"Are my legs gone," Wooyoung asked with a frown, trying to sit up and look down but he didn't have the energy. San was frozen, not knowing what to do or say as fear shot through him. Yeosang was scared, terrified but he knew he needed to be the one to keep a level-head right now.

"Nope, they're both still there in all their glory. You were put on some heavy medication to keep you out, so it probably hasn't worn off yet," he said quickly. He moved even closer to the bed, his legs knocking against the side while he ran his fingers through Wooyoung's hair.

"Oh. I can feel that though," Wooyoung said with a frown.

"Yeah, that's good," Yeosang said with a nod.

"You're going to be ok," he added softly. Wooyoung clenched his eyes closed and shook his head.

"I should be dead," he whispered.

"It was, uh, it was a close call Youngie. I honestly thought you were dead; I think we all did," San said quietly.

"I should have died," Wooyoung said.

"Almost did but we're very thankful you didn't," Yeosang said quickly. Wooyoung slipped his eyes back open and glanced at the two of them before scoffing.

"I deserved to die. Hongjoong would probably be ecstatic if I did and I wouldn't blame him," Wooyoung said. Both Yeosang and San were shocked about the words that left Wooyoung's mouth.

"Is he here, Hongjoong," Wooyoung asked.

"Y-Yeah he is but Woo-."

"You should let him come in and kill me," Wooyoung whispered, closing his eyes once again. San gasped in shock and Yeosang held back tears. Neither understood what was going on, why Wooyoung was suddenly saying these things, but it worried them.

"Hongjoong would never hurt a hair on your head, let alone kill you. He'd kill himself before he hurt you," San said, shaking his head.

"Why would you even s-say something like that," Yeosang asked shakily.

"Because I got him killed," Wooyoung said quietly. It clicked in San's head then, Wooyoung's earlier statement before he mentioned his legs. Wooyoung thought Seonghwa was dead. He must have found out that he was the reason Eyun was going after them, that they wanted to get to him. He hasn't seen Seonghwa, he doesn't know he's alive and safe. No wonder he was hurt so badly, he was probably not in the right mind when he found out why Seonghwa was hurt. San turned around quickly and hurried out of the room, quite literally bumping into Hongjoong and Seonghwa just outside the door. He didn't stop to explain what he was doing. He just grabbed Seonghwa's arm and yanked him inside, making him yelp loudly.

"San he's injured, don't be so rough," Hongjoong cried out, rushing after them.

"He isn't dead. See Youngie, Hwa is ok," San said quickly, shoving Seonghwa in front of him. Seonghwa grunted and held his ribs but his eyes widened when he saw Wooyoung awake. He wanted to smile, to rush to the younger and hug him tight after not being able to hold him for so long. This was his baby, the one who had been threatened, who he refused to give up, no matter the pain. But he froze because he saw the look of terror that flashed through Wooyoung's eyes as he glanced at him and then behind him.

"N-No. No don't, please. I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Wooyoung whimpered, his hands pushing into the sheets desperately. Seonghwa frowned worriedly as he saw the way Wooyoung was struggling.

"I can't, I can't move. I c-can't. M-My le-. I'm sorry, I'm s-sorry," Wooyoung sobbed out. His cries of distress instantly set everyone in the room into action. San let go of Seonghwa and rushed over, Yeosang stepping closer as well to try to calm him down but Wooyoung wouldn't stop trying to get away. It pained San to see the way he struggled, knowing he couldn't use his legs but was still trying to get away so desperately. He didn't understand why though, because Seonghwa was there in front of him. He brough him in there to show he was alive but Wooyoung didn't seem to be happy about that.

"Wooyo-."

"NO! I'm sorry," Wooyoung sobbed out loudly as Hongjoong stepped up beside Seonghwa. It hurt Hongjoong to see Wooyoung in so much distress and he glanced at the others in the room to try and figure out what was going on. Wooyoung continued to sob, trying to push himself away but he couldn't get his legs to move.

"What's going on," Yunho asked as he stepped into the doorway with Mingi and Jongho, the younger leaning against Mingi for support.

"I don't know, he just started freaking out," Hongjoong said worriedly.

"Woo, it's ok. Seonghwa's fine, see. You didn't get him killed, he's ok. And look, Hongjoo-."

"NO," Wooyoung screamed, reaching out and grabbing Yeosang's shirt, trying to tug himself closer. San's eyes widened and he glanced to Hongjoong to see his also wide open in shock.

"I-Is he scared of me," Hongjoong said quietly, hurt flashing through his eyes.

"Youngie, it's just Hongjoong," Yeosang said but Wooyoung just whimpered and shook his head. His hands tightened the grip on Yeosang's shirt.

"I k-killed Seonghwa," Wooyoung said shakily.

"No you didn't. Baby I'm right here, I'm alive," Seonghwa said.

"Wooyoung, Hongjoong would never hurt you. He would never want you dead, let alone do anything to make that happened," Yeosang said softly, remembering what Wooyoung had said before. Hongjoong's throat seized up, his heart clenching tightly in his chest. Hurt him? KILL him? Hongjoong rushed forwards to the bedside, nudging San out of the way.

"Woo-." Wooyoung's scream cut off Hongjoong's words, blood curdling and full off fear, shocking everyone in the room. Wooyoung's never been scared of Hongjoong, he's never let there be a reason for the younger to be scared. Hongjoong knew it would most likely scare Wooyoung more for a few moments but then he could calm him down, so he reached out and grabbed Wooyoung, yanking him away from Yeosang and into his arms. Wooyoung screamed again but Hongjoong bundled him up tightly in his arms, being cautious but firm. Wooyoung continued to cry and tried to use his arms to push out of the hold, but Hongjoong just held him tighter. He managed to trap Wooyoung's arms by his side, giving him a bear hug. Wooyoung continued to struggle slightly but didn't thrash around too much which meant Hongjoong managed to get a decent grip.

"Hey, hey. Wooyoung, it's ok," Hongjoong said quickly but it didn't do much to calm the boy down.

"Shh, shh. I love you. I love you. You're safe, I'll never hurt you. I love you so much," Hongjoong whispered into his ear, trying to get through to him. Wooyoung continued to sob but Hongjoong felt his hands come up to clutch onto his shirt sleeve.

"That's it, shh. You're ok, you're safe. I'm not going to let anyone hurt you, I promise. I love you so much Youngie, so, so much," Hongjoong said softly. Wooyoung tried to push himself away with his arms despite clutching Hongjoong's shirt but the older kept his grip firm. The others watched sadly as the fight left Wooyoung's body and he just sagged against Hongjoong. Wooyoung started mumbling something that was hard to hear but Seonghwa's heart broke as he saw the tears that sprung to Hongjoong's eyes though the Captain desperately tried to hold them at bay.

"It's ok my baby, I could never hate you," Hongjoong whispered, burying his head into the youngers hair. It was then that Seonghwa caught on to what Wooyoung was continuously mumbling.

'I'm sorry. Don't hate me. Please, don't hate me. I'm sorry.'

Hongjoong hushed Wooyoung gently, bundling him up better in his arms. He let out a quiet breath of relief as Wooyoung curled his upper body down in order to nuzzle closer to his chest. Hongjoong just rocked the younger boy gently, trying to soothe him and relax him, to stop him from repeating the continuous phrases that felt like they were ripping his heart apart. Everyone remained how they were, just watching quietly for a while before Hongjoong let out a deep sigh.

"He's asleep," he said quietly.

"What the actual heck was that," Mingi said immediately.

"Wooyoung knows that they were after him. He thought Seonghwa was dead and that he was the reason it happened," Yeosang said.

"And what, he thought Hongjoong wanted to kill him? Hongjoong would never want to hurt any of us, no matter what happens," Mingi said.

"It goes deeper than that I think," San said with a sigh, his eyes trained on the sleeping boy in Hongjoong's arms. He didn't want to take his eyes off him, to make sure he was ok.

"It definitely does. It doesn't matter how much he knows Hongjoong loves him. Seonghwa is Hongjoong's husband and he saw exactly how badly it hurt him when Hwa was taken. I mean he locked himself up for weeks, we all saw that. Adding onto that, the fact that Wooyoung told me himself when it first happened that he felt bad for Hongjoong because it would kill him to find out he was the reason any of us got hurt, that he wouldn't be able to live with himself. He thinks it's what he deserves, it isn't a matter of him thinking logically that Hongjoong wouldn't hurt him," Yeosang explained.

"I w-wouldn't. I'd never touch him. It isn't even his f-fault," Hongjoong said shakily, clutching Wooyoung closer.

"It's probably the shock of it. When he wakes up next, I'll make sure to talk to him and reassure him everything is ok. Cos everything is ok, he's awake which means he's made it through," Seonghwa said with a nod. Everything was going to be ok, they were all safe now and though there were some injuries along the way, but they were all alive.

"About that," Yeosang said with a sigh, glancing back at Wooyoung. San's heart clenched as he knew what Yeosang was heading towards. He quickly moved over to the bed and sat down, reaching out towards Wooyoung.

"I'm sorry but I need to hold him right now," San said. Hongjoong wasn't too keen to let him go but San looked close to tears and he could tell whatever Yeosang was about to say had him distraught.

"Lean back," he said softly and San quickly rested his back against the headboard, allowing Hongjoong to gently transfer Wooyoung to him. San let the younger lay down gently, his head resting in his lap. Yeosang glanced over and quickly slipped his hand into San's, holding it tightly.

"Wooyoung, he uh. He told us when he woke up that his legs felt weird," Yeosang said quietly.

"His legs felt weird. Weird how? Like they hurt," Yunho asked quickly.

"Weird like he couldn't feel them, he thought they weren't there," San said bitterly, his free hand drifting down to Wooyoung's hair. Everyone went silent at that, the words washing over them.

"He's paralysed," Jongho whispered in shock.

"We don't know yet. It could just be a side effect of the medication he was given to make sure he stayed out," Yeosang said.

"But he could also be paralysed," Mingi said.

"For fucks sake. Yes Mingi, he could be paralysed. In fact he probably is paralysed and will never walk again. Is that what you want to hear," San spat angrily. Mingi was shocked at his outburst but he knew it came from his fear. It was confirmed quickly as San's face dropped and he shook his head.

"I'm sorry, that was, that was uncalled for," he said quickly. Mingi passed Jongho to Yunho before he walked over the bed and bent down, pressing a kiss to San's forehead.

"I know," he whispered.

"We don't know anything for sure right now. All we can do is wait and see," Hongjoong said with a sigh.

"We have everyone here, that's the main thing right now. We've taken out half of the crew of Eyun, including their Captain which means the others have mostly likely scattered. We're safe and we have time to recover," Yunho said.

"Yunho is right. We've been lucky enough to have Melanie welcome us here and keep us safe but we don't want to overstay our welcome. Yeosang and San will stay in here to keep an eye on Wooyoung. Mingi, you wait in the lounge with Jongho and Seonghwa, make sure they're doing ok. I'll take Yunnie out to find us some proper accommodation for the next couple of days," Hongjoong instructed.

"Why don't we just go back to the ship," Jongho asked.

"We will eventually but for now I'd rather we stay on land and get a chance to recover a bit more. Wooyoung and Seonghwa are both hurt and I'd rather we just take some time to rest. If anyone is opposed to that, speak up," Hongjoong said, glancing around at the others.

"I think that's a good plan," Seonghwa said and the others all nodded quickly.

"Alright. Yunho I'm going to talk to Melanie but we'll leave in a bit," Hongjoong said. He glanced one last time at Wooyoung before getting up and leaving the room. He found Melanie and Jeongin still in the kitchen.

"Hey," he said quietly as he walked up to them, making them both turn to him.

"Hi. Is Wooyoung ok," Jeongin asked worriedly. Hongjoong smiled softly at Jeongin's concern. Jeongin and Wooyoung were two that got along quite well, Jeongin often looking up to the cook.

"He's a bit out of it at the moment, scared. We've calmed him down and he's sleeping with San right now," Hongjoong said with a sigh.

"Do you know how badly he's hurt," Jeongin asked.

"Not for sure. He um, he mentioned that he was having trouble feeling his legs but we're just being hopeful that it's the medication that hasn't worn off yet," Hongjoong replied.

"It very well could be. Give it until tomorrow and then see how he is," Melanie said. That made Hongjoong feel a bit better. That's two medics and a nurse that have said he's still got a chance.

"I wanted to thank you, for helping him and Seonghwa. You too Jeongin, Seonghwa told me everything you did for him and I can't thank you enough for that. I don't think he would be alive right now if it wasn't for you and I will forever be in your debt," Hongjoong said, bowing deeply to them.

"It's nothing you wouldn't have done for my crew Hongjoong. We have an alliance and that trumps everything, especially because you guys have looked out for us a lot," Jeongin said.

"Still, thank you," Hongjoong said and Jeongin nodded.

"You're all welcome to camp out here for the night. It might be a bit squished but we could make it work," Melanie said.

"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about. We appreciate how much you've helped us. We've overstayed our welcome and used up enough of your resources so Yunho and I are going to head out and look for a motel. We're going to find somewhere the eight of us can camp out for the next few days," Hongjoong said.

"Are you sure? You're welcome to stay here," Melanie said.

"I appreciate that, but this will work better for us. There's barely enough space here for you two, we'd only be making it more crowded," Hongjoong said.

"Ok. Well the others can stay here while you look. There's a place a couple of streets down called Harley's Motel. They're pretty good and have fair pricing," Melanie said.

"Thank you. Yunho and I will go check it out," Hongjoong said with a nod.

"Yunnie, let's head out," he called out. A couple of seconds later Yunho came out with Mingi, Seonghwa and Jongho.

"How are you feeling Jongho? Any other side effects," Melanie asked.

"No, just a little tired still but I'll be fine. It was more than worth it," Jongho said with a nod.

"Mingi, make sure these two get some proper rest and don't go walking about," Hongjoong said.

"We're not children Joongie," Seonghwa said with a light chuckle.

"Jongho is our youngest Seongie and you're my wife," Hongjoong pointed out with a raised eyebrow.

"Eww," Jongho scoffed, scrunching up his nose and making Hongjoong roll his eyes.

"We'll be back in about an hour hopefully," Hongjoong said and Seonghwa nodded.

"I'll keep an eye on everyone," he said. Hongjoong turned to leave before pausing and turning back around. He strode back over to Seonghwa and gently wrapped his waist, tugging him closer and leaning down to kiss him gently.

"I love you," he whispered as he pulled away.

"I love you too," Seonghwa replied quietly.

"I'll be back soon, I promise. I'm not letting you out of my sight for too long ever again," Hongjoong said. Seonghwa chuckled lightly at that and pecked Hongjoong's nose.

"I know. I'll be safe with the boys," Seonghwa said. Hongjoong was reluctant to pull away but he knew he had to so he stepped back and followed Yunho out the door.

~~~~~

"Can I carry him, please? I know it's a lot to ask b-."

"You can carry him," San said softly, cutting Hongjoong off. Hongjoong let out a breath of relief and glanced down at Wooyoung who was sleeping peacefully against San's chest. The place Melanie had told them about was good and Hongjoong booked two joint rooms one with two double beds and a couch and the other with one double and a couch.

"Come and grab him but be careful. Yeosang said whatever damage could happen has happened but it's best for you to be gentle with him," San said. Hongjoong nodded and leant forwards over the bed, gently slipping his arms under Wooyoung's neck and behind his knees. San put his hands under Wooyoung's back and helped Hongjoong swiftly transfer the younger into the Captain's arms.

"You good," San asked, running his eyes over Hongjoong quickly to make sure Wooyoung was settled.

"Yeah I'm good," Hongjoong said with a nod, making sure Wooyoung's head was resting on his shoulder. San got out of bed once Wooyoung was settled and follow Hongjoong out of the room to where everyone else was waiting.

"We'd just like to thank you again for your hospitality Melanie. Before we leave we will stop by to give you a proper thank you," Seonghwa said.

"There's no need for that," Melanie said.

"We know, but we're going to do it anyway," Mingi said with a shrug.

"Stay safe. Jeongin and I will see you off when we leave," Melanie said, Jeongin agreeing quickly.

"Alright. Let's head out," Hongjoong said quietly, not wanting to wake up Wooyoung who was still dozing against his shoulder. The eight of them trailed out of the house and onto the street. Mingi drifted to the back of the group and unsheathed his sword. They had killed quite a bit of their crew, including the Captain but that doesn't meant there won't be others out to hurt them and he's definitely not going to let any more of his crew get hurt. Similarly to Mingi, San shifted to the front of the group, his hand resting in his pocket where he had Wooyoung's dagger stored. They walked together through the streets and over to the motel where Yunho was waiting, having ducked back to the ship where he grabbed some clothes for everyone.

"Come on, I've got the room keys," Yunho said. He guided everyone over to the joined rooms and opened the door, everyone filing in. Hongjoong went straight over to one of the double beds and laid Wooyoung down on it. He lightly brushed the hair from the youngers face before leaning down and delicately pressing a kiss to his forehead.

"Everyone pick the rooms you want. Wooyoung will stay here on the bed with San and Yeosang. We'll push the couch close so you can all fit," Hongjoong said.

"The three of us can fit on the double. We've done it before and we love to cuddle so it will be fine," Yeosang said, moving over to lay beside Wooyoung on the bed.

"I'll take a couch," Jongho said.

"No, Mingi and I will take them. You've given blood, you need a proper rest," Yunho said.

"Wow, I love how I was just volunteered," Mingi scoffed.

"Do you want a bed," Yunho asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Nah we should both take them. We aren't injured and don't have an injured partner," Mingi said with a shrug.

"I literally just said th-."

"Moving on. Seonghwa and Hongjoong can have the other double bed in this room and Jongho can have the one in the other room," Mingi said, cutting off Yunho's dispute.

"Sounds good to me. I dibs first shower," Jongho said, grabbing his clothes from Yunho and heading into the other room.

"Guess it's sorted then," Hongjoong said with a shrug, flopping down onto the spare double bed. He sat up almost immediately, his eyes instinctively shifting to glance at Wooyoung and make sure he's ok.

"He's going to be fine Joong, he's just the next bed over," Seonghwa said softly as he laid down beside the younger.

"I know. I'm just worried for him is all," Hongjoong said with a sigh, laying back down.

"We all are but he's going to be ok, we'll get him through it," Seonghwa said softly.

"Yeah. We'll get you through it as well ok. I know it will take a while for you to properly process what you went through," Hongjoong said, rolling onto his side so he was looking at Seonghwa who was also turned to him.

"I'm going to be here for you, I promise," he whispered.

"I know," Seonghwa said with a nod.

"I love you," Hongjoong said quietly.

"I know that too," Seonghwa said, making Hongjoong roll his eyes.

"I love you just as much, better," Seonghwa said. Hongjoong smiled and leant forwards, kissing him gently.

A/N

Here is Chapter 20, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed it

Let me know your favourite parts of this chapter