The King of Arendelle

Bedring (Pt. 2)

When Jack awoke from his drug-induced nap, he noticed Elsa seated next to him in the chair. She looked like she was dozing off. Before he'd fallen asleep, it was his mom keeping an eye on him. Now he wondered how long Elsa had been waiting for him to wake up.

Woozy, he reached over and placed a hand on her knee and she stirred. There wasn't much they needed to say to each other—they were just happy to be together again.

"How do you feel?" She asked, taking his hand in hers. Jack shrugged to the best of his ability. Elsa sniggered, "Dumb question, I suppose."

"Where are the kids?" He croaked, his voice gravelly.

"I let Anna watch them, actually." That surprised Jack, but he didn't show much of a reaction. "I just wanted some time alone with you." She confessed.

"No matter how many times they knock me out, it never feels like I've gotten any sleep. I'm not even sure if I'm dreaming or not."

"You're definitely awake." Elsa joked, "But I know the feeling; I can't sleep at night either. I either need the fireplace lit or Agnes is laying right on top of me."

"I asked the doctors to leave a candle lit for me at night too." Jack commented.

"Scared of the dark?" She asked.

"A little." He took a deep breath. "I can't stand being here alone. Every time I wake up I'm scared when I can't find anyone."

"You think I can convince them to move you to our room?"

Jack squinted his eyes, "You think that'd be a good idea?"

"The doctors don't need to monitor you every waking second like before. We can call for them if we need them."

Jack turned his head away and closed his eyes. It still felt like the room was spinning. "I'll just keep you awake all night. And Nicholas–"

"His crib is still in your mom's room. I can take care of you."

As if being hounded by doctors wasn't bad enough, now his own wife was going to have to baby him. He couldn't imagine anything more humiliating... But it would be nice to sleep in his own bed after an entire month. Perhaps he'd sleep easier with someone he loved beside him and wake up feeling safer.

Plus, caring for her husband would give Elsa something to think about besides the fact her father was gone and Agnes hadn't quite put together that grandpa wasn't home yet.

...

Despite having the privacy of being in his own bathroom with his wife, Jack still had to endure the embarrassment of a sponge bath. He grimaced as she raised his arm to avoid his wound and was careful not to get it wet. It seemed his infection was going away, but he still felt clammy and warm.

When Elsa changed the bandages, she couldn't not react to the site of his stitches and soon-to-be scars; they just looked so painful. They would fade with time and he could hide them under his clothes... but he would have to look at them and be reminded of all that happened for the rest of his life.

It wasn't the scars that bothered Jack right now—it was his lack of independence. He needed Elsa's help to bathe, get in and out of bed, change his clothes, eat, drink, and use the toilet. All he could do on his own was brush his teeth, but even then he had to sit in the wheelchair and couldn't look himself in the mirror, not that he wanted to.

Jack could barely hold down his food; the most he could digest easily was soup... and he was getting sick of them.

He also hated that he couldn't play with his children out in the snow. Yuletide was approaching and they were spending more time with strangers than their own parents. Elsa would sit beside him with Nicholas so he could see him and hold him, and Agnes would lay in bed and draw or read a story to him, which he enjoyed, though he had to help her pronounce the bigger words. Emily, Sophie, and Iduna would come to see him as well.