AN: Thank you for all the support! It is very deeply appreciated!
By the time Hermione reached her quarters, she was struggling to contain her tears. Her leg felt as if it had been hit by both a crucitas and a fiendfyre. The muscles in her body grew weary of tightening due to the spasms, and her hands were cramping too hard for her to maneuver her wheelchair. Severus had been kind enough to wheel her to her room with no questions asked. Then again, if he was her "caregiver" he may as well play the role.
"Do you need any help?" He asked as she took down the ward to her quarters.
"No, but thank you for the offer," Her eyes clouded with tears as another jolt of pain emanated from her leg and racked her entire body.
"Are you certain?"
"I'm fine." Her hands contracted so much that she could not grasp the wheels. She squeaked. "Please wheel me to my room."
"Certainly." He wheeled her inside, closing the door behind them.
"Thank you," she focused on her breathing. The healers hadn't given her much useful advice, but one had taught her to focus on her breath if she was in too much pain. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't. At the moment, it was her only recourse against the suffering.
Crookshanks meowed as Severus took Hermione to the doorway of her room. Once they reached their destination, she looked at the bed and exhaled. At least she'd had the foresight to leave her nightshirt on the bed. After Severus left she could put that on and lie down, hoping the pain would end before the new day.
"I take it you want to change," Severus began.
"Yes, she pushed herself up until she was halfway between sitting and standing. "I can take things from here."
"Before I leave, may I say something?"
"Can it wait?" Tear clouded her eyes. "I have just enough strength now to change, and I don't know how long that will last."
"Indeed."
"We can talk when I get done."
"Just tell me when you're ready." Severus strolled into the kitchen.
Once his footsteps faded, she launched herself at the bed. After a few undignified moments of clawing at the blankets, she managed to drag herself onto the bed.
"There we go," she whispered as she took off her shirt. "I know you're hurting, I know you don't want to move. We have to do this though. We'll get through this. Somehow Body, we'll get through this."
Removing her upper robes and bra was easy enough. The hard part was removing her shoes and pants with a leg that was shaking so badly it was difficult to position it well. With a deep inhale, she began to take off her shoes and socks.
Pain coursed through her. Moving the leg at all was an assault on her body. Still, she hated sleeping in pants. It should be simple enough to change into a nightgown. She'd fought in two wars damnit! She could fight her body long enough to slip into something more comfortable.
After some tears, whines, and more effort than she felt was proper to expend, she managed to shake off her pants. Once she stripped, another pain coursed through her. She let out a yelp and hissed.
"Do you need any help?" Severus called from the kitchen.
"No, I'll be fine," she answered in a weak voice.
Good Merlin, why had she ever taken getting dressed for granted? She had been dressing herself with no issues since she was six. At no point during her adolescence did she believe that changing into a nightshirt would be more strenuous than living in the wilderness for months on end.
For a brief moment, she wondered if Bellatrix was looking upon on her from hell, admiring her handiwork. It was one thing to drive the Longbottoms crazy, but some healers said their brains could no longer register pain. Perhaps they were no longer fully conscious of what was occurring, unlike Hermione who understood and felt every painful leg convulsion. If Bellatrix was here, she'd be proud of herself for reducing Hermione to a woman struggling to dress.
After finding the strength to sit up, Hermione put on her emerald nightshirt. Despite her best efforts, she could not roll it all the way down. Instead, it remained crumpled around her bottom. A few times she tried to raise herself in order to unravel it, but her body could no longer support itself. The agony was too intense for her to care.
"Are you decent?" Severus asked.
Hermione plopped onto the bed and took a shaky breath.. "I'm as decent as I can be."
Severus moved the wheelchair out of the doorway and looked at Hermione. He swallowed as his eyes met hers.
"I'm sorry if I don't look put together," she made a feeble attempt to cover her bum. "If I'm not decent enough for you, then we can talk later."
"No, you are fine," he kept his eyes on her face. "This is too important to delay."
"What do you need to tell me?"
"I wanted to apologize profusely for Andromeda's inexcusable behavior," he began. "She had no right to treat you as she did."
"That's kind of you, but," she shrugged. "I'm used to people like her."
"You're used to being spoken to like a child?"
"That, and used to being ignored when I try to advocate for myself. The second someone sees my assisted device they think I'm no longer worth conversing with. I'm used to having everyone around me speaking about me, and not acknowledging my existence."
"None of that is right."
"Yes, but at least Andromeda wasn't as terrible as some of the others. She didn't outright insult me by calling me an 'invalid' or say I was a blight on the healthcare system."
"People have called you, 'a blight on the healthcare system?'"
"Yes." Her leg contracted, sending more painful shockwaves throughout her body. "According to Arthur, I was taking up too many resources with my treatments. I needed to step aside for patients who could be cured. When I did that, well, then he called me a quitter and told me I'd given up too soon. He never could understand how someone who helped defeat Voldemort could crumble under leg pain. I was either taking up too many medical resources, or not trying hard enough for a cure."
"That's atrocious."
She shrugged. "He was only saying what he believed."
"It wasn't right."
"I don't know. He'd had a couple of beers when he said I was a blight on the medical field, and I may have been complaining about my leg too much. If I wasn't smiling through my treatments, then I was complaining and bringing Ron down more than I should."
"I apologize for his inexcusable behavior. None of what he said was right."
"Why are you apologizing?" She sunk into her pillows, causing her nightshirt to go up further. "You didn't behave poorly. You're the only person who hasn't treated me like a lesser person after my leg began shaking."
"Your leg is a part of you, but it is not your entire identity."
"I wish others saw me as you did."
"Other people are too idiotic to appreciate a good friend."
"Or so you say."
"Believe it or not, I tend to be right most of the time."
"Really?" Hermione cocked her head. "Because you said Neville was useless at magic, yet you seem to appreciate his herbology skills."
"Sadly, even I am prone to lapses in judgements," he huffed. "Imagine me, complimenting anyone, especially Neville. It staggers the imagination."
"You're right," she put a finger on her chin. "You would sooner die than compliment any former student."
"You know me well."
"Which means at some point, you'll need to buy my silence."
"Your silence?"
"Yes," she rolled her nightshirt down partway. "I have memories of you behaving like a human being around me. A few times, you've complimented me. There is even one moment after a staff party when you noted that you saw differences in my appearance from one day to another."
"I must have been rather intoxicated when I uttered those words."
"Yes, you must be an incredible lightweight to become so intoxicated after one glass of gillywater that you'd lose all sense of yourself."
"You must keep me from behaving in such a ridiculous manner the next time we are forced together at a ball."
"I will do my best to be your voice of reason."
"Yes, you must take care of me when I become too sentimental," he answered with a grin.
Her body went cold. "You know I never want to make you feel helpless. The worst thing in the world is to feel helpless. I wouldn't wish that on anyone."
"I know," his voice softened. "And you don't need anyone to be your caretaker."
"I am glad you recognize that, although," she propped herself up. "I wouldn't mind if you went into the bathroom and got out my Ibuprofen. I am long overdue for another."
"Certainly," he replied. "Also, I can make us lunch."
"That won't be necessary," her leg spasmed again. "Eating is the least appealing thing to me right now."
"But you said that after these episodes you would emerge famished because you ignored your need for sustenance for too long."
"Yes, but only because the pain makes eating unappealing."
"Fine, but at least allow me to make something for you that you can save for later so you will not need to move around so much."
"You don't need to care for me."
"Actually my motives have little to do with you."
"Oh?" She raised an eyebrow.
"Indeed," he frowned. "Minerva is not pleased with my behavior. Knowing her, she is standing in front of the dungeons, awaiting the chance to berate me for being rude to such a distinguished guest."
"So if you stay here, she will not find you."
His lips curled up.
"If only to protect you, I'll allow you to stay," Hermione replied.
"Good," he glanced at her leg. "Would you like me to adjust your nightshirt? It cannot be comfortable to sit with it rolled up as it is."
"I wouldn't mind some help," she replied. "Just don't levitate me. That will make the pain worse."
"I wouldn't do that."
Hermione relaxed as best she could given the shaking of her body. Then, Severus began to lift her body and move the nightgown. Unlike the healers who had prodded and rough handled her, Severus' touch was gentle, his movements deliberate. At no point did he squeeze or mishandle her. A few times, he even asked if he was hurting her. When she answered in the negative, he continued until her nightgown was no longer scrunched, and her body was covered.
"What would you like to eat?" He asked.
"I would like a cheese, chicken and turkey sandwich with mayo, and maybe a few Cooler Ranch Doritos," she replied.
"Are those Doritos in an individual or a larger bag?"
"They're in a bag large enough to share, though not enough for you to eat them all."
"What makes you think I would eat them all?" He asked with the most innocent expression he could muster.
"Because you've done that the last few times I've allowed you to have a couple," she replied.
"I suppose I do get too greedy for my own good at times," he admitted.
"Indeed you do," she answered. "Who knew a muggle food was enough to drive you to discard your propriety?"
"Only you know that about me, and I would hope you do not tell anyone else about it."
"I can be bribed into silence if you give me a Mountain Dew."
"That I can do." He gave her a small smile before leaving for the kitchen.
Hermione winced as pain shot up her leg. Still, she was no longer suffering as she was. With Severus as a friend, she knew she could face anything her body and the world threw at her.