katniss everdeen is a survivor (unwillingmartyr) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2013-01-12 14:14:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, katniss everdeen, pansy malfoy |
It’s gonna take more than some plague epidemic to put an end to Pansy Par--Malfoy.
Who: Pansy Malfoy and Katniss Everdeen
When: Circa Jan 9? The day Prim is admitted to the hospital
Where: Hospital Room
What: Comforting a friend
Rating: Low
Status: Complete!
Pansy went straight to the hospital at Katniss’ word that they took Prim in. She was worried for her friend, for her friend’s sister. She wasn’t exactly thinking straight. She, herself, had been hit by fever, by fits of coughing that made her feel dizzy and light-headed. But it was more important to her to be there for Katniss than it was to take care of herself.
She parked, rather cookedly, and headed into the lobby to start asking the lady at the front desk where Primrose was. She had a fit of coughs after being given the location, and was given a mask to wear over her face by a disgruntled nurse who couldn’t hand sanitize fast enough.
The only sickness that Katniss had was the headache she'd developed worrying herself sick over her sister. She was holding Prim's hand, helpless to watch as her sister started to quickly deteriorate. Why couldn't it be her? She volunteered, she volunteered as tribute. Take her instead!
Pansy headed over to the room number she was given, and knocked on the door. She felt a little like she might be intruding on a family’s pain in their time of grieving, or some nonsense, but she really wanted to be there for Katniss if she could. And her friend had said thank you, so...
"Nn? Pansy, is that you?" Katniss got up to open the door, then wrapped her arms around Pansy as soon as she'd seen her. Her mother was on the other side of the bed, staring through Prim. Katniss pretended she wasn't there - because she really wasn't there, not for real. The woman's expression was blank.
She pulled Pansy inside.
Pansy stepped into the room and wrapped her arms around Katniss for a moment and hugged her tightly, letting her friend relax a little. “Are you all right?” She asked, pulling back to get a look into Katniss’ eyes. “What can I do?” She asked, barely holding back a round of coughs that were desperate to come forth.
"No, no I'm not all right. I should be in that bed, not her." Katniss was shaking. She didn't turn away from the cough. Really, if she lost Prim, she wanted to get sick and die anyway. It was that simple.
Pansy shook her head. “Imagine...” She coughed again, into her elbow, then swallowed and took a breath. “Imagine how she would feel if she had to sit by your bedside.” She said, then reached for the hand sanitizer they had posted at every door. “You don’t want her to go through that anguish, do you?”
"...Damn it...No." Katniss let go of her, and sat back down next to Prim. There was no easy answer for this. She wasn't a doctor, or a nurse but she'd helped her sister through all of Prim's colds and sicknesses. She couldn't this time. She couldn't do anything. She was useless.
“It’s gonna... it’s gonna be okay...” Pansy said, then took a couple of deep breaths, and flopped down into a chair. “Damn. I hate this. I’m really sorry she’s going through it.”
Katniss snorted. She sounded worried. "You're going through it too...I can't lose you either." She leaned forward, resting her forehead on her knees. She needed to call Peeta or something too. She hadn't heard from him. Was everyone but her getting sick? Her luck, she'd be like a Twilight Zone episode and be the last living person.
“Hey, I’m not going anywhere.” Pansy said, shaking her head. She lifted her hand and rubbed at her nose a little. “It’s gonna take more than some plague epidemic to put an end to Pansy Par--Malfoy.” She said, slipping up on her last name.
"You better be there. We'll have to repopulate the species," Katniss joked. She lifted her head, then reached over and pulled Pansy closer. "I'm trying not to freak, I really am. I've lost so many hours to this, and being hurt and everything and I don't really care, I just want her better."
“Repopulate the species?” Pansy asked, then gave a laugh that turned into a series of coughs so bad she doubled over. After a long pause and a dozen or so wannabe deep breaths, she nodded. “I do, too.”
She slapped her friend on the back. “I know you do and you have no idea how much that means to me. Thank you, so much.”
“Katniss,” Pansy said, turning to look at her friend. She was struggling to breathe. “You’re welcome.” She said after a moment. “Really. You know you’re my bestie, right? I’d do anything for you.”
"Don't die." Katniss replied, seriously. She was a little unnerved - she didn't have friends. She was the loner who took care of her family and had no time for anything else. She wasn't sure how she'd managed to make a friend.
“I won’t. I promise.” Pansy said, then stepped over and wrapped both arms around her friend. “And Prim is gonna be fine. I promise that, too.”
“I hope you’re right.” Katniss leaned into Pansy’s arms, feeling guilty that she was getting comforted when her friend was sick.
“I’m always right. You’ll learn this about me.” Pansy said, grinning. She pulled back and away, turning her head and coughing into her elbow. It felt like she was coughing up a lung, or some other internal organ.
It made Katniss’s stomach and heart wrench, watching her friend like that. Watching Prim so small and frail in that hospital bed. Hearing the sounds of suffering all around her. She needed air.
“I’m gonna go,” Pansy said, once the bout of coughs had subsided. “I’ll leave you with your family.” She didn’t want Katniss to see her coughing so hard, didn’t want her friend to see where Prim might end up. Or where she was.
“Okay...” Katniss’s voice was tiny. She wished she had something to distract her. Anything. “Be safe.”