Authors Note: Hi! Thank you for your Kudos and Comments! They really are great motive to help me keep writing. This chapter is a bit of a strange one, and I admit, the pacing is a bit off. It has been some time since I have really written like this, so I ask that you be patient and forgiving while I continue to get back into my groove.

Thank you!

Chapter 3: Fevered Confessions

John Silver slept in for the first time in nearly thirty years of sailing the Etherium. When he woke, the sun outside the cave was already bright, causing the snow to slush and drip. He grunted and moved to stretch, but doing so caused the wound in his back to sting painfully.

"Blasted thing…" He hissed as he rolled onto his stomach, trying to bite down on the pain.

"What's wrong?" The Lad's voice was full of concern as Jim scurried over to him, kneeling down and putting a hand on Silver's bare shoulder.

"Just twinges a bit, that's all." Silver responded through gritted teeth as he worked to try and sit himself up. As he pushed with his left arm, however, another sharp pain and sudden wave of fatigue washed over him, and he fell back down to the floor with a heavy thud.

"Shit! Be careful!" Jim scolded him. "Don't try to move! Just rest!"

"Damn it…" Silver sighed and rolled over onto his back, pressing the wound against the cold floor helped to ease the pain some.

"Here."

Silver turned his gaze to Jim as the boy held a small tin of water. John sighed and sat up a bit, with Jim holding on to the back of his head to help, as he sipped on the icy water.

"Thanks Lad." He sighed as he laid back down, closing his eyes. "What time is it?"

"Maybe...eight?" Hawkins sat down on the floor next to Silver, crossing his legs and looking down at him. "That's just a guess though, don't really know what this world's day cycle is. It could be midnight for all I know."

Silver let out a sigh of a laugh and hissed in a breath. Damn...it's tender today. He thought as he brought his hand up to his face to wipe away the light layer of sweat there. This isn't good. I feel feverish.

"Do you need anything?" Jim was concerned. His eyes were wide with worry and helplessness. Silver felt a pang of guilt. It's true, he had become close to Hawkins over the last several months, despite his better judgement/intent. He knew he had to be careful about this, if he wasn't able to do what he had to do in the end, because of his attachment to the kid...he would be gutted by his own crew.

"No Jim, I'm alright." He gave a small smile and reached up to pat the boys slender shoulder.

What's worse...is what he told me last night. He thought as Jim smiled back to him before pulling the make-shift blanket up his body a bit more. The Lad will be devastated when the coup happens. In love with a Pirate. An old Pirate nonetheless. He has some rather odd taste he does. Silver smiled a little and gave a soft sigh, closing his eyes.

"Any news from the Captain?" He asked, even though he already knew the answer.

"Not yet." Jim sighed in return. "I checked our supplies, we have enough food for about five Montressor days.

"We should be back on the ship by then, Jimbo." Silver chuckled as he felt a small, smooth hand pet his hair, thin fingers curling around his good ear. "But even if we aren't, we can make that stretch."

"Maybe…" Jim looked down and made a small frown, the kind that was accompanied by the small pout he would sometimes get.

He is rather easy on the eye….Silver thought hazily as a wave of dizziness washed over him and he had to close his eyes again. As he did, he was shocked to feel the gentle press of lips against his forehead. His eyes opened suddenly and saw that Jim was right there in front of him, maybe an inch away from his face.

"Jim what the-"

"You're running a fever." Jim cut him off. "Ma' taught me to check for a fever like that, and you're running a nasty one."

The young man got up and went over to a small supply area he had set up, and started messing with something. Silver stared at him in shock for a few moments, wandering what exactly was going on, when Jim returned with some sort of metal chunk, looking like it came from the longboat, that was slightly bowl shaped and had water in it. In his other hand looked like what could only be the remnants of Silver's shirt.

When Jim pressed the cool cloth against Silver's forehead, he let out a deep hum and let his eyes closed again. Mmm that feels nice. He thought as Jim carefully wiped the sweat away from his face. If the floor had been a bit softer, Silver would almost have described the whole situation as comfortable.

"How ya feelin?" Jim asked in a soft tone. Silver opened one eye to see the Lad's worried expression, those big blue eyes looking so earnest.

"Honestly…" Silver sighed. "Not great. But this helps." He closed his eye again and let himself rest, laying his hand on his stomach as he took in deep breaths.

"So...do you know what's wrong with your arm?" Jim asked as he went to re-wet the rag. Silver sighed and shook his head.

"I can't really tell, I haven't had the head to really look at it Jimbo." He grunted and rolled his shoulders. "It feels like a jammed gear in the back of the shoulder, an easy fix if I could just see it, and had the tools."

Jim's hand stopped for a bit and Silver looked up at him, seeing the tanned skin turn pink.

"You mean you can feel with that arm?" He asked. Silver rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Sort of." He explained. "It has sensors that work kinda like nerves, but they aren't as sensitive as skin. I guess you can say it feels more inside the gears and circuits, then it does on the surface."

"So...so when I took those shears out…" Jim blustered a bit and Silver chuckled.

"Aye I felt it. Don't worry though, it wasn't somethin horrible, Jimbo."

"Did it hurt?" Jim asked, looking down at his hands. Silver sighed and reached up, grabbed a hold of the Lad's rat tail, and gave it a small, sharp yank. Jim blinked and moved his own hand back to the spot in surprise.

"No worse than that did, Jim." Silver smirked and laughed as the young man blushed even more red. Heavens he's a cutie isn't he?

"Well...that's a relief anyway." Jim chuckled and shook his head, his posture relaxing as he sat the bowl back down and continued to wipe the sweat from Silver's head.

"Aye, that it is Jimbo." Silver chuckled again and closed his eyes as he enjoyed the coolness on his brow, slowly drifting back to his uneasy rest.

Silver's condition got worse throughout the day. The sun was starting to set, and still there was no sign of him waking again. His sleep was wracked with pain and discomfort, his breathing was labored and he would often give out small cries and grunts of pain. Jim did what he could to ease his pain and cool his fever, but he was far out of his depth.

He sat by the old spacer, pressing the cool cloth against his head, examining with horror as Silver's face scrunched up in pain, his massive chest and belly heaving as he gasped for breath.

"Please….please be okay…" Jim muttered as he dipped the rag again and brushed the cloth over Silver's chest and neck, moving carefully around the leather padding that kept the gears in his shoulder safe. Morph was hovering around them both, making small, weeping-like trills as he nuzzled up against Silver's chin, trying to rouse him. There was no response. Jim squeezed the rag in his hand and watched as the water dripped over the velvet-like skin, and stuck in the thick curls of chest hair as he felt the burn of tears in his eyes.

Jim leaned down and rested his ear against Silver's chest, feeling the fevered heat of his skin, and hearing the dull whoosh of air moving through his lungs. He felt the cool, soft body of Morph curl up against his shoulder, and he reached up to give the little shape shifter a pat to try and comfort him.

A loud beeping sound caught Jims attention and he got up, looking around the small cave for the source of the noise. The red box had a flashing light on it. Jim rushed over and knelt in front of it, opening the lid and seeing the pale, tired face of the Captain.

"Mr. Hawkins." Captain Amelia said with a nod. "I called to get an update on your situation and Silver's-"

"He's in bad shape." Jim cut her off, feeling desperate. "He's running a fever and he hasn't woken up in hours."

"Shit…" Amelia cursed in a hiss. She nodded. "Mr. Hawkins, try and get it so you can show us the wound. Mr. Arrow!"

Jim nodded and went to try and turn Silver onto his side as he heard her bark orders in the background. Moving a man as large as Silver was no easy feat, especially for a lad as thin as Jim. It took some effort but he managed to get the Ursian on his side, Morph staying near Silver's face as Jim turned back to the little messaging box to see two more people entering the viewpoint. One was Dr. Dobbler, and the other was one of the crew. Mr...Jin was his name?

" this is Mr. Jinson, the ship medic. Show us the wound."

Jim nodded and dragged the box over and held it so that the camera was equal with the wound as Jim carefully peeled away the bandage. He heard three audible gasps.

"Heavens...and he's still alive?" He heard Dr. Dobbler eclaim.

"It takes a lot to kill Silver." Jinson said as he looked at the wound. "That thing has already festered. Must have been hit by something nasty. Ok, Hawkins, you need to do what I say exactly, understood?"

"Understood." Jim nodded, setting the box down to have his hands free and still show the wound.

"Do you have anything sharp? Scissors or a knife?"

"I have both."

"Good. Get them both in boiling water to sanitize them. Then gather any remaining bandages you have."

"Yes." Jim nodded and rushed to dump the tools into the little bowl of boiling water he always kept on, before grabbing what remained of the first-aid kit.

"Good lad. Now, while those are getting clean, examine the wound. Find where the dead flesh ends and the healthy flesh begins. Green is okay, green can heal, we are going to be getting rid of anything that is black or dark brown. As well as anything causing discolored excretions."

"R...right." Jim nodded and went to the wound, carefully examining it. The wound was really bad. The rim of the wound was surrounded by black flesh and a horrible, yellowish puss. He could see that it went in pretty deep.

"Th...there's allot." Jim told the medic. "And it goes into the wound...like...an inch maybe?"

"That's okay." The Medic said. "Once you get the outside cleaned up then the water and antiseptic can do the rest. Now, go get the tools. They're gonna be hot so be prepared for that. Keep the water boiling."

Jim nodded and went over to the tools and, gritting his teeth as he did so, grabbed them out of the water, feeling the hot handles burn into his palm.

"Okay. Now get something into Silver's teeth. If he is at all conscious, this is gonna be painful. Then you're going to start cutting off all of that dead flesh around the wound."

Jim nodded and motioned to Silver's belt, that they had used the first time.

"Morph. Put that between his teeth for me."

Morph zoomed up from his place by Silver's head and nodded, zooming over and picking up the belt, and placing it into his owner's teeth. Jim smiled a little at just how smart the little guy was.

"O..okay...I'm starting." Jim took a breath and glanced at the screen. His good friend the Doctor was averting his eyes, while the Medic looked on with a small sheen of sweat over his scaly skin. The Captain looked tense. Jim nodded and turned to Silver as he picked up the shears, and started cutting.

It was the worst thing Jim had ever done. He felt Silver jerk, and he had to keep one hand on his large shoulder to make a feeble attempt to hold him still as he continued to slice away at the dead skin. It was hard and leathery, and did not cut easily as he watched the blood seep out of the new wounds.

"Try and hold still...Please." Jim muttered as he cut off the first large chunk. He could see Silver trembling and he noticed the smallest hint of a nod. He's awake. Jim nodded back and continued. It wasn't a pretty operation. Jim's hands were trembling from nerves, and the pain of the burns on his palms. But eventually he managed to get all of the black flesh off of the outside of Silver's wound and turned back to the Medic.

"It...it's all been removed!" He gasped out and swallowed. The Medic nodded and sighed.

"Almost done lad. Now go get that boiling water and pour it into the wound. Follow that with any of the antiseptik that you still have."

Jim swallowed and nodded, putting a hand on SIlver's arm.

"Almost done. Just hang in there." Jim cringed at the sound of labored, shaky breathing and the small whine of pain. He bit his lip and ran over to the water and picked it up, moving quickly as he brought it back and tilted it.

"Deep breath…" He said and poured. Silver took that breath and his whole body stiffened as the water poured into the wound and down his back and shoulder. Jim could see the red blisters forming as he tried to focus the stream as best he could. Once the water was empty he tossed the bowl aside and followed it by pouring in the rest of the antiseptik.

"Good. Now bandage him up good and tight. Don't let him roll back on that wound. Put something under him to keep it away from the floor."

Jim nodded and worked on the bandages. There weren't many left, but he did what he could to cover the wound and seal it completely. Once it was done he grabbed Silver's coat and spread it open so that if Silver did roll back, it would be onto the coat, and not the floor. Jim took a few deep breaths and turned to look at the screen. His whole body felt cold and clammy as he looked at the three worried expressions staring back at him. Jinson swallowed and gave a small smile.

"You did good son. Just keep that thing clean until we can get there, okay?"

Jim nodded and looked down at his burnt, blood covered hands.

"How long?" Jim asked and glanced at the Captain who gave him a rare sympathetic look.

"Our repairs are worse than we thought, Mr. Hawkins. We are working round the clock to get them done….but we may be longer than a few days."

Jims eyes closed as he bowed his head, feeling another wave of tears threatening to spill out.

"Please...hurry." Jim said softly and he could feel the awkward tension on the other side of the screen.

"As fast as we can." The Captain said softly. "Now get some rest. This is a lot to put on a boy's shoulders. Just...keep looking after him and you'll be okay."

"Yes Ma'am." Jim nodded and heard them say goodbye as the screen went black. Jim stared at it for a moment before closing it, a small sob leaving his throat.

"Jimbo…"

Jim turned at the sound of the voice, normally so loud and boisterous, sounding so weak and quiet. He got to his feet and ran around to sit in front of Silver, practically skidding to his knees as he looked down at the tired face. Moph was nuzzling up against Silver desperately, making small sounds and whimpers as he curled up under Silver's chin.

"Silver….I-" Jim wasn't sure what to say. He was so relieved to see that one green eye looking at him that he was at a loss for words. A hand reached up and pulled Jim closer.

"Come here Lad." Silver mumbled as he shifted weakly. Jim blushed but nodded, slipping in under the blanket and snuggling up to the large chest.

"It's okay Jim. You've done good…" Silver sighed quietly as he wrapped his arm around the slender form. "You don't need to worry about me."

"Yes I do." Jim sniffed and pressed his forehead against Silver. "I have to. If I don't you'll…."

There was silence for a while, the only sound being the wind from outside and the crackling of the fire. Jim thought that perhaps Silver had passed out again, and was going to move to get more water when he spoke again, his voice soft, and sad sounding.

"I'm sorry I lied to you Lad."

Jim blinked and looked up at Silver and was shocked to see a small streak of water dripping down his cheek.

"What do you-"

"I knew Ol' Billy Bones." Silver sighed and closed his eyes, his grip on Jim tightening. "I was chasin him down to take the map. When we burned down your Mother's inn."

Jim froze and his eyes went wide as he sat up suddenly. Silver didn't try to hold him there, nor did he even look at the boy. Jim felt his heart beat race.

"It...was you?" Jim asked, his voice sounding very small and young in his own ears. Silver sighed and nodded, looking up at him.

"Aye. That's why we got on to this trip Jim. To find Flint's Trove."

Jim shook his head and closed his eyes, holding a hand up to stop him.

"Wait wait wait, then you say we-"

"The crew." Silver huffed. "My crew. Every one of em that isn't you, the Captain, Arrow and the Doc are a part of me crew. My Pirate….Crew."

Jim gaped and stepped away from the injured man, feeling something cold in his gut. He shook his head again and gave a small, weak chuckle.

"Nah….that's a bad joke Silver. Even for you…" He muttered, as he looked at those eyes staring back at him. This has got to be a joke right?

"I wish it were, Lad. I really do." Silver sighed and averted his eyes. Jim bit his lip and shook his head.

"Why….what…" Jim was at a total loss. A Pirate? A pillager and murderer? This...jolly old man, this guy who had been a strange but sturdy rock to me? No...no.

"We was gonna mutiny...once we got the treasure in hand." Silver continued to explain. "Gonna tie you lot up, keep yeh as hostages, until we had a free line out of the Navy's radar. Then we was gonna ship yeh off to the nearest space port."

"Why are you telling me this?" Jim asked, hugging himself as he slumped against the wall. Silver let out a dry, tired chuckle.

"Maybe the fever's gotten to me brain…" He said through a sigh. "You threw all of our plans off Jim. Gettin on that ship...I never would have thought to have met a Lad like you."

"Meaning what, exactly?" Jim swallowed, his body trembling. Silver smiled.

"You got the makin of greatness in you Jim." Silver smiled. "I had….I just didn't want the last thing you knew...or remembered of me bein a lie. You deserve better than that."

Jim stared in silence as Silver slowly drifted back into his fevered unconsciousness. Morph hovered around Silver's head worriedly, his large eyes darting to Jim, asking for help of some sort. Jim just shook his head and looked at the little shape shifter.

"Was what he said true?" Jim asked. Morph nodded and hovered over to Jim, resting gently on his knee and looking up at him. Jim absently patted the blob's head and leaned his head back against the wall.

In love with a Pirate...you really are the universe' biggest fuck up aren't you? Jim thought to himself, letting out a dry chuckle. Morph gave a small trill and nuzzled his face, Jim smiled.

"I'm an idiot, hey Morph?" He scoffed as he scratched his head. "I can't decide if I'm angry at him for lying...or happy that he told me himself."

Morph looked confused but flew over to Silver and nestled himself on the side of the large man's neck, snuggling up into his jaw as he gave a small whimper, licking his cheek. Jim watched and looked at the hardened face, listening to the sound the small piston on the side of his head made as it barely grazed the ground beneath him.

"I just didn't want the last thing you knew...or remembered of me bein a lie. You deserve better than that." Jim thought back on those words and pressed his hand against his mouth as he thought hard.

Last thing…. Jim thought and sighed, pushing himself up to his feet and making his way back over to Silver, tilting his head to look at his face.

"You better not die." He said harshly, but quietly. "I got a lot more questions...and I still…." He bit his lip and shook his head as he crawled back under Silver's arm, pressing against the soft chest and belly. Jim felt a sinking feeling when the arm remained limp over his body.