109. A Night Away and Dinner Day - Erik

Erik had stayed quiet, mostly because of his head pounding and how much he hurt, but when his sisters came out of hiding, he had put aside his pain to put on a brave face for them. He didn't want to worry them more than he already had about his appearance. By the time Liona's parents had concluded their visit, he was told to go with them by his mom. So he did. The only thing he had to take with him when asked was his school bag. It had those little notes Lia had her friends pass along to him and his homework in it. Not that he had been trying these days to put any effort into school. He just couldn't bring himself to care about much of anything since his mate's grounding.

The car ride was far from quiet, but it wasn't bad. Lia's parents seemed very kind and included him in whatever conversation they were having. Even though he wanted to just close his eyes and sleep, Lia's mother kept him awake for some reason. He was tired and sleeping would just make wherever he was going faster. One thing he learned from this car ride was Lia definitely took after her mother in humor and personality, but she looked more like her dad.

Their destination ended up being a massive hospital complex with many sub buildings, so he could only guess what they were used for. Lia's father drove them into a parking structure before parking on the third level, where they entered the hospital from there. As they walked, he kept his head down, not wanting to draw attention to himself any more than he already did. Passing hospital staff frequently greeted Lia's mother by Vivi rather than Dr. Bartley, which he found strange. He would think that a doctor would always want to be addressed by their title.

Before long, he had been walked past a few nurse stations before finally ending up at one that was decorated with childish safari animals. After a few words with a nurse, he was escorted to a room decorated with more safari animals. This room's theme seemed to be giraffes, so he guessed this was a pediatrics ward. He was given a set of hospital pajamas in his approximate size, which was only slightly better than a gown, he supposed, and a pair of slipper socks. Both of Lia's parents stepped out to give him privacy to change, he guessed.

Once he had changed, he heard a knock on the door before a different nurse stepped in, along with Lia's mother. They explained he was going to be hooked up to an IV and they would take blood samples from him, which he just shrugged at. He didn't understand the reason that he had to be here for all of this. In his opinion, they could have just done this in a clinic setting. He was asked a bunch of questions about his current health and his health history, as well as about his secondary gender. It all felt impersonal, sterile even.

And so his night in the hospital begun. He had been escorted to and from various machines where he was x-rayed and his head had been examined in a giant machine that made a lot of noise, before being taken back to the room where he was fed and finally allowed to sleep. The next morning he didn't hurt nearly as much as the day before, and the first thing that greeted the nurse who had checked on him was his stomach protesting that it had been too long since it had last ate. He tried desperately to minimize the noise, but the nurse just laughed and complimented him on his healthy appetite. After breakfast, Lia's mother came in and discussed with him his injuries and his treatment for the future. He thought he was done with treatment. After all, he had been stitched up and given a cast. What more was there to treat?

"Erik, my husband and I have discussed this at length. After reviewing the options to help your mother, we have decided to take her under our wing as part of the charity that our family runs. As such, going forward, your treatment is going to be overseen by us personally." Lia's mother spoke in such a kind voice, but it wasn't a condescending kind. It sounded genuine, just like Lia spoke. 

"What is my treatment going to be?" 

"If all is agreed upon, you are going to come and stay with us for a little while. We are going to talk with your mother at length this evening so we can come to an agreement. For the foreseeable future, until you are healthy and fit, we want you to become our charge."

Erik was a little confused. Did this mean he was going to be living with Lia? He was overjoyed at the thought, but quickly squashed it. She probably meant that he would be sent somewhere and that meant separating him and his siblings.

"We have no plans on breaking up your family, if that is what you are worried about." It was as if she had read his mind.

"When am I going to get released? I have to get to work before school today." Erik was worried since the clock on the wall seemed to inch ever closer to seven.

"It's already taken care of. You, young man, are officially on medical leave until such a time as you are healthy and fit." There was that cheerful voice again. How in the world did Lia win the lottery for parents?

"And school?"

"In a bit, I'll be taking you. I have some business with my brother that requires me to head over there, anyway." Erik had almost forgotten that his health teacher was Lia's uncle. That meant that he was her maternal uncle. She really had an amazing family. After all, Mr. Edevane was his favorite teacher.

After school that day, Erik was a little surprised to have Mr. Edevane pull him aside. "Erik, you'll be heading over to my sister's house for dinner this evening as well, and I'm going to take you. My sister requested my presence at dinner, so it only made sense I take you with me."

With that, he spent a little time waiting for Mr. Edevane to wrap up his work before they headed over to Lia's house. The ride was jovial with Mr. Edevane cracking jokes and bringing up funny moments from his childhood with his sister. It felt a little surreal to him that his teacher was his mate's uncle, and they had such a big family that, by all appearances, was a loving one that stayed connected. It was a stark difference to his family, where all he had was his siblings and his mom to rely on. Well, really, they all relied on him.

Arriving at Lia's house, the imposing fence and gate still loomed tall with the iron spires still warding the unwary. The gate slid open with ease, letting the car enter. Stopping short of the garage, they got out and walked up the path to the front door. Instead of knocking, Mr. Edevane just opened the door directly. Somewhere as they entered was a chime that he guessed announced their entry to the house. The last time he had been here, Liona had him enter via the garage, so nothing had sounded when they entered.

"Sis! I'm here, and I've brought your guest!" Mr. Edevane called out.

"Oh, Uncle. Mom has stepped out for a moment. She'll be back soon." Erik heard Lia call from somewhere deeper in the house. Just the sound of her voice perked him up immensely. He just wished that he could rush to her side, scoop her up in a hug, and never let her go.

"That's right, you and my niece are friends, isn't that right? Well, I suppose you would find it terribly boring to hang around with your teacher until dinner, so why don't you spend time with Liona until dinner is ready? You'll probably find her puttering around the kitchen making something magic again." Mr. Edevane pointed the way to the kitchen before he turned to go somewhere else in this massive house.

Trying not to seem too eager, Erik limped as fast as he could to the kitchen, following the rose as he went. That special color would always symbolize his love being nearby. Entering the kitchen, he saw Lia wearing an apron and pulling something that smelled just as delicious as she looked with her hair partially up, with stray wisps falling from their band. She turned and there in her tired-looking eyes was a sparkle that spoke volumes.

"Erik?" Lia sounded surprised, happy, and worried at the sight of him. She quickly placed the confection she had in her hands upon a cooling rack, then looked around before rushing over to him and sweeping him up in a hug. She then whispered something in his ear that caused him to stop any plans he had of kissing her right then and there. He had forgotten that there were security measures in the public areas of the house.