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Chapter Uno- Scars and Stories

Daniel dropped his head mournfully to his shaking form, sleeved in an olive green hospital robe.

'This is so pathetic'

He glanced around the white-washed walls, closed, numbered doors and bustling hallways.

'This is so incredibly cliche'

Even the paper cup he drank from smelled of disinfectant.
His mother lay unconscious in the room behind him, receiving a check-up for the fifth time that evening. He never liked to stay and watch, it was the first time he'd seen her vulnerable; and preferred the loneliness of the corridor.

'Watch it son!' A warden sped past and almost caused a collision with the stretcher he pushed, harbouring a motionless, sheeted form.
Daniel jumped backwards, only to hear the outrage of a group of knee-high children. They glared viciously at him, shrunken beneath their matching robes and I.D. bracelets.

He smiled, apologetic. He was used to children liking him.
'See why we call it the midnight rush?' a voice commented lightly beside him, and he glanced down to this watch as he turned to face her.

'It's only eight o'clock..'

The girl shrugged, her tangled hair reflecting her carelessness and her worn robes revealing just how familiar she was to this place. 'Sickness doesn't always wait.'

Daniel nodded, irritated and turned back to the rushing hallway.

'Jhokai- burns unit.' She delivered her greeting grimly, but looked to him for a response all the same.

'Daniel- miserable actor from a movie series that never finished. Excuse me, I have to attend to my dying mother.' And with his last bitter note, he turned back towards room 304. The heavy door swung outwards, and Daniel felt his face implode as it made contact.

He squeezed his eyes shut and stood motionless, cupping his nose as blood oozed through his fingers and into his gaping mouth.

The exiting doctor, anything but sympathetic, moved Dan heftily into a nearby supply room to fix the damage. They left shortly after with barely an apology, leaving him with a bandage pressed to his face and a inquisitive-looking Jhokai seated across from him.

'I remember now.'

'So do I, it still f**king hurts.'

'No! Harry Potter right?'

'Call me Daniel' His sarcastic reply was muffled by bloody cloths.
She grinned roguishly as if they had made progress. 'Yeah.. There used to be two little girls here. Utterly obsessed they were. Got their whole ward hooked and started a dress up tradition which we still have I believe.' She trailed off reminiscently.

Daniel snorted with laughter; immediately regretting his action as more blood drizzled over the drying stains on his chin and onto his robe as he tried fervently to block the flow.

'Grow up, did they?'

Jhokai eyed him sternly. 'They died Daniel, that's usually the case when we speak in past tense.'

He dropped his eyes to hide the guilt. Jhokai crossed her legs on the box of plastic tubing she was perched on, eyeing him blatantly and flickering back her locks to reveal a glistening array of piercings.

'Aren't they a health risk?'

It was her turn to scoff. 'Needles in the ass isn't the only thing doctors are good for.' She fiddled with a ruby stud on the inside of her ear. 'But they aim just as good.'

Daniel skimmed her over in the silence. 'You don't look very sick.'

She smiled wryly. 'Don't I?'

'Well you said you're from the burns unit and I- ah..'

'You expected what? Scars?'

He dropped his gaze once more. 'Never mind.'

Her intense eyes softened and she picked up her clucky tone. 'So what happened to your mother?'

As invaded as Daniel felt, the girl in front of him didn't seem like someone you said no to.

'Stroke.' He cleared his throat. 'I'm kind of here, everyday out of guilt.'
She smiled, obviously used to exchanging morbid, sadistic hospital stories.

'Ah the guilt visits. Not as popular as the I want your inheritance trips but there's still a few
.'
He grinned at her attempt to make light of the situation, cautiously removing the cloth away for the first time.

'Yeah I've stressed her out. Not doing too great at school any more, and when the whole Harry Potter thing cut short last year..' He shook his head, feigning mourn.

Jhokai gave an understanding nod. 'We'll I'm sure she'll appreciate you when she wakes up, they always do.'

'Jhocky?' A small frail girl peered into the room, gripping the doorway tensely and eyeing Daniel with fright.

'Mindy!' Jhokai rose and scooped the child into her arms, bringing a tiny smile to her porcelain face.

'What're you doing out baby girl?!'

'You didn't come say g'night...'

Jhokai cooed an apology before setting her down again. 'Race you back to the ward!' she called, humouring Mindy. The little girl squealed and took off out the door, white hair flailing after her, and shyness long forgotten.

Jhokai paused in the doorway, still bearing a grin of affection. 'Goodnight Daniel. I was sort of hoping you were sick, we could of hung out.' And with that she was off, bare feet falling down the halls playfully and tiny screams of excitement not far ahead of her.

It's Good, But I Think This Should Be In The General Fic Section.

Ah crap.

Chapter Two- Dead Direction

Daniel gripped his mother's hand firmly.

'Hey mum'

She didn't stir. She never did. He watched her pale, ageing skin, and heard her shaky breaths as air tried entering her body. Twisted plastic tubes gripped her form menacingly, twirling around and under her still figure, piercing her flesh and giving her life. Clear concoctions were pumped into her veins. 'If she were here to see this..' he mused at the irony.

His mother would've unplugged the tubing herself.

He eyed his bulging schoolbag with detest, slinging it over his shoulder and heading down to the cafeteria for something to eat for the first time that day.

Warmth lingered on his pale hands as he gripped the coffee mug, savouring the bitter-sweetness. Childish chuckles and the clanging of trays and cutlery echoed, moulding the chaotic atmosphere, and Daniel glanced over his shoulder occasionally in caution. If it wasn't for his mother being an occupant, Daniel would've seen hospitals as being almost cheerful.

He brought his fingers to his face tentatively, still feeling a slight swell from the previous day. Two hands came down on his shoulders suddenly, and familiar tangles of chocolate hair slid over his face, jolting his coffee mug into his lap.

'You're something beautiful, a contradiction. I wanna play the game, I
want the friction.'

Daniel looked up in outrage at Jhokai who continued to dance around his table, eyes closed, completely oblivious.

He tore his jacket off his arms and pressed it into the sweltering heat between his legs; the once-full mug now in pieces.

Jhokai, noticing the lack of attention, pulled her headphones from her ears and grinned at him silently.

He scowled at her. 'You burnt me! Do you have any idea how much this hurts?!'

The warmth slipped from her face. 'Yes I do.'

He stopped wiping himself down and looked up to her, feeling sheepish, although the scowl hardly came away. 'You're bad luck.'

Jhokai, quick to forgive, slipped Muse back into her ears and yelled out to him as she left. 'Whatever. I'm on the seventh floor, room twenty-seven!'

Daniel laughed to himself as she left, 'Like I'd go.'

But two hours and a phone call from his father later, curiosity got the better of him. His father was stuck back at work, and Dan had never been allowed to get public transport; the risk of being noticed still worried his parents, much to his embarrassment. He was glad the attention in the hospital was fairly mild.

The lift was empty as he entered, searching lazily for the "seventh floor" button. While he waited anxiously for the door to close, he began checking the front of his pants carefully, making sure there was no sign of a stain. He looked up to find the doors open and waiting, a short cleaning woman eyeing him suspiciously; cloth in hand.

He avoided her eyes and followed the door numbers down steadily until he got to what was supposed to be number twenty-seven.

Morgue

He eyed the sign stupidly, hearing a small chuckle to his left; finding an elderly warden sipping coffee and studying him in amusement.

'She got you too eh?'

A light flush spread over Daniel's face in realisation.
He took another sip, shaking his head and commented conversationally, 'Talk about dead ends...'

'Am I even on the right floor?'

The warden heaved a throaty laugh. 'Goodness no! Jhokai is on the second floor. She must've been pulling this trick for near five years now.' His voice reflected admiration.

'That's where I came from.' Daniel felt his intelligence diminishing as he continued to speak. 'So.. Thanks..'

He took the stairs this time, vowing to avoid cleaners and wardens from then onwards for fear of losing the rest of his dignity.

'I should have realised' The floor was milling with frantic nurses, stressed doctors, screaming children, and some at-home looking teenagers sitting in small groups; doors wide open.

The Burns Unit doors were tightly shut, almost airtight, with no movement visible through the Perspex window. The lighting was dim and Daniel approached cautiously, pressing the door forward.

He stepped slowly down the hall, in realisation that he didn't even know which room was hers.

He could hear a faint commotion further on and followed the sound; the emptiness giving him an almost overwhelming feeling of depression.
Voices met his ears now and doctor surged forward from an adjacent corridor and into a nearby room, implements in hand.

A piercing scream filled the ward, followed by heavy breathing, sobs and the sound of a struggle. 'Please! Please'

The tiny girl Daniel saw the previous night appeared at a doorway, the same fright in her eyes as she clutched a soft toy, barely blinking, before scampering away.

A feeling of paralysis consumed Daniel's body as he turned the next corner. The room in full view was closed off, but with a broad viewing
window and the curtains drawn.

Jhokai was centred on her bed, he screams still audible through the shut-off room. Her face was strew with tears as she writhed her body up against the headboard, ripping at the bed sheets, attempting to escape the sets of hands holding her down. Her mouth was contorted into an expression of inexplicable pain, and a syringe protruded from her arm, just out of the doctor's grasp.

'Please!' Her scream sounded as if her throat were bleeding.
The distressed Doctor stabbed another needle into her leg, the only place he was able to reach, and her body slumped; still shivering, and her face was stained with fluid.

She flickered her eyes upward to meet Daniel's as she collapsed lifelessly to the mattress, holding no expression, no sorrow, no recognition.

Hmmm... It's definitely different from your other one, but I'm curious to see where it will go!

It could stay here in the HP section, because it has to do with Dan.

That's what I thought. It's not 'general enough'.. and HP fans like Dan.. I figure..

Chapter Three- Finding Childhood

Daniel turned out of the ward shaken. His heavy breaths reverberated of the passing walls. The rainbows and cheery faces littering the space between the ceiling and floor burned into him and he found himself longing for the white stillness of his mother’s room.

Bidding her a short goodbye, he left himself to the mercy of an outside bus stop to wait for his father, vowing to never enter a hospital again; at least until his mother woke up. A young boy was seated there with his mother, absorbed in the seventh Harry Potter book, making him feel all the more miserable as he whipped the jacket hood over his eyes.

Daniel found Rupert asleep when he got home, sprawled out on his king-size bed, suitcase unzipped at his side. He stirred as Dan entered.

‘Thank God it’s Saturday tomorrow.’

‘I second that. How you been mate? What’re you doing over this way?’

Rupert rubbed his eyes and gripped a handful of shaggy orange hair, yawning. ‘Some movie gig…’

Dan couldn’t hide his disappointment. ‘Oh.. So things have been going okay since HP?’

A broad grin swept over Rupert’s face. ‘I’m havin’ you on mate! I came to see how you were doing, I heard about your mum ay.’

Daniel nodded, slipping off his sopping jacket. ‘She’s getting better’ he shuddered, ‘I hate hospitals.’

Rupert nodded, shuffling through a nearby C.D collection and eating a bag of jellybeans, which had apparently come out of nowhere. ‘Yeah I was in one once.’

‘Oh, serious?’

‘Yeah I insisted that I didn’t go, but mum didn’t want to be pregnant any longer..’

‘You idiot.’ Dan shook his head, the dark mood lifting. ‘It’s not just ‘cause of mum. I saw this girl there- I think… I think she was having a fit..?’

Rupert hummed in though. ‘Did she want to lose her virginity to you, or did she just want an autograph?’

‘Rupe, compared to what really happened, I would’ve settled for either.’

He now sat attentively, either conjuring another joke or something more serious. ‘Did she…’ he paused, analysing Daniel’s face, ‘I mean did she die?’

Daniel stared at him in confusion, it was something he hadn’t considered.

‘No’ he hesitated for a moment. ‘No the doctors were trying to help her, I’m sure.’

Rupert was now well into a second packet from oblivion. ‘You don’t sound it.’

‘Shut up Rupe, go to bed mate.’

Rupert stripped off his shirt and climbed under the covers, still chewing.

‘We can always find out tomorrow night.’

‘What’s wrong with going in the morning?’

Rupert flicked off the bedside light. ‘I’ll be sleeping.’

‘Oh’

Dan trenched down the hall to the spare room, realising he’d been kicked out of his own.


He stood outside the reflective foyer doors, anything but eager to go in.

‘Maybe I’ll wait outside.’

Rupert rolled his eyes and took hold of Daniel’s arm. ‘I’m sure your mother would really appreciate that.’

Daniel watched a flush of concern wash over Rupert as they entered the room. He’d lied when he said she’d gotten better, she had barely changed in the fortnight since she’d been admitted.

‘Hey Marcia.’ Rupert smiled goofily to himself as the words left his mouth. Daniel stood back, holding his arm and looking down to his feet, contemplating whether to wait outside or not.

‘I’ll go grab us some break- ah lunch, Rupe. Won’t be long.’

He skipped out of the suite before his friend had a chance to respond.


His dropped his head as he passed the children’s ward, just as up-beat as it was the day before. He waited impatiently at the elevator, and just as the doors opened, he felt two cold, slimline hands close over his eyes, followed by a giggle.

‘Hey Danny baby’

He spun around, losing his balance and stumbling a little. ‘Jhokai?’

‘Come for a walk.’

He was led stupidly back into the Burns Unit, not sure whether he was relieved or frightened, he still didn’t know this girl.

She stepped into that same room, this time, curtains closed, and shut the door firmly after them.

‘You didn’t stick around yesterday, I thought I should explain something.’

Dan stood a few paces away from her, rigid. Even from the short distance he could see the needle bruises trailing her arms, still fresh. ‘I completely agree’

‘Ever since I was admitted, I started to, y’know, panic.’ She cleared her throat, perching herself on the bed and picking up a stray piece of beaded jewellery. ‘I just start feeling a little trapped sometimes, a bit claustrophobic, like I’m not getting anywhere. And it frightens me.’

Daniel nodded, her tone soothing him and he stepped closer. ‘Panic attacks?’

She smiled. ‘Yeah. A bit like that. You think I’m a freak don’t you?’

He sat up next to her. ‘Not at all. I had a minor one when we were filming the fourth movie. It delayed the release for at least a few months. Mum wouldn’t let them near me.’ He flushed a little, shaking his head.

‘I wish I had someone like that. All I get is a stab in the arm and a shove out the door.’ She traced her fingers over the marks on her arm in silence. ‘That’s what’s delaying my release.’

Daniel took the moment to glance around her room. Apart from a wardrobe, a bookshelf stacked with C.Ds and tasteful array of novels, the walls consisted of scrawled drawings, mainly crayon, and misspelled letters addressed to Jhokai.

Her bedside tray held a small box filled with jewellery consisting of oversized beads, painted pasta, and scrunched paper threaded on string. Jhokai watched him observe.

‘You think I’m childish right?’

He shook his head. ‘Why should it matter?’

She collapsed back on the bed, feet dangling over the side. ‘We’re not so different you know. I’ve tried filling my miserable childhood with these,’ She held up a tatty bracelet, ‘and you-’ she paused, rolling her head to the side to look at him, ‘you still haven’t figured it out yet.’

Daniel remained silent. He couldn’t argue.

‘You’ll always be remembered as making other people’s children happy, when all your years were filled with was a never-ending schedule.’

He grinned at her, impressed. ‘You think you have me worked out, do you?’

She sat up, reaching out for his open palm, and closed the mass of beads inside his hand, ignoring the question. ‘You’ll be needing this.’ She looked up to his eyes, unblinking, ‘to help you figure it out.’

Originally posted by Brunette Angel
It could stay here in the HP section, because it has to do with Dan.
Still not Harry Potter.

But whatever, I'm no Mod. It's Interesting.

Well should I keep posting? I mean, I wouldn't want to interrupt your little argument about where my story should go.

F*ck. Sorry but this is the worst site for readers/comments. Maybe my style just doesn't fit here. Forget it. I won't write here if a 1000 word chapter is only worth 2 words of review.

what....noooo i like your stories

Ack! Don't leave! I like your stories too! You are one of the best writers I've encountered on this site. If you do stop, could you PM me the story?

To all those people who keep bugging out about where the story should be - I believe it is just fine right here. It has to do with Harry Potter in a way. Her other fanfic - She Loves Me Not - is in the Harry Potter Fiction section so this one is fine here too. Bug off.

Sorry to ask, but who's Daniel?

Anyways, please stop the chit-chat and just comment on the writing, I'll be the judge of what goes where...as soon as I know who Daniel is...

Daniel Radcliffe. He plays Harry Potter....?

So yeah I just feel you guys are replying out of politeness. I have this story on 4 forums with an innumerable amount of support and replies and.. well I'll just be repeating what I said before. I'll PM/email the story to you Brunette Angel.

Goodday.

Aw! Thankies! Your the best!

Don't ask.

Chapter Four- Starting Again


‘That’s very pretty Daniel, did you make it yourself?’

Rupert peered closely over Dan’s shoulder, eyeing the multicoloured bracelet with feigned awe and approving noises.

Apart from the small shove he gave to put some space between them, Dan offered Rupert no recognition that he’d even spoken.

Rupert slumped back on the couch and scoffed. ‘Shall I give you and the jewellery some time alone?’

Dan finally gave a small grin. ‘Sorry Rupe, I was just thinking.’

‘Yeah I figured’ his tone was relenting. ‘How is she?’

‘Confusing. Frustrating.’ Dan paused in though. ‘I don’t know.’

‘I personally think the disinfectant has gotten to you.’ Rupe smiled graciously at the young waitress as she slipped a full plate on the table, grinning shyly.

Daniel paid no attention as a second meal was set down under his gaze, and the waitress left haughtily. ‘What I mean- well… She’s like an open book, but I can’t understand anything that’s written.’

He looked over at his friend, who was now thoroughly absorbed in his lasagne. ‘She’s very different. And that’s saying something- I used to be an actor.’

‘You still are.’

Dan shook his head, smirking. ‘I knew my career was over when mum fired my tutors and put me back in school.’

Rupert broke the contemplating silence, ‘Yeah your mum’s still got it.’

Dan pushed a lettuce leaf around the plate restlessly. ‘Dad says we have a meeting with her doctor tonight. To get an update on how she’s doing.’

‘Are you scared?’

Daniel still didn’t look up. ‘Well last time we were told that she was in a deep coma and the longer she stays in it, the worst the damage gets.’

He looked over at Rupert who sat quietly in thought. He had always admired how he knew the perfect moment to make a joke and when to stay serious.

He glanced down to his full plate. ‘I’m not hungry.’

Rupert stomach sounded, almost inaudible. ‘Me neither. Did you want to go?’
~

Jhokai stepped carefully out of the shower and ran her fingers through the heavy steam that coated the mirror.

She swept her hair up on her head and simply stared at herself, fully exposed.

A frail nurse entered and dropped a towel loosely around her shoulders, attempting to rub down her back. ‘Don’t need you getting a cold as well now do we?’

The girl remained motionless, watching the scene indifferently in the mirror.

‘I think I need another piercing.’

The woman draped a gown and fresh clothes on a bench and stepped briskly out of the private bathroom. ‘You’ll have to talk to Doctor Ryan about that one.’

Jhokai heard her shuffling around in the room, readjusting some of her things.

‘You have another grafting appointment tonight at 7. Will see you then.’

Jhokai made no move to dry herself; instead stood eyeing her scars with a deep loathing and stormed out of the bathroom, covering herself up for yet another day.

~

It was the same Doctor who’d almost broken his nose.

‘Good evening Mr Radcliffe.’ He nodded to Daniel in greeting, ‘And Daniel I believe? If you would like to take a seat.’

The office was an impersonal mess of papers, charts and coffee mugs. It was obviously used as more of a storage room than a place to relax.

‘Excuse the rubble. My office is usually in patients’ rooms and surgery, I’m not quite accustomed to the whole desk and filing office thing.’ He gave a friendly smile and sifted through some bulging files on his desk, finally placing one on top and flipping it open, frowning.

‘Well then… Let’s see.’

Daniel began to shift uncomfortably, listing all the things that might come out of the Doctor’s mouth and bracing himself for the news.

He cleared his throat, jolting them to attention. ‘I’ll keep it simple, no use for all the medical nonsense.’ He forced a small sigh of laughter, increasing the tension.

‘Basically Marcia’s condition has improved. Her weight has remained stable, her body is accepting the medicines and her breathing hasn’t faltered at any stage. Medically speaking, she’s doing okay.’

Daniel looked over to see Alan gripping the arm rests, preparing for the rest of the speech.

‘But as I informed you on our last visit; it is rare for a stroke to occur with no long term damage.’ He clasped his hands together on the desk, eyes weary, voice remaining solemn and at a steady pace.

‘We have, on recent occasions noted some muscle depletion in her lower body, which is becoming more severe the longer she remains in an invalid state.’

Alan inched forward in his seat. ‘Doctor-‘

The man raised his hand to silence Daniel’s father. ‘Yes I understand sir. I am getting to the point.’

He took a disjointed intake of breath and peered down at his notes again, as if clarifying the matter.

‘Put simply Mr Radcliffe, it would be an almost impossibly optimistic view to say that Marcia will ever be able to walk again.’

Alan slumped into his seat, covering his face and rubbing vigorously at his tired eyes.

Realising that it was the end of the doctor’s spiel, Daniel left the office, slamming the door behind him and marching heatedly down the hall. He was yet to realise the thick wash of tears that now coated his face as he searched blindly for the hospital exit, forgetting he was not on the ground floor.

~

Jhokai pulled a loose thread off her gown and sat quietly outside the surgical suite, waiting for Doctor Ryan. She used to bring her music, or something to pass the time and soothe the nerves, but had eventually adjusted to the thought of needles as the years had passed. And she saw no need to have sympathy for herself when no one else had ever shown any.

Her eyes wandered the nearly deserted hall, before focusing on a familiar figure storming down the corridor, eyes forward.

‘Daniel?’

He passed her with no greeting or glint of reaction, his face shining with remorse.

She made no attempt to call him again, but silently watched as he left the ward, a trail of broken beads falling behind him.

I like this story very much

Soon..

Chapter Five- The Lonely



Daniel hadn’t seen a syringe, drip, clipboard or heard a moaning patient for over a week.
He couldn’t say he’d seen much of his father either. His office held the stench of Rum fumes, which would have spread to the rest of the house but for the simple fact that Alan never left the room.

He’d never perceived his father as a weak man, but concluded that tragedy brought out the extreme in everyone, and Alan taking over the household was certainly a tragedy.

‘Dad?’

There was no reply. Daniel could barely see him from the doorway, but pictured him slumped in his oversized office-chair, staring moodily into his reflection in the mahogany floors, crowded in by overdue notices, payment demands, and officially branded letters.

‘We’re going out, this is depressing.’

With that he pulled the door shut and walked heavily down the stairs to where his friend was waiting.

‘Where to?’ The driver donned his cap and grinned at Daniel broadly. Their driver was probably the only thing the Radcliffes’ had kept when his movie-life had eventually faded to nothing. Even the classy limo, which had held many a memory for them, had been traded in for a smaller, unmarked luxury car.

Rupert looked across at Daniel and then back to the front seat declaring, ‘The studio’ and settling back down, ignoring his friend’s inquiring look.

‘Why on earth..?’

‘Look mate I’m leaving tomorrow, I just wanna see how it’s going, alright?’

This evoked no response from Daniel, which didn’t surprise him in the least. The last few days had been slow going.

The enormous aerodrome of Leavesden Studios came into view, arousing some enthusiasm from Daniel, who perched up in his seat, staring nostalgically out the window.

It was eerily deserted. The once over-scheduled notice board that hung at the main entrance was bare and weather-beaten. The parking lot was empty and the racing traffic that passed by was audible for the first time; with the absence of cast, crew, technicians and artist milling around.

‘It was less depressing at home.’

Rupert barely heard him. ‘She’s back to how we found her.’

Dan nodded, recalling the miserable state the studio had been in when they began filming The Philosopher’s Stone. He slunk miserably back to the car, wishing he’d been able to keep the memory of laughing Gryffindors, child extras chasing each other with wands, the smell of the make-up room, but mostly just the cheery atmosphere that he appreciated when he wasn’t required for gruelling interviews and premiers.

After leaving, Rupert noticed that they were taking the hospital exit. He stared at Daniel questioningly.

‘You know what Rupe? The first thing I thought when we stepped outta the car, and saw what the best years of my life had turned to; a rotting deserted building, I said to myself “at least I’ve got my family,” And then I realised I barely have that any more.’

Chris, the driver watched from the rear view mirror. ‘Ah you got some high time ahead of you, you kids. You know that?’

Dan eyed the back of his head bitterly. ‘I wish you were right.’

Chris shook his head, putting his eyes back to the road. ‘When you’re almost fifty and you know you’re driving around something you’re not, you get to learn these things. You know when you’ve hit rock bottom, and it takes a few years to figure it out. You my boy- you’ve only been forgotten for the moment.’

Daniel nodded in a sort of pleasant, contemplative way and rested back against the window.

~

Glancing into the children’s ward as he did every visit, Dan was surprised to find it deserted.

‘I’ll catch up in a sec Rupe, just checking something out.’

Rupert rolled his eyes and continued walking as Daniel veered off through the doors, stopping at the reception desk.

‘Hi there, um, where is everyone today?’

The young nurse barely looked up from her magazine. ‘Visitor’s lunch today.’
‘Right. Thank-you.’

As he turned to leaves he realised the burn’s unit door was pinned back for the first time, and he could hear some familiar music pumping down the corridor.

Following it through to Jhokai’s room, he found her spread-eagled on a beanbag in jeans and a Beatles anniversary t-shirt, absorbed in a book.

She didn’t look up as he pressed stop on the stereo.

‘What are you reading?’

She flipped the book over, glancing at the cover as if she was unaware until he’d asked.

‘After the Umbilical.’

He watched her, amused. ‘Never would have picked that myself.’

The cover muffled her bland response. ‘It’s a hospital, not a library.’

He sat in the plastic cushioned chair by her bed. ‘Why so miserable?’

‘It’s visitors’ day. Y’know, Everyone meets downstairs, eats fancy sandwiches and pretends to be happy.’

‘So why are you up here?’

She rested her book down by her side. ‘I figured you had to have a visitor to be included.’ Her tone was barely melancholy.

She picked up a comb and dragged it roughly through her lengthy hair.

Daniel glanced around. There seemed to be more new things covering the wall than last time. He looked to her bedside table and saw a broken thread of beads mangled there, as if for him to find. It seemed a good explanation for her haughty mood.

‘Sorry about that.’ He gestured to his broken gift.

She nodded, expressionless. ‘Sorry about your mum.’

He was going to ask how she knew, but realised it was pointless.

‘Where are your parents?’

She sighed dramatically and looked upwards. ‘They died in a massive car crash and I was terribly burned. Or something like that.’

He furrowed his brow. ‘Was that supposed to be convincing?’

She stood up, slowly approaching him. ‘I live in a hospital. I thought that was the kind of tragedy people wanted to hear.’

He eyed her, unsure of how to take it in. ‘Then why are you dressed if no one’s coming?’

‘Oh this?’ She brushed down her shirt, ‘I didn’t want to look pathetic as well.’

He smiled, standing up and offering her his arm. ‘May I be your visitor?’

She gave a rare grin, taking his arm as he led her down to the cafeteria and he swore he almost saw a momentary flush pass over her face.

That was awwesome!!!

Ta hun. I will get to your fic when I have a spare moment okies?
I hate whinging about replies.. So I will just quote a reply I got from a radnet reader about that chapter.. *cough*



So they don't have to be that long or analytical or anything! I just wanna knwo what you like!

Please..

xxx

Chapter Six- At The Seams

Daniel stormed into the house after dropping Rupert at the airport, mystery gift in hand. Rupe had insisted he not open it until he was home.

He placed it delicately down on the desk, considering it warily. He could think of very few gifts that his friend would present him with that he would think fondly of after unwrapping it.

Sighing in annoyance at his own procrastination, he readily lifted back the light blue paper and admired the gift.

He smiled absent-mindedly at the carefully framed memory, the long forgotten photograph bringing back what he’d recently put out of mind.

It was their first day on set; Daniel, Rupert and Tom holding an awkward pose, swarmed beneath their new robes and looking unnecessarily clean. Daniel remembered fighting Marcia back as she forced herself at his hair with scissors, and the intense irritation he’d suffered at the make-up products he was slathered with.

He set the frame down angrily, becoming consciously aware of the reason Rupert chose to wait until he was out of sight before giving him the photo; he knew Dan wouldn’t take it well.

The tiny inscription down the bottom read ‘Remember-Only the beginning’ , and Dan scowled, grabbing his drumsticks and heading downstairs.

Sweat began to pool on his heated body as he slammed his feet and hands down in symmetry, a disjointed, angry beat sounding at the control of his fists and flushed imagination.

He’d taken up lessons over a year ago as a coping mechanism for his understandably high level of anxiety. He rarely played any more; whenever he needed release it always seemed too early in the morning or too late at night for the fierce tune.

He finally lifted his head back, opening his eyes as he gulped in breath, his hair falling into his face and clashes of cymbals still filling his ears. He set down his sticks just in time to hear the phone ring. Knowing Alan was in no state to contact the outside world, he picked up the receiver with a breathy ‘Ello?’

‘So I got my CDs confiscated, and I thought to myself, what would Daniel Radcliffe do with no music?’

Daniel grinned as Jhokai’s soothing tone filled his ears. ‘Make his own.’

‘Oh you play?’

He nodded to no one in particular. ‘Badly’

She hummed thoughtfully, Daniel could almost see the amused look on her face.

‘What made you call?’

‘Well-’ she paused dramatically, tapping the mouthpiece with her fingers. ‘We’re allowed one private call a week and I reckon I’ve saved up at least a hundred.’

‘So I’m just here to waste your time and call allowance?’

‘Precisely.’

Realisation came over him suddenly. ‘How did you get my number?’

Her pause was longer this time. ‘Her name is Marcia I believe. Apparently she knows you?’

Daniel’s voice lapsed for a moment. ‘You spoke to her?’

She cleared her throat casually. ‘Or something.’

Daniel pulled off his sweaty t-shirt and searched for his shoes. ‘Wait right there!’ He clicked off the handset, ran to change and prayed that Chris was willing to give up his lunch break for a favour.


~

Dan watched his mother tentatively from the doorway. She sat on her bed, reaching forward for her handbag, which was far out of her reach. She eyed the help buzzer hesitantly, before struggling forward again in desperation.

Dan entered the room swiftly and placed Marcia’s bag on her lap. She heaved a sigh of relief.

‘Show-off.’

He sat beside her. ‘Why didn’t the doctor call us?’

Marcia began rummaging through her possessions, grinning to herself as she pulled out her cellphone, and cursed as she realised the battery was dead.

‘They did. Apparently you and your father have become incapable of answering a telephone since I left.’

‘Oh.’ He looked down dismally. Jhokai had been wrong about his mother being happy to see him. ‘So how are you feeling?’

She put her things down heavily, and awkwardly turned to face him. ‘Not feeling. Thinking.’

He shifted uncomfortably, avoiding her eyes. Even in a hospital robe, she still made him nervous.

‘Do you realise, Daniel, what’s been in set in stone for the Radcliffe name?’ She moved closer, her vivid stare never faltering. ‘A failed actor, a cripple and an alcoholic.’

He cocked his head to the side in question. ‘How’d you know about dad-‘

‘Oh please. Your father has been on the edge for years and I’m quite sure this pushed him over it. He can’t handle any morsel of responsibility.’

Daniel nodded but said nothing. Alan had become less and less of an admirable figure as he’d grown up.

‘And I’ll be damned if I have to sit back in a hospital bed and watch it all fall apart.’ She practically spat the words and Dan slunk back into his chair, feeling pathetic.

‘I was allowed one phone call this morning.’ She sounded unimpressed. ‘Knowing the doctor had already tried you, I called a few out-of-date business partners. They were uneasy about helping me out so I was forced to negotiate.’

Daniel gave a small smile. Marcia was a fierce woman and he’d never heard the words negotiate or discuss pass her lips.

‘You’re going back to work Daniel. As far as I know the cast has been contacted and the crew are working on setting up a location for filming.’

He looked to his mother is disbelief. It was unlike her to even break into a sweat for him usually, let alone offer a second chance.
‘That simple?’

She narrowed her eyes. ‘Nothing is simple about it Daniel. If the public rejects this there will be hundreds of angry business people out of pocket. I ask for perfection. Nothing less.’

He was speechless, which wasn’t unusual when in the presence of his mother. With nothing more to say he got up to leave. He had a photograph to look at and a friend to call.

OMG that was so GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!! AWESOME!!!!!!!!!loved it so much

its outrageous......so strong...but kinda morbid and upsetting..i like that part

i liked it a lot lol. saddness plays a great role in this story. Fits relli well.

Thankyou my dears.. here's more

Chapter Seven- Action (Or Something Like It)



He wasn’t quite sure where he was, but it was the most beautiful five a.m. Daniel had experienced in a long time.

‘Rupert and Thomas?’ A young set-hand called out to the group, a little unsure. Rupe gave Daniel a quick pat on the back and followed the girl, looking a little unnerved.

His schedule was double booked now that it has been decided to film both the fifth and sixth movies together. It was a relief to be filming without Marcia eyeing him sceptically from behind the camera man, he could finally relax back into Harry’s life, which was equally as miserable as his own, but at least held some aspect of adventure.

‘We have ten minutes.’ Emma awkwardly handed him a breakfast bar while struggling miserably with her robes.

‘I swear these’ve gotten smaller since last movie..’

‘We’ve all grown, Em.’

She sighed, giving up. ‘Don’t I know it! I have to be re-fitted tomorrow, I’m growing in all the wrong places.’

Daniel turned away. Emma had put on weight since Goblet of Fire, but no one was about to agree with her, as she’d also developed somewhat of an attitude.

‘Where’s Marcia?’

‘You didn’t hear?’

She shook her head, concern evident. Daniel briefly explained the last month of activity, trying his best not to evoke sympathy.

‘So next time she’ll be on set, it’ll be in a wheel-chair… And I doubt she’ll leave Leavesden.’

Her expression dropped into something resembling remorse, but they were quickly rushed in front of the cameras, Dan taking a deep breath and grasping everything Harry Potter.

~

The little girl spun around in a circle, admiring her outfit.

Her tiny fingers were neatly painted with black shimmering nail polish, her white, frail hair pinned back with dark feathers; and her once-light hospital gown was tie dyed with rings of black and purple.

Jhokai clapped in approval, summoning Mindy closer and slipping a thick string of pearls over her head; the final touch.

‘Mindy…? Jhokai!’ A young nurse stepped into the room heatedly, picking up the little girl with one protective sweep. ‘What do you think this place is?’

Jhokai set down the bottle of polish and fell casually into her arm chair. ‘I could tell you a lot of things I think about this place. Chances are you wouldn’t approve a single one of them’

The nurse set Mindy down, still grasping her hand. ‘Well you’re seventeen next week Jhokai, you’ll be moving out of the children’s ward, so I hope you’ve made the best of it.’ She turned to leave and Jhokai called after her.

‘I certainly have, wait ‘til you see what I did to the rest of them.’

She smiled smugly to herself, but then slowly came to the realisation that she hadn’t conquered anyone. Changing wards meant that things were going to be different again. It meant she was another step closer to growing up, and leaving here, but she had nowhere to go.

Instead of mulling over the matter, she slammed her door shut, mentally planning her next attack to get back her confiscated CDs.

~

Daniels finger brushed over the lift buttons with barely a glance. His mother’s new home had become his second; and before she’d woken up, he’d actually preferred the environment to watching his father drown himself at their house.

The fettuccini was beginning to burn his fingers as he stepped out into the hall. It was a small price to pay for a short and pleasant visit. Marcia instantly announced her detest for hospital food on her first meal, meaning he was required to make frequent visits with meals. He overheard the doctor joking about putting her back on the tube, and had silently agreed.

‘Hey Mum.’

‘Oh! Daniel, you’re here.’ She eyes the container and he placed it smugly in her lap.

‘It’s still hot.’

‘How was filming?’ Her voice still held a stern tone.

‘As good as ever. We finished up early actually.’

She nodded, obviously pleased. ‘I’ve been meaning to ask you-‘

Daniel eyed the closed door longingly.

‘- There’s a girl who visits. Didn’t care for her much at first, but she was relentless and I actually enjoy her coming now.’

Daniel remembered their phone call a short while back. ‘Jhokai?’

Marcia nodded, sporadically stabbing the pasta. ‘Yes. She wouldn’t happen to be an ulterior motive would she? The doctor said you visited often.’

Daniel gritted his teeth. It was fair enough for his mother to be bitter, considering her state, but to assume everyone else possessed the same ill-feeling was just selfish of her. He kept his cool like so many times before, and stood up to leave.

‘I’ll tell her you like her visiting.’

With that he left, the heat still creeping up into his cheeks. He still had one more thing to drop off.

He opened the doors to find Mindy standing alone, with her usual sullen expression. Black make-up was smudged around her eyes and she wore an oversized guest robe.

She simply turned to watch him walk into the Burns unit; and Daniel didn’t even attempt a greeting this time.


‘What’

Daniel sighed inwardly.

‘And to think I expected you to cheer me up.’

She scoffed, still not turning away from the wall decorations she was tearing down.

He dropped a folder of CDs on her bed, getting her attention for the first time. A light smile played on her lips but she turned away again.

‘Sorry. Drum kit didn’t fit in the car.’

Jhokai sealed a small box shut. ‘You’ve preserved my sanity Daniel.’

He shook his head, looking around the walls. ‘What’s left of it anyway. What’re you doing?’

Before she could answer his cell began to sound. After a quick yes and no conversation he turned to leave.

‘See you soon Jhokai.’

Her face fell as she followed him to the door. Not wanting to tell him she needed to talk, she called out the first thing that came to her mind as he left down the hall.

‘It’s my birthday next week!’

He turned, still walking, and smiled broadly at her. ‘I won’t forget.’

THAT WAS AWESOME DUDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

but im still waiting for your other story SHE LOVES ME NOT but ok cant wait for more

Yeah I gotta write the last chapter Than I'll post it up.. and that's the end!

Awesome i love your stories so much they are so creative!!!!!!!

Ta dear

Chapter Eight- Boxes, Beads, Birthdays, Broken

Never had Daniel seen such a severe glare on that small a face. Mindy angled her body to face him as he walked passed the children’s ward and gratefully stepped into the open lift doors.

He grinned at the ’Already Disturbed’ sign that hung on Jhokai’s door handle and opened it cautiously, surprised to find she hadn’t unpacked her new room; with no one in sight.

‘Marco?’ he called tentatively.

‘Polo’ a muffled answer came from the floor.

He snickered quietly, setting her present down on the highset bed.

‘You’re wasting your birthday hours’

‘I accidentally packed myself’

He grinned broadly. ‘Marco’

‘Polo’

Daniel flipped open all the unsealed boxes, approaching one in the corner with arms outstretched. Before he could reach for the cardboard lid, Jhokai’s sprung out effervescently and her slender arms easily found their way around his neck, pulling him down into the rubble.

Her skirt flew back to reveal black tights, and Daniel saw the skirt material was none other than thick strips of vibrant ‘birthday’ ribbon sewn together and cut knee-length; gently rustling as she smoothed it down in it’s many colours.

Easing himself back upright, he raised his eyebrow, reaching for the small box he’d placed on her bed, suddenly nervous.

‘You didn’t!’ Jhokai scolded him lightly, eyeing the box and holding out her hand regardless.

‘I know..’ Dan lowered his gaze. ‘Now you have to pretend you like it.’

She slipped the ribbon off the minute box, and set it down on the bedcover, deciding her skirt had enough. Her shoulders drooped slightly and her face softened in awe as she lifted the well crafted necklace from its cushion.

‘It’s sort of a replacement...’ Dan trailed off, stepping back a little in anticipation.

The string held light-reflecting crystal, metallic steel and polished wooden beads arranged in a pattern, with the name Jhokai spelled out in equally as mismatching decorations.

She turned around and he fumbled with the tiny clasp for a moment before sealing the gift.

She smiled up to him with gentle brown eyes. ‘I love it. I’m not pretending.’

There was a small silence in which Daniel put his next words together. ‘Well I wanted to give you something else. I have the day off so I thought you’d like to go somewhere?’

‘With you? Outside? People will gawk at us.’

Daniel looked down to her skirt and bare feet but decidedly said nothing. Instead shaking his head and leading her out of the room.


She took a deep breath as she stepped outside the foyer doors, taking in the sights. Daniel, a few steps ahead and reaching for the car door turned back and watched her questioningly.

‘I haven’t left in a while. Feels good.’ She smiled as she stepped passed him into the open vehicle door.

Instead of donning a seatbelt, Jhokai chose to lean forward, switching her interest between the city, through the front glass, and their driver, Chris.

‘Can I wear your hat?’

Chris smiled into the rear-view mirror at Dan. ‘Are you the driver?’

Jhokai shook her head.

‘Traditionally the passenger wears a seatbelt.’

She scoffed and returned her gaze to the road. ‘Fine. We’ll negotiate. You tell me all Daniel’s dirty secrets, and I promise to wear a seatbelt.’

Chris didn’t try to hide his laugh. ‘Did you want to hear about the times he’s had to get dressed in the car because his mother’s impatient, or shall I tell you how you’re the first girl he’s ever had in the backseat?’

Jhokai bit her bottom lip, hiding a grin; before sitting back silently and clicking her seatbelt on, signifying that Chris had, in fact won.

A short time later they slowed to a halt.

‘Here we are then!’ Chris leaned back in the bench seat and winked at Jhokai. ‘And a very happy birthday to you little lady.’

~

‘I don’t understand’ Jhokai stared innocently around the enormous studio, a glint of mischief already apparent in her eyes.

Daniel had expected this sort of response. ‘Well.’ He took a breath, stepping closer to her ‘the hospital seemed too boring, public is out of the question and you are the last person I’d ever take out for lunch.’

She gave him an appreciative grin. ‘So instead we run a rampage through an empty studio in Harry Potter costumes while you try to find me?’

Daniel hesitated. ‘Well, no actually..’
But with her last words Jhokai had already taken off, turning into the first closed-off set; her foot steps clearly audible as they ricocheted off the walls of the Great Hall, skirt streaming behind her in a mass of colours.

Without a second thought, Dan took off running, glad that the crew were on location today, and that the interior studio was well and truly finished.

A short while later, he remained still very much alone. A light vapour had settled over his body from the heat, dampening his shirt and hair.

‘I give up!’ He called lamely up to the massive ceiling.

There was no reply. Silence burned in his ears and he felt frustration rising in his chest, along with the uncomfort that someone was watching him, namely Jhokai.

He sauntered into the side greenhouse which housed a number of massive, ancient trees used for indoor filming, and sat beneath a central trunk, resting his head back against its rough surface.

‘Do you need a hint?’ Jhokai appeared next to him, equally as flushed.

‘Please.’ Daniel puffed. She said nothing and he turned to her with a light smile. ‘Happy Birthday Jhoky.’

She dropped her head to his shoulder, defeated. ‘Very happy. Thankyou Daniel.’

Without warning a small hissing sounded and they were both sprayed with a gentle mist as the sprinklers delivered to the small forest. Daniel was grateful for the coolness.

He looked over to her; taking steady breaths and blinking as water droplets formed on her eyelashes and trickled down her porcelain skin. Without a second thought, his hand found its way to her chin as he leaned in, fixated on her gaze, and pressed his mouth to her lips.

He leaned away, his mouth moist from the rain that coated them, and watched as her face turned from a questioning state to an almost frightful expression.

She eased away and an ounce of regret stabbed Daniel fiercely in the chest as he fought with his mind for what to say.

Unblinking, her skin began to pale and jagged breaths racked her body.

‘Jhokai?’ Daniel reached out to her but her hand caught his before it made contact and held it with iron force as she struggled for oxygen.

Panic starting to consume his own body, he fumbled with his cell phone and called an ambulance, hating himself with every breath she fought for.

tick tick tick

OMG my hands were like clinched to my hair. That's so scary i want to know what happens next. Oh and i new they were going to kiss hahahahahaha. lol ok im weird lol

Hee. Here's more.

Chapter Nine- Meeting the Family



Dan was starting to hate hospital benches. Every time he found himself waiting on one for more then ten minutes, something bad was happening to someone he cared about.

Every doctor that exited Jhokai’s room glanced down at him and continued walking. As determined that he was not to run away from her this time, he found the notion of actually stepping into the room and looking at what he’d done, mortifying.

He had waited forever for a hospital vehicle to arrive at the studio. He attempted to relax her, hold her down, soothe her until help arrived but he knew it wasn’t doing any good. Her breathes were raspy and drawn out, as she lost control of herself and remained in a seizure-like state, with quivering limbs until help arrived. He did notice though, that much like the first time he saw her have an attack, she never once lost eye contact. Her frightened gaze bore right through him, as if she was trapped inside the whole commotion, as if her body had taken her prisoner.

~~

‘Daniel are you even listening?’

Dan turned away from the television holding an arm full of china plates and tried to remember what his mother had instructed him to do.

Marcia heaved an exasperated sigh and stepped swiftly over, awkwardly snatching the chinaware and shooting him a vicious look.

‘I should have done it on my own in the first place. At least make sure your father is getting himself dressed, I don’t have time for that. And change your tie, it looks awful.’

Daniel was getting sick of Alan being referred to as ‘your father’, as if Marcia had nothing to do with him anymore. He found that idea slightly unsettling.

He ripped off his red satin tie and searched through his rack, deciding on a navy blue number. He struggled with the silk around his neck while glancing into his parents’ bathroom, relieved to find his father dressed and gently rinsing the shaving foam off his face.

Marcia could still be heard downstairs, over the television, he noticed, reprimanding him for not helping out and being more organised when they were having ‘very important guests who will be deciding his future’.

He was usually pretty savvy when it came to impressing agents and the like. They were old partners of his mother who had continued casting on more of a global scale, and he knew all the fuss Marcia was making was due to the fact that she wanted them to know she was still successful without them.

He pulled the laces tight on his second shoe and stepped forward to check his appearance, when an almost deafening and endless sound of shattering glass made him stop short.

‘Mum?’

He knew there would be no response. Despite the fact that Alan had been a further twenty metres down the hall, he had somehow made it to Marcia first.

She sat on the floor by the dining table, eyes flittering to remain open, and cradling the left side of her torso. She had gripped the table cloth for support as she’d fallen and the entire setting lay in pieces around her, the corner of the lace cloth still clutched in her right fingers. The bottle of red wine has spilled over the tiles and was soaking into her dress and had already begun staining the lounge room carpet.

Alan had seemed almost as dumbstruck as Daniel, but appropriately came to his senses. ‘Daniel, I think she’s having a stroke, I need you to call an ambulance alright? Just tell them what happened.’

His voice was shaking and it took Dan a few moments to register and finally tear his eyes away to call for help.

~~~

Daniel didn’t realise he had tears smudged across his cheeks until a nurse had stooped in front of him, giving him a concerned look.

‘It’s alright. You can see her now.’

He shakily stepped in the room and looked down to find Jhokai’s eyes very much open. She didn’t look at him, but moaned lightly in her hazy state of consciousness.

All her unpacked boxes had been stacked, out of the way in a corner. ‘She wouldn’t like that’, he found himself thinking.

He stepped over and rested his hands on the rails that had been erected on the side of the bed.
Feeling tears of guilt beginning to swell behind his eyes again, he mumbled an ‘I’m sorry’ and turned to leave once more.

‘Daniel?’ Her voice came strongly from where she lay.

‘If you leave, don’t come back.’ Despite her state, Dan noticed her eyes held a soothing serenity.

‘I don’t want to have to say goodbye again…’

Daniel felt a pang of uneasiness. Her words, even though undoubtedly influenced by sedatives, had touched on an emotion he’d been hiding.

He remained silent, waiting for her eyelids to fall shut as he guilty stepped towards the exit.

A brightly coloured card in the wastepaper basket caught his eye on the way out. Without a thought, he reached out and quickly studied the glittering picture on the front, and gently flipped it open.

There was a generic, typed birthday message inside titled ‘To Jhokai’ , but that was the least of his focus. Underneath the tiny Hallmark paragraph lay two small, handwritten words that made the little breath he had left stop short.

‘Love Dad’.

wait so when Daniel was waiting to see Jhokai he was just thinking about when His mom just started getting sick and then he went to see Jhokai. What exactly happened to her? Why doesn't she want him to come back? I'm confused I like it very very very very very much but im confused. Fill me in

You've confused me!! Basically he was sitting outside waiting to see her and had a flashback or whatever to when his mother had a stroke. Then he went into see Jhokai.. and she pretty much said she doesn't like saying goodbye- I suppose you'll find out later Obviously she has lost people she cared about once before.

Hope it's clear!

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! Ok its clear.lol

Chapter Ten- Yellow on the Inside

Jhokai awoke once more in her cold, sterile prison. Her chest burned and she gasped for air, gripping the bed sheets that interlaced her fingers.

The elderly nurse leaned forward and gently lay a cold, damp cloth onto the girl’s lap; Jhokai gratefully pressing it to her chest. It was a regular routine but still hit just as hard every single morning.

The nurse left without a word and Jhokai stepped out of her bed and stumbled into the bathroom, peering into the mirror.

Seventeen looked just as miserable.

She whipped a lightly coloured kaftan around her body and pulled it tight with a strand of braided leather, shoving back her unkempt hair in defeat and stepping back to her room.

Daniel startled her. ‘You’re early’

‘It’s eleven o’clock’ he replied shortly.

‘You’re still early.’

He sighed, sitting in an arm chair and pulling a small, creased birthday card from his pocket.

Jhokai panicked a moment. She hated keeping secrets, but realised if no one ever asked her about anything, then they weren’t considered secrets.

‘You don’t waste any time, do you?’

Dan kept his solemn expression. ‘I figured you’d wasted enough time for the both of us.’

He held up the card from her father, ‘Thought this might be a good time to start asking questions.’

She folded her arms, staring at him, motionless, her stubbornness taking over. ‘Why do you care?’ She threw the accusing question at him with an unwavering tone.

Daniel rose and stepped towards her. He could feel his temper rising as her lack of co-operation. As much as he hated his mood’s unpredictability, he thought this would be a good moment to use it to his advantage.

‘You know what Jhokai? At first, I didn’t care. I was just interested by this girl who had no history to speak of and covered up her misery with beads and ribbon.’

Jhokai still eyed him with a challenging glare.

‘But now I need you to tell me something.’

She exhaled heavily and dropped into her beanbag, Daniel watching on with persistence.

‘I wanted to know why the only people who come and leave your room are holding syringes or finger paintings. I want to know where you’re from, why you’re here, and mostly..’ he trailed off, stooping down to the floor to meet her eyes, ‘.. mostly why you ended up unconscious when I tried to.. to kiss you.’

A bout of shame crossed his face and he glanced away. Jhokai, noticing the dip in his temper, used the silence to her regain her usual self, throwing her body back dramatically and splaying her hands out on the floor.

‘I am the immaculate conception. I thrive of children’s artwork and heavy medication.’

Daniel barely smiled. ‘And the kiss?’

She sat upwards, leaning into him and offering a wry smile only inches from his face. ‘I didn’t want to get pregnant.’

He sighed again, rubbing his eyes. ‘You are impossible.’

‘The doctors tell me that everyday.’

There was a short silence in which Daniel contemplated giving up. Jhokai tugged the card delicately from his fingers. ‘I will tell you Daniel.. I will tell you who I am. As long as afterwards, you forget everything that’s said and we go get cheeseburgers.’

Daniel nodded slowly, relaxing back and following her wandering eyes.

‘I was born seventeen years ago to a woman named Echo.’

Dan shot her a disbelieving look but she nodded seriously.

‘She was a fifteen year old hippie when she gave birth to me and changed her name not long afterwards. I never found out what she was called before that, it never struck me to ask.’

She shifted uncomfortably for a moment. Daniel could tell sharing wasn’t something Jhokai did too often.

‘I managed to survive with the middle name ‘Yellow’ and a first name she created from a mantra my grandmother passed on.’

She began tracing the letters of her name into the cold tiled floor.

‘Justice Hearts Of Karma And Innocence.’

Jhokai bit her bottom lip in fondness and continued. ‘My father..’ her voice began to shake ‘he was.. not all there. But I suppose my mother wasn’t perfect either and love seemed to fuel everything at the time.’

She looked around for some sort of distraction, but there was nothing.

‘We lived in an area not far from here. The whole neighbourhood was a little… a little off-beat. Like most of the neighbours, we had no electricity. I remember the rooms being filled with candles and incense.’ She smiled again but lowered her eyes.

‘On my last day there, I remember coming out of my room to find Echo crying. The authorities had just visited to find out why her ten year old daughter had not started school yet.’

Dan shifted uncomfortably.

‘My father arrived home at the same time. He’d been out job hunting but no one seemed to be hiring him because… because he was mentally challenged. People didn’t understand him.’

A light colour filled her cheeks and she crushed the card in her fist.

‘It was the first time I had seen him angry. He didn’t like it when someone upset my mother, and that’s what started his temper.’

She looked to Daniel as if she didn’t want to say anything more, but he smiled reassuringly.

‘I hid in my room and eventually fell asleep. I only woke up because I remember being so hot.’

Emotion began to fuel her voice. ‘I went to open my door in a panic, finding it too hot to touch, so I had to use my dress. As I opened it, the entire burning frame fell onto me and I eventually passed out from the smoke.’

Jhokai traced her fingers over her stomach. ‘The burns were so deep that I couldn’t move for over three months. I just lay in hospital mourning over my mother and praying I’d never have to see my father again.’

Daniel spoke for the first time. ‘So where is he?’

She sighed, ‘The police told me he’d knocked over Echo’s candle mural in his rage. She thought she could put it out in time but she had chronic asthma and died a few days later from intense smoke inhalation. My father was deemed unfit to have a child, even thought he wasn’t a violent man. He’s in a hospital, like me, with people, like him.’

She stood, smoothing down her kaftan and stepping forward. ‘Beautiful story, no?’

Daniel only watched on in wonder and she slipped from the room and out into the hallway, only stopping to drop the card back in the bin.

Wow. I mean there is no words to discribe it. It's so well written. Good Description. Good everything. It was and will and has been the greatest story yet. It's way better then mine. lol i love keep going

your story is amazing! please keep writing...I wanna know what happens next!

Thankyou pretties

Chapter Eleven- Show Me Midnight

Daniel stepped into his mother’s suite, feeling an uncomfortable wave of anxiety cover him. Marcia sat upright, fiercely eyeing the doctor who stood at the end of her bed, holding a frustrated look of defeat.

‘What I’m saying, Mrs Radcliffe, is that what’s best for you and your family’s well-being is that you remain in our care for a further month.’ He paused with an exasperated sigh, and noting Daniel’s cautious expression, added ‘at least.’

Marcia’s glare did not soften. ‘What I’m saying Doctor, is that I know what’s best for my own family and am quite capable of living outside a hospital. I’ve done it for over forty years.’

The doctor, quite expecting such a reply, turned to exit, muttering, ‘We’ll order you a chair’ as the door swung shut behind him.

‘And they claim to be educated’ she huffed, struggling to manually lift her right leg, but eventually letting it slump back down to the mattress.

She eyed Daniel sharply. ‘I suppose your father told you?’

He shook his head, raising another round of muttered profanity from his mother.

“I’m coming home this evening. Alan should be here shortly. And I’ve rescheduled our dinner party for tomorrow night.’

Daniel stiffened. The first dinner party was the reason Marcia was here. He still recalled the guests pulling into their driveway as the ambulance left.

‘Um, are you sure you’re feeling up to it mum?’ His query held little evidence of concern.

‘Yes and I’ll expect you and your father to be of some use this time.’ She rifled through her purse as she spoke, presenting him with a crumpled note.

‘Fetch me some lunch will you?’

He half-snatched the money and turned to leave, glad his daily visit was so abrupt. Marcia called out to him in a much chirpier tone as he pushed the door open. ‘And invite a friend will you? I don’t need the agency thinking my son’s a miserable recluse.’

Dan gave a small grin, knowing exactly who he wanted to bring.

~~

Jhokai slipped off her shoes, her heavy skirt immediately dropping to the floor; the thick lace scraping across the beige tiles as she pranced away from Daniel to explore his house.

‘So, how are you?’ He called out to her sarcastically.

‘My feet are cold’ she announced from somewhere near the kitchen, followed by a squeal of excitement, arousing Daniel’s attention.

He’d forgotten that Jhokai and his mother were well acquainted. He’d always meant to ask her, but usually resisted asking her anything as conversations led to a dead end.

He found her standing in the middle of the kitchen, a childish grin on her face as she fiddled with the bottom of an apron Marcia has obviously handed her. His mother wheeled back and forth between the dining table and stove, in mindless chatter, only pausing to rest her arms and complain a little.

His mother had forced herself to learn the techniques of her wheelchair within five minutes of getting in the door. It was all Alan could do to stop her cooking that very evening she arrived home. She even gave them both a look of loathing as they helped her out of the car.

‘Get dressed Daniel.’ His mother’s sharp voice brought him from his contented haze of watching Jhokai pottering happily around the dining table, knives and forks in hand, flowers already tucked neatly into the pocket of her apron as she imitated how Marcia had begun setting the places.

Content that Marcia was in soothing hands, and choosing to ignore the intense déjà vu feeling tugging at him, Daniel headed upstairs to dress and make sure Alan was sober enough to address the guests.

~~~

Dinner went smoothly. Daniel and Alan kept their conversation to a minimum, as instructed, and Jhokai piped up occasionally, much to Marcia’s delight; later insisting that the agents thought her to be absolutely intriguing. Much to Dan’s surprise, he found himself left with an odd pang of jealously after the remark, quickly blaming it on the fact that he’d always been an only child.

After dinner Daniel sat restlessly in the family room by the fireplace, being found a short while later by Jhokai, who smelled slightly of dishwashing liquid and bore her cheery, infectious grin.

‘Enjoying yourself?’

She nodded, sitting next to him and shivering slightly, fixing her attention on the bright sparks floating in the fireplace.

After a short moment, Dan let a yawn slip, causing Jhokai to snap her head around to see the clock.

‘It’s eleven o’clock’ she uttered.

Dan gave her a confused look. ‘Did you need to be somewhere?’

She relaxed again, sighing a little. ‘It’s just.. I never stay up late. Well, never until midnight, I mean.’

She trailed off as if this was sufficient explanation, but Dan nodded all the same.

‘Because that’s when you turn back into a pumpkin.’

She shot him a familiar roguish smile, and then returned her gaze to the light flickering in front of them.

‘Not quite. My mother was proclaimed ‘officially deceased’ at 11:59 pm. Not exactly the hour to celebrate.’

‘Not even at New Years?’

Jhokai held a solemn expression. ‘Never.’

Daniel hummed in contemplation, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and leaning into her ear. ‘One day, Jhokai, you will stay up until midnight with me.’

She gave a small smile, inching out of his grasp and climbing to her feet. ‘Not tonight, at least.’

He walked her out to the entrance and flicked on the front light. ‘Chris will take you back. Mum kept him on for the evening.’

He looked, bewildered, down at the hand she offered for him to shake, taking it slowly.

‘Tomorrow, Daniel, dinner is at my house.’

He raised an eyebrow, still gently shaking her hand. ‘Oh really?’

She gave a formal nod.

‘Is there something you’re not telling me?’

Jhokai slipped her shoes back on and stepped out under the glow on the front steps, only turning to give a coy smirk and a last word.

‘Always.’

luved it <3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3 Can't wait for more!

yeah...please write more soon...I can't wait!

Sorry babies. Been sick and university is crazy.

Chapter Twelve- Between the Shattered and Burnt

Having been given no more direction than the slight invite offered the night before, Daniel decided to have Chris drop him at the hospital after filming that day.

Feeling brave, he stopped to say hello to Mindy that afternoon who was standing in her regular spot, the deserted elevator hall. As usual, she offered nothing but a heated glare. He observed her for a moment to see if her expression would dither, even for a moment, but she hardly blinked.

He’d never noticed the thick pressure bandages that swamped her tiny legs and disappeared up under her lengthy hospital gown. He also noticed that unlike the other children, her robe had long sleeves. Another thing he noticed about the other children, was that there weren’t any. In fact he’d never seen another soul with the wispy-haired child apart from Jhokai.

Shrugging it off and deciding there was no point in questioning her any further, he proceeded to the lift.

‘What’s on the menu this evening?’ He smiled warmly at Jhokai as he stepped inside the room. She fiddled almost compulsively with the fabric edges of a wicker picnic basket before answering him.

‘The hospital never ceases to surprise me, so I thought I’d do the same.’

‘Was I supposed to bring something?’ He asked, confused.

She picked up the basket, flattened the front of her skirt which appeared to be covered in an array of buttons, and offered her arm. ‘You came. I suppose that’s enough.’

He took her arm, and shuddered a little at her cold skin and wet sleeves.

‘Why are you wet?’

‘I went for a walk in the rain.’

‘But it’s sunny outside.. It has been for over a week.’

‘You ask too many questions.’

Daniel smiled as she practically dragged him outside to the waiting car.

Jhokai was unusually quiet on the way, much to Daniel’s confusion. She only spoke to give directions and gave no clue as to where exactly they were headed.
The basket lay beside her and her fingers gripped the seat behind Chris as she eagerly set her eyes out the front window.
‘Stop!’

Alarmed, Chris slammed on the breaks and they all jolted forward a little. Jhokai gave a tiny smile, picked up her things and opened the door.

‘Here will do thankyou Chris.’

Daniel followed her out of the car bewildered, and looked around at the colourless neighbourhood.

They had been walking, aimlessly is seemed for a few minutes before she spoke.

‘Any guesses?’

Daniel let his eyes wander across the passing houses, peeling, panelled walls, overcrowded clotheslines draped with colourful materials, the odd child stopping to observe.

‘No clue.’

She looked at him for what seemed the first time that day, and he saw fear in her eyes.

‘I haven’t seen it either. I’m not sure what to tell you.’

He slowed to an almost standstill. ‘You expect your house to still be there?’

She nodded, stepping briskly ahead of him. ‘I’m certain. Look around you. The government wouldn’t touch the area.’ She sounded almost bitter.

‘Out of ignorance, and nothing more. They think this is some sort of shanty town run by witches.’ Her statement brought a smile to her lips. ‘I believe it started with the accident in my family. Death scares people.’

She slowed her pace, beginning to take note of letter box numbers, but soon realised there was no need.

They stopped in front of a slightly larger block of land. A charred, high-set house stood before them, the front stairs lay blackened and splintering on its side, leaving a door-way set eerily in mid-air. A large shed was out the back, almost untouched by the fire; the childish paintings having left vibrant stains across its tin surface. An entire side wall laid spread across the lawn, leaving a clear view inside the house, and what remained of its possessions.

The entire silhouette was charmingly lit up by the dusk that had settled in behind it.

Jhokai stepped into the overgrown grass tentatively, walking around to the side to where the shed-like structure stood. She smiled back at Daniel, giddy. ‘You coming?’

He followed her, tripping a little on the high grass as he fixated his gaze on the house, instead of his footing. Underneath the structure, whether they had fallen through the floor or had always been there, lay several rusted wrought-iron candle holders, and blackened, but still impressive looking, intricately-crafted, heavy wooden chairs.

He looked up to the shed they approached. He could see now that the paintings were not mindless, childish artwork, but more mature, flowing pieces that seemed to represent memories and family.

Justice Hearts Of Karma And Innocence was written neatly through the centre of the wall surrounded by pictures of faces that were not recognisable, being slightly old and weather beaten.

His breath stopped short when they stepped inside the small room. Jhokai cheerfully set down the basket on an under-sized wooden table and grinned at Daniel once more.

Everything in front of him, apart from being dirty with age, lay completely intact. A bookshelf stood against one wall, an array of instruments: tambourines, plastic and colourful wind pieces made for children and other percussion implements, covering each shelf. A once-colourful rug lay on the floor, a tiny pair of worn out leather sandals left carelessly on it, and of course, a number of intricate pieces of jewellery strewn across the floor; threadbare cotton and scattered, painted wooden beads.

Every memory in the play room reflected what was once a well loved child, yet he couldn’t imagine Jhokai ever playing in here. It seemed too long ago.

He looked up to see her gently pushing the table closer to the worn sofa that sat against the opposite wall. Even though a light darkness had settled in, he could see a happy flush in her cheeks, and he smiled in return, glad he was sharing the memory with her.

She patted the cushion beside her and turned to what she’d brought with her. He held back a smirk as she set down cake, carrot sticks, juice boxes and sandwiches cut into triangles.

He smiled, reaching for some cake. ‘Is this birthday cake?’

She nodded, smiling. ‘The hospital always makes me one. I thought I’d share it this year.’

Beginning to feel sick, having not eaten since breakfast on set that morning, Daniel set down the cake, brushing the crumbs from his lap and watching her intently. He found it intriguing how she sat there, appearing as if she shared the company of only herself. She never seemed to feel the need to say anything, which suited him fine, at the end of a day.

Her hand swept along the arm of the lounge, picking up a small bracelet of different decorations.

‘Echo made me this.’ She said, in an almost whimper. ‘When I was born. I thought it’d been eaten by the fire.’

Daniel heard a slight sniffle and saw a watery glaze pass over her eyes. Instinctively, he brought a soothing hand to her shoulder, and leaned in. ‘Are you glad you came?’

She smiled at him through her tears. ‘I’m glad you came. I was too scared to come on my own.’

He thoughtlessly wiped a tear from her cheek and she flashed a look of gratitude. Just as she could make your eyes light up with a single statement or gesture, Daniel found Jhokai could just as easily tear down your happiness with a simple downward glance.

He scooped her hair back from the wet cheeks they clung to and let the mass fall loose behind her, leaning in closer and bringing an arm around her. Much to his relief, she let her weight fall into him, still clutching her bracelet.

Daniel felt his nerves take over, swearing that she could hear his heartbeat quicken in his chest, and taking deep breaths to try to slow the pace. He found the same thing happening as back in the studio, all reasonable thought left his mind.

‘Jhokai..’ He paused for breath, and she lifted her head to look at him questioningly.

He stared at her a moment, fearful, wondering if he sound ask. But the words came out before he got a chance to mull over them.

‘Can I kiss you?’

She didn’t smile, or look away. Instead he saw a light panic pass through her eyes as she nodded, ever so slightly and closed her eyes.

Daniel could barely recall the next few seconds. Heat shrouded his body as he gently closed his lips over hers, carefully intertwining their fingers as not to startle her. She relaxed into him, slipping her hand out of his to cup one of his now flushed cheeks and concentrating on the warmth of his motions.

She gently eased her mouth away, much too soon, and continued gazing blankly at him, leaving Daniel wondering what it was she was thinking, which wasn’t unusual, and feeling his pulse rise at the closeness of their bodies.

The beam returned to her face after a short moment, despite her drying tears, and she picked up one of his hands. ‘Want me to show you around?’

He couldn’t help it, he laughed. He felt like a child after a very first kiss.

He was lightly dragged outside, pleased to find her street was lined with lamps, and they were shining a fair amount of glow onto the house.

Jhokai had stopped short and was staring up into one of the rooms made visible by the fallen wall. The skeleton of a child’s bed stood in the centre, with unrecognisable forms around it. The door was, of course, missing, probably dragged out and left elsewhere by emergency when Jhokai’s body was pulled out.

‘I don’t think I want to stay any longer.’ She stated simply, her shoes crunching through a stained-glass window as she returned to get her basket.

Daniel turned to follow, and stopped short, his eyes catching a glimpse of something else in her room.

He strained his eyes through the falling blackness, and stepped closer to the crumbling house. Behind the bed was another piece of furniture, another reason to ask questions, and another reason that kept Jhokai from almost never coming back.

A baby’s crib.

omg that is so good! please keep posting!

aw young love. luved it cant wait for im gald you posted cuz i was like come on come on come on post already lol.

when are you gonna post more? i can't wait!

Alright alright.

Chapter Thirteen- Shadowed

It seemed that as soon as Daniel had left the thought of the burning crib out of his mind and finally fallen asleep, that Marcia was banging on his door, telling him to get ready for filming that morning.

Tumbling out of bed, he stepped out into the hallway and squinted at her as she wheeled back into her bedroom. Surely she wasn’t coming with him today.

‘Quickly Daniel. We’re leaving early this morning.’

He brought his hands groggily to his face as he stumbled under the hot shower, wondering how his independence had left him, along with his mother’s ability to walk.

She rapped on the door a mere two minutes later and Daniel wiped the shampoo suds from his eyes furiously when he heard the door creak open and his mother’s voice bark ‘quickly’ at him before it was pulled shut again.

Shaking his head in disbelief he whipped a towel around him and stormed back into his room to dress.

He almost tripped over Marcia as he opened his door, swinging his bag over his back. She eyed him fiercely for a moment, a look of impatience flickering over her face.

She angled her chair so the handles were facing him, and her over-shoulder expression softened. ‘If you wouldn’t mind..’

Daniel struggled to ease the wheelchair down each step, his arms shaking as he attempted a smooth descent.

Chris grinned at Dan from the entryway; kissing Marcia lightly on the cheek and pushing her out to the car with relative ease, Daniel noticed.

Mouthing a out in a sec to a tired looking driver, Daniel rushed into the lounge room to find yesterday’s script. He knew he wouldn’t need it, but he wanted to take all precautions when he knew his mother’s eyes wouldn’t leave his back all day on set.

He was startled by Alan’s sleeping form, slumped in an armchair. The liquor cabinet was unlocked, and the keys, as well as an empty bottle of whiskey and the mess that comes with it sat on the usually immaculate sofa table beside him.

Swallowing hard, Daniel leaned out to shake his father awake, but quickly retreated as the car horn sounded. Having only time to grab a pair of shoes, he forgot his script and paced furiously out to the car. Chris shot an apologetic look and glanced back to Marcia who would have been tapping her foot impatiently if she could.

The moment they stepped into Leavesden Marcia began bustling Daniel over towards the make-up room, despite his protests.

‘Look, mum, the schedule has changed since last time! I need to be in the conference room discussing today’s script changes or I’ll be completely lost.’

Marcia scoffed. ‘It shouldn’t matter one way or the other. If you know what you’re doing then scripting will only take a moment.’

‘Of-of course I know what I’m doing,’ he stuttered, attempting to protest again but she silenced him.

‘Morning Sarah’ she smiled pleasantly despite the surprised look the make-up artist gave in the direction of Marcia’s chair, but was quickly waved off. ‘It’s just temporary dear. I’ll be chatting with Mike for when you need me Daniel.’

‘I won’t need you.’ Daniel muttered, slumping in the chair and shutting his eyes.

Mike Newell entered the set looking a little groggy, a little irritated, with Marcia not far behind.

A violent hush spread over the room as he set a mug down nearby and brought his hand to a weary, lined brow, removed his thick-framed glasses and with his eyes closed, gestured to get into place for a run through.

They followed his silent direction as quickly as their respect allowed and a flush spread over Daniel’s face as he fought to remember the direction and glanced up to meet his mother’s piercing eyes.

He knew she’d struggled to convince Mike that Daniel was ready to begin filming again, as easy as she’d made it sound, and he wanted to maintain his perfect progress, more for his own self-satisfaction then to reassure Marcia.

Hermione entered the carriage looking a little disgruntled and squeezed awkwardly in next to Harry.

‘Well there are two fifth-year prefects from each house. A boy and a girl.’

Daniel sat as naturally as possible as the exchange between Rupert and Emma took place, lines whirring through his head.

’How Pansy Parkinson got to be a prefect when she’s thicker than a concussed troll..’

Emma spat out the words viciously, glancing at Daniel towards the end, after a considerable silence took place.

’Who are Hufflepuff’s?’ Harry questioned lazily.

Ron swallowed his chocolate frog and opened his mouth to speak. ‘Ernie Mac-‘

‘No!’ Marcia eased herself forward a little.

Daniel’s head shot forward to look at her. ‘I beg your pardon?’ He began to blush, despite his anger, as the cameraman looked over at Mike in utter confusion and the rest of the eyes came to rest on Daniel.

‘Well that wasn’t very clear now was it Daniel?’

Daniel heard the weary director’s gentle sigh from across the room, the silence overwhelming him. No one ever interrupted filming. But no one ever told Marcia off either, especially a paraplegic Marcia.

‘From the top.’

Mike didn’t even glance sideways at Daniel’s mother and it was all Dan could do not to wince after each line left his lips. He silently thanked Mike for skipping a few high-emotion scenes that were scheduled for the afternoon, and sent them all home early.

The ride home was silent and angry. ‘You know what I think Daniel?’

Daniel temper poured from his throat. ‘Yes I am well aware mother. And thank-you for making it painfully clear in front of the entire cast.’

He turned bitterly towards the window, his back to her and his mouth clenching with the words he had to hold back.

‘Chris would you mind taking me for a drive after we’ve dropped her back home.’

Marcia leaned forward, gripping her seatbelt. ‘Chris you are not taking him anywhere. He’s using his afternoon off to rehearse with me.’

‘Fine. I will get a cab.’

Marcia shot him a scolding glare but remained silent. When they got to the house she did not argue, but willingly let Chris help her inside while Daniel sat in the back seat, eyes forward, soaking in self-satisfaction. His temper rarely rose against his mother, but he was pleased at the outcome.

His phone sounded from his duffel. It was Jhokai.

Her voice seemed calm but her breathing was rapid. ‘Daniel.. Could you come to the hospital? The nurses will tell you where I am.’

‘Sure-’ His only word of reply was cut off as she hung up. His anger was overtaken by a swelling fondness and a bout of panic as Chris shut the door and drove a little too slowly down the driveway.

woah

that's really good!

VERY GOOD!!!!

*beams*

More later. I haven't been writing much lately since I work about 30 hours a week and am a full-time writing student at university.. But I still have a few chaps stored before I hit a dead-end.

*dies*

xx

Thats ok take ur time we can wait its awesome!!!

Chapter Fourteen- Too Deep

The weary nurse glanced up to Daniel’s apprehensive face with a mere blink.

‘She’s in the coffee shop.’

Daniel flinched. ‘What?’

The nurse sighed and turned away, walking off quickly, obviously sharing Daniel’s thoughts- that he should have figured Jhokai out by now. That she would never call or ever let on that anything was wrong, and if she ever contacted him it was for an entirely pointless reason.

He hoped.

He was amused, but not surprised to find her in the most secluded booth wearing a vague expression and one of his t-shirts dressed up with a bright singlet over the top and a confusing amount of macaroni strings.

‘I stole it.’ She smiled, pushing a steaming cup over to his side of the table, signalling that he had to sit across from her.

‘And I admire you for it.’ He retorted, picking up the hot mug and sliding in next to her, daring to peck her lightly on the cheek.

She smiled.

‘Why the emergency?’ He felt his mood lift just being there next to her.

‘Thought you’d like your coffee hot.’

He threw back his head and downed a large amount of the smooth liquid, and instantly cheered, turned his head to face her.

‘Well thankyou. I think about you all the time as well’ he announced lightly. Jhokai grinned down at the table, fiddling with an empty sugar packet.

‘You do? I like that’ She whispered.

But Daniel didn’t hear her. He couldn’t hear a word over the image of a baby sleeping peacefully, lulled into unconsciousness as the sound of an infants’ trinket played a robotic, familiar tune in the background, and flames ate away at the side of the crib.

Daniel shivered and Jhokai glanced at him oddly with her playful eyes. ‘You cold? Want your shirt back?’

He smiled despite himself. ‘You keep it. Let’s walk.’

She didn’t get a second to argue as his hand found hers and lifted her gracefully from her seat.

Daniel liked to think he wanted to know about the crib for her sake, so he could help her heal, but he knew his real reason was driven by a yearning to know her better, be closer to her, and to put his curiosity to death. Finally.

Not accustomed to walking anywhere but the hospital hallways, they found themselves back in Jhokai’s room. Her new space hadn’t taken on the joyful childlike feeling that the old ward had, which is why Daniel had hardly spent time in there with her, he supposed.

She fell back on the bed and immediately reached for the folder that rested next to her and picked up a pencil. When he tried to look at what she drew, Jhokai squirmed away. ‘Sit there’, she ordered, pointing to the end of the mattress. He was quiet for a moment, bitter thoughts and endless questions raging through him.

‘Jhocky’ He started coolly, ‘You said you were an only child, right?’

Her head snapped up from her work. ‘I never said that.’

He nodded, waiting for her to put her head back down and stop shooting him suspicious glances. ‘So you have a sibling then? One you didn’t mention?’

She looked up to him again with fiery eyes. ‘That’s beyond your business Daniel.’

He scoffed. ‘Hardly.’ Daniel regretted this immediately as two steely pupils continued defending her mood.

He tried a softer approach. ‘You’ve shared so much with me, why not this?’

His soothing tone only made her more aggravated as she put down her work, eyes staring through him. ‘Don’t you think I would’ve brought it up if I thought it mattered?’

Daniel shook his head. ‘You can’t even say what’s on your mind, Jhokai. Let alone what’s happening in your life.’

She looked around her bare hospital room incredulously and then let her gaze, still steaming, fall on Daniel. ‘You are the only thing happening in my life Daniel. And right now, I don’t want to talk about that.’

He breathed in heavily, examining her. ‘Why?’

‘I think I’ve told you enough. You knew I was complicated, you know I’m going to be difficult so just. Don’t. Ask.’ Her teeth became more tightly gritted with each word.

Seeing Jhokai become more defensive and angered by the moment, Daniel’s curiosity was aroused, along with a lethal mix of temper rising in his chest.

‘You can stop hiding Jhokai! It’s pathetic! You know I care about you and would never use anything you say to hurt you!’ He thought that somehow his reassuring words were going on deaf ears as long as he was yelling them. Still furious, he dropped his tone to a harsh whisper.

‘For God’s sake.. I would die to protect you..’

He caught his breath for a moment, unsure of what he had just said. He could hear the brisk clack of a nurse’s heels as she came to see what the disturbance was.

‘Is there a problem Jhokai, honey?’

Still flushed, Jhokai diverted her eyes between the awaiting nurse and Daniel’s anticipating face. She leaned in closer, imitating his whisper. ‘I’ve watched my mother and some of my best friends lose their lives while sitting at their bedside. What makes you think I care about yours?’

She let it sink in a moment, before looking back at the nurse.

‘He can leave.’

Bewildered, Daniel stepped down off the bed and let himself be escorted out. He turned back to look at her but she’d returned to her artwork, and refused to look up. The only thing he could hear himself thinking between whirring, angry thoughts was, ’she didn’t mean it.’

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Chapter Fifteen- Goes So Slowly Now

Jhokai continued on her sketch for a good hour before she even lifted her head. She inhaled deeply as she looked up, half expecting Daniel to still be standing there.

He wasn’t, of course.

Noting the time, she stepped down onto the freezing tiled floor and whipped the thick white duvet off her bed, fastening it around her shoulders with her tiny fist.

She nodded to the nurses in the Burns Unit, one with pursed lips at the sight of her bed clothes scraping along the floor, and continued down the silent hall.

There were few long term patients. Most were treated and then released, only to return regularly to work on the scarring, but Jhokai discovered, living in the children’s ward that many of those with severe injuries simply passed away; their tiny, deformed and confused bodies giving in to the grip of heat that tightened their skin.

But there were some who fought. And Jhokai had befriended them in the hopes that their struggle was made a little easier if she could make them smile.

She pressed her face against the first window, the child barely recognisable. The tiny boy had been submitted months ago and she was yet to see him move his limbs on his own accord. He was the victim of suspected child abuse and Jhokai had sometimes stood there, willing him to let go, because his life had already been destroyed, and more damage lay ahead if he was ever lucky enough to be released.

Shuffling down to the end of the hall, Jhokai slumped into the end doorway and peered in with a small grin. Mindy’s almost lifeless hand fell off the side of the bed, her fingers outstretched for comfort. Her eyes still closed, her lips moved upwards into a smile as Jhokai’s hand closed over hers.

Doctor Ryan looked up to Jhokai as he adjusted the frail girl’s pressure bandages and gave a warm nod.

‘What’s the news?’

The doctor looked up to her, wary. ‘Good or bad?’

Jhokai lifted an eyebrow from beneath her mess of locks. ‘I know the good news. She’s still breathing. What else you got?’

A thick cough erupted from Mindy before he was able to answer.

‘Her lungs aren’t getting any better, that’s the main reason I’ve ordered this much bed rest.’ He looked down to his clipboard almost as an excuse, it seemed, to not reveal any more information.

Jhokai stared.

‘Well. To be honest, her kidneys aren’t holding out very well at all and we’ve had to change her diet.’ He sighed, almost turning to leave before he was interrupted.

‘I have a spare kidney.’ The doctor smiled. ‘Yours, I think are in no better condition Jhokai. Not to mention the wrong blood type.’ He chuckled at her generosity.

The older girl sighed, her fingers leaving the loose clasp of the bed-ridden child.

‘But she’ll be fine in a few days, yes? I have plans for her.’

Doctor Ryan hesitated, letting a sigh leave his chest as he bent down and placed a hand on Jhokai’s shoulder. ‘You can’t tell me you haven’t noticed her lack of growth either.’ Jhokai bit her lip, hoping that no answer was the best one.

‘A child her age, well, she should be a lot bigger. She has barely grown in the past few years. We can’t begin skin grafts until she has grown somewhat. It’d be a waste. I’m sorry.’

After he had left Jhokai slipped a small packet of stickers from her robe pocket and began to place them delicately around the sleeping child’s eyes in a mask-form.

She looked down at her fondly and kissed her forehead uncertainly before getting up to leave. ‘Sleep tight, pretty.’

~

Daniel arrived back at the house with much the same feelings about the same people as he had when he left. Scared and angry.

Dinner passed without a sound. Alan didn’t say much lately and no one was in the right state of mind to know what to say to him either. Daniel helped clear the table in bitter-white silence and retreated to his room. His eyes glazed over with anything that was put in front of them, so he gripped his drumsticks tightly and simply lay, staring at the ceiling.

He was going to be eighteen in a week and he didn’t feel the least bit like a man.

He didn’t want his job. He didn’t want to lose the only thing that made him happy. He didn’t want to lose his temper. It was too late to not want what his family had turned into and he didn’t want to be rescued by anyone but himself.

Daniel had the next day off, and returned to the hospital in low hopes that everything was back to normal. Normal, for Jhokai, being a willingness to speak to him, at the very least.

He was there for a good hour. Fifteen minutes of trying to persuade the nurse to let him see her, another ten for making her promise that she’d pass a message along, a half hour of trying to think what to write and the last five minutes spent cursing the prison cell of a hospital as he left.

He had never been allowed to see her the day after a skin graft appointment, but today seemed awfully convenient, for some reason. And he imagined that another night without seeing her, with a question heavy on his mind, was going to go very slowly.

Very good I luved it!!!!

that was really good!

Sorry! Would you believe I forgot? lol..

Chapter Sixteen- Empty Palette

Daniel had avoided the hospital for a further week, convincing himself that the possible rejection was much worse than the uncertainty he now harboured. So he absorbed himself into his acting and bit through each monotonous day of his mother’s suggestions and began to appreciate Alan’s silence as his parents slowly balanced each other out.

His birthday was not much different. Marcia had begun to mellow a little after having Daniel around her for a solid week helping out occasionally and offered him warm birthday wishes as he left for the set, promising gifts when he returned. Alan slept.

Feeling pathetic, Daniel’s cell was eventually confiscated by the director after his lack of attention was noted early on. After a mere three hours work, the cast held a small party and Daniel returned home seething in bitterness.

Alan gave Daniel a groggy slap on the back, inviting Chris in for a birthday drink with his now adult son. Stepping into the lounge room, drinking glasses in hand, he spotted his mother sitting proudly next to an unfamiliar piece of furniture. He set the glasses down and approached the antique, rustic, heavyset bookshelf, and the unhappiness he thought would only be cured by a few stiff drinks with his father, quickly spread into a smile. The top two shelves held a variety of his favourite pieces of classic literature, plays and various film scripts. The next shelf displayed a heart-warming selection of family photos that he’d long forgotten; from when he was an infant, to right before his mother’s hospital trip. The last, deep shelf made Daniel’s smile widen. It was a careful selection of spirits, fine liqueurs and two new, silver alcohol flasks.

He stared to Marcia, clearly impressed but a little confused. ‘I’d been planning it for a good year.’ She gave a small smile. ‘I think I got quite a collection saved up for you.’

He pecked her on the cheek. ‘Thankyou mum, it was very thoughtful.’

After his first two scotches and more than a few stories later, Marcia wheeled back into the room.

‘I neglected to mention to you Daniel. Jhokai stopped by earlier to drop off.. A present..’

Daniel’s chest clenched. She was avoiding him. He nodded slowly, his senses a little distorted from the drink. ‘May I have it?’

Marcia glanced up the stairs. ‘I couldn’t possibly carry it. It’s in you room.’

Without a second thought he found himself in his bedroom doorway surveying the scene before him. All his furniture lay at one side of the room, the heavy smell of paint added to his confusion. A mural, or so it appeared was plastered across the wall next to his bed. Swirls of colours changed its appearance into something almost dimensional as the blurry forms meshed together to create almost-images.

He was a little confused as his eyes rested across the cryptic centrepiece, sprawled over the wall in curving, finite lines.

Morning Ignites Rays Reflecting Autumn’s Yellow

‘Happy birthday Daniel.’

Startled, he turned his head swiftly to the small, folded figure on the floor. Jhokai sat opposite her artwork with her legs pulled up to her chest.

‘Didn’t mean to scare you’ she whispered with a tiny smirk, and Daniel flushed as he remembered the instance of her own birthday.

Still trying to decipher the poetry on the wall, he muttered it a few times and turned to her critically as Jhokai watched him almost shyly.

‘I wish I understood. Because I know I can’t ask questions.’

Her tiny smile grew as she continued to watch him in a thoughtful haze. She would have appeared almost melancholy if it wasn’t for the brilliant mess of colours across her face. ‘That, Daniel, is my very last secret.’

When she said nothing more he turned to read the words once again, this time noting that each new word held an enlarged first letter.

He stared back to her. ‘Mirray?’

Jhokai’s small nod brought a smile of relief to his tired face. ‘Mirray-Bindy. The only thing I have left in this world.’

‘Mindy’ He whispered, his shoulders sagging before being overtaken with chills. The crib has held that fragile, suffering girl he’d so misunderstood.

‘Echo went into labour with Mindy very early in the morning. We didn’t have a phone to call paramedics so my dad and I tried to help her over to our neighbour’s house who was a retired nurse. Unfortunately we ended up meeting them halfway because Mirray didn’t want to wait any longer. She gave birth on our front lawn, just as the sun came up. She had her eyes closed the whole time, I guess the sun rising through the trees was the first thing she saw when she finally opened them.’

Jhokai heaved a breath and rose, stepping over the floor quickly and falling onto the mess of Daniel’s bed. ‘Sometimes I wonder if I really even saved her. Perhaps I should have left her sleeping, unscarred and innocent in her tiny pink bed.’

Daniel collapsed beside her and they both lay, sheeted with the smell of paint and scotch, staring to the ceiling. ‘Well.. She’s going to grow up one day and she’s going to have you. And from what I’ve learnt, that seems to be all anyone could need.’ He smiled warmly, turning his head to face her. ‘Just remember you’re all she has in this world as well.’

As expected. Jhokai said nothing. Daniel had always hoped that silence was her way of dealing with the stirred emotion he once doubted she had.

Her fingers gently found his and she turned on her side to face him. She slid her hands through his arms and warmly up his back and neck, gripping his hair roughly and stared boldly into his wide, drifting eyes.

‘I love you Daniel. Run away with me.’

Daniel’s eyes only flickered with confusion in return. She wasn’t kidding.

Her grin spread and he remembered the flushed expression from many months ago when he had offered his arm to her as a ‘guest’.

‘At least tell me you love me..?’

His hand reached up behind his head mindlessly as he gripped her slim fingers protectively and brought them around, pressing them to his chest. ‘I love you Jhokai. So much. But I can’t leave here.’

In what seemed like a cruel act, tears glazed over her broad, green eyes. ‘Why?’ She whispered, ‘and don’t tell me you’re happy here.’

He fumbled for words, clutching her hands tighter in desperation. ‘Because my life is here, whether I like it or not.’ It pained him to offer rejection the first time she’d ever opened up.

He saw the internal fight that went on in her to keep the tears from spilling onto her paint-splattered porcelain. She brought her hands up to her face and fidgeted lightly before mirroring his gaze.

‘I ran away from the hospital today.’

She placed her hands flat on his chest and a tear escaped, unguarded. ‘And I’m not going back.’

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Right here

Chapter Seventeen- Wanting Out

Daniel sat silently for a long while, sliding his knuckles up and down the freshly dry, illuminated bedroom wall. He sat there long after rational thought had left his mind and dusty shadows had absorbed both Jhokai’s sleeping form, and his barely moving one. He simply sat, his head turned into her art work, his cheek pressed against where she has signed her name. Jhokai Yellow Le’isle.

‘The Island’ He mused at her surname. ‘No wonder she wants to run away.’

At first he had denied the idea completely. It was a childish, spontaneous suggestion that she’d thought up at the spur of the moment. Then he would gaze across the darkening room to her packed overnight bag containing everything she owned, and he would remember how her hands felt as she pressed them hesitantly against his skin and bore her all. He remembered how she could make him shudder under her touch, and how it was he she wanted to leave with, and trusted her life with. He thought about how she would barely have had time to blink in order to finished the precious gift he lay against, so he could see it when he got home

It took him an hour of sitting to decide that nothing else was worth it. That escaping from his happy-for-the-moment family and disappointing the world by deserting a globally anticipated film was barely a sacrifice. The only thing that troubled him was Mindy. He didn’t assume for a second that she would be staying behind and that swayed his decision at first. He was an adult now. He couldn’t walk out of a hospital with a seven-year old, long term patient and not expect to wind up in court for kidnapping. She’d also need further hospitalisation wherever they went.

More excuses flowed through his mind and he thrust his head back against the wall with a sickening thud. There wasn’t a place he could go where he wouldn’t be recognised either by name or face. He couldn’t book transport to leave, he couldn’t buy a house anonymously, and even though money was not an issue, he certainly couldn’t get a job immediately. Apart from his mother, he would have angry fans, film investors and disappointed co-stars whose life he’d leave in ruin, and would certainly not take accept it without a fight.

He stood shakily, looking down at the innocent, slow-breathing form and prayed he could only be as carefree as her.

Marcia and Alan sat in the lounge room in silent argument. He was grateful no one had come to bother him in his absence, even long after Chris and Alan’s detailed, raucous stories had died down and one of Daniel’s bottom shelf-bottles had been emptied.

Marcia looked up to him lightly as he entered with his re-heated dinner plate.

‘Jhokai is staying.’

He was glad no disagreement followed and turned back to his parents once again with an after thought. ‘And thankyou.’

He took each step up to the top landing carefully, knowing that Marcia thought he had been merely thanking her for the gift once more, whereas he knew it was his last reflection of gratitude for everything, because there wouldn’t be another chance to tell them so.

He raised a blanket over Jhokai’s frozen form, kissing her lightly before turning to leave. A hand reached out to grip his before he stepped away, and she mumbled his name sleepily.

‘Jhocky-?’ He began to question, ‘Why did you paint me this if you knew you were only asking me to leave?’

Her hand fell away from his and slipped back close to her body. ‘You got to see it, didn’t you?’

He exhaled with a smile. ‘Goodnight’

He closed the door and turned down the hall to the room no one had entered since Rupert’s stay months back, succumbing to a heavy sleep the moment he’d set down his empty plate.

Jhokai awoke with dawn the next morning, surprised to find Marcia and Alan already eating a silent breakfast.

‘Morning’ she whispered stilly from the bottom step. ‘It’s early,’ she added.

Marcia smiled to her warmly and gestured for her to sit down, setting down a plate full of toast under her face, which was mostly hidden by tangles of bed hair. She pushed it back with a stiff hand and bit into the soft bread.

‘It is,’ Marcia agreed. ‘I like to get a head start on the day.’ She patted the side of her chair and gestured to the staircase. ‘And Alan has no choice.’

Jhokai chewed slowly, watching Alan curiously and nodding lightly at Marcia’s gentle pace of conversation.

‘Anyway!’ Marcia announced suddenly, jutting herself back from the table and collecting up a lap-full of clutter. ‘Help me will you?’ She looked blankly to Alan who stood dutifully, picking up the remaining dishes and foll