Broken Bonds and Stolen Hearts (discontinued)

Chapter 10

"No. Just no. We will find another way, Ryan. There has got to be another doctor in the underworld who can cure her, going to the overworld is too risky, you will be banished!" The woman cried out, looking at her husband, Ryan horrified.

"I won't be banished if they don't know I left in the first place. Give me 3 weeks love. I will be back before you know it, and we won't have to worry about ____ again. You know there is no other way. We tried... Please Jade," He pleaded as he held her hand gently in his, rubbing his thumb over her frail hand.

"Let us come with you then. We can live above, I'm sure your doctor's friend has a way of surviving, we can adapt to it..." She placed her other hand over his hand and held it, she knew deep down that it was dangerous for them to go above. They weren't trained, and they were poor. Even if Ryan did manage to sneak out with the doctor and ____, he can't afford to buy her a whole new organ. Where would he even find one?? She was certain he will do something dumb, that it might end up with him getting killed.

Ryan didn't say anything, he pulled his wife close to him and hugged her tightly, trying to carve the way she feels into his brain.
"Prepare ____, we will leave in two days. 3 weeks, I promise," he felt her stiffen up in his arms and sob softly. He knew what she was thinking, and deep down, he knew she was right. But he couldn't just drag her out there, not when she was so frail. Not when she could easily fall victim to the dangers above.

____'s mother was sickly, she would get sick and weak quickly if she overworked herself. Perhaps ____ was just like her mother, and that made Jade blame herself even more. The fact that her only daughter was born with death already looming over her, waiting for the right chance to snatch her away from her parent's grip. As a mother, it was her duty to make sure that ____ is as far away from death as possible, even if it meant that she would place herself in the place of her daughter.

So then... Why was she so opposed to Ryan doing the same thing? Between the two of them, he was the better parent, the healthier one... The one who can actually provide support, and for someone of her nature, she wanted him to be there for their children when they grow up because she was certain she wouldn't make it that far into their lives.

But this wasn't about who dies in place of who. This was about curing ____ and coming back home safely. This wasn't about death, this was about life. She had to trust her husband.

"... I understand, but what will you tell her?" she sniffled as she wiped her tears away with the sleeve of her shirt. Ryan smiled at her gently and kissed her cheek.

"I'll tell her we are playing a game, she will be under sedation for most of the journey so don't worry," he explained as he traced her cheek and looked at her lovingly. She nodded her head and leaned against his hand, kissing his palm.

......................................................................

"Where is my favorite baby girl? Hmm? Where is she hiding?" Ryan paced around the kid's room and smiled once he heard their giggles come from the closet.

"Ha! Got you!" he opened the closet aggressively and grinned at ____ and Carlos who looked at him in shock.

"Come on now," he motioned for Carlos to move since he was blocking the way before he reached his hands out for ____ and carried her.

"Where are you going?" Carlos asked once he took a better look at his dad, which made ____ notice that he was dressed for an outing as well.

"WE!" Ryan waved his hand between him and Little ____ in his arms.
"Are going for a little doctor's trip,"

____ pouted as she let her head down, she always hated going to the doctor. He always looked at her angrily and was always mad.

"Nooo I don't want to go!" she started moving around in her father's arms in a futile attempt to make him put her down.

"This is the last time, and if you do well, I'll let you eat my share of cookies. How does that sound?" he poked her cheek once she stopped moving at the mention of cookies.

"Okay, but only for the cookies," she mocked as she placed her tiny hands around her father's neck, who laughed in return.

"That's fine by me princess, now go say bye to your mom while I talk with your brother," he kissed her nose before he placed her on the floor and watched her run off to where her mother was.

Carlos looked at Ryan warily as he kneeled in front of him. He scratched the back of his head as he looked away feeling as if he was in trouble for something.

"Am I in trouble?" he asked quietly, and his father smirked.

"Did you do something worth getting into trouble for?" he asked teasingly.

"Nope, I didn't do anything!" he looked at his father stubbornly, trying to prove his innocence,

"You are not in trouble then," Ryan smiled as he patted Carlos's head.

"I actually need to talk to you. Man to man. About Family issues. You see, our trip to the doctor might take a few weeks this time. So I need you to take care of your mother for me while I'm absent. Can you do that?" he placed his hands on Carlos's shoulder as he looked at him in a challenging way. He knew Carlos was dying to prove that he is all grown up now and wanted to be relied on like grown-ups.

"Consider it your first... Grown-up mission," Carlos nodded his head aggressively as he grinned wildly at his dad.

"I won't disappoint you. Just watch!" he buffed his chest and placed his hands on his waist, raising his head proudly.

"That's my man!" Ryan laughed again and aggressively ruffled Carlos's hair, which made it stand out in every direction.

Jade entered the room with ____ smiling in her arms, she tried to smile at her husband and act as if it was just another normal visit to the doctor, but she was overwhelmed with worry and fear over both her husband and her daughter. She kissed ____'s cheeks and nose before she placed her on the floor and went up to her husband, giving him a tight hug before kissing him all over his face.

"Take care, and come back safely. I'll keep you in my prayers," she hugged the two of them again before she watched them set off. With ____ waving at them as her father held her hand and walked out of sight.