"Yeah, I think so." The mental trauma was more scarring than the physical damage, at least in her case. "Missing a few toes, but it ... uh ... could be worse." She could be in his shoes, however grateful she was to not be.

The second question was one she didn't really want to address, but he deserved to know the truth. "They have, yeah. Spent the last two days interrogating me." How to say their ordeal was an attempt on her life, though? Fallon squeezed his hand subconsciously as her body tensed with the bad news she was to deliver. "It was ..." Merlin, she could hardly get the words out. Fallon used the hand not touching his to rub tiredly at her temples. "I can't go back to work until they find out who did it," she said instead, hoping he'd realize what she wasn't saying.

  

There were worse things than a few missing toes, and things could have very easily reached that if not for the sheer miracle they'd experienced seconds before they were set to crash into the snow. They could have lost their noses, entire limbs; they could have lost their lives. He would rest easier knowing she would be able to return to the real world. He didn't know much about her family, but in their short time together in the arctic he'd learned about her room-mate and favorite coworkers.

It seemed it would still be a while before she returned to saw the Auror Office again. "So someone did this on purpose," he concluded dryly. It's what they'd always speculated, but knowing it to be fact somehow made him feel even more bitter. What sorry ass made an attempt on an auror's life? A woman's life? Memories flashed through his mind: of a struggling Fallon, a freezing Fallon, a Fallon who spent half an hour trying to spark a fire. Who would do such a thing?

"They'll be lucky to make it to Azkaban if I get out of here," he said through clenched teeth. "If they think a bludger is a painful way to go, wait until they meet my bat." (It was probably not the best, in theory, to make threats against a person's life to an auror, but she knew him. She knew how he felt.)

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— way too attractive set by mj <3 —

Even before her half-answer Fallon had known informing him of the assassin was a bad idea. For one, she was commenting on an active investigation to (potentially, in the eyes of some of the other aurors) a suspect. But, more importantly, she was adding to his stress when he was meant to be recovering. Lachlan didn't deserve to be focused on the evils of her profession as he fought for his life. Damn it.

That he was willing to kill for her (when he had such an adverse reaction to the poor bludgered woman) wasn't lost upon Fallon. Choosing to focus on that than her mounting guilt, she reached to turn his head towards her, her bandages the only thing protecting his cheek from the chill of her fingers. "Hey, whomever it was failed," she reassured him as best she could. "We're both alive. The auror department is capable and they'll catch them. I'll be okay." Of that, she wasn't entirely certain considering the assassin had been in her home, but Lachlan was already stressed enough.

  

Angry as he was, the sudden touch of her fingertips caused his shoulders to relax and his jaw to slacken. There was so much to be angry about—but also so much to be thankful for. He hadn't died, nor had he been arrested. Not yet. (He was still considering getting a hold of his beater's bat, which would probably result in his arrest.)

"You'd better hope they find him first," he said, disgruntled by the fact that he'd likely be stuck in here by the time the perpetrator was already sitting in jail. Squirming to free his arm, he covered her bandaged palm with his own. His voice went quiet, more serious, as he stared her in the eye. "Promise me you'll keep me updated once you get out of here. I need to know everything. I deserve to."

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— way too attractive set by mj <3 —

"They will," she said confidently. The fact that she wasn't permitted back in the office until the perpetrator was caught meant she would be harassing them to stay on top of her case. Fallon wasn't about to lose the progress she'd made in her career over something as ridiculous as an assassination attempt. All it meant was she was finally starting to be someone worth noting.

(Or, that was what she wished to believe. The truth of the matter was that Fallon was quietly relieved to have a few days to recover at home. Her sudden realized fear of fire made her somewhat hesitant of being in the field, which immediately meant she was a liability. Her coworkers had to be able to trust her, and none would if she flinched at a flickering flame.)

She nodded. "Of course, Lachlan." Some of the details she wouldn't tell him of, but he'd forgive her white lies eventually. "I'll visit you, if that's okay? And update you then."

  

Lachlan nodded and relaxed back into his bed, allowing her hand to fall from his cheek. She would be back to keep tabs on him, and by doing so he'd be able to keep tabs on her and the investigation. He only hoped his condition didn't worsen between now and then.

"Please do," he murmured, giving her one last smile before she left.

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— way too attractive set by mj <3 —