Into The Mountains(COMPLETED)

Ch 8

Lisa POV

"The kin are resistant Lisa, give her time." Rosie said, touching her head to my shoulder. She'd gotten a lot more into touching since being with the wolves, but I didn't want to comfort now. I was a ball of tension, I felt like there was something I should have been doing but there was nothing to do.

The fight had been won. Rosie had done her best to stitch up Jennie, though we all knew she was no doctor. I'd been too much a shaking a mess to do it myself, and the memory of my inability to help Jennie pained me deeply. "She lost a lot of blood but I don't think her lung was pierced, my understanding is that she'd be breathing differently." I ran my hand over Jennie's stomach below her bandages.

At least Rosie had gotten the bit about 'breathing differently' right. I hadn't spared the pups she might be carrying a thought yet, though of course touching her belly made me think of them. The trauma might cause her to miscarry them if she lived, and they'd die with her if she passed. I supposed it was best to focus on Jennie herself for now, not that there was anything I could do for her either. "I wish you'd say something." Jisoo said softly as she rubbed my back.

I felt like I'd run out of words. "Thank you for ... the stitching." I said finally, with difficulty. It was something of a dismissal, too. Rosie sighed quietly and squeezed my shoulder. "Of course Lisa. The pack will help you. Don't forget about the children." She reminded me as she got set to go. We were all at home now, Jennie, myself, and the children.

The kids were unusually quiet. No doubt they felt the absence of their mother, and I was sure too that they were worried about what I'd be like. I can't have been putting on inspiring faces since everything had happened. Rosie was right, I should see to them, reassure them I would still be a good father to them. Less of one if Jennie died, because I would be less of the person I was, but I could still manage to give them the childhood their mother had wanted them to have. I hoped.

I stayed with Jennie a little while longer. I could feel the pull to just sit and wait, to keep thinking she would wake up any moment and then life could begin again. I got up slowly. I couldn't sit and wait, or I might sit and wait forever even if she went beyond our reach. I went in search of the children, finding them under Holly's care in the stables. She was reading to most of the children the simplest of books.

We were working on her reading skills, but they were behind what they might have been if she'd been able to receive the attention she'd deserved. The children didn't mind, they were looking for comfort in grouping and snuggling together as they looked at pictures and listened to their eldest sister. I smiled a bit brokenly at them all, then scooped up a couple of the little ones and scooted in next to Holly to watch and listen too.

The moment of nervousness my appearance had caused passed, and then they all seemed to feel even better than they had before. Holly leaned against me, and I rubbed tiny backs soothingly. When the story was done I smiled at Holly. "Thank you for keeping an eye on your siblings Holly. I'm afraid we'll have to depend on you for a while here to be their voice of reason pretty often." "Where's Moma?" Tivald asked. "Your Moma is hurt, she got hurt when the army came through." I said, knowing they'd heard the barest details of what had happened.

"Is she going to be alright?" Tivald asked. "We don't know yet." I answered honestly, not wanting to risk answering either way. "Are you going to turn into a useless blubber-face then? When she dies?" Viyya asked, tone tart. She was such a sas sometimes. "Viyya!" Holly scolded, though Viyya just shot her a glare. I gave her a small half smile. "For a little while, probably." I said. "When you love someone, it's hard to see them suffer, and hard to see them die. But I'll still be your father, and I'll provide for you and play with you all still." I said