Chapter 110: Asking for a little bit of help
"Lord Blackburn, I’ve treated the areas to the best of my ability, so you may put your clothes back on." Sam seemed excited to hear that, and rushed over, practically getting on top of Draken to get to Cass. Draken sputtered, but quickly jumped over the back of the loveseat, rocking it as he used his weight and strength to do so.
Cass nearly fell backwards and the loveseat tilted with his movements, but Draken made sure that the loveseat went back to normal, laughing at Cass’ shocked expression. Even Sam was shocked at his actions.
"What? He rushed me, and I wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible." Cass stared at the other man, his heart racing. Any trace of sleepiness he had was wiped away with Draken’s actions.
"You nearly gave me a heart attack." Cass accused and Draken’s humour faded. He reached towards Cass, pressing his fingers against his pulse. He only placed two fingers against his throat, but the pressure, and the realisation that his fingers were so...thick, had Cass thinking that maybe he wasn’t as much in the clear as he thought.
"That’s not good. I don’t want that to happen." Draken murmured. "Mmm, it seems okay. I think that’s a normal heartbeat for a human." Draken mumbled and Cass didn’t know what to say. Draken turned to the Doctor. "Do fairies have a different heart rate than humans?" Draken asked, serious, and the Doctor sighed.
"Most humanoids have a similar heartbeat, or range for a healthy heartbeat. I don’t think that Lord Blackburn should have any worries. When I listened to his heart, it had a healthy sound to it." They confirmed and Draken nodded. He turned a grin towards Cass.
"Don’t scare me like that. You have so many health complications that I worry about anything. A wind could blow you over." Cass wanted to argue, even glaring back at Draken, but given his current state there was nothing he could say. Especially since all of this was self-inflicted.
While they had been speaking, Sam had been hard at work getting Cass dressed, starting with his bottoms since that was honestly the most embarrassing part for him. He couldn’t believe he’d hurt himself like that. He hadn’t even brought up his ass. That was something he didn’t want to discuss with Draken around, and even Sam wasn’t aware of how bad it was.
The Doctor was busy working away, having pulled a small table out of the magic bag that they carried, and was crushing something up with a mortar and pestle.
"Draken, stop saying that. It’s very insulting. You wouldn’t say that to anyone else, would you?" Cass said angrily, Sam helping Cass slid his pants up and over his hips before buttoning up his pants. Cass felt a little better since he wasn’t exposed to everyone anymore, and Draken chuckled.
"How about I stop calling you that when you have a bit more meat on your bones? With my hunting abilities, it’ll take only a month to change you from a twig, into a healthy human. One with a bit to grab onto."
"Lord Draken." Sam chastised, raising his gaze to glare at the other man. Draken chuckled.
"Oh? Are you going to argue with me the same way you did with Ava? That’s cute. I won’t start crying, Sam." Draken warned and Cass could feel the tension growing between the two of them. Cass sighed.
"Doctor, what is it that you are doing?" Cass decided to ignore them. He didn’t care if they got into a fight. It was none of his business, even if it was over him.
"I’m making a mixture for you to rub on your wrists, and then bind. It should help with the swelling, since that seems to be the biggest issue with your wrists. I will also give you some pain relief herbs, and potions, as well as a few pills. I have a few bottles of a medication I brought with me that I suggest you take twice a day, with meals, for about 2 weeks. After that, once a day with meals for a week. I am also planning to give you a few other things since it appears you are severely underweight and you should be supplementing your diet with medication if you can’t consume it properly. Is there a reason for your weight?" The Doctor asked, not even looking at Cass.
"I have allergies. They also manifested around the same time as...this." Cass told the Doctor and they paused.
"That’s...alright. Do you know what they are?" They asked and Cass shook his head slightly.
"No. No idea. I just get...a knowing, I guess? That I shouldn’t eat whatever is in front of me?" The Doctor paused before they turned their gaze towards Cass. They were looking right through him, and Cass felt a shiver run down his spine.
"My Lord. I am not unfamiliar with the fact that medical histories, and treatments are very sensitive. Not only that, this is the hero’s mansion, and you are Lord Blackburn. I am aware of all of these things, but I cannot help you if you are keeping things from me. If I cannot get to the root of your issue because I am lacking the right information, or if I hurt you because of something I am not aware of, I am going to be quite cross, and not help you in the future." It was a scathing statement, and Cass felt his face flush in embarrassment.
He knew that they were right, but what could Cass say? He had no fucking clue what was going on? He had a feeling that some people had a better understanding, but Lord Blackburn wrote nothing down! And Cass didn’t have all of his memories still!
"Who are you to-" Draken was about to launch into an angry rant, but Cass’ soft sigh silenced him.
"I am serious when I say that I don’t know. I’m sure there are some things that don’t make sense, and are confusing for you, but trust me when I say it is just as confusing as it is for me, as it is for you. I would give you more information if I had it." Cass told the Doctor seriously. Draken’s hand came down on Cass’ shoulder, giving it a squeeze. Cass tried not to notice how big his hand was, nor the heat that radiated off of it. His grip was firm, his hands a little rough against his skin. Cass swallowed.
The Doctor stared at Cass, looking him over, before they closed their eyes and shook their head.
"Forgive me, my Lord. I shouldn’t have spoken that way to a patient that is so clearly not well. I was just frustrated. I can’t be sure that what I have with me won’t hurt you, and that alone is very aggravating. It is clear that you are in pain, and yet as a Doctor I am unable to help you in the way that I want to." Cass could sympathize with their situation.
Cass felt the same way. He’d been like that since he arrived in Lord Blackburn’s body. The man was barely able to take care of himself, and yet was still somehow alive.
"I appreciate that it came from a place of concern, which is why I halted Draken. I know you didn’t speak out of any malicious intention. Sam seems...to have a list of what does and does not affect me. I will warn you, they change from day to day. I haven’t pinpointed what the original cause is, but I’m going to have to soon. I can’t continue to live like this." Cass admitted, exhausted. Draken’s grip tightened, before he was chased away as Sam continued to dress Cass.
"It’s alright, Cassian. You’ll get stronger soon. This is only temporary." Draken’s soft voice was surprising to Cass. Enough that when he tilted his head back, he wasn’t expecting the way that the man looked at him. Cass felt his cheeks flush as he looked away from him. Cass chuckled.
"Says the man who can be healed with holy power." Draken grumbled.
"What am I supposed to do? Not get healed in solidarity? Do you want me to drink that awful-looking healing tonic you had me force you to drink?"
"You offered, no, chased Byron and Sam out of the way of doing it." Cass reminded him and Draken scoffed.
"Please. Byron was a fledgling at the time, and you were thrashing around. Sam does not look strong enough to hold you in place so you don’t hurt yourself." Cass cast a glance towards Sam. He did look feeble, but Cass knew that was all a facade. The man was surprisingly strong, but Draken didn’t need to know that.
"That’s insulting. Not all humans are weak, Draken. I just happen to be an exception when it comes to physical prowess." Cass tilted his head back as Sam buttoned up his shirt. He had no idea why he was doing it so high since he was planning to go to bed after this, and Sam would be the one undoing everything then. "Ah, Doctor." Cass started and the Doctor looked up from where they were putting whatever they had just made into a little glass jar.
"Yes?" They replied and Cass’ mouth dried up. He had been wanting to ask this the whole time, but with Draken around it was...it was pretty fucking embarrassing. He didn’t have confidence that he would be as good as Lord Blackburn when it came to magic the next time this rolled around, He remembered that things in this time period were a little...different.
"Um, since I don’t know how healed my hands are going to be the next time this rolls around...do you know of anything that could help me next time?" The Doctor stared at him, not comprehending what Cass was asking at first. It took a few awkward moments before the Doctor’s gaze widened, and it seemed that Cass had shocked them.
"You are asking for an...aide, for your next bout?" The Doctor clarified and Cass gave a quick nod. His face was already warm, but it was Sam’s quiet intake beside him that had his face flaming even more. The Doctor cleared their throat. "Uh, wouldn’t it be better to-"
"No." Cass cut them off. Thankfully, Draken hadn’t caught on to what they were talking about. Or if he had, Cass wasn’t looking at him to find out what he thought of this.
"Well, if you are so insistent, I think I can...come up with something. I normally only deal with women in that regard, so I suppose I’ll have to get...creative." Cass closed his eyes, heavily embarrassed at the realisation that he might help to unintentionally create a flesh light industry in this world.
Well, at least as Lord Blackburn, it wouldn’t be unheard of for him to jump in and invest in an industry that was...innovative. But also, someone had to have invented something similar, right?
"Wait, what are you talking about?" Draken asked and Cass frowned. Fuck. Fuck! Don’t answer, Doctor!
The Doctor didn’t get Cass’ desperate pleas, especially since Draken had referred to himself as Cass’ husband.
"Well, Lord Blackburn is in no state to relieve himself when the next time comes, so he is asking for an aide. I would suggest having someone else help first, but I understand that I have no idea of what kind of relationship you have in this mansion." Cass’ jaw dropped at the implication and Cass nearly jumped out of his skin as Draken’s hands came down on his now clothed shoulders.
"Are you saying that he needs help?" Draken asked. There was a tone to his voice that Cass did not like.
"I’ll be-"
"The man who injured himself and worried me greatly during this last week should be quiet while his husband speaks to the Doctor." Draken’s grip tightened slightly.
"Draken, we are not-"
"-So you are saying that another person helping him would be ideal?" Draken insisted, and the Doctor looked between them. Cass, who was red in the face, flustered, and Draken who looked so unreasonably excited for whatever was about to come out of the Doctor’s mouth.
Cass watched as this deceiver noticed this, processed this, was aware that gay marriage is not and probably wouldn’t be legal for quite some time, and opened their mouth.