Chapter Text
When Victor Frankenstein met Elizabeth Harlander, he believed she would be the woman of his life, the person with whom he would share a profound connection until they both ended up in a shared grave; a soul that mirrored his own…
Until he met Adam Lavenza, her fiancé, and realized he was only deluding himself.
In other words, Elizabeth clearly wouldn't leave Adam for him. Not because she was a superficial person, on the contrary, she was a very intelligent woman and knew how to look inside people; Adam wasn't only handsome, tall, rich, and currently society's favorite pretty boy, but he was truly a good person, curious about life and interested in the same topics as his fiancée.
The perfect match.
Not to mention that Adam was the exact opposite of Victor, who was antisocial, rude, and didn't care much about other people's opinions. Something that didn't help him much in his field of work: he was a surgeon, but no nobleman sought his services despite his high success rate, and all because he didn't treat them as if they were gods visiting Earth like the rest of mortals.
However, Victor had other things on his mind at that moment, such as trying to find a cure or treatment for Mr. Henrich Harlander's syphilis.
In theory, being the private physician of Henrich Harlander, Elizabeth's uncle and the reason they met, should have given Victor some prestige due to the lord's high social standing, but the truth was that both the Harlander and Frankenstein surnames lacked a good reputation in the first place.
Mr. Harlander was a man who profited from the misfortunes and suffering of others, or rather, from the buying and selling of war supplies. Victor, on the other hand, was a disgraced former nobleman due to his late father's mismanagement of the land.
Therefore, Victor had been in a social limbo since his adolescence. The nobility didn't respect him, common people mistook his eccentricities for a disturbed mind, and his fellow doctors didn't understand the potential of his theories and clinical trials on medications for treating chronic illnesses or ailments that, while they couldn't be cured, could at least extend the patients' lifespans, or at least make it less painful.
However, terminally ill patients didn't bring in money, and doctors had to focus on patients who could be saved, or so his professors insisted.
And it was Mr. Harlander, who was slowly dying of syphilis, the only nobleman desperate enough to give him a chance and agree to be his subject of study.
Victor, for his part, had managed to convince the man to stop using mercury and opt for penicillin and other medicinal herbs. However, the disease was already very advanced, and the nobleman began to blame him for his decline, even though it was he who forgot to take the recommended doses.
So the surgeon found himself at a crossroads. He had to create an improved medicine for his employer, or he would soon be out of a job, either because Harlander died or because he would be fired.
Part of Victor wanted to hate Adam, not only for having the privilege of being the next husband of the only woman he had ever connected with, but also because Harlander expected nothing from him and demanded no results, while Victor could barely make ends meet. However, it was impossible to hate the guy.
Adam was too good and honest; it felt like trying to hate a puppy in a top hat and bow tie, and that was incredibly frustrating for the surgeon.
Besides, having Elizabeth's fiancé as a friend was more beneficial to his career than having him as an enemy, because when they went out for walks in a group, the nobles treated the doctor with less condescension, even with some false respect, ever since Adam had publicly defended him.
“It is a shame that someone as brilliant as you can’t aspire to more. I am sure Baron Frankenstein must be regretting in his grave not having left you a legacy that would have contributed to your education.” A noblewoman in her forties had said, laughing pompously and waving her fan.
Victor had only smiled through his clenched jaw, suppressing the urge to reply so as not to further damage his already tarnished reputation. It was a well-known fact that it had taken him years to finish university due to a lack of money for his tuition. In fact, he was surprised that she hadn’t mentioned his crippled leg.
“But Victor is a great doctor.” Adam had intervened, showing a kind smile to everyone and with it silencing the nobles who had begun to laugh under their breath. “I have been in his lab and seen what he does. He is the kind of genius who suffered from the obtuse formalities caused by the lack of vision of educational institutions that do not provide opportunities for true talent.”
The noblewoman's smile had faded as Victor raised an eyebrow in her direction, as if challenging her to reply, which she didn't do.
“Thank you for… that.” Victor had whispered later to Adam whose reply he didn’t hear because he continued walking, trying not to make too much noise with his cane on the cobblestones; He felt a little embarrassed because no one, apart from his brother, had defended him before, so he didn't know how he should feel about it.
But it was that day that Victor decided it was far beneath him to fight over a girl’s love and put the ‘competition’ aside.
Even so, that didn’t stop him from trying to spend quality time with Elizabeth before marriage became imminent, even if it meant sharing the same air as her fiancé.
And despite the fact that their relationship was becoming increasingly cordial, Victor believed that no one could reproach him for feeling irritated at having Adam Lavenza behind him while he tried to take notes in a notebook on the results of another failed experiment.
Adam, as usual, had entered unannounced into the room he used as a laboratory on his employer's estate and began talking and asking questions that Victor always did his best to ignore (though sometimes he ended up answering them without realizing it).
“Lord Lavenza, I don’t mean to be rude, but I really need to concentrate on this.” Victor warned in a neutral voice, trying not to show his annoyance, managing to redirect his contained fury towards the bunsen burner that had gone out and which he was now trying to relight with trembling hands.
“Adam, just call me Adam, please.” Lavenza repeated for the hundredth time. Victor rolled his eyes. “And I know it. Elizabeth told me about the ultimatum her uncle gave you.”
“So, as you can see, I’m very busy right now. I don’t need to point you out, do I?” After managing to light the bunsen burner, the doctor picked up his cane and turned to get a box of ingredients from another table, but his face bumped into his uninvited guest's chest, his nose colliding with him. That happened often. “Would you excuse me?” He asked with an exasperated smile, feeling a vein in his forehead about to pop out.
And as usual, Adam apologized with little to no embarrassment, taking a few steps back to give him space. The man, as always, had a charming smile plastered on his silly face, as if nothing in life worried him. Victor wanted to whack him on his perfect nose with his cane to see if he’d still be smiling.
“I understand. It is not my intention to take up much of your time.” The nobleman continued. “I just wanted you to know there is a position available on my estate, and it will be yours if things do not work out with Mr. Harlander.”
The doctor stopped mixing compounds. He slammed his gloved palms down on the table with a clatter and slowly turned his head toward the nobleman, his eyebrows raised in disbelief before his brow furrowed. Adam took a step back, perhaps sensing the danger.
"Are you implying that I'm going to fail?" He asked with all the composure he had left, although he could feel a spasm in one of his eyes due to the stress to which he was trying not to succumb.
“Oh. N-no. Of course not.” Adam swallowed, but quickly explained. “I am just saying I know what Mr. Harlander is like. He will find an excuse to fire you even if you present him with the Philosopher’s Stone.”
Victor let out a rush of air and nodded thoughtfully. That was true.
In his desperation to prove himself, he had forgotten that Harlander’s plan was surely to pressure him into finding a cure that he would then sell, probably, as his own invention, relegating Victor’s role to that of a mere collaborator. Despite that, the doctor had taken an oath and had to treat his patient anyway, even if that patient stabbed him in the back, metaphorically speaking.
“I’m not a veterinarian.” Victor finally said, since the Lavenzas were known for their animal stables.
“I know.” Adam approached again, this time standing beside him. “Our family doctor is retiring soon, and I think you are the right person to take his place. You will have your own room, three meals a day, and good pay.”
That… actually sounded good. The Lavenza family was highly respected, and for some reason Victor couldn’t quite grasp, Adam liked him. It would be foolish of him not to take advantage of this opportunity. However…
Accepting that offer would mean watching Elizabeth be happy with another man every day. Victor needed the money, but not so much that he would torture himself like that. Not to mention that his brother William had recently written to tell him that his friend Henry Clerval had gotten him a job interview at a modest practice in their hometown.
“I’ll think about it.” He said at last, but only to get rid of his annoying uninvited guest, turning his gaze back to the flask on the fire.
“Wonderful!” Adam exclaimed. Victor could hear the smile in his voice. “But please do not take too long to decide. I can only keep the position open for about a week.”
“Yes, yes. I’ll let you know.” He waved a hand in the air to let Adam know that he should leave and leave him alone. Before the week was over, Victor would send him a letter declining his offer.
“By the way, are you wearing a new cologne? You smell great.”
“Huh? No.” Victor answered distractedly. He couldn’t even remember if he’d taken a bath in the couple of days since he’d started his new experiments. “It must be the smell of the herbs I’m mixing.”
“Oh, I see…”
“Weren’t you just leaving?”
“Ah, yes.” He heard Adam clear his throat and his footsteps approaching the door, which creaked open. “So… see you soon, Victor?”
Hopefully not, the doctor thought.
“Yes, yes. Of course. Goodbye, Adam.”
“You said my name!”
Victor groaned at his carelessness, using his forearm to wipe the sweat and hair from his face.
“Goodbye!” He repeated more forcefully, and this time the door closed.
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A few days later, as anticipated, Victor was fired despite his efforts. But the surgeon wasn't an idiot and never gave Harlander the ingredient list for his experimental medicine in case he tried to market it, even incomplete.
In any case, the man was going to die in less than a month anyway.
It was time to go home and start over.
Victor was packing his bags to board a train, thinking about how he would say farewell to Elizabeth, when someone knocked loudly on his bedroom door.
Before he could ask who it was and what they wanted, the door slammed open, letting in a servant whose face was so pale that Victor immediately knew it was a medical emergency. Had his former employer kicked the bucket so soon?
But no, that servant wasn't from the Harlander family, and if his memory served him right, he had seen him at the Lavenza estate.
“What’s the problem?”
“The-there was a fi-fire in the stables.” The servant took a breath while Victor held his. “Lord Lavenza was in-injured, and he requests that you be his physician. Please hurry, Dr. Frankenstein!”
Almost like an automaton, Victor didn't hesitate for a second. He grabbed his medical bag and cane and ran after the servant, who directed him to the carriage and, on the way, gave him more details about what had happened.
From what little the servant knew, the surgeon could deduce that a couple of workers had been playing around in the stables during the night, and one of them had accidentally knocked over a candle. The fire, as expected, spread throughout the stables. Adam, some servants, and the grooms had done their best to get the animals out alive, and somehow, some people had been trapped among the rafters, including Adam. Fortunately, a heavy rain had fallen during the early morning hours, preventing significant casualties.
But from the way the servant's voice trembled during his account, the doctor could imagine the magnitude of the damage his employer suffered.
Victor didn't want to admit it, but he was worried about what he would find. Despite their one-sided romantic rivalry, he liked Adam. And it was his medical training that prevented him from panicking and instead allowed him to remain unnaturally calm as he watched the buildings recede into the distance.
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Upon arriving at the Lavenza estate, Victor wasn't surprised to see Elizabeth there; what surprised him was that the girl was standing guard outside Adam's room and not sitting next to him on his bed.
"Victor." Elizabeth got up from her chair and ran to hug the doctor, her eyes filled with tears. "A-Adam is in very bad shape. Please tell me you can save him."
Instead of responding to the girl and trying to comfort her, Victor gently pushed her away. At that moment his brain was in doctor mode. Showing emotions was unprofessional.
"I need to see him first." He said, since he couldn't promise anything. "I was told that Dr. Krempe was the first to treat him. What was his prognosis?"
“He said that… there was nothing to be done… He gave him two weeks to live, or less.” Elizabeth lowered her head, and more tears fell to the floor. “Half his body is…he’s burned, Victor… If you can’t save him, at least help him not to feel pain. Adam wants…no, Adam needs you by his side. You’ll agree to be his doctor, won’t you?”
“I…” Victor hesitated for a moment, as he already had other commitments to his brother. Although if Adam died, he could simply go home afterward, however cold that sounded. “Your uncle just fired me, so I’m free.” Besides, he had forgotten to write the rejection letter.
“I’m glad.” Elizabeth smiled weakly, looking a little relieved. “Not because of the firing, but because… You understand.” She sighed, and the doctor nodded. “I’ll send for your things from my uncle’s while you check on Adam. Your room should be ready by now.”
“Thank you, Elizabeth.” Victor excused himself with a slight bow and then entered his new employer’s room.
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His new patient, of course, had been left on an IV drip and sedatives, and was fast asleep. His breathing was hoarse and painful. And his body, from the waist up, was covered in freshly changed bandages, including his head. Even so, the white cloth already showed signs of being stained with yellow and red secretions. Something to be expected, unfortunately.
Victor's heart ached at the sight of Adam in that state. Although it was true that the man drove him crazy, Adam was one of the few people he considered a friend. If it weren't for the fact that he was engaged to Elizabeth, perhaps they…
No, there was no point in thinking about it. The best thing to do was to concentrate on what he could do for his patient so that he would suffer as little as possible in his final days.
So the first thing he did was sit down in a chair next to the bed and pick up Krempe's medical report from the nightstand. In addition to the obvious burns, Adam had a broken arm, a sprained ankle, and his left eye was beyond repair. However, no matter how much Victor glanced through the report, he noticed something didn't add up, which was strange because Krempe was one of the best doctors in the area (and one of his professors at the university). However, he soon remembered that the man was a frigid who adhered too closely to the 'laws of nature'.
While it was true that Adam was in critical condition and his life expectancy could be considered accurate, he still had a chance. At least from Victor's point of view.
If he could only convince Adam to undergo certain surgeries that weren't yet scientifically approved, he was sure that…
“Vic-tor…”
The surgeon jumped at the sound of his name. Adam had woken up, looking at him from the pillow with one eye open. He placed the report back on the nightstand and gently caught the bandaged hand that moved to try to touch him.
He didn't know if Adam felt no pain because of the medication or because his nerves were damaged in that area.
“You mustn't move or speak. You must rest. That's an order from your new doctor.” He scolded him softly, and before he could put his hand back on the bed, Adam had managed to interlock their fingers, which still seemed to have nerve endings because he let out a weak groan of pain, but he didn't let go of Victor.
“Victor… You are here…” His voice sounded strange and tired, perhaps on the verge of tears.
The doctor then placed his other hand on the back of his hand in a gesture of comfort, not caring that the blood soaked through the cloth and stained his palms. He was going to change his bandages in a little while anyway.
“Of course, Adam. I told you I’d think about it, and I did.” He lied to avoid unnecessary explanations. “And now I’m here.” He smiled as best he could despite the lump in his throat. This was affecting him more than he’d expected, but he wasn’t the type to give in to discomfort.
“Th…this…must be…paradise.” Adam’s red lips parted in a painful smile.
Victor closed his eyes and sighed. He hoped he wouldn’t have to add hallucinations to his list of symptoms.
“No. We’re in your room. The combination of pain and medicine sometimes causes delirium. Don’t worry, it’s normal. Now, I’m going to put you back to sleep because I need to check your wounds, okay?” He tried to pull his hands away, but Adam spoke.
“W-wait… Vic-tor…am I…going to die?” He whispered, his fear evident, tears soaking his bandages.
“That…” Victor lowered his head, glancing at the floor for a moment, then at their clasped hands. Then, with determination, his eyes met Adam’s again, and he shook his head. “Not if I can help it.”
Their hands remained clasped together for a while longer until Adam could no longer bear the pain and finally released him, slowly lowering his limb back onto the bed.
“Good…I knew…you would say that.” Adam closed his eyelid and took a deep breath as the surgeon rose from his chair to retrieve a syringe from his bag, which he then injected into the IV.
“By the way, Adam, there are certain procedures I’d like to try, and if I had your authorization…” He began to say while waiting for the injection to take effect, but his patient interrupted him.
“You have it. I trust…you, Victor.” Despite the circumstances, Victor felt his chest warm at his honesty. "Talk... to my housekeeper. He has... instructions to... do whatever you... ask..." With each word, his patient seemed to grow drowsier until he stopped speaking altogether.
After making sure Adam wouldn't wake up, Victor took a pair of gloves and bandages from his bag to begin examining his body.
If his assumptions were correct, Adam would survive, and Victor could then boast about it to his colleagues who prefer to pray rather than do their jobs properly.