All Is Fair In Love And War

Chapter 24

Immediately there was a cool hand against his burning forehead, gently pushing back his sweat-soaked bangs. It took Carter a moment to figure out where he was. His blurry vision slowly came back into focus, and he saw a very worried Douxie in front of him. His brows were creased together, eyes flooded with anxiety. He was talking, but Carter could hardly make out what he was saying.

Douxie was running his fingers through Carter's loose curls, his other hand gently squeezing his thigh. That was usually something that would turn him on, but through his haze of confusion, all he could do was stare blankly at Douxie.

Realizing, with a flush of embarrassment, that Carter couldn't hear him, Douxie grabbed something off of a nearby night table and held them out to him. Carter looked down and blinked. Then he realized they were hearing aids. He took them and carefully put them in. With the click of a dial, the world came back into tune, and Carter could now hear the faint arguing coming from outside the door.

"Love?" Douxie asked softly, fingers curling into the hair at the nape of his neck. "Are you alright?"

It took Carter a moment to process Douxie's question. "Yes?" He wasn't so sure himself, but he didn't know what else to say. His throat was scratchy and it hurt. From what, he didn't know. "What's going on out there?"

Douxie sighed. "Aanya and Jamie are arguing with Jim about who should lead."

Carter blinked. "Wait, they're on our side?"

Douxie nodded. "Yep," he absentmindedly rubbed Carter's leg, looking towards the door. "It was Steve, surprisingly. After you disarmed everyone and promptly passed out, Steve went into this whole spiel about working together for the greater good and what not." He looked back at Carter with a smile. "He said that they should strive to be better than their parents. That they were better than their parents." He laughed softly. "That seemed to knock the fight right out of them."

Carter frowned, chewing on his lip. "I'm... sorry for what happened. I didn't-"

"Woah, hey." Douxie cut him off with a shake of his head, squeezing his leg a little tighter. "Are you apologizing for passing out?"

Carter pursed his lips. "A little bit."

"Don't." Douxie instructed, leaning forward to kiss his temple. "Why would anyone blame you for that?"

"Douxie-"

"Love, it's okay." He gave him a soft smile. "You're okay."

Carter averted his gaze, heart pounding in his chest. He felt like he was being watched. "I saw him," he murmured.

"What?" Douxie asked confusedly.

"My dad. I saw him." Carter said again and looked back at him. "He had this... army around him. And I think... I think they know where we are."

Douxie went white. "Are you sure?"

Carter nodded, rubbing his forehead. Another headache was pounding in his skull. "We need to be ready." He sucked in a breath and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He stood quickly, but almost immediately collapsed again.

Douxie caught him around the waist. "Woah, take it easy, love! You've been out for almost a day. Slow down."

"Douxie, we don't have time." Carter insisted, panic swelling in his chest. "He's coming." As soon as those words left his mouth, it was like the weight of the world dropped on their shoulders. He took in a shaky breath. "He's coming for me."

Douxie was staring at him, fear clouding his eyes. After a moment, he nodded and slowly let Carter stand on his own. "Shit, I can't believe this is happening."