Anna closed her eyes, trying to take a few calming breaths, and heard as Fabian knelt down before her. She paused, before leaning forward, eyes not quite opening as she focused on the hand on her shoulder, Fabianâs voice. âNo, Mânot hurt, Fabes. And youâre off shift.â She let out a breath, opening her eyes, looking down at the person before them. Had Fabian died last night⊠Anna felt fresh tears in her eyes, and she easily fell out of the chair, arms wrapping around Fabian as she started crying again. âWe couldâve died.â Sheâd just watched someone die, as awful as that had been. She hadnât been able to stop shaking since she saw it. Burying her face in Fabianâs neck, she took a few shuddering breaths as she regained some form of composure. âC-Can we go up to your room? Please? I canât go to Winnie like this; she just lost a brother.â Sheâd lost Emrys, too, but she couldnât focus on that. âI promise I wonât cry for long, I just needed to see you.â
They couldnât help but breathe a sigh of relief that Anna was unharmed. Too many people had gotten hurt in the attack and it eased Fabianâs worries that Anna was physically fine. âMy shift might be over, but I canât just turn it off, sweetheart,â they murmured, squeezing her shoulder gently. At Annaâs words, Fabian tensed. âWe could have,â they replied, keeping their voice soft so not to spook Anna. âBut youâre still here, love, we made it out in one piece, yeah?â They swallowed, mind darting back to the chaos of the night, to Gideon going missing and his current state and how close they had come to losing him. Fabian let Anna pull herself closer, arms reaching around her as she buried her face in Fabianâs neck. Her question was muffled, but Fabian managed to catch it. âWhatever you need Anna,â they replied as they rubbed a hand in soothing circles on the girlâs back. âAnd donât-you donât have to hold it in, okay? If you need to cry all night, you need to cry all night. Itâs fine, okay? Iâm not-Iâm not going anywhere.â They kept Anna close as they made their way through the common room, glaring at anymore whoâs gaze lingered in Annaâs distressed features for more than a moment. Fabianâs dorm was empty without their brother, the silence overwhelming, but they ignored it, focusing instead on getting Anna to lie down and pulling her close in the safety of their bed.