November 22, 2011
Half an hour before midnight
Hammersmith, London

It was the night before his birthday, and Jonas and his wife had been engaged in…something when the mobile phone that he had abandoned earlier on his nightstand suddenly began to vibrate.

He’d ignored the first ring, which sounded annoyingly like an angry hummingbird. 

And the second.

At the third, he paused.  Eyebrows quirked, he lifted his head slightly, tearing himself away from what he had been doing as he squinted to find the source of the disturbance.

Anna let out a low growl and hooked her fingers into his hair, pulling him back towards her.

“Jon,” she hissed.

It took every ounce of his willpower to force himself to return to the enjoyable situation that he had previously been engaged in.  But even as he did so, as he felt Anna press against him and he found her mouth to kiss her again, there was a part of Jonas’s mind that couldn’t help focusing on the angry hummingbird, counting silently as it continued to make its ire known, buzzing against the table.

Six.  Seven.

Finally, the short bursts of vibration stopped.  Then, a few moments later, the phone let out a cheerful little chirp, signaling that someone had left a message.

He couldn’t stand it.  Letting out a groan, he flashed Anna the most apologetic smile he could muster – it was practically his birthday, so she had to forgive him – and sat up, untangling himself just enough so that he could reach for the phone. 

The caller was from London, but he didn’t recognize the number.  Frowning, Jonas fumbled in the darkness to key in his passcode, then raised the mobile to his ear to listen to the message.  Next to him, he could feel Anna stretching out again.  Despite the dark room, out of the corner of his eye, he could see annoyance and just the barest hint of concern dance across her features.  She rolled over to face him, her brows raised.

His jaw tightened as he listened.

“It was University College Hospital,” he said at last, lowering his phone.  He looked directly at Anna, finally.  In this moment, he wasn’t sure how he was supposed to feel.  Concern?  Frustration?  Guilt?  They’d made time to be alone, had even tricked Artie into putting himself to bed early, and then his phone had rung, and he couldn't help but check on it.  “Something happened to Tamzin Ollivander, and she gave me name as her emergency contact.”

He couldn’t quite read Anna’s expression, but he knew her well enough by now that he didn’t need to.  He’d made them drift apart when the stress of the mundane world had been too much for him, and it was only after telling her the truth that he’d been able to start making amends so that they could stitch things back together.  But it was little interruptions like this that might start to inflict cracks again.  The emergencies in the middle of the night.  The dangers that resulted from his resurgent work as an Auror.  It all took a toll.

He felt her sigh more than he heard it.  She pressed her hand more tightly against his arm.

“Do you want me to go with you?” she asked. 

Jonas paused, considering, and then shook his head.

“Naw,” he said, giving her a tight smile.  “Hopefully it won’t take too long.  Then we can get back to everything, yeah?”

He leaned in to kiss her.  Hopefully, that would be it.  Just a short interruption, and then they could get on with their plans for the night.