Well, here is chapter 3. Thanks Slightly Sinister for reviewing. You were my only reviewer last time but that's great! Thank you so much! And a BIG thanks for updating u'r story – I love it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Seed

The Luck of the Draw

Chapter #3: Close Calls

"Athrun, can you hear me?" The voice seemed to be coming from a long distance away and Athrun wished that whoever it was would go away and leave him alone. Waking up hurt. Even breathing seemed to be very difficult. He groaned and tried to turn away, but there were hands there, holding him still, preventing him from moving.

"Athrun, can you hear me?" the voice repeated and this time Athrun recognized it. It was the town doctor… Doctor Niles. He was the closest public doctor to the military academy and although the academy had its own private doctor, Athrun assumed that there hadn't been time to get him there.

"Doctor?" he whispered, forcing his eyes to open. The room seemed very blurry and Athrun had to blink several times to bring things into focus. "Where…?" he started.

"You're in my surgery," Doctor Niles replied. "Don't try to move, Athrun. Just stay still. Do you remember what happened?"

Allowing his eyes to drift shut, Athrun frowned as he tried to remember. "Cards," he whispered at last, wondering why his mind was so sluggish. Then his eyes opened wide as another memory hit home and he cried, "Nicol!"

"Easy, easy!" Niles soothed. "Athrun, you've got to stay still. Nicol is all right, I promise. Athrun, listen to me. Did you have a drink this afternoon?"

That was it, Athrun thought. "Yeah," he breathed. The pain in his chest was terrible. "Hurts," he added.

"I know it hurts," Niles sympathized. "But, Athrun, this is important. How much did you have to drink?"

"Dunno… ezzacly," Athrun panted. "Drank…bottle. Made to."

"All right," Niles replied. "You rest now, Athrun." He exchanged a worried glance with Rau who was standing near by. Miguel, who had volunteered to help the doctor, was holding Athrun's head still.

Athrun wasn't convinced and he needed to know something for certain before he rested. "Nicol?" he asked again feebly.

"He's fine Athrun," Niles soothed. He watched as Athrun's eyes drifted shut once more, then rose and beckoned Rau quietly out of earshot. "I can't wait any longer, Sir," he told his friend. "I'm going to have to operate."

"What difference does the drink make?" Rau wanted to know.

"If you have alcohol in your bloodstream, you bleed more easily," Niles replied. "Athrun has lost a lot of blood as it is. The operation could be tricky; I don't really want him to lose more blood if I can help it." He drew in a deep breath and straightened his spine. "Still, I know what I'm facing now." He put a hand on Rau's shoulder. "You sent for some of your recruits right? When they get here I would advice that you don't let them in, all right?"

"I'll do my best," Rau agreed. "But no promises."

They exchanged a bleak smile and then Niles went back into the surgery to prepare to remove the knife from Athrun's chest.

Fear ate at the three ZAFT soldiers throughout the journey to town. When they finally reached the bar, they were astounded to see that it was in darkness. Wide-eyed, Yzak looked over at Dearka, not sure where to go next. What did the deserted bar mean?

"The commander'll know," Dearka replied to the unspoken question.

"The commander," Rusty agreed before frowning. "And where do you think he is?"

At that moment, the three heard a faint cry and the sound of footsteps coming towards them fast.

"Yzak! Dearka! Rusty!" It was Nicol. The boy looked awful. His hair was messy, his uniform torn and he stunk of alcohol. "They took Athrun to Doctor Niles!"

"Athrun?" Rusty swallowed. "How bad is he…"

"He was alive last I saw," Nicol replied, breathless.

The words weren't any comfort. "He was hurt then." Rusty whispered, the color draining from his face.

"I'm afraid so," Nicol answered, shame written all over his face.

Not waiting to ask any further questions that Nicol wouldn't be able to answer, the four simply turned on their heels, heading over to Doctor Niles private hospital. Rusty met Nicol's eyes for a moment and the two boys communed silently, oneoffering sympathy, while the other's flashed painful guilt. No words were spoken from then on as they rushed to the doctor's as fast as they could.

Rau almost wasn't quick enough to prevent the four from bursting into the surgery. "Don't," he urged, catching Yzak, who was the first into the room, by the shoulders. "The doctor said you had to wait here."

If Miguel hadn't been there, Rau would never have prevailed. Rau was strong but the four boys, distraught by the knowledge that one of their friends was hurt, were stronger. It was Miguel who managed to grab and hold onto Nicol and Dearka while Rau held the other two.

"You can't go in there," Miguel declared, putting his body between the other ZAFT recruits and the door. "We do what the doctor says and wait out here."

"Athrun…" Nicol muttered.

"I know, Nicol, but sit down, huh?" Rusty bit his lip and coaxed the upset boy into a chair. "Rau, what can ya tell us?" he asked and Yzak, Dearka and Rusty's attention all fastened on Rau.

"Athrun and Nicol were in the bar playing cards," Rau began. "The Hawke brothers came in and made Athrun play Lou at poker. If Athrun won, Mr. Miru and Nicol would live. If he lost…" Rau didn't need to complete the sentence. Rusty's dark eyes were riveted on his commander's face. "Athrun won the first hand and Mr. Miru was let go. He came to get us. When we got there, it seemed that Athrun had won again, and Lou didn't take too kindly to it. We got two of the brothers out, but Lou and Li had Athrun as a hostage. We shot Lou, but Li managed to…stab Athrun before Miguel shot him." Rau looked shame-faced. "My bullet hit Athrun."

The boys were thunderstruck. "How bad is he?" Yzak demanded.

"He's not good," Rau admitted. "The doctor is operating as we speak." He swallowed, wondering about what Patrick would say if Athrun didn't make it. "The knife went in real deep. Lou had made Athrun drink some beer straight from the bottle. Doctor Niles was a bit worried about that," he added, trying to play it down.

"How long has he been operating on Athrun?" Dearka asked, his eyes going to the clock. The time – 8.30pm – meant nothing to him.

"About an hour," Rau admitted.

"An hour…" Rusty repeated, numbly.

"He's been with Athrun an hour," Miguel corrected him. "That doesn't mean he's been operating all this time." Miguel wasn't sure that he believed his own argument, but if it gave the other boys a moment of peace, it was worth it.

"Of course, I never thought of that," Rusty agreed. "I'm sorry, Commander. I didn't mean to jump all over you."

"I understand," Rau replied, relieved that Miguel had stepped in once more. The waiting was torture for him – how much worse must it be for the boys? To know that one of their own had been assaulted and possibly dying.

Another half hour passed before the inner door opened and Niles came out. He didn't look surprised to see all six of them waiting. "Better come in," he told them and Rau's heart felt as if it had stopped. Depending on what the doctor had to say, he would have to consider the best way to break the news to Patrick. He rose and followed the physician.

Athrun lay on the bed, the cover drawn up to his chin and his face was almost as white as the sheet. Rau hurried to his side, touching Athrun to reassure himself that the boy was alive and simply asleep. "Athrun?" he whispered, but there was no movement from the figure on the bed. He glanced up at Niles. "How is he?"

"He's weak, but I think he'll be all right," Niles replied. "He has lost a tremendous amount of blood and I just hope infection hasn't set in." He sat down heavily and Rau became aware of how tired Niles looked. "Athrun was stabbed in his right upper chest," Niles began. He drew back the blanket slightly to let all of them see the bandages swathing Athrun's chest. "His lung wasn't affected, luckily. The knife went in at an oblique angle. Athrun lost a lot of blood when I removed the knife, but the damage could have been worse. The bullet that hit him shattered his collar bone and I had to remove some fragments of bone along with the bullet. Again, Athrun bled a lot, but he is stable at the moment."

"Why did he bleed so much?" Nicol asked, his eyes drawn back to the still figure lying before him.

"Did the Commander tell you that Lou made him drink from a bottle of beer?" Niles asked. "When people are drunk, they bleed more. He also had a deep knife wound on the palm of his left hand which required stitches."

"Will he be all right?" Rusty dared to inquire.

Hesitating for a moment, Niles finally nodded. "I hope so," he answered, cautiously.

"When will we know?" Yzak demanded harshly. If he knew the risks, he could prepare to fight the odds.

"By morning, most likely," Niles replied. "If infection is going to set in, it most probably will have by then."

"What can we do for him?" Nicol wanted to know.

"Let him sleep," Niles replied. "If he starts to run a temperature, keep him cool." He gave the six ZAFT soldiers a sharp look. "I can look after Athrun…"

"I'm not leaving," Nicol declared determinedly.

"Nor me," Rusty added and Yzak and Dearka also nodded in agreement.

"No surprise there then," Niles remarked, a smile softening his tired face. "In that case, I'm going to catch a few hours sleep. If you need me for any reason, shout."

"We will," Rau replied, once more bending over Athrun. He stroked the hair back off the boy's pale forehead and he could have sworn that Athrun nestled into the touch of his hand. The boy desperately needed a parental figure. A mother or father to hold him but alas neither was available. "Hang in there," Rau whispered. "We still need you with us."

Stirring slightly, Athrun wondered why he hurt so much. His mind felt fuzzy and his head was throbbing. His stomach wasn't too comfortable, either, he thought queasily. In fact… Athrun opened his eyes and squinted against the low light coming from a nearby lamp. He didn't immediately recognize the room he was in, but that was of no importance at that moment. He saw six figures sitting by the bed, dozing. "Commander," he gasped, hoarsely.

Jolted out of the light doze he had been in, Rau opened his eyes and saw Athrun looking at him anxiously. He smiled, leaning closer to touch Athrun's uninjured shoulder with a reassuring hand. "Athrun. How are you feeling?"

"Gonna be…sick," Athrun mumbled, trying not to open his mouth too far. He hoped someone would hurry, because if he didn't Athrun wasn't sure he could hold on any longer.

But the ZAFT men were prepared. All now awake, Nicol snatched up the basin lying at his feet and helped Athrun lean over as he vomited helplessly. At last, the spasms were over and Athrun lay down, feeling Rau wiping his face with a cool, damp cloth. He felt dreadful and his chest hurt so much. What was wrong with him? He forced his eyes open once more and was met with the reassuring warm gaze from each of his friends as well as his commanding officer. "I don't feel too good," he whispered hoarsely.

"I'm not surprised," Dearka remarked, trying to sound cheerful. Athrun was a bit sweaty, but that was as a result of throwing up, not of fever. "You never could hold your liquor. Do you remember what happened?"

Closing his eyes again for a moment, Athrun thought about it. "The bar," he whispered. His mouth was horribly dry. "I'm thirsty." He opened his eyes again to see Yzak hand Rau a glass of water. "Hi,Yzak."

"Hi yourself," Yzak grunted, trying to keep the concern from his eyes.

Lifting Athrun's head, Rau helped him to drink. The cool water was soothing and comforting and for a few minutes, Athrun felt a bit better, but then his headache started throbbing again. He tried to move to a more comfortable position, but his body hurt too much to allow him to complete the movement. He couldn't repress a groan.

"Take it easy," Rau soothed. "You were hurt, Athrun. Plus, I expect you've got a hangover."

"The alcohol," Athrun groaned. "I hate beer." He snagged Rau's gaze. "Sir, is Nicol all right?" he demanded.

"I'm fine," Nicol answered at once and Athrun relaxed.

"What happened to me?" Athrun asked. "Why am I so sore?" Again he tried to move and another groan escaped.

Bodily lifting Athrun, Rau helped him settle in a different position and turned the pillow over so that Athrun was resting on the cool side. "Better?" he asked and Athrun nodded. "You were stabbed by Li Hawke," Rau explained.

"I remember that – sort of," Athrun recalled. He tried to glance down at himself, but the movement caused his head to spin and a shaft of pain shot through his broken collar bone.

"When Rau and Miguel were saving you, Rau accidentally shot you," Rusty added. Now that he knew Athrun was going to be all right, Rusty felt desperately sorry for his Commander. The shooting was an accident and he knew how his Commander felt about each of them. "The bullet shattered your collar bone."

"Guess that explains it," Athrun murmured.

"I guess it does," Rusty smiled nervously. "Are you in a lot of pain, Athrun?"

"A bit," Athrun admitted. "You were right about the hangover, Sir." His eyes squeezed shut again. "My mouth tastes like Yzak's socks smell."

There was an indignant splutter from Yzak, but the rest of them couldn't repress a smile. Athrun might be feeling bad, but that jest was more telling than any medical diagnosis that his boy's life wasn't in danger.

"That bad?" Rau asked, sounding shocked and winked at Yzak who faked being insulted.

"That bad," Athrun agreed, suddenly exhausted. He sighed, his injuries paining him.

"Drink this, Athrun," Rau told him, lifting his head and offering the painkiller that Niles had left in case Athrun should need it.

Making a face at the first taste, Athrun nevertheless drank it down and gradually slipped into an awkward sleep as the pain faded away. Rau held his hand until he was sure Athrun was sleeping again. He raised his eyes and met the other boys' and they smiled at each other. It looked as though Athrun was going to be just fine.

TBC

No, that's not the end. One more chapter to go! Please stick around to read it ok?

Until next time,

Krilyn