Nick reached up to touch her eyebrow, wincing a little as she touched it. "Ah, I'll be fine," she said with a shrug. "I've done worse, haven't I?" There was the time she broke her hand and had to deal with it. She had healed up fine, of course, but it had been terrible. She snorted and stood up, trying not to laugh at what he said about the slave part. "Breakfast it is then," she said. "And I'm no ones slave, so don't worry about making me feel like one. I do this stuff by choice." She flashed him a grin, then pulled her boots on and left.

It was busy above deck, but things quieted down once Nick stepped out. She pointedly ignored the stares and stuff and went to the "sick bay", the groans already reaching her ears. She instantly set to work, settling into her routine.

"Alright," he allowed, "Be careful up there though." he said as she was walking out. Neither of them- Didier or Nick- knew what to expect when she went up there. The others in the crew would either tease her about it, feeling friendly enough to, or they would leave her alone, afraid she would throw them overboard after a merciless beating. In Didier's mind, he could picture both happening, and maybe even both in that order. He felt so useless, not being able to move. Didier didn't like feeling useless, and the fact someone else was going to have to take care of his responsibilities for the day, at least the day, made him feel even worse.

Eventually though, probably due to being alone in the quiet room and lack of sleep the night prior, Didier's eyelids grew heavy. He slowly closed them without realizing it and soon was sleeping heavily.

Nick heard snickering in the doorway, and looked up to find Jim there. Her eyes narrowed as she dropped the rag she had been using into a bucket of water, then slowly got to her feet. "What," she asked, her voice low and deadly. It instantly quieted down in the sick bay, all eyes trained on the two.
"Ye seemed ter be havin' a good time with yer buddy there," he said in a nastily joking tone. "So ye finally decided ter give yerself up, eh?"
"I didn't do anything like that, you filthy rat," she said, her arms crossed over her chest. "Get yer mind out of the effin' gutters."
"Whatever ye say," the man said with a cruel chuckle, crossing the room. "If that's yer story-"
He didn't finish his sentence; he couldn't, with Nick's fist in his mouth. The man fell back, startled, blood beginning to drip from his lip. "Yer lucky," she said, her voice soft and dangerous. "Next time, I'll kill you." With that she turned and walked out, her steps brisk and polished, even as she started to break down.

She made it back to her room with a tray of food in her hands. She came in quietly, having peeked in to see if he was awake or not.
She crossed the room and set the tray on the table, then sat down next to he bed with a sigh. she rested her forehead on her arm and closed her eyes, waiting.

Didier didn't hear Nick come in till the tray hit the table. He opened his eyes slowly, but instantly, "Nick, that you?" he asked as he sat up slowly, so he was propped up on his elbows. He looked up at her, "What happened?" he asked instantly, knowing the look on her face, "Who said something?" he asked, assuming that was the issue.

Nick looked at him, her expression still dark. "Jim," she muttered, and then, after a pause, "I punched him in the face." She chewed on her lip, thinking now that she had been stupid. She was going to hear about this later.

"That's my girl!" he said with a laugh, then wondered if his word choice was inappropriate. "You had to know he would be the idiot. I was hoping you would get away without anyone saying anything, but I guess it was unavoidable..." he said. Then thinking that a change of subject would be a good idea, he realized he hadn't seen any of the other crew members since the fight, but Nick had been on deck, "How is everyone else? I see we have suffer the casualty of still having Jim, but who else made it? Did anyone not get out of the fight?" he asked.

Nick sighed, then shrugged lightly. "Oh, everyone's doing well enough. We lost Higgins, but he was bound to go soon enough. I think it was a heart attack that took 'im; I didn't see a wound on him." She closed her eyes to think, her teeth pulling lightly at her bottom lip. "Rothgow is hurt a right good bit, probably won't be fit fer work for another week or two, but he and you were the worst of it." She opened her eyes and looked up at him, her aqua-green eyes searching his carefully.

He nodded, "If Higgins had to go, I'm sure he'd rather 'ave it been bloody, but he was sufferin' anyway, so it's good he's gone on now." he said. Higgins had been one of the good guys- one who helped Didier out when Didier first got on the ship, but they had been expecting Higgins to drop dead soon anyway- Didier had prepared for it already. "Rothgow had it comin' one way er another- whether it 'ad been frien' or foe." he laughed. Rothgow had been a bit of a jerk to everyone aboard lately, so they could only hope it would set him straight. "I dun mind bein' the worst, so long as it spared someone else from it." he said. He liked to think that since he was hurt that severely, that it spared someone else for going through the same thing. It was just a nice way to look at it; it gave Didier a slight amount of comfort about his situation.

Nick nodded, resting a light hand on his arm. "May god bless his soul," she murmured, more to herself then anything. Higgins had helped her, too- he had known her father when she was but a wee bit of a child, and he had cared for her through thick and thin, even before he realized who she was. She leaned forward and kissed his forehead gently, sighing. "That's all fine and dandy, and right noble of you," she said, leaning back a little. "But all the same, if anything, I wish it would have been me and not you." She chewed on her lip and turned her face away from him. "It hurts to see ya hurt like that. I thought someone was tearin' my heart outta my chest." She fidgeted uncomfortably- she had never been one to tell others what was really going on inside that head of hers. But it was Didier, her best friend and the boy she loved. She could let him inside, because he was a big part of her world.

Didier laughed, "So you'd wanna put my through the heart being ripped outta my chest?" he smiled a little, becoming a bit more serious, "Nick, I wouldn't be able to stand seeing you like this either. And, I wouldn't be able to take care of you like you can me. It's better me that you, Nick, trust me. At least I have you to take care of me here." he smiled.

"Touche," she grumbled after a moment. "I guess it's better you then me. I think its better them then us though." by them, she meant the enemy. God, did she hate this stupid war. She had forgotten what it was all about, but it was the reason she was an orphan. She closed her eyes, a frown on her lips as she thought. "Hey, when do you think you'll be ok to move," she asked, without opening her eyes. "We can't keep you down here for too long or else the sun will hurt your eyes too much."

Didier laughed, but it wasn't because he thought what she said was funny- it's because it was true, 'Yeah, better them than us." he agreed. The war had been going on so long, no one knew exactly what side they were on anymore even. It was just a repetitive cycle of You-hurt-me-now-I'll-hurt-you-seven-fold. It was beginning to wear on everyone, but it didn't seem like there was much hope for peace in the near future. It was all just so depressing.

At the next bit, Didier looked down at the bed and at what he could see of himself. "I bet we could move me now, if you wanted. I'm not going to feel much better any time soon." he reminded her. Despite the amount of sleep he got, which while it was little it was still good enough to fuel him any other day, Didier was feeling drained. He knew it had to be partially due to the blood loss, and whatever else. "What do you want to do?" he asked Nick. She was the expert at how to treat the injured, so he figured she would know.

"It's a tough call," she admitted. "I'm not exactly sure what would be best. If we move you too soon, you're wound could open up again and that would be catastrophic. Then again, if I stitch it up you should be fine." She bit her lip, her eyes going to where the gash would be if his back was facing her. "Oh, I forgot about that," she muttered. "I still have to sew you're back up."

Didier swallowed hard, "I-You need to sew up my back? Is it that bad...?" he asked, wanting to turn to look, but knowing it would hurt his back, he opted for looking with only his eyes instead. He couldn't see anything though. "Do we have to sew it...?" he asked, hoping for a way out of it.

"Well..." she said slowly, chewing her lip. "Let me have a look at it. If it's still gaping I have to sew it up, no if's, ands, or buts about it." She stood up, moving so that she could see his back. Gently, she pulled his shirt up, then began unwrapping and unpacking the wound. No fresh blood was on the dressings, which was good, but one could never be too sure. "Hmm... it's deep, Didier. I don't think I have any other choice." Her voice was apologetic, almost pained. she didn't want to have to do this any more then he wanted it to happen.

Didier held still while waiting for the verdict. He winched when she gave it- Didier was secretly afraid of needles. "N-no other choice...? O-Okay, if there's really no other choice..." he said, "I'll trust you." he said, giving a small smile.

Nick nodded, swallowing hard, then reached under the bed for her sewing things. After pulling out the heavy chord and a sharp, clean needle, she sat back on her heels, chewing on her lip. "I'll try not to hurt you," she said, obviously worried.

Didier swallowed again when he saw the needle, but nodded. It couldn't be so bad, he had to try and be brave at least. Even though he desperately hated needles. Knives and swords and guns he could deal with, needles were his kryptonite. "Alright... We'll see how it goes." he laughed slightly.

Nick took a deep breathe as she threaded her kneedle, then sat up straighter and poised the needle over his back. "Just take deep breathes, love," she murmured, and then began, working quickly.

Didier grunted and winched as she set to work. He followed her advice though, taking slow, deep breaths. It wouldn't be too long, he reasoned with himself. It couldn't be that bad or take that long.

He lay there on his stomach reassuring himself of that every second. He trusted Nick completely, but he did still had an issue with the needle diving in and out of his back as she worked.

Nick finally finished her work; Didier's back was now accented with a neat row of stitches. "All done," she said with a sigh of relief. "That wasn't so bad, now was it?" She got up and put the needle in the trash, then cleaned up. After she had finished she went to the bed and sat on the edge, a soft smile on her face. Surely, he would get better now, right?

He let out a heavy sigh when she said that she had finished. He looked up, watching her clean up and then come back to the edge of the bed, "Well not so bad..." he said with a small laugh, "So, does this mean I'm good to move now?" he asked. He was slightly anxious to get above and see the light of day- and prove he was alive. Didier was also a bit eager to exchange some choice words with Jim, were he up there.

The young girl chewed on her lip, brushing a red curl behind one ear. "I think you should be fine to, if you think you can move," she said slowly. "But, don't you dare push yourself beyond yer limits, or I'll give you another nice little hurt to nurse." She tried to be serious about the last part, but a smile kept tugging at her lips relentlessly until she was grinning by the last few words.

Didier pushed himself into a sitting position and moved next to her, "Well, you said you were going to help me, so you can keep an eye on me..." he said, laughing a bit. "Do you want to try now, or wait a bit?" he smiled at her a bit.

She watched him carefully, then shrugged. "We can do it now, if you'd like," she said, her eyes on his. "We'll walk around the cabin first, see if moving doesn't hurt it, and then we can go up above." She stood up and held her hand out to him, a small grin on her lips. "Come along, m'lady," she said, chuckling wickidly.