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“Oh! I feel such a flutter! … No, that… is the dysentery” Isaac said as he moved his hands closer to his stomach, his expression showing a clear realization of discomfort.
At first he had thought that the movement he felt was because of his nervousness at the idea of finally being able to kiss Nigel, but it seemed that it was just his stomach being upset as usual… he just hoped it didn’t ruin his plans.
“So, are you going to pay a visit to Nigel now that you have this new revelation?” Flower asked with a sweet teasing tone.
“O-of course!” Isaac responded, his smile returning to his features. “I can’t wait to see Nigel!” He exclaimed with glee, but soon he grimaced again as his stomach began bothering him once more. He wanted to ignore it, he truly did, but the flutters were getting worse and the pain was starting to show its awful face, making the captain grit his teeth.
Soon, Hetty noticed that Isaac seemed more uncomfortable than usual. Whenever he felt his stomach upset he’d make sure to not let others know, only those who deeply knew him could notice that he was struggling, but now it was certainly different… It was as clear as the day.
“Isaac? Are you doing okay?” She asked with concern, giving a step towards her friend.
Isaac took a deep breath, pressing his own lips together and biting on them from the inside as he nodded, but he looked far from well.
“Come with me” Hetty requested as she walked to him, offering her hand for him to take.
Without hesitation, the captain lifted his hand and held Hetty’s as they walked out of the room, leaving Pete, Sass and Flower behind with concerned faces. Both of them knew that the rest of the ghosts in the room were surely muttering about them… and while Isaac was starting to feel mortified about it, Hetty had only one thing in mind: helping her friend.
“H-Hetty…? May I-” he swallowed, before continuing with his question. “… Ask where we are going?”
“To our bedroom, you clearly look unwell and you and I more than anyone understand how important it is to keep the appearances” especially given how he assured that he was fine when she asked him about it. “You need some rest”
“But Nigel-!!” he quickly objected. “I have to go to the shed and tell him I can kiss him now!” He stubbornly insisted, as he truly didn’t want to wait anymore, he wanted to show his special friend that he actually wanted to take things further with him.
Hetty stopped immediately, turning towards Isaac upon hearing that. “And you think you’re in conditions to visit Nigel right now?” She questioned him, highly doubting it.
Isaac was about to respond, but soon another cramp began and he groaned a little, hugging his stomach as he slightly doubled over.
“I thought so” with those words, Hetty stood by Isaac’s side and softly placed her hands on his shoulders, helping him to walk the rest of the path to their bedroom and going through the door with him. “Please get some rest, you’ll be able to see Nigel once you start feeling better” She told him softly as she helped him to sit down on his daybed.
This was so unfair! He really wanted to go with Nigel right now, why did he have to deal with a stomach ache just now!? Fate truly had something against him, didn’t it?
Defeated, Isaac let out a sigh and nodded, deciding to listen to his best friend.
“Yeah… maybe I can take a nap and then go with Nigel” he thought out loud, still pressing his hand on his stomach as he lay down on his day bed, trying to get as comfortable as the pain let him to do so.
“Rest well, Isaac. You’ll see that once you wake up you’ll feel better” Hetty told her friend and walked to her own bed, deciding to go to sleep as well. Truth to be told, she was a bit worried… She had seen Isaac expressing discomfort when it came to his stomach before, but tonight he truly looked affected by it… and was starting to wonder if there was something wrong with Isaac.
She just hoped it wasn’t the case.
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A few hours later, Isaac woke up all of the sudden, with the ghost of what used to be his heart drumming hard against his ribcage and his stomach feeling more upset than before, the pain was coursing through him and he knew exactly what it meant.
Mortified, he quickly got up as he could, hurrying downstairs as he desperately tried to get to the bathroom on time. He could feel his stomach doing somersaults already.
As soon as he crossed through the door, he practically threw himself to the floor and kneeled in front of the toilet, thanking whatever deity that made them count as a horizontal surface as he held it and leaned into it. It took him just a couple of seconds before he started retching and a shiny and translucent material came out of his mouth, but it never hit the bowl as it disappeared into thin air.
It was the little advantages of being a ghost and just having ectoplasm to spill, but it didn’t make it less disgusting and painful than the real deal.
Whining, Isaac sniffled before he coughed and retched again, clinging onto the toilet as if his life depended on it.
He hated this, he truly did… it wasn’t the first time and certainly not the last that he was going through this… since he died from dysentery, he still had certain… bodily functions… that the others didn’t have and he hated it. He knew that if the others got to know about it they would mock him for the eternity, which was why it was one of his most well kept secrets, with only Samantha knowing about it since he has privately asked her to keep the toilet lids up for him… it had been such an awkward, embarrassing and humiliating conversation for him.
Sniffling once more, he felt his stomach contort in pain and he hugged his mid section, gritting his teeth as he wished for this to end. When he said that dying of dysentery wasn’t enjoyable he truly meant it… and while his symptoms in death weren’t as bad as they were when he was alive, he still had to deal with them to some extent and he didn’t like it one bit.
Whining and groaning, he let his forehead rest on the toilet seat as he waited for the pain to go away but, instead, another wave of nausea hit him and he retched once more.
“Isaac…? Isaac!!” He heard a female voice in the distance, one that he recognized almost immediately and felt as if he froze when the realization hit him.
He coughed a couple of times and raised his head from the toilet, looking at the doorframe where the woman stood, making Isaac go even paler if it was possible and be overwhelmed with dread and embarrassment.
Hetty.
Both kept silent for a few seconds, just staring at each other, until Hetty walked to Isaac and kneeled on the floor as her dress allowed her to.
“H-Hetty? How- how did you…?” Isaac began to ask with a raspy and barely audible voice.
“I woke up and didn’t see you in our bedroom, so I went to look for you and heard a rather unpleasant sound coming from this bathroom. At first I thought it was Jay with all of the fast food he consumes, but I recognized your voice”
With that explanation, Isaac felt even more mortified, suppressing his nausea to avoid getting sick in front of Hetty and make the situation even worse for him.
“Are you okay?” Hetty spoke again, raising her hand to softly caress the top of his head.
The worry she felt was so clear in her voice that Isaac couldn’t help but feel guilty… she shouldn’t be witnessing this, no one should… this was his burden and his alone. But deep down… he was glad that Hetty was worried instead of disgusted or mad at him.
“… No” Isaac finally responded with a whisper, softly shaking his head. “It seems that my stomach decided to rebel against me” he sniffled, letting out a sigh. “This isn’t fair! I was supposed to go with Nigel tonight, not-” but before he could finish his sentence, he gagged and had to lean over the toilet once more.
At the sound of that, Hetty looked away as she held off a grimace and began to pat his back, not willing to leave him suffering alone through this. It was a small gesture, but for Isaac it meant the world.
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When the ordeal was finally over, both friends walked out of the bathroom at a slow pace as Hetty held Isaac by the elbows. He was still shaky and tired, but at least the worst had passed.
“Isaac! Hetty!” Exclaimed a voice that made them stop and turn their attention towards it, noticing that Sam, still in pajamas, was approaching them with a quick pace. “Is everything alright?”
Hetty seemed to hesitate at first, but Isaac placed a hand over hers.
“It’s fine, Hetty. Samantha is aware of my… episodes” Isaac let her know, looking then at Sam. “I was feeling rather indisposed, but Hetty helped me through it” he said with a soft smile on his lips despite his tiredness.
“Ow, Isaac… Let’s get you to the kitchen; I’ll make a chamomile tea for you” Sam offered as she pointed towards the kitchen with her thumb. The two ghosts accepted and soon after Hetty and Isaac were sitting at the table, with Sam brewing the tea.
“So… Hetty knows now?” Sam asked after a while, serving the cup of tea and placing it in front of Isaac for him to smell before she took a seat at the table with them.
Isaac nodded and leaned forward just a little bit, closing his eyes as he let the smell of the chamomile to soothe his stomach. Sam knew that this helped him whenever he was feeling unwell, so he was grateful that she took the time to brew it for him every time it happened… it was already doing wonders in calming down the lingering pain and upset feeling.
“Yes, I saw he wasn’t in our bedroom and the next thing I knew was that he was getting sick in the bathroom” Hetty explained, still sounding worried after finding her friend in such a state.
“I’m sorry, Hetty…” Isaac apologized, shrinking himself a little in his seat. “I… didn’t want anyone to know about it. The others don’t seem that bothered by their deaths… well, except for Pete, and if they already mock me for dying from dysentery I don’t want to imagine the comments they would make if they knew that I still suffer the symptoms from it!” he exposed his predicament, with mortification written all over his face.
He didn’t like getting mocked… no matter how many years passed, he didn’t get used to it… and having his symptoms rubbed on his face wasn’t something he was willing to endure.
“Isaac” Hetty began, reaching for Isaac’s hand to place her own atop of his, softly caressing it with her thumb. “You’re my dearest friend; do you really think I would mock you for feeling unwell?” She asked, receiving a negative movement from Isaac’s head in response.
“If I know you’re hurting, I wouldn’t try to put you down. I can’t say the same about the others…” she added, slightly rolling her eyes. “But you can count on me whenever you’re feeling unwell”
“Hetty is right, you can count on us” Sam added, feeling heart-warmed after witnessing such an endearing moment between two of her ghosts.
“Thank you” Isaac nodded, putting his attention on the hot beverage in front of him. “I’ve… been getting sick like this or in other ways ever since I died, so it’s nothing I’m not used to dealing with… but…” he finally looked up from his tea, looking at Sam and Hetty with fondness in his eyes. “I have to admit it’s more manageable with your support”
Maybe he hadn’t gotten what he wanted that night… but at least now he had two wonderful friends who were willing to support him no matter what.
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The next morning, Isaac sat up on his day bed and stretched with a yawn. He was feeling certainly better, just like if nothing had happened the previous night.
“Good morning, Isaac” Hetty greeted him. She was already up, fixing her hair in the mirror. She had the singing with Alberta and the rest in a few minutes, so she wanted to be presentable for it.
“Good morning, Hetty!” Isaac said with his usual cheerful tone, getting up with one thing in mind.
“I see you’re feeling better today” She commented, smiling as she knew what Isaac wanted to do now.
“Well, I still have flutters… but I know it’s not dysentery this time!” he said with a smile, shaking his fists a little. He was so nervous!! But at the same time, he couldn’t wait.
“Everything will go well, you’ve wanted this for a while, you deserve it” Hetty encouraged him as she placed her hands on his cheeks. “Now go!! And show Nigel what you feel for him!”
“I will!” Isaac said with determination, not without hugging Hetty first. “Thank you… for everything”
“Don’t mention it” She said as she patted him on the back before they parted away from the embrace, following Isaac with her gaze as he walked out of the bedroom with renewed spirits.
Maybe fate didn’t want him to express his love to Nigel last night… but that didn’t mean that he was going to desist. With rushed steps, he almost ran to the shed and crossed the door without even announcing himself.
“Oh… Isaac, did you wish to talk?” Nigel’s voice broke the silence as the British officer turned towards Isaac when he noticed him walking him.
“I think we’ve talked enough”