Heart to Heart Chapter 6

[eiahmon]

Title: Heart to Heart
Rating: R
Disclaimer: Disney and Square own it all; I only wish I did. Why in the hell cant I come up with these wickedly cool characters and twisted plots? Why?
Summary: Sequel to Burning Heart and Earth's Rebirth. A special assignment from Ansem sets Dilan's conscience on edge, and he reaches out to the only person that he knows can help, the one person that he though he would never speak to again; Xehanort.

6.

It was cold. Xehanort shivered and tried to curl up to get warm, but there was the sound of clanking metal, and he felt something go taut, which prevented him from moving too much. The room was dark, so he couldn't see anything, but he could feel the heavy metal rings around his wrists and ankles, and he was confused. He didn't understand where he was or how he had gotten there. He remembered going to bed in his bedroom at home and falling asleep, but he had woken up here, in this dark, cold room. He was lying on a hard floor, and he was wearing only the shorts and shirt he had fallen asleep in. What had happened to him? Where was he?

He heard footsteps approaching, and a few seconds later a door opened in front of him, which allowed dim light to enter the room. A shadowed figure stood in the doorway for a moment, watching him.

"Hello?" he said "Who are you? Where am I? Can you help me get home?"

There was a chilling laugh, and then light flared in the room. Xehanort was able to get a glimpse of gray walls, and a heavy wooden door, but then the man in the doorway walked over to one of the walls, where a selection of straps, rods, and other objects were hanging. Xehanort didn't know what most of the things on the wall were, but as the man took a long thin rod down and swished it through the air a few times, he knew that they were not good for him.

The man smiled a cruel smile and began to walk towards him, and Xehanort realized that the rod was going to be used on him.

"Wait!" he protested as he tried to scoot away from the person walking towards him, but the chains prevented it. "Stop! Don't hurt me! What have I done? Please, don't!"

The man's eyes lit up with glee, and he brought the rod up. Xehanort ducked his head and looked away just as he heard the rod whistling through the air, and a line of fire erupted on his back between his shoulders. He screamed in pain, and a second later the rod came down a second time. His right shoulder blade broke under the blow with a loud crack! and Xehanort screamed in agony as that arm collapsed under him.

"Please stop!" he screamed "It hurts! No more!"

His attacker ignored him and brought the rod down a third time.

"Mom!" he wailed, though he somehow knew with a terrible certainty that his parents were nowhere close and couldn't hear him "Mom! Mommy!"

"Mommy and Daddy can't save you, you monster." his attacker growled, and down came the rod a fourth time, across the middle of his back, and then a fifth time, and then a sixth...

******

Xavier bolted up right in bed, and he just barely managed to stop the scream that wanted to come out. He sat there dripping with sweat, his chest heaving, and told himself firmly that it had been a nightmare, just a bizarre nightmare.

He heard light footsteps approaching his bedroom door, and he flinched slightly before he could stop himself. He looked up just as Xehanort walked into the room, and the child was shivering in his flannel pajamas and socks, and Xavier knew that the shivering wasn't due to the chilly air. The faint moonlight coming through the windows allowed him to see tear tracks on his face as he approached the bed, and he pushed his heavy quilt back and opened his arms.

"Come here, little one." he said quietly, and Xehanort ran to him and climbed up onto the bed and into his arms. He hid his face against Xavier's neck, and Xavier rocked him. "It was just a bad dream, Xehanort. You're here with me, and you're safe." Xehanort began to cry, and Xavier just continued to rock him and hum a soothing melody. After a while, he laid the boy down, laid down beside him, and pulled the quilt over them. Xehanort snuggled close and tucked his head under his chin.

"I want my mom and dad." he said in a tiny voice through his tears "I want to go home."

Xavier closed his eyes; he was beginning to hate having to lie to the child. "I know, child, I know." He gently used his thumb to wipe Xehanort's tears away and kissed him on the top of his head. "As soon as you can be left without me for a day, I'll start looking."

Xehanort nodded and closed his eyes with a sigh, and Xavier looped one arm around him and held him close. After a few minutes, the child's shaking subsided, and then Xavier felt him relax as he fell asleep.

******

In the morning, Xehanort ate breakfast with the entire family, though once again Xavier had to keep his attention and focus so he could ignore everyone else. After they had eaten, he followed Xavier around the farm and helped him with his chores, as much as he could anyway. He enjoyed helping Xavier groom the horses, and he was fascinated by the one month old foal. He spent a few minutes petting it as Xavier brushed the mother, and afterwards he was allowed to feed it its small ration of oats.

"Are you going to teach me to ride?" he asked after the mare and her foal had been turned out to pasture and they were walking back into the barn to get the next horse.

"Not yet, but yes, I will." Xavier replied as he slipped a halter over Kema's head and clipped a lead on.

"Why not now?"

"Because right now, if you get thrown – and you will, every rider gets thrown sooner or later – you will get hurt. Your bones are a bit fragile still so the shock of hitting the ground could injure you badly."

"How long then?'

"Oh, another month or so."

Xehanort's eyes widened. "That long? But I'll probably be back on the Destiny Islands by then."

No, you won't. "If you are, I'll simply come over and bring you here for lessons, if your parents agree of course." And I don't mind at all.

"You would do that?"

"Of course I would." Xavier smiled at him and unlatched the stall. "Would you like to learn how to walk a horse?"

Xehanort gave him a brilliant smile, so Xavier handed him the lead and began instructing him on what to do.

Once the chores were done, they went inside to clean up, and Xehanort watched through the kitchen window as Xavier trained Lea. This time Lea was much more focused on his lesson, and it confirmed Xavier's previous thought that he would be ready for the Mark of Master within a year. Once the session was done, Xavier went inside and wasn't surprised to see Xehanort helping with lunch again. His mother shooed him out of the kitchen with instructions to go wash up, and he smiled to himself as he did so. It looked as though his little one was settling down nicely.

The rest of the day passed quickly, and soon Xehanort was slowly climbing up the stairs on legs that shook just a little still to head to bed. Xavier walked behind him in case he fell, but he made it just fine.

"Xavier?" he asked as he laid down in bed so Xavier could tuck him in.

"Hmmm?"

"I feel much better now. Could you … could please go look for my parents?" He gave Xavier a pleading look. "I want to go home."

Xavier smiled gently and brushed the child's hair out of his eyes. "Are you sure that you're ready to be away from me for that long?"

Xehanort nodded hesitantly. "I'll be okay. I want to go home."

"For certain? I don't want to leave and come back to find you had a panic attack while I was gone."

"Yeah, though I wish... I wish I had my Wayfinder with me."

"Oh?" Xavier dug through his memories, and he recalled the star shaped good luck charms made out of shells with a token of some kind in the center. His original self had had one, with blue and white shells and a carved blue sea glass token, but he had left it behind to go with Master Limahl.

"I had it with me when I went to bed." Xehanort said quietly "but it was gone when I woke up."

"When I next head out to look, I'll see if anyone found it."

Xehanort gave him a wide smile. "Do you really think someone might have found it?"

Xavier shrugged. "It's possible. I'll check in with Even the next time I see him." He leaned over and kissed Xehanort on the forehead. "But for now, it's time for bed. Goodnight."

Xehanort smiled at him again. "Goodnight."

Xavier stood up from the bed and walked quietly out of the room, leaving the door open behind him. When he went to bed himself an hour later, he peeked in Xehanort's room to find him curled up under his quilt, sleeping peacefully.

******

In the morning, after chores were done, Xavier prepared to leave for what Xehanort thought was a search for the Destiny Islands. In reality, he was planning to sneak into Radiant Garden and have a talk with Even if possible. Roxas' warning had him more concerned than he would admit, and since he also needed to ask the scientist a few things about Replicas, it gave him a perfect reason to go pay a visit. He wasn't overly worried about being caught; he knew he had the power and the ability to get out of nearly any situation, but he was going to be careful anyway. Just because he could get out of trouble was no reason to invite it.

Xehanort was nervous about being left behind, but he hid it well. Instead he wished Xavier good luck and a safe journey. Isa, who had come by to deliver candles, offered to keep an eye on him, which Xavier was all to happy to accept. For whatever reason, Xehanort trusted Isa more than anyone else other than Xavier, and he relaxed some to know that Xehanort would be with someone that didn't frighten him.

Once he was certain that Xehanort would be taken care of, Xavier walked a distance away from the house and portaled out. He first portaled to Twilight Town, then to Traverse Town, then to the Mysterious Tower, the Land of Departure, and then finally, to Radiant Garden. He portaled into the empty work and storage areas aside the waterway and waited. He knew that with their sensitivity to Darkness, either Even, Ienzo, Aeleus, or Dilan if he was home, would sense his arrival. He found a dusty chair to sit in and made himself comfortable, knowing that it might take awhile before they were able to break away and come down to talk to him.

He waited for an hour before he heard footsteps coming towards him, and he stood up and backed up into the shadows of a corner just in case as the door opened and Ienzo stepped in. Ienzo flipped the rest of the lights on and pulled up a chair as Xavier came forward.

"What brings you here?" Ienzo asked as Xavier sat back down across from him, cutting right to the chase.

"Roxas came by with a warning the other day." Xavier replied "What else can you tell me?"

Ienzo shrugged. "There is not much more I can tell you. The child's escape from the prison was discovered, and Master Ansem and other world leaders are looking for him, which has renewed the search for Isa, Braig, and yourself."

"Is there any chance that they have any hint of where I might be?"

"None that I know of. I know that Dilan was interrogated but then absolved of any blame in the escape, and since only Even and Roxas know where you are at, few people would think to ask them."

"What about Isa?"

"It is generally accepted that wherever Isa is, Lea is with him, but Sora has managed to divert that search stating that Isa was unfairly and cruelly punished. Roxas relayed how close to death Isa was to Sora, who was shocked, because he honestly had no idea it was that bad. He thought that Isa had been tossed into a prison cell but was otherwise being cared for."

"But they are still looking for him?"

Ienzo nodded. "Yes, they are, but not as hard as they could be."

"So the focus is on Xehanort then."

"If you mean yourself, then no. They are searching hard for you, but the focus is on the child that escaped from the prison. I do not know why they are so worried about finding him. If makes one wonder if they are hiding something."

"I would imagine that they don't want it to be known what they allowed to be done to an innocent thirteen year old boy. It would certainly tarnish their image of upholders of law and justice if that got out."

"Very true. How is he anyway?"

"Much better, at least physically. Mentally, he's still a bit shaky, and that reminds me. How much do you know about Replicas?"

Ienzo shook his head. "Very little. The Replica Program was Vexen's brainchild from start to finish, and Zexion had very little to do with it. Why do you ask?"

"I have a few questions that need answered, but I guess they will have to wait until I have a chance to speak to Even."

"That may take a while." Ienzo stated "Right now, a extremely virulent strain of influenza is making its way through the Garden, and Even and Vexen have their hands full at the infirmary. Speaking of which," Ienzo stood. "I need to get going. They'll probably need my help, if they don't already."

"I hope you aren't carrying it. I don't want to take it home with me."

"You should be fine. I contracted this particular strain as a child, so I am immune."

"That's good to hear. Well, when you see Even, please let him know that I would like to speak to him whenever possible. It's no big hurry though."

"I will do that."

"Thank you, Ienzo."

"You are welcome. Now you had better go before we're caught down here."

Xavier stood up from his chair, waved, and portaled out.

******

Xavier passed the rest of the day at the Land of Departure, visiting with Terra, Aqua, and Ventus. Terra especially was happy to see him, and they chatted for a while about various things. Neither he, nor Aqua and Ventus, knew about Xehanort, so Xavier opted to keep it that way. The fewer that knew about the boy, the safer he was. He and Aqua also spent some time talking about Lea's progress, and she agreed with him that he would be ready for the Mark of Mastery soon.

He couldn't believe the irony. The three of them had every reason to hate him, yet here they were, chatting like old friends. It warmed his heart to see how many had forgiven him; he tried not to think of those that hadn't.

I'm sorry, Master Ansem.

He finally returned home several hours later, and it was well after dark when he walked through his front door to find his mother waiting for him. She gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek in greeting.

"How was everything today?" he asked as he shrugged his coat off and hung it up.

"Well as could be expected."

"Did Xehanort handle my absence okay?"

"He did well. I could tell that he was nervous, but he tried to hide it and functioned as best he could. Isa stayed around and joined us for lunch and dinner and kept Xehanort distracted."

"Is he in bed?"

Elissa smiled. "Come with me." She walked into the parlor, and Xavier frowned in confusion and followed her.

The room was dimly lit by embers from the dying fire, but it was enough to see Xehanort lying stretched out on the couch under a blanket, sleeping. In a nearby chair was Isa, dozing.

"He refused to go to bed until you came home." Elissa said quietly "And when Isa tried to carry him up the stairs, he woke up and started fussing, so we let him stay down here for the moment. Isa insisted that he would stay until you were home."

Xavier smiled faintly as he walked up to Isa and gently shook him by the shoulder. "Isa. Isa, wake up."

"Mmmm?" Isa mumbled and stirred, and then his eyes opened and blinked at Xavier in tired confusion for a moment "Xavier?"

Xavier smiled again. "It's me. I'm home now, so go on home yourself and get some sleep. I want you to portal home; it's too chilly for you to be out and about for too long."

"Alright, alright."

"Thank you for looking after Xehanort for me."

"Welcome." Isa mumbled with a yawn, and then he portaled out without standing up from the chair.

Xavier turned to Xehanort, who was still sleeping soundly. "Now let's get you into bed, little one." He carefully pulled the blanket back and scooped the slumbering boy up into his arms, but he wasn't careful enough, and Xehanort stirred.

"Xavier?" he mumbled sleepily as his eyes fluttered open.

"Shhhh, yes, it's me. I'm taking you upstairs to bed, so go back to sleep."

"Kay," Xehanort closed his eyes with a small sigh and nestled down into the arms that held him as he was carried upstairs to his room. Xavier got him tucked into bed with no trouble, and the boy curled up under his quilt with a contented sigh. Xavier smiled faintly in the dark room, and after building up the fire so it would keep the room warm for a few hours, left to find his own bed.

******

Things moved on like normal for the next few days. Xehanort was disheartened that Xavier hadn't found the Destiny Islands, but he simply nodded in understanding and tried to carry on like normal, though it was easy to see that he was upset about it. Xavier stuck by him for a day or so, before he could no longer put off his duties as one of the world's physicians. He was needed, and going into homes with sick and injured people was no place for a child that was still very frail himself.

"You'll come home every night, right?" Xehanort asked uncertainty after Xavier had explained things to him.

Xavier nodded. "I will, I promise."

Xehanort laid his head against Xavier's chest, which prompted the latter to put his arms around him. "Do you think you'll be able to look for the Destiny Islands again soon?"

Xavier gently threaded his fingers through the boy's hair. "I don't know. It all depends on how busy I am, but I will look as soon as I can, okay?"

Xehanort nodded slowly. "Okay."

Xavier stood up from the chair that he had been sitting in and smiled at him. "For now, would you like to help me take care of the horses?"

Xehanort gave him another bright smile and nodded eagerly, so Xavier sent him to put his coat and boots on, and then he led him outside to the barn to begin the day's chores. Once the chores were done, Xavier cleaned up and prepared to leave the house to start his rounds before heading over to the hospital for the evening. Only at night was the hospital left unattended, but he and Taylor were hoping that they would be able to pick up another apprentice that could take the night shift later on. It meant a long day and sometimes the schedule was grueling, but Xavier had loved every second of it. He still enjoyed his work, but now he had a child to care for, and despite Xehanort's words to the contrary, Xavier knew that he was not fine with being separated from him for too long.

As he moved, via Kema, around the few scattered towns that made up Haven's Bridge, checking on his patients, Xavier found himself plagued by a strong feeling of unease and worry, which made it difficult for him to concentrate. He tried to ignore it, but it wasn't until the early afternoon that it finally faded. He returned home to have lunch and check on Xehanort before going to the hospital.

Xehanort was up in his room, napping, and an empty plate and glass on the bedside table showed that he had eaten before falling asleep. Xavier tucked the quilt around him, brushed his hair out of his face, and kissed him lightly on the cheek before he picked up the dishes and went downstairs.

After lunch, Xavier went to the hospital and relieved Taylor. Taylor then departed to check on a few patients that needed more care and attention, after which he would go home for the day. The hospital was empty, so Xavier filled his time by doing inventory and thoroughly dusting the unused areas and making sure they were ready in an instant if they were needed. To his annoyance, the worry and unease returned a few hours into his shift, and like before, it stubbornly refused to leave him.

Once all the work was done, and he was just sitting at the desk in case someone came in, he felt someone portaling in. Under the desk, Dark Gaze appeared in his hand on a just in case, but he relaxed and dismissed the keyblade when Roxas appeared in the doorway. He waved him inside, and Roxas pulled up a chair on the other side of the desk and sat down.

"What brings you here, Roxas?" Xavier asked as he laid the book that he had been reading down.

Roxas shrugged. "Not much, I came mainly to talk to Lea, but I wanted to ask you about the Mark of Mastery."

"What about it? Has Master Yen Sid decided what the three of your are doing yet?"

"I have a feeling we'll be looking for you."

Inwardly Xavier winced, but he kept his worry from his face. "And you know this how?"

"We paid a visit to Merlin." Roxas replied with a wry smile "and heard him mumbling to himself as we approached his house. His voice can really carry."

"I can assume then that you won't be looking too hard in this area?"

"I won't, at least. I can't speak for Sora and Riku, but I'll try and warn you ahead of time, so you can stay out of sight. I doubt they'll be here long."

"I'll have to pass the word around that if two teenaged keyblade wielder's show up asking about me, that people should say they don't know me."

"Do the people here even know who you are?"

"They know, and they don't care. My concern is the chance that Riku or Sora might notice the wards around the houses and mention it to Master Yen Sid or Master Mickey. Keyblade wards are fairly unique, so it wouldn't be hard to figure out who had cast them and how long ago."

"I know that Sora and Riku can't cast them, and I doubt that they can sense them. If I have too, I'll simply say that Lea and Isa are living here, and I visit them all the time, so I know that you're not here."

"Will they believe you? Better yet, with they try to turn either one of them in?"

Roxas shook his head. "They won't, I'm sure of it. Both of them were horrified and furious when they found out about Isa, so they won't say anything, and if I ask them to stay away, they will."

"I hope you're right."

"I am." Roxas said with firm conviction, followed immediately by another grin. "Any idea on how you'll be testing Lea when the time comes?"

Xavier looked at him sharply. "He didn't send you here on a fact finding mission, did he?"

Roxas adopted an innocent look that didn't fool Xavier for an instant. "No, I'm just curious." Then he grinned, and Xavier realized that it was the first time that he had seen him smile.

"Sure you are." Xavier waved him away. "Move right on out of here now. I'm not telling you just so you can run and tell Lea. He'll have to wait and find out, just like you will."

Roxas grinned again and stood up from his chair. "Right away, Master Xavier. As you say, Master Xavier." He snapped a salute

He closed up the hospital just after seven in the evening and started the walk home. His mother, with Xehanort and Alexander's assistance, was putting supper on the table when he came through the front door.

"Xavier's home!" Alexander announced, and the seven year old ran up to him to claim a hug. Xavier returned the hug with a smile before he took off his jacket and boots. He then walked towards the kitchen to check on Xehanort. He met the boy as he was coming out of the kitchen, carrying the basket of rolls, and the child gave him a slightly nervous smile as he walked past. Once the rolls were safely on the table, Xehanort walked up to him, arms open, looking for a hug, so Xavier enfolded the boy in his arms and held him for a moment before the rest of the family began to filter in.

Xehanort was noticeably nervous during supper, but he managed to eat despite it, and he even joined in on the conversation a few times. Xavier gave him a proud smile when he offered to help with the cleanup afterwards, but a yawn put an end to that idea quickly.

"Thank you, Xehanort." Elissa said warmly "But you're tired, so just go on to bed." Xehanort smiled at her tiredly and nodded as Xavier began to walk him out of the room and towards the stairs. He went to bed without a fuss and fell asleep quickly, while Xavier sat on the bed beside him and watched him for a moment, lost in thought.

******

Life on Haven's Bridge continued on like normal for the next several days. Xehanort relaxed more and more with each passing day, and though he still suffered from nightmares and was still leery of strange men, he could handle being in the house with the rest of the family without Xavier's presence quite well.

Sadly, he also became quite insistent that Xavier go searching for the Destiny Islands again and would give him no peace about it, so eight days after Roxas' visit, Xavier left Haven's Bridge a second time. Instead of going to Radiant Garden to speak to Even or to the Land of Departure to spend the day with Terra, he went world hopping, listening for hints about how the search for himself and Xehanort was going. Though he was free from its corrupting effects, Xavier was still able to use the Darkness to blend it with the shadows, like he had the day he had rescued Xehanort, and he used this ability to its fullest to listen in on conversations.

Like Ienzo had told him, the search from himself had died down quite a bit, with some insisting that he had died somewhere, since he hadn't been heard from in so long. The search for Xehanort however was still going on strong, and many world leaders were terrified that the boy wouldn't be found. Some of the ones that Xavier eavesdropped on were those that had tortured the poor child in the prison, and Xavier had to resist the urge to curse them where they stood for what they had done.

His eavesdropping did confirm that Xehanort was taking Xavier's punishment, but strangely he heard nothing of the boy's origins. None of the ones he listened in on knew where he had come from, with some saying that he had just appeared one day in Radiant Garden after a spell had gone wrong. That made Xavier frown; as far as he knew, it was not possible to create a Replica with magic, though he supposed on one of the other, magic saturated worlds, it might be possible.

As he returned home, he wondered why the world leaders were so worried about finding Xehanort. It couldn't be just because they were worried about knowledge of what they had done to him getting out, could it? He was still pondering the question when he stepped through a portal and came out aside his family's barn. He walked towards the house, lost in thought, and so was surprised when Akim met him at the back door.

"You need to go to the hospital." he said simply "Taylor needs you there."

"Is Xehanort alright? What is wrong?"

"Xehanort is fine, but Taylor said to tell you to come to the hospital the instant you came home, so you had better go."

Xavier waited for a moment, torn with indecision. On one hand, he really wanted to check on Xehanort and make sure the child was okay, but on the other, Taylor didn't ask him to come to the hospital unless he truly needed him.

"Don't tell Xehanort that I made it back yet." he said quietly, and at Yuta's understanding nod, he portaled to the field behind the hospital.

He quickly walked up to the building and before he even opened the door, he could hear the sounds of conversation, coughing, sneezing, and crying children coming from inside. He opened the door and was greeted by a hoard people, all of them ill and miserable. Taylor was running about seeing as many people as he could, and he waved Xavier over to a group of people that obviously hadn't been seen yet. Xavier hastily shed his black coat, tossed his lab coat on over his clothes, grabbed a few things, and started working his way up the line, from the sickest to the least so.

It quickly became clear that they were dealing with a strain of influenza, which could not be treated with antibiotics. Most of the children and adults were sent home with orders to rest and drink plenty of liquids. A few, weaker, ones were sent home with antibiotics to try and prevent a secondary infection, and two, an elderly man and a small infant, had to be hospitalized. To Xavier's relief, Isa was not at the hospital, and therefore, likely wasn't sick. The flu that they were dealing with seemed to be especially virulent, and he knew that Isa wouldn't handle it well if he contracted it.

It took them nearly seven hours to get everyone taken care of, and, after checking on the two that had to be hospitalized, they gratefully sank into chairs in the office. Xavier then had a realization.

He groaned. "Damn it," he said "Ienzo had warned me about a flu strain that was wreaking havoc in Radiant Garden, but he said that he was immune to it. Roxas must have brought it by when he visited last week."

Taylor looked at him. "Which means that you and whomever else he talked to have been spreading it around since."

"I'm fine, obviously, but he also went to see Lea and Isa that day. If Lea gets it, I'm sure that he'll be fine, but if Isa gets it..." He didn't need to say anymore; the two of them were fully aware of the fragility of Isa's health. "I want to go check on them, but if they aren't carrying it, I don't want to pass it on to them." He leaned back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling. "Damn it, I also likely gave it to Xehanort, and since he has the immune system of a nine week old infant, there's no way that he won't come down with it."

"Nine weeks?" Taylor asked with a confused frown.

"That is how old I believe him to be. I can't be sure of course – there is no way of knowing how old he was before he was thrown into prison – but that's the best guess that I have."

"We can hope then, that he doesn't get it, because he'll likely need to be hospitalized if his immune system is truly that weak still."

"I know. I just hope it doesn't happen."

"But it probably will."

"Yes." Xavier closed his eyes; the idea of Xehanort getting sick made him feel a little ill himself, but Taylor broke him from his thoughts before he could dwell on it too long.

"Have you been home yet?"

"Just for a second." Xavier said with a shake of his head. "Akim said that you needed me here before I could even get in the door."

Taylor chuckled quietly. "Then go home for a while. Get something to eat, get some sleep, and check on Xehanort. Just come back here in the morning. I'll need you to watch over the baby later, but I can keep an eye on them both for now."

Xavier wearily pulled himself out of the chair. "Thank you, Taylor. I appreciate it."

"You have a child at home that needs you, so go on. He's waiting."

Xavier gave him a tired smile, and then he portaled out.

He stepped out of the portal in his bedroom, and the house was dark and silent. It was well after midnight, and everyone was in bed, asleep. He kicked his boots off and hung up his lab coat and walked out of the room to check on Xehanort, and he found that not everyone was asleep.

Xehanort was sitting up in the middle of his bed with his quilt pulled over him like a tent to keep away the chill, and Xavier felt relief flood his heart when he saw him. The fire crackling in the hearth sent dancing shadows across him, but it wasn't enough to prevent Xavier from seeing the smile that spread across the child's face.

"You're home." Xehanort said quietly as Xavier sat down beside him.

Xavier reached out and pulled the child to him, quilt and all. "Yes, I'm home. Now why aren't you sleeping, young man?"

"I wanted to wait for you." Xehanort replied as he snuggled close. "Did you find my home?"

"No, little one, I didn't."

"Will you be able to look again soon?"

"I don't know. We have a lot of sick people at the hospital to care for before I can think about leaving again."

Xehanort nodded. "I understand."

The two of them fell silent then, and Xavier drank in the peace and silence, which was in sharp contrast to the noise and controlled chaos that was the hospital earlier. Xehanort fell asleep after a few minutes, so Xavier tucked the sleeping child into bed and spent a moment watching him before he left the room to get a few hours of sleep himself.

******

Xavier and Taylor were very busy for the next few days as the flu strain spread itself through the world population. Thankfully, no one else needed to be hospitalized, and they were able to send the infant and elderly man home after three days in the hospital. They still spent many days in various homes, checking on those that were already ill, visiting those that were just coming down with the symptoms, and assuring everyone that it was just a flu strain and would move on in a few weeks. They could help move it along by washing their hands frequently, and disinfecting anything touched by the sick.

Six days after the outbreak began, Xavier was at the hospital after another long day of riding between the towns checking on people, preparing to head home for the first time is three days. He and Taylor had resorted to sleeping and eating at the hospital, since it allowed them to gain more sleep than going home. He was tired and achy and grumpy and irritable, and he only wanted to soak in a hot bath for an hour before lying down in his own bed for a good night's sleep. He was also anxious to check on Xehanort and see how the child was doing. Again he'd been plagued by a sense of unease and worry over the previous two days, and he wanted to just go home and see his... son?

Xavier shook his head tiredly; thinking of Xehanort as his son, which he was for all intents and purposes, was going to take some getting used to.

Sighing, he shrugged his lab coat off and replaced it with his regular coat and prepared to head home when the sound of a portal forming outside stopped him. He rubbed his eyes; he must have been more tired than he thought if he didn't sense the darkness before the portal. Aside from himself only Lea and Isa used the Corridors of Darkness to get around in a hurry, and he mentally prepared himself to deal with a frantic with worry Lea as he ducked into one of the private room to make sure that it was ready to be used. If Isa was ill, then he would have to be hospitalized to be on the safe side, and...

"Xavier."

Xavier whipped his head around in surprise to see Isa standing by the desk with an expression of worry stamped onto his face. "Isa, what are you doing here?"

"Lea is ill."

Xavier blinked; surely he had misheard. He had never heard of Lea – or Axel for that matter – getting sick with anything. "Ill?" he asked stupidly.

"Yes," Isa replied using that calm I-Think-It-Should-Be-Obvious tone that Saïx had often used when dealing with Xemnas "I think he has the flu that's going around."

Xavier shook his head again to try and clear the cobwebs. "Alright, go home and sit with him. I'll be there shortly."

Isa nodded curtly and portaled out, and Xavier sighed again and gathered the supplies that he had just finished putting away. Then, trying to ignore the fatigue that was clawing at his mind, he portaled to Lea and Isa's house.

He could smell the sickness as soon as he stepped inside, and he walked straight back to the house's only bedroom and knocked. Isa called out for him to come in, and he opened the door to a pitiful sight.

Lea's bed was in the opposite corner against the exterior wall, and he was huddled in a shivering ball of misery under his blankets. Isa was sitting next to him, and Xavier smiled sadly as he walked in and shut the door behind him. He and Lea would never have the student/mentor/father/son relationship that Xehanort and Limahl had had, but he cared about Lea more than he would ever admit, and it made his heart ache to see him in such a state.

Isa moved away from the bed so Xavier could take his place, and a few questions, which were answered by short groans, grunts, and the occasional head shake and nod confirmed Isa's guess.

"I'm sorry, Lea." Xavier said gently as he raked his fingers through Lea's bright red hair, which was damp with sweat "You're just going to have to wait it out. Drink plenty of liquids and rest. I don't want you to do anything else. Eat if you feel up to it, but you don't have to if you don't want to."

"Mmm-hmmm." Lea mumbled "Mmmm, that feels nice."

Xavier smiled. "Go to sleep, Lea. You'll feel better soon."

"M'kay." Lea mumbled again, which was followed by a jaw cracking yawn. A few moments later, his breathing deepened and slowed, and Xavier stood up and turned to face Isa.

"If he worsens suddenly, or if he starts having trouble breathing, come and get me." he said, and Isa nodded silently in understanding. "And if you start to feel sick in anyway, tell me immediately." Isa nodded again, and he returned to his spot by Lea's bed as Xavier portaled out.

He stepped out of the portal in the hospital to see yet another patient waiting on him, someone that he hadn't expected but should have.

He groaned. "Damn it, Taylor, not you too."

The elderly physician gave him a weak smile. "Just when I think that I've caught every illness known, I end up with something new." He huddled down in the chair he was sitting in and shivered. "Where did you vanish off to?"

"Lea is sick."

"Lea? Not Isa?"

"Those were my thoughts exactly. Now let's get you to bed, you sicko, and when you're better, remind me to smack you upside the head for leaving me to look after everyone myself."

Taylor gave a raspy chuckle. "I'll just go home, Xavier. You don't need me cluttering up the place while you try to work."

"Oh no, you're staying here. You're old enough that this could be dangerous to you, so you're staying here just in case. Now, bed, right now."

"Yes, Doctor Xavier."

"Damn right, now quit stalling and get into bed."

Taylor laid down in one of the beds in the open ward and went to sleep almost immediately, and Xavier leaned against the nearest wall and sighed as he raked his hair back from his face. Great, he had a flu epidemic, his apprentice was sick, and now the only other doctor was sick as well. So much for going home.

He laid out one of the folding cots in the office, kicked his boots off, and collapsed onto the narrow mattress. His eyes sank shut, and he was asleep almost instantly.

******

It was difficult being the world's only doctor during an epidemic, Xavier realized as the days rolled by. It was also: dirty, exhausting, mind numbing, repetitive, and a host of other negative things that he was too tired to think of, and he didn't understand how Taylor had done it alone before.

To save time, he wore his Black Coat at all times, so he could safely portal between towns and homes. As the epidemic spread, more and more people called on him, and the open ward at the hospital filled up quickly with people too young, too old, or too frail to be left at home. A few members of his own family were sick, including his mother, and two of his brothers, Alexander and Jachin. Xehanort, thankfully, was not ill. With so many people ill, the planting season was stalled, which made those well enough to feel it, very nervous. With a harsh winter and mild summer, they couldn't afford to delay planting for too long. A few that weren't sick had begun to work the fields, and were hoping to get as many as they could planted, but with so many fields to plant, there was no way that they would be able to get them all in time.

Masa brought him simple meals from home when he could, and as much as he wanted to see Xehanort, Xavier insisted that the child stay home. Being in a hospital full of sick people was sure fire way for him to catch the flu himself, and Xavier wanted to avoid that if at all possible. Masa informed him that the boy was helping out where he could, and had even taken over Xavier's regular chores, so the others could focus on getting the fields ready. Xavier smiled at the news, and warned his eldest brother to not let the child overtax himself. He was much stronger, but he was in no way fully recovered from his ordeal yet.

Four days after Taylor fell ill, Xavier was trying to snatch a few hours' rest in the office when he was shaken awake.

"Xavier," He dimly recognized Isa's voice as he reluctantly rose from the depths of sleep, and he groaned as his head began to throb from sleep deprivation. "Xavier, Lea needs you right now."

He slowly sat up on the cot, and it took his tired, burning, stinging eyes a bit to focus, which allowed him to see Isa standing in front of him, holding Lea up. Lea was leaning heavily against Isa's side, shivering hard, and his eyes were glassy and unfocused. His face was pale aside from two bright spots of color on his cheeks from his fever, and his hair was plastered to his head and neck with sweat.

Xavier stood up and ignored Isa's concerned look when he wobbled a bit on his feet. "Oh Lea," he murmured tiredly as he took the red head out of Isa's arms and into his own "I had so hoped that you'd get over this quickly." Lea moaned as he slumped against Xavier, which allowed the latter to feel the heat of his fever. "Let's get you back into a bed." Even though it was only about two dozen steps away, Xavier portaled the two of them into one of the private rooms, and Lea coughed deeply as he was laid down. Xavier grimaced; he didn't need a pneumonia patient on top of the flu going around, but it certainly seemed as though the virus had trickled down into Lea's lungs. Isa stepped into the room then, and the two of them peeled Lea's sweat drenched pajamas off of him, gave him a quick wipe down in lieu of a full on bath, and dressed him in clean, dry hospital pajamas, before tucking him under the blanket and sheet.

"Has he been throwing up or complaining of nausea?" Xavier asked, tiredness banished for the moment as he worried about his sick apprentice.
"No," Isa said quietly.

"Has the cough been productive?"

"Sometimes."

"How has his fluid intake been?"

"It was fine until earlier today, when he started refusing to drink anything. He said it gave him the chills, even if it was hot. He went to sleep for a while, and when I checked on him next, he was like this."

Xavier frowned as he put the earpieces for the stethoscope in his ears and placed the other end against Lea's clammy chest, which was rising and falling at a much faster rate that Xavier was comfortable with. It allowed him to easily hear the fluid popping and crackling in Lea's lungs with every breath, and he just barely held back the urge to use some of the swear words that his original self had learned from the sailors back on the Destiny Islands. Losing his temper wouldn't help Lea any.

"He has pneumonia." he stated flatly as he took the stethoscope out of his ears and set it aside. He then elevated the head of the bed so Lea could breath easier and pulled the blanket up to his neck and tucked it around his shoulders. "He's going to be here for a while." He stood up and portaled into the supply room to gather what he needed to set up an IV and then portaled back into Lea's room. It took him a bit longer than normal, but he quickly set up the stand and pump and inserted the catheter into the back of Lea's left hand. He then hooked it up to a bag of saline to keep him hydrated, and a smaller bag of antibiotics. While chances were almost certain that the flu virus was responsible for the pneumonia, there was the small possibility that a secondary bacterial infection was at work, so a course of antibiotics was a needed just in case. Even if there was no bacterial infection, the antibiotics would prevent one from settling in, and with Lea already so ill, another infection could easily be fatal.

"Go home, Isa." he said wearily once that was done "There's no sense risking yourself anymore than you already have."

"Lea stayed with me when I needed him." Isa said firmly in response "I'm not leaving him when he needs me."

Xavier growled and opened his mouth to snap, but instead he sighed tiredly. "Fine, fine, I'm too tired to argue with you, but I hope for your sake that you don't regret it." He turned and prepared to portal out of the room. "I'll get the other cot for you."

He portaled into the storage room, fetched the other cot, and then wheeled it into Lea's room, and set it up at the foot of the bed. "I'll be in the office if you need me, after I check on everyone." Isa nodded silently, and Xavier walked out of the room. He really wanted to portal – walking seemed to take too much energy – but he didn't want to frighten anyone that might be awake. It turned out to be an unnecessary precaution; the ward was silent, and everyone was asleep. He walked slowly up the isle between the rows of beds, doing a visual checkup on everyone. Everyone seemed to be as well as could be expected, even Taylor. The flu had hit the elderly physician especially hard, though thankfully, he was doing much better and hadn't become as ill as Xavier had feared he would. It would take him time to recover, but he was certain that he would be fine in time.

Assured that everyone was well and sleeping, he portaled into Lea's room to check on him one last time and found his apprentice sleeping, though he coughed frequently in his sleep. Isa was lying on the cot with his eyes closed, though it was clear that he wasn't asleep yet. Shaking his head to try and clear the fugue that clogged his mind, Xavier dimmed the lights and portaled to the office, where he practically collapsed onto his own cot and was asleep instantly.

A scant four hours of sleep was hardly enough, but it was all he could managed before he had to drag himself off of the cot come morning. He checked on Lea first to find that he was in the same condition as last night. Isa was dozing in the nearby chair, and Xavier didn't wake him as he left to go check on the open ward patients.

He was able to discharge a few of them, and though he still felt uneasy with letting Taylor go, the man was much improved and so was given the okay to leave as well.

"I'll be back later," he promised as he looked at Xavier with a look of concern. "You look like you desperately need a full night's sleep, followed by a bath and a meal."

"Just go home." Xavier told him tiredly "Before you relapse."

"I will be back though." he said firmly before he walked out the door, and Xavier sighed and ran his hand down his face. He then walked back into the office and try and catch a nap before he had to do rounds next, but the sound of the front door opening interrupted him before he could. He walked back out into the entryway and opened the door. He winced at the bright light hit his eyes for the first time in days, and it took them a moment to adjust so he could see who was standing there. It was Masa, standing on the porch, but he wasn't bearing food from home. Instead he was carrying a shivering blanket wrapped bundle, and the shock of white hair poking out of the top made it very clear who was inside them.


Chapter 5 -- Chapter 7
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