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“Don’t be silly, sir,” Harry pleaded desperately. “You’re not going to be able to sleep on a chair.”
Stanley made a show of adjusting the blanket he had wrapped around himself, seated on a chair at the other side of the tiny cabin he and Harry shared on the HMS Enterprise. The ship was overcrowded with the crew and the rescued men, and thus the officers had been ordered to sleep together in cabins. There were so many people there were not enough hammocks. Harry knew the nights would be awkward if not downright nightmarish. Stanley was a large, tall man who barely fit in a bunk by himself, so there was no way the two men would spend the night comfortably despite Harry’s slight frame. Still, he could not let the doctor sleep on the chair.
“You’re going to freeze like that,” he insisted as he watched the man shiver.
“Goodnight, mister Goodsir.”
Harry sighed.
“Doctor, come here.”
Stanley screwed his eyes shut. Harry threw the blankets off and got off bed. He came to the man, arms crossed.
“Sir, you’re sleeping with me in this bed or neither of us are!”
The other man did not answer. Harry stayed there, shivering in the cold, unwilling to back down and let Stanley have his way. He was pleased to see the doctor was also shaking under his blanket. After a minute, Stanley opened an eye and, seeing Harry was still here, let out an irritated sigh.
“Go to bed, mister Goodsir.”
“No.”
Harry watched him clench his jaw. He looked Harry up and down, as if assessing if he was being serious. Harry was absolutely serious, and he did not intend to back down. He may concede to Stanley in many areas in their daily work together, but not here. Stanley finally hissed a mumbled curse and got up. He angrily settled himself in the bunk, squeezing his large frame in the narrow bed like a sulking child. Harry bit back a grin of triumph as he unceremoniously elbowed Stanley in his attempt to find a comfortable posture. After much shuffling and growling from Stanley, Harry found himself with this tall, intimidating man spooning him, his arms wrapped around his belly. He could feel the heat of his body warming his back.
“This is ridiculous,” the doctor grumbled in his hair, but did no move to extricate himself.
Harry did not answer. Instead he listened to the gentle sounds of the waves against the ship, and let himself be cradled by the warmth around him. As he drifted to sleep, he vaguely felt a broad hand envelop his wrist.
That night, Harry dreamed of home and of deep blue eyes crinkling, and of a usually stern mouth slackened by joy and fondness.