Prompto sighed and stared up at the ceiling of the tent. The faintest trace of light was coming in from outside, making him wonder what the hell time it was and exactly what had woken him up. His gaze moved around, finding Gladiolus asleep next to him facing the opposite way. Ignis was similarly positioned on his other side, which left. . .
A muffled moan caused him to startle and his eyes to fall on Noctis, who was curled between him and Ignis. The prince had drawn his knees up toward his chest and had his arms wrapped tightly around his waist. He was shaking, and as Prompto reached for him, he could feel heat radiating from Noctis' skin.
"Noct?" Prompto whispered, worry edging his tone. He let his hand rest gently on Noctis' shoulder, hoping for a reaction, but his friend didn't respond.
Prompto chewed on his lower lip, trying to decide whether to wake up Ignis. The decision was made for him a moment later when Noctis moaned again, causing Ignis to roll toward him and reach for his glasses.
"Your Highness?" Ignis said softly, glancing at Prompto. "How long has he been like this?"
"Don't know, I just woke up," Prompto replied nervously.
"Well, now we're all awake," Gladiolus grumbled from behind Prompto, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. "And why are we awake at 4:00 in the goddamn morning?"
"The prince appears to be unwell," Ignis answered, the concern in his voice causing Gladio to look at him sharply. "The light is terrible in here, though, so I cannot ascertain the cause of his illness. Gladio, if you wouldn't mind?"
Prompto scooted quickly after Ignis as he left the tent, leaving Gladiolus room to gather Noctis in his arms and move him outside. Noctis squirmed in Gladio's arms, clearly in pain, and Gladio frowned down at him as he gently laid him on the blanket Ignis set out on the ground.
"You don't think he's hiding an injury, do you?" Gladio commented as Ignis began checking over the prince. "Looks like he's in pain- but dammit, he should know better by now!"
"The lack of blood would suggest he's not injured," Ignis replied. He observed the way Noctis was curled in on himself, arms clutching his stomach. Could he have food poisoning? But that made no sense, considering they had all eaten the same thing. An unpleasant thought began forming in Ignis' mind.
"Gladio, help me stretch him out."
Noctis whimpered as the two men maneuvered him onto his back. The pain in his abdomen intensified, causing him to jolt fully awake. Prompto, who had been standing by helplessly, dropped to his knees next to his friend when Noct cried out.
"Shhh, shhh, it's ok, dude, just let them help you." Prompto took Noctis' hand and rubbed slow circles over his knuckles, trying to calm him down.
Ignis adjusted his glasses, trying to calm his nerves. He was dreading what came next.
"Noctis, I'm going to press on your stomach, and I need you to tell me where it hurts." Taking the slight nod as consent, he began on the left side, noting how the prince barely reacted. Pressing closer to the middle got him a groan, but when he palpated the right side, Noctis screamed and nearly flew up off of the blanket. Only Gladio's strong grip on his shoulders kept him down.
"Wh-what's going on?" Prompto said shrilly, clutching Noctis' hand.
"What I was afraid of- it would appear Noctis has appendicitis."
Gladio caught Ignis' eyes, fear playing out on his normally gruff features. Ignis was trying to control his own fear as he looked down at his sweating, shaking charge, who was insensate with pain.
"Um, that's really, really bad, right?" Prompto said hoarsely, giving voice to all of their thoughts.
"Yes, it is, and the closest hospital is about 4 hours away." Ignis pinched the bridge of his nose, running through options in his head. There was only one that might save Noctis' life, and it was far from pretty.
Gladio seemed to read his mind. "Can you really do this?" he said quietly, running a hand absently through Noctis' hair in a soothing gesture.
"It would appear I have no choice."
"Wait, wait, back up a second. . . do what now?" Prompto said, eyes flying to Ignis.
"I'm going to remove Noctis' appendix," Ignis replied stoically, straightening his shoulders and moving to stand up.
"Um. . say what?" Prompto practically screeched, jumping up to face Ignis. "Iggy, I know your a genius, but I must have missed the part where you became a doctor! You could kill him. . . WE could kill him. . . this is the worst idea ever in the history of bad ideas. . ."
"Noctis will die if I don't do this, which is pretty much the same thing as killing him. In addition, I am not entirely without skills. As you know, I have a photographic memory. I once watched an appendectomy being performed on one of the Glaives, and I have complete recall of how it was done."
"He's right, Prompto," Gladio said, taking in the latter's open-mouthed incredulity. "Iris had appendicitis when she was young. It's got to come out now, or Noct will be in a world of trouble later."
Prompto shook his head, falling back on his knees next to Noctis. His best friend was murmuring under his breath, pain racking his thin frame. Prompto leaned in closer to offer comfort, catching the words falling from Noct's lips.
"Make it stop. . .gods, make it stop. . ."
With a sigh, Prompto looked up at the other two men. "What do we need to do?"
A short time later, everything was ready. Noctis was laid out on the blanket, sleeping fitfully thanks to one of their last remaining potions. He was stripped down with one of Ignis' shirts (the only thing Ignis had deemed clean enough) covering his lower half. Gladio had strung up their emergency camping lantern to provide more light, since the sun was just peeking over the horizon. He was positioned by Noctis' head, ready to hold the prince down. Ignis, hands scrubbed and kitchen knife sterilized, was poised over Noctis' abdomen, Prompto fidgeting nervously at his side.
"I lied. . . I don't think I can do this," Prompto said shakily, his face starting to turn green.
"Prompto," Ignis said, steel coloring his tone, "You can do this, and you WILL do this. Once I begin cutting, I will need you to wipe the blood away so I can see. And if you feel sick, I will remind you that any contamination of the area will surely kill your prince."
Prompto swallowed hard. "Got it," he stuttered out, trying to stop his hands from shaking.
"Ready when you are, Ig," Gladio said, moving his hands to Noctis' shoulders.
Ignis readied himself, sending up a mental prayer to the gods, and pressed down with the knife. Noctis' body jerked slightly, shoulder straining against Gladio's strong hands, and then he was mercifully still.
If asked later, Prompto would have sworn they were there for hours. In reality, barely one hour passed before it was over. He would also never get the image of Noctis' swollen, infected appendix out of his head. And the blood. . . so, so much blood. . .
"Now to stitch him up," Ignis said after what seemed like an eternity. Everyone was exhausted and on edge, barely holding it together and yet relieved that the ordeal was coming to an end.
"Um, Ignis, do you still need me, I mean. . ." Prompto said abruptly, one hand flying to his mouth as the events of the past hour caught up with him.
"No, you may go, just make sure you move an appropriate distance away," Ignis said, eyes trained on the wound he was currently closing up.
As Prompto fled into the forest, Gladio chuckled slightly, breaking the tension. "Didn't think he would last that long."
"Neither did I," Ignis admitted, fighting the urge to wipe the sweat from his forehead. "How is Noctis?"
"Holding on, for now," Gladio replied, moving his fingers to take the prince's pulse. He frowned, concerned, as he felt the thready movement beneath his fingers. "Might want to hurry up there, Ig- he's starting to get shocky."
"Done," Ignis said, sitting back on his heals and observing his handiwork. Blood was everywhere, which worried him more than a little, but the appendix was out and Noctis was stitched up. The threat of infection was too high, though- they needed to get him to a hospital. He moved to place a hand on Noct's forehead, feeling the still-present fever coursing through his body.
Prompto appeared a moment later, wiping a hand across the back of his mouth and looking slightly dazed. He took in the concerned looks on Gladio and Ignis' faces and started to panic.
"I was gone for like five minutes! What happened?" he said, rushing over.
"We've done what we can for now. He needs a doctor," Ignis said, spurring them all into action. Within minutes, they had moved Noctis carefully into the backseat of the Regalia. Gladio sat with him, holding the blanket-wrapped form close as the prince began to shiver again. Ignis drove as fast as he dared. Prompto spent the entire drive turned in his seat, eyes anxiously fixed on his best friend.
Once they reached the hospital, Noctis was rushed off by multiple nurses and doctors, leaving Ignis, Gladio and Prompto to stare after him. The events of the morning were finally catching up with them. Gladio moved off to get them all coffee while they waited. Prompto stared blankly at his phone, trying to pretend this was all a bad dream. Ignis disappeared into the bathroom to scrub his prince's blood off of his hands. He took a moment to stare at his haggard appearance in the mirror, praying that he hadn't just sentenced his charge to death.
Multiple coffees, a few brief cat naps and many games of King's Knight later, a doctor appeared in the waiting area.
"How is he?" Ignis said, jumping to his feet. Gladio and Prompto followed his lead, anxiety gripping all of them.
"He's heavily sedated right now. We're giving him antibiotics and a blood transfusion, and he will need to rest and limit his movements for the next few weeks. He should make a complete recovery, though. Whoever removed his appendix saved his life."
Ignis fell back into his chair, covering his face with his hands. Gladio thanked the doctor, and both he and Prompto sat with the advisor, relieved.
"Ig, you did good," Gladio said, putting a hand on Ignis' shoulder. He was surprised to find Ignis trembling.
"I thought we were going to lose him," Ignis said shakily, looking up at his friends.
"You sure didn't show it," Prompto said, shaking his head. "I was falling apart, and you just, I don't know, kept it all together for me. Thanks for that, Iggy."
"You are very welcome," Ignis said, feeling warmth replacing the cold fear in this body.
Shortly after, a nurse came to lead them to Noctis' room. The prince appeared to be sleeping, his skin pale despite the flush on his cheeks. He was hooked up to various IV's, and fresh bandages were wrapped around his stomach.
"Hey, guys. . ." Noctis murmured, blue eyes peeking out from behind half-closed lids. His friends startled, then swarmed the bed. Gladio turned a chair around and sat backward, resting one hand on Noctis' knee. Ignis stood near the head of the bed, and Prompto climbed up carefully on the other side, gently holding onto one of Noctis' hands.
"How are you feeling, Noct?" Ignis queried gently, laying a hand on the prince's forehead to confirm that his temperature wasn't too high.
"Been better," Noctis said sleepily. "Drugs are good, though."
Prompto smiled slightly at that. "I bet they are, bro."
"Had the weirdest dream," Noctis continued, frowning at the memory. "Ignis was cutting me with a kitchen knife. . . and no one stopped him."
"Uh, not a dream, dude," Prompto said, patting his arm.
"We'll explain later," Gladio added, grinning at Ignis, who rolled his eyes.
"Mmmkay- just, let's never do that again," Noctis mumbled as sleep took him.
"No worries, Your Highness," Ignis replied. "I believe I will stick to cooking."