=Normal POV=
(Monday, 5/13/19-9:30 pm)
(Berk, Archia Isle)
(Berkian General Hospital)
Arriving at the hospital was quiet for Hector and Astrid, it didn't take long to get into the emergency room and then the triage office where a nurse did all the usual things regarding Astrid's information and then got a general idea of what brought her into the emergency room. It was explained that one of Hector's ex's wasn't over him and showed up, then attacked Astrid. What else could be said? Hector's hookup tried to lie her way into getting Hector all for herself, and fought Astrid out of spite knowing that Astrid wouldn't fight back due to having the knowledge that the other girl was pregnant? No, that wouldn't go down well at all, so they had to fib a bit in how Astrid ended up with the kick to her left side and it was possible that it might have caused bruising or cracked ribs. Since then, Astrid and Hector were now waiting in a room of the ER. Astrid was sitting on the bed while Hector was in the chair with his head down and a hand against it. Astrid felt bad, she might be the one who got hurt, but Hector was sick and had been trying to rest until all this happened.
Astrid didn't know what to say to him. The silence felt awkward and tense, she should say something, shouldn't she? Right now, they were just waiting for the doctor or nurse to come get Astrid for an exam, or maybe x-rays to check out her ribs. Astrid prepared herself to talk to him, it seemed like he was stressed and deep in thought; she shifted and instantly winced a bit. Hector raised his head to look at her.
"Are you okay?" Hector asked gently.
"I just twisted a little too much and my side reminded me it's hurt," Astrid replied. "I'm alright…" She paused. "Are you?"
"Me? I'm not injured," Hector said.
"But you're clearly still tired and seem deep in thought," Astrid pointed out. "How are you feeling?" She wondered.
"Headache, tired, little queasy…" Hector answered. "I suppose I'm thinking about a few things,"
"Do you want to talk about it?" Astrid offered.
"Not really. The gist of my thoughts is stopping the arrangement entirely," Hector informed.
"No. Hector, I told you…It's fine that we're not both-," Astrid began.
"It's not about it being even, Astrid. That wasn't what it was about the first time either…It was your safety. That hasn't changed," Hector told her as Astrid looked down a little, fiddling with her fingers a bit. "First you ended up in danger with your ex, and you decided it scared and to stop things on your side while wanting me to continue. But here we are with you actually having ended up hurt and in the emergency room over this arrangement. Only it came from my ex," He said, not wanting to say too much with nurses and doctors passing the room frequently. "You got hurt because of her obsession with me, her jealousy. So much that she made it so you couldn't defend yourself because she's pregnant, and also wanted to try and pass that baby off as mine…" He sighed. "Like I said a few weeks ago, this is no longer a safe arrangement,"
"Hector…It was just the one ex. It's not like the others are obsessed with you, right?" Astrid questioned softly.
"I don't know about obsessed, but they have all mentioned a time or two that they wish they could have me to themselves. Not…All at once, just that I wasn't married to you and would date one of them." Hector stated. "Brianna wouldn't do anything, but Olivia can get a bit possessive and snippy when annoyed. Selena…Eh, we've already gotten into a few arguments about how much she hates just being my second, instead of my only." He enlightened quietly. "Selena is also the daughter to another company CEO, she tried offering me a merge with her father's company a while back. No arranged marriage, just that her dad was looking for a partner and with that to help keep things afloat in mine, I wouldn't have to stay married to you and could be with her," He admitted.
Astrid kept her eyes down, not wanting to show the bit of her she felt that Hector was given an offer like that. "Seems like she really wants you in her life," Astrid mentioned. "I remember you said you two might have started dating if not for our marriage happening…"
"She does and that was the plan…" Hector agreed with what Astrid said. "But that's not how it went, not how it is…And I turned the offer down."
Astrid quickly looked at Hector. "W-What?" She stared in surprise. Hector…Turned the offer down?
"You heard me," Hector glanced at her. "I turned the offer down." He added. Astrid still looked at him in shock. "On your birthday, Selena made that offer to me. And she's the one who told me about all that legal stuff being mine to control when I became the CEO of our fathers' merged company," Astrid stayed quiet, listening. "Selena told me that when I became the CEO in June and everything was signed over to me, I had the power to decide everything involving the company. Including the legality matter of our marriage being in the merge contract. That was an agreement between our fathers for the merge to happen. But with the merge completed, and me in charge of the company…We'd be able to divorce, with no worry of the company falling." Hector explained. "Selena let me know that we could divorce, company would be fine, and then she and I could end up together like we wanted before the arranged marriage happened…" He paused. "But despite the temptation…I turned it down."
"Why did you?" Astrid decided to be bold and ask.
Hector turned his head, facing her fully with serious eyes. "You stopped me."
"M-Me?" Astrid seemed more surprised.
"Well, the thought of you stopped me," Hector rephrased, still leaving Astrid in confusion. "I remembered the night you begged me not to leave, and then when you brought up the honor thing. Even if the company would be fine…Divorce would hurt your family's reputation, as would it hurt mine. Not to mention the friendship that would be destroyed between our parents. This…Merge was made on the basis of making two good companies into one great, strong one. It also united two families. Our…Marriage is the foundation for these things. And as much as I don't like that type of thing on my shoulders…And I hate that we were forced into it so quickly, while in high school…While I hate all of that; I couldn't bear to sit back and watch so much fall apart if I took Selena's offer." Hector confessed calmly. "I lied to you during that fight we had on your birthday. I didn't see it right away because I was angry, but I agreed to stay married to you because of all that I just said. For family.
Astrid was speechless. "Okay? We are family. Your parents are my parents. Mine are yours. Flynn, Syrus, and Alexia are our cousins…My uncles and aunts, are yours…No matter what the title is…We share it, as one family now, tied together through this marriage…" Hector paused. "There would have been more lost than gained, more hurt when there didn't need to be. So I told her no, and would stay married to you…For family." Astrid's eyes widened some, and she gasped at his words. "Forced or not…Like it or not…We are family now, through this marriage. And because of that fact, I refused the deal. I declined…For the sake of my family, the one I was born into and the one I gained through marrying you." Astrid could only stare at him, stunned by his words. "But back to where this started, about the arrangement-," Hector stopped when he heard a knock on the door frame.
The nurse and doctor came in. "Hello there," The woman greeted. "I hear we had a little fight that might have resulted in some bruised or cracked ribs?" She asked.
"Um, yes…" Astrid nodded. "My husband was concerned that it was more than soreness, and didn't want to go about normal until we knew for sure, so it didn't end up worse,"
"That was the right call to make, can't be too sure with hits or kicks to the sides. Wouldn't want a broken rib to pierce anything vital," The doctor smiled. "My name is Deanna Hansen, I'm the doctor here for tonight,"
"It's nice to meet you, Dr. Hansen. I am Hector Haddock, and this is my wife, Astrid," Hector shook Deanna's hand, then she shook Astrid's.
"You as well. Now, I'd like to get a better idea of the attack if either of you wouldn't mind taking me through things. Triage is known for just saying hey, we got a possible bruised or crack rib coming back." Deanne gave a small laugh.
"I believe Astrid might be able to tell you better. I, unfortunately, only came in on my wife being assaulted by my ex-girlfriend…" Hector admitted.
"So tell me, Mrs. Haddock…What happened tonight?" Deanna set her clipboard in her lap while sitting on the stood near the computer.
Astrid nodded, then took a breath before explaining to Deanna how the situation went. Astrid was careful not to mention the arrangement, only that it was Hector's ex-girlfriend who came by the apartment trying to claim Hector was cheating on Astrid with her, and that she was pregnant. The story was believable, but the main information needed was what took place in the attack. Astrid mentioned she was shoved several times, and one landed her on the floor and banging the back of her head on the living room table. The nurse was able to confirm the bump that formed on the back of Astrid's head, and gave details about it's status. It was advised to ice it and aspirin for pain, try to sleep on her side to keep pressure off it. Astrid went through being kicked in the side, stomped on, and almost punched until Hector showed up. It was not brought up that he'd already been in the apartment, resting, due to feeling ill.
"Alright, with that noted…We're going to take you to x-ray and get a good look at that side," Deanna informed. Astrid nodded and the nurse got a wheelchair for her as it hurt to walk. "We won't be too long!" Deanne told Hector before leaving the room with Astrid and the nurse.
"Take your time. I'll be here," Hector replied. When they were gone from the room, Hector sat back with a heavy sigh and closing his eyes as he tried to sort things out. Obviously, he still cared for Astrid and he meant everything he said to her too. Hector didn't know what to call the caring, but it was there. Maybe with more time, he could figure out if this caring was more like a liking. Perhaps even love. Hector realized that it was possible his feelings were only buried, not gone. Maybe if he and Astrid gave things another try, the feelings would resurface. For now, Hector had to assume he didn't feel anything other than worry and concern for her well-being because she got hurt because of him. Also, his feelings might stay hidden because he was subconsciously afraid to get hurt again. Astrid rejected him when they were younger, that hurt him. And it got worse when they were forced into this marriage and he realized that Astrid wasn't working with him, and she almost cheated on him out of the hate she held for the situation.
Astrid might be doing better now with things, but Hector would need more to know that if he dropped his guard…Things would be okay. What Hector really needed to decide on was this arrangement. It was clear that it needed to stop, twice it occurred that a hook up turned violent and one of them has landed Astrid in the emergency room for injuries sustained. Hector could go without, it was never about the sex anyway. Sure, it was fun, but he only set things up this way because it was easier for them to be separated and free to be with others instead of going to one another with sexual desires. Astrid claimed it felt weird to ask him for sex, but was okay doing it with an ex or someone from school. At the time, the arrangement seemed like a good idea to handle the problem. Now, the arrangement was the problem. It had to end. When Astrid got back and they could talk alone again, Hector was going to make it known.
. . .
(11:15 pm)
(Haddock Apartment)
It took longer than necessary, but it was confirmed Astrid had two bruised, and one fractured rib on the upper left side of her ribcage. The doctor went through the recovery and home care directions briefly, and left instructions on paper too. By the time Deanne returned with the discharge paperwork, it was already 10:50 pm. Now, Hector and Astrid were at their apartment and it was 11 pm. Both of them were ready to go to their rooms and knock out for the rest of the night after checking on their dragons. However, Hector knew that he needed to talk to Astrid first about the arrangement situation.
"Well, I think I'm gonna go change, prop up my pillows and get some sleep…" Astrid stated once the main door was locked and she'd left her paperwork and purse on the counter to grab on the way out tomorrow. "I'll see you in the morning? For school, if you feel better?" She asked.
"We'll see how I feel when morning comes…But before you go to bed, I wanted to talk to you about a couple things. If you don't mind staying up a little longer?" Hector requested.
"Uh, no…That's fine," Astrid agreed as they sat down on the couch. "What's up?" She wondered.
"First of all, again…I'm really sorry that Roseanna caused all this trouble and landed you hurt with three injured ribs," Hector sighed.
"It's not your fault she's clearly crazy, but hey…Live and learn," Astrid shrugged, not bothered by what happened. "If anyone should apologize, it should be me…"
"What?" Hector looked at her. "Astrid, you didn't do anything wrong," He informed.
"You asked one thing of me, and I failed you…" Astrid's smile had fallen now, she was looking down. "Maybe you should take the deal you were offered…You deserve to be happy, with a wife who won't constantly let you down…"
"Astrid…Stop." Hector said. "Look at me…" Astrid raised her head so their eyes would meet. "Where is all this coming from?"
"I've…Failed you as a wife. I was awful to you, never helped…Only made things harder on you. I didn't keep up my end of working with you in this…You've been great, and I just think you'd be better off with someone else. I know you hate me…All I do is bring you trouble or stress." She sighed sadly. "Just look at tonight…You asked me to let you rest and I couldn't even do that. Roseanna barged in here and-," Astrid lowered her head.
"No, she forced her way in here because she was obsessed and jealous. You said it yourself, she's crazy. She was ready to pass off a kid that wasn't mine to get me to leave you and be with her." Hector reminded. "Astrid, listen to me…Yes, in the beginning of all this…You let me down a lot by not helping out and working with me to make this work. But we moved past it, live and learn, right?" Hector pointed out to her and she managed a small nod. "And you did not fail me as a wife, Ast. No, tonight you showed me for the first time that I can count on you to have my back. Tonight you went against our fathers verbally, and Roseanna physically to help me by letting me rest. You were on my side, you supported me and took a beating to keep her from bothering me. The fighting isn't what woke me up…I woke up on my own, feeling nauseated and left the room to use the bathroom. I saw everything happening in all that." Hector explained.
Astrid looked at him again, still feeling guilty. "You did exactly as I asked of you. Handle things while I'm resting. You had my back tonight with getting my dad off it, and then keeping Rosanna from barging into the office. You did not fail me tonight…And on that too, another reason I wanted to talk to you is so I could thank you for what you did with Roseanna," Hector continued after a moment. "I was internally panicking when she said she was pregnant, I was running over everything in my head and believed that I might be that baby's father…But you stepped in, and up, for me. You realized that there was no way it was mine. You saved me tonight, and I'm eternally grateful for me with our dads and Roseanna." He set his hand on hers.
"Y-You're…Welcome," Astrid replied, a little surprised at what Hector told her.
"As for what you said about taking that deal. I told you why I said refused that earlier, but to avoid repeating and keeping us awake longer…Astrid, I chose to stay with you. Okay?" Hector stared in her eyes. "We were forced into this marriage, but I choose to stay married. To you. I have ways to get out of it, legally…But I chose not to take them. This is where I choose to be, through good and bad, ups and down, happy, sad, angry…Whatever else we said last August when we said I Do and put these rings on," He held up her left hand with his own, revealing their bands. "I declined that offer because it's not what I want. I made my choice. Alright? Not coaxed or forced into staying with you…I have chosen, thus far, to stay married to you."
"You mean that?" Astrid asked.
"I never lie, at least not without a good reason," Hector replied. "As long as you work and communicate with me as you have been, we're fine."
"I guess I can do that…" Astrid agreed. "We should get some sleep, you look exhausted,"
"I am, but I felt like we should talk first. I don't like leaving things unresolved, and the hospital was hardly the place for this all to be said." Hector informed and Astrid couldn't argue it.
"Makes sense. So…See you in the morning?" Astrid wondered.
"Probably," Hector helped her up, he heard the doctor tell her not to overdo it.
"Alright…Well, good night, Hector. Rest well and I hope you feel better." Astrid said.
"Thanks. Hope you sleep well too," Hector responded. The two started for their rooms, but Hector stopped before going into his. "Oh, and we'll discuss the arrangement thing at some point," Astrid nodded to him and disappeared into her room. Hector made sure things were locked up then he went to his room as well. It was peaceful the rest of the night, both Hector and Astrid feeling like things were alright and they had a little bit more of an understanding of one another.
