Summer Rain

Chapter 18

Later that evening, Draco and Remus were back at Harry's side. Draco dozed in his chair lightly with his head on Remus's shoulder, while Remus read a book.

Remus closed his book and shook Draco's arm gently to wake him. Draco woke abruptly and looked around in confusion. "What? What's going on? Is he awake?!" Draco cried, but a frantic glance at Harry's bed told him there was no change. "He's not awake," Draco said dejectedly as his shoulders slumped and his hair fell into his eyes. He swatted it away angrily and turned in his chair to glare at the wall.

"Draco, go home, son. Get some sleep. You're obviously exhausted; you've been napping for over an hour now. I don't think there will be a change tonight," Remus urged. Draco raked his fingers through his hair and yawned.

"I'll just stay a bit longer," Draco decided. "You... you don't know for sure that there will be no change..." Draco glanced at Remus out of the corner of his eye. "I'm going to take that potion you gave me when I go to bed anyway, so I'll sleep when I eventually get there."

"You're right, I don't know, as you have politely reminded me numerous times this past week," Remus patted Draco's knee. "But that doesn't change the fact you look like you're about to collapse in exhaustion at any moment. Your appearance is enough to frighten Harry into another coma," Remus joked lightly.

"Oh, thanks very much," Draco snorted. "You don't look so smashing yourself."

"Hmm, you got me there." Remus chuckled. "I, however, tend to look like this all the time. You, on the other hand, are a successful fashion model who rarely has a hair out of place. I'm sure your agent would be a quivering mess if he saw you now."

"I don't have an agent now, and I'm not a model anymore," Draco mumbled and sighed.

"So, you don't think you should get some rest and tidy up so you look better when Harry wakes up?" Remus prodded.

"Harry likes me rumpled," Draco sniffed, feeling a little tearful again, "he told me so."

"Oh, they call it 'rumpled' now, do they?" Remus smiled. "It was 'thoroughly shagged' in my day." Draco laughed softly, grateful for Remus's subtle sense of humour. "I'm not going to win this one, am I? You have no intentions of going back to Ron and Hermione's any time soon, do you?" Draco gave Remus a slow, sidelong glance and shook his head.

"I don't feel like leaving him just now," Draco told Remus.

"Will you at least eat?" Remus reached down and pulled an apple from a plastic bag beside his chair and handed it to Draco. Draco took it grudgingly and had a small bite; it was a fresh, juicy apple but felt like sawdust in Draco's mouth. He ate as much of it as he could manage and then stood up.

"I'm going to find a bin and go to the toilet," Draco said and took some steps towards the door.

It was then that a sharp, unfamiliar noise came from one of Harry's machines and Draco whipped around in fright. "What the hell was that?" he cried and stumbled to Harry's side. The nurses on duty heard the sound too and came rushing over.

"Please wait over by the nurses' station," the male nurse said firmly and ushered them out of the cubicle. Draco watched as he started pushing some buttons on one of the machines while the female nurse bent over Harry to examine him.

"He's responding!" she cried. "Quickly, help me remove the respirator from his mouth, he's choking on it! We'll have to ventilate him nasally!" Remus held Draco back as he tried to push his way back into Harry's room while the two nurses kept barking instructions at each other.

"Let them help him, Draco," Remus said calmly, leading Draco over to the nurses' station. Two more nurses and a doctor raced into the ICU and over to Harry. The door swung closed behind them and the blinds were quickly snapped shut, but the flurry of activity and voices were audible.

"Oh god, what's happening?" Draco moaned. He rubbed the back of his neck anxiously and started pacing.

It must have been about half an hour before the doctor emerged from Harry's cubicle. The nurses followed and dispersed throughout the ward. The doctor was one Draco hadn't seen before and he came over to Remus and Draco.

"May I ask if one of you is Draco?" he asked. Draco stepped forward.

"Me! Tell me what's going on! What's wrong with him? Is he ok?" Draco grabbed the doctor's coat sleeve. The doctor patted Draco's hand and Draco realised his place and pulled back.

"He's awake, and he's asking for you." The doctor smiled. "Keep it brief, he's still very groggy and disoriented and we have him heavily medicated."

Draco practically threw himself into Harry's cubicle while Remus continued to talk softly to the doctor. Harry's eyes were closed but he opened them slowly when he felt someone sit on the edge of his bed.

"Draco..." Harry rasped and smiled weakly. Draco stroked the back of Harry's hand and caressed his cheek.

"Oh, baby you have no idea how good it is to see your eyes! I love you so much!" Draco sobbed before he could stop himself. He didn't want to upset Harry but the relief was overwhelming. "Oh god, you're ok! I was so scared! You've been... just... oh god!" Draco lay his head down on Harry's chest and cried out all the pent up emotions he hid away since Harry's accident. Harry patted him softly on the head with his finger tips, which was about the only comfort he could offer without sending pain through some part of his body or another.

"Are you ok, honey?" Harry slurred, he could feel the medication working to try and put him to sleep again. Draco sat up and wiped his eyes.

"I'm ok now. Sorry. I'm just so happy to see you finally awake!" Draco sniffled and then gave a watery smile to Harry. "What's the last thing you remember?" Harry cleared his dry throat.

"Um, leaving the Weasleys..." Harry's eyes narrowed in thought. "I... I think... I can't really remember much. I, um... I don't remember much of the talk with the Weasleys either... did I fight with them?" Draco put a shaky hand up to his mouth.

"Ron said you did," Draco told him tentatively.

"I remember feeling angry... and upset." Harry wet his lips and sighed, then winced when it hurt his ribs. "I can remember screaming at Ginny, but not what I said..."

"Shhh, baby, don't think on it too much now," Draco placed his hand lovingly on Harry's cheek. "Your mind is fuzzy; things will probably come back as you get better."

"How long have I been asleep?" Harry murmured. "They told me I had an accident just now, and had an operation but nothing else. I couldn't really concentrate on what they were telling me anyway."

"It's been a week, baby. You've been in a coma for a week," Draco told him.

"Oh," Harry said and blinked slowly. "Sorry."

"Sorry? Harry, stop fucking apologising!" Draco snapped, his exhaustion catching up with him. "A drunk driver crashed into you! This time, nothing is your fault!"

"I didn't mean to upset you, Draco..." Harry whispered hoarsely.

"It's ok. I'm sorry for snapping, babe. I'm just so tired. I've had trouble sleeping since your accident. I just hate to see you blame yourself for everything. It was someone else's fault this time, and I don't want to hear anymore about it," Draco said softly.

"Draco, I'm tired. Promise me," Harry touched Draco's fingers, "to go home and get some sleep. You look like shit." Draco laughed as Harry smiled weakly before his eyes slipped shut and he fell into a medication-induced sleep again. Draco kissed Harry's uninjured cheek and found himself reluctant to leave.

o o o o o

Draco muttered the password to Ron and Hermione's front door and dragged himself into their home, rubbing his head gingerly. He knew he was exhausted, he just didn't realise how much until he Apparated right into the side of their house and managed to give himself a spectacular bump on the forehead.

"Who's there?" Hermione's voice called from somewhere in the direction of the kitchen. She appeared a few moments later with Melody on her hip. "Draco! What --?"

"He woke up." Draco smiled tiredly and ruffled the little girl's hair, who was reaching out with her chubby little fingers to get to Draco. She had really taken a liking to Draco, and had no interest in her parents if he was there.

"Oh Draco! Thank god!" Hermione placed a hand over her chest and sighed in relief. She gave Draco a one-armed hug. "How is he?"

"Very groggy and disoriented and still drugged up to the eyeballs, obviously. The doctor said he will be in pain for a few weeks to come yet. He woke up long enough to tell me that I look like shit and should go home for some rest." Draco wandered through to their living room and sank down onto their soft couch with a contented sigh. "I'm completely knackered."

"You should try to eat something before you sleep. I'll make you anything, what do you want?" Hermione asked and set Melody down in her playpen. "Don't tell me you're fine and not to go to any trouble either, otherwise I'll slap you." Draco laughed softly at her and held up his hands in surrender.

"Ok, ok! I'll admit I feel much better now that Harry has woken and I am a little hungry. Maybe a sandwich or something?" Draco suggested, crossing his legs and settling further back amongst the cushions.

"Alright, but don't fall asleep before I come back. I'll force-feed you if necessary," Hermione warned and Draco smirked, knowing she would do just that if it came to it.

"Your goddaddy woke up, darling. I bet he'll be mighty happy to see you," Draco cooed to the small child. Melody stood up in her playpen and reached over the edge towards Draco.

"Co! Co!" she cried. Draco smiled at the name Melody had picked up for him and reached out and took her fingers. She immediately grabbed his hand and shoved his index finger in her mouth. Draco winced as baby saliva trickled down the back of his hand.

Hermione came back and saw the look on Draco's face and laughed. "I'm so sorry. She's teething again and just about anything will go in her mouth." Draco chuckled.

"And there I was thinking I just tasted nice," Draco commented and pulled his hand back and wiped it on his trousers. Hermione handed him a salad sandwich and placed a glass of orange juice on the coffee table next to him. "Thanks. Where's Ron?"

"Fred and George roped him in to doing a stock-take with them at their shop. He needed a distraction from worrying about Harry, so I told him to go. I will ring him soon and tell him Harry is awake. We'll go see him first thing in the morning. Did the staff say anything about Harry's condition?" Hermione asked as Draco swallowed him first bite of sandwich.

"They said he's healing well and now that he's wake they'll give him all those immunisations. The surgery wounds are also healing quickly, and the doctor told Remus and I just before I left that as soon as Harry is stronger physically, they will try to get him up and walking. They said it's a little too soon to know anything for certain, but their tentative thoughts are that he'll be confined to the bed rest temporarily until he recovers a bit more, and then he'll be allowed to be up and about using a wheelchair. They did the best job they could on his knee, but the swelling is taking longer than usual to recede so he will limp even once he's recovered. He's not going to be able to walk for the next few weeks and they're also pretty certain now that Harry will need a walking stick indefinitely, at least when there is pain. Obviously there will be a lot of physiotherapy and pain management. They don't like to let the muscles lay dormant for too long and the doctor said they are going to work him hard, but they're confident he'll recover fully other than the limp." Draco relayed what he could remember of what the doctor had told them after Harry had fallen asleep again.

"When will he be able to be released from hospital?"

"It's too soon to be sure, apparently. He may have complications and such. But the doctor said if all goes well, he'll probably be allowed out in about six weeks. They like to keep motor accident victims in their rehab ward for about that long." Draco finished off his sandwich and took a drink of juice. "He's going to hate it."

"Hmm, that's just what I was thinking," Hermione said wryly. "I wonder what he'll do about work?" Draco looked away when she gave him a questioning look. "What?"

"I think there might be a chance he won't go back to work right away, Hermione," Draco confided in her. He wasn't going to tell her about Australia, but he felt she should know that there may be a possibility that things wouldn't go back to how they were. She studied him for a few moments before nodding.

"I suppose you're right. This has probably given him a bit of a wake up call. He's a brilliant mediwizard, but I know he's never been completely settled at St Mungos," Hermione mused. "Here, I'll take your plate." Draco handed his plate to her and she took it through to the kitchen.

"Lucas came to see him today," Draco told her when she came back.

"Oh," Hermione said in surprise and raised her eyebrows. "Was it a disaster?"

"It potentially could have been. He was very accusatory and defensive and determined to put me in my place. But I just told him I wasn't going to argue at Harry's bedside. I told him he needed to respect Harry's choice and move on otherwise he'd only upset Harry and become bitter himself." Draco yawned and shifted to lie down on the couch.

"It was probably for the best, anyway," Hermione sighed. "He is a lovely guy, though. It's a shame he had to get hurt."

"Yeah, but he deserves to be with someone who can give themselves completely to him," Draco said wisely.

"And Harry never had all of himself to give because part of him always belonged to you?" Hermione smiled. Draco snorted.

"At the risk of sounding like a sappy romance novel, yes." Draco smirked and then his face fell again. "There's something else too, which I'm not sure is good or bad thing."

"Oh?"

"He doesn't remember the argument with the Weasleys," Draco told her and she frowned. "He says he remembers yelling at Ginny and feeling upset and angry, but nothing else."

"Did he say what his feelings were towards them now?" Hermione asked.

"I didn't question him about it. He was so groggy and confused, he didn't even take in what the doctor was telling him," Draco said.

"But he obviously doesn't forget the reason he went to the Weasleys in the first place," Hermione pointed out. "It's all going to take time, Draco. It wasn't just a little knock on the head. You don't need me to tell you he nearly died in that crash. Of course his head is going to be fuzzy after being asleep for a week. I think it's too soon to worry if he's lost part of his memory; it's not uncommon a person who has had a head injury to forget some of the events immediately prior to the accident."

"I know," Draco answered. "I know all that. That's not what's bothering me... I'm just worried that if Harry can't remember his argument with the Weasleys that he will have to go through all that grief again. It's just not fair..." Draco dropped his head back against the armrest and rubbed his eyes.

"Draco, don't give yourself stress prematurely. Get a good night sleep, and then you can speak with Harry's doctors with a clear head and find out Harry's situation from a professional rather than speculating,"

"Hmmm," Draco murmured. "I think I'll just have a shower and go to bed."

"I'll get you a towel," Hermione offered and went off towards the bedrooms.

By the time she returned, Draco was fast asleep. She smiled down at him and covered him with one of Melody's blankets before picking the little girl up and switching the lights out as she left the room.