I'm so sorry that it took forever for me to update. I've been so busy with school. I never knew a semester could be so hard, and I'm just barely to the midway point. Ugh. Anyway, thank you for your patience and I hope the wait was worth it.

Just as a recap: Laurie fell three stories. This picks up right after that.

And as a special treat, it's in Sirius's point of view. Nifty huh?

Anway, I don't own anything, especially not Pride and Prejudice no matter how much I want to.

Everyone on the stairs was in shock for a full minute – no one moving, no one breathing, watching Laurie fall as if in slow motion, and eventually hearing the sound of her body hitting the stones. Sirius felt his heart stop in that moment. He was sure he died the instant her body started to fall. It took a long moment for his brain to reengage and his legs to fly down the stairs carrying him to Laurie. He jumped ten steps at a time and when he finally got to the entrance hall, he sprinted to her unconscious form.

"Laurie!" he said as he slid to his knees and shook her shoulder, cupping her cheek. "Laurie! C'mon love, open your eyes!"

Laurie remained limp on the floor and didn't respond to anything. Her body was sprawled on her side. He took her wrist and felt for a pulse. It was there, but faint. He tried to rouse her but nothing happened. Sirius shook her and yelled at her to get up. Nothing worked. Tears ran uncontrollably down his cheeks but he didn't care. Nothing mattered if Laurie wasn't alright.

Sirius had taken little notice of James who had rushed in the opposite direction, presumably to find Madame Pomfrey. Sirius knew he was alone in the hall with Laurie. Snape and the other git were long gone now.

Sirius looked over Laurie and noticed her left leg was sticking out at a strange angle. It was definitely broken. Her arms were ok, but her head was bleeding from where she hit the floor. Her hair was damp with blood and it had started to pool onto the stones under her head.

Sirius ripped off his scarf and folded it, making a pad out of it and gently lifted her head and pushed the scarf under it to try and slow the bleeding. He had the flash of his dream come to him vividly and he pushed it away. He didn't have time to look at the premonition it obviously was. He'd never had one before and he needed to look into that. But now was not the time.

He felt a draft from the huge double doors that led to the courtyard. It was below freezing outside and Laurie would be really cold. Sirius yanked his arms out of his jacket and draped it over her. He had dropped his wand when he had slid to the floor in an effort to see if she was still living but he picked it up now and conjured a blanket. He was glad she wore those boots she got for her birthday. They would at least keep her feet warm.

Sirius took her right hand and started to rub it. It felt cold to the touch. He also started to murmur to her. "Come on, love. Be ok. Just be ok for me, sweetheart." He reached over for her other hand and started rubbing it too. "Just wake up and be fine for me, please, Laurie."

Sirius continued to murmur pleas to her as he wondered how long it would take James to run to the hospital wing and bring Madame Pomfrey back here. He hoped he returned soon. Sirius would have moved her, but he didn't think it was the best thing with her bleeding and her leg broken. He didn't want to take any risks.

He looked at her face and was amazed at how peaceful it looked. He reached and brushed her curls away from her face. She had curled her hair for the party. He shook his head. She wanted to look nicer so she curled her hair. Now her curls were wet with blood.

He vaguely realized the flowers he gave her were missing. She had mentioned that she had never seen peonies. He had thought it strange, but he didn't want to deprive her. Mrs. Potter had a whole garden full that he saw her working busily in every time he came over.

Sirius' thoughts scattered when he heard footsteps pounding down the stone steps of the staircase. He looked up and saw Madame Pomfrey hurrying down the stairs with her cloak flying behind her. James was running in front of her looking really pale and out of breath. His friend ran to Sirius's side and started talking to him but Sirius couldn't focus on anything while the nurse was checking Laurie over. She quickly mended Laurie's broken leg with a muttered spell and put it in a splint to keep it still, just precautionary she assured him.

She knelt by Laurie's head and looked at the wound. The scarf had helped slow the blood loss and she was impressed that he had that much presence of mind to try and stop the blood. He nodded, not really hearing her compliments, and watched as she quickly mended the gash on Laurie's head.

"I have to take her to the hospital wing, Mr. Black. You need to follow me and I'll give you something for the shock." Madame Pomfrey conjured a stretcher and lifted Laurie onto it.

James had stopped talking; realizing Sirius was paying no heed to anything he said.

Sirius followed behind the nurse, holding Laurie's hand as she was carried to the hospital wing. He felt James behind him, his gaze furtively on Laurie and then on him. Sirius had never seen his friend so shaken up. James was doing well so far, especially seeing how he saw Sirius crying. Never had Sirius cried in front of anyone, but this was not a time to get picky. He had watched his girlfriend drop three floors and heard her hit the stone floor of the entrance hall. That would cause anyone to cry.

The trip to the hospital wing was a blur to Sirius and he would later recall the only thing that he knew was the feel of Laurie's cool hand in his. Madame Pomfrey ordered him to sit on an empty sterile bed while she transferred Laurie to a bed beside him and brought screens up to hide her as the nurse changed Laurie into a gown.

Sirius sat there with James beside him. Both were silent as Madame Pomfrey worked. It was about ten minutes later when Madame Pomfrey was done fussing over Laurie and moved on to Sirius who was sure she just loved to torture students when they had hit their lowest.

He let her prod him mercilessly until she was sure he hadn't hurt himself physically. She gave him a potion or some concoction and told him to drink it in order to get over the shock quicker. James was enlisted to help force the vile tasting liquid into his mouth, which he was reluctant to do. He didn't want any repercussions because of it.

Sirius lay down and just looked at Laurie and hoped beyond hope she would wake. He had never felt so helpless in his life. He kept repeating the event in his mind and tried to find a way he could have prevented the whole thing from happening. Maybe if he had reacted faster. Maybe if he hadn't reacted to Snape's taunts. He fell asleep listing the things that went wrong.

He woke not long after to the soft murmurs of people around him. He opened his eyes and saw that all their friends were gathered around their beds. It took him a moment to remember what happened. But when he did he sat up quickly, disregarding all of their surprised looks. His head pounded fiercely, but he could think more clearly. Sirius looked over at Laurie's bed and tried to will her to wake.

Sirius heard their murmured condolences and pitying remarks. Some tried to be hopeful, but he couldn't really be hopeful at the moment.

"What time is it?" he asked Remus who had sat next to him on his bed.

"Just after midnight. Madame Pomfrey had to let us in once James told us what happened." Remus talked quietly as to not interrupt the relative silence of the hospital wing. "We all converged on the doors and Dumbledore allowed us to visit for a while."

"Dumbledore was here?"

"Yeah. He said you'd both be alright. It was just a matter of Laurie getting out of her shock. Physically she's perfectly fine. Madame Pomfrey healed all the wounds she could find. She just has to heal mentally."

"How long?" Sirius's voice was tired and weary. It was soar and scratchy from his yelling and crying. He noticed the moonlight shining through the windows on the other side of the room.

"A few days maybe. He never really indicated how long it would take."

Sirius looked over at Laurie and found himself lost. He hadn't realized how much he depended on her every day. He looked forward to seeing her every day. He wanted to see her smile and laugh. He thrived on the effort to make her blush. She was the most amazing person he had ever known and now she was hurt because of his foolishness. She shouldn't be the one in the bed - that was his place.

"We've got to be going, mate." James came up and put his hand on Sirius's shoulder. "Madame Pomfrey said you could stay tonight in the wing but you have to go back to the Tower tomorrow. We'll see you in the morning."

Sirius nodded. He heard the girls' murmured farewells and halfheartedly hugged Lily when she leaned in to embrace him. He saw Amber clutching Remus' arm and look worriedly at her friend. It must be just as hard for her. She knew Laurie best.

He heard the door close behind them and he sat in silence. He could barely hear Laurie's breathing and felt compelled to touch her. To hold her hand.

He stood and sat on the edge of her bed. She looked pale in the moonlight and her hand was cold when he grabbed it from above the sheets. He lifted it to his lips and pressed lightly, barely more than a whisper on her skin.

"Oh, Laurie. I'm so sorry." He started to rub her hand in an effort to get it warmer. "I didn't mean anything by it. And I know you hate it when I fight, but I couldn't let him say those things about you. He doesn't understand that you're so much more than just an exchange student." He grabbed her other hand and started to rub that one too. "You're so much more than I ever thought possible – than I ever dreamed."

Sirius was silent for a while. He had to get his thoughts out; he had to speak them, even if they were to the silent sterile room. He couldn't sleep and this would be the next best thing: talking to Laurie. He always felt better after talking to her. Just being near her was enough to make him happier. Even now, just holding her hand, he felt calmer – more at peace. He knew she would wake; it was just a matter of time.

"I don't know why I went that way. Lily just needed time away from James. I understood that. We went to walk through the halls for a while, getting air. He was mad at her though he reveled in that kiss, but he would get over it. I knew he would. He always does. No matter what they fight about, within thirty minutes he would have forgot. But then we ran into Severus and that other goon and I tried to leave but James didn't want to pass up the opportunity. I wanted to get back to you. I didn't want you to be trapped by Slughorn. No one deserves that fate. So I just told James to ignore them but they wouldn't have it. Both of them started to try and provoke us to do something rash. I couldn't care less about my family. But when they said something against you, Laur, I….I don't know. I couldn't think. I couldn't see past the red. It was strange. I was so angry. He didn't understand what he said and he didn't really know what he got himself into until I struck him with a stinging hex. His eyes were so wide. And then you came like an avenging angel. I was so angry at him and then at you for putting yourself in that situation." He ran out of words.

Sirius didn't notice the tears again running freely down his cheeks. He felt so hopeless. So helpless. He lied down next to her and lay on his side to watch her as she slept on. His fingers unconsciously went to her hair, clean now, and started to play with the soft curls. She still smelled of roses despite the events of the night. He eventually fell asleep next to her, memories of the accident repeating through his dreams, making him instinctively curl into Laurie and hold her tightly to him.

--

Sirius woke early the next morning despite his awful night of sleep. He pulled a chair to Laurie's bedside and sat down there, waiting for dawn to come and Madame Pomfrey to come and check on her patient.

He waited in silence and watched Laurie sleep peacefully. He realized that the saying "you never know what you've got until it's gone" was true. He never appreciated Laurie the way she deserved. And as he sat there in the grey light of the coming dawn he had another realization. One far more momentous and far more outstanding. He realized that his feelings for Laurie were deeper than he expected. Deeper than he even thought possible. Stronger than anything he felt before. How was he to know that he would end up loving her? Yes. He loved her.

He had to admit it to himself. He's never felt like this with anyone before. He'd had many girlfriends, but this time it was a relationship that went beyond all the others. He'd never felt so deeply for anyone. Not even in his family. It was almost as if she were the second half of him. She was everything to him.

Sirius looked at the first rays of the sun stream through the paned windows and start to lighten the room. He should be overjoyed at this revelation, and he supposed part of him was, but the other part was hated himself for not realizing it sooner. He blamed himself for Laurie's accident, if it could be called that. It was his fault for not telling her how much he loved her. How much she meant to him.

He heard Madame Pomfrey stirring behind her door. She would come and check on her soon. He supposed he should pretend to be asleep to prolong his time here. Madame Pomfrey would surely kick him out as soon as she saw him awake and physically fine. He stood and walked over to his bed, lying down to face Laurie. The smell of roses lingered on him and he fell asleep once again.

--

The next time he woke was late morning, close to when lunch was usually served. He rubbed his eyes and sat up, looking at Laurie who had yet to wake. It wasn't long before James came in with Holly and Nancy who brought him food, knowing he wouldn't want to leave.

"Anything yet?" James asked, eyes straying to Laurie's bed.

"No," Sirius replied, noticing his voice was deeper and more gravelly than normal. "No change."

"She'll get better. She always does, according to Amber." Holly said, popping a piece of cheese in her mouth from the lunch tray.

Sirius gave her an inquiring glance.

"Oh." She swallowed and explained. "Laurie has apparently had her share of falls and always gets better." Holly glanced toward Laurie. "This time it's only a bit worse."

"A bit worse?" Sirius asked, his voice rising bothering his sore throat. "She fell three stories!"

"Well, she's physically fine," Nancy said. "We just have to look at the positives right now. And Madame Pomfrey said that it's only a matter of time before Laurie gets better. At least she doesn't have much school to make up since we're off on break at the end of this week.

James handed Sirius a sandwich. "Eat it."

Sirius merely looked at it.

"Eat it, Pads, you don't want Laurie scolding you senseless for not taking care of yourself."

Sirius grimaced and took the sandwich, forcing himself to open his mouth and take a bite. It was ham. James was worried. He only got Sirius his favorite foods when he was worried. The Black family didn't have simple fare like ham sandwiches and so it was perhaps one of the highlights when he could have one.

It was one of those times that the comfort of such a food would have been appreciated but even though it tasted divine it didn't really help.

"Where's Remus and Amber?" Sirius asked after he swallowed the ham.

James gave him a small smile. "They slept in late. Amber was really upset last night and Remus stayed with her up in the common room. I don't think she fell asleep until really late. They were out on the sofa and Lily was forbidding anyone to talk up there. I feel bad for the person who crosses her."

Sirius nodded. He could understand that. Amber was the person closest to Laurie – she would have felt it quite strongly. He took another bite of his sandwich, thinking.

"Well, whenever she wakes, could you have her bring Laurie's book?"

James paused and looked at his friend. "Which one?"

"Her favorite."

James nodded, obviously not knowing which one was her favorite and hoping Amber would understand.

"Well, Holly and I have to get some work done. We'll check in later." Nancy and Holly left the hospital wing and back to the life outside the room. James sat on the edge of Laurie's bed.

"There was nothing we could do, you know."

Sirius didn't acknowledge the comment, but James knew he wouldn't.

"No one could have known that kid was going to shoot out of that hallway. He looked as if he was running for his life. Everything just happened so quickly. Too quickly. No one would have been able to help her. Not even Dumbledore."

Sirius let the silence hang for a few minutes. "Are you telling me this for my benefit or yours?"

James looked up from studying his hands. "Both, I suppose."

Sirius looked at Laurie and her utter stillness. That was the thing that most disturbed him – her stillness. She didn't react to anything. It was the moments where he could induce a reaction that made it so fun to be around her. She never reacted the way he expected except when he made her blush. That was the one thing he could rely on.

"It's ok, Prongs. I don't think either of us will forgive ourselves anytime soon. At least until she wakes up." Sirius reached out and patted his shoulder.

James rose. "I'll send Amber later on. At least Remus won't have to disappear until break starts. He can help comfort her now."

"Yeah. I'll see you later."

James nodded and left the room quietly. Sirius lay back on his bed and stared at the vaulted ceiling. He was drained. Physically he was in prime condition. Emotionally he had never felt so worn and torn.

Madame Pomfrey came in from her office and checked on Laurie, giving her some potion and making sure nothing else had come up. Sirius watched apathetically as the nurse walked over to him and felt his head.

"Oh, dear, you've a fever. Sympathy pains, I presume." Madame Pomfrey patted her pockets looking for something but came up empty. "Wait here. I'll get you a potion to fix that up."

She bustled back to her office to look through her potion shelves muttering about silly, overdramatic students. Sirius continued to lay there. He felt his forehead and supposed it was a little warm. Madame Pomfrey came back quickly with a rather large bottle.

"Alright, sit up."

Sirius sat up and was about to ask what the stuff was but she made him swallow half a glass which he thought tasted vile. He suspected it tasted a bit like what he would think troll tasted like mixed with mud and slugs. He almost spit it back out, and he probably would have don it if Madame Pomfrey wasn't looming over him.

He quickly handed back the glass and she shut herself in her office again. Sirius collapsed back on the bed and curled on his side to look at Laurie, willing her to get better.

--

It was still bright when he woke up yet again. Sirius was glad to be sleeping for most of it though he didn't understand how he could with Laurie laying there in the next bed.

He blinked a couple times and saw that he wasn't alone with Laurie. Amber was sitting on the edge of Laurie's bed talking quietly to Remus who had claimed the chair. They were murmuring quietly and Sirius couldn't distinguish what they were saying. Remus said something and looked over at him and saw he was awake. He nodded his greeting, continuing to listen to Amber as she told him something or another.

Sirius yawned and Amber turned to face him, stopping in the middle of what she was saying. Her eyes were red and her hair was a bit tussled. She looked as if she got little to no sleep, which he could associate with.

"I brought the book." Amber's voice was quiet, slightly scratchy from her obvious crying.

Sirius sat up and stretched. "Thanks." His throat wasn't much better.

Amber nodded and turned back to Remus. Sirius noted that he was holding her hand in both of his own.

"We've been here for a bit, so we'll leave," Remus said, looking over Amber's shoulder to Sirius who was running his fingers though his hair. "There's food on the nightstand. Madame Pomfrey won't let you stay here tonight so you'll have to come back to the Tower. James will be by later." He paused. "Are you ok?"

Sirius looked at Remus and tried to give him a smile. He wasn't sure if he succeeded. "I'm here."

"Well, if you need anything, you know how to get to James."

Sirius nodded. He had the mirror in his jacket pocket. But he had put that over Laurie. "Where's my jacket?"

"The one you wore yesterday?"

"Yeah."

"I think Madame Pomfrey was holding it. Something about blood stains." Sirius looked at Amber who had replied. She was pale and her eyes were wide, like she didn't want to believe what happened but couldn't stray from the truth.

Sirius nodded. "You better go report to everyone. Did Pomfrey say if anything had changed?"

"No. Sorry mate."

"No, it's alright Moony. I'll see you later then."

Sirius watched Remus lead Amber out of the room then turned back to the nightstand where food and Laurie's novel was sitting. He leaned against the headboard and took a piece of toast before reaching over the plate for the well loved book.

He put the toast in his mouth as he looked at the book that Laurie adored. The cover was well worn, even more worn than the first time he saw it. Was that months ago? It seemed only a week or two. He shook his head as he opened the book and flipped to the first page.

"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife," Sirius read aloud. He glanced at Madame Pomfrey's door and back to the book. "It has to be good to have garnered so much of your devotion, love." He looked over at her and sighed. He would continue for her sake.

"However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighborhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families that he is considered as the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters."

He continued to read aloud throughout the afternoon, waiting for Madame Pomfrey to kick him out but she never came. He thought he saw the door at the end of the hall crack open but she never came out to check on Laurie. So he read for the whole afternoon and into the evening, letting the story come to life. After he got through the first several chapters he was involved in the lives of Elizabeth Bennett and her family. He liked the character of Darcy and his relationship with his too-giddy friend.

He ate some of the food on his plate as he read, talking through the food in his mouth. It felt like she was listening and so he continued to read to her and to himself.

It was past the usual dinner time and well into the evening when Madame Pomfrey stepped out of her office and walked toward Laurie's bed.

"I'm sorry Mr. Black, but I must insist that you return to Gryffindor Tower. There isn't anything you can do here."

"I can't stay here for one more night?" he asked, marking his place with a ribbon that he found in the book.

"No, you may not. You have to return to your common room and get out of the hospital wing. You also need to take a shower. It will make you feel better."

So, with those final encouraging words, Madame Pomfrey shooed him out of the room and went back to treating Laurie. Fortunately for him James was walking up to retrieve him and bring him back.

"Nothing's changed then?"

"No, nothing. She just lies there as if she's asleep." Sirius pulled at the sweater he had worn since the party. He felt disgusting and would gladly take a shower but he wanted to return to Laurie's side. It was his fault she was laying there in a comatose state.

"Well, perhaps tomorrow, Padfoot." James directed him to the Tower. "Did you eat?"

"Yes. I ate."

"When?"

Sirius looked at his friend, half exasperated. He knew James was worried about him but he didn't have to go and act like a mother hen. "I'm fine. I just need a shower."

"Yes. Yes you do."

Sirius shot him a look.

"Well, it's true, mate," James shrugged. "You're givin' off an awful stench. I think it's partly the blood stain on your sleeve, but the rest, well, that's definitely you."

"You're an awful bloke, you know that?" Sirius asked, glad that James was making an effort to break through his guilt and depression.

"Ah, yes, I'm right up there with the self-fertilizing shrub."

Sirius gave his first real smile in over 24 hours. It felt somehow foreign. "Yes, exactly like that."

James laughed and they came up to the portrait of the Fat Lady. He gave the password and they went in, Sirius graciously nodding to everyone's condolences and making his way to the boys' dormitory in order to take a shower. He noted Amber and Remus sitting in a corner with Lily obviously not talking about Laurie. Remus gave him a sympathetic nod, trying to keep Amber occupied with other things.

Sirius was really glad to get to his room and then take a well needed, deserved shower. The hot water revived him a bit and after changing into his pajamas and shrugging on his robe he collapsed on his four-poster and stared at the canopy of his bed.

"Feel better?"

Sirius rolled onto his stomach and looked over to Remus. "How long was I in there?"

Remus looked over at the nightstand by his bed and looked at the clock there. "About an hour, actually."

"An hour?" Sirius couldn't believe it.

"So you should feel extra clean," James said as he came in the room and shut the door. "You weren't trying to drown yourself were you, cuz you kind of failed."

Sirius shook his head. "No, not today." He rolled onto his back and resumed staring at the red canopy.

He heard the rustling of James readying for bed and Remus put his book on his bedside table. He heard Peter snoring already from the other end of the room; his bed curtains were shut against the light. The other fifth year boys were collapsing on their beds as well. The rustling ceased and the lights went out, leaving Sirius to stare up into the darkness.

"You know Pomfrey won't let you in there."

Sirius turned to look over at James who whispered the words from his bed.

"Yeah, I know," Sirius whispered back. He just didn't like the idea of Laurie sleeping in the hospital wing alone.

"You can go down the moment the first streaks of dawn show up, but until then you need to get some sleep Pads. You look almost as bad as Moony over there."

"Hey, I heard that Prongs." Remus whispered from across the room.

"Yeah, Remus is probably right. You look just about the same as him. You need to sleep, uninterrupted by anything. I hear sleep is the best sort of remedy."

"Oh, shove it," Sirius said and sunk his head into the pillow, curling up on his side. "I'll see you in the morning."

So everyone drifted to sleep and left Sirius staring out the window of the Tower. The night was cold so he clung to the blankets on his bed, grateful for the little warmth, and drifted to sleep hours later, exhausted over worrying about Laurie's condition.

--

Sirius woke to the sounds of shuffling and muttering. He rolled over to face the noise and saw a small creature digging through his things.

"Kreacher!" Sirius growled, making the house elf jump.

"Ah, Master Sirius, you're awake."

"You're so observant. What are you doing?" Sirius's head pounded as he abruptly lifted his head.

"Mistress sends Kreacher on an errand."

"What sort of errand?"

"Mistress's secret errand."

"Well, that was helpful. And you've gone through my trunk for what reason exactly?"

Sirius saw the ugly house elf tilt his head in thought and just as soon look as if he dismissed whatever he thought of. "Mistress won't like this."

"I don't care, Kreacher. Go away, go back home."

Sirius saw the house elf glare, his eyes illuminated in the rays of moonlight that filtered through the window. He looked as if he might lash out and bite him, but Sirius knew better. The house elf quickly popped out of the room and Sirius laid his head back on his pillow.

He turned to look at the clock that was sitting on his bedside table. It was four in the morning. The last time he was up this early was when he caught Laurie on the astronomy tower. He was so angry with her he couldn't sleep. He'd lost plenty of hours of sleep due to thinking about her. His friends never said anything though, and for that he was grateful. He hadn't known what to do to get her to stop treating him as an enemy. He had never had trouble attracting girls before her. She resisted all his usual charming moves and lines. It had been disconcerting.

Then she apologized. It was almost like a miracle and so he felt almost giddy with relief when she handed him that olive branch. He looked at the windowsill next to his bed. The branch laid there among other trinkets in its glory. He had tried to play off his joy at finally being able to talk to her and then he acted as her personal servant. It annoyed her at first, but she never forbade him from doing it.

She was the highlight of his dull and boring life. She came in like a ray of sunshine and lit everything around her. Even him. That was one of the many reasons he loved her. She was the best thing that happened to him and he would never forgive himself if she never recovered.

Please review. Again I'm sorry for the wait. It'll probably be another month before I update which sucks, but hey what can you do? If you're lucky I'll be able to work on it during spring break.

Ever yours.