RP: Can't Lose You Now Who: Coop/Gen When: Tuesday, July 4, 2009 Where: Gen's cottage What: Coop comes by with a surprise and trips the wards, leading to injury. Warnings: Pain and emotions, near-death experience
Cooper had found the perfect holiday hat for Gen, it was giant, floppy, and just screamed Gen. The brim of it was even magicked to flash the phrase, ‘Buzzed, so buzz off’ across the top for when the girls got too sloshed at the beach and napped. He didn’t know for sure that would happen but he was willing to bet good money on it happening at least one of the days that everyone would be down there.
He knew he had plans with Gen later that day, they were supposed to meet for dinner but he had wanted to pop by to bring by the hat. He couldn’t apparate to her place, he didn’t know a thing about it. Instead he used the floo, he had heard Gen and Addi say the name enough that he was confident he would make it to her home. It had never crossed his mind once that her wards might not be adjusted for him, it never once crossed his minds that they had Lancelot put in the wards so that they were extra beefy so that Addi would be safe, and Gen would feel safe. None of these entered his mind until he came tumbling out of the fireplace rather harshly onto a floor that didn’t look familiar.
While he knew he was at the right place, only because when he stood up there was a picture of Gen and her family, it didn’t feel right. Something felt woozy and he was certain he had felt something prick his neck when he had come tumbling out of the fireplace. He reached a hand up to the back of his neck, he felt a tingling sensation starting there, and as he brought his hand forward to see if anything was on his hand, he saw it. Fresh blood. Then the world swam up to meet him. He had been on his feet for a total of two seconds before he had come crashing to the ground with a loud thud, the bag that held the large floppy hat was crushed under his weight. He couldn’t move but he could still see and hear, at least until that ringing had started in his ears...
♡
Genevieve was at practice when the warm buzz that signaled a breach of her wards at home first went off. It wasn't until practice was over that she finally noticed it, as the signal kept going off in a periodic cycle. She paled and didn't even think twice before apparating straight away, only realizing after she arrived that she should have brought someone with her as backup in case it was Roberto. But that thought left her as soon as she spotted Coop sprawled out face down on her floor in front of her fireplace.
"Cooper!" she shouted in a panicked voice. Oh fuck! What had he done? Why was he here? Hadn't he known that her house was heavily warded right now, what with Roberto still being out there somewhere? And then she spotted the small, dried trickle of blood on the back of his neck, and she cursed again.
She moved quickly then, casting one of the few medical spells she knew, checking for a pulse. There was one, but it was faint. She needed to get him somewhere... to St. Mungo's. They would be able to save him, right? They would have the antido--Wait! No, she had the antidote! When Lancelot had come over and helped her set up the wards, he'd tied them to her and provided her the antidote. "You stay with me, Cooper Vipond!" she said fiercely before rushing into her small study and unwarding her hidden safe.
When she hurried back to him, she a vial in her hand, which she carefully set aside so that she could roll him onto his back with a hard shove. "You have to drink this, mon coeur," she told him, moving up to his head and lifting him up so that he was cradled in her lap. Hopefully he would be able to swallow even if it seemed he couldn't really move just then. She uncorked the bottle and then brought it to his lips, tipping a little in at a time. "Come on, please swallow it! You have to--I can't lose you, not now," she cried, tears slipping from the corners of her eyes.
♡
Lancelot was one of the best at his job, at least he had been back when he had been a cursebreaker. Sure, he had been out of practice for a while but ever since January 1st he had been looking into different sorts of wards, and ways that they would make their own home safer for Quin and the kids. Some of the systems that he had put in place at Gen’s home had been put in place at his own home, since he knew the system front and back he always kept antidotes in the home. If a burglar was the one who tripped it, they wouldn’t generally know to look for the antidote. Besides, he made sure that they would be paralyzed when they came through so they wouldn’t get far enough to look for the antidote. The idea was that the person the wards were tied to would when they arrived to see what, or who, had tripped the wards.
When you plan for someone to be paralyzed upon entering the home you needed to allow the antidote drip into their throat for it to start to take effect, so that the person that was receiving the antidote would be able to swallow the rest. There was even a little magical influence that helped the antidote spread faster so that the person would make it, where a muggle would have perished almost instantly.
Thanks to this, when Gen started to pour the antidote into Cooper's mouth, it started to work. He had been there for a while at this point, his heart had begun to slow down and he had fallen unconscious long ago. The antidote was working though, and moments later he let out a strangled sort of noise. He was choking on the antidote but he heard Gen, he had heard her voice saying drink, so he did.
While it was a magical antidote to a magical curse, it didn't work instantinous. Once he had drank it all, it felt like forever before the antidote to kick in enough that he could speak. Cooper felt exhausted as he came to, his head fogged and voice throaty. "Gen?" he muttered her name, though he had not moved just yet. He couldn't, the antidote was meant to fix that last. "What...?" How had he ended up down here, he wondered a moment in the fog. He barely remembered getting there.
♡
When he finally made a noise, Gen cried out in relief. "Dieu merci," she breathed, continuing to ease the antidote into his mouth a little at a time. She didn't want to choke him, but he had to drink it! And once the vial was empty, she tossed it aside and shifted more fully under him, holding him against her chest.
"Come on, mon coeur, please. You have to be okay. You're not allowed to die on me, not right now. I can't lose you, okay? So you have to be okay," she rambled at him, tears falling from the corners of her eyes as she held him tightly, rocking them gently. She had no idea if he could hear her, but she couldn't seem to stop talking, trying to reassure him, to keep him with her. "There's so much we still have to do, so you can't go now! We have to get married still and have babies - I can't wait to have a baby with you, Coop. And we still need to build a home, a family together."
Her fingers stroked through his hair, and she knew she was ugly crying, but she was just so terrified that he was going to die on her. She needed to get him to the hospital, she knew that, but she couldn't seem to move. And then, after what seemed like forever, his voice broke through her endless rambling, and she thought her heart stopped for a moment. "Coop, oh thank god, you're coming back. You'll be okay," she promised him. "You triggered the wards, but I got the antidote in you." Her hand rubbed over his face soothingly, and she tipped her head down to brush her lips against his forehead. "God, you scared me. I love you so much - you can never do this again, okay?"
♡
She was mostly talking to herself, though Coop had heard a few words. That ringing was still coming in and out and he wasn’t able to hear all of it, he had made out babies, family, a few other things. Then he was finally able to find his voice. He had said her name and vaguely asked what had happened. She had even answered him, the wards. Of course the wards, the ones that the men had decided the women needed to be safe. Cooper had insisted that it had to be the best, they had to contact Quin’s beau. Even after knowing what he knew, he still had insisted they had the best. Of course the best would paralyze and kill someone as soon as they fell through the floo. He owed Lancelot a thanks later, he didn’t think his own wards at the flat were so thorough.
His breathing was faster, as if he was trying to catch his breath. He was slowly getting feeling back in his body, though he wasn’t moving just yet. “I didn’t do it on purpose,” he said after he licks his lips. His mouth felt so dry, he tried to sit himself up but he couldn’t get up from where he was. “Can I get water?” he croaked out, it still hadn’t hit him. It hadn’t hit him that he’d almost just died. His mind was still waking up it seemed, his eyelids fluttering a moment. He needed to call Em, or go to Mungo’s. His heart ached then, poor Gen. She was still dealing with Addi and everything from her attack, now she was going to be asked to go back there with Cooper because he had been stupid enough to come over without giving the wards a second though.
His face fell as that realization hit, his eyes finding hers. “ ‘m so sorry, Gen. I didn’t even think, I had this hat...” Where was the hat? He still couldn’t move well and so he didn’t, he would look for it when he had regained his strength, “Will you be okay to take me?” was asked in a very small voice, he wondered if Lancelot had written down just what the poison was and what the antidote had been. He had a feeling if he had given her the antidote then he had. He wanted to offer to call Fitz or Hyperion, or hell even Em. He really ought to call Em, she was a doctor.
♡
"I know you didn't," she whispered back, her hand still stroking over his face, not that she could see it well through the sheen of tears in her eyes. When he tried to move, she pressed her hands on his shoulders. "No, don't move yet." And at his request for water, she lifted her hands to wipe her tears away and then picked up her wand, summoning a bottle of water from the kitchen. She twisted the cap off and brought it to his lips, tipping the bottle slightly and slowly so that he could drink without it choking him.
She shook her head fiercely at his apology, not even processing that he said anything about a hat. Now wasn't the time for worrying about why he'd come here when he knew how heavily warded her home was since Addi was assaulted. No, all she needed to focus on now was helping him recover, and she was just starting to process what that meant now that she knew he had a chance when he asked her if she would be okay to take him.
"Oui, of course. I just... I need a second," she admitted, closing her eyes tightly as she lowered her head to rest against the top of his for a long moment, one hand sliding down to press her fingers against his pulse, needing to feel that it was there. And it was - it still wasn't as strong as it should be, but it was worlds better than it had been when she'd arrived. "Okay... You're going to be okay, Coop," she breathed, though it seemed that she was more telling herself than him.
She eased out from under him then, careful to make sure he didn't drop against the floor, and then went back to her study to get the papers that Lance had left with her about the poison. When she came back out, she grabbed his hand and apparated them to St. Mungo's. Once there, she levitated him to a chair, not caring in the least if he was embarrassed by it - it was better than laying on the hospital floor, wasn't it? "Hi, hello! He needs help. He was trying to surprise me and tripped a ward at my home. He was poisoned, but I've given him the antidote already. I've got all the information here," she said urgently, holding up the paper. "But he needs to be examined. I think he's still a bit paralyzed." How long would that take to completely wear off?
♡
Cooper was going to listen for once in his life. He didn’t know what had happened, he had known so little about the ward system that had been put into place... He knew he had to do what she said, so he stayed right there. He was grateful for the water, even though he didn’t want to move just then. He still felt so sluggish and not at all like his limbs would work if he tried to move them. “Thanks,” he murmured, licking his lips to try to wet them. They felt so incredibly dry and cracked just then.
His head bobbed, as much as it could, in a nod. They would be going soon. He didn’t even fuss when she got him to St. Mungos, she was crying. He wasn’t going to fight with her when she was upset and worried. He didn’t even fuss when she lifted him into the chair, he was just glad she had her wand. If she had tried on her own, he would have likely made a fit. He had barely been able to move though so he was sure that fight wouldn’t have lasted for more than a few minutes.
“It’s coming back,” he muttered as a Healer came rushing over to the pair, he was already wiggling his fingers in his one hand. Feeling was slowly coming back, very slowly. It was then that the pair were peppered with questions, what was it that had poisoned him, where were the papers, he took the antidote how long ago? It was making Cooper’s head hurt, though he was grateful once again that he had no answers for them that was all Gen. She was the one who knew what the poison had been and had all of the paperwork.
Then they were being moved to a room, there was talk of tests he would need, before they would know if he was going to be alright. It was starting to make Coop anxious that no one was saying he was going to be okay but Gen, why weren’t they saying he’d be okay? He had the antidote, he’d be okay right? In a panicked, small voice he said, “Genevieve.”
♡
When Coop chimed in that his ability to move was coming back, she could have cried with relief again. Instead, she just sighed softly in relief and took a small step back to let the Healers take over. She followed them to the room, answering their questions as she could, giving them the information on both the poison and the antidote. She was so caught up in it all, that she didn't realize he was seemingly starting to panic until he said her name. Coop so rarely used her full first name, and it had her attention snapping to his in concern.
"Are you all right? What is it?" she asked him anxiously, turning to rest her hand on his shoulder, squeezing it. "You're not losing feeling again, are you?" she asked in concern, fear making her chest constrict painfully. She couldn't lose him.
♡
“I’m not losing feeling,” he affirmed, already sounding significantly less panicked. Just having her close had his anxiety dropping, though he was still nervous. Was he going to be okay?
The Healers went about running their tests, making sure that Cooper wasn’t going to die. After they got the couple into their own room, they informed them that Cooper was going to live. He had a long night ahead of him, feeling would come back slowly and he was going to be exhausted and sore the next day. He wouldn’t be able to go home however until the following day, once the paralysis had completely worn off. They were left after that, informed that the Healers would come around with their rounds to check on him, showing him where the button was if they needed him before then.
Once everyone was out of the room and it was just Cooper and Gen, he started to try to move his arms so that eh cold shift over enough to give the other room. “Get in this bed, you have to make a ton of phone calls I know but please just get in this bed with me.” He was nervous, he didn’t like hospitals as it was normally, he wasn’t happy to be there now. He wanted her there, he wanted to curl up against her but he couldn’t really move. The feeling had only just started coming back to his arms.
“Don’t call Em, I’m going to do that myself alright? I need to.” He had really upset her the other day it seemed, he still hadn’t heard from her since then.
♡
Exhaustion was weighing down on her by the time everyone left the room, giving her a moment alone with Coop for the first time since she'd brought him here. When he tried to shift, she sighed and shook her head at him, about to tell him to cut it out when he spoke first, urging her onto the bed with him. "I'm not going to make any phone calls you don't want me to make," she promised him.
With another soft sigh, she eased onto the bed in the small sliver of space next to him, laying on her side facing him and draping one arm over his middle. "Of course. Who do you want me to call?" she asked. Because she wasn't going to call anyone he didn't want her to.
♡
When Gen climbed into the bed with him, he did his best to wrap his arm around her. He had just enough feeling in his arm that he could at least do that. It made him feel just a little better.
"Aly, Hyperion, Fitz, you should likely try to catch Addi, before she gets home." He wondered if the sight of obviously tripped wards would scare Addi, he didn't want that. Addi deserved to not feel scared anymore, though Coop realized that would take some time.
"Though I think you could get away with just sending a text message to Hype and Fitz. It isn't anything they need to be rushing down here for. You know, you could hold off calling Aly until the morning. He would just rush over, I just want to rest with you." There was a slight tone of exhaustion under it all. He was fighting it though, he had this irrational fear he wouldn't wake up. The Healers had told him to rest and yet he was fighting it for another moment with Gen.
♡
Gen nodded against him as he rattled off the short list of people he wanted called about this, and she had to agree about Addi. The last thing she wanted was for her sister to show up at home and see the signs of the tripped wards and worry that Roberto had somehow found her. "I will. I'll just text the three of them now, and I'll call Aly in the morning," she promised.
She pulled her phone out and went to Addi first, then Hype, and finally Fitz. Once the messages were sent, with an emphasis placed on the fact that Coop was fine but very tired and not up to having visitors, she put her phone away again and curled closer to him. "I love you so much. You can never do this to me again," she lectured him softly. The adrenaline was fading, and all she was left with were the emotions and fear that she had come so close to losing him in a very permanent way.
♡
When she had sent the messages, he relaxed as much as he could in that moment. He didn’t want to be in the hospital again, he wanted to just go home. He let out a soft sigh as he loosely tightened his arm around her. His strength wasn’t back and he wasn’t able to actually squeeze her like he usually did.
“I love you too, I hope you know I didn’t mean to.” He actually sounded just a bit nervous because he knew that his mortality had been a sticking point. It had been a large part of why she had turned him down the first time, if he got hit too hard in the head, he could die. He was picking fights and making the situation worse. This was nothing like that though, he hoped that she understood. He hadn’t done this on purpose.
“I’m sorry, I did have a hat for you. I thought it would be great for the vacation we’re taking with everyone...” Though he had absolutely no idea where in the hell that hat had gotten to. It was crushed and broken on the floor of her living room.
♡
At his reassurance that he hadn't meant to do this, she turned her head to press a kiss against his clothed chest. "I know, mon chou," she replied softly. She'd never really thought that he would have done something like this on purpose. That didn't mean it was okay, because he really ought to have known better since he'd known how thorough the wards were and why.
"A hat?" she repeated, her tone taking on a bemused and questioning quality. He'd gotten her a hat for the vacation? "You nearly got yourself killed over a hat?" Oh, he was lucky he was already in the hospital bed, otherwise she might have smacked him for that. While she could understand his excitement, she was baffled that he'd let it consume him to the point where he'd forgotten the wards. "I'll make sure the wards are adjusted for you though," she promised. And really, now that she thought about it, they should have been from the start. Except that she'd been concerned that he might take advantage of it and pressure her into pushing things along before she was ready to. But they were back together officially now, and she certainly wasn't worried about it anymore.
♡
Coop knew she wasn’t thrilled that it had been for a hat, all over a hat. He couldn’t help the sheepish smile, he had wanted to get her that hat. The wards had slipped his mind since he knew Roberto was no longer a threat. He couldn’t tell Gen that though, it killed him to keep this thing from her but it had to be that way. At least for now, he didn’t know what the future held. If circumstances were right, he’d tell her everything. He just hoped that if that day came, she understood why he had kept his mouth shut.
“The hat was very important.” He chuckled, though it caused him to cough a moment later when he couldn’t catch his breath. “I’ll stop making jokes, thank you though for adjusting the wards. I want to keep apologizing, this was ridiculous and not how we should be spending our time. I had wanted to spend an entire night together, maybe even try our hand at making a simple dinner.” His voice was soft, though his eyes met hers as he spoke. He may have been exhausted but he worried about her, he hadn’t meant to give her another scare so soon after everything with Addi.
“Why don’t we try to get some sleep? You’ve got to be exhausted, you’ve been busting your arse on the field, everything with Addi, your boyfriend is a moron, you’ve got a lot on your plate.” He even reached a hand up to brush some flyaway locks behind her ear.
♡
When his chuckle turned into a cough, Gen frowned and had to resist the urge to smack his chest--that would hardly help matters. "Well, we're definitely spending the night together, just not the way you'd hoped," she pointed out with a tsking sound. She still couldn't believe this had all been over a bloody hat, but she wasn't going to harp about it. He'd been excited, and in his excitement, he'd forgotten about the wards. What was done, was done, and all they could do was move forward, and she was determined to focus on being grateful that they would be able to move forward, that she hadn't lost him today.
"I am exhausted," she agreed, sighing. "But, I'm also wired." Her head tilted against his hand before turning to brush a kiss against his palm. "I love you, Cooper. I can't lose you, okay? So don't ever do this again. I'd like the chance to marry you, you know," she whispered. She wasn't sure if he'd heard her hysterical rambling as she'd waited for the antidote to work on the floor in her living room, but she'd meant every word, a realization that was lingering even as the adrenaline of the evening wore off.
♡
He may have given her a pout when she told him that they’d still be spending the night together. He wouldn’t have minded if they had been home, maybe in bed so that they could fit a bit easier. Hospital beds never felt comfortable and the entire room just made him uneasy. He hated the smell of hospitals, he hated the atmosphere, he hated all of it. He was used to it though so he knew how to ignore the dread that came with the room. They couldn’t give him any more bad news, his career as a player was already over and he had lived through the poisoning. He figured there wasn’t much left they could tell him that would bring his world crashing down.
Cooper had been in the middle of rolling his eyes in response to her telling him to never do it again, when she said that next bit. His eyes grew wider and he felt his heart soaring. “You do? Let’s do it tomorrow.” He was trying to make a joke, to not sound over eager but he knew it was definitely in his voice. That eager excitement, she wanted to marry him! He wished then that he could move, as if she had just said yes to a proposal, he wanted to celebrate. It was absolutely ridiculous and he knew it, he needed to calm himself down.
That ridiculous smile was gracing his features though, carefully giving her a squeeze as he tried to pull her closer. There was no strength in his muscles though, for as large as they were. He at least could move again and that was something, wasn’t it?
♡
Gen let out a soft laugh at his response, shaking her head. Of course he would try to joke about it, but she knew him well enough to hear the eagerness in his tone, to know that she'd just made his hopes shoot through the roof. But she didn't feel bad because she meant it. It had been a very stressful week and some since Addi had gotten hurt that with almost losing Coop now? She didn't want to hold back anymore.
And what she wanted was to be with him, to build a life and a family with him. "Can't. Well, we could, but it wouldn't be legal. You have to give the Ministry four weeks notice," she told him. And really, he should know that already. At the weak squeeze, she rubbed a hand over his chest but resisted chiding him for it, even though she did think he needed to save his strength.
♡
Coop felt his hope fall just a tiny bit when she can’t, until she said why. He chuckled as he shook his head, “Who needs it to be legal? We could just call Hyperion down here and get married right now. I’m sure he’s awake and doing nothing.” Which was a lie, it was late as hell and he was sure the man was asleep with his girlfriend. He knew however that Gen wasn’t about to call him up, they needed a marriage to be legal didn’t they? He couldn’t think of a good reason for that, other than that they would be recognized by the Ministry should anything happen. He supposed with his head the way it was, it was a good idea for it to be legal. He really needed to talk to Aly about that.
At the thought of his head, a hand came up to touch his head. He had fallen and this was the first time he was really thinking about that. He felt that fear, the same one he had when he had been first told that the next hit to the head could be the last. What if he had died? Gen would have been devastated if the poison hadn’t been what killed him but that fall to the ground. He shook the thoughts away though, he’d talk to Aly soon. He hadn’t died, that was the important part right?
“We could always tell them tomorrow that we want to get married, then we just have to wait four whole weeks.” He was teasing though, he was sure she would want to be married eventually but he was thinking her time frame was a year from now. She would need time to plan, surely. It would give him time to propose properly again.
♡
"Mmm, maybe tomorrow," she murmured teasingly, patting his chest lightly. Even if Hyperion was awake and available tonight, she wouldn't want to get married just then. It had been a long, emotional day, and she really did just want to sleep now.
When he spoke again, she couldn't help chuckling softly. Yes, she could tell he was teasing, but her initial thought had been: let's do it. Shifting a bit, she brought her head up so she could look in his eyes, her smile soft and genuine. Her lips brushed against his once, twice, and then she looked at him again. "I'll put in the notice by the end of the week," she promised, all teasing aside. The notice would be good for a year, which gave them plenty of options for when to do it, though she'd always known she wanted a summer wedding.
♡
His brows shot up in excitement, mouth falling open at her words. She was going to put the notice in by the end of the week? That... He hadn’t thought she really would go for it! “Really, really?” he asked, looking all the world the excited puppy. He closed the distance to kiss her again, his eyes slipping closed. She was going to put in the notice by the end of the week! It was still reverberating in his head. As exhausted as he was, he wanted to celebrate. He had to do something though he knew he was limited.
As he broke the kiss, he pressed his forehead to her own, keeping eye contact. “I get to propose still right?” He would show her just how much he loved her. It was important for him, she deserved that moment. He would do something for her when he got out of here.
♡
Well, it seemed that promise had given him a burst of energy and life that the healers hadn't been able to tonight, Gen thought with more than a little amusement. "Really," she confirmed, smiling still, loving that look on his face. It really wasn't usually easy for her to surprise him after so much time together, so she was definitely enjoying having done so now.
"Oui of course, you better," she answered, letting her expression turn slightly more serious, brows furrowed as if there very thought that he wouldn't propose again was preposterous, her hand lifting to smack his chest lightly. "I love you, Coop," she added a moment later, letting the mock-seriousness fall away again as she smiled at him.
♡
He still had that dopey smile on his face; he was going to get to propose again! He was thrilled. He stole just one more kiss after she said she loved him. His heart was soaring; he wasn’t going to be hold off proposing for long. He would do it right this very second if he had a ring.
“I love you too,” he told her softly. “Will you stay in the bed with me until they make you get in the chair?” He knew when they came to check on him, they would kick her out to the chair in the room. He wasn’t supposed to share his bed but he was going to.
♡
She loved all the little stolen kisses, that big dopey smile, and just everything about him. Okay, so she didn't love how his jealousy manifests, but they were working on that, and at least he understood now why it was such a concern to her.
"Of course I will," she assured him just before yawning. It made her laugh lightly and settle more fully against him. Maybe, if they were lucky, the healers would come in after she was asleep and let her stay on the bed with him. She could hope, anyway.