Nothing to Fear

Chapter Fifteen: Useless

Perhaps it had been wishful thinking to assume that everyone would immediately be healthy a few minutes after receiving the cure. Those who were recovering seemed to have been cured within minutes while others didn't show any signs of improvement. Within an hour, Taryn, Svala, and a few other younger people were being examined by Mara to see if they could go home. Those related to the people who were recovering seemed to be breathing collective sighs of relief.

Tuffnut remained near Svala's mat. He was supposed to pack up the few things they had brought but his mind was most understandably elsewhere. The disease had taken some of the most beloved elderly people on Berk, including the healer before Mara. Seeing Tasha's body being carried out had brought back childhood memories of broken bones and illnesses for which he and Ruffnut had received treatment. Even the lectures she would deliver as she set their bones and bandaged their cuts still rang in his ears. She had even delivered them years ago. That thought seemed to put a knife through his heart as his eyes focused on the bloodstain still tainting the stone floor. Mara had delivered his and Svala's little son. The silence that followed his birth had been the most agonizing thing Tuffnut had ever heard. He never knew the echoing silence could be so gut-wrenching. Without even realizing he was doing it, he began to trace the outlines of stained stone. They were going to name their baby Devin...

He felt a hand on his shoulder and started. Ruffnut stood above him, a sorrowful expression on her face. Tuffnut knew she had been home with the kids who were still healthy but he supposed, now that the cure was distributed, it was safe for her to come in. He slowly stood up and faced her, his eyes unable to meet hers.

"I'm almost done here." he said in a low voice.

Ruffnut acted like she hadn't heard him. Her arms brought him in for a hug and held him tight. He put his head on her shoulder and sniffled, trying his best to keep it together.

"Next time." Ruffnut whispered. "I promise."

"Yeah." Tuffnut sighed deeply as a tear ran down his face. "Next time."

As Ruffnut and Tuffnut embraced, Snotlout and Heather blankly watched Mara examining those who recovered the fastest. Inga remained unconscious, moving only to shift positions. They kept a close eye on her but, thankfully, she had no other episodes. Heather rested her head on her husband's shoulder and closed her eyes.

"She'll be okay." she breathed. "She's a Jorgenson. She'll pull through."

Snotlout sighed deeply as he allowed his wife to lean on him. They were empty words. They both knew it. Heather coped with difficult situations by talking about how much better things would get. Sometimes she was right, such as when there had been complications with the twins but they had been born healthy anyway. Other times, however, she was wrong. It was what she did when she received word from home that, in the midst of dry season, there had been an enormous raging fire and her parents had perished trying to escape. She said it had to have been a mistake. Her parents couldn't have died so suddenly. And yet Cale still came on the next ship. He still sulked around and lashed out at everyone. Snotlout remembered holding her as the reality of what had happened sank in and she had cried for hours. The words never did any good.

So why would this be any different?

Their daughter was a strong girl, that much was true. But he had seen the wound on her head. The odds of her waking up waned the longer she remained unconscious. Every moment, he tried to emotionally prepare himself for the worst but the idea of his baby girl dying in his arms made him want to cry. And he wasn't going to cry again. The Jorgenson women had made his life so much sweeter by their very presence so it was his job to stay strong for them.

The very familiar step-thunk of Hiccup's walk alerted the Jorgensons to his presence. Snotlout looked up at him and immediately looked back down, his heart constricting uncomfortably. For some reason, though he wasn't entirely certain why, he felt some of the worst guilt he'd ever had in his life. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hiccup lower himself to his knees to get a better look at Inga.