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Being a doctor was the one single role Tobias Kiramman refused to give up on.
Sure, it was a bit selfish on his part.
He failed as a father, allowing his darling daughter to fall victim to her neurological condition. He did not fight for her as much as he probably should. Not to mention distancing himself after the Council bombing, quickly losing hope and accepting the thought that soon he’d no longer be a father. And after his acceptance proved to be premature, he still struggled with living in a reality deprived of logical sense. A reality that reinforced ridiculous, downright dangerous beliefs that started spreading throughout his family.
He also failed as a husband. That one was a long time coming. He loved Cassandra dearly once, of course he did, but during Caitlyn’s downward spiral into addiction it was hard for him to not resent his overworked wife just enough for their relationship to slowly erode. The bombing and subsequent… situation with a certain Zaunite only hastened the inevitable separation. He loved… well, maybe it was a bit too strong of a word these days. But he still cared for Cassandra. He was just frustrated with her recent recklessness.
And sure, he wasn’t so self-pitying as not to recognize the contribution of his quiet, mellow character to the silent but undeniable break right in the middle of the Kiramman family. Tobias was not a warrior, after all. He was not afraid to speak his mind, but he also did not exactly fight for his beliefs, as it was not his nature as a person and a doctor. His wife and daughter were used to butting heads with each other, with him merely trying to mediate somewhere in the background. Which made their current family situation so bizzare and irritating. Because right now the women he cared about were uncharacteristically united in their apparent goal to dismantle and bury the esteemed House Kiramman. And it’s not like Tobias was afraid to go down with his loved ones, for if he lost them both, he’d have nothing left to live for anyway. But he couldn’t understand what could possibly convince his admittedly struggling daughter as well as his intelligent, cunning wife to throw away their lives just for some… Undercity stranger. A freshly released convict, related to a murderer and involved in one of the greatest tragedies in modern Piltover’s history. Honestly, Tobias was not surprised with Caitlyn’s poor choice of a fling, he initially assumed the relationship existed merely so that his irresponsible daughter could get her hands on illegal drugs, looking for something even stronger than the pills she popped into herself like candy at the time. He and Cassandra agreed then that this Zaunite troublemaker would be swiftly sent away.
But that was before the rocket hit, almost claiming the life of their daughter.
For the few days after the bombing things were… Hard, but predictable. They took turns sitting at Caitlyn’s side, waiting for the machines to announce the end of their world. But while Tobias shouldered the knowledge of the inevitable, Cassandra, bless her stubborn, if naive heart, decided to turn her back on all things rational and instead embraced the hoax propagated by the Zaunite. And while Tobias was overjoyed to see his girl beat the unlikely odds and survive the critical phase, the placebo effect of the Zaunite turned their family on its head.
Tobias to this day wasn’t sure if there weren’t some mysterious Undercity drugs involved in Caitlyn’s miraculous survival. It was widely known people down there had Shimmer, a healing, in some cases, but still addicting, terrible poison. He chose to believe that Cassandra and the hospital staff would notice such meddling, but he couldn’t be entirely sure. Especially when Caitlyn’s condition improved so dramatically the moment the Zaunite was near, only to deteriorate drastically after her arrest. All the signs pointed at the Zaunite hooking on and poisoning his girl with some drug, yet Cassandra refused to acknowledge it and promptly threw him out of her study when he raised the issue with her.
He supposed he’d have to get to the truth himself. And as it turned out, he’d have an opportunity to do just that.
The order from the Council left him with no time to consider it or even send a word to his wife, not that he would. He was being sent to Stillwater Hold for a few hours to tend to the Zaunite. He was honestly surprised to be chosen for the job, but it seemed like whatever spies the Council had keeping tabs on the Kiramman household, they did not miss his and Cassandra’s differences regarding their daughter’s rebellious affair. He could not be bought with money he partially owned. And not to brag, but frankly he was the best at his job.
Which is why he currently stood at the enormous desk of the Stillwater Warden, who was going through his doctor’s bag, fishing out scalpels and drugs that were subjectively deemed too dangerous. ‘Just to make sure, doc’ was all the explanation he was given. As if the thought of killing the Zaunite even crossed his mind. He hated her, sure, but not this much. He was perfectly fine leaving the judgement to the proper authorities. And, above all, he was a doctor. He did no harm.
“How am I supposed to care for my charge without basic tools?” He asked at some point of the search, irritated.
“You’re not, doc” the Warden sent him a small, but disturbing smile. “Just make it so she looks presentable for the execution.”
“You mean the trial?”
“I said what I said.”
The doctor was disturbed a bit with such confidence. Still, as was his nature, he simply waited for the Warden to finish and then followed the giant man to the elevator. Because of course in such a high profile case he would have to be supervised, he expected as much.
The ride to the bottom levels was long and filled with shouts and clanging from the levels passed on the way. Apparently the prison was close to bursting at its seams with Undercity troublemakers. Tobias did not comment on that, though was a bit surprised that even the supposed solitary cells at sublevel forty, where they got out, housed at least five inmates each. Most of them with hair painted blue and broken faces, filthy and flinching with every beat of the Warden’s metal cane on the concrete floor as the two went further into the cellblock. In one of the overcrowded stone boxes Tobias saw a girl, maybe eight years old, with golden, defiant eyes and short hair painted blue. Another Jinxer. So the terrorists also used child soldiers to do their bidding, horrific… To think his own wife would attempt peace talks with such monsters… But then again,the doctor barely recognized his own wife these days. He continued onwards, trying to focus on his current assignment.
The Zaunite’s cell was at the very end of the corridor, probably the only one to be housing a single inmate. The Warden took his time hitting the bars with his cane, before opening them and allowing Tobias in.
The smell was enough to make the Kiramman gag. The air on this level was already stale and more than unpleasant, but mixed with the reek of blood, waste and rot it became unbearable even for a trained health professional. Tobias downed a chirurgical mask, but it did nothing to shield him from the stench.
The state of the Zaunite was equally repulsive. She hung loosely by her cuffed, bloody wrists, chained to the ceiling. Half-naked and covered in bruises, burn marks and welts, clothed only with a pair of soiled, bloody shorts. Her head lolled on her chest, unmoving even as Tobias stepped closer, taking a better look at his undesired patient. She barely breathed, the frantic spasms of her diaphragm and short wheezes the only indicators she was still alive. Her shoulders were visibly dislocated, but there were still a few centimeters between the floor and her bloodied toes.
“She’s strangling.” Tobias stated, lifting her head by the chin and noting almost blue lips. Her eyes were half-closed, unseeing, forehead hot but relatively dry. Her interrogators made sure not to leave any bruises or cuts where they’d be seen at the trial, but everywhere else was seemingly a fair game. “I need her down for the assessment.”
“Can’t you do it like this? Just check the bones, give something for the fever and that’s it?”
“The Council sent me here to do a job. That’s what I’m trying to do.”
The Warden sighed loudly, but he stepped in and, using his enormous height, unclipped the handcuffs holding the Zaunite from the hook in the ceiling chain, dropping the prisoner unceremoniously to the floor.
She cried out when her stretched out body suddenly crumpled on the stone. Started whimpering, but did not try to move, lying on her side, her muscles trembling and spasming from the lack of outside force tearing them apart.
“Thank you.” Tobias nodded at the other man, getting gloves from his kit.
“No problem”, huffed the Warden. “Just be careful. Leave the shoulders for last. Princess Pink here is pretty dangerous, even in cuffs.”
The doctor did not comment on the unconventional naming and just grabbed the Zaunite by the arm, trying to put her on her back to assess the damage to the ribs and abdomen. But the girl thrashed weakly against his hold, screaming and trying to fight when he got her lying flat. She was still half-conscious, probably delirious, but it only made Tobias’ work harder. It got to the point where the Warden came over, hitting the floor with his cane loudly a few times, before unceremoniously shoving its end into the stone for the last time, right between the Zaunite’s trembling thighs.
“Shut the fuck up, 516”, he ordered. “Stop resisting.”
Even through the haze of the fever, the command worked. The prisoner went rigid, but silent, shaking with strangled sobs. Tobias was not sure how to feel about this particular sort of inmate treatment, but it was not his place to question the apparently government-approved methods, so he just started checking his charge’s ribs carefully. Luckily they did not appear to be broken, maybe just slightly cracked, but nothing life-threatening. The skin over them was more of an issue, turned into an angry red mess of burn scabs in shapes of simplified Piltover seal. ‘Brands’, Tobias thought. Some of them leaking fluids, reeking of rot. Those he had to take care of with his limited medical resources. It wasn't a fast nor delicate process, but he managed to dress the worst of the wounds before setting his focus onto other matters. The abdomen wasn’t dangerously swollen, so that was a good sign.
The Zaunite’s left shin was a different can of worms. Enormous swelling, bone broken in many places, if not shattered altogether, dark skin so hot it almost burned.
“That’s not something I can dress here.” Complained the doctor. “I need…”
“You need to make sure she can be dragged to the whipping post alive.” The Warden shrugged. “Just splint it so the bone doesn’t cut anything important.”
“I would very much like to, but I seem to be lacking anything good enough for a splint here”, answered the doctor, “So I’d appreciate it if you could get me something to work with.”
“I’m not really supposed to leave you alone with her…”
“Some clean water and a rag, too. Oh, and you could also bring a tampon. Or a pad. Whatever this prison provides its menstruating inmates.”
“What the hell for?” Now the Warden looked simply baffled.
Tobias just nodded at the Zaunite’s ruined pants.
“I understand the need for procedures, but this is simply unsanitary to have her bleeding all over the place.”
“As if she’s not already…”, scoffed the Enforcer. “And that ain’t from a ‘lady affliction’, doc, don’t worry.”
That caused Tobias to freeze for a short second. Interrogating a dangerous prisoner was one thing. But if he understood what the Warden meant correctly, then…
He suddenly remembered his last, short visit at the Kiramman manor, just to change, eat and sleep. Caitlyn’s soul crushing screams and cries, yelling about things that were not there, but she still claimed she felt. The peek he took at her log book of pain.
Yes, he read his sick daughter’s silly diary, sue him.
(Cassandra probably would)
What he read there and saw here… His eyes went to the Zaunite’s useless, shackled hands. Not a single fingernail left, but the wounds there weren’t fresh, had at least a few days on them. He was tempted to ask for the investigation’s documentation, to crossexamine the data with Caitlyn’s logs. But he knew he would never be allowed to do that, he was here simply as a doctor. Still, doubts started nagging on him hard, so he decided to try something.
“Would that be okay if I asked her a question of my own?”, he asked the Warden.
“Eh, go ahead. Princess Pink doesn’t talk much these days anyways.” The other man just shrugged and nodded his head.
The doctor moved closer to the Zaunite’s face, postponing dealing with her leg for the time being.
“Did you give my daughter Shimmer or any other drug?”, he asked. The answer could help him treat his daughter’s current condition… if it were positive. If not… There was another hypothesis he could test.
The Zaunite did not respond, though he saw some understanding in her fevered gaze. She just looked at him and Tobias was suddenly reminded of the good, old days when he, Cassandra and little Cait would go on hunts as a family. Specifically, he remembered the animals, shot from afar, lying and bleeding, watching the approaching hunters as if begging to be mercifully put down.
This girl looked at him like that now.
“Caitlyn is hurting because of you right now.” The Kiramman held her gaze coldly “What did you give her?”
She just kept staring. And then her lips moved, though he had to move closer to hear three quiet words:
“Only my heart.”
That was not the answer he was hoping to hear, but it was also the one to allow him his little test. So, under the Warden’s watchful eye, he reached for the Zaunite’s shackled hands, grabbed her left ring finger and pulled and twisted, making the girl writhe and howl madly.
A doctor does no harm. But Tobias Kiramman was already a failure of a man, so what’s one more disappointment? He bent and broke the Zaunite’s finger, trying not to cause permanent damage. Just enough so that he could go home and ask Caitlyn about her recent pains. And if she would give him this one specific thing… Well, maybe he’d have to reevaluate some of his opinions.
For now, he let his charge go, letting her sob and curl up on her side. It gave him a good enough access to her back, which was covered in welts and lacerations to the point where there was not much skin left solidly attached. No wonder she fought not to be laid flat on that mess.
“There’s a lot of black tissue here”, he noticed. “I could really use some water to clean this.”
“Uh… Yeah. I mean, those are probably just ink from the tattoo, but… Yeah, I guess you’re alright to be left for a minute, doc.” The Warden conceded, clearly swayed by Tobias’ actions.
The doctor wasn’t happy with what he had to do, but the show did earn him some authenticity points. Soon the Warden left and he was left alone with the crying girl. With each passing minute it was harder for him to see the dangerous criminal in her curled up, shaking form, so he resorted to checking and addressing the smaller wounds. Anything to forget what he heard… and did.
“Ca… Cait…?”, he heard the Zaunite’s voice at some point. He assumed a delirium before the girl asked again. “Is she… far…?”
He wasn’t supposed to answer, not to mention he didn’t really want to, so he kept silent.
“Tell… Tell her to go…” She continued in a broken whisper. “I know she hurts, but… Won’t be long now. Please… Her and… mom. Please, tell them to go… I don’t… want them hurt too… To see…”
Yes, clearly delirious. The Kiramman kept working. And when the Warden returned with water and a thin board that could be made into a splint, the work became faster, more effective. The back, the fingers, lacerations on arms, welts on calves. The girl did not try to speak anymore and neither did Tobias. He did his job and nothing more, bandaging his charge tightly. He even got the Warden to get the cuffs off her for a moment, tend to the bloody wrists and reset the shoulders, after which the Zaunite was once again shackled, but now with bandages protecting her raw skin a bit. Little mercies, Tobias supposed, getting up from the floor and looking over the girl, and then himself. His clothes were ruined with blood, he’d have to go straight home just to change. A perfect cover for getting an answer for his little experiment from Caitlyn.
“I think that’ll be enough.” He sighed tiredly. “Don’t hang her from the ceiling, it will only further the damage. Is it okay if I give her a painkiller and some antibiotics?”
“Sure, why not. It’s your head rolling if something goes wrong, doc.” The Warden seemed to be relaxed now with Tobias’ presence. Maybe trusted him, even.
The Kiramman fished from his bag the one syringe that was not confiscated at the entry and two small vials. Nothing fishy, just something to help fight the fever and let the girl sleep for a few hours. He administered both drugs, avoiding her desperate, broken stare until her eyelids fluttered closed.
And that was it. He packed his things and gathered his mask and gloves into a disposable bag.
“Good work, doc.” The Warden seemed pleased, but his praise felt hollow to Tobias.
The doctor just followed the Enforcer back to the elevator, ready to leave this nightmarish place. Passing the cells full of Zaunites, who heard the girl’s pitiful screams and now looked at both men with even more fear and anger. The eight-year-old Jinxer actually spat at Tobias, fixing him with a hateful, downright murderous glare that was not there before.
He couldn’t in good conscience fault the child. He kind of hated himself right now too.
The Warden filled the silence while riding back to the main level with stories that only he found entertaining. The Kiramman kept silent. Just gathered the confiscated things at the desk and left Stillwater Hold, eager to go back home.
He threw up right into the sea, waiting for the gondola. The Enforcer manning the station laughed, saying that the stench worked like this on everyone.
Tobias doubted it was the smell’s fault and kept rubbing his hands together. He logically knew they were clean, he used good gloves. But he still felt dirty. Tainted. Heavy with guilt, even though there was nothing to feel guilty about.
His deliberations were cut short when the gondola cut through the thick mist, getting closer to the island. But it looked broken. The doors were sporting a massive dent and the inside was dark. The Enforcer manning the station noticed it too and went to check what was wrong.
And then he was ripped apart.
Tobias was no warrior. He had no instinct for quick analysis and planning, so the next thing he knew, he laid flat on the station’s bricks, with a hulking, wolf-like chemtech monster right above him, baring its teeth at him.
So that was it. The end of the disappointment that was Tobias Kiramman. The doctor didn’t even make a sound. Just squeezed his eyelids shut, thinking of his family. His girls, that he failed. He could only hope that his death would not affect them much. He did not deserve to be mourned by them.
A heartbeat passed, then two. Then more. The man risked opening one eye and found the beast still snarling, but also sniffing. Sniffing him. Sniffing the blood on his clothes.
And then the monster looked at him with eyes of yellow and blue and hoarsely growled:
“...Violet…?”
“They have her.” Tobias answered quickly, praying that it would be enough to give him a second chance to fix his mistakes. “Sublevel forty. Last cell in the corridor.”
And with that the monster just… went away. The Kiramman was dimly aware of the panicked shouts and useless shots and blood curdling screams that started flooding out of Stillwater Hold, but he paid them no mind. He was no warrior. He was a doctor and in trying times it is the doctor's duty to survive and be able to provide help in the future.
Or maybe he was just a damn coward, that was more than possible too.
Either way he boarded the ruined gondola and left the prison island, only looking back to see more and more smoke coming out of the Hold.
***
It was honestly a miracle that nobody in Piltover seemed to realize what hell was currently happening at Stillwater Hold. Like, there were ripped up bodies at the mainland’s gondola station, but outside of it life seemed to go on without a hitch.
Tobias should probably let someone know.
And he would. He had just the person in mind.
He got back to the Kiramman manor as fast as he could, just in time to see Ambessa Medarda herself, leaving. In no hurry, thoughtful, staring at her own hand like it gave her the most engaging puzzle to solve, distracting enough so that she didn’t even notice the doctor coming. Which was good, she’d easily read him and understand that something horrible happened. Because nobody knew yet. And so he managed to avoid her and slip into his own house, not bothering with changing clothes or even removing his shoes.
He straight up went to his daughter’s room, blood, grime and all, desperate to get one final answer before possibly flipping the chessboard. He did not bother with knocking, entering and going straight to Cait.
She looked like a ghost. Pale, with bloodshot eye, staring at the ceiling. Quiet, so the nurses must’ve given her some painkillers. No matter. Tobias just grabbed her log book, going for the last page with notes.
“Don’t touch that.”
Oh, so she wasn’t completely out of it.
“How are you feeling, Caitie?” He closed the book and set it back “Any new pain?”
“Why ask something you don’t believe?” Caitlyn looked at him tiredly. And paused. “You… look horrible, father.”
“Thank you, dear. Now, how about the pain?” He pressed. “You seem… less agitated.”
“It’s been better in the last hour or so.” His daughter agreed reluctantly. “Not ideal, but… Dulled. Manageable.”
“That is wonderful to hear, my darling.” His heart thudded in his chest just as intensely as when he laid on the bricks, waiting to die. “And… your hands? You complained about them just a few days ago.”
“They’re okay… Father, why are you like this?”
“No new pains today?” He ignored her question, looking her in the eye intensely. “Before it got… better?”
“You don’t even…” Caitlyn didn’t finish, huffing with irritation. “My leg, I guess. My back was killing me. And… my left ring finger.”
Dear gods.
There was no possible way. No explanation. No information got out of Stillwater, especially not this one.
Dear gods, what has he done…
“Father…? Is that blood?” His girl asked worriedly. “Did someone attack you?”
“Don’t worry about this, my dear.” He moved closer on his wobbly legs to kiss her on the forehead. “Just… Try to drink some water and go to sleep, okay? Doctor's order.” He tried to smile but failed. Yet another failure for his ever growing list.
“Dad, what’s happening?” Caitlyn picked up on his stiffness like a bloodhound.
“I just realized I allowed myself to fall too far from my two girls. And I should’ve been there when you needed me. I love you, Caitie. And I believe you. All of it.”
Breath hitched in his daughter’s chest, as she soaked those words. And then she reached for him, like she did when she was merely a child, hurting and seeking comfort in her parents’ arms. A comfort he was yet again able to provide, as he hugged her as tight as her healing injuries would allow.
“You smell horribly, dad.” She murmured, not letting go.
“I know,” He laughed wetly. “I’ll go shower and change after I check on your mom. I have to tell her some things too.”
“Are you… okay?” Caitlyn eyed him warily, hesitantly pulling away. “You’re… different.”
“Gods, I hope I am.” Tobias nodded, cradling his girl’s face with his hand. “It’s… it’s not okay yet. But it will be, darling. For now, get some sleep, please. I promise me and your mom will fill you in once you wake up.”
“That doesn’t sound like an incentive to go to sleep…”
So he stayed with her, stroking her hair until she actually fell asleep, which surprisingly took only a few minutes. He stayed for one more moment, after which he quietly left her room and marched to the Kiramman matriarch’s study.
There was a time in his life when he would just barge in with tea and biscuits, ready to bother his wife until she relented and actually put some sustenance into her body. But now was not that time, so he just knocked. And when he heard no response, he remembered Ambessa leaving the manor. The thought scared him so thoroughly that he entered, tradition and manners be damned.
His wife was alive. Sitting at her desk, scattered documents and pieces of glass around their favorite chessboard. And a gun next to it.
“Tobias”, she nodded at him stiffly, accusingly. The freshly healed scar on her cheek tightened.
“I’m sorry, dear, I knocked but you did not answer.” He was just so glad to see her alive. Still fighting. Gods, he let her shoulder all this for so long… “May I come in, please?”
She looked surprised, but nodded and he entered the study, sitting right across from her. He noticed the bags under her eyes, the tightness around the lips… and blood on her hand.
“You’re bleeding”, he said, getting fresh bandages from his bag “Did that Noxian…?”
“You saw her?” Cassandra shook her head. “No matter. It wasn’t her. And I’m fine.”
“Cass. Please, give me your hand.” Tobias pleaded calmly.
It worked somehow. Impressive, considering their interactions as of late. Cassandra stayed quiet as he got the little shards from her palm, just staring at the chessboard before her. And so Tobias looked at it too, when the glass was out and all that remained was to clean and wrap the hand. He was the one who taught his wife to play and while her proficiency surpassed his at some point, he knew that the current state of the board was not a result of a game. The Kiramman matriarch always liked to visualise her political battles with the pieces and so her husband learned to read this specific language to help his wife. It wasn’t hard to decipher most of it. The lone Knight surrounded by white pawns made him want to puke again.
“Why is there blood on you?” She asked after a long silence. “Someone tried to attack you?”
“Cait asked the exact same thing…”
“Evidently not without a reason.”
“I’m… well, I’m not fine. But there are things you should know, Cass.”
She just raised an eyebrow at him, which was honestly fair. So he did not waste any time and after bandaging her hand turned his attention to the chessboard. He reached and took the two black pawns from the discarded side. Next, he carefully removed from the board the white pawns surrounding the black Knight, freeing it from the hold. Then he put one black pawn next to it, while flipping the other. Putting a pawn upside down indicated the promotion after reaching the opponent’s starting line, after which the pawn was recognized as a better piece, its type chosen by its player. He set the upside-down black pawn between the freed black Knight and whites and looked at Cassandra.
She understood. Froze, analyzing the new situation.
“Before you become too optimistic, I doubt this one is a Queen.” the doctor tapped the promoted pawn. “More of a Knight, I’d say. One that will move on its own.”
The woman slowly tore her gaze from the board and set it on him.
“How?” She asked quietly.
“The Council sent me to Stillwater. To tend to… her. When I was going back, some sort of beast attacked the place. Tore through it, from the looks I caught from afar. I think… I don’t know. It recognized her blood.” He gesticulated at his bloody outfit. “It asked for her. I think she’ll be safe from it. Someone just needs to… get her. Right now. Before the word gets out.”
“That’s Violet’s blood?” Cassandra’s voice cracked. She quickly went quiet, trying to regain her composure. “How do I know this isn’t some sort of trick? You convince me to make a move against Stillwater, and the Council will have a perfect argument to execute me alongside Vi.”
“Cass, I’d never…”
“You said I was supposed to be there that day.” She cut him off. Without anger. She just looked unbearably sad. “And you were the one person beside me and the Sheriff to know that I ordered Jinx to be taken alive. So forgive me for not taking your words at face value, Tobias, but frankly I’m not sure if I can afford to do otherwise.
He had no words for himself. Only shame.
“Maybe she’ll be fine by herself…” He whispered. “Lots of her own around. They’ll take her with them and get out.”
“Since when do you care about Vi?”
“Since I found out she’s truly our daughter's Soulmate.”
“Bit of a late realisation, isn't it?” Cassandra scoffed at him bitterly.
“Her wounds match Cait’s logs. I… also broke her finger to be sure.
“YOU DID WHAT?” The woman stood up from her chair.
“I needed to be sure. I know it was horrible, but… I had to.” He didn’t look at his wife, feeling her burning glare. “She… Gods. I don’t care if she’s guilty anymore. What was done to her… And Cait… Nobody deserves it. Not even Jinx herself. So I… I just wanted to let you know. So you can make a move before anyone else.” He also stood up, still avoiding looking at her. “And… I know it doesn’t fix anything and if you want me to go, I’ll go, but… I didn’t tell anyone about the order. And I shouldn't've even thought about you being there at the bombing. I’m sorry, Cassandra. Truly. I let my pain and anger twist me into something I never wanted to become. And I’ll try to do better.” He finally found the courage to look her in the eyes.
She was still stiff, angry. But maybe deep down she did not hate him completely. Tobias very much hoped so. He also did not want to press an answer out of her, not in current circumstances, so he just took a step back from the desk.
“Please, don’t use it.” The doctor gestured at the gun beside the chessboard. “You’re better than that. There are still people who need you.” He smiled sadly and turned to leave.
“Tobias.” Her voice stopped him in his tracks. “Did… Did Vi say anything?”
“Only that she wanted Cait to go away. Said it wouldn’t take long and didn’t want her to be hurt or see her go. And… the same with you.” He hesitated before adding “...She called you ‘mom’”
Behind him, Cassandra fell to the floor with an ugly sob, so in his first instinct he scrambled to get to her and held her as she cried, holding onto him for dear life. For the first time in years she allowed herself to just fall apart.
And Tobias hugged her tightly, rubbing circles into her back and whispering consolations. Trying to ease his wife’s pain.
He was a doctor, after all.