TOMMY
It's been a couple of hours and I think that Zedd's fever is finally coming down. Hopefully, he's not brain damaged with how high it was and for how long. If he is, there isn't a force in the universe that will keep me from killing Annwyl in the nastiest possible manner. Dar pokes his head in the infirmary. "Any progress?"
"I think so. I think he's a little cooler. At the very least he's finally fallen asleep and stopped insisting we kill Zordon before he sends more Rangers after us." Pina scans him and nods in confirmation.
"That and yelling at us to stop the giant turtle" Pina states returning to her computer to update his chart. Yeah I'm still not certain where he got that from. I know fever induced hallucinations are a nasty thing but I'm not certain I ever want to fully know just what he was seeing in his head during all this.
Nodding and thinking this over, Dar's response is honestly I suppose something I should have thought of myself. "Either he was seeing one of his old monsters, or his mind was latching on to what basic Earth programs he used to watch since it's probably all he could process with his fever spiking so fast. If I recall when we were chased out of the palace by the machines we became bored enough to watch old Earth movies, one of which did have costumed actors dressed as four turtles."
"He thought the Ninja Turtles were attacking him?" My voice far more tired than I mean it to be, I run my hand through Zedd's hair slowly, shaking my head. "The things that go on in that head of yours."
Moving over to examine Zedd himself, Dar touches his head carefully before nodding. "Definitely cooler than before. Good. He's still covered in those spots from the virus though."
"They'll fade in a day or two now that he's gotten the vaccine" Pina assures him. "I'll give him some lotion to put on the worst areas to stop any itching until then."
"It's like that with the version I had to" I assure him as he doesn't look completely convinced. "Only I had to endure itching like hell for two weeks not two days."
"It's not the itching that will be the problem." Suddenly smirking at my confused look, he shakes his head. "You think the turtle thing is something, wait until he wakes up and has enough bearing to actually see the rash that virus has left on him. I guarantee you he'll insist on locking himself away in his room with claims of how hideous he supposedly is and how no one will even love him or be able to bear looking at him."
Rolling my eyes at this, I'm more than a bit doubtful a little rash will get such a reaction. "Come on, I know he's a little vain, but really, it's just a rash, and a temporary one at that. Besides he's seen me first thing in the morning and if that hasn't sent him running away I doubt this will be a problem."
"In fairness of Dar's argument, he did lock himself in his room for two days about a month before we retrieved you because he had gotten, oh what's the human term for it…" Thinking a minute she types something into her computer before seeming to find the right word which definitely takes me back "A zit?"
"You're joking."
"In his defense it was right in the center of his forehead" Dar laughs, and right, so keeping him away from mirrors is apparently going to be a thing I'll have to do once he's up and moving.
"Great, well no one say anything about it, and I'll just tell him the lotion is to help keep his fever down. I'll be up for a while anyways so if I have to I'll cover the mirror in the bedroom."
Dar says, "If I know you, Tommy, you'll be up all night with him. Come and get something to eat and then you can watch him while Pina eats."
I'm torn. I know I need to eat, but to leave my mate while he's in this condition just feels wrong. Of course, Pina backs up her mate. "Go ahead, Tommy. I'll watch him, of course. If there's any change or he wakes I'll come get you, I promise."
I bite my lip, but get up and follow Dar to the kitchen. Once there, he sets a plate in front of me. I start to eat rapidly so that I can get back to Zedd. "Slow down, brat. You aren't going to do him any good if you make yourself sick."
"I know, but-"
"Besides, I wanted to talk to you for a minute." And something about the way he says it triggers alarm bells in my mind. "So you're more like Pina than I thought - bringing home strays for pets. Well, at least one."
Uh oh. I look at him but I can't read anything in his expression. "Um, sorry?"
"Your new pet in the dungeon. Not good keeping such things a secret. Not very fair either. Pina and I might want to play with him too, you know."
As his statement registers, I can feel the nasty smile spread across my face. "Well, since you found him, have you played with him yet?"
"A little, I was still too distracted by Zedd's condition to really spend much time down there. Speaking of which, since he was still mostly flawless, I'm guessing that you only had to scare him to get the information?"
"Pretty much."
"Just don't forget to feed and water your new pet. You wouldn't want him to starve before you get tired of playing with him."
I can feel the laughter bubbling up, but I control it enough to say, "I will. Maybe once he's housebroken, I can take him for walks too."
"I don't know how easy he'll be to train. I think he has a stubborn streak, like Zedd." I honestly hope he does. There's little sport in it if he's honestly as big of a coward as I think he is.
Calmly, I return my attention to my plate. "Oh, I think I can break him."
I can feel him studying me as I eat. "You know, I think you can too."
Okay, so Dar's on my side in this and, from what he's said, I get the feeling that Pina will be too. I laugh. At his puzzled look, I explain, "We might not be friends just yet, but we are definitely allies."
He seems pretty relaxed as he wipes down the counter. "When Pina comes up, I'll tell her about him. I'm not quite sure how Zedd would react to the information while he's in this state. You know we will need to tell him eventually though right?" At my confused look he heaves a slight sigh. "He'll be upset that he wasn't informed. I doubt he'll care what you're doing as you have every right to given the circumstances, but to not let him know what's happening in his own home once he's well enough to deal with it…"
"I'll make sure he knows when he's well enough, but like you said I don't think he can deal with this right now while he's still recovering."
"We'll give him some time to get himself back together first" he agrees, still looking nearly as concerned as I feel over Zedd's condition.
I nod. "Fair enough. Do you have some scraps that even Pina's wild darkos won't eat?"
He laughs loudly. "I think so. Just make sure to feed him before bedtime."
I finish my food and return to the infirmary. "Pina, go eat and Dar wants to talk to you about something."
"I hope that he found Asa and was able to give her those credits."
"Once I'm working and earning, I want to give her something too. She saved us a hell of a lot of time trying to find him."
She ruffles my hair as she goes by. "We'll figure it out."
Once she's gone, I turn my attention to my mate. He finally seems to be resting comfortably and a light touch on his forehead tells me that his fever has indeed gone down somewhat. Thankful for that much at least, I settle in nearby and take his hand in mine, making plans for my new 'pet'.
