If Liebling is injured in front of him, König switches into perfectly composed operative mode. No panic. The fear will come later.
He is instantly at her side, assesses her condition, gets her out of the danger zone, and calls for a medic. No panicked “oh my God.” Only short, clear instructions, because right now it is vitally important to him that she keeps answering him.
If she is conscious, he maintains almost continuous contact. He looks into her eyes, makes her focus on his voice, tells her exactly what he is about to do before he touches her. Even in a moment like this he still has that habit of not taking control away from her.
— Liebling. Look at me.
— I’m here.
If he needs to stop the bleeding or immobilize an injury, his hands do not shake. Only the one palm supporting her head or holding her hand sometimes squeezes a little tighter than usual. The single physical sign of how terrified he actually is.
If she tries to say that “everything’s fine,” he doesn’t even argue.
— No.
Very calmly, but firmly.
— Right now you’re going to let me take care of you.
And once he has handed her over to the medics, the worst part begins for him — he starts to come apart.
Because as long as there is a concrete task, he is functional. When they take her away and there is nothing left to do, the energy has nowhere to go. He paces the corridor, checks the time, sits down, and twenty seconds later is on his feet again. He asks the doctor the same thing several times in different words, because he needs the simple fact: she is going to be all right.
If they let him stay with her, he can sit for hours just feeling her pulse with his thumb.
And if Liebling wakes up and finds him there, the first thing he says will not be romantic.
More like:
— Don’t ever scare me like that again 😰
Please 🥺
Only when it becomes clear that the immediate danger has passed does everything he refused to feel earlier finally catch up with him.
That is when he might lean down, press his forehead against her palm, and just stay silent.
Because the thought of a world in which she might never have opened her eyes again is unbearable to him.





