#a&(killian beneventi)

[hvbris]

@multipleoccupancy . Theo's family gets bigger

The Baudelaires had been in New York for a few days now, living in the house of their new guardian: Theodore Beneventi. New York reminded Violet of the town where she grew up, only bigger. Much, much bigger.

Mr. Beneventi, who had told them they could call him Theo, seemed like their most normal guardian so far. For starters, he was not afraid of turning on the stove, which was very nice, because it meant the Baudelaires could enjoy a warm meal for the first time in a few weeks. There were no snakes in the house either, which, to be fair, was to be expected. And of course, here, they were not ordered to do horribly long and difficult chores.

The other thing that differed from their last guardians, was that Theo already had a family. He had a wife, Andrea, two sons, and a baby daughter, who was already getting along great with Sunny.

Violet felt like their luck might have finally turned. Even the terrifying shadow of Count Olaf didn't seem as scary, considering that Theo was an FBI agent. She did not usually consider herself lucky, not since the terrible fire that had killed her parents, at least. But for the first time in months, she was feeling much more hopeful than usual.

And, it's with that noteworthy hopefulness that she left the room she shared with her siblings, and tip-toed to the kitchen. It was still early in the morning, but she was awake and craving a glass of milk.

"Good morning," she said politely when she saw that the kitchen area wasn't empty. Theo was already there. He was very nice, and she already felt comfortable around him, so she poured herself a glass of milk. "The view is very beautiful from here," she commented, not only to make conversation but also because it was true.

[hvbris]

@multipleoccupancy . Killian gets a text 👽

[📲: Scorpion 🦂] Hey!

[📲: Scorpion 🦂] guess what

[📲: Scorpion 🦂] I’m in New York 🍎

[hvbris]

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐎 & 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐓 @multipleoccupancy

Violet blushed a little bit at that "no," worried she had upset her dad, somehow. Luckily, her face was already too red for him to notice, and he softened just seconds later anyway. She managed a wobbly smile and did not push the matter. She didn't know how close to breaking down her father actually was, or that she was the only thing keeping him grounded right now.

But she could tell that her attempts at cheering him up would simply not work. "He was a despicable man, yes," she confirmed, her eyebrows meeting in a frown, "the way I see it, he's just as wicked as Wiley." He had threatened her dad, pushed him into a corner until he was forced to accept his deal. He had framed him and sent him to the ward just so he could get what he wanted from him. Was he still a Delta Green agent? She hoped not.

She happily settled in her father's arms, wrapped in the blanket he had opened for her. He was right, it had been twenty-two years for him, and only a few hours for her. And yet, he was much more rattled than her. Her revelation had opened Pandora's box, and she didn't know how to help him close it. Could he even close it, now?

"I haven't really processed any of it," she explained sincerely, "and... knowin' that it was you... it's helped a lot. It was so sad when I woke up in my bed. I thought I was never goin' to see him again, that all the promises I made him... I thought they were broken. But... it was you all along."

Reckless was a more appropriate word for his teenage plan but it was not something that formed in his vocabulary for the moment. He knew he had been foolish but he also knew, now with very clear and recent confirmation, he had been desperate to get out of the ward. Which had made the trickery of 'Davidson' all the more cruel and brutal. Theo realised of course just how far he had been pushed until he had no other choice but to agree to Davidson's terms. He would have done anything to get out of there.

Violet broke the hug and pulled away from him, he wasn't quick enough to react to it before he spotted her pulling the blanket down and wrapping it around him. It was a comfort, some warmth and weight around him to remind him he was secure and safe, or at least as safe as he usually was anyway.

She offered to fetch him something to drink and he considered it for a moment. He wanted to be alone and to let the wave finally crash down against him, to just feel it all properly somewhere no one could see him in such a state. However, he knew if she left him for even a moment, just to get him some water he would crumble. She was his current reason to keep himself together and it was a tether he knew he couldn't break in the moment. "No." He said plainly before softening, "No, thank you Violet."

How could she think the fight in the ward had been cool? Theo struggled for a moment but he just didn't have the capacity to address it. Much less so as she brought up Davidson. "He was a cruel man." Theo managed for his mention, could he go after him all those years later? Probably not. If anything Theo imagined he had been commended at the time. He saw her eyes welling up again and he caught hold of one end of the blanket and opened it up with his arm like a wing for her to come back and shelter under. "That was twenty-two years go for me," he'd had much worse since, "hours for you." That was the difference in his very troubled and hectic mind.

[hvbris]

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐎 & 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐓 @multipleoccupancy

Violet disagreed, she thought her dad was a bright teenager. "I thought it was a good plan," she admitted with a wobbly smile, "but now I know it was a little bit unrealistic." It was strange, to think that the same boy who had thought of the plan and been so enthusiastic about it, was the same person who had lectured her about it, and explained just how flawed the whole endeavor was. But of course, her dad was a dad, now. In the ward, he was still just a teenager, like her.

She could feel her dad shaking, but she didn't know what to do to help. Reluctantly breaking the hug, she grabbed the blanket she had left on the sofa and wrapped it around him. "Do you want a glass of water?" she asked, sniffling, "or a hot chocolate?" It was what he always gave her when she was upset.

It seemed the story of the monster and the pizza cutter was worrying her dad, which was the opposite of what she wanted! "It was a very cool fight," she tried to counter, using the only technique she knew. Turning a terrible memory into a great story. It had helped her with the barn monster, and the dark young in the woods. Maybe it could help her dad, too? "That Delta Green agent was mighty impressed." Not that she cared for Agent Davidson. In fact, she was certain that she hated him!

New tears welled up in her eyes. "You got hurt too," she reminded him with a shaky sob, "But we stuck together. We protected each other."

Yes, he had done that hadn't he? A signature move of his in the ward it seemed, but it obviously worked. He let out a low chuckle, barely a note while he fought off the memories again, refusing to let them take hold again in fear of going catatonic in front of Violet. He would have to deal with them eventually but that could be later, it was the best course of action in the moment, right?

Violet was laughing though, pointing out he was the one who had cooked up the idea of escape. "I never said I was a bright teenager," he countered with half of a smile crossing his face. He could feel himself shaking though and tried there to repress it with little success. He would stop and then start up again a moment or two later. He knew Violet was trying to help and it was touching but he was not too sure what she could do exactly.

He managed another low chuckle at her agreement that Sunny would have been proud and how she wished she had her sister's teeth to do more damage. "Yeah," he said a little absently, remembering seeing her sinking her teeth into the orderly's arm and the other one's leg. Both had deserved it.

"We went looking for a horrible creature in an enclosed space with nothing but a knife and a pizza cutter," he recalled, trembling again as he got to relive that horror moment of seeing the Star Vampire, watching Violet get grabbed and bitten, all with a whole new layer of parental panic to it and nothing he could do about it. "You got so hurt. Too many times."

[hvbris]

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐎 & 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐓 @multipleoccupancy

Violet let out a teary chuckle. "You punched an orderly in the throat. Twice," she reminded him in turn. She sniffled, but there was no stopping the tears that ran freely down her cheeks. She wished she could have been there sooner, she wished he hadn't been alone in the ward for seven months. "And it was your idea, the escape." Another wobbly burst of laughter left her lips at the thought that he had lectured her for so long about this escape plan.

Maybe she could help him focus on the good parts, no matter how small and far apart they were. Maybe he would feel a little bit better, then. "I'm glad you kept the drawin', Dad. It means a lot. I wish I could have kept yours."

She laughed again, but the sound was still strangled and mostly sad, peppered with little sniffles. "I think she would have been proud, yes. I wish I had her sharp teeth, I'd have done a lot more damage." But she still thought that she had left a nasty mark on both orderlies she bit.

"And you fought a monster with a pizza cutter. I don't think anyone can top that."

He felt her hug him tighter and returned the favour, though he was extra mindful not to catch her wounds, especially as he remembered where they were. It had been hours ago for Violet, he realised that but the memories were clear as day. All he really wanted to do was to lock himself in a room somewhere and hide but he couldn't do that yet. He had to stay with Violet, she'd had a rougher night than him.

His tears did not subside as she pointed out he had kept her safe and that he had kept his promise and closed the ward. He of course was not to know who she was at the time but he managed a half sputtered laugh, trying to find anything to mentally grip onto in that moment that was nicer than the memories. "You protected me too," he reminded her, his own head still spinning. "You broke a nurses' nose."

Another breath and a full body tremor, oh, he was going to need a lot of time to process it all, he could feel something snapping internally, some cold washing over him that he was not going to be able to escape those memories for some time now they were back. He wished he could put them back in a box somewhere, even in remembering Mauve or Violet. "And you bit two orderlies," he recalled with a shaky voice. "Sunny would have been proud." He tried to get her to laugh or to smile or anything that reassured him that she was ok.

[hvbris]

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐎 & 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐓 @multipleoccupancy

Violet couldn't care less about the sweat. Unaware of her dad remembering the harsh rules of the ward, she hugged him back, holding him tight. She felt safe in his arms. "You couldn't have remembered," she replied, still sobbing. Violet knew that Theo was going to forget her after he left, that the memory of the ward would become distant and fuzzy, because of the medications.

That was when it hit her. Why her dad was so shaken, why he had fallen to the floor. He remembered her, which meant he probably remembered the ward, too. The seven months he had spent in this hell, tormented by cruel orderlies, and harrassed by dangerous patients. Seven months all alone in a terrifying place, worried that his parents would think he was a killer. She held him even tighter, trying to comfort him, too.

His thanks brought more tears to her eyes. "Thank you," she replied, "you kept me safe, you protected me." 20 years ago, before she was even born, he had tried so hard to protect her. "Just like you do today." They had stuck together, and they had fought a monster together. They had done a stupid, reckless escape plan together. It was all so precious to Violet. "And you kept your promise. You closed the ward."

He shook his head at her apology but didn't have the breath nor energy to formulate that reassuring dismissal that none of it was her fault. He just squeezed her hand again and considered putting his head back on the floor and just literally grounding himself in the moment, in the reality of the room and nothing else. However, Violet was upset, Mauve was upset and after so many years of not understanding what had happened to her felt he owed her his comfort.

His heart was still thundering away in his chest and his ears were ringing with the sensation, he felt too hot and shivering with the cold at the same time. He was nearly soaked but he kept himself sat up and gently went to pull Violet into a hug, unapologetic for the stickiness that might come with that. He just wanted to comfort her while his mind played on the memories of Mauve and how such a thing would have resulted in a very harsh beating. His muscles were still horribly tense to the point they were aching and there was so much more he knew he would have to endure and process but in the moment, Violet was what mattered.

"I didn't know. I didn't remember." He told her sadly while he still tried to catch his breath, to calm down. "It's not your fault. I'm sorry I didn't know. I never wanted you to see." He had never wanted himself to see it all again either but there they were. A different phrase formed in his head though, so many years later he finally had the chance to say it to Mauve and he wouldn't miss it now, "Thank you."

[hvbris]

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐎 & 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐓 @multipleoccupancy

Violet felt so horribly powerless as she watched her father shaking, his face red and covered in tears and sweat. She didn't know if she was supposed to go get her mom for help, or if it was best to stay here next to him. When, finally, he managed to say a few words, she exhaled a shaky sob. He was not ok. Obviously, he was not ok at all. But at least he was talking again.

"I'm sorry," she croaked, relieved to feel his hand against hers, another sign that he was here, in the room, with her. While Violet didn't know what was happening, she knew that she was responsible for it. It was her words that had shocked her father, to the point where he had fallen to the ground. Guilt had taken over her entire body, making her chest feel like lead: heavy and suffocating. She didn't know if she should have kept it a secret. She had never meant to hurt her dad.

But now, he remembered her.

New tears welled up in her eyes, and she sobbed a little bit more, squeezing his shoulder. He had met Mauve 20 years ago, before Violet was even born. Then, he had forgotten Mauve. And now, here she was, in his living room. In his life. His daughter. Violet was happy to know that it was her father that she had met, that it was her father she had helped in the ward.

"I didn't know before," she sobbed, even though it was obvious. "I only realized it when Mom told me about your scar."

Theo's mind was racing with what had happened in the ward, the number of times he had been put under anaesthetic, the shock batons, the beatings, the food, being knocked about by the patients, them coming into his room, restraints, the medications the hallucinations. He heaved in what air he could, panicked as he was being pushed through what had once been such a narrow tunnel of memories. Violet had been there. His daughter had turned up in the ward with him and there she was again, leaning over him worriedly and holding onto his shoulder.

Theo was shaking and crying, tremors in his hands and legs and sweating like never before. The Horned One had sent his daughter back in time. He had been there with her in the ward decades before Violet was even born. That friendly face that had brought him a small dose of comfort for those short few days she had been there.

He put his hand on hers on his shoulder and tried to catch his breath. He shook his head and tried to bring himself back to the moment. Violet, his daughter, the one who had turned up in the ward, was pleading with him to say something. "It's ok," he said breathlessly and unconvincingly, his face a deep red for his panic but he squeezed her hand and heaved in another breath. "It's ok." He repeated and forced a swallow, hoping in vain and lunacy that it might repress it all again but the images and revelations did not go away. His grip on her hand loosened as he recalled the smaller details, the nickname, the cow noises, the crayons.

"I remember," is what he came out with next, some acknowledgement of what he was very reluctantly going to have to accept. He now had access to that very terrible time, he now knew what he had gone through and Violet, dear young Violet, had seen it too. He squeezed her hand a second time. "I remember you."

[hvbris]

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐎 & 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐓 @multipleoccupancy

Her father fell silent, and Violet felt as if her stomach was a ribbon too, tied into tight knots. She sat there, watching him with concern. Was he upset? Was he shocked? Violet didn't know, but the seconds stretched, unbearably quiet. She opened her mouth and closed it just a soon, unsure what to say. How to make it better? How to make it easier for her dad? Should she have lied and kept it all a secret?

The silence broke when he fell from the couch, his body hitting the ground with a muffled "thump," and Violet rushed to his side. "Dad?" she asked, shyly at first, hesitant, and then louder. "Dad? Dad, are you okay?" His eyes were open, he was breathing. But then why had he fallen from the couch?

She put her hand on his shoulder, gently shaking it. "Are you sick? Do you need a glass of water?" Violet didn't understand what was happening. Was he so horrified to find out the truth? She felt tears welling up in her eyes. Violet did not realize that her words had opened a door he had kept locked for decades. She didn't know what to do, she didn't know how to help him. "Dad, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. Please say something."

Theo almost wanted to not listen to her, to deny what she was telling him. That she believed she had gone into his past and saw him in the ward. That she had turned up in that very same, exact ward where everything that had happened was very real but very distant was now known by Violet, his daughter.

She gave the name, Mauve. The very name that was written in faded crayon on that old drawing from decades ago. His heart only beat harder and his breath turned heavy as if he had just ran a marathon. He stopped, pushed a hand to his shoulder where the bite mark had been and recalled the name from the file he had looked through after closing the ward.

His eyes glazed over and even as she explained that the Horned One had been responsible for that change in the records he didn't quite hear it. All he could hear was his heart in his ears while his mind seemed to unlock a very terrible flood gate. He saw Violet's face in the ward with him, the smiles, the tears, the screams, that they had plotted escape, that he had followed her to Cecil's room, which unlocked Cecil to his minds eye, and Dan the orderly Cecil had fought with because they had dropped the note framing him which had lead to them being beaten and shocked unconscious in the doctor's office, Doctor Heartland's office. The faces rushed back, the memories all of them opened at once.

Theo fell from the couch away from her. He couldn't see or hear her, not really, while he knew he was in his own living room decades later she had inadvertently put him right back in the ward with her revelation. Her face paired with that name had been the key to a door he had never wanted unlocked. He felt sick, terrified, and so confused all at once. Everything. Everything that had happened to him over the months of near torture in that place all open for his mind to sift though, piece after piece after piece.

[hvbris]

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐎 & 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐓 @multipleoccupancy

It seemed like her dad did not believe her, but then again she supposed it was hard to believe. It had certainly shocked her too. Violet fidgeted with her ribbon a little bit more. She understood that it could take her dad some time to accept it, but that didn't make any of this any easier. "Yes, but I meant... I think I traveled to the past of this timeline. Our timeline. I think the Theo I met... was you."

"Maybe," she replied unconvincingly. Not all Theos seemed to have the burn, so why would they all have the same scar on their shoulder? But Violet knew that her dad had almost no memories of the ward, and so she could scarcely blame him for struggling with what she was telling him. To her, this had all happened a few hours ago. But it had been decades for him.

Yes, there wasn't a Violet in the ward with him. "It's because I didn't give my real name," she explained sheepishly, "I said my name was Mauve. Mauve Verlaine." And she was sure that this was the name on her dad's drawing. Because she was sure that she had drawn it, just like she had written her fake name on the page.

"The Horned One... kind of followed my lead, and put this name in my file." With Him as Mauve's father, because He had a twisted sense of humor like that. Just thinking about it made her queasy. "There are no records of a Violet in the ward, but there is a record of a Mauve Verlaine."

Theo watched her as she explained, his heart breaking a little at the thought that she had just been bleeding out in her sleep. Perhaps he should have stayed in her room again after all? When the story of the night actually came though he was not exactly comforted by what she had to reveal. There had been a monster in the ward and she had been attacked but it did sound like her time in the ward had ended given Theo had been recruited. At least she had not gone back to the ward in the latest sleep.

He watched her as she pointed out he had apparently had the same scar, listening and even putting his hand over where it had once been much more visible. Of course it was over the exact same place as where she had seen him be bitten. His eyes narrowed a little as he started to put the pieces together too. She had travelled in time.

He sat still for a moment, unable to stop himself from casting his mind back to the ward. He couldn't remember Violet being there, not in that moment at least as he observed her carefully. His mind whirring away with possibilities, denials and the occasional flash of an image in his minds eye of something he was sure was meant to be safely locked away in his head somewhere.

"I don't remember how I got that scar," he said after a moment, rubbing his shoulder a little in both confusion and some strange grab for comfort. "You must have been travelling in time anyway to have gone to the ward, it's a long way off you being born." he said and offered a very weak and unconvincing smile as another image of a horrible jellyfish like monster with teeth and talons flashed across his vision, his heart starting to pound. "Maybe it happens to all Theos." Right? That was possible? But in the same place? It couldn't be.

He could feel himself starting to sweat, his muscles tensing as his mind started processing the information. "There wasn't a Violet in the ward with me, I checked the name on the drawing." He began, it wasn't 'Violet' who had given him that drawing, it had been someone else entirely, right? He didn't remember her but Violet wasn't travelling under another name... was she? A hand covered his mouth absently and he stared at her.

[hvbris]

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐎 & 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐓 @multipleoccupancy

Violet blushed a little bit, embarrassed that her bedroom had been such a bloodbath. "I think I bled through my pajamas while my body was still asleep in the room," she explained, and then, realizing that this explanation was more cryptic and worrying than anything else, she decided to start with the beginning.

"There was a monster, in the ward. Some sort of... big jellyfish monster." That was the best description she could come up with. "It killed a patient and an orderly. We... we found it, and we killed it, but it bit me, and... it bit Theo, too." She looked at her dad, unsure how to tell him that he was Theo. "After that, the agent from the Program came, and he got Theo out of the ward. Then, the Horned One sent me home. I don't think I'll go back to the ward, now. I didn't travel when I fell back asleep."

She fidgeted with her ribbon, which she had plucked from her pocket, tying it into knots, and then untying it. "I'm ok." She was ok. Well, relatively ok. But all her sadness had washed away, now that she knew that she had not left Theo behind. He was sitting right here, next to her. He was her dad. "Mom... she said you've got the same scar as me. On your left shoulder. It's round and..." Another knot. "The monster bit Theo on the left shoulder."

"I think, maybe... I didn't travel to another timeline. I think I just traveled in time."

It was about the nicest way Theo had thought he had ever seen Violet wake up. He'd seen her startle and jump upright so often that her slow wake was in some ways a concern and then a little guilt heavy as it seemed she had been perfectly safe and enjoying her rest. Still he offered her a warm and patient smile, retracting his hand as she yawned and sat up. "Hi," he greeted her back.

Unaware of just how much of a revelation Violet had ready for him, he nodded as she made her assumption that he knew full well her injury hadn't come from anything in the workshop. "I figure you've had a rough night already," he began and moved to take a seat next to her on the couch. "Are you alright?" Obviously she wasn't but she seemed so calm that he wondered what on earth had happened.

"Your mom said there was a lot of blood and that you'll be sleeping in our bed for a little while." He commented, knowing he was moving to the couch for a few days. "That bad, huh?" Grateful he had not seen her room nor the state she was in when Andrea had found her, he wasn't even sure what he would have done.

[hvbris]

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐎 & 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐓 @multipleoccupancy

It didn't take too long for Violet to fall asleep, and luckily she was spared another travel. Instead, she had a perfectly dreamless sleep, heavy and dark. Not even a nightmare disturbed her, despite the monster she had fought just a few hours ago.

She was so exhausted that it took her a few minutes to actually open her eyes when her dad stroked her hair. For once, she woke up slowly and calmly. There were no screams, no struggling, just a little yawn as she sat up. "Hi Dad," she said with a sleepy smile. Oh, she was happy to see him!

Violet wanted to tell him the news immediately, but she knew it was a bad idea. The revelation had quite shocked her earlier, and she had no doubt it would shock him, too. Especially since, to him, it had all happened decades ago. No doubt that it would take him a while to get used to the fact that the Mauve from his (blurry) memories was in fact his daughter. "I'm mighty glad to be home," she said instead.

"You probably guessed it, but I didn't really have an accident at the workshop," she then explained, since her mom wasn't in the living room anymore -she had probably gone back to bed.

Andrea helped Violet to the couch, fetched her some ice cream and sat with her while she slept. Worrying but at least sure that she would be awake enough to help her if she started sleepwalking again. It was for now her biggest concern for all the horrible bruises all over her body.

A few hours went by and as perhaps expected at that point, Theo woke up before dawn again and had wondered into the living area to look for Andrea. In whispered exchanges, Andrea explained what had happened from her perspective and that she had patched Violet up. After some gentle encouragement, Theo managed to get Andrea to go back to bed with the promise he would take over in watching over Violet. He had one of his FBI files out with him and was re-reading through it once again while he sat in his chair in the living room, keeping a worried eye on Violet while she slept.

Not wanting to disturb her he let her rest and got through some of his work albeit slowly. He wondered what she had been through in the ward that night to have apparently ended up covered in blood with two separate wounds. Andrea had not properly explained to him about the markings of the wound on her arm, only that it "was like what you had" which to Theo could be any number of things.

He checked on Violet a couple of hours later, just a careful look over her features before he decided he maybe should wake her in case she was in a dangerous situation in her dream again. He didn't want her waking with more harm done to her when he could have prevented it. He crouched beside the couch and stroked her hair from her face gently and consistently to quietly wake her up.

[hvbris]

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐎 & 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐓 @multipleoccupancy

"That's a good idea," Violet smiled as she carefully stood up from the bed. Her legs were less wobbly now that her wounds were stitched up and bandaged. Still, her arm was still pulsating painfully, and she was eager to lie down and fall asleep.

She shook her head. "I don't think I'll have the energy to do anything but lie on the couch," she admitted with a chuckle. Violet wasn't surprised that her mom was going to tell her dad, and in fact, she wanted to tell her dad too -but for different reasons.

"Of course, I understand," she replied, well aware that her dad was not going to scold her about the fake workshop accident -though he might scold her about going monster hunting in the ward. But then again, he had gone monster hunting with her, so could he really lecture her?

Once she had changed into clean pajamas, Violet went to sit on the couch -with the help of her mom. She wrapped herself in a blanket and turned on the TV, flipping channels until she found a documentary.

Andrea wasn't entirely convinced Violet would be careful, she was particularly reckless but she supposed at least for now she was aware that she was worrying her parents. That had to count for something and she hoped it would stick. In the meantime she smiled for the thanks but it had not been necessary.

"You can sleep on the couch, sure," she encouraged, thinking she for sure needed to sleep properly! She would stay awake and hopefully stop her from sleepwalking, which of course was not going to happen anyway. "We can put something cosy on the TV and let it send us to sleep." One of them anyway.

"I'll help you out there but is there anything you want from your room?" She'd have to close it off to Theo if she could and from the other children, they didn't need to see so much blood in the home! "You can rest up, you'll need to. But I am going to have to tell your Dad." She explained though it was not apologetic she was again unaware that it was her who was to be kept in the dark when it came to the actual truth.

[hvbris]

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐎 & 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐓 @multipleoccupancy

Violet offered her mom a teary smile. She still felt guilty, for all the lies and all the troubles. But she couldn't do anything about it. She couldn't tell her mom the truth, and it wasn't her fault that the Horned One kept sending her to these dangerous timelines. Of course, she was perfectly capable of doing very reckless things all on her own, but Violet somehow always convinced herself that they were reasonable and well thought-out.

"I'll be careful," she assured her mom, not really eager to have the escort follow her into the workshop (even if it was where Sloane had abducted her, once). It was already quite the chore, to have the escort follow her around, though she was grateful for their protection -when they were actually able to protect her.

"Thank you, mom. For everything" Stitching her injuries, being so nice and comforting... Now that she was all patched up, Violet felt arguably a little bit better. But she was still pale and wobbly. "An ice cream would be really nice. And maybe I can sleep a little bit on the couch, too." With a bit of luck, she would be allowed a few quiet nights, now that the Horned One had been sufficiently entertained.

Andrea was incredibly worried about Violet and she wasn't sure how to help her. Perhaps a sleep specialist would help but it wasn't the time to bring that up. Instead she just moved to press a loving kiss on the top of Violet's head. "I'm your Mom, I'm meant to worry." However, Violet had a particular brand of worry for Andrea, she just didn't mention that.

She took her a her word all the same when she agreed to wait on the toys, promised to tell the teacher and that Heather wasn't there. "Well you are to be careful from now on. I don't want to have to suggest the escorts go into your workshop with you to make sure you're safe." They were frustrating enough but Violet had been taken so many times that they just had to have someone around ready for Sloane or Olaf. She wanted one for Theo too but that was a whole different story.

She finished with the stitches and went for the dressing in Violet's hands. "Good, we'll do that then." She confirmed, hoping that Violet would sleep on the couch, she looked so pale and clearly needed to rest and recover. She would have to tell Theo of course but she too decided to wait until he woke up. He had dealt with so many of her strange injuries in the past and let Andrea sleep, she could return the favour. "I can't make a hot chocolate as good as Teddy but I can certainly fetch an ice cream, what do you think?" She started to stick the dressing onto Violet's flank, making sure there was room enough for her to move and it wasn't going to rub on her skin too much.

[hvbris]

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐎 & 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐓 @multipleoccupancy

Yes, someone had done that to her. The awful orderlies at the ward, who had hurt and kicked her. But she couldn't say that to her mom. Violet felt her own tears burning her eyes. She hated it. She hated lying. She hated worrying her so much. "No, it- it must have happened while I was sleepwalkin'," she croaked, looking away. "I'm sorry, mom. I keep causin' you so many worries."

She blinked the tears away, happy to focus on the helicopters instead -or the lack thereof, if her mom thought it was a bad idea. Violet blushed a little bit. "Yes, you're right," she admitted, "I can wait until they're older. I just thought about it because I told Dad about the time I built a helicopter, when I was a kid."

"I'll tell my teacher," she promised, even though there was no machine, and thus nothing to tell her teacher. "Heather wasn't there, she'd left early that day," she then explained, to make sure her mom wouldn't try to talk to Heather about it!

The prospect of curling up on the couch sure was nice. But Violet was a little bit restless. She wanted to talk to her dad, eager to tell him that it was him she had met in the ward. He was asleep for now, though, and she wasn't going to wake him up! "That sounds like a great plan, thanks mom."

Andrea moved on to the wound at Violet's flank, a little more confident now that she thought she had done a good job on her shoulder. However when she lifted her clothes to see her ribs she could see there were bruises all down her flank. She let out another gasp come sob. "Oh Sweetie. Did someone do this to you?" Andrea wanted answers too however and she was listening in some worry as Violet explained how she got the open wounds at least.

"Maybe we will hold off on the whirrly toys for now, huh?" she suggested, worried that Violet might hurt herself again if she tried to build remote control helicopters. "Maybe when they're a little older." She then tried, Ben was only four and quite frankly unpredictable. She could see him crashing it through his bedroom window somehow and sending glass cascading down to the street below. Oh! What a law suit that would be!

"I'm sorry you got hurt, you'll have to tell your teacher to check the machine." What if other children got hurt? She stopped herself though, not wanting to descend into a lecture. "We'll work that out later, you just relax for now, I'm nearly done." Some reassurance at least. "Then we will put the dressings on and you can take a nice winter blanket from the cupboard and curl up on the couch." Andrea accepted she was not getting back to sleep and she didn't want to either! She didn't want to leave Violet on her own. Maybe with the blood cleaned off and Violet properly stitched up she could wake Theo? But he deserved to rest too and with the situation in hand, maybe she should let him.

[hvbris]

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐎 & 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐓 @multipleoccupancy

It was never very pleasant to get stitches, but her mom was doing a really good job, and it didn't hurt too badly. Violet breathed slowly through the whole process, staying as still as possible to make it easier for her mom. Once the stitches on her arm were done, she let out a little sound of relief. "Thank you, mom." But it wasn't over, as there was the wound on her flank, too. It was rather deep but not too big, luckily.

Violet could guess that her dad didn't want to go to hospitals for the same reason as her. And she had just spent a week in the ward. He had spent 7 months there. No wonder he would rather stay home! Violet thought about his back injury, the one her mom had mentioned earlier. Was that why he had lied to her about seeing a doctor? She understood better, now.

What was she making? That was a good question! Violet had to think quick, but luckily, the lie came faster this time. "I was just getting the wiring and some other parts from the machine," she explained, "it was plugged out but there was still some current left."

"I'm making remote-control helicopters for Ben and Lou." That part was the truth. A good lie always had a little bit of truth to it, though that wasn't why she was saying that. She just didn't like lying to her mom. The less she did it, the better she felt.

Andrea chuckled at Violet's tease that her impression of Theo was rather good. She blushed just a little but was sure to keep her head so she could do Violet's stitches. She thought she was doing rather well and hopefully they would heal up nicely. In another life she could have been a nurse she supposed.

She caught Violet's smile for her comparison to Theo and she didn't have the heart to correct her in saying it's not a good thing. She let her have that and was really sweetly touched that Violet thought so highly of Theo that being told she was just like him, stubborn, was enough to put a smile on her face despite her injuries and being covered in blood.

"Yeah that's what he says too," she offered out, wanting to make her smile a little more but she was trying to be understanding. Theo had good reason to dislike and mistrust doctors, she didn't know Violet now had the same reason. "What am I going to do with you both?" She said softly as she finished up the first set of stiches and cut the thread carefully, checking them for a moment before she moved onto Violet's other wounds. Thankfully not all of them would need stitches but it was enough to keep her there for a while.

"What were you making?" She then asked of Violet's invention, really particularly curious about the part that had caused the same injury as Theo, oblivious that it was in fact a monster and not a machine. "Was Heather with you?" Was Heather keeping secrets like that too?!

[hvbris]

𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐎 & 𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐄𝐓 @multipleoccupancy

"Thank you," she said a little sheepishly. It did help Violet, to know that there was a plan in place, though her mind was mostly occupied by the fact that she had met her dad in the ward. It was all she could think about, even as her mom gave her the dressings. But the task of counting how many there were grounded her back into the present. It was repetitive and simple, much like tying her ribbon and untying it over and over again.

Violet let out a little chuckle at her mom's imitation of her dad, but the sound ended with a wince when she felt a jolt of pain in her arm. "You sound just like him, it's uncanny," she teased, to get her mind off the stitches.

Her mom's final comment put a smile on her lips. She knew it wasn't exactly meant as a compliment right about now, more a scolding. But Violet took it as a compliment anyway. They were very alike, weren't they? Her dad was even more reckless than he wanted to admit. It was his escape plan they had attempted, after all. And he had lectured her about it! She thought that was rather funny.

"I'd just rather be home," she explained for her reluctance to go to the hospital. Violet had never minded hospitals or doctors before, but after the ward, she doubted she would ever be comfortable near a doctor ever again. Unfortunately, she could not explain any of this to her mom.

Andrea looked over the sheets as they walked in and only just managed to stop herself from letting out another little gasp of shock. That was a lot of blood! "Don't worry about the sheets," she dismissed as Violet apologised, "I don't care at all about the sheets, I care about you." She pointed out before she started to get to work on her side with the stiches.

She thought it looked terribly painful but Violet seemed to be ok or at least as ok as she could be under the circumstances. "You can sleep in our bed until we replace the mattress," she said as some sort of plan, knowing that Violet liked to know there was something in place, but she often needed something to do herself, right? "Hold this for me," she said as she passed her some of the dressings she would use later, "Count how many there are there and how many you think you're going to need." Andrea knew roughly how many she would need but she wanted to give Violet something to do.

She couldn't believe that Violet said she didn't want to go to the hospital, though she was oblivious to the real reasons. "You're just like Teddy, honestly." She commented as she started to very carefully and gently pull the skin together with her fingers and the thread. "He's always the same," she began, dropping her voice to a lower tone in some impression of him. "Don't worry Rea, it's just a scratch." She shook her head, "Meanwhile his back is all torn up and he hasn't seen a doctor in days." She was of course referring to the incident after the mines. "You are very alike."