Interning on the Aronnax

Wake Up

A/N: The last chapter had the more comments than I've had for a while. Did I scare you?

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Fontaine grabbed Finn's wrist and felt his pulse. It was normal and, aside from a slight wheeze, so was his breathing. She checked for injuries, but couldn't see any. Finn looked fine, so why was he unconscious?

"Finn, come on, wake up!"

To Fontaine's relief, Finn groaned. His eyelids fluttered.

"That's it," Fontaine murmured, hands moving uselessly around. "Finn, can you hear me?"

Finn groaned again and shifted. Fontaine pulled the cot behind him and helped Finn lean against it.

"Does that feel better?" Fontaine asked.

Finn mumbled something under his breath. He grimaced and arched his back.

"Finn? Finn, what hurts?"

"Sore," Finn grunted. "S'kay. It'll pass."

"I'm getting Mum," Fontaine said, starting to stand.

"No!"

Finn's hand shot out and latched onto Fontaine's arm. Fontaine yelped at his tight grip.

"Sorry." Finn let his hand drop. "Can't tell anyone."

"Finn, something's wrong," Fontaine said, though she didn't move away. "Mum will know how to help you."

"Nothin's wrong." Finn huffed. "Just gotta catch my breath."

"Finn, the air's been fine for long enough that you shouldn't have been unconscious. And even if it was the air, you would have passed out back in the hold." Fontaine narrowed her eyes. "Before you removed the evidence."

"It's fine," Finn insisted. "Happens."

Fontaine crouched. "How often?"

Finn shrugged. His eyes slid away while he mumbled, "Lose oxygen, breathe shallow, fix problem. S'kay."

"Finn?"

"Hold on 'til coast's clear." Finn blinked heavily. "Cap't clears it... sleep it off."

"Finn, what are you saying?"

"Air's..." Finn waved his hand in an uncertain manner. "Train for little... work with little. S'kay. I's the only one who fix."

Fontaine shook Finn's shoulder. "Finn, you aren't making any sense."

Finn's eyes focused on Fontaine's. "Nobody c'n know."

"You still don't want me to tell Mum and Dad?" Fontaine asked, exasperated.

Finn's head slowly shook back-and-forth. He slurred, "Means'well. Don' ends'well. Don' say, 'kay?"

"Fine, I won't say anything until you can clearly tell me why you don't want Mum and Dad to know, deal?" Fontaine leaned closer. "Deal?"

Finn grunted. "Deal."

"Good. Now help me get you into bed if you think you can just sleep it off."

Fontaine was mostly joking about the help; in Finn's state, she wasn't even sure he understood what she was saying. So she was surprised when Finn pushed himself slowly up.

"Careful."

Fontaine grabbed Finn's arms, taking some of his weight and guiding him onto the cot. Once Finn was settled, Fontaine tossed a blanket over him.

"Stay here," Fontaine said. "I'll check on you soon. Are you sure you'll be okay?"

Finn hummed and nodded. "S'kay. I'll ge' up fer mea vigilia..."

Fontaine waited for Finn to finish, then realized that his breathing had become deep and steady. He'd fallen asleep mid-sentence.

Fontaine rolled her eyes toward the ceiling. "What am I going to do with you?"

In the end, Fontaine just tucked the blanket under Finn so he wouldn't toss it off in his sleep. She hastily straightened the room, then set a half-full water bottle in easy reach of the cot.

When Fontaine ran out of things to do, she watched Finn for a moment, then slipped out. She'd have to check with Kaiko on how recovering from low oxygen would go -Fontaine would probably end up in the infirmary herself, but she could deal with that- then return to Finn as soon as possible.

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A/N: This is normally where I explain exactly what's going on with Finn, but not this time. -evil laugh- I'm leaving you in the dark with Fontaine. Ciao!

Finn translation: my turn.