Apologies for the long wait on this next chapter...
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Merlin couldn't say he was shocked by Harry's confession. He had always known there was a special connection between Harry and Eggsy, but hearing Harry admit to it was still rare. He had also seen what losing Harry had done to Eggsy and could therefore say, with great confidence, that this connection was surely mutual.
"Okay" Merlin stood up now, "first I need supplies". He walked over to the wall that held the bottles of liquor and stared at it as though searching for something.
"Now, Ginger mentioned..." Merlin mumbled to himself, "Ah! There it is!" He pushed a quite well-hidden button on the wall, and part of a panel in the wall slid aside to reveal a sort of infirmary. Merlin quickly gathered the things he would be needing and rushed back to Harry and Eggsy.
"I'm going to need your help, Harry" Merlin said, as he sat back on the ground next to Eggsy.
"Whatever you need" Harry answered, "just tell me what to do".
"First of all, he needs to lose his jacket and shirt" Merlin instructed, "I'll be applying a pressure bandage to try and contain the bleeding as much as possible".
Harry wordlessly set to the task he was given, carefully maneuvering Eggsy into a sitting position and stripping him of his jacket and dress shirt. Now that Eggsy was left bare torso-ed, the magnitude of his injuries became all the more evident. Apart from the three bullet-wounds, his entire chest and stomach were smeared with his own blood and fresh blood was still spilling from the wounds.
Merlin edged closer to Eggsy and minutely examined all three gunshot wounds. He grumbled and hummed occasionally, but it was all incoherent and not directed at anyone.
"What do you think?" Harry asked carefully after a minute or two.
"The wound to his shoulder is only minor" Merlin began, "looks like just a flesh wound and can be left untreated for now. The other two wounds are more reason for concern. It looks like the bullet to his chest cracked a rib or two, and we need to be careful they won't fully break and puncture a lung".
"You think that already happened?" Harry asked.
"No" Merlin answered quickly, "he would be clawing for breath if that were the case".
"What about the wound to his side?" Harry continued.
"The worst one, if you ask me" Merlin answered, "the amount of bleeding there tells me the bullet hit an artery or possibly nicked his spleen".
Harry sighed heavily. "Does he stand a chance, you think?"
Merlin shrugged his shoulders. "If the bandages that I'll be applying will hold, he'll have a chance". "Then let's get those wounds treated" Harry said gravely.
Merlin laid out the items he would be needing.
"I need you to keep him upright, while I apply the bandages" Merlin instructed. Harry carefully lifted the unconscious Eggsy into a sitting position, resting the young man's head against his chest.
"Alright" Merlin mumbled, "this will only take a moment". He expertly applied the bandages to the wounds on Eggsy's chest and stomach, wrapping them tightly around the young man's injuries.
Harry had one hand resting on the back of Eggsy's neck while Merlin worked. He still felt the trembling of Eggsy's muscles, as the young man was continually fighting for his life.
"Okay" Merlin sat back after a few minutes and looked down at his work. "These bandages will hopefully hold until we reach the States again".
"Let's move him to the sofa" Harry insisted, "I don't like him lying on the floor like this".
Merlin helped Harry carefully lift Eggsy off the floor and carry him to the nearby sofa. Harry folded out a blanket and made sure Eggsy was warmly covered, before he sat himself down in one of the armchairs nearby. Merlin had walked back over to the stock of medical supplies and was looking over them thoughtfully again.
"Ah" he softly exclaimed, clearly finding what he was looking for. He pulled out two bags of blood and an IV-bag containing saline solution. Harry had been following Merlin's every move.
"Good find, Merlin" he commented, when he realized what Merlin was holding.
"This will definitely help him, especially to counteract the shock" Merlin answered. He hastily set up the pole to hang up the IV-bag, and quickly made sure the first bag of blood and saline solution were being administered into Eggsy's bloodstream.
"Once this one is empty, switch it for the full one" Merlin indicated the bag of blood, "I'm going back to the cockpit to keep an eye on things there". Harry did not reply, but Merlin knew that he had heard and understood him. He was certain Harry would keep a close eye on Eggsy, so Merlin quietly retreated to the cockpit.
The plane had been flying back in the direction of America for over five hours now. About an hour ago, Harry had to change Eggsy's bloodbag for a full one. He had been checking on the younger agent every 30 minutes, and had to conclude, to his satisfaction, that Eggsy had become a lot calmer. His breathing was no longer wheezing, his heart-rate was lower, and his trembling had mostly subsided.
After changing the bag of blood, Harry sat back down in his armchair. He folded his hands together and stared out of one of the small windows on the other side of the plane. It was night-time by now, so there wasn't much else to see than darkness, but Harry kept staring at it anyway.
"Fancy a drink?"
Harry hadn't even realized that he had fallen asleep, but was startled awake by Merlin holding out a martini to him.
"Thank you". Harry thankfully accepted the drink and immediately took a sip. He looked around at Eggsy, who was still unconscious and lying on the sofa.
"He's alright, I just checked on him" Merlin said, having caught Harry looking.
"Good" Harry mumbled.
"I informed Ginger on his injuries and his current condition" Merlin said, "she'll have a medical response team ready the moment we land. He'll be in surgery five minutes after touchdown".
"Thank you" Harry answered, "now we'll just have to make sure he pulls through the remainder of the flight".
"The blood transfusions and the IV are definitely helping him" Merlin said, "the pressure bandages seem to be holding and it looks like the bleeding has slowed somewhat". Harry slowly nodded his head and took another sip of his martini.
For a little while there was silence between Harry and Merlin.
"Can I ask you a personal question, Harry?" Merlin broke the silence. Harry gave him a questioning look, but nodded once to indicate that Merlin could proceed.
"Earlier, you said that you couldn't lose Eggsy" Merlin started hesitatingly.
"I did" Harry said honestly, "and I meant it".
"The kid's grown on you" Merlin stated with a little more confidence now. Harry took another sip of his martini and blew out a deep breath.
"The day I got the call that he was at the police station, it was a call I had been waiting for" Harry explained, "finally there was the chance to properly meet the son of the man who saved my life so many years before".
"That must have been different from what you expected" Merlin grinned.
"Sure" Harry answered, "he was fairly different from myself, but I also saw potential. A possibility for what he could become with proper training".
"Well, you were right" Merlin said, "but, I must admit, when you brought him in as your candidate for Lancelot's position, I honestly thought you'd lost your mind".
Harry chuckled. "He was somewhat different, wasn't he?"
"Turned out you were right about him, though" Merlin continued, "you must have been disappointed when he didn't shoot his dog?"
"Yes, and I told him" Harry's expression mixed with sadness now, "I was telling him off for it when you called me about Valentine and that American church. The last things I said to him before I left, were words of criticism".
"Well, if anything, it only made him more determined about Kingsman" Merlin said.
"I always believed he would become a Kingsman one day" Harry continued, "I never considered he would replace me, though".
Silence fell between Harry and Merlin once more for a few moments.
"Eggsy was devastated when you died" Merlin broke the silence, "or at least, when we thought you had died".
"He didn't tell me with so many words" Harry said carefully, "but I could tell. Right after my memories came back to me, he gave me a hug, and..." Harry's voice broke slightly, before trailing off completely. Merlin stared at the clear liquid in his own martini-glass and decided not to push the matter any further. He could guess what that hug had meant to Harry.
Without saying anything else, Harry rose from his seat and walked over to where Eggsy lay. He placed a flat hand on the young man's chest, to feel its slow rise and fall.
"He's strong, Harry, he'll make it" Merlin said, watching Harry's every move. He spoke the words, but wasn't truly sure that he believed them himself.
"Well" Harry sighed, "I won't sit easily until he's made it through surgery and wakes up to tell me he feels fine".
The remainder of the flight back to the States passed quite uneventful. Both Harry and Merlin checked up on Eggsy on a regular basis, but his condition remained unchanged and not once did he regain consciousness. The bandages Merlin had applied seemed to hold and most of the bleeding was somewhat controlled. Nevertheless, he had lost a lot of blood and was not nearly out of danger yet.
"Harry, sit down, we'll be landing in a few minutes" Merlin called out from the cockpit. Harry sat down on the floor next to the sofa Eggsy lay on, making sure the young agent would be okay during the landing. Eggsy still remained unconscious, but, with medical attention only minutes away now, Harry dared to be cautiously optimistic about Eggsy's chances.
Merlin landed the plane fairly smoothly on the airstrip by Statesman HQ.
The moment the plane had come to a full stop, it was clear that Ginger had kept her word. She stood waiting with a 5-doctor strong medical team. The plane's stairs had barely touched the ground or Ginger and the medical team already stood inside.
"Where is he?" she immediately demanded to know.
"Over here" Harry called out to her, still sitting on the floor beside Eggsy. Ginger hurried over to him, followed closely by three of the doctors. Harry quickly rose to his feet to give the doctors the space to examine Eggsy, with which they started promptly.
"This looks bad" Ginger turned to Harry, "what happened exactly?"
"Your Agent Whiskey shot him" Harry answered sternly, "damn near killed him on the spot".
"Wait...what?" Ginger was clearly shocked by this, "I know Whiskey's dead, but...what?!"
"Whiskey was a double agent" Harry continued.
"Merlin didn't say anything about that!" Ginger exclaimed in shock.
"Because I asked him not to" Harry clearly wanted to finish this conversation and leave the plane, "where's Agent Champagne? I urgently need to speak to him".
"He's not in. Away on business" Ginger answered timidly. She still had trouble processing the information she had just been given. She had never been particularly close to Agent Whiskey, but learning of his secret agenda still got to her.
"I'll deal with Agent Champagne later" Harry mumbled, "for now I need to oversee the distribution of Poppy's antidote".
"Our resources are at you disposal" Ginger said meekly, "I'll call ahead to inform our team of your arrival".
"Much appreciated" Harry said, now a little more calm. He looked around at Eggsy, before he made to leave the plane. The younger agent was being transferred onto a stretcher by the doctors, ready to be taken to surgery.
"Take care of him" Harry told Ginger, before he briskly marched away.
"Won't leave him out of my sight" Ginger mumbled softly in reply.
