Holding your last breath (Fortescues)

[Deleted]

Nobody ever really was ready to lose their parents. It didn't matter if one knew ahead of time or had even known for years that they were to lose them. It didn't matter that Ilija and his siblings had known for years that their father would eventually come to pass from his affliction and Ilija could see it in every single visit. He could feel it in his own chest and see it in the eyes of his siblings. No matter how bad their father got, none of them was quite ready to say goodbye. Yet it seemed the day was slowly drawining near and slowly Ilija was finding ways to cope and come to terms with the situation. This time he wouldn't be caught off guard. He'd already taken quiet moments to speak with their father and mother about arrangements. Perhaps it was only between him and his father, as it seemed the rest of the family didn't want to face the inevitable yet. Yet both Ilija and his father seemed to be painfully aware of the truth. He'd never been worse and it was far better to face a situation like this with some preparation.

Oddly enough it was some solace to Ilija when he was away from the hospital to have something to do. Some way that he knew would make things easier on his mother and siblings, but not less painful or heart wrenching. He knew what it felt like to love and lose and have to deal with all the paperwork, not allowing time to properly grieve. Since he was one of the few prepared to face death, his father had spoken to him frequently about his wishes. He must have noticed how much it helped his son to accept and start the grieving process. He'd never been able to do so with Hannah. He hadn't known the details of her last wishes, nor would it likely have been possible to put her to rest. At least this time he could do something. Anything really.

He'd been sitting with his father at his bed for a few hours easily. At first they'd spoken, although they didn't exchange many words these days. The disease had reached his heart and while he'd been tired and in pain before the exhaustion was slowly getting worse and worse. While the man had no issues with his lungs he simply suffered as his heart attempted to pump the blood through his body either way. Ilija hated to imagine the pain his father was in, but sitting by while doing nothing was so much worse. He ran a hand through his hair as he heard the door open. He briefly checked his watch, noting that it was long since past closing time for the shop. He had been taking a lot of time off to do preparations and talk to his father. He didn't have much of a chance and well, he knew the loss would hit him hard. He needed to be certain he could be there for Vasilia and Felix. He smiled slightly. "Hey." He said, figuring that was the end of his self-induced shift. He hadn't eaten and he knew their dad would probably complain if he didn't take a moment to grab some food soon. He still tried to care for his children after all. "I'm going to grab a quick bite, unless you've brought me some?" He inquired, knowing it was full well possible that Vas was going to force something healthier than the hospital food down his throat.

vasilia abigail fortescue
felix valentin fortescue

[felix valentin fortescue]

March 2026

He could have had all the time in the world, thought Felix, yet it still wouldn't have been enough. It was becoming increasingly apparent that his father was reaching his final days, and he wished that he could have been at St. Mungo's constantly. He still had work, though, and he had been trying to help Vasilia out with the pub as much as he could, but it was draining just to make it through a normal workday. As soon as he and Vas were able to do so, though, they had arrived at St. Mungo's along with some food for Ilija and their mother. It looked as though their mother had left—to go home and get some rest, Felix hoped—before they entered the ward, but Ilija was still there.

Ilija greeted them, and Felix nodded, stepping farther inside the room and glancing over to the hospital bed to see how their father was doing. "Hey, Ili. Hi, Dad." He tried to keep his tone upbeat, but it was hard enough to do at St. Mungo's as it was.

"I'm going to grab a quick bite," Ilija noted, "unless you've brought me some?"

"Yeah," Felix assured him. "We brought dinner for you and Mum, including cutlery," he explained, holding out the bag in which he was carrying it. "We assumed the tea room would be closed for the night." It probably was—or close to it—but Felix hadn't been there since the former owner, Honey, had left to open up her own cat café in Horizont Alley. It was strange to him how something as relatively small as a change of ownership had had such a ripple effect, at least in his mind. He doubted that the service had really changed; there was tea and coffee and sandwiches and things like that, but Honey herself—despite being relatively young—had been such a constant presence at St. Mungo's for so long. "Has Mum gone home, then?" he checked with Ilija. She probably needed the break, even reluctantly, and Felix wondered if Ilija had brought up needing to get food for a similar reason.

vasilia abigail fortescue
@ilija

[vasilia abigail fortescue]

Late March
@ilija & felix valentin fortescue

Vasilia wasn't blind. She knew what was happening. Her father's health was declining fast. He didn't have much time left. They'd always known his diagnosis was terminal. That he would die from it someday. It was one of those illnesses that didn't have a cure, all you could do was make the person comfortable. She also knew that her elder brother had been spending a lot of time with their father of late, something that made her a little happy. Ilija had missed a lot being overseas. It was good that he was taking more time now, before it was too late.

Now though, now it as the final stretch. She'd gotten the call the night before. Her father was back in the hospital and the scans were showing that the illness had progressed to his heart. He had.... days. Maybe a few weeks if they were lucky.

Vasilia, as she often did when faced with situations like this, tried to stay busy. Tried to keep her mind off her father's slow dying. Ilija had been taking charge at the hopsital, which was a blessing, so she and Felix had been handling the shops. While it was horrible they couldn't let the parlour or pub fall into disarray. Neither shop had a manager to run things when they were out. While the staff could, of course, run things for a while they couldn't have the owners (or at the parlour the Fortescue's) completely disappear. But that didn't mean they weren't doing anything.

Before leaving the pub for the night Vas had, of course, fixed some food for their mother and Ilija. THey'd no doubt been at the hospital most the day. It wasn't anything fancy, just some shepherd's pie (of course, tweaked to work with Ilija's allergy) since she'd already had the ingredients on hand. Then, Felix had taken the bag from her when they were finally heading to the hospital. She didn't stop him. She felt emotionally drained and exhausted. She didn't want to face what was coming, despite having known for so long it was coming.

Upon arrival at the hospital, Vasilia was eerily silent. Normally happy and outgoing person, she wasn't the type to stay silent for long. But right now? She probably hadn't spoken since she and Felix had left the pub. When they entered the hospital room their father was staying in Ilija was the first to speak, getting them with a small smile, Felix responded. And... only after a very long moment did Vasilia manage to force the smallest of smiles. "Hey."

She let Ilija and Felix talk for a moment about the food. She moved to their father's bed side, silently and softly covering his hand with one of her own. He looked so weak and tired.... It seemed like it was progressing very fast now... She swallowed hard, trying to force the building emotions away, before turning back to her brothers. "Sorry, it's nothing fancy. But knowing you, you probably haven't eaten anything today," she finally said, joining the conversation. Ilija had horrible eating habits so it seemed like she'd gone for the more calorie rich food to balance his lack of eating.

[Deleted]

Felix was the first to walk in and clearly his little brother was doing his best not to let the severity of the situation show in his voice or actions. He sounded upbeat, but in a more forced way than was natural. It made sense, as the feeling of doom and dread that hung around the room wasn't exactly helping all that much. Ilija gave Felix an encouraging smile, although it was clear the young man was tired and weary with the care and responsibilities that rested on his shoulders. He couldn't ask others to help out, because he hadn't been there before. He hadn't done enough in the past so he'd shoulder as much as he could humanly take on this time. He had things to set right. It seemed Felix and Vas had considered food, as Felix was quick to hand him a bag with cutlery. He wasn't hungry, but he knew tha at some point eating wasn't to drive away the hunger. It was to assure others he'd be fine and to keep his body going. "Yeah, she went home to take a shower, change clothes and take a bit of a nap a few hours ago. I think she'll be back here in about an hour at most. She doesn't want to leave him alone at any moment. She's worried about going to the bathroom." Normally it might have sounded silly, but it made sense to him. What if he died alone without anybody around just because she'd been on the toilet? It was a difficult internal conflict to silence.

His eyes briefly flickered to Vas as she correctly assumed he hadn't eaten anything yet over the course of the day. Well, almost nothing. He'd forced a sandwhich down his throat in the morning,but that had been over twelve hours ago by now. He shrugged. "It's food. Fancier won't make it last longer." He said indifferently. It wasn't as though he'd taste the difference either way. He put the bag down on one of the small tables in the room and opened the bag, grabbing the cutlery, even though he wasn't hungry at all. He just didn't really want to leave his siblings alone either. Before he actually unpakced the food he looked from Felix to Vas for a moment. "Would either of you mind if I eat here? I'd rather not leave." He admitted honestly. He'd probably not leave until their mother had come back and only spend a few hours away to get the minimum amount of sleep he could manage to get at this time. He was often so exhausted he fell asleep the moment he arrived at Teddy's place, yet within two or three hours he'd woken, the horrors of the night unwilling to let him back to sleep again.

He looked at their father as he waited for his siblings to chime in on their thoughts about him eating at the location. He looked a lot more pail, his hands, arms and legs already cold and slowly developing a grey cast over them. They likely were no longer receiving proper circulation. Every single breath seemed to take effort and their father was mostly tired all the time. Ilija watched him with pain in his heart, yet he kept his distance while his younger siblings were around. They kept the shop running so they had so little time to spend with their father that he certainly wouldn't be getting in the way of the little time they had left. Duty compelled him to stay and take care of a bunch of paperwork and other nonsense, if only to keep the rest of his family from worrying about it. He wanted to make sure he got it right this time, in every possible way he could manage. "He's been doing all well as can be expected today. He's mostly very tired." Ilija said softly, figuring his siblings wouldn't mind a bit of an update.

felix valentin fortescue
vasilia abigail fortescue

[felix valentin fortescue]

Late March 2026

Their mother had gone home to get cleaned up and rest, Ilija relayed to him and Vasilia, and Felix knew that that was probably for the best. It was emotionally taxing enough just to be at St. Mungo's for a little while; he couldn't imagine how difficult it really was for her to watch as their father's health declined faster than ever. "I think she'll be back here in about an hour at most," Ilija continued about their mother's having stepped out. "She doesn't want to leave him alone at any moment. She's worried about going to the bathroom." Felix understood and nodded, trying not to focus too much on any of it if it could be avoided. It was easiest, he felt, just to take things as they came. Especially with their father there, he didn't want him to see him upset or wondering if maybe he would be better off letting go and no longer having to suffer.

Ilija shrugged at the fact that he had been given food, noting that its being fancier wouldn't make it last any longer. Before he began eating, though, Felix could see Ilija hesitating. "Would either of you mind if I eat here? I'd rather not leave."

"It's okay, Ilija. You need to eat," Felix reminded him. He could tell that his brother was distracted by their father's appearance, though that wasn't very difficult. His skin had become even more pale than it typically was, any vitality in his complexion lost.

Hearing Ilija mention that their father was doing as well as could be expected under the circumstances and comparing that with how truly ill their father looked did hurt, but Felix walked over to where Vas had stationed herself at their father's side. He wrapped his arm around Vas's back, giving her a brief hug in silence.

Even with how obvious it was that their father was trying to hang on for their sake, Felix could tell that he and Vas probably had made it just in time. He didn't know if their mother would be so lucky, but he didn't want to speak those concerns aloud lest that would end up forcing them into existence. "Here, Dad," Felix spoke gently, stepping to the side to grab a washcloth that he then wet slightly with water from the tip of his wand. "We're going to moisten your lips a bit, okay? You'll be more comfortable that way," he explained, his voice cracking a little as it rose higher than usual. Felix didn't expect a verbal response—or any response at all—to what he was saying, but it made him feel better that he was checking with him.

vasilia abigail fortescue
@ilija