A Series of Traumatic Events

Chapter Four

"Varian! Hey buddy, how are you doing?" Rapunzel greeted.

"I'm fine, I guess." Varian answered. He didn't really feel fine, in fact he was still in a lot of pain, but he didn't really want them to leave either. He enjoyed the company.

Eugene walked over and ruffled Varian's hair.

"Glad to hear your recovery is going well, kid." He smiled warmly. "Oh, and, we brought you some things to keep you busy while you're resting."

Varian was, to say the least, surprised. He wasn't expecting gifts. Besides his birthday, no one really bought him anything. Eugene pulled out a small stack of books, three to be precise, and handed them to Varian. He carefully examined the books before he started grinning wildly.

"These-these are the newest Flynn Rider books! H-how did you get these?! This one isn't even released yet in some places! Thanks Eugene!"

Eugene nodded, and placed his hand on Varian's shoulder, matching the grin on the boy's face. Eugene had to go to the next town over to get the books because they weren't released in Corona yet, but he knew this was worth it.

Quirin smiled to himself. He was overjoyed to see Varian acting himself again. He loved seeing Eugene and his son interact, they had an almost brotherly relationship that Varian never had before, and it was comforting to Quirin.

"My turn!" Rapunzel beamed. She walked over to the bed and gently sat down next to Varian. She placed a small notebook and two pencils on the bedspread. The notebook had a painting of all his friends. It had Rapunzel, Eugene, Lance, his dad, Ruddiger, and Varian all painted beautifully on the cover.

"I know you lost all your research in the fire, so I made you a new notebook to record your new research! It's not much, but-"

"It's perfect!" Varian interrupted. "I love it, Rapunzel. Thank you. I'm glad I didn't break my dominant hand!" He joked as he waved his right hand.

"Aw, I'm glad you like it." Rapunzel said with a small smile. Truthfully, she had been worried Varians right hand would have been the broken one, but by the time she thought of that she had already finished painting the cover.

They talked for about an hour and a half longer, and it was mostly Eugene that did the talking. At first he tried making jokes, but he stopped once he noticed laughing was causing Varian to wince in pain. So he changed the subject to science in an attempt to get him to talk a little more. A strategy that worked all too well.

After awhile, Eugene started reading one of Varians new Flynn Rider books out loud to him. Quirin was asleep on the couch, which he finally felt safe doing now that there were other people in the room keeping Varian company.

Varian eventually fell asleep listening to Eugene read, feeling comfortable and content. Rapunzel nudged Eugene's shoulder and glanced at the boy, smiling. Eugene looked up from the book and saw what Rapunzel meant. He closed the book and set it on the nightstand, and linked arms with Rapunzel. For a moment they just stood there, watching Varian sleep soundly.

"We should probably go, Blondie. He needs his rest, and he's probably exhausted. Today was the most interaction he's got since the accident." Eugene whispered.

Rapunzel sighed. "You're right. It's just so nice to see him so peaceful."

Rapunzel had been in her room when Eugene brought Varian to the castle, limp in his arms. It was the panicked voices that brought her out of her bedroom, opening her door to a room full of people scrambling around. She immediately went to find Eugene, but when she did, her heart sank. He was holding Varian, looking almost lifeless and broken. Frederick was there, and he said something along the lines of, "Get him to a room, and get the royal medic, now," and then turned to the Captain and said, "Go get Quirin and bring him here at once." To which the Captain nodded and ran off.

Rapunzel had gone into the room with Eugene and the doctors, but she felt paralyzed. All she could do was stand there and watch the doctors tend to Varians many injuries. Once Eugene delicately placed Varian in the bed, he went over to comfort The Princess.

Rapunzel remembered not being able to see Varian breathing, and how it caused her to panic. And how she felt pure terror as the doctors started to perform CPR.

Quirin didn't know about that part.

But now, standing there watching Varian sleeping quietly, she felt calm. She will never forget that day, and she will most definitely have nightmares about it, but for now, she just wanted to soak in the peaceful moment.

They eventually left the room, closing the door quietly behind them. Eugene took her hand and they walked down the hallway in silence.