the signal was made for the grand fleet to anchor
Who: Jack and Stephen.
When: Day 41, after this log!
Where: 230 Marigold Avenue.
What: The boys settle into their new lodgings.
Rating: PG for a cold, wet, and miserable physician.
( and all in the Downs that night for to lie )
When: Day 41, after this log!
Where: 230 Marigold Avenue.
What: The boys settle into their new lodgings.
Rating: PG for a cold, wet, and miserable physician.
( and all in the Downs that night for to lie )
"There is the kitchen, this room, another room of this size, a lavatory, and a small side room. On the floor above, there are three bedrooms. Two smaller ones are connected by a washroom, and a larger one with its own private washroom. There is also a smaller room up there with some... strange boxes of some kind." Even through his brief look, he'd memorized the floor-plan. Then again, this was a man who had trained himself to read a letter once, burn it, and remember the contents by heart. It was, perhaps, not surprising that the layout of a house came easily to him.
"It seems that every comfort as well as every necessity has been provided for."
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He listened intently, mulling Stephen's words over.
"Strange boxes, you said?" he repeated. Jack tried to think back to that particular room, but nothing came to mind. He'd gone through the area much too quickly, and...honestly, there were too many unknown devices littered about the place for him to remember a particular set of them.
Jack's hair hung loose at his shoulders, now, and he was making a move to reach and secure it back on his own. Fingers stumbled over the tie, as he was more focused upon the situation at hand than his own hair.
"It could be a trap."
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He moved, abandoning the second blanket Jack had given him not long ago. Rising slightly, he shifted, and settled behind Jack. He sat up, slightly on his knees. "Lean your head back, joy." He didn't wait for a response before he took the tie from his friend's hand and set it on the ground. His thin fingers ran themselves through Jack's hair then, collecting and straightening it, starting at the very roots of the hairline and moving through. He did that with one hand a few times, keeping gentle hold of the collected pieces with the other. Satisfied he had not missed any stubborn strand, he wrapped the tie about the base with his free hand, releasing the hair to use both hands to tie it. Silently, he inspected his work before moving from behind Jack to sit by him again.
Only then did he let himself say what he'd been thinking most of the day. "It probably is a trap."
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"If I could only figure out where on God's earth this Bell Pointe is," Jack muttered. "No doubt you've gathered how much of a risk it is to remain here, but for now, I see no other option."
He fell silent, then reached for the fallen second blanket, offering it back to Stephen.
"Are your clothes any drier now, brother?"
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He checked his clothes when Jack asked about him and nodded. "Almost completely." He pulled the clothes over so he could dress. The movements were somewhat awkward, as he tried to remain under the blanket and coat as he did so. Not out of modesty, no. Jack had brought him too many sets of dry clothes, gone swimming with him too many times to worry about modesty. Rather, he attempted to remain covered as he put his clothes back on in hopes of staying warm.
As he shrugged the blanket off and gingerly removed the Navy coat-- now in stockings, breeches, and his work shirt, slipping on and buttoning his waistcoat-- he said, "When it is not quite so cold, I shall have a look around. The flora and fauna to be found ought to give us some idea where we are located." And, his tone seemed to say, he would be trying to get information from other sources as well.
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"Good. I'd hate for you to go out in that a second time. Have you ever seen snow so deep?" Jack cast a look out of the window at the sea of white outside. "Maddening."
Jack rubbed at one of his arms gingerly. He was beginning to feel the cold. Maybe he'd take one of the blankets for himself, now that Stephen was at least dressed.
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He watched the other man, letting him remark on the snow without comment. When the captain rubbed his arm, Stephen sighed. This damn cold. He picked up Jack's coat from where he had laid it and set it across his friend's shoulders. Without pausing, he went to the pile of wood, took two more pieces, and carefully added them to the fire, minding himself well to avoid putting out the burning piece and being hurt himself.
Still knelt, Stephen turned to face Jack. He took up the now discarded blanket and reached around his friend to set it over his shoulders with the coat. He pulled the blanket in, to wrap it a bit tighter around the larger man, and he leaned in, his face inches from Jack's. "There, my dear," he said softly, as if Jack had verbalized a complaint about the cold. "Is that better?"
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Stephen's concern, even when he hadn't uttered a single word, seemed to warm him more than the coat and jacket. "Much better, Stephen. Thank you," he replied, smiling gently in return.
The fire, fueled further, began to have an effect on Jack. The man's cheeks glowed rosy, and he relaxed now that the cold was much less of a bother.
"You have had a look at the food stored here, have you not?" asked Jack. His eyes drifted in the direction of the kitchen and the largely unfamiliar contents of the kitchen. Strange devices everywhere, but no wine to be found anywhere, unfortunately. Though, despite the fact that the refrigerator was still a mystery, he had spotted a few familiar things in the pantry, most notable of which was coffee. Their supply of coffee had begun to run low on the Surprise--not to mention the unwelcome rodent guests who'd nibbled upon the beans--and it would be wonderful to get to have what he certainly hoped was coffee made from fresh beans. "When shall we dine together, Stephen? Forgive me if it is not quite at our usual hour--what with recent events I've entirely lost track of the time."
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"Food?" Stephen asked. The house plan was committed to memory, every entrance and exit recalled in an instant, but he had not thought to take stock of the specifics of the provisions. "No," he admitted, "I knew there was some, but I had not given it a second thought." Despite the gravity of the situation, he almost laughed. How differently their minds worked!
A chuckle finally escaped him. "Are you hungry, brother? Then we shall go through the stores soon, find something to eat. Forgive me: dining had not crossed my mind."
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