This was a request from one of my followers. A hurt/comfort story involving Sully and an OC. Enjoy!
Chapter 1
It was amazing how long a person could walk around with a double lung infection, providing he consumed the right amount of alcohol to daze out the symptoms. Once drunk, fever didn't feel so bad, and the reflex to cough was dimmed by your uncooperative brain. But as the infection grew, and the weather turned worse, Sully's body finally decided to give out. Right in the middle of a busy night at the Crow's Nest. He collapsed during a game of pool, knocking over various bottles of beers positioned on the table's rim on his way down to the hard wooden floor.
Under light protest, Ethel agreed to have him brought upstairs to one of her spare rooms, usually meant for guests to spend time with a lady friend, sleep out their stupor or simply stay over when they were in town for a short while. Bobby and his girlfriend would be Sully's direct neighbours for a while, and although they both didn't quite consider the troublemaker of the town their friend, they didn't object as much as Ethel did. She had nothing good to say about Sully, and most would have agreed with her, wouldn't it be that Sully needed their help right now. Her huffing and puffing did surprise most of the people that knew her well. She wasn't one to judge so quick, and she wasn't called "ma" by most for nothing. But perhaps her objection was caused by the fact her sister's daughter was staying over at the Crow's Nest for a few weeks. And, being a young girl from the city, not used to the rough environment of the small fishing town, Ethel had gone into instant lioness mode when it turned out Sully was going to stay for a while. Atleast until he woke up.
The doctor arrived when the upstairs bedroom was crowded by half drunk spectators curious about their recently collapsed fellow bar fly. Captain Tyne was sitting on the side of the bed, keeping everyone at a reasonable distance, and calming people down. Ethel stood in the doorway as the doctor ushered people to the side to get to his patient.
"Out of my way, out of my way." He grumbled. "What are you all standing here for? Unless he's juggling beer bottles on a unicycle there's nothing for any of you to see over here, so get going!" The crowd was pulled out of the room, until no one but captain Tyne and Ethel remained. "Another one that took the liquor hard tonight, Ethel?" the doctor sneered seeing the unconscious man laying sprawled across the bed. "Well, let him rest it off, you know the drill. Will that be all?" he was about to turn away when Tyne interfered.
"I think.. Sully has gone down with something a little more serious than a stupor, doc. I really think you should take a look at this." He said. "He's burning up." At that last statement, the doctor's agitation made place for a worrisome expression and the old man approached the bed to lay his hand on Sully's forehead.
"Indeed he is." The doctor nodded in agreement. "This darn weather has bitten more people this season than the dock master's dog." He complained while placing his bag on the side table to take out his stethoscope. As Ethel still proved to be uncooperative, Tyne opened Sully's shirt to allow the doctor access to his heaving chest. "Pumping blood like a mad man.." the doctor mumbled gravely. "Your sailor is struggling for air, Skipper. Typical case of having the waters in his lungs." The stethoscope was put away again, and the physician seemed more worried than ever. He shook his head and smoothed back his snowy white hair. "I'll prescribe antibiotics for now, and something to reduce the fever. It is by all means crucial he's kept in a warm, dry and comfortable environment." His eyes went to Ethel, who seemed ready to show the doctor every corner of her own guestroom at the news. "I know you and mister Sullivan over here aren't known to be best friends, but I do ask you, Ethel, to put a hand over your heart and show a little mercy right now." The doctor begged.
Having picked up on Ethel's apprehension, Tyne decided to intervene. "I can take Sully if it's too much for you." He offered gallantly. "I wouldn't know where to put him but.. I suppose he can take my bedroom and I'll sleep on the couch if it's this serious." He looked at the doctor for help, who seemed rather disappointed at Ethel's hardened expression. "We'll make due, Ethel, if you don't want him here you don't have to. I know he's not the easiest guy around, I know all about it." Tyne continued kindly.
"It's for the best not to move this man." The doctor argued softly.
"Oh, we won't move him.." Ethel finally grumbled, and rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Let that stray dog stay here if his life depends on it. I've been there for every fight he started, I won't be responsible for his death too." The two men were silent. Usually, when Ethel started a rant, she wasn't finished after two sentences. "And I'll tell you another thing.." she continued, causing Tyne to smile to himself. "I won't be playing nursemaid! Get someone in here to take care of this flee bag, and I'll provide a place for them to stay. But I won't be making soup and changing sheets, if that's what you think!"
"Well, I don't have a nurse available just like that." The doctor protested. "I can call for one but it will still take a few days before she arrives. And that doesn't solve the problem at hand, Ethel. Be reasonable. He needs care right now. He doesn't have a few days."
"Again, I can take Sully with me." Tyne repeated. "But since it's not a good idea to move him.. perhaps that isn't the most ideal solution either. Besides, I'm leaving in three days."
The doctor filled a syringe with obvious indignation at the woman's stubborn behaviour. "What about that little cousin of yours." He started, attracting Ethel's attention at the mention of the young woman. "If she can sit downstairs at the bar with her nose in the books, she can sit at his bedside doing the same thing while tending to him from time to time."
"Like Hell I will put Sophie with this man in one room!" She barked back. "I'd expect you to be wiser than that!"
"Well, then we both expected the same thing from one another." The doctor sneered. "It seems like you're prepared to let mister Sullivan fend for himself. I'm almost convinced you'd throw him out in the rain had I not been called upon." He rolled up Sully's sleeve to give him the fever reducing injection, and the young man flinched at the sharp sting. It was Tyne who offered the comforting gesture by patting his fisherman's shoulder awkwardly.
"I'm letting him stay, don't I?" Ethel said. "I just won't be the one pampering him while he sleeps off his petty little cold."
"Lung infection." The doctor corrected her. "One that has gone untreated for quite some time too." He pulled Sully's sleeve down again, and covered him with the warm blankets. "He will need to be helped into something to sleep in comfortably, but I suppose even that would be too much to ask."
"I'll help him." Tyne spoke up. "No problem. Perhaps Bobby has an old shirt for him?" He looked at Ethel almost pleadingly. "Just something he wears at sea that he can throw away after." He added.
The doctor stared at the two in disbelief. "Would you two listen to yourself? Like young mister Sullivan isn't worth the sweat on your brows! No wonder he's always so distempered! I would be too if I received this sort of treatment from the entire town." He reprimanded, but only Tyne looked down with a guilty look on his face. "It is truly shocking to hear you both speak of this man. If it wasn't for this blasted storm, I would have called upon an ambulance to take him to the nearest hospital where he could be assured of the care he needs and deserves! Unfortunately, as it is, they wouldn't pull out in this sort of weather for something that can be taken care of at home."
"We don't mean to say he won't be taken care of." Tyne protested gently. "Neither of us want Sully to be alone with this, isn't that right, Ethel?" she took a while to answer, but Tyne's pleading expression did the trick eventually.
"He'll be fine." She growled. "He can stay here. I'll ask Bobby for something for him to sleep in, and we'll just have to.. take shifts in caring for him."
"Yea, shifts." Tyne nodded. "I'll start right away. I can stay with him for now. Get him ready for bed, I can do all that."
"But I won't be knitting socks at his bedside waiting for him to open his eyes!" she added quickly. "I won't be cutting apples and feeding him slices!" with that she turned around and left the bedroom, in search of her son to inquire about an old shirt. Tyne gave the doctor an apologizing look.
"Sully caused trouble in her place more than once, doc. I do understand where she comes from." He tried.
"I hardly believe he's the only one causing trouble. If I can recall correctly, I stitched a cut above your eyebrow, received during a quarrel in his very location, not even two months ago." The doctor closed his bag and put his coat back on. "I also recall Ethel offering you tea and a ride home." He added bitterly. "Now I'm not sure this is the right place for mister Sullivan to recover. I fear he might be treated unkindly, which would only worsen his condition."
"No, no.." Tyne waved away the doctor's concern. "Come on, we both know Ethel can speak harshly, but she would never treat a sick man with cruelty, that is not in her nature. Sully will be fine." The doctor didn't seem sure. "I'm with him, am I not?" Tyne added. "I've taken care of him before. On board during a fishing. He knocked his head against something so bad, it gave him a concussion. He was throwing up for two days straight, and I sat with him." Tyne explained. "He's a very docile patient compared to popular belief. If Ethel sees just how calm Sully can be, she will change her mind about him, I assure you."
"Her mind seems pretty made up to me." The doctor said. "It is a shame you have to leave in three days, Billy. I much rather see you look after mister Sullivan. You two share a history together, and I'm sure he would be much more comfortable knowing you are at his side instead of Ethel."
At the doctor's careful compliment, Tyne gently placed his hand on Sully's feverish brow, gazing at the young man he had worked with more than once. "He's a handful but.. he's a good guy. His heart is on the right place, and I think that is the most important thing. I know he deserves more than what he gets around this place but he doesn't make it easy for people to like him. It took me a while to get to know him too. But I've seen him perform heroic acts to save his fellow shipmates and that just tells me everything I need to know about a man."
The doctor nodded, his mind clearly elsewhere. "Let us hope he pulls through this without too many problems." He patted the captain on the shoulder reassuringly. "There isn't much we can do for him besides from letting him rest as much as he can. If there's anything you don't trust, give me a call." Tyne nodded, and with that the doctor left. He could be heard mumbling to himself gruffly while marching down the wooden staircase.
Sighing heavily at his new task, Skipper decided to start with Sully's boots, and silently hoped Ethel would keep her promise and return with the shirt shortly. Eventually, the sick longliner was stripped down to his underwear, and no shirt had made its entrance yet. The captain had tucked in his fisherman as well as he could, and had added several blankets and comforters he found in the big closet. Sully wasn't going to like the idea of laying in his underwear in Ethel's guestroom, Tyne could already guess his reaction. From what he had seen from the young man during several fishing trips, was that Sully kept to himself, and was very private when it came to dressing and undressing, always locking himself away in the bathroom when the others were present down below. Of course, Ethel didn't know this, to her Sully was the guy shamelessly sleeping with married or recently divorced women, and the one starting fights with any angry just returned ex-husbands. So Tyne couldn't blame her for not making any haste with the promised shirt. But how long could such a request take really?
Either way, Sully was resting comfortably now, and Tyne wouldn't stray from his side. He sat himself down in a chair next to the bed, and decided to read a few passages of a book he had found during his search for extra blankets. It was a bit later when a knock came to the doorpost, and he looked up to find Ethel's young cousin Sophie standing in the doorway.
"Aunt Ethel send me up with a shirt." She announced, holding up something that resembled a rag more than a piece of clothing. "She pulled it out of the closet where she keeps her cleaning tools. I think she uses this to polish the tables with." She made an unsure face at her own story. "Not something I'd recommend wearing.. it smells like wax."
Tyne sighed at the sad news. "I guess he doesn't really need a shirt." He mumbled, trying to smile at the young woman. "Atleast not that one." He chuckled.
"How's he doing?" she asked shyly, giving a nod to the bed. Skipper followed her gaze and shrugged a little.
"Well, sleeping is good, I suppose. Doc said he needs to rest and that's what he seems to be doing so I guess he's alright for now." He answered. "You and Sully know eachother?"
She shook her head. "No, not officially. He was the only one not coming up to me to say hi the first evening at the Crow's Nest. So naturally that made me curious about him. That and aunt Ethel's behaviour toward him and telling me to stay out of his way." She explained shyly, chipping off pieces of flacked paint off the doorpost with her nails. "She made him look like the big bad wolf."
Tyne chuckled bitterly. "Nah, just another man." He said. "But he made quite the reputation for himself around here, so I do understand your aunt's apprehension of letting you get to know him."
"yea, I know the stories." She nodded. "Murph told me about him. And Bugsy chimed in with a few stories of his own."
"Sailor men talk." Tyne winked at her kindly, making her smile. "I suppose Sully can be compared to one of those dogs you meet on vacation. They seem shy at first but give them a few pats on the head, feed them some scraps, and they'll be your best friend. Risk their lives for you too." Her smile had slowly vanished. "I mean dog in a good way." He quickly added. "I know your aunt tends to call him a dog too, but that's for different reasons."
At that moment, Sully stirred, shifting his legs under the covers and moaning softly. It caught the captain's attention immediately, and he turned toward the young man. "Sully.." he spoke softly. "How are you feeling?"
Sully, who seemed clearly disorientated, tried to sit up but fell back into the pillows as his arms refused to bear his weight. He coughed, the sound worrisome, as it seemed to come from his deepest core. "Where am I?" his voice was hoarse from coughing his throat red and raw, and Tyne decided to help him take a few sips of water first. Sully allowed his captain to tend to him, and underwent the treatment in a calm and docile manner.
"There's a good lad." Skipper praised gently, setting the half empty glass of water back on the nightstand. "You're in Ethel's guestroom. Doc said we weren't supposed to move you so we decided to let you rest here." Sully gazed at him impassively, his nonverbal communication speaking for him. "I know what you're thinking." Tyne continued. "But I talked to Ethel and she agreed on letting you stay here. So don't worry yourself over that now, just relax."
Sully had no time to react for another coughing fit claimed him. He leaned over the bed to relieve the pressure from his chest and heaved miserably until his coughing subsided. It was clear his captain wanted to do more than just sit by idly, and had his hand hovering above the young fisherman's back with the intention of touching him, but he hesitated, doubting his own urge to show affection. As Sully fell back into the pillows, his chest heaving from the struggle to breathe, he caught sight of the girl watching him from the doorway. He frowned at her presence, not keen on being so vulnerable around people he didn't know. Skipper followed his gaze.
"You know her." He assured him. "She's been around for two weeks now. Ethel's cousin from the city, remember? Bobby told you about her, didn't he?" Sully dropped his gaze, concentrating on swallowing to lubricate his sore throat. "She came up here to see how you were doing." Skipper continued, helping him drink some more water. "Come say hello, Sophie." He didn't need to look at her to know she would heed his advice and come over.
She was tucking strands of hair behind her ear nervously when she came into the captain's view, gazing down at the sick man in the bed. "Evening, mister Sullivan." She said shyly. "How are you doing?"
For a moment it seemed Sully wasn't going to grace her with an answer, but then he swallowed thickly and winced. "I've been better." He replied with difficulty. She nodded in agreement, and smiled down at him, something that seemed to make him incredibly nervous, and he looked at his captain for help, but Skipper just smiled following their small interaction and gave the girl another encouraging wink.
"I'm sure if we ask miss Sophie very nicely, she would be willing to fix you up with a cup of tea with some honey in it." Tyne suggested. "It won't do wonders but it'll soothe your throat a bit, what do you say, Sully?"
The exhausted man nodded slowly and closed his eyes at the lightheaded sensation the movement caused him. With his permission, Tyne looked up at the girl. "Could you be so kind?" He asked again, just to be sure. "It would really help him a lot."
She wasn't sure why the captain was almost begging her, but apparently, that's what you did when you tried to get someone else to help Sully. "Of course, no problem." She assured him. "I'll get right to it." on her way to the door the captain gave her a very well meant thank you which she didn't consider necessary for the small assignment he send her down with. Once down, her aunt was waiting for her with her arms in her sides.
"What kind of business do you think you have up there?" Ethel asked her cousin, who stopped dead in her tracks. "All you needed to do was give Skipper that shirt, was that what took so long?"
"No." Sophie said softly. "Captain Tyne decided mister Sullivan is fine without a shirt, and he asked me to make some tea for him, which I said I would do." She looked at Bobby for help, who sat at the bar enjoying a beer and a talk with Quentin, but he didn't get the hint to come to her aid.
"He's awake then?" Ethel asked.
"Barely." Sophie told her. "But he wants some tea to soothe his throat."
"I bet he does." Her aunt shot back crudely. "Well alright then, go ahead and make him that tea. I suppose everyone should chime in to help out with this situation, might as well be you too." With her aunt's hard earned permission, she put the kettle on to boil the water. If it caused this much effort to get her aunt to grand mister Sullivan a simple cup of tea, she could only imagine what sort of devastating chaos it would create if mister Sullivan needed help getting into the bathroom. The man might have been better off at a place with people more willing to care for him.
Armed with a fresh cup of chamomile tea with honey, Sophie made her way back to the little bedroom upstairs, where captain Tyne still sat at Sully's side, speaking softly to him to keep him awake long enough to enjoy his drink. "Tea." She announced quietly, setting it down on the nightstand. Sully followed her every movement and gave her a small nod in gratitude. "still very hot." She warned softly.
Skipper gave her a reassuring and grateful smile. "Thank you, Sophie. That's really nice of you."
"No trouble at all." She assured him, leaving out the details of her run in with her apprehensive aunt. "If there's anything else I can do."
Tyne seemed to hesitate at her offer. "Well, there's something else." He started, receiving a nudge to his arm from Sully. "Skipper, don't.." the sick man pleaded, but the captain hushed him gently. "Let me handle this, Sully. Drink your tea." Tyne said, as if addressing a child. "Look, it's no secret your aunt isn't exactly thrilled with Sully's presence, and I'm sure she has her reasons but I can't help but worry what will happen the moment I get out of this room." He told Sophie in a soft voice. "You think you can sit with Sully while I take care of a few things? All I need to do is call and visit some people and say I'll be busy for a few days, atleast until I leave this Tuesday."
Sophie bit her bottom lip in hesitation, and Sully scoffed softly at her, to him, obvious reluctance. "She don't want this, cap." He mumbled. "I bet Ethel told her everything she wanted to know about me, and now she's scared to be in one room with me."
"That's not it at all." Sophie said quickly, slightly offended. "I'm simply thinking if my aunt would let me. But if she does, I'm more than willing to look after you, mister Sullivan."
"I'll speak to Ethel." Tyne offered. "Don't worry about angering her, let me take care of that. If you just take care of Sully over here, is that okay?"
She nodded, giving him a small smile, which he returned before getting up from the bed. "You heard the lady." He said to his sailor. "She'll take over for a bit for me, I'll be back as soon as I can." He reached out to gently touch Sully's forehead, causing the young man to close his eyes at the pleasant contact. "Behave yourself, Sull." The captain said, and left the room to find Ethel.
So that's part one. I'm not sure I'll continue it. R&R plz