The Gender End by Bella Forrest (the giving tree read aloud TXT) 📕

Viggo supplied as we passed several doors, heading for the door at the end of the hall. “I used to sleep in that room there when I was in training.”

“I can’t imagine you then… You were a little bit younger than I am now, right?”

“Yup, and probably as much of a handful, much to my instructor’s dismay. I—”

“VIGGO! VIOLET!”

I looked away from the door Viggo had pointed out moments ago in time to see Cad and Margot emerging from a door a little farther down the hall, their children Henry and Sarah between them. Henry’s face lit up when he saw me, and the chubby little boy broke away from his mom to race over to me. I dropped to my knees and hugged my littlest cousin to my chest as he threw himself at me.

“Mommy was crying,” he babbled. “She said you may never come back!”

I looked up at Margot, surprised to see tears in her eyes as she came closer. She didn’t even let me get up, just dropped down next to me and wrapped her arms around me and Henry. Sarah and Cad weren’t far behind, and within seconds I was being crushed by four sets of arms.

It felt… amazing, and I was surprised to find myself tearing up from the amount of love and concern my family was showering on me. Once again, I felt blessed by the small yet wonderful things this entire adventure had given me, and for a moment, I just leaned into them, happy to feel their warmth.

“I’m sorry,” Margot sniffled. “I never should’ve said anything around him—you know how kids are. I knew you’d come back, I was just…”

“I was, too,” I admitted. “But I’m so happy to see you. All of you.”

“What was it like?” asked Cad, pulling back. “What did you see out there?”

I opened my mouth, and then hesitated. “Can I tell you about it later?” I asked. “There’s so much going on, and I want to check on Jay and… and all the others.”

“Don’t be silly, of course you can!” exclaimed Margot. “You must be exhausted, and I know they’ve been holding the meeting to wait for you. I’m just so excited to hear what you saw! We’ll talk about it over a hot meal tomorrow.”

“No, I can—”

“Tomorrow,” she repeated sternly. “Because you look dead on your feet, and I’m not going to let you do anything else.”

“Okay,” I said with a smile, and we all carefully untangled ourselves. Henry had to be pried off my neck, but that was okay—I didn’t mind the little scamp holding on. I felt the same way right now. I didn’t want to let go at all.

Viggo held out a hand to me, and I took it, marveling yet again that my arm felt as good as new. Better, even.

“We’ll grab you some chow from the mess,” said Cad, and Margot rolled her eyes.

“Listen to him using words like ‘chow’ and ‘mess’—thinks he’s a real soldier now!”

I chuckled. “Some chow would be great, but you don’t have to put yourself out. We’ll get some later, after we—”

“We’ll bring you something,” said Margot firmly. “You need to eat, especially if you’re running on empty like everyone else around here is.”

She didn’t even wait for me to argue or agree, just held up a hand as I opened my mouth. “Nuh-uh,” she sang, looking down at her children, and they began to sing nuh-uh as she led them down the hall, Cad following with a bemused expression on his face. He gave a little wave and a shrug as they turned the corner, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Our family is weird,” Viggo said. “But a lot of fun.”

Our family. I slid my hand into his and leaned into him. “Let’s go see Jay,” I said, feeling like my run-in with everyone had helped buoy my spirits enough to hopefully pass that love on to him. I knew it wouldn’t help him or change anything, but being there for each other in difficult times was what gave us all the strength to carry on. And after all this, Jay was part of our family too.

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15

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Viggo

It had been years since I had been in this building, but not much had changed. The same pictures hung on the walls, although there were a few new teachers, some of whom I had served with. Maybe most significantly, unlike other buildings in Patrus, this one was whole and unscathed.

Ms. Dale opened the door at the end of the hall, and I could see that a lot had been accomplished in the last twenty-four hours. Normally there were bunk beds, but they had been pulled apart and then beds rearranged in neat little rows, crammed together as close as possible.

The smell of antiseptic and blood hit my nose as we stepped in, and I could see that most of beds were filled, some with people I recognized, most with people I didn’t. The soft noise of talking and murmurs and groans of pain filled the room, and I could see that among the beds, Dr. Tierney and Dr. Arlan were moving, flowing between them and moving from patient to patient, working in tandem.

Dr. Tierney spotted us and nodded us toward a bed, but Tim was already heading in that direction, Violet on his heels. He came around one of the beds and sat down on an adjacent one, and I paused, noticing the crumpled blankets at the foot of the bed he sat on—Tim had been sleeping in the bed next to Jay, probably the entire time we were gone.

Violet sat down next to Jay. The young man’s eyes were closed, and an IV line ran from a bag into the back of his hand. His skin was pale, and part of his hair was matted to his forehead from sweat.

“Jay,” Violet called softly, putting her hand in his. The young man didn’t move, and the hopeful look on Tim’s face dimmed slightly. “Jay?” She called