Burning Ice & Freezing Fire

Doctor?!

There is a steady, calming sound.
And it's pleasantly warm and comfortable.
These are the first things Robbie's mind registers when he very slowly wakes up.

With a relaxed sigh, he opens one eye and notices that it's still dark. He should go back to sleep. He still feels rather exhausted, anyway. Yeah. It would be best to just close both eyes again and return to sleep...

But instead his second eye now opens as well and he looks around in the darkness. He can't really see anything, but he feels...strange.

It feels strange - this place.

It's not his lair! He can sense that...

But where is he then? And why and where exactly is he sleeping here? And what was that low beat he heard before waking up? Now fully awake, he decides to get up and find some answers to his questions. But when he now tries to push himself up, he notices two more things: he can't, because he simply is too weak and shaky even when he does so much as move his head, and...he is stuck in another way... The moment his mind understands that there is an arm around his chest, his mouth already opens for a terrified scream "AAAAAAH!"
"Robbie!"

There is another hand in his hair that now moves to grab his own hands that are weakly trying to pry the arm away from his chest.

He keeps screaming.

"Robbie, it's okay! It's me, Sportacus!"

But although the villain hears these words, he doesn't understand the meaning and just screams on.

"Robbie, please! ...Lights!"

The very next second Robbie squeezes his eyes shut and ducks his head when white explodes in front of his eyes.

So that's it now...

He falls silent.

That is the end of Robbie Rotten...
"...Shush... Robbie... Hey. It's okay, calm down..." Sportacus gently squeezes Robbie's suddenly cold, shaking hands, trying to soothe the shocked villain again. Carefully, he grabs his wrist to take his pulse, finding it throbbing far too quick and unsteady. "...Robbie, please, look at me. You don't have to be afraid, it's me, Sportacus..." whispers the hero lowly, looking down on Robbie's face with obvious concern "Please, open your eyes..."
"...I'm...dead..." comes a hoarse mumble, followed by a painful frown.

"No, you're not. You'll be okay, I promise," assures Sportacus with only a hint of relief that the other is responding at all "...Robbie... Trust me. You're not dead. Just...sick..."

A few more seconds pass, then Robbie takes another, hectic breath in and cracks an eye open. This time almost a whole minute passes, before he suddenly rasps "...Sportacus?!..."
"Yes. It's really me. And it's okay. Please, try to calm down..." the hero forces a soothing smile, hoping to successfully hide his concern.

"...But... What are you... Where am I?!" the villain turns his head and finally recognizes the airship "Why am I..." he stops and instead one of his hands darts to his head and he buries his face in it with a low groan. Sportacus gives him a moment to calm down a bit again, then he asks carefully "...Do you remember..."
"Yes," Robbie removes his hand and now looks straight into Sportacus' gentle, blue eyes, his voice is still low and exhausted "...I remember everything until I fell asleep... You...gave me some...tea..."
"Yes!" Sportacus sighs relieved, then he smiles gently "I'm glad, you remember again!"
"...Yes..." Robbie's gaze moves down to the arm, still holding him in place...pressed against Sportacus' chest and he feels heat rushing to his face "...But what I don't remember is..." his voice trails off.

"Robbie?" Sportacus is worried again at once, but then he follows the villain's view and quickly lifts his arm off his chest, giving him more space "I'm sorry! I just... Your fever was so high and you had nightmares and started squirming and crying and when I embraced you, you finally relaxed and..." he shifts away a little further, after making sure Robbie is propped up by pillows now completely and lowers his eyes "...And at 08:08, I fell asleep, as well...with you still in my arms... I'm really sorry! I didn't mean to scare you or anything! I just thought...it was good for you, and when you asked me to not leave you alone, I thought..."
"I did what?!" the other feels his heart nearly skipping a beat.

"You...asked me to not leave you alone..." repeats the hero carefully, before narrowing his eyes "Robbie, are you all right? You're so pale again out of a sudden..."
"...Did I...say anything...else?..."
"No..."

With a relieved sigh, Robbie closes his eyes for a moment, trying to calm his throbbing heartbeat again. But when he senses a cool, soft hand on his forehead, he opens them again and looks straight into Sportacus' concerned gaze once more.

"...What are you doing?..."
"You're still pretty warm... Hold on," Sportacus grabs the thermometer from the table and holds it into Robbie's ear, holding his head steady with his free hand. Seconds later, he announces "Your temperature has lowered a little, but you're still running a fever. You really have to drink and eat something. The sooner, the better!"
"...Where...did you get that from?..." Robbie's eyes are fixed on the ear thermometer.

"It's part of my equipment."
"...I...didn't know that you're a...doctor..."
"I am not," Sportacus furrows his brows "...Well... At least not...in the way you think... Medical basics are part of our studies meanwhile... I can't replace a real doctor, but it's enough for emergencies...like yours..." The hero feels a little bit nervous at telling him this. He hasn't told anybody about this until now... Robbie just blinks, looking at him with confusion reflecting eyes. They stare at each other for several minutes, until the uneasy silence gets interrupted by a loud, growling sound, followed by a pained cry and Robby turning onto his side with a jerk, pulling his legs up to lie in fetal position now, whimpering and sobbing lowly. "...Robbie..." Sportacus hesitatingly shifts closer again, gently unfolding the villain to rest one hand on his stomach and start another gentle massage, while running the other one up and down his arm in a soothing manner, his voice low but intense and pleading "Robbie, you have to eat something now."

But his patient weakly shakes his head, squeezing his eyes shut even tighter, while his hands blindly search the bed for something to hold on to "No! It... It hurts too much... I... I don't want to..."
"But you have to. It will hurt even worse when you do nothing. Believe me," now Sportacus gently takes both of Robbie's shaking hands and gives him his own to hold on to and squeeze tightly whenever he has to cry out again under another painful cramp of his abdomen. His voice lowers even more and becomes begging "Please, Robbie. I know you're scared and it's completely understandable that you are. But if you don't eat and drink anything, soon, I won't be able to help you anymore and then I have to take you to a real doctor..."
"N-No! Please, Sportacus, don't!" Robbie opens his eyes, to look at the hero again, and the next moment, tears start rolling down his face. Sportacus feels his heart breaking at this, but he smiles soothingly "You really don't have to be afraid, Robbie. I... I won't let anybody harm you, I promise! ...But it would be so much better, if you tried to eat some of the sandwiches. Just a few bites... Please... You have to trust me..."
Robbie is still looking at the hero, trying to progress everything he just said, despite the pain in his stomach. Then he parts his lips a bit and murmurs weakly but still with audible surprise "...You...really...care..."
"Yes!" Sportacus grabs his hands a little tighter, nodding to support his words even more, feeling a tiny spark of hope that Robbie seems to start to understand and believe his words "Yes, I do! And therefore, I would never let anything bad happen to you, Robbie! ...But now, you have to trust me to let me help you help yourself! Please. I know, it's much to ask for, especially in your current situation and condition... But please...trust me..."