He instinctively reached for her hand, holding her in place. "Yes, in front. It'll be okay, I promise." Again, Dory held the broom steady for her to mount. Regardless of her hesitations, he'd feel safer with his arms around her. It would be all too easy for her to let go for whatever reason and plummet to the ground beneath them. So long as he held her and the broom she would remain safe, Dory was certain of it.

"I'm going to have my arms around you and will steer. You don't have to do anything but follow my movements, okay?" He explained in what he hoped was a reassuring manner.

---

  

She didn't have much of a choice. It was too late, and now she was almost literally stuck. And now that Dory had taken her hand (she ignored how warm it felt), she had no choice but to retrace her steps and climb on in front of him. "Follow your movements," she repeated, though she was more focused on how to mount the broom without performing at least a half a dozen acts of indecency. Her Hospital robes were too cumbersome to be of any use, and so finally after fumbling with her buttons, Mabel shed the robes and lifted her skirt to swing a leg over the broom.

It was an odd sensation, and she reached back out to hold onto Dory's arm as she clambered on.

It certainly felt...odd, but the minute Dory's arms came around her, she found herself automatically leaning back, as if he were the only pillar to cling to. She felt her body stiffen as the broom moved slightly as they shifted their weight around in preparing to take flight. "Alright," She said, her voice wavering. "I'm ready." She, in fact, was not ready at all.

---

  

---

Watching her remove her robes shouldn't have felt as scandalous as it did. (Dory also most definitely should have averted his gaze completely until she reached whatever layers she was most comfortable in.) However, he'd unknowingly fantasized about a similar situation far too often to miss even a second of her movements. Instead, Dory's gaze followed her hands until she was ready for their flight.

He settled behind her quickly enough with his front nearly flush against her back. His head could have rested upon her shoulder if he thought she would be okay with it, just as his elbows could have boxed her in more securely. However, Maple wasn't some random woman he was involved with (or Winnie) so he kept what little distance he safely could beyween them.

Gently, Dory guided her hands to grip the shaft above his and murmured, "don't squeeze it, you need your hands to be able to glide with mine. Try and relax, nothing you do will hurt us." (There was, in fact, quite a lot she could do to send them tumbling from mid-air. Hopefully she knew enough about flying to not immediately panic once they took off.) Then, after giving her a quick countdown, Dory kicked them off the ground and into the night sky.

---

  

If I fall off, it'll certainly hurt us. She wanted to counter, but instead she found herself following his instructions, letting his hands guide hers on the broom. It was as if he had read her mind - she had immediately gripped onto the broom, fearful she would already fall off at this height with her feet hovering a couple inches off the ground. Heeding his words, Mabel loosened her grip on the shaft and nodded wordlessly, her eyes staring wide in front of them.

When he started the count down, Mabel inhaled sharply - exactly the opposite of what he had said to do, and tried to keep extremely still as he kicked them off.

Immediately a swooping sensation fluttered her stomach and Mabel let out a whimper as the trees around them became a blur. Soon they were nothing but small little figurines. "Oh my goodness!" She tried to contain her squeals of delight, but the feeling of being lifted into the air high above the trees was indescribable.

---

  

---

Despite her obvious tension, Maple wasn't the worst flying partner he'd encountered. She followed his motions easily enough that he navigated them with relative ease. His arms had tightened around her as they rode higher, an unconscious attempt to keep her safe with him.

Dory waited until there was a large field of grass beneath them and the moon directly in front of them before asking, "do you trust me?"

---

  

Wind whipped through her hair as they flew through the sky. She felt enough tension in her body leave to the point where she felt quite comfortable leaning back into Dory and following his motions as fluidly as she could. It was a familiar sensation, and Mabel had to admit it was almost as freeing as running through the forest. The only thing she thought she might like more about running through the forest was the challenge of the unexpected obstacles in her way. But up here, the sky was clear, with moonlight illuminating everything it could touch.

After a while, she had the feeling they were descending, and she looked down to see an empty field just beneath them. Were they going to land there? "Yes," She replied immediately - if they hadn't had any accidents yet, what more could happen?

---

  

---

There was still a considerable distance between them and the ground, but any possible fall wouldn't be fatal from this height. And, most importantly, their view remained unobstructed by trees or buildings. It was just them, the lake and the moon.

"Lean back on me and let go. You can spread your arms like a bird and really fly." He instructed whilst keeping their pace steady and the broom level.

---

  

She had just unflinchingly told him she trusted him, didn't she? Her heart leapt at the thought of letting go. The ground below them rippled as the wind laced through it, and Mabel looked up to realize they were pointed directly at the moon. With a small scoff of incredulity at what she was about to do, Mabel followed his instructions, first inching her hands back towards herself so she could balance. She found Dory easily - he wasn't that far away from her - and for the briefest of moments, she gave in and tilted her head back to almost nuzzle into him. The urge to stay there was almost as strong as the pull to let go was.

In the end, she leaned back fully. There was no need to panic, she reminded herself. She was as good as locked between his arms. Slowly she released one hand, then another, and soon spread her arms out to the side. The wind resisted at her finger tips and she let it dance between her fingers as she looked past her arms.

A laugh of incredulity bubbled up in her chest and soon she was laughing into the wind as butterflies beat against her chest. This was wonderful.

---

  

---

Encouraged by her obvious enjoyment, Dory took them from the field and towards the lake. Beneath them, the lake rippled with black waves and a perfect reflection of the moon. Above them, the stars shone with unhindered beauty. It was a perfect night for this kind of ride, and Dory was glad to have thought of it.

However, her joy and proximity to him caused a brief moment of distraction, for rather than focusing on sliding his hands along the shaft to account for their shifting weight, Dory began to beg his body to not have a physical response to this. They were just friends and she was too vulnerable for anything to come of it tonight.

The distraction, though, was destined to be their downfall as a sharp gust of wind blew across the lake, causing him to lose their balance for only a few seconds.

---

  

She kept her arms out to the sides, enjoying the swooping sensation as they drew closer to the lake. Mabel couldn't help but gasp in delight as she saw the moon reflected in the calm waves of water. She seemed to be struck speechless and forgot to keep her arms even as they descended. "Oh my," She marveled, her hands coming back to grip the broom. The water looked so placid, so smooth that she wanted to lean forwards and see if she could disrupt it with her hand.

But all too suddenly, the broom tipped and the water was coming too close. Before she knew what was happening she felt a gust of wind force the broom at an odd angle. "Dory!" She yelped, calling out his name as she completely lost balance and pitched over the side of the broom. Later she would thank the lord, it wasn't a long fall, but she was still reaching out to him by the time she hit the water.

She gasped at the immediate chill that covered her entire body, and choked as she inhaled a mouthful of water. Oh no... "Dory!" Where was he? She kicked as much as she could, turning so she was aimed towards what she thought was the thin outline of the shore just up ahead. Try as she might, her skirts swirled around her legs, tangled and useless. Mabel could feel herself being weighed down. She kicked once more, thanking God that she wasn't wearing wool but simple, lightweight linen.

The lighter fabric didn't make her struggle any easier though, as the layers tangled between her legs. She kicked again, searching around for Dory. It was only when she felt a resistance at the bottom of her skirt that she realized she was caught on something.

"Dory!"

---

  

---

"Maple!" He shouted as she fell. Immediately, Dory pressed the broom into a nosedive towards her but he failed to reach her before she hit the water. Fuck, no. This wasn't supposed to happen. Frantically, Dory scanned the surface searching for her and breathed a sigh of relief when he heard his name not once but twice.

Could she swim? He'd never swam in a dress, but he didn't imagine it was a pleasurable experience. Thank Merlin she'd decided to remove her cloak and robes. That additional weight might have made it so he couldn't catch her.

At long last, Dory found her and hovered with his legs in the water to help her out. Only, Maple was stuck on something that was yanking her back down. "Hold onto me Maple, I got you." He firmly instructed, keeping one hand on her arm while his other dug for his wand. Whatever it was she was trapped on yanked again, causing his grip to slip and her head to fall beneath the surface once more. "Fuck, Maple!" Dory exclaimed.

His wand soon came free of his pocket and he blasted whatever it was that she was stuck on with enough force that it took a portion of her skirt with it. But, she was free.

---

  

His voice cracked through the air as a sob of panic wrenched through her chest. But he was there, which mean he would be able to help. She could only wordlessly nod as she pumped her arms to propel her self upwards to take his hand. She wanted to tell him she trusted him still, but she couldn't get the words out. Her arms screamed at her, her legs were tired, and she had swallowed a enough of the lake water to make her feel sick to her stomach.

Panic took over again as she felt her hand slipping, saw Dory's horror-struck expression as he lost grip of her. She could only hold her breath as the water claimed her once more. And then, she was free.

Kicking her legs one last time, Mabel broke through the surface and seized the broom handle. The last of her strength was spent hoisting herself up onto the broom once more. He had freed her. Hoisting herself onto the broom caused the handle to bury itself uncomfortably in her stomach, and she coughed up lake water, gasping for air once more as she tried to situate herself.

---

  

---

Barely a second passed between her being freed and his arms wrapping tight around her. "I'm so sorry. Are you alright? Fuck, Maple, I'm sorry." His distress was obvious in the way he held her and his voice, which had taken on a broken and almost raspy edge.

Maple began coughing then, forcing Dory to pull away to give her space. Still, he continued to touch her at all times, as if he now required tactile reasurance that she was in fact alright. "You're alright, Maple. You're safe." He anxiously repeated.

---

  

She could hear his voice close to her, pleading with her and apologizing; but from where she had been sitting she was the one who ought to be apologizing - she'd pitched them in the wrong direction, hadn't she? She wanted to reach out and touch the water and she'd lost her balance. There was little that she could say though - her throat burned as if someone had taken a knife and scored her throat with it.

Mabel could feel her breath becoming uneven and the world had started to slow as she felt herself descend into shock. It wasn't an unfamiliar feeling; she'd treated these exact symptoms for so long (and occasionally had experienced them) that she could feel something click in her mind, and she immediately began to take bigger breaths. Her hand came up to rest on top of Dory's - thank God he was balancing the broom for them - and she shook her head. "It's alright," She said breathlessly her voice coming out in rasps as she did her best to crack a smile at him.

It truly wasn't his fault - even though the look on his face told her he thought otherwise. So instead of trying to convince him of his absolution, she took what strength she had left in her and leaned into him, tucking her head into his chest.

---

  

---

Nothing about her was alright.

He hadn't noticed how pale she'd become until she was already nearly collapsing into his chest. Fuck! Dory cradled her protectively with one arm and held the broom with the other. She needed to get back to dry land and fast. However, the shore was a public place and, while he'd do just about anything to keep her safe, he wasn't sure she would still speak to him come morning if her reputation was completely soiled. His flat wasn't far and if they weren't leisurely flying Dory could have them there within minutes.

"I got you," Dory promised her again and placed a brief kiss to the top of her head. "I'm going to fly us back, alright?" He wasn't even sure if she was conscious at this point, but continued to reassure her all the same. Then, without waiting for permission or a sign of life from her he pushed them forward towards his place.

---