Pripper - Twist To Needle Point -

Resumed from The Chimps News of Private Getting Sick

(Or Worse)

Skipper stared at the chimps, completely frozen. "Sick...or worse?" He questioned slowly.

"Yes, quite." Mason answered, continuing to translate for Phil.

Skipper stared off with determination. He was going to save his friend.

Alice put Private in the cage, then turned and walked out of the room, calling "Hey doc! I found your missing penguin!"

Private sighed and looked down at his feet. He knew he wouldn't be able to sit forever, but he didn't care. He was doing this so Skipper didn't have to go.

Skipper jumped on the windowsill. He smiled when he saw the young penguin in the cage, and slid down.

Just then, the door popped open, and out stepped the doctor. He smiled down at Private and said, opening the cage as he spoke "Well hello little guy. We were searching everywhere for you."

Skipper stood there, paralyzed. He couldn't let him prick him with the needle! He slid out, and climbed up the table. A clear shot of the Doctors neck...

To his horror, the Doctor picked up the needle, and it swiped past his head, making his duck so he wouldn't get it in the head.

He gasped when the Doctor stuck the needle in Private system. Private whimpered, and screamed with pain. Then he noticed Skipper, and waved. His happy look was already wavering.

The doctor put the needle down, and Skipper felt terrible. His friend...he was...for him!

The doctor put Private back in the cage, and picked it up and brought it out the door. Skipper quickly followed the cage with a horrible feeling of guilt. He couldn't of let this happen...

Private was slumping against the cage walls, he looked terrible. His feathers were a dull color, and his face was pale. It drifted from the dull color to a greenish color.

Skipper gasped. How could he have let this happen!?

The antidote pulsed through Privates veins, meeting the rest of the same fluid. I was too hard for his system to handle...he slumped farther against the bars, holding his stomach. A low groan escaped his beak as his head beat with drums. It ached.

The doctor placed the board onto the concrete island, where Kowalski and Rico were waiting. Rico noticed Privates condition, and nudged Kowalski with his elbow. When Kowalski was looking, Rico pointed at Private. Kowalski immediately gasped with shock, and started running down answers to this in his head.

The doctor placed the small penguin on the island and walked back, over the board.

Private lolled on the ground, and fell back. He groaned and held his head. Skipper back flipped onto the island, and immediately felt his friends head. It was burning up, almost hurtful to the touch.

Kowalski reached forward. "What's...happening?" Private asked weakly, groaning as the medicine pumped through it. It felt like it was burning his veins inside of him, melting them down.

"Kowalski, getting two shots in one day can mean getting extremely sick or..." Skipper gulped "Worse." Skipper said everything the chimps had informed him. Kowalski face turned to a look of panic and guilt.

"I should have known that! I shouldn't have let him go...ugh..." Kowalski cried, hitting his abacus on his head. He got a firm slap across the face from Skipper.

"The boy needs help. Besides, it's not your fault. It's...mine..."

Private gasped from pain, but managed out "it's neither of your fault. Besides, it's not so ba-" Just as he said it, another painful surge of antidote surged through his body, and he screamed in pain.

Skipper put a gentle flipper on his chest, which was heaving up and down faster than it should have. His eyes began to roll up in his head. Whenever that would happen, he would snap them back in place, but the rest of the penguins could tell he couldn't keep it up much longer.

"What do you think will happen, Kowalski?" The leader asked the scientist. His heart weighed from guilt. His own fear has costed his soldier...his friend...his something more than a friend, his healthiness, and maybe even his life.

Kowalski took out a stethoscope from seemingly no where and ran it over Privates chest. He sighed with relief when he realized his heart was beating. His own heart dropped when he realized it was going about 500 beats a minute, way to fast. He told this to Skipper, and Skippers heart dropped to his feet.

He realized people were staring at them, pointing at Private, who was now breathing harder than Skipper had seen anyone else breath before. His eyes began to close, and his eyes flipped up in his eyes. The medicine pumped through him so much it hurt, one painful surge at a time.

He cried out in pain as one more, more powerful than the rest, surged through him. His veins melted inside him, and his entire body was set on a blazing fire.

His eyes dipped up in his head, and he was out cold. Skipper lifted his head, and rested it in his own lap.

The penguins breath speed kept up, never slowing down. In fact, Kowalski could swear it would become faster by a few beats every few seconds.

The people pointing at the penguins, panicking about the young chubby one who was out cold.

"Get him inside, men. We'll deal with it there." Skipper hissed to Kowalski and Rico. They both nodded and lifted Private up, shoving him down the hatch. Skipper nodded to everyone, waving and putting on an incredibly fake smile. He then jumped down the hatch, pulling the fish bowl over once again.

Kowalski had already placed Private on his bunk, and was checking him over. His face was scribbled with worry.

"The medicine should work its way out of his system eventually. Until then, he'll just sleep. If it doesn't, well have to bring this up with the humans. They might have an answer. That would also mean," He turned to Skipper uncertainly. "You'll probably have to get a shot."

Skipper shook his head. That was why Private was here in this state, right? He had been afraid of getting a shot, and it had hurt his friend. He felt terrible. How could he?

Staring at the young boys face, he realized how easy getting a shot was. Why had he cared so much? The boys chest was slowing down, almost back to normal. Skipper watched it affectionately. The slow movement, up and down, like a steady pattern.

He felt himself staring at the boy with immense affection. He realized he wanted to say something to the boy, but he couldn't with the rest of his team there.

"Um... Kowalski, Rico, could you, um...give me a second? I want to...say something." Skipper said slowly, scratching the back of his head. Kowalski nodded, taking Rico's hands and yanking him into the lab.

The door shut hard behind them, and Skipper pulled up a chair to get comfortable. He turned back to Private, stroking the boys forehead and sighing with sadness.

He then did something completely unexpected, even to him.

He planted a kiss on the cadets forehead.

Skipper gasped. Had he just done that? He looked back down at the boy, who, to his great surprise, was smiling. He picked him up and placed him in his flippers, laying him slowly in his lap. The young boy snuggled his head into Skippers chest, and even though Skipper was alone, he could feel a light pink spreading across his face.

He kissed Privates forehead once again, and Private stirred. Skipper gasped and looked down at him. One of Privates eyes blinked open for a minute, then he brought his flippers up and rubbed them groggily.

He blinked his baby blues up at Skipper, and Skipper smiled affectionately back down. Private buried his head in Skippers feathers, smiling peacefully.

"Hey." Skipper cooed "Are you okay?"

"No." Croaked out Private, his voice cracked and damaged from the pain. He removed his face away from Skippers feather and looked up at the leader. "It still hurts. I just.. Felt the kiss. I needed to...see it." He admitted, sighing and snuggling down in Skippers feathers.

Skipper set him up, and hugged him close in his flippers.

"I love you Skipper..." Private murmured happily and peacefully, placing his head on Skippers shoulder and wrapping his flippers around as well.

Private was burning hot to the touch, but Skipper didn't care. He pulled Private away, and leaned in.

Private melted in his flippers as their beaks touched. It had never guessed a kiss would be so gentle, so happy. It felt like time stopped, and it was just them, together. Private close in Skippers arms. He slowly wrapped his flippers around Skippers neck, and closed his eyes. Their beaks stayed like that for who knows how long. The kiss was very passionate, but Skipper didn't dare try any tongue action.

Finally, they released. They leaned in again, but not for a kiss. Their foreheads touched slowly, and they stayed like that until the medicine took over again, and once again Private was unconscious in Skippers arms.

"I promise, I'll make up for this," Skipper whispered in the boys ear, then added with a smile "love."

Good? I know it's Pripper, but I love Pripper and Kovate. I already did Kovate, so I decided I should really do Pripper. I hope you liked it!

Review!