That evening, Dr Monet was waiting outside of Gabriel's room when Nathalie and Adrien walked in. Nathalie and Adrien looked at each other when they stopped in their tracks.
"Please, don't tell me you only have bad news…" Adrien softly said. No one had bothered to tell him why Laura had sprinted away.
"Come with me. I promise I have good news as well." Dr Monet said and took the two of them to his office, which was decorated with several paintings. "We have diagnosed Mr Agreste." Doctor Monet stated when Adrien and Nathalie had settled. "We have a treatment ready to help Mr Agreste detox from Mercury poisoning."
"Mercury poisoning?!" Both Adrien and Nathalie repeated. The doctor nodded and then sat down behind his desk.
"Well, as you know, mercury is a heavy metal, and once getting exposed, it can cause many unpleasant symptoms. It has to be said that mercury poisoning is something that very rarely happens these days." Both Nathalie and Adrien nodded. "Mr Agreste has been exposed to this toxin for a long time. Because of the intoxication, the source must be determined and removed as soon as possible. You have your father's ring that is most likely the cause of the intoxication, but it would be better if a specialized service will clear your house, just to make sure no one else is in unnecessary danger."
"That can be arranged," Nathalie said with a small nod.
"What about father?" Adrien softly inquired.
"Mr Agreste will receive Chelation Therapy with your permission ." He nodded to Nathalie. "This is a solution of a metal-binding chemical that will help get rid of the toxins. The treatment will happen twice a week for the upcoming twelve to fifteen weeks. Most of the toxins should be flushed out by then. Several follow-up rounds will happen. We, unfortunately, must also take into account the far state Mr Agreste finds himself in. When he wakes up, he will need a speech therapist to help him as well as an extended treatment of a physical therapist. Before I let you get back to him, I must warn you, the intoxication very likely caused some permanent damage to organs and the brain. We will only be able to assess this in time." Adrien blanched. Brain damage… "If you have questions, you are more than welcome to ask them. Does not need to be now, but later on as well. You are welcome to sit here as long as you need." Monet gave Nathalie several forms so she could sign off so they could start treatment.
"Thank you." Nathalie nodded after she signed off and quietly sat for a few minutes after the doctor left. "Adrien, shall we return to your father, or would you like to sit here for a while longer?"
"Brain damage…" Adrien muttered under his breath while he quietly watched the painting on the wall. Nathalie reached out to hold Adrien's hand. "I wore the ring as well... Why am I not ill?"
"Your father has been wearing the ring for a very long time. I believe you only had it for a week or two?" Nathalie tried. Adrien nodded at that.
"But shouldn't we have noticed father getting ill sooner?"
"I think I have a theory about that," Nathalie replied after a moment. "I will explain it to you later on, all right? But I think it has something to do with Amelie and Félix."
"Really?"
"Yes. You want to sit here for a bit longer, or shall we go keep your father some company?"
"Let's return to father." Adrien agreed. Nathalie and Adrien spend some time at Gabriel's side, but they had to leave soon since most of the time they had spent in Dr Monet's office, partially watching the paintings of his namesake. A nurse had already been to his father as there was now a second bag present on the IV stand.
"Are you going to tell me what your theory is?" Adrien asked after he settled in the car.
"Maybe tomorrow, but I will need to take action as soon as we are back home," Nathalie replied. Adrien nodded.
"I am glad they finally diagnosed father."
"I am too." Nathalie agreed. "Your father has still a long way to go but I am sure you can help him stay motivated."
"Yes. It will be hard to recover won't it?"
"It probably will, but the hardest will be to accept that some things will never get back to what they were…" Nathalie softly said. "That is also something we have to keep in mind."
"Yes." Adrien sighed. "At least he is still with us. That is the most important."
"It is." Nathalie nodded and offered a small, sad smile. Soon enough, Gorilla pulled up to the courtyard of the Agreste Maison.
"I must ask you both to leave," Nathalie stated as soon as she encountered Amelie and Félix sitting together in the living room.
"I am sorry?" Amelie asked, looking rather surprised. "What is going on?"
"I do not know what exactly you two did, but it will stop right now," Nathalie stated.
"I do not understand." Félix frowned. He understood perfectly well.
"I am sure you both understand what I am talking about. You stole Gabriel's ring, Félix, but never handed the actual ring back, did you?" Félix's eyes glinted dangerously.
"I did hand the ring back, just like I told Uncle Gabriel. I promise."
"Did they finally diagnose Gabriel?" Amelie inquired still looking concerned.
"Yes, and I am sure you have known all this time."
"Is this all because of the rings?" Adrien asked.
"We only have one ring, we want the other one back as well," Félix replied as he jumped up. "Where is it!?"
"Félix." Amelie softly called.
"You know, you could have just asked me, Félix. Mother was wearing the ring before she disappeared. The ring disappeared with her. It is not here anymore." This betrayal hurt deeply. Not to mention if it was Félix's doing making his father balance right on the edge of death.
"I must ask you to leave, right now. If you are not gone within the hour, I shall call the police." Nathalie calmly said.
"Time to go home, Félix," Amelie said and got to her feet. She walked over to Adrien, but Nathalie quickly stepped in front of the young Agreste boy. "Please let me say goodbye to my nephew."
"I think you have said more than enough. Please go." Nathalie said. Amelie then nodded and nudged Félix to the guest room so they could pack their suitcases. "I am so sorry Adrien. I should have realised sooner that something was up." Nathalie softly said once they were alone.
"You can't be blamed for this," Adrien said before he wrapped his arms around Nathalie and hugged her tight. "Thank you for stepping up for me." He said when he let go of Nathalie.
"Thank you for your trust, Adrien." Nathalie nodded. "Do you want to see them out, or…"
"Or?" Adrien inquired.
"Whatever you like, Adrien. We can have some tea together if you like, or go to bed if you rather do that."
"I would like to have some tea together." Adrien agreed, he did not want to be alone right now.
"All right, how about you go to fix the tea, and I will make sure Gorilla has the correct instructions."
"Where do you want to have tea?"
"Where ever you choose to have it, Adrien." Nathalie nodded and offered the boy a tiny smile before she went to find Gorilla. He had no problems with Nathalie's orders. He gladly complied with them even. The boy had insulted him often enough, and now he could finally act to it. An hour later, Amelie and Félix were on their way back to London.
-Ring of Toxic Love-
"Hi, Adrien." Nino greeted when he came into the classroom the next morning. "No Félix?" He asked as he got into his seat.
"No, He went back to London with his mother. I don't think I ever want to see them again."
"Did something happen?" Nino inquired. That for sure were words he had never heard from Adrien, and actually never expected to hear from him.
"The doctors finally diagnosed father," Adrien said after a moment.
"That is great news, Adrien!" Nino happily said.
"Except that it was Amelie and Félix doing that father became ill in the first place…"
"What do you mean? What did the doctors diagnose your father with then?"
"Remember my rash?" Adrien asked.
"Yes, of course. That was only last week."
"Well, father had one too when I took the ring to keep it safe. I asked the doctor about it and found it curious I got a rash from the ring. I was allowed to watch as they did a test. It appeared the ring had been poisoning father with Mercury…"
"But how is Félix involved in this?" Nino asked, not sure how he was to respond to the diagnosis.
"He wanted to have my parents' wedding rings. They belong to my mother's family. Since that mother is gone…" Adrien gave a small shrug. "Félix and Amelie gave father a different ring than the one they stole."
"Mercury is fluid at room temperature." Nathaniel piped up.
"When in pure form, yes. But it can be made into an alloy that long has been used for filling cavities in teeth. It can exist in another solid form, or in other chemical bindings like Vermillion, which is a red mercury-sulphur crystal that has been used by the Romans to paint their walls." Marco decided to explain.
"Thank you?" Adrien said. "But that is kind of what happened."
"Besides the rash, you have not been ill from the ring?"
"I asked myself the same question. The doctor explained to me that it can take years for someone to get ill from tiny bits of mercury. "
"So, your father will become all better then?" Adrien gave a small shrug. The answer would be no, but he was not sure if he could say that aloud just yet.
"Good morning, everyone!" Mrs Bustier called out to the class as she walked in.
-Ring of Toxic Love-
"Mr Agreste?" Dr Monet called when he came into the room, carrying a bag for the IV. Gabriel slowly opened his eyes. What did the man want? "Are you with me, Mr Agreste?" The man asked and waited until he received a small nod from Gabriel. "Welcome back to the land of the wake. I am the carrier of news." The man pulled out a chair. "We have diagnosed you with Mercury poisoning. We started treating you a week ago, and today you will receive your third treatment."
Gabriel blankly looked at him, he was in no state to answer or even comprehend what the doctor had said. Monet put the bag down and put his glasses up on his nose.
"There." He said and offered the man a little smile. "Are you comfortable, Mr Agreste?" The doctor however did not receive a clear answer. He waited for several more minutes to see if Gabriel would answer, but when the man fell back asleep, he just gently patted his arm and removed the glasses before he continued with his round after connecting the IV bag.
A/N: Please Read and Review!