She did her best to stifle her flash of disappointment as he winced. It was a horrid, gruesome sight to look at, with most of the skin still bright pink from unhealed scars. Jo didn't blame him for wincing, but was disappointed to have to bear such a sight for life. If the man who loved her couldn't look at it without making a face, what would a stranger do?

"It is positively barbaric. But also wildly successful, so you can't fault them too much for choosing such a curse," she said. "I could've done without the blast, though. That was a tad overkill." It wasn't enough to have permanent damage to her body, but she would also have to live with the effects of the concussion for who knew how long. When she pushed in the hospital for more concrete answers none of the healers had been willing to commit to a timeline. Some said weeks, others years. It all seemed to be left up to fate

How unfortunate it was that Jo didn't believe in God.

Jo reached for the fork with her left hand, determined not to make more of a show than she had already. She had little to no appetite but refused to waste food Zach had intentionally made for her. "It hurts some still, yes, but the healers said that should subside in time. Truthfully, whatever pain I have in my hand is usually forgotten when my head starts to hurt." Jo was subjected to several curses over the course of her career, some more painful than others, but none had brought on vomiting as a pain response.

  

---

beautiful set by mj

Zach caught a hint of her disappointment, and he knew it was deserved. In fact, he was disappointed in himself. Why couldn’t he learn to school his expressions better? It was much easier to keep honest words from slipping out. It was too late to take it back.

"Yes, I suppose, so," he agreed. It was quite an effective curse, but why couldn’t it have spared Jo? He watched as she used her left hand, silently hoping in time that it would grow stronger and possibly become more familiar and easy to use than her dominant hand.

"What did the healers say of your head?" It was a query he felt reluctant to present, but one that felt necessary. The head was a much more difficult thing for one to cope with if it remained damaged.

  

---

Pretties thanks to Olive! <3

"That's where it gets tricky," she replied with a shake of her head. Already, the lights around Zach's quarters were beginning to hurt her eyes. Soon, the headache would start and she would be pleading for mercy. Perhaps after breakfast she would return home so he was spared that.

While fidgeting with the fork in her hand Jo confinued, "I slammed my head against the wall of the tomb in the blast. The healers called it a concussion, said my brain was rattled in my skull or something to the effect - " her memory wasn't as sharp anymore either, " - regardless, no one had any definite answers on how long it would take to recover. Days, weeks, years, perhaps never." Never was a possibility she refused to reconcile with. Should she have to live with such debilitating headaches for the rest of her life that life would be cut dramatically short.

"Lights, sounds, the heat. I'm sensitive to everything now. It's God-awful." Perhaps the two of her coworkers who perished were the lucky ones to have been granted a quick death.

  

Zach’s eyebrows furrowed, trying to understand exactly what she was saying. He didn’t possess much medical knowledge; it wasn’t his area of academic expertise, but her description of the concussion sounded serious.

Forever. No. No, that couldn’t be a possibility. Could it? It was one thing for Jo to have to grapple with disfigurement, another to have her mind affected. The combination of the two would likely mean she could never return to archaeology, even if she somehow regained use of her hand, and that was devastating. What would she do instead? At the moment, Zach didn’t have any suggestions. The shock of it all, and his worry for her overruled his useful problem solving ability.

"Are you still being seen by healers?" He hoped they hadn’t just told Jo to wait and see and were actively trying to come up with some sort of solution. If everything hurt, if everything bothered her, he hoped they were doing all they could.

"Jo, you should be resting," he suddenly remarked, the rational part of his mind catching up, realizing she probably shouldn’t have traveled to see him if she was in such pain. Even though Zach wished Jo could recover here instead.

  

---

Pretties thanks to Olive! <3

"I am. My mother called for one yesterday morning after a particularly bad episode." The sobbing in pain had only further amplified the intensity of the headache, but she couldn't do anything else. Eventually, the healer gave her a potion that induced sleep, which provided relief for a short time. Although, the after effects when waking left her groggy and confused.

She shrugged. Zach wasn't wrong that she ought to be resting. The headache was already beginning, after all, and with it all its glorious side effects. "Your letter was finally delivered to me last night and I wished to see you," Jo stated simply. "It was the best decision I've made since waking up."

  

"Good."

Thank Merlin healers were still willing to see her. That meant there was hope that Jo could possibly still gain some semblance of a normal life. He just wished it would be a life she wanted. There must be some way for her to keep her spark of adventure.

The letter. He’d nearly forgotten about it. Of course, he knew she must have received it if she had managed to floo into his home, but it was a thought he hadn’t thought to concentrate on.

"I’m glad you came," he admitted, even though part of him also wished she’d remained in bed. The former outweighed the latter, and he found himself unconsciously reaching out for her hand, her maimed hand. If she even allowed him to hold it. "I’ve missed you."

And he was glad she was alive.

  

---

Pretties thanks to Olive! <3

Her initial reaction was to withdraw from him, to snatch her hand away and protect herself from the embarrassment and shame. If only she wasn't so bloody arrogant. If only she had followed instructions. The blast might've still happened, but perhaps the curse wouldn't have affected her. Perhaps she would've been fast enough to thwart it with a spell.

Perhaps there was a future that didn't involve hopelessness.

"I missed you as well. I'm only sorry I didn't visit sooner," she confessed as she placed her hand back on the table for him to hold. Leaving him to further stress over her condition was cruel, especially after he appeared to be so ready to care for her. "Is it alright if I visited again? I promise to send warning." How glorious it would be to have a place to hide from her family should he agree. "I won't frighten you half to death again."

  

Zach appeared overall regretful that he had made such a grievous mistake. He should have sought out the other hand, but it was automatic. He hoped, in time, Jo would come to realize that her disfigurement didn’t repulse him. There was no need to be ashamed in his company. She made a mistake, become overzealous. He couldn’t fault her for that. He too was guilty of such things, but his profession was much less dangerous.

"You needed your rest," he reiterated, preferring Jo to concentrate on mending before she made a second trip. He didn’t attempt to reach for her hand again, not wanting to cause her more grief. "Yes, of course. You are always welcome here." His lips quirked up in amusement, still feeling a bit bad he’d nearly attacked her with a novel. "If you do find yourself here in the middle of the night, a well placed knock would be acceptable, I think." He chuckled, not wanting to dissuade her from visiting if she needed an escape.

  

---

Pretties thanks to Olive! <3

"A well placed knock it is." Truthfully, Jo still wasn't sure what possessed her to crawl into his bed uninvited. Were she in his shoes Zach would've been stunned or worse. Jo was lucky to have only been nearly beaten with a novel.

Jo knew she ought to take her leave before she started feeling the effects of her injuries. If she had any hope of sparing him further stress she would go home and rest as he instructed. Except...she hadn't seen him in nearly two months. They spent one beautiful week together and were once again separated by distance. Jo wasn't ready to say goodbye again just yet.

"Would you mind if I rested here for a bit longer after breakfast?"

  

Zach paused, remembering suddenly, "My mother visits for dinner every other Tuesday evening." It was worth noting. Neither of them needed that sort of drama in their lives, not right now. Especially from someone who was as insufferably well meaning as his dear mother.

"Of course. You may stay as long as you like. I told the shop I was feeling under the weather." He hadn’t known how long she planned to stay, so Zach had covered his bases. Also, now that he had learned more details about what ailed her, he was determined to do a little research of his own after she departed. "I have a warmer robe if you are in need of it."

  

---

Pretties thanks to Olive! <3

Avoid Tuesday evenings at all costs, then. Jo had never, and would never, care to meet any of her lovers' parents by mistake. With her luck, Mrs. Binns would be good friends with Mrs. Smith, and then Jo would be truly fucked. Until such a time that meeting his parents was necessary (which she prayed was never) Jo would heed any and all warnings given.

"I was hoping you might lie down with me," she innocently suggested. "You could read while I rest." Although she'd never been a particularly big fan of snuggling, Jo wanted nothing more than to rest her head upon his chest and sleep.

  

---

beautiful set by mj

"I shall," he agreed, but he soon fixed Jo with a rather serious expression, though his eyes were still soft. "As long as you promise to actually rest." He seemed serious about that, which was somewhat out of character for him, but he meant it out of compassion.

When they’d both finished eating, he cleared away the dishes, leaving them to be cleaned until later before ushering her back to his bedroom.

  

---

Pretties thanks to Olive! <3