For the past day and a half, nurses had been waking Jemma up every hour to make sure she could still remember her name, her age, Skye's name, and what had happened. She had a nasty head wound and a concussion, but other than that she'd escaped with only a few scrapes and bruises. Skye hadn't been so lucky. Every time Jemma had been woken from her restless sleep, she'd been disappointed to find that Skye was still unconscious in the neighboring cot of the medical wing. She'd been told Skye had several broken ribs and intense bruises covered a large portion of the rest of her body. She felt guilty when she'd also been told that Skye had internal hemorrhaging from exerting herself by carrying her when she had already been hurt from getting clotheslined by the dragon's tail.
Fitz had used Jemma's omnioculars to watch the task, and he had given them back to her the second time she'd woken up so she could watch what she'd missed of the task. She had cringed and looked over at Skye's sleeping form when she saw the hit she'd taken and her fall to the ground below. It wasn't long after that that she'd fallen back asleep, and Fitz was gone when she was woken up again. That time, Headmaster Coulson had been sitting next to her cot. In the last hour, gifts from other students had piled up on both girls' nightstands. Coulson had brought a vase of flowers for each of them and he had waited for it to be time to wake her up again. The first thing he did after a nurse asked Jemma the regular questions was appologize. He told her that no one had known it was going to rain, and that Skye had been awarded an immense amount of bonus points for completing the task despite it. He also told her that Skye had won. She'd finished three minutes faster than Ward, who had come in second. Skye won. She couldn't wait to tell her the news, but first she had to wait for Skye to wake up.
She'd also requested that her cot be moved closer to Skye's, and no one argued. She could only fall back asleep when her arm was stretched between the two beds and her hand was closed around Skye's.
This time, she woke up on her own without someone waking her up. She shot up into a sitting position, gasping for breath and shaking. She'd had a nightmare, and she'd dreamed that Skye hadn't gotten away from the dragon. She winced at the pain her sudden movement caused her head, but it didn't stop her from throwing the blankets back and sliding her legs out. The first time she touched her feet to the stone floor, it was too cold and she had to pull them back up, but after another try, she stood up shakily. It only took a few steps to get to Skye's cot, and she collapsed onto it, careful not to touch her. She slipped under her girlfriend's sheets easily enough, and gently laid down next to her. It was a tight fit, and hard for her not to wrap her arms around the other girl and pull her closer. They were barely touching, but it was enough to ease her back into sleep.
Jemma was awake again in less than half an hour when a nurse came in for the hourly check up.
"My name is Jemma Simmons, I'm seventeen years old, this is my girlfriend, Skye, and we're both here because of the second task in the Triwizard Tournament." She mumbled sleepily before the nurse could even ask the questions. The nurse smiled sadly at the way Jemma was curled up in Skye's cot before she left them alone again. Jemma didn't fall back asleep after that, it'd been two days and she didn't think she'd ever need to rest again. She was anxious and she wanted to get out of bed, but she wasn't allowed to yet. She wanted nothing more than for Skye to wake up and to be able to take the tight bandage off of her head.
It may have just been Jemma's mind playing tricks on her, but she thought she noticed Skye's eyelids flicker.
"Skye?" Jemma whispered. She gently nudged the girl's cheek, not knowing any other place that wouldn't hurt her. "Skye, wake up." She propped herself up on one elbow and leaned over her girlfriend, kissing her lightly. If anything would wake her up, that would.
Lips pressed up against Jemma's, if only lightly before the champion frowned, her brow furrowing. "Oh god…" The brunette groaned and opened her eyes. Her vision took a moment to focus, so she blinked several times and soon they adjusted. "Why does it hurt to breathe?" her eyes finally landed on Jemma and she smiled weakly.
Skye had a terrible headache and an awful throbbing all over her body, particularly from her chest. Now that she had spoken, her mouth felt dry and her throat parched. If she didn't know any better, the way Jemma was smiling at her she would have thought that they were in the attic, until she realized they weren't.
The brunette's breathing sped up, coming in gasps as she tried to sit up. She groaned when she could not and began to panic, grabbing Jemma's arm to both make sure that she was actually there and to calm herself.
"Are you alright?! What happened? I got you to the safe zone and then…" Skye couldn't remember. Her brain was still not fully awake and she could not recall what had happened after getting Jemma past the magical shield.
"Easy, hey, it's ok." Jemma held Skye against the bed gently by her shoulder. After everything that had happened, Jemma wasn't going to let her girlfriend hurt herself again by trying to get up. If any of the nurses saw them up anyway they would have a fit. "I'm alright, just a bump on the head." Jemma smiled, glancing upwards to motion to her bandages. She wasn't going to tell Skye that it actually still hurt like hell and that she had a concussion. For now, she just wanted Skye to feel better, that would make her feel better too. She also knew Skye's mind wouldn't be at ease until Jemma told her what had happened.
"From what I was told, you passed out the second you made sure I was safe. Thank you for that." Jemma laughed a little bit, trying to lighten the mood. "But you didn't just save me, Skye. Headmaster Coulson was here. You won, and you won by a lot." She smiled down at her girlfriend. They really didn't have anything to be upset about at the moment, all they had to do was get better. For once, they weren't in any imminent danger. They could talk about what had happened with Bobbi later. For now, they both deserved to be happy.
"I won?" Skye didn't look like she believed it. Her smile was hardly that of a champion who had won a task. It was small, like a smirk, before she started to laugh. This only lasted a moment though before she moaned and quickly tried to stop. Even laughing hurt. How appropriate.
Once she calmed down she sighed lightly, too afraid to let air out of her lungs too quickly for fear it would hurt. Skye's attention was back on Jemma, "I'm just glad you're okay. I got...so scared when I saw you had fallen." Her eyes shifted away, looking around them now and finally spying all of the presents and flowers. She ignored them though, she just didn't think she could look at Jemma. Her guilt had quickly come back. Skye hadn't forgotten that she thought the girl wouldn't show up to wish her luck out of spite for what she had done to Bobbi. She thought she had missed her chance to talk to her and that she didn't want to talk anymore.
"I…" Skye shut her mouth again and fisted a handful of sheets. She wished she could get up, but that obviously wasn't going to be happening for a while. She didn't even know what all was wrong with her, she just knew everything hurt. "I need to apologize, Jemma. When you weren't in the attic...and when you didn't show up before the task," Skye swallowed hard. She was acutely aware of the dryness in her mouth now, though she didn't think any water would help her spit out what she needed to say at this point. "I didn't think…" She even looked guilty at this point, "I thought you didn't want to see me anymore. I thought I had lost my chance when I didn't show up at the attic right away. I thought you wouldn't wish me luck because of how stupid I acted with Bobbi…"
Jemma didn't even care. She didn't care about Skye's confession, all that mattered was that they were both ok now. If she thought about it, Skye had come up with a logical conclusion, she wouldn't even be able to be mad at her girlfriend if she wanted to be.
"That doesn't matter." Jemma said softly, making sure Skye knew that she was completely forgiven. There was only one matter left to discuss. "You know that I… I would never…" Jemma stumbled over her words. She didn't know what Skye had actually seen, but she had to make sure that she didn't think Jemma had kissed Bobbi by her own free will. "I didn't choose for any of that to happen." She finally decided on words. It was obvious what Jemma was talking about. "I'm just sorry I didn't see it coming."
"Well, I can't really blame you. I had to flirt with you for over half a year for you to notice me so…" Skye shrugged with a smile, wincing after she did, though the smile did not fade. "You don't miss anything when it comes to classes, Jems, but if you were left alone to fend for yourself in social situations I think maybe you would miss a lot. Like someone flirting with you. Exhibit A present," Skye motioned to herself with a giggle, "I forgive you. I was stupid for thinking it…"
The Slytherin girl nuzzled gently into her girlfriend then, careful not to hurt herself. It was clear they couldn't snuggle properly. Skye might break in two if they did. "So...I actually won? I don't believe it. It had to have taken me at least an hour. There was so much happening…"
Jemma blushed at Skye's teasing and her face flushed even more when Skye nuzzled into her. She kissed Skye's forehead and pushed a few strands of hair out of the other girl's face. She laughed a little bit at the time Skye thought she had gotten. Headmaster Coulson had told Jemma the actual time and it had made her just as shocked as she was sure Skye would be.
"You finished in twenty-six minutes and thirty-seven seconds. I guess the rain was enough to make you hurry up." Jemma grinned, but also shuddered a bit when she remembered the dragon turning on her. A sudden pain split through her temples and she glanced at the grandfather clock on the other side of the room. It would be time for another disgusting potion to help with the pain soon, in fact, the nurse was a little late.
"Are you kidding?! I did all of that in under half an hour?! That's insane!" Skye laughed again, and though it hurt this time she couldn't stop herself. Her hand was on her chest, trying to stifle it, but she could not. She would be lying if she didn't admit she was amazed at herself. "Yeah, I guess the rain did rush me a little. No one else had to worry about their precious getting eaten," Finally she seemed to calm down and her smile faded into seriousness. Her hand found Jemma's and she squeezed it tight, "Although I would prefer not to… I would do it again."
Jemma felt her heart swell up a bit, despite how cheesy Skye's line was. She smiled and pressed another gentle kiss to the girl's lips. She moved one hand to rest on the pillow on the other side of Skye's head so she was propped up above her. She pressed feather light kisses all over her girlfriend's face.
"You know, you slept through valentine's day." She grinned.
Skye's eyebrow rose in question, just the way that Jemma liked, though she had a smirk on her face and looked more sly than confused. Even a dragon would not keep her down, and despite her severe bruising she wanted quite a bit more than feather light kisses.
"What a terrible shame. I will rectify that lost time the moment I am able to sit up without wanting to die," Skye grinned and lifted her head enough to give Jemma a proper kiss. It was anything but light. Despite being in a cot in the Infirmary, Skye was feeling quite the high at the moment. She had saved Jemma and won the task. Apart from their injuries, everything seemed to be as it should be. She would need to tell her mother about her success, though she guessed Jiaying had already read it in the paper by now. Now that she was awake, reporters would no doubt want to flood her with questions. Skye wanted very much to avoid those conversations. There were several other things she wanted to do first.
"We can have our own valentine's day once we feel better, I promise. I'll get you twice as much of everything to show how sorry I am that I spent it sleeping."
Jemma giggled, but only let Skye kiss her for a few moments before she gently lowered herself, low enough that Skye didn't have to lift off the bed, but not low enough to crush her. She only lifted herself back up when her head began to pound and she was hoping that nurse would come in soon with a potion or two for them both.
"I don't think that will be necessary." Jemma laughed, leaning back and grabbing a chocolate frog box and a flower from the nightstand and then rolling back over so that she was on her side next to Skye again. She laid the flower down gently on her girlfriend's chest and looked at the top of the candy box. "We've got enough to last us ten valentine's days." She joked, motioning to the tables of things people had brought them. "Think you can catch this?" She asked, holding up the chocolate frog box for Skye to see. It wouldn't take too much effort, Skye had a way of grabbing the enchanted frogs before they could even get anywhere.
The Slytherin girl grinned at the supposed challenge. "You think I can't? I might be bedridden but I'll have you know I am the champion chocolate frog catcher. Just try me," Skye smiled, looking haughty, despite her condition, before she smiled down at the flower. People had left a lot of flowers and presents for them...but Skye didn't much care. Well, she did care. She was very flattered that everyone had thought so much of them to bring so many things, though she supposed it was only because she had won. Still, flowers from everyone else wasn't what she wanted.
"I still want to get you something. Gifts from everyone else doesn't count," For a moment, she looked rather adorable, laying there in bed with a flower on her chest and making heart eyes at Jemma, but she quickly grew determined again. "Let that sucker loose. I just beat a dragon. A candy frog is nothing!"
"Ok, it's decided." Jemma smiled and kissed Skye's cheek again. "We'll have our own valentine's day as soon as we both get out of here." She grinned and prepared to open the chocolate frog box. As soon as she did, a voice startled her.
"Miss Simmons, you should be laying down!" A nurse fussed immediately upon seeing her propped up next to Skye, and she rushed over. The chocolate frog hopped away, long forgotten. Skye had missed it because she'd been just as startled as Jemma. Jemma's eyes widened and she quickly, but carefully, put her head down on the pillow next to Skye's obediently. Nurse Weaver had grown quite fond of her during the two days she'd been there, and more often than not, she was the one coming, waking her up, and asking her the usual questions. This time, she walked over to the cupboard and got out the same disgusting potion Jemma had been drinking for pain the whole time and walked over with two small cups instead of one.
"The usual?" Jemma asked. Nurse Weaver nodded and Jemma sighed. "My name is Jemma Simmons, I am seventeen years old, this is my girlfriend, Skye, and we're both here because of the second task in the Triwizard Tournament." She repeated for the hundredth time. Skye gave her a questioning look from her place on the cot two inches away and Jemma looked away. She hadn't told her that her concussion was going to be keeping her out of class for weeks. Nurse Weaver handed her a cup of the potion and moved on to Skye. Jemma made a distasteful face, but downed the liquid nonetheless. She'd almost gotten used to it.
"It's nice to see you awake, Miss Johnson." She said, pouring another cup of the liquid. "This should help with the pain, but you let me know if you need anything else." She handed it to her. Jemma mouthed the words "Good luck" to her before she attempted to drink it. The first time she'd tried it, she'd wanted to throw up.
Skye eyeballed the nurse and then the cup. It smelled foul, whatever it was, but if it could make the constant throbbing in her chest go away Skye was resolved to drink it. She opened her mouth and threw it back. She should have swallowed faster because as soon as the taste was on her tongue she made a terrible face. A hand flew over her mouth and now she didn't want it to go down her throat at all, but she made it.
"Holy shit! That was nasty," Skye stuck out her tongue, still making a terrible scrunched up and disgusted face. "Is this what they've been giving you? I'd rather drink old pumpkin juice," Skye shook her head, trying to get the taste out of her mouth, but it lingered, and she set the empty cup on her nightstand.
"Watch your profanity, Miss Johnson!" Weaver exclaimed, and Jemma had to hold her hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh. Skye tended to have a sailor's mouth, and she usually got away with it, but she'd finally been reprimanded.
"You'll get used to it." Jemma promised, referring to the awful taste of the pain relieving potion. She reached over on the nightstand to grab something to get the taste out of their mouths, and her hand landed on the jelly beans, but she put them back and thought something else would be better. She'd snacked on a few of them yesterday and had the misfortune to eat a vomit flavored one. She'd checked the tag, and of course, they'd been from Trip. She finally settled on a few strands of licorice and handed half of them to Skye.
"Thanks, Nurse Weaver." Jemma said automatically. The woman rolled her eyes and walked away, muttering something about teenagers.
"I doubt it," Skye grinned and took the candy from her girlfriend and quickly ate an entire strand all in one go. She was going to need a lot more candy if they were going to make her drink that nasty mixture every hour.