Chapter Text
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Varian Wrynn had it all.
He had a loving wife, Tiffin, who was also his best friend, and together they had a three month old newborn son, Anduin. He had a well paying job at the local Elwynn county police station, and was well respected within the community. He’d just recently finished updating and fixing his house, a nice three bed and two bath neighborhood home that used to be his childhood home before it’s fallen to fire damage. He had plenty of friends, who he both worked with and hung out with all the time.
He had achieved the Azerothian Dream.
Keywork: had.
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It was Friday, and the plan for today went something like this. Varian worked until 8pm, then he’d drive home to meet Tiffin, make sure the baby sitter settled in okay, and then the couple would leave to meet friends for a late dinner at the local pub. Their babysitter was a nice college age girl from across the street, who had experience with her own younger siblings, and Tiffin would essentially leave the girl a cheat-sheet to watching a baby. Then they would meet Jaina Proudmoore, Arthas Menethil, Magni Bronzebeard, Katrana Prestor, and Bolvar Fordragon at the Loch Modan.
This was usually how the end of the week went, especially since baby Anduin could be left without his mother for at least a few hours. The kid was actually pretty calm and easier to take care of then his parents had feared. You always hear the horror stories, right? They had definitely caused Varian major anxiety before Anduin’s birth, but Tiffin was always there to calm him down and tell him everything would be okay.
Before heading out of work, he sent Tiffin a short text, telling her he was heading home and that he loved her.
Usually she replied before he’d started the car, before he started the ten minute drive home. Maybe in hindsight, he’d have noticed, but the woman was caring for a baby, he didn’t expect her to always be responsive right away.
Traffic was alright, most of the rush between 4pm and 6pm. This was always something Varian was pretty happy about, missing the rush. He himself often couldn’t handle road rage, and the less traffic around him the better chance he didn’t get any.
When he arrived home, parking his car in the driveway, he noticed the babysitter sitting outside the front door, on the steps, messing with her phone, which seemed a little odd. Varian usually entered the house through the door in the garage, but he was more curious as to why the girl was just sitting there, not already inside.
“What’cha doing out here?” He asked, walking up to her as she placed her phone down. “It’s a little cold out here, you know you can wait inside, right?”
The girl looked a little confused. “I don’t have a key to your house, Mr. Wrynn. I kind of assumed one of you would be home.”
“No, Tiffin’s home.” Varian looked up to the front door, noticing it closed. It wasn’t inherently odd, they usually closed the door this late at night or when they planned on leaving, Tiffin liked keeping it opened and unlocked when she was home. The screen door brought in a lot of light into the house.
The girl got up and watched as Varian pulled out his key, working on unlocking and opening the front door.
“I’ve been knocking on the door for about ten minutes. No one answered, so I tried to call, but she didn’t answer that either.”
That, again was odd, but Varian wouldn’t be surprised if Tiffin had fallen asleep or gotten distracted. Ever since giving birth, she’d fall asleep here and there and it was possible Varian would end up letting her sleep, canceling dinner with friends. Birth took alot of energy out of the woman, and taking care of a baby who needed feeding and watching and entertainment nearly every hour was a huge drain. She’d done amazing so far, developed a routine, and managed to keep her sanity, and Varian was constantly reminded about how much he loved her. He was so proud of her.
When the door opened, Varian stepped inside, the girl following behind him.
“You can go ahead and make yourself comfortable, I’ll go check on Tif.” Varian said, making his way through the house as the girl sat in the living room, the TV already playing on a somewhat low volume.
The house was largely quiet, and it seemed the idea that Tiffin had taken a nap longer then intended seemed likely, her stuff still scattered around the house, her phone plugged into a wall charger in the kitchen. It was at 100%, so Varian unplugged it.
Making his way down the hallway, he passed the bathroom and guest bedroom and the room set aside to be Anduin’s, once he could be left alone at night, the crib moved from their room to his own. Neither he nor Tiffin knew when that time was, but they agreed it wasn’t this early.
That said, when he passed the room, he noticed that a small night light was on, and that his three month old son was in the crib in his room, not his parent’s room. The boy was actually awake, cooing at the wildlife themed mobile hung above him.
“Hey there.” Varian walked into the smaller room, over to the crib, to see baby Anduin smile at the sound of his father’s voice. “Mom get tired of you already?”
The baby grabbed up at Varian as he held out his hand, letting the child grab onto and pull on his fingers. He let Anduin investigate his hand, but Varian couldn’t just stay and let the child make him late. When he tried to pull away, Anduin’s smile faded and he began fussing.
“Alright, alright, no need to get emotional.” Varian chuckled, picking up Anduin and holding the baby in his arms as he continued out of the room and down the hallway.
Varian , with his son in his arms, walked down to his and Tiffin’s room, the door slightly ajar. The lights in the room were off, but Varian could see well enough to tell that his wife was laying in bed. A smile appeared on his face as he walked over to the side of the bed, placing his hand on Tiffin’s shoulder to gently wake her.
But when he touched her, she was cold, and when he shook her, she didn’t wake.
The panic attack was already starting before Varian even registered what was happening. It was odd, he thought to himself as his chest felt heavier, but the fan was on and it was kinda cold in the room, and the woman sometimes was a deep sleeper.
He flicked on the nearby lamp and dim light made the scene clearer.
Tiffin lay in her bed, mostly covered in her covers, as if she were sleeping, but there was no rise and fall of breathing.
Varian could hardly remember anything after this moment, but at some point Anduin was crying on the floor, and the babysitter was calling an ambulance, and Varian was calling the police, but also that was kinda ironic because he w a s the police.
He tried to save her himself, but the only medical thing he really knew was cpr, and that didn’t work, and at some point he was pulled away from her by paramedics and his own co-workers.
He and the babysitter at some point were questioned, and while his wife was taken to the hospital, she was determined dead before they got there.
Time felt like it didn’t exist, and Varian only came too mentally when he sat on the couch of his friend’s house, because his house was a crime scene, and his wife was dead, and his son was demanding his attention while in his arms, and he was tired and hungry, but he didn’t feel anything.
He hadn’t cried, not till this moment. None of it settled in until this moment.
Tears poured down his face, and at first his crying was silent, but Anduin didn’t respond well to the change in emotion, and he started crying, which only made Varian cry more, and then the room was filled with nothing but crying.
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