A Marauder's Guide to Falling Forever

Chapter Thirty Three

She must have dosed off. The sound of lowered voices rang through her ears from somewhere down the hallway and she blinked rapidly, her vision in the dim lighting slowly shifting into focus. She scrambled to her feet and made sure that her wand was tucked securely in her back pocket.

She hadn't meant to fall asleep. Despite the fact she told Sirius she had napped earlier in the day, she hadn't. She had been too caught up in her thoughts and sleep had evaded her the entire three hours she attempted to succumb to it. Eventually she gave up and returned to the hospital.

But now that she hadn't managed to sleep she was aware that she was in no better physical condition then Sirius had been when she insisted he go home.

She moved swiftly down the hall and away from Tom's room. As she drew close to the Healers desk, her stiff, guarded posture relaxed when she glimpsed the tall, familiar form of Patrick's sister Rose. She was uttering something to the Healer at the desk, her face a picture of scorn.

"Rose?" Marlene called out to her, trying her best not to raise her voice too loud out of awareness that people in the other rooms were trying to sleep.

Rose looked up from the desk and her scowling face broke out into a glittering smile, "Marlene? What a pleasant surprise! What are you doing here?" Her body was radiating that same mysterious enchantment that seemed to daze anyone that set eyes on her, even in the dim lighting of the dark corridor.

Marlene frowned, surely it was common knowledge that her god father had ended up in the hospital from an accident at the Ministry, where Rose worked, and that Marlene was likely spending time by his side. Especially since Rose was her boss. Or at least had been until Tom was admitted into the ward, and Marlene had sent an owl letting her know that she would be taking an indefinite amount of time off.

"My God father is here. Tom? From the Department of Mysteries."

Her smile faltered, "Oh! Oh I'm so sorry Marlene. I completely forgot. Of course. Things around the Ministry have been very hectic since then. Of course I understand why you weren't able to return to work. My apologies for being so scatterbrained."

Marlene looked around her to the desk. The Healer, a young man that Marlene had never seen before, was sitting aimlessly sorting through paper work and paying them no attention. She looked back to Rose, "What are you doing here? It's late and visiting hours ended an hour ago."

Her smile faltered and the disdain she had been sporting earlier reappeared. "I'm here looking for Patrick. I was just asking Jaron here where he might be, but he has been less than helpful. He showed up after work for dinner, acting strangely and going on about the hospital. Then he just took off."

The sleep tugged on Marlene again and she rubbed at her eyes. Rose looked even more ethereal than usual and she wondered if she were dreaming her presence. Perhaps she hadn't woke at all and was still a slump outside of Tom's room.

But that strong floral scented perfume wafted across the space that separated them, and Marlene realized that Rose was walking towards her. "I'm really worried Marlene," she said. "I noticed that he's been acting funny the last few days, even more so than the last few weeks. Something has been stressing him and I figured it was just regular work stuff. But after tonight – Well I don't know."

"I haven't seen him since six," Marlene replied. "He was off shift then."

An unnatural feeling settled inside her. Patrick had been acting slightly off since Tom had arrived. He was quiet and kept to himself, barely speaking to anyone whenever she was in earshot. And he barely acknowledged her presence, though that could have been due to the fact that Sirius had been with her nearly the entire time they were near one another. And there was the whole, being associated with Rookwood thing...

"Are you sure he isn't here?" Rose asked, her brows coming together, yet no crease lines formed across her forehead. She was just so unnaturally flawless.

"I don't think so..." Marlene felt the lump forming in her throat. She had fallen asleep, so she wasn't entirely certain.

"Is there anyone else here with you? Maybe they might have seen him?"

"No, it's just me." Marlene shook her head.

Rose sighed, appearing frustrated. "What about a break room? Is there one of those around here I could check?"

"It's outside the unit," Marlene replied. Then she gave Rose instructions on how to get there.

"Can you please let him know that I'm here if he shows up?" Rose tucked a strand of her white blonde hair behind her ear, eyes sad and full of worry. "And another thing, Marlene?"

"Hmm?"

"Please be careful. He took your rejection rather hard and I'm not entirely certain he's over it yet." She smiled sadly. "But I need to find him to make sure that everything is okay. You'll let him know, right? That I stopped by."

Marlene nodded her head and Rose glided out of the unit, almost as if she were floating. Marlene felt a surge of unexpected anxiety. Patrick had definitely left work at six, and was not scheduled to work overtime, she was sure of it. He had left the same time Sirius had, and she recalled it vividly because Sirius glared daggers at his retreating figure on his way out of the unit. He had been happy they would not be left alone in his absence. She hurried over to the Healers desk to confirm with the man sitting behind it, still shuffling through papers.

"Did Patrick decide to work a double shift? I was certain he was done working at six and went home." The man didn't look up. It was if he hadn't heard her. "Hello? Did you hear me? Is Patrick here?"

Still nothing. Marlene looked at his name badge and addressed him by his name, "Jaron? Did you hear me?"

At the sound of his name Jaron lifted his head. A dull, faraway look in his eyes made him appear hollow and empty. The lifeless expression on his face didn't settle well with Marlene, and she gave out an involuntary shiver. Still he did not speak.

Something was wrong.

Marlene hurried back down the hallway to Tom's room. She had dosed off momentarily. What if someone had slipped past her while she was unconscious? What if someone had entered into Tom's room and...

Patrick would have known she would be there. He'd known that Sirius had left for the night and that she would be alone. He could easily overpower just her alone if she were to be caught off guard, and perhaps he had merely taken advantage of her exhaustion as she slept outside the room.

She started running. Her footsteps echoed off the walls as she sprinted like the hundred yard dash to the deserted corridor. Skidding to a halt outside Tom's room she pulled out her wand and hesitated on the door knob. Tom had been out cold since the calming draught given to him a few hours prior,  but she still hadn't seen him since the day he had been brought in.

She pushed her anxiety aside. Making sure that Tom was safe was more important than seeing him in his dismembered, battered state. Her hand turned the handle and she moved into the room. The bed at the corner of the room had the figure of a sleeping body and the room was dark, only illuminated slightly by the window that cast the moonlight in through the glass.

She could tell he was breathing by the soft rising of his chest, even apparent in the dark light. She felt a flood of relief and her body relaxed, wand dropping to her side.

But the creak of the door put her back on alert,  and she spun around, arm raised in defense. Nobody should be here except for the Healers and she knew Tom wasn't due for another visit in at least an hour.

The door crawled open, painfully slow. Then a figure stepped through the threshold and Marlene froze.

"Expelliarmus!"