt almost like those of a bad dream, but he knew every day, every second, had been real. That left only the questions of how he had ended up back in the colony, and what had become of Yasmin. His ears flicked to the side when a door opened, and he turned to see five figures, most of the ones he had been longing helplessly to hold again.
"Justin!"
Cynthia and Teresa were crying as they climbed on the bed, Timothy's and Martin's eyes misty, even if they showed more hesitation in joining the hug. Odin stood by patiently, watching them with griefed, yet relieved eyes, until they gathered together at the foot of the bed. Justin held his son tightly, tears soaking his fur.
"You've been asleep for days, Dad," he said as he pulled away. He took the single chair beside the bed, watching him carefully. "We barely found you in time."
Justin glanced at the young mice, and decided that some of his questions could wait.
"How long, exactly?" he asked. Odin bit his lip.
"It's been a week, and you were in and out of it. The cut was bad enough, but then you got an infection."
Flashes came to him, of feeling his own blood leak through his fingers, faintly hearing Yasmin's voice, as sunlight suddenly flooded the room. That was it.
"How long was I gone?"
Odin sighed.
"A month and a half. We had search parties going twenty-four-seven, I don't know how it took us so long to find you," he buried his face in his hands, then shoved them through his hair. "The place was butted right up against the cliffs, but far enough from the colony that we couldn't hear anything. I guess it was blind luck that Arthur's crew was nearby."
That seemed to be all he was willing to say with the children there. Cynthia crawled forward, snuggling back up against Justin's chest.
"Why'd you and mama leave?" she asked tearfully. "I thought you liked us!"
His heart clenched, he brushed a tender claw along her cheek.
"Of course I like all of you, honey," he started. "I didn't mean to leave, and neither did your mother."
He looked at the others, then sighed heavily.
"She wanted me to take her to NIMH, so she could become like you and Jonathan. She wanted to be there for you as long as she could."
He picked Cynthia up and held her to his chest, accepting that one thing Yasmin had said was true. He did want more children, but it didn't matter if he and Elizabeth never had their own, he just wanted to be there for hers.
"We were planning to tell you the morning we left," he continued. "So you wouldn't have to worry for longer than you had to, but something happened the night before, and we never got the chance to explain."
Martin rubbed his arms, looking every inch like Jonathan.
"They wouldn't let us help look for you," he said. "I'm old enough!"
Justin chuckled.
"They just wanted to make sure you four were safe, you don't know the valley like we do."
"But how much longer is Mom going to be gone?" Teresa asked. She was almost the spitting image of Elizabeth, and Justin's heart clenched.
"Until spring. There has to be plenty of cover, and we can't risk getting caught in a blizzard."
He saw Timmy yawn, felt Cynthia snuggle closer to his chest, her breathing deep and even. He smiled, seeing even Martin was starting to nod off.
"I guess it is getting kind of late," he said. "And it seems like you've all had a pretty full day already."
As expected, the older three started to protest, interspersed with yawns. Odin chuckled.
"You guys can come back tomorrow," he assured them. "Dad's not going anywhere."
He moved to take Cynthia, and shot Justin a pointed look that reminded him so much of Alice. Justin watched them go, then sat back against the headboard, letting his vision swim out of focus as he stared at the ceiling. He didn't want to think of how long his recovery might delay things, how much longer Elizabeth would have to endure the torment of the labs because he had let his guard down. He reached up to the spot on his chest where the Stone usually rested, thankful he hadn't been wearing it that night; there was no chance Yasmin could have activated it, but it was so much more than a source of power. It was a symbol of the love Jonathan had held for Elizabeth, of Elizabeth's own courage in the face of grave danger, the respect and affection he himself felt for her.
I will find you, Elizabeth, he promised, his fist tightening weakly on the blanket. He would bring her back no matter what it took, and he would respect whatever choice she made once it came time, whether she decided to remain in the valley, or go back to the Fitzgibbon farm. He let out the breath he had forgotten he was holding, and let his hand fall to his side.
That was the real crux of the matter, he knew. There was a chance she would choose to leave, either because she'd still feel out of place in the colony, or that memories new and old would make leaving the farm forever too difficult for her. Either way, he would be there for her, in whatever way she allowed him to be.
It wasn't long before Odin returned, looking exhausted. He dropped in the chair and let his head fall against the back, letting out a long sigh. Justin reached out and gripped his wrist firmly.
"I already know you did a great job looking out for them," he said. "Thank you for that, son."
Odin chuckled.
"It's weird," he started, as he straightened in the seat. "I've only known them for a few weeks, but I already see them like younger siblings, and even Martin seems to love the idea of a big brother."
They laughed, and Justin clutched his stomach.
"Never thought I'd hate that," he groaned. He rubbed lightly at the bandages, feeling the stitched-up edges of the wound Yasmin had dealt him. She had all but completely slipped his mind the moment he had seen the kids.
"What happened to her?" he asked. Odin toyed with the hem of his tunic, then sighed again.
"She was gone by the time we found you," he said. "It looked like she'd tried to sever her hand entirely. She was leaning against you and smiling, like she really thought you'd both wake up in a place where you could be together forever."
He shuddered, and Justin knew he wasn't the only one who'd spent the last week having nightmares. Odin pulled his hands from his clothes and tucked them beneath him, a habit started to prevent worrying his shirts and tunics to threads.
"We weren't sure you'd even make it back to the colony," he continued, staring at his feet that were tucked close to the chair. It'd been years since Justin had seen him so vulnerable. "We barely got the bleeding stopped, and even with the fastest route, it still took an hour to get back."
"We weren't sure you'd even make it back to the colony," he continued, staring at his feet that were tucked close to the chair. It'd been years since Justin had seen him so vulnerable. "We barely got the bleeding stopped, and even with the fastest route, it still took an hour to get back."
He looked ashamed.
"We debated just leaving her in that stump," he admitted. "But decided the least we could do was bury her, though it was a few days before anyone went back out there."
The silence after was long and tense. Again, Justin took his son's wrist, this time pulling him to the bed. He hugged the boy tightly, his heart twisting in his chest as Odin began to sob brokenly into his shoulder.
"I was so scared, Dad," he cried, his hitching voice muffled. "I thought you'd never come back!"
Justin pressed a kiss to the top of his head, letting his own tears fall.
"Everything's alright now," he whispered after a long while. "She's gone, and she'll never be able to hurt anyone again."
Odin sniffled, then looked up at him.
"Are you still going to NIMH in the spring?"
Justin nodded.
"Of course I am. I promised Elizabeth, and there's also the other animals trapped there."
Odin's jaw dropped. He snapped it shut and shook his head.
"You'd never free them all before the scientists caught you," he said. "And how would you even get them out? They wouldn't all fit in the air ducts, would they?"
Justin mentally slapped himself for not thinking of those points. If the labs were still anything like he and the other originals remembered, then it would take them most of the night just to free the mice and rats and get to the roof. Not to mention unlocking the grate, scaling down the walls and keeping everyone together as they made their way through the undergrowth. Those collars would also have to be dealt with, and he was sure they would have some kind of tracking device connected to them somehow. The scientists wouldn't let their new round of test subjects escape so easily.
"I still need some time to recover," he said. "I know that, but I'm not going to waste that time just lying here. We're going to need as tight a plan as possible if we want this to go smoothly."
Odin nodded.
"I'll see if I can get Arthur in here tomorrow-"
Justin shook his head.
"Arthur's my second-in-command, so I'm going to leave running the colony in his hands until we're back from NIMH. I'll figure out who's going once everything else is ironed out."
He hid a yawn with his fist, wincing when the movements pulled at his stitches.
"But right now, we should get some sleep. It's going to be a long few weeks."
Odin nodded again, leaned forward and hugged his father tightly. Justin bit back a groan of discomfort.
"I'll come by as soon as I can tomorrow, and Ages said it should only be another week before he can take those stitches out."
Justin chuckled somewhat bitterly. There was no telling what that ornery old goat would say to him come morning.
"Good night, son," he smiled warmly at Odin, wishing he knew how to put his pride for the boy into words. Odin grinned back.
"Good night, Dad."
He left, and Justin settled back under his blankets, staring blankly at the unadorned rock of the ceiling. His mind filled with thoughts of the future, and he wondered which of them would soon come to pass.