I'm back baby! I got this one doen a week early and my wonderful betas were able to d the same! YAY! Next chapter is DONE and the next three are half-way done (once i organize a few scenes) and then we will FINALLY get to the good part! (Well i's all been good so i guess the parts I've been DYING to do is a better statement :))

But I am so happy! I have been waiting to do this chapter for AGES! I had the second half written AGES ago so i was finally able to it!

DISCLAIMER: I only own the PLOT.

DEDICATIONS: To my beta and Grammar Knight for being the best writing team a girl could as for (glomps)

as always read, review, critique, comment, ask questions, post theories and go nuts!

Chapter XLII: Symptoms

"What's this called again?" Otogi sipped the tea given to him in quick gulps, surprised by the rich sweetness of it, as opposed to the bitter smoothness the milk of the poppy provided.

"Cannabis tea," Yugi replied, cleaning up. "It's used as a sedative, often to treat sore eyes and pain. Traditionally, we burn it and you inhale the smoke, but it has a tendency to fog the mind if you do it that way. As a tea, though, the foolishness takes longer—if at all—so you feel the pain relief sooner and you still have your mind. My ancestors found it more effective than poppy seed and far less tantalizing."

"It's good," Otogi complimented, downing the last bit. He rolled his shoulder experimentally. The earlier stiffness had all but vanished. The fracture still stung, but the strength of the cast and the tea lessened the pain to a bearable ache.

"I warn you, though." Yugi spun around and leaned against the cabinet, eyes fixated on his patient. "It works best with a lot of rest." It was both advisory and stern direction.

Otogi understood clearly enough when the sedative effect Yugi had mentioned started to cause his mind to blur and his eyes to become heavy. "Aye," he yawned. "I can live with that," was all he said before he made himself comfortable, his sling-wrapped arm braced against the wooden side, and fell into the deep abyss of sleep.

Yugi just smiled. "Rest well, my friend. I'll bring you some food when you wake up," he promised, and skimmed the room fully for the first time. "As soon as I find our missing Quartermaster." Absent from the kitchen and the infirmary, and knowing well that she did not use the Quartermaster's cabin once Yugi had been relocated to the Great Cabin, Yugi deduced only one other place she could be.

"Rhebekka! Wake up!" He hammered on the surgeon's chamber door, the other hand fiddling with the handle, and pushed it open with a bang. "It's well past midday and you're still—" The sentence caught in his throat and died there. The mug he'd been holding dropped with a loud wooden clatter to the floor in his shock.

"Rhebekka!" he screamed, and rushed over to the collapsed girl. He found her unconscious and half-flopped over the side of her bed, her skin abnormally pale and her blonde hair haggard in a dirty mess of tangles like it hadn't been washed or brushed in a week. Her arms were stretched towards the urn in the corner. The stench of bile hit Yugi like a slap of rotted meat, and he choked on the smell of it and covered his face.

"Rhebekka…" he coughed out, and carefully rolled the woman onto her back. Though pale, her face had a feverish flush and her bangs clung damply to her sweaty forehead. Her pale lips were parted slightly and wet, like she'd downed a heavy drink and passed out before she could wipe the excess away. At least her breathing was stable, Yugi noticed with immediate relief. The fever-red flush had not spread to her chest. Her surgeon dress was creased and wrinkled from sleep, and the bodice had come undone about her chest and stomach, exposing her cleavage in side flashes.

Carefully, so as not to discomfort her, Yugi shook her shoulders, calling softly, "Rhebekka, Rhebekka. Wake up." It did nothing. "Rhebekka," he called louder, shaking her a little harder. Her reaction was a slur of grumbled and sleep-spoken murmurs as she rolled back onto her side and pillowed her chest and head in the folds of her arms.

"Rhebekka!" Yugi half-shouted and shoved her back roughly. She shuddered with the action and the jolt stimulated her body just enough to regain consciousness.

"What!?" she grouched, her eyes filmy.

"Are you alright?" Yugi asked, uncertain. "You looked…" He couldn't finish.

Rhebekka blinked, then shook her head wildly and pulled out a small copper plate that served as a looking glass. She gasped for a moment then laughed, rough and scratchy. "Well, damn me!" She threw back her hair like a veil and pulled herself up. She washed her vase in a basin of water, dumped the contents of the urn out the only window with a latch, shouted for a brush while she fixed her ribbons, and hissed loudly and tossed them aside.

"Are you alright?" Yugi asked, hesitantly handing her a wooden comb.

"I'm fine," she groaned, massaging her breasts and belly. "Damn thing was just uncomfortable."

"You looked terrible, and you were vomiting," Yugi choked, feeling his throat constrict—the memory of that stench churning his own stomach. "I mean… that wasn't from my—" he paused, the pit in his stomach no longer turning but still making him feel sick, "—my soup, was it?" he finally choked out and held his belly, suddenly nauseous. He was no gastronome when it came to cooking, but surely it hadn't…

She spun to him, her face a bewildered mask. With her dress done, her hair brushed, and her face cooled and cleared by water, she looked every inch the proper lady—and it was almost impossible to imagine the feeble, sickly girl Yugi has seen sprawled across the bed moments before.

"Oh, wipe the worry from your face." The girl gave a nonchalant wave. " 'Twas nothing you did. That damn storm just made me seasick, is all. It fades by midday." She dropped the comb onto the dresser and stretched her arms wide over the other, then arched backwards in a slight, perfect crescent. She held the position still, then relaxed and shook the tiredness from her muscles.

"Just so, what'd I miss?"

Yugi told her.

When he was finished, her eyes widened like a bullfrog's and she burst out laughing. "Well, damn me, I take a nap for once and I miss everything!" she chuckled. "And Otogi apologized to you? I thought I'd be an old crone before I saw the day that stubborn git apologized for anything! Ha ha!" Her laughter was rich, full of mirth, and so refreshing after such a taxing day that Yugi could only laugh with her.

"Well, in his defense, I wasn't the kindest healer," Yugi admitted, recalling the men's skittish responses to his snapping orders.

"Oh, bah!" Rhebekka scoffed, downing a swig of fresh water from the scuttlebutt. "Kindness is for recovery, like your Goddess Mut. But when you're slaying disease and saving lives with nothing more than a sprig of plants, a bucket of water, and some wraps, I say ya bite your tongue and let the lioness roar." She said it with a smirk so arrogant, it could've been mistaken for cruel. Suddenly, she coughed and slammed the mug down hard. Yugi jumped to her side.

"Oh, don't fuss," she said, pulling herself up. "Drank too fast, is all." She brushed it off—though Yugi's frown made it clear he was not convinced. Rhebekka ignored him. "Come, come, we've got dinner to fix."

"You already made dinner," Yugi corrected, cool and even. "The potatoes and the fish."

"That'll never be enough," Rhebekka said, starting for the stairs. "Just so, I've must've been asleep for hours so it's probably all gone bad by now."

"Then let me finish it," Yugi snapped, grabbing her arm when she nearly stumbled. She fixed him with a glare but Yugi did not flinch. "Seasick or not, you might be contagious. You, above all, should know the risks of you being ill in any way."

She glared at him harder, but her eyes flickered with something that wasn't anger. Yugi recognized it at once: a spark of rejection—fear. The same Otogi's eyes had shared just before Yugi convinced him to go to the infirmary.

He released her arm and squeezed her hand instead. "You already do so much, Rhebekka," Yugi assured. "As Quartermaster, as well as your other duties. You deserve some rest."

With a begrudging snort, she relented, but did not do so quietly. Stomping her feet and vocalizing voluminous protests the entire trip back to her bed, she finally plopped down and only quieted when she allowed herself to pass out—like a child protesting bedtime. Yugi giggled and covered her with a blanket, then left to finish the dinner she started.

Before long, there were racks of dried fish—grilled and seasoned with lemon and garlic—and a large pot of baked potatoes, seasoned with garlic and an assortment of herbs he'd chosen specifically for their strong circulatory properties. He distributed the plates on the tables just as the crew started piling down for dinner. Yugi quickly filled two plates for Otogi and Rhebekka, and escaped the boisterous ruckus through the back steps to the infirmary. He set Otogi's on the table and left Rhebekka's in her room, where she devoured it greedily.

He took his and Timaeus' portions back to the sterncastle, a tradition they'd started in prelude to Timaeus' evening kiss. A grin spread across his blushing face. Quickening his pace, he found the Navigation Room alit with candles. The maps and markers were cleared away, replaced by a silk tablecloth set with pewter silverware and lotus-embossed glasses. The butterflies fluttering in his stomach burst into a kaleidoscope; his smile nearly split his face. Now where was his husband? he wondered.

No sooner had he set the plates down that he had his answer. Timaeus spun him around and kissed him hard on the mouth. Yugi's lips parted with no resistance and he wove his arms around the other's neck. Timaeus kissed him long and deep with a sweet and restless tongue. He pressed Yugi's back deeper into the table. Yugi hissed into the kiss, but found the pain invigorating and raised his hips higher. His fingers wove into the elder's hair and pulled.

Timaeus kissed him harder, his hands finding Yugi's hips and hiking him onto the table. Strong hands pushed apart his thighs and pulled Yugi flush against him. Yugi broke the kiss with a loud gasp of shock, barely able to catch his breath before Timaeus found his lips again—kissing him with wild, reckless abandon.

He let go of Timaeus' neck. One hand gripped the rim of the table, steading him weakly; the other snaked around the man's broad shoulders and pulled him closer. His lips and tongue loosened, completing the formalities of surrender. Tiny sparks burst across his skin where Timaeus touched him, until Yugi couldn't remember anything else but this man's caress and the taste of his soft lips.

Then it ended with a small pop and a loud, panting gasp. Their limbs detangled and their faces met, flushed and wild-eyed. Timaeus seized Yugi by the shoulders and pulled him so close he could almost taste the ghost of the other's lips. "You were magnificent." His voice was all breath, his eyes blazing.

"Thank you," Yugi panted through an impish smirk.

Timaeus went to steal another kiss, but his lips found Yugi's finger instead.

"Not too hasty, love," Yugi teased coquettishly, though his lips and skin burned for more contact. "Our agreement is for one kiss in the evening. You must wait until tonight for the next one."

Timaeus' emerald eye blazed wild and green, but the other bore a muted patience like a lioness in hunting. His lips curled with accepted challenge—with a smile that nearly slit his face and made Yugi shiver. He leaned tantalizingly close, his breath warming Yugi's lips, and his words feathered over Yugi's ears. "Then I shall do my best to be patient." He sealed the promise with an intoxicatingly slow kiss to the cheek. Then placed another on Yugi's chin, then down his neck, towards his collar, then lower still—

"W-Wait a minute…" Yugi's tongue stumbled over the words, his control slipping. "Didn't you just promise—"

"I did," Timaeus said against his skin, his face buried against the junction of Yugi's throat and littered it with kisses. "But you never said I couldn't kiss you elsewhere instead, did you?"

Yugi felt that devilish smirk of his curling against his skin, and so he chuckled and playfully punched his shoulder.

Then too quickly for his dazed mind to comprehend it, Timaeus pulled away and looked into his eyes. "Unless… you wish for me to stop?" All the humor was gone from his eyes, but his smile was gentle. "Do you wish for me to stop?"

The question made him pause for a minute. Did he want him to stop? The past few days with him like this had been pure bliss, like they had been those pleasant days back in Djanet, where they'd spend them together and conclude them with kisses that left him breathless and giggling and barely able to sleep in expectation for tomorrow. The argument and events that all but ruined them seemed no more than a disturbing nightmare he'd woken up from, and one Timaeus' kisses and affections had chased away.

But there was another question in the first one—one that left Yugi bursting with uncertainty. Did he trust him? If he accepted him, allowed himself to truly be his, would Timaeus become his lover? If not in consumption, then in some form, at least?

He felt the heat of the other's breath and Yugi looked into his eyes, and saw the hesitance in them—like he was holding back some terrible, ferocious beast he did not wish for the other to see, but would do anything within his power to protect him from. But it was there—waiting, hoping, praying for the other to accept him, to forgive him, to trust him, to believe him. Yugi looked at him deeply, and for a moment, he said nothing.

Then he took the other's face in his hands and smiled.

"No." There was no doubt or hesitation in his answer. "I want you to keep kissing me."

Timaeus needed no further instruction. Bursting with delight, his hands clenched and slammed against the table, trapping Yugi's hips between them—but the younger simply tilted his chin, presenting his neck for more kisses. He surrendered to Timaeus' talented lips and tongue. His fingers gripped the edge of the table so tightly that his nails left grooves on the wood, never so pleased to have to lose a game. But after a few minutes of torturous reward, he heard the faint clinking of plates through his serenade of moans, and so he titled his face to the side—causing Timaeus to miss his cheek and kiss behind his ear.

"As much as I would love to continue this, we need to eat," he explained, gently shoving Timaeus away with the greatest of reluctance. "Or else supper's not going to keep."

Begrudgingly, Timaeus pulled away. "Forgive me," he said, breathless. "I find it more and more difficult to hold myself back around you," he confessed, stroking Yugi's cheek.

Yugi giggled, blushing. He couldn't explain why the comment pleased him so.

Timaeus helped him to his chair, poured them both wine from the private reserve, and held his glass in a toast. "You were brilliant today," he praised and took a small sip. "I said you would be."

Yugi flushed and grinned. "Aye, you did. Perhaps I should take your advice more often if it leads to such wonderful rewards." He smiled coquettishly. Timaeus' eyes were blazing again, dark as desire—but bright as danger.

"Aye." He slid his chair closer. "Perhaps you should."

"Eat your fish before it spoils." Yugi blushed, sensing his control once again wavering under the weight of Timaeus' spell. Why was it so easy to fall for him? Why did his every promise hold such sway over Yugi's spirit that he felt like he was drowning, yet he had no desire to swim? Why did a single spontaneous kiss or perfectly-placed gesture leave him breathless and spinning? "Rhebekka and I worked hard to prepare it." He changed the subject quickly.

Timaeus chuckled, but adhered. "How fares our ever-boisterous Quartermaster?"

"Exhausted and ill, though she does her best to hide it," Yugi said with a loud, worried snort.

Timaeus frowned. "I was surprised to see her not even once this evening. How fares she?"

"She kept to her bed for most of it. She said she was only seasick, but I know it's more than that—even if she won't listen to reason." He gripped the fork tight between his fingers, his words laced with frustrated concern.

Timaeus sighed heavily into his hands and shook his head. "It does not surprise me." His words sounded exhausted. "Rhebekka is the finest surgeon, cook, and First Mate I'd seen in all my years. She could kill a bear with her strength and ride a storm with her temper, but she's the most stubborn creature that was ever spat out of the ocean. One of these days, her presentism is going to get her killed—or worse, relieved of duty."

"I agree," Yugi said, then paused a bit to ponder. "But what bothers me are her symptoms. Has she been seasick before?"

"Never that I have seen," Timaeus answered. "She's been in my service nay three years, has seen more storms and rough waters than some of my most seasoned sailors—and not once have they unnerved her. There was once a storm that had the fiercest and most indomitable number of ship-hands retching over the rails, but all she did was holler and stomp about the rain howling orders. She was so loud, I questioned what was worse—the storm or her lost temper."

"Aye." Yugi pondered, taking small bites from his food. "It is so odd, though." He thought about it again, deducing her behavior. "The first time, she said it was stress from our fighting, but that's not been an issue for days—and even if it was, it would not cause her daily sickness nor cause her to sleep nearly all evening."

"She has been much more frazzled as of late, it seems," Timaeus added. "I thought her mood would've improved by now."

"Her appetite's not changed either," Yugi noted, remembering. If anything, she was eating more. "And this evening, she was complaining about pains in her chests. She said her bodice was uncomfortable but—"

It struck Yugi suddenly, and his eyes expanded at the memory. The memory of a peculiar glow to her cheeks before she wiped her face, and the way her dress fell so loosely around her hips when the bodice was removed, and the barely-visible bulge to her midsection…

"Timaeus…?" Yugi suddenly asked.

The elder looked up with a baffled blink.

Yugi flushed at the question, unsure of how to ask it. His fingers played with the fork, then eventually folded his hands on his lap. "Um, Rhebekka… She's married, correct?"

"Aye," Timaeus said, wiping his fingers—his plate a pile of fish bones and wet potato skins. "To my First, if you'll recall."

"Aye," Yugi nodded, face turning redder. "And you and she have been at sea for, nay, three months?"

"Oh, half that," Timaeus estimated. "The journey here was not as treacherous as the one home—took no more than a ten-day by my estimate. I'd say it shall be little over two months by the time we return."

It made sense, Yugi thought—his mother's words coming back to him. "And she and her husband, had they…" His cheeks burned. "Do you suppose they were… intimate before your voyage?" The words were a muffled squeak, meek with embarrassment.

"Ah! I'd be more concerned if they hadn't," Timaeus said with a throaty chuckle. "Once they married, they were together so frequently that I had no choice but to set them up in a house in the village. If you think Rhebekka is loud when she's angry, you should hear her when she's pleasured. Not a soul on the island has slept decently since that girl was married."

The final piece fell into place, revealing the puzzle. All earlier embarrassment and concern melted instantly and Yugi's face bloomed into a brilliant, ecstatic smile once the reality of it has set in. "Oh, damn me!" He burst out laughing, so loud and blithely that Timaeus blinked. "I spent my youth surrounded by women, yet how did I not think of that!"

"Yugi, what is it?" Timaeus asked, concerned and confused.

"Damn me, that does explain it," Yugi chuckled. "That explains it, indeed!"

"Yugi…" Timaeus stuttered weakly.

Yugi burst out laughing again, ignorant of the color draining from his lover's face. "I can't believe she didn't think of it herself! She's going to thrash herself something fierce when I tell her!"

"Yugi!" Timaeus shot up suddenly, his hands slamming the table. "What are you talking about?!"

The delirious happiness melted into a surprised expression as Yugi spun to face his exasperated husband. His eyes were wide and wild like a scared beast, and his skin had grown pale with worry.

"If there is something wrong with Rhebekka, I'll have you tell me! She is not just a valued Quartermaster, but a dear friend as well!"

A moment of clarity struck him and Yugi buried his face in his hands. "Oh, drats. I'm sorry, love," he started to apologize—but then a wicked idea formed. "Timaeus…" He looked up, smiling. "I afraid we'll have to increase my training. Rhebekka won't be able to continue as your Quartermaster. She's going to be… indisposed for a while, I'm afraid."

"Indisposed?!" Timaeus blanched. "Why?! Is she really that ill? How long?!" Questions flew from the man's mouth before he could stop him, and Yugi was torn between laughing and comforting him.

"No, she's not ill, exactly. As for how long, that's a question I won't know for sure until I speak to her, but if I'm right, she still has a good six or seven months before she'll need to retire. After that, I'd say at least two years, maybe three?"

"Three years!?" Timaeus jumped with a horrified screech.

Yugi started then giggled. "Of course! She'll need at least a year to care for it, another to raise it, and it'll be nursing till 'tis three, of course—" He stopped himself, then considered something he hadn't. "Wait, do Locrian women nurse their babes or bottle them? I should've asked that first."

That final sentence froze Timaeus in place. His jaw dropped, then suddenly, he took a step back and plopped into his chair. It crushed under him with a creak.

A smile Yugi couldn't hold back plastered across his face. "Never mind. I'll ask Rhebekka. 'Tis hers, after all." He cleared the empty dishes himself and placed a sweet kiss on Timaeus' cheek.

"I'll be back in a minute. Don't come after us if you hear screaming. She'll only be scolding herself, I promise," he said with a wink, and left the room.

Timaeus' head was still spinning. His mind emptied at Yugi's departure and struggled to organize the sudden flow of memories. Slowly, he began to process the information then piece it together. Six or seven months, a year to care it, another to nurse… nurse, bottle, babe… babe…

With an exasperated sigh somewhere between a laugh and a gasp, he rested his forehead on his palm and rubbed his face. "Rhebekka's carrying a babe…" Once he had said the words out loud, freeing them into the universe, it suddenly became true. The simplicity of it suddenly crashed against the complete and utter reality of it and what it meant. He thought of someone else, who still needed to be told, and what his reaction would be.

Timaeus closed his eyes, exhaled, and shook his head. "Now, won't that be merry news when we reach home?"

XDXDXDXDXD Now you know what's been going on with Rhebekka. Many of you got i already but I still tried to make it as less obvious as possible ;) and of course Yugi's the one to figure out-bet this was the LAST thing on their minds.

The make out scenes I'm actually very proud of-especially cause its a second edition, i edited at the request of my beta and i LOVE how much better it came out! Course after doing such an awesome job on deck, Timaeus had to reward Yugi ;) but also it turned into much more of a trust exercise for them-and a real step forward for them both emotionally and intimately-but of course neither of them is giving up this little cat and mouse game of who will break first any time soon ;)

As I said, i have about four to five more chapters and then we will finally be in Locri! YAY! (phew!) I gotta say this arc took a LOT longer than i thought it would a LOT more development than I originally planned but it was totally worth it!

NEXT UPDATE: MARCH 15TH (MARCH 8TH if I can get these chapters finished , so wish me luck!)

NEXT TIME: In light of this new development, Rhebekka makes a decision that turns everything and everyone on their heads!