Blood from Stone [AU]

[Carver Amell]

"She said... she said if she doesn't get better in three months, we have to promise to let her... she said leave, but she said like before, like in Golden Shores, and we let her go off to die in Golden Shores, and I can't let that happen again. I asked her to promise she'd come back and she wouldn't."

[Tethras Clan]

"Oh." Even soft this time. She swallows hard, eyes lowering as she thinks. "Then... why doesn't Dad want her to go to Summerhill?"

[Carver Amell]

"He thinks he can fix it," he growls.

[Tethras Clan]

Merrill wrinkles her nose. "Well, he usually can fix things," she points out. "Did he say why?" She doesn't seem to be assuming Varric is right, just trying to figure out what the viewpoints are on the matter.

[Carver Amell]

"It was all bullshit," growls Carver. "He says she's terrified of summerhill like that's the most important thing, more important than her life."

[Tethras Clan]

"Well... fear is very powerful. I think... I think Dad might be putting too much on himself to solve the problem but... Carver, have you ever tried to talk to Liz about... hospitals of any kind?" The elf shivers a little. 

[Carver Amell]

"Summerhill isn't like Danvers. I've been there every fortnight for years. It's a good place, Merrill. If she's scared we should be helping her get less scared, but she needs help."

[Tethras Clan]

Brow furrowed, Merrill nods slowly. "Less scared is good. But if someone is afraid of dogs, you shouldn't lock them in a room with a mabari. You have to start slow and be careful. She had a panic attack at the healer's office. Years ago, I mean. That's why I always do their healing. Even that much, just a healer's clinic is enough to send her right back to that nightmare. You're much braver than us Carver. Or maybe luckier, I don't know. There's nothing you're afraid of like we are." She swallows, shuddering again. "But she does need help. Liz, I mean."

[Carver Amell]

"I was so scared someone would hurt Beth, when she started whoring," says Carver quietly. "But Beth wouldn't hear of stopping. And it wasn't so bad. It sucked for a while but it honestly was fine, and I felt better knowing it was okay. It'd be the same. She'll be scared, but she's tough, she'll get through it and come out better for it. I can't just... she almost died, just the other night, and she'd have lost her soul, she'd have gone to the hells."

[Tethras Clan]

Merrill shakes her head. "That's not the same. That's... just fear. I mean terror. I mean... all thought bleeding into nothing, your lungs empty, your blood pulsing and pounding. Your body is on fire, needing to flee, to lash out, but you can't move. Have to hide, have to be still. You can't tough it out, can't even rationalize it. Picture... okay. You were afraid Beth would be raped or worse. Imagine she had been. Imagine she was raped and tortured and you found her afterwards, broken and bleeding. Then she heals and says she's going to do it again, that she's not just going to whore again but whore for the same person. That's terror."

[Carver Amell]

Carver stills, swallowing hard once, again. He takes a deep, shaky breath, lets it out. "Imagine your sister died," he whispers, bowing his head. "And you just let her walk to her death, you had to make that call, and you regretted it for years, and then she was back, but she wasn't okay, not at all, and now she's saying she's going to walk off and die again."

[Tethras Clan]

Merrill whines softly, pushing over to him. With a grunt, she goes upright, legs trembling with the effort of standing even for a moment, then nearly falls onto Carver. She's trying for a hug, but, well.

[Carver Amell]

He helps, pulling her into his lap. "Why is it okay to make me risk that, to make me promise her, when it'll solve nothing, but it's not okay to make her face her fears to get some help?"

[Tethras Clan]

"I... I don't know? I guess... it's her life to wager?" She doesn't sound like she agrees with Liz about such a gamble however. "Are you sure... I mean... does she really absolutely need to go to SummerHill? Cindy tried but she's not a healer, maybe... I don't have any real commitments or anything, I could stay with her all the time. I'm a very good healer and a fairly good mindhealer, maybe..."

[Carver Amell]

"You shouldn't have to," he grumbles. "Dad has like infinite money, and they'd have staff there. They can take shifts. They can go home and rest when she's too exhausting to deal with. They can have someone stand guard all night to make sure she doesn't teleport away and poison herself. I refuse to compromise on Liz's care, Merrill."