sortinghat_logs | Oh stop your crying

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Oh stop your crying

WHO: Dolores Maryam and Dirk Strider
TONE: Hurt/Comfort
RATING: G
WHEN: 21 September, evening
WHERE: Hospital Wing
WHAT: Dirk is visiting the hospital wing for reasons.
STATUS: Complete

Dirk was used to being unable to sleep. He was used to having nightmares. He was used to having anxiety attacks. What he was not used to were the constant changes that have occurred over the past few months. He was used to stability. Any sort of abrupt change truly upset him. That was only one of the many things that had made this transition difficult. It didn't help that he tried to bottle this up. Sometimes he'd allowed himself to talk about things, but that was usually after he'd already had a meltdown. Or very close to having one.

The confrontation with Snow didn't help this. That had made him angry. Dave defending him and then learning just how grave the entire situation was didn't help at all. Combine that with already being emotionally imbalanced and you had a child whose anxiety and intense negative feelings had easily taken a toll physically.

This was why by evening, Dirk found himself in the hospital wing. The whole day had sucked and he'd felt miserable. By dinner it got to the point where he didn't think he could hold anything down if he tried eating. In the end, he had left the Great Hall early and finally convinced himself it wasn't a bad idea at all to see if there was a medicine he could take.

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With the presence of Inquisitor Snow, Dolores had many concerns of her own but her first and foremost was for the safety of the students, now more than ever. She'd been doing her work diligently, wondering when the man might walk through the doors to conduct an inspection, but as of yet, he hadn't come. Dolores hadn't given him her name, he didn't know what she looked like and she didn't even know if he'd be able to pinpoint her as the vampire known to be working here but if he could... that would no doubt be an awkward conversation.

A few of the students and even a couple of staff members had been to see her today for something to calm their nerves, so when the door opened and Dirk walked in, she wasn't surprised. What did surprise her was how peaky the poor boy looked. The nurse stood up and moved around her desk, walking up the ward to meet him.

"Hello, there," she said kindly, smiling at him. "What can I help you with?"

Dirk didn't want to give her too many details. He didn't need everyone and their mother knowing everything that was wrong with him. He just wanted something to help with now. He would worry about the other things later. That was only part of the reason for him being vague. The other was simply that this sort of description was hard.

"I have a headache and a loss of appetite. Do you have something for that?" That was a good ways of saying that even the smell of food made him feel sick.

"I'm sure I do, sweetheart. Come along with me and sit down." She placed a hand gently between his shoulders, guiding him to the nearest bed and patting it lightly before moving to a cabinet and looking through it.

"Have you been sleeping well?" she asked, knowing well enough that some of the younger students often became homesick and as such slept poorly, often ending in the symptoms that Dirk was describing.

Dirk almost answered with the automatic 'yes' but then he remembered about the last time he went to the doctor months ago, and his dad had pulled down the corner of his shades to look at him pointedly. He'd told Dirk that he needed to always tell the doctors the truth, especially when it came to getting medicine prescribed.

This really wasn't any different.

He sat down on the bed as directed. His would-be curiosity for why Dolores was being so nice was pushed aside to just focus on these slightly more important things.

"I don't sleep a lot."

"Ah.."

Hearing that seemed to change Dolores' mind and she put a bottle in her hand back into the cabinet, selecting another instead. Sleep was very important for children, she knew that, and it was no wonder he was feeling unwell. There really was only one way that she would prefer to fix this, and it wasn't a pick-me-up, or something to settle his stomach.. he just needed a good night of sleep. However, she wasn't about to spring that on him without warning. With the new potion bottle in her hand she closed the cabinet and then sat down beside him, holding it in plain sight.

"This is something that will help you sleep, with no disturbance and no bad dreams. I promise you, it will make you feel better, but I shan't tell you that you have to take it." She smiled at him. "You can sleep in here, if you want to. It's nice and quiet."

"Do you absolutely promise that I won't have bad dreams?"

This was the most important thing. This was the main reason he couldn't sleep. Well. He had no problem falling asleep usually. It was the nightmares that woke him up and got him to the point that he was terrified to both go to sleep and to try to go back to sleep. "What about when I wake up? Will it make me feel groggy?"

"I absolutely promise," she told him, holding up her little finger and wiggling it slightly. "Pinkie swear."

She uncorked the bottle, and poured a small measure - enough to go down in one mouthful - into a glass that she summoned with a quick flick of her wand. The liquid was clear and odourless, though when drank would have a strange taste not unlike aniseed.

"And you'll feel just fine when you wake up."

Dirk wraps his pinkie around hers, nodding slowly. It's a simple gesture, but it was enough to convince Dirk that all would be okay. He took the glass and after sniffing it, he downed it. It tasted weird, but he'd tasted weirder.

"How long does it take to work?"

"You'll have time to reach your own bed, if you want to sleep there."

She put the bottle away, then looked back at him, quietly pleased by his reaction to the potion - some children had to have it all but forced into them, and she could never understand why they made so much of a fuss.

"Or you may sleep here."

Dirk was just too exhausted and just too sick-feeling to bother putting up a fight over something that was supposed to help him. The only problem he was was trying to make this decision.

"If I say here, d'you think you can get someone to being Cal and Orangina?" He needed both of them to sleep, but he wasn't sure if the dorms would be quiet enough right now.

"I'm sure I can do that, sweetheart."

She placed a hand on his shoulder, taking his request as an affirmative to staying in the hospital wing for the night, and then moved to her desk, quickly writing something in her journal. A few minutes later, there would be a knock on the hospital wing door, from the obliging soul whom Dolores had contacted to fetch what Dirk wanted.

Dolores returned to Dirk with Cal in one hand, and the tiny kitten in the other.

While he waited, Dirk leaned against the headboard. He didn't feel particularly sleep yet, but he at least felt relaxed. He would definitely be able to sleep tonight. He just needed his best friend and his cat. When Dolores returned with both in hand, he dropped pretenses and allowed himself to smile a little. Orangina settled in his lap and Cal was laid down beside him under the blankets.

"Thank you."

Dolores smiled in return, reassured to see that little tilt of the boy's lips, however small it was. If he could still smile, there was still hope that what troubled him could be easily fixed. She wasn't oblivious - she knew of the troubles Professor Strider had, raising Dave and this dear boy - but it wasn't her place to talk about that. All she could do was her job.. though she often went far beyond it.

"You are very welcome," she said, settling him down in bed and lightly petting Orangina with one fingertip. "I'll be nearby, dear.. just call if you need me."

Before Dolores could go, Dirk reached for her sleeve. He felt silly for asking, but they were alone. No one had to know. This was just a safeguard that he really needed to completely relax.

"Can you stay here until I fall asleep?"

"Wh.."

Oh. Oh. Just for a moment she felt a lump lock up in her throat, but she swallowed it down and softly smiled, giving a slight nod. Dolores drew up a chair beside the bed and sat, taking one of his small hands in one of hers and brushing his hair gently away from his face with the other.

"I'll stay right here, I promise."

Once she sat down beside him, Dirk allowed himself to lay down and pull the blankets up to his chin. Orangina took this opportunity to move closer to his face, where she usually slept.

"I'm not always this much of a baby. Just so you know."

She let out a quiet chuckle and smiled again, finding what he said far more endearing than he'd likely intended. It didn't need to be said that she usually didn't let pets into the ward.. but this was a special case.

"It will be our secret, okay?" Dolores said, gently ruffling his hair then settling back, making herself comfortable. Every now and then, she'd softly hum a few bars of a song.

Another small smile graced his lips. He enjoyed this attention a bit too much. It was comforting. Maybe part of it was the medicine. That or Dolores just had a fabulous bedside manner. Maybe both.

"Thanks," he said, before lapsing into silence for a few minutes. He finally yawned and glanced over. "That's pretty."

She'd been complimented on her bedside manner before.. though she'd likely just smile and say that it must be the medicine. When he commented, she looked up at him, then silently shifted her chair close enough to the bed that she could rest her arms against the edge. Dolores lowered her voice, as if sharing a secret with him.

"Shall I sing to you?"

"I would like that."

His response was just as quiet. He shifted under his blankets so he could tuck one arm over Cal and one under his pillow. He was watching her, looking forward to what her singing voice was like if her humming was that pretty.

"Okay.."

This was easy, yet difficult at the same time, and she made herself more comfortable, quietly clearing her throat. Dolores kept her eyes on his, one hand resting lightly on his arm.

"Come, stop your crying, it will be alright.. Just take my hand, hold it tight.." She was singing softly, but still, it was the only sound in the otherwise empty room. "I will protect you from all around you, I will be here, don't you cry.."

Edited 2012-09-23 01:14 (UTC)

Why this song, of all songs? It was one that he knew. Something he hadn't thought of much, because the last time he heard it there was nothing wrong in his life. But now he was at a point where it was easier to count the things that were right in his life than things that weren't. So it strikes a chord in him. At the same time, it's really comforting.

He closed his eyes, although he wasn't sleeping just yet. He was getting tired for sure, and Dolores's soothing voice assisted with that. He was just determined to keep listening to this for the moment.

Her thumb rubbed light circles on his arm. It was one of her favourites, and it had been on her mind a great deal lately.

"For one so small, you seemed so strong.. My arms will hold you, keep you safe and warm. This bond between us can't be broken, I will be here, don't you cry.."

Carefully, she drew the covers up more securely over his shoulder, and smoothed her hand lightly over them, a tiny smile still on her lips.

"'Cause you'll be in my heart.. Yes, you'll be in my heart.. From this day on, now and forever more.."

Edited 2012-09-23 01:28 (UTC)

Dirk followed the song along in his head, but it wasn't long before exhaustion caught up with him. He fell asleep before she even finished her song. That was a first in months.

She did finish, and once she had, upon making sure he was fast asleep, she carefully tucked him in, dropped a kiss on his head, and gave Orangina another light pet before she left him to sleep and went about her nightly duties.

At the end of the day, it didn't matter how much the students tried to hide themselves behind attitudes and fake smiles.. they were all still just children.

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Oh stop your crying

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