This fic takes place right before the final scene in episode 51, Raymond: A Prelude to the Collapse. I couldn't decide whether to make this slash or not, so that's up to you and whether you want to see Raymond's behaviour as even more abusing and wrong than it already is here.
Warning: abuse of power and some medical sadism, but nothing graphic.
NURSE RAYMOND
"Dammit! Be more careful!"
The profanities Commander Raymond could hear from the room to his left were more than enough of a clue for him, so he didn't have to stop to think about which one to enter. Not halting his angry marching, he went to the door and promptly pushed it open.
Everyone in the room, which in this case meant Lieutenant Gabriel and a soldier whose name Raymond didn't know or care about, jumped to their feet and saluted, surprised by the loud bang. It was impossible to say which one of them looked more startled, but both of them were staring at Raymond with alarm visible on their faces. There was a sharp chink when the soldier dropped the tweezers he was holding.
"You're dismissed," Raymond said to the man.
"But, sir, I'm not yet done with -" the man tried to object, but that was a mistake.
"I said that you're dismissed," Raymond snarled, slitting his eyes as he glared at him. He was clenching his hands so hard that his nails were biting into his palms. It was a struggle to keep his body from shaking in anger.
The soldier gulped. "Yes, sir!" he said and rushed out of the room, only stopping to give Gabriel a sympathetic glance. Raymond slammed the door shut after him, briefly enjoying the feeling of being violent to something.
"You're an idiot," he growled as he turned to look at Gabriel. The lieutenant was standing still, his shoulders stiff and knowing apprehension on his face.
"I'm sorry, sir," he said.
"Sorry? You think that will do? Let's see how much more sorry you are when they come to take us before the firing squad, you incompetent fool! Do you have any idea what's going to happen to us if we don't do something soon?" Raymond asked, walking up to Gabriel and glaring at him with all the hatred he could find inside him. He had given this idiot one simple mission, and he had failed yet again. Again! How difficult could it have been to just kill Kapital?
"Well?" he urged when Gabriel didn't respond.
"I know it's all my fault," Gabriel admitted weakly.
"That much is obvious. Now you're going to tell me all about what happened. Sit down," Raymond said. He gestured at the seat where Gabriel had been sitting when he had barged into the room.
"Sir?" Gabriel asked in confusion.
"Hard of hearing today, Lieutenant? I told you to sit down," Raymond said. He scanned the floor until he found the tweezers that the soldier had dropped. He went to pick them up, turned them around in his hands for a moment and then walked behind Gabriel.
Raymond eyed the back of Gabriel's head for a while. "It looks like someone did a number on you," he remarked. He glanced at the table. Among the simple medical supplies, there were water and pieces of cloth that the soldier has used to wash the blood from Gabriel's hair.
"It was that man, sir. He bashed me against a window," Gabriel replied.
"Hmm," Raymond said with a nod. Colonel Jekyll had told him that when he and his men had returned from their wild goose chase after Zorro, they had found the ship ruined and Gabriel lying unconscious on the deck. There had been no sign of Kapital or his cowardly servant, but someone had seen them being taken on board a Spanish ship.
"And how did that happen?" Raymond asked. He brought his hand down to Gabriel's head, allowing himself a smile at how the man immediately tensed and tried to turn around to look at him. Raymond tightened his hold on his hair and didn't let him do it.
"Sir, what are you doing?" Gabriel asked.
"We can hardly let you walk around with these shards of glass in your head, can we? Don't mind me, just tell me what happened," Raymond said, his voice silky.
"Everything was fine until we arrived at the ship. Jekyll suddenly showed up, claiming that Zorro was hiding on board. Just then, Zorro actually did appear and everyone rushed – ow!" Gabriel let out a yelp as Raymond suddenly grabbed a tiny piece of glass and pulled it out, not bothering to be gentle.
"Am I hurting you?" Raymond asked in amusement.
"No. No, sir," Gabriel said at once.
"Oh, good. Then you can go on," Raymond said. He put down the piece of glass and ran his fingers through Gabriel's hair to find another one. He smirked at how the lieutenant tensed whenever his fingertips brushed against the wound on his head. It wasn't a long cut, but it ran nearly to the bone and had ragged edges. The bleeding has mostly stopped, but it would probably need a stitch or two. Even if it didn't, Raymond liked the idea too much to let the opportunity pass.
"Everyone went after Zorro except for me. I locked Kapital and his servant into the cabin," Gabriel said.
Raymond let out a thoughtful hum. This idiot should have used the chance to kill those two, but it was so much like Gabriel to get carried away when he got angry that his failure at that didn't really surprise Raymond. It only infuriated him, which was why he rather enjoyed pressing the tweezers at the wound and pulling out another tiny shard of glass. As he put it away, he wondered how much rougher he could get before Gabriel would complain. Probably quite a lot. The lieutenant could be stupidly stubborn when he wanted to.
"And then?" he asked.
Gabriel hesitated. "I'm… I'm not sure. Everything that happened after that is a little hazy," he admitted.
"That's quite understandable after suffering a head injury. Are you feeling dizzy?" Raymond asked. Though his voice was pleasant, he kept playing with Gabriel's hair to remind him that he could turn vicious any moment he wanted. And he did like how it felt against the skin of his hands. Gabriel had such rough hair.
"No, sir," Gabriel said.
Raymond took that as a yes. Silly Gabriel, always so predictable. He supposed he'd find out just how dizzy he was when they went to take a look at the destroyed offices of the South India Trading Company.
"You said that the man who was after Kapital knocked you out," he prodded.
"Yes. I don't know how long I was unconscious. I woke up when Jekyll and the others came back," Gabriel said.
Raymond put down the tweezers and let go of Gabriel's hair. "Well, we're about done here," he said.
The lieutenant relaxed visibly when Raymond wasn't touching him anymore. The poor fool probably thought it was over and that Raymond's anger had faded. As if it would be that easy. Gabriel had ruined everything, and this time there was more at stake than money. They would both be ruined when Kapital made it to Spain and told everyone what he knew.
"I didn't give you the permission to stand up," he said when Gabriel made the move to get up. His tone was so vicious that the lieutenant immediately sat down again. Raymond spent a moment eying the stiff line of his shoulders before he moved his eyes to the table. There was a needle and some horse hair.
"Sir?" Gabriel asked.
"You told me what happened, but that doesn't solve any of our problems. Now it's your turn to listen to me," Raymond said. He picked up the hair and started to slip it through the needle. He said nothing during this, so after a while Gabriel turned to look.
"Sir, what are you doing?" he asked.
"You need patching up, Lieutenant, or that wound of yours won't heal right and will get infected," Raymond replied.
"Someone else can do it. There's no need for you to -" Gabriel started, but Raymond didn't let him finish.
"Keep quiet. We have a lot to do tonight, and I'm not wasting our time for you to get treated," Raymond said. He finished his work with the needle and took a hold of Gabriel's hair.
"Sir, do you even know how to do it?" Gabriel asked.
"I'm no doctor, but I know the basics. Just sit still now," Raymond replied. He couldn't help but smile at how Gabriel grew tense at his words. The lieutenant could guess that he wasn't in for a gentle treatment. It was this moment that Raymond cherished the most. Gabriel was completely at his mercy. He wouldn't dare object to anything Raymond did when he knew he was angry at him.
"You're the most incompetent fool I have ever laid my eyes upon," he said as he brought the needle down to Gabriel's head. He took his time pushing it at the skin near the wound and pulling the horse hair through. Gabriel didn't let out a sound, but Raymond didn't miss how he was gritting his teeth and holding his breath, his whole body stiff. What an idiot. If he only knew that this was what Raymond wanted. He liked to see how far he could push him. If he had just cried out and admitted that it hurt, Raymond would have lost interest.
"Why didn't you kill Kapital when you had the chance? One shot was all it would have taken!" he said.
"I thought -" Gabriel started, but his voice broke when Raymond pushed the needle through his skin again.
"Yes?" Raymond asked and stopped his work for a moment to give Gabriel the chance to speak.
"I thought I would have time to do it after I took care of that brat who always helps Zorro," Gabriel said.
"Fool," Raymond snarled. It should have been obvious that Kapital was more important than some child.
"I'm sorry, sir."
"They will interrogate Kapital in Spain. He will reveal everything about his business with us to save himself. He will even add to it, no doubt. The next ship the king sends here will come for us," he said, tugging at the horse hair as if to test if it was strong enough. When he stopped, Gabriel let out the breath he had been holding.
"There's nothing we can do about the situation in Spain, so we must take drastic measures here. I'll tell you about my plan later," he said as he started to sew another stitch. There was only one thing they could do. They had to kill the governor general and make it look like murder or suicide. That would leave him in power in California, and even the king wouldn't be able to get him.
"Yes, sir," Gabriel said in a tight voice.
Raymond finished the last stitch. Gabriel hadn't complained even once. Maybe he had thought that enduring this would be easier than angering Raymond further and making him come up with another punishment. Or maybe he had wanted to prove how strong he was. He couldn't say no to him, but he could pretend that he didn't care what he did to him. Either way, Raymond liked it. Eventually he wanted to see Gabriel break before him, just to see what he would do then, but for now he savoured the lieutenant's stubbornness and submission to his will.
He took a piece of bandage and tied it around Gabriel's head to protect the stitches. "Come with me. We need to take a look at the offices of the South India Trading Company. I want you to see what happened there," he said. It would do Gabriel good to see all the destruction. Maybe next time he'd remember what would happen to them if he failed again.
Gabriel got up and followed him out of the room. He swayed a little, and his steps were somewhat uncertain. Oh, yes, the dizziness. Raymond pretended that he didn't notice, but inside he was smiling.