The Great Faux Floo [Max]

[Rowena Jones]

“There’s another of them Healer Covington,” Mary said, nodding towards the entrance as she walked quickly by, her own tone mirroring Rowena’s incredulous mood. Every. Damn. Year.

It seemed it only took the Wizarding population one year to forget that Floo powder was dirt cheap and instead decide to attempt to fabricate their own. And every time, it ended in disaster. It didn’t seem to matter how many times Mungo’s told them not to do it, it happened every year without fail. And this year seemed to be one of the stupidest she’d seen since she started at the hospital ten years ago.

The Great Faux Floo as it was commonly called by nurses and Healers alike, was usually contained to just a few stupid individuals who ended up with some lovely burnt bottoms that some poor healer would then have to treat. This year, said stupid individuals had tried to commercialise their product and at one sickle a scoop, other idiots had jumped at the new cheap alternative.

Rowena rubbed her forehead in exasperation as she surveyed the scene in front of her. Around 100 people were crowded into the area, from a young toddler caught in his parent’s stupidity to a grumpy old woman who was complaining about how she’d wanted to relight the fire in her marriage, not set fire to her unmentionables. Even Rowena flushed as she caught the end of that sentence. She quickly moved away, feeling sorry for the Healer who ended up dealing with that particular patient, her amber gaze scanning the room for her new assistant, Bryn.

Where the hell was he? She scowled as she swerved around another patient on her way around the room. Technically this was not her area, but Spell Damage wasn’t all that busy lately and Cutter, whose department this was, was away for a few days. Apparently, the man had somehow gotten himself a girlfriend and they were taking a few days holiday to get to know each other. Rowena shuddered at the thought. And of course, he’d timed it perfectly, leaving her and the other Heads to deal with this mess. Which was precisely why she needed Bryn. It was only his second day after she’d promoted him and he was already playing truant. If he thought she wasn’t going to give him a stern talking to, he had another thing coming!

[Max Kameren]

“Is there anything else I can help you with, Healer Kameren?”

“Max, please.” The Potions Master didn’t look up from the four cauldrons he was currently brewing. “And no, that’s all.”

Max’s office looked like a disaster area; in the last four days, it had become ground zero for the production of every potion in the hospital. Ingredients sat prepared and waiting to be used on every available flat surface. Potions book sat open and stacked several deep. The windows and blinds were closed to keep the potions in a controlled area, which resulted in the office becoming a hotbox for cauldron smoke. Max himself didn’t look much better, with stained Healers robes and frazzled eyes from lack of sleep. The Potions Team had recently lost their apprentices and the loss was plain to see; Max simply couldn’t be everywhere at once to brew and administer potions.

“Wait! Are you headed to Spell Damage? Could you take those four bottles and give them to Mary for me?” Max pointed to six bottles sitting on his desk, not specifying which ones he was referring to.

Bryn crossed the office carefully with a half-hearted expression, examining the bottles. “Which four?”

“She knows what they’re for.”

“No, uh – should I find you a Healer-In-Training?” Bryn wrung his hands, cringing with awkwardness.

Max’s emerald eyes rolled upwards as he counted out rotations stirring a potion, alternating every seventh. “Aren’t – you – a –healer – in – training?” He asked, speaking with the rhythm of his stirring. Bryn shook his head, smiling meekly. “Oh, congratulations Healer Chauders! What’s your new title?”

“Assistant.”

“To?”

“Healer Covington.”

There was a sudden pause in Max’s stirring and the sapphire-colored potion he was tending clouded over grey. Oh, fuck. She was going to kill him. Max began stirring again more vigorously, his motion urging the potion back to its bright-blue hue. “How long have you been here now?”

“With you? Two-and-a-half hours.”

“Fuck.” She was really going to kill him. “Well, go! I’ll send sparks for a trainee if I need one.” Bryn pre-emptively sent the sparks for him, turning with a swish of his new full-Healer’s robes to find Rowena.

[Rowena Jones]

“Where the hell have you been?!” Rowena whirled on Bryn as he trotted down the corridor towards her.

“Sorry Healer Covington, I was with Ma-Healer Kameren.” He explained, his eyes widening as he took in the scene in front of him. “Oh shit. That’s a lot of people.”

Rowena’s eyes had rolled at the mention of her boyfriend. Of course Max had stolen her new Assistant just when she needed him most.

“No shit Sherlock,” she said, ignoring Bryn’s confused look at the Muggle detective’s name. “Can you continue triage? Carver and Mary are already treating patients. I have someone I need to see but I’ll be back shortly.”

She didn’t wait for an answer, but turned on her heel and stormed towards Max’s office. Pushing open the door she was immediately assaulted by fumes, heat and a slightly unpleasant mix of odours. She coughed, squinting to find Max in between the cauldrons, ingredients and piles of books.

“Max?”

[Max Kameren]

“Max?”

"Bubble-head charm." Max waved his wand and a bubble grew in front of Rowena, attaching itself to her face so she could breathe more easily. "Sorry. That one needs to smoke until Carver comes for it." Max scratched his beard, trying to remember what cutting board he'd left his paring knife on. He shrugged with exasperation and gave in, holding up his hand and beckoning the knife to come to him instead.

It wasn't the best move. Through the smoke and with Max's tired reflexes he missed catching it by the handle. The blade bit deep into the meat of his palm before ricocheting towards the floor. Max cursed and closed his hand into a fist to stem the bleeding, holding it to his chest while he put three of the cauldrons in stasis with his other hand. He looked around to make sure his blood hadn't mixed with any ingredients before weaving through his crazed office to meet Rowena in the doorway.

"Hey. Sorry, I'm an idiot. I stole Bryn, it's not his fault." He leaned down to kiss his girlfriend around the bubble covering her nose and mouth. He opened the door for both of them, smearing blood across it by accident. He squinted when he cut into the bright natural light of the hallway to get a better look at his hand.

Max grunted in annoyance when he examined the damage to his palm and realized it was a bit more than just a flesh wound. "Could you help me with this? I'm the worst with ligaments, I always get the elasticity wrong and I can't close my hand for a day afterward." His emerald eyes darted between his girlfriend and the door to his office, still mentally brewing potions. "Do you need anything, potions-wise? I hear the Floo-stravaganza started today."

[Rowena Jones]

Max grunted in annoyance when he examined the damage to his palm and realized it was a bit more than just a flesh wound. "Could you help me with this? I'm the worst with ligaments, I always get the elasticity wrong and I can't close my hand for a day afterward. Do you need anything, potions-wise? I hear the Floo-stravaganza started today."

Rowena grumbled even as she took Max’s hand in hers to examine it. “You heard about it and didn’t think I’d need all my staff hmmm? When do you get a new assistant so you can stop stealing mine…?” she said, raising an eyebrow in question. “But yes, I need enough Burn Healing Paste for around 100 people. And probably some Numbing Potions. And maybe a few Calming Draughts? It’s worse this year. They tried to sell it…” she trailed off letting Max make his own conclusions about that particularly disastrous decision.

She tutted as she looked at his wound even as a small glimmer of pleasure went through her that he’d asked her for help. And that he’d acknowledged she was the better person for the job. It was nice to feel appreciated. Especially by someone who so often liked to be a pain in her arse in this regard.

“Please be more careful Max… It’s bad enough we have god knows what attacking us without hurting ourselves.” Rowena took her wand out, muttered a quick spell and watched as the ligaments re-knitted themselves correctly and the wound slowly closed up. “Try not to use it too much for at least the next hour,” she said, knowing even as she said the words that it was a moot point.

“Actually, I know you're going to ignore that so...,” she said an idea popping into her mind. “We need a lot of Paste and you need to take a break to actually let that finish healing properly. There are enough Healers on the floor at the moment. So you are going to let me help you.” Potions might have been her weak point, but that was mostly just compared to her other above average grades. She could still brew a decent Potion… plus she didn’t think Max was going to let her mess it up. She had an awful feeling this might end up being what her mother described as backseat driving.

[Max Kameren]

“You heard about it and didn’t think I’d need all my staff hmmm? When do you get a new assistant so you can stop stealing mine…?” she said, raising an eyebrow in question.

“Why is Spell Damage working Faux Floo? Have you somehow taken over Magical Artifacts and Emergencies too?” He teased, looking down his nose at his girlfriend. He flinched as she took his hand, the wound opening wider when he opened his palm. “Ouch, careful!”

“But yes, I need enough Burn Healing Paste for around 100 people. And probably some Numbing Potions. And maybe a few Calming Draughts? It’s worse this year. They tried to sell it…”

“A hundred people?! I have enough for fifty at the most prepared right now.” He set his jaw as he calculated, his eyes darting back to his office door as he visualized the order of his mess inside. “I have a cauldron’s worth brewing now and another nearly prepared. That should do it, if you're not too liberal with the application.” At least the Numbing Potions and Calming Draughts were set.

“Please be more careful Max… It’s bad enough we have god knows what attacking us without hurting ourselves.” Max watched as she effortlessly knit his gouge back together until it was a smooth but slightly-swollen bruise. It was amazing, how effortless Rowena's spellcasting was. As maddening as she was to work with at times, watching her was always a pleasure.

He ran his thumb over it gingerly, his eyes darting both ways to make sure they were alone in the hallway so her could take her hand and pull her into a quick peck on the lips. “Thank you. How was Nottingham? You never got back to me. Should I just give up on the old-fashioned idea of texting and calling you? Patronus only?"

“Try not to use it too much for at least the next hour. Actually, I know you're going to ignore that so...,”

She was entirely right. A snort escaped Max involuntarily at the very suggestion. “Did you see what I’m doing in here? It's chaos.” He opened the door and the smoke billowed out into the hallway, sullying the air until they could get back in the office and he could close the door. He rushed back to the cauldrons, removing his temporary stay and levitating the paste-filled cauldron off the burner. “When that’s cool you can have it.”

“We need a lot of Paste and you need to take a break to actually let that finish healing properly. There are enough Healers on the floor at the moment. So you are going to let me help you.”

Max opened is mouth to protest but instantly thought better of it. “Alright, I was going to call for a trainee but I suppose you’ll do.” He grinned cheekily at his own taunt, crossing over to where his large stone mortar and pestle rested on a rickety-looking stool. Rowena was in luck; Max had already partially started the next batch of Burn-healing paste when Bryn told him that Faux Floo had hit again.

Max took up the pestle in the crook of his good arm, prepared to grind the paste. “You’re going to need that jar behind you.” Max’s emerald eyes fell on a jar of live orange beetles on a shelf just over Rowena’s shoulder. “We need to grind six. One at a time, or they like to jump around. I grind, you add. Is that alright?”

[Rowena Jones]

“Alright, I was going to call for a trainee but I suppose you’ll do.” Rowena rolled her eyes at his taunt.

“You’re lucky to have me and you know it,” she retorted as he crossed over to where his large stone mortar and pestle rested on a rickety-looking stool. "What do you need me to do?"

“We need to grind six. One at a time, or they like to jump around. I grind, you add. Is that alright?”

“Urm, no,” she said firmly, taking the pestle from him and passing him the jar in return. “Are the fumes affecting your hearing too or did you not hear me when I said take it easy for a bit? I’ll grind. You add.”

She’d ignored most of his earlier questions as she’d focused on his injury, but as she settled into the task he had given her, or rather that she’d taken, she reeled off her answers.

“Spell Damage are dealing with the Faux Floo because Cutter conveniently took time off...” She paused for dramatic effect even as she crushed a beetle, “… to be with his new girlfriend. Actually we’re all pitching in to help as there’s so many. James and Mary are in charge currently so you get me. That way you don’t steal our Trainees when they should be learning correct Healing techniques and not just running around with Potions,” she said, glancing at him in wry amusement. “I could do it though, run two Departments…” she mused almost to herself before focusing on her crushing.

“As for Nottingham… I didn’t reply to your texts?” she frowned. “Huh. Sorry. I thought… I thought I had.” She shrugged apologetically at him. Perhaps her phone was acting up. She did wonder sometimes if all the magical interference it had to deal with affected it at all. Perhaps it was time to get a new one. “It was good though. I found out my birth mother had actually requested my name be Rowena. I always thought my parents had chosen it for me, but they settled with giving me mum’s name as my Middle name. I don’t know how much that helps us but I thought it was interesting.”

She swore under her breath as one of the beetles made a break for it, and she trapped it violently under the pestle, crushing it quickly. “And they’re doing ok. They get tired quickly so we just…” there was a pause as she thought, “…we drank lots of tea and I went out for a few rides.” Another thought occurred to her and she smirked up at her boyfriend as she finished crushing the last beetle. “When are you going to let me take you out for a ride by the way?”

[Max Kameren]

“We need to grind six. One at a time, or they like to jump around. I grind, you add. Is that alright?”

“Urm, no,” she said firmly, taking the pestle from him and passing him the jar in return. “Are the fumes affecting your hearing too or did you not hear me when I said take it easy for a bit? I’ll grind. You add.”

Max threw his hands up in exasperation. “Fine! I’ll do the bugs.” He actually hated the orange beetles, but they were integral to the paste. He usually pushed the task of Burn Healing Pastes off on Jackson to avoid having to wrangle the bitey little blighters. He nestled the large jar into his elbow to get the leverage to open it, wincing as he unscrewed the lid with his swollen hand.

As they went Max watched his girlfriend approvingly as she worked; Rowena was really better at potions than she let on. It should have figured to Max before that to Ro, not exemplary at a subject meant she was hopeless at it. Maybe it was the sleep deprivation but Max zoned into watching Rowena work, only snapping out of it when he was bit by a beetle. He started, dropping the next one into the bowl a bit more forcefully with the pain of the bite.

“…to be with his new girlfriend. Actually we’re all pitching in to help as there’s so many. James and Mary are in charge currently so you get me. […] I could do it though, run two Departments…”

“Sure, you take on a second department and maybe then Milton can hire a third Potions Master.” Max smirked. He and Jackson had been alternating 12-hour shifts the last few days, but that left the hospital with only one potioneer on duty at once. Max had been staying on the premises to back up Jackson when he needed it, but with his new wife at home Jackson couldn’t commit the same time. It was a great excuse; with Max’s significant other also nearly living at the hospital he couldn’t make the same claim. Max checked his watch as the thought occurred to him: with any luck, Jackson would actually be on his way in at any minute.

“As for Nottingham… I didn’t reply to your texts?” she frowned. “Huh. Sorry. I thought… I thought I had.” She shrugged apologetically at him. “It was good though. I found out my birth mother had actually requested my name be Rowena. I always thought my parents had chosen it for me, but they settled with giving me mum’s name as my Middle name. I don’t know how much that helps us but I thought it was interesting.”

“Huh, interesting. Maybe she was a Ravenclaw?” Max shrugged as he reached in for the last beetle. “Wanted you names for her Hogwarts house? Might be worth searching her name in the Hogwarts alumni registry. How are your parents?” A grin lit up Max’s face as Rowena caught the errant beetle under the pestle. “Nice shot!”

“And they’re doing ok. They get tired quickly so we just…” there was a pause as she thought, “…we drank lots of tea and I went out for a few rides.” Another thought occurred to her and she smirked up at her boyfriend as she finished crushing the last beetle. “When are you going to let me take you out for a ride by the way?”

Max snorted as he replaced the lid on the jar and put it back on the shelf. “Well I mean, I get off-shift any minute but I think with the Faux Floo we won’t be able to find an empty bed to – Oh, you mean horses?” His smiled widened at the look she gave him and he took the pestle from her with a hoarse laugh. He kissed her on the cheek as he swung past her back to the cauldron full of cooled paste. With a wave of his hand Max sent out sparks for a healer to come take the cauldron while he set up a fresh one for the new batch. “I dunno, I’ve never ridden a horse before. No abundant opportunities growing up in London. What could go wrong?”

A small knock sounded at the door and Max opened it with a wave of his hand to reveal the bald-headed silhouette of Healer Carver in the smoke. The older healer coughed, waving his hand in front his face as he entered. “Wotcher, Kameren. Got that Pustule Potion for me?” He spied Rowena in the smoke and nodded at her with a friendly smile in greeting.

“You were supposed to pick it up an hour ago.”

“Sorry. Busy day.” Carver smiled, but bowed his head when he was met with the Potions Master’s critical green gaze. “The blue one, right?”

“Yes, it only keeps forty-five minutes after you bottle it so bring the cauldron with you and keep it smoking in your office if you need it longer.” Max missed the Department Head’s deflated sigh as he levitated the smoking cauldron as per his instructions.

“Ro, bring me the artificial mucus on top of that file cabinet please?” Max picked up the mortar and carried it to the warming cauldron as Carver left. With another wave of his hand the small window in the center of the apartment opened and the smoke finally began to ease. “We’ll add that and a half-gallon of water, let it boil down and have our paste.”

[Rowena Jones]

Max snorted as he replaced the lid on the jar and put it back on the shelf. “Well I mean, I get off-shift any minute but I think with the Faux Floo we won’t be able to find an empty bed to – Oh, you mean horses?”

Rowena’s face had flushed darker with every word and she scowled up at him as he grinned, swooping down to kiss her cheek and laughing at her expression.

“Oh you wish Kameren! That’s not even close to what I meant and you knew it.” She said reproachfully before being unable to keep her own grin from escaping and adding, “I finish in three hours though? Come to mine at 8, we could get takeaway? Thai?” She’d missed spending time with Max outside work over the past few days, time where they could just focus on themselves, and not be constantly interrupted by one emergency or the other. “… and I have several empty beds…” she added, smirking.

“I dunno, I’ve never ridden a horse before. No abundant opportunities growing up in London. What could go wrong?”

She shrugged with a light laugh. “I’d say we’d start you off on a pony but I think your height might be an issue,” she said grinning at the imagery. She was going to continue when a small knock sounded at the door and Max opened it with a wave of his hand to reveal the bald-headed silhouette of Healer Carver in the smoke. Rowena smiled in return even as she groaned mentally. How long would it take before news went around the hospital that Rowena and Max had been having private time in his office? Somehow she didn’t think the obvious fact they were working would factor.

She sighed, unconsciously scratching at her arm as the men chatted about Potions, blinking back an unexpected wave of exhaustion. She’d only been working for seven hours, and Milton, for one of his strange and unknown reasons had given her a much lighter than usual schedule this week. Rowena wondered if it was to do with the previous week’s events and usually would have protested more strongly, but as she did have a ton of personal research to do so she had decided to let it slide. This time.

It had actually been kind of nice to have a bit more time at home with the cats and focus a little more on herself. For the first time, she’d wondered if that was what people had been trying to tell her for years but as nice as it was for now, she knew she’d get bored quickly. Plus she missed the hectic halls of Mungos if she was away for more than 24 hours. It was her second home after all.

“Ro, bring me the artificial mucus on top of that file cabinet please? We’ll add that and a half-gallon of water, let it boil down and have our paste.”

She was so absorbed in her train of thought that she almost didn’t hear her boyfriend. She looked up with a start.

“Sorry,” she said even as she went to fetch the requested item and then pass it to him. Rowena stepped back as Max finished off the paste as another yawn escaped her. Maybe leaving the action in the Ward had been a mistake. She’d relaxed a little for all of two minutes and her body was deciding to fall asleep.

There was another knock on the door and Rowena huffed in amusement. Who knew Max’s office was so popular? Bryn’s head popped around the door, his eyes tightly shut. She frowned, wondering what on Earth he was doing.

“SorryifI’minterruptingbutyou’reneededHealerCovington,” the newly promoted Healer said in one breath, one eye slowly opening before he let out a sigh of relief at the scene in front of him and moved further into the office. “More have just been admitted and Mary is asking for you.” He clarified flushing under Rowena’s incredulous look. Had he really come in here assuming Max and her were…? She blinked, shaking her head in a mixture of despair and amazement.

“Ok, we’re done here anyway right Max? We can take that first lot since it sounds like everyone else will be too busy to come and get it and you bring the second when it’s finished?” she answered, moving towards her Assistant and indicating the batch of Burn Paste. “We’ll just have to hope it’ll be enough.”

They quickly gathered what they needed, and with a quick parting smile in Max’s direction, Rowena and Bryn left the room and headed towards the Ward, crossing paths with Jackson on the way.

[Max Kameren]

Max smirked up at his girlfriend when he felt her embarrassment at being ‘discovered’ in his office. At least in Max’s circle of the hospital they were well past the ‘will they, won’t they’ speculative rumors that had plagued them a few weeks ago. They will. Well, they had. When it was essentially confirmed that yes, Max Kameren did have a crush on Rowena Covington for him the rumors stopped. apparently she hadn’t been so lucky.

That point was proven with a knock on the door and both healers looked up to see Bryn covering his eyes. What was with these healers? Max rolled his eyes, shaking his head as he mixed the paste with a paddle in the cauldron. “For Merlin’s sake, Bryn, we’re working.”

“SorryifI’minterruptingbutyou’reneededHealerCovington,” the newly promoted Healer said in one breath, one eye slowly opening before he let out a sigh of relief at the scene in front of him and moved further into the office. “More have just been admitted and Mary is asking for you.”

“Ok, we’re done here anyway right Max? We can take that first lot since it sounds like everyone else will be too busy to come and get it and you bring the second when it’s finished?” Max nodded, his eyes scanning the other two cauldrons bubbling as he mixed the paste. “We’ll just have to hope it’ll be enough.” 

“Don’t waste it! This batch will be a while.” Max looked over his shoulder to watch the healers leave. He sighed; they would, he knew. They always did. He had barely resumed his work when Jackson stormed through the door with a flourish of his robes.

“Maxwell! Passed by your girlfriend on my way in, did Bryn have to come pull you off each other?!”

“You should can that joke right now if you don’t want to be charmed to the floor again,” Max replied immediately, glancing over at his friend with a wry smile. What was with everyone today? “Start the set up for a new batch of burn healing paste, the Faux Floo started today.”

“‘Course it fucking did. New hires can’t come soon enough.” Jackson groaned and jumped into the fray, picking up ingredients and adding them to the empty mortar. “Can you run for me?”

Max agreed and while the paste boiled down he ran around the hospital, bottling and delivering potions to hospital wards while Jackson took over brewing duties. The last potion on his list to deliver was the paste.

When it was finally cooled Max levitated the cauldron and bid Jackson farewell, moving carefully through the halls with the cauldron in front of him. He was apparently perfectly on-time; the previous batch run out just as he stepped in the doorway.

[Rowena Jones]

As they turned into the Ward, Rowena was met by a scene of horror. Witches and Wizards moaning and groaning everywhere, burns all over their bodies from fires that had not actually been tamed by proper Floo powder. How had this Faux Floo gotten out of control so quickly? Why hadn’t the Ministry stepped in to control this quicker? What was the point of the FNA when they let mayhem like this occur? Sometimes, Rowena swore it felt like the majority of the Wizarding population was completely inept at their jobs.

“Oh is that the Paste?” Mary came towards them, loose tendrils of hair flying into her face adding to her frazzled but hopeful expression.

Rowena nodded, inwardly cursing Cutter for being absent during this day of all days. “Ok Bryn. Back to work. You take that side, I’ll take care of these ones.”

Her assistant nodded, scurrying over to his designated patients and getting to work. Rowena followed suit, examining each one and smearing paste on burn after burn after burn. It was tedious work, going back to the Cauldron to fill up on more paste and then treating each patient. Most were suffering minor scalds, their bodies having sensed that the flames had still been true fire before jumping straight in and only suffering blistering on the body parts that had gotten to close, but there was the occasional hand that needed dead skin peeled back before she could apply the paste.

She had no idea how much time had passed but to Rowena it seemed all too quickly they were looking in despair at the rapidly emptying cauldron. Where was Max with the next batch? They’d made a large dent into the number of patients, and luckily it seemed the FNA had caught onto the Faux Floo and put a stop to it, meaning the number of patients being admitted was slowing but there were still many more and Rowena wasn’t even sure one more cauldron would be enough.

As if summoned by her thought, Max appeared in the doorway and she beckoned him over urgently.
“Thank you thank you thank you,” she said, resisting the urge to reach up and kiss him in thanks. Instead she checked her watch and frowned. “Weren’t you supposed to go home over an hour ago?” Her own shift was supposed to be over in less than two hours, though if they didn’t get this situation under control, everyone would be staying overtime.

There was a strangled sounding yelp and Rowena whirled to look at Bryn who was staring at the newest patient to have been admitted, eyes wide as he examined the mess of burnt flesh that faced him. Oh no, they had a Jumper. It was rare that the Faux Floo gave them more than just surface burns, but once in a blue moon, there would be some person to whom the heat of the fire would not register and they would jump straight into the flames. The results were never pretty.

Rowena grabbed a generous amount of Paste from the newest batch and quickly made her way over to her Assistant who was clearly panicking at the work in front of him.

“Bryn. Bryn! Breathe. You know how to do your job. Do it.” She chided gently, though her amber gaze remained firm as she herself examined the patient.

“Ok Bryn, first step?” she said encouragingly, and Bryn took a deep breath before turning to the burnt Wizard.

[Max Kameren]

Max entered a scene of pure chaos in the Emergencies ward; there were more patients than there were rooms for them to be booked into. People lined the hallways, sitting on gurneys and waiting to be treated. The sickly smell of smoke and burning skin and hair permeated the room and the paste Max carried only accentuated it. The unruliness of the ward was somehow worse in Max’s head, where the auras around him prodded him with pain and fear. The panic of the overworked healers harmonized in a sick chorus that left Max searching nervously for a way out. He grit his teeth and squared his shoulders, baring the weight of the auras to get his job done.

As if summoned by her thought, Max appeared in the doorway and she beckoned him over urgently. “Thank you thank you thank you,” she said, resisting the urge to reach up and kiss him in thanks. Somehow Max had fallen into the strange pause of where their kiss would have been and they stared awkwardly at each other. It didn’t go unnoticed by one of the healers, who smiled in amusement. “Weren’t you supposed to go home over an hour ago?”

“My shift ended an hour ago, but going home is a different matter.” Max said. He figured he’d just work until Rowena was ready to go, or he’d risk falling asleep at home and miss getting to see her. With a shrug he let the levitation spell end and hefted the full cauldron onto the workstation manually. Instinctually he began taking dishes for administering the paste and loading them up, handing them off to healers when they wandered over. “Jack needed help.”

Max jumped as his empathy spiked with the emergence of a new patient. An involuntary shudder shivered up Max’s spine. He didn’t have to look; the residual pain of the patient’s aura was all he needed. They had a bad one. Rowena rushed over with a large dab of paste and Max followed, pulling a bottle of numbing potion for good measure.

“Bryn. Bryn! Breathe. You know how to do your job. Do it.” Rowena’s assistant was a white-hot ball of tension. Max stood at the bed quietly, watching with a sympathetic smile. Bryn was a good healer; it was natural for the first gristly case to take a toll. “Ok Bryn, first step?” she said encouragingly, and Bryn took a deep breath before turning to the burnt Wizard.

Clnk. Max quietly knocked the potion against the foot of the bed, the shadow of a smile playing at his lips as his emerald eyes met Bryn’s. With a patient with such significant burns already in this amount of pain, numbing would be foremost. They would have to peel back skin for the paste to heal properly; it would already be a disturbing sight for their poor patient, he didn’t also need to feel it.

Bryn nodded in thanks and held out a hand for Max to pass off the potion. “Excuse me… Sir,” Bryn’s eyes examined the patient’s clothing to try to get a better picture of their gender, “Can you open your mouth? Can you swallow?”

“Y – Yes…” The patient hissed out the side of his mouth. Oh, thank Merlin they were a Sir. Mustn’t have awkward misgendering on top of their tricky situation.

“Good.” Anxiety seemed to leave Bryn with his breath as he unstoppered the Numbing Potion’s bottle and administered it carefully into the burn patient’s half-open mouth. They waited a few moments for the potion to take hold before proceeding. Bryn took another deep breath; Max watched on in approval as he calmed himself. “Next step…”

Bryn’s hand found a scalpel and the patient’s aura spiked when he caught a view of its sharp blade gleaming in the light. Max jumped, turning his back to the bed and leaning into Rowena. “Nope, can’t do this. I’ll be administering paste if you need me.” He cringed as he felt the patient’s panic at the first cut and hurried away, returning to the cauldron to set up paste for the healers.

[Rowena Jones]

Rowena watched, pleased at how much progress Bryn had made in the past few years under her guidance. He had come on in leaps and bounds just in the past few months, his happy enthusiasm toning down just enough for him to realize when it was truly needed and when to be more focused. Today needed to be pure focus and he was managing well. She smiled up at Max in pleasure as Bryn administered the Numbing Potion, her grin turning into a frown of concern as Max leaned into her. Oh.

“Nope, can’t do this. I’ll be administering paste if you need me.”

Max was so good at hiding the effects of his powers sometimes, that she forgot that some cases were just too much. She missed his presence immediately and chided herself just as quickly on her attachment. Someday soon, she was going to have to have a firm chat with herself over just how much Max had grown to mean to her. They had not been together long enough for her to feel the things she did and if the darkness they both suspected was coming, did arrive, the way she felt would possibly prove to be more harmful than anything else.

She returned her focus to Bryn who was muttering under his breath as he sliced through the burnt flesh to reveal the pink newness of skin that wasn’t quite ready to see light yet. “Ok Bryn,” she said stepping in. “Apply the paste to the areas you’ve done before you continue with the rest. It’s better to do each part separately and slowly to give everyone involved a break.”

Bryn nodded in thanks as she passed over the Paste and Rowena took a step back again to observe for a few more minutes. “Great. Ok, I’m going to try and make a dent with the others. If you need help, just let me know.”

“Thanks Healer Covington,” Bryn said.

“Oh I think you can call me Rowena now,” she said with a smile. “Healer Covington is such a mouthful.” Since Max had come into her life, not as an annoyance but as a friend, she had started to note the benefits of letting her work colleagues a little further into her personal life. And she liked Bryn. He reminded her of her of the joy she found in Healing.

But speaking of personal life, if she wanted one, she needed to get to work. She grinned at Max as she grabbed some more Paste and threw herself back into treating the numerous patients. Slowly, the numbers lessened, the crowd thinning and some sense of normalcy returning as finally the end was in sight.

She’d forgotten about Bryn and his patient while she’d worked but now as she finished up with a young woman and her burnt foot, she glanced up to look for him, wincing as she also noticed the time. Ten past 8. Her own shift had finished.