Harry sighed as he firmly pressed medical binding tape over the bridge of Sara's nose. She was putting on a brave face, but he knew the break must be painful. Scans told him that it had been a clean hit. If she was careful, the cartilage would set nicely, and she wouldn't bear a permanent reminder of the injury, her nose would remain small and smooth and perfect.

It was late enough in the evening that the familiar space of the Hyperion's medical bay was only semi-occupied, with just a few sleeping patients and a handful of only the most dedicated technicians still on hand, recording vital statistics and going over charts.

He stood only as close as was strictly necessary, but he could smell the sweet fresh scent of her. Her eyes were closed, lashes resting against her soft cheeks. The discoloration under her skin was going to be bad in a day or so.

Finishing up the splint, he stepped back, taking in the overall effect of her appearance as her eyes slid open to look steadily back at him. She was bruised and red-eyed, but still heart-stoppingly beautiful. The casual shirt she wore over her black pants looked like something out of a horror vid; a trail of blood stained the fabric down her front, a splash of bright red standing out starkly on the otherwise subdued tones of her Initiative issued clothing.

"Aren't you going to ask me what happened?" she asked softly, her small teeth sinking into her full bottom lip.

"I was thinking about it," he hedged. Truthfully, he knew her well enough to believe that if she didn't want to be forthcoming, chances were, he didn't really want to know.

"Bar fight."

He placed the remaining supplies on a nearby tray. "You were in a bar fight? With who? Over what?"

"Stop me if you've heard this one; a krogan, a turian, and a human walk into a bar..."

"Ha-ha," he said flatly.

She chuckled before tilting her head thoughtfully. "You know, I'm not really sure what it was about."

He felt his eyebrows lift at her in question.

"Oh, it wasn't my fight. I just tried to break it up. Caught an elbow to the face for my trouble."

He shook his head at her, "Did you report this to the militia?"

"No. My bloody nose broke the fight up right quick and everyone was awfully sorry. Just a couple of guys getting rough after they'd had too much to drink. The morale around the station could use some work."

She was right on that last point. "Sara..."

"It's really not a big deal."

With nothing else to do with his hands, Harry crossed his arms over his chest. "Well, I'm not going to open a file or write a report up over this. I'll give you a little something for the pain, but you need to check in with Lexi when you get back to the Tempest."

She made a face, opening her mouth to argue.

"Sara, I'm not your doctor. I never had the chance to be." His voice softened as he added, "You should be glad of that."

"Yeah. Lexi's not so bad. And all this sexual tension can't be ethical between a doctor and his patient."

He laughed, stepping back so she had plenty of room to stand.

Ignoring his lead, she remained where she was. She looked over at Scott, who was resting in the hospital bed next to the one she sat upon. "How's he doing?"

There was no point in lying to her. "Still no change."

"Should we try shaking him and shouting in his face?"

"Uh, no." He wasn't entirely sure whether or not she was joking. "The coma is medically induced, remember? We want him to wake up when he's ready."

"Whatever. He can go ahead and sleep his life away, then. It's not like we were supposed to do this together or anything."

Something in his chest gave a squeeze at her tone.

She hopped off the bed, gingerly touching the tape on her face. "You going to tell Lexi about this while I'm on my way back, save me the trouble of an explanation?"

"I'm still kind of fuzzy as to why you came to me instead of her to begin with. It's a shorter walk from the Vortex to your ship than it is to come here."

"Hey, any excuse to see you, Harry. She's great. But when I have a choice..." She gave him the sweetest smile, her eyes lingering on his face.

He felt his mouth pull into an answering curl. Noticing the blood on her shirt again, he lost his smile. "Let me get you another shirt."

He pulled a women's size small from a metal drawer at the bottom of one of the carts strategically placed next to each and every hospital bed. "You can use one of the changing rooms..."

His voice trailed off as she caught the hem of her shirt, pulling it up and over her head.

A blush rose becomingly to her cheeks as she took the garment from his hand and put it on.

He only had a quick glimpse of pale skin and a black bra before she was covered. He cleared his throat, retrieving the bloody shirt from where she'd dropped it and handing it over.

She took it from him, her face still stained with pink. "Thanks." She hesitated as if there was something further she wanted to add.

He held his breath, silently encouraging her to speak.

Her mouth closed and turning, she headed for the doorway. "See you later, Harry."

He felt his stomach fall with disappointment. "Sara... take it easy, okay?"

She didn't turn back, only lifted a hand up in a negligent wave.

He felt a lot of the light leave the room along with her.