Chapter 28: February 2016 - the Nathan James, South Pacific
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"Another pillow?"
Teylor turned his head, trying to ignore how much it hurt, knowing that the admission of pain would result in Doc Rios giving him something that would promptly put him back to sleep. And Teylor could not take the chance of being incapacitated right now, not with the hostages still out there. He had to be ready to go at a moment's notice, pounding head or otherwise. Next to him, Green stood holding a stack of pillows from the crew lounge. Teylor pushed himself to a half-sitting position using the pillows as support, the best that he could manage right now. "Thanks."
"No." Danny paused. "Thank you. For volunteering to pull the nixie."
Teylor looked up. "Wolf told you?"
Danny actually snorted. "It wasn't hard to guess." He reached into his pocket, pulling out an envelope. One that Teylor immediately recognized. The letter he wrote to Caro, before. Just in case.
"Keep it."
Danny stared down at the envelope for a minute before sliding it back into his pocket. "Why did you do it?"
Teylor let his eyes drift shut, considering the question. "All those orphans in St. Louis, they got to me. I kept thinking about how close Manny and Christopher came to joining them. I didn't want that to happen to Frankie."
Danny was silent for a moment. "You know that my sister will never speak to me again if something happens to you."
Given his pounding head, the last thing that Teylor wanted to deal with was Danny and Caroline's convoluted relationship, but he couldn't let this moment pass. Green's words from so long ago echoing in his head.
Just ignore Caroline when she gets in a mood. She doesn't care. Gives her time to cool down.
"Don't let her push you away."
Danny looked started. "What?"
Teylor opened his eyes. "If something happens to me, don't let Caroline push you away. Don't wait for her to calm down and come to you. She hates it when you ignore her, but she can't admit that so she acts like she doesn't care. And I don't want her to be alone."
Green nodded, gaze far away for a moment, before it swung back to Teylor. "You're good for her. Good with her, I mean. You seem to understand her in a way that I ... just don't. Caro's easier to handle when you're around."
"Nobody could ever call Caro easy," Teylor replied, enjoying the way Danny choked on the double-entendre. He would have to tell Caroline about this conversation the next time that they spoke. She would definitely get a kick out of her brother's reaction.
But Danny didn't rise to the bait. "Thank you for being there for her when I wasn't." Then he narrowed his eyes. "And no more concussions."
"Or you'll kick my ass?" Cruz asked, slightly amused.
"Hell no," Danny replied. "Caroline's wrath is far worse than anything that I could possibly do to you. Just don't come crawling to me for help afterwards. You are on your own."
Chuckling, Teylor shifted on his bunk. "So what's a man got to do around here for some entertainment?"
Danny rose. "I might be able to rummage up a pack of cards and some players if you're up for it."
"Sounds good." Teylor waited until the door was open before he spoke again. "Oh, and Green, make sure to get your wallet. You still owe me twenty bucks from last time."