Disclaimer: Things are never going to be the same. -ME!
Things were quiet in St. Mungos as the Weasley's waited for news of how Hermione was. She had been brought in shortly after they had found her and rushed into the emergency room when she had started to convulse violently, throwing up all over the place. The only news that came out of the emergency room was that she might not make it. Ron, despite Mrs. Weasley's pleadings, had refused to change his cloths, which were still crusted with Hermione's blood. Ron just sat there, staring at the ground, his hands clasped together as he just waited. Harry and Ginny stood near by, holding each other as they conversed quietly.
"Mr. Weasley."
They all looked up and Ron stood, walking over to the Healer. "Is she ok?" he asked quietly.
The man glanced over at the rest of the family then up at Ron. "Maybe we should talk in private?" he suggested.
In that moment, everyone felt a cold chill make its way down their spines. Ron glanced back at them then at the Healer. "What happened?"
The man sighed and repeated himself. "We should talk in private," he stressed.
Ron nodded and glanced over at Harry, motioning him to follow. Harry gave Ginny a kiss on the brow and then followed Ron to the Healer's office. The man shook both men's hands.
"Hello, I'm Senior Healer Davidson. Let me start out be saying that Hermione has been stabilized."
"What happened to Hermione?" Ron asked shakily.
Davidson closed his eyes and rubbed them. "I'm not exactly sure you want to know what happened."
"What happened?" Ron asked through clenched teeth.
Davidson looked over at Ron and sighed. "Hermione was… well, to put it in the simplest terms… she was maimed." Harry and Ron straightened immensely at this. "It seems that whoever did this to her tortured her in several different ways then would heal many of her more fatal wounds, making sure she would remain in pain, but wouldn't die. She then suffered from severe creature injuries that were, obviously, from those Devipixies. Hermione was also paralyzed from the waist down. Most likely sustained from a fall," he said. Looking at each mans' face, he pursed his lips. "Look, Mr. Weasley... Ron? Look, Ron, Hermione's going to survive. She will undergo several treatments that will help with the different types of wounds then an advanced treatment for the paralysis. She will then be put in rehab for her legs and strength."
"Is that it?" Harry asked.
Davidson shook his head. "This is what I needed to talk to you about in private. Though she will get over the physical injuries, I will caution you on her mental state. Hermione has been through every sort of torture imaginable and it would be a miracle if she came out with no real signs of what happened. That being said, I must prepare you for the worst."
"What's the worst?" Ron demanded.
Davidson sighed. "Honestly, it would take a miracle for Hermione not to come out the way the Longbottoms did."
The moment he said that, Ron couldn't breathe. He felt as if someone was crushing his chest and he couldn't do a thing about it. Neville's parents still didn't recognize him. If Hermione could recognize him…
"Is there a…" Harry's voice failed him for a moment and he took a minute to pull himself together before trying again. "Is there a possibility that she'll come out ok?"
Davidson could tell how much this was killing the two men, but he knew he couldn't lie about it. He shook his head sadly. "Hermione will come out with some psychological problems, but how bad they might be is a mystery until she wakes up and we are able to assess her," he answered.
Harry nodded, his eyes on his tortured best friend. They were supposed to get married. If something happened to Hermione…
"Mr. Weasley… Mr. Weasley?" the nurse called.
Ginny looked over at Ron, who was in the corner, staring at the ground dumbly. He hadn't said a thing since he and Harry had appeared again with Healer Davidson. Harry had told them about the ordeal with Hermione and then it all made sense. She was worried about him, as was everyone else. He hadn't left the waiting room for two days, sitting in that same position. He had refused food and only took the water after Mrs. Weasley had reminded him that they were all worried about Hermione. They had all begged for him to at least change his clothes, which was still stained with Hermione's blood and he finally did, but had refused to have them burned, holding them in his hands as he waited. Fleur nudged Ron, jumping back when he jerked away.
"Mr. Ronald Weasley?" the nurse tried again.
Ron looked up. "That's me."
The nurse offered a smile. "Hermione's awake right now, but Healer Davidson is only allowing her one visitor at a time. The rest of you will have to wait," she said, eyeing the children in particular.
Ron got up, dropping his clothes on the seat and started to follow the nurse when he faltered and stopped. They all knew why. If Hermione didn't remember him it would be Ron's undoing. Mrs. Weasley got up and went to her son and pulled him into a tight hug.
"You'll be ok," she whispered before pushing him towards the nurse.
Ron followed the nurse down the hall and into the private room Hermione was being held in.
"Now, she's still weak, so I don't want her exerting herself to much. Some of her bones are still mending, so don't you dare try anything," she warned him before letting him in.
It was quiet when he entered. At first all he saw were the shaded windows then his eyes moved over to the bed. That's when his heart stopped.
She was just lying there with her eyes closed. There were bandages all over her arms and one or two on her head. Her hair was splayed on the white pillow and her chest was moving slowly, letting him know that she was really alive. She looked small and vulnerable in the bed as she lay there.
Ron felt the overwhelming desire to touch her. It felt as if it had been ages since he had held her in his arms and he felt that if he didn't touch her soon she'd disappear in front of him.
He slowly went over to her and then stood there, not knowing whether or not he wanted to touch just then. Though she wasn't smiling, she looked peaceful. She didn't look afraid…
Before he knew it, he felt tears running down his cheeks and he turned away to brush at them.
"Ron… Ron, is that you?"
He turned to her in astonishment and then a huge grin appeared on his face upon seeing her sleepy brown eyes looking up at him in confusion. He leaned in and kissed her brow tenderly.
"Hey… how are you?" he asked softly.
She just stared at him for a moment before she tried to prop herself up. Ron stopped her.
"No! No, you're not straining yourself. You're still recovering and I don't want you to hurt yourself," he scolded before he started moving around, moving the bed so that she was in a comfortable sitting position and then fiddling around with her pillows.
"Ron… Ron, stop it, I'm fine," she told him, her voice small.
That's when she saw his shoulders crumple as he turned to her. She could see the exhaustion. The suffering. Every single emotion he had felt during her time in the hospital was displayed in his eyes and it broke her. He went over to her and sat down on the side of his bed. She took his face in her hands and her chest constricted painfully to see that he had been crying.
"I thought… They told me you might not make it," he whispered.
Hermione shook her head and he pulled her to him, burying his face in her neck and holding her so tight that it hurt. But that didn't matter. She was in his arms. She was safe.
She felt his whole body shaking and she pulled away to see his eyes filled with tears. She couldn't help but let out a weak laugh as she wiped the tears away.
"You're crying," she whispered hoarsely.
His shoulders shook as he struggled to control himself.
"I love you," he whispered.
Hermione's eyes welled with tears and she couldn't stop the sob that escaped her lips before falling into his arms again. Their lips met in heated force, both knowing that the nurse could come in at any minute and scold the both of them. But they didn't care. They had been denied each other for a long time and they deserved this.
Ron's lips moved away from hers and moved down her jaw and to her neck as his hands moved to her waist and up her body in trembling anticipation. Hermione could barely breathe as he moved closer, his lips searching her neck with new life. If she didn't have his lips on hers, she'd go mad. She reached up and lifted his head away from her neck and back to hers, allowing their mouths to find each other for the second time.
Hermione jerked away breathlessly when Ron's hands met her still mending ribs. She held his face close to hers, her need for his closeness vital at this point.
"I love you…"
A/N: No! It's not over. I wouldn't spoil our fun by ending here. Besides... I've still got a little more to write. I am sooooo sorry it took so long, it's just, I had to versions for this chapter and the other one seemed a bit rushed so I chose to do this one. Hopefully, it doesn't seem rushed.
cellogirl: I'm sorry I didn't update as soon as I know you would have hoped. I pray that this chappie makes up for that.
polymath: I hope you like it!
ronandmion4ever: Well, you know how I am about happy endings. Besides, I'm not done yet, so don't go wishing for the happy ending yet. I might have one or two more chapters left in me. Who knows?
HerFathersJoy: I'm glad you like it. Like I said before, I try not to do the gore thing, but sometimes it happens, though it doesn't happen a lot.
GTKari-123: Safe from who? Ian or me? ;-)
sballLuvr5: Don't worry, there's no more gross stuff. Maybe just a little psychological stuff.
Memilyxoxo: 4 words: Thank you for reviewing!
NairobiDawn: Well, right now, all we can be thankful for is that she's alive. You can all lay it on me when something else happens to her. :-)
lemonwedges4: Thank you.
Coconut Girl: Don't worry. It's over. I hope you're ok and could you please update Darker! I'm going crazy:-)
LitaFanForLife: I hope this is good as well!
charma10: Wow, you're real positive! "How ever screwed up she is". You sound like me sometimes! (That's a good thing depending on how you look at it)
cheeky splash: O my goodness! I totally forgot about the wedding! Should I put it in here or should there be a wedding or should I just cut it out all together? I guess that all depends on how Hermione deals.
mione-ron-4ever: Wow... you, charma10 and me should go out and have coffee. I think I'm being a bad influence. You want me to torture someone and charma10 knows that Hermione's screwed. We're a happy bunch aren't we?
Wesker888: You know me. Though I think I've done my fill of twist. This twist will be a small one unless cheeky splash gave me an idea that will make this a big twist... :-) (that's an evil grin)
LunaSky: I love you. You make my day. I'm glad you liked it!
Chapter Tease:
NO!
All you people keep reviewing I don't have the energy to write a chapter tease. I absolutely refuse!
Actually, I haven't written anything, so that's why. And I don't want to ruin it by making something up.
TTFN!