I don't feel like a hero

Jack apparated to the hospital and managed to gasp to the puppet that she had suffered a heavy blow, before she was able to stumble through. The lobby was slow, as it was well past midnight. Jack walked in a hunched, stooped manor, doubled over at the waist as her arms pressed upon her stomach which, though outwardly untouched, felt as though it was falling out.

She approached the help desk. The receptionist, who had only seen Jack a few days prior when she had arrived with Susan Bones, looked up and paled. "Merlin, what's wrong?"

Jack said, calmly, though strained by the pain, "I think I need immediate help. I was a hit by a spell I don't recognize and I feel as though it's possible I may be dying."

The receptionist hurriedly paged someone to help.

It had been quite a slow day at St. Mungo's but that was what she could have hoped for. She never really liked having to Heal people, she would much rather they never got hurt in the first place, but some times it was unpreventable and she supposed that was why she and the other Healers were there. Charlie was exhausted, for some reason unbeknownst to her she agreed to cover for one of the Healers who had to leave early. So on top of her regular shift she had to stay a few hours later for that Healer. Sometimes she was just too nice for her own good. She looked down at her watch and saw that her shift was nearly finished and so she headed to her small office like room and to begin collecting her stuff.

She put all her paperwork in a folder and put it in a bright yellow bag. She quickly changed out of her Healer's robes and tucked them in the yellow bag as well. She shrugged on her leather jacket, took out her wand and shrunk her bag. She took the considerably smaller bag and stowed it away in her pocket so it didn't drag her down. She tucked her wand in her right boot and when she was satisfied with how everything was, locked up her small room.

She made her way out to the lobby area where everything was quiet, as was expected, when something not so expected happened. A young woman with bright red hair approached the receptionist's desk and Charlie could immediately tell that something was very wrong. The woman was hunched over clutching her abdomen. She approached the desk and was able to catch the woman explain that she was hit with an unknown spell. Charlie's Healer side immediately took over. She let the receptionist page for help, Merlin knew she might need help.

She put her arm around the hunched over woman, "Miss, I'm Healer Blair. I need you to tell me when and exactly where you were hit with the spell." She asked with a calm voice. It would do no one any good if she, the person treating the patients, spoke with a panicky voice. She looked at the receptionist, "Could you possibly find an empty room for her, please?"

The receptionist was rather used to Jack coming in. The woman had come in covered in blood, dragging unconscious people she had stopped mid-duel; she had apparated in with school age kids slumped over her shoulders; she had stumbled in, dragging a werewolf howling in pain; and she had marched in with Nemo cradled in her arms after another relapse into depression.

But very few times had she come in because she was the one who needed attention. The last time she had, she had been supporting a poltergeist in just as much pain, the two working together to stay alive. Now, Jack was alone, because that was where she was in her life. Alone. She didn't mind it, because, as her track record showed, having a companion meant having one more person to take care of.

The receptionist never got a word in, just began jabbing her wand at her little address book to get someone to assist, as another woman approached. Jack did not shirk from the woman's touch - she needed to help, because her balance was beginning to waver. Jack responded promptly, "I was hit by a Gladius spell, approximately four or five minutes ago. I was hit, and I made my way here. Apparation was barely possible, so it took awhile."

Another surge of pain ran through her and she let out a quick breath, wincing and contorting her face to look as untroubled by the pain as possible. She could feel her brain commanding the rest of her body to get stronger and to ignore the pain the best it could. Whatever the spell did, it was shutting something down inside, and she was really fighting to ignore that.

The receptionist scanned her registrar and informed them that emergency room three was open. Jack nodded, fully aware of its location, and made her way to the nearby hall to find the room, intent on getting herself the help she needed.

Charlie paled the moment the words "Gladius spell" left the woman's mouth. To her understanding that particular spell was extremely difficult to treat. It left no external damage, but the internal damage was what she was worried about.

Five minutes, it wasn't as bad as it could have been. "You were very smart to come here immediately, though" She praised the woman. Some people would have just delayed their treatment and then there would be a lesser chance to help them. She didn't blame her for not apparating, in her condition Charlie would have been worried if she had, she probably would have splinched herself.

Charlie saw her wince and grimace in pain, she looked up at the receptionist, about to ask if she had a room yet when the receptionist told her of emergency room three. Charlie's eyes widened as the woman began making her way to the room herself. She rushed towards her and put an arm around her waist to support her, making sure her hand didn't touch her abdomen.

When they reached the room she turned to the woman, "Lie down as still as you can on the bed, and try not to move too much." She ordered. She took her wand out of her boot and mentally ran through a list of spells that she could use to help relieve the pain for the poor woman. "Is there anything else I need to know before I start treating you?" She asked.

Jack bit her tongue as the woman told her she was smart to arrive at St Mungo's, as though it were a novel idea to arrive at a hospital if your health were failing. Jack knew sarcasm and ego had no helpful place in this situation, however, so she kept her thoughts to herself. She just hated to be coddled for doing what was the most obvious thing in the world for her to do. Perhaps she was just a more advanced being.

Yes. She would stick with that explanation.

The Healer, Blair, caught up to her; Jack's sudden departure had been lost on her. Jack, once again, forced herself not to shy from the woman's support, as foreign as it seemed to be the one receiving help, and not the one forced into a position that required she give it. Still, Jack intended in living through the event, one way or the other.

They finally made their way into the room and Blair immediately commanded Jack to lie down. Jack touched her fingers to her temple in a militaristic salute and pulled herself onto the bed, lying down with her stomach up, and making sure she was in a position that would not hurt too much.

Jack thought long and hard about the woman's words, before saying, "Nothing - except... nothing." Jack had been very close to condemning Ne'Os by asserting that it was by his wand she suffered. But when it came down to it, she would be found the guilty party. She had attacked first, and she did not regret it. "Lay it on me - skip the pain dulling if it's quicker, just get me fixed up."

It was amazing how casual Jack could be even on the brink of death.

Charlie caught the sarcastic military salute the woman gave her and she bit back a smirk. Well it was good to know that she still had a sense of humor despite the gravity of the situation. She looked up at the woman as she began speaking, Charlie's eyes narrowed in suspicion as the woman hesitated. Well, she would try to find that out later, her top priority was to treat the patient.

Her eyebrows shot up in surprise, she didn't want pain numbing? She decided to ignore the request, it wouldn't take any time at all, and the process of treating the internal damage would no doubt be painful. "Subsisto Poena" She muttered. Charlie put her wand on the side table so she had both hands free to gently feel the woman's abdomen, "Tell me if you feel any pain." She asked. After casting the charm to stop the pain she doubted that she would, but she had to take as many precautions as she could.

"Now, I'm certain that you know what the Gladius Curse does to a person correct?" She asked, the woman acted so casually about the situation and that made Charlie think of how she probably saw this often. She was probably an Auror or something she thought distractedly. "I'm going to perform a charm that will reverse internal injuries okay? If you feel the pain numbing charm beginning to wear off tell me immediately..." She told her. She lifted the woman's shirt up so that she could clearly see her stomach. It didn't have any sign of damage but she knew better. "Renovo"

The woman approached and Jack shifted her weight, briefly preparing herself for the spell that was to come. When cast, however, Jack felt relief in her, rather than pain that would indicate that the internal problems were slowly being fixed. Healers and their numbing - Jack didn't like it, honestly. She liked to feel what her body had to go through to heal so that she knew exactly what had happened to her. It was for that reason she had so many scars - too often, she decided to let her issues heal the natural way than erase the problem with magic.

That said, this injury was no gash or contusion - this was real internal damage that could cause a total system shut down if she was not careful. She supposed the internal pain would probably be unbearable - something akin to the Cruciatius Curse, so not wholly unfamiliar pain, but something that she supposed she could skip this time around. She was sure she would feel it again.

Jack winced initially at the woman's touch, but soon, the pain subsided completely into numbness. "Pain's gone now," she said, to-the-point as usual. Blair again asked about the curse and Jack nodded, still trying to get used to the numbness in her stomach. "Yeah, it severs something internally that begins a system shut down, right?" She could have mixed it up with another spell, but that was what it sure as hell felt like right now anyway.

Jack nodded as the Healer prepared her for the forthcoming Healing process, carefully letting her hands rest at her sides and closing her eyes, forcing herself to step back from the situation and let it unfold as it would.

The woman spoke the healing spell and, initially, Jack felt no change. But slowly, she felt the dull throbbing that reminded her that all was not well inside of her begin to lessen and relax. She let out a breath, and allowed her internal organs to receive the aide they so desperately needed.

Charlie nodded in response to the woman's answer. The Gladius curse was one of the worst out there. It had no external evidence but that was what made it infinitely more dangerous. Until she made the patient move, she wouldn't know for sure if the internal damage was completely gone.

As she began the healing session the woman lying in the bed let out a breath. The first thought that entered Charlie's mind was that she was in pain. The thought was immediately sent away as the Healer saw her patient's tense body begin to relax. That was all she could ask for. She knew many people hated hospitals, let alone being treated at one, if the patient was relaxed and as comfortable as they could be then that would make the whole ordeal a bit better.

She looked at the woman and realized that she had been treating her and knew nothing about her patient. "So you know who I am, and I'm sure I'll need to address you with something different than 'You' or 'That Woman'" She grinned at her, despite the situation. The woman was just laying there and Charlie was periodically repeating the healing spell, she might as well get to know the woman she was treating. "So are you an Auror or something? I don't think I've come across a civilian who was hit with such dark magic."

Jack sat tight through the Healing process, not wholly unfamiliar with the proceedings. She knew what it felt like to be delivered from the bring of death by magical means, so she was not too worried as she felt her body healing itself with the help of Miss Blair.

The Healer asked her as the magic inside her proceeded to fix up what needed attention about her own identity. Jack grimaced, never happy to spread her name where she thought it didn't belong. "I'm Jack. Jack Dyllan." More often than not, people recognized her name. Either from her stint as Head of the Department of Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, her ties to the Order of the Phoenix, or as the current top Beater in the Falmouth Falcons.

Jack shook her head. "I'm not an Auror." Though, she had been an Auror for about a month, as punishment. Best not to get into that though. "I just... have a knack for being where I don't belong."