FicWad

A few hours before

"...Captain will fix you up. Just hang in there."

Liam wasn't sure where the noise was coming from. He could only barely make out the words. Most of it was muffled, but a part of him felt as if this voice were familiar.

Try as he might, his eyes refused to open though he could tell through his eyelids that wherever he was it was pitch black. His body felt numb and none of his limbs would listen to his brain. He tried to call out but his mouth wouldn't even open. Everything was so cold, but there was this tiny hint of warmth just beyond his reach.

No, wait...there were two twinges of warmth. One in front of him and the other...behind him. Turning around towards the second source, he felt as it seemed to slowly get closer and stronger. It pulsated slightly as it grew nearer.

Stabs of pain shot through his consciousness, but he couldn't feel the physical body the pain was being caused to. Was it really his pain? He wasn't sure.

A moment later, he stopped going closer. Why was he going this way? When did he decide to do that? He wasn't sure anymore and it was getting harder to remember anything.

As one grew the other diminished, until Liam was barely aware that the other source was still present. The sound kept reverberating through his consciousness, not seeming to originate from a single point but from all around him. He tried to listen hard to where it really was.

There. Turning back towards the other source of warmth, the one that had almost entirely disappeared, he willed himself to walk towards it. Something was pushing him back, pulling him towards the closer warmth that wrapped this comfortable feeling around him and whispered at him to sleep and rest. But something felt...wrong about it.

He pushed with all his effort towards the noise, the almost familiar warmth. Slowly, after almost giving up, Liam began getting closer to the warmth that really felt safe. Yes, the pain was there. But the voice was there too.

"Hang in there, Liam." It said. Liam? Was that his name? He couldn't be sure. But that voice sounded so familiar, so safe and wonderful. He began moving towards it again.

Yes, it was starting to come back to him now. His name was Liam and he was a Heart Pirate. The memories seemed to flood in as he grew closer and closer to the beautiful warmth that soon overcame him. He took a split second to recognize that he was smiling.

Present

A loud commotion woke Summer up from her sleep. She blinked in confusion for a moment before the events from the evening came crashing down on her. Eyes wide, she sat up straight on her bed and stood up. Too fast, her vision swam as the blood rushed to her legs.

Finding her shirt she had discarded before going to sleep, she rushed out of her bedroom door and into the hallway.

'/Please, let it be Captain.' /She thought, listening to the shouts and loud footsteps that came from near the entrance.

"Summer-chan!" Penguin shouted, spotting the blonde jogging down the hall. She gave a tiny smile in relief to see her nakama were ok. It looked like the rest of them had made it back safely, though there were a few cuts and bruises among those returned.

"Where's Captain?" She asked, glancing around desperately for the Dark Doctor in the crowd of people coming through the hatch.

"Captain and Bepo were the first ones on board. Bepo had Reid with him and they were heading towards the infirmary."

"And Reid? Is he-"

"He's still alive, I heard Bepo say it."

"Ah, thank God." She sighed audibly in relief, feeling a large weight lifting from her shoulders. Who knows what she'd have done if Liam had stopped breathing without the Captain around? Or if Reid hadn't made it on the way back to the sub? Just the thought made her shiver in fear.

"Are you alright, Summer-chan? You look a little shaken up." Penguin said, grasping her shoulder in concern. Going with the flow of the moving crowd, the engineer guided her into one of the mess deck chairs. This was good since Summer felt all the stress and emotion crash down on her at once and she felt that she would have fallen to the floor if she hadn't been sitting. In her sudden joy, she could have laughed at the sheer ridiculousness of the whole ordeal.

"Yes, I'm fine. Are you?" He nodded decisively.

"Please! Let me out of here!" Kat's muffled voice was barely heard over the loud shuffling of feet in the hallway, but the crew could still make out her high-pitched shrieking. A few heads turned in the direction of the kitchen, but no one answered or moved to help the crying girl Summer noticed. A small smirk formed on her face.

"How long has she been like that?" Penguin asked, looking decidedly irritated by Kat's obnoxious screams. Shaking her head a little, Summer rolled her eyes.

"As far as I know, over an hour."

"I'm so sorry." He stated with a completely straight face. "Captain said the whole ransom plan is out the window now, especially after this." Summer snorted.

"Well, I would think so." The two laughed a little at this, but a thought quickly sobered her up. "What's Law planning to do with her now?"

Penguin leaned his head against his hand and gave a tired yawn. It was infectious, and soon most of the crew were stifling yawns of their own as they leaned over tables and chairs. "I don't know. All I know is it won't be pleasant for her."

An hour later

"Make sure that IV is hooked in tightly, I don't want anything knocking it loose." Law directed to Bepo, watching as the bear double and triple checked the equipment attached to his mechanic. Satisfied it wouldn't move, he washed his hands off in the sink, watching with a wince at all the blood that came off. Too much for his comfort.

"Do you think they'll be alright Captain?" Bepo asked, glancing between the two men who were currently laying on two of the infirmary beds.

Law had just finished operating on Reid, his focus mainly being the large head wound from the pipe. The wound was extremely serious and Law was worried that losing consciousness would result in him slipping into a coma.

As for Liam, he had silently appreciated the efforts of his two cooks in treating his medic. For having no medical knowledge whatsoever, they had done a great job in keeping him as stable as they possibly could in the situation that had befallen them. He had simply checked the bandages and made sure there were no internal injuries. In regards to Bepo's question, he pondered his answer a moment before speaking.

"As long as he doesn't slip into a coma and nothing begins to bleed in Reid-ya's brain, he should recover. Liam-ya's injuries weren't quite as severe, but I worry about mental trauma. I don't know what this experience could have done to his emotional stability." He stated, not one to sugar coat things when it came to his occupation. Bepo nodded silently and put away the cleaned medical equipment.

"Captain, what are we going to do with the woman?" The bear asked, tilting his head to the side as he looked at him. Law allowed a small grin to show and even chuckled darkly.

"Mrs. Winslow-ya? I'll get to her soon enough. The two of us have much to talk about."