Chapter Four: Rest Stop

MacGyver slept on and off for most of the hour-long drive, roused only when a bump in the road brought the lump on his head into painful contact with the seat. When they reached the inn at the little village, Gambit got out and came around the car to open MacGyver's door and shake his shoulder. "Come on, mate; time to wake up."

"'Sh Mac, not mate," he mumbled.

Gambit raised an eyebrow. He hadn't seemed to mind being called mate before; perhaps in his dazed state he didn't recognize the appellation and simply thought Gambit had gotten his name wrong.

"All right…Mac…let's get you inside now."

Blinking, MacGyver allowed Gambit to help him from the car. "I can walk," he insisted as Gambit would have pulled his arm around his shoulders.

"Suit yourself," Gambit shrugged, staying close at his side as he walked unsteadily behind Purdey into the inn.

"Can I help you?" the proprietor questioned in German as the group approached the counter.

MacGyver blinked owlishly at him, leaning a hand on the counter to steady himself, and Purdey stepped forward. "Ja, we would like…two adjoining rooms, please."

"But of course, Fräulein."

The conversation flowed over MacGyver as he closed his eyes, focusing on staying upright rather than attempting to followed the effortless German. He roused somewhat as Gambit tugged lightly on his arm. "Huh?"

"Time to go up to bed," Gambit told him. "Think you can manage the stairs?"

"Yeah…"

Not terribly reassured, Gambit stayed close behind him as he pulled his way up by the railing.

The innkeeper unlocked the door to one of the rooms, then opened it and held out a hand in invitation.

"Danke," Purdey told him with a smile.

"I'll send a maid with the ice, and call Herr Doktor right away," the man promised.

"No…nein," MacGyver mumbled, making his way to the bed and sitting heavily. "Don' need doctor…jush need lie down…"

The innkeeper looked questioningly at Purdey, who smiled and accompanied him into the hall for a brief moment.

"You will need a doctor if you let Purdey try to play nursemaid," Gambit warned teasingly. "Here, take off your jacket before you lie down." He helped ease it off MacGyver's shoulders, and was just hanging it on the bedpost as Purdey returned. He glanced at her quickly, but she seemed not to have overheard his gibe.

Crossing to the ewer on the stand, Purdey poured a glassful of cool water. "Here, you should drink something," she told MacGyver.

He sipped slowly, attempting to hold the glass for himself, though Purdey kept a hand on it to steady it. "Thanks," he whispered hollowly.

A tap came on the door, and Gambit opened it to find a maid. "I brought your ice, sir."

"Danke," he replied with a wink. "Here, something for your trouble." He pressed a coin into her hand, and she blushed as she turned away. "Danke, sir!"

"Here, Mac, this should feel good on that head of yours," Gambit said, approaching the bed and handing him the ice pack.

"Lie down," Purdey told him, guiding his shoulders down to the pillow. He lay on his right side, positioning the ice pack over the throbbing knot, and moaned slightly as the coolness offered him his first real relief.

"Let's get your shoes off," Purdey suggested, kneeling to undo the laces and pull them off. Stepping aside, she gestured for Gambit to lift MacGyver's legs onto the bed.

"You just rest until the doctor gets here," Purdey told him, pulling the blanket to cover him.

MacGyver opened one eye enough to scowl at her, but didn't bother trying to summon the energy to argue further.

oOo

MacGyver roused slowly to a state of half consciousness, realizing dimly that a man was in the room speaking with Purdey and Gambit. For a moment he tried to make sense of their conversation, but then he gave up and simply let the sound of the German wash over him. His own German was normally passable at best, and at the moment his brain felt almost too fuzzy to cope with English.

Then the voices were coming closer, and a large hand engulfed MacGyver's, the fingers pressed against his pulse as the voice said something he felt he was just on the verge of being able to comprehend.

It must be the doctor, he realized, squinting one eye open to see the large man bending jovially over him. There was no use arguing further against the man's presence, he realized, and maybe the doctor would give him something for the headache.

"Hey," he protested weakly as his ice pack was removed and fingers probed painfully at his bruised skull.

"Es tut mir leid," the doctor said in a tone of apology. He added something else, plainly a request, and MacGyver let his gaze shift to Purdey standing behind the man. "Purdey…?"

"He needs to see your eyes, Mac," she explained gently.

MacGyver winced, but forced himself to open both eyes fully.

Purdey continued to translate as the doctor carried on his examination, and at one point he spoke to her directly.

"Wha'…what are ya tellin' him?"

"That your speech is still slightly slurred," Purdey responded brightly. "His English isn't good enough to tell for himself."

"Ish not," MacGyver mumbled in feeble protest. But he had no objection when the doctor held a glass of medicine to his lips, then replaced the ice pack before turning to speak with Purdey and Gambit.

oOo

"He has a moderate concussion, but he should be all right with plenty of rest," the doctor assured them, his eyes twinkling behind his spectacles. "But don't let him sleep longer than two hours until his headache resolves and his vision clears. I'll leave some powders for the pain, but call me at once if his symptoms get worse or you can't rouse him. And absolutely no strenuous activity for two weeks."

Purdey and Gambit looked at each other, knowing that escaping on the run from a German security facility very likely counted as strenuous activity.

"Danke, Herr Doktor," Purdey told him with a smile, and Gambit pressed a bill into the man's hand.

"How about dinner?" he suggested to Purdey when the man had gone.

Purdey frowned. "Should we leave him?" she worried.

"He'll be fine," Gambit told her. "Right, Mac?"

MacGyver mumbled something unintelligible.

"Well, all right," Purdey gave in. "Mac, we're just going down for something to eat; shall we bring you back something?"

"No, thanks," he mumbled. "Jush' shleep."

"Rest well, then," Purdey told him, glancing back once over her shoulder before following Gambit from the room.

oOo

"He said he didn't want anything, Purdey," Gambit reminded her as she carefully carried a bowl of soup up the stairs.

"He'll change his mind when he smells this," Purdey insisted.

"Maybe," Gambit said doubtfully. "Don't forget, he was pretty sick earlier."

"That's because you tossed him over your shoulder like a sack of potatoes," Purdey pointed out.

Gambit shrugged, smiling ruefully. "Point taken. I still say it might not be a good idea to force him if he says he doesn't feel like eating." Reaching around her, he unlocked the door and pushed it open.

"Mac?" Purdey called softly, stepping into the room. "Are you awake?"

"No…"

"I brought some soup for you," Purdey told him, setting it on the nightstand and sitting on the edge of the bed. "Here, sit up so you can eat it."

MacGyver made no protest as she pulled him up to half sit leaning against her shoulder. Gambit crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, watching with a smirk that disguised the hint of jealousy in his eyes.

MacGyver sipped the broth slowly as Purdey held the spoon to his lips, giving him only the smallest fragments of meat and vegetables.

"Gambit wash wrong," he mumbled. "You make great nurshemaid."

"I told you," Purdey retorted, smirking over her shoulder at Gambit.

He smiled indulgently. "Just for that, Purdey-girl, I'm going to bed; you can have first watch sitting up with him."

"Don' need anyone to sit up wi' me; I'm fine," MacGyver insisted, but there was a touch of uncertainty in his voice as if he was afraid he might have been hurt worse than he thought.

"Of course you are," Purdey said soothingly, settling him back on the pillow. "But the doctor said we have to wake you up every two hours, and since we don't have an alarm clock, that means one of us has to sit up."

Vague ideas flashed through MacGyver's mind of ways to rig up an alarm clock, but he lacked the energy to pursue any of them, and didn't argue further.

oOo

Late in the night, a single lamp dimly lit the room. Gambit sat at the little table, idly cleaning and polishing his gun.

"Wha' ya doin' wi' tha'?"

Startled, Gambit turned to find MacGyver's eyes opened and fixed on him.

"Just cleaning it," he replied lightly. He spun the chamber with his thumb and frowned. "That's sticking a little; I hope it's not going to jam on me."

"I could fix it," MacGyver mumbled, "but I won't. I hate guns." His eyes closed again, and Gambit quirked an eyebrow, wondering if the man had even been truly awake.

Next chapter coming next week!

I proofread all my stories at least once before posting, but if you see any mistakes I might have missed, please let me know!

Please note that I have only minimal internet access, and may not have time to respond to all reviews/messages. (But they are much appreciated, even if you're reading this story long after I originally post it!) If you have questions regarding my MacGyver or Avengers alternate history, check my profile first to see if they're answered there. Thanks for your understanding! Barbie