Chapter 39: Medical Diagnoses
—Piper Pov—
She yawned, stretching her arms, her back stiff from having sat on a stool for so long. She cracked her knuckles and rocked her head side to side to get rid of a slight crick in her neck. The several cocktails she had indulged in had left her head feeling a little floaty, but she was used to kicking them back and was better able to hold her alcohol than most.
Nevertheless, she pushed her glass slightly away from her to show she was done and would not be taking any further drinks. She finally had an interesting case to work on and did not need to drown her boredom.
Gin took the glass and offered her the customary glass of sparkling water as a palette refresher. She was aware from past visits to his bar that it was enchanted and would sober her up almost immediately after drinking it.
That was the thing with Gin; he would allow his customers to as drunk as they wanted within his bar, but he never let them leave that way. If you tried to leave the bar without drinking the water, that amiable persona quickly turned harsh.
Fey could sober themselves up without the use of his water; but Gin insisted that it was part of his aesthetic not to leave it to his customers to take care of themselves—or maybe, she thought, he just did not trust them to.
If any of his customers wanted to prolong the sensation of being drunk, he had rooms upstairs where they could go to sleep off the effects of the drink naturally. She had never used them herself, but Nova had told her that the rooms were actually very comfortable, however it was part of her aesthetic to never leave herself in a vulnerable position.
"Well, Nova, I'm going to bounce after this." She sipped the water, feeling some of the fog in her head clear. Nova was laying his head on the counter, his hand wrapped around his fifth Emerald Embrace. He could very well end up staying here to sleep it off in a room upstairs; she did not see him snapping himself out of this stupor until it came time for the boy's next treatment.
"So soon?" He peered up at her with unfocused eyes.
"We've been here for hours." She tapped his glass with her long fingernail, which made a small chiming noise. "Do you even remember how many of these you had?"
"it is ssill only my firzz won." He slurred, closing his eyes.
"Oh boy, you're sloshed." She messed up his hair affectionately and met Gin's eyes. "Take care of this green idiot for me."
"Ah sure, 'tis me pleasure, ya know." He promised with a knowing smile; Nova was in here enough, usually crying over a picture of his wife and kids; or lamenting about Jullian and Julia, that she knew Gin was fully capable of taking care of him, no matter what mood Nova got in. Gin was also probably one of the few people who wasn't scared of Nova when he got angry.
She turned to leave when she spotted that Finch and Siofra were still present, more focused on their card game than they were on their drinking, and neither of them appeared to be too inebriated. She needed to speak to them about Theo; and now, without others around, was a great time; if other Fey overheard, it could cause a panic of paranoia and that was always a headache to deal with.
"Hey, you two." She called to them, and they looked her way, curiously. Their relationship was neither sweet nor sour; the Fuchs couple had little interest in others outside of themselves and Theo. The only one they treated with an iota of respect was Nova, due to him being the one to help them claim their precious Theo.
"Are you looking after your Kinder alright? You're not being careless with his upkeep or bringing up his old life too often, are you?"
"What kinda of question is that?" Siofra bristled. "Of course we're taking good care of our boy!"
"Don't you have the Turner kid to play with? You shouldn't be bored enough to be imagining problems where there aren't any. Our little Theo is well taken care of!" Finch sniffed with visible offense.
"Anyway, with what happened to Alethea's little Jacob, we wouldn't rush our Theo to your care….not without Nova there." Siofra added with a click of her tongue; a real middle-aged biddy, that one; she did not believe half of the gossip she spread, but she just enjoyed being quarrelsome, and that bit of gossip was one Alethea had spread while in a state of hysterics and it was still believed by a handful who had nothing better to preoccupy their minds with then hasty and paranoid conclusions.
She rolled her eyes. "Ironic for someone who hates lies as much as Alethea does, to believe her own, but I know you both know better. It was her own negligence that lead to Jacob's body becoming unstable. I warned her beforehand that my treatment was experimental and that results would be unpredictable."
"Yeah, it was her own fault." Siofra admitted with a shrug, despite having been the one to bring the incident up. "Anyway, we do everything right with our little foxy; our boy is perfectly fine."
"Theo won't ever break like Jacob did; I bet we're going to have him last even longer than little Walter has!" Finch declared proudly. With how much those two loved Theo, if he had come here for the magic-filter-cycle, then maybe he too might've been another angel. The idea had been pitched to them, of course, but a child couldn't undergo the filter-cycle without dying and being revived by magic first, and the very idea of Theo dying, even temporarily had been too painful an idea for either of them to endure.
"Look, I was talking with Theo earlier. It looked like he might have been recalling memories of his sister, or at least trying hard to recall them…." She warned them, overconfidence on a Fey's parent's part could be the most deadly danger to a Kinder's wellbeing.
Siofra and Finch tensed up, finally taking the conversation seriously.
"We keep those memories blurred!" Siofra protested. "We know what can happen to Kinders if they get overcome by their human emotions or memories! Every month we make sure that no fresh memories of Agatha got triggered by something he saw or heard."
"The attachment he felt towards his sister would be enough to cause him to start Breaking if it resurfaced." Finch drummed his fingers against the table nervously. 'Breaking', the thing every Fey who had a Kinder feared the most. The bodies Kinders possessed were made from a very strong, yet delicate magic, and if something compromised it—such as the Kinder themselves suddenly rejecting their new form—the magic holding the faux-immortal body together would start to unravel…
"Ah, thad lout Jorgen…. !" Nova mumbled and tried to shift his weight to look over his shoulder, but ended up falling off his stool instead. He winced, rubbing his thigh and grimacing, flashing an apologetic look towards Finch and Siofra. "Jorgen had a prior conversashun wizza young boy, durin' whish Theo missakenly referred t' his sisser azz Agnes. Jorgen promptly innervened ann correcded himm, emphasizin' thad herr name was Agatha. It likely triggered the boy's recollecshun t' summ esstenn. I apologize. I shoulda essercised greater vigilance wenn thad dolt began engagin' in dialogue wizza shildren."
"Nova! Buddy! You hard enough to understand with all those big excessive words you always use, but using them when you're drunk off your ass—please, our brains are gonna have hernia trying to understand you!" She shook him, frustrated, whilst Siofra struck the table with her fist and Finch slapped his forehead, both of them cursing Jorgen venomously.
She sighed to herself; it wasn't really the Jar-head's fault. Jorgen had no way of knowing about the careful balancing act they needed to do to keep Kinders stable, so he probably had no idea that such a simple correction could be so dangerous.
"F'rtunately, Theo is likely t' addribute thad missake t' the passage uhf timme ann remain unaware uhf any innennional alterations, sooo it shud nod havve significann consequences."
"Seriously, stop talking or at least use words that are easier to pronounce while drunk!" She pleaded as she helped Nova back up onto his stool.
"If that's all it is, then we'll just give him some emergency care." Siofra and Finch relaxed; emergency care was usually only required for Kinders who were less than 500 years old; their human memories being unable to extend very far—between 500 to a thousand years, unless the memory was profoundly impactful or frequently revisited, they were at most, only left with a general sense of what their human life was, and after a thousand years most of their human memories transformed into vague impressions. Only the most pivotal moments might remain, if at all, though—the Fey could choose to dull or enhance certain memories…or even create new ones.
"It's not unheard of for some older Kinders to receive emergency care and it often does the trick." She admitted, but frowned. They were taking this too easy. Powerful emotions or memories were not the only things that could break a Kinder—a longing for their human lives, a rejection of their transformed self, or a powerful regret; such as an unfulfilled human dream or a love for someone in their human lives. It was difficult to save them if they began to 'break'. She had come up with a few treatments that had fairly good success rates, but the side effects were not very pleasant. If a Kinder completely 'broke', then the only treatment was to re-make them entirely; effectively changing who they were to such a degree that they felt like a brand new child— and sometimes even that did not work.
The magic holding Theo's body together, for example, relied heavily on enhancing the memories of all the wonderful times he had with his godparents and highlighting the abuse he had received at the hands of his human parents, and the hopelessness of his future. A complete rejection of the horrible and unlovable human world and an embrace of the magical world that had cared for him.
However—Agatha the self-sacrificing and adored older sister was a memory that had been blurred into the vague notion that he once had a sister he cared for, a sister that he believed had moved on and had eventually forgotten him with her marriage—-because if Theodore remembered his sister and what had truly happened to her, and the promise he had made to her….he wouldn't be able to forgive being taken from her side.
"Emergency care will be enough; no need to make a big deal about it." Siofra sipped her cocktail. "I bet even if he did recall his sister, it wouldn't be enough to break him."
"Theo adores us." Finch was self assured. "He's so happy here that he's not going to start rebelling on us, even if some memories resurfaced."
"But remembering Agatha would distress the poor thing; we made him believe she was happily married off and building a new, good life for herself." Siofra stared at the orange peel floating in her glass, her equally orange eyes dimming. "Pity we couldn't have brought that girl here as well."
"She was already an adult. Nothing we could have done, not as Fairies or as Fey. I believe she had godparents of her own when she was a kid. It's their fault for not having Nova bring her here." Finch dismissed.
"They did such a poor job with her too, did not improve her life one bit before having to leave! Well, because they did so badly, we got assigned to Theo instead of them, and that's why our little boy is here all happy and safe and not dead in some workhouse!" Siofra looked proud of herself.
"I muzz essprezz my sympathy fer Agatha. Regreddably, shhe wuz f'rsaken inna realm uhf humans, left t' wizzer unner the toxic effecss uhf maturidy. I besh shhe wooud havve made ann adorable kinner; shhe coud havve been happy here wiss herr brother…. bud alas, ad the timme, nineteen azz considered ann adult…hahaha, ironic Jorgen juzz moved it upp t' twenny-one, i guezz wee could've brodded herr too, hahaha…" Nova laughed drunkenly from his stool. She had to catch him as he nearly slipped off of it again.
"Twenty one? Really? Haha! That's way too old to count as a kid! Is he doing that just to piss his dad off? If so, that is actually pretty funny!" Siofra laughed while Finch, with a smirk on his face, called out to Gin.
"Can you make our Theo a little mocktail? We're going to nip this problem in the bud now, before it gets around."
"Ah, sure, no bother at all! I'll whip up somethin' grand and sweet for the wee fox." Gin smiled, relaxed. He was as good as making child friendly drinks to sooth the Kinders as he was at making alcoholic ones for the Fey.
"It would get annoying if others heard about this, so let's all just keep it quiet." Siofra prattled. "I just know Rosehip would instantly stop Eleanor from playing with our boy, just in case he gave her 'dangerous' ideas. Not to mention Aelar, that dullard would probably just rush off and re-make Edmund just as a precaution! How many times has he changed that boy's form, anyway? I get he's an artist, but…."
She shut out Siofra's loud voice as she sipped her water. She understood she was talking to three drunks right now, but she still found herself getting annoyed; not so much at them but….these three found it so easy to dismiss a child once it grew up into an adult, so why couldn't her mother had done the same? Why hadn't her mother been able to laugh, 'twenty one is too old!' like those three had just done, and just…let go?
If her mother had dismissed the grown Mary Alice as easily as Siofra, Finch and Nova had just dismissed Agatha, then….!
'Stop it Piper, you have better things to put your mind to than dwelling on what you can't change.' She scolded herself as Siofra reached into the pocket of her long knitted skirt and pulled out a tiny wooden figure that had its paint chipped in several places. It was a crudely carved thing, but it was supposed to be a British soldier—a toy carved by Theo's father in a rare moment he wasn't in some opium or alcohol induced stupor. A fleeting moment when the man attempted to act like a father; and this toy apparently had been a priceless treasure to Theo, which he gave to his godparents one day after narrowly avoiding loosing them, so that they'd be able to always have a memory of him, when the day came that they did have to go away.
It was this trinket that Siofra and Finch had Nova send to Fey world in order to have the boy stolen.
This item, even to this day, held a certain amount of power over Theo, allowing his Fey Parents to call him to their side or to send suggestions into his head on what to do or where to go. Every Fey Parent had a trinket that linked them to their Kinder and kept it on their persons at all times.
"Emergency maintenance is fine, but you gotta send him to me for a proper check-up." She pressed them, as Gin went about mixing orange, pineapple, and cranberry juice with some sparkling water, honey, vanilla extract, and garnished a tall ice filled glass with orange slices and maraschino cherries. The couple ignored her, giving their full attention to the drink that was being prepared for their Kinder.
"If you would care to add the final touch?" Gin offered playfully and had the glass float through the air and over to their table.
"You gave your blood last time, so I'll use mine this time." Siofra spoke to her husband as she conjured up a knife and cut her hand, allowing a few drops of sparkling orange blood to drip into the glass, making the drink sparkle.
"Then I'll provide a snack." Finch smiled and took the knife from his wife's hand, and conjuring up a colorful plate with a childlike design, laid his hand on it and cut off the ends of his fingers. He winced only a little, no doubt having used a blade enchanted as to dull any pain, and transformed the ends of his cut off fingers into miniature sausage rolls, Theo's favorite treat.
Siofra patted her husband's hand with a smile as he complained about how that 'smarted', while wearing a half grin. Fey being Fey—the ends of those fingers were already beginning to regrow.
When having a human child or a Kinder ingest a part of a Fey's body in order to control their emotions, the strength and duration depended on what was sacrificed; blood being the largest, with flesh a close second. They certainly weren't going cheap with Theo's emergency maintenance, but she still hoped they brought him by her clinic later.
"Hehe…" Nova chuckled a little, watching them and reached out, pulling on her sleeve to get her attention. "Piper, i muzz inform yoo thad i engaged inna sneeaaky actividy erlier."
"Did you now?" She could barely understand a word he was saving and had to hold her nose against how strong the scent of alcohol on his breath was as he leaned in close to whisper into her ear. She put a hand to her mouth in exaggerate shock at his confession and nudged him playfully.
"Oh! You are a sneak! Let me guess, you're going to be bragging about it later at the party?"
"Party? isn't the tea pardy over….?"
"Remember the party you promised for the Kinder and Fey who weren't invited to the tea party?"
"Inneed, inneed!" Nova once again almost fell off his stool, and she caught him, helping him upright again. He continued talking, however, not noticing how close he had come to falling face first onto the floor. "Unfortunately, nod alla kinners coud addenn, azz I needed t'be discernin' in order t' mayke a lassin' impresshun on Wanda. However, I assure yoo thad tonight will be ann enjoyable evenin' fer 'em. I will prepare a pardy thad will be immensely enjoyable t' 'em, affer fulfillin' my commitmenn t'sssake li'l Timmy ann Wanda t' the ssar pavilion furra budderfly viewin'."
"I still think our little Theo and his friends could have gone." Finch was looking at his hand; his fingers entirely regrown, with only his fingernails left to reform.
"Wait, you actually understood what he said?" Her eyes bugged out. She hadn't understood more than a few words! She had to admit, she was impressed.
"Haha, our time living with Theo's parents made us fluent in drunk-speech." Siofra looked almost proud of that.
"Yeah, a skill you and Finch no doubt refined after becoming Fey." She pointed out; they were here nearly every single afternoon after all; the two of them just laughed as if she had made a joke.
Nova began to make excuses to justify not inviting Theo, claiming how picky Wanda was about the company her sons kept, while she laughed to herself about how Theo, Edmund and Eleanor had headed them off at the park and had actually made a rather favorable impression on Wanda….probably better than those prim and proper Kinder that Nova had introduced her to. Those kids were sweet, but their Fey Parents had altered them so much from their original selves that they came across as a bit—fake, in her opinion.
"Mum, Pop, you called?" Theo burst into the bar, all full of pep, no doubt dropping what he was doing and rushing over the moment the mental command for his presence was issued to him through the token. His friends weren't with him, and his hands had paint stains on them. Normally his hands were dirty with mud or sand, he wasn't one for arts and crafts usually, something Siofra noted quickly as well.
"Oh, Foxy, what were you up to?" She called out his pet name sweetly as she ruffled his hair, playing with his fox-like ear affectionately.
"Oh?" Theo put his paint stained hands behind his back. "…Hehe, we were coming up with ah, a new game…we drew pictures on a bunch of rocks and stuff—we're gonna be hiding something under one of them...as a joke."
"Is this one of Edmund's pranks, stealing and hiding a shiny thing?" Finch laughed.
"Yeah, we're going to make a riddle to find the thing—but, your only allowed to turn over one rock…we have rocks all over the village with pictures on them now!" Theo laughed as he explained the nonsense game which was a little different from their usual pranks. "We're working hard on this one, so don't go moving them, ok?"
"Sure, sure." Finch scooped the boy up into his lap affectionately. The boy's eyes shone, seeing his favorite treat on the table along with the colorful beverage, oblivious to their true nature. Delighted, he grabbed one of the 'sausage rolls' and nearly squealed as he savored it.
"Hmm! You always make these great, but these are extra good!" Theo eagerly reached for another. To him, the rolls made from Finch's flesh would taste just like normal sausage rolls, except special—the perfect amount of juiciness, just the right amount of crispiness to the roll, along with a certain 'spice' that gave a distinct and yet addictive flavor.
"Gin was experimenting with a new Mocktail; this one was made just for you." Siofra pushed the drink laced with her blood towards Theo, who finished eating his second roll and thirstily grabbed the drink to wash it down. His expression looked like he had just tasted a little bit of paradise.
The drink, already sublime because it was Gin's handiwork, would also contain a certain comforting sweetness that would soothe him, relaxing him as the enchantments placed in this special food and drink worked its charm on him.
This was not the first time he had partook of their flesh and blood; and it would not be the last. He and every other Kinder had done so multiple times, not that they'd ever know it.
She glanced over at Nova, who wore a self-satisfied smile; his thoughts likely back to that long abandoned underwater café; she had to hand it to him; when he wanted something—-he did not hesitate.
— Poof's POV—
"Hey, Poof, what are you doing in here?"
He looked up miserably as his father peeked into the room that should have been the room his big brother was staying in if he hadn't gotten sick and had to go away. He rubbed his eyes tiredly. While he had been moping over things, he must've fallen asleep.
"Poof…." He put his head down sadly on the pillow; he was bored, lonely and worried; and perhaps he was a little angry, too. It was all just so unfair; and his father wasn't being very helpful, either. With his mommy and brother not around, he wanted his dad to at least keep him company, but he kept going off on his own. "Poof! Poof…."
"I….I'm sorry. I've just been kinda down…." His dad sat down next to him, being careful not to sit on the pamphlet he had fallen asleep reading. His father's face twisted, aghast, paling as he saw the page advertising the big TBT.
"Poof?"
"…" His dad bit down on his lip and turned his face away. "…It's because I was practicing for that, that Timmy got hurt."
"Not pay attention, Poof….?" He asked meekly, not wanting to hurt his father's feelings.
His dad nodded slowly, a faraway look in his eyes. "Yeah…I was oblivious to anything and everything around me, except for hitting that stupid target!" He put his head down, messing with his bangs in frustration. "I…I should've been more aware…! I should have paid attention to Timmy….! If I had, then…! Then….all of this mess wouldn't be happening. He wouldn't be in Fey world. He wouldn't be sick. Timmy….he'd be ok."
"Poof…." He laid a hand on his father's arm to reassure him, and he turned his head to look at him with tears in the corner of his eyes. His normally bright green eyes seemed so dim.
"….Timmy would be here with us right now, having fun. You and him would be reading those pamphlets together and making all kinds of fun plans for the upcoming weekend…! Wanda would be smiling and laughing….she'd be so excited to get tons of pictures with her two favorite boys….to make precious memories that would last forever…but because of me, we don't even know if Wanda and him will even be there…"
His bottom lip trembled. "No…..!"
"Poof….!" His father's face twisted in pain. "I…I'm so sorry! This is all my fault. If I had not gotten mad at Timmy…..if I hadn't….purposefully ignored him…!"
"Why…?" He squeaked out sadly. He wasn't asking just about why he had gotten mad at his brother, but why he had been so distant towards Timmy lately. Even during the short time Timmy stayed with them after getting hurt, his father kept blowing up at Timmy…..he did not like them fighting.
"…." His father was silent for a long moment and he feared he might have decided not to tell him, but then he sighed, letting his shoulders droop. "Timmy…he's not weak. He can fight back. He always stayed sturdy no matter what got thrown at him…he was a nail that refused to get hammered down but, he's not even trying anymore."
"Poof, poof…! Poof…" He defended. His brother was still strong, he just needed some time to regain his strength. "Mom will help! Timmy be strong again soon! Poof!"
His father shook his head frustrated. "That's the problem! He's become so dependent on Wanda….! He just cries and cries and leaves it up to her to make him feel better! Play games, give hugs, that—that creepy baby game!"
"Poof!" He frowned; it wasn't creepy…it was fun….having little Timmy to play with was fun…human babies were silly and funny. Why would his dad call it creepy?
Cosmo took a deep breath to calm himself. "…Sure, I get it, things are hard on him, he needs comfort….he needs help, but eventually he's going to be ok. He'll regain his strength, learn to stand on his own two feet again, and no longer depend on Wanda for constant comfort and reassurance. Wanda's smart, patient, kind…she'll be able to get Timmy through this rough patch, and eventually he won't depend on her anymore to get through life. He won't need her hugs, or her baby-game to feel better."
"Poof!" He smiled. That's right, with mom's help, Timmy would be—
"But—! Wanda isn't some hanky. Good to dry his tears on and then be tossed aside once used! She has feelings too! The more Timmy relies on her, the more dependent he becomes on her...the more used she'll be! A hanky that's tried a few tears is still in good condition, but one that's been used repeatedly...there's nothing left to it." His dad turned away, hiding his expression. "I tried to explain this to Timmy... that he shouldn't get so attached to Wanda!"
"Why, Poof?"
"Because, his attachment isn't one sided! The more love he gives her, the more love she gives back….because he's clinging to her so much, she's clinging back and….it's going to be so painful for her when the time comes that he's too old for us! I…I don't want to see Wanda hurt…"
"Poof…." He knew his brother would lose them when he got older, but he hated to think about it. He was sure that his parents felt the same way, that losing Timmy when he became an adult would be very painful, but…. "….Even if not forever….we need to cherish the time together as family, even if it hurts…poof."
"…." His father was silent for a long moment. "…All I wanted was for him to just… take a step back. Not to separate himself from Wanda entirely, but just enough distance for her to remember that he's not…her real son. I don't want Wanda to feel as if a piece of her heart is being ripped out when we have to leave him, but he became upset with me. He claimed he needed her, that he couldn't cope without her, that he was her son, that I was merely jealous! That I was more concerned with being number one than with his feelings."
"Poof…." He was rendered nearly speechless, tears running down his cheeks.
"Well….maybe the fault for his outburst is on me; I choose really bad timing." His father turned to look at him again, this time wearing a rueful smile. "Timmy kept saying how much his missed you and Wanda. I felt like he did not want to spend any time with me, at all, so…I guess I was just trying to prove myself wrong….or maybe I wanted to prove myself right, so I could have an excuse to get mad…to tell him to back away from Wanda…so I used magic to make him tell me who his favorite god parent was and of course it was Wanda…so I said what I did and….he misunderstood."
"Poof!" He inflated his cheeks, feeling sad and angry. His brother must've felt so angry and so hurt…and his father did not understand at all! "Timmy is a real brother! Mom is his mom too! Just because our family isn't forever, doesn't mean Timmy is not family!"
His father choked back a sob and wiped at his eyes. "I know! I know…he….he was right. He was right when he said I was just being jealous because….you know, he calls Wanda his mom! And you his brother! But…he's never called me dad."
"Poof…" He patted his father's arm to comfort him. "Timmy loves you too…"
"...But I am merely a playmate to a boy who no longer wishes to play, and... rather than proving my worth to him, rather than proving that I can be more than just a 'buddy' to fool around with—! I... throughout our entire week together, I just... lashed out at him, hurt his feelings, made him angry... and then..." His father lowered his head, his voice fading to a whisper. "I caused him to... die."
He shook his head desperately. "Vicky! Vicky's fault! Not yours! You saved Timmy with magic, Poof! Timmy will get better because of you and Mommy!"
"….I just wish I could go back and redo that entire week…or even just that one night."
"Poof, poof!" He held up his rattle, suggesting that they actually do it, go back in time, after all Timmy had done that lots of times. If they did that then his brother would be well again, and his father would not need to feel bad, and they'd all be able to go to the fairy festival like nothing had ever happened.
"No!" His father's stern outburst almost made him drop his rattle.
"Poof?"
"Sorry," he said, offering an apology. "I didn't mean to frighten you, but we can't do that. It's against the rules to resurrect the dead. The only exception is revival magic. But here's the thing—if we traveled back in time to prevent someone's death, it wouldn't save them. They would still die, suddenly, from nothing at all. Revival magic can't bring someone back if there's no injury. So, if we stop the accident from happening, he would still pass away in his sleep, seemingly without cause, and revival magic would be of no use." His father wiped the tears from his eyes, sniffling. "Believe me, if I could make everything ok by going back in time, I would have already, but it would only make things worse."
"Poof…" He lowered his head sadly. "Is there nothing we can do, Poof?"
"….For now, no, but…!" His father balled his fists up, determined. "When Timmy comes back, I'm going to do better, much better! I promise, ok? I'll be more than a useless, outdated playmate to him! I'll….I'll do what it takes for him to think of me as family, like he does the rest of you!"
"Poof…" He wished he could tell his father that his brother already thought of him as family, but even if did say so, it wouldn't help; his dad needed to hear those words from Timmy himself.
— Timmy's POV —
"Hey, there, you've had quite the day so far; haven't you? How are you holding up?" Piper asked as she picked up his arm, checking the stigmata. "Hey, almost all gone! Good job!"
He smiled, looking at his wrist where he could barely even see the mark anymore. His head felt better, too. All the bad thoughts that had been filling his mind, along with the emotions they had brought, had faded again—still there, as they always were, but not taking control of him.
….But, the pain, shame and guilt he felt about Sophia was still raw. It always hurt to think about her. When Jorgen had first revealed her existence to him when he had wished he had never been born, he had written her off as someone he existed simply to take his place. 'Oh well, since they did not have me, they had a different kid', he had thought and hadn't hesitated to wish himself back, taking back the place he thought originally belonged to him.
If he had known that she was his twin, that she was supposed to be born alongside of him, but that he had killed with his selfishness while still in the womb….he'd have stayed gone and let her live.
….But it wasn't like he could make that wish over again; because if he did, Poof would disappear. He'd save his sister, but cause his brother to never be born. The knowledge of taking Sophia's life was an emotional wound that would always remain as sore as a fresh cut, even after his stigmata faded. It wasn't a guilt he would ever escape, nor did he deserve to.
"His fever keeps rising and dropping. Is it normal?" Wanda asked worriedly as she hovered nearby, fluffing his pillow for what felt like the hundredth time. He was glad she did not know what he was thinking about right now; he had given her so many reasons to worry about his physical health that he did not want her worrying about his mental health as well.
He had spent all this time in bed, even though the recovery room and the gardens outside provided so many things for them to do; but he just couldn't chase off the fatigue he felt and hadn't left the bed, even when Wanda had insisted on it.
Instead, he had nodded off while playing some video games and had napped for who knows how long before being woken up by Wanda when Piper had come to the door wanting to do a checkup. She must've been so bored having nothing to do but tend to him as he slept and yet instead of breathing a sigh of relief and leaving him in the hands of the doctor while she went to take a break—as his mother would have done—she was still by his side, full of concern for him.
"He also seems much weaker than usual after a treatment. He keeps falling asleep, and he has no energy to do things, is he—"
"If you keep peppering me with questions, I won't be able to give you answers." Piper stopped Wanda mid-sentence, making his godmother frown. He felt bad about worrying her so much, but at the same time, her concern touched him. It was nice having someone worrying about you…being important enough to occupy a space in their head without being pushed into the back of their mind in favor of other things. His mom would have probably given him no more than five minutes of her attention before going on with her day and leaving him in the hands of Vicky.
"I can't help it. I'm worried." Wanda protested and smoothed back his bangs as she checked on his fever for what felt like the millionth time.
"Yeah, I get it, but we already told you he's gonna have a fever on and off for the next three days because of Mab's kiss." Piper rolled her eyes. "Don't stress over things that aren't worth stressing about."
"Ok, but he's also cold, like really, really cold! I mean, I know his….condition…makes him cold, but he's even colder than—!"
Piper made a zipping motion across her lips, making an actual zipper form on Wanda's, forcefully clamping her mouth shut and silencing her. The fey doctor now turned to him with a sweet smile on her face as she ran her fingers over the length of his arm, tickling his veins playfully.
"Remember how after your first treatment, I told you it was like a little microscopic road was being built in your bloodstream just for magic? Well, that road is built now—but the cement is still wet, so no cars can pass through it yet; the next treatment will have the first few cars running on this new road—and the more this road gets used, the less painful it'll be for the cars to drive on it."
He nodded, trying to keep his expression under control as he resisted the urge to tell Piper that he was twelve and not a preschooler; fortunately Piper now looked at Wanda who was trying to unzip her mouth and began to explain things in a less childish way, though she kept speaking as if to him, rather than to her.
"Lets review some key points; ok?" Piper pointed to the foot of the bed and one of those dry-erase boards used in board meetings appeared with bullet points; but since the letters were all in bubblegum font, it lost any bit of professionalism it might of otherwise had.
"When revival magic was used to bring him back, his body wasn't fully compatible with it due to the error Cosmo had made when restoring his youth two years ago. Because his outside was twelve and his insides were 62, the magic failed to fully restore his life force." Piper pointed at the board, and the bullet points changed. "We won't get into his heart condition or soul at this time, as that's a whole different mess, and unrelated to the matter at hand."
He tried to sit up in order to be more attentive, and to read the board better, but his body felt like pudding and he ended up sliding back down into his blankets. Wanda, still with her mouth zipped closed, helped him into a sitting position and tucked a stack of pillows behind his back for support.
"Normally revival magic needs to be flushed out of the human body, as it's very potent and will not leave the body on its own. It is very important that magic is not allowed to stagnate inside a human body. The reason for that is when magic is left inside of a non magical body, it starts to rot, and this will cause serious harm. However, in cases like yours where your natural vitality is too low, removing this magic would cause your life force to become too weak to sustain you. To manage this, we've been using a procedure called a magic-filter cycle. Out with the old stuff and in with the new; but the real goal isn't just to renew the magic, it's to create a small pathway within your bloodstream through which the magic can circulate, allowing your body to regain its own natural vitality."
He nodded; he had heard all this before, and would rather hear more about why he was feeling the way he was, but judging from Wanda's expression, it seemed that she appreciated the review so he kept his impatience in check. Piper seemed to take notice of this and with a smile conjured up a bowl of sponge taffy and offered him a piece, seemingly as a reward for his good behavior, before continuing her explanation.
"You've just reached a critical point in your treatment where this pathway, or conduit, has finally been established. Right now, you're feeling extremely cold and weak because your body hasn't started using this new pathway yet. Essentially, there's no magic flowing through it, which means your body is not receiving the energy it needs. Starting with your next treatment, we'll begin to channel magic through this newly formed path. This will allow your body to start using magic as a secondary energy source. During this adjustment period, your body will need time to adapt, and you may experience various symptoms, but we'll get to those later, right now, lets pay attention to your current symptoms."
Piper pointed at the white board again, making the writing change.
Current Symptoms:
Extreme coldness
Generalized weakness
Fatigue
Slowed reflexes
Lightheadedness or dizziness
She turned her head to look at him and she smiled when he saw he was nibbling on the candy she had offered him.
"That's right kiddo; you snack on that and let your worries melt away just as easy as that taffy does, ok? I know you're feeling much worse now than you did before we completed forming the magic pathway in your bloodstream and you're probably super worried 'bout it, aren't ya?"
He nodded and Wanda clutched his hand supportively, nodding along with him.
"Let me explain then what's going on inside of you. You see, when revival magic was first used on you, your body was in a state of temporary stabilization. The magic provided just enough life force to keep you alive and functioning and up to now, your body was relying on this minimal but steady supply of magic you received during the filter-cycle to supplement your energy." Piper sketched a diagram on the whiteboard, the meaning of which he honestly didn't grasp. Glancing at Wanda, he felt reassured by her apparent lack of confusion. Noticing his struggle to keep up, Piper slowed her explanation, yet it remained complex in his view. However, considering everyone always told him he was a dumb kid who couldn't pay attention long enough to learn, perhaps her explanation wasn't as hard to follow as he thought it was, and he was simply just too stupid to understand.
"To make it simple—up to now, your body was still primarily using its natural energy sources, allowing you to feel somewhat normal. However, if things remained that way, your body would keep using up its vital energy without allowing it to gain the strength it needed to keep you going without magic to aid it. Now that the pathway for magic is complete, your body is preparing to switch over to using magic as a primary energy source so that your natural energy source has time to recover and grow in strength."
Wanda made some muffled noises as she waved her hand around in an attempt to show Piper she had a question to ask, and have her remove the zipper from her lips. The Fey doctor seemed to consider it a moment, but then playfully stuck her tongue out.
"I'm sure whatever it is you're gonna ask, I'm going to get to it eventually so just stay quiet, ok?"
Wanda sulked, arms crossed tightly over her chest. He'd like for Piper to address his godmother with the same kindness she showed him; however, he guessed that Wanda's intense glares during Piper's boastful introduction as the top kidnapper in the Fey world had not endeared her to the doctor during their first meeting with her.
"The feeling of extreme coldness and weakness your having right now is 'cause your body is not yet receiving the magic through the new pathway. It's like…." Piper stopped to think for a moment how to best describe it to him. "It's like your body is in a waiting state, ready to receive a new energy source but not yet getting it."
Piper pointed at the whiteboard again where the symptoms he was feeling were listed, and each symptom gained an explanation for it. Wanda began to take notes so fast he was surprised her pencil didn't catch on fire.
Even though this was all about him, he found himself lazily reading the board as if he was currently in his super boring junior high science class. Was it normal to feel so disconnected from your own medical diagnoses? Or was it because, even for something as important as this, his ADHD wasn't allowing him to truly focus? Or maybe….he was just simply scared to learn more about his condition, not when he still hadn't fully come to terms with the idea that he had actually died. No matter which one it was, though, it still boiled down to him either being too stupid to understand, too lazy to focus, or too much of a coward to learn. Maybe…it was all three.
"So, let's go over each point—" Piper might have noticed he hadn't been reading and decided to read the points aloud; but if this was the case, she did not sound angry or annoyed with him. "Extreme coldness; right now, kiddo, your body is trying to prepare for its new magical pathway so its diverting energy, which is resulting in a temporary reduction in the energy available for maintaining your body temperature. You already had barely enough to generate heat so the cold you feel is going to be intense, but don't worry, the revival magic isn't gonna let you die of hyperthermia, so the worse you need to worry about over this is some discomfort. Just stay cozy, have hot food and drinks, and take hot baths until you can handle the cold. It won't take long, alright?"
"Alright…" He mumbled; he had felt cold since the accident, but ever since his last treatment, he felt as if he was encased in ice.
"Now, I know you're feeling super weak, like, weaker than normal and it must suck, but it's all normal. Right now you're in an energy limbo whereas your body transitions it is not fully using either the revival magic or your own natural energy reserves. It takes a TON of energy to complete the formation of the pathway and prepare your body for the switch. All of this effort your body is putting in without a sufficient energy supply is like—trying to pull an all nighter without coffee, three nights in a row. So, until your next treatment, you just focus on getting as much bed rest as possible, got it?"
"Got it." He nodded, and Wanda gave him a hug, probably wanting to make him feel better about being stuck in bed, remembering how depressed he had gotten when Jorgen had told him he'd be bedridden for at least a year because of his accident.
"So yeah, the low energy levels will delay your nerve impulses and slow your reflexes, and the inconsistent energy supply will cause lightheadedness, as the brain is particularly sensitive to energy fluctuations." Piper clapped her hands together, and the whiteboard disappeared along with the zipper on Wanda's mouth. "So any questions?"
"Yes!" Wanda seemed relieved to finally be able to speak. "When you say magic is going to become his primary energy source, what effects will this have on him in the long run? It's not natural for a human body to rely on magic, so…what kind of changes will this have on him?"
"We already told you in the very beginning about how children who go through this treatment will end up with both physical and mental changes, along with the development of powers. That's why we checked your bond level, remember?" Piper rose her brow. "We've been calling him our future angel this entire time. You did not forget, did you?"
"Of course not." Wanda scowled. "I wouldn't forget something like that! I mean…will having his body switch to primarily using magic to sustain itself effect his….umm….his, well….humanness?"
"Ah, I think I get what you're trying to ask." Piper sighed and looked over at him, seemingly like she was debating if she ought to speak in front of him or not. He clutched onto Wanda's hand and looked at her pleading; he was scared but he did not want things to be hidden from him. His godmother met his gaze and nodded, giving his forehead a kiss.
"It's ok to speak in front of Timmy; he's a mature boy who doesn't hold people responsible for what happened in the past…he's kind and forgiving." Wanda praised him but, he did not think she was right about what she had said. He wasn't a forgiving person in the slightest; for one, he knew he'd never forgive Vicky for the accident, or the bullies who tormented him, or the friends who turned their backs on him.
But he wasn't the type to blame others for what their ancestors might have done. Also, as long as a person never hurt or tried to hurt him personally, he couldn't see himself hating them, even if they had hurt others—if they were nice to him, and treated him with kindness, then he'd probably like them.
…Was that a bad way to think?
"Ok then, I'll be blunt. The Magical-Filter-Cycle was first developed as a experiment to see if humans could become magical beings; a magical species dependent and subservient to the Fey. One that did not need to follow the rules and taboos we Fey have; one that could allow us to stay hidden whilst they take it upon themselves to do our bidding in the human world." Piper laid down at the foot of the bed, staring up at the ceiling, lost in thought. "But…I think the real goal was just to see if they could. What they did was terrible, but I get it! Creating a new magical species….taking something a god had created and turning it into something new…something better—it would be the ultimate ego trip, you know?"
"Thousands of children lost their lives and minds for that experiment." Wanda reminded with a violent shudder, sounding sick. Piper clicked her tongue and rolled over onto her stomach.
"Yeah, I know; believe me—I find what they did disgusting, and the sheer number of kids that were sacrificed makes me sick to my stomach. A doctor who uses their knowledge to harm rather than heal doesn't deserve the title. I dig their curiosity and passion, but everything else about them makes me wanna puke."
Wanda's expression softened and she wrapped an arm around him protectively. "So…what I'm wondering is….well, will Timmy…."
"That experiment never succeeded in creating a new magical species; but it did create a way to revive humans from death and give them access to some magical ability. He's not going to loose his humanity to this or anything, if that's what your worried about."
"Oh…" Wanda's shoulders slumped; she seemed…almost disappointed. "What if….he has some were wolf in him or something? Will that affect things?"
"Wanda?" He quirked his brow at her, caught off guard.
"Well, Mrs. Turner did come from a place famous for them—and both you and her have exhibited some feral behavior in the past…." Wanda blushed, and he puffed out his cheeks; with everything else wrong with him, he did not need to add possible werewolf ancestor to the list.
"Oooh, I get it." Piper snorted. "You were hoping I'd say that he'd be changed enough for his mortal life span to be increased to a ridiculous level, weren't ya? Well, depending on how things go, he could end up longer lived than most humans, but we're talking 150 years max. If you want him to live for thousands, the only method is going the Kinder route."
Wanda put her head down disappointed but he felt his heart swell and he cuddled closer to her appreciatively. He had no idea Wanda had been worrying about his human life span and had been hoping this treatment would increase it. That was so sweet of her; she really did love him more than anyone and everyone else in the universe.
"Ok, well I'm about finished this checkup, just one last thing." Piper crawled across the bed towards him, and he adverted his gaze as to avoid looking down her low-cut blouse. "I wanna possess your body so I can take an in-depth look inside; make sure everything is going smoothly, ok?"
He had only been possessed once before; it hadn't hurt at all, it actually had felt really nice but it was still scary to think of someone else taking control of him. Wanda made an upset noise, also not liking it, maybe even liking it less than he did.
"Yeah, I know, it's invasive." Piper admitted as she drew near enough for him to feel her breath on his face. "But given the unique condition your heart is in, I need to take the first-hand experience approach to make sure everything is going the way it ought to and that we have no unexpected surprised in store, ok?"
"Ok…." He nodded and, remembering how it went last time, met her gaze. She smiled at his cooperative attitude and patted him on the head.
"Your a good kid; now just relax and listen to my song…" Piper began to sing as she stared into his eyes—a comfortable feeling began to overtake him as red lights, the color of Piper's eyes, danced across his vision which began to grow dim; the darker things got, the more deep the sense of peace that enveloped him seemed to grow….and then….all he was aware of was the beautiful, lullaby like song that overtook his consciousness entirely.
— Wanda's POV—
"Ok, wow—I'm so sluggish right now….ugh, poor kid, this really sucks, I don't think I can even walk to the bathroom in this body." Piper complained as she laid in bed, borrowing Timmy's body, her own body slumped over in the bed as if she had fallen asleep.
She hated seeing Timmy's beautiful blue eyes turn to that crimson red color as Piper took control of his body. She knew that it was important to do an in-depth look at what was going on inside of him, but she still hated it.
"So….how is he?"
"Yeah, everything seems normal." Piper closed her eyes and for a moment she feared that she might fall asleep while in Timmy's body. "I'm going to want to possess him after each treatment now that he's entered this new phase of it; his condition is very different then the usual and it's better to keep on top of things, then to notice something amiss only after something goes wrong."
"I understand…." She did not like it, but whatever it took to make Timmy well again.
"Well, I've seen all I need to see for now; do you have any questions to ask—while I'm possessing the kid, he can't hear or see anything, so if you have something you want to discuss without him knowing, now is the time."
She nearly said 'no', because truthfully she wanted Timmy to be as informed as she was about his condition but, a memory of something earlier stopped her. She did have something she wanted to ask Piper about without Timmy knowing.
"Piper, this might be a strange question, but would you know anything about human pregnancies?"
Piper had likely expected her to have questions, but certainly not about that topic. "Wha—? Um, well….y-yeah? I mean, I've helped deliver quite a few half-bred children born from human mothers, so I do have experience, even if it's not my area of expertise." She answered sounding baffled and then grimaced. "Look, I'm not going to ask questions about why you turn your god child into a toddler…I don't judge, but if you're into some weird stuff, please keep it to yourself, ok?"
"Oh no!" She blushed deeply. "That's not it—I, well…you see, it's about something Timmy told me earlier…"
She explained how after Gunter's visit that had made Timmy's stigmata bleed, that her poor godson had confided in her for the first time about how he had originally going to be a twin, and that his twin sister had been stillborn.
"….There was a night when I came back from a mandatory fairy meeting and found Timmy…." Her throat tightened for a moment as she recalled that terrible night. She had been worried about Timmy, so during a break in the meeting, instead of hitting the buffet table like Cosmo had, she had gone instead to check on him.
What she had found—-! The poor boy. She'd never forget…..
"I...found him...absolutely devastated…. He never told me what happened….until now. He was told about his sister and how she had died whilst he had survived. I don't exactly know what his parents said to him, but Timmy was left with the impression that she had died because he was selfish and hogged all the nutrients in the womb." She shook her head mournfully. "I don't want him to be blaming himself like that; feeling as if it was his fault that his sister died. That him being 'greedy' caused it to happen."
"Yikes! That's some major guilt trip!" Piper made an expression that she could never see Timmy's face making on its own.
"I can't stand the idea that he's shouldering such a burden and feeling responsible for something beyond his control!" Her eyes burned; just thinking about how that innocent boy was left feeling responsible for the death of his own sister…that, combined with everything else—-! No wonder he was so full of self loathing these days….
"Those parents of his are some piece of work…" Piper muttered with a shake of Timmy's head. "If you're gonna tell a kid that they had a stillborn twin, you make sure they know it's not their fault!"
"Knowing his parents, they probably blamed him; they blame him for everything." She muttered sourly; there was no point in trying to hide it anymore; Nova had already figured out that Timmy's parents weren't fit for the title. "I want to tell Timmy that such a thing can't happen, that one twin can't just 'hog' all the nutrients, so he'll stop blaming himself but…. I know little about human pregnancies." She admitted with a sigh. "Maybe such a thing can happen and I don't want to lie just to comfort him—Timmy detests lies, and if he ever discovers it was a lie, he'd feel betrayed and might never trust my reassurances again."
"Hmm-mm." Piper folded Timmy's arms and nodded his head. "That's true. You should never lie about medical stuff or give reassurances about things you don't know about."
"So…can it happen like he thinks it did?"
"Well, there is TTTS, that's when one twin gets too much blood and nutrients while the other gets too little. There's also IUGR, where one twin grows slower because the placenta doesn't provide enough nutrients and oxygen. However, these are both caused by abnormalities in the placenta, saying the surviving twin was selfish and hogged everything is total nonsense!"
"Well, Timmy's parents are quite nonsensical."
"I'm getting that impression of them alright. Well, anyway, his twin was female, right? Usually, only identical twins are affected by these conditions since fraternal twins don't share a placenta, except in super rare cases of monochorionic dizygotic twins."
She breathed a sigh of relief. "So, I can tell him that his fears of having 'hogged the nutrients' and of 'being selfish before he was even born' are all just a bunch of nonsense?"
"Yeah, even if it was TTTS or IUGR it's freaking stupid to put the blame on an unborn baby! No wonder he's kinda of a mess right now…"
"I wish I could have been there that night to know exactly what they said to him. Mr and Mrs Turner are neglectful, stupid and careless, but they're not completely hateful." She reluctantly admitted, despite what she had said just moments ago. "I doubt they'd outright blame him for such a thing; but I could see them having explained things so poorly that Timmy was left with the wrong impression. If I could have been there to know what was said, I could have corrected whatever misunderstanding he was left with before he had internalized such guilt."
"Yeah, there is a right and wrong way to handle topics like this and if the kid was left feeling responsible, then it's a pretty safe bet they did it the wrong way."
"So, what do you think happened to his twin? Knowing Timmy if I just tell him it wasn't his fault, he won't be satisfied with just that."
"Hmm…" Piper tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Fraternal twins could have an umbilical cord accident, where one twin's umbilical cord gets knotted or compressed, cutting off their blood supply or it could be an RH incompatibility, you see, for example, if one twin has Rh-positive blood and the other has Rh-negative blood, complications can arise that can result in stillbirth but—you know, pregnancy is a complicated thing. There are many reasons a baby might be stillborn, including genetic abnormalities, infections, or complications completely unrelated to it being a twin."
"Thanks for the explanation. I'll find the right time to tell Timmy about all of this; hopefully it will ease the burden he feels about Sophia." She wondered where he had gotten that name from? Had his parents told him that was going to be his sister's name? What had made them bring up such a topic when he had already been going through so much? Just how insensitive could the Turners be to their son's feelings?
Then again, she wasn't one to talk—early on, when things first started going downhill for Timmy, she hadn't been much better than they were. She had said all the wrong things, thinking they were the right things—-but unlike them, she had learnt her lesson and wouldn't make the same mistakes twice.