Good For Everything

Chapter Ten: Functions and Conjunctions

Severus smelled the typical scent of the sterile environment hitting his nostrils as soon as being coherent was deemed appropriate, and slowly felt his eyes fluttering for a moment before they eased open. The room around him was blurry for a moment, likely due from lack of use of his eyes, but, after blinking a few times, the fog seemed to clear, and he realized where he was. He figured out that he was sitting in a hospital room, due to the scent and the sights around him, but one thing that he was surprised about was the feeling of something wrapped around his right wrist and, upon looking down, saw that he was handcuffed to the bed.

The door opened shortly thereafter, and a woman with brown hair, pulled back into a reserved bun, looked him over before stepping forward. "Ah, Mr. Snape, you're awake," she said, and came closer, inspecting his chart. "I'm Helga, your nurse. Can I get you anything?"

"W...Water," Severus managed to get out, his voice groggy.

"Yes, that would make sense," the woman called Helga replied with a nod, and marked something in his chart before getting him the water. She held the cup against his lips and gently tipped it backwards, and Severus worked double time to swallow, his throat slightly raw, due to the inner-workings being sore.

"What day is it?" Severus whispered, as soon as he had drunk his full.

"Monday, the eighteenth of May," replied Helena brightly, tossing away the cup and moving back to Severus's chart. "You've been in a coma for five weeks and two days."

Severus managed to push himself into a sitting position, and Helga rushed forward, promptly fluffing up his pillows and making sure that he was comfortable. "What about the other young men I was admitted with?" he asked.

"Mr. Malfoy is doing quite well, and was released from hospital a fortnight ago, but I am not at liberty to discuss anything further," Helga told him honestly. "As for young Mr. Black, he was justifiably shaken up due to the ordeal, but was not injured physically."

Severus nodded, relieved that he seemed to have gotten the worst of it. "That's a relief," he said as Helga went towards the phone beside his bed, and keyed in some sort of code, before she picked it up. "Yes, cafeteria? This is Nurse Hufflepuff," she said into the receiver. "Please send up some chicken consommé to room 326," she said into the phone. "Patient name is Severus Tobias Snape. Thank you," she said, and set the phone back down into the receiver. "Dr. Hopkirk shall be up here shortly, Mr. Snape, to check you over," Nurse Hufflepuff went on with a small smile. "Is there anything else you needed?"

"Yes," he replied. "Why am I handcuffed to the bed?" he asked.

Nurse Hufflepuff sighed. "That, I'm afraid, is a rather complex question..."

Severus sighed, leaning back upon his pillows. "Of course it is," he muttered, but didn't seek out Nurse Hufflepuff for anything further. It wasn't long before an orderly arrived with a tray of steaming chicken consommé, and a small pitcher of water, which Nurse Hufflepuff took as her cue to retrieve a glass for him. Severus was permitted to move just so in an effort to feed himself, which he just managed to do. He only managed about half the bowl, although it was rather delicious, until a middle-aged woman with pale brown hair and a rather pointed face entered his hospital room, and Nurse Hufflepuff left.

"Ah, Mr. Snape, so wonderful to have you back with us," the new woman said. "I'm Dr. Hopkirk, and it's a pleasure to meet you at last. Let's check your vital signs, shall we?" Her question went unanswered as she stepped forward and got to work and, once she had completed her task, added her thoughts to Severus's patient chart. "Yes, your sight seems to be back in working order, and you've managed to eat a fair amount of your first meal, meaning that your digestive tract hasn't atrophied completely. We'll have you up and walking soon enough, as we'll need to make sure to strengthen your muscles accordingly..."