A Series of Traumatic Events

Chapter Three

Quirin didn't know when he fell asleep, or how he fell asleep. He had promised himself that he wouldn't in case something happened with Varian. Thankfully nothing did happen, and when he woke up he found Varian still sleeping with Ruddiger curled up beside him. Quirin smiled to himself. He knew retrieving the animal was a good call.

Varian had been asleep for almost two days, and it was starting to worry Quirin. His breathing had slowed, but his sleep never wavered.

People had been in and out of the room multiple times. It was mostly the medics that came in to change the bandages. Every once and a while though, a maid would come in to give Quirin food. He didn't eat it. He couldn't. How could he when his son was laying in bed fighting for his life? So he ended up giving all his food to Ruddiger, who happily accepted the offer.

Quirin stood up from his chair and walked over to the window. He could see the town below them, busy with people. He stared at the cloudy sky, lost in thought.

Then Quirin heard a noise that made his heart stop.

"D-Dad?"

It was Varian. His son had woken up! He quickly turned to see Varian struggling to sit up in his bed, and Quirin rushed to his side.

"Woah-hey there son. Easy, not too fast." Quirin gently placed the pillow upright so that Varian could sit back comfortably. Varian looked lost, and his eyes scanned the room with a look of confusion on his face.

"What...happened?" He asked quietly. He didn't meet his dad's eyes.

"You don't remember? There was...an accident at your lab." Quirin tried, slowly.

Suddenly everything came back to Varian. The lab, the chemicals, the explosion, the smoke. His breathing quickened and he started trembling. His lab, his lab, what went wrong? The chemicals he mixed shouldn't have reacted that way, they were simple household ingredients. He didn't understand.

He remembered feeling trapped under the rubble, feeling utterly and completely helpless as he breathed in the smoke. The smoke that was no doubt extremely dangerous, he had all sorts of chemicals burning. Those chemicals had been in his lungs.  He was surprised he was still alive. 

Quirin knew something was wrong. He grabbed Varians hand and squeezed it.

"Hey, it's okay, you're safe now. It's alright. Just breathe." He said softly.

After a while, Varian slowly started to calm down. Ruddiger looked at him with concern, and Varian reached down to pet him. His breathing slowed. He finally looked up at his dad, hot tears burning his eyes.

"Dad, it hurts. It hurts everywhere, I can't move."

Quirin was heartbroken. He hated seeing his son like this, hearing the pain in his voice.

"I know, son. I'm so sorry. Do you want me to get you anything?" He asked. He was no doubt hungry, he had been asleep for two days and Quirin knew he didn't eat while he was working. Who knows when the boy last ate?

Varian didn't respond at first. He just stared at Ruddiger. Then he said,

"Can I get some water? My throat hurts."

Quirin simply nodded, and walked over to the door to request his drink. Quirin also asked them for a ham sandwich, thinking that Varian would want one soon anyway. Then he returned to Varians' side.

Quirin wanted to ask what happened down in the lab prior to the accident, but he didn't dare set off another panic attack. He'd been through enough, he didn't need to relive the incident again.

A few moments later a maid arrived with the water Varian asked for. He took it gratefully and slowly started taking small sips.

"Dad? C-can I talk to one of the doctors?" Varian asked. Quirin was surprised by this request, but then thought that he'd want to know of all his injuries.

"Yes, son. I will go get them." Quirin once again walked over to the door, and was startled to see a doctor already standing in the doorway when he opened it.

"Oh, hello." He said, "I hear Varian woke up? I wanted to check on him if he's up for it."

"Yes, actually, he wanted to talk to you." Quirin chuckled at the coincidence.

The doctor walked in and greeted Varian. Apparently his name was Dr. Weber. The two started talking, exchanging words that Quirin didn't quite understand.

After the doctor checked in with Varian, he checked in with Quirin.

"He's recovering well. He still has a mild fever, but it shouldn't be anything to worry about. His throat will probably be sore for a while from breathing in all that smoke...so make sure he gets plenty of fluids. He'll also probably have a cough for a while, but he should be able to go home soon, if everything goes smoothly." The doctor smiled warmly at Quirin before adding, "Is there anything I can get you?"

Quirin was quiet for a moment before he said, "No, I think I'm alright. Thank you."

The doctor nodded before heading off. Quirin looked at his son, who was staring out the window, petting Ruddiger absent-mindedly. Quirin knew it must be driving Varian mad to be cooped up for so long; his son could never sit still for long periods of time. He needed to be out conducting experiments or drawing blueprints.

"It shouldn't have done that." Varian quietly said, still staring out the window. "I don't understand. The chemicals I was making should not have caused an explosion like that."

Quirin blinked at his son. "It's okay, it was a mistake. It happens-"

"No, dad, I've done this experiment before," Varian interrupted, "It was a simple procedure, something I've done thousands of times before. It's never had a reaction like that and I didn't change anything." He turned and looked his father dead in the eyes and said, "I want to go down to the lab."

It took a moment for Quirin to register what Varian had just said. He wants to go back down to the lab? The very place that had caused him all this pain?

"Absolutely not. One, you're in no condition to go down there. Two, it's still not stable. There was an explosion, Varian, who knows what rocks are still waiting to collapse? It's probably all destroyed anyway."

"Dad, please, I need to find out what happened! If I don't, I could make the same mistake again. Please, I need to know what I did wrong."

Quirins heart clenched at the desperation in Varians voice. The last thing Quirin wanted was for Varian to go down into that cavern again, especially in the condition he was in. But, Varian was right, if he didn't know what he did wrong, he could make the same mistake again, and Quirin did not want that to happen. Varian was lucky this time.

After a while Quirin sighed. "Fine. We can go down and investigate. BUT, we have to wait until you recover a little more, and I will be going down with you. I don't want something to happen to you."

Varians face lit up. "Really? Yes! Thank you! I'll be super careful, I promise!" He laughed with joy. Ruddiger could sense the excitement and happily jumped on Varians shoulders, which made Varian wince in pain. He carefully reached up and removed the raccoon from his shoulders and started stroking his head. He hated letting his dad see him in pain, he didn't want him worrying.

"I'm sorry I caused so much trouble dad." Varian said quietly. He felt ashamed for making such a huge mistake, a feeling he often had.

Quirin knelt down beside his son. "Varian, I'm just glad you're okay. You were very lucky Eugene was able to get you out in time, I don't know what would've  happened if..."

His voice died out. He didn't want to talk about this. He was relieved when a knock came at the door. He didn't even have time to open the door when Rapunzel and Eugene came barging in.