Here we go, the final chapter

Chapter 3

In hearing his son's words, Yondu dashed over to the bed and placed his hand to Kraglin's forehead as Peter drew back against the bed. The Centurian frowned, Peter was right. Kraglin was getting hot, too hot, a sign that the infection had set in and was spreading across his unconscious body. "Ah Hell". Kraglin muttered as he hit the call switch for the Medic, who came into the room and checked Kraglin's vitals.

"Infection". He supplied, almost uselessly whilst Yondu tried to keep calm "Yes I've figured that out, just break the damn thing".

The Medic shrugged "Can't do, he's too weak. He'll have to ride it out".

Not for the first time that week, Yondu begun to wonder about the Medic's he hired and their lack of "bedside manner". Ok, they had to patch up criminals, but it was annoying how they were so dismissive to the Captains own mate!

"Keeping him cool, should help. I'll get some ice". The Medic finally said, as he stepped from the room, as Yondu turned to the other figure on the bed.

"He's going to be alright Peter". Noticing how pale, his son had become. "But you're going to have to help me…alright".

Peter nodded silently as the medic came into the room, with a bowl of Ice cubes and some towels.

Yondu recalling a time when Peter was still adjusting to living in space and had several infections in his toddler years knew exactly what to do, as he dismissed the Medic and turning to his son, begun to issue instructions, veering closely to his Captains tone, which was his way of asserting his authority which was familiar to both of them as Peter wordlessly obeyed, and begun placing the ice cubes in the towel.

In silence, Peter and Yondu worked together to cool down Kraglin's rapidly heating body, Yondu focused on his arms and chest as the Xandarian, jerked his head and body as the boy applied the cold towels to his daddy's head, several times his lips parted as if trying to say something but it only came out as a low gasp. Peter, who was sitting next to Kraglin, bathing his forehead in the cold water, kept his face serious. Yondu knew he should have sent the boy elsewhere, hell there were enough crew to keep an eye on him, but knowing his son no doubt Peter would make his way back even if it meant crawling through the air ducts if he had too.

"Pete..." Kraglin's mouth tried to say the word, as the Terran, suddenly grew excited. "Yes, daddy I'm here". He said to the sleeping man, whose eyes fluttered open, seemed to try to focus on his son who was almost eye level with him, before he moaned once more, his eyes rolled back and he slumped against the bed exhausted by the mere effort.

"He saw me, I think he saw me". Peter said as he looked to try to get Kraglin to talk once more, and then decided against it and moved back slightly as if trying to rouse his father would break the spell.

"He saw you, Peter". Yondu confirmed, trying not to do the same. Finally some movement, some spark of recognition. He was doing his best not to shake Kraglin awake, to tell him to be alright, as both of them carried on mopping down his sweat encrusted body as an hour later Yondu could feel his body becoming cooler indicating the fever was finally breaking, at the same time Peter was rubbing his face to try to banish the sweat and exhaustion he had accumulated after eating almost nothing all day and the hours he had been tending to Kraglin.

Yondu could have stayed, but he had to think of Peter, as the gestured for the boy to get off the bed. He could see the reluctance in his eyes coupled with exhaustion and knew he was time to go as once more he kissed Kraglin on the forehead and Yondu gathered his son up in his arms, after checking Kraglin had enough fluid running through his veins, and the pair left the Med bay.

Yondu could go for days without food, but Peter wasn't built for that, however he decided not to take him to the Mess, the boy was exhausted and seemed to be holding on but just about. As Yondu took him back to their quarters, told him to get changed and he would be back in a minute.

In the Mess, since Iztel was nowhere to be found at this ungodly hour, he found some bread and what looked to be jam and made a sandwich for the boy and a glass of milk grabbing a cup of coffee on the way for himself.

Stepping back into his quarters, Peter was no longer on the bed in his room as he glanced into the boys own bedroom and there was no one in sight.

Yondu placed down his cup of coffee and sat on the floor next to the boys bed as he slipped the plate containing the sandwich under the bed and all was silent as the boy devoured the food and pushed the empty plate back out as it rattled against the deck.

He should have known this was where the boy would end up; they had taught Peter years before if he was ever trapped to try to hide in the smallest places, to try to be invisible. It was a factor of their lives that their boy could and had become a target over the years, especially since he was still too young to be able to defend himself.

Yondu gave the boy a few minutes, as he couldn't help but think back over the past five years, from the moment that split second decision to keep Peter had changed all their lives. How they ever managed to get this far was a miracle sometimes, being the Captain of the Ravagers was hard enough and some could have said he had mellowed over the years. He was still tough when he need to be, but he recalled the moment a member of his crew had tried to take the Captains position and Yondu was in the process of beating the shit out of him when his toddler had had walked in looking for his parents and the look on his face when he had seen dad beating a crewman had changed everything.

That night they had tried to explain that this was what a Captain had to do, not because he wanted to do it as Peter tried to get his head round the concept.

Peter still under the bed looked up to see his dad still sitting there, and knew he wouldn't move until Peter did. But Peter didn't want to move, here under the bed he was safe, as he gathered himself into a tiny ball, as he heard Yondu clear his throat.

"I know your worried Peter, and that's ok. It's ok to be worried…Because I'm worried too. I know it's not nice to see Kraglin like that, so I'm not going to tell you not to be worried or scared, because I get scared too". Yondu run his hand over his face, tiredness was creeping up on him after all as there was a slight shuffle of movement from under the bed

Yondu wished the roles were reversed and he was the one who was sick; as being out of it was easier than dealing with this, at least Kraglin always knew what to do.

"You don't get scared". Peter suddenly said, bring the Captain out of his thoughts, as Yondu could only smile, think of all the near misses he has had over the years with the boy. "Yes I do, I got better at hiding it".

There was the sound of Peter shuffling closer to the mouth of the bed, to get closer to his dad. "How do you hide it?" Peter wanted to be able to hide his fear, something that Yondu and Kraglin were experts at.

Yondu knew he had a moment to teach the boy something that would serve him well as a Ravager, but refused to do so. He was only six; he had to feel instincts and emotions and had to figure it out for himself. "I'll tell you when you're older". He said to his son, as he added "You know I'm scared right now". It was an omission that Yondu would have never said if anyone else were in the room, but Peter needed to know the truth.

Peter's head suddenly popped out from under the bed as he looked at his father with surprise "You're scared too". Peter just looked bewildered at the statement as Yondu took the opportunity to lift the boy up by his shoulders and take him into the bathroom to get clean. Not that he couldn't have sat there for hours, but he could see the exhaustion in his own eyes reflected back from the boy's green ones.

In the bathroom, as Yondu was washing the boy as the honest words of his dad still going through his head, Peter whispered "I'm scared of lots of things" to which Yondu said nothing as he put him back in his pyjamas and they settled in for the night, it was easier in the darkness to talk to each other. Peter was very perceptive and Yondu was too tired to hide anything, as the small boy cuddled into his father's chest, and Yondu stroked his hair.

"Peter…what else are you scared of?" Yondu finally asked his son who was quiet for a good minute "Just lots of things". He whispered as he closed his eyes, and drifted off, Yondu following soon after.

Peter woke up, before Yondu and looked over, it was still night time on the ship, that meant a skeleton crew as he lay there glancing over at his dad waiting to see if his eyes would open. Dad always knew when he was trying to stay up late or couldn't sleep even when he was small. With soft feet Peter slipped from the bed and crept back to his own room, quickly changing into his day clothes. He didn't want anyone to see him in his night clothes, they could realise what was going on and tell dad, and his dad needed sleep. He stepped out of the door, careful to avoid the deck plate that squeaked as he made his way to the Med bay. As expected there was no one in sight, and the only sounds were those terrible machines what read out Kraglin's vital signs.

Taking his position next to Kraglin's sleeping body, Peter took a moment to look at his daddy, so still and quiet looking like the life had been taken out of him, as Peter took Kraglin's hand. "Hi daddy". He said in a low whisper, but he was here to talk to Kraglin and had to say what he had to say. "You know when you read me that story, about that boy who was adopted? That boy whose parents didn't love him, so he found new people who did?" Peter took a deep breath. "I think I'm that boy too, and I don't know. So could you tell me? I love you and dad, but I want to know". There was a slight flicker over Kraglin's face, as Peter got closer.

He knew daddy needed rest, and he should go back, but he didn't want to leave the bed, he didn't want to leave his daddy alone, as he kicked his shoes off and slipped into the bed next to him, careful not to touch his daddy's wound as he heard Kraglin sigh in his sleep, as Peter closed his eyes and singing his Terran songs in his head drifted off.

When Yondu opened his eyes two hours later, Peter was nowhere to be found, but his night clothes were lying by the door of his bedroom indicating he was using stealth as the Centurian got to his feet and dressed quickly

He knew exactly, where his son was as was greeted with the image of Peter cuddled into Kraglin's chest sleeping peacefully as he took the chair next to the bed and just waited, watching Kraglin's chest moving easier.

He wasn't going to begrudge Peter for slipping out in the night, if Peter wasn't there he would had sat vigil for Kraglin himself until he woke, as he sighed and put his feet up on the bed, thinking he should have grabbed a coffee on the way.

For a while there was silence in the room, until the moment Yondu looked up at the sound of a low moan, and moved forward towards the bed. "Kraglin". Peter still hadn't stirred, as a shaky hand, the one Peter had wrapped around himself lifted slowly to brush through the boys' hair in a comforting way, and the man on the bed blinked, his brain slowly coming back to the world.

"Kraglin". Yondu said more urgently, as his mates eyes slowly opened, blearily looking from one surface to another, trying to take in his surroundings, before finally settling on Yondu. Kraglin blinked his eyes, adjusted to the Med Bay and the shades of blue sitting in front of him as Yondu reached up a hand to stroke his mate's face.

"Hi there". Yondu tried not to hide the glee in his voice, as Peter begun to stir, and any touching moment Yondu could have had with his mate was dashed as Peter looked up and immediately grabbed his daddy, causing a look of pain to fly over Kraglin's face for a second until he relaxed as the boy gripped him tighter.

"I knew you would wake up…I just knew it". Peter was openly crying with happiness as Kraglin held his son and let the tears of relief fall. "I heard your voice baby, decided to better comeback". Kraglin whispered through cracked lips as Yondu went to fetch a glass of water, which he greedily drank before leaning back against the bed, the simple act making him exhausted.

"I missed you". Yondu confessed as he brushed his mate's forehead with his hand and leaned closer. "I missed you too, missed ya both". Kraglin whispered peering down at his son, who could only grip Kraglin tighter, as fatigue begun to take over the Xandarian as his eyes down once more, as Yondu brought their heads together, in a bid to make Kraglin's dreams easier, and a short while later in the end with Kraglin asleep Yondu scooped up his son and took him back home.

Three days later.

"You know, I don't need to be treated like a child, I'm just fine". Kraglin stated which seemed to turn into a pout, as Yondu reluctantly brought the work information Kraglin had requested for the umpteenth time. Now back in his quarters, he had been advised by the Medic to take it easy for a week, which had begun to give way to boredom quickly. "And no one's sorted out any of the paperwork…how the hell am I meant to organise this?" Kraglin playfully admonished Yondu, who could only shrug, as Peter came to the door.

"Can I stay with you today, please?" The six-year-old pleaded for the tenth time that morning, as Kraglin gestured for his son to come towards him.

"Listen you, you have stuff to do on this ship, I want you to come home tonight and tell me all about it…ok?" Kraglin said in his gentle tone, which somehow managed to be serious, as the boy nodded, before stepping of the door.

Kraglin waited for a second before patting the bed so Yondu could sit down, a look of seriousness on his face, as Kraglin took Yondu's hand. "Listen, we need to talk about something, when I was out, Peter came to me. He told me he knew he was adopted…Or something like that".

The frown crossed Yondu's face, with the one thought they had been both denying until now. "I know we can't keep it a secret forever, but I want to wait until he asks us…I know it could change what we have, and selfish as it is, I don't want to do that yet". Kraglin sighed. "So we may be having the conversations soon, and both of us need to think about what we're going to tell him".

Yondu nodded silently, as with a deep kiss, he left his mate to his rest and the paperwork as instead of going to the bridge he made a detour to the Hanger, looking through the glass window, he could see his son surrounded by Proctom and a few of the other crew as he pointed and named all the components of the external warp drive, and since Yondu could read lips, knew that his son was correct on everything.

His son, he felt a familiar stab in his heart, he knew that wasn't true but that didn't matter to both Yondu and Kraglin. They had kept the boy alive, reared him, loved him...who was anyone to claim he wasn't? But at the same time, the spirit of Meredith Quill reflected in the boy's face was a reminder that he wasn't as he drummed on the window with his fingers in thought for a minute. He knew they had to tell Peter the truth, but today wasn't it. The day he found out was the day that Yondu was scared of.

The end

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