Showdown (Pavel, Sean, Henri, Dani, Trevor)

[Kieran Michael Dawn]

As it happened, there were two doctors on staff that night. Kieran was working the night shift, as he often did, with Lydia.They had both had just finished tending to a patient with such a chronic sleepwalking problem that he had actually gotten on his broom and gone on a joyride in his sleep--only to crash into a wall. Lydia had done the bulk of the work, but Kieran had helped by holding the patient down and treating some of the superficial injuries. After they had finally got the patient cleaned and fixed up and sleeping deeply, Lydia had been so exhausted that she fell asleep in the lounge. Kieran, however, couldn't sleep, and so he just sat in the lounge, sipping a cup of black coffee and wishing it was something stronger.

When the page came through, he jumped to his feet, actually glad for the distraction. He wasn't sure how serious it was, and he was well aware that Chase had silently been pairing him with other, experienced doctors, as if to make sure he didn't mess anything up for being drunk on the job. But he was sober tonight, and he was sure he could handle whatever the case might be.

It took him a few minutes to grab his equipment and set his coffee aside, and, instead of waking Lydia, he headed off to the room on his own. He only just barely saw a man retreating as if the Dark Lord himself were on his heels as he rounded the corner to the exam room.

He stepped into the room and looked at Adrienne first, hoping she could explain the case. "OK, so what seems to be the problem...?"

He trailed off as he looked at the patient, a very familiar-looking little girl with brown eyes that were fluttering open at that moment. "Danica?" he gasped, unable to believe his eyes.

[Danica Krizova]

While Adrienne was telling Kieran what was happening, completely unaware of his familiarity with the girl, Dani was finally coming to.

She was disoriented. Like all the times before, she never remembered the seizure itself, and for a moment, as her eyes fluttered open, she just looked at the ceiling while her heart raced and her eyes watered.

She always cried coming out of one of them, even if she never knew why she was crying. More than likely, it was just a response from her body from being overwhelmed like that. There was always soreness, too, sometimes pain from the extreme tensing of her muscles. She didn't register anything for a second, and then she remembered that it had been dark where she was, and that the dark haired man had been with her, and she bolted upright, startling Adrienne.

Then, her name. Someone said her name, and the young girl glanced over. "Kieran?" How could that be possible, though? She didn't think on it too much longer though before reaching her arms towards him, wanting him to hug her and prove that he was real.

[Kieran Michael Dawn]

It was a good thing that Kieran was sober, or he might have believed this was all some drunken hallucination. It wouldn't have been the first time he'd had one, although he never told anyone about those. They'd probably rush him off to the psych ward if they knew he sometimes saw Chelsea in the middle of the night, or that he'd had whole conversations with Ivy while drinking in his apartment.

Danica was not a hallucination, and yet he almost told Adrienne to pinch him, not quite convinced that the little girl in front of him was real. She called his name and reached out to him and how could he do anything other than bend down and put his arms around her, lifting her slightly off of the bed. That was when he knew she was real. She was real, she was safe, and she was here.

"Dani!" he said, pulling back and looking down at her. "I'm so glad you're safe! Looks like you had another one of your spells?"

His mind was spinning with questions for her, and for Adrienne, but he didn't want to scare her or overwhelm her. If she had just had a seizure, she was probably disoriented. But how had she ended up here?

He reached over to the medicine cart and took out a vial containing an anti-seizure medication, which would prevent her having any secondary attacks. Normally she would be on a low-dose of it, to prevent attacks like this from happening, although they still sometimes did. But if she had been trapped somewhere and held captive, she probably wouldn't have been able to keep up with her medicine.

"Take this, OK? And then we'll get you some chocolate... that should help you feel better. Can you tell me how you got here? Does your mom know you're here, or should I try to contact her?"

[Danica Krizova]

When he hugged her, Dani held onto him for dear life. She was just so relieved that she didn't wake up to her daddy or the man that had been there with him. She was waking up, instead, to familiar faces. Good familiar faces. Kieran was here, and he made her feel safe.

She burst into tears.

Even when he pulled away, just a little, she held tightly to him with one hand, wiping at her eyes with the other while she nodded. Her heart was still racing from the seizure and a decent amount of fear in her system. "It was a bad one," she said, feeling like he should know that.

Instead, he asked her a couple of questions, neither of which she knew the answer to, though she was fairly positive that her mom did not know she was here. "I don't know," she managed between a couple of sniffles. "I was with my dad's friend. And then I don't remember."

[Adrienne Kelly]

Adrienne felt like she was definitely missing something, and was looking between Kieran and the little girl that he was clearly familiar with.

"The man who brought her in said he was going outside to call her mother," she offered, assuming this would help. "He had her, so I hadn't given him the intake form yet, but I'm sure he'll be right back." She said all of this in an effort to answer the questions that Kieran was asking the girl, who she noticed was still trembling slightly.

[Kieran Michael Dawn]

When she burst into tears, Kieran nearly lost it. He put his arms around her again, this time just holding her as she cried. He could only imagine at this point what she had been through in the last few weeks. He thought he could see the remains of a bruise on her cheek, and she was paler and skinnier than ever, but it could have been worse, physically, at least. But emotionally and mentally, Kieran knew all too well how those scars ran deep, and sometimes never healed.

"I'm not going to let you out of my sight until your mom gets here, I promise."

When she mentioned being with her father's friend, and then Adrienne said something about the man going to call Dani's mother, he sighed and straightened up. "That guy who passed me in the hall on my way in? Was that the guy? He's not going to call her mother. Dani was kidnapped, and that guy was probably in on it. We need to send an owl to her mother immediately. And we should also contact the MLE right away."

[Adrienne Kelly]

Adrienne wasn't sure how to process everything Kieran just laid on her, and so matter of factly at that. "What?" she finally said at length, looking back down at the girl who was clinging to Kieran. It was clear, even if he hadn't promised her that he wouldn't leave, that Kieran was now out of commission until this girl's mom showed up.

"Okay. Okay, I'll reach out to the MLE." A moment later, and she had the girl's last name. That was enough to get her back to her reception desk, a quick note sent to the MLE, and then a search in the system to find out who the girl's mother was. Danica Krizova, it turned out, had been in the hospital before for seizures. What was the right way to do this? An owl?

[Sean Leviner]

Sean had been growing impatient waiting for whatever was going to happen in this situation. It was risky, of course, and the only reason he had agreed to do it this way was because Pavel was not magical, and therefore would not apperate away with her. There was the threat of a portkey set up by someone else, but it was a risk he had to be okay with taking at this point.

He and Henri, the Auror, were back at a distance that Pavel would not be aware of them, but they had a magical bug on Aurelia so they could hear everything that happened between them.

It was in Sean's other ear, however, that the news arrived via the MLE office. Danica had been found, safely, at St. Mungo's. One of the doctors was staying with her. "Time to end this, Henri," he said, his voice low, and disappeared with a pop a moment later. He assumed the other man would follow, though he had no indication as to what was going on. An instant later, he was next to Aurelia, wand up and pointed at Pavel.

"Petrificus Totalus," he started, a hand on Aurelia's shoulder. When the man went rigid, he finished, "You are under arrest for the kidnapping and endangerment of a child." Even if he didn't have the element of surprise, the man would not have gotten far.

"Ma'am, they found Danica. She's at St. Mungo's. She's safe."

[Aurelia Krizova]

Aurelia was still staring Pavel down, waiting for him to either give in and call for Danica or for him to make another move that she could defend herself against, when suddenly she heard a POP and Sean was standing in front of her. Before she could even react or tell him that she wasn't ready yet, he was casting a paralyzing spell at Pavel.

"What--" she began, but Sean's words cut her off. "Dani's safe? In the hospital?" she repeated, a wave of relief washing over her. "How do you know? Who found her? How did she get there? What happened?"

She had so many questions, and she knew it wasn't fair to hit him with all of them--he probably only knew what he needed to know. "I need to see her now... I won't believe it until I hold her in my arms."

[Sean Leviner]

"I know," Sean said, nodding but keeping his hand on her shoulder. He had none of those answers for her, but telling her that was not going to be helpful. All he knew was that she was alive and in the custody of the hospital staff. Other MLE had been alerted to go to the hospital in case there was an attempt to her back, and he'd asked the office to send his brother, as well. A small group would be coming their way soon to take Pavel in. "We're going to see her very soon."

Even as he said it, Henri was with them, and the sounds of several people apparating could be heard, several pops right after the other. They didn't need Sean to direct them to do anything, and he had one take a note that he would come debrief when all of this was settled.

Finally, ignoring the whirl of activity around them, he turned all of his attention on Aurelia. "I'll take you to her. Hold on to me." With a glance at Henri, he apparated with Aurelia to the hospital.

[Aurelia Krizova]

Aurelia was torn between laughing with joy and breaking down in tears. She was stressed and exhausted and had been too strong for too long. When Henri appeared, she wanted to run to him and hug him, but she wanted to run to Dani and hug her even more.

"She's safe, Henri!" she cried through her tears. "She's in the hospital!"

She didn't even care how she got there, as long as she was there and she was safe. She watched as Henri took custody of the paralyzed Pavel and she was so relieved that she didn't even care what happened to him after this. She wasn't sure the Ministry could take custody of a muggle, but she wouldn't have felt at all sorry if he did get locked up in Azkaban... as long as she never had to see his face again.

She grabbed Sean's hand and waved goodbye to Henri as they appeared together, arriving at St. Mungo's moments later.

"Where is she? Is she hurt? What did he do to her?" she asked immediately, looking around the reception area as if she expected to see Dani sitting right there waiting for her.

[Danica Krizova]

It was a blur after that. Sean had let go of Aurelia as soon as the reception witch was directing her to Danica's room. The MLE officer followed at a distance, staying in the doorway while they had their reunion.

For her part, Dani had refused to let Kieran leave her, not that he even tried. He promised to stay until Aurelia arrived, after all. When she looked up and her eyes saw her mom, she sat up a little straighter, not quite disentangling herself from Kieran yet. "Mama!"

[Aurelia Krizova]

Aurelia was in a fog as she followed the woman's directions to Dani's room. All she could think about was that moment when she would lay eyes on her little girl after what seemed like ages. She had no idea what to expect, what kind of condition Dani would be in. She could only assume that if she was in the hospital, something must have happened, and there was a part of her that wanted nothing more than to tear Pavel apart for whatever he did to Dani that caused her to be here in the hospital.

When she saw that Kieran was with her, all the tension started to flow out of her body. She trusted Kieran, and she knew instantly that everything was going to be all right.

"Oh, Dani, sweetie, thank Godric!" Aurelia cried, but her words came out garbled and thick with tears. She ran to Danica and threw her arms around her baby girl, lifting her slightly off the bed as she did. "I was frantic... What did he do to you? Did he hurt you? Why are you in the hospital? Look at you... he hasn't been feeding you right, has he? You're wasting away..."

[Kieran Michael Dawn]

Kieran immediately stepped back when Aurelia came running over to embrace Danica, but he stayed close. It was almost like he needed to be close by, to be sure that this was real and not some kind of wishful dream. He needed this. He needed to see that sometimes happy endings did come true, that there was still some hope and positivity left in the world.

But he also needed to be the doctor right now, and provide the answers to Aurelia's many questions and be the stable, unemotional rock that everyone needed him to be.

"She's OK. She had a seizure, and apparently her kidnapper freaked out and brought her here, then took off. I guess he had a change of conscience or something. Anyway, I've given her the remedy, and as long as she gets back on a steady dose of her medication, she shouldn't have any more seizures for a while. She also has a few cuts, scratches, and bruises, but nothing serious. She's going to be fine."

[Danica Krizova]

Dani held onto her mother tightly, letting herself cry some more. Pavel hadn't put her in any immidiate danger, but she'd still been so scared, and it was over now. She was back with her mom, and her mom wouldn't let anything happen to them. Kieran wouldn't let anything happen to them.

"I tried to be really brave, Mum. I promise I did." It was suddenly so important go her that Aurelia know this, that she'd tried to run away once. Or had she only thought about it? She couldn't even remember now, but she would have tried if she could have.

[Aurelia Krizova]

Aurelia didn't think she could ever let go of her precious baby girl, not ever again. It felt so good to hold her again, to hear her soft voice in her ear. If she was dreaming this, she never wanted to wake up.

"Oh, my baby, I know. I know you were. You were so brave and I'm so proud of you and so happy to have you here, safe and sound. And I am never letting you out of my sight again, I promise you. Anyone who so much as looks at you funny will have to go through me. Oh, baby... I love you so much, and I missed you terribly..."

By the end of this, she was babbling half in Czech and half in English, and tears were flowing freely down her face. Somehow she managed to sit down on the edge of the bed, still cradling Dani in her arms.

"I promise you... he's never going to get near you again. He's going to jail for kidnapping you. It's all going to be all right."

[Kieran Michael Dawn]

Kieran felt as though he probably should step out at this time and leave Dani and her mother alone. He could get an orderly to come and bring a change of clothes for Dani so that she could be more comfortable, and order a dinner service and pitcher of water for her as well, since she was most likely starved and dehydrated.

But he couldn't move. He stood, riveted to the spot, watching them with tears burning his eyelids. He needed this. He needed to see that happy endings did sometimes exist, and that, for all the ugliness in the world around them, there was still love and beauty and magic.

Aurelia and Danica had been through so much--not just with the kidnapping, but in the past as well. They deserved to be happy, and now that Aurelia's ex had been captured, maybe they finally would be able to be. But one thing troubled him--the man who had brought Dani in to the hospital. He was clearly not Dani's father--not if he had been caught. So who was he? If he was still out there somewhere, would he come back for Dani? How was he involved in all of this?

He hated himself for even thinking about this, for allowing the worry to darken his mind again. But he also wanted to make sure that Dani would be safe and that this would never happen again. Like Aurelia, he was almost prepared to stay by her side indefinitely if it meant she would be safe.

He wanted to ask the question, but he didn't dare disturb them, not just yet. They deserved to have this moment.

[Sean Leviner]

Sean, too, felt like he was intruding on something sacred. He hung back, staying in the doorway, letting them have this moment. He couldn't imagine what either one of them was going through, and he was so thankful that the girl looked all right.

He glanced at the doctor, whose attention was on the reunion as well, and waited.

Finally, when he was fairly sure that Dani was just sniffling and no longer crying, he stepped into the room and very gently interrupted. "Ms. Krizova, if it's all right, I need to ask your daughter a couple questions."

[Kieran Michael Dawn]

Kieran took this opportunity to step back, but it wasn’t easy. Having Dani returned to them felt a little like a second chance for him, too. It was a little like reliving the day of the Hogsmeade attack, but with a happier ending. This was the kind of hope that he needed, proof that good things did still happen sometimes.

“I need to go see to those treatments,” he said. “I’ll come back in and check on you in a few minutes,” he said, giving Dani’s shoulder a little squeeze before he walked out.

But instead of going to fetch the needed potions, he went to the front desk. “Adrienne, I need to send an owl. My mother is going to want to know that Dani’s home.”

[Aurelia Krizova]

Aurelia didn’t want to hear what happened or to ever stop hugging her little girl. After all, they knew who had done this. Pavel. Well, he was going to be put away for a long time, and hopefully would never again be part of their lives.

She didn’t even really care how Dani had ended up in the hospital… all that mattered was that she was here.

But reluctantly, she stepped back just a little, still not letting go of Dani.

“It’s OK, Dani,” she said. “Just tell this nice man what happened, OK?”