August 1st, 1888 - Mercy Magical Hospital, Edinburgh

Tell the world that we finally got it all right
I choose you
I will become yours and you will become mine
I choose you
-Sara Bareilles

Fletcher had dozed off at some point just before noon. It felt as if he'd hardly slept before chaos seemed to ensue all around the infirmary. Reluctantly, his eyes had opened to see a flurry of activity. He saw wands out. Spells being cast. Then snippets of conversation reached his ears. The fog was gone. It took him a few moments to realize what exactly that meant. What he could do. Soon, he too was in a flurry of movements. He caught the eye of a nurse who started in his direction. His hand wrapped around his wand with the crutch under his left arm to support the broken ankle. He was gone before the nurse even got to his station.

His balance was off, of that much would be obvious. The ankle, despite the support of the crutch, promptly gave out when he apparated into the hospital proper of Mercy Magical. He groaned at the pain but was quick to shoo anyone off that thought to come help him up. Once he was back on his feet, his blue eyes fell to that of a familiar nurse, one that had worked at Mungo's once before. "Eavan Mackay," he said quickly, in a stern and authoritative voice, "Where is she?" The nurse simply nodded and mumbled a "follow me" and the two were on their way.

It was a right bitch getting there, of that he would admit. But it was worth it when he finally stepped into the room that housed Eavan. His love. He hesitated within the doorway, looking her over with evident concern. He almost felt the need to pinch himself just to assure himself that he wasn't actually dreaming. The pain of his ankle helped to prove that to him though as he took in the sight of the red headed beauty lying there in the bed, but a shell of her true vivacious self. He felt his eyes burning with tears in that moment.

"Eavan," he choked out as he slowly hobbled into the room, eyes trailing over her as he drew closer.

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BEE-utiful Set!

Eavan was certainly tired of sitting by idling in the hospital with little to occupy herself. There were only so many books she could read and letters she could send. She couldn't complain about the latter, though they had given her a lot to think about. In retrospect, she supposed she should have seen it coming, but for Fletcher to admit that he was already in love with her was a little bit of a shock to the system. Eva cared for him a great deal, obviously, and she was well on her way there, but couldn't just admit it to herself just yet.

Then there was the matter of his family and apparently their wedding enthusiasm. That was perhaps more intimidating that Fletcher's admission in all honesty. Eva wasn't opposed, not really, if it would make everyone else happy, but she had honestly never envisioned any kind of formal wedding for herself. Then again she hadn't actually anticipated getting married either. It was still questionable, considering some of the news she'd gotten just yesterday too. No matter how earnest Fletcher was in his intentions up until now, the crocodile attack had impacted her future in more ways than than she'd thought possible.

She was snoozing halfheartedly, whatever potion they kept giving her after yesterday's minor surgery was making her incredibly tired. The discomfort was still there however, as she tried to get more comfortable in the dim light that filtered through the curtains of her room. She winced, mostly in her sleep, in an attempt to shift her weight, glancing at the door in the process for no particular reason. In her half-asleep state she noticed somebody standing there, but assumed it was a healer. On a second look however, she thought the figure was rather familiar. She thought he said her name, but the fuzziness in her brain was making it hard to discern if she wasn't just hallucinating. "Fletcher?" She mumbled hazily, unsure as to whether she was dreaming or he was actually there.

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Fletcher's heart ached in a way he hadn't thought was possible as he took the sight of her in. She wasn't his Eavan in that moment. She was only half alive in his eyes with those twinkling eyes and bubbly smile. As she glanced in his direction and hardly mumbled his name, he nearly broke.

"Oh Eavan," he whispered as he finally got to get beside. His ankle hurt like hell but it didn't matter in that moment. The only thing that mattered was her.

He settled against the bed as best as he could without hurting her. Sitting as close to her head as he could get, he bent over her and his hands quickly went to the sides of her face and to brush into her hair. He closed the distance between them just a quickly to kiss her gently just to be sure she was real and really there in his hands again.

The kiss was soft and sweet, quick and simple, before he pulled back just enough to bury his face into the crook of her neck and to feel her hair against his face. "I'm hear Eavan," he murmured into her ear as he fought the tears prickling at his eyes, "I'm here."

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BEE-utiful Set!

The surprise of seeing him there woke her from her half-asleep state. She watched him with wide curious eyes as he crossed the room. Eva noticed the crutch, but it was hard to really see much beyond the look on his face. She attempted to sit up in the time it took him to get across the room, but couldn't, the pain in her side coming out as long hiss or a reminder.

She couldn't even get anything out before he kissed her. The surprised left her with little else by the way of reaction, a little whimper escaping at the jostling of the bed, but she tried to keep that to herself. He looked positively distraught and she immediately felt guilty. "Hey, hey, it's alright, I'm alright." She didn't know who was meant to be consoling who here, but clearly they were just a mess.

Eva used the hand with a little more mobility to brush her fingers against his cheek. Her left arm still hurt to move, but she tried her best. Everything was fine, she was going to be perfectly fine now that they knew what had been causing the problems. Now it was just going to take some time to recover.

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Fletcher had barely heard the whimper but he was loathe to pull away. He needed to feel her, needed to smell her more than anything in that moment. Unfortunately, she smelled much like the hospital she'd been laid up in for nearly a month. She didn't have the same fresh scent of her soap mixed with the varying degrees of earth and animal from her work. It wasn't a comfortable sort of smell but she was at least real.

He finally pulled back though, glassy blue eyes taking in her features as a calloused thumb rubbed along her jawline and across her cheek. He tried to smile for her, tried to give her that reassurance but it was hard.

"I promised I'd come as soon as I could," he said simply through a raspy voice, "The fog lifted just after noon. There was no stopping me leaving then." He smirked slightly then, remembering the look on the face of the nurse who had been coming at him just before he'd vanished.

"How are you doing?" he asked, healer mode engaging.

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BEE-utiful Set!

Eva felt like she was moving in slow motion, having a hard time catching up, but she tried to fight through the haziness the potion made her feel. She had to ease back against the pillows, taking the strain off the wound in her abdomen. It helped to be more relaxed, though she managed to cover his hand with hers without putting herself in too much discomfort. His worry made her anxious, though it wasn't his fault, it was just in his nature, she immediately wanted to soothe it.

"I didn't doubt you for a minute." She smiled reassuringly, albeit sleepily at him. "That's good news, I'm glad it's finally all settled. I can't believe it took so long." What in the name of Merlin's bead had happened in her absence? She'd highly doubted the remnants of her group would have been able to last that long without her. That wasn't even her being arrogant about it, just realistic.

The inevitable question came up and Eva's immediate instinct was to downplay the severity. "Alright, tired. This potion they give me knocks me out. Takes the edge off though, that's for sure." She laughed as much as she dared to, considering it made her ache all over. "They finally figured out what was causing all the extra problems, so that's been fixed and I'm on the road to a full recovery." Mostly. "Promise." She passed him another sleepy smile.

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Fletcher smiled at her as he saw her own smile, heard her admissions of not doubting him. It warmed his aching heart. He hadn't really expected her to doubt him, however, it was still good to actually hear it from her. But he didn't want to talk about the fog. He didn't want to talk about the expedition. As far as he was concerned, it had been an awful choice all around and he was just glad to be able to see Eavan and to see that she was indeed okay. Even if he wasn't entirely sold on her next remarks.

He wasn't about to push it though, not as he watched her settle back and took note of the tender movements she made. She was clearly still in quite a bit of pain. He pulled back just slightly though kept a hand at the base of her neck so that he could continue stroking her cheek gently. His other hand found one of hers and he held it tightly.

"I'm glad to hear they've found out the root of the problems," he answered, his gaze locking on hers with the concern still visible, "Would you mind if I spoke with your head healer? I'd like to know what their course of action is to be." Aka, he wanted to see if it could be better.

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BEE-utiful Set!

More relaxed on the bed, Eva's body stopped protesting the mere act of breathing. She let her one hand fall back to the bed gently, muscles already tired from the use that they hadn't see much of in days. Feeling him tangle his fingers in hers on the other side was a welcome comfort, though if he kept running his thumb along her cheek like that she was likely to fall asleep again.

"Fletcher," She chided quietly, as warmly as she could muster. "It's fine, I will be just fine." Momentary panic rose in her throat and she tried desperately to hide it, trying to mask it with teasing. The last thing she needed was one of her healers telling him the possibility that she may not be able to bear children in the future thanks to what was the equivalent of an imaginary crocodile. The piece that had been stuck in her abdomen and the subsequent surgery to remove it would likely leave permanent damage and scar tissue that could prevent her from being a mother some day. Eva had mostly come to terms with it for herself, but she hadn't any idea how Fletcher would react.

"They're doing a wonderful job taking care of me. I know you want to and I promise you can from here on out, but they've done everything right. All I need is some rest and TLC and I'll be good as new in no time." It was a gentle no, but a no all the same. Not that her healers would say anything without her permission (she didn't think) but she wanted to be the one to tell Fletcher herself when the time was right.

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Fletcher nodded, understanding what it was she was saying. He wouldn't push the topic further despite every bit of him wanting to. The healer in him wasn't entirely satisfied, not without know what had been causing the damage or what the extent of the damage was. But.. he loved the woman lying there in the bed and he would respect her wishes no matter how much the healer in him battled against it. Just being there with her would be enough. And the mention of TLC, well, that brought a smile to his face.

"I think I can manage the TLC bit," he responded softly as he finally pulled his hand from her cheek and cradled the hand he'd already been holding between both of his hands, "As long as you're okay with me being here.." He knew she was independent, she'd told him on more than one occasion. And while he wasn't a fan of leaving her side, he would if she asked it of him. He'd have to at some point regardless cause his family would surely know he'd disappeared from the infirmary. He'd have to see them at some point and he'd have to check in at the hospital. And.. Tink. His eyes widened at the thought of his pup.

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BEE-utiful Set!

Relieved he didn't seem inclined to push it any further, she relaxed completely against her pillow. She felt far more at ease with him here and certainly a nap would follow soon.

Squeezing their joined hands, Eva smiled slowly. "You are more than welcome to stay as long as you like, though I can't guarantee I'll be awake the whole time." Fighting the potion was pointless at this point and it was nice to have a friendly face. Especially nice, since it was Fletcher and she knew he only had her best interests at heart.

"Not sure if they'll kick you out or not. Then you can play the healer card I suppose." She chuckled weakly, feeling the fatigue really settling into her bones.

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Fletcher continued to smile at her as he took in her sleepy features. They must have been using some pretty strong potions on her. It didn't factly ease his mind in regards to the extent of damage she'd suffered. She was clearly playing it down but he didn't want to add any stress on her.

Picking her hands up to his lips, he kissed her knuckles gently. "I'll stay until you sleep for now," he answered softly, "Then I should check in with my family and the hospital. Tink probably misses me, too." He couldn't help but to chuckle thinking of his pup.

"But then I'll be back," he said with a more serious look on his features, "What can I bring you when I come back?

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BEE-utiful Set!

The day - day, could it really count as that anymore? - had been commotion even after the Not-Casino, and Conall couldn't even begin to explain it. Irritatingly, they'd all been shipped off to the Ministry to attempt some useless recollection of their adventures, which was just about the last thing he felt like doing. (So: irritatingly for the Ministry, Conall had... not been forthcoming.)

Especially not after he'd scoured every inch of the place and not seen the familiar head of red hair and face of freckles that he'd been supposed to. If her group had been through anything of the sort his had, with hailstones and fire apiece, there was no reason to suppose Eavan hadn't made it here unscathed; he had rather expected her to have been among the people who'd triumphed against the fog, and all. A few rough questions of his own and a flinty stare had hastened away his questioner to see what had become of Miss MacKay, and that had been that. Conall had stormed out of those damned offices, and headed straight for the Edinburgh hospital.

He'd all but forgotten he was half dead on his feet, with concern shooting dagger-sharp through his limbs and his head swimming from fear until he made it to the right ward and the right room. Conall barely knew what to expect, with few details of what precisely had happened and how badly she was hurt and only the crushing feeling that he should have been more worried about her. Why had she signed up for the expedition? (A better question: why had he raised her this way, and why had he let her go?)

Conall barrelled into the room, too afraid to look but more afraid to linger in the unknown. If he woke her from sleep, well, then at least she'd know he was here -

She wasn't alone. "You're her heal-" Conall began matter-of-factly, striding up to his daughter's bedside, his brain scarcely having time to deconstruct the images in front of his face besides the fact that Eavan was here. The man with her - close at her bedside, too close? - was -

Conall froze as he recognised the man, the residual pain of the burns up his shoulder and face flaring up as if to tell him where he'd seen the healer before. He... was here. Working here? Looking after Eavan. "You," Conall said, dumbfounded.

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Eva nodded along slowly. Of course he should go see his family, had she known he was coming she would have insisted he do that first, though there likely wouldn't have been any changing his mind. Eva rather felt like everybody was overreacting about this, she was going to be fine now that everything was settled. They all needed to just calm down.

"You do that, poor Tink. " She chuckled, though she felt incredibly endeared toward him for coming straight here. He really hadn't been kidding in his letters. Though she'd been about to think of something he could bring her, she honestly didn't know what to request, her brain too fuzzy. Eva was pretty sure as long as she had company she'd be perfectly content.

She didn't have time to try and say any of that however, as the next thing she knew, her father came barreling into the room, stopping just shy of running into the bed. This day was full of unexpected arrivals and apparently no nap!

Though she hated doing it and immediately felt guilty that it was her first gut reaction, she quickly retracted her hands from Fletcher's and tried to sit up, forgetting her injury in her surprise. She regretted it instantly, her muscles protesting the movements, leaving her breathless and seeing stars for a moment. One hand flew to her side, the other steadying her position on the bed.

"Da!" She managed once the pain subsided, trying to redirect his attention to her, though he clearly recognized Fletcher. "Are you alright? Where have you been?" He looked startlingly wild, clearly he'd come straight from the expedition as well, likely somehow injured himself.

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Fletcher had planned on getting up and leaving. Planned on kissing her again and then getting on his way. He'd only gotten as far as partially standing up when her frazzled and haggard looking father came barreling into the room as if something were on fire.

He hardly had a chance to react before Eavan quickly pulled her hands away from him and addressed her father and her father recognized him. He didn't get up from the bed in that moment, his hands now resting almost limply there on the blankets. Cold, even. He was hurt, that much he knew but the obvious pain on her face was enough for him to focus on that instead.

"Eavan, please, you'll pull stitches just lay back and rest," he said in a quiet time but he surely had that "healer" look to his face before he looked back to her father.

"Mr. MacKay," he answered simply, "Looks as if you lasted through the entirety of the expedition." Fletcher took note of the burn wounds, the healer on him being focused on the man before him. "You've yet to see to those burns it seems," he added more matter of factly than questioning.

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BEE-utiful Set!

"I just got back," Conall answered the both of them, roughly; less roughly, he said to her, "I only just heard." He approached Eavan's other side, sorry for startling her but not sure what the healer was doing, just sitting there uselessly by her like a lame duck. His suspicions would have grown if he'd taken more time to consider that proximity or the fact that the man had called her Eavan instead of Miss MacKay, and not turned his attentions wholly to his daughter in the next moment, wincing as her hand went to her side. "Shh," he murmured, brushing his hand gently over her forehead and her hair to settle her back in place, regardless of whether she listened to the healer's warning about her stitches.

"M'fine," he muttered, doing his best to shrug off the questions about how he was and where he'd been, more concerned with finding out how Eva was faring. "Perfectly fine," he assured his daughter, and then shot a frown and a dirty look over to the healer who just had to bring up the burns, all sanctimonious-like. He was not this bloke's patient - had not needed his help in the hail and did not need his help now.

They couldn't be rid of him completely, if he knew about Eavan's condition and was overseeing her treatment, but the sooner he was out of the room the bloody better. "Why don't you go and fetch her something else for her pain?" Conall barked, his nerves frayed by Eva's state and the way the healer was talking to him, like a matter-of-fact know-it-all. His jaw tensed as he glanced back towards the bed, and then up at the healer still standing there. "Or another pillow?!"

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Eva eased back against the pillows, unsure of how to be a buffer between the two men in the room. She blew out a soft breath, the pain subsiding again after her sudden movements. "I'm alright, Da." He was more likely to believe her than Fletcher, considering how often she was injured as a child, but right about now, Eva was just concerned with getting everybody to be civil.

Apparently, as usual, her father was going to make that difficult. "Da," She warned, casting him A Look. She knew he was just showing his worry in an unconventional manner, but he didn't need to be a brute about it either. "I've just had something for the pain, it's just a little too much excitement, that's all." She did her best to reassure both of them at the same time. "Mr. Langley was just heading home anyway." It felt odd now, to call him by his surname, but Eva wasn't sure she wanted to deal with this hospital nonsense and informing her father of the nature of their relationship all at the same time. Everybody had been through a long ordeal, it was going to be one step at a time and on her terms and the two of them were just going to have to deal with it. Maybe she'd kick them both out and finally get her nap if they couldn't behave.

"Thank you for coming by," She cast Fletcher a much warmer, hopefully reassuring smile. "I'll see you soon?"

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