CHAPTER SEVENTY-EIGHT

Ollie thought he had been terrified before, though this took the cake on any prior experience, and he was most definitely panic-stricken now as he watched Tonks collapse in on herself, seemingly not knowing who he was, who she was, or where they were.

How the bloody hell in her current physical condition, beaten and battered as she was, with a dislocated shoulder and broken arm did she manage to fight the centaur off, even Ollie didn't know, though she'd managed to keep the creature away from him long enough for him to regain consciousness, though by the time most of his strength had returned, the damage was already done, the centaur's blood seeping into the stone floor of the cave.

Tonks was towering over the slain beast, her shaking, uninjured hand balled into a fist and prepared to bash its head in with a rock, though, then she paused. Tonks stumbled and faltered backward in indecision, her gray eyes wide and round with shock and surprise, the poor thing swaying dangerously on her feet.

"Here!" he shouted, though Ollie doubted Dora heard a word he just said as he lunged forward and caught her before her knees buckled and she hit the ground, and he fell with her, cushioning the worst of her fall so that he, not her, would bear the brunt of the impact.

Tonks wasn't making any kind of coherent noise that he recognized. Just splutters and gasped, pained, choking breaths.

"T? Tonks, can you hear me? Are you still with me, Tonks?" he called out in a low, hushed voice, almost a whisper. He snapped his fingers in front of her face. "T, if you can understand, I need you to nod for me. Can you nod? Tonks?"

Yet, Tonks did not respond to his voice as he wrapped one arm around her waist, holding onto her from behind, brushing back a stray wisp of her short hair that had a mind of its own and tended to stick up near her cowlick.

"C'mon, T, talk to me." Ollie cringed, fully aware that he was practically begging her now, though this tactic had always worked on his best friend in times past when he begged to Tonks. Though still, she didn't answer him and only continued to sob, shaking her head back and forth, gray eyes brimming with unshed, glistening moisture, in utter disbelief.

Tonks cried like there was too much raw pain inside her to be contained. She cried like her spirit needed to break loose from her skin, desperate to release an elemental rage on the world. The soothing words of her sister made no difference at all. Nymphadora was beyond all reason, beyond all-natural methods of calming, and the pained, choking, frightful sob that wrenched its way from her lips was so heart-wrenching, that Ollie swore he felt his own heart cry out in response.

"No, no, T. It's me," he said, still whispering what he hoped were soothing remarks in the shell of her ear, smoothing away her bloodied bangs off of her sweat-drenched forehead. "It's me." Her hands clawed frantically at the fabric of her shirt and her sobs turned into a violent spell of coughing, which in turn caused her breathing to become inconsistent. "Merlin Above, help me," Ollie moaned, the pads of his fingers ghosting along what looked like a shallow cut on her collarbone, wishing he had his damned wand.

Once the Obscurus had been managed to be safely extracted and he'd gotten an hour or two of sleep via a Sleeping Draught given to him by Mr. Scamander, Professor Dumbledore had told Ollie that Tonks was in a precarious position and needed help.

He'd been in such a damn hurry to appear at her side, he'd forgotten his damn wand, and Ollie clenched his teeth, grinding them and squeezed his eyes shut, cursing himself for his stupidity. How—how could he have forgotten his own bloody wand? She—she needed medical attention immediately, and he didn't trust himself to try to tend to her wounds without his wand. Ollie lifted a trembling hand and felt her forehead. It was burning up. She was burning up with a fever.

"Oh, no. No. Please, no," he begged through gritted teeth, feeling now way more scared than before. Why the hell wasn't Tonks moving? What had that stupid horse done to her to cause such a violent reaction? What if she—could she be…?

No. He shook his head, almost violently so, back, and forth in order to clear it. He couldn't do this. Not on his own. Professor Dumbledore had gotten a strange look in his brilliant sky-blue orbs that were so very much like his own and said she was here in the Forest with a She-Wolf named Norah Jameson, and of course, her fiancée. Lupin. Her new partner and love. He frowned, fighting back the swells of jealousy. There was a time and a place, and now was not the time, nor was it the place for it.

"I—I can't fix you, Tonks," he whispered, hating hearing his voice as it cracked and faltered. "Can't. You need to stay awake, T."

"O… Ollie?" The whisper that escaped her lips as her eyes fluttered open was barely audible. In fact, if Ollie hadn't currently been cradling her, supporting her weight in his arms, hanging onto her every slight movement, he never would have heard it. Ollie felt his blue eyes widen in extended shock. So, so she wasn't…wasn't dead! Tonks was alive!

"Oh, thank Merlin! Merlin's Beard, T, don't scare me like that! I—I thought you were…" he breathed, exhaling a tense, relieved breath as a choked half gasping sob of wonder tore from his chest, and he blinked back briny tears. A choked half sob, a half gasp of awe tore from his chest, wracking his form in a wave of relief and joy. Renewed tears began to flow down his face. Slowly, as if in a dream, Ollie took his raised hand and gently pressed his palm to her cheek.

It was not cold as it had been not a moment ago, some warmth had returned to her skin. Her eyes, at that moment, misted over and began to close, a small shuttering breath escaping her as she did so. A wave of panic suddenly hit him at her reaction to his touch and he felt ice flood his veins instantly.

"No! Tonks. Don't go to sleep, you jerk! I saved your life, damn it, now stay awake! Stay awake for me, Tonks, can you stay awake?" He carefully shifted her in his arms, bringing her upper body towards him, cradling her left hand in his own hand, bringing the hand that now wore her soon-to-be wedding band up to his cheek. He carefully settled her against his shoulder and the crook of his arm, allowing her to lean against him for support while also letting her sit somewhat upright. He gently gave her a firm shake.

Nothing to cause any unnecessary pain, but enough to rouse her from drowsiness. "Open your eyes, asshole!" he shouted, fully aware he was shouting at Tonks now, his fear at losing his best friend manifesting in the form of anger, though thank Merlin, this time, there was no Obscurus to cause any more trouble. "Don't go to sleep! You—you have to stay awake, Tonks!" Instantly, her eyes reopened, yet they still could not manage to open fully. Ollie realized in that horrible moment that although Tonks was not yet gone, she was fading.

She barely had any strength left, hardly enough to keep her eyes open let alone try and speak to him. Risking a quick glance, he scanned her for her injuries, remembering that she had been dealt several hard blows. Her left wrist was broken in two places. There was a shallow, long cut on the other side of her neck, just above her collarbone. Her dislocated shoulder practically radiated heat from the appendage and lay jangled.

Despite this, the crucial life essence had seeped through and stained the already red fabric of the bandage a deep, dark crimson. He knew not how deep the wound went or its width, but what he did know was that removing that bandage was out of the question right now. Doing so would surely result in massive blood loss, and…he couldn't bring himself to think further. He needed help. Ollie needed help.

If he didn't find a solution fast, she was truly going to… Again, he feared the word that came into his thoughts, but he pushed his fear away. He needed to get a grip on his emotions or else he was going to cause her to panic. "Tonks?" he whispered gently, his voice far too low, and trying to keep the fear out of his tones. "Can you hear me?" His best friend lifted her head ever so slightly so that her half-open, misty gray eyes that resembled the last ashes of a deadly wildfire, smoke on the breeze, were gazing up at him.

She offered him a tiny nod, yet he could see the sheer amount of effort it took for her to do so. She nearly had little to no strength left in her at all. Swallowing the lump forming in the back of his throat, Ollie nodded stiffly back and sucked in a deep breath. "Don't," he pleaded shakily, his voice cracking in the process. He inwardly flinched; his voice sounded far too desperate.

"Don't do that, T. Please," Ollie begged her, biting down on his bottom lip.

"Don't do what?" she whispered, wincing at the harshness of his tone.

"Don't go to sleep," he commanded harshly. "Fight." Giving himself a shake to steel his nerves, Ollie raised his head and looked around. He saw no sign of that blonde She-Wolf or of her partner or anybody else that could help. Where was more help? What the hell were they doing, sleeping on the job? Ollie feared that if he tried to move Tonks any more than he already had, he would end up causing more harm than good.

"The She-Wolf." The one Ollie could trust above all else to help Tonks. She would have some idea of what to do for her since the female werewolf lived here in the forest. Anything Ollie was incapable of doing; the She-Wolf would know what to do. Ollie looked down at Tonks (who was still resting limply against his shoulder, still fighting to keep her eyes open and stay awake.) He reached up a finger and gently stroked her cheek, not caring that her blood stained the interior of his palm, brushing a wisp of stray hair back behind her ear. "Tonks?" he asked softly, his voice just a bit stronger this time.

"Mmm," she mumbled incoherently, keeping her eyes still closed.

"I need you to stay awake, Tonks. For me. Nod if you understand."

She blinked, recognition and awareness returning to her eyes, which instantly sought his own. She blinked again, this time much more slowly and exhaled heavily. "Yes, I hear you, Ol," she breathed, her voice still hoarse and weak. Ollie felt his heart give a painful lurch at the sound. It resembled nothing like her beautiful, gentle tones. However, he took the hand that rested against her cheek and threaded it through her hair, trying to give her as much comfort as he was able.

At the sudden and unexpected action, Tonks opened her eyes once more and this time, they were a bit wider than before. Wide and full of affection. Her expression softened a little bit. A tiny ghost of a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. At her gentle expression, he felt his heart hitch again, but this was a different feeling than the ones from before. He began to feel an immense sense of relief, that she was alive.

That while this was entirely his fault, for not getting here fast enough in time to save her, what had happened to her, there was the small flickering ember flame of hope that welled in his chest that his best friend might one day forgive him. If only I'd gotten here sooner, I could have

Yet, as Ollie opened his mouth to speak, Tonks's eyes suddenly flew wide open and a deep, pain-ridden cry tore from her lips. Her body gave a hard shudder, her eyes glazed over as she clenched her eyes tightly shut, shielding them from his view. She cried out and released a small groan and turned her head to the side, eyes clenched tightly shut and teeth ground in the effort to keep in her scream of pain. Whatever amount of pain she was in, it was clearly too taxing and far too much. His eyes widened in shock as her cheek fell against his shoulder and her body tensed as a wave of pain hit.

"Tonks? What's wrong? What the hell is happening?" Ollie immediately forwent any amount of calm. Instead, raw panic hit him faster than ever before, and this time, he did not hesitate. The arm that was supporting her shoulders tightened instantaneously while his other shot underneath her knees, gripping her lower thigh tightly as if to ground himself. "No! No, no, don't…don't go to sleep!" She was still conscious, he could tell, though her breathing had quickened, and her eyes moved rapidly from under their lids, which were squeezed tightly as if to somehow bar away whatever pains she felt. Tonks was in far too much pain for him to help and he was far too panicked and emotionally compromised to be of any use. He didn't know what to do.

What could he do? There had to be something… Suddenly, Ollie felt that Tonks needed to be set upon something stable. Holding her like he was, was probably causing her wounds to flex and become agitated and inflamed. For all he knew, he had rubbed an injury the wrong way and had caused the bout of pain that Tonks was now desperately trying to fight off with all her strength. With the utmost care, he gently lowered her to the forest floor, making sure that he was mindful of her injuries. Once she was settled, he made to pull away, yet as he did so, one of Tonks's hands caught hold of two of his fingers on his right hand, refusing to let go.

His hand was far too large for hers, so two fingers were about as much as she could wrap her hand around, yet her grip was stronger than he had anticipated, almost as strong as a man's. He winced slightly as they tightened further upon his fingers, feeling the amount of pain she must be in for her to inflict such strength. Ollie lifted his free hand to her brow and wiped away the beads of sweat that were accumulating there.

Her face, which had regained a bit of color, was pale again, but thankfully, not as white as she had been before. She kept her eyes clenched tightly shut, in far too much pain to open them and look at him. Small tears began to flow from the corners of her eyes. His heart gave another painful lurch at the sight of his sweet friend in so much agony. She was suffering greatly, yet there was nothing within his power to stop this. He couldn't stop his own tears from escaping as a sob of his own escaped past his lips. Despair began to take hold of him. It was hopeless! There was nothing he could do for Tonks, and he hated this!

His best friend and the only good thing in an otherwise crap life was fading right before his eyes and he could not seem to be able to keep himself calm enough to aid her. It would have been better if she had passed before now, to not suffer like this. This was agony for her! What had he done to her?!

All of this was all his fault.

He bent over her, trying so hard to get his voice to work, to speak words of comfort to her to ease her pain, yet nothing but choked sobs and tears came forth.

His voice would not come to him. So, he continued to stroke her hair gently, wanting nothing more than to pick her up and hold her in his arms and never let her go, but there was the simple matter of any broken bones she might have, and he worried that if he tried, it would do more harm than good for Tonks. The last thing he wanted to do right now was caused even more pain and damage than he had already done. Until he got her help, neither of them would know the true extent of the damage.

Then it dawned on him. Something he had forgotten and Ollie cursed himself for forgetting this, black putrid language pouring from his tongue as if the curses were the only words that he had grown up learning. How could he have forgotten? Mustering every bit of strength and control he could manage; he lifted his head towards the edge of the woods wherever the other two had disappeared to and shouted desperately for the only people that could save her at the top of his lungs.

"GUYS! LUPIN! NORAH! SOMEONE! HELP!" Ollie roared.

He needed help, and fast, or Tonks wouldn't live.