5

When Daisuke came running into the med bay, Anya at first greeted him with a bright smile and the beginnings of a hello, that was until she noticed the look on his face. It was rare that she saw him scared, it was one blood-chilling shock, that's for certain.

Initially her thoughts had turned to the possibility that something had happened to Swansea, though even then she couldn't help but be perplexed. She hadn't even seen the two less than 10 minutes ago, how in the world had something gone so wrong in that time to have Daisuke running in like this?

She swallowed her nerves, words stiff, "Oh no, what happened?"

The intern paced in place, running his hands through his mess of hair with eyes wild. When he spoke, the words came out in strangled bursts, "—Ididn'tmeanIdidn't—but he said— Anya! You gottacmon, I mean— ohmanohmanohman—" She winced at how fast he was talking, stumbling over himself in his franticness to get the words out. The woman moved to catch him by the arm, just to pull his attention back to her. Still, she grimaced a touch when he visibly jumped.

"Hey… hey just, what happened? What's wrong?" He sniffled roughly and she gave him a patient smile, "Hey? Just breath."

The intern nodded roughly, taking in a large gasping inhale before giving an admittedly over-the-top exhale. He sucked in another breath and this time, as he exhaled, he spoke in a rush, "O-Okay! Okay— I, uh, cap'tin's s-sick— I didn't know he— I mean, I didn't—"

He began to shake again before she gave his arm a squeeze, "Okay, okay, just— uh, just take me to where the captain is, think you can do that for me?"

He swallowed, blinking back tears, "I-I— thi—nk so?"

"That's perfect," she said soothingly, "Now lead me to the captain and try to tell me what happened on the way."

Daisuke gave a trembling smile, "I— I c-can do that."

She dipped her head approvingly before moving to grab her stethoscope and a first aid kit (just in case, she still didn't know what she was dealing with) and follow where Daisuke led her.

~

Curly admittedly couldn't bear to sit there for much longer than a minute after he lost sight of Daisuke. He dragged himself to his feet, grimacing as he got about halfway up before slumping back down with a sharp pang in his stomach.

Yeeesh, that did not feel good, he hadn't fucked something up when he threw up, had he? Oh wouldn't that be one hell of a twist, he gets returned to a pre-crash state just to end up rupturing something because he couldn't man up and manage one small fucking bite of what was essentially an offbrand, shit granola bar.

He dragged a hand down his face and looked to the discarded food bar in question, and just because no one was around to watch the childish display, he flicked it off. "Bloody fuckin' piece'oh shit."

It did admittedly make him feel a tiny bit better. God he loved having hands again. With a sigh, he attempted to stand once more.

~

As Anya came around the corner behind Daisuke, the first thing she noticed was Curly with a mop of all things. It was… a bit pathetic honestly, watching him try to clean at the floor with how bad he was shaking, and it wasn't like he looked to be crying or anything, it seemed the effort at mopping was genuinely straining him.

"CAPTAIN!" Daisuke's shout made both her and Curly jump, the later dropping his mop with a clatter and a stumble. Before the blond could even slip back though, Daisuke was rushing over to his side to help stabilize him.

Anya, on the other hand, felt rooted to the spot, eyes darting about the scene. She… didn't see any blood or injury, so there was that. The captain did however seem unsteady and had been using a mop for something, Daisuke had also said he'd gotten sick— had he collapsed or something? Well what was the mop for? He'd been trying to clean something—

"Y-You should, uh, let me clean up Captain!" The intern chirped worriedly as Curly notably sagged against him, finally spurring Anya forward.

"Is'fin—"

"What happened," the nurse butted in, motioning for Daisuke to help their captain sit down as she kneeled down, placing the first aid kit off to the side so she could grab at what she had on hand.

The man didn't met her eye so she turned to their intern. Daisuke gave a sheepish look, "He, uh, t-threw up when, so, after I tried, tried to ask him to eat something?"

Anya mentally kicked herself, she'd completely forgotten to ask about the last time the captain had eaten something! "Oh?"

He nodded, nudging Curly, who simply eyed the two of them with a nervous expression. "Uh," The man cleared his throat, "I… I t'ink stress'in has gotten the better of me."

Anya hummed softly, eyes narrowing. "When's the last time you ate?"

The man clammed up, eyes widening, "Ummm…"

"Curly, you said you'd let me help out when you're feeling bad."

He sighed, "Yeah, yeah I did, didn't I? Cheers to past Curly." He raised an imaginary toast before pretending to drink it all in one go.

Anya and Daisuke shared a brief look between themselves while the captain wasn't looking.

"So… so what's been going on? I can't exactly do much if I don't know what I'm working with."

The blond just ran a hand through his hair with another heavy sigh, "…not here."

"What do—"

"Oh! We can go to— to like my room or something!" Daisuke spoke up, the guy having slowly regained his usual chipper and composed disposition.

"Maybe—?"

"Or the medbay?" Anya couldn't help but snort softly, "Since you…" She trailed off as she noticed the way Curly reacted to the suggestion.

The cheap smile he wore fell in a heartbeat, replaced with bared teeth and wide, panicked eyes. He swallowed thickly, paling as he began to sharply shake his head no.

"I— what do you mean—?"

"N-Not here! And not— not fuckin' there!" Curly snapped. It was the first time she'd ever heard him actually raise his voice. The captain glanced over his shoulder, as though expecting someone to be there. Or, well, more like he didn't want someone to hear what they were talking about.

"Captain?" His gaze snapped towards her, and oh, when his eyes were this wide open, there was something uncomfortably piercing about that blue. It cut through her, the man for once making direct and unbroken eye contact. "W-We can go to, uh, my room, since, since it's uh closer to the bay," she couldn't pull her eyes from his.

"And… and it, you know…" had a lock.

Curly took a trembling breath in, "O-Okay, okay… y-yeah, alright…" He looked away and it made breathing a lot easier, "Daisuke, you min'helpin—"

The intern was already helping to hoist the man back to his feet before the man could even finish his sentence.

"Jesus, kid, I didn't even finish talkin."

"Oh— uh, should— you want me to help you back down so you can like… ask again or…?"

"…never change," the man said with a sigh.

Anya gave a small laugh, "Alright, let's get going then," she grabbed her things once more and took the lead.

~

The moment the lock clicked, Curly felt himself relax. He'd never felt like he'd needed that lock for the longest time, but now? Now it felt like a miracle crafted by fucking Jesus Christ himself, an assurance.

"Captain?" He glanced briefly at Anya and she gave him a forced smile, "How are you feeling now…?"

"…safer." He admitted, trying and failing not to look at Daisuke as the kid moved to settle down besides him on the floor (it had felt wrong to even humor Anya's offer to let him sit on the bed). The intern looked jittery in short, though the young man gave him one hell of a confident smile.

He weakly returned the gesture, moving to give Daisuke a gentle pat on the back, "Thanks for helpin' me."

The kid brightened just like some useless goddamn sunshine. "Of cour— oh shit! Wait, ahhhhhh, I forgot about the mopping thing!" He jumped up, straightening and giving a quick salute, "I'll be right back, Anya, Cap'tin!"

"You, I—"

"Nope! You rest and stay put!" Daisuke set his hands on his hips in a startling good impression of Swansea, even going as far as to furrow his brow with a pointed huff. "I mean it!"

"I agree with him," Anya said with a bold snort, pausing to glance at the guy, "Oh, while you're out can you get the black bag by the medical table for me?"

"You got it!" He gave a quick wave, "I WON'T BE LONG, PROMISE!"

Curly chuckled softly as the door was closed, "He's a good kid."

"You sound old when you call either of us a kid, you know that, Captain?"

He raised his eyebrows at Anya.

"What? I'm just saying."

"…mhm."

She smiled, but for just a moment, face falling as she sighed and dragged the conversation back on track. "Do… you want to go ahead and tell me what happened now?"

He rubbed at the back of his head, sucking in a breath, "Ah… I said I'd do that, didn'I?"

She crossed her arms with a stubborn nod. Curly blew back a strand of hair, looking down to his lap, "Well, Daisuke bout summed it up, kid tried to get me to eat a couple bites of one of those shit food bars, you know the supposedly 'super nutritious' ones?"

Anya moved to sit down beside him, "Mhm… here turn your head so I can start checking you over, just keep talking—"

"I doubt I have a cold or something—"

"Please?"

He did as he was asked, looking at the little freckles here and there on her face rather than her eyes. She pulled a light from a pocket and began a basic look over. Curly swallowed and kept talking, only pausing to move his head or allow her to look at his throat for anything unusual, "Well. I. I tried to, to eat it, yeah? I really did, and— and I just, I had one bite. Just— one bite! A-And it all came right back up. And God, it hurt."

He shuddered, eyes widening as he clutched at his chest, "You know, I never really minded pain before, always t-thought people were being dramatic about things, heh, you know?"

She gave a hum as she peered into one ear and then the other.

"Well… well it hurt. And, heh. I know, I know why. And it's pathetic, I—"

"Curly.

His breathing hitched and he blinked out of his growing nerves. "H-Huh?"

"Please breath, you're going to hyperventilate," she said gently. Oh so gently. He didn't deserve it, he really didn't. "You, so, you said you know why you've been having problems sleeping and eating?"

He felt dazed. He nodded. "Jimmy."

Anya stilled.

"I. I can't, can't explain what… what happened, n-not in a way that'll make sense," Curly muttered, dragging a hand down his face, "But, just. Eating and sleeping drags up… bad memories."

"How long ago?"

Of course, she believed him. Even after all the times he'd brushed her off, talked down to her… she really was a star in the dark. "I don't remember, time… time has been a mess since," he whispered.

"I'm… so, so it's a trauma response…?"

"I guess—" there was a knock on the door. They both jumped.

"I'm back!" Called a voice from the other side, young and bright.

Anya stood quickly to unlock the door to let Daisuke back inside. The kid had his arms full, panting softly as though he'd just ran there. Honestly, Curly wouldn't be surprised if the kid had done just that. "Wh—What I miss?"

"Oh, uh…"

"I was telling Anya t-that I got hurt." Curly answered softly, he couldn't keep up the lying. He just. He just couldn't. He needed them to know, if not for their safety, then for his own sanity.

"Y-You did?" The intern's eyes widened in alarm, "Oh, what happened? Did you hurt your mouth or— or like your stomach—"

Curly took a shuddering breath in, summoning the strength of a man long since dead. "Daisuke. Listen to me."

The kid's mouth clamped shut.

"What… what I'm about to say does not leave this room, a-am I understood? The same goes to you Anya. Not a word. I make myself clear?"

The two nodded, Daisuke sharp and jerky while Anya's was hesitant and wary. Curly nodded once in turn, raising his hands to run through his hair. He took a steadying breath in, somehow, it felt easier to talk about it this time around, "A while back… Jimmy hurt me."

There was a sharp inhale and a shaky hum in response to this.

"And… and recent behavior of his, it, uh it made me think about all that. And. And it scared me. H-He scares me. I can't keep lying to myself, and I can't keep p-pretending like he's not dangerous."

Daisuke set the things that Anya hadn't yet taken from his hands down at the nearby desk. He moved to quickly sit down by the captain, looking much too serious. "…why?"

He shook his head, looking to the ground as a pressure built behind his eyes, "I, well, I got in his way."

"T-That, what the, just, that," Daisuke made a frustrated noise in his throat, "Permission to curse?"

Curly snorted, one corner of his mouth quirking up, "Granted."

"That fucking sucks!" It was probably one of the few times he'd heard Daisuke curse.

"Yeah. Yeah it does."

He glanced at Anya and she stared back quietly. She opened her mouth, closed it, then asked in a shaky voice, "Can I… I talk a-about what—"

"You… don't feel pressured to, but, of course."

"W-what happened to you?" Daisuke's eyes widened in a building horror.

Anya slowly moved to sit down besides the two, Curly turning slightly so he could look at them from the corner of his eye. The woman swallowed, "J…Jim… has b-been harassing me, making, m-making me uncomfortable— and he, ah, he tried to," She leaned in and whispered it like it was a dirty secret, "He tried to come into my, um, my room the o-other night, I… me and the c-captain think he was going to try and, well, rape me."

Curly didn't correct her. He knew what that man was planning. He knew what was going to happen. What would have happened if he had been a coward once more and backed off. Never again, he was done standing by as Jimmy hurt those around him, he was fucking done with it! His fists clenched and he took a deep, shaky breath.

He was the goddamn captain. He couldn't… he slumped back down, placing his face in his hands. God. He couldn't think like that, not like a hero. Curly was not going to be able to do this alone, but… but he didn't have to do this alone, never again.

He heard a harsh sniffle and looked over sharply, seeing to his surprise that it was Daisuke that had begun crying first. "Thats, that's awful." The young man swallowed thickly before dragging Anya into a fierce, protective hug. The woman simply buried her face into his shoulder.

Curly watched, taking a shuddering breath in, "I… I'm s-sorry, sorry for keeping things from you two, fuck— from the crew, I should have, just, I could've…"

"You got h-hurt, too." Anya hiccuped, still clinging to Daisuke, her voice muffled against the young man's hibiscus shirt.

He deflated, "Yeah… heh, yeah I did. J— that bastard, h-he's hurt, Christ, he's hurt alotta folk."

"That's so fucked," Daisuke said, looking up at Curly with tears streaming down his face, "I— I th-thought you, you w-were friends?"

"Me, too," he whispered. He rubbed at an eye, "I should, should've known better."

"I— I'm going to beat his ass!" The kid said sharply, eyes blazing as he sniffled thickly, still holding onto Anya as though some monster in the shadows would try and take her away.

"D-don't," Anya's muffled voice said, "He's dangerous."

"I— w-what do, what c-can I do— what do we, what we do t-then?"

Curly wiped at his eyes, "How long until… until we get to the shipping port, Anya?"

She looked up with a harsh sniff, tears falling gently down her flushed cheeks, "About some 73 d-days?"

"Okay," he nodded, "Then… t-then we uh, just have to keep things together until then, okay?"

"How? I thought you, you said he was dangerous?" Daisuke shuffled about so he could keep Anya tucked against his shoulder while he looked to Curly for answers.

The captain gave a soft hum, "Only, well, if… if he thinks he's not getting his way, or if—"

"If y-you're alone," Anya finished.

Curly rubbed at his shoulder, closing his eyes, "Mhm."

"What, what if I asked Swansea for the axe?" There was a growing anger in the intern's voice, he'd never heard Daisuke genuinely upset like this before.

"What for?"

"…he's g-got to sleep a—"

"No." He looked over, feeling tired, "We can't just kill him."

Daisuke winced, Anya giving a shudder.

"We just have to keep an eye on him, understood? He, he won't try anything if he thinks he could get caught, which, which is also why he can't find out about this conversation."

"Because then he might do something because of it?"

"Yes," he glanced at Daisuke, watching the young man's brow furrow thoughtfully.

"Okay… o-okay. 73 days, cool, cool, so, uhhhh, that's how long in, in like weeks…?"

"Just about, about two months and t-two weeks," Anya muttered.

"That's, that's not too bad, we… we can do it!" Sunshine. Goddamn sunshine.

Curly managed a smile, "Yeah."

"…though we need, need to figure out w-what to do about you're, you're eating problem." The young woman wiped at her face, leaning back to look over at the blond, "You, uh, you've managed to d-drink coffee fine, right?"

"For the most part, yes."

She nodded, resting her chin back against Daisuke's shoulder, "We, we can make you like… smoothies maybe? So, so it doesn't trigger a-anything, but, but it'll actually be, well, be something filling."

That, huh, that wasn't too bad an idea. "We… can try that, yeah."

"And maybe you can like, oh! You can have sleepovers with me," Daisuke perked up, eyes brightening. "And—! We can also have sleepovers in Anya's room, too! Like, so… oh my gosh, this could be so cool, I haven't been to a sleepover in… uh… oh. Uh ever, I guess?"

"I thought y-you'd be the kid invited to all the events?" Anya said, frowning just a little.

"Some people didn't exactly uh, like like me, I… was kinda the weird kid?"

Curly nudged the younger man's shoulder, "I getcha, heh."

"Really!?"

"Mhmmm," he adjusted himself so he could more comfortably look at the two as they all talked. "So, you see, I used to be the kind of kid that either bit people— don't give me that look Anya— or made weird noises at em, and you see, one day in particular—"

For the first time since he'd woken up, Curly felt like his old self. Even for just a moment.

~

While it would have been easy to just hide away in Anya's room all day, they all things to tend to after awhile of just chatting and sharing stories. And yet, even as Curly left to do his checks on the cockpit and the ship's cargo, he didn't feel as terrified as he had been.

He wasn't magically cured, sure, but… but now the crew he cared for were all in the know. They could look for the warning signs now and… and none of them had to feel alone again.

The captain ran a trembling hand through his hair at that thought. None of them were alone… and that also meant that he wasn't alone. He… he could help, even if he was nothing more than a shell of his former self. And they… they'd help him, too.

~

The night came and for the first time in ages, Curly actually slept. Sure, Daisuke talked a lot as they were getting settled (Curly dragging a pillow and a couple blankets from his room and setting them on the floor to rest on), but as they started to wind down? It was… kind of pleasant actually.

He never really had spoken too often with Daisuke beforehand, mostly viewing the intern as some mindless kid with no real direction. Curly thought he was kind and amusing, sure, but… but he was ashamed to realize that he had been degrading to the guy.

But as Daisuke talked about some of his favorite plants (he'd never thought to ask what the young man's interests were besides playing those board games with Anya), he realized it hadn't just been Anya that he'd been overlooking.

He silently swore to himself that he'd reach out to the others more, to genuinely talk with them and try to understand them. Curly let his eyes drift shut, letting the other man's voice lull him into a comfortable ease.

~

No one heard the door open. No one saw the man creep into the room. Those hungry eyes tearing the place apart in his search, each step meticulously planned. Silent. Tense. Searching.

He didn't find who he was looking for. The room was empty. The bastard bared his teeth with a growled curse. That little talk would have to wait apparently… as silently as he'd arrived, he slipped back to the hallway. Casting a pissed glance down where the captain's quarters sat, he didn't have to attempt it to know that door would be locked again.

No one saw the way the man's eyes blazed. No one saw the tension raising in his shoulders. No one saw how he slipped back into his room, defeated.

For now, the monster had no one to scare.