~ 10 am
Ben was trying to be calm and soothing to his little daughter as he carried through to the waiting area. She whimpered a little, wriggling in his arms as he slid into one of the seat.

"It's alright sweetheart. " He told her, patting her gently on the head.

" Your arm will be all better soon. "

His daughter buried her head into his chest, her bottom lip quivering as she tried, unsuccessfully, to hold back the tears.

"Where's Mummy? Came a little voice from his shirt.

"On her way darling. She'll be here any minute. " He told her, really hoping it was true. He had sent out the message nearly an hour ago and couldn't think what was keeping his wife.

Gently he supported the little girl's right arm, the elbow nearly three times the size of normal and a bright purple/pink colour. It looked painful, it was no small wonder the child wasn't happy.

Yesterday she'd come running into the house, a small bite mark evident just above her elbow. It had been cleaned, healed and covered as normal and then she'd run back outside to play. This morning, however, he'd noticed the whole area was filled with fluid and decidely not its normal color.....just after his wife had left for a conference.     
 

~10:05am

Moira adjusted her robes one final time before exiting the staff area to start her shift.  She made her was through the halls towards the waiting area of the First Floor where she'd be starting her shift.  It wasn't a long walk, and the halls were surprisingly empty.

Entering the waiting room, her eyes immediately noticed a man holding a small girl in his arms.  Her elbow was extremely swollen and a very unnatural color.  It was obvious from the soft whimpers that the child was also in a great deal of pain.

Moving towards them, she immediately switched into her "Mediwitch mode" all nerves forgotten.  She gave the man a small smile, trying to give him some assurance that the child would be healed.  She could see he was obviously worried.

"Hello," she began, stopping a few feet from them, "I'm Moira Randall, one of the Mediwitches here.  How can I be of assistance?"

It was only five minutes before someone came to his aid, but it seemed like hours. He found himself patting his daughter on the back in time to the very loud rhythmical tick tock of the clock over his head, his brains already turning into a congealed mush. Give him a murderous dark wizard with a twitchy wand arm and a manical laugh any day of the week - at least he knew what to do with that.

Finally someone appeared.

"I'm Moira Randall, one of the Mediwitches here.  How can I be of assistance?"

Ben gave her a rather pained look, biting back a comment on his tounge....with great difficulty. The more stressed he got, the more sarcastic he became. He was already rather puce in colour.

"She was bitten by something yesterday in the garden. A gnome, I think, nasty little bugg...sorry, blighters , can't get rid of the damn things. Today it just got worse. Can you do something? She's in a lot of pain and none of your normal basic healing techniques are making a blind bit of difference. " He told her, rather quickly.

Looking at the child, Moira felt a wave of sympathy pass over her.  Gnomes could inflict quite a nasty bite, and some reacted more strongly then others.   It was much like a bee sting to a Muggle.  Some would have no reaction, others would find themselves in a position like this child.

"Follow me, please," she said, motioning towards the hall where the examination rooms were located.

As she led the way towards one of the open examination rooms, she grabbed the required forms as she passed the desk.  She hoped this would be a routine case; there was a balm that would be in stock here that should do the trick.  It was stronger then any of the basic balm or potion one would have in their stock at home.

"What's her name?" she asked as they entered the room and she motioned for him to put the girl on the bed.  She picked up a quill from the counter, holding it out to him along with the parchments and continued, "Also, I'll need you to fill these out."

"Follow me, please,"

Ben nodded and followed her into the treatement room, laying the little girl on the bed she indicated.

"Sally...her name's Sally. She's four....and she's allergic to comfrey." He explained, moving around to the little girl's side to give Moira space to work.

"Also, I'll need you to fill these out."

"I...oh....sure." He added as the papers and quill were thrust towards him.

He glanced down at the form, leaning on a small rickety table that shook dangerously as he pressed his nib to the page.  Everywhere there was paperwork, mountains of it..there was no escaping. If he remembered his nightmares he was sure they would be of drowning under neverending memo's by his desk rather than any normal bad dream. 

"What do you think?" He asked, glancing up at Moira through his eyebrows as he quickly scrawled in Sally's details.

Once he laid the child on the bed, Moira set to work examining her arm gently.  She nodded as he gave her the required information, adding it to what she already knew and was gathering from the examination.  She gave Sally a gentle, warm smile, trying to keep the child at ease during the process.

"What do you think?"

She could sense the usual tone in his voice the she often encounted when dealing with a parent of a sick or injured child.  She didn't envy their position at all.  She imagined moments like this, when one was unable to truly do anything for their child, were the hardest.

"I think I have something that will do the trick," she told him.  "It's a healing balm, made with out comfrey.  As long as she doesn't have any other allergies I should know about, her arm will be back to normal by tomorrow morning."

"I think I have something that will do the trick...It's a healing balm, made with out comfrey.  As long as she doesn't have any other allergies I should know about, her arm will be back to normal by tomorrow morning."

Ben nodded again. He said nothing at first, but the look of relief in his expression said it all.

"Only comfrey." He added, realising belatedly that there had been a question in her sentences. All he had heard initially was her arm will be back to normal. Everything after that had dissolved into a mass of words that took longer to filter back into some kind of meaning.

"Here that Sally. All better soon. " He reassured his daughter in hushed tones, leaning in to give her a kiss on her forehead. 

"Thank you. " He added gruffly, glancing back up at the healer. It was not a thanks dressed up with gestures or extravagance but it was very genuine. 
 

Moira gave a slight nod when he responded that comfrey was indeed Sally’s only allergy.  She had not expected any others to be listed, but she always liked to be sure.  In the midst of a personal crisis it was sometimes difficult to remember all of the small details.  Moving to a supply cabinet across the room she opened it searching the contents for a moment to find the right bottle.

"Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” she said as she turned to face him again, smiling gently before returning to the cabinet.  It was thankfully a problem that had a relatively simple fix.  Yet, to a worried parent it was probably the biggest relief.  She had learned never to take moments like this for granted.

Finding the right bottle, she also took some sterile bandages as well.  One thing she had learned with children was it was always a good thing to try to add an extra layer of protection to keep the infected area clean and dry.  Setting everything on the table, she opened the jar and took a bit of the sterile material of spread the balm with.

“You’ll be as good as knew soon, Sally,” she said, keeping the gentle even tone she had become so good at over the years.  “This might sting for a moment, sweetie, but it’ll be over quickly, I promise.”  Taking the little girl’s arm she tried to spread on the balm as quickly and gently as possible.

The seasoned auror held onto to his little daughter's palm in his own. His fingers dwarfed hers, she gripped on tightly.

She winced once as Moira started applying the balm, but then remained calm, the medi-witch's touch as gentle as her tone suggested.

"You're being a very brave girl Sally. I'm very proud of you. " He told his daughter, his normally gruff voice quite gentle.

His daughter opened her eyes wide.

"Braver than you Daddy? She asked him, obviously feeling a little relief already.

Ben laughed gently.

"Much braver than me. " He told her, his eyes twinkling. He was relaxing a little  now. She wasn't healed yet but he could see that she soon would be.

"S'pect you see lots of gnome bites this time of year. " He stated plainly, awkwardly trying to make a little conversation with the medi-witch.

"Start of summer and all. "

Moira couldn't help but smile at the moment between the father and daughter.  She could remember asking her own father a similar question once.  She had thought him the bravest man alive, and she always would.  Much as she was sure this little girl would feel the same way twenty years from now.

"I've seen a few since starting," she told him.  "I've just transfered home after working in America...we didn't have quite as many cases in Massachusetts."

She did her best to easy into a bit of conversation as she finished spreading the balm.  Taking the bandages she began to wrap it around Sally's arm, and said to the girl, "Almost done."