Who: Katie and Oliver When: Thursday afternoonish Where: St. Mungo's What: Hospital visiting friend things Rating: Low Statu: Complete
Katie had been sitting in this bloody hospital room for far too long. Marcus and Lexi had left earlier and she'd had a few visitors in and out since word had spread that she'd woken up. Of course, there were a couple of people who hadn't been in yet and the desire to see Oliver and George was rather overwhelming. She was familiar with them. Lexi had been nice to have around but Marcus... she didn't understand that. It didn't make sense to her and no one had bothered to explain how on earth she'd gotten to that point. She was fairly certain they were just messing with her and he was there as more of Captain. If she was a National team member, that made sense.
The bruises were slowly fading but the headache had remained constant and she'd had a spike in blood pressure last night. She supposed it was a good thing Lexi had talked her into staying another night. Sighing, she played with the ends of the bed, glancing at photos that Ange had brought by. They were all recent. Stuff from the last year but she couldn't remember any of it. It was all very overwhelming and Katie was beginning to think that she would never get back those memories. Picking up the magazine of her and Flint, she studied it, trying to discern anything. There were pictures of them together but most of them looked like they were just working on Quidditch stuff. The concern splashed across the front page made no sense to her.
Setting it down, Katie stared balefully at her hospital food. Discharging, for whatever reason, took forever and they had her on a sedative after she'd flipped out this morning about having to be here and had gone into a full blown panic attack. The sound of the door opening had her looking up and her face broke into a huge smile. "Thank God you're here," she said, shifting to sit up a bit more. If anyone would tell it to her straight, it'd be Oliver. "What took you so long?"
---
Oliver looked rough. He had been at the hospital constantly through the weekend, but as much as he loved Katie he had a team to captain, a pub to run, two visiting dogs to look after and a national team to practice with. Plus he had a girlfriend now. Oliver finally had to stop sitting at the hospital and work.
He'd heard that Katie woke up right before National practice that day. Part of him wanting to ditch it, but he couldn't do that. Oliver was livid that he hadn't found out sooner. But then again, people Katie was friends with now didn't like him all that much. It shouldn't have surprised him that he wasn't the first person there. But it did.
"I should be asking you that. You look good, Kates." Oliver sat on the bed and gathered his best friend up in his arms, nearly crushing her with a hug.
---
to Katrina Her eyes moved over him, noting the tired circles and slightly pale complexion. If she knew Oliver, and that was one thing that she knew, with absolute certainty, that she knew, then he'd been here whenever he'd had a moment. Katie leaned into the familiar strength of his hug, only wincing slightly at the strained pain in her shoulder and side. The hug was to reassuring and something that she was very used to.
"I look awful," she said, leaning back against the pillows. Her eyes lit up and she smiled. He looked older than she remembered and the frustration that she felt at not being able to remember her more recent memories, showed on her face. She searched her mind for or her last real memory of Oliver but found she only remembered certain things. Like the Battle of Hogwarts and how he'd carried Colin Creevey. Or their win in her third year. "But thank you for lying through your teeth."
She knew she was pretty battered. She'd seen the bruises on her face. Katie wasn't sure if he was up to speed on her condition but she figured she ought to tell him. "If I ask weird questions... just go with it, okay?" she hedged, feeling bad she couldn't remember. "I, uh, am having some temporary amnesia." She shrugged. "Do we really play professional Quidditch together?"
---
Guilt washed over Oliver. He should have been there the moment she woke up. She must have been so scared and confused and he wasn't there to tell her it was going to be okay.
Nodding, Oliver rubbed her back lightly with his large, rough hand. "We do. I'm the best Captain in the league and you're pretty damn good yourself. Made the National team this year. I taught you everything you know." He couldn't imagine Katie not knowing what she was doing in her life. "Ask me anything you want to know."
It occurred to Oliver that if she didn't remember playing quidditch then she probably didn't remember their recent fiasco. Well. Silver lining.
---
She wasn't sure what she wanted to know. "I just don't understand how... I go to this point," she said, rubbing her head, the headache increasing as the pressure began to pulse behind her temple. She'd been given a glossed over version but something had happened, she was certain of it. Part of her wasn't sure she wanted to know. There'd been so much revelation over the past twenty-four hours, taking in more unwanted news might just make her head explode.
Katie was actually very nervous about mentioning Marcus Flint. She definitely remembered the antipathy between the two and this was supposed to be a happy reunion. "I don't even know where to start," she said, with a smile. "What's going on in your life?" she asked, wanting to catch up and try to see if maybe something would jog the missing pieces.
---
"My life?" Well. There was a lot. He just didn't want to overwhelm Katie. Then again, Oliver wasn't one to sugar coat things so he decided to go ahead with almost all of it.
"I'm Captain of Puddlemere, but retiring at the end of next season to become the team trainer instead. I'm playing for Scotland in the Cup this year, but I turned down the chance to captain the team. I own a pub called The Quaffle. It's brilliant. I am taking care of your dogs. They are fine, by the way. And that's about it."
He wasn't sure why he didn't tell her about Mandy. Maybe because he was worried it would upset her. Maybe because he wasn't really ready to give Mandy the official title yet. Who knew?
---
Katie stared at him, eyes widening in shock. "You're retiring?!" she gasped, the shock piercing her like a lance. "Why? Are you sick? Are you okay? Is everything alright." She sat up, wincing slightly. "Oh God. You're dying. What happened?" Katie, of course, couldn't fathom Oliver Wood retiring from Quidditch. Even if she didn't remember playing with him. She knew him. It was absolutely out of control. "I can't... no." Oliver Wood wouldn't leave Quidditch.
For whatever reason, this was the news that sent her over the edge and into denial. "Oh God. This is all too much. I slept with Flint and I don't know why. Adrian Pucey is my half-brother. You're leaving Quidditch..." Katie stared at the ceiling, feeling like everything in her brain was mush. "If I go back to sleep... can't I just wake up everything be normal?!"
---
Oliver's jaw tightened at the mention of Flint, but somehow he managed not to comment. Katie could make her own (really bad) decisions. "I'm not dying," he said with a sigh. "It's just not the same any longer. People care more about who I'm shagging than my ranking. I'm just.... Over it."
Oliver was a surprisingly private person when he wasn't drunk or angry. And he was looking forward to people no longer caring about him. He could just be the trainer and teach people to be better. Just like he taught Katie.
"This is normal."
---
Katie gave him a look that clearly expressed her frustration. None of this was normal. Not even a little bit. In fact, this was as far from normal as one could get. She'd woken up to find Marcus bloody Flint in her room. No. That wasn't normal. And Oliver retiring from Quidditch? "If this is normal," she said, wearily. "Then I want to go back to sleep because it's a terrible, terrible world. Next thing you're going to tell me is that you and I slept together and we have a love child somewhere." The ridiculousness of that idea had her snorting. Of course, she'd always had the tiniest bit of a crush on Oliver Wood. Everyone knew that but they really were just very good friends. She stared at him a moment, trying to recall those feelings but couldn't quite tap it. There was extreme fondness and love and she'd die for him but the attraction she'd felt didn't really seem to be there. Huh.
"Can I go home yet?" she asked, changing the subject. "I want to see these dogs I supposedly have and I'm starving. They won't let me anything that's not made of mush and if I don't get a cheeseburger or maybe some chips... or fish... or maybe a steak." She glanced pitifully at Oliver. "I'm hungry. They said I could leave today."
---
There was no chance he was going to tell her what happened. Nope. They'd just fixed their friendship and he wasn't going to ruin that with honesty. Oliver smiled at her. "You being asleep makes my world not normal, so why don't you just stay awake, yeah?"
He laughed a little. Few people could put away more food than Katie. She could even out eat him and that was impressive. "No. You're going to stay in that bed until they are ready to send you home. Where are you staying?"
---
Katie sighed, somewhat dramatically, and watched him. "I guess I could do that," she said, wiggling her toes under the blanket. She grabbed his hand and pulled him into another hug. It was comforting. He was solid and the feelings she associated with him were genuine warmth and strength. She felt safe and comfortable with him. After her moment of emotion, she leaned back against her pillows and relaxed against the uncomfortable bed. She'd moved around some but she was itching to get out of this thing and out of this hospital. The warm, relaxed feeling was because of some potion as she'd be climbing the walls but that still didn't mean she didn't feel a sense of urgency to leave.
"You're so mean," she sighed, her words light, belying the implication. His next question had her frowning and she shrugged. "I assumed I'd be going home. Adrian Pucey stopped by and said no one had been able to get a hold of my parents. I suspect they're in deep with some tribe and my step-sister sent flowers. The Healer said I should be some place familiar and I'd assume my place would be familiar. I guess."
---
He didn't like the idea of Katie being alone. A smart man would have thought before he spoke, but Oliver went with his gut first. "You can come home with me. You basically have a room there. And your dogs are there. It could just be for a few days. Plus you could avoid the reporters."
---
For whatever reason, the suggestion felt like it could be a very bad idea. Though, she wasn't sure why, exactly. Maybe the Marcus thing. She had a feeling that even if they were involved, that he and Oliver weren't friends or anything remotely close to that. Still, she hadn't heard from him since the other night and she really didn't want to be alone. Familiarity would be nice and comforting and she had memories of Oliver's place and it wasn't like Marcus was volunteering to let her crash at his or even stay at her place.
"I guess we could do that," she said, sighing. "It'd be nice to be around some familiar things."
---
"Then that's settled." Part of him was really tempted to sneak her out of Mungo's now, but that wasn't the brightest idea. Even Oliver knew that. "I'm sure you have a bunch of clothes there. I never get rid of any." Katie was simply a part of his house and life.
A little nagging voice at the back of his mind told Oliver that this wasn't a good idea. Not because something might happen. No, there was no chance of that. But Mandy might not like Katie coming to stay.
------ As Katie thought it over, she realized this was going to be a terrible idea. She glanced at him, brow slightly raised. There was this feeling in the pit of her stomach that she couldn't quite shake and it wasn't the fact that she was starving. Rubbing her temples, her headache coming back, she sighed. "I should probably stay at home," she said, with a shrug. "All my stuff is there. You could always stay a couple of nights or something? I feel like I should be... in my house and adjusting to that mess."
Her stomach let out a loud growl and Katie groaned. "And if this healer doesn't discharge me soon, I'm going to start swinging." At that, the Healer arrived, handing her the discharge papers, a quick explanation of any potential issues and told her she could dress and be on her way.
"Thank Merlin," she said, sliding out of the bed, tired of this hospital gown. Someone had brought her clothes. A pair of jeans and a tank top. Katie quickly changed and sighed happily. "I am so ready for some actual food."