Lovely || Benji

Sunday, March 13, 1921
Patient beds, Hospital Wing
7:30 AM

"I'm fine."

Rae sat in the hospital wing bed, propped up by several pillows. Her dark eyes were glassy, reflecting anything that looked into them without allowing anything to truly pass through. Her gaze was vague, trained on the small mounds that were her feet beneath the blankets without ever really seeing them. The nurse at her side made a check on the sheet of parchment she kept close to her chest. Had Rae bothered to look up, she'd have noted the unmistakable concern etched into the older girl's face.

"I'm not hungry." The very offer of having something brought in for her made her stomach churn.

She'd been awake for ten minutes, twelve maybe, and already she'd had enough of this quiet, sterile place with its attentive nurses and probing questions. Rae was unaccustomed to being on this side and being taken care of by friends with whom she typically shared shifts. The girl had never been a good patient, and as the loud humming began to move through her limbs again, she knew today wouldn't be the day to start.

Dark eyes lifted, finally managing to focus enough to recognise her nurse. Susan. The Gryffindor girl gnawed anxiously at her lower lip, obviously wanting to say and do more than she suspected Rae would allow.

"I really am fine," she said, inflecting in an effort to elevate the flatness of her tone. "Discharge me, I have homework to finish and a shift at 12."

"You know I can't do that. They ordered rest for you and plenty of it. Homework can wait; classes are cancelled for tomorrow--the day after, too." The girl paused, momentarily giving in to her hesitation. "You have to eat something"

From the top of the row of beds, another nurse called.

"Rae, you've got a visitor."

Susan jumped at the opportunity, quickly grabbing the tray from the small nightstand she'd placed it on earlier when Rae had first refused. It was nothing heavy. A slice of unbuttered toast, a small bowl of warm oatmeal with just a pinch of cinnamon, a poached egg cut in two--lightly salted--a sliced banana, and a glass of milk. She thrust it toward the girl gently.

"Ah ah. Breakfast or no visitors."

Rae pulled a face at her before turning to see who it was. Before striking any deals, she had to make sure the 'visitor' was worth it. Sandy brown waves and hazel eyes caught her gaze. She rolled her eyes as hard as she could as she accepted the tray onto her lap. Satisfied, Susan left with a final 'let me know if you need anything' as she gestured the boy over.

He hadn't slept all night. Despite the calming tea Julia had given him and the stark orders to get himself to bed, he'd paced the common room for half of it, and outside the Hospital Wing the other half. The moment that word had come that Rae and the other girls had been rescued, he'd tried to make a run for her, tried to get to her faster than they could even get her to the healers.

He'd been stopped, by not one, but two casts of 'petrificus totalus'. One by an auror as he tried to rush past them - and swing on them when they tried grabbing him - and another by his own mother, who in the chaos assured the aurors she was getting him to bed and wouldn't be further trouble.

He'd argued with Julia, lashing out at her because the world was unjust, his girlfriend had been hurt, and he hadn't been there to protect her. Julia had tried to remind him that Rae wasn't his girlfriend anymore, and he had no more right to go bursting into the Hospital Wing, disturbing everyone, than any of her other friends did.

And so he'd paced. And paced. And paced. All night. Willing himself to calm down, if even so when he finally did get in to see her, he wouldn't be the frantic mess he knew he was.

When the doors finally unlocked, he'd pleaded with the nurse on duty, just for a few minutes, one minute, anything. He just needed to see her, to know that she was alright. That she was alive. And apologize to her.

Because if he hadn't fucked everything up so royally, they would have been together at the carnival and he could have kept her from being taken.

He stood, waiting while they - announced him, he guessed - and those pretty brown eyes caught his. An exhale of relief left his lips, and as soon as the assistants hurried away, he was at her side, crouching down next to her bed, since there wasn't a chair. "Hey," he said, at a loss for what else to say. "I waited in the hallway all night," he blurted out, his stomach twisting on itself as held back the surge of bad emotions that were flowing through him.

He took the tray from her, knowing she wasn't going to eat that bland crap anyway and plopped it down on the nightstand. He sat on the edge of her bed, looking over her for any obvious signs of injuries. "I'm sorry I wasn't there," he said lowly, "I should have been."

Rae watched the tray lift from her lap before returning to its original resting place by the nightstand.

“You didn’t have to,” she said, not unkindly. He could’ve spent the night warm in his bed before fussing with her in the hospital wing. “I’m fine, like I keep telling damn near everyone in here but no one will listen to me.” Instead, they listened to screams in the middle of the night and her inability to return to sleep. The girl had needed to be sedated for the remainder of the night and was keen to remove herself from the scene of such a breakdown.

Unfortunately, being embarrassed by your own inability to cope wasn’t reason enough to be discharged. “I’m gonna lose my mind if they keep me much longer. Certifiably batty.” As if they probably didn’t already think she was.

Rae didn’t want to be lying around anymore. She didn’t want to be on her back listening to the world go on around her while an uncomfortable restlessness continued to hum beneath her skin. The girl wasn’t the sort to lie and lick her wounds, nor was she the sort who liked the peace and quiet that allowed her to ruminate on the events of the previous night. She needed action, she needed purpose, she needed…to forget, for as long as she could.

That wasn’t possible while laid up in a bed made for the sick with the other girls who’d shared her nightmare. Seeing them made it all more real. It was hard to convince herself otherwise when across the room, Maevie’s hands were bandaged and Everleigh was muttering nonsense.

She needed out. Now.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there. I should have been."

Her hands curled into fists, gripping tightly at her blanket. Sorry?

“There’s nothing to be sorry about,” she said, her gaze falling to her fists. It never crossed her mind that the boy should’ve—could’ve—done more. Everything happened in a flash, faster than maybe anyone could’ve stopped it. “If you’d been there…maybe you’d have been taken, too.” And while Maevie and Ever had been enough to rattle her, watching Benji suffer would’ve been more than she could handle. It would’ve been its own form of torture.

Slowly, she lifted her gaze to meet his, dark eyes locking onto his hazel. “You’re not gonna spend the rest of the day fussing about this, are you?”

She needed normal. She needed something…anything that wouldn’t leave her mind lingering on the fire that had been in her veins and the green light that whooshed by her.

Of course he had to.

Not because he was obligated or required to in any kind of way, but because he loved her. And when you loved someone, you showed up for them unquestioningly. Benji had been beside himself from the moment he'd learned Rae was one of the girls taken, and now that he could finally see her and be near her, it made everything that happened the night before seem that much more surreal.

How could this have happened? Hogwarts was supposed to be one of the safest places on Earth. And here she was, lying in a hospital bed, proving otherwise.

“I’m fine, like I keep telling damn near everyone in here but no one will listen to me. I’m gonna lose my mind if they keep me much longer. Certifiably batty.”

"They're just worried about you." Benji pulled for a strained smile. "Remember when I was in here and fought you on fussing over me? You have to be a better patient than I was." He reached for one of her curls, twirling it between his fingers as he attempted to ground himself and slow the adrenaline that was still coursing through his veins.

He understood though. Lying in a hospital bed having people fussing over you did nothing for the mind but make it spiral. Too much time to think. To reminisce. To focus on all the things that didn't help.

“There’s nothing to be sorry about. If you’d been there…maybe you’d have been taken, too.”

Benji shrugged. "Maybe." He'd have rather been taken than her. He'd have done everything he could in that moment when the dark cloud billowed down, to shield her as he had with Matilda. At least if he had been taken with her, he could have tried to fight - tried to keep Thayer's attention on him instead of her.

But there was nothing he could do about that now.

“You’re not gonna spend the rest of the day fussing about this, are you?”

Another grin slipped across his lips, his eyebrows raising slightly as he dropped her curl and kicked his shoes off. "Nope," he said lightly, betraying the much darker feelings that were residing within his chest. He nudged her slightly and without invitation, laid himself on the bed right next to her. "I'm gonna lay here with you until they tell me to fuck off, and then you and I are gonna make a break for it."

His head lolled to the side to stare into those deep dark eyes. "I'll carry you if I have to."

“You have to be a better patient than I was."

She scoffed lightly, brown eyes following the hand that reached out to capture one of her curls. “I’m a nurse, not a patient.” Rae wasn’t the sort to sit and lick her own wounds. Hell, she wasn’t the sort to acknowledge them in the first place. When she was sick, she took a potion and kept it pushing. If it was more than a potion could handle, she gritted her teeth and waited for it to pass. This business of staying in bed with warm blankets and annoying questions was for the infirm.

She didn’t belong here.

“If they’d just listen to me. I wouldn’t have the chance to be a bad patient in the first place.” She paused a moment, finally managing the faintest smile. “Besides, you make a much better patient than I do, easily. You like me playing nurse—massive needles aside.” And she hadn’t threatened him with any of those in a long time. The girl was more inclined to pamper her boyf…

Oh.

Right.

She liked pampering her friend…or…did she…? Was that a thing she was still allowed to do? Rae had always been content to watch that satisfied grin spread across Benji’s face as she indulged him the way she liked to indulge herself. Nothing was ever half done. Life was meant to be extravagant, frivolous and maybe a little hedonistic. It wasn’t meant to be doom and gloom with long shadows creeping around every corner. She couldn’t wait to get back to that. The Slytherin wanted to return to the relative normalcy that had kept her going. She’d grown comfortable with her old demons and wasn’t looking to claim new ones.

His ‘nope’ was promising. Rae watched the boy kick his shoes off, already deciding she might like where things were going after all. She pulled the blanket back and scooted to make room for him, wrapping him up once he settled next to her.

Rae tugged the blanket up over his shoulder, scooting a little closer.

“Why wait for them to chase you out? We should leave now.”She lowered her voice. ”My legs work fine, I bet we could be gone before they even noticed. Doubt they’d be able to stop us.”

“I’m a nurse, not a patient.”

Benji looked around. Lifted the covers. Nope, not wearing her nurse's outfit. Took her arm. Yep, a patient bracelet. She was laying in the bed, not attending to others. "Well, they've probably got it all wrong because you're wearing a patient's costume." Humor was the crutch that Benji found easy to lean on when things grew heavy or dark, and it was the gift he had in lightning otherwise tense moments.

Rae hadn't always liked it, but it was obvious she needed a little something to take the edge off.

“Besides, you make a much better patient than I do, easily. You like me playing nurse—massive needles aside.”

He thought to say something rather cheeky, and almost let it spill out of his mouth, before he caught himself. She wasn't his girlfriend anymore and...she wouldn't appreciate if he talked to her like that. Certain flirtations were only really okay if you were with someone. And she'd made it clear they weren't together. "Yeah go ahead and count me out for the needles," he said easily, "but I'll never say no to letting you take care of me." He grinned as she scooted in closer to him, and he raised his arm over her shoulders to tuck her into his side.

It was hard in moments like these, where they were so close and...it felt like everything was back to normal. At the same time, the feeling held him captive, refusing to let him put space between them. After hearing her screams and imagining the things Thayer had done to her to draw them out, he didn't want to be anywhere but right here.

“Why wait for them to chase you out? We should leave now. My legs work fine, I bet we could be gone before they even noticed. Doubt they’d be able to stop us.”

He shushed her, tightening his arm around her as he scooted further down in the bed to get comfier. "We gotta make them believe that we're not the problem here, Elliot." A cheeky smirk crossed his lips. "Behave well, and they'll leave us alone. Long enough for us to make it all the way back to your common room before they notice."

Really, he'd drag her out of here the moment she told him to but...he did want to make sure she wasn't internally bleeding or had brain damage or something before he tried it.

”Cheeky.” Rae pulled her hand away, seeing clearly the point he was trying to make. It didn’t matter what she looked like or what she wore, she didn’t want to be trapped in that bed for a second more. Whether that looked like sneaking into the locker room and changing into her nurse’s uniform or making a full on run for it like Benji had promised, the girl had every intention of not staring up at the bleak ceiling for much longer.

She let herself be pulled into his side, inhaling deeply the scent of licorice and fresh grass that contrasted sharply against the sterile scents of antiseptic and various potions that permeated the wing.

Admittedly, Rae could find comfort in both. The girl loved the scents of the hospital wing and the way they always managed to focus her but in the moment, they weren’t what she needed. Benji probably wasn’t what she needed either, not with how things currently were, but the Slytherin had never been one for common sense and good reason when the need for comfort struck. A girl as good at ignoring reality as she was considered such complications little more than minor inconveniences.

“You just haven’t met the right needle. I’ll clear one afternoon and we’ll get you there.” It was probably the surest way to ensure the boy avoided her for the rest of the school year but only if she actually did it.

She probably wouldn’t. Maybe.

Then he shushed her.

"We gotta make them believe that we're not the problem here, Elliot."

She nuzzled her face into his chest. “I was born the problem, but you already knew that. No point pretending to be otherwise.” There wasn’t a nurse in the place who didn’t know that Ruth Anaya Elliot was a handful, injured or otherwise. In fact, she was sure someone was lightly watching the door “just in case”. It would be interesting to see the lengths they were willing to go to keep her there. The demons that plagued her weren’t the sort that went running at the sight of bandages and rubbing alcohol.

A moment’s pause passed between them. A beat.

“Professor Barlowe killed him, she heard herself muttering into his shirt without really meaning to say anything. It was the first time she’d said it—mentioned any of it since it all went down. Her mind had been doing everything it could to avoid processing it all. Benji made it harder. Reflexively, her body still considered him her safe place to unravel.

“Thayer, I mean. The minister wanted him alive. Barlowe…” Her voice fell to a whisper, unsure any of them were allowed to share what had happened up in the towers. It almost felt…sacred. “He used an unforgivable, Benji, and in front of the minister, too.”

"No thanks," he said easily, chipper as he could manage. There would be no need for Rae's experiments or using him as a pincushion. He had met many a needle in his day, and had liked none of them. He didn't need to experience more to affirm that. He'd never admit it to her, but every time Benji had had to get an immunization, he'd passed out the second the needle had touched his skin.

He was delicate like that.

“I was born the problem, but you already knew that. No point pretending to be otherwise.”

He melted. Her nuzzle into his chest fished up all the emotions he'd been burying, not just since last night but since the day they'd broken up. It touched something within him, a little beam of light against his heart that said...maybe he could still be her safe place. Maybe, in a way, she still loved him as much as he loved her.

He could hope, right? And even if she didn't, if this really was over for good, at least she still gave him little moments like this.

“Professor Barlowe killed him."

Benji inhaled softly, his chest expanding heavily. He knew Thayer was dead. Everyone did at this point. He'd known that one of the professors that had gone after him had had to have killed him. He didn't know it was Barlowe.

"The minister wanted him alive. Barlowe. He used an unforgivable, Benji, and in front of the minister, too.”

He nodded lightly, hugging her a little tighter to him. "Good," he said lowly so that there was no chance of anyone else overhearing him. "Professor Barlowe's a good man," one of the best professors in the school, and his mum's best friend. "If he did it, then it was the right thing to do, and I'm glad Thayer's dead."

His fingers drummed absently against her arm. "He'll be alright, you'll see. They'll probably give him a medal or something." He tried to give a little laugh, but it came up hollow. "Do you wanna talk about what happened to you?"

"Suit yourself," she said, not inclined to press the matter further. There would never be a day when Benji allowed her to turn him into a porcupine, nor did she truly have the desire to. Not really. If he became prickly, then she wouldn't be able to bury her face in his chest as she did now and feel the way his muscles melted around her.

'Why wasn't this enough?' Rae found herself wondering.

She knew why, of course. A hug wasn't a house. Quiet moments of warmth like this didn't put food in stomachs. As much as she wanted to believe that what they had was special enough and deserving of its own day in the sun, the girl had also known real fear, real hunger, and real desperation. Those weren't things you asked anyone to take on lightly for you, and not things you could expect anyone to volunteer for just because you loved them.

This was all that remained. She couldn't have him anymore, but she could have this. With how terrifying the world had returned to being in the last 12 hours, Rae could only think that this was enough. It had to be if it was all she'd get.

"Professor Barlowe's a good man. If he did it, then it was the right thing to do, and I'm glad Thayer's dead."

So was she.

It wasn't that she mourned the man's passing or thought there must've been some other way. Rae was rattled by the reality and what it had nearly meant...how it all could've ended.

"I think...I think he was really going to kill me, and...I think Barlowe saw it, too."

Did she want to talk about what happened? No, not really, but once she started, she found it difficult to stop. That damp and earthy scent that filled the tower flooded her nostrils now, dragging her back up those steps and into that near darkness. Thayer's face flashed before her, that wide and sickly grin stretching wider and wider until it tore his face in two. Rae flinched in the absence of danger, her throat tightening the way it had when the man had dug the tip of his wand into her neck.

Rae had never seen anyone use any of the unforgivables before, and in one night, she'd witnessed all three.

Her voice shrank as she continued, struggling to get past the lump in her throat. "He crucio-ed me, imperio-ed Maevie and Ever. I don't think he'd have hesitated..."

"I think...I think he was really going to kill me, and...I think Barlowe saw it, too."

He didn't know what to say. Benji wasn't a boy who often found himself lost for words, but in this instance, hearing that Rae - and apparently Barlowe - thought Thayer was going to kill her, it had his mind jabbering rather than his mouth. After hearing those bloodcurdling screams that he'd never heard Rae make before, he didn't doubt that Thayer would have.

The idea that something so horrific - her murder - could have happened to her, and he wasn't there to protect her, revolted against everything Benji was. He was her best friend, the boy who loved her. And while he may be her ex-boyfriend now, there was still a part of him that felt responsible for her. Thayer had destroyed the illusion that within Hogwarts's walls, they were all reasonably safe from psychopaths and people that would want to hurt them.

Merlin. Had they ever been?

"He crucio-ed me, imperio-ed Maevie and Ever. I don't think he'd have hesitated..."

"He didn't get the chance though," Benji said softly, resting his cheek on the top of her head. The Cruciatus and Imperious curses. Two Unforgiveables used on a few teenage girls. Benji glowered at nothing, feeling anger coursing hot through his veins. The man was a fucking coward. If he'd had any sort of nerve, he would have taken boys. Benji was certain between him, Cass and Evan they could have all kicked his looney ass before the professors had even gotten there. Maybe Thayer knew it too, and that's why he took girls.

"I'm sorry pretty. Are you hurt?" he glanced down at her arms, trying to see anything he could without straight up becoming a menace in the Hospital Wing in front of God and all the nurses. "I'd kill him for you, if he wasn't already dead."

He would. Benji had never killed anyone before, and didn't really plan to, but had he the chance, he'd make Thayer suffer for what he did to Rae and Maevie and Everleigh. Only the scum of the fucking Earth hurt girls, and only cowardly adults hurt kids. He had half a mind to find Professor Barlowe after this and shake his hand.

If Barlowe wouldn't be thoroughly annoyed by it. Which, he probably would. He hated anyone interrupting his naps.

"You can talk to me about it anytime you need to, okay?" he said, dropping a kiss on top of her head. "Or if you never wanna talk about it again, we'll do that. You say the word."

He sighed heavily as Susan began making her way back over. "Warden's here for headcount," he murmured in Rae's ear, a smirk playing at the corner of his lips.

"Benji Cudd - Laurence!"

Benji's grin spread wider. "Hey Susan," he said brightly, "Fancy meeting you here. I left that tray of bland shit on the end table. She doesn't want it."

"Get out of that bed. Now!"

Benji tsked. "C'mooon Susan. Don't be that way. Just keeping things light and peppy around here," he said, as Susan marched closer, apparently thinking she was going to yank Benji from Rae's bed herself.

"I'm not hurt."

She was beginning to sound like a scratched record to herself. Over and over she'd declared the statement, needing the nurses that came and went to understand that there was no ailment tethering her to the bed. None of her bones was broken, none of her muscles torn, no gashes or scratches to speak of, really, just a mind that fought against its fracturing. "I'm only here because they wanted to monitor me after everything, make sure nothing's wrong."

Was anything wrong? The phantom aches still came and went, causing her muscles to clench and spasm painfully, but she couldn't imagine they could do much about that outside of calming draughts that she could brew herself. Rae hadn't started out as a potions master and, in many ways, she was still not to be trusted with some brews, but simple medical ones had become a staple around the wing. It would've been more impressive had she managed to spend these four years volunteering without learning how to make them.

"Don't worry, really." It was another reason to be happy that Thayer was dead. When Al-Tajir had done what he did in their first year, Benji had threatened revenge on her behalf and ended up falling into the man's clutches. She dreaded to think what might have happened had he decided to make Thayer his next target. The former astronomy teacher's death had more merit than one.

"You can talk to me about it anytime you need to, okay? Or if you never wanna talk about it again, we'll do that. You say the word."

"I don't know if I want to talk about it...I don't know that it'll help anything." Everyone always insisted it was the way to go if you wanted healing, but experience had taught her otherwise. "I couldn't sleep." While she was sure it wouldn't make a difference, the act of letting him in was where she found her real balm, having that one other person to share it with. It made her feel less like she was shouldering it alone without running the risk of being told that she had to stay another night, should the wrong people hear. "Every time I close my eyes, I see him and...them." Maevie screaming, Everleigh halfway out the window. "I still feel it if I'm still for too long."

"Warden's here for headcount."

Hmm?

"Benji Cudd - Laurence! Get out of that bed. Now!"

Sigh.

Susan gasped with indignation at the sight of the tray. "The deal was she'd eat if you stayed. She needs something--you can't just be--Benji!"

This was about as good a time as any.

Rae threw off the blanket while Susan grabbed the tray, deciding it was an easier lift than the Hufflepuff in the end. Being on the other side of the bed, she slipped herself to the floor, tugging Benji to do the same.

"I need fresh air or I'll go mad. Move." Not every patient needed to be locked away.

"I'm not hurt. I'm only here because they wanted to monitor me after everything, make sure nothing's wrong. Don't worry, really."

"Right," he said, not quite believing her, but not willing to fuss and make her more uncomfortable than she already was. He'd never seen the cruciatus curse in the flesh, but it if it was anything as they described, horrific was the best word for it. He didn't know how anyone could walk away from it unscathed, but she did seem relatively bruise and scratch-free. Maybe it was one of those spells that did more damage internally than externally.

Which brought on a whole other set of worries for the boy who didn't currently possess x-ray vision.

Maybe he'd see if the Restricted Section had anything on the subject. He could think of more than one good use for such an ability.

Cheeky boy that he was.

"I don't know if I want to talk about it...I don't know that it'll help anything."

"Like I said, we don't have to," he said gently, more than willing to let her lead the charge on this. He agreed that sometimes talking only made things worse. When he'd told people what had happened to him in Syria, they'd looked at him with horror and pity which only drove home for him that what he'd been through had been unreal. It'd fucked with his head when he'd been doing his best to minimize and put it behind him. If she didn't want to talk about it, he wouldn't make a big deal about it.

"I couldn't sleep. Every time I close my eyes, I see him and...them."

He sighed softly to himself, tilting his head back slightly as he stared up at the ceiling. Fuck. Even if she'd escaped with few physical injuries, the trauma she'd endured wouldn't be easily patched up. He knew that all too well, and it scared him, thinking about how she'd handle it. She wasn't known for her healthy coping methods. "That'll take some time to subside." He knew from experience. He could still plainly hear certain screams and cries that he'd sooner forget. Could still feel phantom pain in various extremities. "If you can't sleep, come to my common room and have Toddles get me. I'll come sit or walk with you. Any time you want."

Susan's protests had apparently been enough to finally chase Rae from the bed. Hmm? Move? "Sorry Susan, looks like we're discharging ourselves." Not that he'd been a patient. He grinned at the girl who began - quietly - shrieking about processes and observation and blah blah blah. "Tell Byrne then," Benji quipped, making a rude hand gesture at the girl who was quickly becoming a nuisance. Rae wanted out of here, and out of here he was taking her.

The boy slipped his shoes on before crouching down slightly. "Hop on babe," he said with a grin, and secured her legs around his waist as soon as she did. "We're blowing this popsicle stand." While Susan continued her protesting and calling for the Head Nurse, Benji made quickly for the door.

"Where to pretty? You navigate, I'll drive."

"If you can't sleep, come to my common room and have Toddles get me. I'll come sit or walk with you. Any time you want."

"...I'll think about it." It may have sounded like she was brushing off his offer, but she meant it. With only one night under her belt--and only barely, considering they'd gone and sedated her--Rae had no way of knowing if she'd need to go find him or if wandering with Echo was enough. The half-kneazle must've been beside herself when her human hadn't returned. Rae was sure she'd appreciate getting to stretch her legs that night. With any luck, the chilly March night air and some distance would be enough to quiet the terror. She would employ other means if it didn't.

Failing even that, she may really need to have the house elf wake Benji.

For now, breaking out of the hospital wing was enough. It sparked just enough adrenaline in her to get the rest of her body going, and her limbs were clamouring to be free of their cotton prison.

She didn't need to be told twice. The moment Benji crouched, Rae hopped onto his back. It was strange. She hadn't actually been injured, but her muscles still ached as if they'd been put through the wringer. It was all the clenching and tightening they'd done the night before, wrapped in the pain that had contorted her. Rae winced as she settled onto his back but managed to get comfortable before he took off.

Behind them, she could hear Susan losing her ever-loving mind over her disappearing patient, and in some ways, she understood. Had she been the nurse on duty and Benji--or any other idiot--showed up to spring someone, Rae would've hexed them to an early grave. She would end up with two patients and Benji with a valuable lesson on the sanctity of the hospital wing. That was probably the girl's first mistake. She was too gentle to wrangle the likes of them and too concerned with their well-being to raise her wand.

Rae couldn't personally relate and would have to sit her down for a talk the next time they shared a shift. For now, she had other places to be.

"Where to pretty? You navigate, I'll drive."

Where to, indeed.

"The kitchen. I want some real food."

Escaping was working up quite the appetite in her.