Like an Hourglass

[Baxter Keene]

Bax sat, rather happily at the moment, behind a mountain of paperwork at his desk. Usually the paperwork was his least favorite part of his new position, but after being utterly and irrevocably socialized by his mate at the Hogwarts Coming Out ball not two weeks ago, Baxter had turned into more of a shut in than usual. Clearly he had not made too big of a fool out of himself, but then again he'd been more like a passing conversation for many of the ladies he'd been introduced to than anything else. For all of Oliver's best intentions Baxter was fairly certain that the Coming Out Ball had done nothing for him in the prospects of finding himself a girl, as his mates like to put it.

Leaning back in his chair, Baxter stretched his arms high above his head, thinking that he should probably take a break, otherwise his eyes would go blurry. The paperwork was not really Bax's issue, he wasn't bothered by it, but some days he did miss actually seeing patients. This was routine though and Bax appreciated a solid routine. It was probably most of the reason he was still single. At thirty-three he should have been married with kids by now, but he'd always been so work focused that he hadn't made time for anything else.

Contemplating a cup of tea, he decided he should get out of his office at some point today and stood to go do so. Just as he did so, a knock came at the door, causing him to look up quickly. "Miss Trelawney, what a pleasant surprise. Something I can help you with?" Bax found the young healer to be very capable. He could appreciate competence in the workplace, especially now that he was not out there all of the time with them, he liked to know they were able to handle themselves.

  

[Miriam Trelawney]

He had yet to take a break.

Three years, of course, was hardly a lifetime, but it was certainly long enough to get to know someone, especially someone with whom you worked every day. And Miriam could tell that Mr Keene had yet to take a break from the obvious strain in his shoulders, from the way he occasionally squinted his eyes which made it rather obvious he had been buried in the mountain of paper littering his desk for longer than Miriam cared to guess. Mr Keene was a brilliant healerùutterly brilliant and undoubtedly the bestùbut he was quite hopeless at taking care of himself and Miriam had learned to help him. Subtly of courseùif there was one thing she had learned in her three years at the hospital it was that men were the worst possible patients, but a snack here and there, a gentle reminder that he had yet to see sunlight hadn't yet gone amiss and today, she hoped, would be no different.

Miriam held up a stack of paper with an apologetic smile as she let the door close behind her. "I'm afraid I have more work for you, Mr Keene." She would do it herself if she couldùanything to help him, but there were obviously less perks than there were gruelling responsibilities as Assistant Head of Department.

  

[Baxter Keene]

Bax hung his head and shook it, laughing lowly to himself when Miriam said she had more paperwork for him. "Days I miss being out on the floor." He sighed, reaching out to take the paperwork from her. Pushing up his already rolled up sleeves, as he glanced at the forms she'd given him. Baxter knew he shouldn't be quite so casual at work, but being stuck in his office for most the day called for a little comfort over functionality.

"I never thought a promotion would come with quite this much paperwork." He admitted, far more at home chatting here with Miriam than he had at the Coming Out Ball surrounded by debutantes. Here at the hospital the only demand on him was to do his job. There was no need for him to be charismatic or carry on a witty conversation. At the hospital he was just expected to be a healer, to be the assistant head to his department, the former of which he was very good at and the latter had come a long way in his few months in the position.

"It will however have to wait until I return from tea. I think I may go blind if I look at paperwork any longer." He'd been at it all morning. In fact he was pretty sure it was after lunchtime too. His aching shoulders, blurry eyes and rumbling stomach all agreeing to the fact. "Do you have time to spare for a cuppa?" He figured he may as well offer. Bax tried very hard to be approachable to his employees, all of them, and he most certainly was not above having a cup of tea with them like he had when he was among them instead of above them.

  

[Miriam Trelawney]

The question surprised Miriam. One thing she loved--admired--about Mr Keene was his unfailing humility: there were some assistant department heads who apparently considered it unseemly to interact with the lower ranks but her superior was as approachable as he ever had been. But the offer still surprised her and she chided herself for her self-deprecation. She had proven herself to be worth so much more than the trappings of her unfortunate social position at this hospital but there were times she felt like nothing more than a street urchin under the glare of those better than her and Mr Keene was infinitely better than her. But Miriam had worked hard all day and finally had a few minutes of free time and there was no one she would rather spend those moments with.

"I'd like that, Mr Keene," she agreed gladly. And at least if she could see him eating she would be satisfied he was taking care of himself! "I've developed quite a taste for the beverage."

  

[Baxter Keene]

Flopping the new paperwork on his desk to be dealt with later, Baxter pushed off from where he sat with a small smile. "Lovely." Maybe Oliver was rubbing off on him and he was getting more social or maybe it was simply because Baxter was just as at home at the hospital as he was his own home, but he was quite ready for a little break and the bonus company he was finding himself with.

"After you." He moved through the door, closing it with a soft click and a lock with his wand. People had learned by now that if he was in his office the door was open, if the door was closed he was elsewhere. It was an easy system that Bax tried to stick to. There were very, very rare instances when he was in his office with the door closed. For one, it go stuffy in there and two, Bax hated feeling disconnected to the rest of the ward.

As they fell into step down the hallway, Baxter's more familiar sense of awkward started to creep in. Sometimes he forgot himself at the hospital because his co-workers were basically friends, but that didn't mean that young Miss Trelawney's reputation could be in jeopardy for being alone with him, even if they were in the middle of the hospital. "Everything running smoothly today?" He inquired as they turned a corner toward the tearoom. He hadn't heard any disturbances, but that didn't mean anything.

  

[Miriam Trelawney]

"Perfectly, Mr Keene," Miriam was quick to assure him. She was nothing if not capable and confident in her own abilities, and she was certain she could run the department alone if her colleagues were suddenly struck down by some terrible collective affliction, but it was important to her that Mr Keene knew it too, even if her primary consideration was the welfare of her patients.

She smiled slightly. "There was a young gentleman who had had rather too much to drink though," which not an unusual occurrence with such an event being hosted in their little corner of the world. "Apparently he thought that swallowing his wand was an acceptable party trick!" That man had been somewhat rowdier than the average patient--as rowdy as one could be with a wand lodged in one's throat--but he had quickly quietened down when she had suggested that his explosive demeanour might cause his wand to behave similarly.

If nothing else her occupation meant she had some stories to tell.

  

[Baxter Keene]

"Glad to hear it." Bax nodded in appreciation as they rounded the last corner and found the hospital's tea room. He was completely confident in his staff and their competency. Not once had he doubted their abilities, but now, as the assistant head, he figured he should probably make an effort to check in more often. Bax wanted them to know they could come to him if they needed him or wanted another opinion. He was not in fact, a paperwork machine. He'd rather be out on the floor than in the office all of the time, but such was the nature of this new job.

Shaking his head, an amused smile on his face that he couldn't quite hide he sighed. "People are such interesting creatures sometimes." They never failed to amaze him. He supposed in their department, more than many of the others, they saw people's true nature. Curse objects, ridiculous actions like trying to swallow one's wand; all of it spoke to people's level of thinking, which was either really sinister or idiotic. He hated to say it, but sometimes people were just ridiculous.

Finding the tea he liked, Baxter poured himself a cup, found a scone to nibble on and a table for them to sit at. With the subject of the ward waning, Baxter was unsure of where to lead the conversation next... "Will you be going to see the quidditch matches this summer?" He didn't know too much about the sport, only what he had witnessed back in school, eons ago, but he figured it was a live and buzzing topic about town; at least it was relevant.

  

[Miriam Trelawney]

Quidditch had never interested Miriam. Not much bad in fact, save her career, and getting as far away from her mother's home as possible. She had succeeded in both of these goals but she often had the sense of having something missing from her life and she could well imagine what that might be. Her mother had been lonely for seemingly so long now she was no stranger to the emotion but there were few options for a young woman like her: a woman with a career, with no dowry, with a mother as scandalous as hers. She would be lucky if anyone showed an interest in her, let alone-- She quelled that line of thinking immediately. Mr Keene was a colleague and that was that.

"I'm afraid not," she replied with a smile. "Quidditch has never been a passion of mine, Mr Keene. I've signed up to work extra shifts instead. I can only imagine the rise in incidents that will fall under or jurisdiction with the Quidditch World Cup on our doorstep!"

She busied herself attending to her own tea - black, no sugar. As plain and no nonsense as she considered herself to be.

"And yourself?"

  

[Baxter Keene]

Listening as he sipped his tea, Baxter nodded nonchalantly. Quidditch was not something he had ever gotten into either, even in school he'd basically gone to matches just to socialize and avoid doing homework. He hadn't taken school nearly as seriously as he should have, up until about sixth year anyway. He'd buckled down after that, but he should have been a little more focused throughout rather than just at the end.

"I am with you there, I was never an avid quidditch fan." He didn't even pay any attention to the professional teams at this point, only what he read in passing in the newspaper. "It just seemed like the question going around lately." Honestly he had no interest in the subject itself, but everybody else seemed to be talking about it, so Bax figured he should too.

"Very smart of you, though certainly you don't want to be working all the time?" She was young and attractive, surely she would want to be out enjoying all of the festivities, even if she wasn't interested in quidditch. "I do hear they have a big international market set up near the Outpost, I was thinking of investigating it just to see what there is." He mused aloud, thinking it over as he popped a little piece of his scone into his mouth, chewing almost thoughtfully.

  

[Miriam Trelawney]

It almost sounded like an invitation, Miriam mused, quelling a foolish spark of hope as soon as it surfaced. For one Mr Keene was far too respectable to even dream of inviting a young woman to enjoy his company in such a carefree, nonchalant manner. He would, she imagined with a fond smile she barely suppressed, insist on at least three chaperones for the occasion! But the heart of the matter was that even if he would entertain the notion of asking a woman to accompany him to the international marketùwhich had piqued Miriam's interest in fact and she would be delighted to go, alone or otherwiseùhe surely wouldn't dream of asking her.

Feeling somewhat deflated, Miriam cradled her mug of tea close, taking comfort from the warmth of the liquid seeping through the china into her skin. She had never been silly beforeùshe had been determined to be nothing at all like her motherùbut her schoolgirl crush on the assistant head of her department was the very definition of silly and it simply had to stop.

"I've heard it's quite the spectacle. My sister perhaps might be interested in accompanying me." She smiled vaguely. "I suppose I can't work day and night: one day off wouldn't go amiss."

  

[Baxter Keene]

"Lucky for you, I have some responsibility for the schedule, so you should be having some time off." Bax did not have full control over the schedule for his department, but he was pretty good at organizing it and having it approved. Nobody had complained either, so he must have been doing alright with it. It was just one of those things he hadn't expected to have to do when he'd gotten the promotion though it made sense. Things like that were not exactly what he wanted to be doing with his work, but it was part of the gig. Being a healer for as long as he had been meant the adjustment had been a bit of a shock, but he was managing.

Sipping his tea, scone finished, Baxter leaned back in his chair a little bit, taking his tea with him. "I have heard similar stories, I'm looking forward to attending." The market was surely a sight, or at least he was hoping so. Baxter really was trying to make more of an effort to get out of the house. If he didn't he was quite sure Oliver would be arranging more disasters for him like the Coming Out Ball.

"I hope you get to go." Baxter almost extended an invitation and caught himself. Surely Miss Trelawney did not want to see him outside of work, that notion was completely ridiculous. "Perhaps we'll run into one another there." He added, though it was almost like the invitation that had previously been prevented from escaping. "Working day and night is no fun anyway, you don't want to end up an old lonely shut in like me, now do you?" He joked, thinking that thought would scare many young ladies.

  

[Miriam Trelawney]

"You're anything but old!" Miriam protested before she could stop herself and immediately stifled herself against further speech. Whether it was true or not she certainly couldn't say it, and she ducked her head in a fruitless attempt at hiding the blush that had spread over her cheeks. It was useless: there were many disadvantages to the colour of her hair and blushing was one of them! Every spot of colour blazed like a flame on her pale skin and Mr Keene would surely notice.

She quickly recovered, clearing her throat and covering the traitorous trembling of her lip with a sip of her tea. She felt like such a silly little fool, not the hard-working young woman who had built something of a life for herself, but Mr Keene was such a good man and she couldn't help but be somewhatàsweet on him.

"Perhaps we will see each other," she echoed with a smile. "My sister, if I could persuade her to join me of course, would be glad to meet you."

  

[Baxter Keene]

Bax chuckled when Miriam protested his age, but there was no way around it. He was thirty-three, still a bachelor and that didn't exactly have an end in sight. He was positive she was just being kind however, so as she blushed he was a little oblivious to the reason. Choosing not to think on it for too long however, he pushed on with the conversation.

"Perhaps we could arrange to meet there then, if your sister can accompany you?" It wasn't an invitation was it? Surely she could say no if the idea appalled her, though based on their conversation thus far, that didn't seem to be the case. Oliver would be proud of him, socializing outside of the hospital. What Oliver did not need to know however, was that he wasn't really getting outside the hospital.

Fortunately for Bax, he was more comfortable around his employees, so hopefully he wouldn't be nearly as awkward as he was normally. Besides, meeting at the international market wasn't really a big deal was it? Miss Trelawney would be chaperoned and they were just going to do some browsing anyway? He wasn't sure how social things like this were supposed to go, but he was trying desperately not to make a big deal out of it, at least in his own mind.

  

[Miriam Trelawney]

It was as close to an invitation as she supposed she would ever get, and Miriam was embarrassed to admit that the excitement bubbling within her was quite palpable. They would be chaperoned, of course, but Cassie would be quite accommodating and would ensure she and Mr Keene were given the necessary space they would need to get to know one another better outside of the hospital. Of course it was perfectly likely she was getting ahead of herself: Mr Keene had suggested nothing but a casual meeting should they happen to both be in attendance on precisely the same day but she was imagining something entirely more intimate and she cursed herself for such stupidity when she knew far better than that.

She cleared her throat and hoped that with the noise some semblance of maturity would be returned to her. It didn't work; she still felt distinctly like a schoolgirl with her first and impossible crush but at least the colour had faded somewhat from her cheeks.

"That would be wonderful, Mr Keene," Miriam confirmed with an agreeable smile. "I hear they have all manner of international foods available to be sampled."

  

[Baxter Keene]

Baxter nodded as Miss Trelawney agreed and he exhaled slowly. Had he been holding his breath? Perhaps when he'd asked if they could meet there. He felt incredibly awkward, like he'd just floundered badly, but Miriam didn't seem to notice or she didn't mind. He had the sneaking suspicion like he was missing something, not entirely unlike that time Mr. Simpson invited him over for dinner. Nothing had come of it, so Baxter may have been wrong, but he'd had a sinking feeling like he was out of the loop on something yet again.

Well, no matter, it would be good for him to socialize outside of the hospital, even if it was with a co-worker. Baby steps, he had to do this one step at a time. Who knew, maybe all of the socializing his friends happened to be thrusting upon him was having an impact. Whatever it was, Bax had just made himself irrationally nervous for it.

About to say something further, somebody came crashing into the tea room announcing an emergency in artifacts. "Off we go then." He sighed and left his teacup where it was, the little bit of tea still in it. So much for a break, he thought before hurrying off down the hallway.