Enclosed

Chapter Thirty-Six: Vulnerable

If Rose thought being in the safe house was suffocating, that was nothing compared to being trapped in the stifling hospital room of St. Mungo's. The room seemed to shrink everyday, closing in tightly. It was even worse when her family refused to give her a second of peace. As soon as one cousin would leave, an aunt would step in the room to keep her company. They'd bring her a book or flowers, filling up the already overflowing table. She didn't have it in her heart to ask them to stop. 

Rose loved her family dearly and she understood their concern, but having them by her side every second of the day was suffocating. Since the first day she'd woken up, Rose hadn't had a second alone with Scorpius. That was nearly a week ago. When he'd come into her room for a chat, someone always managed to interrupt them before they could talk about something more serious than how she was feeling. If she didn't get that moment alone with Scorpius soon, she'd combust. 

The MLE couldn't afford to let Scorpius take days off. They were down 12 Auror's who'd been injured in the battle. The second a Healer cleared him, he was forced back to work to track down the escaped Reformed members. That didn't stop him from visiting Rose every day after his shift ended. 

It was her favorite part of the day.

After a week in St. Mungo's Rose was still in a lot of pain. Healer Afton tried upping the dosage, but found that gave Rose an rash in uncomfortable places. She still wasn't able to walk around without her legs collapsing under her weight. The bleeding on her stomach hadn't completely stopped and she was horrified to discover thick scars on her abdomen.

Each day was slow but she was healing. Afton was certain Rose would make a full recovery, as long as she was diligent with her care plan. Her mother would make sure of that. 

Hermione and Ron were dedicated parents while Rose recovered. They alternated between being at her bedside and Hugo's. Rose tried convincing them to go home and rest, but they refused. There was nothing she could say to get her parents to stop worrying. Hermione slept on the couch in Rose's room, while Ron slept on the one in Hugo's. 

Rose was trying to be empathetic to her parents. She couldn't imagine the stress they'd been under while both their children were in the hospital.

"Mum, I already took that potion this morning." Rose reminded her Mum gently, as Hermione scanned through her chart. 

It was just them in her room today. Hermione stood relentlessly by her bedside, going through her charts, as she did on top of every hour.

"Then why isn't it marked off?" She demanded sternly. "Which healer administered that potion to you? I'd like to have a word with them about their clerical work."

"It's a minor error. The poor Healer was coming off a twelve hour shift and was exhausted. Please don't go getting them fired over a small error."

"This isn't a small error. If another Healer tried to administer you this potion again the side effects are disastrous."

"Then it's a good thing I have you to double check," Rose rested a hand on her Mum's arm, forcing her to set the chart down. 

Hermione did so with pursed lips and began fluffing Rose's pillow. "Have you done your laps today? Afton says you need to try and walk down the hallway a few times a day to try and get strength back to your legs."

"I did two this morning with Roxanne when she came by."

"I'd say it's about time for another one then." Hermione insisted.

Seeing no room to argue, Rose let her Mum help her out of bed. Rose's legs shook. She leaned heavily on her Mum, as she took shaky steps to the door. When they reached the hallway, Rose grasped the railing and let go of her Mum's arm. Sweat formed on the brim of her forehead from the effort. Her abdomen felt like it was trying to tear itself apart with each step she took.