(no subject)

It's dark and smoky, the air thick and difficult to breathe in. The man in the hood nearby and pieces of the ceiling falling in around them. He coughs and chokes, trying to get past the man, who becomes bigger and bigger, then lifts Guppy up and tosses him like a rag doll onto the pile of rubble. Debris crashes around him as he scrambles to his feet, only to be hit full in the face by the sharp end of the arsonist's plank of wood.

There is a scream, followed by a yell, followed by an 'Aaaargh shit!" as Guppy propels himself away from the blow, falls out of bed onto the fractured rib and is jerked back into awareness by the sheer agony of it. There are footsteps, then Abs peers around the door.

"What the hell are you doing Guppy?" he asks, his face turning to concern as he crouches next to the bent double figure. He moves Guppy's hand away from his side and gently lifts the side of his nightshirt, wincing when he sees the marks.

"Bloody hell Guppy, you've got bruises like a xylophone under here. And you're in agony."

"I'm fine Abs." Guppy takes a couple of deep breaths. "I've been checked out, it's hairline, I just knocked it."

"Correction, it was hairline." Abs replies, running a gentle finger over where the broken rib is. "Doesn't feel like you've moved it at least. Did we miss anything else?"

"Concussion. Smoke inhalation. I've had a week, I'm fine."

"You should have told us Guppy."

"And you shouldn't have let me go down the pub without getting checked out. I nearly passed out ten minutes later, I was in no state to think. And even though you didn't know that, you did know that I had a head injury the size of a golf ball. I'm not even sure I meant to ask Alice out."

Abs' expression darkens and he gets up.

"Alice thinks the world of you and she's a really nice girl. You on the other hand are tactless, insensitive, and quite frankly, don't deserve her. So don't mess her around, or you and I will have Words."

He walks out, leaving Guppy huddled on the floor.

"I know."