Willow decided the journey back home felt faster than the trip to Bergen Town. She figured it had to do with how relaxed all the Trolls were. Less stress made trips more fun. She walked beside her brother, who happily talked with Poppy about some party she wanted to celebrate their newfound friendship with the Bergens.
Willow smiled and took a deep breath, grimacing when she felt her ribs—right, still injured. Branch looked up when he heard a sharp inhale, just in time to see her grimace in pain. "Alright," He said, looking at her. "We're going to the doctor when we get to the village." He crossed his arms and furrowed his brows in concern. "There's no way you only hurt your ribs on that fall."
Poppy frowned, concerned. "Should you be walking?" She asked, looking at her friend. She watched Willow limp along. "It looks like you're in a lot of pain."
Willow frowned in thought. "I should be alright," she said after a moment. "Now that the stressful part of this is all over, though, I'm starting to feel some more pain.." It felt like shards of glass embedded in her arms. Not to mention, her hip was killing her. She nodded to her brother. "We should talk to Dr. Moonbloom before we get to the bunker." Branch nodded in satisfaction.
At the medic's pod, Willow sat on the examination bed, nervous. Dr. Moonloom was not known for her bedside manner. "You're very lucky to be alive," the doctor said, picking glass from Willow's arms. "A fall from that height could have killed you." She looked at Willow. "As it stands, you have some strained muscles we need to take care of and some fractured ribs." She raised an eyebrow. "You said you got all of these from the fall?"
Willow thought for a moment. "The Bergen chef did squeeze me a little too tight. Could that have done it?"
Dr. Moonbloom nodded thoughtfully. "That would work. A Bergen's grip is strong enough, and if she squeezed hard enough, it could crack some ribs. Add in the fall, and it's no surprise you have some broken ribs. The force could have also caused one of your ribs to puncture one of your lungs." Willow squeezed Branch's hand at his panicked gasp. "But your breathing is fine, and I didn't see anything that would be cause for concern in the x-ray, so you'll be alright."
Willow snorted as Branch relaxed. "Always a pleasure talking to you, Doc," she said, rolling her eyes.
Dr. Moonbloom nodded thoughtfully. "Strained muscles are common, and can be treated easily. You just need to remember this simple acronym." She pulled out a sheet of paper. "R.I.C.E. Rest, ice, compression, and elevation. You'll want to avoid activities that can exert your muscles for a few days. That means no dancing." Willow gave a disappointed sigh. "Ice can help with swelling, so ice the affected muscles for fifteen to twenty minutes at a time. I can give you some compression bandages to help with the swelling. It may be difficult, but you'll need to rest in a way that keeps affected muscles elevated."
Branch nodded, looking at the doctor. "Will I need to do anything for when she can go home?"
She will need to sleep upright until her ribs heal," Dr. Moonbloom said. "And I'll provide some crutches so she can walk out of here." She looked thoughtful. "I'm not sure how much she'll be able to climb in and out of your bunker, though."
Branch nodded. "I can fix the platform to where it goes to the top so she won't have to climb down. And I can get something set up for sleeping sitting up." He looked up. "Is there anything else?"
"I'll give you a list of exercises she must do. I would also recommend singing every once in a while. Breathing deeply while singing will help prevent pneumonia and other serious ailments from setting in." She looked at Willow.
Branch nodded and looked at his sister. "I need to get the bunker set up. Will you be okay waiting here? I can get Poppy to come hang out with you."
Willow smiled. "Yeah, Poppy can hang out with me if she wants." She held her brother's hand. "I'll be alright for a few hours."
Nodding, Branch left the hospital and went to talk to Poppy about Willow. "Of course, I can spend time with Willow," Poppy said, grinning. "She's one of my best friends."
"Thanks," Branch grinned, relieved. "I have to take care of some things in the bunker, and I hate leaving her alone."
Poppy smiled, understanding. "I get it. You almost lost her once already. But she'll be okay. Just take care of what you need at the bunker and I'll be at the medic's pod." Branch nodded and hugged Poppy before heading to the bunker. By the time Branch was finished with the updates needed for the bunker, it was dark. So by the time he got back to the medic's pod, he wasn't surprised to see Willow napping.
Poppy smiled when she saw Branch walk in. "Hey, Branch. Did you get everything done that you needed?" When Branch nodded, her grin widened. "That's good." She looked at him, concerned. "So, when will you tell your sister about what happened in the Bergen castle?"
Branch frowned and looked at his sister to make sure she was asleep. "We can't tell her," He said, crossing his arms and looking at Poppy. "She has enough on her plate with her injuries. The last thing she needs is to worry about me almost getting eaten by a Bergen."
"You were almost eaten by a Bergen?!" The two Trolls flinched at the shout. They turned to see Willow sitting up, glaring at them. "And you weren't going to tell me?" Her face grew concerned. "How did this even happen?"
Poppy looked at Branch and smirked. "Well, since it's not a secret anymore, the Bergen chef punched the table and Branch went flying." She looked thoughtful. "It's actually impressive how high he flew when the rest of us didn't even leave the table." She missed the glare Willow was throwing Branch's way as she shrugged. "Anyway, the chef caught him and tried to get King Gristle to eat Branch. It almost happened, but I managed to knock him out of the way."
"I know you don't eat a lot," Willow said slowly, glaring at her brother. "But how were you light enough to go flying?"
Branch chuckled sheepishly, rubbing his arm. "I may or may not have forgotten to eat a few times." His sister's glare deepened at those words. "It's not like I did it on purpose," he defended. "I usually left early in the mornings to get supplies and would work through lunch. When I remember I hadn't eaten, it's almost time for dinner."
Willow crossed her arms. "I know you used to leave the bunker before I did, but I thought you ate the lunch I would have ready in the fridge." She raised an eyebrow. "What happened to it if you didn't eat it?"
Branch cringed. "I may have been storing it in my room so you wouldn't find it."
"Are you serious?" Branch cringed at her shout. "It's bad enough you weren't eating, but you were keeping old food in your room too?" She groaned and put her head in her hands. "Please tell me you haven't eaten any of it, have you?" She looked up from her hands. "You can't preserve food at all."
Branch rolled his eyes. "Don't worry, I haven't eaten it. I ended up tossing the food out to the critters in the woods once it got old enough." He huffed in annoyance at her grumble about 'small mercies'. "Can we go now?"
Poppy, who was watching the whole interaction with amusement, jumped up. "Yeah. I have the breathing exercises and crutches Dr. Moonbloom wanted to give you. She said if you need anything, to just let her know." She gave Willow the crutches. "Do you need me to do anything else?"
Branch shook his head. "We'll be alright." He grinned at Poppy. "Thank you, for all your help." He helped Willow out of the bed and handed her the crutches. "Come on, sis," he chuckled, watching her yawn. "time to go home."
Willow nodded sleepily and the two siblings walked slowly back to the bunker. When they made it, Branch made Willow wait until the platform reached the top level so she wouldn't have to climb down. When they got to the living area, Branch led Willow to the arrangement he made for her in her room. He had a sling for her leg so it would be elevated even while sitting up. She had a bunch of pillows at the head of her bed to keep herself propped up and sleeping upright.
Willow smiled and looked at her brother gratefully. "Thanks, bro." She watched as Branch grabbed her hairbrush.
"Go ahead and relax, sis, Branch said as he started brushing her hair. " We haven't been able to brush each other's hair in a while, have we?"
Willow nodded, closing her eyes. Brushing each other's hair was a ritual of sorts for the siblings. It helped them remember they weren't alone. "What are you thinking?" Branch asked as he ran the brush through his sister's hair.
"I understand it's been difficult, remembering to eat," Willow said slowly, looking at her brother. "But it scares me to know you haven't been eating properly." She pulled herself up higher on the pillows. "I need to know you're going to start eating better now that the Bergens are no longer a threat. I won't be able to relax unless I do."
Branch sighed and placed his sister's brush down. "Fine. I promise I'll take better care of myself. If it makes you feel better, we can have our meals together so you know I'm eating. How does that sound?"
Willow smiled at her brother. "That sounds good." She reached out for the brush. "Alright, it's my turn to brush your hair."
Branch looked at his sister and how she was resting on her bed, and chuckled. With half of her body propped up by pillows and one of her legs lifted in the air, it would be too awkward for her to brush his hair. "Maybe when you're in less pain." At her pout, he laughed. "I'll be fine." He patted her shoulder. "Get some sleep, sis. It's been a long couple of days."
Willow nodded and yawned. "It has," She agreed and smiled up at her brother. "Goodnight, Branch. I love you, bro."
A few hours after the duo had gone to sleep, Branch was woken up by the sound of crying. He bolted out of his bed when he realized it was Willow. Opening the door to his sister's room, he looked inside. "Willow?" He asked. "Are you alright? Did you fall out of bed?" He looked at the bed and saw his sister still propped up in bed, wiping her eyes.
Willow smiled tears still in her eyes. "Hey, bro," she said. "Did I wake you?"
Branch shook his head. "Nah, I was already up," he lied walking over to his sister's bed. "What's going on?"
"I had a bad dream," Willow admitted sheepishly. "But it's alright. I know it was just a dream. I just need to calm down."
Branch raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "You don't usually get nightmares," he said. "So it must have been pretty bad. Do you want to talk about it? I've been told it helps."
Willow looked like she was about to argue, but she nodded her head instead. "I was in the glass container the chef put me in before. But it was heavier, and I couldn't move it. Suddenly, I was in the Bergen dining area watching everyone get eaten. Grandma was there too." She looked at her brother. "I had to watch everyone I love get eaten by the Bergens and then the chef opened the jar and swallowed me. And I couldn't do anything about it."
Branch sighed and sat on Willow's bed. "Well you don't have to worry about anyone getting eaten," he promised, running a hand through her hair in an attempt to calm her. "And you especially don't have to worry about the chef anymore."
"I know that," Willow grumbled, crossing her arms. "Which is why I know it was just a dream."
"But the mind can mess with us, can't it?" Branch asked, smiling when Willow nodded. "Would you feel better if I stayed here tonight?" At his sister's nod, he relaxed beside her. "We haven't had a sleepover in a while. We should invite Poppy over for one someday."
Willow grinned mischievously when Branch wrapped an arm around her shoulder and rested on his shoulder. "You just want to get closer to your crush." She chuckled when he blushed. "Don't be embarrassed. I think it's cute you're starting to admit you like Poppy."
Branch groaned and pushed her head away from him. "What did I do to deserve a bratty sister like you?"
"It's your fault I'm like this," Willow retorted, pushing back. She laughed when Branch grumbled and the two settled back into bed.
"Hey," Branch said, sticking his fist out at her. "You and me?"
"Me and you," Willow grinned, tapping her fist to her brother's. It was a promise they made to each other. No matter how alone they felt in the world, at least they had a sibling right there beside them.

This was an interesting chapter to write for me. I love writing the sibling dynamic of Willow and Branch. They need some love and comfort sometimes. After this chapter, I want to get a few episodes of The Beat Goes On and then the holiday special before we move on to my favorite movie. If you have any specific episodes, I'd love to hear some suggestions. I'll see you next time everybody!