Title: Guilded Honor 1/?
Category: AU, Adventure
Disclaimers: Standard
Pairings: None yet
Ratings: PG
Warnings: OOC
Guilded Honor Part Two
By SilverLady
The girl, Allie, had just stepped onto the first step of the stairs when she heard a thud behind her. Turning around, she was stunned to find her guest lying in a crumpled heap on the floor.
"Miss Lina!" she cried out as she dashed across the room. "Miss Lina, come quick!" She couldn't believe it. Her first day on the job and something like this had to happen. Miss Lina hadn't told her how to deal with something like this.
"Lands sakes, girl, what all the fuss about?" a female voice demanded from the doorway into the back room.
"He just collapsed." Allie couldn't keep the note of panic out of her voice. "I was going to show him to a room. He paid for it and everything. But then he just fell down."
Lina Santori walked around the end of the desk, frowning slightly. They certainly couldn't have guests collapsing in the front lobby. It was bad for business. She should probably call Brent and have him haul the man off to sleep in the jail, though it seemed a bit early for anyone to be that drunk. "Maybe be you should just…." She stopped taling when she recognized the man lying on the floor. "Lord have mercy. Quatre." She was immediately on her knees next to the still figure. "Go fetch Brendon and Carl. Then run down and get Doc. What room did you give him?"
"Room Six."
"Tell Doc to come up to the room when he gets here."
"Yes ma'am." Allie jumped to her feet and ran out of the room, grateful that Lina had taken over.
Lina carefully lifted Quatre's head into her lap. "What have you done gone and done to yourself now?" she whispered softly as she stroked her hand through his hair. "And how come you gotta get better lookin' every time I see you."
With a sigh she began to examine Quatre's still form, trying to see if she could determine the reason for his collapse.
"What's wrong, Miss Lina?" Carl asked, coming around the desk.
"Lordy, it's Quatre," Brendon commented as he came through the door to the dining area and joined them. "What happened?"
"I don't know," Lina replied. "Allie said he just passed out. I've sent her to fetch Doc. I want you two to carefully take him upstairs to room six."
"Yes ma'am," they both responded, moving forward to gently lift the unconscious man.
*****
"Lay him carefully on the bed," Lina instructed as they entered the small room. After seeing that Quatre was comfortable she looked at the others. "Carl, go and fetch his things. Brendon, get me a basis of warm water and a cloth."
"Sure thing Miss Lina," Carl replied, already heading for the door.
"And Carl?"
"Yes ma'am?"
"See that his horse is taken care of."
"Sure thing."
Pulling up a chair, Lina sat down next to the bed. "Quatre," she said softly, reaching out to brush the hair out of his eyes. "Wake up, honey."
At first she didn't think he was going to respond, but after a moment his eyelids flickered and he moved his head. After another few minutes he opened his eyes, moaning softly. "Where?" His voice was confused and thick with pain.
"You're in a room at the Broken Arrow," Lina told him gently.
Slowly he turned his head to look at her. "Lina?"
Lina frowned at the pain in his eyes. "Who else?"
"What happened?"
"You passed out in my lobby. Scared the dickens outa my new girl."
"Sorry."
"Well, you always did like to make an impression."
Quatre managed a weak smile. "Sure do." He shifted slightly, grimacing at the new onslaught of pain. Closing his eyes he fought back the nausea and the blackness that threatened to swamp him. "Oh, god," he whispered. "That hurts."
Lina looked at him in concern. "Where does it hurt?"
For a moment he didn't answer. "Hip," he finally croaked out.
"Which one?"
"Right."
"What happened? Doc will want to know."
Quatre groaned. There was no way he could afford to pay Doc to look at his hip. "You didn't have to call him."
"When someone passes out in my inn and it isn't cause they're drunk, I call Doc."
"Tell him not to bother. I'll be fine."
Crossing her arms across her ample chest, she glared at him. "Bull. You're in so much pain you can't even move. If you think you're gonna not see Doc you're crazy. Now, what happened?"
"Got hurt."
Lina rolled her eyes. Damn he can be so stubborn. "I couldn't tell. How did you get hurt?"
"Robbery. Was working at a warehouse in Ventnor."
"How long ago?"
"Three months." Quatre closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. God it hurts so damn much. Why won't it quit hurting?
Just then the door to the room opened and a smartly dressed gentleman entered. Jemar Wilkerson, known as Doc to most, walked across the room with a quick, certain stride. "Allie says you want me to take a look at a guest," he said to Lina as he set his small black bag on the table next to the bed. "Well, hello Quatre. Fancy meeting you here."
Quatre didn't open his eyes. He really didn't want this. "Hello, Doc."
"And what seems to be the problem?"
"It's his right hip," Lina informed him. "It's hurting him really bad and he's being stubborn."
"It's nothing," Quatre ground out. "It'll be fine after I rest for a little bit."
Doc frowned. "Then you won't mind if I take a look." He carefully probed the hip with his finger.
Quatre nearly came off the bed, biting back his cry of agony. "Don't," he hissed, tears of pain springing to his eyes.
Doc frowned again at his reaction. "Don't seem to be nothing to me," he commented. Turning to his bag he pulled out a needle and a small vial of clear liquid. "Quatre."
"Yes?" The word was little more than a moan.
"I'm going to give you a shot. It will numb your hip and leg, so that I can examine you with less pain. It won't knock you out though.
Before Quatre could protest, he'd poked the needle into the area just above the injured hip, right through the fabric of Quatre's pants.
Within a few minutes, Quatre began to relax as the shot took effect.
Doc slowly looked Quatre over. He needed to examine Quatre's hip, but couldn't do so as long as Quatre was still wearing his pants. "I hope you're not overly modest."
Quatre looked at Doc. "Why?"
"I can't examine you unless you take your pants off."
Lina snorted. "He hasn't got anything I haven't seen before."
Doc smiled as Quatre turned red. "Good, then you can help."
It only took a minute for him to realize that they weren't going to get Quatre out of his pants without hurting him more. "Quatre?"
Quatre sighed. "What?"
"Are you very fond of these pants?"
"Not really. Why?"
"Because I'm afraid the only way we are going to get you out of them is to cut them off of you."
Quatre sighed. He hadn't wanted to do this in the first place. "Go ahead. I've got another pair."
Lina looked at Doc. "It you take them apart at the seams I could probably sew them back together."
Doc nodded. Within a few moments he had managed to remove Quatre's pants, without causing undo damage to them. Or to him.
He then began to examine the hip, making note of the heavy scarring, including the circular scar that marred the skin on the side of his right hip. It appeared to him as if the bolt had been fired from below, hitting him and traveling up into the hip. A little more to the left and the bolt would have hit him in the groin. "You're very lucky. Can you move it at all?"
Quatre shook his head. "Hurts to much."
"How long has this been bothering you?"
"This time?"
"Yes."
"A couple of days."
"Why didn't you get someone to look at it before?"
"Because I was just told a couple of weeks ago that it was fine. Beside, I was in Rentin at the time and I would trust the doctor there to take out a splinter, let alone look at my leg."
"How long were you laid up?"
Quatre blinked. "About two and a half months."
Lina returned at that moment from taking Quatre's pants to here room. "What did you do?" she asked, horrified at the amount of scarring.
Doc carefully probed the flesh. "Crossbow bolt."
Quatre nodded. "I was standing on a balcony. The guy was below me."
"A little more to the left and it would have been a lot worse."
"I know."
"Why were you laid up for so long?"
"Infection."
"Where?"
"In the leg and in the bone. Then I fell and reinjured it." Quatre shuddered as he remembered the long days of sheer agony.
"And how long have you been back on it."
"About three weeks."
"Doing what?"
"Guard on a caravan from Salda to Rentin."
"And you've been riding most of the time."
"Yes."
Turning slightly, Doc grabbed another vial out of his bag. "I'm going to give you another shot that will hopefully help. It looks like the amount of riding you've been doing has aggravated the injury and caused another infection to develop. You are going to have to cut back on the riding for a while."
Lina watched as Doc proceeded to give Quatre not one, but three different shots. Within a few minutes, Quatre had relaxed completely and his eyes had drifted shut. "You knocked him out."
"He needs the rest. You know damn well he won't on his own."
"What else did you give him?"
"Something to help the swelling."
"So, you think a few days off of it will help?"
"Hopefully. I'll know better tomorrow. I would like for you to have someone keep an eye on him. If there is any change in his condition I want to be told."
Lina nodded. "I'll keep an eye on him myself."
Doc arched an eyebrow in question.
"Weldon was a good friend. Quatre is as well. He came here and I'll see to it that he gets the help he needs. Even if he doesn't think he needs it. It's what friend's do."
"No other reason?"
"Nothing ever happened. Not that I didn't want it to." She looked at the sleeping figure. "He's carrying to many demons around inside him. I don't know what his life was like before he hooked up with Weldon, but it must not have been pretty. He'd often have nightmares, dreams he would or couldn't share. He did try, but…"
"So you don't know anything about him."
"I do know he must have come from money. He has too much education to not have."
"Education?"
"How many mercs do you know that can read and write?"
"Not many."
"He can. And in several languages."
Doc was impressed. That did speak of money, since education wasn't exactly considered a necessity and was thus expensive.
Before Lina could continue there was a soft knock at the door. "Miss Lina?" Allie called softly.
Lina walked over and opened the door. "What is it child?"
"Mr. Telon wants a word with you. He's in the dining room."
Lina nodded. "I'll be right down." Casting one more glance at the figure on the bed, she turned and left the room.
Doc smiled slightly as he gathered his things. He knew that Quatre would be in good hands.
Category: AU, Adventure
Disclaimers: Standard
Pairings: None yet
Ratings: PG
Warnings: OOC
Guilded Honor Part Two
By SilverLady
The girl, Allie, had just stepped onto the first step of the stairs when she heard a thud behind her. Turning around, she was stunned to find her guest lying in a crumpled heap on the floor.
"Miss Lina!" she cried out as she dashed across the room. "Miss Lina, come quick!" She couldn't believe it. Her first day on the job and something like this had to happen. Miss Lina hadn't told her how to deal with something like this.
"Lands sakes, girl, what all the fuss about?" a female voice demanded from the doorway into the back room.
"He just collapsed." Allie couldn't keep the note of panic out of her voice. "I was going to show him to a room. He paid for it and everything. But then he just fell down."
Lina Santori walked around the end of the desk, frowning slightly. They certainly couldn't have guests collapsing in the front lobby. It was bad for business. She should probably call Brent and have him haul the man off to sleep in the jail, though it seemed a bit early for anyone to be that drunk. "Maybe be you should just…." She stopped taling when she recognized the man lying on the floor. "Lord have mercy. Quatre." She was immediately on her knees next to the still figure. "Go fetch Brendon and Carl. Then run down and get Doc. What room did you give him?"
"Room Six."
"Tell Doc to come up to the room when he gets here."
"Yes ma'am." Allie jumped to her feet and ran out of the room, grateful that Lina had taken over.
Lina carefully lifted Quatre's head into her lap. "What have you done gone and done to yourself now?" she whispered softly as she stroked her hand through his hair. "And how come you gotta get better lookin' every time I see you."
With a sigh she began to examine Quatre's still form, trying to see if she could determine the reason for his collapse.
"What's wrong, Miss Lina?" Carl asked, coming around the desk.
"Lordy, it's Quatre," Brendon commented as he came through the door to the dining area and joined them. "What happened?"
"I don't know," Lina replied. "Allie said he just passed out. I've sent her to fetch Doc. I want you two to carefully take him upstairs to room six."
"Yes ma'am," they both responded, moving forward to gently lift the unconscious man.
*****
"Lay him carefully on the bed," Lina instructed as they entered the small room. After seeing that Quatre was comfortable she looked at the others. "Carl, go and fetch his things. Brendon, get me a basis of warm water and a cloth."
"Sure thing Miss Lina," Carl replied, already heading for the door.
"And Carl?"
"Yes ma'am?"
"See that his horse is taken care of."
"Sure thing."
Pulling up a chair, Lina sat down next to the bed. "Quatre," she said softly, reaching out to brush the hair out of his eyes. "Wake up, honey."
At first she didn't think he was going to respond, but after a moment his eyelids flickered and he moved his head. After another few minutes he opened his eyes, moaning softly. "Where?" His voice was confused and thick with pain.
"You're in a room at the Broken Arrow," Lina told him gently.
Slowly he turned his head to look at her. "Lina?"
Lina frowned at the pain in his eyes. "Who else?"
"What happened?"
"You passed out in my lobby. Scared the dickens outa my new girl."
"Sorry."
"Well, you always did like to make an impression."
Quatre managed a weak smile. "Sure do." He shifted slightly, grimacing at the new onslaught of pain. Closing his eyes he fought back the nausea and the blackness that threatened to swamp him. "Oh, god," he whispered. "That hurts."
Lina looked at him in concern. "Where does it hurt?"
For a moment he didn't answer. "Hip," he finally croaked out.
"Which one?"
"Right."
"What happened? Doc will want to know."
Quatre groaned. There was no way he could afford to pay Doc to look at his hip. "You didn't have to call him."
"When someone passes out in my inn and it isn't cause they're drunk, I call Doc."
"Tell him not to bother. I'll be fine."
Crossing her arms across her ample chest, she glared at him. "Bull. You're in so much pain you can't even move. If you think you're gonna not see Doc you're crazy. Now, what happened?"
"Got hurt."
Lina rolled her eyes. Damn he can be so stubborn. "I couldn't tell. How did you get hurt?"
"Robbery. Was working at a warehouse in Ventnor."
"How long ago?"
"Three months." Quatre closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. God it hurts so damn much. Why won't it quit hurting?
Just then the door to the room opened and a smartly dressed gentleman entered. Jemar Wilkerson, known as Doc to most, walked across the room with a quick, certain stride. "Allie says you want me to take a look at a guest," he said to Lina as he set his small black bag on the table next to the bed. "Well, hello Quatre. Fancy meeting you here."
Quatre didn't open his eyes. He really didn't want this. "Hello, Doc."
"And what seems to be the problem?"
"It's his right hip," Lina informed him. "It's hurting him really bad and he's being stubborn."
"It's nothing," Quatre ground out. "It'll be fine after I rest for a little bit."
Doc frowned. "Then you won't mind if I take a look." He carefully probed the hip with his finger.
Quatre nearly came off the bed, biting back his cry of agony. "Don't," he hissed, tears of pain springing to his eyes.
Doc frowned again at his reaction. "Don't seem to be nothing to me," he commented. Turning to his bag he pulled out a needle and a small vial of clear liquid. "Quatre."
"Yes?" The word was little more than a moan.
"I'm going to give you a shot. It will numb your hip and leg, so that I can examine you with less pain. It won't knock you out though.
Before Quatre could protest, he'd poked the needle into the area just above the injured hip, right through the fabric of Quatre's pants.
Within a few minutes, Quatre began to relax as the shot took effect.
Doc slowly looked Quatre over. He needed to examine Quatre's hip, but couldn't do so as long as Quatre was still wearing his pants. "I hope you're not overly modest."
Quatre looked at Doc. "Why?"
"I can't examine you unless you take your pants off."
Lina snorted. "He hasn't got anything I haven't seen before."
Doc smiled as Quatre turned red. "Good, then you can help."
It only took a minute for him to realize that they weren't going to get Quatre out of his pants without hurting him more. "Quatre?"
Quatre sighed. "What?"
"Are you very fond of these pants?"
"Not really. Why?"
"Because I'm afraid the only way we are going to get you out of them is to cut them off of you."
Quatre sighed. He hadn't wanted to do this in the first place. "Go ahead. I've got another pair."
Lina looked at Doc. "It you take them apart at the seams I could probably sew them back together."
Doc nodded. Within a few moments he had managed to remove Quatre's pants, without causing undo damage to them. Or to him.
He then began to examine the hip, making note of the heavy scarring, including the circular scar that marred the skin on the side of his right hip. It appeared to him as if the bolt had been fired from below, hitting him and traveling up into the hip. A little more to the left and the bolt would have hit him in the groin. "You're very lucky. Can you move it at all?"
Quatre shook his head. "Hurts to much."
"How long has this been bothering you?"
"This time?"
"Yes."
"A couple of days."
"Why didn't you get someone to look at it before?"
"Because I was just told a couple of weeks ago that it was fine. Beside, I was in Rentin at the time and I would trust the doctor there to take out a splinter, let alone look at my leg."
"How long were you laid up?"
Quatre blinked. "About two and a half months."
Lina returned at that moment from taking Quatre's pants to here room. "What did you do?" she asked, horrified at the amount of scarring.
Doc carefully probed the flesh. "Crossbow bolt."
Quatre nodded. "I was standing on a balcony. The guy was below me."
"A little more to the left and it would have been a lot worse."
"I know."
"Why were you laid up for so long?"
"Infection."
"Where?"
"In the leg and in the bone. Then I fell and reinjured it." Quatre shuddered as he remembered the long days of sheer agony.
"And how long have you been back on it."
"About three weeks."
"Doing what?"
"Guard on a caravan from Salda to Rentin."
"And you've been riding most of the time."
"Yes."
Turning slightly, Doc grabbed another vial out of his bag. "I'm going to give you another shot that will hopefully help. It looks like the amount of riding you've been doing has aggravated the injury and caused another infection to develop. You are going to have to cut back on the riding for a while."
Lina watched as Doc proceeded to give Quatre not one, but three different shots. Within a few minutes, Quatre had relaxed completely and his eyes had drifted shut. "You knocked him out."
"He needs the rest. You know damn well he won't on his own."
"What else did you give him?"
"Something to help the swelling."
"So, you think a few days off of it will help?"
"Hopefully. I'll know better tomorrow. I would like for you to have someone keep an eye on him. If there is any change in his condition I want to be told."
Lina nodded. "I'll keep an eye on him myself."
Doc arched an eyebrow in question.
"Weldon was a good friend. Quatre is as well. He came here and I'll see to it that he gets the help he needs. Even if he doesn't think he needs it. It's what friend's do."
"No other reason?"
"Nothing ever happened. Not that I didn't want it to." She looked at the sleeping figure. "He's carrying to many demons around inside him. I don't know what his life was like before he hooked up with Weldon, but it must not have been pretty. He'd often have nightmares, dreams he would or couldn't share. He did try, but…"
"So you don't know anything about him."
"I do know he must have come from money. He has too much education to not have."
"Education?"
"How many mercs do you know that can read and write?"
"Not many."
"He can. And in several languages."
Doc was impressed. That did speak of money, since education wasn't exactly considered a necessity and was thus expensive.
Before Lina could continue there was a soft knock at the door. "Miss Lina?" Allie called softly.
Lina walked over and opened the door. "What is it child?"
"Mr. Telon wants a word with you. He's in the dining room."
Lina nodded. "I'll be right down." Casting one more glance at the figure on the bed, she turned and left the room.
Doc smiled slightly as he gathered his things. He knew that Quatre would be in good hands.