Long Road Ch 7

[lothinielflowermaiden]

Chapter Seven

The rest of the family knew that the situation had just taken a turn for the worse again. Sweden and Finland had seen how uncomfortable Norway was, and they were about to intervene to get Denmark away from him. But they weren't close enough to do more than watch, as Norway started thrashing around on the bed, as though struggling against an invisible assailant.

At first, Denmark kept his hand on Norway's forehead. He seemed worried at Norway's reaction, but did not seem to realize that he was the cause. "Norge, calm down. You might hurt yourself." He moved his hand just enough to brush Norway's hair back off his forehead.

The touch on his hair seemed to increase Norway's discomfort. His struggles to get away intensified, and he was breathing heavily. Without warning, he turned his head to the side. Denmark had been unprepared for the movement, and although he finally moved his hand away, he managed to accidently brush his hand against Norway's haircurl in the process.

After that, there wasn't much hope of salvaging the situation. Norway shuddered, and then lay still on the bed. His face had lost what little color it had regained over the past few days, and his eyes were wide. Although he was looking in their direction, he did not seem to see any of them. And, while before he had seemed nervous or uncomfortable, now he seemed completely terrified. They couldn't remember ever having seen him look quite that scared before, even after the nightmares. At least those times he hadn't seemed quite so unaware of his surroundings.

"Norge!" Denmark was about to reach towards Norway again, but was stopped when Sweden basically pulled him away from Norway's bedside.

"Y've d'ne 'nough damage. Y' should've listen'd t' him."

What had happened may have been an accident, but was about the worst thing that could have happened. And it all could have been avoided if Denmark had actually paid attention to the fact that Norway didn't want to be touched.

For several moments there was silence in the room, broken only by the increasingly rapid tones of the heart monitor. None of them knew what to do, as this was obviously something more serious than the other panic attacks they had witnessed. They couldn't even tell if Norway was even aware that they were still in the room with him.

"Norja?" Finland approached the bed, but made sure to stay far enough away to not risk frightening Norway anymore than he already was. "Norja, you're safe now."

Norway gave no sign of having heard. He was breathing rapidly, now, and beads of sweat glistened on his forehead. He seemed to be looking towards where Denmark and Sweden were standing, but it was impossible to tell if he was actually seeing them. After a few moments, he closed his eyes, and let out a soft cry, almost a whimper.

"Norja?" Finland tried one more time to get a response from Norway.

Once again, there was no response, except silence, broken only by the increasingly erratic tones of the heart monitor.

"What's wrong with him?" Concern for his brother had made Iceland leave his spot by the door to join the rest of the family.

"I'm not sure." In some ways, whatever was happening to Norway did look a little like the panic attacks he'd had, but at the same time, it didn't quite seem to be one. During those attacks, Norway had at least been aware of them, and able to reply when they talked to him. "It might be a flashback. Whatever it is, though, we need to try to get him to calm down."

Iceland took a couple of steps closer to the bed. "Noregur?" He didn't really have much hope of getting a response from his brother, though.

However, this time there was a response. Norway opened his eyes, and looked at Iceland. He showed no sign of recognition, though, and he still seemed terrified. Then, he looked towards the others again, seeming to see them this time. Instead of relaxing though, he seemed to get even more afraid.

"Islanti, keep talking to him. You seem to be the only one he'll respond to."

"But I don't know what to say."

"Just tell him he's safe and that no one will hurt him." Finland turned his attention from Norway to look at Denmark and Sweden. He had noticed that it seemed to be one of them that Norway was frightened of, but he couldn't tell which one. Denmark was the one that had triggered this attack, but Sweden was the one that looked the most like Scandia, and Norway had reacted to that before. "Go see if you can find a doctor. We'll keep trying to bring Norja out of this."

There was a good chance that a doctor might be alerted anyway, depended on how closely Norway was being monitored, (and considering who he was, he was probably being monitored as closely as possible). But just in case, finding one was probably necessary. There was a chance that they might not be able to get Norway to come out of this episode, and there was also a risk that he may have hurt himself during his earlier panic.

Iceland moved a little closer to the bed, trying to get Norway's attention focused on him again. "Noregur, you're safe here. We won't hurt you. No one here will hurt you." He kept repeating those assurances.

At first, Norway did not show any signs of relaxing. Although he did look at Iceland, and seemed to actually be aware of him, he still displayed no sign of recognition. Gradually, though, he began to relax, as the assurance that he was safe finally began to penetrate that terror that he had become lost in. After several moments had passed, he closed his eyes, and his breathing began to even out. Then, after another few moments, Norway opened his eyes again, and looked at Iceland. "Island? When did you come over here?" The fear that had previously been in his expression was gone, leaving a deep exhaustion in its place. "I thought you were over by the door."

It seemed as though Norway did not even remember the past few minutes.

Before they had a chance to find out what Norway remembered, if in fact he remembered any of that episode or the events leading up to it, a doctor entered the room. The doctor went over to the bed, and checked the readout from the heart monitor, before turning to Finland and Iceland, who were still standing near the bed. "You need to leave, so I can make sure Haldor is all right. If you wait in the room where we spoke before, I'll come find you there. I told the others to wait there as well."

Neither of them really wanted to leave Norway until they were sure he would be all right, but they weren't being given much choice in the matter.

As he left the room, Iceland looked back one last time at his brother. Their eyes met briefly, before they both looked away at the same time.

---

When Finland and Iceland reached the other room, they found that Denmark and Sweden were already there, on opposite sides of the room and pointedly ignoring each other. They both turned at the same time when the others entered.

"How's Norge?" Denmark asked.

"I think he'll be all right," Finland answered. "The doctor wanted to examine him, but he had calmed down before that."

"Why isn't he getting better? It's been almost a month since you found him. He should be back to normal."

"After what happened to him, he won't just get better overnight. But you need to learn to respect his boundaries. If he says not to touch him, then listen to him. I'm not sure exactly what that episode was, but it could have been avoided if you had let go of him when he told you to, and especially if you could have avoided touching his curl."

"That was an accident!"

"'nd it couldn't veen avoided 'f y'd listened t' h'm. H' told y' h' didn't want t' be touched," Sweden said.

"I didn't know he'd get so frightened. I was just trying to make sure he was all right," Denmark said, trying to defend his actions, but it was a little difficult to defend something that had ended the way that had. Accidental sexual assault wasn't exactly excusable, or believable for that matter.

"H' probably would b', 'f y' hadn't done th't. Norge's never going t' be able t' g't better w'th y' around. Y' never p'y attention t' what h' wants 'r doesn't want."

"Well, at least I don't look like the one who abused him!"

"Y' really don't realize, d' y'? Y' did abuse h'm. M'ybe n't th' same way our father d'd. Y' tried t' t'ke away h's identity, 'nd make h'm 'nto nothing m're th'n y'r province. You're lucky h' survived th't. Y' could h've killed him, 'f some of h's people hadn't managed to keep th'r national identity. Why d' y' think I tried t' take him away from y' all th't time?"

"Because you wanted another addition to your empire! And in the end, you took him because you wanted a replacement for your wife."

By this point, the two of them had both left their spots on opposite sides of the room, and it was only because of where they were that a fight did not actually break out. The argument seemed likely to go on for some time. Or would have, if it had not been interrupted.

After that last comment, Finland went over to where the two Scandinavians were standing. "I'm not his wife, and both of you need to stop this. Blaming each other for all those things isn't doing anything to help Norja. And that's what we need to focus on now." Those sentences had been addressed to both of them, but now he addressed Denmark. "Tanska, you did cause this. Norja told you not to touch him and you still did. At least until he recovers a little, you need to be careful about actually respecting his boundaries. If he isn't comfortable with something, then stop." Then he turned to look up at Sweden. "We need to talk later, Ruotsi." The name that he used showed that he was annoyed with Sweden, for some reason, although whatever it was, he did not say in front of all the others.

It wasn't too much later that the doctor entered the room, accompanied by Birger. "Haldor is resting now," the doctor told them. "I gave him a mild sedative, because he was still a little agitated. Hopefully, he will sleep through the night now. That attack used up a lot of the strength he had managed to regain in the last few days. But it could have been worse. At least he didn't hurt himself."

"We were very lucky it wasn't worse," Birger said. "I think, though, that after this incident, you shouldn't be allowed to see him anymore. I'm not convinced that you aren't the ones responsible for his condition, but since he won't answer our questions, I'm going to give you a chance to exonerate yourselves. Who hurt him?"

"That is his information to share if he chooses. He might not be comfortable having his people know about it."

Birger studied them in silence for a few moments, then said, "Then I have no choice but to forbid you to see him until he is stronger. I will make sure he is told that you have business you need to attend to in your own homes. Once he has recovered, you will be allowed to see him again, if only because we don't want to cause any kind of international incident. But if we feel it necessary, we will limit his contact with you. Now, I think it would be best if you all returned to your own homes first thing tomorrow." In other words, they were being ordered to leave the country.

---

It wasn't until later that evening that Sweden and Finland had the talk that Finland had indicated they would be having. The whole family had gone back to Norway's house, where they were all still staying. Denmark had left almost immediately, presumably to go out drinking. Shortly after, Iceland had gone upstairs, saying that he wanted to look for something. Sweden and Finland were left alone together in the living room.

"I wish you and Tanska wouldn't argue like that all the time," Finland said. He wasn't quite as annoyed with them as he had been earlier though. After all, the whole family was used to the fact that Denmark and Sweden could rarely be in the same room without arguing.

"H' j'st never changes. H' doesn't th'nk 'bout what h's actions w'll do t' anyone else."

"So what exactly do you expect to change by arguing with him about everything? He was wrong earlier, to not listen to Norja. But arguing about things that happened over a hundred years ago doesn't really do anything to fix that problem."

"H' doesn't kn'w it w's wrong, though. Norge could've b'n hurt, 'nd Danmark th'nks h' was helping h'm."

"We're just lucky Norja wasn't hurt," Finland said. "I'm sorry I got annoyed with you earlier. It's just that this mess is tearing our family apart, and now it feels like we're about to abandon Norja again."

"W' didn't abandon h'm before. 'Nd we're not abandoning h'm n'w. H's people w'll see th't he's taken c're of."

"He thinks we abandoned him. And he thinks that you and Tanska only saw him as something to control. And the fact that you kept involving him in your fights just seems to prove that point. I know what you were trying to do, and whatever else the rest of the family believes, I know why you did it. But, you really need to talk to Norja about this when we're allowed to see each him again. He needs to know that you took him because you wanted him to be safe."

"I wasn't try'ng t' replace y'," Sweden said, putting a hand on Finland's shoulder. He suspected that Denmark making that accusation was probably what had made Finland intervene to stop the fight. And, this was something that they'd never really talked about. They had talked about some of the things that had happened during the years they were apart once, when they had decided to resume their relationship on an unofficial basis. After that, there hadn't seemed to be much need to discuss much of it again.

"I know that. But Norja doesn't. And the timing does really give that impression."

"I'll t'lk t' him." He knew though, that it might be a long time before any of them got the chance to talk to Norway, and even longer before Norway might actually be willing to listen to any of them.

After that their conversation turned to other topics, as well as to other things they needed to take care of. They needed to call England and let him know and they would be by to pick up Sealand the next day, and they needed to let the pet-sitter know that they would be home sometime the next day.

---

When Norway woke up the next morning, he had only dim memories of the night before. He remembered his family being there, and Denmark refusing to leave him alone. Then, Iceland had been by the bed, talking to him, and Denmark and Sweden hadn't even been in the room. Between those memories, there was nothing.

And, he felt completely exhausted again, lacking the energy to even try sitting up.

He had almost fallen asleep again, when the doctor entered the room. "How are you feeling this morning, Haldor?" the doctor asked, approaching the bed. "We were all pretty worried about you last night."

Norway tried to force his eyes to stay open, and to focus on the doctor. Everything seemed muted somehow, as though there were a veil between him and the rest of the world. Although he frequently gave the impression of not feeling anything, now he really didn't. The only thing he felt was the exhaustion that threatened to drag him back down into sleep. "I'm alright," he answered, after he had managed to muster the energy to speak.

The doctor didn't quite seem to believe that statement. He seemed to be debating whether or not to say something. At least, he said, "Your family came by earlier this morning. They were hoping to see you, but we couldn't let them in before visiting hours. They wanted to let you know that they've had to return to their own homes, and they're not sure when they'll be able to get away again. There wasn't time for them to wait until they could see you, but they wanted to be sure you got the message."

Something made Norway suspect that doctor was lying to him about at least part of that. He guessed that something must have happened during the time he couldn't remember to make his family leave. But he didn't feel anything. There was no relief that they would no longer be watching for signs of weakness. He didn't even feel anything about the fact that they hadn't even waited to say goodbye to him in person. He knew that he should feel something, but he just didn't have the energy.

The doctor was watching him intently, and after a few moments spoke again. "One of them left something for you. I said I would make sure you got it once you were awake. I will make sure it gets brought to you later." He paused, trying to decide whether or not to say anything else. "But don't tell anyone that your family brought it in." As cryptic as that last sentence was, it went unexplained.

Norway didn't bother to respond to that.

After realizing that Norway wasn't going to say anything, the doctor said, "Now that you'll awake, I'll make sure someone brings in your breakfast. And then, I'll be back later to check on you."

The rest of that morning went much the way the last few mornings had done. Norway forced himself to eat at least some of the breakfast he was given, if only to avoid the doctor's threat to resort to using a feeding tube. Then, he took the medication he was given, once again having to force himself.

Then, a little while after that, the doctor returned, carrying a bag. "This is the thing I mentioned earlier, that your family thought you might want. We decided there was no harm in letting you have it." The doctor set the bag on the edge of the bed, and then left the room.

After a few moments, Norway found the energy to open the bag, and found that it contained the stuffed bunny he had for several years. As far as he knew, no one outside his family knew that he had it, so he did not doubt that one of them had in fact brought it. Taking the stuffed animal out of the bag, he hugged it against his chest with his uninjured arm, and let the exhaustion he felt pull him down into sleep at last.

---

Later, when Birger came to check on Norway, he found him sleeping soundly, still clutching the bunny against his chest. Although somewhat curious about where the stuffed toy had come from, Birger was relieved enough that Norway seemed to be getting the rest he needed that he decided not to question it. Leaving Norway to his much needed rest, Birger went to consult with the doctor.

"He does seem to be doing all right," the doctor said, after having summarized some details about Norway's condition. "But I am a little worried that he did not show any kind of reaction when I told him his family had left."

"That's actual normal for Haldor," Birger said. "I think very few people have ever seen him display any emotion. This may mean we made the right decision to not let his family see him, and that he may finally be able to recover now."

"I'm still not convinced it's the right decision to have separated him from his family. They seem to have been genuinely worried about him."

"You should know enough history to know that we can't afford to take the risk that they might just be waiting to take advantage of his weakness. And that's assuming they're not responsible for him being in this condition in the first place. I am going to recommend that all of Haldor's interaction with others of his kind be severely limited until he is stronger, but I cannot say if the rest of the government will go along with that. But in this case, we need to focus on what is best for Haldor."

The doctor consulted the chart that he was holding. "I would like to keep Haldor here for a couple more days, to make sure that no more complications develop. After that, I think he can probably be discharged, if someone can watch him. He will need regular check-ups, though, especially until his weight is back up to a healthy level. And, he will need physical therapy for his wrist."

Birger made notes of what some of the doctor said. "I will make sure that Haldor gets whatever care he needs. I have been assigned to make sure of that. After all, none of us can afford to lose him."

"No, we can't," the doctor said. "But not just because of what he is. After all, in addition that, he is also a person, and he has a family that seems to care a lot about him. Those things are just as important as the fact that he is the personification of our country."

---

Author's notes: Just a little response to my reviewer from last chapter who commented on the fact that I posted that chapter right after Norway's birthday. Considering that I wrote that last part of the chapter and the first part of this chapter on his birthday, I really feel like I should apologize for that.

There are some things in this chapter that are references to certain historical events, or at least my headcanon about those events. I'm going to try to explain as many of those as I can remembering referencing.

The reason that Iceland was the only one that Norway responded in the first scene wasn't because of any recognition, it was because of the name Iceland was calling him by. As far as I have been able to tell (from having looked on Wikipedia), the oldest form of Norway's name, and therefore the name he would have had as a child, is Noregr, which is similar to the Icelandic form of his name.

The accusation that Sweden made about how Denmark treated Norway is based on what I read in a history book and a travel book. The history book, which was from a series called "Modern Nations of the World" said something about how "Danish kings whittled away at the few remaining elements of Norwegian identity," eventually leading to a proclamation that Norway was no longer a nation, but simply a Danish province. The travel book also referred to some of this, and mentioned that it was only the peasants that kept Norway's national culture alive. Based on that information, I concluded that there was some element of abuse in that union, although Denmark doesn't see it that way. I might get more into this later, but, from his point of view, everything that he did was to protect Norway. (Oh and the part of this paragraph that's in quotation marks is an exact quote from the book. I couldn't think of a good way to paraphrase it.)

Finland's comment about feeling like they were about to abandon Norway again was a reference to when Sweden and Finland ran away together. Because it was after they left that the things I reference in the previous paragraph happened.

Also, to clarify some stuff about how I see Sweden and Finland's relationship. They are a couple, and they live together. However, their relationship is unofficial, because their governments don't know that they're in a relationship.