Up on the quarterdeck our gallant captain stands...

[simplestgift]

Who: seventeensir lists_to_port and a noprevaricating.
What: Just a little mischief.
When: June 24th, evening.
Where: House 36
Summary: Horatio is planning Very Brave Very Stupid Things.  So Archie is hiring Jack to make sure those Stupid Things don't happen.
Rating: It's friends kidnapping each other, so...nothing too serious.  PG-13 tops.

After his conversation with Jack, Archie had learned two things.

1. He was forbidden to lift anything for four more weeks, including protesting best friends.

2. He was given prescription narcotics for pain management.

The second made the first much easier to deal with. At the moment, he was innocently making coffee, having skimped on his pain meds today to have enough to use for this purpose. The new house was much, much roomier than the old flat had been, but there was an increased chance of Horatio meandering by the kitchen and seeing what he was doing. So he kept the saved pain medication innocently in one hand. The general shop had had a granite mortar and pestle for crushing herbs. When Horatio ducked out of the house on an errand, Archie quickly dropped the pills into the mortar and crushed them. The coffee was decaffeinated and stronger than he normally made it. This would do.

The trouble with not taking enough pain meds was obvious, but Kennedy had come up with tricks to take his mind off pain long ago. He hadn't wanted to go to Dr. Hepplewhite every time Simpson gave him cause, so he'd developed a way to shrink his consciousness.

"Through the forest have I gone.
But Athenian found I none,
On whose eyes I might approve
This flower's force in stirring love.
Night and silence. --Who is here?
Weeds of Athens he doth wear."

Horatio was back, and Kennedy was pouring the coffee, his voice the barest whisper.

"This is he, my master said."

The crushed pills went into one cup of coffee, and he stirred in time to the text he recited.

"Churl, upon thy eyes I throw
All the power this charm doth owe.
When thou wakest, let love forbid
Sleep his seat on thy eyelid:
So awake when I am gone;
For I must now to Oberon.

Horatio! I made coffee!"

Comments

[simplestgift]

"The house must have crushed her while the legs continued walking, then. They're a goodly ways away."

[all7seas]

"There are stranger things under the moon, I suppose." With a grunt on the word "moon," Jack gave up on carrying Horatio and began to drag him, hands firmly planted under the other man's armpits, the rest of the way to the house, giving the disembodied witch legs a little wave as he passed them by. Horatio's heels made two even grooves in the sand as they went.

Sparrow had momentarily forgotten that Buffy would be home, probably waiting for him to return.

[simplestgift]

Archie grabbed Horatio's legs in response and lifted. "Easy, now! Next they'll be putting you in the hospital."

[all7seas]

"And I'm thinkin' when all this is said and done, a nice quiet stay in the hospital will do me well," he snapped back, unhappy that Kennedy, who had seemed to be in pain earlier and favoring his back, was now lifting again.

"If you run round and open the door, things'll go much more smoothly. Savvy?"

[simplestgift]

A nod. Kennedy headed for the door and yanked it open, trying not to limp as he went. "Welcome home, Your Most Gracious and Excellent Excellency."

[herotypical]

Buffy slept on this couch a lot. This couch has been there for her over the past few months. Occasionally, it had been a death-vigil couch. More occasionally, it's been a getting-to-know-Jack-Sparrow couch. But sometimes it was just that couch that Buffy slept on. Like she was doing right now. Blissfully unaware of the fact that she was both alone and in mourning. Dreaming about nothing particularly portentous or horrible.

She was on her stomach, one arm draping down. Fingers touching the floor. Her hair was a mess but she looked more peaceful in the night-tinged light, asleep, than she had in days while awake.

[all7seas]

"Kennedy. It's. Quietly, now."

Archie's facetious welcome, thankfully, had not awakened Buffy Summers, and Jack for the moment forgot that the young sailor might look askance at the fact that a half-naked young woman was sleeping on Jack's couch, wearing only his shirt.

The pirate could not pause to worry about this, however, because he was dragging bloody blasted carcass-de-Hornblower across the floor and trying so very desperately not to make any loudish or alarming or wake-Buffy-from-sleep Hornblower-dragging-noises.

[captainhornblower]

Bit by bit, Horatio's senses had been creeping back to him. Words that would not flow together in conversation. A dull ache in his head. The strong desire to close his eyes again and go to sleep. A glimpse of a man-- even his clouded mind knew him. Archie.

Being dragged.

He was being dragged.

Horatio stirred slightly at first under Jack's hold before he started to thrash. Under his breath, he muttered something. "Surgeon" was among the words. And perhaps something like "Need a doctor. Not dead yet."

Because, after all... one of the only reasons he was used to a man being dragged was to, in the heat of battle, get rid of the corpses that littered the deck.

His actual movements were not as sharp as he thought they were, but he was trying to struggle-- both out of the grip and to his feet to prove he could stand on his own. If let try? He'd waver badly on his feet the very next instant.

[simplestgift]

Archie noticed three things. First of all, Buffy was lying half-naked on the couch. Second of all, Horatio was waking up. Third of all, Buffy was lying half-naked on the couch.

Before he could choke out his surprise because she had insisted that nothing was happening between her and Jack Horatio started talking. That would wake Buffy, who was lying half-naked on the couch and was certainly not part of this plan.

He shushed Horatio quietly but desperately. "Don't move," he breathed.

Buffy. Was. Just as half-naked as before. This was problematic. Not quite as distracting as it could have been, fortunately, since it had roughly the same effect as seeing his sister half-naked on...Jack...Sparrow's...noooo not thinking about that. No. Stop.

/sneaks a tag in before work

[herotypical]

She stirred. "Hmm -- Jack?" The Slayer twisted and turned, reaching out for the body that wasn't beside her. Not anymore. And for a brief second it was like the couch wasn't there at all, either. And she was plummeting. Or maybe that was just the pit of her stomach dropping away. Not such a foreign feeling, really. She felt it almost every time she woke up alone.

Hard after the loneliness came the grief. Giles. Waking up wasn't getting any easier. Wasn't getting any less brutal. Except...not too far off was the familiar fine-cutting figure of the pirate, silhouetted by the night's natural light slicing through the windows. A small explosion of relief in the middle of her chest at the recognition. A spark.

"I thought...come back to--" the rest was lost to a murmur. She sounded tired, bleary. She hadn't bothered to look beyond Jack's shadow -- seeing it, she had fell back upon the couch cushions and began to rub her eyes with the heels of her palms.

She hadn't seen anyone else. Not yet. Too tired and sad to realize a thing.

I WILL BE ABLE TO DO MORE ON THIS TOMORROW NIGHT am @ my parents' tonight.

[all7seas]

Oh, bugger, BUFFY. Jack made some very significant head motions at the deer-in-the-headlights Kennedy as two people who SHOULD BE NOT CONSCIOUS began regaining consciousness at the most inopportune moment possible. He wavered for a moment, torn between clonking Horatio on the head and going to Buffy to soothe her back to sleep.

He chose a third option: calming words.

"Buffy, love, I've just got to...shut the windows in the attic. I'll be back to bed directly, darling. Wait for me."

Perhaps that would do.

/running around crazy with long hour temp work, so!

[captainhornblower]

The first voice held his attention the most, and Horatio managed to get his vision to focus enough to sort of confirm that he'd heard what he thought he'd heard.

"Archie." The word came low, muttered.

His mind was slow, the thought process dulled by the drugs in his system coupled with his own exhaustion. Unnatural as the means to the captain finally sleeping had been, they had prompted his body to allow itself to shut down, and the more active part of him was having trouble stirring the overworked mind and flesh into obeying.

What Archie had actually said... he didn't hear so well. So he tried to brace himself against the arms dragging him so he could attempt standing again. The first attempt was unsteady at best. The second... not much better, even if he did manage to get hold of Sparrow enough to heave himself upright.

[simplestgift]

Archie couldn't really speak, so he desperately mouthed No no no no no no no no while trying to grapple (quietly) with his friend to keep him down and out of the half-naked Buffy's sight. Unfortunately, this (quiet) grapple ended in a (rather loud) thump as both sailors (ungracefully) hit the floor together, a tangle of indigo-clad limbs as the lieutenant attempted to clap a hand over his captain's mouth.

1/2

[herotypical]

Wait for me.

Buffy straightened her shoulders against the couch cushions and blinked up at the dark ceiling. Was there bad weather, she wondered? Is that why the windows needed shutting? The Slayer raked fingers through her sleep-mussed hair and yawned.

And that was when she heard the scuffling, a whispered name. A rather loud thump.

done.

[herotypical]

She sat up. Bolted, nearly. Those were sounds of someone else.

"Who else is there?" Concern, curiousity. She clutched the loose piratical shirt tighter around herself.

[all7seas]

Oh for the...

"It's just...Kennedy. I've got to show him something in the attic and----"

Wait a minute: Buffy Always Finds Out.

"Annie? We've got Hornblower. If you'll give us a moment to secure him, I'll explain."

[captainhornblower]

"Arch--" The hand over his mouth silenced any other sound, save the preceding thud.

Still confused, the drugs lingering but slowly wearing away, he tried to think what was going on. Names and dates intermingled in his mind, old friends and new acquaintances scrambled.

All he could think of was that if Archie was trying to make him be quiet... it was damned important he shut up immediately. So his movement stilled. His body tensed, ready to scramble to his feet and for his sword at a moment's notice, and a very clear thought appeared in his previously distracted eyes, his mouth still covered.

What's happening? What do I need to do?

[simplestgift]

Archie brought a finger to his lips, his face calm, looking Horatio directly in the eyes.

Stay still and don't struggle. You're safe, so don't be afraid. We're trying to help you.

With that, he glanced up at Jack to see what was to be done next, uncovering Horatio's mouth at the same time.

[herotypical]

Kennedy -- Archie?

Her tired mind always had to do this conversation. Another Kennedy was always quicker to come to mind. Although, as time marched on, that association was getting slowly rewritten. Not such a bad thing, Buffy thought.

And Horatio? Buffy seemed frozen in thought but something eventually kickstarted her into action and she wrestled with the sleeping bag that had bunched and bundled up at the foot of the couch. "Oh my God--"

She pulled it tightly around her body. Embarrassed. But that embarrassment only lasted a few seconds. "W-wait...secure him? Is he? What happened?"

At that jolting hint that there might be something more at work, the Slayer was entirely awake.

[all7seas]

"Shhhhh, Buffy! We'll be right back, eh? Then we'll explain everything." Jack bent to lift the Hornblower portion of that tangle of Britain's finest lying on the floor of Cullen House. "I'll explain everything. Kennedy will remain silent as the grave after we look after him."

[captainhornblower]

As Sparrow grabbed him to haul him up, Horatio's hand shot out to latch onto Archie's jacket. His mind was too scattered right now to know where he was, to put names to the two unfamiliar voices. But he knew Archie, and he knew he couldn't afford to be separated from Archie.

"What the Devil is going on?" he muttered.

He understood to be quiet, and things were becoming more focused every second. His eyes were clearing as his mind sharpened.

[simplestgift]

"Nothing, Horatio." Very calm voice, this one. "We're going to look after you."

[herotypical]

...Someone else, too. She frowned.

And then it was a testament to just how much Buffy Summers trusted Jack Sparrow; "Fine. Be quick. I don't like being put on hold. That goes double for explanations of wacky midnight hijinks."

[all7seas]

"Right. I'm stowing one mulish Hornblower in the attic, then I will drink some rum, because carrying said mulish Hornblower is thirsty work. Then I will be as quick as you wish, mistress. Kennedy? It'll be your job to open the attic door for me, lad. I'll have to go up backward."

That said, Jack concentrated on the final leg of his Hornblower-toting journey. The attic stairs were narrow and dark and he wished he could have a nip of rum first.

[captainhornblower]

"Perfectly capable of walking on my own." It was a muttered protest, and Horatio tried to make good on it. He could stand. He could walk. But his balance was iffy. Still, he was alert enough to not wholly succumb.

When they reached the narrow attic stairs, he nearly lost his footing in the dark, but an arm against the wall-- and one hand latching itself onto Archie's good shoulder-- kept him from falling.

"Where are we going?" he muttered as he tried to right himself, still holding his friend's shoulder.