All story characters, locations etc. belong to Justin Somper.
"Grace?" A softly spoken voice filled her ears.
Grace's eyes flickered open slowly, and she waited for her eyes to adjust to the darkness.
The pallor face of Lorcan soon materialised into view, and she gazed wearily up at him. She was slightly irritated that he woke her up from her well earned slumber, but not enough for her to mention it.
"I'm sorry I woke you," He whispered apologetically, sitting down in the armchair next to her bed, "I think you forget sometimes that you are not a vampire; you sleep a lot in the daytime now."
Grace smiled gently, "Well, in case it has escaped your attention, I haven't slept in two days. Surely you could let me off this once?"
It was true that Grace hadn't slept in a while. This was because the Captain was still in some kind of coma, and it had been four days since Mosh Zu had performed treatment on him and the apparitions rose from beneath his mask. Mosh Zu had called upon Grace every time he tried something else on the Captain, and his requests had been frequent. Of course, Grace was happy to help in any way possible, but it had utterly drained her to do so.
"You're excused," Lorcan flickered a smile, but it soon faded.
"What's the matter?" Grace yawned, pushing herself up so she could speak to him properly.
He opened his mouth to speak, but his eyes strayed from her face and no words passed his lips. He closed his mouth for a moment, then looked back up at her.
"I'm sorry, Grace, I shouldn't have woken you up like this. You need your sleep."
He went to rise and leave, but Grace kept hold of his hand, stopping him from going out of her reach.
"You're right, I do need my sleep. And since you have woken me, I will not rest until I know what you wanted to say," She said kindly, pulling lightly on his hand.
He looked longingly back at her, "You're not going to like this, Grace,"
That made her concerned; he hadn't spoken to her like that before.
"Lorcan, what's wrong? You're scaring me." She said seriously back.
He sat back down and looked at her, squeezing her hand.
"Have you thought about what I said at all?" He asked finally, after a pause, "Have you thought about leaving?"
"No," Grace sighed, "I haven't had the time lately, why?"
"Grace," Lorcan frowned, "You really have to. I have told you before, it really would be best."
She looked back at him, hurt, "You really want me to go, don't you?"
She hadn't understood why he kept asking her to leave. It saddened her slightly, since she had stayed specifically for Lorcan, waiting for him to recover from his blindness. Then, when he did recover, one of the first things he told her was to leave."You know it's not that," He replied immediately, "You know it Grace. You know that one day your luck will run out."
"I know," Grace agreed, "But I'm not going to leave now. The Captain and Mosh Zu need me." She sighed, "I stayed to help you, Lorcan. Now you're OK, I need to help the Captain. I'm not going to leave now."
"I understand," He nodded, "And I'm grateful for that, very grateful, but you need to know why I'm asking. You know I like having you here."
Grace opened her mouth to say something, but the door to her room burst open. And standing in the doorframe was a rather flustered Mosh Zu.
"Grace," He panted, his usually calm and peaceful face was creased with lines of thought and frustration, "Grace, the Captain…I think he's waking up!"
Without thought, Grace dropped Lorcan's hand, threw back the bed covers and rushed off after the vampire guru.
Lorcan followed, hot on her tail, and the three of them ploughed into the Captain's room.
They all stopped dead at the strange sight that was before them.
The Captain was awake. He was sitting up, perfectly normally, chatting to a shaken Darcy.
The Captain looked over to the three, his expressionless mask gazing over to them, "My, that was quite the entrance, I must say." His familiar hissing voice seeped into their minds.
No one moved or said anything for a moment, too amazed at the Captain's consciousness.
"Captain," Mosh Zu breathed finally, "How are you feeling?"
"Very good. And, as Darcy says here, it seems to me I have you and Grace to thank." He replied.
"You're welcome," Mosh Zu and Grace said slowly in unison.
Then there was silence.
It seemed strange to Grace that the Captain's waking occurred so calmly. She would have expected to be rushing about trying to keep him stable with countless pots and bottles of Mosh Zu's lotions and potions. But then again, she realised, calm was the manner of the Captain. Never once had she seen him furious, upset or hurt. He always seemed so level headed.
"So," Darcy sniffed, "What now?" She asked dumbly.
That caused Grace and Lorcan to smile a little; the whole situation just seemed slightly…comical.
"Now, Darcy," Mosh Zu replied, also smiling, "I should like to have a word in private with the Captain, if he would allow it."
"Of course," The Captain nodded.
Darcy rose from her seat and walked over to Grace and Lorcan by the door.
"It is good to see you back, Captain," Grace smiled unsurely at him, as she clicked the door openly, not so hasty this time.
"Thank you, Grace. It is good to be back."
Then, the three friends left Mosh Zu and the Captain to talk.
They all took a seat in the small lounge outside the Captain's room.
"Well, that was bizarre." Lorcan said after a length of time.
"Yes," Grace agreed, trying to process the event through her mind again.
"I was just sitting there, then Mosh Zu came rushing in, then ran out in a panic. Then the Captain woke up. Then all of you burst in." Darcy said flatly, "I suppose it was funny in some kind of way."
The three of them sat in silence for what seemed a very long time.
Finally, Mosh Zu came out alone, and closed the door behind him.
"The Captain appears to be completely fine. I shall keep him here for a few more days just to make sure he is OK, then, I am glad to say, I think Lorcan and Darcy can return to their ship with their Captain." He concluded.
"What about Grace?" Darcy asked suddenly.
Mosh Zu didn't reply, and all eyes were on Grace.
She looked over to Lorcan, who looked at her sadly with those round blue eyes.
She shook her head sadly, and her chin sank into her chest.
Grace was shroud with thought, and didn't notice the Captain's door open.
"Grace, could I speak with you for a moment?"
For some reason, which Grace couldn't quite comprehend, his whisper filled her with dread, and a strange sense of loss. It was as she knew what he had to say.