Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, they own themselves, and the revamp was done by Tecmo-Koei

Chapter 21: Infirmities of Friendship

Keep thy friend

Under thy own life's key ~ All's Well that Ends Well by William Shakespeare

The trip back to Jiang Dong was a long, quiet affair and Sun Ce's thoughts were on what to do with Zhou Yu. It wasn't as if Zhou Yu had done anything wrong that warranted imprisonment or execution, but he may not be able to stay at the Jiang Dong palace anymore, given his health and disposition.

Then there was Xiao. He couldn't on clear conscious annul her marriage now that she was pregnant with Zhou Yu's child. At least not right away. He would have to talk to her first. She obviously wasn't fond of the idea of separating from Zhou Yu, but she had to be smart enough to know that it would be for the best. Zhou Yu obviously had made his mind up and after his display, it was apparent that for the safety of Xiao that they be away from each other.

He groaned. He really did not want to deal with this.

When they finally returned to the palace, Wu was relieved that the younger Qiao sister and their indispensable strategist had returned. Immediately, Sun Ce sent Zhou Yu to be locked up in his room for a while and only he and a doctor could see him. Maidens and midwives looked over Xiao's health and confirmed that she was indeed pregnant and that they both were safe. Da spent the next few nights away from her marital bedchamber to be with Xiao who was still reeling from her ordeals. Rather than consult the Wu's residential military medic, Yi Ju, Sun Ce sent for one of the greatest physicians in the land and a close friend of his late father.

Hua Tuo followed Sun Ce to Zhou Yu's bedchamber to inspect the sick man. As soon as they entered the room, they found Zhou Yu, naked on his bed. It didn't look like he moved much since he was dragged and locked there, and his condition didn't look too well. He was wheezing, sweat bathing his skin, and his eyes were barely open.

"So this is the man who led a mere fifty men to defeat Cao Cao's entire defense forces," Hua Tuo then shook his head in dismay, pulling a blanket over the young man's waist. Zhou Yu groaned and coughed, but remained shivering.

"I have only seen this in opium addicts," the old physician joked stroking his beard. Leaning over, he pulled Zhou Yu's eyelids up to examine his pupils and checked his tongue.

"I warn you doctor. He can be unpredictable," Sun Ce warned worried that the doctor was getting too close to Zhou Yu. Hua Tuo laughed.

"At this point, he won't be able to move even if he tried," Hua Tuo felt the man's neck, checking his glands, "You say he was poisoned?"

"That's only one of the things I can pinpoint that could cause this."

Hua Tuo had to agree even as he looked at the healed wounds in Zhou Yu's body.

"The wounds have healed nicely, so those aren't the issue, but yeah, the poison is really starting to affect his body. Let me stay with him for a few days and I can assure you he will be fine."

Sun Ce felt relieved and he trusted Hua Tuo. The older man's confidence meant that he had nothing to worry about, at least not about Zhou Yu. Da Qiao had been pestering him, though, wondering what he was going to do with Xiao. He kept telling her that he wasn't so sure. Sun Ce was certainly not going to throw a young, scared pregnant girl out in the streets. That was out of the question, but he had to make a decision on whether or not to follow Zhou Yu's wishes in separating them formally. It could end up a nightmare. Xiao was obviously staying at the compound and if Zhou Yu was well enough, he would be staying too. That would mean everyone had to expect awkward moments.

Son of a bitch. Was this what his father had to deal with everyday when he was alive? Gods, he already was barely being a good father to Shao, the last thing he needed was to take care of grown people. Especially when one was particularly violent.

After days of examining and healing Zhou Yu, Hua Tuo saw that the young man was coming around. His cold sweats diminished and he was almost out of his feverish stupor.

"Well, master Zhou Yu," Hua Tuo said with finality, "I cannot pinpoint the source of your illness, because it seems to be a number of things. The poison only a bit of the factor of your overall health. May I ask one thing? Have you ever had a pattern of heavy drinking?"

Zhou Yu, who was sitting on the edge of his bed in his robes nodded, "Yes, I did, but I stopped drinking several months ago. I already went through the affects of being without the drink."

"I see," Hua Tuo hummed, "Did you use anything as a substitute for drinking?"

Sex. Zhou Yu wanted to say, but that wasn't necessarily fair. It was true that when in his worse moments, he turned to his wife for help by venting his frustration through sex, but it wasn't like he had sex whenever he had the urge to drink. He would instead talk to her.

"I…just talked to Xiao Qiao," he answered, feeling a tightening in his chest. Hua Tuo blinked and stroked his beard.

"I see…"

Zhou Yu's eyes narrowed on the inquisitive old man, patience wearing thin.

"Could you have gained a physiological attachment to this woman?"

Zhou Yu swallowed but didn't respond. Even if what Hua Tuo was saying were true, it wouldn't matter at this point. He would force himself to move on. Bit by bit.

"Nevertheless, I must tell you about your overall health."

Clearing his throat, Hua Tuo continued, "Physically you are as fit as a horse. Muscle tone and bone structure are healthy. Completely in your prime. If you were a lion you would be the alpha male with his pick of the females in his pride."

Zhou Yu cringed at being compared to another large beast, "Please don't compare me to an animal."

Hua Tuo laughed outright clutching the flap of his robes, "Sometimes we are one in the same, however, I took your resting heart rate while you were asleep, which is the perfect time to take it and still your pulse is way above average. You have high blood pressure. I am to assume it has to deal with your stress. You keep going like this and you will see an early grave. The only advice I can give you is to not sweat the small stuff, young man. Your muscles are also tensed beyond what is normal. Now, in order for you to just relax I am going to give you these herbs."

Hua Tuo reached into his bag and pulled out a cloth with green leaves wrapped inside, "They are a sedative. Just crunch these up and put it into your tea. I think you will find yourself very relaxed."

Zhou Yu took the package and watched the old gentleman pack up his things.

"Now take your other medicine, get plenty of rest to make up for the month of no sleep, and then you should be fine. As for your mental state, I can't help with that."

Zhou Yu remained silent and scratched his beard. He reached out and shook the physician's hand, "Thank you, doctor. I'm sorry we had to drag you out here."

Hua Tuo shrugged, "Not an issue, young man. Just take it easy."

With that and a light flourish of his robes, Hua Tuo packed up his medical kit and left his room, passing Sun Ce.

Zhou Yu remained seated, not entirely sure he would be able to stand. Sun Ce stopped in front of him with heavy feet.

"How do you feel, man?"

Zhou Yu was silent but let his hand go over his mouth and chin in thought. He shrugged.

"Did he tell you to rest?"

Zhou Yu nodded, "And to keep my blood pressure down."

With a sigh, Sun Ce sat next him on the bed, "That's what I want to talk to you about."

If he were honest, already didn't like where this was going, but he really had no choice but to listen. Sun Ce let his hands rest heavily in his lap before continuing, "I don't want to kill you, but it is obvious that being around here is causing a lot of stress. I don't know what to do with you…"

Zhou Yu glared at his brother and Sun Ce shifted in his seat chuckling, realizing that he used the wrong words.

Sun Ce ruffled his own hair, trying to find words. Trying to find a way to solve this whole thing. He cared for his sworn brother and his sister-in-law. Who would he be harsh upon? Well, the answer should be simple. Zhou Yu's hateful and threatening words rang in his head, and if he were honest, it made him heat up with anger a little bit.

"You can't run away from…certain things, Zhou Yu. You can't take back those words—"

"Or what I did," Zhou Yu interrupted. "It's safe to say I won't be nearly as successful against Cao Cao the next time around. We caught him at the wrong time."

Sun Ce growled, "I'm not talking about the battle. 'Cause frankly if you want to kill yourself I can't stop you. I was talking about…her."

Zhou Yu's jaw twitched, the fine hairs of his whiskers moving as his jaw muscle bulged, "What ever you think of me now, I don't blame you. It's one thing to be dangerous to your enemies, its another to be dangerous to your…friends."

He paused and dropped his head in his hand and began rubbing his eyes and brow vigorously.

"What is it about women that I don't get?"

Sun Ce shrugged, "I wouldn't say writing romantic poetry is 'not getting women'."

"I'm not talking about the gender itself. Just…when she…"

He was struggling. He prided himself with eloquence on an ordinary basis, but now he couldn't form his thoughts into words.

"When she's…affectionate. Always when she's affectionate. When she smiles…She even smiles when she tries to hide her pain. And I know it. I can see it. I can feel it. I just don't know how to respond, especially when she exhibits those type of feelings towards me."

Zhou Yu took a deep breath and sat back up straight. Why couldn't he look his best and probably only friend at the moment? Perhaps because he thought Sun Ce already believed what he wanted to believe, and trying to explain any of his own recent actions would just complicate matters more.

"Sun Ce, I was trained in words, fighting, and strategy. I have no idea how give her what she wants or what she desires or how to react to her. Frankly, for the longest time, I didn't care. Even if she did stir something emotional in me, I always responded the same way. Impersonal or violent."

Sun Ce heaved in a breath trying to think of something to say. Finally he asked,

"Do you think that with your training, you may have neglected the stuff that makes you human? So when something like this arises you don't know how to handle it?"

Sun Ce paused as Zhou Yu finally turned his head an met his face, "It's like when I have to do an equation or write the word 'eclectic'. At the very end my head hurts. Maybe, when confronting these emotions, your heart hurts and your equilibrium is thrown off because you aren't used to it."

Zhou Yu chuckled ruefully, "That's a simple way of putting it. But there are thousands of people out there who spend their time studying or training and they don't have the issues I do."

Sun Ce rolled his eyes and smacked Zhou Yu in the back of his head. Zhou Yu flinched and stared at Sun Ce with wide eyes, rubbing the back of his head.

"Quit feeling sorry for yourself," Sun Ce snapped. "You fucked up. That's all there is to it. You fucked up. If you let this hang over your head, then your chances of ever getting Xiao back is going to disappear."

"Getting her back?"

He sounded like the prospect had never occurred to him, which only infuriated Sun Ce more, "Yes, of course…"

"Ce, I'm not-"

Sun Ce stood abruptly, interrupting him, "Don't say anything else. Not until you've had more time to think. But I don't want to watch my best friend make the biggest mistake of his life and kill himself in isolation. If you're going to fuck yourself over…"

The short-haired man let out a breath. He couldn't finish his sentence. He didn't know what else to say. He couldn't stay there anymore. Sun Ce just shook his head and left the room, anxiety welling in his throat.

A/N: Time to wrap this up. I didn't like this chapter that much, but I expect maybe one or two chapters to finish this puppy up. Again, all my faithful readers and haters. Review. Although at this point I don't know how I can change this with only a chapter or two left.