Kissed by Winter [Discontinued]

19. The Dog Who Knew Too Much

A/N: Yet another obsession. Incl. The Skye Boat Song ft. Kathryn Jones. Hear it, love it, live it. Outlander!!!!!! <3 <3 <3 Might tweak this chapter a bit in the future. Happy reading!!! XOXOXO JPC

"I'm sorry, I didn't know what was happening. I can't even..."

Nick's broad shoulders heaved limply. He was sitting there, worn out with his face between his hands for past three hours.

He could not process anything around him anymore. He had lost the ability to tell what was what. No doctor was willing to disclose Lyanna's condition. All they left him with was, "Your wife has had a severe asthma attack." He didn't even know who to contact. Nick's trembling fingers were moving on his phone screen and he decided that he would call Julian but somehow his fingers skimmed past Julian's name and he dialled 'Scumbag Collings' instead. He made a mental note that he would change that later.

Richard had come in immediately, as though he were waiting outside the hospital all this while. Considering the Collings' mansion was on the other side of Seattle, Richard may as well have been flying over the Saturday evening grid-locks. Somehow, seeing Richard's face eased his nerves. He placed a comforting hand on Nick's shoulder and gave him a weak smile. Nick described how he found her and got her here without the bit about their argument. He felt ashamed and didn't want to provide Richard with another reason to worry. Nick's eyes were trained at the end of the passageway.

"She is a brave girl, Nick. She has fought this before, she will fight it again."

Nick looked up at Richard with confused eyes.

"Yes." Richard said guiltily. "I should have told you about this before, but it had happened so long ago..."

"What happened?"

"I believe you remember that you used to accompany your brother and sister to our home on Sundays. If you recall we had a dog named Ruffy. Lyanna was very fond of him and he was very protective of her. He was a jumpy ol' boy but he was well trained. He could fetch things, open locks, and sniff out each member of the family including the staff. He could sense if we were sad and he would try to make us happy. I recall him not being a fan of Rodney and Edmund, or Patricia for that matter. He bit your father once, very badly I might add. Ruffy was acting very out of character around that time.

"That day when Lyanna and Rodney got locked in the closet, somehow by accident, Ruffy had leapt out of our bedroom window and fell to his death on the gardener's rake. Unfortunately Lyanna saw the grisly sight. That was when she got her first asthma attack.

"The second was a year after that at my mother's funeral. Patricia and I were having a lot of misunderstandings but on Lyanna's persistence, we took her to visit my mother for the summer. She was old and her health was flailing but Lyanna never left her side. She had a stroke one night when she was reading to Lyanna and the poor girl could not comprehend what happened to her grandma all of a sudden.

"At the funeral, Patricia arrived drunk and created a big scene declaring in front of the gathered party that she was leaving me. She left without so much as a word to me or Lyanna and that too, with a man...or should I say boy? When I went back in, I found Lyanna just like you described, by my mother's open coffin. I carried her to the hospital and the doctors saved her in the nick of time. She used the pump for a few months and as in most cases, it was gone for good. It has not happened ever since.

"It's rare for asthma to trigger just like that and somehow Lyanna's have always been when she was..." Richard trailed off.

...emotionally hurt.

Nick had no words. Lyanna had lost so many people. Of course he remembered the dog. And who could forget the funeral? That is where he...

"Before this happened, I...we had an argument. I hurt her." Nick confessed. His eyes were glassy and something tugged at Richard's heart. He knew this marriage may not be a smooth sailing for either of them, but looking at Nick's face right now, worry for Lyanna boldly etched on his features, made him proud of his choice. Nick cared about her, deeply, even if he didn't know that himself yet.

***

Minutes and hours were passing on like eons before the doctor surfaced out of nowhere. Nick basically pounced on him like a hungry hyena.

"Is she alright? Is she awake? Well say something!"

The doctor surely missed a breath when he shot Richard an I-get-the-worry-but-is-he-crazy? look. 

"She is under observation now. We've often had cases where people who suffered from asthma as children are okay for a while but get severe bouts in adulthood. Her breathing is slowly coming under control and she is likely to gain consciousness by tomorrow. Once she feels better, you can take her home."

After looking at Nick's pale face, the doctor added, "Relax. You got her here in time. You can go see her if you wish. She is asleep." He gave a slight nod to the nurse and she escorted Nick and Richard toward Lyanna's ward.

"You are her father?" The doctor addressed Richard to which he nodded.

"Good then, I'd like to cross-check a few things in the family history. May we?" Richard gave a weak nod and smiled at Nick, encouraging him to go on.

Nick hesitated at the door handle. He could vaguely make out her form through the opaque glass and the machinery that was around her, probably helping her breathe. He entered and was relieved to see that she looked much better. Her body was no longer covered in a thick sheen of sweat, she was breathing fine into the machine and her eyes were closed, as if she were at peace. He grabbed a stiff chair and sat by her, watching her chest rising and falling in a rhythm.

How could he ever apologise for something like this? What would he have told Richard if he had not gotten out of the darn conference call in time? He felt despicable. He wanted to shake her awake so he could say sorry. The ferocity of his feelings mellowed when he saw that his hand had crept up to hers and he was holding on rather tightly. He loosened his grip and leaned forward carefully cupping her face in his hands. He gently kissed her forehead without disturbing the oxygen mask. He would love to take her breath away but not figuratively! A single tear drop fell from his eye and crawled away into Lyanna's brown curls. He sat down then staring at her patiently, as if she would be awake any second. Richard entered after a beat but Nick sat still.

A/M: James Alexander Malcolm Mackenzie Fraser