A/N: I hope you all have had a lovely Christmas! My apologies as I realized the chapter I posted on Monday didn't post! I meant to post yesterday too but my five year old was a little caught up in the holiday magic and took an extra THREE HOURS to go to bed soooooo there went my mommy time. Tonight, two chapters! We have maybe three or four to go so I am still hoping to finish up this week. Enjoy!

April 27, 2002

It had been two days since I had awoke in the hospital bed. Moving was getting easier and less painful with each application of the burn slave. My bones were fully healed but I still needed to be cautious for another week so I didn't undo the repairs.

Charlie has been an absolute saint since our talk. I don't feel that he is doing it out of guilt, but because he generally wants to be there for me. He took the full week off from work and has been getting up every two hours to apply the burn salve as instructed.

Since coming home we had had ample amount of time to talk about what we want out of life. I was relieved the conversation went as it did and I felt so much better about us as a couple. That was another thing we discussed. As of yesterday, we are officially a couple. We didn't have an official plan on how to tell people, but we figured we wouldn't hide anything and let people come to their own conclusions.

I looked at the clock and saw it was 7am. The salve had something in it that made me slightly sleepy so my whole schedule had been off and I hadn't had much energy to do much more than move from the couch to bed and back again.

As I laid in bed debating about getting up a delicious smell wafted into the room. Before I could make the decision to get up the door to the room opened and Charlie walked in carrying a tray.

"Good morning sunshine. I thought you might be hungry." He set down a plate of sweet potato hash and pumpkin juice.

"This looks delicious! How long have you been up?" I began to take small bites and let out a small moan as the flavors burst on my tongue. "This is amazing. Thank you!"

"No problem. I stayed up after your last application an hour ago. Figured you would be hungry soon and I had a few bits of paperwork to do anyways." He tried to shrug is off but I saw the pink tinge his cheeks.

"Well what are you waiting for? Grab a plate and come join me!"

He did and we were eating in bed enjoying the conversation when there was a knock at the door."

Charlie looked at me quizzically. "Were you expecting someone?"

"No. Not that I'm aware of. I haven't spoken to anyone since the team visited me at the hospital."

And it was true. Everyone apart from Daniela had taken a turn to check on me at the hospital. After being reassured that I was awake and on the mend, they agreed to leave me be until my healing was complete and I was back to work.

Charlie set aside his plate and answered the door. I had no idea who it was, but from my bed I could hear a quiet argument. Deciding it wasn't his responsibility to entertain my guest, I too set aside my now empty plate and stiffly made my way to the door.

I was not prepared to see Daniela standing in the doorway, Charlie refusing her entrance.

"What's this all about?" I interrupted their discussion. I didn't appreciate her appearance and the sooner I found out the reason she was here, the sooner she could be gone.

Charlie held his hand up to prevent Daniela from talking. "She claims she is here to apologize, but I'm not sure I believe it. I was just telling her where she could take her apology when you came in."

While I appreciated his effort to protect me, this was something I needed to face so we could properly put it behind us.

"Actually Charlie, I think we should hear her out. Daniela, please come in."

I showed her to the sitting area. Charlie and I took the couch with his hand protectively on mine while the other clutched his wand. Daniela didn't miss either action and sat down nervously across from us.

My gaze was focused and confident. I was determined not to let her make me feel less than I am worth again.

She cleared her throat nervously and began. "Hermione, I owe you a really big apology. Everything I said was intended to make you question your relationship with Charlie. It was clear to me that the two of you had what I had always hoped would develop between Charlie and myself and I was flat out jealous. I wanted to hurt you and I wanted you to screw up in hopes you would get discouraged and leave." Her eyes cast downward as she picked at her fingernails out of nerves.

"What I did was wrong. It was bullying and it led to you not trusting your partner which is imperative in our field. I am the reason you got hurt. I've gone to the director and confessed everything. My portkey leaves in an hour."

Shame rolled off her in waves. I was glad that she admitting to her wrongdoings, but I hadn't expected her to leave.

"I appreciate you coming clean over what you had done. It was wrong and no one should play on another's emotions and insecurities the way you did. However, if you're willing to work through it and promise to never try something like that again, I don't see why you need to leave."

Her eyes shot to mine in shock. "You would honestly continue to work with me after that?" I nodded and her face contorted in confusion before she turned to Charlie. "Charlie, you really lucked out with this one. I didn't believe she was as nice and kind as everyone else said, but clearly I was wrong." She turned her attention back to me. "Hermione, I am truly sorry for the way I treated you and I appreciate your offer. It really is more than I deserve. I knew when I took this position that there were rules regarding coworker conduct. I broke just about all of them in my treatment of you and now I need to face those consequences.

She hesitated for another moment and I saw her sneak a small glance at Charlie. "I think it's time I had a fresh start anyways. If this has taught me anything it's that I need to think through what I want out of life and how I'm going to get it. It's best for me to go."

With that she stood, gave us a small wave and left.

Charlie and I sat there for a few minutes in stunned silence. Finally I broke it.

"Well, we can add that to a list of awkward conversations I hope to never have again. Are there any other ex's you may have that are still harboring hopes for a future together? I'd like to know so I can be prepared."

I had said it in jest, but Charlie's face fell. "Hermione that's not something to joke about. I really care about you and the thought that my past almost killed you is something I will have to live with for the rest of my life."

His reaction brought me back down a few notches. "You're absolutely right. I shouldn't make light of the situation. She's leaving now though. Do you think we can put this behind us now? I'm just about healed up and can go back to work next week."

"Are you sure you're going to be ready? That was a big fall. I wouldn't hold it against you if you took more time off. Or even if you decided this wasn't the right fit."

Something clicked into place as he spoke. "Charlie, are you trying to kick me off the team? It was a mistake and it won't be repeated. I had a perfect record before that. It's not going to happen again."

His face softened. "I'm not kicking you off the team. I'm just nervous for you. I don't want to see you get hurt again."

"I'm a big girl. I promise I can look after myself. One thing you are going to have to learn in this relationship is that I don't give up easily. You can't hold me back because you're scared. If you do I will end up resenting you and this will never work out between us."

He moved closer to me and took my hand in his. "You're right on all accounts. You can look after yourself and that is something I need to respect. I also need you to accept that I care about you and that I really am scared. It's not that I don't trust you, it's just that I spent nearly three days while you lay there unconscious. I'm going to trust you, but I am also going to worry about you."

Tears pricked at the back of my eyes as his words sunk in. He had told me he cared before, but it hadn't really sunk in how my accident had affected him. Seeing the fear in his eyes now, I knew I had come to mean a great deal to him and I would need to be more careful.

"Thank you Charlie. I promise not to be reckless and to follow your lead when we're out there. I really do love the work we do and we make a great team.

He nodded. "Now onto less serious topics. Your burn is pretty much healed up and you're off house restrictions tomorrow. I'd like to take you on a date."

His request caused my cheeks to heat but I couldn't help but smile. The butterflies were back and I found myself excited at the request. "That would be lovely."

"Great. I'll pick you up at six."

He gave me a small kiss on the cheek then went to go clean up the breakfast dishes. My smile grew wider. My first official date with Charlie. After all our ups and downs and the interesting path we had taken to each other, I was more than ready for tomorrow.