Taylor had found them once the emotions had calmed down slightly, her expression tense and suspicious as she took in the red eyes and puffy faces of the Woods family, but she didn't ask questions. Instead, she led the family to the room she had assigned to Gwen and Bree without a word of greeting.
She had given the girls the same room so that they weren't lonely. Even if they weren't awake, that didn't mean that they couldn't tell that they were in a room alone. She was treating them like they were coma patients, and she knew from studies that most could tell where they were, just that they couldn't wake up.
That meant that Bree had no idea how noisy of a room she was getting involved with.
The group shuffled in and Kellen's Dad sobbed when he noticed the significant lack of a leg that Gwen had, collapsing into the arms of his wife. Kellen's Mom held him, her own eyes watering as she listened to Taylor explain everything. Including the fact that Kellen had brought the leg back, but that it was so deteriorated and filled with a potent poison that there was no way to reattach it.
Not without dealing with the poison first, and that would take a long, long time. The poison that had taken her leg was far more complex than the rest of the poisons that were coursing through her body at the moment. Kellen had truly saved her life doing what he had done.
Kellen still felt absolutely terrible, Rhys' arms a soft support as they stood tucked away behind Taylor and his parents while Taylor spoke. The angry look that Kellen's Mom gave him after Taylor had finished explaining everything had Kellen tensing.
"You kept her leg with you?" She asked tersely, and Kellen swallowed, nodding. "Are you insane? Why the hell would you do that? That was extra weight you couldn't afford to keep with you." She scolded, and Kellen found that he didn't have a comeback for that.
"Honey." His Dad said softly. "Don't scold him when you're angry. He's delicate right now." Kellen's Dad spoke softly, placing his hand on his wife's cheek. She softened slightly, and Kellen realised that his Dad was probably guiding her. The sharpness in her jaw faded and some of the colour was returning to her complexion.
"Kellen did a rather selfless, foolish thing. While I agree that it was extra weight, that extra weight might help us combat other gates that appear like this." Taylor said firmly. "The reason that Gwen nearly lost her leg was because she touched the core." The Woods couple shuddered.
"So you're saying that all other cores for poison Gates could do this too?" Kellen's Mom was speaking more like herself, sounding more like herself. Taylor let out a heavy sigh, shaking her head. It was Rhys who spoke up, the way his chest rumbled with his words soothing Kellen's soul.
"We're fairly certain that's a safe bet to make. Added to Kellen's report, and what we could glean from his research journal, it's a rather safe bet to say that all other cores from poison gates could be exactly the same." Rhys told the 'nonactive' Esper. His Mom laughed harshly.
"Great. Just exactly what we needed." She muttered darkly, before sighing. "At least make sure that both of my children's names are marked clearly when the paper gets published." She told them and Rhys let out a dark laugh.
"You don't need to worry about that. Kellen's name is going to be all over it. I have the head of the research department working on it." Kellen was surprised to hear that. He hadn't heard anything about that until this moment. When he tilted his head back to look at Rhys, he was already looking down at Kellen.
His yellow eyes were soft, warm, but held such a protectiveness to them that Kellen swallowed thickly. His hand convulsed on Rhys' chest where it was resting.
"Is that…Maeve?" He asked softly, and Rhys' face broke out into a grin.
"It is. She's viewing it as a great honour. We took photos of your journal and that's what she's been using, plus the recording we took of your recalled encounter." He told Kellen, who nodded numbly.
This was one way to get into a scientific journal. At least he had a professional doing it.
"How long is it going to take for Kellen to heal?" Kellen's Dad asked Taylor, and Taylor froze. She glanced at Kellen, glanced at Rhys, and then turned her gaze to his parents. Kellen and Rhys both stiffened because that was the first time she'd looked at them like that.
"Uh, well…" She trailed off, before she sighed. "Carlos and I, our poison expert, were crunching things while on our way back from the front lines. Kellen's results are the clearest to work with, even if they are frustrating and…" She groaned, rubbing a hand over her face. She looked exhausted, and it seemed telling them this news was draining her even more. "We can't do anything else for Kellen at the moment." She sounded just as devastated saying the words as Kellen was sure his parents felt.
"What?" Kellen's Dad sounded outraged at Taylor's words. "What the hell does that mean?" He demanded and Taylor let out a laugh. It wasn't a happy one.
"We're worried." She started. "We're worried that if we do anything else to Kellen's body, he might fall unconscious like the rest." A pin could drop in the silence that followed.
It was Kellen who broke it.
"When did you decide on this? Was it Carlos who said it?" Kellen asked carefully and Taylor's face twisted into a pained smile. She shook her head.
"Yeah. It was Carlos. He'd realised that we'd pumped you with twice the amount of poison that was going through everyone else's system without giving you the same cool down period. We can't add anything else to your body until you've had enough time to acclimatize to it. We really can't afford to have you shut down, for several reasons." Taylor said, and Kellen nodded.
There were several reasons why he couldn't fall into a coma like everyone else. One of them was wrapped around him, his arm trembling as he held Kellen.
"What does that mean for his treatment going forward?" Rhys asked, his voice…different. Kellen didn't want to look up and see his expression. He was sure he was going to get misty-eyed again.
"It means we're relying on his body from this point on." Taylor said. This was clearly not the news she wanted to deliver. "The good news is that Kellen's skin is growing back on his hand." Taylor started and the shocked gasp from Kellen's Dad had Kellen wincing. He hadn't explained that part yet. "And his eye is doing…very well given all that has happened. The other good news is that with Brent being abroad, we can reach out to a few experts while you are over there and they can help as well. It's a fascinating case, and Pamela has already tested the waters. They would be delighted to help us." Taylor said.
It was like she had dropped several bombs at once.
The first, Kellen had lost the skin on his hand. That was why it was in a sling. The second, that Kellen's eye was doing okay, but in no way okay enough for Doctors to not be involved. The third, Brent was abroad and the fourth, Kellen was going to go abroad to get him. Kellen could feel the second storm brewing as his Mom turned to look at her son.
"You were planning to tell us this, yes?" She asked, her tone deadly. Kellen nodded quickly.
"I-I had every intention to tell you. I thought you knew about Brent from the news. That's where he showed up." Kellen said and his Mom's expression softened slightly.
"Well, I'm glad to know that he wasn't in the gate and that he's alive." She said softly, her tone not as harsh. "But that doesn't excuse the fact that we are only learning about all of this right now." She started but it was Casper who stepped in finally.
"The plans aren't solidified just yet, and with Kellen and the Captain only just coming back into the city, it will be much longer than Kellen would like before he is able to go overseas. We have a lot we need to prepare, and very little manpower to get it done. With Gunther gone, and a Captain needed on the front lines, our city's resources are stretched thin. Thankfully, a few of our S Classes are coming back into town, but they are taking their sweet time doing so." Casper told the Woods' couple. "I understand that you want to blame Kellen for him not communicating this with you, but we've been prioritizing his healing over his communicating with others." Casper gave a slight bow to the couple.
There were a few beats of silence before Kellen's Mom sighed heavily.
"How am I supposed to remain angry at you when you say such cute things, Casper?" She complained. She shook her head slowly before she glanced between Taylor, Casper and Kellen. Then she shook her head again. "I feel like I'll be made into the bad guy if I get any more angry than this. I don't want to be banned from the Medical Bay, so I'll behave myself." She said and Taylor's shoulders relaxed.
"Oh thank god. I really didn't want to have to ban you of all people from the Medical Bay. It would break my heart." Taylor said quickly, the words gushing out of her. Kellen's Mom laughed.
"Well, that would certainly be an awkward phone call to your parents, wouldn't it? Either way, from this point on, if you need contacts abroad, you need to speak to me. You have several aunts and uncles who wish to see you, Kellen." She warned, her eyes glowing slightly. "They might pick fights with Rhys given your current condition, but I'm not worried. For Rhys."
Kellen felt his chest warm at that, the easy acceptance and Rhys let out a laugh.
"Thank you for your vote of confidence." Rhys said and she snorted.
"It's only because his uncles who would have given you true grief have moved on." She said. Kellen's Dad let out a soft sigh. He had been staring at Gwen all this time that the others had been speaking, but now he turned to face the rest of the group.
"How are you doing with this news, Kellen?" He asked and Kellen jerked. He had been more worried about how everyone else was going to take the news that he hadn't really considered what that meant for him.
"Uh, I don't know?" Kellen said, causing his Dad to make a pained face. He closed his eyes, shaking his head, before he spoke again.
"I'll take over making meals for you then, and once I get myself cleaned up and stable, I can help out as you need me, Casper. Kellen isn't working right now, and Rhys is not going to want to leave Kellen's side." He started and everyone began to protest.
He raised a hand, his eyes sharp for the first time in weeks.
"No. No protests. I've been dragging my feet long enough. It's time I pay everyone back for putting up with my behaviour. My children are safe, and now it's my turn to make sure everyone else is. I've been retired long enough, it's time I pulled my weight." He wasn't budging. "I can just use Kellen's log in credentials, make things easy. I'm a good source to rely on when dealing with Guides like me helping Espers like Hill." He said and no one could argue with that.
Kellen's Dad, Henry Woods, was going to help out with the Saturn Guild and Kellen wondered if the Guild knew what they were signing up for. It would be completely different from how he had been helping out with consulting in the Guiding Division.
Kellen's lips twitched. He didn't expect that he would come back this quickly, but he was glad that he was. He didn't like having to worry about his parents like he had. He was glad to know that he could rely on them again.