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 Two Months and a broken arm later...

Hope you guys are still there to read the fic..







Disclaimer: All characters recognisable belong to JKR. No copyright infringement intended.



 

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19. Living On A Prayer

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Ten hours.

 

Ten unbelievably long hours.

 

Time was sometimes a complete bitch. Ten fucking hours and no bloody word on how Scorpius was doing.

 

Albus sighed as he seated himself on the crowded bench. Next to him, Astoria Malfoy was sniffing, while her husband Draco had his arms around her, his face extremely bloodless as he looked at her. Once in a while, he whispered, “It’s ok. He’s going to be alright”, in his wife’s ears, making his wife whimper before she burst into a fresh bout of tears.

 

His eyes fell on the couple in front of him. Hermione Weasley was rocking slightly while her granddaughter slept peacefully in her arms. Once in a while tears fell from her eyes, and she swiped her hand furiously across her cheeks, making sure her tears never fell on Amelia. Her eyes shifted to her husband sitting on her right, who was instead looking rather worriedly at their daughter standing in a corner.

 

Rose’s eyes were wide open and extremely red. She had wound her arms tightly around herself and was breathing rather heavily, staring at the door of the operating ward, waiting for someone to come out and tell them that Scorpius was just fine.

 

Rose had screamed and shouted at her seniors, begging them to allow her to help save her husband. But they had refused straightaway, saying that she was currently emotionally distressed and therefore, ineligible to work on anyone, much less her husband.

 

However, while she was in the operating room debating with the senior healers, she had seen Scorpius’s lifeless form and had fainted, which is what had shocked Albus the most. According to him, Rose was one of the strongest and bravest people he had ever met. She wouldn’t flinch at the sight of a skull cracking. And she was a healer, for the love of Merlin! She was supposed to be okay with these things. Just as much as Albus was curious about what really made Rose faint, he was just as scared to know what really lay underneath that linen sheet. The entire sheet was stained. There was just so much blood…

 

He felt a gentle pressure on his shoulder. He looked up to see that it was Elora, looking extremely upset as she handed him his coffee. He tried to say something but no voice came out. The shock and possibility of losing his best friend had made him incapable of doing anything. She however seemed to have understood him. She nodded subtly and pressed a kiss to his hair, sniffling slightly.

 

He looked at her again and found the dried tear tracks on her cheeks. She looked towards Rose and then back at him, a choked sob escaping her.

 

This is so not what he had expected when he finally saw Elora again. He had believed that he would finally be with her and their baby at Burrow, having a fantastic Christmas party, meet his entire family once again, sit by the Christmas tree and singing carols, and finally be alone with Elora and let her know just how much he missed her and know how much he missed out on.

 

He wished things were that easy. But since he was half-Potter and half-Weasley and had a Malfoy for a best friend, things were bound to mess up.

 

Everything had been great after they had finally managed to overcome those murderers. They had managed to capture two alive. They were the new age death eaters, people who could not stand Muggleborns mingling with the wizarding world. However, their movement did not gather as much steam because the wizarding world was tired of wars. There were tougher laws guarding the population, and Harry Potter was the head of the Auror department of a country so no one doubted that the Aurors graduating from the Academy in England under his supervision were the finest skilled wizards in the world. So anyone wanting to start a revolution now had nothing to lose. And people of that sort were very few in number.

 

Those two were sentenced to be given the Dementor’s kiss, when they got an anonymous note at the Ministry of France, saying “The sun has just started setting, the real darkness is about to come.” The prisoners claimed that the note was from their leader who they addressed as “Milord”. They said that he would hunt them down and kill them, because of the oath they had taken which made them prefer death over imprisonment. They were terrified and were willing to testify and provide them with all the information they could give before their leader could kill more innocent Muggleborns. In return, they wanted safety from their master till he was caught.

 

The Ministries of France, England, and Italy fought over who got to take care of the prisoners. Ministry of England had won because they had the strongest Auror team, and they had claimed that without their help, the criminals would never have been caught. The Aurors did not take much time to decide when they should go because they knew they had to leave as soon as possible before the leader of the murderous gang found out about this. They had the Portkey connected to the alley right behind Mungo’s, thinking that it was one of the last places the Aurors were expected to take criminals.

 

But their assumption had been wrong. They had just come out of the alley, the criminals and the Aurors dressed as normal people and looked nothing out of ordinary. The criminals had enough jinxes on them that made sure they couldn’t escape, especially when Scorpius and Teddy were the ones in charge of keeping an eye on them, and chances of escaping were next to nothing. As they were about to enter the building, their feet froze. Before Albus could turn to look at his baffled colleagues, a noise that he hadn’t ever heard before shook the world around him. He felt his feet leaving the ground, and for a split second he was flying. He landed on a car few yards away from him, the side of his face landing on the windshield.

 

Every joint in his body was screaming in pain as he had lifted himself up. He had blinked furiously, begging for the dust to clear. When his ears had regained hearing, he could hear screams around him. He had coughed violently as he felt someone pulling him to his feet. It turned out to be Uncle Ron who looked relieved to see him alive.

 

He had wanted to enquire about the blast, but the dust had cleared and the sight in front of him made him speechless.

 

The front portions of the ground and first floor of Mungo’s had been blown apart. He had seen the terrified witches and wizards peeking out of the damaged hospital, their wands out trying to recreate the barrier that shielded them from the Muggle world. His stomach churned violently when his eyes fell on the mangled mess in front of the hospital. The stench of blood was too strong and he had felt his head spinning. His uncle had grabbed him and had shaken him hard, telling him to avoid looking at the mess, gather himself and walk inside the hospital before any one else got hurt. His eyes had searched the mess for any sign of any people he knew. He couldn’t recognize any back then and had walked straight into the hospital, hoping that Scorpius and Teddy were alive, if not unscathed.

 

But he had been so wrong.

 

He could see healers going in and coming out of the Room. He watched in horror as all of them seemed to be muttering instructions furiously; one potion after the other were being brought to the room. Scorpius was being worked upon in the SICOW or Special Intensive Care Operating Ward. Albus knew enough about Healing by now to be able to tell that the patients in SICOW were the ones who were just an inch away from death. His blood ran cold at the thought of Scorpius dying…His gaze fell on Rose who was following the Healers around, trying to get some information on how her husband was doing. But all they had managed to give her was pitiful looks and shakes of their heads.

 

Come on Scorpius! You can do this! Just be all right for Rosie’s sake, for Amy’s sake…Please...

 

He hadn’t realized that he was shaking terribly till he felt Elora wrapping her arms around him. She gently ran her hand across his cheeks, wiping the tears that had made its way down his face.

 

“Any news?” came a new voice. Albus turned to see his father walking towards Ron, his face extremely pale.

 

“No”, said Ron dejectedly, rubbing his forehead, “The kid was torn up bad. Rosie fainted after seeing his body. Merlin knows what really happened to him. How is it at the Ministry?”

 

“Utter chaos,” said Harry Potter bitterly, “Reporters are flooding the Ministry. They were giving Shacklebolt a rough time. Then they got after me and questioned my decision on including a—” he paused, giving Draco Malfoy a pitiful look, “Death Eater’s son in the plan. They all insinuated that Scorpius might have been behind it all and must have killed those two to keep his secret safe.”

 

“That’s ridiculous!” said Ron, looking enraged, “Talk about deteriorating quality of journalism. What did you say to them?”

 

“Told them to shove it,” said Harry, and Ron snorted, earning them dirty looks from people around them.

 

“So about the Muggles who have been killed...?”

 

“Yeah well…”

 

Albus tuned their conversation out, his blood boiling as he heard what the journalists insinuated. Hadn’t people gotten over their prejudices already? He remembered the murmurs that had taken place when Scorpius had gotten selected for Auror training, but they had subsided with time, especially when Scorpius was declared one of the finest Aurors to ever graduate from the Auror Academy.

 

Why hadn’t he volunteered to take care of the prisoners?! Why was he such an idiot to let Scorpius take care of the criminals? He’d rather die than his own best friend.

 

He looked again at Rose who was staring blankly at the wall in front of her and felt immense guilt burn him up from the inside. He had promised her that he wouldn’t let Scorpius get hurt, and he had failed to deliver that promise. He was an awful, awful person.

 

Albus’ ears perked up as he heard the door to Scorpius’ room open. He looked at the door, watching dejected looking Healers coming out. His heart sank as they all muttered “I’m sorry” to Rose, whose eyes went wide, and face paled instantly. She looked at the last and the most wizened wizard coming out of the room with the last string of hope. He looked quite shell-shocked.

 

“Please, Healer Waltham,” she pleaded, shaking miserably as she went closer to him, “Please tell me my husband’s fine.”

 

“Please,” begged Albus, who had joined them. The world around him was spinning rapidly as if someone grabbed his windpipe and squeezed it brutally, making it difficult for him to breathe.

 

Scorpius could not die. He just couldn’t.

 

The rest of the family too moved towards where they were standing. Astoria looked close to fainting whereas Draco held on to her, his face twisted in anguish. Healer Waltham seemed bewildered as he looked at all of them.

 

“He was torn up very badly,” he started, “We did as much as we could. His skin and inner organs have been repaired. However, we thought he wasn’t going to make it—”

 

“What do you mean ‘we thought’, Daniel?” asked a Healer close to them, indignantly, “His heart had stopped beating and there was no option of getting a transplant in such dire conditions. He was dead!”

 

“We were wrong, Sam!” interrupted Waltham before anyone could react to the word ‘dead’, “The moment I was about to leave the room, the young man breathed! I checked his pulse. It is almost back to normal! The Revival Potion has finally worked on him!”

 

“So you mean to say we were wrong?!”

 

“Yes. Healers can be wrong at times.”

 

“So you are saying—”

 

“Scorpius is fine?! He’s going to be alright?!” asked Ron, a look of absolute relief on her face.

 

“I didn’t think so, but he has a strong pulse, and is currently somehow awake. He’ll be back on his feet within a few days for sure!”

 

Albus felt as if somebody had pulled him out the sea he was drowning in. He felt his insides becoming infinitely times lighter, and a grin broke on his face.

 

Scorpius was going to be fine. Seriously! Why on earth was he so worried?!

 

Everybody turned to look at Rose, who was still looking pale and shaking miserably.

 

“Rosie!” said Albus happily, wrapping an arm around her “Did you hear that? Scorpius is alive. He will be back on his feet in no time.”

 

Rose turned to look him mutely, and blinked. She quickly shoved his arm off, and pushed the door to Scorpius’ room open despite the Healer saying, “Not ye—!”

 

Albus quickly followed Rose into the room. The room was huge and spotless white with the sunlight streaming in from the windows opposite the door. Scorpius was lying on a bed in the center of the room, with eyes slightly open. The white sheets covered his body from the toes till the chest. He looked ghostly pale, which Albus supposed had to do with excessive loss of blood. He had dark circles around his eyes, few scars on his face and one ghastly looking scar running from his left cheek till his abdomen, it seemed. Both his arms were bandaged heavily. There were no scary looking appliances of sorts seen in Muggle hospitals. Other than a long table in the corner containing Scorpius’ bloody clothes or rather the remains, a few chairs for the visitors, and a young female healer, the room was empty and surprisingly clean. He may have been living in the magical world, but things like these never ceased to surprise him.

 

Albus saw Scorpius’ lips twisted upwards in a faint hint of a smirk as Rose approached him slowly, eyes wide open.

 

“Weasley,” he croaked, his voice extremely gruff, “Haven’t you ever been told that you look hideous when you cry?”

 

“You know what Malfoy,” said Rose angrily, tears spilling from her eyes, “I don’t give a damn! Didn’t you understand when I told you to FUCKING TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF?!?”

 

Albus suppressed a snort as he heard Rose swear. He was sure that he would never see the day when she would swear. But then today was a day when anything one didn’t expect happened.

 

“Rose!” came Healer Waltham’s voice as he entered the room, looking scandalized, “This is a Hospital! Please keep your volume down. Your husband has barely recovered as of yet! Do you really want these words to be your first when you see your husband after a long time?! It is extremely inappropriate.”

 

Albus suppressed another snort as Waltham said that.

 







 

Ryan slowly opened his eyes as feeling the bright sunlight hit his face. He yawned widely before he realized he had a weight on his chest. He looked down to see a very familiar redhead sleeping peacefully with her head on his chest, and arms wrapped around his waist.

 

How on earth—?

 

He continued looking at Lily, memories of the previous night flashing by. Everything that had happened was absolutely unexpected. He hadn’t expected that kissing her was like breathing in fresh mountain air. He hadn’t expected to be blown away when he saw her naked for the first time. He hadn’t expected that during their lovemaking, he wouldn’t think about Rose even once. He hadn’t expected to cherish each and every moment he had with her the previous night. And last of all, he hadn’t expected just how much he wanted her.

 

To say that he was surprised by how passionate the encounter turned out to be, was an understatement of epic proportions. Her soft lips melting against his had ignited an inferno in him that just had to be extinguished. Her cries of his name, her soft moans, her nails digging in his skin had fuelled his desire rather than fulfilling it. And the way she looked at him while they moved together, made his blood boil. It had been a long time since he had seen such passion in someone’s eyes that were meant for him.

 

Was she in love with him?

 

He hoped not.

 

Ryan knew he was attracted to Lily, and perhaps he liked her as well. But he supposed it had to do with the fact that she was just so nice with him and kept him happy in his darkest times. Love was too strong a word to be used. It was a word that had to be used with extreme caution, for if misused, the effects could be catastrophic.

 

He didn’t want to lead her on. She was extremely brilliant who deserved so much better than the scum he was. He just wasn’t ready to commit to anyone when he was so hung up on his last love.

 

But Lily could make him forget his sadness in the moments they were together. He hadn’t believed that he would connect emotionally connect with a woman other than Rose, but he was wrong. Lily turned out to be the female friend he needed. It had barely been a month since they got reacquainted, but he had been able to bare his soul out to her. In the moments he had spent with her and Amelia, everything seemed so perfect that he knew he wouldn’t trade those moments with anyone for anything.

 

So was he willing to sacrifice something that had the potential to be magical just because of his insecurities and doubts on how it might actually turn out?

 

His eyes fell on her bare shoulders and all of a sudden he was very much aware of her naked body pressed against his. Feeling his body react, he tried to lift her arms from around his body while at the same time trying to avoid waking her up. But his efforts had been futile for she started stirring at his mere touch.

 

He watched as she blinked, and looked up at him, eyes widening in surprise.

 

She gave him a sleepy smile and mumbled, “Hey.”

 

Ryan wondered if there was something wrong with him because the moment she gave him that beatific smile, he forgot how to think. Her tousled red hair contrasted greatly with her extremely fair skin, her beautiful brown eyes stood out more than ever, and the soft expression on her face as she watched him made her look breathtaking.

 

Maybe giving them a chance wouldn’t be a bad idea.

 

“Hey”, he smiled softly, as she slowly got up to kiss him tenderly on his mouth. He knew trying to stop himself was a lost cause, and he sat up along with her, his hands curving around her neck pulling her face closer to his. Before he knew it, he had her pinned to the bed, his mouth and hands exploring her body, tracing the path he had taken countless number of times the previous night. She pulled him up to kiss him, her small hands running over his back. He nipped at her neck as their hips met, feeling her arch against him. He hissed softly as Lily’s teeth dug in his shoulder blades as she tried to muffle her scream, and too soon for his liking, it was over.

 

“Wow”, she breathed as they fell back against the sheets, sated and sweaty, “I don’t think I’ll be able to move for a week now.”

 

“I know”, he said, turning to his right to face her, “I’m the king, aren’t I?”

 

Whatever they had was brilliant. No other word summed it up better. All that he wanted to do now was tell her. But he had no clue how.

 

Lily cocked her eyebrow, “I wouldn’t really go that far…” she teased.

 

He looked closely at her, watching her lips turn upwards in a faint hint of a smirk, and he realized that he preferred the smile more. Wanting to wipe that smirk off, he started, “Really? Well Rose always—”

 

Lily stiffened beside him and he swore mentally. He had to ruin this moment for them.

 

The silence thickened, suffocating him. He looked at her, mentally begging her to not react to his little goof-up.

 

Who was he kidding? Mentioning another’s woman name in bed was a big no-no.

 

“It’s all right!” said Lily, jumping up from the bed, startling him, “This was to be only for a night.”

 

Ryan groaned as he saw her looking for her clothes, and putting them on one by one, “Lily, please…”

 

He couldn’t let her go. He had to stop her and let her know what he wanted. She couldn’t just leave him!

 

“I’ve got to go”, she said, her eyes blinking rather rapidly, “I’ve got lunch at the Burrow at one. It’s already ten. Got to get ready. So, see you.”

 

He sputtered as he saw her open the door and exit hurriedly. He stared blankly at the door, hoping that she would come back so that he could tell her that he wanted to give them a shot and that he wanted to be with her.

 

It seemed as if he was paying the price for his misdeeds years ago.

 

Why on earth did he have to be such a prick!?!







 

“Do I still have to take those potions?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“All twenty seven of them?”

 

“Yes!”

 

“But I am fine, aren’t I? My skin is glowing—”

 

“It’s not funny, Scorpius. Those potions will help in quick healing.”

 

“But they taste disgusting!”

 

“Stop being a baby!” said Rose exasperatedly, as she held a vial of blue coloured potion in her hands, “Come on now. Bottoms up!”

 

“Which one is this one?” asked Scorpius skeptically, as he took the vial from her and eyed his drink suspiciously.

 

“The Clot Potion; helps control bleeding. Just drink it and the bandages will come off in another two hours.”

 

“Rose, I have been here for four days now. When will I be allowed to leave Mungo’s?”

 

“Depends on how dutifully you take your potions!” she said, losing her patience. Grabbing the vial from him, she clutched his jaw and forced the potion down his throat.

 

“MERLIN, ROSE! That fucking hurts!!” roared Scorpius, his eyes watering immediately as he pushed her hand away from his jaw. Rose instantly regretted her decision of grabbing Scorpius’ jaw and spilling the potion in his mouth. His skull was still recovering, apparently, since his jaw seemed to be in tender condition.

 

“I am so sorry!” she exclaimed worriedly, “I thought—”

 

“That’s right, you thought!” said Scorpius scathingly, leaning against the propped up pillows on the bed and stretching his legs leisurely, “Honestly, Weasley, sometimes you think too much.”

 

Rose felt her heart clench as she heard him use that tone, the tone that had the talent to make her feel like a hurt six year old girl. In the past four days, Scorpius gave no sign, absolutely no sign that he remembered what had happened before he left for the mission. He was treating her the way he treated her before they had gotten married. He was a lot nicer after they had gotten married. If he hadn’t recognized Amelia, she would have been under the impression that he had lost his memory.

 

While he had been away, Rose’s imagination went into overdrive regarding what would happen when Scorpius would return. But now it seemed that it might take some time before that even happens. This was the first time she had him completely to herself. Her shift didn’t start for another two hours, and everybody had finally left, dropping in only once in a while to check on him. Albus had left with Amelia two hours ago, and now there was nobody else with them. She was hoping for a ‘I missed you’, or maybe even a kiss. But things hadn’t quite been that way.

 

He seemed distant from her. She felt as if the intimacy they had had disappeared somewhere. There was no difference in the way he treated Albus and her. She had even dressed up a little and done various things to get his attention, but no avail at all. Had he really forgotten those heart-stopping, earth-shattering moments, or had he forgotten them all?

 

“Scorpius?” she asked tentatively, hoping against hope, “Do you remember anything that happened before you left?”

 

“Why? What had happened before I left?” asked Scorpius, raising his eyebrows, “I can’t really recall anything…”

 

Her heart hammered in her chest as she heard his words.

 

Oh dear God, has he forgotten it all?!

 

“Don’t you remember confessing something to me?” asked Rose, not really knowing if she wanted to hear his answer.

 

“I had confessed something?” asked Scorpius surprised, “What exactly did I tell you?”

 

Rose started feeling really worried.

 

“That you were in love with me,” she said quietly, feeling her insides becoming cold.

 

Scorpius stared at her for a moment before bursting into laughter.

 

“Rose!!! You have a terrible sense of humor!” he gasped, still laughing hard, “Why would I say something as preposterous as that?! I do love you but not in the way you think I do!!!”

 

Rose felt as if a bludger had hit her in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her, her insides disappearing instantly. She felt tears stinging her eyes as the current scenario crashed upon her.

 

Scorpius didn’t love her. Had he lied before he left? But it wasn’t possible! Why would Scorpius lie about being in love with her? It just didn’t make any sense at all!!

 

She looked at him through her tear-filled eyes, watching him as he looked back at her worriedly.

 

“Rose, are you okay?” he asked, his brows furrowing.

 

“I’m fine—absolutely fine,” she choked out, feeling as if somebody had ripped out her heart and she was bleeding to death.

 

All of it had been a sham. Everything that had happened till now was one. Her dreams of having a proper family with Scorpius would perhaps always be dreams. She remembered the time when Scorpius had broken her heart for the first time unintentionally. It had hurt.

 

But thinking that she was so close to getting what she had only ever wanted, and then knowing that she wouldn’t get it, at least in the near future…pain for her now had been redefined.

 

She had to get out of here and let her tears out, or she might do something she currently had no clue about.

 

Rose ignored the surprised “where are you going?!” from Scorpius as she turned around as moved towards the door. But before she could open the door, she felt Scorpius grabbing her arm and twisting her around to face him. Before she could ask him why he had stopped her or reprimand him for leaving the bed when he is supposed to be resting completely, he planted his lips on hers, making every coherent thought leave her mind.

 

Her eyes closed of their own accord as the lips that she had been dying to taste were finally on hers. His lips caressed hers gently as he cupped her face with his hands. Her insides, which seemed to have disappeared a few minutes ago, for sure had reappeared because they were twisting in a bizarrely painful yet delightful way. Feeling her chest burn due to lack of oxygen, she pulled away, eyes opening halfway only. She held on to the robe he was wearing, feeling extremely faint.

 

“I thought that you knew when to take me seriously and when not,” said Scorpius huskily, breathing heavily as he brushed his lips against hers, “How can I not remember this?”

 

“I’ll kill you if you do that again,” whispered Rose, feeling her heart expand in joy and relief, “That one hurt!”

 

“What makes you think I’ll do a repeat performance? And I am very sorry.”

 

He captured her lips in a kiss that sent her pulse racing and her mind clouding over with lust. The kiss felt liberating. She had honestly waited so long for this moment. It may have been a little over a month, but it felt like centuries. His lips trailed down her jaw, his tongue moving over the special spot behind her earlobe that always made her crazy. Her hand of its own accord, moved beneath the hem of his shirt, touching his abdomen. He hissed against her skin, pulling her back to reality.

 

“I’m so sorry!” she squealed, pushing his body a little away from her before she got a little intense.

 

Scorpius was recovering and there she was trying to get him to sleep with her. She honestly believed she had more self control than that.

 

“Sorry for what?” exclaimed Scorpius, looking amazed, “Rose, I’m fine! My ribs healed yesterday.”

 

“But you are still recovering!”

 

“Ma’am, I assure you that the uh—organ required for the current activity is functioning perfectly fine!”

 

“But Scorpius,” she said, flushing furiously, “You just had your potions. You should rest. Your arms haven’t healed completely. Look at the bandages—”

 

“Get over it, Rose!” shouted Scorpius, looking annoyed, “I have been conscious for the past four days, and it’s only now, I’ve got you truly alone. I have missed you like anything. I have been going mad seeing you walking around and examining me when all I want to do is kiss the hell out of you and shag your brains out—!”

 

Rose flushed a brighter red, closing the door to the room. Scorpius was being louder and saying things she knew she did not want others to know.

 

“—And if you’re worrying about me feeling any pain, then don’t. You are worth everything to me.”

 

Rose hated it when Scorpius talked that way. Everything in her burned in a very, very pleasant way and always made her listen to what he had to say to her.

 

“That’s a lot of trash, you know!” she said. To her horror, she realized that her tone was extremely weak, and from the teasing grin on his face, she was in big trouble.

 

“Yeah, but then you like it,” he smirked, inching closer to her.

 

She didn’t protest at all when he pulled her into his arms and kissed her passionately, his fingers tangling themselves in her hair. Nor did she protest when he pushed her Healer robes off her shoulder.

 

Protesting seemed a lost cause, all right.

 

Rose whimpered against his mouth as his coarse, scarred hands slipped under her shirt, over her lower back, pulling her closer to him. She was vaguely aware of him seating her on his bed, his hands now moving over her legging-clad thighs, holding her in that very possessive way that thrilled her to the core.

 

She clutched his robes in her fingers and pulled him down along with her as she lay on his bed. A faint sound from her surroundings reminded her of the place she was in.

 

She tried again, her brain extremely foggy and mushy as he gently undid her shirt, his fingers drawing patterns on her revealing skin that gave her goosebumps, “Scorpius—hospital—not right...”

 

“I always believed,” started Scorpius huskily as he sat up a little, meeting her lust-filled gaze that betrayed her, “That there was something incredibly sexy about shagging my wife at her workplace. And you know what? I have never been more turned on.”

 

Rose breathed deeply as she looked at him incredulously, her brain regaining some sense of thinking.

 

He wants to shag me now? Here? No way!

 

“You do realize that you are one of the lucky ones who have a private ward even though there are people more injured than you are! How can you think of misusing your luck?!” she breathed, trying to not pay attention to his fingers which were moving in circular motion on her arm.

 

Scorpius breathed heavily and then looked at her, his eyes still dark, “First of all, my parents donate a whole lot of money to this place every year. So I have the right to be admitted in a private ward. Second of all, a person more injured than me would have been dead. The rest are better off. And third of all, you plus I plus a private room is an equation I quite enjoy, so naturally misusing my luck is the way to go.”

 

Rose opened her mouth to retort, but was cut off as Scorpius bruised her mouth with his. She moaned into his mouth as his tongue met hers. Her head was spinning with pleasure. Okay, so shagging was more than an acceptable option.   

 

Her eyes fluttered closed as she felt his one hand slipping behind her back to unhook her bra and the other hand moving tantalizingly slowly towards the button of her skirt. If he didn’t do it, Rose was sure she would!

 

“Healer Ro-OH MY GOD!”

 

Rose’s eyes snapped open as Scorpius groaned into her neck at being interrupted. Blushing furiously, she sat up slowly, buttoning her shirt. She looked at the door to see Scorpius’ healer looking mortified as she stared at the floor.

 

“Yes, Lindsey?” asked Rose weakly, her knees shaking as she got off the bed, and Scorpius fell on his back on it, looking extremely disgruntled.

 

“Healer Waltham wants to see you. He said he needed to talk to you. Bu-but I suppose you can join him later!”

 

“No!” said Rose loudly, while Scorpius whined ‘she said it was okay to meet him later!’, “I’ll go now! Lindsey, you’ll keep mouth shut about whatever you witnessed!”

 

Rose knew there was no point in warning the healer. The word would spread around anyway.

 

“Oh yes!” Lindsey squealed, and she left immediately.

 

Flushing, Rose turned to look at Scorpius.

 

“Twelve hours,” he said simply, making her look at him in confusion.

 

“What?”

 

“For all of Mungo’s to know that you seduced your recovering husband and he succumbed to your charms!”

 

“I did not try to seduce you!” said Rose indignantly, pulling on her healer robes, “It was you who made the first move!”

 

“Really?” he asked, cocking his head, “You just had to wear that tiny brown skirt and knock things off to the floor and bend quite suggestively! And quite clever on your behalf for leaving the top two buttons undone; got a glimpse good enough that made me want to rip the shirt off your body. And biting your lip in front of me? Honestly woman, what do you think you were playing at??”

 

If Rose had been blushing before, her entire face was on fire now. Had she really been that obvious?

 

“We-well”, she stammered, trying to come up with a come back, “Shut up!”

 

Scorpius snorted loudly, “I thought you were capable of coming up with something better than that!”

 

“Whatever.”

 

“And yes, we are going to finish what we started. Your eyes say it all, Rose. I know you want me.”

 

“Dream on, Malfoy.”

 

“I’ll follow you, and once you are done with the conversation, I’ll pull you this room and give you a good time, just the way you want it. What do you say?”

 

With her head held high, she quietly opened the door and left the room without responding.

 

As she walked to Waltham’s office, which was nearby, a wide grin broke on her face. She had been so worried that things might change between her and Scorpius for the worse. But she was glad she was wrong. She honestly couldn’t wait for Scorpius to get discharged from Mungo’s so that they could sort everything out.

 

Feeling extremely giddy, she knocked on the office door and entered when she got the required response from inside.

 

“Your husband’s been making excellent progress, Rose,” said the senior Healer, his eyes twinkling as he took in Rose’s exuberant mood when she entered the room, “I really am amazed at how well he’s doing. All his bones gave grown back. All his main organs have grown back. His torn muscles and ligaments will recover in another two days. Who would believe that this man had almost died! The rate at which he’s making progress is not normal!”

 

“But sir”, said Rose, beaming positively, “Whatever’s ever happened with Scorpius is never normal. He had got this going on almost since he was born, I suppose. I would like to state that his jaw is still hurting, so maybe we need to rethink the amount of Strengthening Potion that was added to Skele-Gro.”

 

“That would be taken care of for sure, meanwhile, have a seat.”

 

Rose sat down, feeling slightly worried as she saw Waltham’s expression turning a bit serious.

 

“Even though Scorpius is physically recovering quite rapidly, his mental health is the area of concern currently.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“We all know that a person who has gone through a traumatizing experience usually goes through post-traumatic stress. The greater and the more disturbing the trauma is, the longer the stress prevails. It can become quite lethal if the stress is allowed to get the better off him. Tragedies can either being people together or tear them apart. He made out alive when everybody had written him off. He might become extremely possessive and protective of his family and friends because the recent brush with death might have made him realize the people he might have lost. Please make sure that he always has some company.”

 

“But Healer Waltham”, said Rose, feeling some of the happiness ebb away, “Scorpius hasn’t shown any signs of depression.”

 

“It is because you have never seen him act that way. At night, when you go back home with your daughter, Lindsey has reported that Scorpius does become quite irritable and prefers it if he is left alone. She also has noticed his habit of sitting on his bed and staring at the walls for hours. Idle minds are the most dangerous ones. He should not be given any idle time to dwell on what had happened to him.”

 

Rose let out a breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding. She sank back in her seat, letting her senior’s words wash over her.

 

How could she have forgotten the stress that came after a huge tragedy? Was she so relieved about Scorpius being alive that she forgot about the delicate way he was currently supposed to be handled in? Why hadn’t Scorpius confided in her regarding his problems? He hadn’t shied away earlier.

 

“Okay,” she said slowly, “So what needs to be done?”

 

“As I said, never leave him alone. Try and keep him in as cheerful an atmosphere as possible. He may need a constant reassurance that people he loves would never leave him. Shower him with love. There are going to be noticeable differences in his behaviour, some of which you might have noticed already. Avoid all the bad news possible for the time being,” he paused to ruffle through the medical report in his hands, “He happens to have about two dozens of potions everyday, which is a constant reminder of what he has gone through. Hormones too can manipulate his mood…”

 

Rose resisted the urge to do a James, and let out a low whistle as Waltham ratted out the various side-effects possible. There was a long road ahead to complete recovery. For a second, Rose wondered if she would be able to handle it all, if they were going pull through the tunnel.

 

But then, the thought lasted only a second. She was half-Weasley, half-Granger! Determination and the will to succeed were in her blood. She knew she would never give up on him. She always had faith in him, and always would. They would succeed with flying colors.

 

“…Coming to when he can leave Mungo’s, I’ll suggest another two to three days. We’ll do some final tests on him, and if he passes, he’s free to leave.”

 

Rose gave him a small smile, “So I guess I better get back. Scorpius might be getting a little impatient.”

 

“Of course,” he said as she got up from her seat, “But once you do enter his room, please close the door properly and use a silencing charm if you need!”

 

She froze in her way to the door, and turned to look at Waltham incredulously. He gave her a small wink, and turned to rustle through Scorpius’ medical report.

 

She groaned inwardly as she got a feeling that Waltham might have been the little source of noise that she had heard earlier while Scorpius was kissing the crap out of her. When she reached the door, she realized that the door had been closed halfway only, effectively hiding Scorpius who was standing outside, and looking at her guiltily. He had followed her, just like he had claimed. Rose felt her heart clench as she realized that he had heard everything they had discussed, and everything Waltham had said was in fact true.

 

“I promise I’ll cooperate”, he whispered, staring at the floor, his ears flushing an endearing shade of red, making her smile. She really had missed this trait of his. He looked up at her to meet her gaze, and she saw the promise in his eyes. He took her hand in hers and squeezed it reassuringly. Now they knew they both had each other. Getting over obstacles wouldn’t be much of a problem now. She opened her mouth to speak when Waltham called her.

 

“Yes?” she asked, turning around to face her senior.

 

“Is there someone at the door??” he asked, frowning.

 

“No. Not at all,” she said swiftly, now facing him completely and pushing the door further to it’s frame to hide Scorpius. She still hadn’t let go of his hand and had effectively blocked the view of their entangled fingers from Waltham.

 

“There is something else I need to talk to you about. It is something I had discovered yesterday while going through Scorpius’ report. I didn’t know when would be the right time to bring it up, but I figured it is better to let you know now rather than later.”

 

“Okay.”

 

“You already have a child, right?”

 

“Yes,” she said, quite unsure of where the Waltham was heading.

 

“Are you planning to have more?”

 

“Yes. Definitely.”

 

Waltham sighed as he finally put the report down on his table. He took off his glasses and looked at her seriously.

 

“Scorpius has been having twenty seven potions a day for the past four days, and may have to continue the intake for at least a week. And most of them have black rain scarab powder, which we know can cause long-term infertility if taken in large quantities.”

 

Rose felt Scorpius’ fingers becoming limp in hers letting her know that he too had heard what Waltham had said.

 

“So you’re saying Scorpius and I won’t be able to have children anymore?” asked Rose, feeling faint. Her heart seemed to have stopped and fallen right through her ribcage to onto her stomach.

 

Waltham looked at her sadly. “He would be consuming more than the borderline healthy amount, which would lead to irreversible infertility. However, I’ll get in touch with Healer Kerensky about this. She can let you know about the various options available. I didn’t see this coming; I am very sorry, Rose.”

 

Rose felt Scorpius pulling away from her grip. And she didn’t stop him.

 

She nodded at Waltham for the last time and moved out of the door, absolute disbelief filling her.

 

Why wasn’t anything ever fair in her life? She had feelings for Scorpius when she was eleven, but they weren’t reciprocated until nearly fifteen years later! When she found out that her feelings were returned, Scorpius had to disappear off to Paris to look for Muggle-killing filth. And when he had finally returned, he had returned almost dead. And when he did end up surviving, Rose knew that all she wanted to do was to finally be his wife and live life happily ever after. But since Lady Luck was being ever so kind to her, she had to snatch away the happiness that was coming their way.

 

She blinked when she realized that she had reached Scorpius’ room. She looked inside to see Scorpius curled into a ball on his bed, eyes shut tight. She walked towards him, her insides crumbling with each step forward. She knew he loved Amelia, but she also knew how much he wanted to have his own children as well.

 

She sat down on the bed so that his back was facing her.

 

“Scorpius,” she whispered, shaking him slightly, mentally begging him to wake up and say something. Opening up emotionally had always been a task very difficult for him. He called it a sign of weakness and he had claimed that he was not weak. It had always been that way ever since they became friends. She hoped desperately that he wouldn’t shut out pain as he used to before. It may just make things worse.

 

She waited for five minutes for him to respond, but he didn’t even open his eyes.

 

“I have my shift starting in about ten minutes”, lied Rose for her shift started over an hour later, “So I have to leave.”

 

She again looked at him, waiting for him to say something. Ignoring the sinking feeling in her stomach, she got up from the bed and bent down to press a kiss to the side of his head.

 

She coughed loudly as she stood up straight and swiped her hands furiously across her cheeks as tears escaped her eyes.

 

“Bye,” she whispered, “If you need me, let me know.”

 

She turned around and exited the room swiftly.

 

The road to recovery was not just long any more. It was longer and tougher.

---

 

AN:-
I know it has been a long time since i updated. Got myself involved in a lil Ski accident. Epitome of grace, moi. :'(


Or may be it happened because I dared to injure Scorpius.

I know things are not really looking up for our favourite couple but then life cannot always be fun and games..right?

I have no clue if Black Scarabs can induce low motility. So Dont sue me.

Please, PLEASE share your thoughts on this chapter...even if you hated it...I love to hear from you guys and it would be great to hear from you once again! :)