Fury

Fury

Chapter Nineteen

Waiting

Cate woke to the sound of low-pitched arguing. One voice was easily recognizable as George's, and he sounded annoyed and angry. The other took a second; a woman's, she didn't recognize it until she heard the twang of the accent. Muirgan.

Muirgan was whispering furiously, and she could barely make out the words. "If you are her husband, as the nurses out there seem to think, then we do have a problem. She requested asylum...from you!"

George was whispering, too, but his voice held that lazy annoyance that sent shivers up her spine. "And, if you would just listen, I could explain all of that..."

Muirgan cut him off, her drawl extremely thick as she grew angrier. "I don't want to hear it!" she hissed.

Cate pushed herself up. "Perhaps you should, Muirgan. It might help."

George gave her a relieved grin. "You're awake."

Cate smirked. "I should hope so. Otherwise, this is a very odd dream."

George took a step towards the bed, reaching out his hand, but Muirgan inserted herself between the two of them, trying to look threatening. She barely reached George's shoulder, but he still took a step back, looking surprised.

Cate sighed. "Muirgan, its fine. He didn't hurt me."

The other woman turned, raising an eyebrow and glancing pointedly at her side. Cate shook her head. "It's not his fault I was shot."

George winced. "Actually, it might be."

Both women looked at him, Cate confused and Muirgan triumphant. Muirgan pointed at the door, saying, "Now, get out!"

Cate grabbed the back of Muirgan's shirt. "No. George stays." She looked in his eyes, seeing the hurt and anger warring there. "What do you mean, it's your fault?"

George looked at his feet, saying, quietly, "Didn't you wonder how I found you? I was sent a picture from your café, a Muggle photo, and found out where it was. I left in a rush; I didn't even think to hide where I was going from anyone. I sent a note to your family as well."

Cate closed her eyes slowly. "It's not your fault, then. They knew where I was. They had to. No one else would shoot a silver bullet at a waitress during a robbery."

Muirgan looked ready to explode, her red hair nearly matching her red face. "What the hell is going on here?"

~*~

After a long and convoluted explanation- which was interrupted by nurses, co-workers, and other, administrative types- Muirgan sank into the chair, wincing and pulling out a small gag gift from one of her friends. The toy was quickly kicked under the couch. Cate saw George's wand for a split second, and then the toy shot out from under the couch and into his pocket. Muirgan didn't notice.

"So what you're saying is, the problem is much larger than you thought, so you hid here, lied to me about why you were hiding, were found out, and shot. And now, you want to go back to England with this...person."

Cate froze. She hadn't said anything about going back to England with George. "No..."

But he interrupted. "Yes. At least there, you have family and friends that know who and what you are and can protect you. Here, you're exposed and nearly alone."

Muirgan nodded. "Absolutely. And while I can assign someone to watch over you, we don't have the resources for both a watch and a search for the perpetrators. And here, you won't be a priority." She said it bluntly, with a hint of regret. "I don't mean to be rude, but you came here looking for asylum, and while we will protect you, the heads of the departments that manage these things will look into your case at their leisure. They won't see it as a priority. And that's not a slight to them, as such; there are just cases that they'll think are more urgent." She sighed, looking at her hands. "I'm sorry."

Cate shrugged, and then winced. "It's really not your fault, is it?" She swallowed, not looking at George. "I do understand. I really do. I just...I've built a life for myself here, and I don't want to lose that. No one cares that I'm what I am and no one blames me for anything. I'm not surrounded by people staring at me when I walk down the street. I don't get fired for being what I am. And here, I don't get other people hurt."

George snorted. "Just yourself, then. That's alright, though. No one cares about you back home, so why bother coming back?" There was no trace of the humor that usually laced his tone, and Cate stared at him, taken aback. Muirgan folded her arms; for all that she barely came up to George's shoulder, she suddenly seemed bigger.

"What do you mean?" Cate asked, her voice hurt.

George shrugged. "Just thought I'd add to your little pity-party. You don't seem to care that the reason you were alone here was because you didn't tell anyone where you were. Do you know how long I looked for you? I annoyed everyone, even your own family, even your grandmother, and she's not someone I annoy lightly. And then, when I finally find you, and you can see there's real danger in staying here, you want to stay anyway, because you don't think anyone likes you. And that's just bullshit."

Cate's eyebrows had disappeared into her hairline. Muirgan had a tiny grin on her face, but was trying- and failing- to hide it. "I didn't...I didn't mean..."

George appeared to make a decision. "Do what you like. You will anyway. But I made my choice a long time ago and I'll stick with it. I didn't know you long, and I still don't know you as well as I'd like to, but I know I want to stay with you and protect you, and just be with you. So, whatever you do, I'm with you. Forever."

Cate gasped. "If..." she began, stuttering slightly. "If I stay here, you'll stay with me?"

He gave her a short, sharp nod. "And if you go, I'll go with you. Hell, I didn't clean out any of your things; you could move right back in, and things will go back to the way they were. Only this time, people will know that something's wrong, and they'll want to help you." He raised an eyebrow. "So, what do you say?"

Muirgan reached over and touched her arm. "Whatever choice you make, know you can always change your mind later. This isn't a forever thing."

Cate looked at her friend, and then grinned. She turned to George, and his face, so familiar and yet so changed, stared back at her, the serious expression looking so out of place. "It is for me." She took a deep breath. "I'm going home. With you."

~*~

Once she'd made her decision, Cate was suddenly eager to get back to England. She'd missed her family more than she realized, and the food, and her friends. But she wouldn't be allowed to leave even the hospital until she recovered from the surgery, which the doctor, when he came, told her would be at least four more days.

The next four days were filled with excitement, mixed with odd moments of both terror and apathy. Muirgan came by every day, and even brought her brother for a visit once. Rol had looked over George suspiciously; after a few minutes of talking quietly in a corner and giggling under their breath, they became fast friends. Muirgan had rolled her eyes, muttering, but ignored them in favor of her friend.

The last day, before she was scheduled to be released to England, Muirgan brought three extra people with her. George had gone to the cafeteria for lunch, and then would find a shower somewhere, and wouldn't be back for another hour, at least. The women looked just like Muirgan, only taller and slightly younger; the other two were men, one in a neat suit with slicked back brown hair and brown eyes behind thin wire-frame glasses, and the other, in a similar suit, who was at least three times as broad and almost a full head taller. His face was square and angular, and his eyes, sharp hazel, gave him the look of a raptor.

Muirgan introduced them to her. The woman, with her short red hair and bright smile, was Muirgan's little sister, Caoilfhionn, who said, immediately, "Please, call me Lynn. No one calls me that." She was wearing a uniform, in dark blue, with several symbols of rank. When Cate rose a brow, Lynn grinned. "I'll be flying you across the pond."

Muirgan winced, but introduced the other two. The first, Graham Donahue, was the formal liaison between the Ministry of Magic in England and the Magical American Congressional Offices. He had a soft voice edged with steel, and constantly adjusted his glasses, as though uncomfortable. The other man was Robert McGregor, a Healer who would be accompanying her. Cate blinked at the overly large man; he looked more suited to playing a Bludger, but his fierce look stopped her from asking any questions.

Lynn looked at Graham and cleared her throat. "You want to explain or should I, Crusty?"

Graham shot her a look full of venom. "Not at all, Miss Mallory." He turned his sharp brown eyes to her, ignoring Lynn. "Because of this entire...situation, it was decided that the safest way to transport you back to England would be to fly you there, the Muggle way. You will be transferred to St. Mungo's, of course, and healed there. A contingent of Obliviators will be sent here after your release, and the memories of the doctors, nurses, and staff here will be modified. You will be dead, or, at least, the persona that Miss Mallory designed for you will die, of complications from your wounds."

Cate blinked. "All...right. But..."

Graham held up a hand. "This is for your protection. We have been briefed as to your particular situation, and MACO will do whatever it can to protect you while under our care. As soon as you are over the ocean, a team of Aurors will sweep your former place of employment, and the same will happen over in England. I am assured that the head investigator, a Mister Weasley, will do all that he can to find the breach, and I can give you the same assurance. Once you have landed at the base in London, Healer McGregor here will transport you to St. Mungo's, and you will meet with Mister Weasley, to discuss your options. Is anything unclear?"

Cate shook her head, overwhelmed. Lynn stepped forward, grinning impudently and patting Graham on the shoulder, hard. "Way to go, Crusty. That's why they pay you the big bucks."

Graham sneered at her. "Yes, well, not all of us can be such heroes." He said the last word like a curse, and removed her hand. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a shrunken briefcase, expanded it to its normal size, and handed her a thin packet of papers. "Please sign and initial each page of this document, and Miss Mallory will see that everything is in order. Thank you for your services to MACO, and we hope you enjoy the rest of your day."

He shrank the briefcase again, nodded at Muirgan and the Healer, and stormed out, his brightly polished shoes clicking on the floor.

Cate stared after him in shock. Lynn laughed loudly, and, to her surprise, so did the Healer, with a booming sound that filled the room.

Robert grinned at Lynn, and while it didn't make him more handsome, it added a layer of humanity to his rough exterior. "Crusty?"

Lynn giggled. "Sorry to say, not my idea. We called him Cracker for a while, but that didn't really suit, so we kept trying new stuff until Alison thought up pie crusts."

Robert interrupted. "She would."

Lynn laughed. "I know, right? So we've been calling him Crusty since he was fourteen, and it still bothers him. You'd think he'd have learned by now."

Muirgan cleared her throat. "Please, focus."

Cate was looking between the two of them with an incredulous expression on her face. Lynn immediately sobered, but Robert couldn't keep the grin off too long. Muirgan shook her head at her sister, then turned to Cate. "Do you have any questions?"

Cate nodded. "Why are you helping me?"

Lynn held up a finger. "I can answer that. I was asked, by my oh-so-talented big sis, to provide services that many in the magical world can't. I can fly pretty much anything, and, with Graham's help, as well as a few others across the pond, I was granted the assignment of flying you over there to one of the Air Force bases. Personally, I think the government just doesn't want you to sue."

Robert nodded. "I'd agree. And I was going to St. Mungo's for a Healer Trading Program anyway, and thought I'd help out a friend." A slight blush covered his cheeks as he looked at Lynn, and Cate grinned knowingly between the two. She could see something between them.

Lynn appeared oblivious. "Well, I think it's sweet that you and Muirgan are still close after all these years, Robbie."

Cate blinked, and then burst into laughter, ignoring the pain in her side.

~*~

George had walked into the laughter, was introduced to everyone, and then politely asked them to give him some time alone with her. Lynn and Robert left immediately, saying they'd see her the next day, but Muirgan stayed long enough to help with the paperwork and then promised to be there early, before everything started.

And, finally, she was alone with him, as she hadn't really been since she decided to go back with him. He sat on the edge of the bed, careful of all the tubes and wires, and grabbed her hand, a somber expression on his face.

"You're sure about this?"

Cate smiled. "Of course. I made this choice a long time ago, and I can't wait to go back." She looked at her hand in his, and blinked back tears. "I can't wait to be back with...with you," she whispered.

He leaned over, tilted her head up, and kissed her. She lost herself in the kiss, and a single hot tear slid down her cheek.

He pulled back, took a deep breath, and straightened. "You and I both know that once you're in England, they'll come after us again. And while I wish that wasn't true, we both know it is. I want to protect you with everything in me." He looked down, twisted something in his pocket, and mumbled, "I wish...but that doesn't matter." He gave her a soft smile, seeming lost for words.

Cate reached out and put her hand on his face. Her fingers brushed the scars around where his ear had been, and for once she didn't pull them away. He kissed her palm. Struggling, Cate sat up and pulled him towards her, ignoring, once again, the pain in her side. She kissed his forehead. "George, I just want you to know, no matter what happens, that I love you. I know we haven't known each other very long, and I know that I ran away, but that doesn't change the fact that I love you, and always will, and I have for a long time. Just, before anything else, I want you to know that."

He grinned, widely, and his eyes sparkled. "That's going to make this so much easier." He took a deep, shuddering breath, reached into his pocket, and pulled out a small velvet box.

Cate gasped, eyes darting between his face and the box.

George's grin widened. "I made a choice a long time ago, too. I said that when I found you, and I would, I would kiss you, and make you forget why you'd left, and then I'd take you in my arms and give you something that would tell you that I want you to stay with me."

He got down on one knee on the floor next to her bed. She gasped and covered her mouth. With the symphony of beeps and noises from the machines that were monitoring her condition in the background, he opened the box, grinning, and said, "Will you marry me?"