[url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/246624086/0/0]Table of Contents[/url] [i]“Mom!” Hayden cried out, “MOM!” Gwen burst into the room. It only took her a moment to take in the scene in front of her, and she let out a shocked gasp. Natalia was lying on the floor, motionless, with Hayden crouched down next to her. He grabbed at her shoulders in fruitless attempts to shake her awake, begging her to wake up. “What happened?!” Gwen exclaimed. “She‘s asleep!” Hayden bawled, too panicked to give a coherent answer. “Go get Doctor Markos!” Gwen demanded, dropping down to Natalia’s side and urging her son away, “Go, Hayden! GO!” Hayden pulled away and stumbled out of the room. His frantic feet pounded an unsteady rhythm on the floor as he went to the front door. His shaking hands fumbled with the handle before finally twisting it, and he bolted outside, leaving the door wide open. He ran as fast as he could. Down the street. Around the corner. He had no idea what had happened to Natalia, but he was scared for her. They had been playing a silly game of pretend, something they did often. Natalia was a wandering hero, and Hayden was the evil bandit. Then Natalia suddenly collapsed. Hayden knew people didn’t faint for no reason. He reached the end of the road and drummed his little fists frantically against the door of Doctor Markos’ house. His feet shifted anxiously. A few seconds passed -an eternity for Hayden- then the door opened. “Hayden,” Markos greeted, “Good-“ The doctor was taken aback when he saw the child, breathing heavily with shaking hands. He leaned closer to Hayden and questioned, “What’s wrong?” Hayden grabbed Markos’ wrist, tugging desperately as he choked out words, “Nat! She fell! Help Nat!” Markos got the message and scooped Hayden up in his arms. He ran back the way Hayden had come, carrying the boy. Neighbors and passerby stopped to watch the two pass. “Is someone hurt, doctor?” A man called. “No, it’s all fine!” Markos barked back between heavy breaths, not slowing down until he reached the Durow’s house. He set Hayden down and lumbered in. The boy scampered behind the doctor. Gwen and Natalia were just as Hayden had left them, on the floor of the bedroom. “Markos,” Gwen exhaled, only partially relieved at the doctor’s arrival. “Have you moved her?” Markos asked, kneeling over the unconscious girl and catching his breath. “Hayden shook her a little,” Gwen replied, “She’s not bleeding.” “Okay. What happened?” Markos pressed, scanning Natalia for injuries. Gwen looked to her son, “Hayden, tell Doctor Markos what happened.” Hayden nodded and swallowed hard, “We were playin’, an’ I don’t know, she just fell asleep. She fell.” “Did she hit her head on anythin’?” Markos questioned, looking over his shoulder at the Yegorovs. “I don’t know,” Hayden shook his head violently. “I don’t think she did,” Gwen added. Markos delicately checked Natalia’s head, searching for swelling or any sign of head trauma under her mess of black hair. After a couple long minutes the doctor slumped back with a heavy sigh. “It’s okay, it’s okay,” he grunted, repeating himself as if doing so would make it unquestionably true, “She’s not hurt. It’s okay.” Hayden realized he had been holding his breath and sucked in a lungful of air. His mother sunk down to sit on the floor, covering her face with a hand. Markos lifted Natalia in his arms and moved to stand at the side of her bed. “The blanket, Gwen,” he prompted. Gwen removed her hand from her face, revealing her tear-streaked cheeks, and stood shakily. She pulled back the blanket on Natalia’s bed, and Markos lowered the girl gently down onto the mattress. He pulled the blanket over her, then brushed some hair out of her face. They were silent for a short time, listening to Natalia’s ragged and shallow breathing, then Markos turned to Gwen. “She just got overtired,” he deduced, “Completely normal, especially with all the playin’ she’s been doin’ with your boy. Usually you’d just wake up in the mornin’ too exhausted to do anythin’, but this happens. It just all caught up to her at once.” “Thank the Traveler,” Gwen sobbed, rubbing at her eyes with her palm. Markos looked to Hayden, “You wanna explain this to your boy?” “Yeah,” Gwen sniffed, “I should.” “Darn right,” Markos spurred, “When Ru gets back, just tell ‘im she got sleepy an’ went to bed, okay? Don’t need ‘im freakin’ out over nothin’ again. He worries too much as is. He‘s my friend, but he can be right stupid sometimes.” “Thank you, Markos,” Gwen nodded, “I will.” Markos stood for a moment, seeming unsure of what to do. He looked at Natalia again, then gave an awkward farewell, “…Have a nice day.” He strode out of the room. The sound of the front door closing marked his departure. Hayden was calming down now, and he looked between Natalia and his mother curiously, wanting to understand what had happened. “Come here, hon,” Gwen guided, taking her son’s hand and walking him out to the living room. They sat in the wooden chairs, and Hayden glanced back to Natalia’s room. Gwen rested her hand on his, looking him in the eyes with a small, forced smile, “Little Nat just got tired, honey. She’s fine. It happens to everyone.” She stopped for a moment to plan what she said next, “But…it happens to Nat more. That’s why you can’t play with her some days.” “…Why does it happen to her more?” Hayden inquired. Gwen tightened her grip on her son’s hand affectionately, looking at Hayden as if it had been him, her child, who had fainted. Her eyes began to water again. “Natalia is sick.”[/i]