A/N: This is a shorter chapter, but it just gives a little info on Douxie's injuries and a pov of Archie's thoughts throughout all of this.
"Jim, sweetheart, wake up."
"Claire, come on kiddo."
Though the words were meant to wake the two teenagers up, they woke Archie first.
He had no idea how he had fallen asleep. He had been so worried about Douxie that he couldn't even sit still. But the last thing he could remember was seeing that Jim and Claire had fallen asleep on each other, the coffee they had drank doing nothing for their fatigue unlike when Douxie drank it.
Archie remembered that some days, Douxie lived on coffee. Archie personally had no idea why Douxie liked it so much. The taste was bitter and there were many healthier - and better tasting - alternatives like tea. Douxie occasionally drank tea too and sometimes on a good day, he could work with warm chocolate milk and music to act as his coffee. It seemed in Jim and Claire's case though, even coffee wasn't strong enough to keep their exhausted bodies awake.
The same seemed to have happened to Archie too.
The bright side was that he no longer had to wait in agonising worry to be able to see Douxie. Jim's mother - Doctor Lake - was here now, meaning that Douxie was out of the operation room - for better or worse.
As Jim and Claire rubbed the sleep out of their eyes and stretched, Archie asked Dr. Lake the burning question he both feared and anticipated the answer to.
"Is Douxie okay?"
Dr. Lake smiled at Archie which made him relax slightly, sighing to release the anxiety in his chest. "He's in the recovery ward right now; resting."
Again Archie spoke. "Can we see him?"
Dr. Lake laughed gently. "You're not supposed to talk, remember Archie? But to answer your question, I recommend letting him rest for now but I think he would do that better with you by his side. Follow me and I'll take you to him."
Jim picked Archie up as he stood, Claire following suite. The two were still half asleep, stumbling after the red headed doctor and trying to wake themselves up. They stayed silent, not because they had nothing to say or they were being respectful, but because they were barely awake.
The walk to Douxie's room was short but complicated, many twists and turns in hallways that all looked the same. Dr. Lake navigated it easily though, fully confident in the way. She could likely find her way in the dark if needed.
As they neared his familiar's room, Dr. Lake spoke. "I put him in a private room because I thought it would be better - for everyone." She explained.
Jim smiled gratefully at the doctor. "Thanks mom." His voice was rough, throat still dry from the much needed, but little rest he had gotten. Doctor Lake opened the door, holding it open for the teenagers and then closing it behind them.
As soon as the door closed, Archie jumped from the Trollhunter's arms and transformed into a dragon, flying to Douxie's side. Careful not to hurt him, Archie snuggled against Douxie's hand, imitating the way Douxie pet him sometimes. Then Archie walked up to near Douxie's head and settled against Douxie's shoulder. He didn't miss the faint smile that came on Douxie's face at the movement. Through their familiar bond, Archie felt Douxie's energy get a little stronger, able to sense Archie's presence.
He realised Dr. Lake and the others were watching him. The teenagers' eyes were still hazy but they too had noticed Douxie's reaction to Archie. Dr. Lake spoke, amusement in her voice. "Archie, make sure you're only a dragon around us. We can't risk having one of the others doctors seeing you like this and getting suspicious."
"Whatever the doctor orders." Archie replied, willing to do anything as long as he was able to stay with Douxie. It was only now that Archie forced himself to take a good look at Douxie. He had been avoiding really focusing on his familiar, because he hadn't wanted to accept and see all of the injuries that Douxie had. But he also knew that he needed to know how bad it was.
It looked better than it probably was, which scared Archie. The bandages covering the injuries were under Douxie's clothes and a blanket but Archie could see some of them. There were bandages covering Douxie's torso - mainly his chest - and his right arm was in a cast. He knew that Douxie would be really annoyed when he woke up to find he wouldn't be able to use that arm. The thought made him smile a little in anticipation.
By now, Jim and Claire - who looked more awake now - had taken seats around Douxie's bed, also trying to gauge his injuries. Dr. Lake sat down too, noticing where their attention was.
"He's better than I thought he would be." She started. "I mean, considering how he got hurt - which, by the way Jim, you promised to explain to me and I expect that to happen in a bit - Douxie's injuries are pretty mild. That doesn't mean they will heal quickly. He's broken two ribs on his right side and bruised about 3 more - 1 on the right and 2 on the left - and as you can see, his right arm is not broken but fractured. He twisted his ankle and has a lot more minor injuries like cuts and bruises everywhere. He's gonna be very sore when he wakes up, but otherwise, he should make a full recovery. He'll be perfectly fine, with time."
Hearing the list of injuries his familiar had helped a little, though Archie was still concerned for Douxie. Archie was the type of person - or dragon - who preferred to be in control of things. He liked to have the answers to everything and he hated being out of his depth. This was definitely out of his depth and Archie hated being helpless to help Douxie. But he supposed the best he could do was just be there for his familiar. Even him just being there had made the wizard's energy stronger which would help him heal quicker.
Dr. Lake had started speaking again, this time to Claire and Jim. "Are you sure you two are okay?"
It was Claire who replied for them. "We're fine Dr. L. Just dead tired is all. Nothing a few days of sleep won't fix."
Dr. Lake nodded. "Alright then. If you're okay then you can explain everything that I missed." Jim and Claire looked at each other then told the long tale, taking turns to talk. At one point, Jim took over so Claire could text the others to fill them in on how Douxie was and later, Claire had to tell the story when they got to the part where Jim's mind was taken over and he couldn't remember. Throughout the whole thing, Dr. Lake kept glancing at her son in shock and worry and Jim would avoid eye contact when he talked about the shard.
Archie was half listening. He added the occasional detail when the teens didn't know what happened when it was just Douxie and Arch or when they needed Archie to explain something technical. Otherwise, Archie would gently nuzzle Douxie's cheek or hand, never leaving his familiar's side. It didn't change anything though. Douxie stayed still and silent, only his even breathing and the constant beep of the machine by his bed showing that he was still alive.
Finally Dr. Lake was caught up. While they were telling the story, Toby had texted to ask when they could visit Douxie. Dr. Lake had said that they should let Douxie rest but when he woke up, as long as Douxie was up for it, then they could come.
Then it was her turn to ask questions. She had stayed silent and let the others tell the story uninterrupted, but now she asked all the questions.
"So, let me get this straight..." She took off her glasses and pinched her nose. "Douxie… died. But his magic resurrected him? But he still has all his injuries?" She sighed and put her glasses back on, looking at the teens and Archie. "I'm not a magic expert, but if it can revive someone, then shouldn't Douxie be… good as new?"
There was silence and everyone looked to Archie for an answer. He sat up, careful not to wake Douxie, though he knew a small movement wouldn't make a difference. "Resurrection is only powerful enough to revive the person. It does this by using the person's own magic and it takes up most of their magic to revive someone. That's why humans cannot be revived; they don't have magic to help do it."
Dr. Lake still looked confused. "But Jim said that Douxie fell about a thousand feet. As far as I know, when a person falls from that height, even if they somehow manage to survive…" She gestured vaguely to Douxie. "Their bones should be shattered. Not cleanly broken like Douxie's."
They all were silent, thinking about answers and waiting for the others to come up with one. Suddenly, Claire snapped her fingers, making everyone jump a little.
"Did anyone else notice that when Douxie hit the ground - or a bit before that - there was blue light that came from his direction."
Jim blinked. "Yeah, I noticed that too. It was the same blue as Douxie's magic. Archie?"
The three of them turned to Archie. Archie thought about the options. "You mean a magical discharge?" Claire nodded. "Yeah, that actually describes it perfectly."
Archie knew exactly what had happened. He had suspected it would have happened but at the time, he had been more focused on getting Douxie to just open his eyes. "That was likely Douxie's magic's instinctual protection. It unconsciously cushioned his impact. Similar to an anti-gravity spell, I suppose."
"That makes sense." Dr. Lake said. "Well, as much sense as magic can make. Either way, he needs time to recover and," She turned back to Jim. "You said he's only staying for 3 days?"
Jim elaborated. "Yeah, but he agreed to the terms that if you say he shouldn't go after that time, then he'll delay for another day at a time. But, keep in mind that he said he just needs to be able to travel and he agreed to rest when he reached wherever he was planning to go."
"And don't worry about him breaking that promise." Archie said, standing up protectively. "I will make sure that he doesn't push himself."
As if reacting to the absence of Archie's warmth near his cheek, Douxie shifted, moving for the first time since they had come to his room. Douxie winced, his eyes still closed, and settled back down, his face set in an expression on discomfort.
Archie noticed the movement and immediately sat back down, nuzzling Douxie's cheek which made the boy's face relax slightly. Archie wasn't the only one who noticed the movement and did something.
Dr. Lake seemed to break out of a trance with her patient's movement, as if it reminded her she was still working. "Okay, I think it's time for the two of you to go." She said to Jim and Claire. "You two should go home and get some rest. Claire, if it's okay with your parents, you can stay at our place tonight. Jim, if you don't mind, could you catch Walt up on everything if the others haven't yet?" The two teens nodded, standing up to get ready to go.
"Just one more thing before you go?" Dr. Lake asked. Jim and Claire turned back to face her. "Do you know if Douxie has any family or close friends who can be contacted?" She looked at Archie, knowing that he would know more about Douxie than the others.
Archie was quick to answer. "Zoe Ashildr might want to know."
Dr. Lake's looked at Archie for further explanation. "Zoe?"
"She's a hedge witch who Douxie… is in a relationship with." Archie replied, causing Dr. Lake's eyebrow to rise but she didn't ask any questions other than "Do you have her contact info?"
Archie cleared his throat in embarrassment. "… No. But she should still be working her shift at Hex Tech."
"I can call the front desk and ask for her. You can talk to her." Claire suggested, already getting out her phone and dialling.
"Thank you Claire." Both Archie and Dr. Lake said.
A few seconds later, Claire put the call on speaker so that everyone in the room could here a bored, sarcastically enthusiastic voice.
"This is Hex Tech. How can we make your day magical?"
Archie smirked, having heard the same dialogue in the same voice so many times. Sometimes said by the one speaking now and sometimes said by Douxie, playfully mocking and teasing her about it.
"Zoe? It's Archie."
"Archie?!" Zoe's voice went from bored to perky and full of emotion in an instant. "Where's Douxie? And who's phone are you using? Douxie's number is saved on here. Or, it should be…"
Claire spoke in response to Zoe's second question. "Hi Zoe. Remember me, Claire the Shadow witch?" Archie noticed Jim holding back a smile at Claire's tone of voice. It was resigned as if identifying herself as 'Claire the Shadow Witch' was the most humiliating thing she had ever done.
Zoe seemed to remember Claire. "Riiiighhht. Claire." She said slowly. Then her voice got a little annoyed. "Why are you calling me? And where the hell is Caspera… Fuzzbuckets." Zoe swore in annoyance as she realised what could have happened. "What happened now?" Archie almost laughed.
Being with Zoe - even just talking to her - was like being on an emotional rollercoaster. She went from bored to confused to annoyed and now exasperated in just a 2 minute call. But it didn't have to be longer for her to understand the situation. She'd been with Douxie too long.
Archie specified the situation while also being vague. "We're in the hospital." He quickly glanced at Dr. Lake, seeking permission. She nodded at him. "Can you come? It'd be easier to explain in person."
There was silence on her end, but only for a few seconds then they heard the hedge witch sigh. It was a long, over exaggerated, annoyed sigh. "Fine. On my way." She promptly cut the call.
Dr. Lake looked at them. "Okay, that's out of the way. Can you guys let Walt know I'll be staying late to keep an eye on Douxie?" She said to Jim and Claire.
The two nodded. "Yeah, just let us know when Douxie wakes up." Dr. Lake smiled. "I will. And don't worry too much about him. He'll make a full recovery like I said earlier, and it'll be even quicker with his magic helping. See you later you two." The teens left the room, leaving Archie and Dr. Lake in silence.
"What about me?" Archie asked her.
"You can stay." She smiled at him, then looked at Douxie, Archie following her gaze. "I think both of you feel better around each other. And it'd be better for Zoe to have someone she knows explain things to her."
"Yes. Thank you, Dr. Lake."
Dr. Lake looked back at Archie. "Just one condition."
Archie returned her gaze. "Yes?"
"You have to stay in your cat form."
Archie transformed quickly then settled back down next to Douxie. "Of course. Whatever the doctor orders."
A/N: Enter Zoe. She will be here for a little while. I just want to make it clear that while i ship Zouxie, i prefer the fanon Zoe and not canon. I see absolutely no romance between that 'boring' hedge witch but i love those two in fanfiction. If that makes sense. ;)
-CrowofArcadiaOaks