"Julian?"

Maeve pulled back the curtain a short while after Linus had left the ER to find Liam in X-ray.

"Hey." Julian said softly when he saw her.

She came in, pushing her IV stand. The nurse inside was finishing up after stitching Julian’s leg wound. Maeve saw it and her eyes glistened.

"Hey, hey, hey. Maeve. No. Please don’t." Julian stopped her before the tears could start.

"What did the doctors say about you? Are you okay?" He shifted the topic deliberately, hoping it would work.

It did. Maeve nodded and took a breath.

"They worked on Arthur first, then Thea, then Hawk. They wheeled Arthur somewhere else. I don’t know where they took him." She sniffled.

"Same with Thea. But Hawk is here, behind one of these curtains." Another sniffle. "I heard them say he has a few broken ribs and that they’ll take him for X-rays later. And I’m okay. Only a few minor cuts, which is practically a miracle in itself." She let out an awkward chuckle.

Julian chuckled with her and smiled. But it did not last. The silence came back quickly and settled over both of them.

"I’m sorry." Maeve whispered.

"It is not your fault, Maeve." Julian knew exactly what she meant and did not waste a second pretending otherwise.

"But it started because of me!" She kept her voice hushed.

The ER was full and chaotic that morning. The ongoing storm had been sending a steady stream of people in after fights broke out across the city. But the Monfort name had placed Liam’s group in a quieter, more private section. No one else was around. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"I started it, Jules. Arthur was only asking an innocent question about why the apartment was not as neat as usual, and I snapped!" Tears fell.

"Okay, you snapped. But you are allowed to snap, Maeve. You are human." Julian replied. "And you did not mean for any of this to happen. And if you are saying that because you snapped it caused the argument, well, it is not entirely on you. For an argument to happen, and to escalate the way it did, everyone involved has to be involved."

Julian took a breath.

"I have a part in it too. The things I said were cruel. I should not have said any of them." He looked down.

"But they were your honest opinions, weren’t they?" Maeve’s voice broke.

Julian reached over and took her hand, holding it tight.

"But I weaponized them. We all did. We were cruel to each other and..." His voice got smaller. "Look where it got us. Look at the cost."

"Come here." He pulled Maeve gently into his arms.

"I am so, so sorry for everything I said to you. You may not be as powerful as Arthur or Liam in magic, but you are a strong person, Maeve. You were a stranger when you first came to us. But you are not anymore. You are as much a part of Rhaenas as Arthur or Liam or me or Thea. You are family. We need you."

"And yes, you cooked and cleaned and basically held the household together. And we should have shown you how much we appreciated it."

"Because we did. We appreciated it more than we ever said. Because you took care of everything at home, I had time to do my work in the lab. Arthur could focus on being interim chief. Liam could keep training. Claudia could manage the office."

"All of that was possible because you took on the chores without a single complaint. And it was our fault for taking it for granted."

Maeve broke. She cried silently in his arms.

"I’m sorry. I’m so sorry." She repeated it between sobs.

"Oh, Maeve. If you are sorry, then I am more than sorry." Julian held her and patted her back gently. But his own eyes were glistening.

"Oh God." He let out a quiet breath. "Today is going to be one of those days, isn’t it?"

Maeve lifted her head. "What day?"

Julian chuckled softly and wiped her tears with his thumb. "A day full of tears." He said gently.

Maeve let out a small laugh through her crying.

Julian kissed her forehead and pulled her close again. "I am truly sorry, Maeve. Truly. I cannot take those words back."

He rocked her gently.

Maeve lifted her head.

"My turn." She said.

Julian smiled gently and said nothing. They both needed this and they both knew it.

"You are not a coward, Julian. You are the most brilliant person I have ever known. Each of us has our own strength and each of us contributes, even if not equally. Somehow, we balance each other out."

"Please do not let what was said stop you from going back to your lab. If it were not for your gadgets, everyone trapped in the Jade Lantern District dungeon would have died. There would have been no survivors. It was because of your inventions that the casualties were as low as they were."

"Your strength is your mind. But your greatest strength is your heart. Every gadget you have ever built was for other people. And you have always worked tirelessly on the Aegis, a shield built to protect others. That is not the work of a coward."

Julian looked at her. His eyes glistened. He blinked hard and looked down, trying to hold it back.

"Thank you, Maeve. Thank you."

They both laughed and wiped each other’s tears.

"We should go and find out about Thea." Maeve said.

Julian nodded. "Yeah. Let’s go."

------------------------------

When they finally found Theo’s room, they were surprised to find him struggling in his sleep, mumbling Arthur’s name over and over.

They stayed and did what they could for him.

It was around that time that Liam, also making his way to find Theo, ended up standing outside his door, staring. That was just before Sonia found him and they went up to the rooftop together.

About an hour later, the storm that had been tearing through Solarys for days dissolved into quiet, gentle snow, turning the city white.

And Liam fainted stepping out of the elevator, right in front of his parents and Claudia, who had come to see him. It was fortunate that Linus was fast enough to catch him before his head hit the floor.

That marked the end of Day 2 after Rhaenas Inc fell to rubble.

------------------------------

Maurice and Leila came on Day 3.

Miranda had picked them up from the airport and brought them straight to the hospital. Commercial flights had only just resumed after the storm grounded everything, and every seat from Arvion to Solarys had been taken. Miranda had not hesitated. She called Linus and asked him to send the private jet, and Linus had done it without question.

Lor’en International Airport was back to full operation by then, and Solarys was slowly remembering how to function again.

In the car on the way to the hospital, Leila could not stop crying.

Linus had called them the day before to tell them that something had happened, that all three of their children were alive, but that Arthur was in a coma. He had not said more than that, not wanting to risk misrepresenting the doctor’s words. It was better for them to hear it directly from Dr. Bennett.

"Lei, I know. But Dr. Bennett said his vitals are all stable. He is just not waking up. No one knows why yet." Miranda tried to comfort her best friend.

"Oh, Mir. I’m sorry, I just can’t stop." Leila said, half sobbing.

Maurice rubbed his wife’s back. "Cry now. But at the hospital, in front of the children, try to hold it together. You do not want them feeling guilty, do you?"

Leila nodded. "I’ll try, Reese. I’ll try."

She turned to Miranda. "I’m sorry. I haven’t even asked about Liam."

Miranda shook her head and filled her in.

The two mothers spent the entire drive to the hospital exchanging comfort and wiping each other’s tears.

------------------------------

Linus was already waiting at the hospital when they arrived.

He took the Montroses straight to Dr. Bennett, who filled them in on all three of their children, with particular focus on Arthur.

After what felt like forever of discussion, Leila finally could not contain herself any longer and asked to see her children before they continued talking.

Dr. Bennett apologized profusely for her insensitivity and took them to Julian immediately. He was the only one awake. Leila could only pull him into her arms while fighting to keep her tears in check.

Julian stayed in his mother’s embrace for as long as she needed. He did not complain, did not shift, did not rush her. He knew she needed it.

The three of them went to see Theo together. He was calmer than before but still in restraints. Leila’s first instinct was to undo them, and everyone in the room stopped her at once.

"I know it is for her own good. I know that! You do not need to tell me!" She snapped.

"I just..." She stopped. "My heart breaks seeing her like this. She was in a coma only a few months ago, and now this." She trailed off and cried quietly.

After that, they took Julian back to his room to rest his leg.

Julian looked at his parents and wanted to ask about Arthur. But in the end he said nothing. He did not know how to bring it up, and he did not want to make them any sadder. So he stayed quiet.

His parents, for their part, did not take him to see Arthur. They did not want him to worry more than he already was.

Both sides said nothing. Both sides were trying to protect the other.