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The voice on the other end of the line says they’re Officer Hale with the Neverwinter Police Department and his son has been found in critical condition.
Magnus doesn’t bother to think or ask questions, he acts. What would he need planetside? If he got in a fight, could he win all alone? How could he protect Angus? What would he be protecting Angus from? Magnus straps Railsplitter and the Chance Lance to his back then clips Steven and the pocket workshop to his belt without a second thought. Has he wasted too much time packing? Is Angus okay? What happened down there? What’s going to happen when he gets there?
Magnus is completely lost as soon as he lands outside Neverwinter. He didn’t ask where Angus was. He didn’t ask what ‘critical condition’ meant or where he was found or anything Angus would’ve been smart enough to ask.
“Fuck.” Magnus fishes out his Stone of Farspeech as he begins to march through the empty Neverwinter streets. “Call history... previous caller... call back...” The Stone rings once before someone picks it up.
“Hello, this is the NPF service line, how can I help you?” A bell voiced receptionist says.
“My- my son Angus, Angus Mcdonald- He’s hurt but I don’t know where he is. Wh-where is he? What happened?” Magnus feels a lump form in his throat.
“Sir, I can’t tell you that if I-”
“I’m Magnus Burnsides! His- his father! Just ask Officer Hale! He’s my son and he’s- God damn it, just tell me where he is...” Magnus knew it was a lie, but if Officer Hale said he was Angus’ father, he was Angus’ father.
“Officer Hale? Hold on, sir, I’ll get him right away.” A painful minute stretches out as he waits, the thud of cobblestone under his boots marking out the seconds as a constant reminder of how much time he was wasting.
“Magnus?” Officer Hale says.
“Officer Hale! I- I need to know where Angus is! I’m in Neverwinter right now but I- I can’t-”
“Your son is in St. Geraldine’s, on the corner of Fourth and Marvlo. They take in a lot of cops.” The Stone clicks as Officer Hale hangs up.
“Wait, wait-! Fuck...” His thoughts race with worst case scenarios as he fishes out his Stone’s neglected GPS. Is St. Geraldine's a hospital or a morgue? Is Angus okay? What happened down here? What’s going to happen when Magnus gets there?
Finding a route to St. Geraldine's is easy, running three miles in ten minutes is hard.
He bursts into the waiting area panting like he had a panther on his tail, stumbling towards the receptionist's desk and draping himself over the cool marble. “Excuse me-” Huff huff. “I need-” Pant pant. “I need to know where Angus McDonald is...”
The receptionist looks him up and down with wide eyes, pressed back into their seat. “I assume you have visitation rights?”
“I’m his dad, yes, I have visitation rights now where is he?!”
They point down the hall. “Take the elevator to the fourth floor, he’s in room 413.”
“Thanks.” He peels away from the desk and barrels towards the elevator. He’s so close. Just a little further. Just a little while longer and he can see if the kid’s alright. The elevator is as slow as the bubble that preceded it. Magnus regrets taking the elevator in seconds. He’s stuck in one place and helpless to act. He should be moving right now and getting closer to Angus! When the elevator finally dings open Magnus breaks into a sprint, following the labyrinth of signs until he stands in front of the room Angus is in.
His hands are shaking and he can’t wipe the sweat off his palms. What’s he going to see in there? How did the kid end up here?! He’s not allowed to go planetside alone! Did he sneak away? Did an outing with a Bureau member turn sour? If so, what member? Were they alright or did they end up in the hospital, too? (Or did they end up in the morgue?)
Magnus takes the deepest breath he can. Then another deep breath. And another.
He opens the door to find a team of police officers gathered around a hospital bed. Angus looks microscopic in a sea of white linens and flanked by blue-clad adults, a visual that isn’t helped by the fact nothing but his head is peeking out of the massive blanket. White gauze is looped around his temples, squashing his dark curls and matching the bandages plastered on his cheek and jaw.
“Are you Magnus Burnsides?” A dwarven officer asks.
“Yes. Is... God, I’ve had the worst day of my life and it’s only 5 am. What- What happened? Where was he? Is Angus alright? Is he awake?”
“Not yet. He’s had a rough night.”
“What happened?”
“We still don’t know; we found him unconscious and bleeding from the head in an alleyway. We’ve got officers sweeping the scene.”
“What- what happened to him? Why’s he-?”
The boy on the bed groans and the officers around him gasp and shuffle around him. He tries to open his eyes only to squeeze them shut and crawl under the blanket. He speaks in a raspy whisper and one of the officers holds out a cup of water with a straw for him to drink from and helps him sit up.
“Thanks,” He says. “Um... Can I be alone with Magnus?” The officers trade looks, but respect his wish after being asked a second time.
“Angus! Oh my god, I’ve been worried sick I’m so glad you’re still alive!” Magnus rushes over and tries to hug the boy.
“Go home.” Angus curls up under the blanket, leaning away from Magnus.
“What? Angus, are- are you tell me to leave after you literally wound up in the hospital? ”
“Yes! You shouldn’t be here! No one should be here! I didn’t want any of you to find out! No one was supposed to know I took a police case again. I-it wasn’t supposed to end like this, either.”
“Angus, excuse my Elvish but you’re in the fucking hospital, in case you forgot. Something went wrong when you ran off on your own and I want to know now .”
“Nothing happened! I’m fine! The police are just overprotective of me.”
Magnus gives Angus an incredulous look.
“It’s nothing! Really! I’ll be home soon.” Angus scoots away, trying to hide more and more of himself under the blanket.
“It sounds like something isn’t fine, Angus. They found you unconscious in an alleyway! You said it wasn’t supposed to end ‘like this’ but you still haven’t told me what ‘this’ is! What- What is wrong, what’s hurting- how did you get hurt? I need to know these things!”
“GO AWAY !” Angus screams at Magnus.
The realization hits him seconds after the words leave his mouth. “I-I- I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to say that. I’m sorry Magnus, please believe me. I didn’t mean to yell at you it was a mistake and it was bad and I’m sorry. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry!” The boy hunches his shoulders and leans away, preparing for a strike that never comes.
“...Angus.” Magnus whispers after a while, leaning closer. “Angus, you’re allowed to scream at me. I’ll never do what he did, none of it, and nothing like it. But the one thing you’re not allowed to do is sit here and tell me to go away when you’ve been hiding under your blanket the entire time I’ve been here.”
The tension melts out of Angus. “I...”
“What happened?”
Angus sighs, finally turning towards Magnus. “I made a mistake. I thought I was invincible when Taako taught me Pass Without a Trace and I wasn’t careful. It was a simple case: someone had been stealing from homes in the merchant district and there were no officers available to take it so they called me in. I tried to track the thief after catching them in the act; I wanted to found out where they kept everything they stole so I could get it back to the rightful owners. I should’ve just arrested them as soon as I caught them.” Angus huffs, regret coloring his expression before he continues the story.
“They lead me across rooftops and into an abandoned block. I- I was cocky, and I wasn’t paying and I fell into a trap. They hid just inside a window, and when I jumped into the windowsill to keep following them I barely made it. I was clinging to the edge and trying to climb up when...”
“When?” Magnus leans closer.
“I didn’t even realize it happened. At first, I thought I just lost my grip or that they pushed me off. I hit the ground so fast I didn’t have time to realize what had happened. Next thing I know a bunch of panicked police officers are crowding around me and screaming for a cleric. I didn’t realize I was in pain for a few seconds. It felt so far-off and dull I could’ve ignored it if I hadn’t looked down...”
Angus scoots around, trying to sit up. Magnus grabs him by the armpits and pulls him up into a sitting position, adjusting the pillow and blanket. Magnus gasps as the boy’s injuries become apparent, his stomach bottoming out as he sees bandaged stumps where Angus’ wrists used to be and no bracer.
“They cut off my hands.” Angus breaks out into a sob that quickly bubbles into a laugh. “They looked at me... and-” He hangs his head as tears swell from his eyes and his grin grows wider. “This is all so silly now that you’re here. It hurt so bad and I’m so useless now but your thing is tearing off arms a-and now it all seems so stupid...” Angus tries to keep laughing as fat tears slide down his cheeks. “I-I’m so stupid, Magnus... Wh-what use am I n-n-now?”
“Angus!” Magnus barks, cupping Angus’ tear soaked chin and forcing the boy to look at him. “Don’t you dare call yourself useless, not now, not ever.” Magnus runs a hand through Angus’ hair, jerking it away when Angus hisses in pain.
“But I’m-”
“You’re the World’s Greatest Detective, and that’s not bragging. You’re the single smartest person I know and when I was your age I was still making mud pies and eating paste. You’re more independent than half the Bureau and you’ve got more of your shit together than all of us combined.” Magnus pats Angus’ shoulder, pulling away when he shudders from the minor impact.
“I mean... Yeah, I’m- I was...” The boy leans back, melting into the pillow. “How can I still be all of that if I’ve got no hands?! I was my hands! I-I can’t write, I can’t turn pages, I- I- I can’t even sit up by myself, Magnus! How can I ever be me again?”
Magnus nods slowly as Angus speaks, tears sliding down his temples and soaking his hair and bandages. Magnus grabs a tissue and dabs away the tears, occasionally using it to tickle the boy’s face until he grinned ear to ear and turn his head side to side to escape.
“I don’t think you can be the old you ever again, Ango. Sorry about that.” He starts to rub Angus’ forearm as gently as he could as the boy gave him a heartbroken look. “You’ve changed, and you can’t undo that change. All you can do is change with it and learn new ways. I think with a little help from the people who love you and care about you, you can find your new you a helluva lot easier. You’ve crossed a threshold and can’t go back or do everything the same again, but we’ll help you get back on your feet and find a new groove. I mean- God, I walked in and there were a dozen people watching you. A dozen people loved you so much, Angus, they were willing to stand around watching you sleep just so they could be here. ”
That revelation brings a fresh crop of tears to Angus’ eyes, and Magnus wipes them away diligently. “And that’s before you add in the Bureau. Everyone there loves you. All two hundred odd idiots there love you so much it hurts.”
“I guess he was wrong after all.” Angus’ lips twitch up in a smile.
“He was wrong as hell, Angus. Now, it’s a cruel theory, but I think he was the only person in the world who didn’t love you.”
Angus goes silent after that. Mangus wipes his cheeks dry and looks to the boy for permission before letting the officers back in. A few have already left for their day shifts but the ones that remain shower him with affection and questions in equal measure.
A few hours later, over two hundred people are trying to cram themselves in one hospital and Angus realizes just how loved he is.