The Eagle has Landed......Hard....

[Lily Drage]

Lily lead Sumner to an empty bed. Her eyes narrowed at him, telling him she was not going to deal with any cr@p. No matter what she might say now or in the coming weeks, she was pissed that the Puffs had managed to pull out a victory on their team. "Sit down. I am going to go get the nurse." She looked at him sternly, then turned on her heels to go get the nurse from her office. Once she had her back to her friend, she felt the tears start to flow, unbidden, down her cheeks. Tears of disappointment over the loss, of her own pain from the game, of Sumner's injuries and his not believing her that she did actually care what happened to him.

 

[Sumner Drage]

Sumner limped painfully into the room, sitting on the cot Lily indicated heavily. He watched her walk away, his head coming to rest wearily in his hand. On the walk from the pitch to the castle, the fog had lifted, leaving the bitter taste of shame and defeat on his tongue. He hated losing. But more than that he hated disappointing his captain, his friend. Hearing her return, he braved a glance at her face and felt his gut clench. Tears. His hand came up, grasped hers gently, pressing her hand to his lips. He couldn't meet her eyes, his head remained down, hair falling into his face. "I'm sorry Lily."

 

[Lily Drage]

Lily couldn't help the tears as she got the nurse, then returned to Sumner's side. She was upset with herself. She failed to lead her team to victory and she couldn't stand it. She wiped her cheeks before turning to face him again, but it didn't help. The tears were still there. Lily sighed as Sumner pressed his lips to her hand, his head down. Sitting down next to him on the bed, his hand still in hers, she laid her head on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry too. Its not your fault. Any of this. I am just pissed that we lost." She lifted her head and reached over with her hand, gently turning his face to hers. "And I am sorry you are back in here again because of me." Blue eyes searched out grey, tears flowing again down her cheeks. "You know, I meant what I said before. I do care what happens to you. Sumner, you are rather important to me."

 

[Sumner Drage]

The bed dipped and gave a little as Lily sat, not enough to jar him. Her words touched him, the sincerity behind them drove the meaning home. He had been wrong to doubt her, wrong to be so rough with her. Shame and hurt coursed through him. Withdrawing his hand, he patted her knee, nodding as he turned his head to hide the trembling in his chin and the wetness in his eyes.

 

[Lily Drage]

Lily felt bad as Sumner turned from her. The nurse arrived and Lily stood and moved to the chair next to the bed while she tended to his injuries. She knew he was in pain, but never really let on how bad his injuries were. She tucked her legs up under her, settling in and waiting for the nurse to be done.

 

[Sumner Drage]

The nurse bustled over, pursing her lips at seeing him once again. Sumner was no stranger to the hospital wing. With quick, efficient movements, she helped him remove his shirt. Thankfully the rest of his clothes remained as she ran her wand around his injuries, healing instantly the damage inside. His ribs were an array of deep purple bruising and angry welts. To treat both his arm and his fractured ribs, she gave him a healthy dose of pain potion and skele gro to mend the bones back together.

They had a short, tense and heated battle over him staying there. Finally she released him, giving him a terse nod and told him to come back at any sign of pain. Once she returned to her office and shut the door, Sumner grabbed his shirt and Quidditch robe, standing up on his own steam. "Lily. Walk me to my room?" His color was starting to return but he fought with his pride and asked her to help him, knowing he couldn't return with out her.

 

[Lily Drage]

Lily watched as the nurse did her best to fix Sumner. She couldn't help but stare as his shirt was removed and his injuries were revealed. It stunned her. He had to have been in so much pain with so many broken bones but he would have kept playing if she had let him. She was glad she had benched him when she did, the last thing she needed was Sumner knocked unconscious during a game.

As he rose, she moved to stand up too. "Of course." Her hands free, she moved to his side, ready to walk with him back. She placed her arm about his waist, hoping that it would look more like an embrace than someone helping him to walk. Lily was well aware of Sumner's pride and wanted to help him but not crush his rather large ego.

Moving into the hallway, they walked in silence for a bit before she finally spoke. "How are you doing? Need to rest for a moment?" She worried about her friend, the man who had become her best friend over the past months and she had come to rely upon. She didn't want him to wear himself out on the way upstairs.

 

[Sumner Drage]

"No I'll be okay." Sumner managed to walk beside her without hunching over like an old man. At least until after the first flight of stairs. Then he steadily curled up on himself, shoulders hunching as the knitting bones made themselves known. His arm came up around Lily's shoulders, his mouth thinning as sweat beaded his forehead. "Almost...there," he panted, trying to put on a brave face. To distract himself or her, he didn't care which, he asked, "So what are your plans for the summer?"

 

[Lily Drage]

Lily smiled as he slipped his arm around her, trying not to think about the pain that he was in. "Summer?" she asked, caught completely off guard by the question. "Well, I really don't have much planned. Going to work on setting up my bedroom at the apartment and help with the kitchen and living room stuffs. Oh, and work to pay the bills," Lily added with a laugh. "I think everyone is going to be there, well, Courtney and Ford for sure. Kale is working for the Ministry and I guess is never around. Going to check out some quidditch practices too for Auckland and Woolongong. I need to make a choice soon." Making it up the second to last flight of stairs, she asked, "So what are your plans? Anything exciting?"

 

[Sumner Drage]

Sumner listened through the faint white noise in his ears. "That's-great Lily," he said, through gritted teeth. He meant it, he was happy for his friend that she was doing things to make the transition from graduate to pro Quidditch player so much easier on herself. "Going-home for a few days," he panted, limbs beginning to shake. "Avery wrote and asked me to come." Thankfully another flight was behind them. "Then it's off to my dad's." He slanted a look at her, playfully he brushed his lips across her cheek. "Guess I won't see your pretty face over break huh?"

 

[Lily Drage]

Lily listened, noting how difficult it was for him to breath at the moment. When he began to shake and tried to keep going, she was about to pull him to a stop. Suddenly, he kissed her cheek and she blushed. She stopped walking and turned to look at him. There was a windowsill near them, so she guided him over. "Sit. You won't make it up the steps otherwise." Lily gave him a fake glare, proving she meant business, but wasn't upset with him. She stood in front of him, placing her hands around his neck and playing with his hair behind his head.

"Sounds like you won't. Unless," she paused for a moment, "you, um, get sick of the kids and decide you want to come visit me." She gave him a devilish grin.

 

[Sumner Drage]

Sumner took the seat gratefully. Maybe a few moments rest would make things more bearable. "Thanks," he murmured, eyes half closing as she began to play with his hair. It soothed and aroused at the same time, an odd contradiction that he found he liked, very much. Pale eyes looked into hers and he found the strength to grin; it sat lopsided on his face. His hand came up and absently he brushed her chin with his thumb, enjoying her soft skin and the way her eyes changed when he touched her, before it settled back at his side. "If they start to drive me crazy, I just might do that."

 

[Lily Drage]

Lily inhaled sharply as Sumner stroked her chin. She loved the warmth from his hands on her skin. Her eyes were locked in on his. "My door is always open for you," she whispered, then leaned forward and kissed him gently on the lips, her hands sliding up to massage his head. Pulling back, she smiled at him, then whispered again. "I guess my room has doors that open out onto the beach," she placed a kiss on his cheek. "And huge windows," she placed a kiss on his other cheek, "and no neighbors." She kissed him on the lips again, trying to hide the devilish smile creeping across her face.

 

[Sumner Drage]

Sumner's grey eyes grew smoky, his voice hummed low in his throat. Heat rose up the back of his neck, stained his cheeks as her meaning came through, loud and clear, punching through the haze of pain he was in. Eyes locked to hers, he nodded slightly. "I've always wanted to see the beach." His voice whispered across her, slowly he got to his feet and looked down at her from the inches that separated them.

 

[Lily Drage]

Lily looked up at Sumner, a slight smile on her face. She was not exactly sure where this was coming from, but the more the thought of Sumner being in her new room, the more she liked the idea. She had told Kat that she had no plans to do that with him, but now, well, now she knew that if he wanted to, she was on board. She slid her hands into his, her eyes locked on his. "I hear it is beautiful," she whispered.

 

[Sumner Drage]

"Then I'll be damned sure to make myself scarce from dad's." His lips brushed hers, hands squeezed lightly before pulling back. He slid his arm around her shoulders and as they began to walk again, he glanced her way and wondered how exactly he had gotten to this point in his life. When he'd transferred here, he'd been shy, pretty easy going kid. Until fate had sucker punched him and left him to either sink or swim. Looking down at her, he began to realize that maybe things weren't so bad. Yeah they'd lost the game and he'd have time to pick some petty fights about it later. Right now it didn't seem too bad.

His thoughts moved forward and he thought, maybe he'd patch things up with his mum. He missed her and at that moment, things didn't look so bleak or feel so bogged down. He knew, as he slanted a glance her way, that Lily had played a big part in that realization. She could calm him, joke with him, kiss him like no other he knew. He wasn't in love with her, but he did love her, as his friend. His friend, he realized, smirking, whom had just invited him to spend time with her in her room. Alone. With no chance of being interupted. Yeah, things were starting to look up.