20 September, 1893 — St. Mungo's

Ben hadn't wanted to leave, but ultimately the world was continuing to revolve while his daughter's hospital room remained frozen in time. Aldous had paused all of his campaign events to deal with the crisis, but after a week the political engine was gradually grinding back to life, and while Ben wasn't overly involved he had promised to supply some of Aldous' campaign events with alcohol. And then there was that — he still had a job (at least for the moment), and Jewell had been hit hard by the dragons. They'd lost a full warehouse and the London manufacturing center. Ben was close enough to Jewell himself to have heard him discussing how much of a financial hit this was going to be. There were still stocks here and there, enough to deliver on some of the orders that had already been paid for, and there were still international contracts, but... things weren't looking good for the distillery. When he wasn't at the hospital or supporting Aldous, Ben was doing everything he could to help — both because Jewell was a personal friend and because he enjoyed having a job that paid him money and wanted that job to continue to exist and pay him money — but it wasn't looking good on that last point. And having a daughter in St. Mungo's for over a week wasn't free. Ben would have paid Nora's hospital bills at any cost — he would have put himself in debtor's prison to keep her well — but with so much uncertainty in her future, it was hard to see how he could manage this if his job went up in dragonsmoke.

He'd still been visiting Melody and Nora every spare second he had, at least twice a day, but so far there hadn't been any changes. When he got the letter from Melody that something had changed he'd dropped everything and headed over there — but since he'd gotten the owl at a Jewell warehouse in north Scotland, it wasn't as quick of a trip as he would have liked. By the time he burst into the room Nora was exactly where he'd left her, in the hospital bed with her eyes closed, and Ben's heart immediately sank, fearing the worst.

"Is she —?" he asked wildly as he moved towards the bed. "What—?"

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Melody hadn't slept in more than thirty minute burst in what felt like years. Despite everyone's insistence that she spend a night at home and that she'd be summoned at the first sign of anything happening, she couldn't stomach the thought of leaving Nora all alone. The nurses, while dedicated and focused, weren't able to sit at her bedside throughout their entire shift and the healers had far too many patients to manage to be solely dedicated to one two year old. What if Nora woke to an empty room? What if she got up and wandered off in search of either of her parents? What if Nora worsened and no one was there to catch it? Melody worked herself into a panic everytime she even considered leaving the hospital with these thoughts. Heading home simply wasn't an option.

The only time she felt as though she could let down her guard was when Ben was there too. He was similarly focused on their daughter, his every thought and anxiety were also consumed by the potential outcomes of this nightmare. It had pained him to leave, she knew, but there was still the campaign (which Melody only slightly begrudged Aldous for continuing under these circumstances) and his job (which was necessary to maintain their houses) to attend to. Ben had to leave, just as Melody had to stay.

Still, his departure was made only with the promise to be notified as soon as anything — for better or worse — changed. And, despite her focus being everywhere but her quill and parchment, Melody had held true to her promise. Come now. Nora is moving. She'd written in a hasty script, not bothering to address or sign the parchment. Then, after forcing the tightly folded note into one of the nurses' hands, Melody had returned to see a beautiful and equally terrifying sight — her daughter's eyes were open but she had a look of utter terror etched across her face.

It was a flurry of healers and nurses after that. Melody was often moved towards the side of the room for the various examinations and conversations that had to be had. But, it was alright, because Nora was awake. All their anxieties, all her cries and sobs and panic and pleas with whatever deities existed were relieved all at once because Nora was awake and seemingly aware.

And not uttering a single sound.

They had known there could be any sort of consequence to a severe head injury. Memory loss, loss of mobility, anything. And, despite knowing all of this, Melody hadn't considered the possibilities because to her there were only two options - awake and not. All the possibilities were for after they had some sort of notion of what laid ahead. And still, she was suddenly desperately wishing she had considered it for even a moment because what were they to do now if their daughter couldn't speak?

And how was she to inform Ben of this change of results?

Nora had fallen back asleep nearly an hour after waking. The healers insisted that due to her nlw being awake she'd soon awake again and that head injuries were exhausting and the little one would need her strength, but Melody was barely able to stomach her terror at the sight of Nora sleeping once more. They were right, of couse, she had to sleep so her brain might continue healing, but what if that was it? What if she never woke again and Melody had spent the time glued to the wall observing her baby be poked and prodded by strangers?

She turned to the opening door, her eyes wide with her internal panic, as Ben rushed in. "She woke up," Melody answered quickly. "She was aware and alert. Scared, I think. They said she needed to rest still, so she's sleeping again but -" Melody broke off, unable to voice the new terrifying reality they faced.

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The news Melody shared was positive — he had to remind himself of that as she spoke, because the wave of disappointment that he felt at hearing that his daughter had gone back to sleep was so acute it brought physical pain. She had been awake and alert and he'd entirely missed it?

"I'll stay until she wakes up again," he decided. Forget Jewell, forget Aldous, forget everything — he couldn't survive this with secondhand news about how his daughter was faring. He had to see her awake for himself before he could let himself really believe it.

"That's — that's good news," he continued, overwhelmed. "Right? That's exactly what we've been waiting for."

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"Of course, yeah." Melody immediately agreed. Truthfully, now that Nora was awake (or at least able to be woken up) she didn't fully understand why he'd leave for anything other than the distillery. The obligation Ben had to his brother's campaign couldn't possibly compare to the obligation he had to his family. The campaign could go up in flames for all Melody cared at this point (which wasn't to say she cared much about the campaign to begin with, as she had never particularly cared for Aldous. However, she had hoped for Ben's sake that Aldous would win.)

She stood to stop Ben from approaching the bed, her hands raised in front of her chest to stop his progress if he still tried to continue. "It's great that she woke up, yes. Of course." She began again in a low voice as if not to wake Nora with her heart breaking once more at having to reveal the severity of the situation to him herself. "But Ben, she didn't speak - couldn't speak. At least, that's what they think anyway. She wasn't trying beyond opening her mouth when they told her to. It was - she couldn't speak."

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Ben's brow furrowed as Melody explained. It took him a moment to make sense of it. What did that even mean, she couldn't speak? Everyone spoke. It wasn't the sort of injury that made any intuitive sense to him. Aldous walked with a limp because part of his leg was missing — that made sense. People who'd been in too many bludger incidents had shaky hands — that made sense. How did it happen that someone couldn't speak?

"Is — that's like, like she's still in the process of waking up?" he asked, trying to make sense of it. "Like, she will, just not yet? Or is it —? She'll get better, right?" He wasn't sure what it meant for them if the answer was no. He felt like she could still have a perfectly full life if she had a few lingering injuries; maybe she wouldn't play Quidditch, or climb trees, but she'd be able to do the things that really mattered. What would life be like for someone who didn't speak?

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"They don't know." But really, when did the healers know anything? Everything this past week had been a series of maybe, we're uncertain, we don't know, anything could happen. All the healers had been sure of was that she was alive, which Melody had been able to determine on her own. Were there any other hospital to take her to, she might've insisted they do that with how frustrated she'd been with the lack of answers this past week.

"She didn't- she didn't even call for me, Ben. She just sat there, wide eyed and afraid. I don't - they said it could be something permanent or it could be temporary. I don't know."

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Ben swallowed. On the one hand, that was grim... but he couldn't forget that only a day ago they'd been wondering if she would wake up rather than when. This was better, even if it felt like the floor had opened up beneath them and now they were floating directionless in the abyss. He had no idea how to handle this, no idea what to do, but Nora was alive and now she had been awake.

"We'll figure it out," he reassured her, moving to pull Melody into his arms. They'd been in contact more often than not since Nora had been in the hospital, finding comfort anywhere they could and not looking too hard at the implications, and by now it was habit. "Whether it's forever or just today, we'll get through it together."

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Melody hadn't realized how much she was trembling until she was secure in Ben's embrace. Touching him once more had become second nature again, with them regularly holding hands or providing the reassuring touch that they both needed to survive this. She didn't know when they'd return to the distance he'd enforced earlier this year (or if they'd ever go back to it at all) but Melody wasn't about to question it when his presence was the single source of comfort she now had. That conversation could wait an eternity if necessary.

She nodded into his chest. "I know. It was just ... it was just a lot all at once." None of the healers had talked to her much, instead electing to talk at her. She'd followed what they said for the most part, but it was all incredibly overwhelming. Then, almost as if she was just beginning to recognize the truth of her words, Melody softly and tearfully said, "she woke up. That's a step in the right direction, right?"

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Ben's chest ached at her response. He recognized the emotion there, as it mirrored his own feeling of being utterly lost. He wished there was something he could do or say to make it better, but that seemed far beyond his skill set.

"I know. It's a lot," he agreed. "But — yeah, it's good. It's better than yesterday." If every day was better than yesterday, even by the tiniest increment, that meant they could still hold on to hope that someday everything would go back to normal. "What else did the healers say? Tell me everything."

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The day was far better than yesterday, and Melody was going to have to continuously remind herself of that fact in the days to come. Having a mute daughter was better than some of the alternatives they were facing only hours ago. They would find the appropriate doctors — be them muggle or magical — and provide whatever support she needed. They could do this - it was a better future to cling to than they had yesterday.

Melody pulled away from the hug reluctantly but continued to hold his hand as she led them towards the chairs to sit. She needed the tether to keep from spiraling with her anxious thoughts once more. Then, once they were sitting, she began repeating all that had been told to her and the likely possibilities of what was to come. Nora would still need to remain in the hospital until they were confident her status wouldn't change, and there were some other tests they still had to run. It all came out in one long, jumbled rush that by the time Melody had finished explaining she was absolutely exhausted.

"I want to spend a few minutes with her before getting the healers next time she wakes up. Just us, if you think you would be okay with that." Melody then added quietly. It had been such an overwhelming experience for her that she needed to reassure herself that Nora was handling it alright too.

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It was all Ben could do to follow the highlights of her explanation. He'd never had a head for this sort of thing, and the extent of his knowledge of healing magic was some basic first aid he'd practiced as a cursebreaker doing field work. But this was important, and he knew everyone he talked to from his family or his friend circle was going to ask about it, so he tried his best to follow it all. When Melody mentioned not calling the healers right away he was at first puzzled, but he had to admit that the idea of just seeing Nora and being able to hold her without anyone else interfering was appealing.

"If you think that's okay," he agreed. "You'd know better than I would. But yeah, obviously I'd love to just see her awake again." He looked down at his daughter for a moment. "Did they say how long she'd sleep for? How long they think?"

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"I think if it's just for a few minutes it'll be okay." She didn't know this for certain, but if Ben wasn't arguing it then she wasn't going to point that out. "We'll call them in, of course. I don't mean for us to spend the entire time she's awake with her. I think we both need a chance to be with her and maybe explain what's going on. I don't want her to be afraid."

She wished the healers could have provided more concrete answers than all responses had been. "They said it likely wouldn't be long, a few hours maybe." Which, compared to the eternity they'd just sat through wasn't much time at all.

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Ben frowned. "I don't think we can stop her from being afraid," he said, and then immediately regretted having voiced it. It was true enough — both because the situation was frightening for a child who had no context for where she was or what was happening or why, but also because they were scared, and he was sure Nora would be able to tell that. She'd sensed how tense things were between the pair of them when he'd left earlier in the year, even if they'd both worked hard not to actually say or do anything around her that could confirm it. She was going to know they were scared, and she was going to be scared, and there was nothing they could do to save her from that... but that didn't mean it had been a useful thing to say to Melody.

"Sorry," he said with an even deeper frown. "Of course that's fine. Let's do it."

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"I know that." Melody snapped, her hand pulling back from his. Of course Nora would continue to be afraid until she was back home with some semblance of a routine. Still, Melody felt Nora might feel less afraid if her parents were there with reassurances and an explanation. An endless parade of healers and nurses wouldn't do much to reassure an adult, nevermind a small child.

"Sorry. I ... I need some tea, would you like a cup?" She asked while pushing to stand despite sitting only minutes ago. The exhaustion and stress was truly starting to wear on her.

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She pulled her hand away. Ben supposed he deserved that, but he couldn't keep from sulking about it all the same.

"Sure. Tea, yeah," he agreed. He didn't really need or want tea, but he suspected that she wanted something to do to feel productive more than anything else, and he could use something to hold onto.

He waited for her to go and come back, watching Nora sleep and stewing. When she handed him the tea cup, he glanced her way and grimaced. "I've been keeping pretty busy with Jewell. They lost a warehouse and the main manufacturing plant in the dragon attacks."

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Even as Melody sank down onto a bench outside the tea room she knew she knew she shouldn't be lingering outside of the room for a second longer than necessary. Nora could wake again at any moment (unlikely, as she'd only just fallen asleep shortly before Ben had walked back in) and Ben could likely use the moral support. But, as she sat and stared at a fraying strand on the sleeve of her dress, Melody knew she needed the time away more than anything else.

It was easy to slip into their old habits of miscommunication, of slipping and snapping without any additional thought. Melody had realized in the months apart that neither of them had ever truly listened - it wasn't just Ben who failed time and time again. And this time, Melody desperately wanted to do better. Not because she had a single shred of hope that Ben returning to her fully (that dream had ended the day he finally left) but because Nora deserved better. Nora deserved a mother who was capable of listening without her own feelings getting in the way.

And just now - Melody hadn't been listening. She had heard only her fear and anxiety. She had heard only the negatives Ben was spewing, not his consent to spend a minute with Nora. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that Ben's concern was only for their daughter and what was in her best interest. In fact, he hadn't said no at all in the few minutes they discussed it. Merlin. Melody was already falling back into the very same habits that killed their relationship.

She had to do better.

She took an additional few minutes to breathe and force down her rising emotions before pouring their two cups and returning to the room. Melody handed him his tea - already fixed to his liking - and curled her feet under her bottom as she sat once more in her chair. It was, perhaps, entirely inappropriate to sit so casually in this public of a setting, but Melody had long since stopped caring.

"That's a lot of supply to lose at once." She murmured in response. The dragons had been merciless in their siege on London - that Jewell hadn't been spared wasn't entirely shocking. It'd cost a small fortune to rebuild that much at once. (Did they even have that kind of reserve?) "How is Jewell handling it?"

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