![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bymagajonesDanny woke suddenly, with a gasp and a sharp ache to the back of his head, Grace the first thought in his mind. Ignoring the double vision, he tried to stand and found he was chained to the back of one of the princess’ wagons. “Bitch,” he growled, pulling ineffectively at his arm. Squinting, he leaned down to get a closer look, catching himself with his other arm as he almost lost his balance.
He’d seen these ties before – hell, he’d used them himself before to subdue thieves until one had actually broken his hand and gotten fr… Without sparing a thought, Danny rammed his hand hard against the back of the wagon, trying hard not to vomit or once again lose consciousness. After a few seconds, he managed to pull his broken hand free – and if anyone asked, he did not, absolutely did not groan like a scared schoolgirl – and used the wagon to pull himself upright. The entire time, his mind chanted “save Gracie, save Gracie” in time to his heartbeat and the pounding in his head. He pressed his forehead against the wagon’s cloth covering and tried to think over the competing pains emanating from his head and his hand. The whinny came at the perfect time.
Staggering over to the corral, he pulled himself up on the first horse he could find. It took more time than he wanted, but a busted head and hand tended to slow a guy down. Grabbing hold of the horse’s mane with his good hand, he kicked with his heels and pressed his head against its neck, squinting so he could see enough to go the right direction.
In no time at all, he was racing past the soldiers’ tents and managed to slow the horse down before actually running into the dragon. Unfortunately, his tenuous grasp on the mane didn’t help his control, and he flew over the horse’s head to land in the dirt. On the hard ground. Where breathing had suddenly become a lot more difficult. Wheezing, he stood, trying to keep his balance and survey his surroundings, his head injury showing him double of everything.
After a few seconds, he realized that both of the dragons he saw were standing over his daughter’s prone bodies, a foot – paw? – placed over her so she couldn’t move. It took him a moment to try to figure out which one was real, and he stumbled toward her, “Grace…” he whispered.
Grace lifted her head and looked at her father with a dirty face. “Danno, she’s not gonna hurt me.”
“Just stay still.” Danny pressed a hand against his head, trying to pull up all of the information he’d learned about the dragon despite the ferocious pounding.
“I’m sorry, Danno,” Grace said. “I promise I didn’t get too close, but she smelled and sucked me to her nose.”
Danny remembered from firsthand experience how strong the dragon’s… suddenly it all came back to him. “Monkey, it’s okay. You’re right. I don’t think she’s going to hurt you.” His heartbeat started to slow as he made himself stand straight and concentrate on quickly putting together a plan.
“I have this,” the princess said, walking over to him and staring him malevolently in the eye. “And when I’m finished, I will see you drawn and quartered for daring to touch me!”
“Like that’s the first time anyone’s ever used that threat with me,” Danny growled.
“Danny!”
Danny turned to watch Steve, Kono, and Chin ride up on their horses, JennaKaye seated with Kono, her arms wrapped around the mage’s waist. Steve didn’t even wait for his horse to stop before he jumped off and headed toward them. “Danny, step away from the princess.”
Danny couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “You come riding up in here, my daughter under the paw of a dragon, and the first thing you say is ‘step away from the princess’? Really?”
“Danno –“
“No!” Danny shouted, anger and disappointment and pain merging together inside him. “You don’t get to call me that!”
The princess had used the time to summon some of her guards, and they grabbed Danny, one holding his arms from the back, the other punching him in the stomach so hard that his knees buckled, and he ended up throwing up all over the man’s boots. Distractedly, he thought that was what the guy deserved, sucker punching a man like that. Danny thought he heard Steve shout something over his heaving, but he didn’t really care about that right now. He knew he had to focus on what was most important, and that was – and always would be – Grace. Taking a moment to make sure he’d finished puking, he prepared himself and rammed his head back into the face of the guy holding his arms. He fought through the black spots and turned, knocking the guy out with an uppercut. It only took him a few staggering steps to turn around, expecting the other guy, mister vomit shoes, to come at him, but he came face to face with a grinning Kono, who’d already taken care of the man with what looked like was one tough punch.
“Got your back, brah,” she said.
He smiled his thanks and turned to find the princess walking toward the dragon. “Just when I think I couldn’t hate her any more, she goes and does something that might get my baby killed.”
“Want me to take her out for you?”
“No sense in both of us being put to death,” Danny muttered, stumbling toward the dragon. “Hey there, remember me?” He used his soft sing-songy voice reserved for soothing children in the middle of the night – and, evidently, dragons holding his daughter under their foot. The dragon turned to face him, her inhalation sliding him a few feet toward her.
“No, dragon! Look at me!” The princess waved her hands over her head, capturing the dragon’s attention and making Danny grind his teeth. He didn’t want to upset the dragon by confusing her, so he remained silent, just knowing that it wasn’t going to go well. “I command you to let her go!”
Danny turned a little toward Kono, raising his arms and shoulders in a what-the-hell? motion, receiving an eye roll and a sigh back. From both Konos.
The dragon clearly wasn’t loving the princess either. Danny watched her gather her breath, and time seemed to slow down. He ran, pitching himself at the princess just as the dragon blew fire her way. He managed to knock her to safety, placing himself over her for protection, feeling the fire burn his back.
“Get off me, you oaf!” The princess railed, smacking at Danny as he rolled off her with a groan. She clamored to her feet, glaring down at him. “Your highness, I want this man taken and killed immediately!”
Danny didn’t even bother looking at Steve. Gathering his energy, he stood and faced the dragon once again. “Ignore her. She annoys me too. But this one –” he pointed toward Grace with both of his hands, the broken one curled and aching. “this one is mine. She’s mine.” He wanted to beg, to yell at the dragon to let his baby go, but he knew that would only get her killed.
The dragon looked behind herself for a moment, then back at Danny, licking Grace from feet to head, just like she’d done Danny.
“Ewww,” Grace muttered quietly, making Danny smile despite the seriousness of the situation.
The dragon looked behind her for a moment, then stepped back, gently taking her foot off of Grace.
“C’mere, Monkey,” Danny whispered, swallowing a groan as he dropped awkwardly to his knees and held out his arms.
Grace scuttled back a few feet, turned onto her hands and knees, and quickly crawled into Danny’s arms.
Suddenly Danny’s back and ribs no longer ached, his head and hand stopped throbbing; his daughter was safe in his arms, and that was all that mattered. He rocked her back and forth until the darkness swallowed him.
Steve was never one for indecision, leaning toward action rather than holding back. But this time, he didn’t spring into action until Danny fell sideways, his arms still around his daughter. As much as he wanted to run over to Danny, he knew he first had to deal with the princess first. “Chin –”
“We’re on it, Boss.”
Steve walked over to the princess, who was surrounded by her retinue, all of whom were tuttering over what’d happened. She broke off from them as she caught Steve’s eye. “Your Highness, that… that commoner has accosted me on more than one occasion, speaking to me and,” she swallowed, “touching me.”
Steve eyeballed her. “You look fine. Nothing a little dusting off won’t cure.”
Her mouth dropped open. “But he – ”
“He saved your life? Yes, I saw that. I’m not sure what happened to lead up to this moment, but I know Danny, and I can tell you that there is no way he’d put his daughter in harm’s way.”
“She snuck up here on her own. I didn’t force her.”
“So who did you tell when you saw her sneaking away?” Steve was starting to form a picture of what had transpired, the image solidifying when he saw the princess look guiltily at Grace, who was crying, trying to wake up her father.
“She’s a princess,” the princess said.
“She’s also a little girl!” Steve growled. He took a deep breath, calming himself. He ran a hand through his hair, a gesture his tutors thought they had trained him out of many years ago. “Your Highness, it was a pleasure to meet you, but… but I choose Danny.”
“I knew it! From the first time I saw you two looking at each other, I knew it! But he’s a commoner! He’s not worthy – ”
Steve stepped directly in front of her, causing her retinue to gasp. “Danny is one of the best men I know, and I won’t have you maligning him. Perhaps it’s time for you to return to Enterprise.”
“But it’s too long a journey for us to go without an escort,” the princess protested.
“Your Highness,” JennaKaye whispered, handing him a rolled parchment before fading away as quickly as she’d appeared.
Handing the parchment to the princess, Steve said, “You managed to make it to the castle unescorted – and uninvited,” he couldn’t help but remind her, “but here is a safe, short route to your lands from here. You won’t even have to go out of your way to return to the castle.” He paused a moment to enjoy her surprise, knowing she was really going to be pissed off when she realized that he’d obviously planned this in advance of this whole debacle. “I’ll give the king and queen your regards.” Turning away from her, he moved the few feet to Danny and dropped to his knees beside Kono and across from Chin and Grace. “How is he?”
“He has the bad burn on his back,” Kono said.
“Broken hand, cracked ribs,” Chin added. “He might have a concussion.”
“Wake up, Danno,” Grace whispered, tears running down her cheeks.
“Grace,” Steve said, gesturing to her, watching her reluctantly rise and walk around Danny to him. He wrapped his arms around her. “Danno’s going to be just fine. Kono, Chin, JennaKaye, and I will take care of him.”
“Promise?” She asked.
“I promise.”
“Oh no,” she wailed suddenly.
“What’s wrong?” Steve held her away from him, looking her over to see where she was hurt.
“It’s time for me to go back!”
“But don’t you have one more day?”
“I do, but – I’m going home. I can feel it. Tell Danno I love him.”
Steve took her hands. “I’ll take care of him. I promise.” He wasn’t prepared when Grace threw her arms around his neck and kissed him on the cheek.
And then she was gone.
Danny regained consciousness slowly, feeling a familiar rocking. “Damnit, I’m in the wagon again.” His voice was rough, his throat dry. It didn’t help that he was lying on his stomach, his face against what felt like a really soft pillow. Gripping both sides of the bed – or cot or whatever – he tried to pull himself up, but the unexpected pain in his hand and throbbing in his back had him falling back onto the cot.
He thought back. He remembered the recon he and Steve had done, his face going warm at the – wait. Grace. Where was Grace? Biting back the pain, he forced himself to a seated position, trying not to give in to the black spots he saw. A few seconds later, he had another problem and crawled to the back of the wagon just in time to throw up into an empty bucket. There wasn’t much left, just a bit of acid, but his throat burned afterwards. He needed to find Grace. Still on his hands and knees, he crawled toward the flap in the front of the wagon. He wasn’t sure how long it took him, but he was sweaty and shaking by the time he pulled open the flap. “Where’s Grace?” He managed to croak, blinking his eyes as the sweat dripped into them.
“You scared me!” JennaKaye said, her slight jerk altering the horses’ path, making Danny balance with his bad hand.
Closing his eyes, he tried to bite back the groan, tried to breathe through the pain.
“Danny!”
He couldn’t open his eyes, not yet. “Gracie,” he muttered, trying to remain conscious.
“She’s okay. She went back home.”
“Not – hurt?”
“No, she’s fine.”
Smiling, Danny allowed himself to be swept back under.
Riding behind the wagon, Steve noticed when it swerved slightly, and he looked at Kono, who nodded and galloped to the front to make sure everything was okay.
He hadn’t wanted to let go of Danny, but Chin had gotten the army doctor, who had bandaged him up to the best of his abilities with the materials and medicines he had available in the field. After handling everything as fast as he could, Steve loaded Danny into the wagon, and they set out for the castle and the royal doctor with all of his equipment and potions at his fingertips.
The wagon slowed, and Kono rode back. “Danny woke up.”
Steve was off Goliath in an instant, hopping into the wagon to see JennaKaye in the front holding on to Danny’s unconscious body so he wouldn’t fall off. She looked up. “He passed out.”
Gently, Steve turned him over, picking him up. Because he had to walk in a crouch, he felt slow and awkward, but he managed to gently lower Danny into the cot. He put his hand on Danny’s forehead and frowned at the warmth. “He has a fever.” He looked at JennaKaye. “Do you have anything for that?”
“I could make a tea, but he’d have to be able to drink it.”
Steve paused for a moment, debating over stopping for the tea or pushing forward. Danny’s feverous moan made up his mind. “Let’s stop. Make the tea.”
He pushed out of the wagon and looked up at Kono. “We need somewhere close to stop for the night.”
“There’s a place less than five minutes away,” she said, riding forward to speak with JennaKaye.
“How’s Danny?” Chin asked, handing Steve Goliath’s reins.
Mounting his horse, Steve said, “He has a fever; JennaKaye’s going to whip up one of her teas.”
As promised, they arrived at a small clearing by a river in short time, the first order of business starting a fire and making Danny comfortable. Kono took over JenaKaye’s duties so the young woman could focus on making Danny’s tea.
Steve sat, putting Danny between his legs and resting the man’s sore back gently against his chest, wiping his forehead with a damp cloth. Seeing him so quiet and still, his arms still by his side, was so unnatural. Steve kept willing him to open his eyes, if only for a moment, so he knew that Steve was with him.
Steve hadn’t missed the look of betrayal Danny had shot him, the last glance he’d gotten from the man who’d come to mean so much to him. He needed to explain what he couldn’t at the time, that he’d wanted to take care of the princess himself, that Danny needed to keep his focus on Grace and the dragon. Now, in hindsight, he could put himself into Danny’s position and knew that it looked like he’d taken the princess’ side, that once again Danny was second place.
What he wouldn’t give for one of Danny’s rants right about now.
He took the tea JennaKaye handed him, wrinkling his nose at the smell. He placed the mug at Danny’s lips, tilting it slightly so that a little of the liquid spilled onto Danny’s lips, trickling down the sides of his face. “Come on, Danno, drink.” He gently pushed down on Danny’s chin, just enough to open Danny’s mouth. “No choking, now,” he said, tilting the cup again. This time, Danny’s reflexes kicked in, and he swallowed, moaning slightly and turning his head away. “If it tastes anything like it smells, I know this isn’t fun at all. But I need you to drink it all.” He paused, watching the adams apple bob. “I need you,” he whispered, closing his eyes for a moment. He opened them up a few seconds later to see two confused eyes staring up at him. His heart began to pound. “Danno…”
Danny focused on him. “Gracie?” His voice rasped.
“She’s fine. She’s home now with her mom.”
“Not… hurt?”
“No, she’s fine. I promise. I also promised her that we’d take care of you.”
Danny’s brow furrowed. “Wha’appen?”
“It’s a long story. Let’s just say that those dragon eggs finally hatched, and half the babies crawled on their mother’s back, the other half on their father’s, before she flew off to the Blue Mountains. The army’s on its way back home, and so are we.”
“I ‘member…” Danny raised his broken hand to rub against his head, but Steve grabbed it. Danny stared at the bandage, and Steve could tell when it all came back to him. Jerking, Danny’s attention shot back to Steve, his eyes resigned. “Princess okay?”
“She’s fine and on her way back to Enterprise.”
“Didn’t wanna stay’n watch?”
“Watch what?”
“M’xcution,” Danny slurred. “P’n’lty for what I did, right?”
Steve leaned close so Danny could really look him in the eyes. “No, Danno. You were only protecting Grace.”
“No matter – ”
Steve sat down the mug beside him and put his hands on Danny’s cheeks. “It does matter. You matter. To me, and I’m not letting you go. Do you hear me? I choose you.”
“But your parents – ”
Steve couldn’t stop the wince. “That’s not going to be a fun conversation, but it’s one I’m going to have. You might as well get used to the fact that you’re stuck with me from now on.”
“I get no choice in ma’er?” Danny wheezed behind his smile.
“None whatsoever,” Steve said, smiling back.
“Y’r not boss of me.”
“You keep telling yourself that.”
Danny paused, catching his breath, and Steve used the time to get a little more tea in him. After he swallowed, Danny grabbed Steve’s wrist with his good hand. “You said… you choose me?”
“I do, Danno. Forever.”
The End
**NOTE: The final chapter, the epilogue, will be posted tomorrow.
Master post with chapter breakdown and links to other sites
He’d seen these ties before – hell, he’d used them himself before to subdue thieves until one had actually broken his hand and gotten fr… Without sparing a thought, Danny rammed his hand hard against the back of the wagon, trying hard not to vomit or once again lose consciousness. After a few seconds, he managed to pull his broken hand free – and if anyone asked, he did not, absolutely did not groan like a scared schoolgirl – and used the wagon to pull himself upright. The entire time, his mind chanted “save Gracie, save Gracie” in time to his heartbeat and the pounding in his head. He pressed his forehead against the wagon’s cloth covering and tried to think over the competing pains emanating from his head and his hand. The whinny came at the perfect time.
Staggering over to the corral, he pulled himself up on the first horse he could find. It took more time than he wanted, but a busted head and hand tended to slow a guy down. Grabbing hold of the horse’s mane with his good hand, he kicked with his heels and pressed his head against its neck, squinting so he could see enough to go the right direction.
In no time at all, he was racing past the soldiers’ tents and managed to slow the horse down before actually running into the dragon. Unfortunately, his tenuous grasp on the mane didn’t help his control, and he flew over the horse’s head to land in the dirt. On the hard ground. Where breathing had suddenly become a lot more difficult. Wheezing, he stood, trying to keep his balance and survey his surroundings, his head injury showing him double of everything.
After a few seconds, he realized that both of the dragons he saw were standing over his daughter’s prone bodies, a foot – paw? – placed over her so she couldn’t move. It took him a moment to try to figure out which one was real, and he stumbled toward her, “Grace…” he whispered.
Grace lifted her head and looked at her father with a dirty face. “Danno, she’s not gonna hurt me.”
“Just stay still.” Danny pressed a hand against his head, trying to pull up all of the information he’d learned about the dragon despite the ferocious pounding.
“I’m sorry, Danno,” Grace said. “I promise I didn’t get too close, but she smelled and sucked me to her nose.”
Danny remembered from firsthand experience how strong the dragon’s… suddenly it all came back to him. “Monkey, it’s okay. You’re right. I don’t think she’s going to hurt you.” His heartbeat started to slow as he made himself stand straight and concentrate on quickly putting together a plan.
“I have this,” the princess said, walking over to him and staring him malevolently in the eye. “And when I’m finished, I will see you drawn and quartered for daring to touch me!”
“Like that’s the first time anyone’s ever used that threat with me,” Danny growled.
“Danny!”
Danny turned to watch Steve, Kono, and Chin ride up on their horses, JennaKaye seated with Kono, her arms wrapped around the mage’s waist. Steve didn’t even wait for his horse to stop before he jumped off and headed toward them. “Danny, step away from the princess.”
Danny couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “You come riding up in here, my daughter under the paw of a dragon, and the first thing you say is ‘step away from the princess’? Really?”
“Danno –“
“No!” Danny shouted, anger and disappointment and pain merging together inside him. “You don’t get to call me that!”
The princess had used the time to summon some of her guards, and they grabbed Danny, one holding his arms from the back, the other punching him in the stomach so hard that his knees buckled, and he ended up throwing up all over the man’s boots. Distractedly, he thought that was what the guy deserved, sucker punching a man like that. Danny thought he heard Steve shout something over his heaving, but he didn’t really care about that right now. He knew he had to focus on what was most important, and that was – and always would be – Grace. Taking a moment to make sure he’d finished puking, he prepared himself and rammed his head back into the face of the guy holding his arms. He fought through the black spots and turned, knocking the guy out with an uppercut. It only took him a few staggering steps to turn around, expecting the other guy, mister vomit shoes, to come at him, but he came face to face with a grinning Kono, who’d already taken care of the man with what looked like was one tough punch.
“Got your back, brah,” she said.
He smiled his thanks and turned to find the princess walking toward the dragon. “Just when I think I couldn’t hate her any more, she goes and does something that might get my baby killed.”
“Want me to take her out for you?”
“No sense in both of us being put to death,” Danny muttered, stumbling toward the dragon. “Hey there, remember me?” He used his soft sing-songy voice reserved for soothing children in the middle of the night – and, evidently, dragons holding his daughter under their foot. The dragon turned to face him, her inhalation sliding him a few feet toward her.
“No, dragon! Look at me!” The princess waved her hands over her head, capturing the dragon’s attention and making Danny grind his teeth. He didn’t want to upset the dragon by confusing her, so he remained silent, just knowing that it wasn’t going to go well. “I command you to let her go!”
Danny turned a little toward Kono, raising his arms and shoulders in a what-the-hell? motion, receiving an eye roll and a sigh back. From both Konos.
The dragon clearly wasn’t loving the princess either. Danny watched her gather her breath, and time seemed to slow down. He ran, pitching himself at the princess just as the dragon blew fire her way. He managed to knock her to safety, placing himself over her for protection, feeling the fire burn his back.
“Get off me, you oaf!” The princess railed, smacking at Danny as he rolled off her with a groan. She clamored to her feet, glaring down at him. “Your highness, I want this man taken and killed immediately!”
Danny didn’t even bother looking at Steve. Gathering his energy, he stood and faced the dragon once again. “Ignore her. She annoys me too. But this one –” he pointed toward Grace with both of his hands, the broken one curled and aching. “this one is mine. She’s mine.” He wanted to beg, to yell at the dragon to let his baby go, but he knew that would only get her killed.
The dragon looked behind herself for a moment, then back at Danny, licking Grace from feet to head, just like she’d done Danny.
“Ewww,” Grace muttered quietly, making Danny smile despite the seriousness of the situation.
The dragon looked behind her for a moment, then stepped back, gently taking her foot off of Grace.
“C’mere, Monkey,” Danny whispered, swallowing a groan as he dropped awkwardly to his knees and held out his arms.
Grace scuttled back a few feet, turned onto her hands and knees, and quickly crawled into Danny’s arms.
Suddenly Danny’s back and ribs no longer ached, his head and hand stopped throbbing; his daughter was safe in his arms, and that was all that mattered. He rocked her back and forth until the darkness swallowed him.
Steve was never one for indecision, leaning toward action rather than holding back. But this time, he didn’t spring into action until Danny fell sideways, his arms still around his daughter. As much as he wanted to run over to Danny, he knew he first had to deal with the princess first. “Chin –”
“We’re on it, Boss.”
Steve walked over to the princess, who was surrounded by her retinue, all of whom were tuttering over what’d happened. She broke off from them as she caught Steve’s eye. “Your Highness, that… that commoner has accosted me on more than one occasion, speaking to me and,” she swallowed, “touching me.”
Steve eyeballed her. “You look fine. Nothing a little dusting off won’t cure.”
Her mouth dropped open. “But he – ”
“He saved your life? Yes, I saw that. I’m not sure what happened to lead up to this moment, but I know Danny, and I can tell you that there is no way he’d put his daughter in harm’s way.”
“She snuck up here on her own. I didn’t force her.”
“So who did you tell when you saw her sneaking away?” Steve was starting to form a picture of what had transpired, the image solidifying when he saw the princess look guiltily at Grace, who was crying, trying to wake up her father.
“She’s a princess,” the princess said.
“She’s also a little girl!” Steve growled. He took a deep breath, calming himself. He ran a hand through his hair, a gesture his tutors thought they had trained him out of many years ago. “Your Highness, it was a pleasure to meet you, but… but I choose Danny.”
“I knew it! From the first time I saw you two looking at each other, I knew it! But he’s a commoner! He’s not worthy – ”
Steve stepped directly in front of her, causing her retinue to gasp. “Danny is one of the best men I know, and I won’t have you maligning him. Perhaps it’s time for you to return to Enterprise.”
“But it’s too long a journey for us to go without an escort,” the princess protested.
“Your Highness,” JennaKaye whispered, handing him a rolled parchment before fading away as quickly as she’d appeared.
Handing the parchment to the princess, Steve said, “You managed to make it to the castle unescorted – and uninvited,” he couldn’t help but remind her, “but here is a safe, short route to your lands from here. You won’t even have to go out of your way to return to the castle.” He paused a moment to enjoy her surprise, knowing she was really going to be pissed off when she realized that he’d obviously planned this in advance of this whole debacle. “I’ll give the king and queen your regards.” Turning away from her, he moved the few feet to Danny and dropped to his knees beside Kono and across from Chin and Grace. “How is he?”
“He has the bad burn on his back,” Kono said.
“Broken hand, cracked ribs,” Chin added. “He might have a concussion.”
“Wake up, Danno,” Grace whispered, tears running down her cheeks.
“Grace,” Steve said, gesturing to her, watching her reluctantly rise and walk around Danny to him. He wrapped his arms around her. “Danno’s going to be just fine. Kono, Chin, JennaKaye, and I will take care of him.”
“Promise?” She asked.
“I promise.”
“Oh no,” she wailed suddenly.
“What’s wrong?” Steve held her away from him, looking her over to see where she was hurt.
“It’s time for me to go back!”
“But don’t you have one more day?”
“I do, but – I’m going home. I can feel it. Tell Danno I love him.”
Steve took her hands. “I’ll take care of him. I promise.” He wasn’t prepared when Grace threw her arms around his neck and kissed him on the cheek.
And then she was gone.
Danny regained consciousness slowly, feeling a familiar rocking. “Damnit, I’m in the wagon again.” His voice was rough, his throat dry. It didn’t help that he was lying on his stomach, his face against what felt like a really soft pillow. Gripping both sides of the bed – or cot or whatever – he tried to pull himself up, but the unexpected pain in his hand and throbbing in his back had him falling back onto the cot.
He thought back. He remembered the recon he and Steve had done, his face going warm at the – wait. Grace. Where was Grace? Biting back the pain, he forced himself to a seated position, trying not to give in to the black spots he saw. A few seconds later, he had another problem and crawled to the back of the wagon just in time to throw up into an empty bucket. There wasn’t much left, just a bit of acid, but his throat burned afterwards. He needed to find Grace. Still on his hands and knees, he crawled toward the flap in the front of the wagon. He wasn’t sure how long it took him, but he was sweaty and shaking by the time he pulled open the flap. “Where’s Grace?” He managed to croak, blinking his eyes as the sweat dripped into them.
“You scared me!” JennaKaye said, her slight jerk altering the horses’ path, making Danny balance with his bad hand.
Closing his eyes, he tried to bite back the groan, tried to breathe through the pain.
“Danny!”
He couldn’t open his eyes, not yet. “Gracie,” he muttered, trying to remain conscious.
“She’s okay. She went back home.”
“Not – hurt?”
“No, she’s fine.”
Smiling, Danny allowed himself to be swept back under.
Riding behind the wagon, Steve noticed when it swerved slightly, and he looked at Kono, who nodded and galloped to the front to make sure everything was okay.
He hadn’t wanted to let go of Danny, but Chin had gotten the army doctor, who had bandaged him up to the best of his abilities with the materials and medicines he had available in the field. After handling everything as fast as he could, Steve loaded Danny into the wagon, and they set out for the castle and the royal doctor with all of his equipment and potions at his fingertips.
The wagon slowed, and Kono rode back. “Danny woke up.”
Steve was off Goliath in an instant, hopping into the wagon to see JennaKaye in the front holding on to Danny’s unconscious body so he wouldn’t fall off. She looked up. “He passed out.”
Gently, Steve turned him over, picking him up. Because he had to walk in a crouch, he felt slow and awkward, but he managed to gently lower Danny into the cot. He put his hand on Danny’s forehead and frowned at the warmth. “He has a fever.” He looked at JennaKaye. “Do you have anything for that?”
“I could make a tea, but he’d have to be able to drink it.”
Steve paused for a moment, debating over stopping for the tea or pushing forward. Danny’s feverous moan made up his mind. “Let’s stop. Make the tea.”
He pushed out of the wagon and looked up at Kono. “We need somewhere close to stop for the night.”
“There’s a place less than five minutes away,” she said, riding forward to speak with JennaKaye.
“How’s Danny?” Chin asked, handing Steve Goliath’s reins.
Mounting his horse, Steve said, “He has a fever; JennaKaye’s going to whip up one of her teas.”
As promised, they arrived at a small clearing by a river in short time, the first order of business starting a fire and making Danny comfortable. Kono took over JenaKaye’s duties so the young woman could focus on making Danny’s tea.
Steve sat, putting Danny between his legs and resting the man’s sore back gently against his chest, wiping his forehead with a damp cloth. Seeing him so quiet and still, his arms still by his side, was so unnatural. Steve kept willing him to open his eyes, if only for a moment, so he knew that Steve was with him.
Steve hadn’t missed the look of betrayal Danny had shot him, the last glance he’d gotten from the man who’d come to mean so much to him. He needed to explain what he couldn’t at the time, that he’d wanted to take care of the princess himself, that Danny needed to keep his focus on Grace and the dragon. Now, in hindsight, he could put himself into Danny’s position and knew that it looked like he’d taken the princess’ side, that once again Danny was second place.
What he wouldn’t give for one of Danny’s rants right about now.
He took the tea JennaKaye handed him, wrinkling his nose at the smell. He placed the mug at Danny’s lips, tilting it slightly so that a little of the liquid spilled onto Danny’s lips, trickling down the sides of his face. “Come on, Danno, drink.” He gently pushed down on Danny’s chin, just enough to open Danny’s mouth. “No choking, now,” he said, tilting the cup again. This time, Danny’s reflexes kicked in, and he swallowed, moaning slightly and turning his head away. “If it tastes anything like it smells, I know this isn’t fun at all. But I need you to drink it all.” He paused, watching the adams apple bob. “I need you,” he whispered, closing his eyes for a moment. He opened them up a few seconds later to see two confused eyes staring up at him. His heart began to pound. “Danno…”
Danny focused on him. “Gracie?” His voice rasped.
“She’s fine. She’s home now with her mom.”
“Not… hurt?”
“No, she’s fine. I promise. I also promised her that we’d take care of you.”
Danny’s brow furrowed. “Wha’appen?”
“It’s a long story. Let’s just say that those dragon eggs finally hatched, and half the babies crawled on their mother’s back, the other half on their father’s, before she flew off to the Blue Mountains. The army’s on its way back home, and so are we.”
“I ‘member…” Danny raised his broken hand to rub against his head, but Steve grabbed it. Danny stared at the bandage, and Steve could tell when it all came back to him. Jerking, Danny’s attention shot back to Steve, his eyes resigned. “Princess okay?”
“She’s fine and on her way back to Enterprise.”
“Didn’t wanna stay’n watch?”
“Watch what?”
“M’xcution,” Danny slurred. “P’n’lty for what I did, right?”
Steve leaned close so Danny could really look him in the eyes. “No, Danno. You were only protecting Grace.”
“No matter – ”
Steve sat down the mug beside him and put his hands on Danny’s cheeks. “It does matter. You matter. To me, and I’m not letting you go. Do you hear me? I choose you.”
“But your parents – ”
Steve couldn’t stop the wince. “That’s not going to be a fun conversation, but it’s one I’m going to have. You might as well get used to the fact that you’re stuck with me from now on.”
“I get no choice in ma’er?” Danny wheezed behind his smile.
“None whatsoever,” Steve said, smiling back.
“Y’r not boss of me.”
“You keep telling yourself that.”
Danny paused, catching his breath, and Steve used the time to get a little more tea in him. After he swallowed, Danny grabbed Steve’s wrist with his good hand. “You said… you choose me?”
“I do, Danno. Forever.”
The End
**NOTE: The final chapter, the epilogue, will be posted tomorrow.
Master post with chapter breakdown and links to other sites
