Shipwreck Island 7

When I woke up again, it was very dark out. The fire in the cave had burned down to embers so I moved slowly over to stoke it back up. I was stark naked and my pelvis hurt something awful. What I wouldn't give for a painkiller right about now. The thing that I noticed not long after I got the fire back up was that Britt was nowhere around.

"Be careful, baby," I mumbled to myself as I crawled back into the bed to wait for him to come back. I should have probably eaten something, but my worry for Britt far outweighed my worry for myself. I pulled the blanket tighter around myself as I heard what sounded like distant thunder. I hoped that was what it was. I didn't want to think of Britt being hurt or worse, killed. I almost screamed when someone entered the mouth of the cave, but I quickly realized it was Britt when he fell to his knees.

"Britt!" I cried worriedly as I moved as quickly as I could to his side. "Oh God... oh god..." I whimpered as I realized there was a hole in the back of his shoulder.

"I... I found... the radio," he managed to tell me. Blood was seeping between his fingers and down his back.

"Okay... but... we have to do something about this!" I whined as I put his knife into the fire. I grabbed a coconut of water to rinse his back off, trying to see the wound better. I couldn't help but notice that he was trembling.

"It hurts..." he murmured.

"I know, baby..." I said softly. "Did... it go through? Or is it still in your shoulder?" I asked as I kept pouring the water over it so I could see better. He shook his head some.

"It's out..." he told me. "Didn't... didn't hear him coming..." I nodded and took a deep breath.

"Then... I have to burn both sides, right?" I asked, though the thought of hurting him made my stomach twist. He nodded in agreement.

"'M tired..." he murmured, leaning against me.

"Hold on long enough for me to get the back side..." I said as I wrapped one arm around him. "The exit wound is always bigger... You can lay down after I get the back..." He nodded.

"I will," he promised, using me and his uninjured arm to keep himself upright. I reached over to grab his knife from the fire, frowning and almost starting to cry as I brought it over to the hole in the back of his shoulder. My free arm tightened around him as I pressed it down hard, wanting to cauterize as much of the flesh as possible, even if I was burning him. He cried out as the horrible stench of burning flesh wafted in the air. He bit his lip and dug his fingers into the ground. Finally, the knife cooled and I pulled it away to put it back into the fire.

"I'm so sorry, Britt..." I whispered, kissing his shoulder softly as I helped him lay down on his back. I made sure that the fresh burn didn't touch the cave floor though. I didn't want to aggravate it or cause him an infection. He groaned.

"It's... alright. You had to..." he said. I brushed his hair back from his face as I waited for the knife to heat up again.

"But... if I... didn't have those nightmares... you wouldn't have gone there..." I said softly. "You wouldn't have been hurt... and I wouldn't have to hurt you."

"Not your fault..." he told me. "Besides... I hurt you first..."

"I told you to..." I murmured. "Because I wanted to stay with you... I didn't want Damian to take me away..."

"And I want to stay with you... so you have to just like I did," he told me, trying to give me a smile. I leaned over and kissed him softly, still brushing his hair back.

"I love you, Britt..." I whispered. "T-time... for round two..." I mumbled, moving to get the knife from the fire again. He gave me a nod.

"Do it, Kayce," he told me before gritting his teeth and closing his eyes. I bit my lip as I pressed the knife hard against the wound again to cauterize as much of the wound as possible as deeply as possible. He cried out again and I could see the blood on his lip. As soon as the knife cooled I pulled it away and tossed it to the side.

"All done..." I whispered, grasping his face between my hands and kissing him through my tears. It had torn at my heart to hear him cry out in pain like that even if it was necessary. He nodded some in understanding even as he was still breathing raggedly. "Something... for the pain..." I murmured. "I'll be back... I'm going to try to find some aloe..." He reached out with his good arm and caught me.

"No... pirates," he muttered, pulling me back. "They might... be looking for me... too dangerous..." I frowned some even as I rested my head on his good shoulder.

"But you're in so much pain..." I whimpered. "I need to do something... to help you."

"You are helping... just stay," he said, wrapping his arm around me as best he could. "I can't... protect you now..." At that thought, I sat up and let my eyes scan for the knife. I found it and put it down beside the bed.

"Come... let me get you on the bed so you'll be more comfortable..." I murmured, shifting my body under his good arm as my own arms wrapped around his middle. He nodded and helped as much as he could so that I could get him over to the bed. Once I had him on the cushion, he panted some to catch his breath.

"They said... they'd be here by morning..." he murmured without opening his eyes.

"You... got through to someone?" I asked, surprised. I shifted some so that he could lay his head on my chest for once and ran my fingers slowly through his hair. "This means... you have to hold on... until morning..." He nodded in understanding.

"I will," he said. "Can... can I have some water?" he asked.

"Of course." I slipped out from under him to bring one of the buckets closer. Getting up and down hurt me a lot, but I didn't want him to think for a moment he had to do it himself. I filled up a half shell and brought it to him. He opened his eyes and tried to sit up some so he could drink easier. He drank it down in record time though it made him cough.

"Easy, baby," I murmured, rubbing his back gently. "I brought the bucket closer... there's plenty of water..." He coughed again and nodded.

"'M just... really thirsty..." he told me. I frowned, putting my hand on his forehead.

"You're running a fever..." I whispered, feeling the panic rise in me. I quickly grabbed my old t-shirt and tore it into shreds. I soaked a strip in cold water before pressing it against his forehead. Only then did I refill the coconut shell.

"I'll be alright..." he told me. He laid back against the bed once he was done with the second coconut shell. "Just need rest..." he murmured.

"You can rest now..." I whispered. "I'll keep watching over you..." I leaned down, kissing him gently before brushing his hair back. He nodded a bit and tried to get comfortable.

"I'll be fine," he told me as his hand found mine.

"Of course you will," I murmured. "We're... leaving the island in the morning..." I didn't want to think of leaving without him. I wasn't sure I could return to my life with that kind of regret. He nodded again and I slid down to wrap around him carefully. I was so very afraid of waking up in the morning and him being gone. Or having that nightmare again with him too hurt to bring me back. So I stayed awake to watch over him as well as I could.

He kept his arm wrapped loosely around me as he dozed off. All through the rest of the night, I kept changing the wet cloth on his forehead to keep him cooler. Finally morning came and I could hear Clark yelling something. I got up slowly and limped towards the opening of the cave.

"Kayce! There's a ship! Wake up! We're saved!" he yelled as he ran at full tilt towards the cave.

"A ship?" I echoed, looking passed him out to the horizon. Sure enough, there was a large naval type ship out there and getting closer.

"Help me find Damian real quick?" he asked and I recoiled.

"You... can't," I replied softly, looking away.

"What? Why not?" he demanded, looking around me at where Britt still was.

"Are they here?" Britt asked and I hurried as well as I could back to him to give him more water.

"They're here..." I said softly as I helped him sit up. "Clark... wants me to go help him find Damian before they get close enough for rescue..."

"Nothing to find," Britt murmured.

"What does he mean 'nothing to find'?" Clark demanded and I looked over at him with a scowl.

"It means that after Damian attacked me for what Britt did, I had him take Damian to the pirates," I replied coldly. "I almost died because of him and before you lose it altogether, Britt almost died to hail that rescue vessel. Now, get the ho and prepare for rescue."

"Kayce," Britt said ashe tried to push himself up. "Need... to make a signal."

"Already done that," Clark replied. "I started one as soon as I saw the ship. But I could use your wood... It's drier than most anything else I can find." Britt nodded in agreement.

"Won't need it now anyway..." he murmured as he reached for the nearby bucket of water.

"Kayce?" Clark called and I looked up at him. I could read the question on his face and I almost lost it.

"He goes or I don't," I said, anticipating the question. "There's no negotiation there... I'm not leaving the person who saved my life behind to die on this island from a wound he received when doing it!" Britt glanced between the two of us for a moment before taking a drink of water.

"Should hurry and see if the ship's here," he told Clark.

"Y-yeah... I'll go do that.. and get Taylor ready to go," Clark said before quickly leaving. I sighed heavily after he left and my head hit my chest as my shoulders slumped.

"We... should go outside..." he commented, though he didn't make a move to get up right away. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"Did I make the wrong choice?" I asked softly. "Should... I have decided something different in Damian's fate?"

"What else was there?" he asked back. "Killing him is all I can think of," he admitted.

"Would you have killed him if I'd asked you to?" I asked, looking over at him.

"Yes," he answered instantly. "He hurt you." I wrapped my arms around his neck tightly for a moment.

"I love you," I whispered. "Now... let's get you up..." I murmured, knowing I was going to have to ignore my own pain to help him this time. He leaned on me quite a bit which told me he was dizzy. He closed his eyes for a moment let me direct him. I led him out of the cave and down the beach towards the huge bonfire that Taylor and Clark had built. I couldn't help but look back towards the jungle, worried that the pirates too would see the signal fire. Britt was in no condition to help us fight them off if they attacked now.

Once we got to the fire, Britt finally opened his eyes and looked out to the ocean before he slipped down to sit on the sand. Taylor was glaring at me and Clark seemed caught somewhere between worry and embarrassment.

"Kayce..." he started, his face turning a bit brighter red.

"Put some damn clothes on, queer bait," Taylor snapped and I found that I wasn't as embarrassed as I thought I'd be.

"Can't," I replied with a shrug as I sat down in the sand next to Britt. "Damian cut my jeans off of me yesterday when he tried to castrate me. So I'm currently lacking in the covering department." Britt opened his eyes and glared at Taylor.

"Quiet!" he snapped. "You're annoying."

"You are annoying," Clark agreed quietly. "He doesn't like you. Get over it. Not everyone is going to like the local whore." I blinked a little in surprise at his words before ducking my head into Britt's good shoulder to hide my smile. The look that crossed Taylor's face was quite amusing. Her mouth gaped open like a fish and her eyes went huge. Britt smiled and wrapped his arm around my waist before his eyes drifted back to the ship and he gave me a slight nudge.

"There's something happening..." he told me. I stared out at the boat for a moment before I smiled.

"They're dropping a boat to come ashore in..." I said softly. "A boat like that couldn't come close enough for us to swim to... and they wouldn't risk making us do it anyhow... in case someone was critically injured..."

"So it won't be very long," Britt concluded before closing his eyes again.

"Yeah..." I murmured, realizing that Britt was not doing well. There must have been an infection. I just hoped that the ship had a good doctor on board. He rested his head on my shoulder as he dozed off again. Meanwhile, we watched the boat get closer to shore until Taylor started yelling 'over here' at the top of her lungs.

"Come on, baby," I said softly, starting to help him get to his feet again. "Let's get you to a doctor..."

"I'll help him, Kayce," Clark said, taking my place to support Britt's larger frame. "You're injured too... Best not to aggravate yours too." Britt groaned a bit as he worked with Clark to get to the boat that was now on the shore. Two sailors were there, helping Taylor into the boat while another held it steady. It took a bit of effort from Britt, Clark, and the sailors to get him into the boat, but once he was there he nearly collapsed. I got in and wrapped the offered blanket around myself tightly.

"That a burn or a gunshot wound?" one of the sailors asked as we started back for the ship.

"A gunshot wound that was cauterized..." I replied softly. "He was shot after making the call to you last night..." I slipped a hand out of the blanket to stroke Britt's hair as his head rested on my lap. "There's a doctor on board, right? He's a lot weaker than he normally is and he's running a fever..." Britt sighed a bit and tilted his head into my hand. His good hand moved up to hold my other one and I squeezed his hand softly to reassure him.

"Yeah, we have one," the sailor replied. "How long have you been on the island?"

"About a month and a half," Clark replied.

"But... Britt here has been here for years," I added. "He only dared to go try the radio at the pirate camp to help me..."

"Worth it..." Britt murmured.

"Why would he decide to do it last night?" Clark asked. "Because of the cut on you?" I shook my head a little.

"I... have a condition that causes my muscles to cramp severely..." I explained softly as the sailors steered us back to the ship. "I was having nightmares that I was drowning... and apparently during them my lungs were seizing up. He was worried that I wouldn't wake up and start breathing again..."

"Had to do something..." Britt added, squeezing my fingers lightly.

"God... I can't believe you infected him with your faggotry..." Taylor muttered and I sighed, pretending I hadn't heard that as I continued to try to soothe Britt. The sailors glanced between all of us for a moment, but decided not to comment on it. It wasn't like I was in the military or ever would be. I didn't have to live by the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy. Britt opened his eyes and glared at her.

"You were terrible. He was better," he told her with a bit venom. I smiled at that and squeezed his hand as the sailors and Clark tried to stifle their laughs. I at least knew that I hadn't led Britt astray of what would truly make him happy. And what I had told Damian wasn't a lie. I was a better lay. We finally made it to the ship and the boat we were in was hoisted onto the deck instead of us climbing up a ladder. We were all led down to the sick bay to be checked out, but Britt was carried on a stretcher.

I was given an antibiotic and pain killer for my cut and burn on my pelvis. I was also given some clothes to put on so I wasn't running around naked anymore. They mentioned a bunk for us to sleep in, but I wouldn't leave without Britt and they were too busy making him better. As long as he was better, I didn't care about anything else. After awhile, the doctor and his support left, leaving the IV running and the machines to monitor his vitals.

"Kayce," he murmured, opening his eyes. I smiled and moved to sit lightly on the edge of his bed, staying on the good side.

"Hey, baby," I said softly, brushing his hair back with my fingers. The pain killers were working hard on me, making me want to sleep, but the doctor hadn't had my medicine. So I couldn't sleep without monitoring yet.

"Safe now," he said, reaching for my hand with his good one. I smiled at him and brought his hand up to kiss it softly.

"Yes, baby, you are," I replied. "You are very safe now..."

"Mm, so're you..." he pointed out, his finger brushing over my cheek.

"Sort of... I can't get my medicine until we hit a navy base with more medicines..." I told him. "So... they're going to monitor me while I sleep... so they can do whatever they have to to make me breathe again."

"You're safe," he repeated. "Safer than I can make you."

"You kept me safe and protected," I said softly. "Just because you couldn't protect me from something you couldn't see isn't your fault... I was born this way... I'm just glad you're still with me..." He smiled a bit at that.

"Stay with me?" he asked.

"It'd take an act of God to move me from your side," I replied, laying down carefully on his good side. "Especially if you want me here." His smile grew a little.

"I do," he said, carefully wrapping his arm around me. I relaxed against him, making sure the portable monitor was turned on. I was tired and I had a feeling I could fall asleep right here with him.

"You're... going to be stuck with me..." I murmured. "For a very long time..."

"Good," he said, tucking his head against mine as best he could. "I want to be stuck with you." I smiled and nuzzled against him slightly.

"My mother would have loved you..." I murmured. "She liked... to be able to spoil others..." He frowned some.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"I'm sure..." I murmured. "You saved her baby boy... and I love you... so she would have loved you."

"As long as I'm with you," he replied, nuzzling against me.

"I just... have to finish school..." I said softly. "And then we can go anywhere... Especially somewhere... less populated..." He smiled at that.

"Sounds good," he agreed. I smiled, curling around him a little as my eyes closed gently.

"Goodnight, Britt..." I murmured.

"Mm, goodnight," he said. It didn't take me long to fall asleep with all the drugs currently in my system and the comfort of Britt right there with me.