Learning to Stand Again
Rating: PG
Summary: While recovering from the quest in Minas Tirith, Frodo suffers a fall that destroys more than his physical health, but his hope and emotional being as well. A familiar face from Ithilien will help him heal and learn to live again. h/c, no slash, no profanity, post-quest.
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters nor am I making any money off of them. They belong to Tolkien, who is a greater writer than I'll ever be.
Warnings: This chapter and future chapters may contain references to wee hobbit sickness, injury, treatment of said sickness and injury, as well as references to wee hobbit bodily functions. I will be sure to up the rating if I include anything seriously graphic, but, for the most part, it shouldn't be of an extremely graphic nature.
A/N: Thanks goes out to Febobe for giving me a great idea of how to make Frodo suffer. Love ya, dear!
Chapter 4:
Frodo was woken from a feverish dream in which Aragorn was trying to force weeds down his throat and Faramir was continuously rolling a stone over his back, both saying over and over that it would help with the pain.
The reality, thought different from the dream, brought similar feelings. Aragorn had only just woken him, and he was already trying to coax Frodo to drink some vile concoction. After forcing some down and getting a face full in return, Aragorn gave Frodo the cup to let him take it as he chose. Faramir wasn't rolling a stone over his back, but Frodo was still feeling every one of those stairs he had fallen down as his back throbbed.
Sipping at the medicine Aragorn had given him, Frodo made a wry face, "Did you wake me just for this?"
Aragorn laughed, "No, Faramir and I are going to give you a little sponge bath to clean you up; then we'll redress your bed so you can rest comfortably again. That is just a little something I made up to help with the pain. I'm sorry I couldn't make it taste any nicer. Hurry up and drink it."
Frodo grudgingly obliged him and began sipping at the cup again. A knock at the door announced the return of Faramir, who entered the room carrying a small bucket of warm, steaming water. A maid followed behind him bringing white towels, clean sheets for the bed, and a new nightshirt for Frodo to sleep in. Aragorn took them from her and excused her.
"We can't really bathe you because of your back, Frodo, so we're just going to clean you with sponges while you lie in bed. How does that sound?" Aragorn removed the pillows from the bed and laid out a folded towel for Frodo to rest his head upon.
Frodo hesitated, glancing at Faramir, who was standing on the opposite side of the room. "Surely the task of cleaning me up only requires one, Aragorn."
Aragorn gave Frodo a knowing smile, "It will be easier if I have someone present to assist me. He will need to support your back while I bathe your wound."
Frodo started to counter this, but stopped. Hopefully it would be over soon.
"Faramir, please add those athelas leaves I've prepared to the water."
Faramir brought over the bucket of water. The smell of the athelas wafting out of the bucket was very soothing to Frodo. He found himself relaxing into the towel he lay on; maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.
"I believe the water is just the right temperature for him," Faramir noted, dipping his hand into the water.
Aragorn nodded and retrieved two sponges from the bedside table. "You bathe his legs while I get his face and chest."
It was rather relaxing to lay there in bed being bathed by warm, healing water with soft sponges. Aragorn gently cleansed Frodo's face first, carefully rinsing around his mouth and chin.
Faramir seemed at a loss. He kept reaching out to Frodo's right foot, but seemed quite taken aback by the large, hairy appendage. Frodo smiled and wiggled his toes coaxingly at him. Faramir couldn't help but grin back. He took Frodo's foot into his hand and began to run the sponge gently up and down the sole. Frodo giggled when Faramir began cleaning between his toes with a vigor he himself never had.
Soon, the two men had gone over nearly every inch of him. All that was left was his back. Aragorn wanted to wash the place of the infection.
Faramir sat beside Frodo and gently lifted his torso up, slipping an arm beneath his shoulders for support. He was careful to keep Frodo's back straight so as not to disturb the fracture. Frodo thought to himself that it must not have been too serious of a break if they were putting him in an upright position and risking disturbing the bones.
Frodo hissed softly as the sponge came into contact with the wound on his back. He heard Aragorn muttering softly to himself in a worried tone. Frodo had only to endure the pain for a moment longer before Faramir laid him down again.
"There we are, Frodo. Now Faramir and I are going to move you for a moment so we can change the bed clothes. I want to have one more look at your back before you go back to sleep, though."
Taking the ends of the towel Frodo was resting upon, Aragorn and Faramir gently lifted him from the bed and laid him down upon a small couch on the opposite end of the room.
Frodo held his breath to allow the pain in his back to reside. Moving him had caused it to flare up suddenly. Trying to take his mind off of the pain, he looked out of the window into the courtyard outside. He could see it was a beautiful day. If he hadn't been so clumsy coming down those stairs, he could be outside enjoying it with this friends. That brought a sudden realization to Frodo's mind.
"Aragorn, where are Sam and the others?"
Aragorn spread one of the sheets over the bed before turning to Frodo, "They'll be up to see you later today if you're feeling up to it. Everyone came to see you after your fall, but I asked them to give you some peace until you were feeling better. Are you?"
Frodo thought a moment. He was still feeling some nausea, and his fever definitely wasn't gone, but he desperately wanted to see Sam and his cousins.
"I'm feeling alright."
"Then I'll tell them to come and see you later," Aragorn promised, turning back to the bed.
Soon Faramir and Aragorn had Frodo back on the bed and Aragorn was examining his back once again. Faramir had left to attend to his other duties as Captain of the King's guard.
"Well, Frodo, I must say I am relieved. This fracture isn't too serious. It's a compression fracture, which can often lead to paralysis, but the spinal cord itself hasn't been damaged as far as I can tell. I know you can't move your legs now, but I firmly believe that once this heals you'll be fine. The fact that you can feel you legs at all is comforting. But this infection is another matter. You're still running quite a high fever, and it's looking very nasty. Is it still hurting?"
"Yes," Frodo admitted. His back was hurting, quite a lot actually. "To be honest, Aragorn, I don't have nearly as much feeling in my legs as I did earlier. They felt numb earlier, now I hardly feel them at all."
Aragorn frowned. Reaching down, he took one of Frodo's legs in his hands. He tapped the knee gently. When no response was forthcoming, he tried the other leg. Nothing.
"Frodo, can you feel me touching your legs?"
"Maybe a little. When you moved them there was a prickling sensation, like when your foot is asleep," Frodo said. He was beginning to get worried. Aragorn had gone from saying that he would be fine to looking very upset and saying nothing at all. The silence in the room seemed to bear down on him. He watched Aragorn, waiting for some form of reassurance.
At last Aragorn spoke, "Frodo, I think I'm going to have to take a look at that fracture from the inside."
TBC
Rating: PG
Summary: While recovering from the quest in Minas Tirith, Frodo suffers a fall that destroys more than his physical health, but his hope and emotional being as well. A familiar face from Ithilien will help him heal and learn to live again. h/c, no slash, no profanity, post-quest.
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters nor am I making any money off of them. They belong to Tolkien, who is a greater writer than I'll ever be.
Warnings: This chapter and future chapters may contain references to wee hobbit sickness, injury, treatment of said sickness and injury, as well as references to wee hobbit bodily functions. I will be sure to up the rating if I include anything seriously graphic, but, for the most part, it shouldn't be of an extremely graphic nature.
A/N: Thanks goes out to Febobe for giving me a great idea of how to make Frodo suffer. Love ya, dear!
Chapter 4:
Frodo was woken from a feverish dream in which Aragorn was trying to force weeds down his throat and Faramir was continuously rolling a stone over his back, both saying over and over that it would help with the pain.
The reality, thought different from the dream, brought similar feelings. Aragorn had only just woken him, and he was already trying to coax Frodo to drink some vile concoction. After forcing some down and getting a face full in return, Aragorn gave Frodo the cup to let him take it as he chose. Faramir wasn't rolling a stone over his back, but Frodo was still feeling every one of those stairs he had fallen down as his back throbbed.
Sipping at the medicine Aragorn had given him, Frodo made a wry face, "Did you wake me just for this?"
Aragorn laughed, "No, Faramir and I are going to give you a little sponge bath to clean you up; then we'll redress your bed so you can rest comfortably again. That is just a little something I made up to help with the pain. I'm sorry I couldn't make it taste any nicer. Hurry up and drink it."
Frodo grudgingly obliged him and began sipping at the cup again. A knock at the door announced the return of Faramir, who entered the room carrying a small bucket of warm, steaming water. A maid followed behind him bringing white towels, clean sheets for the bed, and a new nightshirt for Frodo to sleep in. Aragorn took them from her and excused her.
"We can't really bathe you because of your back, Frodo, so we're just going to clean you with sponges while you lie in bed. How does that sound?" Aragorn removed the pillows from the bed and laid out a folded towel for Frodo to rest his head upon.
Frodo hesitated, glancing at Faramir, who was standing on the opposite side of the room. "Surely the task of cleaning me up only requires one, Aragorn."
Aragorn gave Frodo a knowing smile, "It will be easier if I have someone present to assist me. He will need to support your back while I bathe your wound."
Frodo started to counter this, but stopped. Hopefully it would be over soon.
"Faramir, please add those athelas leaves I've prepared to the water."
Faramir brought over the bucket of water. The smell of the athelas wafting out of the bucket was very soothing to Frodo. He found himself relaxing into the towel he lay on; maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.
"I believe the water is just the right temperature for him," Faramir noted, dipping his hand into the water.
Aragorn nodded and retrieved two sponges from the bedside table. "You bathe his legs while I get his face and chest."
It was rather relaxing to lay there in bed being bathed by warm, healing water with soft sponges. Aragorn gently cleansed Frodo's face first, carefully rinsing around his mouth and chin.
Faramir seemed at a loss. He kept reaching out to Frodo's right foot, but seemed quite taken aback by the large, hairy appendage. Frodo smiled and wiggled his toes coaxingly at him. Faramir couldn't help but grin back. He took Frodo's foot into his hand and began to run the sponge gently up and down the sole. Frodo giggled when Faramir began cleaning between his toes with a vigor he himself never had.
Soon, the two men had gone over nearly every inch of him. All that was left was his back. Aragorn wanted to wash the place of the infection.
Faramir sat beside Frodo and gently lifted his torso up, slipping an arm beneath his shoulders for support. He was careful to keep Frodo's back straight so as not to disturb the fracture. Frodo thought to himself that it must not have been too serious of a break if they were putting him in an upright position and risking disturbing the bones.
Frodo hissed softly as the sponge came into contact with the wound on his back. He heard Aragorn muttering softly to himself in a worried tone. Frodo had only to endure the pain for a moment longer before Faramir laid him down again.
"There we are, Frodo. Now Faramir and I are going to move you for a moment so we can change the bed clothes. I want to have one more look at your back before you go back to sleep, though."
Taking the ends of the towel Frodo was resting upon, Aragorn and Faramir gently lifted him from the bed and laid him down upon a small couch on the opposite end of the room.
Frodo held his breath to allow the pain in his back to reside. Moving him had caused it to flare up suddenly. Trying to take his mind off of the pain, he looked out of the window into the courtyard outside. He could see it was a beautiful day. If he hadn't been so clumsy coming down those stairs, he could be outside enjoying it with this friends. That brought a sudden realization to Frodo's mind.
"Aragorn, where are Sam and the others?"
Aragorn spread one of the sheets over the bed before turning to Frodo, "They'll be up to see you later today if you're feeling up to it. Everyone came to see you after your fall, but I asked them to give you some peace until you were feeling better. Are you?"
Frodo thought a moment. He was still feeling some nausea, and his fever definitely wasn't gone, but he desperately wanted to see Sam and his cousins.
"I'm feeling alright."
"Then I'll tell them to come and see you later," Aragorn promised, turning back to the bed.
Soon Faramir and Aragorn had Frodo back on the bed and Aragorn was examining his back once again. Faramir had left to attend to his other duties as Captain of the King's guard.
"Well, Frodo, I must say I am relieved. This fracture isn't too serious. It's a compression fracture, which can often lead to paralysis, but the spinal cord itself hasn't been damaged as far as I can tell. I know you can't move your legs now, but I firmly believe that once this heals you'll be fine. The fact that you can feel you legs at all is comforting. But this infection is another matter. You're still running quite a high fever, and it's looking very nasty. Is it still hurting?"
"Yes," Frodo admitted. His back was hurting, quite a lot actually. "To be honest, Aragorn, I don't have nearly as much feeling in my legs as I did earlier. They felt numb earlier, now I hardly feel them at all."
Aragorn frowned. Reaching down, he took one of Frodo's legs in his hands. He tapped the knee gently. When no response was forthcoming, he tried the other leg. Nothing.
"Frodo, can you feel me touching your legs?"
"Maybe a little. When you moved them there was a prickling sensation, like when your foot is asleep," Frodo said. He was beginning to get worried. Aragorn had gone from saying that he would be fine to looking very upset and saying nothing at all. The silence in the room seemed to bear down on him. He watched Aragorn, waiting for some form of reassurance.
At last Aragorn spoke, "Frodo, I think I'm going to have to take a look at that fracture from the inside."
TBC