Sorry it's taken me so long to get this chapter out, I have been super busy recently. I will try to post another chpt, hopefully it three or four days to make up for the lateness of this one. Enjoy :P
Chapter 10
Matthew woke up to the usual sound of creaking wood, waves, seagulls and people, notably Arthur and Francis talking.
"Hey Gil, looks like they're at it again, Arthur and Francis. I think they like each other." Matthew laughed and flipped over to face Gilbert.
When he caught sight of Gilbert his blood ran cold.
He screamed.
Everyone on deck stopped moving when they heard Matthew blood curdling scream. Arthur and Francis stopped bickering and both rushed to Matthew and Gilbert's cabin.
Arthur opened the door and found Matthew, shivering, hands stroking Gilbert's ashen face.
"Matthew ! What's wrong !?" Arthur implored striding forward, covering Matthew's bare body with a blanket.
"Gilbert." was all Matthew said.
Arthur froze, stifling and urge to scream when he saw Gilbert.
His eyes were closed, encrusted with dried blood, his skin was impossibly pale and big blue bruises blossomed on his skin everywhere.
"Is he..." Arthur murmured.
"He's alive." Matthew whispered.
"F-Francis, take Gilbert to the medical bay." Arthur said, helping Matthew to his feet.
Francis stooped and picked up Gilbert, very gently, making sure not to jostle him, and carried him the the medical bay. Matthew followed, tears rolling down his cheeks.
Once they arrived at the medical bay and Gilbert was in a bed Arthur and Francis asked if there was anything they could do.
"No, nothing right now but later yes. I need to be alone with him, to assess him." Matthew said in a voice barely audible.
Arthur and Francis left.
Matthew looked at Gilbert and inhaled deeply. He needed to focus, to forget about his emotional pain, to be professional.
First he cleaned Gilbert's eyes, trying to remove the dried blood that sealed his long silver lashes together. Matthew managed to get rid of most of the blood but Gilbert wouldn't open his eyes. Next Matthew treated the bruises that covered Gilbert`s body but other than that there wasn't much else he could do. He had to figure out what was wrong with Gilbert.
He sat for hours on end, examining Gilbert, racking his brain for what sort of virus matched the symptoms Gilbert had and their geographical location.
Matthew searched and searched and searched until he was on the brink of tears from frustration, fear and exhaustion.
"Matthew, you need to take a break. Have something to eat, rest." Arthur said when he came to check on Matthew.
"I can't."
"Matthew-"
"No."
Matthew stood up from Gilbert's bed side and started passing.
"Matthew, as your Captain I am giving you a direct order: You must eat some food and get at least four hours of sleep." Arthur growled.
"I-I-I I just, I don't know what happened. He was f-f-fine last n-n-night." Matthew said and with a quiver, the tears that had built up over the past couple hours spilled over. "What's worse is, is, is that I c-c-can't figure out what's wrong. I have never seen anything like this. Ever." Matthew sobbed.
Arthur approached Matthew, placing a concerned hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry. You'll figure it out. You always do. Plus, Gilbert won't let something like this beat him." Arthur assured him.
"I hope so."
Matthew went to eat some food and after that returning to the medical bay he fell asleep in one of the medical beds, praying that Gilbert would be alright.
Feliciano crept out of his bed at the medical bay once Matthew had fallen asleep. He had been very scared when Gilbert had been brought in that morning and it pained him to see a good man like Matthew in pain.
He wanted to go see Ludwig who had also stopped by several times that day, devastated by the state his brother was in. Feliciano wanted to comfort him for some reason and he also wanted to get out of bed too.
Feliciano walked on the deck and asked the first man he saw where he might find Ludwig.
"Discussing mappin' plans with the Cap'n right now in the master cabin." the man said.
"Ah, grazie." Feliciano thanked him and went on his way.
Just as he was about to open the door Ludwig walked out, knocking Feliciano over.
"Oh, Feliciano, I'm sorry. Are you okay ?" Ludwig asked immediately as he helped Feliciano get to his feet.
Feliciano held his lower back for a moment and then straightened up.
"I'm fine." he said.
"Oh, good. So, why are you here ?"
"To see you."
Ludwig blushed.
"I just thought well, your brother he's sick and when you came to see him you looked very upset. So you see, I thought that maybe you wanted to talk."
Ludwig didn't say anything.
"I got a little confused trying to get here," Feliciano lied, "so would you mind showing me around the ship ?" he asked.
"No, not at all." Ludwig said in his usual diplomatic tone.
Ludwig gave Feliciano a tour of the ship, pointing out where things were and who was in charge of what.
"So, what do you do ?" Feliciano asked, opting for light conversation.
"I'm in charge of navigation and other stuff like that on the ship."
"Really, oh so tell me why did you become a pirate ?"
Ludwig froze. The reason he had become a pirate was not something he was comfortable talking about.
"I can keep a secret you know." Felciano smiled.
"My mother died giving birth to me." Ludwig started, "When that happened Gilbert and I were sent to live with our aunt. We lived with her for four years until she died from an illness. Gilbert was six and I was four when we went to live for the first time with our father. What we didn't know at the time, was that the reason why we were sent to live with our aunt in the first place. You see, my father blamed me for our mother's death. He beat me and Gilbert stepped in to protect me. He took all the beatings for me." Ludwig fought back some tears. "Even once we were older he didn't stop beating Gilbert so, almost four years ago we ran away and joined a pirate crew." Ludwig finished.
"It must hurt, to see Gilbert like this then." Feliciano said.
Ludwig nodded his head.
Feliciano had new found respect for Gilbert and he felt even more closely connected to Ludwig than before. He wanted to comfort Ludwig too, to make him see the silver lining in his situation.
"Well, you can help him get better." Feliciano suggested.
"How can I ? Matthew is one of the best doctors out there and even he can't help Gilbert."
"Just be there for him, and for Matthew too." Feliciano said. "If he's alone, without his family, he will not get better, that I can guarantee."
Feliciano knew this from personal experience. His brother Lovino had grown up away from him, without any family, and it had resulted in Lovino becoming a very bitter man.
"Thank you." Ludwig said after a while.
"Your welcome." Feliciano smiled, genuinely pleased to be able to help Ludwig.
(Time Skip: Two Months Later...)
Matthew woke up on the lumpy medical bed, the same one he had been sleeping in for the past two months.
He looked over at the next bed where Gilbert lay. From that angle Gilbert just seemed like he was peacefully sleeping, and Matthew wished that this was true but Gilbert's condition had not improved. His breathing was stable and his heart beat regular but he wouldn't wake up. His body was still covered in bruises, new and old and his eyes remained shut.
What scared Matthew the most was when Gilbert's eyes bled. This had happened five times since that first day and Matthew still hadn't figured out what was wrong with him.
He stood and went to see Gilbert bringing a damp cloth with him, dabbing Gilbert's face as he know always did every night.
After a while Matthew's lips started to quiver and tears started to fall when all of a sudden a sharp breath was heard in the deadly silence of the room.
"G-Gilbert ?" Matthew looked at his lover.
Gilbert bolted up, eyes still closed.
"Matt-"
"Shh, don't speak. It's okay." Matthew said, stroking Gilbert's cheek.
"My eyes... what happened."
"Y-y-you got really sick. Your eyes b-b-bled. I don't know what happened to you." Matthew explained as the relief flooded through him. "I-I-I thought I was going to loose you..." Matthew cried.
"H-how long have I been like this ?" Gilbert questioned.
"Two months."
"I want you to open my eyes for me."
"What ?"
"I can't open them, help me pull my lids apart."
"Yes."
Gilbert felt Matthew pulling at his lids and felt something crumble lasted for a few minutes and Matthew announced,
"There."
"How's it coming ?" Gilbert asked.
"G-G-Gilbert, can you see ?"
"No of course not, my eyes aren't open yet."
"They are."
Gilbert blinked. Eyes open, and everything was dark.