More crack pirates.... I blame Bri- he got me a mini-PotC wall thingie.... I have pirates on the brain. It beats having tentacles on the brain though...
A Pirate's Life for Me Part 2
Heero was getting very worried by the time Sally finally appeared in the cabin. Duo's fever hadn't gone down and though he was sleeping, it wasn't a restful sleep. He tossed and turned on the pillows, soaking them with sweat.
"How is he?" She asked as she approached the bed.
"Not good at all."
Sally felt Duo's forehead and then checked the wound, cursing softly as the last of the bandages fell away. "Damn, time for extreme measures."
Heero wasn't sure he liked the sound of that. He was even less sure as he watched Sally get ready to take those measures.
"You'll have to hold him down."
"This is going to hurt him." Heero had to protest.
"Better this than death. We need our captain. Hold him down and don't let go."
Heero did as he was told, pinning the captain in place and holding tight. He hoped Duo would stay unconscious for the procedure, but the moment Sally started, Duo's eyes opened and he screamed.
Sally worked quickly, and Heero stayed where he was, holding the captain flat, wanting to close his eyes and block out Duo's agony- but he couldn't. Mercifully, halfway through, Duo passed out.
Sally finished bandaging the wound. Sweat stood out on her forehead and she gave Heero a hollow smile. "I need a drink after that."
He nodded and slid off Duo to go fetch her a cup of wine.
"You should go to bed," she said when he handed her the cup. "I can stay here for a bit."
"You're exhausted," he told her bluntly. "You need to go rest. I'll stay- I'm the cabin boy after all."
She drained the cup and set it down. "I'm tired enough to agree with you. I'll tell Hilde or Lu you need a break though. You have to rest too." Sally got to her feet and gathered up her supplies. "If he wakes up try to see if you can get him to drink something."
Once she left, Heero tidied up things the best he could, changing Duo's soaked pillow for a dry one, bundling up the sheet Sally had used during the procedure and putting it by the door.
Then he filled a cup with wine and another with water, placed them beside the bed and took his seat again. Was Duo looking better already? He put a careful hand on the captain's forehead. He was cooler...
Heero breathed a sigh of relief. He watched Duo sleep, feeling his own eyes getting heavy as he struggled to stay awake.
A hand on his head woke him. Had he fallen asleep? He bolted upright to find the captain looking at him with a faintly amused expression.
"Water?" He asked and Duo nodded. He helped the captain take a few sips. "I'm really sorry- I didn't mean to fall asleep..."
Duo shook his head. "I... It's okay. You've... been here a while? I remember you coming on board to rescue that girl... but after..." He sat up suddenly. "The Navy?"
"We lost them," Heero reassured him. "They're long gone."
Duo lay back against the pillows, wincing. "Can you get Hilde for me?"
"Of course," Heero got to his feet and headed for the door.
"And you should get some sleep too-" Duo called after him. "That's an order!"
Heero hid a smile. Commanding bastard seemed to be back to normal.
~*~
Duo frowned and punched his pillow. He hated being confined in bed. He could understand it when he was running the fever, but he'd been fine for the last two days. There was no reason to keep him in bed any longer.
Unfortunately, none of his crew agreed with him. Anytime he even made a move to get out of bed, they'd put him back in.
Sure, okay, so maybe he'd pushed it a little bit after that fight and that's why things got bad so fast... He'd had to admit that he didn't remember much after taking his new cabin boy on board- it was all hazy after that for a while. He remembered the Navy... and after that... hadn't something important happened....? He wished he could remember... Something to do with the cabin boy...?
The door to his cabin opened as if he'd summoned the man with a thought, and Heero walked in carrying a tray of food. For someone he'd forced to join his crew, the man was certainly developing some mother-hen tendencies. Granted, he'd probably been threatened by Duo's crew, but still...
"Good morning," his cabin boy said pleasantly, putting the tray beside Duo on the bed. "Cook said you're to eat it all- or else."
Duo rolled his eyes, but kept his commentary to himself. "Can I get up today?"
"Sally said no."
"I think my crew's beginning to forget who is in charge," Duo muttered.
Heero smiled. "What did you tell me my first night about dealing with a crew of women?"
Before Duo could think of an answer, they heard shouting break out on the deck accompanied by the sound of running feet.
Duo was out of the bed and halfway to the door when Heero caught up with him. "Captain!"
"Don't stop me! That's an order!"
"You're not dressed."
Ah hell.
Duo stopped and turned quickly- intent on grabbing clothes from his trunk- and nearly fell over. Heero slid his arm around the captain's waist.
"Let me help you."
Duo accepted the help with a tight nod, his mind on the trouble outside. Was it the Navy? He pulled on his clothes as quickly as he could and then headed for the door, leaning heavily on Heero's shoulder.
"Captain!" Hilde turned to look at him when they reached the deck, eyes wide. "What are you doing?"
"What's going on? Are we under attack?"
She shook her head. "Lifeboat spotted sir! Looks like someone was adrift. We're pulling him in."
"Just one?" He asked.
"Just one."
Duo frowned. "So either something bad happened or they were tossed off their ship..."
Hilde turned and looked at where the pirates were hauling the man on board. "Looks like something bad happened."
Duo had to agree. The newcomer was sunburned, his clothes slashed and blackened. His hair hung over his face, obscuring his features. "Well, he doesn't look like a Navy man." Duo cast a look over the side, noted the charred look of the lifeboat. Fire? Pirate attack?
"He's unconscious," one of the pirates who had helped pull the survivor on board looked up at Duo. "What should we do with him Captain?"
"Take him to Cook. There's that spare bunk next to the kitchen. She can keep an eye on him, and call Sally in to look at him. Once he wakes up let me know." They quickly obeyed him, carrying the unconscious man carefully towards the galley.
"Now that's done with, back to the cabin." Hilde ordered.
"I'm fine." Duo protested.
"You're shaking." She countered. "Heero, take him back and make him rest. We're three days out from Sanctuary- you'll want to be back on your feet by then."
"Three days?" Duo looked surprised.
"You were really ill Captain." Hilde reminded him.
Sighing, Duo gave in. He let Heero walk him back to the cabin. Once inside though, he headed for his chair instead of the bed. Without a murmur of protest, Heero helped him sit at his desk. Duo pulled out his logbook.
"I don't need anything else," he said to Heero. "You can go help Cook."
"Permission to disagree sir," Heero responded and went to fetch the food tray from the bed. He put it within easy reach of Duo and then began pulling the linens off the bed.
Duo shook his head. No one was listening to him today it seemed. He opened his logbook and read the entries Hilde had made during his illness before starting one about the survivor they had found.
Heero worked quietly as he wrote, remaking the bed, filling the basin with water for washing, tidying up. Duo finished the entry and put the logbook away.
Heero was beside him a moment later. "Eat."
Duo frowned at him but picked up a slice of bread. A thought occurred to him. "Do you want us to put you ashore in Sanctuary? I'm sure you can find passage back to your town there."
Heero's eyes widened a little, but he shook his head. "No thank you sir."
"But that girl of yours..."
"Is now hopefully wed to her fiancé- the other gentleman who was with me." He frowned for a moment. "At least, she'd better be..."
Duo felt relieved for some strange reason. Had he gotten that used to the other so quickly? There was that odd feeling again... as if he was forgetting something important... "Ah... so it's better that you are out of the picture?"
Heero nodded. "Yes. So, thank you for the offer Captain, but no I'd rather remain on as crew, if it's all right with you."
Duo nodded. "Of course. Could you please run to the galley and check on our newest arrival?"
"As long as you eat everything on that tray."
Duo lifted an eyebrow at him. He was Captain, damn it! He didn't need any coddling!
Heero simply smiled back, waiting.
"Fine, fine." Duo took a bite and Heero headed for the door. He was worse than the ladies, Duo thought...
TBC...
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