Road to Recoveries [Closed]

Casey gasped, bolting upright in bed. He looked around wildly for a second before he shivered, looking down at the deep sapphire blue duvet he was lying under. His right arm, which lay limply in it's hard cast, pulsed with a reminding pain as his brain raced. He frowned, lower lip seconds from trembling.

Mind made up, the 17-year-old slipped out of bed slowly. He knew someone, no doubt Uncle Danny, would be upset with him if they discovered him getting out of bed and causing problems to his arm again by moving, but he didn't want to sleep right now. Not alone. Maybe Caius was in the living room of their quarters, setting up the syllabus for the rest of the term? He frowned lightly and shuffled his way to his closed door.

He fumbled for a second, not used to using his left hand even after two days of it, before he turned the knob. Ruffled brown hair peaked into the room.

"Dad?" he whispered.

Caius had been sleeping quietly in his chair. Not really asleep, but not really awake either. He'd been doing this a lot lately, not sleeping a lot, always ready to help....

“Mwah.....Casey?” He looked up tiredly. Softeness entered his face. “Come here, kiddo....can't sleep again?” It had been so hard for him...he stood up, going to sit on the couch and trying to beckon Casey to him. They could rest for a while. "I know it's been rough, I'm sorry."

Crud. He'd woken his guardian up. Casey bit his lip but nodded when Caius asked him if he couldn't sleep. At the invitation he shuffled over slowly and seated himself right beside Caius instead of on the other end. He knew he was getting too old for such comforts, but he couldn't stop wanting, needing that close connection right now.

"Nothing to be sorry for," he mumbled. "I'm sorry for waking you up." He really hadn't intended for Caius to be woken up by his calls. The man hadn't slept either, having been at his side through the two days that he really hadn't slept more than an hours worth total.

"I don't want to sleep anymore," he finally said after going quiet for a few minutes. "I'm... I'm scared." Admitting that aloud felt harder than he realized. They may be in custody, but the damage had been done. They couldn't get rid of the branding on his neck, and his arm was still out of use for quiet awhile. Their message had been brought loud and clear.

“Oh pshaw,” he said softly, scooting towards his son to cuddle him close. “Don't be sorry for that....I went through a period where I didn't sleep for days.” He pet through his hair gently, soothing him gently as he could. Casey didn't sleep, he wanted to take care of him...

“....oh, Casey. I know it's terrifying.” He cradle him close. He hated hearing the words, but he wasn't dismissive at all - he understood. “I'm so sorry you feel that way, but I get why. It's terrifying, isn't it? But you know I'm right here, and we'll protect you...Aidan's here, and the house elves and....”

But of course, one of the people he wanted most wasn't....did Aidan know what he was talking about, saying Roz would sneak here....?

Casey was quiet for a moment or two, letting his father pull him closer. He could hear Caius' heartbeat if he listened closely, the rhythm lulling him just a little bit. "What about Roz?" He finally asked when he felt Caius wouldn't continue with listing those who would be there with him.

He hadn't seen Roz since that day. He didn't know how to feel about it. Hurt was definitely the strongest emotion when he thought about her. Did she not want to see him? Was she upset he was idiotic enough to get himself kidnapped by them? For letting his guard down? He didn't dare voice these concerns to anyone at any rate. He just wished he could see her, even if it seemed she didn't want to see him. Uncle Danny had said she'd eventually show up, but earlier he'd left to go see where she was according to another professor. Was she avoiding him now?

"Will..." he yawned a little, head resting against the older man's chest. "Will you tell me about something Uncle Danny and you did in school?" He liked hearing about their adventures. It was lighthearted and silly. It took his mind off of things.

“Ai's going to find her.” He said quietly...he thought for a moment, then decided to voice his very frustrated opinion. “I think Aidan's an idiot for assuming she'd try to run away after what happened. I think Roz isn't sure what to do or where you are – last she heard you were going to St. Mungo's, Casey. I can't say for sure....but Aidan's an idiot for waiting this long and if he doesn't go check on her I'm going myself.” He sounded a little cross, but it was tiredness and aching for his son's heartbreak.

“She was so afraid for you, she tracked you down....I think she just doesn't know what to do.” He soothed Casey.

“Hmm....a story from before....? Well, how about the time we broke about twelve rules in order to throw a Christmas party for Professor Flitwick?”

----

Eat.

Sleep.

Sit.

Walk.

Everything felt robotic.

He'd never come back for her.

Casey had been so hurt. Aidan didn't let her go with him. Surely he'd have come back for her by now....?

Emmett didn't complain that Roz wandered in and out of the house, just....worried for his little daughter as she moved through the motions of everyday life. Finally, he'd found her bed empty again and he'd had enough. He called Aidan. Forget the clock, this was more important.

He felt assured by Caius's words, though he wondered. He hadn't been told the incident regarding Roz and Uncle Danny, so he was more than a little confused. He just leaned as much against Caius as he could physically do, head tucked against the man's shoulder. "Hasn't anyone told her I'm h...home?" He asked softly.

He had to smile when Caius began to tell him about the Christmas party, eyelids drifting shut as he started to drift off against his adopted father. He didn't dream after that, safely against the man he trusted the most.

---

When Aidan got the call from his brother, he wasn't expecting to get nearly shouted at, insulted, and demanded of. It seemed Roz was reacting in the opposite direction he'd expected. Merlin, what a mess. Hopefully Casey would be on full recovery soon. Though he was healed except for his arm and the new scar, his body wouldn't have a lot of energy to do much until his magic finished recovering as well. The crucio residue had to work its way through his system after all.

Aidan shook his head and apparated to his brother's house. He had to do a few point me spells before he found her location. Aidan stood a few steps behind her, eyes looking at her in concern.

"I'd have expected you to have followed me that day," he commented.

“...no, Casey, I don't think anyone ever did. I think Aidan was his usual idiot self and decided that Roz would follow despite his directions to stay at her house.” He sighed a little, smiling to Casey. “At any rate, we'll let her know. Don't worry about it, okay?”

He began to detail the story, embellishing...as his son relaxed, drifting off, he held him close. Casey would be scared for a while....but Caius would do his best to keep his dear son safe, and to make sure he knew he was safe....

–

Emmett was pissed. Roz was wandering about like a marionnette, and he couldn't figure out why. No more! He was having none of it!

Roz was back in her 'safe spot' – the broken down playhouse. She was fretting, and in her fretting she'd knocked over the table, picked up old toys and just laid them aside, causing disorder and a sense of clutter. She would create fireworks with her wand tip or just light some bluebell flames to let her magic out, try to relieve some of the building up worry and stress.

He had said he'd come back. He didn't.

Casey was hurt.

What if....what if....

Roz was curled up when Aidan's voice found her. She didn't turn to face him for a moment, but her hair tips were still that odd.....translucent color. One he never would have seen before.

“...you said stay here.” Her voice was monotonous, carefully controlled as if she were in a daze.

"When have you ever actually listened to an order from me?" Aidan questioned, coming closer towards her. He knelt down, cautious of her reaction, but wanting her to see him clearly. He studied her, noting the deadening emotions she was wreaking, if her hair were any indication. She was pretty close to dementor-sucking-soul state, he wondered.

"Casey is fine," he finally said. "He's recovering back in his quarters..." He stayed silent a second after that, baring himself for what he was about to say.

"He'd been branded by them," he told her quietly, "so there will be a mark that will never go away. I know you won't, but I do need to say please don't mention it to him." Casey hadn't taken the branding news very well, that it would scar. He knew Roz wouldn't be careless to mention it, but he felt he still needed to tell her this. "And his arm is immobile until the damage is gone. It's irreversible with magic for now. But he's alive. And he wants to see you no doubt."

He looked at her silently after that, watching her for her reaction. He knew it was awful of him to have left her here, but she'd never actually obeyed his commands before. So the fact that she had, and had made herself near comatose in her worry made his thoughts wander.

“I always listen, Uncle Aidan. I just don't always behave.” It was dull, humorless as she spoke; for the first time, her gray eyes would appear blank to him, withdrawn from the world around her. She was hiding within herself, shrinking away mentally from anything that would hurt, that would make her worry....

“....” there was a long pause from her, as if she didn't know what to say. Something stirred behind those glassy gray eyes. “...I don't care about brands....he doesn't mind Willie's brands either.” The scarring around her left eye.... She didn't seem to snap out of her state though as he detailed what had happened, just stared back at him glassily as if committing to memory each word. Her hair tips translucent and reflecting her loose purple sweater, her gold and black scarf.

Roz was just as her fretting father had described her to his brother. She was a marionette, so withdrawn from the world it was hard to make sense of it now. But her lips cracked, struggled for speech.

“...he is...mad at me, I'm sure...just like you...are you sure....he wishes to see me?" Her voice was....not quite so glassy now, almost...afraid. Timid.

His brother really wasn't kidding about Roz, Aidan mused. He frowned lightly, eyes looking at her sadly. She'd worked herself into such a state because he'd foolishly thought she would react a different way. The reminder of other such brands made him cringe.

"Hey, look at me Roz," he commanded gently. "He isn't mad at you. In fact, he's having a really tough time adjusting right now. He keeps asking where you are." He knew Casey no doubt thought Roz was mad at him as well, if Caius' glowering looks were any indication from the past few days. "I'm positive it'll really help his healing process," and hers, he added mentally, "if you were to come see him."

Roz saw him cringe, and the blonde flinched and tucked her head. “I'm sorry. You're already mad at me and now this....I-I shouldn't have reminded you. I'm okay, really.”

She obediently looked up at him when he commanded her to, blank gray eyes slowly regaining a little luster...and filling with tears. “He sh-should be. He will be if he sees me. It's my fault,” she said, but the glass was dissolving, leaving her voice thick. “It's my fault....they, he....he sh-should be mad at me, I deserve it....! Uncle Ai....

“U-Uncle Danny, I was late...we were m-meeting at the rocks and I was late....and....”

He never did recover the story of how and when Casey had been taken, Aidan idly thought as he took a step forward and gathered his niece into his arms. "He won't be mad. He will never be." He didn't know Casey as well as Caius or Roz, but he knew that young boy didn't have an angry bone in his body. Especially not towards the girl he seemed infatuated with.

"Shh, it's not your fault, Rosebud." He soothed, rubbing her arm gently. "It's definitely, never your fault about what happened. If you'd been on time..." His voice near failed him, "You might have been in the same situation."

He stayed in that embrace for awhile before releasing her, holding her by the shoulder with one strong, reassuring hand. "Now, let's go see Casey, hmm? I'm sure everything will turn out for the better if you see him again. He really misses you," He said.

She broke at being gathered up; the teenager burst into tears, sobbing quietly. “Then at least....he wouldn't have been...all alone and scared...! He wasn't there and I cast a tracker charm and I knew and I knew...!” She sniffled and cried against him, shaking as the weeks' worth of grief burst forth from her. She'd stay like that for a while, crying against him.

When he pulled away, she sniffled, using a charm to clean herself up a little. “Okay,” she sniffled, then paused for a moment. “Uncle D-Danny? Are you m-mad at me? You were c-coming to punish me, r-right?” He'd told her not to and she'd run off anyways.....she'd known she'd get punished.

"No sweetheart," he instantly said, "I was never mad at you. I wish you hadn't run off like you had, but I was never mad and I'm not going to punish you." She'd more than punished herself. He gave her another quick embrace before he walked her out of the place, leading her back to her home to reassure his brother that Roz would be alright before he took her back to Hogwarts where Casey should be resting.

---

Casey's tired eyes fluttered open at the sound of a patronus echoing a message. He realized he'd fallen asleep against his adopted father again and shifted to try and wake up a little better.

'shall be returning soon...' Uncle Danny's voice mumbled from the patronus in front of them. The bright light was blinding to his exhausted mind and he shut his eyes again.

"Whassit?" he yawned.

She nodded quietly, leaning into his embrace as he hugged her. As they walked back she was quiet, hair fading back to translucent. She was scared....would Casey be mad at her...? Well, Roz was going to find out.


“...about time.” Caius sighed, then looked down to his shifting son. “Ah, good morning, sleepyhead. We should just start staying on the couch,” he smiled warmly. He shifted, holding Casey warm against him as he stretched, cracked his bad shoulder.

“You might want to get dressed, kiddo; we're going to have a guest in a moment. Aidan is bringing them up.” He pet his hair gently. “I can make breakfast...” he added, offering. Hopefully he'd eat a little more....

Casey gave a small snort at his adopted father's welcoming response. "Transfigure the couch into a bed?" he suggested with a tired grin. He blinked at the news that they were having a guest, unsure about who it was.

"If it's another healer again..." he said sourly as he thought about the psychologist healer who'd visited the other day at Aidan's request. He hadn't liked that very much, having had painful memories forced to the front of his mind to remember the pain. It had helped in the end, but the process was gruesome.

As he tugged a red sweatshirt over his head, he heard the signal that the portrait blocking their rooms was opening and he headed out of his room to see who it was.

He stopped in his tracks, eyes widening in small hope, but also trying not to believe.

"R...Roz...?" he asked quietly.

"It's actually not that bad of an idea," he mused, eyeing the old couch. "Change it back during the day...." He went about cleaning, working quietly.

"Well, one of them's a healer, but don't worry, he's not here for you. He's accompanying....." He turned towards the door to eye the two incoming people. "It took you long enough, Ai....."

Roz pressed shakily to her uncle's side, pale and tears still staining her face. She knew her hair was flickering between translucence and color, showing her attempts to bottle up her emotions again, sink into shock. They turned blue though at the voice calling her name, then glittered a few different colors.

"....Casey....?" She asked nervously, starting to pull a little from Aidan's side. "I..." Guilt assaulted her, locking her throat for a moment when she saw his face, how worn and hurt he looked. Oh, Casey! "I...I'm sorry, I....i-is it okay if...I'm here?" The question tumbled out before she could stop it, tremors racking her as she ached to race to him, wrap him in her arms and never let him go....

It definitely was her. The rapidly changing colors, those eyes that have always captivated him. He heard her question and gave a shaky scoff of disbelief. Okay if she was here. He'd been wanting her here from the start! Giving in, her couldn't stop his legs from moving until he was right in front of her, throwing his arms around her waist and tugging her into a tight embrace, never wanting to let go as he hid his face into her shoulder, shaking.

"Don't ever leave me, please," he whispered into her neck, tightening his grip.

Roz squeaked as he moved, scared he'd fall - and then he was there, and he was holding her and his face was against her shoulder and he was here.

Her arms wove around his torso, gripping him tight - not too tight, do not hurt him! - but tight to her, as if she was scared he'd vanish. Her hair lit finally - flashing every color, alive and bright in a way she hadn't been in weeks. Her voice unlocked and words came, spilled easily. "C-Casey, Casey, I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry, I was late to th-the rocks and I was late...! And then, then Uncle Danny told me to s-s-stay away so they c-c-could help you and I w-w-was so scared....s-scared that something h-h-happened, or you didn't w-w-want me to c-c-come....!"

Hearing her rambling brought him back to a sense of normalcy, and he realized how much he'd missed her. Just plain missed everything about her, even though she was clearly upset and on the border of hysteria. He pulled back enough, reluctantly, to look her in the eyes.

"I'm fine," he told her quickly. Nightmares and faint pain aside, "Don't blame yourself Roz! You know... Merlin, it'd tear me apart if you keep blaming yourself for something t-they did." He winced as he easily recalled everything they'd done. It may have been in the past now for him, but he'd never forget those moments.

Roz just held to him, apologizing shakily for not coming, not being there, not helping...!

When he pulled away, she took a shaky breath, trying to keep herself calmer as he looked at her. Those glasz eyes she loved so always helped some....his words made her soften, and she reached to cradle his cheek, soothe gently.

"It's o-okay." She could see his pain, but now.... "I'm h-here now....a-a-and I'm not going anywhere. I will never leave you, Casey." The last part was firmer, gentle. He needed to know that.

"I'll never leave you."