Letting go of self-restraint 2 - All that is missing is a little one

Chapter 23

Wen Ning regained consciousness quite quickly, he was not too hurt in the first place, he only slipped on the slimy rocks by the creek and fell down, hitting his head in the process. He lifted his hand and felt his forehead which was still painfully throbbing. He felt a bump there but aside for that, he was alright.

He sat up and looked around, surprised to discover that he was no longer in the forest but apparently in a dark cave. It took him a while to notice that he was not alone, there was another figure in the far end of the cave, sitting with his back against the rocks. The person was wearing dark robes, Wen Ning could not exactly tell which colour they were but they were blending with the surrounding darkness.

The Dafan Wen disciple felt hopeful that the person was actually Wei Wuxian who he was looking for. He was immensely relieved when he saw the other boy move his head from side to side while murmuring the name of his husband; at the very least he was alive. Wen Ning frowned, his brother-in-law's voice was pained and rasped, his eyes still closed, he was apparently having a nightmare.

The younger boy's eyes finally got used to the darkness and he looked closer at the Yunmeng Jiang sect disciple. He was horrified, tears streaming freely down his cheeks. Wei Wuxian was resembling his past self from the time he had first revealed his secret about Yu Ziyuan's abuse. He was skin and bones, unhealthily pale, his cheeks hollow, and with his robes open where they could no longer cover his growing stomach. One of his hands was clenched around his sword, the other protectively placed on his belly.

Wen Ning quickly scrammed to stand up and hurried to wake up the older boy from his agitated sleep. He was happy to see him, however, his physical state terrified him. It was only a little over a month since he last saw him, but his condition deteriorated significantly. He could not see whether both Wei Wuxian and his baby were alright, he would have to examine him in order to be able to tell with certainty.

As he was approaching the sleeping boy, the Yunmeng Jiang disciple startled awake and jumped to stand up, drawing his sword in the process. He barely managed it and he had to steady himself with one hand on the cave wall. Wen Ning's heart was aching at the pitiful display; Wei Wuxian was clearly weaker than he feared.

The older boy blinked in confusion and looked around, finally focusing on the Dafan Wen doctor. His eyes went wide with horror and he stepped back, shakily. He opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. He started trembling and stepped even further back when Wen Ning reached his hand to steady him. He somehow managed to lift his sword and was now pointing it onto the other.

The younger boy made a step back and retracted his hand, he did not want to scare his brother-in-law even more that he already was. Wei Wuxian was visibly distressed and fearful for his baby; he was hunched into himself, turning slightly away from Wen Ning, the free hand protecting his stomach.

The Dafan Wen disciple stepped even further away, his hands raised to his shoulders, palms turned forward to show he was not a threat. He tried to calm the older boy down: "Young Master Wei, it is so good to see you. We were very worried about you, especially Second Young Master Lan. Everyone will be so happy you are finally found. We should go back immediately; they are waiting for you. Everything will be alright now that you..."

He was interrupted by an agonized scream coming out from Wei Wuxian's mouth. The older boy fell to his knees, his hands pleadingly held towards Wen Ning as he sobbed heartbreakingly: "Wen Ning, please, I cannot go back. I need to protect Lan Zhan and the baby. No one can know I am here, especially not Lan Zhan; I do not want to cause him any more suffering than I already have. I cannot force him to hurt us... It is better this way; he must not know about this... Please, do not tell the others, please..."

The younger boy was extremely confused: "What is Young Master Wei talking about? Why did he not want to be discovered? He clearly needs help but is rejecting it. And he is even claiming that Young Master Lan would hurt him if he went back... That cannot be true, I have seen how happy he was when he learned there was a baby on its way and how worried he looked when we could not find his husband anywhere. He even collapsed while searching for him nonstop, without any regards for himself. I know he would never hurt his soulmate, pregnant or not.

I fear that what Young Master Nie was suggesting may be true; Young Master Wei is apparently under impression that his baby would not be safe if he stayed together with his husband. He must be suffering terribly; his body is visibly extremely weakened and the distance from his bonded partner is surely making him want to be close to his husband. He must have been fighting the urge to go back this whole time, he is fighting even now... That is just pitiful... What had happened to him to make him this scared?

Before I would be able to take him back, I need to first calm him down and examine him. I need to make sure he and the baby are both fine. He seems extremely protective of it, I cannot imagine what he would do if he had lost it due to his stress and poor health..."

Wei Wuxian suddenly dropped his sword, scrunched himself even more over his belly and put both hands on it, breathing deeply and slowly. Wen Ning was petrified for a moment but after only a heartbeat he darted forward and was helping the older boy to lay down, gently massaging him.

The Yunmeng Jiang disciple gradually stopped hissing in pain and relaxed under his hands, the convulsions and tremors subsiding. After a long while he started breathing more easily and fell asleep murmuring with his last speck of consciousness: "Thank you, Wen Ning."

Wen Ning sat back on his heels and was observing his sleeping brother-in-law. He was terrified just moments ago but it seemed everything was alright now. It was nothing unusual, only a slight reaction to the stressful situation when the baby was warning them that it was not good for it. He fetched the blanked and dutifully tugged it over the slightly shivering sleeping boy.

He wondered whether Wei Wuxian had already experienced such episodes, he did not seem to be all too surprised. It worried the Dafan Wen doctor greatly, he had to get the older boy back to his Alpha as soon as possible without causing him more stress than he had already done. While massaging him, he also could examine him. Aside for the evident malnourishment, there seemed to be nothing wrong with the baby which was close to a miracle considering what the Yunmeng Jiang disciple apparently went through since he discovered his pregnancy.

"I need to first get him to somewhere warm and get him to eat. I am amazed he is still hanging on in his condition. He is clearly starving which is really dangerous for his pregnancy. Once he is a bit better, I can try talking to him again about going back to Young Master Lan's side. We need to get to the bottom of this, of why he is so scared of his fated soulmate right now; he needs his proximity and pheromones to truly calm down and relax... I am already afraid of what we will learn if he chooses to confide in us."