the signal was made for the grand fleet to anchor

[leastof2weevils]

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.

Comments

[halftheduet]

"It probably is a trap," Stephen repeated. "But if it is, we have already sprung it. There is nowhere else to, and our needs are provided for here. We must simply bide our time and exercise great caution." His eyes raked Jack's hair again, double-checking his own work, but it met with his satisfaction.

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.

[leastof2weevils]

"Tell me, Stephen--have you any weapons?" he asked, glancing over at the other man as he dressed. "I'm afraid I haven't got my pistol, but my sword remains, at least." What a stroke of luck that he'd managed to have it on him when he'd first found himself in Bell Pointe--though he would've liked his pistol as well, at least he wasn't armed at all.

"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.

[halftheduet]

"None at all," Stephen replied apologetically. What he wouldn't give for a pistol... Or a sword. He would prefer that, really. Less hassle in a moment of crisis. One bullet was useful, certainly, but a sword against one shot? No, no. He'd take the sword any day. Though, he supposed, he would rather be unarmed and in Jack's company than without him and in possession of a sword. "Nor do I have any of my instruments. Those, I must see to replacing as soon as I possibly can. It would not do to have you get injured and be unable to assist."

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?"

[leastof2weevils]

"Perhaps there is some sort of armory in this town," he suggested. He was hardly delicate by any means, but Stephen without any sort of weapon was an idea that greatly worried him. No matter how close he intended to keep to the doctor, could he help it if they ever needed to separate or... God forbid, were forced apart, somehow? "It wouldn't do for you to remain unarmed for long, either," he replied, his thoughts turning to the gilt sword now sitting propped up beside the couch.

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."

[halftheduet]

An armory. How strange it felt to him, to want a sword. For years, he'd sworn off carrying a blade or pistol. His youth had been spent clinging to weapons, facing off with any challenge offered or issuing them himself; his adulthood had been spent trying to make up for that foolishness. But now he felt a pressing need for arms. Jack could not be expected to always protect him, not if he hoped to uncover information about this place. He had to come and go in silence, follow threads of suspicions. Well as he meant, Jack was loud and brash. Subtlety was lost on him.

"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."