Heated Debate, Sunday afternoon

(Oxley and de Guarde have just left sickbay)

Once outside sickbay, Oxley rounded on de Guarde. "What was you thinkin'?" he hissed, trying not to raise his voice and make things even worse. "Why didn't you keep your mouth shut an' get out when he said to, 'stead o' making things ten times worser?"

De Guarde was rubbing his arm that has been unceremoniously pulled after the taller boy, as they left the sickbay as he glared at him. He spoke through gritted teeth with a voice hushed under strain, but no less angry than Oxley's.

"He bloody well deserved it!" Oh he did dare say that now, with nobody to hear it. "Wosn't bloody right of yer to call me idiot! Damn you." He hissed, his hands balled into fists , each at his side.

"What else was I s'posed to say, what with you doin' summat only an idiot would do? You didn't even have to be there, arter all, let alone let your mouth run away with you."

Oxley was furious, not quite so much with de Guarde himself as with the whole situation he'd found himself in.

"I wos there because I heard shoutin'! I thought summat terrible happened." Which wasn't exactly true, as he was not worried when he arrived. To say he had sated his curiosity though, would hardly be an excuse for him to be there. " And I saw it did, but I was quiet, wasn't I?" He asked sharply.

"But that man, didn't yer hear him? Sure you did, n'less yer deaf! He was yappin' at our men like 'e were their owner! Like he was a bloody King! I jus..." Spoke out, which wasn't what he should've done. Which was anything but what he should've done. Even now he thought the man deserved it, though it didn't help at all. Why were everyone thinking him God when he was but a very bitter creature so full of himself? "Didn't need ter call me an idiot neither. So's you best apologise, aye!"

He pulled de Guarde away from sickbay - they really didn't need for Doctor Maturin to come out and have another go at them for disturbing the patients.

"Mebbe he didn't ought to have said what he done, but he's a surgeon. With a warrant an' all. An' he cut Mister Crozier's head open an' saved his life. So mebbe he shouldn't have shouted at Mister M'Clure an' Bridgens, but you shouldn't have shouted at him. 'Specially not right now, bein' a Tar." He sighed. "All right, I'm sorry for callin' you an idiot, only you shouldn't've acted like one."

De Guarde stumbled again and pulled on Oxley's arm to ease it from his shirt. "I can follow yer jus' fine on me own." Muttered as they made some distance from the sickbay.

"I know wot' he did. Yer don't need ter remind me! Ain't giving him t' right ter act like a brat though, does it?" He relaxed a bit when he'd heard the apology, though he wasn't calm, not by a far cry.

"I didn' mean t' shout! Though.. I meant every word I said. I did. Should've been more! " He bit his lip. "If I weren't a bloody damn Tar." Or a midshipman, but then didn't even the captain bow to this man? It wouldn't have surprised him and certainly would have annoyed him.

He let de Guarde pull free of his grasp. "You didn't have to be rude 'bout it. neither. If that'd bin me, I'd've got a clip round the ear an' bin hauled in front of Mister Cartwright. He prob'ly thinks you're a rude boy who needs to learn some manners. Or respec', or summat. You prob'ly should stay away from him if you think that, though. Who knows what you'll say next time!"

He straightened his shirt, checked it wasn't damaged anywhere. When he checked a second time, and with great care, he looked at Oxley again.

"Rude?.. I'd have been considered as polite as a gennle'man compared ter him! " He looked on seriously at Oxley. "If he were respectful I'd have been quiet." And went to look for Oxley, which had been his prime reason of looking about, before he'd had heard the shout.

He was glad at how he had gotten away with it, but then if that doctor had been such a weasel towards those men, could he not have been worse in making him believe all was swell, just to have him hauled before the captain next moment of fun time?

So more somberly he'd said: "..He's not goin' ter talk ter t' cap'n about it, is he? " And Oxley was in some trouble too, if that was so. Though he wasn't exactly sure what, since he had come too late for that.

"Polite? Yellin' at him like that, an' you a Tar and younger'n me? Me Dad would've leathered me so hard I wouldn't be able to sit for a week if I'd ever talked like that to an adult." He shrugged. "I dunno if he is goin' to talk to the captain. Hope he don't, but if he does... mebbe we ought to 'pologise to him, try to make things better."

He winced at the thought. He'd reckoned , with an uncomfortable sigh, that Oxley was right though. He'd overstepped all that was right, with such words. And even if it weren't Oxley's father that was about to have his say, the officers were and so was the doctor and he could say. Or them others.

"... But.." He didn't want to say sorry for something he meant, at the same time he knew not saying that and getting the officers to hear it, would be all his fault. And he'd regret the later a lot more than some hurt pride with the first.

"...We could jus' write 'im summat though, couldn't we? That'd satify him well enough!" An easy way out. Wasn't surprising he'd said it.

Oxley blinked in surprise. De Guarde was... agreeing with him?

"Could write, sure, though I reckon he'll still want a proper apology, if he's not goin' to go to the Cap'n." He hadn't thought about writing, though that was probably because he couldn't write. "If we write a note to say that we're sorry we upset him an' we'll meet him to say it prop'ly to his face if he wants, d'you think that'll do it? And then, we'll just keep away from him until we get to where we'm takin' them an' they go."

"I'um not going ter be going out of nobody's way. Specially not someone as ill mannered as that .." He'd have wanted to say prick, but bit his tongue before he would. " that..." He couldn't find a better word so he allowed silence instead. Oxley would know well enough what he meant.

"But.. don't want ter see him grinning all triumphant either, while he sees us sayin' sorry. Ain't deserving! He isn't! Not a single thought spent on him that." He muttered angrily. Still, it was their necks on the line. Should Maturin decide, it could not turn into a very nasty little thing.

Oxley shrugged. "Well, if you ain't staying out of his way, learn to button your lip afore you get in worse trouble. Or at least, don't go tellin' officers what you think of 'em. Ain't healthy, that, trust me, an' I reckon that Thompson'll tell you the same. Most folks will."

"I would not! Do you think me daft." He answered dejectedly. Surely he wouldn't have been as stupid as to talk to Mr. Leat in such a manner, or someone.

He squinted his eyes as Thompson was mentioned. He hadn't expected Oxley to know that he and Thompson talked about these or any thing really. But then, he shouldn't have been surprised about that much either.

"..So, we are writin' that letter or ain't we?" He said instead, rather solemnly.

"Well, a surgeon's like an officer. He's got a warrant, same's the bosun, and you wouldn't go talkin' like that to the bosun. Or Sar'nt Quinn. An' no, I don't think you're daft, not really. Jus'... you say things without thinkin' sometimes, like I do." He smiled, trying to cheer the lad up a bit.

"Let's go write that letter, an' then we can go skylarkin', and then we can deliver it. Or mebbe we can get it delivered afore we go skylarkin'."

He huffed. He'd be mad to talk to a bosun like that, that was true. But he'd thought of this man as a guest and perhaps in this made a mistake. Considering him not as a surgeon but as a civilian, just someone who was coming along, and owed them something, not the other way around. But, as much as he thought Sergeant Quinn was nice, he'd have never gone to tell him what was what. And Johnson, oh, he'd done it before, and he won.

He made a small smile when Oxley implicated himself and slowly nodded. "That's yer very right about. You don't think before yer say it all t' time." He said and began to turn. "Alright, me things fer writing are in me n' Chase's chest. We'll jus' have it delivered before we go skylarkin'.. jus' so we are sure not ter have it too interrupted, aye?"

"Aye, all right. An' I already tole you I don't allus think afore sayin' summat, though I'm gettin' better at it." And he would never in a hundred years have dared to talk to anyone in authority like that; he'd have felt the cane, or his dad's belt, soon enough if he had.

"You want to write belowdecks, or up on deck?" he asked, glad for the change of subject.

" Well there's more light up on deck. So if ye'um get yeself settled, I can fetch the paper n' ink n'all, and we'll write then." Well technically it would be he, who would write.

"N' jus' don't you ever call me an idiot." He paused:" Or pull me shirt, when I'um wearin' this one." An odd request, but he didn't want it damaged, so oddness be damned.

"Up on deck then. An' you'll write it, but we've both got to agree what it says, right?" Oxley said, and then added, "I mean, I'm the one that fetched him, after all." It was de Guarde who'd said those things to the doctor, but Oxley felt a responsible that the doctor was there - though he still didn't know what had possessed de Guarde to come along right then and butt in like that.

"Why did you tie t' doctor up?" He had wanted to ask that earlier. He saw it happen and was still rather stunned that Oxley would dare it, not unless somebody with authority had ordered it. It was probably that Maturin. It had to be. The man was mad!

"..fine,we'll talk on what ter write, n' then I'll do it. N' when we'um finished, I'll read it again , jus' so you see I didn't write summat different, or made some things up." Though, he could've if he wanted, what with Oxley being unable to read himself. He adjusted his shirt a little and paused." So that's settled, yer wait here, aye?"

"He was out of his hammock earlier, an' tryin' to read the Day Book, though he can't walk straight, an' he dosed hisself... Oh, jiminy! I never told Doctor Matterin that!" He looked worried at that recollection. "Reckon it'll be all right if I don't tell him? Though, we could tell him in the letter, an' say I forgot all about it with everythin' else happenin'."

He bit his lip, worried. "We'll put that in the note, too, an' mebbe it'll work out all right. Anyway, he was up an' walkin' around, though he needed my help, an' he should've stayed in his cot, so Doctor Matterin wanted to make sure he can't get up again, 'cause of he might knock his head or summat if he gets up again too soon. He tole me he couldn't see right, which was why he needed me help."

"Oh, but he's allright, is he? He's been talking n' he'll be going up and about soon ter be as right as rain?" He hoped all of the mentioned was to be true or to be true soon. He didn't want to be responsible for the doctor's long term injury or worse. And there, the doctor himself just didn't deserve being tied up to the cot for the rest of his life.

"We can write it up in t' note. Tell this Maturin there's summat real important in it. So he don't ignore what we wrote. What do you think 'bout that eh? Have him have a good reason ter read it. Not jus' us n' wot' we're saying in it. That'd get his attention. Oh un... he didn't take too much, do you know? That is, Dr. Crozier?"

"I think he's all right. I hope he will be, anyway. An' I never saw how much he took, only that he had summat out of a glass bottle from his wooden box. An' the note's got to say that we're sorry we made him angry, an' if he wants us to tell him prop'ly, ourselves, we'll meet him somewhere an' do it proper. And that Mister Crozier had somethin' out of a glass bottle from his wooden box, but I dunno what it was, or how much, but I know which bottle, if he needs me to show him. D'you think that'll be all right? Oh, and we've got to put our names so's he knows who it's from."

"Well he don't know what's me name. You called me Buckles, when you were scolding me...Though if we put our names on the letter proper.. what if he jus' gives it to our officers too." Though maybe they would have to. Show that they were really sorry, that way. Even if that had put them in trouble instead.

"Or maybe.. well..write our names proper, just hope he's not t' sort of beast that would use t' letter against us then too." He paused. "Now wait here, will you, I'll not be long. Just need to fetch where we'll be writing 'fcourse!"

"Well, if you won't let us call you Mathew, what'm I s'posed to call you?" Oxley said, grumbling good-naturedly. "An' if he shows it to our officers, at least then they'll see we tried to 'pologise, an' that'll have to mean somethin', won't it? And, well, someone tole me the other day that it's one thing to do summat you're expected to do, but to do summat good that folks don't expect is summat else... an' better, cause it ain't expected. So if we try to say sorry, mebbe the officers'll see that." He shrugged. "All right, I'll wait here. Only, don't be too long."