WHO: Betty Braithwaite & Joe Bell WHAT: Visiting her no-longer-comatose boyfriend WHEN: last week! WHERE: Leon's clinic WARNINGS: None
At the moment that Betty Braithwaite heard that her boyfriend was awake she could have been doing anything and would have dropped it in an instant. As it was she was in her office, absently pondering over her latest boring puff piece on something that she couldn’t bring herself to care about. With Narcissa Malfoy still strangely absent at the Daily Prophet, it was easy to mutter some kind of excuse and leave abruptly. Maybe no one really cared.
She’d rushed all the way to Leon’s clinic, but suddenly her pace halted as she reached the doorway. A deep breath, and then she hesitated outside the curtain that made the space Joe’s.
“It’s me.”
"Hey me, it's Joe," came the joking reply. Joe had been half-distracted, trying to catch up on the various posts on the network. He genuinely still couldn't believe that he had been in a coma and he was still trying to digest so many things that had happened since that fatal night at the Ministry.
He looked up as the figure appeared from behind the curtain, and immediately dropped his phone, half-smirking and half-smiling. "If it isn't Elizabeth Cooper, Journalist," he mumbled quietly, the smirk portion almost entirely fading and being replaced with a genuine grin.
Part disbelief, part relief, Betty couldn’t help smiling wide at him. Seeing him with her own eyes made so much of a difference, her heartbeat quickened as she turned to face him. She took a seat on the edge of his bed, reached for his hand and touched it gently as if she couldn’t quite believe that it was him. He was here, he was safe, he was with her.
“You look like you’ve been asleep for six weeks, Bell,” she told him. “How are you feeling?”
"Awake and refreshed," Joe tried to joke. "It seems like my nap was well-deserved." He held her hand, and gave it a proper squeeze, as if trying to assure her that he really was there, and that he really was feeling much better than before. He brought her hand to his lips and gave it a gentle kiss, smiling in the process. "Sorry I gave you a bit of a fright," he mumbled quietly, his stomach flopping for a moment. "Seems like I had missed — a lot."
Betty shook her head slowly, refusing his apology. “You’re here now,” she raised her hand to rest it gently on his shoulder. “That’s all that matters to me right now.” Voice thick with emotion, she leaned in closer to him. “Now you just need to recover, okay?”
Joe nodded, whispering a quiet, "Okay." He took her expression in, how tired and tested she looked, and he sighed. "How have you been, Bets?" Joe asked, both of his brows shooting up, as he adjusted his body so she could be seated more comfortably.
She had no immediate answers, silently listing the events of the past few weeks in her head. Byron, Jasper, Gwen, Gwen’s brother, finding out about Keats — the idea of trying to capture her feelings on everything seemed almost impossible. Her hand on his shoulder tensed a little, her fingers reaching to brush his cheek gently. “I’m okay,” she told him. “There’s been a lot to think about and deal with, but I’m still here.”
"Yeah, I heard about some of the things…," Joe started, frowning immediately. He still couldn't quite believe some of the things that he heard about, but he supposed actually living through that was probably much worse. He gulped a bit and softened his expressions. "Yeah, you're still here," he nodded, sitting up straighter so he could give her a quick peck on her lips. "I'm so glad."
Betty leaned into the kiss for a moment before sitting back. “None of that, Joseph, you’re supposed to be resting. I’m not having you getting in trouble with your Healer on my account,” she insisted softly, going to hold his hand again instead.
“I saved you every bad joke I heard,” Betty told him, keen to move the conversation on to something of a lighter subject.
Joe settled for a laugh at that, as he held up his cell phone with his free hand. "You know, I really did love reading all the hexts you sent me. I've also made screenshots of them so I can throw it in your face if you ever get mad at me," he teased her, grinning stupidly.
“I think you’re covered for that for a long while now,” Betty told him, squeezing his hand gently. “I’m glad you enjoyed them.” Her thumb brushed over his knuckle, she met his eyes briefly. “We should talk about things, but we don’t have to just yet. Maybe when you’re feeling stronger. More up to it.”
He tilted his head to one side and gave her a quizzical look. "Talking is about all I can do right now. Healer's orders." He quirked a brow before speaking up again. "What's up?"
Betty bowed her head slightly, eyes on their linked hands instead of Joe’s own expression for the moment. “I mean. I suppose you’ve got to keep hidden now,” she knew that risks had been taken in hiding him in the first place, and still recalled the feeling of horror between when he’d disappeared from St Mungo’s and when someone had told her he was safe. She’d been mulling over the idea of disappearing for a while, but suddenly she remembered something else that she had to tell him. “I’ve kept Drogon safe, by the way, he’s been missing you dreadfully. I’ll bring him by later today if I can.”
"I'd love that," Joe responded at once, smiling at the mention of his dog. He wondered how Drogon was doing now, but if he had been with Betty all this time, Joe was sure that Drogon would be just fine. He dropped his phone again and used that hand to tuck a few strands of hair behind Betty's ear before letting his thumb and forefinger grab her chin. "What things, Betty?"
Her heart sank at the idea of having to discuss things with him now, and Betty closed her hand around his. “I know you still won't want to leave. And I'll respect that decision, I'll stay with you if that's what you want. But keeping you hidden is going to be the most important thing now.” Betty leaned into his touch, eyes fluttering shut.
"Do you want to leave?" he asked, his voice dropping to a barely audible whisper. It wasn't the most terrible idea now, Joe supposed, but he couldn't really say whether he thought he would be up for that particular plan.
“No,” Betty was a little more forceful than she'd meant to be, eyes opening as she shook her head. “I need to be here, I need to keep telling the news as it should be. I've thought about it for so long, Joe, and at most all I would feel comfortable with was hiding. I can't leave.”
"Then we'll stay here," Joe replied, with a firm nod. "Can't leave Drogon here by himself after all," he attempted at humour, giving Betty's hand a firm squeeze.
She watched him intently, strangely hesitant when usually she would have gone in for a kiss. “So, what’s the prognosis?” Betty asked him, releasing his hand. “I assume you’re staying here for a little while longer, right?”
"Right," Joe replied, sighing a bit. "I want to get out, I want to go home but apparently I'm a member of the Order according to the public, so…" He shrugged. "Leon says I have to recover still, so it'll be awhile I suspect. Not sure what I'm recovering from, it's not like I've got terrible injuries on my body."
“Something knocked you out for weeks, Joseph,” Betty told him, soft but stern. “I say it’s a good idea to take it easy. I can always go fetch your things for you, make this place a little more home-like?” She cast a quick glance around the room. “Drogon, some sudoku books — I’m sure it’ll be better in no time.”
"Yeah, hopefully." Joe attempted to be positive, but the thought of Drogon running around this room brought a genuine smile to his face. "How's he been, then? Causing a right ruckus for you?"
“An angel,” Betty replied smartly, smiling once again. “I think your dog likes me more than he likes you, sometimes, but I could tell he missed you.” Betty caught his hand in hers again. “He missed you terribly,” she mused, clearly no longer talking about the dog.
"Finally appreciates me when I'm gone," Joe grinned stupidly, intertwining their fingers together. "It's alright, though. I'm here now. And I don't plan on having a repeat episode."
Healers be damned, Betty leaned in to kiss him softly. “Please don’t. I’m going to be watching you like a hawk to make sure you don’t get into trouble ever again.”
She was almost scared to touch him, unsure if he was still regaining his strength, and so she settled on another kiss.
Joe was on the verge of protesting, that he didn't need to be mummed right then, but it felt like the wrong sort of statement when his girlfriend was kissing him like that. So he pushed that thought out of his head (and would poignantly bring it up another time) and settled for kissing Betty back, gently.
He pulled back after a few seconds, and let his hand caress her cheek tenderly. "I'll be okay, Betty. I promise."
“I believe you, you’ll be okay,” Betty murmured, leaning into his hand on her cheek. “I was so worried, but having you back means everything.” She turned her head, kissed the palm of his hand. “I wish I could stay here.”
"I wish you could too," he replied, smiling. "But you know what, I'll be out soon." Probably. "And I'll be back with you soon." He blinked a few times, and thought about one of their last conversations, having agreed to move in together. Maybe that was still on. Joe didn't know how to bring that up right now — and maybe he was just hallucinating it. He couldn't be entirely sure. "You could stay for a little bit before you have to go back, though, yeah?"
“I'll stay here until I have to go back,” she echoed his words lovingly, heartened by his smile. “You need to get better as quickly as possible. I need you back with me, Joseph Bell, you hear me?”
"Loud and clear," Joe replied, a stupid grin finally appearing on his face. And for posterity's sake, he repeated those words again. "Loud. And. Clear."