Chapter 27 - Do what you can for them

"Hehehe, it's quite alright, boy," Theon chuckled as he grabbed Damian's hand and shook it with a grin. "It was mostly your mother's hard work, anyway. You needed a scientist more than a doctor!"

Damian grinned and shook his head as they gripped hands. "Drop the false modesty, old man! I was out for several days, and Mom told me how you were here for every second of it, stitching my body back together through all the damage that damn awakening put me through!"

Taking his hand back, Damian sighed. "I know Mom had to step out occasionally to deal with the aftermath of Elias' actions. The only reason she dared to do so was because of you. If you hadn't stayed with me, I'd be dead!"

Smirking, he looked straight into the Theon's wizened blue eyes. "So, you'll take my gratitude and like it!"

"Pah!" Theon scoffed at Damian's disrespect, despite the wide grin on his face. "Clearly, I shouldn't have bothered to save a brat like you! Too bad my grandson would never speak to me again if I let you die!"

If anyone who didn't know about their relationship had seen this interaction, they'd have thought Damian to be insane for joking around with someone of Theon's age and power.

Even Lavinia would have significant trouble with taking him down. Her position as Matriarch and possessor of the main Moroi bloodline afforded her significant power, but Theon was only a single step below the revered elders.

Yet, for those who knew, this interaction was typical. Although Damian had never really felt the need for a father figure, if he had to say one person in his life was it, it would be this guy.

Although not technically his uncle, as Lavinia had only a single sibling, Theon had been in Damian's life for as long as he could remember. He was his great-great-something-or-other and had been alive for several centuries. Most of that time, he'd spent refining his craft as a medical professional.

He also happened to be the grandfather of Damian's best and only true friend within the family: Lucian.

"Right…" Damian muttered as a difficult expression flickered across his brow. "I haven't seen Lucian since the party. Does he have any idea about what happened to me…?" Damian asked, cautiously.

Also losing his joking attitude, Theon's expression fell slightly. "No… Your mother declared it absolutely need-to-know only. It's the right decision, of course, but… well, as expected, he blames me for not saving your life. Now he's got a chip on his shoulder, getting in trouble at every moment of the day, trying to deal with his grief."

Damian groaned and rubbed his face. He'd practically grown up with Lucian, and although they were very different people in many ways, Damian considered him a friend. "I don't like keeping this from him… is there any way we can tell him?"

Sighing wryly, Theon shook his head. "Not unless you want the whole family to find out. That boy is… emotive, as you well know. Sooner or later, he'll give up the game."

Damian nodded with pursed lips. Perhaps before, he might have thrown caution to the wind and told Lucian anyway, but… now he had a child and its mother to think about.

Beside them, Lilith panned her gaze between them and scratched her head. Then, she smiled brightly. "Don't worry, big brother. We'll keep an eye on Lucian while you're away."

Theon raised an eyebrow at the girl. "An apprentice is not supposed to lie to their teacher, Lilith," he said with a hint of amusement. "We all know you don't like Lucian."

Lilith pouted and crossed her arms. "How many times do I have to say it, Uncle Theon?! I'm not your apprentice!"

From the moment Lavinia adopted Lilith, Theon had targeted her for her intelligence. For years, he'd been trying to get Lilith to study the medical profession under him to no avail.

She huffed in frustration before waving her hand dismissively. "And of course I don't like Lucian. He's stealing precious sibling time!"

Suddenly, her expression fell as she glanced at Damian. "But… while big brother is away, there won't be any sibling time to get anyway…"

"Hehehe," Theon and Damian chuckled at the same time. Lilith's obsession with Damian was either adorable or disturbing, depending on who you ask… Theon and Damian fell squarely in the former category.

A short, comfortable silence fell as Lilith once again clung to Damian's side.

Feeling like the conversation had come to a natural end, Damian turned to the two people floating in MedPods. "Can you tell me how they're doing?" he asked Theon sombrely.

Sighing, Theon turned around with a flutter of his lab coat. Taking his tablet, he looked it over and shook his head. "Not too good. Their bodies are severely beaten up and burned… Surgery will do nothing at this point. All we can do is monitor them closely and let them recover slowly."

Nodding with a frown, Damian stepped past Theon to put his hand on one of the two tanks. Inside floated the almost unrecognizable body of Lyra. Panning his gaze to the tank next to this one, he looked sombrely at the disfigured body of Hans. These were the third and fourth people he needed to meet.

Damian's eyes scanned across their wounded bodies and noticed they were both missing several fingers and toes, with Lyra even missing a whole arm. Since Hans was more powerful, he'd also gotten through it in a better state. Yet, they'd both need significant resources to get them back up on their feet.

"They were barely clinging on to life when we found the wreckage," Theon explained softly. "Had we discovered them any later, they would be dead now."

He smirked slightly. "To be honest, I had to convince your mother not to kill them after they were transported back here. She was furious, even if she knew there was nothing they could have done."

Shrugging indifferently, he turned to look at Damian. "Anyway, she said you'd be allowed to determine their fate, so tell me. Do they deserve my time and resources?"

Damian's thoughts went back to the moment of his kidnapping. Neither Hans nor Lyra hesitated to attack the monstrously powerful Elias. Especially watching Lyra throw herself against Elias' arm in an attempt to stop him gave Damian a strange mixture of sorrow and gratitude.

He may not have loved Lyra, but he liked her… a lot.

Resolutely, he turned to Theon. "Do what you can for them, old man. They deserve at least that much."

Slowly, a gentle smile appeared on Theon's face. If Lavinia had been the reason for Damian's ruthless ambition, then Theon had made sure there remained a strand of compassion in him. "Good," he nodded. "So I will."