46Visions
Chapter Two
The sensation was similar to that if waking up, only after being in a much deeper, darker slumber. The first thing that Flora noticed after crawling out of the cold unconsciousness was the Professor's voice. She was still surrounded by a thick fog of nothing, but now there seemed to be a way out.
"Oh my- Flora!"
Yes, there was no doubt about it. It certainly was the Professor's voice. According to Flora's blurry recollections of the prior moments in which she was self aware, she couldn't have been engulfed in her own mind for more than ten seconds. She had most certainly fallen unconscious, after all she could feel the floor beneath her, too, now- her other senses were beginning to return- and the sound of her falling to the floor would be audible from the kitchen, where the Professor had been.
"Flora, can you hear me?"
There was his voice again.
Flora was most surprised at the sound of alarm and concern in his voice. In all honesty, Flora had frequently felt like a bother or a nuisance to the Professor. It was true that the two got along, but to have a child around all the time? And after all, the Professor constantly went on adventures with Luke before he had moved to France, and left Flora behind. His excuse had always been the same: he didn't want to endanger her. But that was ridiculous! Luke was a year younger than her, so surely would be more of a caution?
"Flora! Flora!"
The calls were becoming more frantic each time; the panic in the Professor's voice was growing. With what energy had returned, Flora forced open her eyes and saw the Professor crouching beside her. His face had creased into a frown, his brow furrowed in concern and his eyes widened in what looked like shock.
"Flora..." He said again, much more quiet, as he carefully helped her sit up. "Are you all right?"
"I..." Flora took a deep breath and glanced around the hallway in slight confusion. It took her several seconds before it registered that her headache was gone. "I... Yes, I'm fine."
There really was no lie in this statement; Flora felt perfectly fine. Admittedly, she felt slightly dizzy and fazed, but that was to be expected. And besides, the nausea was fading and her energy was returning. With a deep breath, Flora reached up and pulled on the banister, in order to stand up.
"Careful," The Professor warned, quickly placing a hand on her back to offer some extra support.
"No, it's okay," Flora replied, finding her balance and seeming to stand on her own particularly well considering the circumstances. "I'm fine, honestly."
Flora managed to give the Professor a smile, in the hope of reassuring him, but he seemed unconvinced. The frown remained on his face, and he was watching his adopted daughter very, very carefully. His eyes seemed to be cautiously watching every limb; he seemed terrified that she would collapse again at any given moment. He sighed deeply, but kept his hand on her back.
"Come on, dear. Let's go and sit down. You clearly need a rest," The Professor suggested, taking one step in the direction of the living room and moving his hand so it took hers.
"I-I honestly am fine," Flora began to protest. "My headaches gone, too."
Looking across at Flora, the Professor saw that the colour in her cheeks had returned,and she seemed a lot more brighter and comfortable than she'd had when he arrived home. It was calming to be able to see that she didn't appear to be in much- if any- pain now... Yet that didn't quite make sense. Something certainly was wrong; he knew it.
"And I believe you, my dear," The Professor reassured with a smile that was intended to make the young girl relax a bit more. She clearly was very frightened- and the Professor was, too. However, it was his job as her guardian to make her feel safe. "But to be safe, I think we should go and sit down, and phone a doctor."
Flora's eyes widened. The Professor had referred her to a doctor when she first came to London and became ill, and she hadn't liked it- particularly because of the needles.
"But it's too late to call for appointment!" Flora exclaimed. "And they don't do home visits this late, or at such short notice."
"You're correct, but I do have a friend at the University," The Professor explained as he lead her into the living room, firmly sitting her down on the settee. "A medical Professor, who spent many years as a doctor beforehand. He's still perfectly qualified, of course. He works at the local hospital when they're short-staffed. He owes me a few favours. All I'll do is give him a quick phone call and ask if there's any cause for concern. I'm sure there won't be, but just to be on the safe side, eh?"
The Professor gave Flora a quick smile, as she realised it was pointless to debate (never argue) the issue any further. Besides, it was just a phone call.
Wasting no time, the Professor picked up the phone-book and the telephone, and dialled the number he was searching for, and then placed the receiver to his ear.
"Hello, Doctor Ford," The Professor said, not long after he had dialled the number. Flora could hear a voice coming from the telephone, but she wasn't close enough to hear what was being said on the other side of the line. "It's Professor Hershel Layton, I hope this is not a bad time, but I appear to be in the need of your assistance. It would be a great help if you could offer your medical opinion. My err- daughter's just fainted, you see... Thank you very much. Yes, of course... She says she's doing fine now. She was only unconscious for a short moment... It didn't appear that way, no... Any other symptoms? Well, when I arrived home she said she'd been suffering from a rather painful headache, we both thought it could be a migraine... No, no, as soon as she regained consciousness, she said the headache had gone... Right, of course. I hope I haven't taken too much of your time, Doctor. Not at all, thank you... Yes, I will indeed. Goodbye, now..."
As soon as the Professor placed the telephone back down, Flora looked up at him.
"And? What did he say?" Flora asked urgently.
"Thankfully, he seemed quite positive towards the situation," The Professor replied, taking a seat beside her. "He says that it's a lot more common than you'd think for young girls to faint, and that the headache was just wearing you down, and he believes you'll be fine. However, he suggested that you should spend the next day or so resting though, just to make sure you're all right and don't overwork yourself. That may have been the cause of the fainting to begin with."
"Oh!" A smile made its way across Flora's face. "So...I'm all right?"
"Of course," The Professor beamed in response. "Though I agree that you should spend the next day resting. Perhaps I should get you that tea now? That will keep you nice and calm."
"That would be nice," Flora nodded. "Thank you, Professor."
With a small, relieved sigh, Flora leant back in her seat. She had forgotten about the deadly flames that had plagued her unconsciousness already.
AN: Thanks for reading. Sorry I took over a half a year to write a second chapter. I'm gonna update as soon as I can from now on! I'm really looking forward to the sequel of this story, too!
If any of you guys ship Layton and Claire, it would be great if you could give me a one word request (via review or PM) for a new fic I would like to publish soon. It's called "A Hundred Snap Shots of Their Lost Future" and will include 100 short stories about what the pairs life's would have been like if Claire hadn't of lost her life- and it will all be based on one word requests given by you lovely lot! So it would be great if the requests could start coming in, so I can get to work on the fic!
A review would be great, too!
Nikki~