Lafayette stood on top of a hill nearby his men as the redcoats fled with their tails between their legs. He wiped the sweat and dirt from his slightly pale face and used his gun as support to lean on.
The General rode on his white horse and made sure that his men were being tended to, and those that were injured were sent back to the medic tent. He came up next to Lafayette and dismounted, looking proud. "Son, you did well. Congratulations are in order." He said, giving him a friendly slap on the shoulder.
Lafayette winced a little at the sudden impact, but smiled nonetheless, "Merci beaucoup, sir. I am thankful to be serving such a great man with many wonderful soldiers by my side." He felt like he completed some other sort of achievement when he spoke the words clearly without missing a beat. Not to mention correct grammar.
George smiled warmly and laughed lightly. "Ah, you all think of me too highly. I'm nothing without my officers who help me make the battle strategies." He said humbly.
"While that may b-.." his breath hitched, "m-may be true... you a-" The Frenchman turned from Washington to sneeze into the crook of his elbow. "E-excusez-moi..." His cheeks grew redder, well, redder than before. So much for speaking clearly.
"Oh, it's no trouble. Lafayette, you seem tired. You may retire early if you must. You must always make sure you in shape. You can't take care of your men if you can barely stand. Remember that." He advised.
"Oui, sir, I think I will..." Think was the key word there. He knew he should heed Washington's words, but he still had things to do around the camp first. "But you should do the same."
"Hm, yes, but I need to make sure all the men are alright. Everyone that was injured had been sent to the medical tent, but I'll just double check on them, and then check with the other men... Would you like to come with me?"
"Yes sir," he nodded graciously, wanting to be as useful as possible. And so the Frenchman followed his commander to the medical tent. On the way there, Lafayette just barely suppressed a coughing fit, which eventually came back and slowed his walking speed.
"Much obliged." He said kindly and as they walked, they went to the medic tents and Washington made sure each man was alright, and then he talked to the other men, speaking with each one making sure they were alright for the night and helped any way he could.
Lafayette also assisted, but his energy was draining gradually. He coughed again, hoarser than the first few times, and quicken his pace to match Washington's strides.
George walked towards their tents, which were side by side and sighed. "Well, I believe that is everyone." He sighed and looked back at the slightly shorter man. "Lafayette, are you sure you're well?" He asked him, noticing the small faults.
"Why of cou-" he cleared his throat, "Of course, sir." Laf offered a weak smile up at the elder.
His lips tightened as he peered at him with uncertainty. "Very well. But please, if something is bothering you, you can always see me about it. Have a good night, son." He said and left his tent.
"Bonne nuit, mon general," he said before entering his tent. The first thing he did upon entering was he went to his desk, responding to the letter from his wife. Time passed and Lafayette found himself studying a map in hopes to find good ground for the next battle. Hours went by without him noticing, then he fell asleep at the desk.
Lafayette was awoken by a sneeze, which caught him off guard and left him a little bit annoyed, but was happy to find the sun has just begun to rise. Looking at the map one more time, he rolled up the paper, stood, then stumbled back. Geez, he was dizzy... But he still wanted to go bring the plan to Washington before breakfast.
George was up bright and early, making sure that everyone got their breakfast, and he went back to his tent. He made sure his men ate before he did. As he got his coat on he heard a small knock at his tent curtain door and looked over his shoulder. "Come in!" He called.
Lafayette stepped in with a small smile, "Bon matinee, mon general." He bit his tongue afterward to try and keep the urge of sneezing at bay.
The General gave a warm smile and put his uniform coat on. "Good morning, Lafayette. How are you this morning?"
'Greeting death with open arms,' he thought to himself with a small sniffle. "I am doing fine, monsieur. How are you?"
"Oh, just fine. I do hope you did actually get some sleep last night and not slave over plans." He lightly scolded, eyeing him. "You have a tendency for that."
"...Aaaaabout that..." he shuffled his feet, "I did get some sleep b-" He was cut off by a couple of sneezes in his sleeve, "Pardon, but I did manage to get one plan that may work."
George raised an eyebrow at the sneezes, but didn't say anything. "Lafayette, always so over eager.." the general sighed heavily with a shake of his head. "Son, I appreciate you taking your time and using it to make your plans; but we have a certain time we do that during the morning after breakfast and prayer. I have gotten complaints from some officers, whom I will not name, but they claim that I favor your plan over theirs because you show your plans first thing before I do anything. To prove that is not true, you will show them at our morning meeting, alright?"
"Yes sir," he didn't mind waiting much, but it was the morning meeting itself that was making him anxious. The thought of eating made his stomach turn and he had a feeling he may lose focus due to the currently mild headache he had.
"Well, son, I suggest you eat soon, I will be out shortly." He was about to dismiss the younger of the two, but stopped him. "Lafayette, are you sure you're alright? You haven't gotten better since last night."
"I'm sure, sir," he gave a parting nod as he left the tent. Eating? Hah. Like that was going to happen. Plus, there was no way Washington could find he didn't... Right? No harm done. Well- none to Washington.
