A/N: this chapter is kinda weak but it's whatever cause we got big things coming boys. lmk what you think is going to happen because I totally know what's going to happen and have a plan for this story. Stay updated with my tumblr prongswhatthefuck

CHAPTER 6

Two nights passed in this same manner. Lily took her watch over James during the day, at night she and Sirius drank and ate together, and then she relented to turn in for the night. Upon boarding a pirate ship, Lily never even thought of trying to befriend any of the pirates she took her passage with, but as it was, she enjoyed Sirius' company very much.

Remus, too, came to look after James, but it was often after Lily was gone, and only for a little. Each day that progressed while James continued unconscious thoroughly unnerved the commanding captain. He urged the crew eagerly to keep the vessel in top shape for the captain for when he wakes up, but the men had lost interest in maintaining the ships integrity and more on when they would next be stopping at port.

"They raise valid points." noted Sirius to Remus, who took no heed of anyone else's words in the heat of his thoughts.

"We have a schedule!" Remus punctuated through his teeth.

"They're men, what can you expect?"

"I expect that they can hold it together enough while their Captain lays unconscious!" He breathed heavily and rapidly while pacing the length of James' cabin.

"We hired," Sirius began softly, in a tone he'd long known how to assume when his friend lost his temper. "Not faultless devoted workmen, but rejected sordid lowlifes. The crux of command had fallen and with it all order. You won't sleep until you relent and rid of them at port."

Remus remained silent, but began breathing as he usually does in contemplative stillness.

"It might also be good to go to port to seek help for James. Merlin knows it'll take more than Lily to heal him,"

Remus heaved a resigned sigh. "It's just that James made the schedule for when we port and where. He knows where it's safe as well as other enemy ship's whereabouts. We can't just take a risk and port bloody well anywhere."

"So we'll send out scouts."

"And how are we to transport James?"

"We'll hold him upright and say he's drunk," Sirius grinned, revealing his gleaming canines that won him such admiration with the ladies.

Sirius had once again turned the mind of the most logical man on board. Remus chuckled good naturedly and grabbed the map on James' desk. "Should anything go wrong, I'm blaming you."

Sirius saluted him as he left with the map in search of the lookout. The master manipulator soon left the cabin too, but only to call out to the crew a boastful cheer: "To port!"

Many leagues had passed during the night on the new route to port before Lily awoke to a distinctly easterly wind trespassing in her chamber through the port window. Obviously she could not know for sure just from a change in the wind, but the morning shift on the top deck was of a drastic change, it was now almost cheerful among the crew of ruffigan pirates.

Not only where they doing their work, they were whistling whilst doing it. Acredit it to women's intuition if you must, but Lily felt instantly that she already knew a change had come over night. She went to Vik to redeem her two portions of breakfast, and set off towards Sirius.

She had knocked once customarily on the door, but nothing passed in there that was hardly worth waiting for an answer so she balanced the meals in her hands and pushed open the door with her hips.

Sirius was fast asleep, leaning against James' bedframe with his mouth agape and a replenished bottle of whiskey fixed in his grasp. Lily made her way over to him and returned the bottle to its place with the medicine on the desk and situated herself in the chair with her breakfast.

Not only was the morning crew enthused by their diversion, Vik was also in better spirits and took to treating the ship with freshly salted eggs. Compared to what she'd been having to make do with for all her past meals on the ship, the slightly burnt singe of hot food with a new taste invigorated her nostrils. She passed Sirius' portion under his nose to see if the smell alone could make rise the dead drunk man.

Sirius grumbled and rubbed his eyes meekly.

"Blessed be! He is alive!" jested Lily with a warm smile.

"Always darling," murmured Sirius groggily. "Alas, how could I die when there are such delicacies to eat," He took the plate from her gratefully. "And beautiful women to bed?"

"Those women wouldn't happen to do with everyone's good mood, would it?"

Sirius grinned boyishly with his mouth full of egg.

"What exactly transpired while I slept?"

He heaved a great more egg down his throat before divulging the brief detour they were to take presently.

"How long will we stay there?" asked Lily, when Sirius had explained all.

"I suppose it really depends on James, but I can't reckon on more than a few days; it isn't safe to stay anywhere longer."

"Then I guess they shall just have to heal him." Lily said resolutely. She finished her plate and began her daily routine of changing his bandages and cleaning his wounds.

"I'll be back to check on you in a bit," Sirius called out as he left Lily for the morning.

Strangely enough, she liked the time alone she spent with James. She'd often talk to him to keep herself from going crazy. He couldn't hear her, nor could he respond, but he was an excellent listener nevertheless.

James had never once responded to Lily's idle chatter; the only sounds he made at all were grumbled moans of pain.

"I don't know how you boys do it out at sea all the time," she was saying to him this morning. "I for one would get sick of it after a year, I can't imagine-"

"Lil-" James' voice weakly interrupted her ramblings. His throat was so dry and his mind so distorted that he could've said anything.

"James? James, did you say something?" Lily fawned over him. A cold sweat had broken out on his brow, and he was shifting side-to-side in an almost rocking motion.

"Evans…" The words tumbled off his lips before he passed into a heavy sleep once more. Lily wanted to call for Sirius, but she feared leaving James in case he should wake up. Besides, what could Sirius do?

Lily didn't even know what to do. She took up his hand and shushed him lightly into an undisturbed sleep.

"I'm here," she cooed. "I'm here James and I won't leave you,"

She repeated these and similar reassurances throughout the whole of her shift, not yielding her grip from his hand in the slightest.

When finally it was once again time for Sirius' watch, he asked her routinely if anything interesting had happened.

"Interesting? Why would anything interesting happen? I mean he's out cold he can't do much," she babbled on nervously. Luckily it was late, and Sirius not really in the mood to engage.

"Why don't you take your dinner in your quarters tonight, and turn in early?"

"Grand idea!" She checked the bandages and retired quickly to her room.

"What has she been doing to you?" Sirius questioned the unconscious body, not thinking it likely to get an answer.

"Mmrrp," James grunted. "Mm, Lily"

"Eh? Mate, what'd you just say?" Sirius kneeled by the bed so that he was eye and ear level with James.

"Lily," he groaned again weakly.

"Well I'll be damned."