a rude awakening {RHYS}

"Lena's fine, at least," Dommi replied rather hesitantly. "She's at home with Vanka. They're alright, I promise. Ellie wasn't lying when she said that, didn't you, Ellie?" She then glared at Ellie and raised her eyebrows, waiting for a reply from her daughter.

"I'm afraid I can't let you see her, Rhys," she replied, looking down at the floor just like she would at the age of eleven. "She... she thinks you're dead.

"But before you say anything, let me explain myself!" she added quickly, sounding absolutely paranoid, which she was. "You were... you were on the ground... she was crying, asking me to check your breathing... you couldn't breathe... but I could h-hear your t-tiny pulse... please, Rhys, I-I just wanted her to be okay."

"Her daughter," Rhys stated quietly. He did remember the girl saying as much. The man - Merlin, he'd have to be a man, by now; no longer a boy - decided not to pursue the topic at the moment. He wasn't sure that he really wanted to.

Rhys paled at Dommie's words, only to flush red with temper as she explained. "So you lied to her?" he demanded, tone raising in volume and pitch. "And how did that work out, then? Did thinking I was dead make her happier? Did it make it easy for-for her to move on? Well, DID IT?"

Throwing his blankets aside, he turned his attention to removing the rail from his bed again, cursing foully when his attempts were thwarted by its design. He glared at Dommi.

"Let me out of here," he growled. "I'll find Lena, myself."

"Well, yes, her daughter Ivanka," she sighed, thinking about the other girl. "Fifteen. Blonde. Got a rebellious streak like her Mum. Hates her mother, though."

Dommi could feel a tear rolling down her cheek. She tried to wipe it away, but the tears could not stop. "She's still miserable, y'know," she croaked, starting to cry. "She misses you, a lot. She doesn't say it but I can tell. Who the hell names their vodka after you? And you cant see her, Rhys! Even if you do see her she won't believe you!"

"She named a vodka after me?" Rhys echoed incredulously.

"I'll make her believe me!" he shouted. He gave up on the rail, slumping against the pillows again with another curse. Tears streamed his own cheeks, but either too tired or not caring, he left them unchecked.

Rhys let out a defeated sigh. "I have to see her, Dom," he implored. "Half my life is just... gone. If I can't see Lena again, I might as well really be dead, because my life has little meaning without her.

"Even if she..." he trailed off from whatever he was about to say. "I just need to see her again. Somehow. Just once, Dommi, please."

"Yes, she named a vodka after you!" Dommi replied, now crying. She sniffled, rubbing the tears from her face. "Look," she added, taking deep breaths to calm herself down. "I'll let you see her on one condition: you have to wait for a couple of days. Just to get your mind straightened out, have an idea of what happened, the usual. That, and I need to get some Polyjuice Potion from the inventory for you. You're legally dead, you know."

Dommi then thought of Vanka. "Oh damn," she muttered. "I'm going to have to explain you to Vanka as well, Rhys. She is after all, Le's daughter. And like her mum, she can hardly believe anything."

Rhys pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. "Dommi, please tell me the reason I'm legally dead wasn't just to convince Lena." He looked up at his old friend. "I rather like my name, you know. I'd really rather not change it." A small smile pulled at the corners of his mouth, his old good humor reasserting itself despite the situation.

"Fine, I'll wait. Probably couldn't walk out of here, anyway, since I've been laying about for sixteen years. Thanks for making sure my muscles didn't atrophy entirely, by the way. That would've been embarrassing." He gave an impish smile, then laughed.

"Certainly sounds like how Le's daughter should be," the man remarked fondly, though a trace of sadness shadowed his eyes.

"So, what do we do first, Healer? I do assume you passed your training," he teased, his gaze then shifted to Ellie. "I apologize for my response before. Things can be a bit... disorienting when you wake after sixteen years."

Dommi repeated, "You are legally dead not just to convince Lena." She shook her head. "Everyone still knows Lena Vorstenbach as Lena Vorstenbach," she added, "though she's in hiding 'cause... the Lestranges rule and... she's Light Queen, so she's an instant criminal." Dommi then put the back of her hand against Rhys's to check for a temperature. There was not much of one. "Even if she were to change her name, it would probably just be to Lena Edmunds." The blonde winked.

Dommi held out her hand. "Wanna have a walk around the room?" she asked. "Y'know, just to stretch your muscles after sixteen years of lying in bed.

"Vanka would be fond of you," she grinned, "well, she should be. Lens can get her to do anything she wants, and you know already Lens can't live without you without being miserable."

Dommi shrugged her shoulders. "I'm sorry, they do not have 'How to Help Someone After 16 Years of Being Comatose in training," she giggled. She saw Ellie nod out of the corner of her eye. "Well, she forgives you," she replied.

"So, I'm legally dead so they wouldn't decided to come finish the job," Rhys murmured knowingly. "Daggerbutt, you always have been a complete asshole."

Rhys blushed, despite himself. He couldn't help it. Personally, he blamed the red hair. He waited until Dommi had removed the rail, then slowly swung his legs over the side. "Don't let me fall!" he said sternly, though he wasn't truly seriously. If he fell, he fell. In fact, it was likely to be expected.

The man sighed. He'd had some decent muscles at nineteen, too. Not the bulging kind - he was too slender for that - but they were quite notable, nonetheless. Oh, well, he'd just have to get them back.

"I'm sure she's a great kid," Rhys said.

Gripping Dommi's hand firmly, he scooted forward off the bed, stood for all of perhaps two second, then gracelessly fell towards the floor as his weak legs buckled beneath him.

Dommi immediately shushed him. "Don't say that!" she whispered, looking all around the room even though Ellie was the only other person there and she was leaving. "I don't want you to be arrested by the authorities for badmouthing 'the rulers'." Dommi did inverted speech marks with her hands on the last two words. "Note my hands."

Dommi held Rhys's hand tightly, standing up slowly from her chair and he started to walk. When he fell, Dommi's body jerked forward, though she didn't come crashing towards the floor. "Oh goodness, I think I died," she whispered.

"Psh," snorted Rhys. "I've been comatose, not dumbified. I know better than to say certain things in public. Things were already pretty bad when we were nineteen. Besides, it's true." He lowered his tone to humor the woman. "He's been a right prat since year one."

His reunion with the floor was less bruising than it might have been thanks to Dommi. "Y'know," he quipped, looking up at her with a wry smile, "this is rather more familiar than I care to admit. Remember how I was first and second year? Heck, I was a walking disaster until fifth year. Remember that? Le wasn't convinced it was really me when I came back after the summer." He smiled fondly at the memory.

"I convinced her then, y'know," Rhys said. "I can convince her again. You'll see."

"Year one?" snorted Dommi. "More like day one." Dommi hadn't know the eldest Lestrange well - hardly at all, actually - but she knew that he was extremely unpleasant. Extremely with a capital E.

"Of course I remember!" grinned the young woman. "Well, not first year, but you kept tripping up everywhere during second year. I remember that." Thinking of fifth year, Dommi smiled. "I remember when you stopped being a klutz. Lens couldn't stop talking about it. It was kinda annoying, but I like seeing her so jovial." She laughed lightly at that. The good times often made her happy. So happy.

Dommi nodded, "I believe you. But I believe it will not be without pain."

Rhys gave a rueful smile. "Even though I can only remember nineteen years of my life, I've already learned that nothing worth having is without pain." His eyes shone with resolve and determination. Gripping the rail of the bed with one hand, he tightened his hold on Dommi's hand with the other, bracing his legs to push up against the floor.

"Let's try it again," he declared.