The Fall of Forever {A MyStreet FF}

{13} What Made The World Stop

About a month had passed since Garroth's terminal prognosis.

Likewise, about two days had passed since Garte had been home.

This had meant that Zianna was left alone, taking care of three children under the age of five on her own. In taking care of all the boys throughout the day, and staying awake with Garroth all night, she was surviving off of little sleep. Amidst the chaos of tantrums, nap times, medical check-ins, Zianna hardly had a spare moment to inquire Garte about his whereabouts.

It was only in the middle of the night when Garroth was awake when Zianna would call Garte.

"Can you please call Daddy and ask him to come home?" Garroth would say between gasps and sobs.

Zianna would oblige and call without hesitation, especially since she was worried herself. With no answer and her only concern being soothing her pain ridden son, she gave up on several attempts at connecting with him. In her arms she would hold her four year old close. Between swaying, rocking, and whispering to him that he was alright, something always managed to calm him down.

But, it was the third night without Garte. Garroth was inconsolable and Zianna was the definition of sleep deprived.

"Why isn't Daddy answering, Momma?" Garroth asked.

The little one was spiking an almost dangerously high fever.  His movement was extraordinarily constricted due to the ache he was experiencing that was striking deep into his bones. With limited energy and movement, the only thing he had asked for was the comfort of being in the arms of his parents, more specifically his father.

"I don't know, sweet boy," Zianna said as another call went unanswered.

Exasperated and in a considerable amount of pain herself, she wiped Garroth's tears. She placed her hand ever so gently on the back of his head. Zianna was scared to death of hurting him in any way. At a loss of what to do, an idea sprang up in her mind.

Frantically, she dialed Derek. Her heart hammered violently as she waited for him to pick up. It wasn't that they didn't get along, but there was always a tension between them ever since he had pushed Garte to inquire about the origins of her third pregnancy. That being considered, she was also very aware of the fact that there was something going on between her husband and his best friend.

"Hello?" Derek's voice came through the phone.

Zianna, with an exhausted smile, turned towards Garroth. He was still crying and gripping her hand, as though he was begging her not to leave, too.

"Derek, hi," Zianna responded, hardly able to believe her desperate call had gotten an answer. "I hate to ask, but are you busy?"

The truth was, Derek wasn't. He was finishing up last minute work, halfway as an effort to distract himself. His goal was to have been in bed by midnight, but he was already awake into the young hours of the morning.

"No, no, what can I do for you?" He asked. He then realized what he had told Garte - he didn't want to hear from him until Garroth was dead.

Derek had since regretted saying such cold and calculated things. It was his pride, and his hate for the forever potion, that got in the way of him apologizing to Garte.

"Is the little one okay?" Derek asked frantically.

"He's okay, he's good," Zianna assured him. "It's Garte I'm worried about."

There was a pause in the conversation. The tension could have been cut with a knife.

"I don't know what happened between you and him," Zianna admitted. "Quite frankly, I don't care. He hasn't been home in two days; this is our third night without him. I know it's late - and trust me, I hate to ask - but can you please try and bring him home?"