As Blanche, the nurse on duty, bustled in with her plump frame, Malou finished knitting the last of the boy's skin together. "I'm afraid you'll have a scar." Malou warned him gently in a pause in the conversation between the two men. A conversation for which she was very grateful for as it had distracted the boy and allowed her to finish her work without working over conversation.

Just as Malou was about to mention the potion Mr. Prewett made a statement that seemed rather a finality and her eyes slid to him with a hint of desperation that widened her eyes. She had to know that he was seen too. But she was a professional so she forced herself to turn back to the boy. "Miss Weatherby will see to your potion, then you need some rest." She echoed Mr. Prewett.

The moment the words were out of her mouth Blanche was helping the boy drink the potion as Malou spun to Mr. Prewett, making her features as still as she could. It never did her any good, her parents had always told her she was easy to read, especially her eyes, but it never stopped her from trying to hide her feelings. "A moment, Mr. Prewett?" She tried to sound as professional as possible as she gestured out the door to the hallway beyond. Blanche would have their young charge well in hand, but as it was Malou rather suspected he would pass out from the blood loss any moment and get the requisite rest she and Mr. Prewett had encouraged of him.

  

---

Faustus leaned back into the door frame as he saw the potion do it's work to calm Dorset down. Anyone whose shoulder was being completely stitched back together would likely need to remain still for quite some time, and Faustus figured the potion would do exactly that for Dorset while guaranteeing him some much needed rest. The mumbled acceptance of his command was enough to tell Faustus he would soon be completely asleep even if a hoarde of erumpets came galloping past.

Before he could straighten to declare that he would leave them to get some much needed rest, his eyes caught Miss Skovgaard's and he was surprised to see thinly veiled panic beneath her expression. He frowned, wondering if he'd made her too worried with his offhand comments. He didn't have long to wonder seeing as she addressed Dorset once more before trading places with the nurse and immediately facing him. Faustus straightened, eyes on her as she approached. He got the sense she was attempting to hide just how distressed she actually was - her eyes had grown wide and he could see another flush emerging into her cheeks as she gestured for him to meet her outside. He nodded.

There was no need to tell him twice.

With one last glance at Dorset who had drunk the potion obediently and promptly laid back, Faustus turned to walk just outside the room to find the hallway empty. "Is something wrong?" He asked, his voice lowered and his tone concerned.

---

  

Malou followed Mr. Prewett into the hallway, the door to the room quietly clicking shut behind them. The hallway itself was quiet, a blessing on most days, but particularly in this instance.

What Malou had not expected, although, really she ought to have, was his own concern. As a healer how many times had she asked a parent or companion of her patient to step outside to discuss what had happened? But as it was, Mr. Prewett had not come in with the boy and she didn't know his relation to him which meant she would not have been comfortable sharing any concerns she had about his treatment (had there been any in the first place) with the head auror and thus had not expected him to take it as such. The very fact that he did made her cheeks warm and threw into light just how forward she was being. "No!" She replied hastily, shaking her head. "Only, I -" Malou stopped herself to take a breathe and try to pull her professional calm back around her. Her concern for Mr. Prewett was not helping matters, her eyes kept darting around looking for injury, studying his face for any sign of discomfort. She met his gaze and as the words came out in her quiet shy tone, she realized she had lost her professional facade in the face of her worry for him, "I wanted to ask the same of you." It the truth, laid bare before him. Forward given their acquaintence, but she could let him go without knowing. She'd only worry until who knew when.

  

---

His question had startled her, which perplexed Faustus even further. Perhaps he'd been wrong and he'd imagined her concern for him. It had been stupid of him really, given that he'd interrupted her in the middle of her work. There was a good chance he'd mistook her looks of concern when instead they'd been signals that he was interrupting her work day and disrupting her concentration. And perhaps that was the reason for her flushed appearance, that his presence had been overwhelming.

Upon this realization, Faustus opened his mouth again to apologize but was stopped by her response and he felt his breath hitch as she searched him for any injuries. He couldn't help but chuckle again. Given his profession, Faustus knew how to read people, but there was little effort needed to read the healer in front of him. She displayed her emotions upon her face like a lovely book, and now he could see that she'd completely dropped her professional manner and slipped into something a bit more...familiar.

He resisted the urge to reach out and brush a lock of hair out of her face that had escaped from her updo. Even as he resisted, he found himself thinking the effect was quite beautiful and was much better suited to frame her eyes. "I'm alright." He assured her with a smile. "If anything, a bit bruised." He adjusted his reassurance slightly given that the skin over his ribs still felt a bit tender. The bones may have been healed, but he knew it'd still feel a bit sore for the next day or so. "I ran into Williams on my way here and he patched me up before he took his break for the afternoon."

---

  

Hearing Mr. Prewett's words the tension that had built within Malou eased and she allowed herself a small relieved smile, especially when he mentioned Healer Williams. The man was good at his job and had trained Malou herself when she had begun on the Charms ward. "I am glad." She told him sincerely, the relief hiding her embarassment from herself for a moment.

"What were the initial injuries?" She found herself asking, her soft tone ever so slightly clipped slightly from the habit of facts first when it came to injuries. She kept her gaze on Mr. Prewett's face watching for any wince or anything that might indicate he was sugar coating the truth from her. Why he would do that she was unsure, she was a healer and nothing more. But after this weekend... Malou was lying to herself about Mr. Prewett. The tension in her stomach, the blush on her cheeks, the fact that she could recognize his voice at sound alone, the thrill she took in hearing him, in seeing his letters. She was nothing more to him, she knew that, but he was becoming something to her. An impossible something that would only lead to heartbreak. But at that moment the only heartbreak she could image was that he had had similar injuries or even worse injuries than the boy inside the room they had just left and might have suffered even a moment with them.

  

---

He should have known she would ask after the injuries anyways, and he felt his cheeks grow slightly warm. He placed a hand sheepishly on the back of his neck and laughed. "The man attempted to run without a wand and caught me by surprise." He admitted, mildly intrigued that he found he wasn't as embarrassed at admitting this to her as he thought he would be. And it was his own fault, really. The man should have been secured, and Faustus let his guard drop for the slightest of moments. Even with the exhaustion of the past week that had been plaguing him, he should have remained vigilant.

"Williams ended up repairing a few of my broken ribs when he caught me trying to check up on...Dorset." It was only partially true - he hadn't been truly trying to sneak past without being seen to, but right now, standing with Miss Skovgaard, he wondered exactly how much he had wanted to check to make sure Dorset was alright, and how much he'd been looking forward to seeing a glimpse of the gentle healer he'd gotten to know over the last few months.

---

  

Her eyes never left Mr. Prewett's face as she watched him shift, her own revelation highlighting every move he made in a new light. His hand shifted to the back of his neck and a bemused smile shifted over his lips. It almost seemed like a smile she might have excpected on his face when he had been a boy and caught doing something that he shouldn't have. For Malou's part she couldn't help but be relieved that the man had been wandless. She trusted the Ministry, but when it came to Mr. Prewett... she knew he was capable, but her worry seemed to try to forget that.

Broken ribs. Malou's eyes widened and she glanced down at his ribs, now covered. Her mind instantly brought up images of the dark kicthen at Sanditon, the blood and the bruising, the broken rib. Then she had been the one healing him, her capable hands taking care of him. Now though, her hands longed to press to each rib, to check it was alright. It was foolish, but she wished to reassure herself. The thought, and the realization that it didn't stem from a healer's nature to make sure he was already (she trusted Williams too much for it to be that), made self concious and unable to look up. The back of her neck under her chigon was warm now as well as her cheeks.

She forced herself to move her gaze to his chin. "I am glad it was no worse." She admitted as she tore her eyes back to his own gaze so he might see the sincerity in them.

  

---

Faustus thought back to when he first entered the hospital room, now knowing that the looks she'd given him were ones of true concern rather than annoyance at his interrupting them. "I do apologize if I frightened you, earlier." He said, grimacing slightly as he met her gaze again. "I'm also glad it wasn't any worse - broken ribs and a punctured lung are not something I'd like to experience again if I can help it." If he came home with injuries like that again, he knew his butler, Iris and the rest of the staff would likely demand he take a few days off to rest, despite the fact that healing both those injuries took little effort.

---

  

"There is nothing to apoligize for." Malou tried to assure him. She should, after all, have been worried over him in the first place. "Nor, I for you." It had been bad enough the last time. The tightening in the chest told her and the heating of her cheeks.

"I - I ought to check...." She gestured back at the door behind her to where they had left the boy. Malou gave him a small curtsey, stopping in the movement her eyes serious as she pushed aside her own discomfort at her forwardness, "I am glad you are well." Before she disappeared back to check on the boy before she could do anything foolish like touch his chest to reassure herself he really was okay.

  

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