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CHAPTER 22
"If I don't leave now, Pansy is going to assume you have me naked and tied up," Hermione whined as she wrapped her arms around my middle.
We'd spent a lazy Sunday morning in bed, Hermione waking me with coffee then with hot, wet kisses all over my body. My groan had been one of pure relief when she drew me into her mouth, grazing her teeth along the entire length of my cock. The tiny sounds she made vibrated around me and I was unable to keep my eyes open for fear of unloading in her mouth before I had the chance to enjoy her ministrations completely.
The week since our dinner celebration with our friends had been surprisingly calm. My ex-wife had not attempted any interference with Hermione or myself – at least not noticeably – but my anxiety at just the thought of what she might do ate away at me and made me somewhat irritable. Hermione had allowed me to stew for a few days, then insisted I talk about what was bothering me. She'd listened intently as I once more expressed my concern about Narcissa, then she assured me — as sweet as I was being — I should stop worrying.
I'd tried my best to keep my concern at bay, but had breathed a sigh of relief every evening when she arrived home. And I knew — in part — our morning spent in bed had been to distract me from yet more concern at the possibility of her being stalked to her regular lunch date.
And she had mostly succeeded.
"You can leave any time," I said, holding my arms out to my sides. "I'm not making you stay.
"Yeah, but I'll blame you anyway." She reluctantly stepped back and gave me a sweet smile. "I'll see you later, we can do… stuff."
"I'm definitely up for stuff." I kissed her forehead and gave her a playful swat on the arse. She winked and headed for the stairs, and then — much to my horror — she tripped, disappearing instantly with several thuds.
There was complete silence and I ran down the stairs quicker than I thought I could ever move.
"Hermione!"
She was laying on her back, looking up at me. A slow smile began to form on her face and she began to laugh.
I dropped to my knees on the landing beside her. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine." She pushed herself to sit up, wincing slightly and pressing her fingers to her hip. "Okay, maybe not perfectly okay. I'm supposed to have good balance."
"I'll ring Pansy, tell her you're not coming," I said, fishing my phone from my pocket.
"No, I'll be okay. I'll just walk it off."
"No. You need to come back upstairs and put ice on that hip. I don't want the company to blame me for injuring you."
She nodded, relenting to my request, but before I had the chance to move, I felt a heavy hand on my shoulder, pulling me to my feet. I spun around and felt a splintering pain in the left side of my face.
The world went dark and I heard Hermione scream as I hit the floor.
My head was pounding, I felt groggy, and there were voices...
"...you're a fucking moron! Why are you even here?! I told you to stay away!"
"I want to make sure he's okay."
"I think you've done more than enough already."
My vision was blurry as I slowly opened my eyes. A wave of nausea rolled through me and I squeezed them shut again and groaned.
"Lucius?" Hermione's voice sounded distant, like I was hearing her from under water.
"You're okay, Mr Malfoy, and you're safe," a voice I didn't recognise said. "Just open your eyes slowly."
I winced and a searing pain flashed across my cheek. I cursed and lifted my hand to my face. I was met with more pain as my fingers grazed my cheek and my brain was trying to make sense of what was happening.
The light was too bright — despite it being dimmed — as I slowly opened my eyes, and the pounding inside my head seemed to worsen.
"Hey there," Hermione said sweetly when I finally focused on her.
"You fell…" I moved quickly, trying to sit up but the nausea caught in my throat.
"No! Don't move yet," the same unrecognisable voice yelped and a firm hand landed on my shoulder. "You're in the hospital and you need to lie still for a bit longer."
I closed my eyes tightly, waiting for the feeling to pass. Hospital? What the fuck had happened?
She made some sassy remark...
She waved goodbye…
She tripped…
She fell…
"Hermione… you fell..." My voice was still a mumble; I couldn't seem to even force the words out faster.
"I did," she agreed. "But I'm fine. It's just a bruised hip."
"Good… what… me?" My head was still swimming and I couldn't make sense of anything.
"You got hit," she explained. "An ape-like creature walked up and thought it perfectly okay to take a vicious swipe at you."
I opened my eyes — slowly this time — and looked at her. "Say again?"
"I'm the ape. I hit you."
I shifted my focus to see Charlie across the room watching us nervously. His arms were folded across his chest, and he was looking around the room uncomfortably.
"You hit me?" I winced at the pain the tiniest movement of my neck caused. "Why?"
"I, ah, thought—" He glanced at Hermione and suddenly all the gears shifted into place inside my head.
"He thought you pushed me," Hermione seethed.
Charlie shoved his hands in his pockets and stared at his feet. This wasn't the same man I'd met in the pub.
"Are you serious?"
"Yeah, I'm sor—"
"You thought I pushed her down the stairs?" I sat up, wincing — the pain was excruciating and I was still dizzy. The voice I didn't recognise was that of a nurse, who was trying to make me lay back down, but this arsehole needed to be taught a lesson in manners.
"Yeah, sorry."
"And instead of asking what happened, you just assumed the worst and you just thought you'd hit me?" The room was swirling around me, and at that moment, I was wishing for some Harry Dresden magic so I could put Charlie through a wall. "You and your Neanderthal brain just assumed I hurt her, that I would lay a hand on her?"
I didn't think it possible but Charlie seemed to cower under my glare. And the man I had come to respect was suddenly someone I didn't care to know.
"Neanderthal is probably too generous." Hermione snarked. "Neanderthals at least had some semblance of intelligence. Braindead oaf might be more appropriate."
"You already said all of this to him?"
She nodded. "A lot less elegantly than you are. But yeah, I told him to fuck the hell off, but like the idiot he is, he insisted on coming here to make sure you were okay."
"Lucius, I really am sorry." Charlie held up his hand. "I just saw her at the bottom of the stairs and thought—"
"You thought what?" I was seething. I was angrier than I had ever been in my life. "You thought that I hurt her? That I would hurt her? Hermione is right, you're a braindead oaf. And you need to leave."
The room started spinning again and the nurse gripped my shoulder, pressing me to lay back down. "I get that you're angry, Mr Malfoy, but you need to lay down."
I nodded — the movement shooting pain into my head — and leaned back on the pillows.
"And put an ice pack on your face," Hermione added, reaching for a cold compress on the stand beside the bed. "I don't want to be seen with you if you're not pretty."
I glanced at her and she was grinning. She was trying to lighten the mood, but I could see her own anger still simmering just below the surface.
"Are you okay?" I reached my hand out towards her and she took it, linking our fingers. "Really okay?"
"I'm fine. It's just a bruise, I'll be dancing tomorrow."
"No you won't, you need to rest." Charlie said and she glared at him.
"Weren't you leaving?" she snapped. "We don't need you, or your opinions, here."
"The police are right outside," the nurse said. "One of your neighbours rang them and they're waiting for a statement."
I looked at Hermione, and her expression said it was entirely my choice how I proceeded.
"It's fine," I said. "Tell them I don't need to make a statement."
"Are you sure?" the nurse asked.
"I am—what's your name?"
"Poppy," she answered.
"I won't press charges, Poppy. But if you could ask Mr Weasley to leave, I would appreciate it."
"I'll let the police know," she said. "And Mr Weasley, you need to leave before Mr Malfoy changes his mind."
Charlie looked at me, but Hermione held her hand up, stopping anything he might say.
"Just leave, Charlie. You're not welcome here."
He nodded a single nod and walked past Poppy, who was holding the door open and glaring at him as he left.
"I'll talk to the police and be right back with the doctor. Don't try to move, Mr Malfoy, or I'll bring the police back with me instead."
I huffed a laugh then winced, covering my eyes with my hand.
"I can't believe him," Hermione said angrily. "He just met you a few weeks ago. He knows you're a good man."
"I thought… he was… too," I answered, my voice began to slur again.
"Lucius?"
I heard her shift and she was moving to sit on the bed beside me. I immediately told her to stop.
"No… sit… you fell." A cloud of heaviness seemed to press into my head. The dizziness and nausea began to battle for dominance and I closed my eyes.
"I'm fine, you're not," she argued. "I'm sorry he did this to you. I don't know what the hell he was thinking."
"He… thought I… hurt you." I had to force the words out again. I was feeling fuzzy and I wanted to sleep. "Draco…?"
"He's here, I sent him to get coffee so he wouldn't hit Charlie when he turned up."
"Good," I murmured, the drowsiness I was feeling was like a lead weight.
"Hey, don't go to sleep." Hermione shook my hand gently. "You need to talk to the doctor."
"What doctor?"
"Doctor Warren. She's been taking care of you."
I forced my eyes open and glanced slowly around the room. "How… long…?"
"We've been here two and a half hours," she explained. "You've been in and out of consciousness since we arrived."
I squeezed her hand. "You fell."
"I did. Tripped on the top step. I was too distracted thinking about doing stuff with you."
"Did we have plans?"
She laughed quietly. "Nothing specific. Just Sunday afternoon together."
"Father?" Draco entered the small room carrying two coffees. "I wondered if you'd ever wake up."
"He was awake," Hermione said. "He's dozing off again."
"Ah, Mr Malfoy, if you could stay awake for just a few more moments." A smiling face greeted me, one I assumed belonged to the Doctor. She was wearing a white lab coat and had a stethoscope tucked into her pocket. "I'm Doctor Warren. How are you feeling?"
"Dizzy, nauseous… head-headache. P-painful neck."
"Sounds about right. Do you know where you are?"
"Hospital."
"And who is this gorgeous young woman?"
"Hermione." I smiled at my mad ballerina. "She dances… she fell."
"She did, but we checked her out and she's fine." The doctor lifted my free hand. "Can you squeeze my hand?"
I did as she asked, but it felt weak, like my hand wasn't getting the full message from my brain.
"That's good," she assured me. "And who is this young man?"
"My son. Draco. Hermione fell… Charlie punched me." I was still trying to make sense of what happened but my mind was too fuzzy to decipher what they were all telling me.
"All of that happened, Father, but Hermione isn't hurt," Draco assured me. "And we will talk to Charlie later."
"I can't remember." I was frustrated and moved to sit up, but the pain in my head and neck stopped me.
"That's normal, Mr Malfoy and you're doing fine. You've had a CT scan and it's all clear. No damage or signs of bleeding. You do have a small fracture to your cheek, which will heal on its own in three to six weeks. You also have a concussion, but your responses are normal, and that's exactly what we want. We're going to keep you here for another hour or two, then you can go home. We just need to ensure someone will be with you for the first twenty-four to forty-eight hours."
"I'll stay with him," Hermione said as Draco offered the same.
"We both will," Draco told her.
"You have good people around you, Mr Malfoy." Doctor Warren patted my arm. "I'll prescribe some stronger pain medication; the cheek fracture and the whiplash will be causing you as much grief as the concussion."
"Whiplash?" I enquired. "Isn't that… car accidents?"
"Oftentimes, yes. But any time the head suddenly moves backward and then snaps forward, or vice versa, it's considered whiplash."
"Charlie hit me," I said. "Why did he hit me?"
"We don't know," Hermione said patiently.
"We'll be finding out though," Draco asserted. "The police were gone, I assume you sent them away?"
"I did, No point…" I closed my eyes as my thoughts trailed off.
"It's okay, Lucius. We'll talk about it later." Hermione squeezed my hand again. "Go to sleep if you need to."
I felt a hand on my shoulder but my eyes were so heavy I couldn't be arsed to care.
"I'll be back to check on you soon," Doctor Warren said. "In the meantime, Poppy will keep an eye on you."
"Thanks," Draco said, but that was all I heard before sleep pulled me under.
"…I know you're both worried, but short term memory loss is perfectly normal. So is the confusion."
The voice speaking was familiar but I couldn't put a name to it.
"He'll most likely be like this for a few weeks. Headaches, dizziness, and nausea, possibly some irritability. It's all normal. Try to keep the lights dimmed, and limit screens — television, computers, phones, all of that."
"You're talking about me?"
"Ah, Mr Malfoy. Welcome back." I opened my eyes and the same doctor was smiling at me. "How are you feeling?"
"Like I got punched by an ape."
The doctor laughed, as did Hermione. Draco looked on, confused.
"Do you know where you are?"
"In the hospital."
"And do you know who these two are?"
"That's Hermione, she dances and she's my… neighbour," I answered, pointing at Hermione. "And that's my son, Draco."
"Do you know how you got here?" Doctor Warren asked.
"I don't. But I'm going to assume an ambulance."
"Good." She beamed at me. "Your memory is good considering the hit you took. Can you squeeze my hand?"
I did and she nodded.
"Great. Can you read the chart on the wall?"
"No, I don't have my glasses."
She laughed again then proceeded to do a few more simple tests, checking my eyes and reflexes, before declaring me well enough to be discharged.
"I think you're doing fine. You can go home, but you are under strict instructions to take things very easy for the next few weeks. And I advise you to see your own GP and return here immediately if you feel worse. I've prescribed some stronger pain medication for the fracture in your cheek and the headaches, and I'll tell you again, you need to rest."
"Thank you," I said. "I'm certain these two won't let me do anything else."
"I'll leave you in their capable hands." She turned to Hermione and Draco. "Simple questions to check his memory will be more than adequate. He'll no doubt become annoyed with you both, but ask him the day, year, who people are, that kind of thing over the next few days."
"Oh, I guarantee he'll become annoyed," Draco said with a laugh. "He hates to be fussed over."
"He has no choice," Hermione ascertained. "He will be fussed over and he will not complain."
Doctor Warren shot me an amused look. "Apparently you are definitely in good hands."
I reached for Hermione and she took my hand. "I definitely am."
Draco stepped out of the room to ring Katie while Hermione insisted on helping me re-dress. I'd told her I was more than capable of putting my own clothes on, but when my feet touched the floor, the dizziness hit me again and I would have landed on my arse if she'd not steadied me.
She smiled sweetly at me as she buttoned my shirt. "Get used to it, Lucius. I'll be taking care of you until your head stops spinning."
"You have a job to go to," I reminded her.
"This is true." She picked up my shoes and pointed at the chair. "Sit down."
"Hermione—"
"Draco is staying with you tomorrow, Katie on Tuesday, and—" she pointed at the chair again "—Pansy is watching you on Wednesday and Thursday."
"Pansy?" I sat reluctantly, feeling like a small child watching her slip my shoes on my feet.
"She was most insistent that she help out." She took my hands and helped me to my feet, holding me until I got my balance. "Ginny volunteered for Friday, but she wasn't sure how you'd feel since it was her oaf of a brother who hit you."
"Doctor Warren said I only needed to have someone with me for a few days. I'm sure I'll be fine by Wednesday."
She grinned and pressed her hand to my chest. "Does Pansy scare you?"
"Absolutely she does."
"You do remember she's pregnant, right?" Hermione tossed the hospital robe on the bed and wrapped her arms around my middle. "You can both sit on the sofa with your feet up and watch soap operas all day."
"That sounds like a nightmare."
She leaned up and kissed me. "I'm glad you're feeling better."
"Hmm, I'm not sure better is the right word. My head is still pounding and this dizziness is nauseating."
"Maybe you should be staying here a bit longer."
"No. Once I'm home in the quiet, I'm sure I'll be fine."
"Lucius, don't be a hero. If you're not feeling well, we should stay."
"I'm fine," I assured her. "The doctor said this will pass in a few days."
"Or weeks," she reiterated. "You can't rush this."
"I'll be fine," I assured her again. "It's only been a few hours, I'm sure I'll feel better tomorrow."
"If you don't, we're coming straight back here."
"Are you decent?" Draco asked, his head appearing comically around the door.
"Immaculate," Hermione answered, smiling at me. "But he's still a bit unsteady, so you'll have to hold his hand."
Draco snorted and I groaned.
"I might hire some help so you'll leave me alone."
"If I were the injured one, what would you be doing?" Hermione asked.
"I would be carrying you out the door," I answered, knowing without a doubt if the situation was reversed, she wouldn't be out of my sight.
"Exactly," she said, holding up a small bag that rattled when she shook it. "Draco had your prescription filled at the hospital pharmacy while you were still sleeping and there's a car waiting for us downstairs. You will let us fuss over you, Lucius Malfoy, because we love you."
"Love's a bit strong," Draco quipped, patting me gently on the shoulder. "But I'll fuss over you anyway."
I looked at them both in turn and resigned myself to the fact they wouldn't be dissuaded.
"Fine. You can fuss and worry," I conceded. "And I will not complain."
"I doubt that," Hermione said with a sweet smile, reaching for my hand as we made our way out of the room. "But we'll appreciate the effort."
Draco stepped in front of me while Hermione wrapped her free hand around my bicep. I would have laughed if my head wasn't pounding; they were protecting me from having anyone bump into me.
I should have been charmed by their concern, but I hated to be fussed over. And the drums in my head and the pain in my cheek and neck only served to remind me I was annoyed at the 'babysitting' roster they'd already set up. I wanted nothing more than to simply be left alone to recover.
I exhaled slowly when we paused at the lifts.
The wall thumping man who had unintentionally made my life hell a year ago had now intentionally done it again.
