Terrible Things
Quirin paced the floor, anxious to hear about his wife's condition. It had started innocently enough- she'd complained a month ago about pain when feeding Varian, but Quirin had assumed that was just because the boy was teething. But then her breasts had reddened, the nipples had flaked, and the pain had gotten worse, so bad in fact that Quirin had considered getting Varian a wet nurse. But Vivienne loved her baby, and she bared the discomfort with grace and serenity.
Now that he had called a doctor in, Quirin was forced to face the reality that in spite of her bravery, something was very, very wrong with his wife.
The door opened, and the doctor appeared, looking very concerned. "The cancer is very aggressive. I've given Vivienne medicine for the pain and swelling, but I must tell you, she's only going to get worse. Cancer is an insidious disease, and there is no cure." he said.
Quirin slumped. The doctor's words were buzzing in his ears like angry hornets. Aggressive. Cancer. No cure. "May I see her?" he asked tentatively.
"Of course. Quirin, I'm sorry I don't have better news." the doctor offered his awkward condolences, but they barely registered with Quirin.
"Vivienne? Honey?" Quirin opened the door.
"Quirin. It's so good to see you. Varian and I have been resting." she said. Thank goodness for small miracles. Varian was easy enough to handle when he was sleepy, it was when he was wide awake that he crawled everywhere, exploring everything with a focus Quirin could never have dreamed one so small would possess.
"I'm so sorry. I spoke with the doctor and he..." Quirin was unable to finish the sentence. He could barely look his wife in the eye without breaking down at the unfairness of it.
"Don't be sad." Vivienne spoke softly. "I've had enough joy to last a thousand lifetimes because I met you and we had Varian. Take care of him, please."
Varian. Quirin's thoughts turned to the baby lying in his crib, happily chewing on his favorite toy: a stuffed raccoon. Varian loved both his parents, but it was Vivienne who fed him, changed him, bathed him. Quirin wasn't sure how he could raise a motherless child, but he was determined to try. "I will." he promised.
THE END
The title comes from Mayday Parade's Terrible Things. For an extra emotional gut punch, go listen to that song. There's no canon explanation for how Quirin's wife died, but I chose breast cancer because it still claims lives today and would definitely be fatal back then.