Chapter 25: You Found Me
"Hey you two over here!" Mrs. Shrouds called from the car window as her husband pulled off onto the side of the road. She quickly hopped out with a blanket. "So you can keep her warm."
"Thanks." Dragon put Brianna down, taking the jacket off of her and wrapping her in the fleece blanket. "How long?"
"Three days." Edward commented, maneuvering himself into the car before helping Brianna and Dragon in. Mrs. Shroud closed the door for them before climbing into the front. Dragon sat cradling Brianna to his chest just watching her sleep.
"She's adorable Dragon." Mr. Shroud's said, looking into the rearview mirror.
"Thanks." Came the automated reply, Dragon didn't even look up.
"Hey you okay?" Edward asked, watching the both of them carefully.
"How long?"
"What? Dragon what are you talking about?" Dragon just sat there quietly as the car started and Mr. Shroud's drove them to the house. "Is it okay if I use your fire place when we get back?"
"Yeah that's fine. Is he going to be alright?" Mrs. Shroud's asked, turning around to look back at them.
"I don't know, I really don't know what's wrong with him. I'm going to call his aunt and see if she can come look him over or have his parents come out. I think it might be a side effect of the gates, he did warn us it could cause the person to go insane, but we all figured that Dragon was strong enough to come out of it mentally intact."
"Maybe he's just in shock? He was fine earlier." Edward just shook his head, trying to read Dragon's thoughts; the only problem was there were none. It was like his brain had completely shut down. Once they got to the house, Edward helped Dragon and Brianna into the house, making sure they were sitting on the couch, Dragon just gathered his daughter into his arms protectively not saying anything. "Draco Malfoy." Edward called into the fire place as the green flames erupted.
"Hello Edward, any luck?"
"They're back, but something's wrong. I think you two should get here as soon as you can."
"Of course, we can catch a plane tonight."
"I think you need to get here sooner than that if possible and you should bring Jersey and Chastity with you. Maybe Mat and Tiger?"
"That bad?" Edward nodded before pulling his head out of the flames. "Let's get you cleaned up huh?"
"How long?" Dragon asked as Edward pushed him up the stairs.
"I don't know Dragon, your parents should be here very soon, and so should Mat and Tiger." Edward went to take Brianna.
"NO! HOW LONG HOW LONG!" Dragon wailed going berserk. Dragon tried punching Edward, almost hitting Brianna who started crying. Edward quickly handed her back. Dragon sat on the floor holding her.
"Okay sweetie, daddy's here, you're safe." Dragon rocked back and forth. "Shh, it'll be okay."
"Dragon I think she needs a bath hmm?" Edward asked, hoping that getting him to talk about Brianna would get him to talk about what was wrong. Dragon nodded, following Edward to the bathroom. Edward went and got them towels, shampoo, and body wash.
"I can get clothes for her out of your bags." Mrs. Shrouds said, walking towards the rooms they had set up for the two of them. Dragon put the stopper into the bath tub before turning the water on so that it wasn't too hot but not too cold either. Dragon undressed her and helped her into the tub.
"You should take a shower too when she's done." Brianna splashed at the water giggling. Dragon just nodded smiling.
"Edward his parents are downstairs." Mr. Shroud's called through the door. "And there's a Mat out here said he's married to Mr. Malfoy?"
"Thank you." Edward called, walking out of the bathroom and letting Mat in. "Don't let him out of your sight with her, I don't know what's wrong and I don't want him hurting her." Mat nodded, kneeling next to the bath tub.
"Hey love." Mat said, kissing Dragon's cheek. "I heard your not doing too well?" Dragon looked over at Mat and smiled. "Your cut Drag, don't you feel that?" Mat dipped a wash cloth into the bath water and started to wipe off Dragon's face gently.
"Safe."
"I see that, your both safe, but you need to shower and clean up when we're done here. Tiger's down stairs to see you too, he's very worried."
"Tiger?" Dragon smiled widely. He finished bathing Brianna, before wrapping her in a towel. Mat carefully took her.
"I'll clean her up love, you shower and then we'll go see Tiger." Dragon nodded, before turning the shower on as Mat left the bathroom and changed Brianna taking her downstairs.
"How'd you do that?" Edward asked. "I tried taking her and he freaked out."
"Love conquers all Edward. He loves me and trusts me with our kids." Mat sat down on the couch, putting Brianna in his lap so Jersey could look her over.
"How's Dragon?" Chastity questioned, going through the medical bag she brought.
"He's very badly cut up, bruised, and he only responses to his kids, I got him to say a few things, but they're all one word sentences."
"You mean how long? He's been saying that all night."
"Edward that's two words, no he was reassuring me that they were safe and when I mentioned Tiger he just repeated it question like and smiled."
"I don't think we should leave him alone with the kids though, I mean he loves them, but he may flash back to those gates. He might believe he's still there." Edward commented, watching as Dragon came downstairs.
"DAD!" Tiger ran to Dragon wrapping his arms around Dragon. "Boo boo?"
"It's okay, I'm safe." Dragon picked Tiger up, kissing his cheek. "I love you Tiger."
"Love dad!" Tiger said giggling, kissing Dragon's cheek before resting his head on Dragon's shoulder.
"Okay Dragon, sit down so I can clean up your cuts."
"Clean." Dragon said, bouncing Tiger gently. This only confused Jersey and Chastity.
"I know you're clean, I'm going to try to heal them for you."
"Clean." Dragon stated again.
"Sweetie, please sit down." Harry stated, gently taking a hold of Dragon's elbow and guiding him to the couch. Dragon followed sitting down, as Harry started to gently apply bruise cream.
"Draco can you cast a diagnostic spell for us?" Jersey asked, watching him. Since Jersey and Chastity didn't have a wand they couldn't do it themselves. Draco quickly cast the spell, handing the results to the two girls.
"So what's wrong with him?" Mat asked, looking over at the girls.
"He has a few fractures, a broken rib, some scarring on his lungs and heart I guess from going between both worlds, nothing I'd say was major. From watching him though we want to say he's in shock, but he might have actually faced some things that messed him up mentally, so we won't really know what's shock and what's mental for a few days. I think once we get him back to Hogwarts the best thing we can do is keep him under constant surveillance for a few days, if he goes completely silent it's shock, I think the only thing keeping him talking is making sure his kids are safe, once he's assured he could go completely silent, if it's not shock, then I'm afraid he might try to injure you or the kids on accident."
"He wouldn't hurt us, he loves us." Mat snapped, watching Harry start to heal Dragon's cuts.
"I'm not saying he would hurt you on purpose Mat, but if he has nightmares or starts acting out of behavior he might hurt you all on accident. Many people who suffer a trauma are known to have flashbacks; they are known to hurt those they love on accident. Like people who fight in war, though it was more common back during the first two world wars and Vietnam, but they would come home and have nightmares or flashbacks that they were still fighting the war, and would injure the people around them."
"He'd never do that!" Mat yelled, causing Dragon to flinch back into the couch.
"Mat, they are right. My cousin use to have a friend that went to Vietnam, when he came back he was completely different. He was withdrawn from everyone, very distant; they didn't know what was wrong with him. So one day they took him out like they use to do, to the local lake to play. There were kids there playing army men, and he had a flash back. He disappeared from the group and climbed up a tree, my cousin and his friends looked for him for hours. One of them walked under the tree and that's when the guy attacked, he jumped out of the tree and started choking his best friend. The other two pulled him off just in time, and snapped the kid out of it. The kid ran home, he was so shocked that he'd ever do that to his friend. Later that week he had another flashback, and his father was at work, we don't know how he got a hold of it, but the moment the father walked through the door the son shot him to death thinking he was the enemy. He killed his own father and didn't even know what he had done, he's in an asylum now, and I don't want to see that happen to you or the kids, I want to make sure that you all are safe before I leave Dragon be." Jersey said, hugging Mat close. "You two are my family and I don't want to lose you." Mat just nodded.
"Dragon, it looks like she's tired. Don't you think its bedtime?" Harry asked, kissing Dragon on the temple. "I think Tiger's sleepy too."
"Yes, bedtime." Dragon copied, picking up both his kids and walking upstairs to their bedroom, tucking them in. "I love you two. You're safe now, I promise." Dragon turned on the night light, before leaving the door open a crack and going back downstairs.
"Did you get them into bed?" Chastity asked, watching Dragon walk down the stairs. Dragon nodded smiling.
"I'm a good daddy."
"A very good daddy." Mat said, hugging him. "You're also a great husband. Come on, I wanted you to see something." Mat took Dragon's hand and led him into the living room and over to the baby grand piano. "Isn't it pretty?" Dragon nodded, sitting down on the bench and running his fingers over the ivory and black keys. Everyone just watched on confused.
"Music is a universal language, all the keys are the same, and most people who have mental disabilities actually excel in music. It's something that connects us all. I'm hoping since it was something that he was so passionate about, it'll pull him out of whatever funk he's in, maybe it'll remind him that not everything in the world is bad." Mat whispered to the group, listening to Dragon play random keys.
"That may –." Jersey stopped talking as Dragon's heartbreaking voice echoed in the room.
"I don't know what I've done. Or if I like…what I've begun. But something told me to run and honey you know me it's all or none."
"There were sounds in my head. Little voices…Whispering. That I should go and this should end, oh and I found myself listening. Cause I don't know who I am, who I am without you, all I know is that I should. And I don't know if I could stand another hand upon you, all I know is that I should... Cause she will love you more than I could. She who dares to stand where I stood." Dragon let his fingers glide over the keys, his eyes closed.
"See I thought love was black and white, that it was wrong…or it was right. But you aint leaving without a fight and I think I am just as torn inside. Cause I don't know who I am, who I am without you, all I know is that I should. And I don't know if I could stand another hand upon you, all I know is that I should…Cause she will love you more than I could, she who dares to stand where I stood."
"And I won't be far from where you are, if ever you should call, you meant more to me than anyone I ever loved at all, but you taught me how to trust myself and so I say to you, this is what I have to do…"
"Cause I don't know who I am, who I am without you. All I know is that I should ooh and I don't know if I could stand another hand upon you, all I know is that I should…. Cause she will love you more than I could, she who dares to stand where I stood, ooh, she who dares to stand where I stood." Dragon finished, resting his head on the piano. Mat just smiled at the group, leaving him be for a little while, listening to him play a few simpler songs.
"I should go get him, see if I can get him to sleep." Mat said, looking between Chastity and Jersey.
"That might be a good idea." Jersey said smiling. "We can give him a dreamless sleep potion too."
"Wait. Listen." Draco said smiling.
"I found God on the corner of first and Amistad, where the west was all but won. All alone, smoking his last cigarette. He said where been? He said ask anything?"
"Where were you? When everything was falling apart. All my days were spent by the telephone that never rang. All I needed was a call that never came. To the corner of first and Amistad." Dragon stood up, pounding the piano keys.
"Lost and insecure, you found me, you found me lying on the floor. Surrounded, surrounded. Why'd you have to wait? Where were you? Where were you? Just a little late, you found me…you found me."
"But in the end, everyone ends up alone. Losing her, the only one who's ever known. Who I am, who I'm not and who I want to be, no way of knowing how long she will be next to me…"
"Lost and insecure, you found me, you found me lying on the floor. Surrounded, surrounded, why'd you have to wait? Where were you? Where were you? Just a little late… You found me… You found me…."
"The early morning, the city breaks, I've been calling for years and years and years and years, and you never left me no messages. You never sent me no letters; you got some kind of nerve taking all I want!!!" Dragon sat back down carefully.
"Lost and insecure, you found me, you found me lying on the floor. Surrounded, surrounded why'd you have to wait? Where were you, where were you? Just a little late, you found me, you found me…. Lost and insecure, you found me, you found me lying on the floor. Surrounded, surrounded why'd you have to wait? Where were you, where were you? Just a little late, you found me, you found me….Why'd you have to wait, to find me, to find me?" Dragon closed the key case and walked into the living room, yawning.
"Going to bed?" Harry asked getting up. Dragon nodded, holding his hand out for Mat. Mat took it and kissed his cheek.
"Come on baby, let's go to bed, we both have had a long day." Mat smiled at Jersey and went upstairs, where both boys changed for the night. After ten minutes there was a knock on the door.
"Sorry to interrupt, I forgot to give you a potion Dragon." Jersey said, holding out the dreamless sleep potion. Dragon took it before slipping into bed.
"Thank you Jersey and if he has any problems I'll make sure to come and get one of you." Mat said hugging her, before crawling into bed himself, holding onto Dragon, and falling asleep.
KimeKimeKime
M/N: Okay since Dragon's a out of it at the moment, I decided who best but me Mat! (smiles), So just for all copyright purposes, the songs used in the chapter are "Where I stood" by Missy Higgins and "You Found Me" by the Fray. We felt them only appropriate for this chapter. If you have any song suggestions though for future chapters or what not, please pass them along. Sorry about the long update, but this school year has been hectic, Kime's work was just bought out so they've been undergoing changes, and the chapter was finished two months ago and saved on her lap top but it broke randomly out of no where! Though we did learn an important piece of information that we figured we might share with you laptop users! Be careful with the constant opening and closing of your monitor! There's a standard default in the manufactoring where the joints cut into the monitor wiring until it works it's way through the wires and eventually kills the monitor, the only way to fix it, is to buy a 300 dollar monitor and wait until it happens again, which doesn't include the price of labor, or buy a new computer for cheaper! Ontop of all that, Kime's cousin and her mom's best friend both found otu they have cancer, and her friend Sherif El-Shami, whose an officer, was responding to a call when he was shot numerous times in the eyes. So she's been trying to sort all of that out also, if you don't believe us you can always google his name! Anyways, We wanted to thank everyone for hanging in there for as long as you have, we all know how frustrating and annoying it can be when your favorite story hasn't been updated in a while. Please bare with us as finals are in 3 weeks, and then we have maybe a week or two vacation before a summer class. So please please bare with us in all of this, we'll update as soon as everything gets wrote, finished, and settled down. Thank you again for all your time and support it does mean a lot!
Love,
Maty!!
SimplisticlyEternal: We'll pass your support onto Dragon! Hopefully it's what he'll need to make it through all of this.
Adrianna: It's okay and we love you too! I know it's upsetting that she's now had to give her daughter away twice, but she is in hell. Maybe I'll make it up?? I'm think of doing something with Melissa. No Alexz has not gotten Jersey, they're still picking on each other so to speak. NICK! (catches you) I love you too. Of course I'd like a cookie.
SarahAmanda: Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter.
To everyone else, come on hit the review button!!! PLEASE! It'll bring updates faster!