#they're sisters! now cry. at the very last pages like. not even a week into the year. like we finished Parasite right at New Year. yk.

[hongmingoo]

Untitled,

Pairing: Jeon Wonwoo x reader

Synopsis: Nothing could have ever prepared Wonwoo for this. Nothing. Those six months of preparation couldn't even help him stand on his feet now. His world has crumbled, shattered– destroyed beyond repair. 

Inspired by: I can't run away | SEVENTEEN HHU, In the stars | Benson Boone

Word count: 1.2k

Warnings: MINORS DNI | Major character death, critical ilness, heavy angst, very slight mention of suicide, mental illness, self loathe, hurt. Let me know if i miss anything.

Today is another day of him walking through the day in mute, like a zombie. Wake up, cold shower, coffee, go to work, came home, ate dinner at Joshua's and went home to sleep. Before sleep, he washed up, and sat up at his desk to write a journal. To keep his sanity. His fingers caressed a photo of you, hidden in between the pages. 

Without warning, his tears fall yet again. He doesn't even remember when was the last time he could fully smile. His heart broke at the sight of you, his dearest, in a pale yellow summer dress, smiling so brightly while staring at the sun. Wonwoo wept, with all his heart until he fell asleep on the desk from exhaustion.

…

"Wonwoo-yah. I really appreciate you loving my sister this much. But you being like this broke my heart to pieces. Let her go, Wonwoo. It has been 5 years since she passed. I don't think Y/n would've wanted to see you in pain like this. Please, talk to us," Joshua, his brother-in-law said, his voice cracking a bit.They were in the middle of drinking. It was their weekly routine. 

Wonwoo raised his head to look up at him. He saw that tears were filling the waterline in his eyes. His lips turned up a bit in a sad smile. 

"I can't," the younger man croaked, his clenched fist raised in the air before punching at his chest weakly. Wonwoo choked on his own sobs before he broke down completely, for the nth time. 

His mind brought him back to the memory of 5 years ago.

He was still blissfully resting in your arms. But somehow, you looked restless. There was something on the tip of your tongue, but you couldn't bring yourself to say it. Of course, he noticed this so he asked you what was wrong.

"Do you remember that I said that I was going for a check up at the hospital last week? Because I collapsed the day before," you asked.

"Yeah. What about it?" He replied, looking up at you with loving eyes. You took a deep shuddering breath, and that somehow alerted him that he's going to hear something that he won't like. 

"I was diagnosed with cancer. The same one that killed my mom. And they're already in my backbone…" you uttered and Wonwoo felt like his gut had been punched very strongly. His ears are ringing and his breath hitches. When he doesn't reply, you added,

"The doctors predicted that I'll only have 6-12 months at most due to how fast they're progressing. I- I'm sorry, Won" you broke down, pulling him into your embrace when you see the broken expression plastered across his beautiful face. 

"Why are you sorry? It's not your fault, it's just–" he choked on his tears too, holding onto you so tightly. 

What he said was true, it wasn't your fault. None of these are. But somehow it felt like it was. You never want to make him cry, never want to be the reason for his sadness and misery. But, not telling him about this news just to avoid seeing him sad would be unfair to him. Wonwoo is your husband, your lover. He deserves to know. After all, it takes two sides to make a relationship work. 

"Let's try everything we can okay? Every possible treatment available. Every therapy, and every remedy we can find. You'll be with me all along the way, right?" You assured, trying desperately to lighten up the heavy air between the two of you. 

Your small hands cups his beautiful face, gently wiping away the tears that cascading down his soft skin. 

"I love you, Wonwoo. So so much" 

"I love you too, Y/n. Please don't leave me"

As promised, you guys tried every possible treatment you can, and you stayed strong through it all, no matter how painful it is for you. Wonwoo could see how battered your small body got after every chemo, but you still smiled so sweetly at him. It made him feel guilty at some point to see you hurting like that. But he's a selfish man. He wants you to be with him forever. He doesn't want you to leave him. Even though he painfully knows that you dying would mean you won't be hurting anymore.

It's in the middle of the fourth month that you collapsed again, and this time it takes you 2 attempts at CPR and 24 hours to regain consciousness. The guilt is eating away at Wonwoo, seeing you so weak and fragile– very much in pain. He couldn't bring himself to see you like this. And yet, he didn't say anything but wished you would fight through it all for him. Because you love him. And you wouldn't leave someone you love. 

But fate seems to hate him for thinking so, for being so selfish. 

2 weeks after the 6th month, you breathed your last, in his arms, with tears staining your pale face. Wonwoo hated himself for making you cry even in your last moments, that your last words being you're sorry, instead of saying you love him. 

In that moment, he was sure that you hated him too, for forcing you to go through all those painful chemotherapies, for taking disgusting meds, for not being able to be strong and let you go. You were sick and in pain, but he still clings to you like a child. 

And for that, he refused to forgive himself. He let himself be in the deepest darkness possible, loathes himself so much that no one could save him. He would then go see you and apologize for being so stupid. He believed that he was the reason that you were in so much agony. 

But, so deep in his heart, he desperately wished that you would forgive him. That you'd tell him it's okay, it was normal to be afraid. So that he can be free from his misery. He wished that you'd pet his head and tell him you still love him despite his stupidity, so that he can breathe properly again. 

That night, after 5 long years, you appeared in his dream. Looking so ethereal like a literal goddess. You took him in your loving embrace, kissed his face and hair so gently like he's so fragile. You let him weep in your arms for who knows how long. 

"I love you so much, Wonwoo. Please don't be in pain anymore" 

His eyes shot open, seeing he's passed out at Joshua's couch as usual. The windows are open a bit to let the cool air in. And for the first time in a while, he can breathe properly. The heavy feelings confining his chest have dissipated and he believed that it's your doing. 

"I love you, Y/n. Thank you for staying with me"

And that night, Wonwoo realized that you might not be there with him physically, but you'll always be there in his heart and mind. 

-Fin-

[cacaitos]

like maybe in another timeline I simply would not have cared abt her as a concept but since her Andromeda Stories took the bother of kickstarting the annoying incest streak of this year I simply feel contempt for her 💀.

can I say I dont precisely like takemiya again 💀

[beardedmrbean]

Okay so skin to skin for babies and parents can help their bonds

But can that apply to siblings as well? I mean im an older brother but I was 3 when my sister was born.

Asking for reference

I'm not a professional at all, so starting with something precious.

A sweet viral photo is touting the benefits of skin-to-skin contact with newborn babies.

Last year, a Danish family advocacy organization called Forældre og Fødsel shared a Facebook photo of a father and young son practicing skin-to-skin contact with newborn twins. Last week, the South Africa-based Facebook page NINO Birth reposted the photo, with the caption translated into English.

The translated caption explains a Swedish practice in which babies around 700 grams (roughly 1.5 pounds) are placed on a parent's bare chest for skin-to-skin contact instead of an incubator.

"A Swedish Professor, Uwe Ewald, came to Hvidovre hospital (Denmark) to talk about his revolutionary practice, where even very small premature babies are taken out of the incubator to be skin to skin with their parents as much as possible," notes the text.

"Uwe Ewald points out that the parent's chest regulates the temperature better than an incubator," the post continues. "Skin-to-skin contact helps the baby to breathe better. The child becomes more calm and gains weight faster. Research shows that parents bacterial flora -- compared with hospital bacteria -- reduces the risk of serious infections in these delicate children." ____________

some of that at the end sounds like hippie stuff, but they're professional baby taker care of ers so deffer to them.

Up next is Stanford, they're smart people I think ______________________

“Skin-to-skin time right after delivery can be a wonderful, strong start for both mother and baby,” says obstetrician Dr. Susan Crowe, a clinical associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Stanford School of Medicine. Which is why, whenever possible, Crowe advocates that newborns be placed immediately upon the mother’s abdomen at delivery. (A recent study published in JAMA Pediatrics shows that there may be benefits to waiting, even a few minutes after delivery, to sever the umbilical cord.)

“After the cord is cut, the baby should be moved up to the mother’s chest,” says Crowe. It’s something traditional cultures have always done instinctively and is now understood scientifically as an incredibly beneficial way to welcome a baby for both mother and child. “The skin-to-skin contact causes a release in oxytocin—known as the ‘love hormone’—in the mom. It helps the uterus contract, which reduces bleeding, and also warms up the mother’s body, which comforts the baby and results in less crying and lower rates of hypoglycemia,” Crowe explains.

“Skin-to-skin contact causes a release in oxytocin–known as the ‘love hormone.’”

The rush of oxytocin not only makes Mom a super warm and cozy place for a newborn to nestle, it also enables mothers and babies to recognize each other’s unique scent. In addition, it triggers the newborn’s instinct to find and latch on to the breast—something that everyone thinks is so easy and instinctual for both mother and child, that is, until the moment arrives and the awkwardness is all too real. A 2012 study published in Neonatology showed that 95 percent of mothers who experienced skin-to-skin contact with their newborns were breastfeeding exclusively 48 hours after delivery, and 90 percent continued exclusive breastfeeding six weeks later; yet another reminder of just how important our hormones are in determining how we function.  ______________

Keeps going, they don't mention siblings, the also don't mention fathers which other ones do. I would say you're likely to get the same effect regardless of the person's relationship to the newborn/infant so sibling thing would probably be a good and effective thing.

:::::disclaimer I am not a professional, please consult one before saying anything with full confidence:::::

[astroprompts]

✧ —𝐇𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐓𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐃𝐈𝐀𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐔𝐄 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐓𝐒 [𝐀𝐂𝐓 𝟐]

𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓'𝐃 𝐈 𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐒

“You ready for more yet?”

“You haven't met him yet, you haven't had the chance.”

“The sun comes up and the world still spins.”

“Now the work at home begins.”

“So what'd I miss?”

“My home sweet home, I wanna give you a kiss.”

“I traveled the wide, wide world and came back to this.”

“I haven't even put my bags down yet.”

“I guess I better think of something to say.”

𝐂𝐀𝐁𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐓 𝐁𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐋𝐄 #𝟏

“We fought for these ideals, we shouldn't settle for less.”

“Oh, if the shoe fits, wear it.”

“It's too many damn pages for any man to understand!”

“Welcome to the present, we're running a real nation.”

“Don't lecture me about the war, you didn't fight in it!”

“You think I'm frightened of you, man?”

“Damn, you're in worse shape than the national debt is in.”

“Turn around, bend over, I'll show you where my shoe fits.”

“Such a blunder, sometimes it makes me wonder why I even bring the thunder.”

“You wanna pull yourself together?”

“They're being intransigent.”

“You have to find a compromise.”

“They don't have a plan, they just hate mine.”

𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐄 𝐀 𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐊

“They think me Macbeth, ambition is my folly.”

“Do you have to live an ocean away?”

“Take a break.”

“There's a little surprise before supper and it cannot wait!”

“I'll be there in just a minute, save my plate.”

“Hey, our kid is pretty great.”

“Run away with us for the summer.”

“I've got so much on my plate.”

“We can all go stay with my father.”

“There's a lake I know in a nearby park.”

“You and I can go when the night gets dark.”

“In a letter I received from you two weeks ago, I noticed a comma in the middle of a phrase. It changed the meaning, did you intend this?”

“I'm coming home this summer at my sister's invitation.”

“I know you're very busy, I know your work's important.”

“You're not joining us? Wait--”

“I know I'll miss your face.”

“Screw your courage to the sticking place.”

“Take a break and get away.”

“If you take your time, you will make your mark.”

𝐒𝐀𝐘 𝐍𝐎 𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒

“There's trouble in the air, you can smell it.”

“I hadn't slept in a week.”

“You've never seen a bastard orphan more in need of a break.”

“I know you are a man of honor.”

“I'm so sorry to bother you at home.”

“I don't know where to go, and I came here all alone.”

“I don't have the means to go on.”

“You're too kind, sir.”

“I don't know how to say no to this.”

“I wish I could say that was the last time.”

“Uh oh, you made the wrong sucker a cuckold.”

“Time to pay the piper for the pants you unbuckled.”

“So was your whole story a setup?”

“Stop crying, God dammit, get up!”

“I didn't know any better!”

“I am helpless, how could I do this?”

“Just give him what he wants and you can have me.”

“Whatever you want, if you pay.”

“How can I say no to this?”

“Nobody needs to know.”

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐎𝐎𝐌 𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐈𝐓 𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐍𝐒

“I guess I'm gonna have to finally listen to you.”

“Well, hate the sin love the sinner.”

“Decisions are happening over dinner.”

“No one else was in the room where it happened.”

“No one really knows how the game is played.”

“I know you hate him, but let's hear what he has to say.”

“Maybe we could solve one problem with another.”

“Wouldn't you like to work a little closer to home?”

“We never really know what got discussed.”

“Click boom! Then it happened.”

“You got more than you gave.”

“When you got skin in the game, you stay in the game.”

“You don't get a win unless you play in the game.”

“I wanna build something that's gonna outlive me.”

“If you stand for nothing then what'll you fall for?”

“The art of the compromise, hold your nose and close your eyes.”

“We want our leaders to save the day, but we don't get a say in what they trade away.”

“We dream of a brand new start, but we dream in the dark for the most part.”

𝐒𝐂𝐇𝐔𝐘𝐋𝐄𝐑 𝐃𝐄𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐃

“Sometimes that's how it goes.”

“No one knows who you are or what you do.”

“They don't need to know me, they don't like you.”

“You'll always be adored by the things you create.”

“People think you're crooked.”

“I've always considered you a friend.”

“I swear your pride will be the death of us all.”

𝐂𝐀𝐁𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐓 𝐁𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐋𝐄 #𝟐

“The only person you have to convince is me.”

“Revolution is messy, but now is the time to stand.”

“He knows nothing of loyalty.”

“Everything he does betrays the ideals our nation.”

“You must be out of your GODDAMNED mind.”

“We're too fragile to start another fight.”

“Frankly it's a little disquieting you would let your ideals blind you to reality.”

“Have you an ounce of regret?”

“Before he was your, friend he was mine.”

“I bet you were quite a lawyer.”

𝐖𝐀𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐓𝐎𝐍 𝐎𝐍 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄

“Every action has an equal opposite reaction.”

“Try not to crack under the stress, we're breaking down like fractions.”

“We smack each other in the press, and we don't print retractions.”

“I get no satisfaction witnessing his fits of passion.”

“This prick is asking for someone to bring him to task.”

“I'll pull the trigger on him, someone load the gun and cock it.”

“If we don't stop it, we aid and abet it.”

“Well, somebody has to stand up to his mouth.”

“If there's a fire you're trying to douse, You can't put it out from inside the house.”

“Follow the money and see where it goes.”

𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄

“I wanna give you a word of warning.”

“I don't know what you heard, but whatever it is, [name] started it.”

“I need a favor.”

“Relax, have a drink with me.”

“Let's take a break tonight.”

“Pick up a pen, start writing.”

“I wanna talk about what I have learned.”

“You have to serve, you could continue to serve.”

“Your position is so unique.”

“Why do you have to say goodbye?”

𝐖𝐄 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖

“You are uniquely situated by virtue of your position.”

“Virtue is not a word I'd apply to this situation.”

“To seek financial gain, you stray from your sacred mission.”

“The evidence suggests you engaged in speculation.”

“I hope you saved some money for your daughter and son.”

“You don't even know what you're asking me to confess.”

“I don't have to tell you anything at all.”

“If I can prove that I never broke the law, do you promise not to tell another soul what you saw?”

“I may have mortally wounded my prospects, but my papers are orderly.”

“I never spent a cent that wasn't mine.”

“You sent the dogs after my scent, that's fine.”

“Yes, I have reason for shame. But I have not committed treason and sullied my good name.”

“As you can see, I have done nothing to provoke legal action.”

“Are my answers to your satisfaction?”

“How do I know you won't use this against me the next time we go toe to toe?”

“Rumors only grow.”

“We both know what we know.”

𝐇𝐔𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐄

“In the eye of a hurricane, there is quiet. For just a moment.”

“When I was seventeen, a hurricane destroyed my town.”

“I couldn't seem to die.”

“I wrote my way out.”

“I looked up, and the town had it's eyes on me.”

“Total strangers, moved to kindness by my story.”

“I wrote my way out of hell.”

“I wrote my way to revolution.”

“I was louder than the crack in the bell.”

“And when my prayers to God were met with indifference, I picked up a pen, I wrote my own deliverance.”

“I was twelve when my mother died.”

“I'll write my way out.”

“This is the eye of the hurricane.”

“This is the only way I can protect my legacy.”

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐘𝐍𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐒 𝐏𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐇𝐋𝐄𝐓

“Have you read this?”

“That's one less thing to worry about.”

“I came as soon as I heard.”

“All the way from London? Damn.”

“Thank god, someone who understands what I'm struggling here to do.”

“I'm not here for you.”

“I love my sister more than anything in this life.”

“I will choose her happiness over mine every time.”

“Put what we had aside.”

“You could never be satisfied.”

“God, I hope you're satisfied.”

“Hey, at least he was honest with our money.”

“You ever see somebody ruin their own life?”

𝐁𝐔𝐑𝐍

“I saved every letter you wrote me.”

“Be careful with that one, love.”

“When you were mine, the world seemed to burn.”

“In clearing your name, you have ruined our lives.”

“You've married an Icarus. He has flown too close to the sun.”

“You and your words, obsessed with your legacy.”

“Your sentences border on senseless.”

“The world has no right to my heart!”

“The world has no place in our bed.”

“They don't get to know what I said.”

“I'm burning the memories, burning the letters that might have redeemed you.”

“You forfeit all rights to my heart!”

“You forfeit your place in our bed. You'll sleep in your office instead.”

“I hope that you burn.”

𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐖 𝐔𝐒 𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐀𝐖𝐀𝐘

“The scholars say I got the same virtuosity and brains as my pops.”

“I'm only nineteen, but my mind is older.”

“Gotta be my own man, like my father, but bolder.”

“I shoulder his legacy with pride.”

“He disparaged my father's legacy in front of a crowd.”

“I'm making my father proud.”

“God, you're a fox!”

“How 'bout when I get back, we all strip down to our socks?”

“Shh, I'm tryin' to watch the show!”

“Ya shoulda watched your mouth before you talked about my father.”

“I didn't say anything that wasn't true.”

“Your father's a scoundrel, and so, it seems, are you.”

“I don't fool around, I'm not your little schoolboy friends.”

“Well, see you on the dueling ground. That is, unless you wanna step outside and go now.”

“I doubt you would have let it slide, and I was not about to!”

“I came to ask you for advice, this is my very first duel.”

“They don't exactly cover this subject in boarding school.”

“Did your friends attempt to negotiate a peace?”

“He refused to apologize, we had to let the peace talks cease.”

“Everything is legal in New Jersey!”

“When the time comes, fire your weapon in the air.”

“But what if he decides to shoot? Then I'm a goner!”

“To take someone's life, that is something you can't shake.”

“Your mother can't take another heartbreak.”

“You don't want this young man's blood on your conscience.”

“Make me proud, son.”

“I'm a little nervous, but I can't show it.”

“You talk about my father, I cannot let it slide.”

“I'd rather skip the pleasantries, let's go.”

“The duel will commence after we count to ten.”

𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐘 𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐕𝐄 (𝐑𝐄𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐄)

“Where's my son!?”

“He lost a lot of blood on the way over.”

“The bullet entered just above his hip and lodged in his right arm.”

“I'm doing everything I can, but the wound was already infected when he arrived.”

“You did everything just right.”

“Even before we got to ten, I was aiming for the sky.”

“Save your strength and stay alive.”

“Is he breathing? Is he going to survive this!?”

“Who did this!?”

“I'm so sorry for forgetting what you taught me.”

“You would put your hands on mine.”

𝐈𝐓'𝐒 𝐐𝐔𝐈𝐄𝐓 𝐔𝐏𝐓𝐎𝐖𝐍

“There are moments that the words don't reach.”

“There is suffering too terrible to name.”

“There are moments when you're in so deep, it feels easier to just swim down.”

“I never liked the quiet before.”

“You would like it uptown, it's quiet uptown.”

“They say he walks the length of the city.”

“You knock me out, I fall apart.”

“Look at where we are, look at where we started.”

“I know I don't deserve you, [name].”

“Hear me out, that would be enough.”

“If I could trade his life for mine, he'd be standing here right now.”

“I know there's no replacing what we've lost, and you need time.”

“Just let me stay here by your side. That would be enough.”

“There's a grace too powerful to name.”

“We push away what we can never understand.”

“We push away the unimaginable.”

“It's quiet uptown...”

“Forgiveness... Can you imagine?”

“They are going through the unimaginable.”

𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐎𝐅 𝟏𝟖𝟎𝟎

“Can we get back to politics?”

“I love the guy, but he's in traction.”

“He's not very forthcoming on any particular stances.”

“Ask him a question, it glances off. He obfuscates, he dances.”

“You need to change course, a key endorsement might redeem you.”

“You've created quite a stir, sir.”

“You're openly campaigning?”

“Honestly, it's kind of draining.”

“Is there anything you wouldn't do?”

“I'm chasing what I want. And y'know what? I learned that from you.”

“The people are asking to hear my voice.”

“I have never agreed with [name] once.”

“Congrats on a race well-run.”

“I look forward to our partnership.”

“You hear this guy?”

𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐎𝐁𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐒𝐄𝐑��𝐀𝐍𝐓

“I am slow to anger, but I toe the line.”

“I look back on where I failed, and in every place I checked, the only common thread has been your disrespect.”

“If you've got something to say, name a time and place, face-to-face.”

“I have the honor to be your obedient servant.”

“I am not the reason no one trusts you.”

“I will not equivocate on my opinion, I have always worn it on my sleeve.”

“Even if I said what you think I said, you would need to cite a more specific grievance.”

“Here's an itemized list of thirty years of disagreements.”

“I don't wanna fight, but I won't apologize for doing what's right.”

“Careful how you proceed, good man.”

“Answer for the accusations I lay at your feet, or prepare to bleed.”

“I stand by what I said, every bit of it.”

“You stand only for yourself, it's what you do.”

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐋𝐃 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐖𝐈𝐃𝐄 𝐄𝐍𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇

“I wish I could tell you what was happening in his brain.”

“My fellow soldiers'll tell you I'm a terrible shot.”

“It's him or me, the world will never be the same.”

“This man will not make an orphan of my daughter.”

“If I throw away my shot, is this how you'll remember me?”

“What is a legacy? It's planting seeds in a garden you never get to see.”

“Teach me how to say goodbye.”

“My love, take your time. I'll see you on the other side.”

“History obliterates. In every picture it paints, it paints me and all my mistakes.”

“I survived, but I paid for it.”

“Now I'm the villain in your history.”

“I was too young and blind to see.”

“I should have known the world was wide enough.”

𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐋𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐒, 𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐃𝐈𝐄𝐒, 𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐒 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘

“When you're gone, who remembers your name? Who keeps your flame, who tells your story?”

“I put myself back in the narrative.”

“I stopped wasting time on tears.”

“When I needed her most, she was right on time.”

“I ask myself, what would you do if you had more time?”

“You could have done so much more if you only had time.”

“When my time is up, have I done enough?”

“Oh, can I show you what I'm proudest of?”

“Will they tell my story?”

“I can't wait to see you again.”

“It's only a matter of time.”

[join-the-joywrite]

Take my hand (take my whole life too)

"We played the Oprheum!"

The bouncing hug only lasted a second or two. While the boys regained a significant amount of lost strength, Julie's was slowly dwindling. She was, after all, only human and was out of home way later than usual. Her own internal clock seemed to be screaming at her to at least sit down.

Instead, she went down with the boys as her foot caught on a cable and she stumbled to the floor.

Alex made for a soft landing, one for which her apology was littered with giggles. Alex didn't mind. The slight pain was welcome in comparison to Caleb's jolts. Not to mention, he'd wanted to hug Julie ever since she cried during her not-so-private performance of her mother's song weeks ago. So he lay on the floor and squished Julie tight, only bringing forth more giggles.

"Hey, my turn!" Reggie yelled, rolling over and dropping himself half on Julie, fully on Alex.

"Oof," Luke commented, "that looks like it hurt."

"It did," Alex wheezed, adjusting himself to get used to the additional weight.

As one, all three of them held out an arm to Luke, who didn't hesitate to scoot closer and join the cuddle pile. Head on Alex's shoulder, he was right in front of Julie. He gave her a smile that, had she been standing, would've probably made her lose her balance. She gave him one back.

"I like this," Reggie murmured contentedly, closing his eyes.

"Yeah," Julie agreed, relishing in the fact that she could finally hug her boys, "me too."

They stayed like that for a moment before Alex sat up with great difficulty, sending them all tumbling. "You're all very heavy," he stated by way of explaining.

Julie chuckled and moved to stand up. Luke and Reggie grabbed one of her arms each.

"Stay," both whined. Reggie continued with a grin. "I promise I can be a soft pillow for you."

"I'd love to, honestly, but Carlos is waiting for me. He wanted to talk to me and. . ."

"Fine," Reggie huffed, "but just know that I'm feeling incredibly hurt right now."

Julie ruffled his hair, grinning when he closed his eyes and smiled under her touch. "There's always tomorrow."

Still, all three of them pouted when Julie stood up and righted her clothes.

"I'll see you guys in the morning," she said before walking to the doors. She paused just before closing it. "Thank you, guys."

Alex gave her a wave. Luke smiled at her with a dopey expression. Reggie continued to pout.

Julie bounded up the pathway, gait as giddy as her smile. Carlos was waiting for her in the living room.

"Hey," she said, joining him on the couch.

"Hey."

"Whatcha got there?" she asked, nodding to the paper Carlos' hands were clamped around. "Another French dip recipe?"

Carlos shook his head. "You know what this is."

"I . . . really don't."

"Your band! They're--!" Carlos stopped and glanced around looking for their father. He leaned across the vouch and whispered to Julie with wide eyes, "ghosts."

Julie forced a laugh. "What? No, don't be silly, there's no such thing as ghosts."

Carlos lifted his eyebrows. "Okay, then explain this."

Julie picked up the little black and blue page Carlos tossed to the middle of the couch, recognising it as a CD insert. For Sunset Curve. Julie's own eyebrows lifted slightly, but she continued to pretend like she hadn't a clue what was happening. Then she turned it over and knew the jig was up. Staring up at her was all four members of Sunset Curve. Trevor, or Bobby, sure looked different when he was younger.

"They're just lookalikes--"

"I'd believe you if they were here and we could touch them."

The idea of being able to hold and hug her bandmates brought a warm smile back to Julie's face. She quickly wiped it off and shook her head. "Where'd you even find this?"

"In the box with the French dip recipe."

"Ah."

Carlos suddenly looked around wildly. Julie looked around too.

"What? What happened? What are we looking for?"

"Are they here?"

"What? No, they're in the garage--"

"Aha!" Carlos grinned and folded his arms. "You're a terrible liar, Jules."

"Wh-- I am not!"

"You are, though."

Julie jumped slightly and moved away from Reggie. Carlos noticed and immediately turned his gaze where Julie looked. "Are they here now? Tell them I say hello!"

Julie rolled her eyes. "They can hear you, dork -- and it's just Reggie."

"Tell him that I say hello."

"Reggie says hello," Julie said, heaving a resigned sigh. "What are you doing here? I told you I'd see you in the morning."

"I knew it," Carlos whispered to himself as he watched his sister talk to thin air. She looked, in all honesty, a bit insane, but at least he knew he was right about the ghosts. "So how does the ghost thing even work? How come I can't see him now, but we can all see them when you play?"

Julie whipped her head from Reggie to Carlos. "It -- I'll explain it all tomorrow, okay? It's been a long day. Reggie, go back to the studio. Carlos, to bed. It's late."

"All right," Carlos grumbled, sliding off the couch. He paused at the stairs and glanced back to see Julie scolding nothing. He hoped he'd get to officially met the guys. Julie made them seem fun.

"All right, little man, what do you wanna hear?"

Julie repeated the question to Carlos, letting him know that it was Reggie who asked.

Carlos thought for a moment. "I like the song you were singing before you got back into the music program."

"Oh, that's not our song, that -- that--"

"No, it's okay," Luke said, "I'm sure we can work something out."

"I -- okay."

Carlos sat down on the couch, almost bouncing with excitement as Julie took a seat behind the piano. The melody she played wasn't loud and energetic like their usual songs. It was quiet and gentle. Even when the band kicked in, they were much softer than usual. Julie hummed along where the words should be so that Carlos could easily speak to the boys.

"I'm--"

"Wait!" Carlos said, jumping off the couch, cutting Luke off. "I'm gonna guess based on what Julie says about you."

"You talk about us?" Luke asked with a teasing grin.

Julie hit a particularly furious note. "Shut up."

"Luke, Reggie and Alex," Carlos said, pointing to the correct band member as he went.

"Nice, little man!"

"This is so cool," Carlos whispered, eyes widening when Reggie paused playing and knelt down for Carlos to stick his hand through Reggie's arm. "Woah."

The band noticed that they were very intangible to Carlos.

Luke was only slightly disappointed when Carlos chose to focus his attention on Alex next.

"I like your hoodie."

"Thanks," Alex said, beaming. "Here, you wanna try?"

"Nah, I don't play music . . . okay, maybe a little."

Julie laughed softly as she watched Alex stand and then point where Carlos should hit. To keep them from disappearing, she continued the piano. Luke kept up with his guitar, grinning at her all the while. Their little musical conversation didn't go unnoticed by Reggie and Alex, who shared a knowing glance before Carlos grabbed Alex's attention.

"Have you ever accidentally stabbed your drums through with the sticks?"

"No, and please do not do that. We have no idea what it costs to repair dead instruments."

Carlos handed the drumsticks back to Alex and hopped off the chair. He stood in front of Luke, who knelt down as Reggie had done.

"So. You're the one my sister has a crush on."

"Carlos!" Jullie yelled, standing up and slamming down about five wrong keys.

"It was nice meeting you," Carlos yelled as he fled the garage.

With her face burning, Julie chased him down.

Alex and Reggie did their best not to laugh. They really did. But the shell-shocked look on Luke's face was hilarious. Even the withering glare Luke sent them didn't help quieten their laughter.

Up in the house, Ray Molina thought he was about to witness a wrestling match. "Julie! What are you doing?"

Julie, who suddenly realised there was no way to explain why she was attacking Carlos without either sounding like a lunatic or exposing the phantoms to her father, slowly slid down to the ground.

Carlos sat up on the couch. "Julie has a crush on Luke! Julie has a crush on Luke! Julie has a--"

"Oh, that is it!"

Perplexed, Ray watched Julie spring back on the couch with a war cry, followed by a pained, "How could you say that in front of him?!"

"Who's Luke?"

Carlos, seemingly determined to ruin Julie's life, broke out from her seeking arms and grinned at Ray. "The beanie boy in her little boyband--"

"CARLOS!"

"Julie," Ray said, a playful warning edge creeping into his voice as he folded his arms, "is there something you want to talk about?"

"No! Not at all! Excuse me, I have to go, um, rehearse!"

"Rehearse?" Ray exchanged an amused grin with Carlos. "What for?"

"Uh, future gigs? You know, since we played the Orpheum, we might get like a ton of calls and -- oh, like this, see?" As Julie held up her phone, both Ray and Carlos saw Flynn's name, but both decided to give Julie a small reprieve. In the meantime, Carlos could fill Ray in about this little crush business.

"You are not going to believe what just happened," Julie said, taking the stairs two at a time. "I took Carlos down to the garage to meet the guys, you know, 'cause he figured them out and he wanted to meet them, but then he told Luke I have a crush on him and I ended up chasing Carlos back to the house 'cause I didn't want to stay in the garage with Luke -- and Alex and Reggie -- and then my dad caught us fighting on the couch and then Carlos told my dad that I have a crush on Luke and my life is over!"

Flynn took a moment to respond. "Well . . . it's not like he's wrong, is he?"

"Flynn!" The wail that Julie threw into her pillow as she face planted her bed was equal parts betrayed and mortified. "How am I supposed to show my face at practice now? Can I come and bury my head in the sand at your place?"

Flynn laughed over the phone. "Grow up, Jules. You turned Nick down for this air cutie. Nick. You made your choice, now live with it."

"Flynn," Julie growled.

"Okay, okay. Look, you have to talk about it at some point. There's no way you can have that kind of fire on stage without some mutual attraction, and that's just Luke and Reggie. Then there's Luke and you. Jules, that's not even a fire anymore. There is something serious between you two and even though I still think it's a bad idea because he's, you know, air, I still think you need to talk about it before the wrong thing blows up."

"I know," Julie sighed. "I can handle Luke -- I think. It's my dad I'm worried about. How do I explain it all without him wanting to take me to a shrink?"

"Don't tell him anything. Show him. Maybe with a little less flair than you did with me. Play him something soft. Like . . . wasn't your mom in a couple of bands when she was our age? Maybe he'd know one of her songs. Maybe if you guys played something of hers, he'll have enough of his head around him to know it's all real, but enough of it will be in the clouds that it'll be easy to explain."

Julie stared at her phone, at the contact photo she had of Flynn. "You are a genius."

"I know. So, I was just calling to ask how you're holding up, but I'm going to assume everything is fine and the guys didn't cross over?"

"Yeah, no, it was really weird. Caleb's curse just sort of . . . broke, I guess, after I hugged them."

"Wait, hold up. You hugged them? What was that like, arms hanging in the air and hoping you were touching?"

Julie sighed a happy sigh. "We have a lot to talk about."

"I'll be there for dinner, no excuses -- and I expect your dad to know what's going on by then."

Julie rolled over and muffled a groan of despair into her pillow.

"Rough day?"

"It's only ten," Julie whined, lifting her head to give Alex her sad eyes.

Alex smiled. "You'll be fine -- I mean with your dad thing. With Luke on the other hand. . ."

Julie faux sobbed into her pillow, eliciting a soft chuckle from Alex, who sat down on her bed. He reached out for her shoulder then quickly drew back. Ever since Julie left the garage last night, it had been on his mind -- on all their minds -- that the hug was a one-time thing. He didn't want to confirm their fears if they were right.

"Hey, it's okay, Jules."

Julie let out a strangled wail that took Alex a few seconds of clamping his mouth shut to avoid laughing at the poor girl.

"I'm serious. You know, Luke, he . . . he's not great with feelings. He talks with music, with songs, with lyrics. He says the most important things when he looks at you on stage or at a rehearsal or when you're writing music together. He's just scared. I mean, we all are, but him most."

Julie sat up, hugging her wail-pillow to her chest. "You sound like you're speaking from experience."

Alex shrugged. "All I'm saying is, give him a chance -- and give Carlos a break. Honestly, he might have just done you a favour."

"I cannot believe you're taking Carlos' side."

"I'm not! I'm not, I'm just -- things are already complicated. How much worse can they get?"

Julie sighed. "I don't know. . ."

"Well, it's not like Luke does either. He's locked himself in the bathroom and Reg and I think he's been crying in the bathtub this whole time. We'd phase through the door but Luke can actually hit us if he wants to so. . ."

"Oh, and you think I can't?" Julie teased.

The two shared an amused grin, but beneath it, both were thinking the same thing. What if she couldn't?

"All right, I'll tall to him. But you and Reggie have to leave."

Julie ventured into the empty garage. She looked around for Reggie and Alex, unsure if she was relieved or not when she didn't find them. Up in the loft, they watched Julie disappear as she headed further in towards the bathroom door.

She knocked gently. "Luke?"

Silence.

"Come on, I know you're in there. Alex says you've locked yourself in and won't come out."

"I'm not Luke."

"Okay, but I need to talk to Luke so can you pass on the message for me?"

"I'll let him know."

Julie smiled, finding Luke's behaviour somewhat amusing. She leaned against the door. "I'm sorry about Carlos, he . . . he just really enjoys embarrassing me in front of people. I guess he figured since you guys can't really speak to other people, you'll have to talk to me and we'll all have to confront whatever he said so that's why he picked you to tease and --" Julie broke off with a sigh.

The bathroom stayed silent.

"And I'm sorry for running out after him. I was just . . . I was afraid of what you'd say."

When Luke spoke again, though his voice was much softer, it was also much clearer. As if he were closer to the door. "Why? Was he . . . telling the truth? Did you say something?"

Julie fidgeted with the sleeves on her yellow jersey. "No, but I'm not exactly the most subtle person and if you haven't noticed, I suck at lying."

Luke laughed softly. "Oh, we noticed. Everyone knows you're a horrible liar."

"Thanks," Julie said with a grin, "I mean, I really just came here to affirm what a bad liar I am."

"Ooh, sarcastic too."

"Shut up."

"Well?" Luke said after a moment of silence. "Was he?"

Julie leaned against the door and sighed. "What does it matter? It's not like anything would come of it."

"It does matter, Jules. It -- it matters because -- well, I mean, you matter. To me."

"I know," Julie said softly, turning so that her back was against the door. "It sucks, doesn't it?"

"Not all of it sucks," Luke murmured from the other side of the door. "We could find a way. You've already done so much that no other lifer ever has, as far as anyone knows. Why stop there?"

Julie laughed. "Your ambition is very inspiring, Luke, but everything has a limit."

"So find that limit, then. You'll never know how high it is if you stop now."

Julie felt something brush her hand and glanced down to see Luke's arm phasing through the door. She wanted to reach for his hand but she was afraid she'd just pass through him. So she made a joke instead.

"You do realise that a floating arm is way more unsettling than anything else ghosts have ever done, right?"

"How's a floating head?" Luke asked, pulling his hand back and leaning forward. He gave Julie a grin. "That's always scary, right?"

"Stop it, that's weird."

Neither noticed that Julie had managed to make physical contact with Luke until after she'd shoved him back into the bathroom.

"If I come out there, are you going to poke me in the eyes again?"

"First of all, I didn't," Julie said, appreciating that Luke wasn't reacting with the panicked excitement she felt. "Second of all, I'll try not to."

"Okay, but if you do, I'm really going back into the bathtub."

Julie twisted her fingers and wrung her wrists and bounced nervously as she waited for Luke to step through the door.

"Can we try that again?" Luke asked, holding out both hands to her.

The scene felt vaguely familiar to Julie, and everything came crashing down when her hands passed through Luke's once and then twice.

"You're nervous," Luke said softly, "there's no need to be. You didn't think last time. You weren't nervous."

"I can't. I don't know what it is--"

"Yes, you do. You know it's not us doing anything. You're the one with all the magic, Jules."

Nervous but now confident, Julie tried once again. She thought she'd be able to walk on water whe she felt Luke's hands close around her own. The smile he gave her was the usual dopey look she always noticed him wearing around her.

"See? It's all you."

Julie squeezed his hands, almost like she was afraid she wouldn't be able to hold on much longer. "I like this," she murmured.

"Hey, Jules?"

"Yeah?"

Luke watched her eyes widen the tiniest bit as she gave him a questioning look. "Uh, do you -- about what Carlos said . . . We will talk about that, right?"

"Yes. I promise. Just . . . later?"

"Okay." Just the promise was enough for Luke. Besides, he could hold her, now. He could hold her hand, brush her hair out of her face, hug her. He could even flick her nose or tug her curls to annoy her, nudge her around when she didn't laugh at his jokes. And if -- he hoped she did -- but if she didn't feel the same way he did, then being able to be her best friend and just high five her now and then would still be enough. She wasn't just out of reach anymore.

Ayeeeee this just be sitting in my notes??? I found it like this??? All it needed was a title??? Speaking of, I might change that title and steal it for a sad fic oop

[pink-peony-princess]

A Little Piece of Art

The art gallery had always been one of Shawn's favourite places, he loved the colours, the textures, even the smell of the freshly painted canvases.

During his residency year of Emergency Medicine this love, had become something more, something sacred. His weekly visits to the local art galleries were the only chance he got to 'just be'. He found something so comforting in the way the colours melded together forming any number of unique patterns, the colours quietly, but boldly expressing the many emotions with fuelled the artist's work.

Maybe it was this that he connected with the most? Life as a medical resident was hectic, always ruled, by other people's, needs, wants, emotions, there never seemed to be time to address your own wants and needs. But time, at the art gallery, Shawn found, gave him an escape, a way to wonder off into a world of bright unchecked colour and vibrancy, away from the harsh unrelenting realities of people's all too often life-threatening and life-changing injuries, away from everything an everyone. Well everyone except one person that was.

He'd first met Auburn three years ago, it was a chance encounter, he wasn't meant to walk into that particular little gallery , and she wasn't meant to working that day, but as fate had it she was and he did.

They'd striked up a friendship fairly quickly, a mutual interest and respect for the works of art and the artist's behind them fuelled many hours of conversation. There had always been an unspoken, but undeniable chemistry between the two of them, but Shawn was busy with work and didn't want to drag someone else into that mess, and Auburn was just too shy to ask

When Shawn found out that Auburn was single, he was shocked. She was gorgeous, with long platinum blonde straight hair and the perfect figure, yet up close she had just the right amount of freckles scattered over the bridge of her nose, breaking the facade of perfection.

Auburn had been equally as confused when Shawn admitted that he too was single. She could understand the reasoning behind it, with a busy job and other commitments including a family that lived out of state, she couldn't however get over, but Shawn was gorgeous like some Greek God doctor-model who had just made his way from the runway and into her gallery. He was tall and lean, but muscular with tattoos scattering his hands and arms, deep brown eyes which seemed to reach your soul with the barest glace and a mop of perfectly kept brown curls- always tamed by hair product which Auburn longed to run her fingers through.

Two years and much flirting later and Shawn had finally gotten up the courage to ask her out l, to which she immediately agreed. He'd taken her to one of his favourite restaurants for dinner and they're talked for hours as if they'd known one another for a lifetime. Shawn told her about his hobbies, medicine was number one for which Auburn admired him for following his passions, closely followed by the guitar and ice hockey, not to mention family, he loved his family, Auburn found this to be an immediate turn-on as she too was close to her family although she couldn't get to see them as often as she liked l, they were across country and an art gallerist's wages certainly did not cover the cost of the ticket.

She found herself telling him all her most embarrassing stories from grade school when she's tripped and fallen into a muddy puddle bigger than she was in front of her entire class, and all about the time she'd been left to sit outside the movie theatre in 8th grade for two hours waiting for a date that would never show.

Shawn was furious at this, exclaiming that he would never do that to a girl, and anyone who would, was a coward, before downing the rest of his Tequila.

Admittedly by then they were both a little drunk and high on life and the presence of each other

When the evening ended Shawn walked Auburn home like the gentleman he was,turning to leave her and she made it to the doorstep, but something in him made him turn around causing him to crash into her body with the force of a truck as she too made her way to him. The two sharing a heated kiss before Auburn turned head down to hide the raging blush and wide smile that lit up her face and made her way inside.

From that moment the two had been inseperable, with Auburn moving into Shawn's condo- a far cry from the crusty old place she'd rented when she first got the city.

They'd done the whole meeting each other's families, both feeling completely at home and welcome, before a year later getting the happy news that they were expecting.

Auburn had been feeling off for over a week when Shawn finally convinced her to go to the doctors and get a blood drawn, a million things flying through his head as to what it might be.

The pregnancy news had completely shocked them both, but as they had sat there together staring down at the piece of paper stating the cause of all her sickness, irritability and hunger there was no denying that it was right.

They were over the moon, elated at the idea of being parents with Shawn referring to the baby as he laid his hands on her stomach as "Their happy little ancient!"

To say that Shawn was protective was an understatement a helicopter parent (to be) might be more apt Auburn thought as Shawn handed her what fleet like her tens of pills as she ate her breakfast before rushing from the room only half dressed to finish getting ready for work which now that he was finished residency (and at the top of his class, which Auburn loved to brag to her friends about) was a local hospital where he was working.

...

The day started normally, Auburn went off to the gallery to start her day l, daydreaming of seeing Shawn who'd been away on training for the last little bit.

Somewhere in this perfect daydream, everything came crashing down. The last thing Auburn was aware of was the screech of tyres and the immense, unstoppable feeling of pain.

...

"Dr Craigen,we need you in triage one." Brian's nurse Amy spoke as she came skidding into the room.

"Can it wait?"  He asked looking up briefly from the hand of a young girl he was suturing after she was bitten by a dog.

"No, it can't." He could hear the tension in her voice,  so he stood removing his gloves,  and paging another doctor to take care of the girl before following her out.

"What is it? Who?"  He asked as Amy all but ran through the corridor. His question was cut short as they reached the bay in question.

"Just stay still! For God sake, you don't have a choice." He couldn't see the patient's face from outside the door,  but he could see that two nurses and an intern were currently trying to restrain her,  against her will.

"What on earth do you think youre doing Doctor Tanaran?"  Brian asked as he grabbed a pair of gloves and stepped into the room. The intern stepped back from the patient, turning to look at him.

"We need to get an I.V. in her,  but she's not cooperating," he responded as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Brian?" The person on the bed asked. He recognised the voice immediately and sure enough as he stepped around to the other side of the bed,  there lay Auburn  a close personal friend, someone who he considered to be like a sister, and the girlfriend of one of his best friends, Dr. Shawn Mendes.

She was almost unrecognisable, bloodied,  and bruised,  tears flooding her face and falling into the linen of the bed staining it a muddy brown as they mixed with the blood flowing from a nasty looking gash on her head,  an oxygen mask laying forgotten beside her.

"Auburn?" he asked finally making eye contact, before looking up to find that she had not even been attached to any monitors yet.

"Everyone get your hands off the patient, now."  he stared poignantly at the intern that who still had his hands on her.

"She just wouldn't cooperate." he grumbled as he stepped back.

Brian saw red at that, turning to glare before speaking.

"Have you thought about why the patient might be uncooperative?  Have you even bothered to ask?"  I questioned folding my arms across my chest.

He looked down at the floor,  but didn't answer. "Didn't think so.  So not only have you terrified an already distressed patient,  but you've assaulted the girlfriend of Dr. Shawn Mendes,  head of this ER."

His head snapped up at this,  a look of shear panic on his face.

"Dr. Craigen I didn't think-"

"That's right,"  he interrupted.  "The same way you haven't thought the three other times I've had to speak to you over the duration of your time here so far.

Get out of this room,  and go and tell your resident that I don't want you on my service anymore.  Oh and Tanaran," Brian called as the man made his way for the exit.  "If I ever see or hear you do something like that ever again,  I will personally make sure you're pulled from this program."

He sighed and turned around to see Auburn smiling softly.

"Thanks Bri"  she spoke softly, very dazed,reaching her hand out for him to take. Somewhat restricted by the board and collar she had been placed on for spinal management.

"No problem hon. He's got an attitude that one.

So I'm just going to start slowly okay.  I'm just going to hook you up to some monitors so that we can check you're heart rate, blood pressure and oxygen. Can I see the chart please? " he asked one of the nurses that was stood meekly in the corner.

"Yes Doctor," she responded before leaving and returning a minute later with the relevant information.

"Okay so it says here,  that apart from that gash on your forehead and a fracture to your arm you have  some fractured ribs, a suspected bruised spleen and a dislocated ankle as well as possible spinal injuries," he listed off as he took in the notes from the Emergency Services.

"They only got half way through checking her." the other nurse  responded. Brian nodded, before placing the chart in the holder at the end of the bed,  and returning to Auburn's side. He picked up her hand gently to check her pulse,  watching as her eyes fluttered,  drooping slightly.

"Auburn, I need you to try and stay awake for me," he spoke, tapping her check softly, moving to check her focal response with his pen light and finding that she had a fairly moderate concussion.

She let out a small groan,  but managed to open her eyes, watching me tiredly.

"That's it," he praised. " smiling before grabbing his stethoscope from around his neck and resting it to her chest.

"Deep breathes," he asked quietly. She did as asked, but it was obvious from the way she was wincing every time she inhaled that she was in pain.

"It hurts and I want Shawn." she cried.

"I know you do hon. We'll get him here soon," he promised, paging one of his nurses to go and find him.

"How bad is your pain one to ten?' he asked,  watching her closely.

"Eight " she answered.

"Okay I'm going to help ease some of that okay. " he spoke resting the I.V.tray that the previous doctor had set up next to the bed.

"Tell me what you remember? " he asked, trying to keep her talking.

"I was just crossing the street,  and a car came out of nowhere. I don't know what happend. I was coming to see Shawn." she added.

"I'm sorry Auburn. " He really did feel sorry for her,  not only as a doctor, but as a friend.  She and Shawn had barely gotten to see one another the last few weeks, and now this. 

"They didn't even stop to help me! " She cried, more tears trailing down her face. He felt so sorry for her, and sick at the thought of how Shawn might react. He just hoped Shawn was able to stay calm,  for both of their sakes.

"Small scratch." he warned, inserting the line, and getting her started on some much needed fluids and pain relief. She flinched a little,  but didn't pull away. "Okay, so I'm going to get Dave to come and  help me with a spinal exam,  and he should also be able to determine if we need x-rays for these breaks okay" he explained gently,trying not to scare her.

She looked worried at the mention of x-rays,  but he just assumed it was due to her being clastrophobic,  as she didn't say anymore on the subject.

He walked out of the room, quietly closing the door after me, and made my way to the nurses station where I found Dave helping a nurse. As an Orthopedic doctor he was often called down for consults, so it was common to find him here.

"Dave, do you mind helping me for a second mate?" he asked, before coming to stand next to him waiting as he finished his conversation.

"Yeah what is it?" he asked as Brian handed him Auburn's chart.

"Auburn?" He asked disbelief clear in his tone,  eyebrows raised in confusion. "Auburn as in Shawn's Auburn.What happend?

"

"Hit and run." he answered. Causing Dave to wince in sympathy. "They didn't even stop!"

"Has anyone gotten a hold of Shawn?" He asked, shaking his head as they made their way to the door of Auburn's room.

"Yeah, but she's quite distressed obviously,  so I'm just taking it really slowly. At least until Shawn gets here, unless something is absolutely vital," he told him. Dave nodded before opening the door, and greeting Auburn with a bright smile.

"Hi Auburn, Bri told me you got in a fight with a car?" He asked, causing her to smile faintly.

"What have we got so far?" he asked.

"Large laceration on the forehead and a fracture to the left  arm, some fractured ribs, a suspected bruised spleen and a dislocated right ankle as well as possible spinal injuries, she is also complaining of chest pain." Brian added as he hummed at the growing list of ailments.

"Auburn are you having any trouble breathing? " he asked, she nodded letting him listen to her breathing as Brian had. The room was quiet for a few moments except for the beeping of the machines as he moved the stethoscope around her chest, before stepping back with a sigh.

"Slightly muffled left side," he agreed, glancing to the monitors,  a look of concern on his face.

"It'll need to get an x-ray,  and maybe an ultrasound." Brian nodded, adding,

"I'd also like to get some CTs of the head just to be sure there is no underlying bleeding. Is it okay if we give you some oxygen?" he asked wanting to up her saturation, especially given her breathing troubles.

She made a small jerk of the head in the affirmative,  allowing him to place the mask that had lay beside her back on her face.

"Any other pain?" Dave asked lifting the blanket to assess the damage to her lower extremities, she took a few shaky breaths.

"Just my ankle."

" Okay,we just need to turn you and have a feel of your spine. Before we do, anything else, as we don't want to aggregate anything." Dave explained coming back to stand at the head of the bed. "All you need to tell me is if you feel anything sore."

She hummed in resonse,  unable to nod due to the collar.

"On three, one,two,three. " Brian spoke before rolling her and holding her steady.

"Any tenderness?" Dave asked as he made his way down her spine, gently feeling for abnormalities.

"No." she answered innnediately.

"Wiggled your toes for me?" he asked as he went to stand by the end of the bed again. She did so,  causing them both to breathe a sigh of relief.

Five minutes later and Dave l had decided that x- rays were necessary, due to the precarious nature of the fractures in her arm and ankle and that the fractured ribs did need further investigation, however that no spinal damage had been done,  meaning she could be removed from the collar and brace.

"Where's Shawn?"  She asked, again as they went about removing the neck brace. Brian was starting to wonder what was taking the nurse so long himself.

-Shawn-

I hadn't been able to focus all day, it was my first day back after being away at a two week trauma conference,and also the first time I would be able to see Auburn and the baby since she was meeting me at work. I sighed as I tried yet again to focus on the swirling numbers of the department's budget on the screen in front of me.

My thoughts were interrupted when I heard a knock.  "Dr. Mendes you're needed down in triage. Urgently." A nurse spoke,making me stand and follow her immediately.

-Third Person-

"He's on his way now hon, but we really should get you up to x-rays okay." Dave spoke, going to start moving the bed.

"Not not until Shawn is here," she begged, catching his hand and stopping him. Seconds later, and Shawn ran through the door, eyes wide as he took in the site of me.

"Auburn, baby,what happend?" he asked, leaning down and gently stroking her head, careful of the cut.

"They didn't stop!A car!" She cried a fresh batch of tears starting.

Shawn was pretty calm considering the situation, Auburn however was not, Brian could see from the monitor that her heart rate was spiking and he tipped his head to Shawn, indicating for him to do something.

"Try and slow your breathing honey," he encouraged softly as it spiked to about 130 when it had previously been sitting about 110. She managed to slow it a little, Shawn not saying anything,  merely cupping her face gently and kissing her head.

"Shawn, " Daves spoke,  "we really need to get her to x-ray. She has broken ribs, we need to determine how bad."

"No, no x-ray," she interrupted again.

"Sweetheart, you'll be fine,  I promise. " he spoke,  stroking her hand softly.

"It's not that." She answered, looking away.

"Then what?" Dave asked looking to Shawn.

"I'm pregnant," she whispered. "We found out two weeks ago. We wanted to keep it a surprise."

"Someone get Connor down here," Shawn ordered almost too calmly.

Dave and Brian shared a worried look, if she was pregnant,  there was a possibility that something may have effected the baby.

"Page Connor." Dave mumbled to Brian.

"I've already done it ,he's on his way." Briam tried to reassure him, hoping that he would calm a little at the fact that the best ObGyn was going to be consulting.

"No what if something's wrong? " Auburnpanicked,  catching on.

"Auburn you need the ultrasound," Shawn spoke firmly.

Her lip wobbled a little causing Shawn to soften his tone a little.  "I'm sorry babe,  I'm just worried about you. And you need the x-rays," he added.

"Auburn, you need to understand that while normally we wouldn't use x-ray, in this instance it's important,  we won't have a healthy baby,  unless it's mummy is healthy too yeah? " Dave explained gently.

  "O-okay," she agreed reluctantly.

"I think we can however forgo the CT, given that you've been alert the whole time. " Brian spoke earning a smile from her.

"But you won't be allowed to sleep for the next few hours and even once you can we'll need to wake you every hour, on the hour," Dave warned.

Just as we were about to start moving up to radiology having unhooked the bed Connor arrived.

"Sorry I came down as fast as I could," he apologised "Hi Auburn," he smiled as he came over to the side of the bed.

"So you found out you were pregnant two weeks ago?" he asked. She nodded.  "And everything has been normal so far? No bleeding?

"

"No." She answered, nervously, causing Shawn to squeeze her hand a little.

"Okay then, I'm just going to pull your gown up."  he did so before reaching for the gel. That was housed next to the portable ultrasound machine that we always kept in the triage bays. They were smaller, and less powerful, but still useful in situations like this. "This will be a little cold," he spoke before placing the gel on her stomach. The room was silent, everyone waiting with baited breath, Auburn with her eyes shut. Connor hit a button on the machine and the room was filled with a rhythmic thumping.

"What's that?" her eyes snapping open to met his.

"Congratulations Auburn, that is your baby's heart beat. Junior seems very happy,  very strong heart rate at 150 beats per minute." Connor smiled. 

" Oh my God!" she cried reaching up to hug Shawn, before sharing a kiss.

"Judging by the size, bubby's just gone 12 weeks," Connor added, pointing out the measurements on the screen.

Everyone's faces were the same- all smiling from ear to ear.

"Do you want a copy of the scan?" Connor asked.

"Hell yeah!" Shawn agreed making Leah laugh. "This is going on the fridge."

Twenty minutes later, and we had all gone down to radiology, Shawn not having left her side. A permanent smile etched on his face.

"Just stay still for me Auburn." Dave asked,adjusting her leg to get the right image.

Once that was done, and it was determined that nothing needed surgery she was taken back up to a more private room, and Dave set about casting her.

"This will feel a little funny, but it won't hurt now." He reassured her as she became a little fidgety,  giving her some laughing gas and upping her pain meds slightly.

It was then Brian's turn to stitch up the wounds on her head, something which should have been very straight forward, but she was terrified,  having all but jumped (or gotten as far,which wasn't very) into Shawn's arms.

"It won't hurt Princess, Brian will numb you up good okay?" he spoke, sitting next to her, while Brian sat on a rolly chair by her head, Dave next to Shawn.

"Ready?"

She nodded.

"You're being so brave Princess," Shawn encouraged as she clung to his hand.

"Have you thought of any names for the baby?" Connor asked from where he sat in the corner working, having left briefly while they were at radiology and then returned, wanting to be here for support. Something which Shawn was grateful for.

...

An hour later and they were officially off shift, but  had all taken up residency in Auburn's room,  wanting to keep an eye on her, as she was a part of the family. They all sat quietly doing paper work,  as she rested, fast asleep now that we have deemed it safe.

"How are you feeling Shawn?" Brian asked, looking up to find Shawn watching her.

"I don't know, I have never felt so many emotions in one day!" he laughed, before Auburn broke the silence with a small moan.

" I'm cold," she mumbled,  "And sore," she added, visibly shivering.

"Here,  budge up." Shane spoke, helping her to move over,  before getting into the small bed again.

Connor got up to adjust the pain meds and check her vitals. However she didn't settle.  "What's wrong Poppet?" Shawn asked. Sometimes the meds could make patients a little agitated.

"I want to have a bath,  I feel gross,  and you smell different. " she grumbled,  her nose wrinkling. Shawn looked up at Connor and Brian,all laughing.

"How much of the stuff did you give her?

"

"I'm serious." she pouted, swotting Shawn's shoulder. "I don't like the smell of the scrubs. It doesn't smell like you."

"How 'bout this?" he asked bending down to reach for his bag, and grabbing a hoodie.

"Much better," she spoke,  nuzzling her head into him.

"Now I'll help give you a pat down with a cloth if you want?" he offered. You can't really have a proper bath yet cause of all the wiring and your cast."

She nodded

"Just sit up slowly okay. You might feel a little dizzy." Brian warned, standing up to help too.

  Connor went ahead to start the water for her while Dave came to help move the wiring as they supported her to hop to the bathroom. Eventually Shawn just picked her up,being extra careful of her ribs, holding her under her shoulders instead,and cradling her somewhat like an infant.

Half hour later, and Shawn had successful sponge bathed her, the rest of the group having gone back to their work while they waited.

"Get some rest Princess,you've got a little piece of art growing in there, you and Jellybean need it, he whispered as he placed her back in bed, rubbing her stomach softly.

"Love you," she whispered, already half asleep.

"Love you more," he replied kissing her head, they all shared a smile, because at that moment, all was right with the world.

[thewidowsghost]

The Unknown Muggleborn - Chapter 9

3rd Person POV

Hermione, who had come back with (Y/n) the day before term had started, takes a different view of things. She is torn between horror at the idea of Harry being out of bed, roaming the school three nights in a row - "If Filch had caught you!" - and disappointment that he hadn't, at least found out how Nicholas Flamel was.

(Y/n) had opened her mouth to say something, but Fred and George had darted across the Common Room and dragged her away and towards Oliver Wood, her three friends staring after her, and catching her apologetic gaze before Oliver snaps at her to pay attention.

Oliver seems to be working the Quidditch team harder than ever. Even the endless rain that had replaced the snow couldn't dampen his spirits. The Weasleys complained that Wood is becoming a fanatic, but Harry and (Y/n) are on Wood's side. If they win their next match, against Hufflepuff, they would overtake Slytherin in the House Championship for the first time in seven years. Quite apart from wanting to win, they find that they has fewer nightmares when they're tired after training.

Then, during one particularly wet and muddy practice session, Oliver Wood gives the team a bit of bad news. He'd just gotten very angry with the Weasleys, who kept dive-bombing each other and pretending to fall of their brooms.

"Will you stop messing around!" Wood orders. "That's exactly what'll lose us the match! Snape's refereeing this time, and he'll be looking for any excuse to knock points off Gryffindor!"

George Weasley really did fall off his broom at the words.

"Snape's refereeing?" he splutters through a mouthful of mud. "When's he ever refereed a Quidditch match? He's not going go be fair if me might overtake Slytherin."

The rest of team - besides (Y/n) - land next to George to complain, too.

"It's not my fault," says Wood. "We've just got to make sure we play a clean game, so Snape hasn't got an excuse to pick on us."

Which is all well, thinks (Y/n), but I don't need a repeat of what happened last time, whoever did it.

The rest of the team hangs back to talk to one another as usual at the end of practice, but Harry and (Y/n) sprint straight back up to the Gryffindor common room, where they find Hermione and Ron playing chess. Chess was the only thing Hermione ever lost at, something Harry and Ron though was good for her.

"Don't talk to me for a moment," says Ron when Harry sits down beside him and Hermione shifts to make room for (Y/n).

Then Hermione catches sight of (Y/n)'s face. "What's wrong?" she asks, a worried look on her face and Ron looks over at (Y/n).

Speaking quietly so that no one else would hear, Harry tells the other two about Snape's sudden, sinister desire to be a Quidditch referee.

"Don't play," says Hermione at once.

"Say you're ill," Ron offers.

"Pretend to break you leg," Hermione says.

"Really break your leg," at Ron's words, everyone turns to him.

"I can't," says (Y/n), then she signs. "There isn't a reserve Seeker. If I back out, Gryffindor can't play at all."

At that moment Neville topples into the Common Room. How he had managed to climb through was anyone's guess, because his legs had been stuck together with what they recognized at once as the Leg-Locker Curse. He must have had to bunny hop all the way up to Gryffindor Tower.

Everyone but (Y/n) and Hermione laugh, and (Y/n) leaps up an performs the countercurse. Neville's legs spring apart and he gets to his feet, trembling.

"What happened?" (Y/n) asks him, leading him over to sit with Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

"Malfoy," says Neville shakily. "I met him outside the library. He said he'd been looking for someone to practice that on."

"Go to Professor McGonagall!" Hermione urges Neville.

"Report him!" (Y/n) agrees with the brunette.

Neville shakes his head. "I don't want more trouble," he mumbles.

"You've got to stand up to him, Neville!" Harry says.

"He's used to walking all over people, but that's no reason to lie down in front of him and make it easier," Ron says.

"There's no need to tell me I'm not brave enough to be in Gryffindor, Malfoy's already done that," Neville chokes out.

(Y/n) feels around in the pocket of her sweatshirt and pulls out a chocolate frog. She gives it to Neville, who looks as though he is about to cry.

"You're worth twelve of Malfoy," (Y/n) says.

"The Sorting Hat chose you for Gryffindor, didn't it? And where's Malfoy? In stinking Slytherin?" Harry finishes.

"Thanks, (Y/n), Harry ... I think I'll go to bed ... D'you want the card (Y/n), you collect them don't you?"

As Neville walks away, (Y/n) looks at the Famous Wizard card.

(Y/n), reading the card, smacks herself in the face and everyone turns to her. "I found him!" (Y/n) hands the card to Hermione and she sprints upstairs and grabs a alchemy book from her nightstand.

"I never thought to look in here," (Y/n) says, sprinting back downstairs and over to her friends. "Snape gave me this a few weeks ago to read."

(Y/n) opens the book and flips through the pages. "Nicholas Flamel is the only know maker of the Sorcerer's Stone."

This doesn't have the effect she had expected.

"The what?" ask Harry and Ron.

"Honestly, don't you read?" Hermione asks.

"The Sorcerer's Stone," (Y/n) begins pacing back and forth, her friends watching, "it was a legend, but I guess now it's true." (Y/n) runs a hand through her (H/C) hair. "It can transform any metal into pure gold and can produce the Elixir of Life, which makes the drinker immortal. If I remember correctly, Flamel just turned six hundred and sixty-five."

"The dog must be guarding the Sorcerer's Stone!" Harry begins.

"I bet he asked Dumbledore to keep it safe for him, because they're friends and he knew someone was after it, that's why he wanted the Stone removed out of Gringotts!" Hermione finishes.

"A stone that makes gold and stops you from ever dying!" exclaims Harry. "No wonder Snape's after it! Anyone would want it!"

At Harry's mention of Snape, (Y/n)'s mouth spreads into a frown.

"And no wonder we couldn't find Flamel in that Study of Recent Developments in Wizardry," says Ron. "He's not exactly recent if he's six hundred and sixty-five, is he?"

. . .

The next morning in Defense Against the Dark Arts, while copying down different ways of treating werewolf bites, Harry and Ron are still discussing what they'd do with a Sorcerer's Stone if they had one. It wasn't until Ron said he'd buy his own Quidditch team that (Y/n) remembers about Snape and the coming match.

"I'm going to play," she tells the other five. "If I don't we'll be behind in the cup. If we win, I'll show them ... it'll really wipe the smiles off their faces."

"Just as long as we're not wiping you off the field," Ron comments and (Y/n) shoots him a incredulous look.

As the match grows closer, however, (Y/n) becomes more and more nervous, whatever she told her friends and sister. The rest of the team isn't very calm, either. The idea of overtaking Slytherin in the House Championship was wonderful, no one had done it in seven years, but would they be allowed to, with such a biased referee?

Harry doesn't know whether he is imagining it or not, but he seems to keep running into Snape wherever he goes. At times, he wonders if Snape is following him, trying to catch him on his own. Potions lessons are turning into a sort of weekly torture for Harry, Snape seemingly getting worse in each class. Harry didn't see how he could - yet sometimes he had to horrible feeling that Snape could read minds.

(Y/n) knew, when they had wished her and Harry good luck outside the locker rooms the next afternoon, that Ron and Hermione were wondering whether they'd ever see her alive again. (Y/n) hardly hears a word of Oliver's pep talk as she pulls on her Quidditch robes and picks up her Nimbus Two Thousand.

Ron and Hermione, meanwhile, had found a place in the stands next to Neville, who couldn't understand why they looked so grim and worried, or why they had both brought their wands to the match. Little did (Y/n) know that her friends had been secretly practicing the Leg-Locker Curse. They had gotten the idea from Malfoy using it on Neville, and were ready to use it on Snape if he showed any signs of wanting to hurt (Y/n).

Back in the locker room, Oliver Wood had taken (Y/n) aside.

"Don't want to pressure you, (Y/n), but if we ever need an early capture of the Snitch it's now. Finish the game before Snape can favor Hufflepuff too much."

(Y/n) nods, a determined look on the Seeker's face.

"The whole school's out there!" says Fred, peering out of the door. "Even - blimey - Dumbledore's come to watch!"

Harry and (Y/n) exchange looks. "Dumbledore?" Harry asks, dashing to the door to make sure. Fred is right, there's no mistaking that silver beard.

Harry could have laughed out loud with relief. (Y/n) was safe. There was simply no way that Snape would dare hurt (Y/n) if Dumbledore was watching, Harry thinks. Maybe that's why Snape is looking so angry as the teams march onto the field, Harry thinks, which Ron notices as well.

"I've never seen Snape look so mean," the ginger tells the other girls. "Look - they're off. Ouch!" Malfoy had poked Ron in the back of the head.

"Oh, sorry Weasley, didn't see you there," Malfoy grins at Crabbe and Goyle. "Wonder how long (L/n)'s going to stay on her broom this time? Anyone want a bet? What about you, Weasley?"

Ron doesn't answer; Snape had just awarded Hufflepuff a penalty because George had hit a Bludger at him. Hermione, who had all her fingers crossed in her lap, is squinting fixedly up at (Y/n), who is circling the came like a hawk, looking for the Snitch.

"You know how I think they chose people for the Gryffindor team?" says Malfoy loudly a few minutes later, as Snape awards Hufflepuff another penalty for no reason at all. "It's people they feel sorry for. See, there's Potter and (L/n), who've got no family, then there's the Weasleys, who've got no money - you should be on the team, Longbottom, you've got no brains."

Neville goes bright red but turns in his seat to face Malfoy. "I'm worth twelve of you Malfoy," he stammers.

Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle howl with laughter, but Ron, still not daring to take his eyes from the game, said, "You tell him, Neville."

"Longbottom, if brains were gold you'd be poorer than Weasley, and that's saying something."

Ron's nerves are already stretched to the breaking point with anxiety about (Y/n), "I'm warning you, Malfoy - one more word -"

"Ron!" says Hermione suddenly, "(Y/n) - !"

"What?! Where?!"

(Y/n) had suddenly gone into a spectacular dive, which draws gasps and cheers from the crowd. Hermione stands up, her crossed fingers in her mouth, as (Y/n) streaks towards the ground like a bullet.

"You're in luck, Weasley, (L/N)'s obviously spotted some money on the ground!" says Malfoy.

Ron snaps. Before Malfoy knows what's happening, Ron is on top of him, wrestling him to the ground. Neville hesitates, then clambers over the back of his seat to help.

"Come on, (Y/n)!" Hermione screams, leaping onto her seat to watch as (Y/n) speeds straight at Snape - she didn't even notice Malfoy and Ron rolling around under her seat, or the scuffles and yelps coming from the whirl of fists that was Neville, Crabbe and Goyle.

Hermione watches to see Snape turning on his broomstick to see something scarlet shoot past him, missing him by inches - the next second, (Y/n) had pulled out of the dive, her arm raised in triumph, the Snitch clasped in her hand.

The stands erupt; it had to be a record, no one could remember the Snitch being caught so quickly.

"Ron! Ron! Where are you? The game's over! (Y/n)'s won! We've won! Gryffindor's in the lead," shrieks Hermione, dancing up and down on her seat and hugging a beaming Pavarti Patil in front of her.

(Y/n) jumps off her broom, a foot from the ground. She couldn't believe it. She had done it - the game was over; it had barely lasted five minutes. As Gryffindors come spilling onto the field, Harry sees Snape land nearby, white-faced and tight-lipped. Harry lands beside (Y/n) and they feel a hand on their shoulder and they look up into Dumbledore's smiling face.

"Well done," says Dumbledore quietly, so that only Harry and (Y/n) could hear.

The Gryffindors run to lift (Y/n) onto their shoulder; Ron and Hermione in the distance, jumping up and down, Ron cheering through a heavy nosebleed.

Harry leaves the locker room alone some time later, to take his Nimbus Two Thousand back to the broomshed. He leans against the wooden door and looks up at Hogwarts, with its windows glowing red in the setting sun. Gryffindor in the lead. (Y/n) had done it, she'd shown Snape. . . .

And speaking of Snape . . .

A hooded figure comes swiftly down the front steps of the castle. Clearly not wanting to be seen, it walks as fast as possible toward the forbidden forest. Harry recognizes the figure's prowling walk. Snape, sneaking into the forest while everyone else was at dinner — what was going on?

Harry jumps back on his Nimbus Two Thousand and took off. Gliding silently over the castle he sees Snape enter the forest at a run; he follows.

The trees are so thick he couldn't see where Snape had gone. He flew in circles, lower and lower, brushing the top branches of trees until he hears voices. He glides toward them and lands noiselessly in a towering beech tree.

He climbs carefully along one of the branches, holding tight to his broomstick, trying to see through the leaves. Below, in a shadowy clearing, stands Snape, but he isn't alone. Quirrell is there, too. Harry can't make out the look on his face, but he is stuttering worse than ever. Harry strains to catch what they are saying.

". . . d-don't know why you wanted t-t-to meet here of all p-places, Severus . . ."

"Oh, I thought we'd keep this private," replies Snape, his voice icy. "Students aren't supposed to know about the Sorcerer's Stone, after all."

Harry leans forward. Quirrell is mumbling something, but Snape interrupts him.

"Have you found out how to get past that beast of Hagrid's yet?"

"B-b-but Severus, I —"

"You don't want me as your enemy, Quirrell," says Snape, taking a step towards him.

"I-I don't know what you —"

"You know perfectly well what I mean."

An owl hoots loudly, and Harry nearly falls out of the tree. He steadies himself in time to hear Snape say, "— your little bit of hocus-pocus. I'm waiting."

"B-but I d-d-don't —"

"Very well," Snape cuts in. "We'll have another little chat soon, when you've had time to think things over and decided where your loyalties lie."He throws his cloak over his head and strides out of the clearing. It is almost dark now, but Harry can see Quirrell, standing quite still, as though he was petrified.

. . .

"Harry, where have you been?" Hermione squeaks.

"We won! (Y/n) won! We won!" shouted Ron, thumping (Y/n) on the back."And I gave Malfoy a black eye, and Neville tried to take on Crabbe and Goyle single-handed! He's still out cold but Madam Pomfrey says he'll be all right — talk about showing Slytherin!"

"Everyone's waiting for you and (Y/n) in the common room, we're having a party, Fred and George stole some cakes and stuff from the kitchens," Ron continues.

"Never mind that now," says Harry breathlessly. "Let's find an empty room, you wait 'til you hear this. . . ."

He made sure Peeves wasn't inside before shutting the door behind them, then he told them what he'd seen and heard.

"So we were right, it is the Sorcerer's Stone, and Snape's trying to force Quirrell to help him get it. He asked if he knew how to get past Fluffy — and he said something about Quirrell's 'hocus-pocus'— I reckon there are other things guarding the stone apart from Fluffy, loads of enchantments, probably, and Quirrell would have done some anti-Dark Arts spell that Snape needs to break through -"

"So you man the Stone's only safe as long as Quirrell stands up to Snape?" asks Hermione in alarm, (Y/n) shifting thoughtfully on the desk she was sitting onto of.

"It'll be gone by next Tuesday," says Ron.

Hermione glances over at (Y/n), who is sitting silently, a thoughtful expression on her face. "What is it?" (Y/n) asks.

"The thing about the loyalty confuses me," (Y/n) says, jumping off the desk. "Who would Quirrell need to prove his loyalties lie to? Dumbledore right, what if Quirrell is trying to get the stone? What if that whole stuttering thing is an act? I've never been a hundred percent about him myself."

Ron shrugs her off, "It must be Snape."

"Not necessarily, not to be rude or anything, but I'm his favorite student," the others nod in agreement. Then (Y/n) turns to Hermione. "Who was sitting behind Snape at the first Quidditch match?"

"Quirrell," Hermione says.

"My point exactly," (Y/n) says but Ron and Harry shrug her off again.

"It's definitely Snape," Harry says and (Y/n) shakes her head and walks back to the Gryffindor Common Room alone.

Despite herself, she grins when she portrait whole swings open and the Common Room erupts into cheers as she steps through. Oliver and Fred come over and lift (Y/n) up onto their shoulder and everyone begins to cheer:

"(Y/n)!"

"(Y/n)!"

"(Y/n)!"

Word Count: 2963 words

[pinkpeonyprincessblog]

A Little Piece of Art

The art gallery had always been one of Shawn's favourite places, he loved the colours, the textures, even the smell of the freshly painted canvases.

During his residency year of Emergency Medicine this love, had become something more, something sacred. His weekly visits to the local art galleries were the only chance he got to 'just be'. He found something so comforting in the way the colours melded together forming any number of unique patterns, the colours quietly, but boldly expressing the many emotions with fuelled the artist's work.

Maybe it was this that he connected with the most? Life as a medical resident was hectic, always ruled, by other people's, needs, wants, emotions, there never seemed to be time to address your own wants and needs. But time, at the art gallery, Shawn found, gave him an escape, a way to wonder off into a world of bright unchecked colour and vibrancy, away from the harsh unrelenting realities of people's all too often life-threatening and life-changing injuries, away from everything an everyone. Well everyone except one person that was.

He'd first met Auburn three years ago, it was a chance encounter, he wasn't meant to walk into that particular little gallery , and she wasn't meant to working that day, but as fate had it she was and he did.

They'd striked up a friendship fairly quickly, a mutual interest and respect for the works of art and the artist's behind them fuelled many hours of conversation. There had always been an unspoken, but undeniable chemistry between the two of them, but Shawn was busy with work and didn't want to drag someone else into that mess, and Auburn was just too shy to ask

When Shawn found out that Auburn was single, he was shocked. She was gorgeous, with long platinum blonde straight hair and the perfect figure, yet up close she had just the right amount of freckles scattered over the bridge of her nose, breaking the facade of perfection.

Auburn had been equally as confused when Shawn admitted that he too was single. She could understand the reasoning behind it, with a busy job and other commitments including a family that lived out of state, she couldn't however get over, but Shawn was gorgeous like some Greek God doctor-model who had just made his way from the runway and into her gallery. He was tall and lean, but muscular with tattoos scattering his hands and arms, deep brown eyes which seemed to reach your soul with the barest glace and a mop of perfectly kept brown curls- always tamed by hair product which Auburn longed to run her fingers through.

Two years and much flirting later and Shawn had finally gotten up the courage to ask her out l, to which she immediately agreed. He'd taken her to one of his favourite restaurants for dinner and they're talked for hours as if they'd known one another for a lifetime. Shawn told her about his hobbies, medicine was number one for which Auburn admired him for following his passions, closely followed by the guitar and ice hockey, not to mention family, he loved his family, Auburn found this to be an immediate turn-on as she too was close to her family although she couldn't get to see them as often as she liked l, they were across country and an art gallerist's wages certainly did not cover the cost of the ticket.

She found herself telling him all her most embarrassing stories from grade school when she's tripped and fallen into a muddy puddle bigger than she was in front of her entire class, and all about the time she'd been left to sit outside the movie theatre in 8th grade for two hours waiting for a date that would never show.

Shawn was furious at this, exclaiming that he would never do that to a girl, and anyone who would, was a coward, before downing the rest of his Tequila.

Admittedly by then they were both a little drunk and high on life and the presence of each other

When the evening ended Shawn walked Auburn home like the gentleman he was,turning to leave her and she made it to the doorstep, but something in him made him turn around causing him to crash into her body with the force of a truck as she too made her way to him. The two sharing a heated kiss before Auburn turned head down to hide the raging blush and wide smile that lit up her face and made her way inside.

From that moment the two had been inseperable, with Auburn moving into Shawn's condo- a far cry from the crusty old place she'd rented when she first got the city.

They'd done the whole meeting each other's families, both feeling completely at home and welcome, before a year later getting the happy news that they were expecting.

Auburn had been feeling off for over a week when Shawn finally convinced her to go to the doctors and get a blood drawn, a million things flying through his head as to what it might be.

The pregnancy news had completely shocked them both, but as they had sat there together staring down at the piece of paper stating the cause of all her sickness, irritability and hunger there was no denying that it was right.

They were over the moon, elated at the idea of being parents with Shawn referring to the baby as he laid his hands on her stomach as "Their happy little ancient!"

To say that Shawn was protective was an understatement a helicopter parent (to be) might be more apt Auburn thought as Shawn handed her what fleet like her tens of pills as she ate her breakfast before rushing from the room only half dressed to finish getting ready for work which now that he was finished residency (and at the top of his class, which Auburn loved to brag to her friends about) was a local hospital where he was working.

...

The day started normally, Auburn went off to the gallery to start her day l, daydreaming of seeing Shawn who'd been away on training for the last little bit.

Somewhere in this perfect daydream, everything came crashing down. The last thing Auburn was aware of was the screech of tyres and the immense, unstoppable feeling of pain.

...

"Dr Craigen,we need you in triage one." Brian's nurse Amy spoke as she came skidding into the room.

"Can it wait?"  He asked looking up briefly from the hand of a young girl he was suturing after she was bitten by a dog.

"No, it can't." He could hear the tension in her voice,  so he stood removing his gloves,  and paging another doctor to take care of the girl before following her out.

"What is it? Who?"  He asked as Amy all but ran through the corridor. His question was cut short as they reached the bay in question.

"Just stay still! For God sake, you don't have a choice." He couldn't see the patient's face from outside the door,  but he could see that two nurses and an intern were currently trying to restrain her,  against her will.

"What on earth do you think youre doing Doctor Tanaran?"  Brian asked as he grabbed a pair of gloves and stepped into the room. The intern stepped back from the patient, turning to look at him.

"We need to get an I.V. in her,  but she's not cooperating," he responded as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Brian?" The person on the bed asked. He recognised the voice immediately and sure enough as he stepped around to the other side of the bed,  there lay Auburn  a close personal friend, someone who he considered to be like a sister, and the girlfriend of one of his best friends, Dr. Shawn Mendes.

She was almost unrecognisable, bloodied,  and bruised,  tears flooding her face and falling into the linen of the bed staining it a muddy brown as they mixed with the blood flowing from a nasty looking gash on her head,  an oxygen mask laying forgotten beside her.

"Auburn?" he asked finally making eye contact, before looking up to find that she had not even been attached to any monitors yet.

"Everyone get your hands off the patient, now."  he stared poignantly at the intern that who still had his hands on her.

"She just wouldn't cooperate." he grumbled as he stepped back.

Brian saw red at that, turning to glare before speaking.

"Have you thought about why the patient might be uncooperative?  Have you even bothered to ask?"  I questioned folding my arms across my chest.

He looked down at the floor,  but didn't answer. "Didn't think so.  So not only have you terrified an already distressed patient,  but you've assaulted the girlfriend of Dr. Shawn Mendes,  head of this ER."

His head snapped up at this,  a look of shear panic on his face.

"Dr. Craigen I didn't think-"

"That's right,"  he interrupted.  "The same way you haven't thought the three other times I've had to speak to you over the duration of your time here so far.

Get out of this room,  and go and tell your resident that I don't want you on my service anymore.  Oh and Tanaran," Brian called as the man made his way for the exit.  "If I ever see or hear you do something like that ever again,  I will personally make sure you're pulled from this program."

He sighed and turned around to see Auburn smiling softly.

"Thanks Bri"  she spoke softly, very dazed,reaching her hand out for him to take. Somewhat restricted by the board and collar she had been placed on for spinal management.

"No problem hon. He's got an attitude that one.

So I'm just going to start slowly okay.  I'm just going to hook you up to some monitors so that we can check you're heart rate, blood pressure and oxygen. Can I see the chart please? " he asked one of the nurses that was stood meekly in the corner.

"Yes Doctor," she responded before leaving and returning a minute later with the relevant information.

"Okay so it says here,  that apart from that gash on your forehead and a fracture to your arm you have  some fractured ribs, a suspected bruised spleen and a dislocated ankle as well as possible spinal injuries," he listed off as he took in the notes from the Emergency Services.

"They only got half way through checking her." the other nurse  responded. Brian nodded, before placing the chart in the holder at the end of the bed,  and returning to Auburn's side. He picked up her hand gently to check her pulse,  watching as her eyes fluttered,  drooping slightly.

"Auburn, I need you to try and stay awake for me," he spoke, tapping her check softly, moving to check her focal response with his pen light and finding that she had a fairly moderate concussion.

She let out a small groan,  but managed to open her eyes, watching me tiredly.

"That's it," he praised. " smiling before grabbing his stethoscope from around his neck and resting it to her chest.

"Deep breathes," he asked quietly. She did as asked, but it was obvious from the way she was wincing every time she inhaled that she was in pain.

"It hurts and I want Shawn." she cried.

"I know you do hon. We'll get him here soon," he promised, paging one of his nurses to go and find him.

"How bad is your pain one to ten?' he asked,  watching her closely.

"Eight " she answered.

"Okay I'm going to help ease some of that okay. " he spoke resting the I.V.tray that the previous doctor had set up next to the bed.

"Tell me what you remember? " he asked, trying to keep her talking.

"I was just crossing the street,  and a car came out of nowhere. I don't know what happend. I was coming to see Shawn." she added.

"I'm sorry Auburn. " He really did feel sorry for her,  not only as a doctor, but as a friend.  She and Shawn had barely gotten to see one another the last few weeks, and now this. 

"They didn't even stop to help me! " She cried, more tears trailing down her face. He felt so sorry for her, and sick at the thought of how Shawn might react. He just hoped Shawn was able to stay calm,  for both of their sakes.

"Small scratch." he warned, inserting the line, and getting her started on some much needed fluids and pain relief. She flinched a little,  but didn't pull away. "Okay, so I'm going to get Dave to come and  help me with a spinal exam,  and he should also be able to determine if we need x-rays for these breaks okay" he explained gently,trying not to scare her.

She looked worried at the mention of x-rays,  but he just assumed it was due to her being clastrophobic,  as she didn't say anymore on the subject.

He walked out of the room, quietly closing the door after me, and made my way to the nurses station where I found Dave helping a nurse. As an Orthopedic doctor he was often called down for consults, so it was common to find him here.

"Dave, do you mind helping me for a second mate?" he asked, before coming to stand next to him waiting as he finished his conversation.

"Yeah what is it?" he asked as Brian handed him Auburn's chart.

"Auburn?" He asked disbelief clear in his tone,  eyebrows raised in confusion. "Auburn as in Shawn's Auburn.What happend?

"

"Hit and run." he answered. Causing Dave to wince in sympathy. "They didn't even stop!"

"Has anyone gotten a hold of Shawn?" He asked, shaking his head as they made their way to the door of Auburn's room.

"Yeah, but she's quite distressed obviously,  so I'm just taking it really slowly. At least until Shawn gets here, unless something is absolutely vital," he told him. Dave nodded before opening the door, and greeting Auburn with a bright smile.

"Hi Auburn, Bri told me you got in a fight with a car?" He asked, causing her to smile faintly.

"What have we got so far?" he asked.

"Large laceration on the forehead and a fracture to the left  arm, some fractured ribs, a suspected bruised spleen and a dislocated right ankle as well as possible spinal injuries, she is also complaining of chest pain." Brian added as he hummed at the growing list of ailments.

"Auburn are you having any trouble breathing? " he asked, she nodded letting him listen to her breathing as Brian had. The room was quiet for a few moments except for the beeping of the machines as he moved the stethoscope around her chest, before stepping back with a sigh.

"Slightly muffled left side," he agreed, glancing to the monitors,  a look of concern on his face.

"It'll need to get an x-ray,  and maybe an ultrasound." Brian nodded, adding,

"I'd also like to get some CTs of the head just to be sure there is no underlying bleeding. Is it okay if we give you some oxygen?" he asked wanting to up her saturation, especially given her breathing troubles.

She made a small jerk of the head in the affirmative,  allowing him to place the mask that had lay beside her back on her face.

"Any other pain?" Dave asked lifting the blanket to assess the damage to her lower extremities, she took a few shaky breaths.

"Just my ankle."

" Okay,we just need to turn you and have a feel of your spine. Before we do, anything else, as we don't want to aggregate anything." Dave explained coming back to stand at the head of the bed. "All you need to tell me is if you feel anything sore."

She hummed in resonse,  unable to nod due to the collar.

"On three, one,two,three. " Brian spoke before rolling her and holding her steady.

"Any tenderness?" Dave asked as he made his way down her spine, gently feeling for abnormalities.

"No." she answered innnediately.

"Wiggled your toes for me?" he asked as he went to stand by the end of the bed again. She did so,  causing them both to breathe a sigh of relief.

Five minutes later and Dave l had decided that x- rays were necessary, due to the precarious nature of the fractures in her arm and ankle and that the fractured ribs did need further investigation, however that no spinal damage had been done,  meaning she could be removed from the collar and brace.

"Where's Shawn?"  She asked, again as they went about removing the neck brace. Brian was starting to wonder what was taking the nurse so long himself.

-Shawn-

I hadn't been able to focus all day, it was my first day back after being away at a two week trauma conference,and also the first time I would be able to see Auburn and the baby since she was meeting me at work. I sighed as I tried yet again to focus on the swirling numbers of the department's budget on the screen in front of me.

My thoughts were interrupted when I heard a knock.  "Dr. Mendes you're needed down in triage. Urgently." A nurse spoke,making me stand and follow her immediately.

-Third Person-

"He's on his way now hon, but we really should get you up to x-rays okay." Dave spoke, going to start moving the bed.

"Not not until Shawn is here," she begged, catching his hand and stopping him. Seconds later, and Shawn ran through the door, eyes wide as he took in the site of me.

"Auburn, baby,what happend?" he asked, leaning down and gently stroking her head, careful of the cut.

"They didn't stop!A car!" She cried a fresh batch of tears starting.

Shawn was pretty calm considering the situation, Auburn however was not, Brian could see from the monitor that her heart rate was spiking and he tipped his head to Shawn, indicating for him to do something.

"Try and slow your breathing honey," he encouraged softly as it spiked to about 130 when it had previously been sitting about 110. She managed to slow it a little, Shawn not saying anything,  merely cupping her face gently and kissing her head.

"Shawn, " Daves spoke,  "we really need to get her to x-ray. She has broken ribs, we need to determine how bad."

"No, no x-ray," she interrupted again.

"Sweetheart, you'll be fine,  I promise. " he spoke,  stroking her hand softly.

"It's not that." She answered, looking away.

"Then what?" Dave asked looking to Shawn.

"I'm pregnant," she whispered. "We found out two weeks ago. We wanted to keep it a surprise."

"Someone get Connor down here," Shawn ordered almost too calmly.

Dave and Brian shared a worried look, if she was pregnant,  there was a possibility that something may have effected the baby.

"Page Connor." Dave mumbled to Brian.

"I've already done it ,he's on his way." Briam tried to reassure him, hoping that he would calm a little at the fact that the best ObGyn was going to be consulting.

"No what if something's wrong? " Auburnpanicked,  catching on.

"Auburn you need the ultrasound," Shawn spoke firmly.

Her lip wobbled a little causing Shawn to soften his tone a little.  "I'm sorry babe,  I'm just worried about you. And you need the x-rays," he added.

"Auburn, you need to understand that while normally we wouldn't use x-ray, in this instance it's important,  we won't have a healthy baby,  unless it's mummy is healthy too yeah? " Dave explained gently.

  "O-okay," she agreed reluctantly.

"I think we can however forgo the CT, given that you've been alert the whole time. " Brian spoke earning a smile from her.

"But you won't be allowed to sleep for the next few hours and even once you can we'll need to wake you every hour, on the hour," Dave warned.

Just as we were about to start moving up to radiology having unhooked the bed Connor arrived.

"Sorry I came down as fast as I could," he apologised "Hi Auburn," he smiled as he came over to the side of the bed.

"So you found out you were pregnant two weeks ago?" he asked. She nodded.  "And everything has been normal so far? No bleeding?

"

"No." She answered, nervously, causing Shawn to squeeze her hand a little.

"Okay then, I'm just going to pull your gown up."  he did so before reaching for the gel. That was housed next to the portable ultrasound machine that we always kept in the triage bays. They were smaller, and less powerful, but still useful in situations like this. "This will be a little cold," he spoke before placing the gel on her stomach. The room was silent, everyone waiting with baited breath, Auburn with her eyes shut. Connor hit a button on the machine and the room was filled with a rhythmic thumping.

"What's that?" her eyes snapping open to met his.

"Congratulations Auburn, that is your baby's heart beat. Junior seems very happy,  very strong heart rate at 150 beats per minute." Connor smiled. 

" Oh my God!" she cried reaching up to hug Shawn,  before sharing a kiss.

"Judging by the size, bubby's just gone 12 weeks," Connor added, pointing out the measurements on the screen.

Everyone's faces were the same- all smiling from ear to ear.

"Do you want a copy of the scan?" Connor asked.

"Hell yeah!" Shawn agreed making Leah laugh. "This is going on the fridge."

Twenty minutes later, and we had all gone down to radiology, Shawn not having left her side. A permanent smile etched on his face.

"Just stay still for me Auburn." Dave asked,adjusting her leg to get the right image.

Once that was done, and it was determined that nothing needed surgery she was taken back up to a more private room, and Dave set about casting her.

"This will feel a little funny, but it won't hurt now." He reassured her as she became a little fidgety,  giving her some laughing gas and upping her pain meds slightly.

It was then Brian's turn to stitch up the wounds on her head, something which should have been very straight forward, but she was terrified,  having all but jumped (or gotten as far,which wasn't very) into Shawn's arms.

"It won't hurt Princess, Brian will numb you up good okay?" he spoke, sitting next to her, while Brian sat on a rolly chair by her head, Dave next to Shawn.

"Ready?"

She nodded.

"You're being so brave Princess," Shawn encouraged as she clung to his hand.

"Have you thought of any names for the baby?" Connor asked from where he sat in the corner working, having left briefly while they were at radiology and then returned, wanting to be here for support. Something which Shawn was grateful for.

...

An hour later and they were officially off shift, but  had all taken up residency in Auburn's room,  wanting to keep an eye on her, as she was a part of the family. They all sat quietly doing paper work,  as she rested, fast asleep now that we have deemed it safe.

"How are you feeling Shawn?" Brian asked, looking up to find Shawn watching her.

"I don't know, I have never felt so many emotions in one day!" he laughed, before Auburn broke the silence with a small moan.

" I'm cold," she mumbled,  "And sore," she added, visibly shivering.

"Here,  budge up." Shane spoke, helping her to move over,  before getting into the small bed again.

Connor got up to adjust the pain meds and check her vitals. However she didn't settle.  "What's wrong Poppet?" Shawn asked. Sometimes the meds could make patients a little agitated.

"I want to have a bath,  I feel gross,  and you smell different. " she grumbled,  her nose wrinkling. Shawn looked up at Connor and Brian,all laughing.

"How much of the stuff did you give her?

"

"I'm serious." she pouted, swotting Shawn's shoulder. "I don't like the smell of the scrubs. It doesn't smell like you."

"How 'bout this?" he asked bending down to reach for his bag, and grabbing a hoodie.

"Much better," she spoke,  nuzzling her head into him.

"Now I'll help give you a pat down with a cloth if you want?" he offered. You can't really have a proper bath yet cause of all the wiring and your cast."

She nodded

"Just sit up slowly okay. You might feel a little dizzy." Brian warned, standing up to help too.

  Connor went ahead to start the water for her while Dave came to help move the wiring as they supported her to hop to the bathroom. Eventually Shawn just picked her up,being extra careful of her ribs, holding her under her shoulders instead,and cradling her somewhat like an infant.

Half hour later, and Shawn had successful sponge bathed her, the rest of the group having gone back to their work while they waited.

"Get some rest Princess, you've got a little piece of art growing in there, you and Jellybean need it," he whispered as he placed her back in bed, rubbing her stomach softly.

"Love you," she whispered, already half asleep.

"Love you more," he replied kissing her head, they all shared a smile, because at that moment, all was right with the world.