Oliver was in the hospital again, only this time not in a position of being a patient. He paced the waiting room outside of the ward for Magical Injuries still wearing his Quidditch robes. Currently three of his players were in the hospital undergoing major magical surgery and wouldn't be able to been seen for a few hours. Oliver had already been pacing for a little over two hours as he waited in the room occupied by the players' family and loved ones.
Alex Reynolds watched his captain walk back and forth in front of him. Oliver would not pay attention to anything around him except for the doors leading to the surgery ward. Alex could see Oliver flex his hands every once and a while, a tell tale sign that he was nervous. Unfortunately the only person who could calm him down, Alex's sister, Skyler, was beyond those doors Oliver kept throwing glances at.
Skyler Reynolds, James Hart and Christopher Warrington all had been injured during the Quidditch game between the international teams England and Romania. The Romanians had played a very dirty game. The game had produced more fouls than any other game Oliver could remember and had put three of his players, including his girlfriend, into the hospital. However Oliver wasn't just mad at the Romanian team, he was mad at his players for playing so recklessly against an obviously aggressive team. Most of all he was mad at his girlfriend for putting herself in danger in spite of helping their team narrowly claim victory over the Romanians.
Oliver looked up from his seat, three hours later, and saw a couple Healers come out of the surgery ward. They headed straight for the friends and family of the injured Quidditch players. The Healers motioned for everyone to keep their seats and sat down across from the small crowd.
"We've finished with them and luckily they're doing just fine," the head Healer, John Capo said. "They'll be in separate rooms up in the ward. If you'll follow me, you'll be able to see them."
The small crowd followed the Healers through the ward's doors and down a large hall. The doors of the rooms had their patients' names on the door. Upon seeing the door for Skyler, Oliver and Alex entered the room. They saw Skyler hooked up to magical monitors and several Mediwitches tending to her, blocking her from full view. The Mediwitches saw Oliver and Alex standing by the door and took it upon themselves to leave the room. Once the witches had moved, Oliver and Alex could get a good look at Skyler. She was sitting up, propped up by pillows and was awake, watching as they approached her bed. Alex moved to her left side as Oliver stayed on her right. The hospital robe did little to hide the extreme injuries Skyler had obtained from the game. Her face was taped in a couple of places and a large patch of gauze was peeking out from the neck of the robe. Her arms were bruised and cut, and her legs, although they were covered with blankets, were in the same condition as her arms.
"Hey, Sky," Alex said to her. "How are you feeling?"
"Hey," she responded. "I'm feeling like I just finished playing a mean game of Quidditch." Alex chuckled a little and Oliver even cracked a smile.
"I think Cap'n wants to talk to you alone," Alex said. "I'll see you later." Skyler nodded and closed her eyes as Alex placed a kiss on her forehead. She and Oliver watched him leave the room, leaving behind an awkward silence. Oliver sat in a chair placed by her bedside.
"This looks familiar," Skyler said. "Our roles are reversed this time." Oliver couldn't look at her.
"When they carried you out of the game I thought I had lost you," he said, looking at his hands. "I didn't know what to do with myself."
"I'm right here," Skyler said. "I'm fine."
"No you're not," Oliver said, looking her over. "You're in a hospital with a lot of injuries that most Quidditch players don't get in a year."
"Hey, I'm young," she said, smiling. "I'll bounce back." Oliver was not smiling. "What's wrong?"
"You," he said. "You're here in the hospital and acting like nothing terrible has happened. You almost died."
"I think that's exaggerating a bit," Skyler said, getting a little impatient.
"Sky," Oliver began. "When I talked to the Healers they told me that they weren't sure if you'd make it out of surgery alive. They were afraid of even performing magical surgery on you. They weren't sure if you'd survive all the magic."
Skyler averted her gaze away from her captain and boyfriend. She only looked back when she felt one of his hands take hers. She had only seen Oliver look at her in such a serious manner when they had first shared a bed.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I'm sorry I scared you and I'm sorry that I'm lying in this hospital bed right now. But I'm not sorry about playing that game with all my heart. I'm not sorry about playing the game I was born to play. I'm not sorry about helping us win."
"But that doesn't mean you have to get yourself killed over it," Oliver told her.
"Who was the one who told Harry to get the Snitch or die trying while you both were still in school?" Skyler countered. Oliver looked at her before smiling a little.
"I really need to keep you away from Angelina and Katie," he said. Skyler smiled and rubbed her thumb back and forth over the back of Oliver's hand.
"I love you," she told him. He smiled brilliantly at her.
"I love you, too," he said. He leaned down to kiss her quickly. "Just don't do anything stupid during games anymore."
"So during practice and outside of games is okay?" she asked. Oliver laughed at her and kissed her again.
A few days later Oliver was standing in the kitchen of his flat with Skyler supposedly still in bed. Oliver looked up when he heard footsteps on their way to the kitchen. He turned and saw Skyler, in one of his old Gryffindor Quidditch shirts and a pair of shorts, come into the room, wrapped in a blanket. Oliver looked at her warily while walking to her and kissing her on the forehead.
"You're supposed to be in bed," he told her. "Healer's orders."
"I feel fine," Skyler said. She kissed him quickly. "Really, I do." Oliver took one last look at her before scooping his arm under her knees and picking her up, carrying her to the couch and sitting down on it with Skyler in his lap. She had yelped a little in surprise and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"How are you really feeling?" he asked her.
"My back hurts, my arms hurt and my legs are incredibly sore," Skyler said truthfully.
"You should be resting," Oliver said sternly. "You shouldn't be up and about."
"I'm not going to get back to full strength by lying in bed all day. I want to be back to where I was a few days ago," Skyler explained. "Besides, there are better things to do out here."
"And what might those things be?" Oliver asked.
"Sleeping on my favorite pillow," Skyler said, leaning her head on Oliver's shoulder and nuzzling up to him. Oliver chuckled and could feel Skyler grin against his shoulder.
"Well, since you're up to walking around the flat, are you up to going downstairs to get some breakfast?" Oliver asked. Skyler nodded.
"Just let me change first," Skyler said. She pushed herself up off of Oliver and started walking toward his bedroom, the blanket trailing behind her.
"You need some help?" Oliver asked from the couch.
"No, I'll be fine," Skyler said from his room. Oliver looked to the room in confusion. Usually she'd be up for that sort of thing. He furrowed his brow and waited for her to come out of the room changed. When she didn't come and Oliver had heard a few curse words, he stood and walked to the door of his room. He could see Skyler struggling with a t-shirt. She could barely lift her arms above her head to get the shirt on. Oliver could see tears of frustration in her eyes and his heart leapt at the sight.
"Love," Oliver said, walking into the room, unable to watch Skyler struggle anymore. She dropped the t-shirt and turned at the sound of his voice. She looked at him and he pulled her into a tight hug. "We don't have to go out if you don't want to. We can stay here and I can make you some breakfast. I can have the twins, Angelina and Katie come over."
"I thought you wanted me to stay away from Katie and Angelina," he could hear Skyler say, her voice muffled by his chest. Oliver chuckled slightly.
"I was just kidding, love," he said. "We don't have to go out if you don't want to."
Skyler pulled back from him and rubbed her eyes, wiping tears away. She looked at Oliver and sighed.
"Your shirt's wet," she told him. Oliver just shrugged. "I want to go out. I can't be cooped up here anymore." Oliver nodded.
"You want me to help you get dressed?" he asked softly. Skyler nodded and Oliver pulled her back into a hug. He kissed her sweetly before grabbing the t-shirt she had dropped and helping her into it.
A few days later, Skyler walked onto the Quidditch pitch, ready to play. Oliver, however, had a different plan. He walked up to her, very slowly, as the team watched their captain confront his girlfriend and one of his Beaters.
"Sky," he began, slowly. "I don't know if I have the strength to put up an argument against you playing. Merlin knows that my resolve will diminish the minute you look at me but I'm going to say this. I don't agree with you being out here on the pitch. If it was up to me you'd still be in bed, not playing for a few more months, but it's not up to me. And Merlin knows that you're stubborn enough to come and kill me if I locked you up. I don't want you to play, I'm not going to deny that. But I'm also not going to deny that we need you to play. The choice is ultimately up to you."
"You're right," Skyler said, taking a firm stance across from Oliver. "You do need me to play and I will play." With that the team started their practice. Alex and James Hart were also in attendance and playing rather well. It took a few plays to get Skyler back in top shape, but she was there. Oliver never looked happier than when the practice was done. His team was back. There would be no stopping them.
A week before the final of the Quidditch World Cup, in which England was a contender, Oliver was called back to London from France where the match was to be held. A mandatory meeting was put in place for the captains of the British and Irish Quidditch League before the beginning of the next season. Oliver, having been to these before, knew that all he had to do was show up and listen to what the rest of the captains were complaining about. Oliver wasn't looking forward to leaving his National team a week before the final match, but he was comforted by the fact that they promised that they would keep practicing.
In London, Oliver entered the ballroom for the captain's dinner dressed in a Muggle suit that fitted him perfectly. He looked around at the mostly male room but spotted the lone female that headed up the Holyhead Harpies. The newest captain of the Holyhead Harpies, Emma O'Neill, the Seeker that Skyler had knocked off course during her first professional match. Oliver smiled, thinking of his girlfriend that he had to leave behind in France with the team. He knew that she would be okay with her teammates looking after her in France. Alex, her brother, had shown up the day before Oliver had to leave for London.
Oliver watched with a drink in hand as Emma approached him from the other side of the room. She was holding a drink as well. He could tell that it was not her first. This dinner was designed to let the captains get to know one another and to try and get everyone to get along. Oliver was never quite sure if it was successful or not. Some captains got along quite well while others preferred to stay away from the social part of being a Quidditch captain. Oliver inwardly sighed as Emma got closer. He would socialize with a few of the captains but found that the female captains usually were quite forward and made him uncomfortable.
"Hullo, Oliver," Emma said to him when she got to him. Oliver smiled politely but could smell the alcohol permeating from her mouth.
"Hello, Emma," he said, looking for an escape route.
"How's England faring at the World Cup?" Emma asked, standing closer to Oliver.
"You know how England's doing, Emma," Oliver told her in a clipped tone. "You also know that I have a girlfriend."
"That's right," Emma said, her voice and face darkening at the mention of Skyler. "But she's not here. She's in France, probably meeting French men and other Quidditch players that are waiting to sweep her off her feet. She's young, she'll want something new."
"I trust Skyler," Oliver said, growing more impatient by the minute. "We've been together for a while and we love each other."
"Yes, but she is quite the risk-taker," Emma pointed out. "Quite stubborn. And from what I heard, she defied you in front of the National team during practice. What does that say about your girlfriend? What does that say about your teammate?" Oliver paused at Emma's words. Skyler was stubborn; there was no doubt about that. Oliver would have been in a great sense of denial if he tried to refute that statement. What bothered him most was that Emma's words were making sense and hit home.
For as fiercely loyal as Skyler was, she was pretty friendly with her fellow Quidditch players, whether they were on her team or not. She had an infectious personality and was very pretty. Oliver knew that a lot of players harbored an attraction for redheads and Skyler matched that description. And she was a damn good Quidditch player. She was so good that she made international headlines with her performance in many games and with her position on the National team. He had overheard conversations about the young Beater among a lot of Quidditch circles. It was common knowledge that Oliver was lucky to have her and that she was desired and admired by others.
France, a country known for its romanticism, was probably a dangerous place for Skyler to be on her own. Oliver knew she was young, barely close to nineteen when he was close to four years her senior. He knew that she hadn't had that much experience in relationships and would probably want to try new things with new people. Skyler was quite set in her ways.
In France, she was sitting in a Quidditch tent, laughing and joking with fellow Quidditch players, all of which happened to be men. It was not her fault that she happened to get along better with the male variety of her species than the female. She found most girls to be petty and too worried about things that they shouldn't be worried about. She worried about Quidditch. Other young women worried about clothes and make-up and shoes… well, she did worry about shoes.
Alex watched his sister from across the tent and saw that she seemed to be distracted slightly from the present company. It was very slightly and he figured that he was probably the only one who noticed it. It helped being a twin sometimes. When Alex pointed out the distracted Skyler to Chris, Chris frowned as he appraised her and then widened his eyes in recognition. Chris nodded to Alex and moved his way over to the young female Beater. He squatted down by her chair and whispered in her ear.
"Why so glum, Miss Reynolds?" he asked.
"What are you talking about?" she asked him, barely turning her head to look at him as she kept her eye on the happenings in the room.
"You don't seem to be too focused on the poor French player's story," Chris told her in a slight air of superiority.
"Well, if you'd been listening, you could tell that his story is hardly entertaining," Skyler told him.
"Now don't you sound like a Slytherin," Chris told her with a grin. When she didn't respond he took the time to look at her. Her gaze was focused on something across the room and to her right. Chris followed her gaze and his own landed on a young player from the Pride of Portree, Colin McCormack. Colin was the son of the famous Weird Sisters' bassist. He followed his grandmother's and aunt's footsteps in playing for the Pride of Portree Quidditch team. Even Chris had to admit that Colin was quite attractive and no doubt had a female following large enough to rival Chris'. However that night, he seemed to be only interested in England's female Beater. And the unfortunate part was that Skyler seemed just as interested in him.
"Need I remind you that even though he is absent, your captain is still your boyfriend and will be returning to France soon," Chris told her in a stern voice. Skyler turned to him and fixed him with a glare so powerful that he leaned back from the intensity of it.
"Just what are you trying to say, Warrington?" she asked in a deadly quiet voice.
"Be careful," he said to her.
"I can't believe you would even think that I would do something like that," Skyler said, standing and walking out of the tent. Chris watched her go but his attention was grabbed by Colin, who had stood upon seeing Skyler leave, and was making his way to follow her. Chris stopped him before he could leave.
"If you know what's good for you, you will leave her alone," Chris said to him. "You will stay away from her."
"I'm going to see if she's alright," Colin said in his light Scottish lilt. "She looked upset about something the two of you were talking about."
"She's fine," Chris told him.
"Even still," Colin said, "I have every right to leave the tent when I want to." When Chris found that he couldn't argue with the younger player he stepped aside to let him pass through the tent flap.
Oliver was quite close to killing Emma back in London but kept reminding himself that if he did he would be sent to Azkaban and would probably never be heard from again. Although he was still pondering Emma's earlier words, he couldn't seem to pry her from his side all night. He was getting strange looks from his fellow captains as most knew of his relationship with his young Beater. Oliver sighed as he tried not to think of how many in the Quidditch world would know about this by morning. He ran a hand over his face when he thought about Skyler finding out from some player that wanted her for himself.
"What's the matter, love?" Emma asked Oliver, having finished drinking and seeming to sober up.
"Nothing," he answered almost automatically. He continued to watch the others around him while thinking about what could be a problem with his girlfriend. As he looked at Emma, he couldn't help be wary about the look she was giving him.