For the family boot camp with the prompt: hard
For the ultimate pairing comp with the pairing Molly/Arthur and the prompt: "I remember tears streaming down your face when I said I'd never let you go" – Taylor Swift (more inspired)
Word count: 413
.
She's been in the hospital more times than she can remember, tending to patients with the utmost kindness. And now, she's on the receiving end. The women that she knew all those years ago meet her stare with a sad look. "He's in room 209," and that's all she needs to hear before she's down the hallway.
She enters the room without knocking, and the scene before her takes her breath away. On the bed is Arthur. He's covered in bandages and his beautiful crystal eyes aren't open. And for a half a second, fear creeps into her heart, strangling it as slowly as possible. But it fades away as Arthur opens his eyes and smiles at Molly.
His smile is immediately followed by a grimace, reminding Molly why she's there. She puts her hands on her hips, and gives him a frown that is usually directed at their children. "What were you thinking?" she demands, her voice firm with anger and hurt.
He opens his mouth to speak, but she cuts him off. "Is this your idea of being careful? If you were exhausted, you should've contacted Dumbledore. Your life comes first, Arthur. It has to come first," she asserts, but her voice cracks ever-so-slightly on the last sentence.
A tear rolls down her face. Arthur's eyes soften at the scene. As much as he wants to brush the tear away, he can't; instead, he reaches out, ignoring the fatigue and soreness in his arm, and takes her hand gently in his own. "I'm okay, Mollywobbles. I'm still here," he assures her gently.
She moves closer to him, resting her head on his bandaged chest. He says nothing of the pain that flares through his body when she does this. "I could've lost you," she sobs. Her body wracks with the force of her sobs, and all Arthur can do is smooth her hair down.
"You won't get rid of me that easily," he murmurs softly, fiercely. "I promise you that." When he says that, she glances up to meet his eyes. He can tell that she wants to tell him not to promise that because he doesn't know if he can keep it; but there's a bigger part of her that sighs in relief at the promise.
She gives him a small smile through the tears. "I love you," she whispers.
Without hesitation, he says, "I love you too. Always." And in that moment, Molly knows that Arthur will be alright.
A/n – so many thanks to my lovely Paula for beta-ing this for me!