Disclaimer: I don't own Rose Granger-Weasley, Newt Scamander or any other character created by J.K. Rowling. My aim is merely to entertain and play around with them a little.

Chapter forty-two: In which more than bones have to be mended

Everything hurt. From her toenails to the tip of her hair, everything hurt. She couldn't be sure whether it was a figment of her imagination, if her body just reacted to what it'd been through, or if she truly was still in pain, but her mind couldn't tell the difference anymore.

Rose groaned, slipping back into consciousness, back arching painfully as a wave of fire overtook her, as if she was still under the Cruciatus Curse. She faintly heard someone say something, and a few moments later, a warm hue took over her, numbing the pain and helping her open her eyes to find out exactly where she was, and whether or not she was dead.

Turned out she wasn't dead. Instead, when she managed to lift an eyelid than two, she was in what could only be a hospital room. It was quaint, and fairly void of much furniture – the bed she was lying on, a bedside table and a chair – but was decorated with what looked like Aztec murals. If her ears weren't playing some tricks on her, there were ambient sounds of nature too, soothing patients, no doubt. It was a stark change to what she knew of Saint Mungo's and even Hogwarts' Hospital Wing. For a moment, she basked into it, noticing the colourful patterns adorning her bedsheets before she noticed she wasn't alone.

A sob left her lips when she saw Tina, who was sitting on the chair, her right arm in a sling, a cane next to her. She forwent it to hurry to Rose's side, though, and sat on the bed, brow creased with worry.

"How are you feeling?" her friend asked, voice low as if they were going to disturb someone.

Rose was grateful for the numbness that had been placed over her – no doubt by a nurse, the door was slightly ajar – but worried for her own medical state right after. "What happened? Am I cursed? Why do I still feel pain? What happened to you? Where's Newt? Where's Theseus? Why am I not dead?"

Tina chuckled a bit, placing a soothing hand on her arm to stop her flow of questions. "Calm down, Rose. One thing at a time. How are you feeling?" she repeated.

The red-head tried to calm down. She had too many questions, too many fears. An iron fist closed around her heart as she pictured Newt and Theseus dead, murdered by Grindelwald, and she felt the tell-tale beginnings of a panic attack rise in her chest.

Tina grabbed her hand, this time, and squeezed it as tightly as she could with her left hand, before whispering "They're alive. They're safe."

Rose felt another sob tear through her, and her friend waited until she was calmed enough to repeat her question for the third time, patient, but also too worried to care about letting her avoid it a third time.

The young witch sighed. "When I woke, I felt as if I was still under the Curse. As if my whole body was still on fire…"

"Same intensity, or less?" Tina asked, all practicality then.

Rose's brow furrowed. "Less, now that I think of it. But still painful."

"On a scale of one to ten?" the brunette pried. Rose wondered for a second if she was on a mission from the Mexican nurses. She probably was.

"Then, when he…cast it," she shuddered, "I was on a twenty. Now…" she concentrated again, "maybe a seven."

Tina nodded, satisfied, before she settled more comfortably next to Rose, keeping her hand in hers. "They weren't sure you were going to wake up at all," she said after a while, the edge of hurt in her voice making Rose ache for her. "He held it a long time…"

The red-haired Healer sighed, knowing all-too-well what Healing studies thought of long-held Cruciatus Curses and their consequences on the body and psyche. "I was on the edge, but then he stopped. Why did he stop?" she asked again.

Tina looked at her, meeting her eyes truly for the first time since she'd woken up. They were misty with tears, worry and pain, but also fiery and proud. "Alright, you want to do this now?" Rose nodded, lips pursed. "Okay. Let me just tell Joao what he has to translate to the Healers, then I'll be right back."

Rose's eyes widened when the Brazilian's name was pronounced. "Joao?! Is he alright?"

Tina smiled softly. "He is. Shaken, like the rest of us, but he's fine. He's babysitting right now." She smirked when Rose showed she had no idea what she was talking about, and slid off the bed to grab her cane. She limped to the door, turned, and said "I'll explain everything. Sit back and don't move."

Rose had half a mind to stick her tongue out at her friend, but the gravity of the situation did not allow it.

Tina was back after about five more minutes, a nurse in tow. In standard blue robes, she was carrying a tray on which had been placed a glass of water, a vial of potion, and a bowl of soup. She placed it carefully on Rose's lap, placed a steadying charm on it, and gently said "Eat," before she left the room.

Tina resumed her place on the chair to give Rose room to effectively eat, and added "You're supposed to take that potion after we're done. It'll make you sleep."

Rose nodded. Dreamless Sleep was an ordinary remedy to most injuries that needed time to fully heal. Although she wasn't sure why she needed to sleep some more when she'd obviously been in a coma prior to that day.

Which prompted her to ask, a spoonful of soup halfway to her mouth, "How long have I been out?"

Tina's gaze blurred, as if she was counting. "Six days."

Rose nodded. She wasn't pleased. Six days were a lot. Especially with an issue as hers. Any longer in a Cruciatus-induced coma and she could have been braindead…

She took another spoonful before gesturing Tina to carry on. "Come on, then, tell me everything!"

Tina shook her head, chuckling a bit. "Typical," she sighed, sitting more comfortably in her chair. "Well, first, you had broken ribs, a broken femur, and several bruised vertebrae. Thankfully, these Healers are miracle-workers. Newt will tell you. Apparently, he's interested in their Healing." She shrugged. "Are any of these still sore?"

Rose prodded the aforementioned areas carefully. It wasn't a surprise that she had been physically injured during her ordeal. Apparently, she hadn't dreamt the snapping of her leg. After a moment, she shook her head. "No, I'm fine. Physically. I think the pain I felt when I woke up was more somatic than anything."

If Tina didn't understand what 'somatic' meant, she didn't say. Instead, she looked at the mural on top of the door, and started her tale, finally. "When you were taken through the wards, I went back to find the others. Theseus was beside himself, tried to force himself through the shield, and almost got blasted back when he did." She sighed. "We thought we couldn't get to you in time, but then, after perhaps twenty minutes of trying every spell we could think of, the wards imploded. And when the shield and concealing charm lifted, we saw who had taken them down."

A fond smile appeared on her lips then. Rose thought it meant that Newt had been the one saving her, in the end, but she was surprised to hear the real reason.

"Nagini had managed to sway Credence back to our side. He didn't condone what Grindelwald did to Muggles, or what he intended to do to you. So, he took the wards down." Her smile widened, like a proud mother. "He has more control over his magic, now. The wand helps, I think. But he's still so powerful. I think he might me more powerful than Grindelwald himself…"

Rose couldn't help the smile that appeared on her own lips. She was happy that the boy had come back to them. Nagini was a clever girl. And now, she understood who Joao was 'babysitting'.

"When we got in, Abernathy and Rosier were there, along with five others we'd never seen before. They were angry that Credence had betrayed them, and tried to harm him. Joao took care of Rosier – she's in the Mexican Ministry's custody – and Nagini and Credence stayed back. He was scared he'd harm one of us trying to stop them instead." A snarl formed on her lips then. "Abernathy went straight for me. You were right: he wanted me dead. I owe him this," she gestured to her arm. "Slicing Charm. The limp I owe Newt when he threw me down out of a Killing Curse's way." She chuckled. "You should have seen his face when he saw he'd hurt me…" The smile faded as quickly as it had appeared. "He did it. He killed him. Abernathy. Without even a hesitation."

Rose pursed her lips. She knew the stain that would remain on her dear brother's soul after he'd done it. Someone as pure as Newt didn't deserve to be split in two. But at the same time… "There was no hesitation possible. Abernathy was going to kill you."

Tina looked at her fondly. "You two…" she said. "I love you both, but…stop trying to protect us at the cost of your own integrity. Please."

Rose ignored her plea, and instead said "You love him, uh?"

Tina rolled her eyes. "Shut up."

Rose smirked, then scooped more soup into her spoon. "Carry on, Miss Goldstein."

"After Abernathy was down, there weren't any of them left to stop us. We'd heard your screams, but we hadn't noticed that Theseus had gone missing. Obviously," she said almost severely, "he'd gone after you."

"He saved me," Rose whispered, overcome with gratitude. So the wood breaking she'd heard before being freed of the Cruciatus had no doubt been Theseus blasting into the door…

"Yes, he did," Tina said, but there was sadness behind her words, making Rose raise her gaze worriedly. "He'd taken two Cruciatus himself, along with an unknown Dark Spell to the chest when Newt and Joao arrived. Newt said that Grindelwald Disapparated as soon as he saw them, which he was surprised about. I'm surprised, too, if I'm being honest…"

Rose agreed that it was surprising, but her worry over Theseus' health overwhelmed everything else. "How is he? What was the spell?"

Tina left her chair and came to sit by her once more. "They don't know. But it did some damage." She tried to soothe Rose's sharp intakes of breath by rubbing circles on the back of her hand. "He has tremors, from time to time, and seems not to realise where he is. But only by episodes. He broke his own wrist, persuaded that it was Grindelwald's who was holding him hostage. The damage is much more extensive over his mind than yours…"

"I need to go see him."

"I knew you'd say that, but not now." Tina held her firmly, and Rose, mindful for her own injuries, calmed down. "If you go now, you'll stumble out of bed and back into sleep. It's better if you rest some more first. Newt is with him now. I'll go fetch him and stay with Theseus then. We have rotated like that since we arrived," she added in a smile. "He can't choose between his two siblings…"

Rose felt fondness wave over her, before she said, shakily, "Well, now it'll be more important for him to check over the sibling who needs him most. While I can't go myself."

"I don't think he'll see it that way," Tina said with a small smile. "Don't worry," she soothed again, "he's in capable hands."

Rose nodded, trying to convince herself that it was true. And it was true. These were professional Healers, just as she was. They knew what they were doing. She had to think about herself first, then him.

"Good girl," Tina said as she slid off the bed once more. "Ready to see that infuriatingly cute brother of yours?"

Rose couldn't help but shake her head with an amused smile. "Go fetch him."

Newt wasn't usually a very touchy person, but as soon as he got through the door, he hurried to Rose's side and hugged her, mindful of her former injuries, but tightly enough that she felt how much he'd been worried.

"I'm fine," she whispered in his neck, feeling the deep breaths he was taking to steady himself.

He didn't move, instead, he sat on the bed and kept embracing her. "I was so scared, Rosie."

He had never used that nickname with her before, but right then, it just made her heart soar higher in her chest. She loved him so much, that strange, awkward wizard…

"I'm alright, Newt. Thanks to you all…"

Surprising her once more, he drew back and kissed her on the temple. Then she noticed his green eyes were misty. He'd truly been shaken if he was acting like this.

Then again, he had good reason to. "How is he?" she asked, grabbing his hand in hers.

"They say he's better, but… Last night, he tried to take something invisible off his chest and scratched himself until he bled…" His brow furrowed, though not in worry but in anger. "He's hurt my family one too many times…"

Rose drew his gaze back to hers, and held it. "He'll be brought down soon enough." There was finality in her words. She meant them, with all her might. "I won't allow anyone to suffer for longer than they have to be, now. I'll help Dumbledore break that stupid blood-pact, if I can. And Grindelwald will go down. Before 1945."

Newt nodded, the fire in his eyes reflected in hers, she knew. "For Leta. For Theseus."

She nodded, sealing the promise with a hand over her heart. "For Leta. For Theseus."