Georgios had put on his best behavior for the physician who had come to his country home. Though he could never be deemed one hundred percent, Papa Leventi was certainly well enough to not be tied to the bed any longer. He was free to go back to Vasiliadon. With the condition that he wouldn’t overdo it. It was as though the doctor had never met the man. He could feel the glares from the women of his life like a pack of wolves making sure he wouldn’t scare them again. When the doctor gave the okay, he turned to Evelli with a broad grin with an expression that clearly read ‘I told you so.’

They were prepared to travel, but Evelli appeared to be having second thoughts. Or maybe it was something else. He couldn’t quite pinpoint the nauseated look that appeared on her face once again as they went on to the boat. Being the idiot he sometimes was, he hadn’t thought that was the reason she had been running from the room. Women had times when a notion would hit them and they would need to go tend to it. Georgios did little to follow along. But, by the time they were about to enter the carriage for Vasiliadon, it was obvious he had been mistaken the reason for her darting.

His hand was up as he was going to help his wife into the carriage when she paused and decided to speak of a different kind of transportation. The carriage was right there. ”It is a short ride, my love. I’ll ride with you.” He couldn’t even recall the enclosed ride he had taken from one place to the other when he had been sick. The Lord had been careening in and out of consciousness and it was clear that his life was at risk. The afterlife was gunning for him. Georgios won that fight - for now. But, it concerned him that Evelli was so sick so soon after all that. Would the girls be able to handle the stress from worrying on one parent straight to the other.

A horse was pulled over to the pair of them. He helped Evelli up and then got up on the steed behind her. If she was feeling that ill, he wouldn’t take the chance of her passing out, falling off, and being trampled. He rarely thought ahead in life or envisioned such drastic imagery, but when it came to his wife, he was protective. His arms slid between hers and her waist as he sat right up against her to hold the reins with her, or for her. It was Evelli’s choice. He pressed a kiss to her cheek quickly before clicking his teeth to encourage the horse to start moving.

The carriage followed behind with their luggage. It was available for any moment that Evelli might change her mind. ”We will get you settled in at the manor. My turn to take care of you.” Though it was a serious sickness, he found it exciting to be able to cater to her. Even if it might put off getting to see some of his daughters like he originally wanted to. Their lives seemed to be plagued with ups and downs. It was finally time that he put his hat back in the ring with Fotios plotting.

He shook his head as he held around her tightly. ”You would not want to put Olympia at risk if you truly are sick.” There was no telling how the sickness was passed between the spouses. While it couldn’t be through the air, considering so many of the servants that had tended to his every need had not become ill. It was hard to say if age was more of the issues, growing old and so susceptible to the ailments of the world.

He lowered his head to kiss the top of her shoulder that leaned into him. Georgios should have known before he even said it that Evelli would rebel against his care. Even when she had been pregnant with the girls, she often shooed away his attempts at caring for her. Evelli was not a frail or weak woman, but it didn’t mean that he sometimes didn’t wish he could spend some time catering to her. There were times, especially lately, that he felt the family could have easily just done without him. Insecurities that surfaced as the family still did what it needed to do while he was unconscious. Fotios had made a perfect replacement in almost every aspect.

Attention popped back up when she had mentioned the Creed. How much had he missed? Georgios’ whole body tensed as his mind wandered a million different directions. Although, he waited for her to finish talking about each of the daughters before he parted his own lips to reply. ”The Creed attacked? Are they all okay? Why did you not tell me of this sooner?” He knew why she didn’t. He would have been out of that bed and probably warriored himself to death. However, he still begged her about all the details he had missed. Maybe he should have been better at asking questions, this was clearly his own fault.

Worries of Selene’s position were not high on his mind. Not until Evelli calmed his nerves of the Creed. Georgios had been writing letters with his eldest and he knew more about that situation than any of the others. Regretting now also that he hadn’t kept better correspondence, while unconscious. It was a silly thought, especially for a man who rarely had regrets to begin with. This tore at his insides. It seemed that when his daughters all needed him the most he had been cursed to his bed. What were the gods playing?

He gave the horse a final kick as they entered the large gate of his part of the Leventi manors. Georgios and his younger brother shared this one when they were in town. His teeth grit together as he was now finally having a crisis in deciding. He had been so dedicated to caring for Evelli, but she was right. Their daughters needed them. He didn’t dare admit that she was right out loud for the fear of never hearing the end of it.