Two Months

Continuing Forward

John Dory, Bruce, Clay, and Branch don't quite know how to handle this new information given to them by Floyd, but that's not going to stop them from supporting their brother every step of the way.

——

They didn't want to leave Floyd alone, but the other four brothers needed to have a talk. They had to figure out how they'd go about helping Floyd get through what had happened to him, and the first step was to come up with a plan.

Not wanting to go too far, they moved into the kitchen. It allowed them to keep an eye on Floyd, who had been set down gently on the couch, much to Clay's dismay, but still made it so they could talk without worrying about Floyd overhearing them.

It took them all another minute as they continued to process everything before one of them decided to speak up.

"So, what do we do now?" asked John Dory. He felt the most guilt out of everyone. Being the oldest meant that he was supposed to protect his family at all costs, yet he allowed one of them to get hurt. All of them were hurt, really, due to his insistence on being perfect when they were younger, and while he could never undo any of that, he was definitely going to make up for it all now. At the moment, however, one of his little brothers was physically hurt pretty badly, and John Dory could only imagine the mental torment he was going through.

"Well, for starters, John," started Clay. His oldest brother knew he was serious because he used neither John Dory or JD to address him. John was what any of them would call him when they weren't happy with something he'd done. "You need to be more mindful of Floyd and his feelings. I know that you're trying your best, but you can't interrupt him whenever you feel the need to say something, and you need to choose your words carefully."

"I agree with Clay," said Bruce while Branch nodded beside him. "If you say the wrong thing, if any of us say the wrong thing, we could end up with a lot more problems than we started with. So, please, mind your words and what comes out of your mouth."

"I- I can try. But you're gonna have to help me sometimes. I'm not the best with words, that was always Floyd's strong suit, but I really will try to keep what I say in mind, and not go overboard."

His little brothers nodded, happy that he was making an effort to better himself for their sake. Now that that had been settled, they could finally address the main concern that they all had; how in the world would they help Floyd get better.

"Well, the best thing I can think of to help with the mental trauma would be some sort of therapy. We can't always be the ones he relies on when he's going through a panic attack or flashback," Bruce said.

This time Branch made a suggestion of his own. "Physical therapy might also have to be something we consider. Who knows if the little 'stunt', as some of you chose to put it," he glared at the troll in question, "was only a one time thing or not. It could happen again for all we know, and we might not be around if it does."

"You've got a point there, both of you," said Clay. "Now, I don't know many of the trolls out here, but we had a few decent therapists at the golf course. We just need to actually go and get them. I was gonna go and talk to Viva about that tomorrow, but if you need me here, that can wait."

"No, you go ahead and talk to her about that. The quicker we can get some potential help here, the better. Pop Village doesn't seem to have a therapist, although physical therapy is offered. We can probably get Floyd into that as soon as he's feeling a bit better. I don't want to push him too much right away," said Branch.

The four brothers talked some more, occasionally glancing at Floyd to make sure he was alright. Bruce said that in a couple days he was planning on heading back to Vacay Island, but he'd help get Floyd settled into whatever new routine they were planning for him beforehand.

Now, they just needed to let Floyd in on this plan of theirs.