#p sure the line dies with him hence the soul requirement

[stylishanachronism]

I’m still putting citations in like….. the actual essay portion of this thing but seriously is it reasonable to assume that the duc’s household is in charge of major road upkeep?

Like I am doing stupid math about the tax issue and obviously it’s not something that comes up in game but given that Caed Nua’s land grant is somehow both small and encompasses enough of the border/main trade routes that it’s also at least currently the roadwarden’s seat (I have……. Many questions about how that’s supposed to work given the rest of the lore But), so reasonably it’s in charge of that particular portion of roads, except that leaves us with either a. Caed Nua was not anywhere near as rundown as shown (which is better supported) or b. Somebody else is paying for that upkeep, and if it’s somebody else by process of elimination it’s the duc’s problem. Which yes would mean I have to redo all my math because I did all that before going wait hold on.

(The process of elimination is as follows: if it’s not a local expense, it’s not going to be the thayn’s problem either because that’s a really dumb way to break main road expenses down (and also if it were Raedric’s problem it wouldn’t be getting done based on the state of his portion of roads). If it’s not the thayn it probably also isn’t whatever’s above them in authority because at that point you’ve taken the honor away from the erl. It can’t be Bademar’s problem because, again, he wouldn’t be getting it done and also people would probably hate him less, which leaves it up to the Duc.)

Tbh my gut feeling is it’s subsidized by the Duc but it’s a local work, and there are probably fines for not doing your share, but on the third (fourth?) hand that would mean minimum splitting the tolls and I just can’t see that happening.

[kenzieam]

Phoenix Rising - Chapter 6 (Eric X OC)

Rating: M (violence/swearing/smut :p)

Genre: General/Drama/Angst

Thanks everyone for the re-blogs and support!!! IT IS SO AWESOME!!!  

@emmysrandomthoughts @beautifulramblingbrains @iammarylastar @tigpooh67 @bookwarm85 @frecklefaceb @mom2reesie @elaacreditava @badassbaker @captstefanbrandt @jaihardy @treeleaf @pathybo @beltz2016 @lilu46

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The monitor began to alarm again and Fox shuddered. It continued and Fox's fear grew as a nurse hurried into the room. She leaned over Eric and pried his eyelids open again, shining the light into his eyes.

"Mr. Coulter?...Mr. Coulter?" The nurses voice took on an edge and she pressed between his collarbones, shaking him slightly.

"His name is Eric," Fox whispered, her heart in her throat, is this the end, is Eric leaving me?

"Eric!" The nurse said sharply, her hand jerking against Eric's chest. She turned her head and called over her shoulder; a second nurse hurried in, and, at the first's instruction, injected a syringe into Eric's IV line. Fox waited, not daring to move as the nurses watched both Eric and the monitor carefully. All three women exhaled in relief when the alarm finally stopped. The second nurse left and the first bent over Eric, listening to his chest with a stethoscope. After a long moment she stood straight again. She gave Fox a small, sympathetic smile.

"Your husband is a very strong man, he won't stop fighting."

Fox rubbed her swollen belly and her voice was threadbare when she spoke. "We need him."

The nurse nodded once then said lowly, "call if you need anything," before leaving the room, leaving Fox alone with Eric's motionless body.

Hours passed, dragging by; Fox stayed in the chair, holding Eric's hand. A nurse had brought in a cot for Fox to sleep on, but she wasn't ready to move away from Eric's side yet. The doctor had come in a few minutes ago with some positive news. Eric was stabilizing; and if he remained so overnight, they would repair his leg in the morning.

Fox exhaled shakily, she was so tired, so scared.

"Fox?"

Fox turned, her lips pulling up into a tired smile. Four stepped into the room; he'd been forced to leave earlier to help Tris, had promised to return with an overnight bag for Fox.

"How is he?" Four asked quietly, setting the bag onto the cot and pulling a chair up beside Fox.

"If Eric stays stable overnight, they'll operate tomorrow. Then....we can start the healing serum." Fox gazed down at her hand, clasped with Eric's; his skin was grey and cool, the latent strength she always felt in his grip missing.

Four pulled her against his shoulder into a hug and Fox finally let herself cry. Four murmured soothingly and stroked her hair until Fox sniffed and sat back up, flicking an embarrassed glance at him.

"Sorry," Fox mumbled.

"Don't be sorry, if that was Tris in that bed I'd be a wreck, I can't even imagine," he broke off and looked away before continuing, "I made sure Princess has enough food and water, I'll check up on her again tomorrow."

Fox nodded. "Thanks Four, Eric loves that cat."

"Tris sends her love, she wanted to come with me, but Maddie's fussy."

Fox shook her head, "it's alright, thank you for coming...and bringing me clothes."

Four smiled. "Tris helped me pack." He sighed regretfully. "I can't stay long." He pulled a phone from his pocket. "You left your phone at home, call me or Max if you need anything, okay?"

"Thanks, Four."

Four patted her shoulder and stood. He moved closer to Eric's bedside and gazed down at his friend for a long moment before leaning over. He whispered something quietly to Eric, but Fox caught the word 'don't' before he straightened again and left.

Fox slept fitfully, although the monitor alarms came less frequently, Fox was uncomfortable in the chair. Finally, she gave in and moved to the cot, waking every few minutes to look over at Eric and study the monitors, watch his chest carefully until she saw it move with his next breath. Nurses came in often to check on him, studying the monitor, checking under bandages and shining a light into his eyes again, giving Fox small smiles if she was awake to watch them.

It was the longest night of Fox's life; and she'd had some long nights before.

The doctor arrived early, looking like he'd managed to snag a few good hours of sleep and Fox was relieved, she didn't want him half asleep during the surgery. He fixed Fox with a cautious smile.

"We're going to try surgery."

"Try?"

The doctor exhaled. "Eric is still critical, but we need to align his broken bones before they start to cause trouble."

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

The doctor nodded soberly. "Eric has lasted the night, but, I'm sorry Mrs. Coulter. I know you want the truth, so here it is, Eric is still in danger, he could go at any time. I'd very much like to repair his leg so we can start the healing serum; even if it can't fix his spine, the serum will still pull him out of this critical state. If we tried the serum first, his leg would heal permanently into the twisted shape it is in now, we need the bones aligned and pinned into place."

Fox nodded, looking up as three nurses entered the room. They meant now. Fox stood and leaned over Eric, stroking his hair back from his smooth forehead.

"I'll be here when you get back, baby." Fox murmured, pressing a kiss to his cool skin. She fought a shiver as she stood up straight and stepped back, watching the nurses push Eric's bed out of the room. The door closed behind them.

Then she was alone.

Fox waited nervously, her leg jack-hammering the floor restlessly. Eric had been in surgery for over five hours now, with no word on his condition. Fox tried not to think too much about what could be going on; that was an easy way to drive herself insane. The maybes. Maybe Eric was crashing right now, maybe Eric had already died on the table and the doctor was on his way to tell her, maybe Eric would survive the surgery only to be failed by the serum and linger in pain until he died, maybe, maybe.

Fox had no delusions as to what would happen to her if Eric died; Fox was irreparably tied to Eric now, their souls were intertwined, if Eric died, Fox would follow. Not only because they were connected, but Fox did not want to live without him. For someone who'd spent almost half her life purposefully isolating herself from others, Fox had bonded to Eric irrevocably, tied herself to him with unbreakable knots. The agony of waiting rubbed Fox's nerves raw.

Finally, Fox noticed she was no longer alone in the room. Her head snapped up, her neck muscles popping painfully. The doctor waited quietly, a sober look on his face.

"How is he?" Fox murmured, not entirely sure she was ready to hear the answer.

The doctor exhaled. "Eric is in recovery, the nurses will be bringing him back soon. The surgery went well; his leg has been successfully realigned. I have to, however, discuss the healing serum procedure with you before we proceed."

Fox nodded, relief flooding her like warm water; she swallowed hard as the doctor sat across from her, waiting to hear what he had to tell her.

The doctor took a deep breath, curling his fingers on his pants legs. "The procedure will be difficult, very much so; on both you and Eric. He will be sedated, heavily, as we transfuse the serum; so deeply in fact Eric will considered comatose and will require a machine to breathe for him. Everyday, however, we will need to reverse the sedation and bring Eric back to consciousness. During that time, Eric will be extraordinary pain and unable to move; partially due to the spinal injury, partially because we will probably need to restrain him. The incomplete ability to move that I expect him to retain due to the location of his spinal injury will only cause further damage. His movements will be jerky and uncontrolled, and will risk injuring him further, hence the restraints."

"I don't understand, why do you need to wake him up if it will cause him pain?"

The doctor sighed heavily. "The tests we need to perform to determine if the serum is having any sort of effect can only be done while he is conscious. The scans, the nervous system sensitivity, all of it. We will try to limit the amount of time we keep him awake, but it will never be shorter than twenty minutes."

Fox shuddered, then said. "We can explain that to him, give him at least a heads-up."

The doctor shook his head sadly. "No, the sedation we put him under will prevent him from remembering. Every time will be new for him, all we will be able to do is comfort him until we can sedate him again."

"Will he ever remember any of it?"

"Yes, others who have undergone this do eventually remember, usually in the form of nightmares."

"So.....we will put him through absolute hell, torture him daily, basically......and there is still no guarantee of recovery?"

"My most successful patient regained 90% function."

"90% isn't good enough for Dauntless, it won't be good enough for Eric."

"Eric has one thing going for him," the doctor said, hesitantly. "His spinal cord has not been fully severed, that already improves his chances of a more complete recovery. I understand your hesitation, but, Eric was in peak physical condition when the accident occurred, that, coupled with the nature of his injury, gives me hope."

Fox chewed her lip. "He is still unconscious? Can you wake him so I can ask what he wants?"

The doctor sighed. "We've been trying to rouse Eric since he was brought in, but he remains unresponsive; if we decide to go ahead, it has to be soon, before the body's natural healing process gets in the way."

Fox dropped her head. Torture Eric for a chance at recovery? Leave him be? He'd be paralyzed but not put through any cruelty. If Eric remained as he was, he would be either kicked out of Dauntless or would beg for death. He would not want what he would consider a half-life. He was too Dauntless for that. He was too Dauntless to not try.

"Let's try the serum."

The doctor nodded briskly and stood. "I will prepare the first round, the nurses should be in soon with him and we can get started right away." He hurried out.

Fox stood again and started to pace. What had she just agreed to? If the situation were reversed, would Eric choose the same thing for her?

Her voice shaking, Fox whispered, "I'm sorry baby. Whatever happens, please forgive me for what we're about to do to you."