Roland desperately threw another log onto the fire. Having stripped Finn of her soaked clothes and wrapped her in dry ones, he then surrounded them both with warm blankets heated in the kitchen, and firmly held her, trying to warm her up.
There wasn't a lot he could do about her dripping hair except wrap it in a towel to keep it off of her neck and back. Naomi was awake, and making hot tea for Finn to drink.
Gabriel and Phillip were tending the babies and trying to stay out of Roland's way. He realized he probably seemed rather frantic in his intense efforts to warm his wife as quickly and safely as possible.
Her skin was clammy, but no longer icy as it was when he first brought her inside. He was shivering now, having shared his body heat with her. He turned his face from the fire and pressed his hot cheek against her chilled one.
She leaned into him with a shiver and a slight sigh, as desperate to get the warmth as he was to give it to her. Naomi came in with the tea, scooting a small table close to the couple so that they wouldn't have to move away from the fire.
"The color's coming back to your face already," She smiled encouragingly, probably for both Roland and Finn's sakes. "Here's the tea, when you're ready."
As an assistant doctor, Roland had often remained calm under dire circumstances, but his wife's health was something he could not be entirely detached and logical about.
Finn reached one shaking hand out from the swath of blankets that encased her and her husband, and Naomi frowned.
"Let me hold it for you." She offered, picking up the cup once more and holding it carefully so that Finn could take a gentle sip.
A cry sounded from the other room.
"Lily," Finn whispered, trying to stand on instinct to comfort the baby.
"No, you're staying right here," Roland's arms held her firmly in place. Until she stopped shaking and passed his basic health assessment, she wasn't going to leave his embrace, or the fire.
"I'll get her, don't worry!" Naomi put in helpfully, and rushed off. The couple waited in silence.
Several dozen thoughts rolled like waves through Roland's mind. He wanted to yell at Finn for leaving when he fell asleep, chastise her for running straight into danger (again), grab her by the shoulders and shake her until she promised she'd never do so again, weep and hold her, thank her for surviving the ordeal, beg her forgiveness for falling asleep…
"I'm s-s-sorry," She interrupted his thoughts with chattering teeth.
His heart sank. He couldn't do any of those things.
"I love you," He replied.
"E-even when I'm s-stupid?" She turned her face into him slightly.
"You're never stupid," He said softly.
She sniffed in disagreement, and he continued.
"That peacekeeping soldier that was down there with you… he was carrying something when he came out. You found it, didn't you? What you were looking for." He rubbed his bearded chin against her cheek, causing Finn to shiver as it tickled her.
"H-he got out safely?" She asked, shivering.
Roland frowned, realizing his wife must have been even less cognizant of the circumstances than he'd thought.
"I think they took him to the infirmary, but that's not the point. Your instincts were right, and you were able to get what was needed out of the tunnels before they flooded." Roland was strongly conflicted about encouraging reckless behavior in his wife, but he did need to credit her with her success.
She shrugged slightly.
"N-need to thank the General f-for delaying the t-trap." Finn stuttered.
Roland shifted to look into her face. Naomi had been correct, it did indeed already have more color. That was encouraging.
"What do you mean?" He asked.
"T-the trap. They waited, to give us a ch-chance. I y-yanked the rope hard to l-let them know not to wait anymore." Her mouth puckered as she admitted endangering herself further.
Roland recalled the General's words as he'd directed Roland to where Finn had gone.
"They didn't delay it." He looked at her. "The trap went off as soon as it was triggered."
Finn's eyes widened. "B-But the tunnels were f-full of goblins."
They both independently absorbed the fact that without Finn going down into the tunnels, the trap might never have been triggered by the invaders, giving them free reign to mount a surprise attack up into the city.
Roland squeezed his wife tighter. It seemed her propensity to run straight into danger had done more than a little bit of good tonight.
She leaned back against him, but tensed as the crying resumed.
"Lily's hungry," She said.
"How can you tell their cries apart?" He marveled at her. They all sounded like babies to him. Given, he'd spent far too long away from them lately.
She didn't answer, turning her attention to the doorway where Naomi appeared holding the infant, a mix of frustration and apology on her face.
"I'm sorry I couldn't get her back to sleep." She said.
Finn opened the blankets and held out her arms. Naomi glanced at Roland, who nodded. He was satisfied that Finn's body temperature was coming close enough to normal for her to be able to tend to their infant daughter.
As Lily was being passed down into her mother's arms, her little hand flailed, knocking the towel loose from Finn's hair.
The wet locks tumbled down against Roland, and he shivered involuntarily. He loved his wife's long, beautiful hair, but it was quite a lot, especially when wet with the icy water from the tunnels.
"Lily, no," He scolded quietly, "We need to get Mommy warm, not cold. Wet makes her colder."
The baby gurgled in response, and he chuckled at the notion that she could understand anything he said.
Finn shushed the baby, and Lily reached up to grab her mother's still-dripping locks. Roland reached out to stop her from painfully yanking on Finn's hair, but the child was quicker than he'd estimated.
Holding a fistful of wet strands, Lily suddenly sneezed. The action startled both parents momentarily, and Roland smiled as he remembered her reaction to hiccups.
"Oh." The single word from Finn was colored with anxiety. Was she worried about the baby catching a cold, just from touching wet hair?
"It's–" He began, then stopped. The hair was no longer wet. In fact, Finn's entire head was as dry as a sunny summer day.
Both parents remained silent, staring at their baby. She seemed delighted by the attention, rewarding them with a huge, toothless grin.
Roland blinked several times, but the situation remained unchanged. A shift in his peripheral vision reminded him that they were not alone in the room.
Naomi stood off to the side, her eyes focused on Lily. She didn't seem panicked, nor even surprised, only thoughtful. Maybe she hadn't seen…
"Water, then." She said, noticing Roland's gaze. "I had wondered."
"Wondered what?" He asked, and she shrank back slightly under his intense scrutiny.
"It's just that… with Ivan, it's light. And Roen, earth, I think. I had wondered what Lily would do." She ducked her head.
Roland opened his mouth, and closed it again. He pulled away from Finn so that he could see her a little better.
Her face was full of trepidation tinged with fierce protectiveness. He swallowed, and they exchanged a long look of understanding.
This would be difficult to keep secret. They faced not only danger from evil, but also from people who would want more power for themselves. It was a complex situation.
Roland wanted to move them all far away, to the countryside, and sequester them from the world so that they could grow up without interference. Would their powers grow with time? Would they become too difficult to raise?
There was no precedent for raising magical children. Would the Fae help? He'd discussed Ivan with Gwen, but the conversation seemed fuzzy now. It had happened in a dream, after all.
"They'll be safe. They have to be safe. The Fae said…" They would be needed. That's what Gwen had said. Needed for a future conflict.
That landed on his soul heavier than it had before. How do you prepare an infant for a war? Roland found it hard to swallow around the lump in his throat.
"They'll be safe." Finn repeated, calming. "That's enough for now."
Roland nodded. Whatever brought her comfort. She needed to finish warming up. He handed his wife the tea, and she took a deep drink of the hot liquid.
Silence fell over the room, and for the first time, they began to listen past the crackle of the roaring fire Roland had built up. Judah gave a low, worried chirp from his place by the door.
A dull roar made its way through the walls of the home.
"The giants." Roland blinked. "But what…"
A screech nearby cut off his thoughts. Naomi gasped, and Finn tensed.
"Gargoyles," Naomi whispered. "The gargoyles are here."