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It wasn’t often that Chip was quiet on the Albatross, so when he was, Jay noticed.
It was small things at first. Chip didn’t give his usual boisterous greeting that morning at breakfast, he wasn’t as vocal when training with Gillion, he barely even teased Jay at all the whole day. Possibly the most concerning was that he barely spent any time with Ollie, and when he did, he was silent almost the entire time.
“Miss Jay,” Ollie approached her that evening, “Is Chip okay?”
Jay stopped tinkering with her pistol as she noticed the small boy that they kept on the ship enter her workshop. “So you noticed it too, huh?” She patted the bench next to her, signaling for Ollie to sit. “He’s been quiet all day. It’s honestly a bit troubling. I don’t remember the last time he was this quiet.”
“I was going to check on him, but he isn’t on deck and I can’t ask Gillion because he’s over with Caspian on Captain Lizzie’s ship,” Ollie said.
“And you want me to go check on him?” Jay filled in the gaps. Ollie gave her a sheepish nod. Jay gently set her pistol down on the workbench. “Alright. I’ll check on him and report back.”
Ollie gave her a quick thanks as she left.
Jay made her way down to the quarters she shared with Chip and Gill. She peeked her head around the corner of the stairs and looked over to Chip’s bed. As expected, there he was. However, Jay didn’t expect to see him curled up in blankets, shivering.
“Chip?” He looked up at her. “Are you okay? Ollie wanted me to check on you.”
“Oh, uh, just a little cold,” Chip lied. Jay approached his bed and sat on the edge of it. She put the back of her hand on his forehead. It was almost as hot as an oven.
“Okay, Chip you’re warm, even for you,” Jay said. He shivered a bit as Jay pulled her hand away from his forehead. “Why didn’t you mention that you weren’t feeling well?”
“It’s not a big deal, Jay,” Chip tried to argue. Jay just raised an eyebrow. “It’ll break in a day or two.”
Jay wasn’t having any of it. She collected a rag and a bucket of water and brought it back over to Chip’s bed. She wet the rag and squeezed out some of the excess water before folding it in thirds and placing it on Chip’s forehead. Steam rose from the rag, causing Jay’s eyes to widen. “Chip, you’re really sick.”
“Yeah, so you should go so I don’t get you sick,” Chip responded. Jay just rolled her eyes and grabbed an extra blanket from the storage closet behind Gillion’s barrel and placed it on top of him.
“Here,” Jay said, as she re-wet the rag and placed it back on his head. More steam rolled off his head. “Just try to take it easy and feel better. I’ll be back to check on you in a bit.” Jay pushed his hair away from his face and pressed a kiss to his forehead before heading back up to the main deck.
Jay found Ollie in the kitchen/captain’s/crew’s quarters with Earl. “Did you find him?” Ollie asked as soon as he saw her.
“He’s in bed. He isn’t feeling well,” Jay explained.
Ollie frowned. “Oh.”
“Do you want to help me make some soup for him?” Jay asked. Ollie perked up and nodded while Earl crossed his arms.
“I swear to gods if you kids fuck up my kitchen,” Earl grumbled as he walked off. Jay and Ollie just laughed.
Jay recalled a recipe that her mother used to make for her and Ava whenever they got sick back home on Featherbrook Island. It was simple enough and they had all the ingredients on the ship. Less than an hour later, Jay was carrying a tray with soup and juice from Earl back down to Chip. Ollie was sitting back upstairs with his own bowl of soup.
Chip was still shivering when Jay returned down to their shared quarters. She quietly carried the tray over to his bed and set it down. “Chip?” Jay asked softly, waking her co-captain up. He rolled over and groaned as he opened his eyes. “I brought you some juice from Earl and I made you some soup. Ollie helped. He was worried about you.”
Chip sat up slowly and looked at the tray, and then back to Jay. Maybe it was whatever sickness he had come down with, or maybe it had just been too long since someone had cared for him enough to take care of him when he was sick, but tears started welling up in his eyes. He wiped them away quickly, hoping Jay didn’t notice. If she did, she didn’t say anything.
“Thank you,” Chip croaked. Jay took the rag from his forehead and dunked it in the water once more. This time she rested it on the back of his neck. Chip took the spoon from the tray with a shaky hand and started to eat slowly. “This is really good, Jay, thank you. And Ollie.”
“You’re welcome,” she responded. She sat down next to him on the bed and rubbed his back gently, much like her own mother used to do.
“Jay, I’ll get you sick,” Chip whined. But Jay shook her head.
“I’ll be okay. You need to get better first though. And if you won’t take care of yourself then I will. Eat,” she urged. So he did.
Chip sighed and rested his head on Jay’s once he finished his soup and his juice. He knew Jay was right, too. He wouldn’t have taken care of himself. He would have either stayed in bed or worked on the ship until he dropped. When was the last time he had been cared for like this? He couldn’t remember. He never had a mother to coddle him as a child. When he was in Price’s gang, they were always on their own, stealing herbs and medicines supplements when they could. He supposed it would have been back on the Midnight Rose with the Black Rose Pirates. Chey took care of him and Lizzie whenever they fell ill, which wasn’t that often.
Jay took the tray from Chip’s lap and rested it on the floor next to the bed. Chip lay back down, resting her head in Jay’s lap. “Is it okay if I…?” Chip asked, trailing off as Jay carded her fingers through his hair.
“Just get some sleep Chip,” Jay said softly. She ran her fingers through his hair, scratching gently at his scalp, causing a content sigh from Chip’s throat. Jay smiled. Chip threw an arm across Jay’s legs, almost hugging them to get closer.
Jay found herself smiling as she felt Chip’s weight shift partially onto her. Somehow, without meaning to, she felt her heart become full. She knew she had become more protective of her crew as the weeks sailed by. And some small part of her yearned for a bit of home. Perhaps caring for Chip in the way her mother used to care for her was the most natural progression of events, fulfilling both of those desires at once.
Chip felt… Well, he wasn’t really sure what he felt. He didn’t know if he had ever felt anything like this before. Jay, no matter how much they bickered, made him feel safe, dare he even say loved. Here, laying in her lap, listening to her humming, feeling her hands playing with his hair, Chip felt content.
Jay sat there as Chip fell asleep in her lap, finding herself humming a song from her childhood. It may have been fifteen minutes that she sat there, or it might have been hours, but she eventually fell asleep sitting up. At some point, Chip must have pulled her into a more comfortable position because when he woke up, Jay was curled into his side.
Chip opened his eyes as he felt an arm tighten around his waist. To his side, a mess of fiery orange hair was at his shoulder. Feeling a bit better, Chip’s temperature had returned from scalding to just hot, as was his usual state. Chip felt his tattoos warm up his skin, and Jay tried to get closer to him. He wrapped his arms around Jay and pulled her close, resting his head on top of hers. He could smell their shared shampoo in her hair from her bath the day before. He planted a kiss on the top of her head and closed his eyes once more.
Waking up the next morning, Jay’s throat felt sore, and she was shivering. Chip felt her shaking at his side. “Jay?”
“Cold,” she mumbled, trying to get closer to Chip, who was basically a human radiator. Chip pulled up the blankets closer to Jay.
“I told you I would get you sick,” Chip said, pulling Jay close to share some of his heat. Jay just shivered.
“How are you feeling?” Jay asked, ignoring Chip’s prior statement.
“Better. But now you’re sick. So let me take care of you. It’s only fair.”
Jay grumbled as she curled up in a ball. Her whole body was cold and her muscles were aching. As natural as it was for her to take care of Chip, she hated feeling like someone needed to take care of her. Perhaps she was just like Chip in that regard.
“Let me help, Jay Bird,” Chip repeated, rubbing soothing circles on her back.
“Fine,” Jay sighed. “But can we sleep a bit longer?”
Chip chuckled and planted a kiss on the top of her head as she snuggled closer to him. “Of course.”