TW: mentions of miscarriages

Kailua wakes up and is hit with the devastating news that she lost the baby she didn't know she was carrying and the fact she'll never walk again. Lo'ak breaks down over the news in a spectacular way.

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Cold, Spirits, A little bit longer

Ronal POV

It took Kailua six days to wake up after the surgery. In those six days, Ronal had asked Norm and his team to remove the unborn child from Kailua. Having suffered from many miscarriages herself, Ronal thought the best way of recovery for her daughter was to not pass what remained of the baby. "We've already done it," Norm said when asked. Ronal crossed her arms. "How so?" Norm cleared his throat. "She was around four and half, maybe five months along. At that point, there is an actual foetus too big to pass. We had to cut into the womb to remove the baby,"

A member of Norm's team, a woman specialising in childbirth and pregnancy, had offered to tell Kailua the devastating news. Despite Ronal wanting to tell Kailua herself, she couldn't bring herself to say the words. Not even when her own children had failed to reach birth had Ronal uttered the words. She would just hold her arms out to Tonowari like a baby and ask him to hold her tightly. He would always know and do so silently until she was ready for him to let her go.

It didn't take Ronal long to work out who the father was. Kailua was reckless, yes, but she wasn't stupid. Eywa… how was she supposed to tell the now oldest Sully boy that his brother had died a week ago, and so had his daughter? The woman, Cass, had offered to tell him as well. She'd tell them both together. At first, Ronal thought it was a bad idea to make him wait for Kailua to wake. She thought that finding out a week after it had happened would hurt more.

Lo'ak

He didn't want to leave the hut for anything; let alone to speak to his ex. Yet, what the mighty Kailua wants, the mighty Kailua gets. Everything felt too raw. The village moved on to quickly… life moved on too quickly. Hell, even his parents were in a better place than he'd thought. Kiri was more emotional than usually, and part of that was probably because (unlike his parents) she couldn't go to the spirit tree to visit Tey. That was the spine of many of their arguments in that last week.

"You're wasting an opportunity to go and rest yours, and his, soul peacefully," Kiri said nonchalantly. Lo'ak rolled his eyes with a sigh. "I don't want to go, Kiri. Leave it alone," He said equally as nonchalant. "I'd go if I were you," She said, turning her nose into the air in that fucking frustrating way she did when trying to get under your skin. Lo'ak pursed his lips tightly. "Kiri, leave it the hell alone. I'm not going, so shut the fuck up,"

Kiri would then scream and shout about how spoilt and lucky he was to have the chance that she didn't. Lo'ak would scream and shout that he didn't want to see Neteyam's dead body again. Kiri would throw something, Lo'ak would throw it back and usually storm out before he hit her. Mom and dad were all about the "equal rights, equal fights" bullshit, but if he hit first, it was game over.

He rapped on the door softly. "Norm?" He called. The door swung open. "Ah. You must be Lo'ak?" He lowered his raised fist with a frown. "Uh... yeah." God, his social battery was not up for anything, let alone people he didn't know. "I'm Cass. Come, come. I need to speak with you and Kailua,"

Lo'ak walked on autopilot as he was led through one of the many labs that littered the ship. They passed Max's lab, where he sat hunched over a computer. Norm's came next, where a softly glowing link bed sat. He was probably wondering around in his Avatar body then. After a while, they came to a stop. "She's in here," Cass said, knocking on the door. "Kailua? Can I come in?"

Lo'ak rolled his eyes, already fucked off with everything. "Sure,"

Ok, that he wasn't expecting. Her voice sounded… empty. There was none of the usual life or joy or sarcasm, just… a voice. He walked in behind Cass, shutting the door closed when she nodded. Cass gestured to a seat. "You'll wanna sit down for this," Lo'ak frowned, slowly sitting down. Kailua shuffled in the blanket, ending with a tearful sounding sigh. Cass took a deep breath. "It breaks my heart to deliver this news." She began. "I'm sure this is the last thing either of you want to hear, especially you, Lo'ak,"

Lo'ak glanced at Kailua quickly. Cass sighed softly. "Kailua. Were you aware you were pregnant?"

Lo'ak spun to face her. "I-uh. No!" Kailua stuttered. "Why?" She swallowed. "Cass, why? Why?" The tears had already begun leaking from her eyes. "I-I'm afraid you lost the baby,"

Lo'ak felt as though the world had been put on pause. "What?" He asked. "Find it then! Find my baby!" Kailua cried, scratching at the blanket. "No. Your baby passed away, Kailua. When you were shot, the bullet… it pierced your womb."

The world fell from beneath Lo'ak's feet, sending him tumbling into an endless void of grief and never ending death. "What was it?" He asked quietly. Kailua's crying ceased for a moment, quieting down. "I'm sorry?" Cass stuttered. "The baby. What was it?" He repeated, looking at the ground unblinking. "A girl. You had a daughter,"

That final sentence was it. His heart seemed to throb painfully within the walls of his chest, beating with agony. Kailua wailed from the bed, burying her face in a pillow to smother her screams. Lo'ak had nothing. Simply nothing. His brain had shut off; nothing was computing.

Did Eywa have a vendetta against him? First, she took his happiness. Then his home, then his brother, then his daughter?

He nodded slowly, the motion somewhat keeping his head from exploding. Everything blurred together in a mess of colours and continuous rings. Cass's hand on his knee sharpened his brain enough to listen. "Did you hear me? The team are waiting until Kailua has passed her medical tests before they do a burial, if you want to go. They understand if you don't." Lo'ak shook his head slowly. "No, I'll… I-I'll go,"

The walk back to the hut was torturous, but none more so than the immediate questions thrown at his face.

"Where were you, maitan?" Mom.
"Why did the medical team want you? You're not hurt?" Dad.
"Did you see Kailua? Is she ok?" Tuk.
"Did you finally go to the tree?" Kiri.

Lo'ak ignored everybody and walked to his bedroll. "I asked you a question, boy. Answer me," Dad turned him physically by his shoulder. Lo'ak looked into his and moms eyes. "My daughter died,"