Tintin and Rosa In Between'quals'

Sick Day

Tintin waited excitedly by the harbor as the T.S. Sirius pulled into the dock. He couldn't wait to see Rosa and the Captain. He surprisingly managed to survive two weeks on his own without hurting himself. Well, he did burn himself on the iron while pressing his trousers, but anyone could burn themselves.

He leaned against the harbor railing and saw crewmates beginning to unload supplies from the deck and looked around as Snowy wandered off to chase a seagull. After about fifteen minutes, Tintin finally saw Rosa and Captain Haddock walk down the ramp to the dock. Tintin grabbed his cane and walked over to them.

Rosa looked up and saw Tintin hobbling down the harbor and she almost exploded with excitement. She looked to Haddock, waiting for his permission to greet him. After a quick nod, Rosa ran to Tintin before she jumped over the railing and onto the harbor. There, she lunged forward and wrapped her arms around Tinitn, trying to not throw his weight off balance. The two of them laugh as Tintin returned the embrace before pulling back.

"I'm glad you're back. How did the shipment go?" Tintin asked with enthusiasm.

"It went off without a hitch. I got to steer the ship!" Rosa clenched her fists and hopped like a giddy child. "What about you? Did you survive?"

Haddock smiled as he saw the two young ones talk to each other. He remembered when he used to be like that. Young and strapping, ready for the next adventure. He knew that Rosa wanted to keep talking to him, despite her having to help unload supplies. "You two can go on ahead, I'll meet you back at home!" He yelled from the ship.

"Thanks, Captain!" Tintin and Rosa both gave a wave and began to walk the all-to-familiar path back to Marlinspike.

"You burned yourself? I cant really get mad at that, I burned myself twice on that one voyage," Rosa joked as she showed him the small strip of bandage she had received after touching a heater pipe, then not learning her lesson and touching it again. Tintin then told her about his past two weeks. He was delighted to inform her that his leg was healing faster than expected and he was now able to put weight on it with the assistance of a cane.

Tintin smiled and looked at Rosa with that delightful warm feeling in his chest before he noticed something off-putting. Rosa seemed red. Not the color you turn when you exert yourself, but a different red. She did seem a little hoarse when they first started talking.

"Are you feeling alright? You look a little red," Tintin asked as the two of them entered the park.

"I feel fine. I must've just gotten a little sunburned." Rosa pushed past the accusation and continued walking.

"If you say so," Tintin replied. They continued through the park and caught up about all they had missed out on. Tintin talked about how he and Calculus were making a contraption together and Rosa got to talk all about her new position as Deck Cadet. They were back together again, even if they were only apart for two weeks.

Tintin continued to check on Rosa as they made their way down the path. Her eyes seemed tired, and her posture was slowly sinking. Tintin looked at her concerningly.

"Are you sure you feel alright?" Tintin stopped her from continuing ahead without him.

"I think I'm fine. I mean, I do feel a little fatigued, but I've been doing manual labor every day. Who wouldn't be tired?"

"Let me feel your forehead." Tintin's voice lowered. He knew she was denying not feeling well.

"Come on. You're worrying about nothing."

"You made me stay in bed for days because you didnt want me to hurt myself. I'm just doing a quick checkup." Rosa rolled her eyes with a sigh as she leaned forward and Tintin placed his forehead against hers. A moment later, Tintin pulled back. "You do have a small fever. Let's take the shortcut home so you can rest as soon as possible."