6. Hospital
Robin knows this won't be a good day, when she wakes up to an IV in her arm, a collection of beeping medical equipment around her… And no memory of how she's gotten there. In fact, her mind is a frightening collection of blanks, like something has been torn out of her. The one thing she has is a sudden flare of panic, driving her to try and fight her way up and out of bed.
The wires and tubes snag on her skin, prompting a pained yelp out of her-
And hands on her shoulders stop her from any more struggles.
"Hey, take it easy!" A voice stills her the rest of the way, and she finds herself looking from the hands and arms, to see a young man looking back at her. He looks like he's swallowing a bit of panic as well, as he looks over her and checks the equipment. "You're lucky to be alive; let's try not to land you back in the emergency room, okay?"
"S-sorry, Chrom. I panicked, and…" She trails off, wondering at why she knows the name.
'Chrom?' She tests the name out in her head; and almost as a reward for using her mind, gets one flash of memory; of a figure in white standing over her, alternately begging and telling her to stay alive, even as she bleeds out. He'd been terrified when he stood over her, babbling, and even blurting out his name to try and get her to focus on him.
"You… Pulled me out of a wreck." She narrows her eyes, trying to focus on the blurry images. "I was hurting and you… Did something about that-?"
He nods, and in the process runs his hands over her arms and the equipment. Robin follows them, noting the ornate style of the syringes and tools around her. The needles seem almost carved from filigree, while the fluid containers are formed with glass and embossed with fine materials. She narrows her eyes at them, wondering at all the fine material.
Chrom notices her questioning look. In response, he rolls up his sleeve to show a mark on his skin; a tear drop shape the mimics the carved patterns on the equipment. And that mark gives an odd silvery glow; she can almost taste magic in response.
"White… Mage?" The word spills onto her lips, and Chrom gives a nod. In the same moment, he finishes tracing his hands over the equipment, and Robin watches them give a soft glow in response. The IV in her arm gives an odd twinge, though not at all uncomfortable. And the points where her skin was yanked stop aching.
"Usually we prefer the term 'healers.'" Chrom tells her. "But… Yeah. You were in such critical condition… We figured you needed a little arcane boost."
"S-sorry if I made you worry." Robin rasps out.
"I'm just glad you're in once piece… At least mostly. I've never seen that much blood before." Robin tries not to go sick at that description; looking at her limbs, there's evidence of trauma, thanks to the bandages, and fading scar tissue.
"I… Also never had to use my training like that, before." She takes in Chrom's appearance; the hospital scrubs, along with another teardrop shape on his sleeves. He traces his thumb of the symbol.
"I'm not exactly a healer, the same way my sisters are. But I've been trying to learn how to channel, and use magic… And it's a good thing, too. I don't know if you would've survived otherwise. N-not that I doubt your fortitude, it's just-"
"Wait." Robin held her hand up, both to stall him and keep her head from spinning. "Just… What exactly happened? And why can't I-?" Her head gives a twinge, like there's needles digging into her skull. As he watches her flinch, understanding dawns on Chrom's face.
"I was warned this might happen." He continues, in a lower voice. "You were in an accident… One that only you walked away from."
As he talks, she gets more flickers of memories; of a half burning wreck of a car, and the harsh bite of asphalt digging into her bleeding skin. A broken man is slumped against the wheel… And she can't help but be glad he is no longer digging his fingers into her, yelling threats and commands. He'd been so busy with his barbed words, he never saw the oncoming truck.
Chrom takes a deep breath, and Robin finds herself doing the same to steady herself. "And on top of that, you lost a lot of blood in the process. I think the trauma caused you to forget."
He lowers his eyes at that; and even with all his eagerness, there's an uncertain quality to his posture.
"I… Remember bits and pieces, but not much else."
"With luck, it might all come back to you. I've… Never seen anything like that before. And it makes me wonder if I'd been just a little more experienced, then maybe you'd be… More whole, instead of all broken up-"
"At the moment, I'm alive." Robin finds herself pointing out. She finds herself savoring the ability to breathe; she can just remember fighting for breath, feeling a horrible metallic taste in her throat and clogging her lungs… Followed by a blaze of white light, flushing the struggle out of her system. "And I… Can just remember a bolt of magic, keeping me alive. That was you, wasn't it?"
He nods, still blushing a bit. Perhaps still doubting his abilities. And Robin tries to distract him from that.
"And since I'm still here… I can focus on the rest, on recovering everything, later on." He brightens at that, giving an enthusiastic nod; and Robin already has the feeling she won't be tackling those problems alone.
-o-o-o-
Chrom shuts the door behind him, wondering at the left over sparks of magic firing through his system. He gazes at his hands, feeling a frown crease his face. His magic feels like it's been given a sudden surge, ever since he saw their newest patient laying on the ground.
He'd been terrified, when he first saw her; there was a broken quality to her
"Well. Looks like you've come into your own." His sister's voice makes him jump, and he barely manages to choke down a yelp as he whirls to face Lissa. She favors him with a grin, though with a slight glint of approval showing in her eyes. "I mean it; normally you're pretty ham handed with the equipment, but this time…"
"…This time, it was like the metal was sparking under my hands. And…" He glances from Lissa, back to his hands. "And I could finally feel a little of what you and Emmeryn call on."
"Oh, I'd say that was MORE than a little." Lissa tells him. "Knew that you had a spark of magic in you, too!"
He can only bow his head at that, feeling a little self-conscious. It's true; he's gotten the mark emblazoned on his skin, showing his potential as a healer. But up until now, he's only managed small sparks of power. Little jolts to help his sisters heal wounds, or mend minor scrapes and lightly bruised bones.
So the fact that he's manifested so much power, and pulled someone back from the brink… It leaves him both exhilarated and humbled. And wondering what other surprises this patient might be capable of.
-o-o-o-
There's no shortage of problems to face, as the weeks slowly go by. Starting with figuring out how to get out of bed. But through it, Chrom is ready to act first as her legs, getting her out of bed and to the hospital equipment. The wheel chairs they keep here are just as ornate as the rest of the equipment, likely to better channel the lambent magic that suffuses this place.
It still takes some time to get used to sitting in such a thing, though.
"I half feel like a princess." Robin jokes, the first time she sits in one. Chrom just gives her a quick grin… And it makes her wonder if he half agrees with that. She feels a little too shy to press the idea, however; and she also reminds herself that generally, princesses don't wear hospital gowns.
They also likely have better memories, than just flashes of pain and twinges of discomfort, and heart-deep flinches whenever she tries to think back. It feels like some scars run deep, even with the care she's given.
Chrom manages to distract her a little from that, and wheel her about, giving her a grand tour of the Ylissean hospital; she gets to meet a few more of the healers, and learn their names. Her mind seems hungry for information, and sets to memorizing the rule and order of this place quick enough.
The senior healer here is Emmeryn, and she shows a knack for knitting bones. She's shown up at Robin's bedside a time or two, instructing Chrom on how to work his own talent and powers on her. There's also a pair of healers, Libra and Lissa, and the former always seems to be trying to impart lessons on the latter.
Each time she meets the other healers, Robin learns a little more about the odd magic they wield… And its limits. While she can feel strength slowly flow into her, whenever Chrom focuses on her wounds, each session leaves him looking pale and drained. When Chrom heals her, it takes something out of him in turn.
"I… Still have a lot to learn." He tells her one evening, as he helps her out of the chair and into bed; as always, his touch is gentle, and almost nervous about dwelling too long on her. This time it had been Libra who stopped by, to guide him on mending Robin's bones. "Emmeryn is on another level, when it comes to mending wounds together… But there's a lack of compatibility between you and her. Maybe it's because I rushed into taking care of you, and ruined any chance of building up some resonance-"
She takes the risk of reaching out, and resting her fingers over Chrom's lips.
"Do I need to remind you again-?"
"That you're glad to just be alive." Chrom mutters from under her touch. "I just wish I wasn't so limited with healing. If it were my sister, you'd already be mended."
She isn't quite certain how to tell him that, even with that praise for Emmeryn, she doesn't mind being with him. It helps to fill the void in her head; they've tried checking records, only to find dead ends.
It makes her wonder who she'd been. She tries not to feel too lonely about that prospect… And instead focuses on the immediate staff around her. They seem willing enough to help her recover.
Then one morning, Chrom is also ready to be her courage, taking her from the wheelchair and to a new room.
"Now that we've mended all the tendons and muscles, you need to learn how to use them." He tells her. "There's this room we have people walk along. And once you do a circuit of it, we know you're properly building the strength in your legs."
Once sees it, Robin finds herself stuck to the wheelchair, almost deforming the grips under her hands with how she clutches at them. The room itself is brilliant enough, sunlight streaming through ceiling to floor windows. She counts at least ten of them, with gardens on either side; it should all feel relaxing, but instead comes across as daunting, and something she knows her legs aren't up for.
Her vision tunnels when Robin tries to look down to the other side. She can't even pick out the doorknobs or catches on the windows on the far end.
"Chrom… I can't do this." She tells him, shrinking back. Though the idea of staying confined to a wheelchair and not being allowed to leave the hospital doesn't fill her with confidence, either.
"What about doing it just one step at a time?" He asks, voice gentle. It gets her to relax a little, so she isn't shrunk into the chair.
"You don't have to tackle this place all at once, promise. We're just trying to build up your muscles."
It's a tall order all the same, considering how her legs are shaking. But she lets him guide her up, and take the first steps-
With the first steps being the best she can manage.
As she tries to move, she can feel scar tissue aching and burning along her legs. It shoots a feverish haze into her head in turn… And a reminder of the car wreck. She can almost feel the heat of flames on her face, and hearing that strange, sinister man screaming at her. Cursing her for being weak, as she bleeds.
'Small wonder you didn't have the strength to help him.' Robin thinks, shame trying to drag her down to the floor.
Her legs are already trembling, and she only manages to walk to the first window. She's ready to collapse… But instead of turning her back, Chrom puts her hands on a pair of filagree railings, the things bracketing her on either side like a pair of long, reaching crutches.
"They'll take your weight." He tells her. "Try to make it halfway around the room."
It's a tall order… But Robin finds it hard to say no to him. Even as she hears the curses from the car wreck, calling her weak-
"You're doing great! Give it another step!" Chrom tells her, drowning out those feverish memories. And it keeps Robin going; on the first try, or the second and third tries.
They average a trip to the walking room at least once a day. And each time, she finds herself able to go a little further.
'You just don't want to disappoint him, do you?' A part of her wryly observes. But it's hard not to warm up to him, particularly as he offers up a little more about himself each day. Partly to keep her mind off the strain and pain, but also because Robin finds herself curious about him.
She learns that he's the middle child of three siblings, though he looks up to both his sisters.
"Lissa has more healing aptitude than I do." He tells her one day, while massaging her legs; her skin gives a slight tingle, and she can tell he's been working magic to try and strengthen her limbs. "She can mend broken limbs without breaking a sweat… I can only manage triage. And… Maybe it would be best if she took over-"
"You keep selling yourself short." This time Robin finds herself encouraging him. "I'm sure your sisters are talented, but…" She tells herself not to blush, wish mixed results. "You know, you DO have a good and charming bedside manner."
Chrom does an even worse job, keeping his blushing under control
"Ah… Thanks. And if you're not getting sick of me, then I guess I'm doing my job okay." Robin gives a soft chuckle at that.
-o-o-o-
He's half convinced Robin is ready for a more talented healer. Each time he sees her again, he braces for a request to send in someone else… But that request never arrives. Instead, she brightens up each time she sees him. Like he's a highlight of her day.
'Like I'm a true healer.' And whenever he's in her company, Chrom finds himself believing that as well. It's like he's capable of helping others, instead of continuing on any legacy of pain. Not like his father, and the families the man left broken in his ambitions. Using the man's fortunes to open up a place to heal, there's a certain poetic justice to it.
And now that he's manifested his own magic… Chrom feels all the more confident about this choice.
There is, however, one uncomfortable wrinkle to the situation; and it's that the worry he feels a bit TOO confident around Robin. And too friendly around her. He worries that he's overstepping some sort of boundary, even as he comes into his own.
-o-o-o-
She loses track of how many days she spends, learning to walk again. But in time, a new energy fills her up.
And she gets even more determined, when Chrom and his sisters show up in her room one afternoon. Chrom has a wild grin on his face, like he can barely contain some sort of news.
"W-we figured out who you are!" He blurts out, while his little sister gives him a sharp look.
"I thought we agreed I was going to tell her." Lissa grumbles, before clearing her throat. "Robin… It looks like you've got some sort of surviving family. Though I'm guessing that man in wreck wasn't keen on you connecting with them."
At Robin's confused look, she continues. "This man… Validar. He has some connections to some unsavory stuff. Though he did a pretty good job of covering his tracks." Robin notices the past tense, and gives Lissa an inquiring stare. "He… Didn't make it through the crash, Robin. It looks like his actions finally caught up to him. And maybe that's a good thing-"
"Lissa!" Emmeryn admonishes.
"What!? It's true; with everything that guy did-!" She cuts off, catching Robin's startled look.
"But…" Robin shrinks into her bed. "But that man felt… Familiar. Almost like he was…" She wonders if this is where he luck runs out; if it's time for the healers to turn her out, now that everyone has discovered who she is.
"…Like he was family?" Chrom finishes for her, losing that eager look. He shakes his head at that. "If we treated your father as a black mark on you… We'd likely need to surrender our job as healers as well."
"Our father was not the most… Ethical of politicians, or of nobles." Emmeryn speaks up, her voice low. "We've been trying to make up for his deeds. And what we wanted to tell you is that also-"
"HEY. I'm supposed to tell her, remember?" Lissa cuts in, before turning to Robin. "The thing is, it looks like you have more family, one city over. We managed to find that you have a mother… And she's grateful you're alive." Lissa winces at that, rubbing at her ears. "Actually, we also found out she can really cheer through the phone, if she's happy enough. With luck, we can get her over here, to reunite with you."
Robin can only gape at that.
"A-and if she is going to come here…" Then Robin wants to be capable of standing up to meet her.
That determination stays with her, through the evening and into the next day. She can feel it from the moment she wakes up, and it makes even Chrom pause. That same energy helps her lift her feet… And easily make it halfway around the room before she has to pause.
"Not bad at all," Chrom tells her, admiration in his voice… And that keeps her going, until she completes a full circuit of the room. It's worth it, with how gives her a pleased grin.
"Does this mean I'll be discharged soon?" She's half eager to step back outside… But also hesitating at the notion that she might be saying goodbye to him.
"Now that we know you can support yourself, it shouldn't be much longer. Though it would be nice if we could keep doing checkups. Though you might want someone else-?"
Robin frowns at that, wondering at how he suddenly seems eager to put some distance… And he must read some of that in her face.
"I-I just worry that you might be getting sick of me. Or that I… Might be too enthusiastic, or coming on too strong with wanting to help you. Just because we're healers, and supposed to support our patients doesn't mean we should get… Well, TOO attached."
He ducks his head, and Robin reaches out to brush at his face, and try to lift his head back up. The tips of her fingers burn when they touch his face… And she realizes how red he is.
"What if I told you that I wasn't sick of you? Or that couldn't be further from the truth?" She asks; wondering if maybe the magic sparking through her gives her an extra surge of courage. "I'd… Honestly love to spend more time with you. And as for being too attached… What does it mean if the attachment goes both ways, and it helps with recovery?"
Chrom lifts his head, and in the process Robin's fingers card through his hair. The touch, however, seems to encourage Chrom with speaking.
"Then… I suppose practicality takes precedence. If you're sure-"
"Well, after teaching me how to walk, I'm curious to see what else I can learn from you. Starting with how you manage to smile like that."
In response, he brushes his fingers over hers, and Robin feels a bright, almost swelling sensation in her heart. And thinks she might already have learned a little more from him.
This wasn't such a bad series of days, as it turns out.