Emotional Connection

domesticity

Ashley-Rae knew as soon as she saw Pete that Charlie wasn't giving up so easily on her. She wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing, but it was certainly something. She approached him, not entirely sure what his plan was, showing up at her place of work with no warning, but it must be good if he was willing to travel so many miles. "Pete, you're a long way from home."

Pete grinned, fairly comfortable in the hospital. "I heard you were working here. Wondering how the domesticity is suiting you?"

She gave him a look, pulling out her charts.

"Wondered if you were open to the idea of coming back to Romania."

"Charlie doesn't give up, does he?" She rolled her eyes.

Pete shook his head. "They're going to need someone to take over the hospital once I'm gone anyway.

Ashley stopped sorting her charts for a second, not looking at him. She didn't want to give anything away. "You're leaving?"

"To South Africa," he explained, "to start another sanctuary over there. So, I won wondering-"

"Charlie was wondering."

"We were both wondering," he corrected, giving her a pointed look, "if you wanted the job. You already know how it runs, you know the ins and outs of the hospital better than anyone, maybe even myself, and you have a lot more hands-on experience with the type on injuries you'd see every day, and the type of mass-casualty event you'll be subjected to."

Ashley sighed, shaking her head. "What about James? Or Laura? They're both more than capable of taking it on and have been working there a lot longer than I did. I barely had a year."

Pete forced a smile. "We already asked James, he declined it, saying he doesn't want the stress of paperwork or contracts or something. Laura left about three months ago, after her mother... disappeared." He chose his words very carefully, especially now everything was technically under Voldemort's control. They didn't know who might be listening.

Ashley glanced around, knowing what he was thinking. "If I accept, when would I start? And where would I live? I'm not going back to my old place, that's not happening."

Pete grinned triumphantly. "You could start any time, though I was hoping to be out to South Africa by February. And as for living, you could either take my place, or you could even move into the empty flats above the hospital where Laura used to stay. Does this mean you'll accept?"

Ashley sighed, resting her forehead on her palm. "Maybe. I don't know. Let me just sort some things out here and I'll write to you before the week is up."

Pleased with her answer, Pete nodded, leaving her to actually get on with her work. She looked up to see one of the doctors staring at her. "Can I help you?"

He shrugged, "who was that?"

Ashley turned away, not sure who this person was or even why they were interested. Strangers in a hospital weren't uncommon, but then again, everyone was suspicious these days. "Someone asking if I'd go back to work for him."

"Oh." He still seemed off, but Ashley ignored it, getting back to her patients.

It was strange to her that people thought Voldemort would be interested in the hospital, and even if he was, it would be an interest in higher-profile cases, such as the Longbottoms and the like, people he'd put there himself, rather than the mundane cases the majority were handling. St Mungos wasn't a very high-profile place with a lot of influence like the Ministry, or Hogwarts.

Whatever, she actually had work to be getting on with, even if it was a lot more domestic than what she'd been used to for years.

_

Ashley-Rae hated living alone. She'd always hated it, since that summer she'd spent at Hogwarts when her dad was injured and her mother wasn't home enough to care for her. Being so isolated made her feel... well, isolated.
So when she'd moved away from her dad to London, she'd got herself a pet.

Nothing exotic, but the thought of her father being disappointed in her for having something as mundane as a cat made her smile. It was probably not healthy to think that, but she really loved her kitten.

She made sure she was fed and had water in her bowl, watching her trying to navigate her way around in her tiny body, and relaxed back with a book and a cup of tea, though she couldn't get her mind off going back to Romania.

It had never really been an option for her before now, and though she quite liked her job here in London, she really did miss the chaos and havoc of... well, Romania. Other places as well, but that involved going back to her father, and under no circumstances was she doing that ever again.

Maybe she should give it a go. Even with Charlie there, she would be working full time anyway, twelve-hour shifts were a lot (she might look at changing them if she could get any more Healers there) so she probably wouldn't have time to deal with him. Plus, the living arrangement would make it a lot easier for her to avoid a certain conversation that he was so intent on having at the wedding. Maybe she should, just to feel some sort of excitement in her life again. Callia snuggled between her arm and tummy, settling onto her stomach and purring contentedly.

"What about you, huh? I can't leave you behind. Think you could cope with a move to Romania?" Ashley tickled her under her chin, sighing. She regretted giving herself only until the end of the week to make the decision.