"Is he still at it?" Poppy muttered to Tiny Diamond.
"Yep." Tiny shrugged, exasperated. "I tried to talk him into takin' a little R and R, but…"
"Ugh!" Poppy groaned, throwing her head back. "I'll remind him of his brash disregard for personal care the next time I get sick and he plays drill instructor!" She marched to the kitchen table where Branch sat there hunched over, gazing intensely down at his papers on the table. Poppy shook her head. "Okay, tough guy. That's enough for one night. Time for bed." Poppy tapped his head. Branch slowly lifted his head and stared at her dazedly. His eyes were bloodshot and his face was drawn. Oh, yeah, he was going to bed for sure! "Okay, Buddy." Poppy sighed. "Come on. Bedtime!"
"P-Poppy?" Branch croaked. Poppy frowned.
"Yeah, Branch? You hurting, Sweetie?" She patted his shoulder.
"Poppy...w-where are we?" Branch asked.
Poppy's heart jolted. What was wrong with him? "What?" She gulped.
"Poppy, where are we?" Branch repeated.
"Uhh, Branch? We're in the bunker. We're at your home." Poppy tried to say encouragingly.
"The bunker?" Branch whispered, a confused expression on his slightly off color face.
"Uh, yeah?"
"Poppy, are we...safe?"
"Of course, Sweetie! We're in the bunker, remember?"
"The...bunker…" Branch stared down at the table.
"Okay, man. You've had a big day! Time to hit the sack! Come on now!" Tiny blurted out, startling both of them as he hopped up onto the table. Branch leaned forward, gazing hard at the glittering little baby troll.
"You're...I...know you." Branch said in a slurred voice.
"Branch?" Poppy shuddered.
"Someone's been workin' too hard." Tiny said casually, trying to lighten the mood after seeing Poppy's worried manner. "Come on, Buddy! We're all going to bed now. Easy on that leg!"
Poppy was flabbergasted at Tiny's nonchalant manner. Didn't he notice how out of it Branch was? Something was wrong with him! "Tiny's right. Come on!" She spoke bravely. She helped Branch out of his chair. "Here's your crutches, babe." She handed the equipment to him. He stared at the crutches, brows furrowed tightly, as if trying to figure out what they were generally used for.
"I need crutches, huh?" He asked skeptically.
"Yeah, you do." Poppy sighed softly. She and Tiny led Branch to the elevator platform and put it on a low setting so as not to startle Branch in his stunned sluggish state. "You've had a big day." Poppy smiled feebly, patting his shoulder. "Your noggin will feel better after you sleep tonight."
"Why...are we going down, Poppy?" Branch asked her, looking worried.
Poppy's heart dropped into her stomach. What was wrong with him? "Your bedroom's downstairs. Uhm…"
"We thought the elevator would make things easier for you, with your leg and all." Tiny spoke up, sounding not the least bit perturbed by Branch's zonked state.
"Oh. Thanks." Branch nodded. "That's kind of you."
"Hey, no problem, man." Tiny smiled. "Here we are!" He and Poppy helped Branch to bed.
"This is...nice. I feel right at home." Branch sighed contentedly.
"You have to take your medicine, Branchifer." Poppy reminded him. He looked so tired.
"Medicine?" He blinked his glazed eyes.
"To help you feel good while you sleep." Poppy said reassuringly.
"Oh, okay." Branch nodded.
Branch had tried to hide it from her, but Poppy had seen him gritting his teeth with strain as he settled into bed. So what if he argued with her again about how he didn't need to rest or be coddled? He was so dang stubborn! Well, tomorrow morning, he would not win the debate. He was going to take it easy, and that was that!
"I'm worried about him, Tiny! That was freaky!" Poppy blurted out after she and the glittery baby troll made their way back upstairs.
"Sounds like it's time to give Doc Plum a call." Tiny said encouragingly.
Poppy followed Tiny's advice and explained to Dr. Plum what was going on with Branch. Dr. Plum said that those were common, lingering symptoms after suffering a concussion, but that it would only be temporary. However, she warned Poppy that it could last from weeks to months. Only time would tell. She assured the queen that Branch should be alright through the night, and that she would make a house-call in the morning, but for Poppy to call her if Branch worsened.
The next morning, Dr. Plum did call and recommended that Branch stay in bed. He'd had a splitting headache. So, after checking his injuries and asking him some questions, she gave him some medicine and then left.
A few days later, when Poppy returned from the village with some scrumptious new food supplies, she'd discovered Branch wandering around in the bunker, intensely frowning and staring at one of his bear traps. "Branch!" Poppy squealed, hurrying over to him. "Are you okay? What are you doing out of bed, Sweetie?"
Branch glanced at her dubiously. "Poppy! Uh, are we...in the bunker?" He asked tentatively.
"Yeah! We sure are." Poppy nodded quickly, a queasy sense of dread growing in her tummy.
"You sure?"
"Of course, Branch!" Poppy pasted a bright smile. "Can't you tell by how dark it is?"
"Oh, right." Branch nodded. "Uhm, this is my trap, right?"
"Yes. You have enough traps for a Bergen apocalypse! Actually, that's exactly what you collected them for."
"Oh, yeah! Duh!" Branch shook his head. "For a little there, I thought we were trapped in some kind of prison!"
"Uhhh…" Poppy bit her lip. "No, no. This is your home. We're okay." WHAT is happening to my sweet Branchifer?!