Title: To Have and To Hold
Author: Squeezynz
Chapter: Sixteen - Night Manoeuvres
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When the lovers finally appeared on the main deck it was drawing in to evening, the afternoon whiled away in passionate dalliance, capped with a picnic held on the white sands of one of Skull Rock's cove's, just the two of them, Peter rowing the small jolly boat to the lee of the rock and out of sight of the Nymph. There they watched the sun sink low in the sky while they frolicked naked in the warm surf, safe from prying eyes and only sea gulls for company. Later they watched as each star appeared in the sky above them, Peter naming the constellations as they lay on a rug against the warm sand.
It was magical and wonderful and Wendy never wanted it to end.
"We have to get back to the Nymph," said Peter at last, his hand rubbing up and down Wendy's arm as she snuggled into his side, pleasantly sleepy.
"I suppose we do...what are you going to do about Hook? And the Keeper?"
"That's why we have to get back...Hook's on the move."
He felt her tense then relax once more, his hand continuing its stroking.
"How long?" She finally asked.
"Hours...sometime tonight."
"Are you going to fight him?"
"I'm going to get back what is rightfully mine."
Wendy felt a sharp spike of fear grip her but she forced it away, not wanting to spoil the magical hours they'd spent together.
"I suppose you've already planned everything with Captain Aramis."
"As much as we can...we don't know how involved the Keeper will be in all this...he can't travel for very long from the Never Realm, but he can still do mischief when he does, even for short excursions."
"Is there no way to keep him penned...up there?"
Peter chuckled. "He's not exactly a goat or a sheep."
"Why was he sent there in the first place?"
"I don't know...I assumed he was the Keeper of some magic power to be bestowed on the King of Neverland when he was invested. But it would seem I was wrong...even Aramis assumed that the Keeper was there to serve whoever took on the mantle of Kingship."
"But he's helping Hook!"
"Quite...so there must be some other reason, one we don't know of yet."
They lay quiet for a few more moments listening to the lap of the waves on the beach drawing ever closer with the incoming tide.
"Come...we have to go. Time and tide..." He nodded towards the encroaching sea water. "Wait for no man..."
"Not even the King of Neverland?" Wendy teased, accepting his hand to draw her to her feet.
"Not even Peter Pan." Peter grinned, planting a smacking kiss on her lips before bending to gather up the blanket while Wendy gathered the picnic stuff together. They loaded up the small boat and climbed aboard, Peter once more taking up the oars and smoothly rowing them over the darkening sea back to the Nymph. Willing hands helped them aboard and a small group of people stood gathered near the main mast.
"All Hail Peter Pan! All Hail the King of Neverland!" A cheer went up, carried by all the crew of the Nymph, hats and scarves flying through the air to land on the deck along with several shots fired from pistols into the air. As the voices died down, Peter advanced on the group of people standing by the mast.
"What is this Aramis? The prophecy is not fulfilled and we have a battle ahead to wrest back what is rightfully mine."
"We know it Peter...but we also know that there will only be one King of Neverland and we're looking at him."
Peter stared at Aramis, flanked by Stubbs on his right and Harry on his left, the rest of the crew ranged on either side, swarthy faces split with wide, approving grins.
"Hook is on the move and will be in these waters in under four hours. We have a fight to plan for and a battle to win."
"Never doubted it lad...we're ready for whatever he throws at us."
"The stores are checked, the guns run out, the powders dry." Stubbs announced, saluting smartly despite the grin still plastered to his face.
"Thank you Mister Stubbs, I knew I could rely on you to keep everything ship shape. Gentlemen, we need to go over our plans if we are to succeed."
Peter turned away from his Council of war and faced Wendy who had remained silent throughout the cheers. "I'll have to spend the next few hours with Aramis and my officers."
"I know...I'll lend Harry a hand and make sure Cook has a meal ready for you all...you can't fight on an empty stomach."
Hearing the thread of fear in her voice, albeit bravely held in check, Peter leant forward and kissed her lovingly, their lips clinging when they parted before he turned his back on her and left with his men. Harry remained behind as the crew dispersed, sauntering over with his hands jammed in his pockets.
"If you follow me I'll show you what need to be done."
Nodding, Wendy cast a last look over her shoulder at the dark rock looming over the ship, remembering the wonderful afternoon she'd just spent in Peter's arms. Resolutely she once more faced forward and followed Harry, swiping at her cheeks as tears stung her eyes.
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The Nymph sailed a half hour later, turning towards open water as she rounded Skull Rock and headed out to sea. Clouds were massing on the horizon and Wendy watched their build up with apprehension. A full moon was rising in the sky, its bright face highlighting the waves and carving a glittering path across the surface of the ocean. The Nymph was fully rigged with every yard of sail straining in the brisk wind sending her skimming through the water, her crew scrambling about the foot ropes in the rigging, checking the lines for snags and the sheets for tears. One man was already up the main mast in the fighting top, his eyes scanning the ocean for any sign of the Jolly Roger from his position in the crows nest. They were running without lights, relying on Peter's abilities to tell them when Hook and his ship were near at hand, the moon providing enough light for everyone to move around topside with ease. On the gun deck it was dark and shadowy, the men working to get each cannon ready for firing with only the moonlight coming through the gun ports to provide illumination. Stubbs moved among them, checking the shot, the tension on the ropes and the position of the powder kegs, the gun crews as ready as they'd ever be. Wendy listened to all the preparations with a heavy heart, her fear of the upcoming battle out weighed by her fear for Peter's life, her own held for little account if he should fall or be killed. She knew she was to stay close to Harry when they engaged the Jolly Roger, the Ship's Surgeon commissioned to protect her and get her to safety if the battle didn't go their way, Wendy expected to stay holed up in one of the cabins until the fighting was over.
Of course she had no such plans herself, to sit meekly on the side while her future was decided above her head. Despite all Peter's assurances she still felt a strong sense of foreboding, her fears growing as each hour slipped by, her nerves strung tight as the crewmen worked around her to bring the Nymph to battle readiness.
A shout made her jump and she twisted to stare up at the main mast, the man aloft shouting down to the main deck, his voice shrill with excitement.
"Sail off the port bow...sail off the port bow!"
Before the man's call had faded the first mate was on deck and bellowing orders to the crew, the men scurrying faster about their business, strapping on weapons that glinted wickedly in the moonlight. Wendy stood frozen on the forecastle, staring straight ahead, her eyes attempting to find the sail the man had seen. Warm hands landed on her shoulders and she jumped.
"Almost time to go below." Peter whispered against her cheek, pressing his lips to her temple.
"I'm scared Peter."
"Have you so little faith in me?" She could hear the smile in his voice taking the sting out of his words.
"Is there no other way?"
"None...Hook wants a battle, to prove that he is King of these dominions, the Keeper is supporting him, but neither have the right. The Oracle and its mate, along with your pendant were only ever tokens to seal what was always meant to be...I don't need them to be what I was destined to be...but they belong to Neverland and I intend to return them to their rightful place." He turned her around to face him, his eyes intent on hers. "Hook would never let it rest, not with the Keeper urging him on. I defeated him once..."
"With my help..."
"With your help" Peter acknowledged,"...and I can defeat him again. We are not meeting as we did last time, as man and boy, he has no power over me as he did then. Now we meet as equals, as men...right against wrong, good against evil...the age old battle that can have only one outcome."
"You are so sure, you put me to shame with my doubts." Resting her head on his chest, Wendy wound her arms around his waist and hugged him close.
"I am only sure of one thing...my love for you." Cupping her face, he tilted it up before lowering his head to kiss her, their lips speaking their hearts more eloquently than words ever could.
"Sail ahoy...ten degrees of the port bow and closing fast!"
The cry from aloft galvanized the crew into action, Peter hustling Wendy down from the forecastle to the main deck and passing her into Harry's capable hands before vaulting once more up the ladder to the forecastle to watch the approach of the Jolly Roger. The moon still shone high in the sky, the clouds on the horizon still banking and building but not yet blocking the moon that provided the eerie light for the battle to come. Below decks the gun captains prepared their glowing slow match's, the men tense as they readied the guns to fire, all heads turned to watch Mister Stubbs, his arm raised as the distance between the two ships closed, the watch calling the distance as the Nymph skimmed over the waves, still running in darkness.
A warning flash from the Jolly Roger had everyone ducking for cover as the small shot from the bow chaser cannon fizzed through the rigging, leaving a burning hole in two of the sheets before missing the ship and sending up a plume in the sea behind.
"They have our range Mister Arrow...bring her around!" Peter's call to the helmsmen brought the prow of the ship veering to the left, the two ships apparently heading for a collision before Hook also veered to the left bringing both ships to bear broadside.
"FIRE!"
The order brought a volley of cannon fire that deafened everyone as both ships let loose with their deadly round shot, both ships suffering direct hits that sent deck and rail flying into the air, splinters shooting off like arrows to bury themselves in the timber planks like deadly darts.
"Bring her around to starboard!" Peter yelled, jumping down to the main deck and running for the stairs up to the quarterdeck. The helmsman swung the wheel and the Nymph heeled to starboard, digging deeply into the waves, spray soaking those clearing the wreckage off the main deck.
"Ready another volley Mister Stubbs!" Peter called, the powder monkey relaying the order below decks as the gun crews feverishly prepared their weapons for another salvo. The Jolly Roger had also taken damage, but, as with the Nymph, it didn't slow her down, the ship also turning for another pass. The Nymph was a little quicker on the turn and they were approaching the Jolly Roger before the ship had completed its wheel to port. With the enemy's guns pointing uselessly out to sea the Nymph was able to come closer and fire a broadside, the smoke obscuring the Jolly Roger as they sailed pass, a few shots from the enemy just nicking the mizzen mast and poop deck, Peter and the crew at the helm ducking to avoid the flying debris. This time the damage to the Jolly Roger was more substantial. Several of the cannon had loaded chain-shot which had wrapped itself around one of Hook's masts and brought it down to tangle on the main deck, causing maximum confusion. Below decks the gun crews cheered before hurrying to prepare the guns for a third volley.
As they tacked to port they could see that the Jolly Roger was starting to list, her crew scrambling to clear the wreckage off the deck and over the side to allow them to manoeuver once more and bring the ship around.
"Bring us within hailing distance Mister Arrow, but don't allow her to get us broadside."
"Aye aye sir." The helmsman spun the huge ships wheel and brought the Nymph around.
"Reef the main sail!" Peter called, his hand cupped around his mouth as the rigging crew scrambled up the halyard and dropped the main sheet, reefing it to the yardarm. As they approached the badly listing pirate ship, a lone carronade fired on the Nymph, splintering her bow sprit and all but destroying the elegant figurehead in the shape of a mermaid.
Peter stood with his legs braced as they swept past the bow of the Jolly Roger, the pirate crew screaming their defiance at the Nymph despite their badly damaged ship, Peter scanning the deck for any sign of Hook.
Cupping his hands around his mouth he shouted to the other ship.
"I have come for what it mine...hand them over and you are free to go!"
As they passed several musket balls whizzed over their heads, Aramis and Peter ducking for cover, several shots burying themselves in the mizzen mast behind them.
"I don't think they want to co-operate Captain." Aramis observed, raising his head as they sailed out of range. Peter grinned at the older man and straightened, staring back at the Jolly Roger as they circled to return. Lifting his spy glass he trained it on the ship as they swept around, Peter still not able to spot his nemesis among the motley crew scurrying about the deck of the pirate ship.
"I don't see Hook anywhere...not like him to hide when there's a fight to be had." Peter remarked, handing the telescope to Aramis who made his own observation of the enemy.
When he lowered the spy glass he raised an eyebrow at Peter.
"You did say you could sense him...is he there now?"
Peter closed his eyes for a moment. "He is...but he isn't," He frowned in concentration as the Nymph plowed through the waves back towards the stricken ship. Above their heads the moon suddenly disappeared, the storm that had been hovering on the horizon had blown over them and now covered most of the sky, the sea starting to heave as the distance between the ships narrowed. "There's something else on the ship...I can't...quite...make out what."
In the sudden gloom they could see several lights bobbing in the water, as the pirate crew started to abandon ship, the Jolly Roger listing badly, her masts leaning over at a forty five degree angle to starboard.
"I have to go aboard." Peter suddenly announced, striding over to the ladder leading to the main deck and vaulting down it, Aramis right behind him.
"You can't go alone...I'm coming with you!"
"Never doubted you would...Mister Stubbs?" Peter called to the first mate who had appeared on deck to see what was going on. He looked up at the sky then at Peter who was rummaging in the weapons locker.
"Aye Peter...What's to do?"
"I'm going aboard...the ship is listing badly and I can't afford to lose the Oracle to the sea...Aramis is coming with me..."
"I'll not let you go without me!" Stubbs shouted indignantly, pulling out his cutlass with one hand and a knife in the other.
Peter grinned wolfishly and rounded on the men gathered amidships, all of them armed to the teeth.
"Half of the crew have abandoned ship, but that still leaves the rest to deal with. Get ready with the grappling hooks and lines, we're boarding the Jolly Roger as soon as we come alongside. Helmsman?" Peter shouted up to Mister Arrow who waved and spun the wheel to heel the Nymph towards the listing pirate ship and bring her alongside. Peter and the crew braced themselves for the impact, the two ships grinding together with a horrendous shriek of tortured timbers, the ropes with their wickedly hooked metal barbs sailing over the rail to grab at the other ships decking, keeping the ships connected and allowing Peter to leap over the side and onto the deck of the Jolly Roger.
He was quickly followed by a third of the Nymph's crew along with Captain Aramis and Mister Stubbs, all yelling with blood curdling ferocity to be met by equally ferocious pirates hell bent on repelling the invaders despite their doomed vessel.
Peter slashed and parried his way across amidships and over the tangled debris still laying on the deck, his destination the Captain's cabin under the poop deck. Behind him Aramis kept any pirates off Peter's back while Mister Stubbs ably defended his flank, the rest of the crew keeping the pirates bailed up as much as possible to prevent them escaping on to the Nymph or following after Peter.
Reaching the splintered remains of the door leading below, Peter sheathed his broadsword but kept a wickedly sharp long stiletto in his grip. Warily, Aramis at his back, Peter headed in, his eyes narrowed as he adjusted to the near darkness of the passageway, a single lantern swaying drunkenly overhead as the ship groaned in its death throws, the rising waves battering the old ship on all sides.
"We can't stay long on her Peter...she's listing badly and likely to go down at any time."
"I'm aware of the peril, just watch my back!"
"As if I'd do anything else lad." Aramis retorted, backing into the corridor and watching the rear. Peter made his way unmolested to the door of Hook's cabin, the ornate name plate now dull with neglect. Pushing open the door he cautiously stepped within, his knife at the ready. Aramis was close behind but as Peter cleared the door frame the heavy wood slammed shut in the old Captains face, shutting him off from Peter.
"Hey! Open the door!" Pounding uselessly, Aramis ground his teeth in helpless frustration, cursing roundly as he signaled for one of the crewmen of the Nymph to find a battering ram, Mister Stubbs already putting his formidable shoulder to the door in an attempt to batter it down himself.
While blows rained down on the door from the outside, Peter stood just inside, his back to the self same door, his eyes darting around the room to find his enemy.
"Peter Pan..." Hook's familiar drawl came to him from the shadows at the end of the large cabin, the few candles still burnings not able to light all the corners. "Or should I call you, Your Majesty!"
"Call me what you like Hook...I've come for what's mine."
"And how predictable you were, to be sure..." From the far corner Peter could see the red glow of a cigar end, but nothing more. "How neatly you walked into my trap, like a well tamed goat!"
"I think you have it the wrong way around Hook. Your ship is lost and already foundering, if you linger in here, you'll go down with it."
"How positively gothic. Can't say I was ever that noble or self sacrificing...leave all that to the rabble who serve me."
Peter advanced a step into the room, his eyes checking the shadows for any indication there was anyone else in the room.
"We are quite alone brat...just Hook to worry about this time."
"As if I'd believe anything you have to say...hand over the Oracle and let's have done with this farce."
"Aaaah yes...that redoubtable article of prophecy. And of course, you'll be wanting its mate and that pretty trinket you gave to your lady love...how is dearest Wendy?"
"Don't speak her name..."
"Did you know she had aspirations to become a pirate? Red Handed Jill to be precise...I think she thought it would be quite a lark."
"Why are you stalling?" Peter suddenly asked, advancing further into the room. Suddenly the deck shifted under his feet and he staggered, the Jolly Roger keeling over in the heavy sea, Hook's belongings starting to slide to one side of the cabin, a candle falling to the floor and snuffing out, plunging the room into more shadows.
"Stalling? I'm just waiting." The glow of the cigar flared brightly and Peter caught a glimpse of Hook's highlighted features, as saturnine as usual, painted with a leer that bordered on triumphant.
"Waiting for what?" Peter heard a faint noise above the hammering on the door and glanced over his shoulder but saw nothing.
"For the other player in our little game to appear..." Hook's gloating voice slithered over Peter's nerves and made him shudder, his grip on his knife turning his knuckles white.
"Where is the Oracle?" Peter asked again. He saw the cigar flare then move in a arc before being stubbed out, Hook rising from his chair and advancing on Peter, appearing from the shadows with a broad leer painting his dark features.
"Where you can't reach it...but I get ahead of myself. I propose that we fight this out as gentlemen...in surroundings," Hook glanced around his chaotic cabin. "Less cluttered. Then we can decide who is to be crowned while the loser is consigned to perdition and a lifetime spent between the living and the dead."
Peter could see red flames in Hook's eyes, the pirate Captain not attempting to reach for his sword or defend himself in anyway.
"And where do you propose is a suitable venue for this final confrontation?"
Hook's features contorted into a ghastly grin, the flames flickering wildly in his dark eyes. "Where none but ourselves would be present."
Peter held his knife at the ready, not trusting Hook one inch. "And the outcome would be final?"
"Indubitably."
"Why should I not just finish you now?" Peter challenged him, his knife held high as Hook advanced another step until the point of the stiletto pressed into the snowy folds at the pirates neck.
"Then end it...Peter Pan. But remember you tried to put an end to James Hook once before, and like a Phoenix I arose again to haunt you. Are you prepared to wait for my reappearance, for I promise you, I will return...again, and again, and again."
The hammering on the door was becoming frenetic with several voices calling Peter's name. He wavered and it was all Hook needed. Peter's wrist was suddenly clamped in Hook's left hand, the wicked hook in his right slamming a glancing blow on Peter's head that stunned him enough for Hook to pull him close in a dreadful parody of an embrace. While Peter fought to free himself a glow started to surround them, emanating from Hook's chest and quickly encompassing them in bright, golden light that just as suddenly winked them both out of existence, leaving the cabin empty of life just as the door finally gave in to persuasion, Aramis and Stubbs lurching into the room and calling Peter's name.
None answered their frantic calls.
With a groan the ship beneath their feet started to tilt alarmingly, the crew of the Nymph already beating a hasty retreat back to the main deck even as Stubbs and Aramis searched Hook's cabin in vain.
"It's no good...we have to leave now or go down with this hulk!" Stubbs shouted at Aramis and tugged at him, pulling the older man out of the cabin. They ran along the heaving passageway and up onto the rain lashed deck. They were the last to leave the dying ship, the crew having taken the last of the defeated pirates into custody after binding their hands and conveying them to the Nymph. The Jolly Roger was starting to break up under them, Stubbs and Aramis vaulting over the railing and into the waiting arms of the crew, many blades slashing at the grappling ropes to free the two ships as the Jolly Roger started her death throws, her rigging waving violently in the rising wind as the ships started to drift away from each other.
Aramis and Stubbs looked on in horror as the ship appeared to rise up out of the water when a huge waves crashed over it, the backwash sending the Nymph even further away as the crew watched the Jolly Roger give a shudder before starting to sink from sight. A candle must have ignited something in the Captain's cabin because a blaze could be seen through the windows as the forecastle started to dip below the waves, the ships stern rising up out of the water, the sound of splintering and grinding of timber barely heard above the crash and boom of the thunder. Lightning illuminated the hellish sight, both pirates and crewmen removing their head gear in respect for the ship about to slip below the waves, everyone watching regardless of the driving, icy rain and howling winds that lashed them . The flames aboard the Jolly Roger had engulfed the stern of the ship, a loud explosion and plume of dark smoke telling of a supply of powder exploded by the flames, the ship half sunk as waves continued to batter and seethe around her.
For a long moment the ship seemed to teeter on the brink of being, the stern quite clear of the water, its rudder lifted out of the waves. It remained thus until all of a sudden it slipped under the water, the masts snapping and sending ropes flinging through the air like whips, splinters and shards raining down on the surface of the ocean as the ship sank, the hiss of flames being doused the last sound before the Jolly Roger disappeared beneath the sea, debris all that remained to mark her resting place.
For a moment no-one aboard the Nymph spoke or moved, then Mister Stubbs started to organize the prisoners, some to be taken down to the brig, the remainder to be chained in the hold until they returned to Neverland. The two boats that had abandoned the ship were now being towed behind, their occupants holding on for grim life as the waves threatened to swamp them. It was too rough to try and get the men aboard so Aramis ordered that they remain secured to the stern and take their chances until the Nymph could outrun the storm and find calmer waters. As the deck started to clear a slim figure appeared on deck, her dress quickly becoming soaked in the driving rain, the Doctor trying to restrain her with little success.
Breathless, Wendy staggered to where Aramis and Stubbs stood by the rail.
"Where's Peter?" She demanded, staring at both men but seeing nothing to comfort her in their impassive faces. "Where is he?" She screamed, the wind snatching her voice as she stared beyond the men to the heaving sea. Seeing no sign of the pirate ship she whipped around, seeing the last of the pirates being lead below decks. Correctly guessing why they were aboard, Wendy turned back to the two men in front of her. "It sank?"
"Like a stone." Aramis told her, his hand reaching out to her, but Wendy jerked away as if stung.
"Was Peter on it?"
Stubbs and Aramis exchanged a look and Wendy started to back away, her head shading from side to side in denial.
"NO!" Her scream made both men flinch.
"He went on board lass...into Hook's cabin, but when we broke in they were both gone." Aramis tried to explain but Wendy couldn't, or wouldn't hear him.
"You were supposed to watch his back...he was supposed to come back safely..." She kept taking small steps backwards, her hands coming up to cover her face then just as suddenly jerking back down, her eyes blazing out of her pale face. "Is he dead?" She shouted at them, "Does this mean he's dead?" She indicated the raging storm, the ship staggering as they breached several large waves. Wendy also staggered, almost losing her footing, Aramis reaching out to steady her even as Stubbs did the same. Snatching herself out of their reach she stared at them accusingly, her tears invisible in the pounding rain.
Staring up at the clouds now obscuring the moon, Wendy screamed at the heavens, her cry swallowed up by a boom of thunder that almost deafened everyone left above decks. A huge flash of lightning made Aramis and Stubbs shield their eyes, when they looked again Wendy lay in a crumpled heap on the slippery deck, sprawled like a broken doll at their feet. Scooping her up Stubbs carried the insensible girl across the bucking deck to the passageway leading to the Captains' cabin. There he lay his dripping burden on the rumpled bed, Wendy's face devoid of all colour, her breathing shallow. Harry was not far behind and he pushed his way into the cabin, shoving Stubbs out of the way.
"Get out both of you, I'll have to strip her if she's not to catch her death...get me as many dry towels as you can lay your hands on and get this ship into calmer waters as soon as possible...hurry!"
Both Aramis and Stubbs hastened to do the Doctor's bidding, all rank forgotten in the disastrous aftermath of what should have been Peter's triumph. Harry stripped Wendy of her soaked dress, wrapping her in the bed blankets and chafing her hands and feet to induce some warmth into her frozen limbs. Stubbs returned with the towels and a bottle of brandy, informing Harry that the Nymph was heading in towards land and calmer waters, the storm already weakening the closer to Neverland they sailed. Harry sent Stubbs away to get himself into dry clothes, using the towels to dry Wendy's hair, before he stripped the bed and lay fresh bedding, lifting his insensible patient into the dry linen and tucking it firmly around her. It was hard to tell the difference between Wendy's face and the pillows, her lips almost as colorless as her cheeks. He tried to trickle some of the spirits between her lips but it only dribbled out the corners and he didn't persist, not wanting to choke her. While he worked, above decks the crew of the Nymph fought to bring the ship through the storm to safety, the waves finally subsiding until the clouds once more parted and moonlight shone bright and clear on the ship and its weary crew.
Exhausted, Aramis relinquished the helm to another member of the ship's company and went to find a bunk to lay down on. The moon was setting as the Nymph finally sailed into safe harbour in a cove aptly named Pebble Bay, the foreshore made up of small, multicolored rocks rather than sand. In the Captain's cabin Wendy lay as one dead, beside her side Harry dozed, his head against the side of the bed, his hand loosely holding his patients wrist, the faint pulse beating beneath the thin cover of flesh keeping his hopes alive even as he despaired at the dreadful cost of that nights work.
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TBC...