Cormack Owle
31. The Captain and The Engineer: The Promise
It was obvious that Bernadette was not a typical nurse. Her healing methods seemed unconventional and Aiden began to suspect why the "witch" commentary was made. However he chose to trust her; not fear her. She seemed to know exactly what she was doing plus she genuinely cared for Vincent. It showed in how she had fought so passionately for him thus far and how she tended to him.
Cleaning and stitching Vincent's wounds closed had been a series of long, horrible, and exhausting tasks that took several hours. But the pair didn't lose heart and kept working through the night. Aiden worked hard as the muscle for Bernadette and did everything she asked of him whether it be turn Vincent one way or change out the dirty water for a fresh bucket from the public well two blocks away.
Bernadette kept Vincent as heavily medicated as much as she safely could. Thankfully he'd stayed asleep through it all. She even had begun to give him sips of her concoction of tea containing bhang and valerian root after lighting some lavender on the nightstand. Checking his temperature, she breathed a little easier. It hadn't gotten any worse. Thank God!
A short time later, Bernadette was out on the terrace having some soothing lemon tea. Already the first touches of dawn were touching the darkness with promise of a new day. She turned the lemon over in her tea gently with the spoon, sighing softly as she gazed into her cup seemingly lost in thought.
"May I join you, Miss Dubois?"
"Oh, of course."
Bernadette turned to gaze up at Aiden who joined her on the terrace with his own fresh cup of lemon tea. She gazed up at him and quirked her brow before taking a small sip of her tea. "Though, I believe we are well past the point of formalities at this point. Please call me Bernadette and I'll call you Aiden. Deal?"
"Deal."
Aiden chuckled and took a sip of his own tea before turning to lean against the ledge. Closing his eyes, he took a deep inhale through his nose and exhaled through his mouth. It felt good to take a moment to just let some of it out.
"Good. Just let it out. You did great, Aiden," Bernadette spoke softly and sincerely. "I couldn't have done this without you. Vincent wouldn't have lived to see tomorrow for sure if you hadn't been here. He's not just my cousin, you know? He's more like a brother to me; a big brother whom I love dearly. So...thank you. No matter what happens after this, thank you."
Aiden's face went a bright shade of pink but he found himself smiling. "Aw, shucks." But before Aiden could thank her or say anything else, Bernadette continued, "We may have cleaned and closed the wounds but he's not safe yet." She sighed softly and stared into her cup. "Now, we wait and pray that the fever and infection doesn't take him. But...I will say that this is good. He's holding down liquids and his fever isn't spiking. With any luck, it will break soon."
They fell into a tired, quiet silence while they sipped their tea. While they stood there, Aiden thought of something: Bernadette hadn't once asked him how Vincent had gotten into this situation. She'd come and started helping without demanding any explanations. She must be dying to know why her beloved cousin was in this predicament! Aiden certainly would be! He wasn't sure if Vincent would want his cousin knowing the details of what happened.
Bernadette peeked up at Aiden for a long moment. He was so lost in thought that he hadn't noticed her waiting for him so patiently. She smirked slightly and cleared her throat softly. Once he blinked to signal he was back from his thoughts, Bernadette stated, "I'm sure you told the bobbies it was a robbery or the like but I know this isn't a random mugging."
Oh, she had Aiden's attention now. Was she about to ask what happened? He parted his lips but nothing came out so he closed them into a thin line. What could he say to that? Before he could formulate a response, Bernadette spoke up again and offered him a slight smile. "Whatever happened, I'm glad you were there with him." Then she gave a resigned sigh and set down her teacup and bodily turned to face Aiden. Then she gazed right up into his eyes as bold as brass as was her apparent style.
"I have something to say," she explained calmly. "Well... more like I have something to ask of you. But even if you say you won't do it, I understand, but it's a matter of life or death and I need you to promise me that my request stays between us and never leaves this terrace."
"I promise."
"No, I need more than that."
Bernadette held out her right hand and extended her pinky finger towards him and stared into his eyes. He glanced at her finger then stared right back into her eyes as she told him, "The pinky promise is the most sacred of promises. If you break the promise, you cut off your finger." And something flashed in her eyes which gave Aiden the impression that the condition of the broken promise was only if she didn't get to him first. A moment later his hand came up and hooked his right pinkie with hers securely.
"I promise. Your request doesn't leave this terrace."
They stared into each other's eyes for a long moment with their pinkies hooked. Bernadette gave a single nod and released his finger and their hands returned to their sides.
"Thank you. I want to ask you how this really happened but I will not. And don't tell me. It's probably best I do not know. I do not meddle in my cousin's private affairs for good reason. However, should he not survive this ordeal...I...I ask you to speak to my father on his behalf and tell him what happened in detail. Help him find the bastard who did this. Please."
There was a sort of desperation in her voice and to be honest Aiden was taken aback by her request. No, it didn't seem out of the ordinary that she'd want to avenge her cousin. It was the imperative level of secrecy that surprised him. Well, a lot of things she said and did surprised him including how knowledgeable she seemed to be about things without having to be told. It was almost as if she could read minds! But the kind of secrecy she was asking for was not as if she was asking a friend to keep a secret for her. No. This was something much, much more.
But something else she had said had struck another chord with him. It was clear she feared whoever had done this was still out there. To be honest, so did Aiden. He'd not forgotten that his informant had implied that Vincent may have possibly been set up for this whole situation. Hopefully, Vincent would wake up soon so he could tell him what he'd found out!
"I swear I will speak to your father on his behalf if Vincent cannot."
He reached out with his hand and offered his pinky. Bernadette reached out and took his pinkie with hers and squeezed gently before releasing his finger.
"Thank you, Aiden, truly."
"Of course. Hopefully he will be able to speak for himself but when can we expect your father?"
"In about a month. Then he'll be here for the remainder of the Summer as he does every year."
"Oh?" Aiden smiled slightly as he saw the corners of her lips turn upwards into a soft smile as she spoke of her father despite the severity of the situation. "Is that something you look forward to?"
Bernadette smiled more and picked up her teacup once again. "Every year since I was a wee little girl," she explained. "He is a very busy man and his work keeps him from home most of the year. But every Summer he comes home to be with Mama and us girls to make up for it. Spoils us rotten and everything. He's a doting father and loving husband. You'd never guess by looking at him though." She chuckled and drained the rest of her tea with a content sigh to which Aiden did the same.
"More tea?" she asked to which Aiden responded with a grateful smile and nod.
"Yes, please and thank you."
Honestly, the more Aiden thought about it, the more like a witch she seemed to be. Between burning herbs, odd medicines, her forward personality and how she seemed to read his mind was rather fascinating! So what if she was a witch? He liked her and could imagine becoming great friends with her!
"Oh, and Aiden?" she said as she began to put more herbs into their teacups. "It would mean everything to me if you don't go about labeling medicinal practices as 'witchcraft' or anything of the sort. I have enough people like Benjamin Burke in my life if you know what I mean."
She did it again! For a crazy second, he almost laughed! However, the seriousness of the situation won out and he insisted, "I'd never! Especially not after everything you've done! I'm grateful for you!"
The sincerity in Aiden's voice made her smile softly as she continued to prepare their tea. "As I am for you. Thank you for your discretion. I am but a humble nurse who merely dabbles in traditional medicine."
They both looked at each other with small knowing smiles. Yes, Aiden thought, they would be friends. He was glad to have met Bernadette.
"Though I will say," she mused as she left the tea to brew so she could check on Vincent, "I'm surprised Damien was not there with you."
Aiden felt an involuntary sense of frustration as Damien was brought up. It's not like Damien had known better, but if Aiden had done what the man had suggested, Vincent would STILL be in that damn private jail possibly dead by now, all while Aiden would likely be on Leon's Claw asleep! His emotions must have shown on his face because when he glanced at her as she passed by she was looking at him a little inquisitively.
"I didn't tell him before I le- I mean, he doesn't know yet." Aiden cleared his throat as he'd caught himself. "The constable told me he was going to try to contact your family and Damien. I'm surprised no one's come yet either. The sun's already almost up."
Bernadette shook her head as Aiden followed behind her and sounded oddly relieved. "They won't be able to find Damien, I imagine. I'm fairly certain he's staying with his sister and her husband and they have a different family name. As for my family, I sent one of the hospital boys with an urgent letter for my mother to tell her I am handling things here. She knows not to come here until I send for her. Thankfully, I know who Damien's sister is so I can send for him as well when the time comes. If he's not there, I'm certain she will know where to find him."
"Why didn't you send for him before?" he asked innocently as they made it to Vincent's bedside. Was it just him or was Vincent looking more flushed? Beside him, Bernadette frowned slightly and seemed to be thinking along the same lines as she checked his temperature.
"Well, if I'm being honest, he means well but he can be a little conceited and overbearing, don't you think? I'd rather not deal with the extra stress if I can help it."
Aiden couldn't help the amused snort that escaped him as she so bluntly stated her opinion. "I've been bunking with the man for the better part of a whole season. What do you think?" Bernadette gave a small, "Heh." But that was all she said about that. Her focus was no longer on their conversation about Damien.
"His fever is getting worse."
Bernadette had been afraid of this. Now that the worst of the fever was hitting, all they could do was wait for it to burn through Vincent as his body fought against the infection. Bernadette sent Aiden for some fresh water and got to work preparing to help Vincent fight the worsening fever.
Afterwards, there wasn't much Aiden was going to be able to do to help (at least for now) so Bernadette nudged Aiden to get some sleep. At first, he didn't seem very happy with the idea and had tried insisting she should sleep first instead. But even as he began his argument he was already yawning at the thought of finally getting some sleep after such an exhausting series of ordeals. Bernadette won in the end and sent him off to the other room after a cup of lavender tea for himself with the promise to let him know if there were any changes.
At first Aiden didn't think he could fall asleep. As he laid there in Vincent's sitting room on the couch, he tossed and turned for several minutes. All of a sudden, he found a comfortable position and Aiden passed out hard. All the stress and exertions had finally taken their toll.
NEXT PART:
www.flickr.com/photos/153660805@N05/52307843926
...
To start from the beginning or to read another chapter, here's the album link:
www.flickr.com/photos/153660805@N05/albums/72157717075565127
***Please note this is a BOY LOVE (BL/yaoi/gay) series. It is a slow burn and rated PG13!***
***
Special thank you to Vin Aydin Raven-Mysterious for collaborating with me on this series and co-starring as The Captain!
He also custom made the poses for me so thank you muchly! See more of his versatile poses and phenomenal photography in People in Photo!
DISCORD SERVER:
That's right! The Captain and The Engineer has a Discord Server! If you wanna join and chat with other crewmates and see what's new and happening before it gets posted to Flickr, click the link!
***NEW!!!!***
The Captain and the Engineer now has a FACEBOOK PAGE! Please come Like, Follow, and join the crew! Thank you so much for all your support!
FACEBOOK PAGE:
31. The Captain and The Engineer: The Promise
It was obvious that Bernadette was not a typical nurse. Her healing methods seemed unconventional and Aiden began to suspect why the "witch" commentary was made. However he chose to trust her; not fear her. She seemed to know exactly what she was doing plus she genuinely cared for Vincent. It showed in how she had fought so passionately for him thus far and how she tended to him.
Cleaning and stitching Vincent's wounds closed had been a series of long, horrible, and exhausting tasks that took several hours. But the pair didn't lose heart and kept working through the night. Aiden worked hard as the muscle for Bernadette and did everything she asked of him whether it be turn Vincent one way or change out the dirty water for a fresh bucket from the public well two blocks away.
Bernadette kept Vincent as heavily medicated as much as she safely could. Thankfully he'd stayed asleep through it all. She even had begun to give him sips of her concoction of tea containing bhang and valerian root after lighting some lavender on the nightstand. Checking his temperature, she breathed a little easier. It hadn't gotten any worse. Thank God!
A short time later, Bernadette was out on the terrace having some soothing lemon tea. Already the first touches of dawn were touching the darkness with promise of a new day. She turned the lemon over in her tea gently with the spoon, sighing softly as she gazed into her cup seemingly lost in thought.
"May I join you, Miss Dubois?"
"Oh, of course."
Bernadette turned to gaze up at Aiden who joined her on the terrace with his own fresh cup of lemon tea. She gazed up at him and quirked her brow before taking a small sip of her tea. "Though, I believe we are well past the point of formalities at this point. Please call me Bernadette and I'll call you Aiden. Deal?"
"Deal."
Aiden chuckled and took a sip of his own tea before turning to lean against the ledge. Closing his eyes, he took a deep inhale through his nose and exhaled through his mouth. It felt good to take a moment to just let some of it out.
"Good. Just let it out. You did great, Aiden," Bernadette spoke softly and sincerely. "I couldn't have done this without you. Vincent wouldn't have lived to see tomorrow for sure if you hadn't been here. He's not just my cousin, you know? He's more like a brother to me; a big brother whom I love dearly. So...thank you. No matter what happens after this, thank you."
Aiden's face went a bright shade of pink but he found himself smiling. "Aw, shucks." But before Aiden could thank her or say anything else, Bernadette continued, "We may have cleaned and closed the wounds but he's not safe yet." She sighed softly and stared into her cup. "Now, we wait and pray that the fever and infection doesn't take him. But...I will say that this is good. He's holding down liquids and his fever isn't spiking. With any luck, it will break soon."
They fell into a tired, quiet silence while they sipped their tea. While they stood there, Aiden thought of something: Bernadette hadn't once asked him how Vincent had gotten into this situation. She'd come and started helping without demanding any explanations. She must be dying to know why her beloved cousin was in this predicament! Aiden certainly would be! He wasn't sure if Vincent would want his cousin knowing the details of what happened.
Bernadette peeked up at Aiden for a long moment. He was so lost in thought that he hadn't noticed her waiting for him so patiently. She smirked slightly and cleared her throat softly. Once he blinked to signal he was back from his thoughts, Bernadette stated, "I'm sure you told the bobbies it was a robbery or the like but I know this isn't a random mugging."
Oh, she had Aiden's attention now. Was she about to ask what happened? He parted his lips but nothing came out so he closed them into a thin line. What could he say to that? Before he could formulate a response, Bernadette spoke up again and offered him a slight smile. "Whatever happened, I'm glad you were there with him." Then she gave a resigned sigh and set down her teacup and bodily turned to face Aiden. Then she gazed right up into his eyes as bold as brass as was her apparent style.
"I have something to say," she explained calmly. "Well... more like I have something to ask of you. But even if you say you won't do it, I understand, but it's a matter of life or death and I need you to promise me that my request stays between us and never leaves this terrace."
"I promise."
"No, I need more than that."
Bernadette held out her right hand and extended her pinky finger towards him and stared into his eyes. He glanced at her finger then stared right back into her eyes as she told him, "The pinky promise is the most sacred of promises. If you break the promise, you cut off your finger." And something flashed in her eyes which gave Aiden the impression that the condition of the broken promise was only if she didn't get to him first. A moment later his hand came up and hooked his right pinkie with hers securely.
"I promise. Your request doesn't leave this terrace."
They stared into each other's eyes for a long moment with their pinkies hooked. Bernadette gave a single nod and released his finger and their hands returned to their sides.
"Thank you. I want to ask you how this really happened but I will not. And don't tell me. It's probably best I do not know. I do not meddle in my cousin's private affairs for good reason. However, should he not survive this ordeal...I...I ask you to speak to my father on his behalf and tell him what happened in detail. Help him find the bastard who did this. Please."
There was a sort of desperation in her voice and to be honest Aiden was taken aback by her request. No, it didn't seem out of the ordinary that she'd want to avenge her cousin. It was the imperative level of secrecy that surprised him. Well, a lot of things she said and did surprised him including how knowledgeable she seemed to be about things without having to be told. It was almost as if she could read minds! But the kind of secrecy she was asking for was not as if she was asking a friend to keep a secret for her. No. This was something much, much more.
But something else she had said had struck another chord with him. It was clear she feared whoever had done this was still out there. To be honest, so did Aiden. He'd not forgotten that his informant had implied that Vincent may have possibly been set up for this whole situation. Hopefully, Vincent would wake up soon so he could tell him what he'd found out!
"I swear I will speak to your father on his behalf if Vincent cannot."
He reached out with his hand and offered his pinky. Bernadette reached out and took his pinkie with hers and squeezed gently before releasing his finger.
"Thank you, Aiden, truly."
"Of course. Hopefully he will be able to speak for himself but when can we expect your father?"
"In about a month. Then he'll be here for the remainder of the Summer as he does every year."
"Oh?" Aiden smiled slightly as he saw the corners of her lips turn upwards into a soft smile as she spoke of her father despite the severity of the situation. "Is that something you look forward to?"
Bernadette smiled more and picked up her teacup once again. "Every year since I was a wee little girl," she explained. "He is a very busy man and his work keeps him from home most of the year. But every Summer he comes home to be with Mama and us girls to make up for it. Spoils us rotten and everything. He's a doting father and loving husband. You'd never guess by looking at him though." She chuckled and drained the rest of her tea with a content sigh to which Aiden did the same.
"More tea?" she asked to which Aiden responded with a grateful smile and nod.
"Yes, please and thank you."
Honestly, the more Aiden thought about it, the more like a witch she seemed to be. Between burning herbs, odd medicines, her forward personality and how she seemed to read his mind was rather fascinating! So what if she was a witch? He liked her and could imagine becoming great friends with her!
"Oh, and Aiden?" she said as she began to put more herbs into their teacups. "It would mean everything to me if you don't go about labeling medicinal practices as 'witchcraft' or anything of the sort. I have enough people like Benjamin Burke in my life if you know what I mean."
She did it again! For a crazy second, he almost laughed! However, the seriousness of the situation won out and he insisted, "I'd never! Especially not after everything you've done! I'm grateful for you!"
The sincerity in Aiden's voice made her smile softly as she continued to prepare their tea. "As I am for you. Thank you for your discretion. I am but a humble nurse who merely dabbles in traditional medicine."
They both looked at each other with small knowing smiles. Yes, Aiden thought, they would be friends. He was glad to have met Bernadette.
"Though I will say," she mused as she left the tea to brew so she could check on Vincent, "I'm surprised Damien was not there with you."
Aiden felt an involuntary sense of frustration as Damien was brought up. It's not like Damien had known better, but if Aiden had done what the man had suggested, Vincent would STILL be in that damn private jail possibly dead by now, all while Aiden would likely be on Leon's Claw asleep! His emotions must have shown on his face because when he glanced at her as she passed by she was looking at him a little inquisitively.
"I didn't tell him before I le- I mean, he doesn't know yet." Aiden cleared his throat as he'd caught himself. "The constable told me he was going to try to contact your family and Damien. I'm surprised no one's come yet either. The sun's already almost up."
Bernadette shook her head as Aiden followed behind her and sounded oddly relieved. "They won't be able to find Damien, I imagine. I'm fairly certain he's staying with his sister and her husband and they have a different family name. As for my family, I sent one of the hospital boys with an urgent letter for my mother to tell her I am handling things here. She knows not to come here until I send for her. Thankfully, I know who Damien's sister is so I can send for him as well when the time comes. If he's not there, I'm certain she will know where to find him."
"Why didn't you send for him before?" he asked innocently as they made it to Vincent's bedside. Was it just him or was Vincent looking more flushed? Beside him, Bernadette frowned slightly and seemed to be thinking along the same lines as she checked his temperature.
"Well, if I'm being honest, he means well but he can be a little conceited and overbearing, don't you think? I'd rather not deal with the extra stress if I can help it."
Aiden couldn't help the amused snort that escaped him as she so bluntly stated her opinion. "I've been bunking with the man for the better part of a whole season. What do you think?" Bernadette gave a small, "Heh." But that was all she said about that. Her focus was no longer on their conversation about Damien.
"His fever is getting worse."
Bernadette had been afraid of this. Now that the worst of the fever was hitting, all they could do was wait for it to burn through Vincent as his body fought against the infection. Bernadette sent Aiden for some fresh water and got to work preparing to help Vincent fight the worsening fever.
Afterwards, there wasn't much Aiden was going to be able to do to help (at least for now) so Bernadette nudged Aiden to get some sleep. At first, he didn't seem very happy with the idea and had tried insisting she should sleep first instead. But even as he began his argument he was already yawning at the thought of finally getting some sleep after such an exhausting series of ordeals. Bernadette won in the end and sent him off to the other room after a cup of lavender tea for himself with the promise to let him know if there were any changes.
At first Aiden didn't think he could fall asleep. As he laid there in Vincent's sitting room on the couch, he tossed and turned for several minutes. All of a sudden, he found a comfortable position and Aiden passed out hard. All the stress and exertions had finally taken their toll.
NEXT PART:
www.flickr.com/photos/153660805@N05/52307843926
...
To start from the beginning or to read another chapter, here's the album link:
www.flickr.com/photos/153660805@N05/albums/72157717075565127
***Please note this is a BOY LOVE (BL/yaoi/gay) series. It is a slow burn and rated PG13!***
***
Special thank you to Vin Aydin Raven-Mysterious for collaborating with me on this series and co-starring as The Captain!
He also custom made the poses for me so thank you muchly! See more of his versatile poses and phenomenal photography in People in Photo!
DISCORD SERVER:
That's right! The Captain and The Engineer has a Discord Server! If you wanna join and chat with other crewmates and see what's new and happening before it gets posted to Flickr, click the link!
***NEW!!!!***
The Captain and the Engineer now has a FACEBOOK PAGE! Please come Like, Follow, and join the crew! Thank you so much for all your support!
FACEBOOK PAGE: