#stede whump

[tabbystardust]

Oh no Stede is in trouble! 😱 Will Ed find and rescue him? 🥺

Art for the OFMD Reverse Bang. [AO3 link]

@unencryptxd wrote an epic Stede whump fic for this, read it here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/58106197/chapters/147938140 (please read the tags carefully)

[ramsaybaggins]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Our Flag Means Death (TV) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Blackbeard | Edward Teach/Stede Bonnet Characters: Stede Bonnet, Blackbeard | Edward Teach Additional Tags: Whumptober 2024, Stede Bonnet Whump, Whump, Established Relationship, Happy Ending, Stede Bonnet Loves Blackbeard | Edward Teach, Blackbeard | Edward Teach Loves Stede Bonnet Series: Part 6 of Whumptober 2024 Summary:

"Ed!" he grinned. "Looks like it's going pretty well, eh?" He must have spotted Ed's expression as his smile faltered. "Are you okay?"

"Am I okay?" Ed said incredulously - almost yelled. "Stede, you've been fucking stabbed!"

Whumptober 2024 day 6: NOT REALISING THEY'RE INJURED

[greykolla-art]

If it isnt too stupid/already been done, Stede helping Ed recover (literally the scene in OFMD and reversed)

UNO REVERSES YOUR ANGST!

(I had to rest my hand for a bit and touch some grass, but IM BACK TO DRAWING YOUR SUGGESTIONS!😎)

This is my one of my favourite hurt/comfort trope with them! Thank you!

[fairfowl]

As promised! Izzy-centric fic recs!

These are all gonna be pre S2 (and all Steddyhands because I was obsessed for like a year)

@crabgrave

Starting off strong with

1) Battle of the Boyfriends

This fic makes you laugh before it makes you cry. A steddyhands centric dramady mostly from Izzy's point of view, and I love this Izzy very much.

Isn't he precious? They absolutely hurt his feelings

2) Doldrums

This one is a two part series that starts with Izzy leaving the Revenge as Stede and Ed reunite post S1. He recruits Calico Jack and becomes captain of his own ship while he and Jack have a lot of sex (I actually enjoy Jack in this one lol) Ed and Izzy eventually partially work things out

The second part involves Izzy back on the ship in the beginning stages of steddyhands

I think the real strength of this series is Izzy's interactions with everyone, but especially Stede and Oluwande

3) The Nook is for Talking Shit

This is a Calico Jack hate!fic and I'm here for it. Also steddyhands because I've got a problem

In this fic Stede and Izzy bond offer a mutual enemy, and Izzy teaches Stede how to craft the perfect insult

I like that they laugh together, and I really like it when Stede stands up for Izzy ♡ (I also like that Izzy has a very good reason to hate Jack that involves him having been injured very badly)

4) Navigating By the Light of Your Stars

A delicious sandwich of a trilogy where the bread is BlackHands and Stizzy relationship studies, and the meat is steddyhands smut.

Featuring: GrayAce!Izzy, whump, Stede’s introduction to BDSM, and discussions of mortality ♡

5) A Pirate Triptych

Another steddyhands trilogy!

This is one I've seen on many recommendation lists and it is worth it. These men and their guilt I swear ♡

Post S1 Izzy schemes to get Stede back into Ed's good graces at his own expense.

If you like Izzy whump this is the fic for you

6) More Vivid than Sunsets, Brighter than Stars

On a shorter and sweeter note this little steddyhands bdsm fic explores Izzy running his mouth and Stede and Ed going a little too far in order to punish him. Everyone gets their feelings hurt ♡

Everyone is characterized well here but Ed is kind of the star of the show, he has to mediate this incident and he's hilarious

7) House of Mirrors

This one is pure Izzy whump with steddyhands caretaking. Izzy is sick, Ed spirals, Stede is Exhausted (tm)

I reread this one often

anyway I think this is what I have for now, I might post another list at some point because there are a couple of longfics that are very near and dear to my heart, plus S2 is not gonna stop me from reading new fic. I look forward to seeing more amputee!Izzy

[izzyhandslightofmylife]

Punching bag! Izzy is the best type of Izzy I'm so sorry. Like on one hand there's Ed, and Ed is trying so hard to be good, because the Kraken's gone, he's gone, and he doesn't want to take the blame for it so he takes it out on Izzy. Because if there's one thing he knows about Izzy it's that Izzy is loyal, if there's one thing he knows about Izzy it's that Iz loves him. And this is just the way it is. Izzy needs it, or Ed thinks he does, so he takes whatever Ed gives because being hit is better than being ignored.

On the other hand, you have Stede, who's always preaching about kindness and forgiveness on his ship but who still makes fun of Izzy. who still ignores Izzy. who still makes fun of Izzy. Stede who wants so desperately to be seen as a 'real pirate' that he'll do anything to prove it. Stede who also knows that Izzy is loyal to a fault, Stede who loves (or claims to love) his crew and doesn't want to hurt them. Stede who sees Izzy as the one thing he's allowed to hurt because everyone is good and Izzy is always there and Izzy just isn't.

Ed and Stede who refuse to admit that their love isn't the same that it once was. That the separation changed them and that these grand acts of romance won't just fix it. Ed and Stede who don't actually want to talk, don't want to fight because it'd bring up all the pain they caused each other. Ed and Stede who have Izzy, always standing next to them or at their feet, Izzy who's right there and so easy to get mad at when they don't want to get mad at each other.

Izzy who's starving for love and will do anything to get it. Izzy who's so fundamentally convinced that he's unlovable, any scrap of love is accepted even if it comes with unimaginable violence. Izzy trying to protect the crew because the crew are good and he isn't, and they're all so happy with their captains, and he doesn't want to shatter the "family" again.

please, I'm begging you guys, write more of this. Just. Izzy as a punching bag.

[sungmee]

['holding out for a hero' playing in the background] i drew a funny stizzy rescue before, so here's a more serious one

[cottoncandiescupcakes]

I'm bad but I wanted season 3 to end with a historically accurate Ed and Stede dying within a month of each other ( Ed was shot and stabbed(a lot of times) on his ship after betraying Stede and sailing off with his ship, by the Virgina governor who send pirate hunters after him and his cut off head was put on display as a warning to pirates and Stede was caught on his own ship to be hanged. He begged for his life while in prison and moved the female population to tears and they tried to have him pardoned, apparently, but it was no use. I assume real Stede was probably considered very attractive for the time because of the ladies' reaction to him while real Ed was apparently a fearsome sight who put his beard and hair on fire and just tried to look as crazy and scary as possible to make people fear him )

I would have loved to see that sad ending :( i know bad

[blackbonnet-ruined-my-life]

A whumpee who cares about their appearance. They always looked after their hair in particular. It was soft and silky and just beautiful. Caretaker always admired whumpee’s hair. But when they get rescued, their hair is so matted and tangled and dirty. They sit at Caretaker’s feet, sobbing silently while caretaker does what needs to be done. It’s only hair, whumpee tells themself, it’ll grow back but it’s just another thing that they lost to whumper. Another thing that caretaker was too late to save.

[thehappyfeminist-22]

Since we're all doing Ed whump, I thought I would throw this out there. This is technically Stede whump, too, because the poor guy is going through it.

Modern AU where Ed is in the hospital. He's been injured somehow and is in a coma, hooked up to all sorts of scary machines, including a ventilator. Stede stays right by his side, worrying and wringing his hands. He tries to put on a brave face, but he's so scared. Ed looks so small in that hospital bed and he's far too pale for Stede's liking. Stede does all he can for him, holding his hand and talking to him (he doesn't know if Ed can even hear him, but on the off chance that he can, he's going to make damn sure Ed knows he's there and he's safe), reading to him, gently wiping around his eyes and the corners of his mouth with a cool cloth, making sure his lips don't get too dry. He brushes his hair, too, but there's not much he can do with Ed on his back and all the tube's in the way. He kisses his forehead and whispers that he loves him so much and promises that he'll be right here when Ed wakes up, although he's terrified by the possibility that he might not. Stede tries to keep himself occupied as best he can by reading and doing word searches and keeping all their friends updated on Ed's condition. He tries playing his Switch, but all his favorite games remind him of Ed. The farm they made together on Stardew Valley, the island Ed helped him build and decorate on Animal Crossing, the ranch they built on Slime Rancher, the intricate world that they crafted from scratch on Minecraft. He can't bear to touch any of them without Ed to play with him. He can't focus on any of it for very long anyway because his eyes keep drifting up to the frail man in the bed. He spends hours just watching Ed breathe. Their friends visit in shifts and have to pry Stede away from Ed's bedside so he can go get some food at the cafeteria. There is a couch in Ed's room, but it's uncomfortable and they can tell Stede hasn't been sleeping much. It goes on like this for days (weeks?) and Stede is trying so, so hard not to lose hope, that his precious Ed is still in there somewhere, but the doctors are starting to tell him that he might have to make a decision soon, and he's starting to realize that he might never hear Ed's voice or see those beautiful brown eyes again. He sits by Ed's bedside and breaks down into tears late one night and pleads with him to wake up, to please come back to him, don't leave him in this world alone. Ed doesn't stir. Stede buries his face in his hands and cries impossibly harder. Then he hears something. A tapping sound. He looks up and Ed's hand is moving, flailing helplessly and bumping into the railing on his hospital bed. Stede grabs it and squeezes and pleads even more desperately for Ed to wake up, please just wake up, please come back to him! A few tense seconds tick by. The only sound in the room is the steady beeping of the machines.

And then Ed opens his eyes.

They're wide and scared but so full of life that fresh tears of joy pour down Stede's face.

Ed has never liked hospitals. Stede can tell by the way he's squeezing his hand so tight that he's scared and agitated and he wants this stuff off him NOW, but Stede squeezes back and tells him that everything is going to be okay, they'll get this scary ventilator off him soon, as he calls desperately for the nurses.

The nurses tell Stede that he should step out of the room while they get Ed unhooked from the ventilator, but there's absolutely no separating them. They just have to work around Stede as best they can because Ed won't let go of his hand. Ed chokes a little as they remove the tube from his throat, but he visibly relaxes once it's out. When things finally calm down and it's just the two of them, Ed tries to talk, but his throat is so sore and he hasn't talked for so long that he can only make a pitiful, garbled noise come out. Stede gently shushes him and tells him not to try to talk just yet, to save his energy. He keeps reassuring Ed over and over that he's safe and everything is going to be okay. Ed manages to motion that he's hungry. Of course he is, the poor guy hasn't eaten in days, but his stomach is very sensitive because of this, so Stede manages to scrounge up some warm broth for him just to get something in his stomach and it feels so good on his throat. Ed can't quite manage the spoon on his own just yet, so Stede sits on the edge of his bed and carefully feeds him the broth one sip at a time.

Later, they're cuddled up together in Ed's hospital bed and Stede says, "You came back," like he can hardly believe it. Ed manages a very weak, "Never left."

They have a long road of recovery ahead of them, but everything is going to be okay.

[butterscup95]

“No…” he whispered. “No, that’s not… how could you be…”

“Finally figuring things out?”

“You’re dead.”

“Of course I am. I have been for years.”

“Then why are you here?!” Stede cried. “If you’re dead, and I’m here, then that would mean that I’m dead!” Stede’s father chuckled, his grin widening.

“Ed!” Stede called out, spinning around in circles. “Ed!”

What if Stede ended up in the gravy basket during the events of Mermen?

[tabbystardust]

"Safe Now" by tabbystardust [AO3]

Art for the OFMD Reverse Bang. @denizbevan wrote an absolutely beautiful fic for this, read it here:

I surrender to the future / I’ll stay with you if you let me

[ramsaybaggins]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Our Flag Means Death (TV) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Blackbeard | Edward Teach/Stede Bonnet Characters: Stede Bonnet, Blackbeard | Edward Teach Additional Tags: Whumptober 2024, Whump, Stede Bonnet Whump, Sunburn, aloe - Freeform, Established Relationship, Ed taking care of Stede, Blackbeard | Edward Teach Loves Stede Bonnet, Stede Bonnet Loves Blackbeard | Edward Teach Series: Part 5 of Whumptober 2024 Summary:

Ed could see from a little bit away that Stede was lying face down on the sand, head laying on his bundled up shirt. Then he realised he was lying in the full sun.

Whumptober 2024 day 5: SUNBURN | Healing Salve

[greykolla-art]

@camillescreations here you go sweetie! 😘

Gather around my fellow angst-goblins!

I don’t draw enough of Stede being hurt, this was fun! 🤗

[appleteeth]

Happy Day 1 of Stede Whump Week! This fic is a little kinder than yesterday, but there's still a good heap of whump to feast on.

[saltpepperbeard]

I can’t even imagine how painful it must have been for Stede to come home and see that life had easily continued on without him. He left the world of piracy because he felt that he didn’t belong, that he had ruined all the parts of it he had touched, and that he had hurt his loved ones.

So he goes home to what’s familiar, to where he thinks he might have some sort of belonging…only to find that everything happily went on without him. That his portrait was painted over. That his son had forgotten him.

Like, in that moment, he has nothing. No crew, no love, no family, no belonging. The last little bit of familiarity he had is now foreign to him. What he knows doesn’t even know him anymore.

[adzeisval]

Safety Net

Happy Whumptober everybody!

A quick note, for the OFMD whumptober fics , all were written before season two comes out, but there might be some correct guesses for things that happen. There may be on that's season two specific later in the month and I'll let you know which one. On to the whump!

Izzy narrowed his eyes and frowned at the sight of Stede Bonnet rowing back to the Revenge alone. Exactly three hours ago Edward had been captured by pirate hunters and taken to a small abandoned fortress on an equally abandoned island. 

Pirate hunters were annoying but they usually had a price and Bonnet had gone to the negotiation willing to give anything to them for Ed’s safe return. In fact Bonnet had taken an obscene amount of loot which Izzy could make out in the bottom of the dinghy as it got closer. Not enough loot apparently. Maybe someone had already made another offer to buy Ed. They would figure it out, everyone had their price. 

Bonnet and Fang hopped back on the Revenge.

“We need to talk, Izzy,” Stede said and Izzy followed the man to the Captain’s cabin without a word. 

“How much do the bastards want, and did they let you see Ed?”

“He’s alright, they let me see him briefly. And they named a price, and if they don’t get it they are going to sell Ed to the English.” 

“We can’t let that happen the fucking English will hang him,” Izzy said. 

“I know.” 

“So? What do they want?” 

“You. They want you Izzy. Their leader Higgins, you killed his father apparently. And maimed his brother.”

Izzy shrugged, “Probably did.” 

Bonnet was looking at Izzy strangely and Izzy couldn’t figure out what he was missing. Should be an easy set up, get Ed back then rescue Izzy and slaughter all the pirate hunters. 

“What are you not telling me?” 

“Well. Higgins expects a trap, and he doesn’t believe I have the guts to do what he asks…” 

“Which is?” Izzy was starting to get very annoyed. 

“He wants me to kill you and bring him the body,” Bonnet said. 

Izzy froze. He looked carefully at Bonnet, the man appeared to be unarmed and there was no one else in the cabin. Izzy was armed and Bonnet knew that. He wouldn’t blame Bonnet for killing him to save Ed, but it didn’t look like Bonnet was willing to make a move. 

“I’m not doing it myself,” Izzy snarled.

“I’m not sure we have to kill you at all, just make it look like you’re dead,” Bonnet said. 

“He might not fall for it.” 

“I think we can make it look convincing, but it will be risky,” Bonnet said. Before Izzy could ask Bonnet to stop beating around the fucking bush and tell him what the fuck was going on Roach entered the cabin. 

“Captain?” 

“Ah good Roach,” Bonnet said. 

Now it was two against one and Izzy still didn’t know what was going on but he didn’t like it.

“We need to make Izzy look as dead as possible without actually killing him. We can do make up of course but is there any way we can slow his breathing or something to make it look like he’s dead?”

“I…actually do think I have something like that,” Roach said. 

Of course. No matter what off the wall crazy plan Bonnet had they would somehow have exactly what they needed. 

“So here’s the plan. We make Izzy look dead, take his body to trade for Edward. Once we can get Edward away we grab him and Izzy and go.” 

“We’ll have to be careful, I won’t be able to wake Izzy up in an instant.” 

Izzy swallowed. He was going to be helpless. He was going to be unconscious and unable to fight or defend himself. He was going to have to trust that Roach knew what he was doing and didn’t overdose him on whatever it was. He was going to have to trust that they weren’t going to just overdose him on purpose, kill him, but make it easy on everyone by making Izzy believe he was going to wake up. They knew him well enough to know he’d give his life for Edward. They could even make it look like an accident. Every survival instinct that Izzy had was screaming at him that this was a bad idea, that he shouldn’t trust Bonnet and Roach. 

But…

Edward was in danger, they needed to get him back. And Izzy had been on the Revenge for years now and no one had tried to kill him. Roach had treated Izzy’s wounds and illnesses several times without killing him or hurting him. He was safe on the Revenge and had been for years. 

“So what do you say Izzy? Are you in?” 

“Yes,” Izzy said. 

“Right, we’d better get going, meetings in two hours.” 

“Fuck,” Izzy cursed under his breath then turned to Roach, “Can you explain to me what exactly you’re going to do to me?” 

“Follow me to the galley, we’ll get you ready,” Roach said. Izzy nodded and followed and thought he was completely insane. 

“How safe is this?” Izzy asked as Roach gathered herbs and ingredients. 

“I’ll take good care of you.” 

“I know you will Roach you always have, but…I’m nervous and I’d like details please. How do you know this will work? And how much to use?”

“It can make surgery easier, slow bleeding enough to save someone. It’ll slow your heart, your breathing will get shallow. It’ll be hard to notice that you’re breathing, if someone tries to check your pulse quickly they won’t feel anything.”

“It’s not dangerous?”

“It can be. Too much will kill you. But I won’t let you leave this ship without making sure you’re stable. I’ll have the antidote with me. You might feel a bit hungover for a bit after but that’s all.” 

Izzy nodded. He was still nervous. Roach knew what he was doing but there was still a risk. And then there was the chance that something would happen during the exchange. What if Higgins decided to shoot Izzy in the head to make sure? 

Bonnet and Jim came into the galley and Izzy tried to not look as nervous as he felt. 

“Don’t worry I’ll stab anyone who tries to hurt you,” Jim said. 

“I’d appreciate that,” Izzy said. 

“We won’t let anyone hurt you Izzy,” Bonnet said, “Now I’m going to make it look like you got shot in the chest. I’ll have you change into a white shirt so they can see the blood.” 

“Alright,” Izzy said, “Make sure to put a little blood by my lips.” He couldn’t believe he was going along with this insanity, “Do you have a plan to signal to Edward that this is fake?” 

“Yes. I figure Higgins doesn’t know about your prosthetic leg so I’m going to make it look like I chopped that off too. Ed will know the truth.” 

“You are fucking nuts, I’m fucking nuts,” Izzy said putting his head in his hands for a few moments. 

“Are you up to this Izzy?” Bonnet asked. 

“Yes, I can do this.” 

Izzy changed into a bloody white shirt and an old pair of leather pants and let Stede, Frenchie, and Wee John do the make up. He sat on the edge of a cot. Stede Frenchie and Wee John left to get ready. 

“Alright, ready Izzy?” Roach asked, handing Izzy a cup.

“Not really,” Izzy said but tipped the cup into his mouth and swallowed the foul tasting liquid in one go. He laid down on the cot and waited. 

“You’re going to feel sleepy and maybe a little dizzy. Let me know if you feel anything odd.” 

At first Izzy felt nothing and he wondered if it wasn’t going to work. Then he felt suddenly weak and very dizzy. 

“Oh…” 

“You’re alright Izzy,” Roach said. 

Izzy tried to let it happen, he was just falling asleep, but he also had the urge to fight it. He had the fear that it was killing him, that once he was asleep he wouldn’t wake up. Izzy had been close to death before and it felt a lot like this. 

Izzy started to cry. 

“You’re alright Izzy,” Roach repeated, “You don’t have to fight it.” 

“Sorry,” Izzy said. It felt wrong. It felt like he was dying. He didn’t know if he was going to wake up. 

“We’ve got you Izzy,” Jim said, taking his hand.

Izzy’s brain spiraled into anxiety. He was dying. They were lying to him. They were killing him. But then Jim squeezed his hand and Roach took his other hand. 

“We’re not going to let anyone hurt you Izzy,” Jim said. 

They weren’t killing him. They would take care of him. Izzy trusted the crew; he trusted Jim and Roach. They had to save Edward. Izzy let himself slip away and trusted that he was going to wake again. 

***** 

Stede walked back into the galley and stopped short. Izzy was lying on the cot, completely still and bloody. Jim was kneeling by the cot and holding Izzy’s hand. It was clear Izzy had been crying. Roach was checking for a pulse. Stede felt a little ill. Did…did it not work? Had his plan gotten Izzy killed?

“Roach?” Stede asked. 

“He’s stable, he’s doing well.” 

“If he was dead I would have knifed you the second you came in,” Jim said. 

“Jim, can you help me turn him on his side,” Roach said. Jim did so without letting go of Izzy’s hand. Stede knew that Izzy had been nervous but the fact that Izzy was nervous enough to cry and hold Jim’s hand made him sad. 

“Was he scared?”

“Very,” Jim said.

“We won’t let him down, and on that note, we need to keep him on his side like this as much as possible. With how shallow and slow he’s breathing if he’s on his back too long he might stop breathing,” Roach said, “We should get going, I’d like to bring him out of this as soon as possible.” 

“We’re ready to go,” Stede said. 

They wrapped Izzy in a piece of sail and carried him carefully to the dinghy. Stede was a little nervous about the whole thing; but he had the best people with him. Jim wasn’t going to let anyone hurt Izzy. Roach was there to help. Stede was nervous about how Ed was going to react. Hopefully he would see through the fuckery and know that Izzy was alive, that Stede would never hurt Izzy. 

Higgins was waiting for them in the courtyard of the old fort. He saw Roach and Jim and the sail they were carrying and he smiled. 

Roach and Jim dropped Izzy as carefully as they could opening the sail to make sure Izzy fell on his side. 

Higgins laughed, “Holy shit. You actually fucking did it.” Higgins took a step forward. 

“None of that,” Stede said, “You release Blackbeard to me and we leave you the corpse.” 

Higgins looked again at Izzy, “I’m going to have my surgeon check him.” 

“Very well,” Stede said and hoped that Roach’s potion did the trick. The surgeon came forward and kicked Izzy onto his back before kneeling. Jim was pretending not to care but Stede knew them well enough to know Jim was second from reaching for a knife. 

The surgeon knelt and put both his hands on Izzy’s neck to check for a pulse. 

“He’s dead,” the man announced and stepped back beside Higgins. 

“Bring him out!” Higgins yelled. 

Stede tried not to look over at Izzy. Izzy was supposed to be dead so it shouldn’t matter what position the body was in. But of course Izzy wasn’t dead and he shouldn’t be on his back. They couldn’t move him until they safely had Ed. Stede hoped that Izzy was still able to breathe. 

Two men dragged Ed out. Ed looked alright, more bored than anything, he was still tied up. Until he saw Izzy. Then he gasped. 

“Ha! Didn’t think he’d do it, did you Blackbeard.” 

Ed looked betrayed and looked at Stede who wished he could tell Ed that Izzy was alright. That it was all a fuckery. 

“Even cut his fucking leg off, what didn’t think shooting him in the chest was showy enough Bonnet?,” Higgins said. 

“Something like that,” Stede said. 

Ed blinked and looked at Izzy’s leg. He looked at Roach and Jim and for just a split second there was a quirk of a smile on Ed’s lips. 

“What did you do?” Ed asked. 

“Saved you,” Stede said. 

Higgins laughed but didn’t make a move to release Ed. Stede glanced over at Izzy and hoped that he was alright. 

“Well are you going to return him and hold up your end of the bargain Higgins. I’ve given you your corpse.” 

“In a hurry are you?” Higgins asked. 

“Yes. I’d rather get going,” Stede said. 

“You know what Captain Bonnet?” 

“I’m losing patience with you Higgins,” Stede said. 

“I know that you and Blackbeard are insane and I know for a fact that Izzy Hands lost his left leg years ago. He’s not dead. Not yet. I’ll see to that later then sell you all.” 

The fight didn’t last long, Higgins and his men were much more competent than Stede had made out. In a matter of minutes he and the others were tossed in a cell beneath the old fort.

Stede took stock, none of them were badly wounded in the fight and Ed looked alright. 

“Fuck,” Roach cursed as he knelt by Izzy’s body. Stede’s blood ran cold. Had Izzy stopped breathing? Was he truly gone?

“What’s going on?” Ed asked. 

“I gave Izzy some herbs to make it seem like he was dead. I brought the antidote to bring him out, but the bottle broke,” Roach said. 

“Is he going to die?” Ed asked. 

“Probably not, but I’d rather get him out of this sooner, he’ll come out on his own, but it’ll be harder on him,” Roach said. 

“I’m sorry love, I thought Higgins was an idiot, I thought he’d buy Izzy being dead,” Stede said. 

“I thought he was an idiot too,” Ed said with a sigh, “Who did you leave in charge back at the ship?” 

“Oluwande,” Stede said. 

“Oh good. He’ll be coming up with a rescue plan when he realizes things have gone wrong,” Ed said. 

Stede knew it was true. There was no way that Olu would leave without rescuing Jim and the others as well. Stede still felt horrible for fucking everything up and getting them all captured and putting Izzy in greater danger. 

Ed was staring at Izzy, “Fuck, he really does look dead, you did a good job there.” 

“It was disturbing to come in and see him like that,” Stede said. 

“Was hard watching him go under too,” Jim said, “He fought it for a bit.” 

“We won’t let him down,” Stede said, “How long before he wakes up?”

“Another hour maybe,” Roach said. 

They group sat in silence for a while. Stede tried to remain hopeful and ignore the nagging anxiety in his gut. He was the most nervous about the Izzy situation. While Roach seemed calm it didn’t escape Stede’s notice that he was checking Izzy’s vitals more and more frequently. 

At last Stede couldn’t keep silent, “Roach?”

Roach sighed, “His pulse is a little irregular, but he’s hanging in there.” 

“Is there anything we can do?” Ed asked. 

“Maybe,” Roach said, “Holding him might help. Someone who taught me swore by it.” 

Ed moved quickly to scoop Izzy up in his arms, “It’s alright Izzy, we’re all with you. I’ve got you, just stay with us mate.” 

Minutes ticked by slower than hours as they waited for Izzy to come out of his stupor. Ed spoke to Izzy often, urging him to wake up and telling him it was alright. Ed was pleading with Izzy to wake when Izzy suddenly jerked in his arms. 

“Izzy?”

Stede could hear the panic in Ed’s voice. 

Roach moved in to check on the situation and Stede thought he might be sick. Please. Please let Izzy be alright. 

“You can do it Izzy, come back,” Ed pleaded. 

A moment later Izzy gasped and coughed. 

“That’s it Iz, just breathe mate, we’ve got you,” Ed said. 

Stede sighed in relief. He hadn’t gotten Izzy killed, at least not yet. 

*****

Izzy’s head was pounding and his throat was parched and he wished he was back on the Revenge. Things had gone wrong but at least he hadn’t been killed. 

“I’m sorry Izzy,” Stede said. 

“It’s alright,” Izzy shrugged. He knew that the rest of the crew would be coming to their rescue soon enough. Oluwande wouldn’t leave Jim. 

Izzy was still going to have to rely on everyone else to keep him protected, he didn’t have his prosthetic so he couldn’t even stand on his own much less fight. He didn’t like being so helpless even if he did trust the others to protect him. 

When rescue came it was chaos and somehow Izzy ended up being carried by Ed out of the prison cell. Izzy’s head was still pounding and everything was too loud and too much and his brain couldn’t process what was going on. 

They made it back to the ship. 

“Alright Izzy?” Ed asked after setting him down on deck. 

“Head hurts,” he said, “Thirsty.” 

“Alright I’ll get you something to drink and get your prosthetic, then we can get you cleaned up.” 

“Thanks Ed.” 

Stede sat down beside Izzy, “I am really sorry Izzy.” 

“It’s alright Stede, it really is. It all worked out and you kept your word and kept me safe.” 

“Thank you Izzy for being willing to trust us to protect you. That was very brave.” 

Izzy snorted, “Thanks.” 

Ed came back with the prosthetic and then lead Izzy into the galley were Roach had drinks and snacks. Izzy was feeling better already.