158 A call to adventure

Instantly he had to snap them shut, the intense light from a curtained window to the right searing into his retina. The thudding in his head jumped to a completely new level as he moaned softly. He felt movement before him as the creak of an opening door was heard near the foot of the uncharacteristically comfortable bed.

Then the noise redoubled, where silence had been now the cabin seemed to grow heavy with the harsh sounds of breaths as multiple bodies milled around him.

With a small wince he opened his eyes, blinking repeatedly to have them get used to the harsh light. Slowly the figures around his bed became clear. Very close to his pillow stood the scantily dressed and fairly brown skinned Barts looking down at him with worry in her eyes. As soon as their eyes met, he could see the joy spark back into her eyes.

To her left stood his captain, a mixture of worry, chastisement and pride in his eyes as he looked at his downed teammate.

Then he heard a voice break the silence getting his attention to the foot of the bed, "Can you hear me?" a slightly rough voice called out, originating from a purple shirted man wearing a pair of gloves and a white coloured apron that hung somewhat loosely from his chest.

"...Water...." Sorren called out, a raspy voice that caused him physical pain to speak in. While Fawkes, who had been standing to the side of the purple shirted man, went to fetch the liquid he needed, he nodded at Marco.

He was familiar with the process that the man was employing, as a doctor the least he could do was cooperate.

As Marco drew closer, he forced the people milling around the bed to retreat. He softly grabbed onto Sorren's pudgy face proceeding to give him a full body check-up.

"Here it is." Fawkes baritone called out handing the glass of the liquid to the doctor, who then proceeded to drip feed it to Sorren.

After the third glass had been downed in this manner, Sorren nodded his thanks to the man.

"What happened?" he asked in a voice slightly less strained then the one he had used before, looking at his captain with worry in his eyes.

"You saved Terrick from Vice Admiral Borsolino. That bastard went ahead and knocked you out. Then he threatened Terrick with your life for directions. We got there in time to bust his ass so not much harm was done. The repercussions of extreme activity and the punishment that Borsolino exerted on you when you were knocked out forced your body into hibernation." Lorean informed with a glint of pride in his eyes.

"This is Marco, one of Whitebeard's pirates. He helped chase away the Vice Admiral alongside some other busybodies. After the entire issue he was kind enough to nurse you guys back to health back on their ship." He finished before looking pointedly at the door that had been closed during his report.

Marco sighed tiredly, before pointedly walking to the door, behind which some muffled noise could be heard. With impatience on his face, he pulled the door open, dragging the person that had been standing on the threshold.

Sorren could feel his breath hitch in his throat as a sour feeling overwhelmed his nose. At the foot of the bed a heavily bandaged Thatch stood, a single eye closed as he wore a kimono that had its top half pulled down. A minty salve could be smelled from some of his bandages as he attempted to smile.

Sorren remained silent. The only thing keeping him from believing that he was in a dream was the constant yet somewhat dulled pain that he felt in the pits of his stomach.

Slowly a tear rolled down his cheek as soft sniffles wracked his body. His eyes had begun to cloud over yet he refused to close them, afraid that when he opened them again his father would disappear.

Slowly Thatch walked over to him, his left hand slinging over his shoulder as he brought Sorren's head gently to rest on the part of his shoulder that did not have the salve.

Slowly he rubbed his son's head, humming a soft tune as a wide derpy smile spread over his face. He was together with his son! As his smile widened he could feel his worry beginning to drift away, and for what felt like a moment of the culmination of all of his dreams he solemnly embraced the child tears running down his face.

*****

I could not help but sigh, rifling through my pockets as Marco walked out of the ship into the rambunctious night. Fawkes, who accompanied him to ensure that Shanks did not burn down the town in his moment of drunken charade, followed him.

Slowly he returned to the room, from the inside he could hear joyful conversation as Thatch cooed in a voice rife with happiness. Sorren could be heard in a jolly tone as he told his father of the adventures that he had been on.

I did not want to rush the duo to make a decision, but I had no choice in the matter. With the way the trends went, there was sure to be no rest for us on this island.

With harsh knocks, I rapped against the door, before slowly entering.

Thatch looked at me slightly suspicious, but I had eyes only for my first crewmate. The boy might sometimes be too dumb for his own good, but his emotional maturity surpassed many, decades older than he was.

"Captain?" Sorren asked, somewhat confused by my sudden intrusion.

Slowly however a glint of realization hit him, his smile growing slightly stiff. His father and his captain in the same room, both strong pirates in their own right. Of course, the fact that Thatch was giving me the stink eye added into his computations.

Almost as soon as the silence became overwhelming however, he smiled again.

"When are we going on the next adventure?"