Creating a Cure: Liquor and Communication-plot ppl

[Maribeth Grayson]

You know, there are those times in life when you think you're stuck in quicksand. Nothing seems to go right and day after day you just fall deeper as time passes. It's said that if you stay still and try not fight it, you'll be pushed back up to the surface in time. Soon, things seem more darker than normal and more negative. These are all side effects due to the sand coming up around you. However, nothing ever lasts forever. And soon you will find yourself slowly being pulled out from that dark place. When the light is finally bright enough, you'll realize it's not time and letting things happen that helped you out of it, it's your friends.

----

The last few weeks- no. The last few months have been difficult for every healer at St. Mungo's Hospital. The late fall and early winter seasons always bring in the oddest of patients. For example, people try to take it upon themselves to fix broken heaters in their home. The mixture of wizard wand power, and muggle machinery rarely end in a positive outcome. This should be common knowledge, but some wizards these days think they can do anything. Also, children who just got their wands for their first year of school, forget that it is illegal to practice spells back at home during their first winter break. So, altered and damaged hexes, charms, potions, and jinxes are like puzzles with missing pieces that stumble into the Hospital walls and each healer has to figure out what was the desired outcome, where it went wrong, and how to change it back. Many other patients take residence in the second and third floors. Families plan exotic trips or holiday vacations for the winter break to beat the weather. But fail to understand exotic locations hide exotic bugs, viruses, plants, and beasts. However, the crazy patients that frequent the hospital have not been the only troublesome influence on each healer. Not too long ago St Mungo's lost one of the top healers, Miguel Taveras. He died a few weeks ago and the loss to each healer has been different. Some feel lost, because he was a beneficial member of the healing team and during this season being one person less makes all the difference. Others feel abandoned because he was their mentor. And a selected few are getting hit harder than most.

Maribeth's friend, Heidi Fleming, was close with Miguel. And from an outsider's perspective she could tell Heidi has been trying to hide the hurt to the best of her ability. Mar wasn't one to pry on emotional feelings of anyone. She rarely got to the point where she wanted to connect with someone on that level. But she could tell the first few weeks, in Heidi's face that it was getting to her. Some time has passed and with the sudden push of the work load, everyone's minds have been focused on the constant cycle of patients each day. In and out, hot or cold, asleep or in a coma, in a coma or stunned, dead or alive. Each moment was packed with patient visits, checkups, magic procedures, and the prescriptions of specific potions. It barely gave a moment to think about yourself, or even exhale the breath that seemed to be taken and held when you approached a new patient and aliment.

Finally, at the end of a 78 hour continuous work schedule, Maribeth was let off. It was eight o'clock at night, and she was allowed to leave! She slammed her locker door closed, as she finally let out an exhale. Sitting back on the bench behind her, she pulled her foot up to the bench below her, and let her heel rest on the edge. She grabbed her shoe laces and tied her loose shoe together. Mar's body was aching for a shower and a drink. All she could think about as she closed her locker door was how a few glasses of fire whiskey could help her create a good relaxing night for her. Making the final loop her her lace, she pulled it tight to finish off the knot. Standing up, she zipped up her jacket that was already around her and made her way to the locker room door. Crossing the lobby, Mar spotted Heidi busy at the nurse's station filling out some paper work. "Hey, drinks at my place once you get off." She hit the table twice to get her attention as she walked past her toward the door. It was an informal invitation, but as close as Mar and Heidi were, it was normal. Mar had Ben and Heidi over for dinner and to finish a bottle of wine every once and awhile. She hated living in her house all by herself, and inviting people over often was a constant routine.

As Mar walked out from behind the old brick building, onto the streets of Muggle London, she put her hands in her pockets to keep warm from the cold rain and wind. One of the most common seasons in London was "rain". She wasn't a fan of it, but what could she do? Reaching the corner, she dodged a few cars as she ran across the street to her house a few blocks away. Reaching her doorstep, she stepped up onto the porch with a jump to get out from the cold weather. Unlocking her door, she pushed it open in front of her. She left her lights on, on her first floor. Coming home to a dark house made her feel alone, roomateless. She hated that feeling. Flicking on the outside porch light, she closed the door behind her. She didn't lock it, because she knew Heidi would be over soon and knew she was probably going to still be in the shower when she arrived. She didn't mind Heidi helping herself to her house. It felt like another roommate, just without always living with her.
Dragging herself to her stairs, she walked up the wooden path to her second floor. The hall light was on, just like the rest of her lights. Finding her way to the bathroom, she stripped as she quickly jumped into the shower to loosen her muscles before the night's unplanned events.

[Heidi Rebecca Fleming]

Heidi stared listlessly at the paperwork she was filling out. Paperwork: it was endless. Really, it was. If Heidi wasn't scrawling her signature at the end of a ten-page document waffling nonsense, then she was filling out forms for a medical procedure. Heidi understood the necessity of paperwork, but at the moment she couldn't care less - hence why her glassy eyes looked right through the black-inked printed words. To strangers she probably looked like she was concentrating intently on the piece of paper, but in reality she was the furthest thing from focusing - she was completely disorientated. Heidi was only rustled from her reverie when a few healers rushed past her with a stretcher, a bloody patient lying unconscious with distressed family and friends running behind it shouting for-- for what? To save their loved one's life? That was a healer's job, right? Blankly, Heidi stared after the stretcher, the noises fading with the image of blood, blood and more blood. Blinking, she turned her gaze to the clock and gave an inaudible sigh. She still had two hours to go and she wasn't in the mood. She hadn't eaten since this morning, but she had had neither the time nor appetite. That was unlike Heidi, who loved food - loved cooking it and savouring it.

"Really, Heidi," she chided herself inwardly. "Pull yourself together, girl. Two hours and you're free."

That didn't make Heidi feel much better. Turning back to her paperwork, she scanned the page she had just read and realised she had no clue what it was addressing; it was as if the words had entered one eye and escaped through the other. Growling in frustration, she flipped the page somewhat aggressively to attempt to analyse the next one. Subconsciously her foot tapped against the floor; her impatience was getting the best of her. This time, though, her escape from focus came from loud raps against the table. Blinking dazedly, Heidi looked up, her eyes settling on the familiar figure of Maribeth Grayson. She processed her fellow healer's words slowly; by the time she understood and could respond, Mar was already out of the door. "See you there--" Heidi started but trailed off, realising that Mar probably couldn't hear her anymore anyway. Frowning deeply, Heidi blew her breath out in frustration and propped her arm on the table, her chin resting against her hand. "Great, just great," she muttered to herself. "Two hours, two bloody hours..."

Normally Heidi was no complainer, but when she was in a temper or when she was irritated, her emotions tended to get the better of her. Still, despite her annoyance at her long working hours, she was thankful for Mar's offer. Heidi didn't want to face returning home where she'd spend the evening alone thinking about... the past. Squeezing her eyes shut tightly, Heidi's finger went to the bridge of her nose as though she was trying extremely hard to concentrate. In fact, she was thinking about her mother; Maria was currently in Spain with her new boyfriend. How Heidi had been happy when her mother had returned home one day and declared herself a single woman no longer. But... how Heidi wished she could claim the same thing. Whereas Maria had found someone, Heidi had lost someone. Life was cruel, life was unpredictable, and Miguel's death had certainly been unpredictable.

No. No, she couldn't think about it. Heidi opened her eyes and let her bleary focus join the paperwork letters again. She had Mar's invitation to look forward too. Heidi was grateful she could spend some time with her friend, and even more grateful she wouldn't have to spend the evening alone. It seemed she didn't have anyone to turn to nowadays: Maria was away; she and Ben were on tetchy terms; Vi wasn't even a part of her hospital life; Julia had made the startling decision to leave St Mungo's; and Miguel... Well, there was no one - no one but Mar left to talk to. Heidi tried a smile to herself. Yes... she wasn't completely alone. She and Mar had grown close over the last year as they'd worked at St Mungo's; they'd operated over the same patients, had attended the same social gatherings. They were a group before - an diverse and odd group, but a group nonetheless. It had consisted of Heidi herself, determined to do well; Mar, the daughter of a famous healer; Ben, the only male, and a clumsy and silly one at that; and Julia, even though she pretended she never cared about anyone but herself. They had been a tight-knit group, but Julia had left and things had changed.

It was odd. A year ago, Heidi would never have expected so much to have happened in twelve months - so much to have changed. When she first joined St Mungo's, she had had no idea what to expect. She had been extremely excited and honoured to be a part of this brilliant hospital, and she still was. What had changed was her world. St Mungo's was the same every day - the same sorts of patients, ailments, problems. Heidi, though - she wasn't the same anymore. Who would've thought? Suppressing a nostalgic, sorrowful tear, extremely rare for Heidi - especially on the job - she swallowed her thoughts and shut her file of paperwork, stuffing it into a drawer, unfinished and ignored, and walked off briskly to find something else to occupy her for the next two hours.

***

Heidi dropped into Mar's house at 7 p.m. with a bottle of red wine and some Chinese takeaway. She doubted Mar had eaten yet. Letting herself in, Heidi dropped the stuff on the coffee table and shouted, "Mar, I'm here!" Receiving no response, Heidi assumed she was in the shower and sat down on the sofa and began unpacking the food. She went to retrieve cutlery and crockery from the kitchen, and just when she'd finished dishing the food out, Mar descended down the stairs. "Hey," Heidi greeted with a smile. "I thought I'd get us dinner. Chinese." She motioned with her chopsticks. Realising she didn't get glasses, Heidi used her wand to bring them to the lounge. The wine bottle tipped itself up and poured out a healthy amount. "Here," Heidi said, sliding the glass towards Mar. She then patted the seat next to her. "Sit and eat and... relax. Man, I've had such a rough day." Shaking her head wryly, Heidi lapsed into silence as she began to eat her small portion without much enthusiasm. Even Chinese couldn't bring her appetite back after ten hours of no food. She was exhausted, mentally and physically, and if it wasn't for Mar's presence she would've ignored the food and dropped off to sleep immediately.

[Viola Hudson]

Vi didn’t know what to think, what to say, what to do. Her best friend was still in pieces and Viola herself was feeling lost in the world. Like someone stranded. Everyone else was distraught about something and she just wanted to have some bloody fun! She was missing it, even though it really hadn’t been that long since Viola had danced or been drunk. But her still eighteen-year-old brain told her that she was sorely in need of some fun. The problem was finding people to have that fun with. For once in her life, Vi didn’t know who to take out. She was confused about where she stood with Julie and how to react to her friend. For once the right things didn’t seem to want to come into her head and out of her mouth, resulting in awkward silences that the two had never had. She loved her best friend more than anything, but her proposal for the move and her latest behaviour had made Viola a little wary. She was settled in Wales, in their little side-by-side flats. Well, settled in the sense that she had finally found her place and was staying there- in other senses Vi was far from ‘settled’. But move back to England? And so close to the school they had grown up in? It seemed like a crazy idea. But Viola had been considering it and truly, crazy had always been her way of doing things. So she was keeping an open mind about the proposal, an open mind about her future.

Futures aside, she wanted to do something tonight. She’d spent the last few days aimlessly writing some new songs, but she’d thrown these all away, screwed the paper up so that the words couldn’t be read by anyone. Her lyrics lately were not very Vi. They were melancholy and almost mournful. Why? She knew perfectly well why, but hated to admit it to herself. There were many possible reasons. Clouded futures, upset friends, general lack of money, Ben O’Leary… that last one seemed quite prominent in her mind. Again she had to ask herself- why? Why was this clumsy man so present in her thoughts? She had danced with him, kissed him, taken him back to her flat- but there was nothing new there. Viola, though not free with body in any degrading sense, danced and kissed many people most nights. It was her way of letting go. But when she kissed Ben, the feel of his lips on hers stayed with her. She could almost taste him now. Almost; the feeling was fading. And she wanted badly to get it back. So tempted to contact him and maybe arrange to meet again. Perhaps she could even arrange it through Heidi to seem less interested. She knew the two worked together and if Heidi mentioned Vi in conversation it would have seemed almost normal.

Thinking of Heidi made Viola smile. She missed her friend; their last lunch together had been not so long ago, but she still wanted to see Heidi again soon. Well, what’s wrong with tonight? The question popped into her mind and she accepted it with a smile. Heidi would probably have plans- probably working, doing paperwork or other silly jobs like that, jobs Viola could not see herself doing in a million years. Vi didn’t have to work and it was still early, so there wouldn’t be much hassle arranging a visit to Heidi’s that night. In fact it didn’t take long at all. Just a quick phone call and Viola got the information she needed. She was not put off by the fact that Heidi was spending the evening with a friend and Viola could be intruding on something. She wanted to see her friend and she would, that was that in her mind. So after getting the details about Maribeth’s house and finding out the best time to arrive, Viola had her evening perfectly mapped out.

It unravelled around seven, when Viola took a moment after apparating to Maribeth’s street to re-orientate herself with her surroundings, checking every body part was present, before knocking on the door with a tuneful beat that amused her. She hadn’t changed for the evening and was still in the clothes that she had been wearing that day. Her hair was in gentle cascading waves, contrasting to Viola’s normal tendency to go for sharper, spikier cuts. It was an odd shade of midnight blue- more blue than black- but incredibly dark. The spell for this hair style had been easy and Viola enjoyed the dark waves and also the charm in her contacts to make her eye colour a soft brown. She wore a short black dress that was entirely made of a thick embroidered mesh material that looked almost vintage and hung from her shoulders without sleeves. She wore white tights and a pair of old black ankle boots with the dress. To fend off the weather she also carried a bright red coat but didn’t wear it, resulting in goosebumps on her skin and a shiver to her figure as she waited for the door to the house to open.

When it did she was greeted by Heidi and the woman she knew must be Maribeth. She hadn’t met the latter before properly, only greeted her in fleeting words. With a wide grin Vi stepped into the house without invitation, instantly liking the smell that reached her nostrils. “Oh, brilliant. I haven’t eaten- are we having Chinese?” She embraced Heidi warmly and smiled her welcome at Maribeth before confidently stepping into the lounge. She smiled further at the sight of the wine bottle and comfortable atmosphere in the room. “Great place, Maribeth.” Vi noted, throwing her red coat onto the back of a chair and slipping off her boots. After having done nothing in particular all day compared to Heidi and Maribeth, Viola was in high spirits now, with a bottle of wine and hopefully some nice conversation to look forward to.

[Maribeth Grayson]

Rubbing the steam off of her bathroom mirror, Maribeth rubbed her eyes as she realized the small red veins pump in the whites of her eyes. "Of course." she mumbled to herself. Pulling open her medicine cabinet she pushed aside a few pill bottles and grabbed a small eye drop container. After such a long shift at work, her body was aching for sleep. Her eyes bore the look of being tired, where as her body was feeling it's second, third, possibly fourth wind. Tilting her head back, She held open her eye lid with her free hand as she dropped two drops in each eye. Blinking her eyes several times, she put her head back facing the mirror as she set her eye drop container on the side of the sink. With an inhale, she produced a weak smile as she reminded herself that she was off work and was home and soon her Heidi was coming over for a night of relaxation. Hearing the echo of the front door opening and closeing downstairs, Mar opened the bathroom door and crossed the hall to her bedroom to get changed.

After only a few moments, Maribeth came downstairs in a pair of grey jogging pants and a plain white shirt. Her hair was damp, and up out of her face. Holding on to the last banaster of her stairwell, she turned to her right and saw Heidi in the lounge with chinese takeout boxes in front of her. Nodding her head, Mar walked into the side room with a satisfied look on her face. "Greasy food, and Wine.... my stomach probably can't handle it, but my mind says it's perfect medicine!" Mar laughed as she sat down next to Heidi on her couch. The room was warm from the fire that was lit in the morning and continued to burn through the day. Maribeth's house, well... her mother's house, was old and the heating bill was too much to pay just for herself. Luckily, with fireplaces in her bedroom, living room, and lounge, the continous flames kept the house warm enough to suffice. Grabbing a small take-out box for herself, Mar took two chopsticks in her fingers and slowly begain to eat as she listened to Heidi. Swallowing she replied. "I don't know why, but it felt like that last shift would never end. I kept running into Grace and Ben. And when I say running into, I mean literally." Mar rolled her eyes as she took another bite of her noodles. "I don't know if I was in the wrong place at the wrong time but I think I might have a bruise on my hip because of those two. But, I didn't see much of you, where did they put you? Usually we run the same routes." Mar started to talk as she heard a knock on her door. "Are you expecting anyone?"

Setting down her box of chinese, Mar and Heidi walked to her front hallway. Opening up her door, she noticed a girl at her doorstep. "Hello." she greeted in her normal, somewhat mono-tone voice. She was dressed quite differently than what Mar was used to. She was excentric with her style as well as bold colors. It was a shock at first to see, because Maribeth wasn't sure what to expect at her door. Heidi introduced Mar and Viola two eacher as Viola walked in. Mar heard of Heidi's friend through conversations, but never formally met her. She wasn't too keen on meeting new people, especially on a night where it was just going to be completely laid back, but if she was good friend's with Heidi, she must be good company. As the two walked back into the lounge, Maribeth closed her front door and followed. She found her same seat back on the couch and grabbed a glass of wine. Picking it up she took as sip as she grinned at Viola's comment. "Thanks, It was mother's. I kind of am just here until I find someplace to put all of this stuff." She shrugged as she looked around at the books the lined the shelves, and the boxes piled in the corners. "It's good for now." she grinned back at Viola and remembered her comment about the food. "Help yourself. Heidi brought it. And i'm sure I have some left in the fridge from a few nights ago." Mar remembered her last meal was Chinese food, too. She wasn't a very good cook. Take-out was her main dish.

Taking another sip of her wine, she set the glass down and picked up her food again. She took a bite of her food as she curled her legs up on the couch beside her. Looking at Heidi she picked up their conversation where they left off.

[Heidi Rebecca Fleming]

Heidi shifted a little uncomfortably at the brief passing mention of her best friend... or ex-best friend? Had their friendship been reduced to her wincing at Ben's name? A few weeks ago Heidi would've chuckled when speaking about him, but nowadays she felt guilt and resentment knock against the pit of her stomach, which was currently trying to digest some Chinese food. Heidi paused in her chewing and glanced up at Mar to reply to her question, trying to hide her lack of enthusiasm to chat about Ben. "Oh, I was here and there today... They kept switching me to different floors to cover for people... I swear, half the healers aren't at the hospital these days," she grumbled in annoyance. "I'm always having to cover for them, and it's really beginning to irritate me."

Before Heidi could huff half-heartedly over her job schedule, a knock at the door signalled the arrival of someone. Heidi glanced at Mar questioningly, but it seemed her friend had not been expecting company. When they opened the door to Vi though, Heidi's memory resurfaced: Vi had called her as she had been making her way to Mar's, having just finished work for the day, and she had wanted to meet up. Heidi had told her she was going to Mar's and that she could come if she wanted to. Mar probably wouldn't mind too much, and they'd met before. Vi had agreed to meet her there, but Heidi had already forgotten about this arrangement until she saw Vi standing on Mar's doorstep.

"Oh hey Vi," she greeted with a smile, before turning to Mar apologetically. "I completely forgot to tell you - I invited Vi over. She wanted to meet up but I'd already promised you, so I told her to join the 'party'." Heidi cracked a humoured smile. "Hope you don't mind. Mar, this is Vi, and Vi, this is Mar. You've met before though, I'm sure." She introduced her friends over the doorway, before Vi entered the house and she gave her a hug. "Yep," Heidi confirmed Vi's question about the food, grinning despite herself at Vi's bubbly energy. She didn't know how the Hufflepuff graduate managed to stay so cheery and positive all the time; she was like a ball of endless energy, and Heidi couldn't keep up with it; only a cup (or two) of strong coffee got her through her working days. She was sure if she had to live with Vi, that her friend would have worn her out by the end of the day. Heidi had always appreciated Vi most in small doses; well, the same went for most of her friends, really... Ben had been the only exception - until now.

They went back to the living room, and Heidi used her wand to summon another plate, cutlery and a glass. The wine bottle tipped a generous amount for Vi, according to Heidi's casual flicking of her wand, and it floated towards Vi for her to take. "Tuck in," Heidi motioned at the large amount of untouched food on the table. "Mar and I will never finish... Good thing you're here; you have the biggest appetite out of all of us, Vi," she joked. After the laughter subsided, Heidi found herself eating in silence again - brooding again. Her conscience sighed heavily. "Get over it, Heidi," it demanded crossly in an I-know-better-than-you tone of voice. "This isn't you. Either that or get it off your chest. Otherwise it will just cramp your style." Heidi's inner eyebrow rose. Cramp her what? "Never mind. Just do something about your issues, otherwise you will go mental, and you know that the mental ward at St Mungo's is the last place you want to go."

Now Heidi wouldn't argue with that.

She never talked to herself and she wouldn't continue the habit. Sighing aloud this time and putting her plate down, Heidi rounded on her two closest female friends and declared loudly: "He's dead." Seconds later, tears welled into Heidi's eyes against her will, and her grip on her thigh tightened. She broke the pregnant pause, looking at neither Mar or Vi as she explained. "Miguel. He's dead. And it's all... it's all gone wrong," she choked, bringing a hand to her cheek to wipe away the tears that were beginning to emerge, much to her frustration. "I didn't even know he was dying! No one told me. Damnit, he didn't tell me! How could he do that to me?! And I didn't even get to know first-hand, because Ben of all people was the one who knocked on my door, the one who delivered the news as though I was his stay-at-home wife or something. I didn't deserve that!" Heidi's voice rose a tone as her hysteria also increased, her arms beginning to accentuate her every word with sharp jabs. "We were friends. Even if I wouldn't allow a relationship to grow after I found out the truth about... about us, he didn't have to ignore me like that! He cut me out of his life like I didn't matter, like I'd never mattered! And that's not fair! Not fair after he was the one who had gotten me pregnant when I was sixteen years old because he hadn't been smart enough that night, and then left me to have my baby girl fricking adopted! That a******!" Heidi swore viciously, tears seeping uncontrollably out of her eyes.

There it was: the truth was out. Heidi Fleming, Little Miss Perfectionist, had screwed up. She'd gotten knocked up, bore a child, and given it away like a gift. And her life... her life had never been the same since without that bundle of joy Heidi had only spent five hours with in her tiny life. It was all Miguel's fault.

"All his fault," she sobbed angrily, knowing in her heart of hearts she didn't blame Miguel; she missed him and she wished, more than anything, she'd said sorry.