Ginny's head popped out from underneath her pillow, where it'd been buried. "Door!" She shoved her head back under the pillow, back to the warmth she'd been rudely pulled from. When someone continued to knock at the front door, making it clear that Dean and Luna were elsewhere and no one was going to answer the door, she sighed. "Dammit."

Groaning, she threw  the covers off of her body and stood, slipping her feet into her slippers. They'd been a present from George the Holidays before... they'd been a present from George, and just wearing them made her feel better.

She stomped down the stairs, attempting to run a hand through her hair but knowing she was unsuccessful. She threw open the door, staring at Fred. "Morning."

"Afternoon, actually.  Guessing you were still asleep, though," Fred observed, giving her a winning smile.  "Should I go away so you don't hex me, or can I come in?  I'll even make tea and you can relax."  She was adorable even almost-glaring at him, and he tucked his hands in his pockets, canting his head to the side in question.

Growling slightly, Ginny left the door open and padded her way towards the kitchen. He was used to her morning attitude. Unless it was the first day of school, she was always grumpy in the morning. She wasn't a morning person, and growing up in a house with her for years, she was rather surprised Fred hadn't run away screaming in fear at the look. She was a brat when she was tired. Always had been.

She sat at the island, laying her head down into the crook of her arm. "You know how to make tea? Since when?"

"Oh come on, I've been gone from Mum's for what, seven years now?" Fred asked, pushing the front door closed and following Ginny.  He found the tea and accessories, somewhat familiar with the kitchen from watching her prepare food in it.  He boiled water and set up the tea service, something he was actually quite capable of, and leaned against the island, smirking faintly at his sister.  "Late nights at the clinic lately, or just taking advantage of your weekend?"

"If I said both, would you not give me that look that says 'you left St. Mungo's because they overwork you to go to a job where you overwork yourself'? Cause, if I didn't have to see that look on you, that'd mean I'd only have to see it when I look in the mirror." She opened her eyes and rolled them to look up at him.

She sighed, sitting up. "The tea smells great."

Taking the hint to pour, Fred handed over a cup of tea, the way Ginny normally took it.  He made himself a cup and joined her at the island, shaking his head.  "I won't mum you over it, as I've done the same thing, but take care of yourself, yeah?  Cute as you are while glaring at me in the middle of the day, it's also fun when you aren't a cranky little snack when I visit," he teased, reaching out to catch a curl and pull gently.

Ginny smiled, taking a sip of her tea, glad that he knew how she took it. "I'll try. I can't turn away business though. They need healing, I'm a healer. It'd be like you turning away a client who wanted something to prank with. It just doesn't happen. Plus, I'm really making head-way with some of my patients and their healing. Big steps forward." She took another sip of her tea, grinning to herself as she thought about exactly what type of progress she'd been making with certain clients.

Fred nodded seriously, knowing she was as dedicated to healing as he was to the joke business.  "I know, and I'd never suggest that you did, just make sure that you get a break when you really need it.  You can't do anyone any good if you're sick yourself or so exhausted you can't be at the clinic."  He ruffled her hair, grinning broadly.  "I'm so proud of you, Ginnybean.  I know Mum and Dad are too.  Probably Ron, though he'd fall all over himself saying so.  It's a good thing you're doing, and you're brilliant at it."  Stopping before she got irritated by his compliments, he pulled the box from his pocket and tapped it with his wand, pushing the resized gift across the worktop to her.  "Happy... success?" he congratulated, shrugging at his lack of explanation.  He'd never been able to resist finding little surprises for her when he could, even when jewelry had been beyond his purchasing power.

She smiled, presents always making her wake up quickly. Ginny almost frowned when she realized there wasn't wrapping to rip into, but pulled off the top anyway. She let out a gasp as she pulled the charm bracelet from the box. "Fred..." It was silver. Simple. A caduceus and a silver mare, her patronus, hung from the chain. She cradled them both in one hand and looked up at him. "Wh-" She looked back down at the bracelet, at a loss for words.

Was she tearing up? Merlin, I'm tearing up. I really am tired. She shook her head, laughing lightly. "I'm sorry. This is great. Really. Thank you."

"Oi, what's with the sniffles?" Fred asked, frowning slightly.  He hooked a foot around the bottom rung of her stool and pulled Ginny over, wrapping his arms around her.  "I thought it looked like something you'd wear... you can add charms if you find others you like, or drop lots of hints around Christmas and see if it improves our brothers' gift-giving skills," he quipped, squeezing her tight for a moment.  "And you're welcome."

Ginny hugged him back, not really able to understand why she was emotional. Yes, she was tired. Yes, things had been going on lately that were making her confused, and panicky, and a billion other things she didn't understand. But a bracelet? She was getting sniffly over a bracelet. She pulled back, laughing at herself more than anything. "It's brill. Honest." She smiled, holding it out. "Put it on me. I need sparkly things. Make me pretty."

His smile returning, Fred obliged, fastening the bracelet around Ginny's wrist.  "You're already pretty, though the sparkle is nice."  He arched an eyebrow in her direction, wondering if there was more to her unusual reaction than lack of sleep.  "So, besides being busy at the clinic, what have I missed in the saga of my baby sister's life since Halloween?" he prodded, "Since I don't remember that provoking a need for shiny things to make you smile."

She sighed, holding her arm up and fingering the little pieces of silver. "I actually left before the Mark went up. After the booth shut down, I found myself not wanting to be there anymore." She frowned slightly, lowering her arm. "And all I've done since then is work. Really. I had a little get together for Harry since he passed his auror tests, but other than that, I've done nothing. This is the first time I've actually been able to sleep in. I have my wand set for emergencies, but I don't think I'll have any."

She put her elbow on the island, plopping her chin in her hand and staring at her brother. "And you?"

Fred blinked for a second, doing maths in his head and frowning.  "Bugger, you're right.  I'd forgotten he'd graduate this year.  I'll have to owl him."  He watched Ginny carefully as she spoke, not entirely sure he wasn't missing something, but decided she'd tell him eventually.  "Me?  Well, let's see.  There's the shop, obviously."  His lips twitched back into most of a frown, remembering the reason for the previous night's trip to Eclipse.  "Alicia... her parents died.  Some type of muggle war - I didn't ask the details.  Saw her and Katie last night, for a bit of a distraction for Ali."  He didn't know how much of what was going on with Greg he was willing to explain; not because he didn't want his sister to know, rather that he wasn't sure what he thought of the whole situation himself, and so remained silent on the subject, for the time being.

His gaze trailing away from the island as he thought, Fred noticed something he hadn't before about Ginny's attire, brows raising in suspicion.  "Hey, Gin?  Somehow I don't think those are your knickers."  The black men's boxer briefs were, in fact, nothing like her normal choice, and he was more than half tempted to pop upstairs to see if she had company.

Ginny's eyebrows furrowed for a second before she looked down at herself. She laughed, looking up at Fred with a blush. "There's no one upstairs." At his look of surprise, she gave him a glare. "As if that's not exactly what you were thinking. Dean's gone for the day." She laughed again at his look. "Dean Thomas is staying over. He doesn't have anywhere right now."

She attempted to avoid further questions by changing the subject. He really didn't need to know that they were actually Draco's and not Dean's anyway. "That's sad. Alicia's parents. I'm glad you were there to make her happy, though."

"That still doesn't explain why you're wearing his pants, bite size," Fred pointed out.  He liked Thomas well enough, even to the point where he was unlikely to hex the bloke if there was something going on between them, but still.  Besides, it was good to keep Ginny on her toes about these things.  Shrugging, not knowing what else to say about Alicia, he thought of her dancing the night before and supposed Ginny's statement was at least somewhat true.  "I don't know if I'd take credit for happy, but she had her mind on something else for a while, anyway.  Katie got a few smiles from her, which was good to see."  A smile tugged at his lips as he thought of Katie, rolling her eyes at him in the mirror as she was getting dressed to go out.

"Katie's always been good for smiles." Ginny took another sip of her tea, sitting back and looking at him. "You look happy. I like you looking happy." She smiled, thinking he looked better than she'd since since... He looked better. She curled her toes in the green slippers, thinking of Christmases and Holidays past. "I should visit you more often. I haven't gotten you groceries in a while. Are you starving? Wasting away?" She grinned, poking him in the ribs with her finger.

Giving in to a grin, Fred agreed, "She is, at that.  I think she's the brightest person I know, who really means it."  He considered her observation for a long moment, then nodded.  "I am happy, actually.  Or closer than I've been in a long while," he admitted.  He was still worried about Greg, and figuring out how to be good to Katie in terms of their new relationship, but he felt more stable than he had in years, and it was a nice change.  He'd almost expected to feel guilty about being content, for moving on, though he knew it was absurd and George would likely thrash him for it were he around to do so, and was pleasantly surprised to find that he seemed to be in a neutral place.  Twitching as Ginny poked him, he stuck his tongue out at her and poked her in return.  "No, little mother, I'm not wasting away.  You should visit more often, but I've been doing all right on my own lately."

She smiled, leaning back, the tea warming her hands. "Yeah. I should. I'm sorry. Things were so up in the air for a bit that I wasn't sure what I should be doing. It seems like things are getting better now. Regular patients. Only two emergencies so far. I'm happy with how things are going at Healing Hands right now." She looked down at the cup in her hands, actually surprised to find it true. She'd had more than enough stress about it over the past month or so, she was glad things were evening out.

"Well, are you going to cook me breakfast to go along with this tea, or are you going to let me starve?"

"No starving," Fred laughed, hopping off his seat.  "How about an omelet?  Those always turn out edible..."


Summary: Fred wakes up a cranky Ginny but placates her with tea and eggs.