Pyxis looked up as Anne was the first to speak to her, and she waited a moment before she pushed herself up into a standing position. Her legs wobbled slightly, but she managed to stay upright and moved over to the bed she'd previously been laying in. She rested a hand on it and moved around to the side closest to Parker, leaning on it for support.

She frowned and crossed her arms, an eyebrow raised as she looked at him. "Oh, really?" She asked coldly. She could feel her anger bubbling, which wasn't a good thing but she didn't care. Why did he have to be such a stubborn prick?

"I did not just almost die for you so that you could be stubborn and die from infection. Let Tess heal you." She said in a threatening tone of voice. And it was true, if Tess hadn't healed her magical core she probably would've died due to draining it and having no energy left to feed into her core.

Tense. Tension was clear, and she knew that Parker was dealing with a lot, but she felt Anne was making it worse. Two aggressive people were never a good thing, and stubbornness to boot, she rubbed her temples as they argued. Anne was right when adrenaline waded he would screw himself over, but on the other hand Parker was one of the Healers she greatly respected because while she gave him a lot of flak, he was brilliant in ER and impressed her many times. She decided not to get into this, after all anger was never good for her, it brought unwanted magic into the scene.

“Break it you two, Anne you said you were an expert in trauma? Well check on the scars, the salves might need some breathing air. Emery, take off whatever is needed so I can take those glass shards.”

Right after she said this, she heard a gasp and immediately looked towards Pyxis as she had what seemed to be a panic attack. As she fell, Parker was forgotten for a bit as she bent down trying to check her quickly. She took out her thin flashlight from her coat and checked her to see if she didn’t suffer a concussion.

Anne spoke to Pyxis normally as if she was fine, and she found it to be fine considering that it would keep her conscious. Fast heartbeat, she could tell from the quickening pulse that she took as she touched her wrist.

“Breathe in an out, you’re okay” she advised a small smile on her face.

Turning around to Anne she frowned. She was going to help help Pyxis up, but she managed to get up on her own. She looked at her warily before seeing her sit down, that was when she went back to Parker.

“Enough no need to stun him.Emery will do what was asked, he usually does if he knows what's good for him.”

Noticing the dirt, she tugged shirt and sighed seeing all the glass. Oh it was terrible, she huffed and began the tedious task of taking out glass. Some were easier than others, but she had to be careful considering there wasn’t much she could do about the sting after each glass piece was removed. She wanted to tell him ‘Anne’s right you know, you have some infections, small but the pathogens got in’ but she kept mum.

Parker shook his head at Anne again, running his hand through his hair again, frustrated, "Whatever I don't care. I just need to see that she's okay. I don't care about me right now-" He glared at her, but didn't make a move when she pulled her want out. "Put that down, okay?" When Pyxis gasped and shot up, Parker's head snapped over to her and his eyes went wide. He felt like all his hair stood on end as he took a step forward, wincing at one of his deeper cuts. When she fell off the bed he called out, "Pyxis!" and had started to move towards her but Tess had already moved into action, still in that faced paced, healer's mindset that he really needed to get a hold on at the moment. His mind felt like it was all over the place and he could hardly see straight. Or it was just the exhaustion kicking in.

He shook his head to right his mind, and felt his eyes go back into focus. Tess was caring for Pyxis, and he lowered his head as Pyxis helped herself up and walked over to the bed. His voice came out sounding weak and half hearted "No.. look, im sorry...no, I'm not going to di..." He sighed and let his voice trail off, giving up at whatever it was he was trying to say and simply gave a small nod.

He looked at Tess, glad that she seemed to be at least a bit on his side, though he was still convinced he didn't need the help right now. Keeping his eyes to the ground, he pulled his shirt off, exposing the majority of his injuries, as well as old scars he had.While his head throbbed and knees felt weak, he refused to sit down throughout the process of the glass removal. Each time he winced and tensed and bit down on his lip to keep from making any noise. It was tedious, but there was no other way to go about it without causing more damage.Anne's mentioning of infections suddenly had him worried. It had been a lot of cuts...it had been an old dusty lamp that had cut him....he had been tossed around in the shack and the grounds. And as far as his natural health and natural immune system was concerned, he was pretty screwed.

Pyxis smiled gratefully at Tess as she checked her over and made sure she was okay. "I'm fine," she assured Tess, even though her head was killing her. She reached a hand behind and pressed lightly against the back of her head, dismayed to feel a lump beginning to grow but she knew that it wasn't too much to worry about. What she really needed was some Calming Draught. She hoped she still had some left in her store cupboards. Pyxis was glad she could stand without assistance, because though she may have acted friendly she still hated needing help. It made her feel weak. Something she hated feeling.

Pyxis shifted and pushed back until she was sitting on the bed and she frowned at Parker. He looked like he was going to protest, but eventually he succumbed and her anger evaporated. She was being truthful, she hadn't almost died just so he could be a stubborn jerk. Even though she was more than often being stubborn in the exact same way he had just been. If it wasn't for the fact that she'd been un-conscious, she would've protested that they take care of Parker immediately. She honestly didn't care if she suffered, so long as he was okay. Her nose wrinkled in disgust at the thought of him being hurt.

She frowned as she saw all the cuts across his back, and the amount of glass that Tess was having to pull out. She winced every time, as if she were feeling the pain. She hated that he was in pain, and it was all her fault. She buried her face in her hands. Because of her, he was now covered in glass and he'd been tortured. She bit down on her lip and lifted her head once more, trying not to look at him but finding her eyes fixated on him. She wanted to apologise, but last time she had he'd snapped at her. Her eyes narrowed.

Quiet..it was definitely quiet and it was one that made her uncomfortable. The reason was because she didn't know all of them like they knew one another. She new Parker; in a sense, they had met in school and she had basically worked alongside him step by step through ever lesson, teased him when he messed up, and fed him when he forgot to eat; he did that often she learned. But as she moved her gaze to her medical bag, she noticed that Pyxis was covering her face, and Anne was unusually quiet.

She was out of the loop, and she thought perhaps it was for the best. Taking a deep breath, she looked at a particular one on his chest that looked messy. She wrinkled her nose and tried to lighten the tension and the mood a bit.

Concentration was better, concentrate on her work. And by the looks of it, the healing time was going to be ugly. Some were tiny and she knew a sting would occur, others, like the one that she was dealing with was deep.

"You git" she whispered at him. "Should have shown me this you prat, do you know how infected this is?!"

It was infected ,and really disgusting at that. It had dried blood around it and she would have rubbed her temples to relax, had it not been that she would get blood on her. She stood up and noticed how he was trembling slightly. She took out her flashlight ignoring the blood staining it to realize he was out of focus.

She pushed him towards the hospital bed, nudging him to lie down.

"You need to lie down, please" she whispered at him not wanting to worry the girls. "Your blood pressure is dropping."

While she didn't know them on a personal level, she did know that they would yell at him or do something of the sort. He was playing hero, it was just like him, but right now she'd defend him to a degree.

Parker bit the inside of his cheek, clenching his hands into fists as he looked down at his feet. He stayed silent, not daring to say anything else...nor really having much energy too. He felt eyes on him and he looked over to see Pyxis looking at him. He bit down on his lip and moved his shoulders up uncomfortably. He then felt another pull from his skin as another shard of glass was removed. He let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding and drew his eyes down again, trying hard to stay standing up. It reminded him of times during Mungo's, sleep deprived from working double shifts or taking bets, running on no food because he either didn't have the money or was trying to save a bit of it for when he really needed it. It made things feel like a strange dream, things just happening around him that he had no control over, his body feeling like it was on auto pilot. He grew to hate that feeling, and he was feeling it now.

He let out another slow, deep breath as Tess moved to look at a cut on his chest. Her hand just being near it made it sting a bit and he took in a sharp breath, his eyes focusing on it. "Shit..." he hadn't noticed it before. He sighed at Tess' words. "Well so-rry, dear", he whispered back with a bit of an attitude, slipping in the 'dear' as he did in the past whenever she called him names. "I wasn't exactly worried about checking myself." Though he probably should have, it looked bad. He tried to turn his back more towards Pyxis to try and make sure she didn't see it.

He furrowed his eyebrows slightly when Tess stood up and when she shined her flashlight at him, he turned his head away with a soft groan. He stepped when she pushed him closer to the bed and he was still prepared to argue about how he didn't want to lie down. "I feel like I'm going to pass out if I lay down." he mumbled, though he sat down anyway since his knees were aching. He winced, glancing over at Anne and Pyxis.

Anne sighed, now that she knew they were both fine she wanted to leave. She didn't want to see this anymore. She looked between the three other people in the room and knew she would have to. She bit her lip trying to hold back tears for her friends. They shouldn't have to duffer. She was going to kill Kate, and Dusk too. Everyone had a weakness, she just needed to find her kryptonite.

She walked over to Pyxis and wanted to hug her, but didn't. She closed her eyes briefly and looked a bit in the future. "He'll be fine." She said to her with a small hope of reassuring her.

"Are you ok?" She asked Pyxis, wondering how she was taking it. "And I don't mean physically." She clarified. "This is the one thing I know from experience, talking about it helps."

Anne looked over at Parker. "Sit down please, before you fall on the floor." She said knowing it was coming soon. "You don't have to lie down but just sit, so you don't get even more banged up when you fall." She said shaking her head. She wished they would listen for once.

Pyxis' cheeks tinged a light pink, and she was grateful for the darkness in the room, as Parker caught her staring at him. She wanted to smile at him, or ask how he was doing, but she bit her lower lip so as not to say anything. Last time he'd spoken to her was too attack her, and she was feeling pretty deflated. Even though initially, she'd been pissed, she now just felt tired and... sad? She wasn't used to feeling sad when someone snapped at her. She was normally pissed. Maybe it was because it was Parker? But normally he made her pissed more than anyone else. She sighed. She rested her hands in her lap and frowned. She watched as he moved his shoulders in almost, un-comfortable manner. She turned her gaze away, feeling it was her. Was he really that mad at her? Her shoulders slumped.

Pyxis looked up as Anne spoke, trying to ignore the bubbling concern for Parker. Anne's words brought immense comfort, and she smiled at her. "Thanks." She murmured back, not wanting to break the silence around the room. She could hear Parker and Tess muttering to one another, and she couldn't help the pang of jealousy that stabbed her.

Pyxis' gaze darkened and she struggled not to glare at Anne. Her eyes flickered to Parker for a moment before she sighed and looked back at Anne. "I'm never okay when it comes to him, Anne." Was all she offered in a quiet voice that wavered slightly. She didn't like that he was angry at her. She was sorry, she didn't WANT to give up the information, but it was Parker! She hated the thought that if she was in that situation, he wouldn't've done the same for her. That image hit her so suddenly she felt tears sting her eyes and one dared to slide down her cheek. She waited until Anne was done chiding Parker, before she looked up again. "Can we go?" She whispered to Anne. She didn't want to be in the same room as him.

Anne nodded to Pyxis and gestured for her to start walking. "She went up to Tess and whispered so only she could hear. "We're going for a walk I'll make sure she's ok, she needs to get away from him." She said before walking back to Pyxis and leading her away.

They didn't go far as she shouldn't be too far from the hospital wing. They stayed on the fifth floor. She brought her to the professors quarters and to her room. "Ok I know you want to talk so please start." She said hoping she would either take a seat in one of the chairs on lay down on the bed.

Pyxis stood up and avoided looking at Parker as she waited for Anne to tell Tess that they were going for a walk or something. She couldn't stand the thought that the words on her back were true, and she knew they were. She bit her lip and let her head drop, her hair sliding down to cover her face from their view. She eagerly followed after Anne, and she found herself not caring where they went so long as she was able to curl up in a ball and cry.

Her head ached painfully again, reminding her that she'd fallen on it and she sighed. Her chest hurt too, but that was from the recent heart-attack and now the events of the day and her realisation and - urgh. She was so sick and tired of holding in all of her emotions all the time. She didn't have anyone to talk to about them, and now she hoped Anne wouldn't mind the burden of her inner-most thoughts and feelings. She followed Anne up to her room and barely even took in her surroundings.

Tess wrinkled her nose at the term of endearment, seemed some things hadn't changed. But at least he was a bit less stubborn as he sat down. She felt a bit frustrated at Anne yelling at him, it rarely worked, she learned that years ago. She placed her hands lightly on the wounded area and took out the piece wincing as she felt his muscles contract.

"You're still a liar, darling" she growled in return. "I know that you didn't have a priority, but this cut through to your endoderm"

She covered the wound as he began to bleed and she noticed that his gaze was a bit glazed and he was staring at the girls. As much as she'd like to say that things hadn't really changed, it was obvious he had. What had changed was obviously that he had sentiment towards other people. The blonde. Pyxis looked like she was about to break down, and she felt terrible wondering what the hell had gone on.

Anne walked towards them and she leaned towards her, while covering his wound. Hearing her, she bit her lip and her eyes flew to Pyxis and lowered her gaze not wanting to meet Parker's eyes. This was much worse than she thought, that was obvious.

"I'll stay here" she whispered softly.

While he still hadn't wanted to be sitting down, at least it took off some pressure from a few of the cuts. Parker took in a sharp breath and held it as Tess moved her hands to the wound. He shut his eyes tight, bit down on his lip, and clenched his hands into fists preparing for the coming pain. When she tore the glass from his flesh, he let out a pained breath, lowering his head with a groan. He took a few short breath before replying in a near whisper, "There are things going on that are far more important then myself right now."

Looking over at Anne and Pyxis he winced again when Tess moved to stop the bleeding. Seeing how upset they both looked he just lowered his head again, looking down as Tess' hand and his lap. It had been all his fault all the trouble that had come to those two recently. He needed to figure out some sort of way to make it up to them. He didn't move as he heard Anne's footsteps approach. He glanced up for a second to see Anne leaned over, whispering something to Tess, which he heard Tess reply back that she'd stay here.

Moments later he heard the pair of footsteps leave, the infirmary going still and silent. She must have been pissed, couldn't even stand to be in the same room as him. Parker let out a tired sigh, moving one hand to hold himself up as he tried to relax a little bit. Pulling out some of the shards would be made easier if his muscles were more relaxed. "Sorry if I pulled you from the end of your shift..." he said softly, his voice much softer then what Tess was used to hearing from back in school. Since coming back to the school he'd pulled back into his shell again. He was back into that dark place he tried to hard to stay out of while at Mungo's.

His tone made Tess immediately move her gaze from her hand to his face. It wasn't normal; it wasn't like him and the better part of her felt bad for him. He had been through so much, that much was obvious by his gaze at the women. His groan made her pity him and patted his hand with her free one before leaning down to grab her needle.

"No need, when am I not there when you need me?." she whispered softly.

She had a need to have her tone softer than usual. Part of her felt like she was with a stranger, and the other just wanted to mother him like she used to. She frowned as she began to put some sanitizing lotion before beginning to stitch. She kept quiet as she went through each stitch not wanting to say anything to mess anything it, whether it be a stitch or distract him from his thoughts.

When Tess pat his hand, Parker drew his eyes up just enough to follow her movements as she went to get her needle. He could practically feel the pity come off of her, and he turned his head away from her and towards the doorway, a frown setting on his face.

"Yeah...you've been there for me. Thank you." But the way he said it sounded strange, even to him. They sounded like strangers now, they practically were given the way Parker felt like he'd changed, given the fact he never really told Tess anything about himself or about these people that meant so much to him and were such a vital part of his life. After all this time, he almost felt like he should.

He winced, biting down on his lip again as she prepared to start the stitching. As she started, his closed his eyes, his eyebrows furrowed in pain but he didn't move or make any sounds. He just took in slow deep breaths, his face gradually relaxing as he tried to calm down with the meditation methods he learned at Hogwarts and practiced so much throughout med school.

Tess bit back a sigh as he said this. It was so weird, he was more than a simple patient, but he wasn't her friend any longer. In some weird way she couldn't read him anymore. Usually he would try and improve her work, or just comment on her messy stitching (she'd improved by miles considering how bad she was before).

"Welcome" she whispered.

It was probably her fault, after school they just stopped talking. Before her excuse was school and both being dependent on one another for a test or something that happened. Coffee was another excuse, but after graduating he got his job and he was stuck in Hogwarts, and she, she was working at St. Mungos. Their reason to talk was lost, and she blamed herself considering she was always the one to make the effort and get him out of his shell.

Looking up at him he looked totally different than the thin underfed medical student. He looked a mess now, covered in blood, some that didn't even look like his, his eyes were a bit red, his skin pale and his cuts were covered in dirt.

She had changed too, for one thing she had closed up too. Being ostracized by her peers at work, the rumors spread, she needed to be alert. She had no one to talk to, and she had no reason to be so cheery and open.

She let out a small sigh as she cut the last stitch of the main cut. Looking directly at him she forced herself to keep eye contact.

"I know you always lie to me about this but...are you okay?" she whispered.

As much as his body was begging for some sort of pain relief as he felt each tug of each stitch as Tess pulled the thread through his skin, he would do without it. He needed to just feel like he was alive still somehow, cause her certainly felt dead every other way. As much as it might have been easier to get out the vials and salves and all the other stuff, he was thankful Tess was as for Muggle techniques as him. Feeling the pull and cut of the last stitch he let out a sigh, opening his eyes slowly and raising his head as he came out of the meditative state.

Looking at Tess she seemed so much the same. Still tired, still as pale that a lot of the hard workers of Mungo's were. While he looked far better fed (maybe even up to a normal weight with that bit of muscle he'd gained), he imagined he looked like an absolute mess at the moment, sand and blood covered and he felt like he had a far more hostile air about him, which he hated. Though his eyes did still have those familiar bags and redness.

At Tess' question, Parker looked away from her, biting the inside of his cheek as he tried to keep his mind calm. He brought on hand up to his lips, picking at the dried skin in what seemed to be a nervous manner. There was no way he could possibly try to force himself to say he was fine. He swallowed, his dry throat making it more difficult, and shook his head slightly. "Uh, honestly? No..." he said, his voice wavering slightly. "I'm...not okay in the slightest." He breathed out, looking at her, their eyes meeting. He looked absolutely defeated, on the verge of just giving up. He blinked a few times, faster then normal, before lowering his head again and staying silent. He'd not tried to talk to her in so long. He couldn't just start telling her all these things he probably should have so many years ago. While the more teasing side of the old relationship had come back easily enough, things always got more difficult when the serious stuff came up.

Tess felt a pang on her chest the moment he looked at her. He looked so broken, no longer was he the Parker that pushed her and took her smartass comments, now he looked just destroyed. It didn't take a rocket scientist to see that he was actually dealing with more than just his physical injuries, the emotional ones were the ones that were taking a toll on him.

Taking a sharp breath she did something so unlike her.She tentatively leaned towards him and awkwardly hugged him. She avoided all contact with his cuts, making it uncomfortable for her, and definitely uncomfortable to him she felt. She used to be the mother hen of the duo, always reminding him to eat, or shower, or get a change of clothing because he was so forgetful. She missed that Parker; now she was seeing the Parker here that was a man, a man with so many scars.

"I'm so sorry Parker" she whispered at him.

She meant it. She bit back a few tears, that she felt for him. Pyxis was broken, that was clear and he wasn't faring out to be any better. Anne had said that Pyxis didn't want to talk to him, so Anne went with her, but why did they think it would be of any help for him to be alone. He was always alone, she realized this and it hurt her so much because he was a good person. Despite all the layers of their weird friendship she saw him as the brother she never had; someone that was a great person who deserved the best in life.

"You shouldn't be so closed up" she murmured. "And I'm sorry you are."

Parker sat still, tensing when he felt arms wrap lightly and carefully around him. He didn't really know what to do, so for a few moments he continued to just sit there, hands in his lap. She was actually trying to comfort him...and what did he do? Just sit there, like a blasted idiot. Parker took a deep breath, closing his eyes and leaning into the awkward hug slightly. She had been the only one there for him throughout his years at Mungo, she watched after him, sort of like that older sibling he never had (even though she was younger).

He sniffed, and tried to shake his head a little when she said she was sorry. There was nothing to be sorry for, he didn't want to be felt sorry for. He was the one that needed to be sorry. He raised one hand, resting it on her side lightly as he started to feel himself lose it.

He felt like he owed her some sort of explanation. Because this Parker before her was nothing like the one she knew, but this was the real Parker. or what was left of him anyway. Parker at Mungo's was trying to hard to forget and forgive and move on from things he never thought he had to deal with again. He felt like he should tell her, that she had a right to know more about him, but with the time that passed since their last seeing each other it created a wall.

He leaned away slightly and pushed her away a little bit, keeping his eyes averted. His whole body felt tense as he tried to put some space between them so he could stand again. "I- uh." he took a short breath, his voice sounding as if he were on the verge of tears. "Can I just have a moment?" he said, motioning his hand back to the door to his small office in the back. "Alone." he added, trying to ignore the second sorry she gave. He didn't want to be so closed off and he didn't want to just tell her to go. He didn't want to be completely alone right now. Everyone else had seemed to turn their back on him, but he wasn't about to just let himself breakdown.

Tess didn't pull away as he tensed up when they hugged. She was feeling for him, he didn't deserve all these injuries, nor to feel the obvious emotional pain. Then she felt a bit of anger that they had left him alone. Perhaps it was because she knew him better than Pyxis, but why did Anne choose one over the other. He needed someone too, that much was obvious as she felt him force himself to relax.

The hug, she would later catalog as the most awkward experience of her life. Not because it was a hug with him per say, but there was a wall there that just kept building as the years passed. She wanted to tell him to just spill out whatever he wanted, why was Pyxis so hurt alongside him, and why did she need to not spend time with him. All these questions were at the tip of her tongue, but it wasn't her place. This wasn't school anymore, she couldn't force him to do things, now he was an adult with a career and she'd like to think it was the same for her.

Her thoughts were pushed aside as she felt him hug back, he was trembling and she loosened her grip on him. She didn't want to see him just break, but part of her wanted to see just what was under his facade. Because at this moment she probably realized that the Parker Emery she knew was fake. No one could create this, cause this in a few years after they met, no this angst, this pain was a longtime there.

As she was pushed back from him, she moved her hands away from him and placed them in front of her, her gaze lowered. Taking his hint, she took a few steps back, feeling like she was such a fool for doing something out of character. She wanted to tell him that she could just leave, and forget this ever happened, but hearing his voice waver, she nodded.

"I'll....I'll just be in there" she whispered.

She picked up her bag and turned around, forcing herself not to feel any extremity of emotion. She knew the fake Parker Emery, but as she walked away from this one, perhaps she would keep those memories of the fake one, those hurt less than this one right now.

As Tess turned away, Parker felt himself practically deflate as he sat on the bed again, head lowered. He took another breath, trying to push everything down and get it together. Now wasn't the time. Well, considering the trauma it made sense, but he didn't want to have to deal with it now. He wanted to try to talk to Pyxis and Anne, even though the probably wanted nothing to do with him. He always felt like he needed to explain and defend himself with them. That was his fault though, he always let himself get so invested in what they were doing, he let them get him upset. Where did calm, collected Parker go? The one that handled ER chaos, and breaking news to patients family, that never let people bother him, that could actually joke around and smile? Truth was that he only existed at the hospital, returning here only brought back out that old anger and displaced feelings.

He rested his elbows on his knees, running both hand through his hair, just resting his face in his hands. He needed to talk, explain things to Tess, she was the only person he could probably bring himself to actually open up to anymore. He appreciated everything she did for him, hell even whatever that awkward mess was a few moments ago. It meant she cared, that maybe he could trust her. God, why did he have to be so closed off? Even to people he'd known for years, his whole life even?

He brought his hands to his eyes, pressing on them until he saw shapes. Maybe talking now wouldn't be a good idea. Maybe they could meet up some time from now, maybe catch up a bit as the conversation turned more to what they both needed to talk about. He didn't want Tess to get any wrong ideas about his relationships with Anne or Pyxis, if she had any ideas at all. They weren't bad people, it was just him.

He then suddenly lifted his head before she could get too far. "Uh, wait- Tess..." he croaked out.

Tess figured that it would be better if she got home. She didn't want to be in a place where she was not wanted. She decided in whatever room it was, if there was a fireplace she was flooing out of there. Parker perhaps didn't want someone overbearing at the moment, she figured and perhaps it was better if she left so he would have one less person to deal with.

That all flew out the window as she heard him call her name.Turning around she bit her look and looked at him holding back any real emotion she felt. Pity was not an emotion Parker needed to see, nor sympathy because he would get defensive. She tilted her head and looked at him waiting for whatever he wanted out of her.

She had involuntarily tensed up at the mention of her name. It sounded foreign coming from him, after all for some reasons names weren't really used around the pair.Maybe now that it was serious, she felt the seriousness of the situation. They weren't kids anymore, and if he wanted to talk well there she was waiting to see what he wanted from her.

"Yes Parker?"

Parker sort of surprised himself when he called out her name. Well, her first name anyway. They'd alway called each other my their last names for whatever reason. It just like the whole calling each other dear and darling when they were upset, it just was like that. There didn't have to be a reason for everything with her, like it was for so many people. He didn't have that defensive feeling that he always had to have an explanation for the things he did. Maybe that's what made him a little more willing to open up to her.

It was even more strange to hear her say his name, and he faltered a bit before speaking. "I...uhm..well, look." he sighed, wringing his hands together. "I've kept you from going home, you..probably don't want to be here anyway. But..." He was starting to feel frustrated at himself, why couldn't he just talk.

"So...when things settle down a bit..when you've got the time, can we go get coffee or something together? I miss talking with you. " he asked, sounding unsure, eyes averted slightly, but enough to still see what her response was.

Nervous. He was nervous, and for some reason that relaxed Tess a bit more. She smiled softly as she realized that he wasn't going to push her away, but rather try and mend something. Perhaps it was guilt, or that he genuinely needed someone to talk to, it didn't matter, she was relieved.

As he wrung his hands, she bit her lip automatically to show her own nervousness. She shook her head at his comment, but in reality she did want to go home, she was exhausted and the emotional stress was adding to her already exhausting day.

Him wanting to meet up, despite it all, made her shy smile widen and nodded. She looked into her purse and took out one of her cards, turning it around and putting her phone number, the old Muggle way. Walking towards him, she let out a small chuckle and handed him the card.

"I'd love that" she said smiling. "Call me whenever you're free, and we can talk about anything. "

She patted his hand lightly and sighed.

"Try...try to heal alright? Don't do anything stupid to open up the stitches. I left the salve on the table for you to apply to any other gashes. Be careful."

As she walked into the chimney, she grabbed the Floo Powder and she took a deep breath before commenting:

"And believe it or not Parker Emery, I missed you too"

Throwing the Floo Powder, she envisioned home and sighed in relief knowing that despite everything, it could have definitely gone worse.

Parker found himself smile a little bit when he saw her grin and nod. In that moment he felt a little bit less alone, that there was at least one person that wouldn't turn their back on him. Stop being so melodramatic, he chided himself. He watched as she took out a card, writing her number on it and walked back over to him with it.

"Got yourself a muggle phone? How fancy of you." He commented, trying to bring back a bit of light heartedness. "Thanks.." he added softly after she pat his hand.

Parker took a breath and nodded a bit when she started to tell him the whole be careful, don't hurt yourself sort of thing as she made her way to leave. "I know, I know, Black...and thank you again." He gave another small smile when she said she missed him too before flooing off. He waited a moment before lying down on the bed with a deep sigh and slight wince as he tried to relax and rest finally.