All In a Brother's Love

Chapter Six: Rekindling an Old Flame

It's been too long, I know. Schoolwork has been tough to deal with and then my mom keeps reminding me to work on scholarships. But enough with the excuses, I finally got another chapter done. And we're no longer focusing on the cute moments (there will be some cute, brotherly moments, I promise). No, no, we're heading right into the drama. Because that's what's interesting and I need a way to get this story moving in the direction that I want it to go. There will be some action in the next few chapters (not this one) that I'm excited to write. Who knows when the next chapter will be after this one, but hopefully soon. Enjoy! :)

Chapter Six: Rekindling an Old Flame

They spent the rest of the morning and part of the afternoon coming up with ideas for regulations. Loki, since his handwriting was the neatest, was the designated person to write everything down on some notepads that they had found. So far they had succeeded in coming up with simple mandates for curfew, limited shower times due to lack of clean water, and how to ration their meager food supply. They had gathered all the remaining guards and put them on a scheduled watch time to keep an eye out for any hostile spaceships or planets where they could restock.

They had also figured out where everyone could sleep. Families and close friends were put together but there was still limited space for people to sleep. Nobody really had a 'room' to themselves; most people slept out in the main deck where Thor's coronation had occurred. The elders, guards, and healers got first pick at the actual bedrooms. A medical wing was set up near the main deck and was a little secluded so that the healers and patients weren't bothered.

Responsibilities were split up amongst the group. Korg and Miek were in charge of keeping people calm and were to report to Thor about any disagreements and issues that arose amongst the people. Brunnhilde was supervisor of defense and Heimdall was in charge of navigation and observation. Bruce was assigned to handle repairs on the ship since he was the one with the most technology-related experience. (As Thor put it, Bruce had seven PhDs so it had to be the human who did most of the 'sciencey' work. Bruce didn't complain so it was decided unanimously). Loki did whatever task that Thor told him to do; which, at the moment, was checking the medical wing for a list of needed supplies.

Loki was hesitant to go, mainly because of someone who he was afraid to meet again. He had grown up with a natural skill for sedir as well as some knowledge of healing magic. It came in handy whenever Thor or his friends got hurt on one of their many adventures. Eir, the head healer on Asgard, had taught Loki a few tricks but he mostly learned from a particular someone with whom he had a minor falling out. He assumed that he could fix their broken relationship (they did have a brief kiss on the bridge before he went to fight Hela) but anxiety still plagued his mind, making him think through all the worse scenarios of being rejected again.

The ship's initial medical room was small and was being used by the elders so the healers had to improvise. The new medical wing was a makeshift set-up of beds pushed against the wall on both sides of a large room that was originally designed for parties, leaving a path through the middle. Curtains separated each bed for some privacy. The bar that was originally filled with drinks was turned into a place to store medical supplies, although the healers had made use of the alcohol to clean infections. It smelled like alcohol and dried blood as the healers busied themselves helping the patients. Almost all the beds were full; a lot of people had been injured by the battle on Asgard, although that wasn't all the patients there. Surprisingly, a pregnant woman who was there had just given birth and was being treated by another young woman with familiar light brown, caramel-colored hair.

Through the din of the newborn's cries and moans of pain from the other patients, Loki cleared his throat and caught the attention of the beautiful, young, female healer. She turned and almost jumped at the sight of him, startling the patient.