Emotional Connection

pain

Two weeks later, and Ashley could finally take her dad home, though he was still on bed rest for the most part. She was taking care of him as well as she could, really, and Pete even let her have an extended lunch on the basis that someone would disapparate to their house and get her if anything major happened in that time, which was understandable.

Ash and Charlie didn't really speak anymore, even though he came into the hospital what felt like every other day with a new injury, it was the only real time they made contact. Which wasn't really surprising, considering She worked twelve hours a day every day of the week, and by the time it was over, it was already dark. That, and it was basically time for dinner. There were few things Ashley hated about winter, but the early darkness was one of them.

She helped her dad get comfy in the sofa bed he would be staying in, for the time being, seeing as it was closest to the kitchen and only two meters from the bathroom. "You ok here, dad?"

He nodded, settling back, "could you get my books from my room? Just so I've got something to do besides listening to the radio."

Ashley nodded, retrieving his books and setting them within reach of him before making sure he knew lunch was in the fridge for him and set back for the hospital. She breathed a sigh of relief, feeling like the weight of the world had been lifted from her shoulders now that he was home and officially out of the woods. It was a wonder she hadn't collapsed with it weighing down on her over the past several days.
Of course, she had to put it all to the back of her mind as soon as she stepped back into the hospital; after all, if she couldn't help those who needed her there, what was she doing there?

Pete nodded to her as she arrived back ready to treat the few minor burns that had shown up in the half-hour she'd been gone, taking one of the beds near the front.
Luckily it was a simple treatment, so she didn't have to worry too much about what she was doing, getting through everyone as quickly as possible before joining Pete at the back where he was engrossed with paperwork. "Everything ok?"

He glanced up at her before frowning again at the paperwork. "Yeah, just trying to figure this stuff out. We've switched suppliers, and they have weird paperwork that doesn't make sense to me."

Ashley nodded, leaning over his shoulder to try and figure it out. "Uh... no, I'm already lost. How about you stay trying to figure that out and I'll manage the front? I'll call you if anything major happens, or you'll hear the mass-casualties, whichever comes first."

Pete nodded, only half paying attention, so she left him to it, sitting by one of the vacant beds in the middle of the room and reading over a new medical journal she'd found and ordered, trying to ignore the growing hunger in her stomach. Skipping breakfast had not been a good idea.

"It's a bit slow in here." Someone announced, making her look up with an eyebrow raised.

"Thanks for jinxing it, Charlie. What've you injured this time?"

Smiling sheepishly, he held out his arm where three fairly large, way too deep gashes were still dripping blood.

"Oh, dear." She froze for a second before pointing to a bed, grabbing her bag from her cubby, handing him the whole bottle of potion to restore his blood volume, muttering every healing spell under the sun at his arm, trying to take as much pain away as she could, but there was only so much the spells would do before she had to physically sew him up again.

"Does this mean I'm on bed rest again?" He asked tentatively, trying not to distract her while she was stabbing him with a needle.

She smiled lightly, flicking her hair out of her face. This issues with having hair too short to tie up properly. "No, this doesn't warrant bed rest. But I want to keep an eye on t today, so if you could come back at lunch and then before the end of my shift?"

Charlie nodded, and she noticed his clenched hand.

"Are you in pain, is this hurting?" She stopped, looking up, concerned. With the amount of pain medication she'd given him, he shouldn't still be in pain.

He shook his head, "no, I'm just cold and trying not to shiver while you've got a needle in me."

She waved her wand silently, and not a second later, he was wrapped in a couple of blankets. "This is Romania in early December, Charlie."

"I know! It's my birthday in five days!" He grinned, "my brother Bill is coming to visit!"

Stopping mid-thread, she stared at him. "Four days is not a lot of time for me to get you something, Charl."

He stopped, mid breath, to jerk away from her, earning a scolding and a threat with her jinxing him to stay put. "You don't need to."

"Jinx you? We'll see." She laughed quietly.

"You don't need to get me anything." He mumbled quietly.

Finishing up, Ashley turned away to put everything back in her little bag. "You put up with me ranting about my dad when he was injured. I owe you."

He didn't say anything, refusing to meet her gaze, instead keeping his eyes trained on his arm. "Will it scar?"

"Possibly. Depends on which breed did it, whether or not I managed to sew it properly after you moved so suddenly." She glared, but couldn't really contain her smile. "You should be fine. Plus, you get to tell people a dragon attacked you and you survived."

Charlie grinned, shrugging, "that's pretty much the reason for every scar I have."

Ashley rolled her eyes, "tell me why I'm not surprised. Go on, get out of here," She shooed him away, "go get back to your job so I can do mine."

Grinning, he waved goodbye before running off back to his dragons.

Turning, she saw Pete leaning against the doorway to the office, arms crossed and an amused look on his face. "What?"

"Nothing," he smiled, raising his hands up in surrender. "But just so you know, Charlie's a wimp when it comes to pain. He was definitely in pain."

She frowned, turning back to the entrance, trying to figure out what Pete was saying. Technically, Charlie shouldn't have been in too much pain, and wouldn't he tell her if he was still in pain when she asked?