"Why am I suddenly concerned to find you two standing outside the infirmary?"
Both of them looked over and saw the Lt. Colonel walking towards them. Both Shawn and Ian straightened to attention as he approached.
"Where's cadet Hayden?"
"He's in with the Captain – Doctor – Colonel." Shawn said.
"What happened to him?"
"He hit his head, Sir." Brooks said.
"He hit his head?" The Colonel repeated, obviously not enjoying the timing of such an accident. "How did he manage that?"
"On the bottom of the bunk, Sir."
"Why was he on the floor?"
"The bottom of the bunk bed, Sir," Ian clarified. "He was sitting on the bed and stood up too quickly and hit the edge of the bed frame."
"I see."
Well, that wasn't too bad. Better than if he'd been in a fight with one of the other boys. From the looks of them, Adams and Brooks were both healthy and hale with no indications that they'd been in any kind of a scuffle.
"Stay here."
"Yes, Sir."
The Colonel vanished into the infirmary and closed the door behind him.
"He's probably looking for a reason to expel us," Ian said, softly, once the door was closed.
Shawn shrugged, but he didn't have a chance to say anything. The Colonel opened the door almost immediately and beckoned the two of them into the room.
River was still in the same place he'd been when they left, but the blood on his forehead was cleaned off completely, and the gash had been closed by a neat row of stitches. The Captain was just starting to cover the stitches with a couple of butterfly bandages.
"Cadet Hayden is going to be confined to his quarters the rest of the day for medical purposes," the Colonel told the two once they'd come to a halt by the examination bed. "The two of you are the lucky ones who get to keep him company."
"If he starts feeling sick, or if you think he doesn't look right, I want one of you to come get me," the doctor told them.
"Yes, Ma'am."
If Brooks had any problem playing nurse to River for the rest of the day – and Shawn was sure he did – he was wisely keeping it to himself with the Colonel and the Captain both standing there.
"Take him to your room. He doesn't have to stay in bed, but he does have to stay inactive, so one of you can bring him lunch."
"You are all three authorized to eat your lunch and dinner in the dorms," the Colonel told them. Normally food wasn't allowed in the rooms.
"Yes, Sir."
The doctor had finished the bandages, and stepped to the side.
"He's all yours, men."
Shawn and Ian stepped up and each of them took a hand and pulled River to his feet. The blonde cadet scowled at the need to be helped – he wasn't dying, after all – but the scowl hurt his head so he stopped immediately. He put one hand on Shawn's shoulder, and ignored Brooks' hand, and the three of them left the room.
"Those three are going to kill each other."
The Colonel laughed and turned to the doctor, who was cleaning up the bloody mess made by River's abrupt introduction to his bed.
"Or they'll make exactly the kind of officers the Air Force needs, Doctor."
She snorted, and waved him away.
"Are you sick?"
"No."
"Then get out of my infirmary so I can get it cleaned up and go eat."
"Yes, Ma'am."
He laughed again, more than willing to be booted out of the infirmary. He hated hospitals. Even small, unofficial ones. But he liked the staff, and while he wouldn't admit it – even to himself – he might have had a slight crush on a certain high-ranking member of the staff there.
"How's the head?" Shawn asked.
"It's numb. She gave me a shot. It only hurts when I move it too much."
"You're going to have a wicked scar."
River grinned.
"Maybe it'll impress the girls."
"Oh, yes," Ian sneered. "Look at me, baby, I can't get out of bed without cracking my head open. Come to me..."
"Stick it up-"
"Hey!" Shawn interrupted the rejoined before River could say it. "We're going to be stuck together for the rest of the day, why don't you guys try to keep from each other's throats? At least long enough for me to get something to eat?"
"He started it," River said, glaring at Brooks.
"I just made a valid point about your inability to get out of bed." Ian said innocently. "It's not my fault you're so insecure that you read it as an insult."
"I-"
"River, just hush for a bit, okay?"
"What did I say?" The blonde cadet asked.
"He's right; you're going to have to come up with a better story to tell people who don't know the truth."
"See?"
River scowled.
"How did you get the scar on your forehead, Shawn?"
Shawn's free hand went to the thin white line that ran above his eye.
"Plane crash."
That was true, more or less.
"Bullshit." Ian scoffed.
"Really?" River asked.
Shawn nodded.
"Did you hit it on the seat in front of you?"
"I hit it on the front panel."
"You were in the cockpit?" Ian asked.
Shawn nodded.
"I was flying the plane."
"You can fly?" River asked, amazed to learn something new about Shawn – especially something so interesting.
"Obviously not," Ian drawled. "Otherwise he wouldn't have crashed the plane, right?"
River laughed, and so did Ian.
Shawn scowled, but he wasn't nearly as annoyed as he looked. It occurred to him that this was the first time the two older cadets had shared a laugh, and he decided there might be hope for them, yet. Even if the laughter was at his expense.
"Tell us the story," Brooks ordered as they reached their room.
"Nah..."
"Come on..." River pleaded. It had to be good if Shawn didn't want to tell it!
"Maybe after lunch. If you don't kill each other, first."
He couldn't tell them the real story, of course, but Jack and Sam had been teaching Shawn to fly small craft, so he'd improvise.
"Awwww, come on...." Ian wheedled, too.
Shawn laughed, and shook his head.
"Okay, I'll tell it while we're eating. But first we have to get some lunch. River, we'll go get enough for all of us, you try not to die before we get back, okay?"
"Yeah. Stay away from your bed, Hayden. It's dangerous."
"You can both kiss my ass," River said, settling himself carefully on his bunk, but this time he didn't mean it, and they all knew it. "I want steak, and I want it just this side of mooing."
"You'll get soup, or whatever else we decide to bring you." Shawn told him, ducking as River tossed his pillow at him.
"Come on, Adams," Ian said as he crossed the room and opened the door. "You can tell me the story on the way..."
"You'd better not, Shawn!"
Shawn tossed River's pillow back at him. "I won't tell him anything." He promised.
"Yes, you will," Brooks called from the hall. "I'm bigger than you, remember?"
River laughed again. Yeah, that was true... of course; they all knew Shawn had proven himself quite capable of dealing with Brooks, so that wasn't much of a threat.
"Fuck you, Hayden," Ian called, after making sure there were no other people in the hall to hear him – except Shawn, who just rolled his eyes. "Hey, it's a habit, what can I say?" Brooks said, defensively.
"Let me guess... everyone in New York says it?"
"Something like that..." Ian grinned, and the two of them went to the cafeteria.