In the hospital (Doctor and Willow)

by **Doctor Florence Nettle** Sat Aug 11, 2012 9:20 am

The Doctor had been approached by Willow to think about giving money to charity, a charity that worked in the hospital. From this he decided that he should go to the hospital to see what kind of work the charity did. To help him with that he'd owl'd Willow to ask her if she would be so kind as to help him with that task.

As he waited in the waiting area, The Doctor checked the time on his fob watch before sighing slightly. Willow was a few minutes late but that wasn't what was making him sigh. What was making him sigh, and had been making him sigh all day, was that he'd woken up again this morning expecting Viktoria to be by his side.

The cold, empty, bed reminded him that she was gone.

And that he was alone.

by **Willow Hartman** Sat Aug 11, 2012 9:28 am

Willow had just been making sure that her Papa was all ready before she had left him, but she had not realised the time had passed so fast! So she was now tearing down the corridors, wondering if the Doctor would still be waiting for her in the waiting area.

Telling herself just how silly she was if this meant that he wasn't going to give the money that they so desperately needed, Willow frowned lightly to herself. Stopping directly outside the ward doors, Willow smiled in a relieved manner when she saw that the Doctor was still here, but, he looked so unbelievably sad.

"Doctor...are you alright?" she asked tentatively as she approached, a soft smile on her lips "I'm so so sorry I'm late I just lost track of the time when I was working with some of the patients here. I hope you weren't waiting too long."

by **Doctor Florence Nettle** Sat Aug 11, 2012 9:32 am

The Doctor was so lost in his thoughts, so wrapped up in his despair at being alone, that he almost didn't hear Willow speaking to him. He blinked a few times to focus himself back onto the real world and found that she had asked if he was alright. He wanted to tell her no but that wouldn't be fair to her,

"Yes I'm fine Willow, I just didn't get a lot of sleep last night." he assured her with a small, fake, smile. The smile became a less fake when Willow smiled back at him. Her smile seemed familiar somehow. But either way, it made him happier, "It's not a problem Willow. I wasn't waiting too long and you were late for a good reason."

He gently held out his arm for her to take as they walked, like a gentleman, smiling as he did so,

"Where shall you lead me to first?"

by **Willow Hartman** Sat Aug 11, 2012 9:37 am

Willow let her brow furrow in worry when the Doctor said that he wasn't sleeping enough and she almost reached out a hand to press against his forehead to see if he was feeling ill, before she remembered that he was her employer and she probably should avoid doing that.

"I'm not surprised you aren't sleeping well Doctor, what with all of the...well the deaths that have happened recently." she whispered, of course reffering to the last large attack, that killed almost half of the wizarding population on each side.

When he held his arm out to her Willow gently linked hers with his and smiled happily, before leading him the way that he had come, to where she worked on the charity ward, it was mostly for those that have been effected in the war, but there were exceptions.

"I can take you to where the main patients ward is for the charity, did you...uhm...read the things I gave you about it?" she asked with a blush "I mean I know you're like super busy so I totally understand if you haven't!" Willow squeaked out nervously.

by **Doctor Florence Nettle** Sat Aug 11, 2012 9:41 am

The Doctor sighed a little bit when she mentioned all of the deaths. There had been a lot of them and he had been responsible for some of those lives. They had been his students and he had failed to protect them at all. He nodded with a small frown,

"Yes the deaths have been weighing heavily on my I must admit." he told her quietly, "But there are other reasons why I find it hard to sleep Willow and they hurt me more."

It was strange but the way she held his arm and the way she smiled sent happy little shivers down his spine. The Doctor followed her obediently towards the charity ward,

"Yeah the main ward would be fine Willow." he paused before honestly asking, "Things you gave me? You gave me things to read? If you put them on my desk... ah! My paperwork seems to swap everything so it's my fault really don't worry."

by **Willow Hartman** Sat Aug 11, 2012 9:50 am

Willow smile dimmed when The Doctor said that it was the deaths that has meant that he wasn't sleeping well, but when he told her that he was upset about something else also, she blinked in wide eyed surprise and she hoped that she would be able to help him with whatever it was.

"What is it Doctor? Are...are you ill or something because I can give you some potions or some healing to help you, all you have to do is ask you know." she smiled gently

Pouting slightly inside when it turned out the Doctor hadn't read what she had left for him, Willow merely giggled lightly and waved her hand as if dismissing the bad news. With a small smile, Willow spoke;

"Well this charity is called the Reevers Charity For the Wounded, and we take care of mostly people who have been harmed in the attacks from the war and need constant care." she smiled warmly "But we have other memebers of our ward that need care constantly for other reasons."

Entering into the main ward, Willow smiled happily as all her patients greeted her; "Well this is the main ward, and this is where I work, there are five other wards and each are manned by one healer."

by **Doctor Florence Nettle** Sat Aug 11, 2012 9:57 am

The Doctor was rather touched by Willow's concern for him for a number of reasons. Not the least of the reasons was that she showed her concern exactly the way Vikki used to. It made that happy tingle go down his back again,

"No... no I'm not ill Willow, I'm perfectly healthy thank you." he told her, his cheeks slightly red for some reason he didn't quite understand, "Just hard to... well hard to get used to sleeping alone."

The light giggle made The Doctor's eyes widen. For a second it was almost like he was back with Viktoria. He smiled happily and gently squeezed her hand despite himself,

"That is a very noble cause Willow and I already give money to some war charities. The constant care is a tad apart from the others though." he informed her with a smile before frowning, "What other types of injuries do you cater to?"

Seeing all of the patients greeting Willow, The Doctor looked at her,

"You come here a lot I'm guessing."

by **Willow Hartman** Sat Aug 11, 2012 10:03 am

Willow blushed a little and she couldn't help but want to comfort the Doctor, it was so horrible what happened to Viktoria, the woman that he loved and she understood completely about how it would make him feel, and how hard it would be to overcome.

"Well, just know that I'm always here for you if you need my help Doctor Nettle, as an employee and a friend." she smiled happily letting her curls bounce as she did so.

When Doctor hold her that he gave money to war charities already, maybe he wouldn't give money to this one if he already gave some away to other places, she hoped that wouldn't be the case however, Hearing him ask another question Willow smiled and then answered happily;

"We cater for lots of different injuries, mostly in this ward it's physical injuries, where the person can't get up and can't take care of themselves, like Kasey here has a severely adapted Immobulus curse thrown at him, we haven't been able to break it yet and he needs help to eat and various other things." she smiled happily.

Willow smiled bashfully; "Well yes, I work here most days after my shifts at Durmstrang are over."

by **Doctor Florence Nettle** Sat Aug 11, 2012 10:08 am

The Doctor was uncertain what he was feeling right now. His cheeks were getting redder and redder the more Willow told him that she would support him. Her caring nature seemed to have no bonds. He smiled a little bit more, happy that she would be there for him,

"I'm so glad to hear you say that Willow because I don't have too many friends." he admitted with a small smile, "And I like being with you like this."

He could tell by the look on her face that Willow had taken the fact that he gave to war charities as a sign he wouldn't give to hers. To be honest it was probably the reasn why he would,

"So what you can typically expect to sustain from a pitched battle? A valuable little ward to be sure." he nodded to Kasey before chuckling a little bit and smiling at Willow, his heart beating faster, "Where do you find time to do all that Willow? I trust you remember to sleep."

by **Willow Hartman** Sat Aug 11, 2012 10:15 am

Willow, when she heard that the Doctor didn't have too many friends looked at him shocked, he was a really nice man and she couldn't believe that he was a man who people wouldnt want to be around, she wanted to be around him already, and she had only just started to be around him.

"Awwww Doctor, well I'll be sure to be your friend and be there if you need me, after all that's what friends are for!" she smiled happily, glad to have made another friend "Are you sure you're not ill Doctor, you're flushed?"

Nodding her head, Willow smiled happily and she gave a soft smile to Kasey before wandering down the rows of beds, instinctively making her way towards her Papa. Who turned and smiled at her, holding what looked like something conceled in paper in his hand.

"Exactly Doctor!" she grinned "We help cater for things other people don;t and spend the time making sure that people are alright, not just hurrying and shipping them out when they still need care. I sleep every night, just maybe for not as long as I would like to, there are so many lessons to cover now!"

by **Doctor Florence Nettle** Sat Aug 11, 2012 10:19 am

The Doctor felt himself blushing even more when Willow said that she would be his friend. It was true though, he really didn't have many friends and he really wished he had more,

"You would really be my friend?" he asked quietly, his cheeks still bright red. He coughed awkwardly, the blush still there, when she commented on his cheeks, "N-no I'm fine. Honest. Just... just a little hot is all."

As they moved further into the ward, The Doctor caught sight of a man in bed who looked vaguely like Willow. And he was smiling at her as if he knew her. This led The Doctor to believe that they might be related. He smiled a little bit,

"Well I hope that the money I donate to this charity will mean that you are able to have more time to sleep." he told her with a smile, "Now... who is this gentleman? He looks a bit like you..."

by **Willow Hartman** Sat Aug 11, 2012 10:24 am

Willow giggled a little and she nodded her head, of course she would be the Doctor's friend, just because from this conversation alone she knew him to be a good man and he was nice to her, and nice to others, he just needed someone to help him out with his problems.

She was going to be that person.

"Oh I'm sorry, we're keeping the room a little warmer than normal because of our older patients, they like it a little bit toastier because of their bad circulation." she grinned softly.

Seeing that the Doctor had noticed her Papa, Willow gestured for him to follow her and she frowned when the package her Papa was holding glinted. Willow would need to keep an eye on whatever that was he was holding.

"Doctor, this is my Papa, Papa this is Doctor Nettle, the Highmaster of Durmstrang, the man who's going to be investing more money in this charity." she smiled gently, and grinned as her Papa nodded at the Doctor in his normal silent manner.

by **Doctor Florence Nettle** Sat Aug 11, 2012 10:30 am

The Doctor was honestly over the moon because no matter how awkward the red cheeks made him, he wanted more of the feeling. But at the moment she seemed to see him as nothing more than a friend. He was okay with that for now, perhaps she would warm up to him,

"Ah now that would explain why my cheeks have been going red! It's because it's warmer." he agreed, a touch sheepishly, before shaking his head, "I'll just try and get used to it. I might be visiting more often after all."

The Doctor silently followed Willow towards the man. He had his own guess that the man was actually Willow's father but that was not for him to try and guess. It was for Willow to reveal on her own. He smiled and nodded his head respectfully towards the older man,

"Hello Mr Hartman, it's a pleasure to meet you." he greeted him, not at all put off by the man's silence, "Do you mind if I ask what brought you here?"

by **Willow Hartman** Sat Aug 11, 2012 10:36 am

Willow couldn't be happier when the Doctor said that he might be coming to visit her more often, she really did hope that she was going to be able to have lots more conversations with the Doctor, maybe he would even help wiht some of the rounds that she had to do when she got to know him better.

Seeing Papa holding that glinting thing was setting Willow on edge and she quickly walked over to him, and gently took the package from his hands, seeing that it was several shards of glass he had smashed from lunch.

"I'll take those." she smiled gently before her eyes widened at the Doctors question and she laughed gently, before giving her more distressed looking Papa a kiss on the cheek, steering the Doctor away.

"Uhm, I'm sorry about that...it's just it's best not to mention things like that around my Papa, he's...he still a little sensitive about why it is that he's here, he's been here a while after all." she smiled gently "If you want, I can tell you though."

by **Doctor Florence Nettle** Sat Aug 11, 2012 10:42 am

The Doctor had to admit that one of the reasons why he would be coming here more often was because Willow had admitted that this was where she spent a lot of her time. And maybe he'd help out from a more hands on stand point as well.

When The Doctor noticed that Mr Hartman had been holding several shards of glass he frowned a little bit. Was Willow the only person who could have checked on him? This place needed a lot more staff and for that they needed more money.

The laugh sent happy shivers down his spine again. He could listen to her laughing all night long and be happy as larry the next morning. The Doctor hadn't meant to distress Mr Hartman though,

"Ah right. Sorry for my lack of tack sir, I hope I didn't offend." he apologised before turning to Willow with a small smile, "I think I would like that Willow. To get to know the two of you a little better."

by **Willow Hartman** Sat Aug 11, 2012 10:47 am

Willow felt a small hit to her heart when her father started up the old music box that he kept from his days in Russia, it was her mothers possession and she hoped that it was something that the Doctor wouldn't ask much about.

With a light smile on her face, Willow took a deep breath before guiding the Doctor to the little chairs in the middle of the ward so she could keep an eye on everyone.

"Originally as you know, we lived in Russia, My Papa, my Mama and myself." she smiled softly "My Mama was killed one night on her way home from one of her nights out with her friends, and Papa...well he has not been able to get over the loss, he was taken into a Mental Hospital when I was very small and I lived in France with my Grandmother."

Looking back at her Papa Willow smiled softly again;

"He suffers from a condition that nobody knows how to cure, and that is grief, he's been sick since she's died and...well even I can't help him, he hasn't spoken...since it happened, at least not to anyone but me when we're on our own."

by **Doctor Florence Nettle** Sun Aug 12, 2012 7:26 am

The Doctor paused when he began to hear the distinctive sound of a music box playing it's strange and metallic notes. It was odd but he'd not heard music like it since his childhood. He almost smiled before he noticed that Willow seemed to flinch at it. The Doctor decided not to press, thinking that it would be personal.

Following Willow to the chairs, The Doctor couldn't help but notice that they were placed so as to allow a full view of the room. He smiled slightly. It was more evidence of Willow's caring nature,

"I am saddened by your loss Willow." he told her honestly, bowing his head slightly, "I too know what it is like to lose a mother Willow. That you are not as messed up as me speaks well of your Grandmother and of you."

When she told him that her father was suffering from grief he closed his eyes sadly. The only way to overcome that was to want to. And sometimes people just wanted to have the thoughts and memories of their loved ones,

"Grief is a condition that strikes us all but we cannot defend... my grandfather told me that." he commented quietly before taking Willow's hand in his own, "You're an amazing woman to work so hard to help Willow."

by **Willow Hartman** Sun Aug 12, 2012 7:42 am

Willow nodded her head with a rather sad smile on her lips, she knew that there was nothing that she could do for her papa, no matter how much she wished that he would be able to simply snap out of the state that he had gotten himself in.

If he didn't start to move soon, then his muscles would become completely useless, and there would be a rather expensive set of treatements involved that Willow just couldn't afford to purchase, even with the salary from two jobs.

"You aren't messed up Doctor, don't think of yourself like that, you're just a little confused, I mean you have every right to be upset and feeling grief yourself after what happened."

Squeezing the Doctors hand softly Willow smiled a little wider;

"I know that grief is something that outside forces can't control, it is so strange but...no matter when there are so many other things around, it's just so frustrating that he can't see it."

by **Doctor Florence Nettle** Sun Aug 12, 2012 7:51 am

The Doctor knew many things about a great many topics but he did not know a great deal about medicine or healing. He didn't know how to help with Mr Hartman and because he didn't know how to help him, he didn't know how to help Willow to be happier. And he was beginning to wish for more of her laugh.

He wasn't sure what to say to be honest. It wasn't like he could really sympathise with Mr Hartman or Willow really. Although he had lost both his mother and father, as well as his clan, that was because of what he'd done. That was on him. Willow had no such burden,

"Hehe well we have very different views on how I am then I'm afraid Willow." he noted with a small, sad, smile, "I'm messed up but I know it. The dangerously messed up people don't. So I'll be fine in the end."

Holding Willow's hand made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up from the happiness of it and he couldn't help but smile softly,

"Well he's wrapped up in his grief Willow, the outside world is someone else's problem to him I suppose."

by **Willow Hartman** Sun Aug 12, 2012 8:09 am

Willow frowned at the Doctor and she realised that she didn't like him seeing himself in such a bad light, she really did want to be able to help him get back on his feet after what had happened in the past to him, as she knew that the death of Viktoria has really hit him hard.

"Well messed up or not Mr. Nettle, I am going to be here for you when you need me." she smiled gently "Whatever you might need me for and whatever mad hour that you might need someone to talk to."

The more she dwelled on the feelings surrounding her fathers death, Willow found herself getting more and more upset and she couldn't allow herself to cry in front of the patients, especially not her father, although mute he was certainly not deaf.

"Excuse me." Willow choked out, before rubbing at her eyes and walking swiftly out of the ward.

by **Doctor Florence Nettle** Sun Aug 12, 2012 8:14 am

The Doctor honestly didn't know if he would ever be able to pull himself out of this rut of annoying sadness and despair. It was painful to admit to himself but he was almost a broken man. And he couldn't afford to be broken. He was a broken man held together by his duties and nothing more. But being around Willow gave him hope that this was not the only thing he could be,

"Doctor Nettle please." he joked lightly with her, trying to ease the tension in the air, "It will be nice to be your friend and be with you Willow. I think we could both us a friend so I'd like to offer the same to you."

He might not have much experience with friends or an abundance of emotion but The Doctor could tell that Willow was barely keeping herself from crying. When she left the ward in a hurry he followed after her quickly and found her in the corridor outside. He hugged her gently,

"Sh sh sh..." he cooed to her gently, "It's alright Willow... let it out..."

by **Willow Hartman** Sun Aug 12, 2012 8:55 am

Willow sniffled to herself but as she felt the Doctor wrapping his arms around her she couldn;t stop herself from letting all of her tears out in a frustrated sort of sob, she had been so so het up and stressed lately and she hadn't even known it, only when she seemed to have snapped.

Resting her head in the crook of his neck, Willow wrapped her arms around his neck and she tried to stop herself from sobbing in front of the Highmaster, but as well as her boss he was also her friend, which didn't make her feel quite so odd.

"Oh I just...I just feel so stupid, crying like this." she stuttered out "After all there's nothing to cry about, silly me." Willow scolded herself, wiping the tears from her eyes, hoping that the noises of her crying wouldn't be too upsetting for anyone who might hear.

"Its just...there's just something that's always been weighing on my mind."