DOGS. Legacy Saga II

73

"Let me get Bones. He'll explain," Marina said softly. She saw Morris' face and added, "Don't rush to conclusions." She kissed his fingers and made them rest on her cheek. "You are our miracle, my dear. The strongest and bravest man of the world, even if it's hard for you to believe it right now."

"You said... I... decide..."

Marina nodded, a lump of fear and sorrow up her throat. "Yes, my promise stands. You will decide if you want to keep fighting. And whatever you decide, I'll be by your side to do it."

Morris moved his hand away from her face and glanced at the door. She nodded again, standing up. He watched her go down the trapdoor ladder, wondering what Bones would say. It was still hard to think straight, and his feelings seemed to be numb. Pain and weakness kept his head a blur. He felt a little more lucid that day, and that was why he wanted to hear the surgeon. He was too exhausted to keep enduring all that suffering for nothing.

Marina came back with Bones. The surgeon pulled up a chair to the bed and leaned forward to speak, slowly to let Morris get every word.

"The pearl tells me you want to know how you are, and especially how you'll end up," he said, serious as usual. "Well, it's a miracle you're alive at all, and that's mostly because you friend here is the most stubborn piece of work that ever walked under the sun. I won't explain all that's wrong with you. I'll only tell you this: you're twenty-eight now, right? Well, if you don't give up, you can be fully recovered before turning thirty. You lost your left eye, several teeth, you'll most probably have a limp on your right leg and you may never fully close your left hand in a fist again. That's it. It'll take time to heal completely, but with exercise and a good diet, in little longer than a year you'll be as fine as you will ever be after what they did to you.

Bones finished and gave Morris time to process so much information. Seeing his puzzled frown, he smiled.

"One more year of aches that will recede until they disappear. The eye, the teeth, a limp and a hand good for slapping," he listed.

"Much pain...?"

"Nothing like you've taken this far. I haven't given you too much laudanum because opium is addictive, and you would spend the rest of your life robbing apothecaries. But from now on, the pain will only recede. As for the rest, well, you can keep sailing as usual. You won't be much help in a boarding, but maybe you can make De Neill stop complaining because he stays behind alone, like Pierre and I were posts."

Morris murmured something and Bones had to lean further in order to hear him.

The surgeon's laughter filled the cabin. "Of course, man! If your wife is a little careful on the reunion, she won't be disappointed."

Marina winked at Morris and a heartbeat later she joined Bones' laughter, because a slight touch of red blushed Morris' pale cheeks.

"Look at him, pearl, so shy all of a sudden!" Bones cried, laughing out loud. "You've been wiping his ass for two months and he's embarrassed 'cause you guessed his question."

Morris frowned. "Two...?"

The girl went to sit on her cushion, between him and Bones. "Yes, it's been two months since Segovia captured you."

"The wedding..."

"On hold until we're back home. Looks like my mother wants you to walk her down the aisle, so she refuses to get married without you there."

"If you'll excuse me, I was playing cards," said Bones, standing up. "I'll tell Pierre to bring you some soup. You must feed as much as you can, every time you can, boy. And if you keep improving, soon we'll take you out for a while every day. Being in here, laying down for so long, keeps you weak."