Unofficial Portkey Archive

Author's note: So sorry for the delay in updates! Real life kind of intruded in on my free time and prevented me from writing. I hope you like this new chapter---you get insight into what's going on in Luke Reilly's head. Please read and review.

You swear you recall nothing at all
That could make you come back down
You made up your mind to leave it all behind
Now you're forced to fight it out

You fall away
It's following you

(Fall Away, by The Fray)

Luke Reilly leaned back in the uncomfortable hospital bed and again wondered why he'd ever thought that this would be a good idea. Yes, he'd wanted to see her and yes, he'd been curious as to how her life was going, but there were other ways to go about this; other ways that didn't involve breaking bones and drinking the most horrid liquid on the planet.

It would have been a lot less painful and a lot more pleasant if he'd just made an appointment and gone to see her like a normal, sane person. But, he hadn't been able to do that; not after all that had happened. For one thing, she probably would have thrown him out on his ear.

Who am I kidding? She would have hexed me. No…that would have been too easy. She would have…well, I always said I was glad I wasn't on her bad side, and now the thought of what she would do if she truly knew what had happened makes me shudder in fear.

But, no, he hadn't gone about this the sane, reasonable way. No, he'd decided to have his best friend knock him off his broom. He'd been in considerable pain since the moment his body had hit the ground. And Sean had tried to tell him this was in his words, 'the Super Bowl of bad ideas'. But, as usual, Luke hadn't listened.

He was always one to act first, think about it later. That was one of the things that she'd always called him on when they were kids. But, just like then, he hadn't paid attention or cared about the consequences.

That was, he hadn't cared about the consequences until he'd finally seen her and realized how much damage he'd actually done. That light was gone from her eyes. One of his favorite memories of her was how her eyes would light up when she talked about something or someone she cared about. It was gone though, and he knew he was the reason.

He'd been thinking about this for over a year since his recovery. Courage had been in short supply in those days. Luke had thought long and hard about confronting her. He'd even had nightmares about how she'd react upon seeing him and how she'd feel when she found out the horrible truth.

The plan had called for him to visit the hospital and see how she was doing, how she was feeling and then if everything was okay, he'd go about his life and let her go about hers. All he'd wanted was to see for himself that she was getting on with her life.

He'd have thought she'd have been married by now. But, according to the night nurse, she didn't have a boyfriend and kept pretty much to herself. The nurse had called Healer Granger a workaholic. Luke had expected as much given what he knew about Hermione Jane Granger, but he'd also expected her to have friends, to have a life outside of her work.

But from what he gathered, she worked and that was pretty much it. Come to think of it, that was how he'd been when he'd first awoken last year. Sean and the others had helped him get better and it had been a long road back. Would she understand? Could she understand? How would he even begin to explain to her?

Despite what she'd said to him in the emergency room, she hadn't been back to check on him. He'd seen a couple of nurses and the healer on call, but no Hermione. He was about to give up hope when he heard a knock on the door. He turned his head and was disappointed to see Doreen, the night nurse.

"One more glass should do it, honey," she said handing him a tall glass of Skele-Gro. Luke scrunched up his nose in disgust.

"Can I have a beer instead?" Luke asked giving her his most winsome smile. "Or a glass of milk? Orange juice? Soda? Anything, but this?"

Doreen laughed and set the glass before him. "In the time you've spent complaining about it, you could have finished it…"

Luke picked up the glass and took a whiff of it. He couldn't understand why with all the advancements in magic and in healing potions, they hadn't been able to find some way to make this stuff easy to take. At the very least, they could do something about the smell.

"Luke, drink," Doreen ordered.

"Did anyone ever tell you that you have great bedside manner?" Luke asked sarcastically.

"I do have great bedside manner, especially when my patients aren't acting like two-year olds," Doreen said simply, picking up his chart and writing down the treatment she'd just given him.

Luke groaned. "This is cruel and unusual punishment."

"Cruel and unusual punishment?" a familiar voice said from the doorway. Luke looked over and couldn't stop the grin from spreading across his face as he saw her.

"Healer Granger," Luke said setting the glass back down on the bedside table. "I didn't think you'd be back."

"I'm about to leave for the evening," Hermione said taking the chart from Doreen. "I wanted to see how you were doing before I left."

"He's being a baby about the Skele-Gro," Doreen told her.

Hermione nodded. "If he doesn't drink it, we could always inject it…"

The smile on Luke's face fell. "Inject it? As in a…shot?"

Again, Hermione nodded. She tried not to laugh at the stricken look on his face. Luke picked up the glass again. "I'm going to drink it."

Hermione folded her arms and looked challengingly at him. "Anytime now, Mr. Reilly."

Luke brought the glass to his lips, silently cursing Sean for doing his job just a little too well. He glanced over at Hermione and he was again struck by how much he'd missed her. She had that same concerned look she'd perfected with him over the years. It used to bother him at times thinking that she thought he couldn't take care of himself. She was always the one to remind him to study for the test or to finish writing that essay. She was always the one to remind him to put on an extra jumper or sweatshirt so he wouldn't catch cold. She was the one who always told him to go to the hospital wing or to tell someone when he had a troubling dream. Funny how those things that used to grate on his nerves were some of the things he'd missed so much about her. He'd taken her for granted over the years and he'd not realized how much until she wasn't around. It was a mistake that he hoped to one day make up for her. If she'd let him, that is.

"Drink," Hermione restated firmly. "Now."

Luke set the glass back down on the table before him. "Listen, I really am feeling much better. Really, it barely hurts now. I think all I need is a good night's sleep and I'll be fine."

"You can't sleep," Hermione told him. "You have a concussion, Mr. Reilly."

"You don't know that," Luke argued.

"I think I'm more inclined to know than you," Hermione said. "You took a nasty fall and in the emergency room you were acting a little out of it. That is classic concussion, Mr. Reilly."

No. That is how you react when you see someone that you hadn't seen in years and that you couldn't believe was standing before you now with no clue as to who you really were. Who can blame me for acting like a complete, brain-dead idiot?

"It's not," Luke tried to reassure her. "Really, I think---"

"Drink," Hermione said folding her arms.

"Okay," Luke said glaring at her before picking up the glass. The smell was almost unbearable, but he tipped the glass and began to drink, almost choking as the atrocious liquid went down his throat. Hermione's eagle eyes were trained on him as she watched him drain the glass.

When he was finished, Luke set the glass down on the table and winced as the awful taste seemed to stay on his tongue. "Yech…yech…yech…."

"Thank you," Doreen said taking the glass. "Such a big boy."

Luke forced a smile. "That's me."

Hermione shook her head as she wrote down something on his chart before placing it back on the hook on the door. Doreen promised Luke that she'd be back later that evening to check on him before she left the room.

"Where's your friend?" Hermione asked.

"I'm not really so sure he's my friend anymore," Luke said trying to get comfortable.

"I'm sure he feels just as bad as you do for the accident," Hermione said looking at her watch.

"Yes, well he's not the one in the hospital now, is he?" Luke asked dryly.

Hermione smiled. "No, I suppose not. But you shouldn't be so hard on him."

Luke nodded and smiled at her. "He had to go into work. I'm on my own."

"Oh," Hermione said. "Well, it's usually a good idea to have someone stay with you so you won't be tempted to fall asleep."

Luke smiled to himself. He'd been afraid that she was about to leave and he'd been wracking his brain for some excuse to keep her there. It was funny how help arrived when you needed it the most, he mused. "You could do it."

Hermione pulled a surprised face.

"Just for a few minutes," Luke continued before she could think of an excuse as to why she couldn't. "I mean, you're shift is over right?"

"Technically---"

Luke nodded. "And you could…you could help me with my dinner…." He motioned with his head to the tray of food on his bedside table. "The broken arm kind of makes it difficult to… you know…"

"Oh," Hermione said quickly. She walked over to the bedside table and picked up the tray setting it on the tray table before him.

Luke caught the scent of her shampoo as she did so. It was just like he'd remembered; a cinnamon-y type scent that reminded him of…home. She really had grown into a beautiful woman. She caught him staring at her and her cheeks turned pink.

"Um, how is the food here?" Luke asked hastily. The thoughts he was having were a little disturbing. This was Hermione Granger, his pal---or former pal.

"It's not too bad," Hermione said uncovering the tray to reveal a plate of grilled chicken, boiled potatoes, steamed vegetables and a roll. "You're in luck. No mystery meat."

"Mystery meat?"

Hermione nodded. "It's a little hard to explain, really. Word on the street says its meatloaf, but I'm not so sure. I mean, is meatloaf supposed to be crunchy?"

Luke laughed. "Well this looks harmless enough…"

He picked up his fork and tried to cut the chicken, which was quite difficult given that he couldn't use the knife. Hermione took pity on him and took the silverware, cutting the chicken into small bites. He hated seeming so helpless in front of her. "Thanks," he said quietly.

"No problem," she said looking at him as if she understood exactly what he was thinking. She had always been able to do that.

"So," Hermione said conversationally. "What do you do?"

"You mean other than falling off of brooms and nearly killing myself?" Luke asked.

"Yes, other than that," Hermione said taking a seat beside his bed.

"Well," Luke began. "As busy as that keeps me, it doesn't pay the bills. So, I had to get a proper job. I work at the community center on Ryland Street."

Hermione smiled. "That's nice. What do you do there?"

"I'm in charge of the sports programs," he replied. "Mostly basketball, but we do some soccer---or as you'd know it---football."

"Muggles?"

Luke nodded. He wasn't ready to tell her everything that had happened to him in the past few years. It wasn't something he liked talking about or reliving, but at some point, she was going to want answers. He just hoped he'd be strong enough to give them to her.

"You should stop in sometime," Luke offered.

And just like that, she went back into defensive mode. "That's really nice of you, but I don't think I can---"

He cursed himself for pushing too hard too soon.

"You can't work all the time," he countered. He wasn't ready to let this go without a fight. He'd put it out there and all that she had to do was accept.

"Well, no, but my job takes up a great deal of my time, Mr. Reilly," Hermione said shifting uncomfortably in her chair.

"You know what they say about all work and no play," Luke said with a cheeky grin.

Hermione nodded. "Yes, but there's also a saying about idle hands…"

"Come on," Luke said pleadingly. "You can spare an hour or two. It could even be on the weekend if you like---"

He could see her thinking this over in her head and already weighing the pros and cons of it. She wasn't going to accept. But, he wasn't going to be deterred. She had to get out of this hospital and start living again. All she needed was a gentle push in the right direction.

"Mr. Reilly---"

"Luke," he corrected.

"It's a very nice invitation, Luke," Hermione said quietly. "But I really can't accept."

"Yes you can," Luke said with a grin. "Come on…it's easy. Just say, 'Yes, Luke. I'd love to see where you work'."

Despite herself, Hermione laughed. "Why is this so important to you?"

"Because," Luke deflected. "I just want to repay you for your kindness and you could see the center and---I'll even treat you to lunch. I can't promise much---it'd probably just be a sandwich or something in the snack room, but I'll even buy you a soda."

"I---"

"You know you want to," he said turning on the charm full blast. "Please?"

"It's against hospital policy for staff and patients to date," Hermione said.

"Well, that's good," Luke said. "Because I wasn't asking you out on a date. I was asking you on an outing to see where I work and maybe talk to the kids. I mean, it's as far from a date as you could possibly get."

Hermione's cheeks turned red and she looked away.

"All I ask is that you think about it," Luke said.

"I suppose I could," Hermione finally said. "I mean…it would be nice to talk to the children."

"Fantastic," Luke said beaming at her before tucking into his dinner. He could feel Hermione watching him and he felt a little uncomfortable. She was the smartest, cleverest person he'd ever met and she didn't miss much. What if he slipped up and gave it all away before he had the chance to explain?

"You sure you don't want any of this?" Luke offered.

Hermione shook her head. "I was going to grab something to eat on my way home."

"Okay," Luke said good-naturedly. "But don't say that I wasn't a gentleman."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Hermione said looking at her watch again.

"You---you don't have to stay here and babysit me," Luke told her. "I mean I wouldn't mind the company, of course, but I know that you're busy and you've been working all day."

Sensing her opportunity to go, she stood up. She reached into her pocket and gave him a card. "You can send me the details about when you'd want to get together. I'll have to clear my schedule so if you could let me know soon…"

"I will," Luke promised. "Thanks again, Healer Granger."

Hermione had almost been out the door, but she turned and looked thoughtfully at him. "Um, if I'm going to call you Luke, I suppose it would be alright if you called me Hermione."

"I'd like that," Luke said smiling at her.

And with that, she walked away.

Luke sighed heavily as he contemplated exactly what he was doing here. He was playing with fire and he'd learned the hard way that when you did that you always got burned. He'd just wanted to reconnect with his friend and if she found out who he really was, she'd hate him. Of that, he had no doubt.

So, he made a promise to himself, that he'd be her friend again and get her to see that she had a wonderful life ahead of her. And once he'd accomplished that, he'd leave her alone. It was the least he could do after all that she'd done for him.

**********

Hermione made her way back downstairs to her office. What had she just done? This was completely unprofessional behavior. She was going to see a patient outside of the hospital. Even though he'd said it wasn't a date, it certainly had that vibe. And she'd not been on a date in---she couldn't really remember.

It wasn't that people weren't always trying to set her up with someone else. That's what people who were married did. They saw a single person and automatically seemed to volunteer a friend, coworker or neighbor that would of course be "perfect" for her. She'd rather have her teeth drilled then go on a blind date.

Get over yourself, Hermione. It's not a date. He'd said so.

But there was something about Luke Reilly. She just couldn't put her finger on what exactly that made her check in on him before she'd left for the day. Truth be told, she could have just pawned that assignment off on the healer on call. But seemingly against her own volition, she'd found herself traveling up the lift to go and see her mysterious new patient. Even more troubling, she'd found herself talking to him and actually enjoying herself.

Chances were, he would forget all about her by the time he was discharged tomorrow morning. She'd probably never hear from him again. He was probably one of those blokes who flirted with any female in sight.

Case closed.

She let herself into her office and took off her lab coat, carefully hanging it on the back of the door.

Ron's letter.

She'd forgotten all about it. She took the envelope out of her lab coat and slowly opened it.

Dear Hermione:

Hope that things are going well for you in Seattle. Still can't believe that of all the cities in America you chose the one whose weather is close to good old London! If it had been me, I'd have taken my pasty arse to Miami and turned into a right old beach bum. Luna says we might do that when we get older. Apparently that's what all old people do---retire and go to a warm climate.

I do hope that you are doing okay and not spending every waking hour in that hospital. You should get out and have fun and maybe go out with someone! I'm sure that some poor soul in Seattle is looking for a brainy know-it-all. I happen to be quite fond of them myself!

Hermione---I know we keep asking you to come back for a visit and you keep turning us down. But, Sage is going to be a teenager before you know it and you'll have missed out on all of it. Just promise me that you'll think about it. Christmas isn't the same without you and I like to think my present giving has improved over the past few years---no cheap perfume this time I promise.

Luna and Sage send their love!

Take care,

Ron

Hermione sank into her chair. Ron was right. Her goddaughter was growing up and she was missing every single milestone. She'd tried to tell them that this was a bad idea, but they'd said there was no one they trusted more with their daughter. And this was how she'd repaid them.

Hermione took a deep breath and then pulled out a piece of paper. She thought long and hard about all that she wanted to say to her best friend.

Dear Ron, Luna, and Sage:

I was really happy to get your letter. Things have been pretty hectic for me at the hospital. The work has been very demanding, but it's also been quite rewarding. I'm currently working on a journal article and will send you both a copy as soon as it's published.

I can't make any promises, but I will try to make it home this year for Christmas. You must be working with my parents to convince me.

Thanks for the pictures of Sage you sent last month. She's growing up so fast. And thankfully, she seems to have inherited her looks from her mother.

I will try and write more when I'm not so busy. Take care of yourselves and please extend my regards to your family, Ron.

Love,

Hermione

She sealed the envelope and set it on her desk for her secretary to send out with the post tomorrow. It wasn't much, but it was something. And for now, that would just have to do.