Fire in Her Eyes - Charlie Weasley

Chapter 10 - The City

Kai woke up disoriented, but no longer in searing pain. She opened her eyes to too bright sunlight streaming through the window, and closed her eyes to give herself time to adjust. She checked her mental barrier and felt it strongly in place. She let out a breath of relief. Now she could sense the animals within her radius, but they weren't overpowering her.

She sat up and looked around. She was in a simple hotel room, laying on a bed and saw Charlie was sitting on the couch reading a book.

"Hey you're up," he gently set the book down and walked over to her. "Are you ok? What happened?" Concern laced his face as he sat next to her on the bed. She scrambled to think of an explanation for her behavior, knowing that this type of weakness could be something he considered dangerous and a reason to fire her for. If she couldn't even handle apparation, what would happen if some of his trainers were stuck in the field and she needed to go there to help them?

"How long was I out?" She frowned, deciding to purposely ignore his question. She needed some time to think about what she was going to say.

"About two hours. When you couldn't really walk, I brought you here. What happened?" He re-asked the question pointedly.

"I don't really know," she shrugged nonchalantly while avoiding his eyes. There was a possibility she would cave if she looked directly at him. Or worse, he would see right through her with that intimidating stare, that never missed the tiniest of details.

He raised an eyebrow. "Please don't lie to me," his low voice demanded softly. It wasn't one of complete authority. It was mixed concern, but the expectation of an explanation was still there.

Kai sighed, playing with the fabric of the comforter, "I just don't always do well with magical travel." She still couldn't meet his eyes.

"You didn't get splinched. I checked and made sure. I was terrified that you got hurt because of me," Charlie shook his head in disbelief and put his head in his hands.

"No," she reassured him. She wanted to reach out and grab his hand but thought better of it. Physical contact with him would be too much for her right now. She looked down and folded her hands in her lap. "I didn't eat breakfast and didn't sleep well and it just sucked that's all." The half truth was all she could give him right now.

He breathed out in relief. She watched his face relax and his eyes met hers. Kai had never seen him look so worried, let alone abut her. She sat up straighter on the bed and swung her legs off the side, sitting next to him.

"Alright," she groaned, standing up. "Let's get work out of the way so we can have some fun." She smiled at Charlie and held her hand out, helping him stand up, shocks radiating from where his hand grabbed hers. She was right, physical contact was too much. He had just helped her, and that was a dangerous feeling for her to have. "Really, I'm fine," she reassured him, dropping his hand as if it were a hot coal. He was too close to her and she took a step back so that she couldn't feel his body heat radiating off him anymore. She wanted nothing more than to thank him with her mouth on his, and that was absolutely unacceptable. She was a professional and she would act like it.

Charlie looked her over once more then led the way out the door of the hotel room to the busy street outside. "I figure it's probably best to walk, but it's a bit of a distance. You feeling up for it?" His cautious eyes kept a careful watch on her, checking for any sign of weakness.

"Charlie, I'm fine!" She rolled her eyes as they walked down the road. Kai never ceased to be amazed by the beautiful architecture of Europe. Growing up in the US, she never really got to see this style. It always took her breath away.