I watched Murder on the Orient Express and Wonder at the cinema this week- LOVE. Also, tryna finish this before New Years? Who's in for the ride?!

Soon the boat had hit open water, they were on the North Atlantic Ocean. After a day of Nat messing with the boat's controls to turn off their tracking systems and hide their location from the police, he returned from the Wheelhouse to the smell of instant noodles and Alex unconscious in John's arms on the white couch, his wounds tied off with somebody's shirt. Maria and Eliza had refused to say more than a few sentences the whole day, waiting for the whole group to be together before they spoke.

Nathaniel frowned and made his way over to the couch, kneeling beside Alex and brushing his hair back to hold his palm on his forehead. He was very pale, ghostly pale, dangerously pale, and Nathaniel feared he wouldn't have the tools to help him.
"What does he need? We'll just patch it up right? There's an exit wound, no bullet-removal needed," John tried to stay positive, his gaze flickering between Alex's peaceful expression and Nathaniel's completely contrasting face of worry.

"It is likely Alex needs a blood transfusion, fast, but I don't know what blood type-" Nathaniel began to sigh before a voice called out from outside.
"I can do it," Thomas called out, making his way inside with James by his side, clinging to Thomas' arm as he took small slow steps.
"That is a kind offer Thomas but not just anybody-" Nathaniel began to explain before being cut off yet again.
"No I know. And I also know we're compatible, I donated blood to him when he received his first bullet wound."

The room fell silent and John sat up with wide eyes.
"Th-that was you?" He gasped softly, Thomas nodding sheepishly. "Why didn't you say something?"
"Well what would you think if the blood of your enemy was in the veins of someone you love? It's fuckin' weird, I wasn't gonna admit to saving the life of someone who I was meant to hate," He huffed.

"F-fair enough," John murmured, averting his gaze back to Alex. "Thank you either way,"
Thomas smiled weakly with a nod.
"Well, this would be great if I actually had the tools to perform the transfusion," Nathaniel murmured with a sigh, wandering into the kitchen to shuffle through draws, dodging Eliza and Hercules who were making dinner.

The others watched Nat skeptically as he began pulling out items, a knife, straws, a funnel. He handed everything to Hercules to be thoroughly washed before looking for the medical supplies. He brought everything back to Thomas and Alex, taking a seat on the table beside Alex, shoving the ornament on it out of the way to lay down his medical equipment.
"Thomas I'm going to try a DIY strategy, can you come and kneel beside Alex?" He murmured, Thomas nodding and coming beside Alex.

"I can't watch this," James mumbled quietly, turning away. Lafayette stood and made his way over to James, taking his arm and silently guiding him to sit at the dining table in the kitchenette.

"How are you feeling James?" Lafayette asked quietly as he pulled out a seat for him, setting him down carefully. Behind them Hercules took the washed tools over to Nat.
"Alright, still... tired," he murmured with a weak chuckle, but laughing only made his head throb so he stopped rather quickly.
"You are extremely lucky, we all are," Lafayette grinned encouragingly, Maria coming to take a seat across from them at the table. James shifted his gaze down, sighing delicately.
"Nathaniel says there could be some permanent damage, but he can't run any tests yet. Sometimes I have trouble speaking or finding the right words to say, he says I need to... rest a lot," James murmured.

Lafayette sighed through his nose and reached a hand out to hold James' shoulder.
"You are doing very well, you are very strong James, there is not long to go yet, nous ne sommes pas encore arrivés, mais nous sommes plus proches qu'hier." He smiled. "We haven't arrived yet, but we are closer than yesterday."

"Shit shit shit John hold this-" they heard Nathaniel gasp from the living room. James turned his head to have a look before Lafayette held his cheek and kept him from looking. There was a lot of blood visible.
"James, eyes on me," he mumbled, James nodding slowly and looking back to Lafayette with a mortified expression, Lafayette lowering his hand to his shoulder and squeezing gently. "He'll be fine."

---

"Dinner!"
Alex groaned and his eyes slowly flickered open at the clarion ring of Eliza's voice. Nathaniel sat up seeing him stir and smiled.
"Rise and shine big guy," he muttered, helping him sit up, holding his shoulders to keep him from swaying. "How're you feeling?"
"Uh, f-fine, where's John?" Alex frowned groggily, biting the inside of his cheek at the pain throbbing through his leg.

"Um John is... I'm not sure where John is," Nat muttered as he glanced around. "Hey, I'll go find him, come up and grab some dinner," he sighed, holding Alex's arms to help him to his feet.
"N-no, I want to see John, I need to talk to him," Alex frowned, shaking his head slightly and pulling away from Nathaniel's grip with a slight stumble.

"Alex, you shouldn't be up and walking around, just come and sit and have something to eat," Nathaniel pushed.
"No!" Alex snapped, ripping his hands back, his breathing heavy. He stormed off with a slight stumble in his step, past gazes of worry from his friends who all sat preparing to eat together, making his way down into a hallway of sorts.

He trailed his hand across the wall beside him, using it to keep himself from falling over as he made his way through the boat.
"John?" He called out, peeking into the crew quarters. No response. He continued on, searching without a trace until he reached the state room passageway. That's when his ears picked up a sound so soft it might've been mistaken for a mouse's squeak, but Alex knew better.

His stomach sank as he crept into the first stateroom, the sound now definable as quiet sobs echoing from the bathroom.
"John?" Alex murmured as he reached the doorway. The sound instantly stopped with a sharp gasp.

Alex stepped in further and gasped seeing the love of his life curled up in the bathroom corner, his wide luminous eyes puffy and spilling with pearly tears. He didn't hesitate to dive forward in an attempt to comfort John, but he squeaked and shook his head, backing up against the wall harder.
"S-stop!" he croaked, squeezing his eyes shut and shaking his head, his shoulders shaking with each sob. Every sob was another stab in Alex's chest, his heart close to shattering.

"John, please talk to me, what's wrong? I'm here for you," Alex murmured softly, reaching out to him with a shaky hand, his own eyes brimming with tears, but John shoved Alex's hand away and cried harder. "John!"
"Stop it! I don't deserve this, leave!" He sobbed desperately. "I betrayed you," he whimpered, his body convulsing protectively.

Alex bit the inside of his cheek, sighing through his nose.
"You wouldn't hurt me, I'm sure there's a good explanation," he reasoned, crawling forward and sitting beside John against the wall. John sniffled and looked up at Alex with hazy red eyes, glassy with tears before he broke into another round of sobs. Alex was confused, so confused, but all he knew was John was crying, and somewhat beating himself up, so he did what came naturally. He wrapped an arm around John and pulled his face into his chest, raking his hand through John's mattered curls. "Shh sh, whatever you did, I don't care, it can't be that bad,"

"It's mine,"

It was the most delicate whisper, and in less than an instant Alex's heart rate spiked, he put two and two together in the blink of an eye. No. John wouldn't do that to him, he wouldn't. John, his literal fiancé, wouldn't do that.
"W-what's yours John?" he murmured shakily, praying he'd say anything but-
"The kid," he croaked, bursting into a fresh set of tears, pulling himself out of Alex's arms and turning away, crying into his hands, now slick with tears.

Alex's heart shattered. He sat as still as a statue, staring at John but not really looking at John, his eyes glazed over icily.
"I-I'm s-so sorry, Alex I'm sorry," he cried between sobs and hiccups, keeping his face hidden behind his hands. He couldn't bring himself to look up at Alex, not wanting to know what expression his features held. Would it be disappointment? Shock? Anger? "I didn't-"

"It's okay" Alex spoke calmly, too calmly, his voice was devoid of any emotion at all in fact.

John's head shot up, his body frozen with shock. He stared at Alex like he'd just seen a ghost, a concoction of terror and surprise. Alex forced a small smile onto his lips and moved forward slowly, wrapping his arms around a still frozen John and hugging him tightly.
"Wh-what are you doing?" John mumbled, raising his hands and not hugging back. "Why- why aren't you mad at me? I'm mad at me, Alex I hurt you," he whimpered. "Alex I hurt you! Why aren't you mad?" he started crying again, shaking his head despite Alex's grip only tightening.

"We'll talk when we both have a clear headspace," he mumbled quietly, drawing in a shaky breath and pulling John into his lap. John tried to push himself away, fidgeting relentlessly. "No! Alex be mad at me! I d-don't deserve-"
"No, John!" Alex snapped, pulling away to make direct eye contact with him. "You're already beating yourself up over it, I can see that, now, there's two sides to every story," he mumbled, brushing John's hair back. "I love you, and I really really trust you, you wouldn't do anything to intentionally hurt me, you wouldn't cheat on me, would you?"

John furiously shook his head, his eyes wide.
"Exactly. Now we can talk about this later, I just- I need some time to think," he mumbled, closing his eyes with a sigh. John nodded and curled up against Alex's chest, a muffled string of apologies and 'sorry's being muttered from his lips until he fell asleep against Alex.

Alex tilted his head to face Eliza, reaching his cuffed hands out slowly and placing them over Eliza's.
"We're getting out of here, don't worry," he assured her quietly, his voice a little hoarse. Eliza shot him a sad smile and held his hands. Without another word she
leaned in and rested her head on Alex's shoulder, letting her eyes flutter closed in defeat.

The cop car shook a little as a cop climbed in the front seat and started the engine, driving off ahead of the other cops, towards the police station. Alex kept his gaze angled out the window, but soon began to notice something was a little off. The other cop cars weren't following, in fact as far as he was concerned this cop wasn't even taking them to a police station.
"Hey, where are we going?" He demanded, Eliza sitting up slightly as she started to catch on.

The cop didn't say a word, glancing at Alex in the rearview mirror before continuing to focus on the road, licking his lips and pulling into a musky alleyway.
"Rogue cop," Eliza whispered timidly. An uneasy churning began in Alex's stomach as he glanced at Eliza. She looked back at him fearfully, her hands trembling in their cuffs. The car pulled over just in front of a dumpster and the cop took no extra time climbing out of his seat and walking around to Eliza's side. He threw her door open and grabbed her arm, earning a choked scream from Eliza as she was ripped out of the car and thrown onto the road.

"HEY!" Alex snapped, diving out after her, the cop grabbing Eliza by the neck and pulling her deeper into the alley way. "LET HER GO YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!"
The cop glared at Alex, tugging Eliza to her knees forcefully.
"Option one, I fuck your friend here and let you go free, option two, you protest and go back to prison." The cop growled, Eliza gasping and shaking her head hastily.
"N-no please, please don't, A-Alex!"

"Get your hands off of my friend!" Alex yelled, stumbling to his feet after them. The cop cocked a brow and scoffed.
"Your friend? What should you care then?" He muttered, taking out his gun and aiming at Alex while he undid the buckle on his pants with the other hand.
"G-girlfriend!" he yelped, panic clouding his actions, freezing as the gun was trained on him. "Get your hands off my girlfriend. Only I can touch her like that." He tried to stay tough, matching his level of possession over Eliza.

"Girlfriend? Thought you were gay short stack," he growled skeptically. "Don't you have a boyfriend?" the cop chuckled, ripping Eliza up to her feet and pushing her against the wall, causing her to cry out at her head collided with the bricks behind her
"N-no," Alex huffed, Eliza watching him with wide eyes, biting her lip. "Now step away from my girlfriend." He growled, stepping forward and shoving the cop away from Eliza with his cuffed hands, despite the gun cocked at his head. He could see the safety was still on. The cop was stupid.

"She's not your girlfriend," he continued to push like a pre-school bully. Alex huffed and spun around, pushing Eliza up against the wall in a slow kiss. Eliza gasped and at first tried to pull away, but eventually just let it happen. Alex felt something, a spark, just like when he kissed John, not as strong, but it was there. Just moments after Eliza felt Alex's hands start to wander, the cop shoved him back. "Prison it is." he growled, flipping off the safety. "Lucky your boyfriend was here this time princess, next time you won't be so lucky,"

Eliza was panting softly, her eyes still wide in surprise as she slipped back into the cop car obediently. Alex sat beside her, staring straight ahead blankly.
The cop started the car and began to reverse out of the alley, slamming the slot shut between the driver & passenger seats and the back seats.

"Alex I-"
Eliza was immediately cut off as Alex spun around and connected their lips again, pushing her back against the seat. She kissed back for a moment before her eyes shot open and she parted their lips gently. No spark, this wasn't John, it was Eliza. As she pulled away to look at Alex she saw the tears brimming in his eyes, just beginning to drip down his cheeks. "Alex what are you doing?" she mumbled worriedly, reaching up to cup his cheeks, her eyes brimming with concern.

He shook his head with a whimper, melting into her hands.
"I'm sorry," he croaked. "I felt- w-with John-" he began to speak before shutting his mouth, knowing he'd burst into tears if he continued.
"We all make mistakes Alexander," she soothed, brushing his hair back and looping her arms over his head and around him, hugging him gently.

"I'm just as bad," he whispered to a sleeping John, hugging him tightly and letting his guilty tears fall over his finacé's comatose frame.