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The Medic walked through the doorway of the dinning hall carrying plates piled high with steamed vegetables and smoked ham, the team looked at him with wide hungry eyes, after a long day of hot, dirty war which ultimately resulted in a victory, they were all looking forward to there much earned meal. The Medic served the rest of his team before settling himself down between the Heavy and the Scout.
Everyone tucked in gratefully, all chatter had quietened and the room was filled with appreciative murmurs as they savoured the food. The Medic looked around happily, pleased that everyone was enjoying his cooking. But then he frowned, one seat was empty.
“Where is Herr Sniper?” he asked the other seven men, breaking the silence. The team paused and looked at one another, the room was filled was a pregnant stillness. The Medic was beginning to get annoyed that it was taking so long to answer a simple question.
“Humphf hmf humph huur uurmph” The Pyro announced suddenly, making the Medic jump a little.
“He said, he hasn't seen him all day” Engineer translated for the team.
“How the hell did ya understand that, Hard hat?” the Scout asked, poking his fork in Pyros general direction.
“Patience is a virtue as my Ma always told me” the Engineer replied curtly.
“Focus Verdammt” the Medic spat, bringing the attention back to the matter at hand and stopping an argument from occurring. “Where is Herr Sniper?” the edge in his voice made it very clear that his patience was being tested.
“Well, I Know I saw him yesterday morning” The Demoman announced, the team turned to look at the Scot who stared at them all with his one eye.
“That is right, he was coughing badly” the Spy confirmed. It was true the Sniper had had a cough that he hadn't been able to shake off, but whenever questioned about it by the Medic he grumpily told him not to bloody fuss.
“Has anyone seen him since?” the Medic asked, trying to remain calm, how could they all of lost sight of a seven foot loud Australian, it didn't make any sense.
“I know he was in battle today, because he had a lousy shot” the Solider bellowed gruffly.
“I don't remember you having a great aim today either, twinkle toes” the Scout challenged determined not to get left out. The Solider stared at him, for a moment he was shocked that the pip squeak of a boy would say something like that to him in front of everyone.
“I have had enough of this, I am going to look for him, the rest of you, eat your food” the Medic interrupted before promptly standing. “ Halten Sie die Festung für mich, mein Freund“ he muttered to Heavy before leaving.
As he paced down the corridors he thought on exactly where he was going, the soldier had mentioned that the Sniper was in his nest that afternoon so perhaps that was the best place to start his look.
This boots squeaked on the polished floors of the corridor which lead outside and towards the Snipers nest.
As he climbed up the ladder he thought about how much he was willing to go to find a way ward team member and whether it was all worth it. These thoughts suddenly stopped when he looked down and felt his gut do a flip. He never did have a head for heights, he swallowed as he gripped onto the iron bars, his tongue felt fat and dry in his mouth. He took a deep breath and urged himself not to look down again as he continued up towards the Snipers nest.
When he pushed the splintering wooden hatch he was met with the dark stuffy gloom of the room. He hauled himself up onto the dusty floor and gently closed the door. He peered around the room, though the only light was coming from the small slit in the wall where the Sniper watched the battlefield with a birds eye view, he could tell the room was surprisingly organized if a little messily so, as his eyes adjusted to the darkness he saw shapes start to appear, mainly boxes stacked on top on one another, a separate box with a few jars on top of it, filled with a suspicious misty yellow content.
Apart apart from that there was little else in the room other than one more crate by the window where, the Medic presumed was where the Sniper sat during battle, and beside it squashed between it and the wall was a pile of blankets. There was no Sniper to be seen. It left an uneasy feeling in Medics stomach. The heat of the room was getting to him even after only a few minutes in the nest, he wondered how the Sniper could possibly stand being cooped up in here for hours on end as he felt a trickle of warm sweat run down the back of his neck cause his collar to stick to his skin.
He tested the floor boards by placing his foot gingerly onto another part of the floor. It let out a violent creek but held fast. “Spook“ came a weak voice from the corner causing the Medic to jump a little. Medic peered at where the voice had come from, it appeared to have come from the blankets in the corner. He crept closer, picking his feet up very carefully so as not to cause anymore worrying sounds.
As he approached he realized that under the blanket was The Sniper. Medic breathed a sigh of relief that he had finally found him which meant he wouldn't have to go around the entire base looking for him. This relief soon turned to concern when the Medic looked at the Sniper more carefully.
He was shivering despite the heat, he had the blanket wrapped tightly around him. His eyes were diluted and unfocused, and he looked very weak.
“Sniper, can you hear me? Do you know where you are?“ the Medic asked as he reached to push the Snipers hat off of his face to get an even better look at him, as he made contact the Sniper bucked his head bearing his teeth giving fair warning to the Medic about what he was trying to do. The Medic drew his hand back sharpish as he felt he could do without being bitten by an angry and confused Australian that evening.
He sat back and observed the other man while thinking about what to do next. The Sniper was clearly sick but without being able to touch him the Medic had no hope of being able to figure out what was wrong with him and as for moving him down into the infirmary that was out of the question. He let out a sigh.
“Excuse me, Doctor?“ came a voice behind him. The Medic jumped up , placing himself between the Sniper and the possible dangerous intruder, he spun round to meet eyes with the Red Spy. He let out a sigh of relief that it wasn't a Blu, The Sniper let out a pained whine, bringing their attention back to the sick man, he had lifted his head and stared blearily at the Spy. The Medic stood back as the Spy went over to the Sniper, he sat down on the crate next to him and cradled his head against his lap, took off his hat and started to gently stroking the Sniper's hair.
“I have been trying to get him down for quite some time“ the Spy explained as the Sniper calmed and leaned against him. “As you can tell, it is not an easy task. He is distressed and I am running out of ideas, 'e has been sick for a while but this afternoon 'e has just gotten worse and worse.“
“Ja“ The Medic replied slowly, he had never seen a Spy act so tenderly towards someone and he was surprised that the Sniper didn't try to take his hand off. “Why didn't you tell me before?“.
The Spy paused and the Medic waited. “ HE would not have wanted the fuss“ The Spy said after a moment or two and the Medic decided not to press the matter.
“Well, we can't leave him here“ the Medic said looking at the now docile Aussie. He reached his hand slowly towards the Sniper in hope of taking his temperature. The second The Sniper sensed the Doctors nearing hand he snapped his head towards him, snarling quietly. The Medic withdrew his hand and sighed, looking at the Spy for assistance.
“Hush, mon Cher, hush“ he whispered in the Snipers ear bringing his attention back to the Spy. The Spy gently stroked his cheek. The Sniper turned to him, his face streaked with sweat though he kept up his feverish shivering. The Spy leaned forward and placed a kiss on the Snipers lips, a gentle caring kiss, a kiss that was meant to calm and comfort rather than excite. The Medic stared at the pair, this was an unexpected development, though it certainly did explain how the Spy was able to get so close to the Sniper and the Sniper seemed calmer now.
The Spy saw the Medic looking at them. He drew back from the Sniper. “I Would appreciate you keeping this to your self, Doctor“ the Spy replied, a cold stare in his eye reminded the Medic just who he was dealing with. He nodded finding anywhere to look at rather than the pair. The Frenchman stood up and straightened his suit before approaching the Medic. A pathetic mewl came from behind him at the lack of contact, Medic saw the Spy's shoulder flinch ever so slightly as if to go back to him, but the Spy forced himself to walk forward until he was face to face with the German.
He reached inside his suit pocket and handed the Medic three brown cigarettes. “ He will associate the smell of these with me, rub one between your hands and keep them in your pocket. He is too confused to notice you are not me so he should not attack when you touch him. I believe that he has a urine infection which cause the hallucination but you will need to confirm this“ the Spy instructed him.
“How exactly are we going to get him down from here?“ the Medic asked as he went over to the Sniper, he reached a hand, now dusted with tobacco and managed to touch the Snipers forehead, it was burning hot. The Sniper raised his head wearily trying to nuzzle the hand that was near him. The Medic could now see that his pupils were big, black and unfocused, his skin had a slight tinge of yellow to it, his breathing was labored. The Medic cursed himself quietly for not noticing earlier how ill one of his team mates had become.
“Put him over your shoulder, and carry him down. I will go in front to make sure you don't drop him“ the Spy said, his eyes watching Medic gently prodding and probing the Sniper who, thinking that it was Spy was content to be touched.
The Medic groaned inwardly to himself, he had forgotten how high they were up, still if it was for one of his team mates then he supposed he would have to pull himself together.
The Medic gently pulled the Sniper up, supporting him under the arm. “Spook?“ he mumbled as his head lolled to one side. The Spy came up behind them. “yes, mon cher. Go with the Doctor now. Be a good boy“ he whispered in the Australians ear, gently stroking his cheek. The Sniper didn't make the connection that there were more than two hands touching him at once and he purred quietly into the contact.
The Medic hoisted the Sniper over his shoulder causing him to groan a little but he was too weak to do anything else. The Spy glared at the Medic with icy look. “I hope you know that this man is of great importance to me, Doctor, it is worth more than your life worth to make sure he is well looked after“ he said coldly with just a drop of venom in his voice as he opened the hatch door leading to the ladder.
As the Medic made his way down the ladder painfully slow so as not to rock the delirious Sniper too much, he wondered how the Spy could have gotten to the nest before him when the Medic had left him eating his dinner with the rest of the team, still he supposed that the Spy knew every crook and cranny of this base and probably knew a short cut. Then there was another thing that was causing the German trouble, was it him or was the Spy speaking with a slightly different French accent.
“Spy?“ the Medic called, pausing to make sure the now unconscious Sniper was secure.
“What is it, Doctor?“ the Spy replied a hint of worry in his voice.
“Have you contracted anything from Herr Sniper? It is just that you sound rather strange, like you have a cold“ the Medic asked, there was a pause as he waited with baited breath for the answer.
“I think“ the Spy started darkly “that you had best concentrate on the Sniper, we are nearly there“.
Medic took the hint and continued to climb down and sure enough soon found his black boots touching the soft sandy ground. He still held the Sniper over his shoulder so as not to disturb him. The Medic looked around him for the Spy only to find that he had disappeared. He called out quietly to him and was only answered with a soft warm blow of the evening dessert wind.
“Doctor!“ came a loud bellowing voice from the other side of the clearing. The Medic turn to see Heavy and Soldier hurrying towards him. The Medic smiled and tried to compose himself.
“Ah, Gentleman, good to see you“ he said as they reached him, he turned to heavy. “I need you to carry Herr Sniper to the infirmary, be careful though he very well may try and bite you“ the Medic warned him, as the great Russian took the Sniper from off of Medic shoulder he awoke and tried in vain to wriggle free from Heavy grasp, when that failed he sunk his teeth into Heavy's arm.
Heavy let out a low hiss
“watch yourself, skinny man“ he threatened as he dislodged the Aussies mouth from his skin and held his head so he could not reach any exposed flesh.
“What happened up there, Doc?“ the Soldier asked as they began the short walk to the infirmary with Heavy leading the way with Sniper in his arms making loud, long and pained howling sounds.
The Medic thought for a moment remembering the threat that stayed in his mind.
“Nothing much, mein comrade“ the Medic started carefully. “I found Sniper nearly unconscious and I carried him down“.
“How come he didn't bite you?“ Soldier replied as they walked down the corridor that lead to the infirmary.
“Go and help Heavy get Sniper on the medical bed“ the Medic growled trying to assert as much authority in his voice as he could muster. They turned the corner and found the rest of the team waiting outside the infirmary.
“What are all of you doing here?“ the Medic asked, he was beginning to grow tired of unexpected guests.
“Came to see if Stretch is alright“ the Engineer spoke for the group, their eyes fell on the Sniper would had stopped his howls and was now trying to bite Heavy again, his nostrils flaring in frustration.
“He will be, if you all leave and let me work“ the Medic snapped at them, the rest of the team began to file out and the Heavy and Soldier carried the Sniper into the sick bay. The Medic was about to turn to follow when he saw a flash of red suit in the crowd.
“Herr Spy, do you have a moment?“ the Medic called. The Spy looked at him and shrugged before coming to stand in front of the German. The Medic waited until the last of the team had left the corridor before he addressed the smartly dressed man.
“You will be happy to know that I believe that the Sniper has a urine infection and also a fever on top. With antibiotics and lots of rest he should be back to his old self after a week“ the Medic told him. The Spy looked at him oddly.
“Well that is good news but why are you telling me this?“ he asked. The Medic blinked, confused.
“Because after what I saw in the nest, I thought you would want to know, oh and would you like your cigarettes back?“ the Medic asked fumbling in his pockets.
“What in Gods name are you talking about, Doctor?“ the Spy asked, wondering if the Doctor had gone mad, but when he saw the two brown cigarettes in the Medics hand he froze, his eyes widened.
“Where did you get those?“ he asked slowly.
“You gave them to me in the nest, remember?“ the Medic did not like the way the Spy was looking at him.
“They are not mine, they belong to the Blu Spy“ the Spy hissed quietly, holding up one to inspect it.
The Medic heart skipped a beat, the Blu Spy. The Blu Spy was disguised in the nest as the Red one. But that would mean that he and the Sniper was...
“Are you in any sort of relationship with the Sniper“ the Medic blurted out desperately, looking for any sort of conclusion but that. The Spy nearly choked.
“Good God, non are you mad? Non of course not“ the Frenchman looked reproachfully at the Doctor for making such an absurd accusation. The Medic groaned and rubbed his face with his hands. The Spy looked at him for a moment, fixing the pieces together in his mind.
“Whatever you found out up there“ the Spy began, bringing the Medics attention back to him. “I think it would be best if you keep it to your self, the Blu spy is not a man to be trifled with. And if this matter is personal, then even I would not meddle with his affairs“.
The Spy left this last warning ringing in the medicine mans ears before walking away down the corridor. The Medic tried to compose himself before heading off to treat the man who had caused all these problems in so little time.