Chapter 25

A Much Needed Reprieve

Fred and Sarah had an incredible weekend together, and in a way they were kind of spoiled. Sarah had only been gone a week and she had already been able to return for a full weekend, something that she knew wouldn't often be possible. They spent every moment together that they could, not knowing when their next chance would be, and so saying goodbye once again was hard on the both of them. Though Fred had simply told her that they would see one another soon and then kissed Sarah in a way she had never been kissed before, not by anyone. But Fred wasn't the only one that Sarah spent time with over the weekend, she also got some much needed time with Isabel and Frank as well. And she had the opportunity to personally meet Fallyn, the woman who had been hit by a car, though was now healed. All in all, it had been a terrific weekend, and Sarah was sad to see it go. She hoped and prayed there would be more just like it to come as she said goodbye to her friends and loved-ones. And once Fred had left her with his unforgettable goodbye, she was on her way back to her dream job.

Isabel missed Sarah while she was gone, but as she began hanging out with Fallyn they found that they got along well and became fast friends. It was nice for Isabel to have another girl to hang out with and talk to while her best friend was so far away and their only correspondence being by owl. It wasn't easy adjusting to living on her own again. It had been the same way when Sarah left to teach at Beauxbatons. During the summer it was so easy to get used to her being there, but Isabel missed her best friend more than she would admit. It just so happened though, that at the time Fallyn was looking for a place to live, and somewhere to really start getting her business off the ground. So after some discussion, and with Sarah's permission via owl, Fallyn had moved into the two bedroom cottage. Not long after that, and with the help of George, Fred, and Frank (as well as quite a bit of magic), the girls decided to convert the cellar beneath the house into a fully furnished basement area. The project was quite a lot of work so it took up much of their time for a handful of weeks, but they made it fun. There was even a weekend amongst the renovations that Sarah was able to return and help with the finishing touches. By that time, All Hallow's Eve had come and gone and the bitterness of late autumn was in the air. The browning leaves had all but gone from the trees and skittered across the ground, caught up in cold gusts that warned of a fast approaching and frigid winter.

It was simply another Monday morning and November was nearly at an end. Isabel was getting ready to head off to work as Fili and Kili rubbed at her ankles and purred for attention while she prepared a quick breakfast. Fallyn was no doubt still asleep, she was a bit of a late riser though with owning her own business she had that flexibility, but mornings were quiet and at times lonely nonetheless. A gentle knock at the door pulled her out of whatever stupor she had fallen into and a smile formed on her face. There was only one person who showed up at her door at such a time. Sure enough, when she swung open the front door there stood George, dressed to the nines in his normal work attire and sporting his usual grin and slightly disheveled hair.

"Morning Bell." Her heart stuttered inside her chest for no other reason than the way the nickname he'd given her fell so easily from his lips. George seemed to take note of this, because his grin widened a bit and he leaned down and captured her lips in a lengthy good-morning kiss. When Isabel finally made herself pull back for air, feeling rather breathless, she left her eyes closed a long moment. Sometimes she thought it was crazy how much she loved him, how much one kiss could do to her. But when her eyes finally fluttered open, she found him closer than she remembered, face hovering near hers and still grinning.

"Mm... you... are gonna make me late for work..."

"Mhm... and you are gonna make me late for work..." George chuckled and kissed her again. Isabel made a protesting sound and pushed at his chest.

"Mm-mm, that'd be the third time in two weeks, gonna get me fired if you keep this up." Though the next time he kissed her she didn't protest so much, she knew she had a couple more minutes.

"They can't fire you... best healer this side of the Thames." He murmured into her lips and kissed her again.

"What about... mm... the other side... of the Thames?" She murmured in return with a soft giggle.

"Mm... best healer in the whole world then." George smiled genuinely before deepening the kiss and tugging her close into his arms. Isabel sighed and melted into his kiss, far too easily overtaken, but again she made herself pull back.

"Incorrigible... you are... bloody hell..." She murmured as she caught her breath again. Of course this only made George give her a wink and another kiss.

"You know you love it."

"Hmph." Isabel pushed on his chest a bit more firmly. "Go to work, mister. I'll see you after my shift."

"Yes, yes you will." And with one last wink and a departing kiss, George disapparated right from the spot. Isabel giggled to herself, unable to help the dreamy grin that he left on her face. She couldn't deny that she loved it when he did that, even when it made her late for work. A few moments later she disapparated as well, off to just another day in the Emergency Department, or so she thought.

Isabel was about halfway through a rather uneventful shift, when their EMW, Greg, burst through the outside-entry door, hovering a gurney through the room at top speed. She ran out and met him halfway, taking control of the gurney as Greg told her all her knew, per protocol.

"Old man Craggin- don't look at me like that, that's all we know him as." He began, then interjected at the look she was giving him. "He was found half-dead in his old run-down house, in the middle of dragon country no less. No one knows what's wrong with him, or how long he's been like this." The man was very, very old, his wrinkles having wrinkles of their own, but his skin also appeared to be diseased. It was rough and calloused in some places, and discolored in odd and varying colors in others. He was shivering visibly, although he was burning hot to the touch when she felt his forehead. "Presented with high fever, skin rashes, and bouts of violent delirium, which is why he is strapped down and sedated for now."

"Thanks Greg, we'll take it from here." She told him as she pushed the gurney up to another. He gave a nod and rushed back out the doors, heading back out on patrol. Isabel, however, was already starting her examination of the sedated, diseased man. Two more healers, one with more years of experience and one with less, joined her at the man's bedside to assess his condition and she rattled off his symptoms. "Have you ever seen anything like it?" Isabel directed towards Earl Edenburg, a man who had been a healer for longer than she had been alive. She had seen a lot of things in her years there at the hospital, even though it had only been a few, so she came across new challenges often. However, it wasn't often she came across something that she'd never heard of, not even referenced in a medical book, but she had no idea what they were dealing with. What only made it worse, was Earl's answer, as he shook his head in response to her question.

"Worked here for twenty-five years, never seen anything like it."

"Do you think it's infectious?" Marvin McGinnis asked, looking a bit wary, and like he was suppressing the urge to turn and run. He was the youngest healer in the department, having only graduated from Hogwarts that spring and still in the early days of his internship. He had just begun training as a student healer the month prior and was shadowing Earl to learn hands-on healing. Isabel, however, was in her second year as a student and about ready to begin her third, and final, year so she had more experience than Marvin. Her boss, Leopold Latchworthy, always said she was one of the brightest student healers that he had overseen in a very long time.

"McGinnis, go get Latchworthy, we need another pair of eyes on this." Earl directed and Marvin hurried off without having to be told twice. "Flynn, give me a hand here." Isabel levitated the man onto the hospital bed and the floating gurney moved itself back to the proper area to be reused.

"Earl… what could it be if you've never seen anything like it?" The idea was in fact a bit scary, though Isabel didn't back up or back down from the challenge.

"We'll consult Latchworthy and see what he thinks before we jump to conclusions." He answered as he grimly examined the man from top to bottom. Isabel nodded, but deep down she knew what that really meant. He had no idea.

The man seemed to be coming out of his sedation, tossing fitfully and making incoherent sounds.

"Should I sedate?" Isabel asked, reaching for the proper potion, but Earl stopped her.

"No. Perhaps seeing him conscious first hand will give us a better idea of what we're dealing with." He made sure the straps were secure and then watched the man observantly. The patient groaned and shifted, his eyes finally opened, but only halfway.

"Wha's… 's going on…?" His gruff voice was strained and fogged from the sedative.

"Mr. Craggin, you're at the hospital. Can you tell me the last thing you remember?" Isabel asked, leaning over his bedside and speaking in a clear voice.

"I was at my house… my house… ya took me from my house! What'm I doin' here?! What do ya want with me?!" His voice escalated quickly as he became more and more frantic, straining at the binds.

"Sir, we're here to help you. Calm down. You're sick, we're here to help." Earl said loudly, trying to catch his attention.

"I'm not sick! Not 'less you made me that way! You and yer dark magic!" Mr. Craggin yelled, thrashing around on the hospital bed and fighting the straps which held him down. Isabel placed her hands gently on his forearms in an attempt to calm him, but it only seemed to agitate him more. "Get yer hands off'a me! Hag!" He yelled and struggled even more, nearly foaming at the mouth in his effort to get loose.

"Aah!" Isabel screamed. Before she even knew what was happening, old man Craggin had bitten her arm, making a deep wound that was nearly a mouth-sized hole. She staggered back a bit, pressing her hand to her forearm which was gushing, trying to stem the bleeding.

"Ge'r'off! Ge'r'off..." His words went slurred and his eyes fell shut. Leopold had just arrived and injected the man with a dose of sedative. Earl made quick work of Isabel's injury, swiftly stepping in and mending her arm before sending her off to get cleaned up. She cleaned away the blood and sanitized herself, only taking a few minutes before returning to the patient. Leopold was standing at Mr. Craggin's bedside and Marvin hovered a couple feet away looking unsure. Earl, however, was no longer in sight.

"Healer Latchworthy, have you found anything?" Isabel asked, moving to stand next to him. "Where's Ear- er- Healer Edenburg?" She had gotten so used to calling Earl by his first name that she sometimes forgot to keep the required professionalism while working.

"Mr. Craggin's ailment appears to be something that neither me, nor Healer Edenburg have seen before. He has gone to look into it some more. As for now, Healer Flynn and McGinnis-" He looked from Isabel to Marvin, who took a small step forward. "-I want you to treat his symptoms. The rashes, fever, delusions... that's all you need to worry about right now." Latchworthy directed and then walked off with a departing nod. Isabel thought he looked a little too worried for comfort, but her and Marvin began their work straight away, but it seemed that no matter what they did, he didn't improve whatsoever. His fever would go down and then rocket back up, nothing worked on his rashes, and they weren't sure if his delusions had improved, but they weren't going to wake him to find out. They recorded the actions they took and the minimal, if any, response to the treatments, but even after hours there was no change in his condition. In fact, he seemed to be getting worse.

Mr. Craggin's fever had risen to dangerous levels, and since no potions were helping, they had to resort to placing ice-packs around him on the bed. He was in such bad shape, in fact, that when Isabel left work that evening, well past the end of her shift, she didn't expect him to still be there in the morning.

Isabel always tried to leave work at the hospital door, but sometimes it was more difficult than others and when she saw George the following morning prior to work, he could tell something was on her mind. After a little prodding, he managed to the get the whole story out of her, though he seemed more concerned about the bite than anything else. But their time was short, as it seemed to always be as of late, and Isabel had to rush off to work.

Unfortunately, her suspicions were correct, for when she got to the hospital, old man Craggin had passed away in the night. And worse, Earl and Leopold hadn't had any luck in figuring out what had caused the man's death. They were still actively digging around for answers, but after a few days, and with the business of St. Mungo's- there had been a breakout of dragon pox- researching the strange illness had been put on the backburner. It was an insane week in the Emergency Department at St. Mungo's and things that shouldn't have been forgotten, were. Isabel had worked overtime every night and even picked up her off-shift on Friday. It had been over a month since she had last been able to see Sarah, and between both of their jobs, it felt like she hadn't seen George in just as long. Not including the few minutes they managed to steal before work. And on top of everything else, Isabel thought she was coming down with a cold that was immune to pepper-up potion.

Friday came just in the nick of time it seemed, for Isabel thought she'd go mad if she didn't get some time to relax soon. Even though she had to work, George had made her promise not to take a single minute of overtime that evening. For what, he wouldn't say, but he was taking her out that night and getting her away from all of the stress. She couldn't help but wonder what he had in store for her, and even throughout work, during the brief and rare moments of respite, her mind wandered off with the possibilities. Of course these moments were always shoved off a cliff and smashed violently into pieces by medical crises and one Romilda Vane. She was the one healer who purposely or not, though Isabel was certain it was purposely, made her job all the more difficult.

By the time Isabel got home that afternoon she felt like doing nothing more than falling into bed and sleeping until morning. In fact, she probably would've forgotten all about her plans with George if she hadn't found a small bouquet of lilacs on the counter with a small note scrawled in a handwriting that she would recognize anywhere.

I hope you like the flowers, they're your favorite, right?

I'll be there at 6, my love. See you soon!

Love, George

P.S. Don't forget the proper attire

At the bottom of the note there was an arrow pointing forward which drew her eyes back to the counter. Laid there, neatly folded above where the lilacs had been, was the white and red polka-dotted dress that Fred had bought for her at that muggle vintage clothing shop all those weeks ago. Isabel hadn't had the chance to wear it yet, she hadn't even shown it to George, though she figured Fred must have informed him.

A soft grin grew on her lips as she brought the small bouquet to her face and inhaled the distinctive, sweet smell. All thoughts of just falling into bed for the night faded away and were replaced once more with all the possibilities the night held. One glance at the clock, however, and she realized she had less than an hour before George would arrive. Isabel quickly set the fragrant flowers in a small vase with some water, then scooped up the dress and hurried off to shower.

oOoOoOoOo

"Oh stop fidgeting. It's not like this is your first date. What's got you all twitchy?" Fred asked, watching his twin pace the living room of their flat.

"I'm not twitchy." George muttered in reply and stopped pacing immediately afterwards. Fred gave him a look. "Okay, maybe a little... I just... want tonight to be perfect, you know? Bell's been under a ton of stress lately and I want everything to go right for her tonight."

"You're doing everything you can mate, no sense in stressing out about it. Can't control everything, but I do think she's gonna have so much fun."

"But what if she doesn't? What if she doesn't like it? What if she never saw my note?" George began to pace again, this time being cut off when Fred stepped directly in front of him.

"Bloody hell, George. Pull yourself together. You know Iz, and you know that she is gonna love this. And there's no way she missed your note. Calm down and go straighten your tie. You told her you'd be there in ten minutes." Fred clapped him on the shoulder with an encouraging look.

"Right. You're right mate. Thanks." George said, gaining some more confidence and went to the bathroom for one last once over, double checking that he hadn't forgotten anything important; like trousers or to brush his teeth.

"'Course I am. What do you have to be nervous for anyway? Least you get to see your girl more than once a month! If I'm lucky..." Fred called after him then muttered slightly. But George didn't seem to have heard him and returned a few minutes later looking exactly the same.

"There, all ready. How do I look?" He asked with a grin, smoothing down his suit jacket.

"Like the second most handsome bloke in the room." Fred laughed with a smirk. "I think Iz will be impressed."

"Git." George chuckled and tapped Fred's shoulder with his fist. "But I don't have time for this argument again, hmhm, gotta go pick up my woman."

"Yes, you do. See you in a bit, mate."

"Yup!" George called just as he apparated straight outside Isabel's door, anxious to see her. He knocked on the door, getting a muffled voice that sounded like it said 'just a minute!' in response. He shifted on his feet, waiting there on her doorstep until the door finally swung open. It was Fallyn who had opened it, however.

"No need to look so disappointed." She laughed softly at the look on his face. "She's just finishing getting ready, will be out in a minute."

"Oh, haha, no that's fine. Thanks Fallyn. How have you been?" George asked, not wanting to be rude, despite his anxiousness.

"Good, good. I accidentally double booked myself on clients tonight, so I'm leaving myself here, soon as Isabel gets her butt out here!" She said the last part of her response more loudly and in the direction of the back of the cottage.

"I'm coming!" Came Isabel's slightly muffled answer.

"Sure she is. I predict another 20 minutes of waiting for the both of us." Fallyn grumbled. But even as she finished the sentence she realized that she had lost George's attention altogether. The man was staring off, practically drooling in fact. Fallyn guessed why before she even looked.

George watched agape as Isabel emerged from the bathroom. She was wearing the white and red polka-dotted dress that he had set out for her with thick deep red winter tights, and it looked better on her than he had even imagined. Her hair was left long, but curled back around her face in a style that matched the vintage-style dress perfectly. She was wearing just a touch of black eyeliner and mascara that complimented her big, clear blue eyes and her soft pouty lips stood out more than ever with the red lipstick she had on. To complete the look, she was wearing a pair of red peep-toe, slingback high heels that were outlined in white. He knew that those shoes wouldn't last the night, but she was breathtakingly gorgeous in the outfit and for a long moment all he could do was stare.

Isabel fidgeted slightly, teeth tugging at her lower rouge lip as her cheeks tinged pink. "What- what do you think?" She asked a bit nervously, unsure how to take his reaction so far. A wide grin broke out on his face and all at once he had closed the distance between them, arms slipping around her middle and just looking her over, and over, for a long moment. Finally his eyes settled back on hers, her blush having deepened significantly by that point. George grinned and leaned down just slightly, pressing a kiss near her ear, nuzzling her hair out of his way.

"You are so beautiful... gorgeous really. And sexy..." He murmured to her, making her shiver as he starts to trail kisses down the side of her neck, unable to help himself. Isabel's face must have been as red as her lips at that point, feeling the warmth radiating on her skin from his words and kiss.

"Ew... well... I'm out." Fallyn muttered and went off. George didn't pay any mind, Isabel was thoroughly embarrassed, but too distracted to focus on the feeling long.

"George... what- what're you... hmm... doing?" Isabel gasped softly at the sudden feel of his lips on her neck. He smirked into her skin, enjoying the sound as he trailed kisses further down.

"What's it... hm... feel like?" George murmured and pressed an open-mouthed kiss to the side of her neck, grazing her skin with his tongue.

"'Mazing... mmm..." She made a low sound, head tilting up instinctively at the feel. Her answer, and the small sounds falling from her parted lips, only served to encourage him and he sucked slightly at the spot. "George-! Mm... gonna... make us late... you are..." She breathed out, though made no attempt to stop him.

"It can wait." He said before sucking more deeply at her neck, causing her to moan, her fingers slipping into her hair.

"Mmm! hm... George..." She couldn't help it if she wanted to. The feeling was just too intense. He loved her reactions and the feel of her hands in his hair. George sucked down again in response. He nipped softly at her skin and marked her neck thoroughly in a rather prominent spot, soothing it gently with his tongue, after. Isabel was all gasps and moans and murmurs as he caused crazy sensations to shoot across her skin, originating from her neck. Her fingers flexed in his hair, eyes closed and lips parted, breathing deeply.

"Just so... all the blokes who look at you... in that gorgeous, sexy dress... will know you're... mm... mine." George murmured into her neck and sucked once more at the sensitive spot just before uttering 'mine', just to hear more of those intoxicating sounds. Isabel moaned again as he trailed his kisses back up to her face, a smirk on his lips. Her eyes slowly fluttered open, landing first on his thoroughly mussed hair, then traveling down to his rather satisfied looking face.

"You- you... hrm... incorrigible...man..." She muttered a bit, mind still thoroughly muddled from his marking her, but feeling a little spite rising up in her at the way his grin only grew at her words. Isabel let her hands slip down from his hair, resting on his chest as she leaned forward and pressing two lipstick-kisses to the side of his neck. Lips parted slightly as she slowly dragged her tongue across his rough skin, sucking in slow, deep patterns and drawing a few low moans from his lips. With a smirk she pulled back and strode towards the door, leaving him a bit dumbfounded. "Time to go."

"Merlin... mm... little vixen!" After recovering for a moment, George caught her around her middle from behind, tugging her back into his chest and murmuring into her ear. "I'll get you back for that later." He grinned and nipped her earlobe, before grabbing her warm, red pea coat and slipping it over her shoulders. "It's nippy out there, love." He smirked and gave her a wink.

"Think it's just as nippy in here." She retorted with a soft giggle, cheeks still flaming red. Isabel grabbed her scarf off its hook near the door and wrapped it around her neck before tugging her gloves on. George took her gloved hands in his and kissed her nose with a smile.

"Ready then, ducky?" Her chest filled with warmth at the silly nickname and the way he was looking at her, she couldn't help but smile back. Isabel gave a small nod and George apparated the both of them away.

A/N: Summer is here and I've been updating a lot more than usual. Hope you guys are enjoying it, I'll be honest, I wrote this story mostly for myself so any positive feedback is icing on the cake :) ~Jenn