Dot had known some long nights in her life, but this seemed like the longest one ever. Wakko hadn't woken up once, not even when they finally got the chain cuffs off, though for a while he was talking in his clearly troubled sleep. He was always mumbling for her and Yakko, even their parents a few times, and didn't seem to hear their answers. After a few hours, though, he'd fallen silent except for his heavy breathing, and Dot didn't know if that was a bad sign or not. He was still burning up, his face flushed and his unkempt hair, no longer hidden by his cap, damp with sweat. She had never seen either of her brothers this sick, and it almost made her feel vulnerable.
Rubbing her eyes, Dot tried to suppress a yawn as she glanced at Yakko. He looked just as worn out as she felt, but neither of them could even think of sleeping and no one had suggested it. Yakko reached out and touched the washcloth on Wakko's forehead, then sighed.
"You're runnin' through these awful fast, bud," he said softly.
No answer came, and Dot bit her lip as her oldest brother shook his head before picking up the washcloth and going to get a new one. They could have had someone help, but Warners took care of each other, and everyone understood that well enough not to offer. But that still didn't stop people from coming by to enquire after their ailing brother, and Dot knew their concern was genuine. Everybody had been so worried while he was missing. It was touching, really, to see how much they cared.
As she watched Wakko, Dot couldn't help feeling like she was looking at someone she didn't even know. How could this limp shell be her goofy, happy-go-lucky brother? And even if he did get through this, would he ever really be himself again after what had happened to him? A lump rose in Dot's throat at the thought, and she gripped his hand tight.
"Wakko Warner, you've never given up on anything in your life. And there's no way I'm gonna forgive you if you do it now, so you better keep fighting, you hear me?"
She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Yakko giving her a sad smile. She knew he wanted to tell her everything would be okay, but he didn't know, and he never lied to them. She returned his smile before looking back at Wakko.
"He has to wake up," she whispered, almost unconsciously. Yakko sighed again as he pressed the cool washcloth to their brother's forehead.
"At least it's not getting worse," he said, but the words weren't much comfort. If he didn't wake up soon, they couldn't give him anything that might bring his fever down and he couldn't afford to have it get any worse. Not to mention that he was probably already dehydrated even before this. Dot gave his hand a gentle squeeze.
He doesn't deserve this… he'd been through enough.
Anger tugged at her; she didn't often bother to think about the guy who did this, but she found herself hoping that energy bending thing Wakko did was painful… it was still less than the creep deserved.
Dot's thoughts were interrupted when her ears twitched, and she looked up. Had she just heard something? A few moments of silence passed, and she was just about to shrug it off when they twitched again, and she caught it.
It was a very faint moan, barely more than a sigh, but she would know that voice anywhere. Sure enough, Wakko's brow furrowed deeper as he stirred. Dot's eyes widened, then an eager smile came to her face, and she scooted closer.
"Yakko!" she said excitedly. "I think he's waking up!"
She looked at her oldest brother to see her smile mirrored on his face as he moved closer too, smoothing back his brother's hair.
"Wak? C'mon, open your eyes… you can do it, bud."
The middle sibling stirred again as his eyelids fluttered.
"Y-Yakko… Dot…"
His voice was feeble and raspy, but to them it was the best sound in the universe. Finally, his eyelids parted to reveal hazy black eyes. When they moved to his siblings, they grew damp and filled with relief.
"Y-you're… okay…"
Dot's eyes filled with tears too as she placed a soft kiss on his forehead.
"Yeah, Wakko," she murmured. "We're okay, we're here."
Yakko leaned in then, pulling him into a gentle hug.
"We're not going anywhere without ya, baby bro."
Wakko nuzzled against him, lifting trembling arms to return the hug. Yakko glanced at Dot, and she remembered what they needed him to wake up for. Jumping up from her chair, she hurried to get some water and the medicine Scratchansniff had given them. As she returned to her brothers, Yakko drew back from the hug.
"Long as you're awake, we need you to drink something. Think ya can try?"
When he received a weak nod in return, he smiled and gently lifted Wakko into a sitting position before looking at Dot. She handed him the smaller cup with the medicine first, and at the first swallow the middle sibling shuddered and coughed a bit. Yakko gave him a sympathetic look.
"I know it doesn't taste too good, but it'll help."
Dot felt reassured when Wakko, despite obvious reluctance, managed to down the rest with another shudder. He took the water much more willingly, and even though he didn't finish all of it the reassurance increased when he managed over half. Dot watched with a smile as Yakko eased him back down and tucked the covers over him.
"Good job."
Wakko looked between them both, looking like he wanted to say more, but his eyelids were already drooping. Dot took his hand again as Yakko patted his head.
"Go on back to sleep, bud. We'll talk more when you're feeling better."
Wakko nodded, then gave Dot's hand a gentle squeeze before closing his eyes. She smiled and squeezed back.
"Sweet dreams, sleepyhead," she said softly, hoping that this meant he was turning the corner.
Barely a moment after he drifted back to sleep, there was a soft knock at the door. Dot looked up to see Jayna slipping inside. She seemed to guess from their faces that something favorable had happened and perked up despite her obvious exhaustion.
"How is he?"
"Not much different," Yakko replied. "But he just woke up for a little bit… we gave him something Scratchy said might help."
As usual, Jayna's face didn't change much, but Dot saw her tired eyes brighten.
"That's good. He needs all the help he can get… and waking up even for a little while is a good sign."
Dot smiled at that, and noting the woman's tired expression, spoke up.
"Did you find anything at… at where they…"
She didn't want to talk about that awful place, especially now; it only reminded her of everything Wakko endured there. Jayna nodded, rubbing her forehead.
"Yes. They had a camp in the woods nearby. I don't think they were there long… just a few days. They must have been observing us, looking for an opportunity. They thought your brother would be the easiest target because he's still learning."
She gave the siblings a somewhat uneasy look, as if not sure how they would react to what she said next.
"Yeah?" Yakko prompted. "Who were they?"
Jayna hesitated a little longer, then let out a quiet sigh.
"Supporters of Salazar. The sorcerer was working for him years ago, when he first found out one of you was Gifted. They'd been planning to take it since then, and these men were still trying to complete the mission."
Dot let out a growl as her fur bristled, and a similar growl made her look at Yakko. His fists were clenched, along with his jaw.
"Those dirty, rotten…"
Dot looked at Jayna to see a hint of anger on her face as well.
"I want to try and figure out where the sorcerer's original power came from, but I haven't looked through everything I found. I think he got it through unnatural means, but I don't think I can figure it out for sure without questioning him."
"Well, he woke up a few hours ago," Dot muttered, then gave Wakko's hand another gentle squeeze. "But we're not leaving till we know if he's gonna be okay."
When she looked up, the frown on Jayna's face was replaced with a slight smile. It occurred to Dot that she had never seen her actually smile before.
"I wouldn't expect anything else."
She looked between her and Yakko.
"Since he's awake, is it all right if I go ask him some questions? Just questions," she quickly said. "I won't do anything to him unless you want me to."
"No thanks," Yakko said, shaking his head. "Go ahead and talk to him if ya want."
Jayna nodded and bowed her head before heading back out the door.
"I'll tell you anything I find out."
When the door closed, Dot glanced at Yakko and could tell he was thinking the same thing she was. They both returned their attention to Wakko; there would be plenty of time for confrontation later. For now, they had a brother who needed them.