Disclaimer: The Bourne Legacy is a part of the Bourne franchise created by Robert Ludlum and I do not own even the slightest part of that. This is only a labour of love adding to the ever expanding Bourne universe.

'Just hold still,' Aaron's words were short and clipped, 'I'll be as quick as I can.'

Sitting cross legged on the bed Marta grabbed up the bottle that was nestled between her legs and took a long drink.

'Easy there, Doc, that booze wasn't cheap.'

Marta looked to her right, where Aaron was sitting on the bed next to her. The needle looked so tiny in his strong fingers, hard to believe that something so small was going to hurt so much. She suddenly felt sympathy for the many times she had sewn Aaron's wounds over the months. Looking up into his eyes Marta could see he was thinking much the same thing.

'Ready?' he asked.

Taking another mouthful Marta handed over the bottle. Aaron pulled off the wadded up piece of t-shirt that covered the ragged slice on Marta's upper arm and poured some of the whiskey over her wound.

'Sorry,' Aaron said over Marta's loud hiss of pain. Taking a small sip from the bottle he handed it back to Marta. 'Just don't look, okay?'

Marta found herself staring at her arm, she felt slightly disconnected from the jagged open flesh that slowly oozed blood. There was pain, somewhere in the back of her mind; a pain that when Aaron began sewing her flesh back together she knew wouldn't stay dull for long. This alcohol really was rather strong.

'Doc!'

Marta looked into Aaron's blue eyes.

'I said don't look.'

Dutifully Marta turned her head to gaze at the dull brown wall of their latest low rent hotel room. The hand that had been clutching the bottle suddenly flew up to cover the small scream as Aaron began pulling the thread through her arm, closing the tear in her flesh.

Aaron stopped what he was doing and reached out to gently cup the side of Marta's face. 'Sorry, Doc, I'll be as quick as I can.'

Marta just nodded and pressed her hand harder against her mouth, she was determined not to show any more pain, if Aaron could handle her sewing him up with only a few grunts the least she could do was try the same.

'You shouldn't have gotten involved,' Aaron said, as he continued sewing. 'I had it covered.'

Marta made an indignant snort, waiting until the thread had passed through her skin before pulling her hand away. 'You had two of them covered.'

'I knew the third one was there.'

'Did you know he had a knife?'

Aaron stopped sewing, 'Did you?'

Marta took the opportunity to take another drink. 'Not until he . . .' she gestured at her arm with the bottle.

Aaron reached out and turned her head towards the wall again, 'Almost done.'

'At least,' Marta stopped talking as she fought a brief bout of nausea as she felt the thread pulling her skin together, 'at least he was just a normal guy. Not some shadowy government assassin sent to kill us.' She shrugged her left shoulder and tried to act all casual, 'Could have been worse.'

An angry sigh was Aaron's only reply. Marta clapped her hand back over her mouth, this time to stop an outburst of giggles, how could a sigh be angry? Sighs didn't have emotions, did they? She glanced down at the bottle, this stuff really was strong.

'Finished,' Aaron leant forward and bit off the end of the thread, his lips briefly brushing against Marta's skin. His hand dropped down to cup her elbow, 'hey, you hear me?' he shook her arm gently to get her attention.

Marta turned back to look at Aaron, 'Mm-hmm,' she nodded and tried to smile.

Obviously her attempt to ease his concerns didn't work as Aaron's frown deepened and he stared off into the distance.

'Aaron,' Marta took the opportunity to wipe away her tears. 'It's not that bad, scars are supposed to be sexy right?'

Blinking Aaron turned his gaze back towards Marta. 'Not everybody deserves scars.'

Marta sniffed and cleared her throat, 'Everyone has scars, Aaron, some of them you can even see.'

Aaron absently threaded the sewing needle through the cleanest part of the bloodied piece of cloth before tossing it onto the bedside table, where they could find it later. 'I should have been thinking more clearly that night.'

'Tonight?' Marta frowned at Aaron, it hadn't been his fault; it had been no one's fault apart from those three men. They had seen two Westerners walking down a dark street and thought they had been easy marks. Those men couldn't have known Aaron was an Outcome operative trained by the best in combat.

Aaron shook his head, 'No not tonight, in Manilla, in the lab.'

'Manilla, you mean when we went for the virus?'

Aaron reached out and ever so lightly ran his fingers over Marta's stitches. Marta shivered at his touch. 'If I'd been thinking better,' he said quietly, 'I would have taken some of the green chem virus with us.'

Marta frowned, 'Why, you knew you'd already viralled off the physical chems months ago. We didn't need –' her eyes widened suddenly, 'you mean for me? You wanted the virus for me?'

Aaron nodded.

'But that's the most ridiculous –' Marta slid across the far side of the bed and stood up, 'Why would you think I would even take it?' she ran a hand through her hair pulling the damp strands back off her face. 'You don't just decide to randomly give people this treatment; you can't go around treating people like –'

'Lab rats?' Aaron stood up on his side of the bed, 'like a number?' He reminded her of their conversation in the car, after her dramatic rescue. At the time Marta hadn't even known Aaron's name, just his number in the program.

'It's not, I didn't mean,' Marta watched as Aaron walked over to his backpack and pulled something out.

'You need to keep that clean,' he said, as he tossed an unopened bandage onto the bed before leaving the room.

Marta picked up the small roll off the bed, the cellophane wrap crinkling gently in her hand. Sighing, she wiped away another tear before looking up at the closed door, 'I'm sorry,' she whispered.

Aaron leaned over the railing and stared down at the floor below him. He had left the room and pushed his way through the nearby Exit door of the internal stairwell of the hotel. He rather liked places like this, they were nearly always cooler than the building itself, due to all that concrete and empty space. Nobody used them, which came in handy because he could easily hear footsteps and voices coming at them from either direction. And it meant he had a place to go when he needed to be by himself.

He turned quickly when he heard the door opening behind him.

'A-Aaron?' Marta paused in the doorway, uncertain if she was welcome of not.

'Hey,' Aaron gestured for her to come over, 'Everything okay?'

'I'm fine, it's just,' Marta walked over to stand next to Aaron. She gestured with the hand still holding the bandage at her right arm, 'hard to put these things one with only one hand.' She held out the bandage like it was a peace offering.

Smiling at the gesture Aaron took the bandage and began winding it about her arm.

'I'm sorry, about how I reacted,' Marta said. 'I just wasn't expecting that.'

Aaron didn't reply, he just continued working. His head was down, that little wrinkly frown of concentration on his face, like what he was doing was the most important thing in the world.

'Aaron,' Marta reached out and grabbed onto his arm, 'are you listening?'

Aaron waited until he had finished with the bandage, tucking the last part underneath a lower layer to keep it in place before looking at her. 'I get it, Doc, you never signed up for this, I did. I knew what I was getting myself into taking the chems; I wanted to be more than what I was. But, Doc, those chems would have made you stronger, your reflexes sharper.' He indicated Marta's bandaged arm, 'You might have avoided this altogether.'

'And I would have healed faster, right?' Marta sighed. 'But, Aaron, you know what it's like taking the virus, it could have killed me too.'

Aaron shook his head, 'Not you, you're a warrior remember?' He placed his hands on her shoulders as Marta looked down and frowned in denial at his words. 'You are, Marta,' he waited until she looked back at him. His left hand slid down to cover the bandage on her arm, 'You attacked that guy tonight all by yourself. You didn't have to do that.'

Marta conceded Aaron might be right, although she was quick to point out the flaw in his logic, 'And look where it got me.'

'Yeah,' Aaron grinned at her, 'boxing lessons with me later this morning.'

Marta was about to protest when she felt Aaron suddenly tense, his head snapping up and looking above them. She stood silently; all her senses straining to try and detect whatever it was that had Aaron's attention. A door to the stairway opened on the floor above them, then a woman's voice quickly followed by that of a small child. The woman was scolding the child in some Asian language, the child just laughed then the door closed cutting off the pair. Aaron slowly relaxed, turning his head to look back at Marta.

'Looks like I missed out on super hearing too,' she commented, lightly.

'Nah, Doc,' Aaron dropped hands to his side, 'I've always had good hearing.'

Marta, ever the scientist, filed that remark away in her mind. She had always wondered how the participants had been chosen. Aaron alluded to his past, technically a dead man who desperately wanted to belong to something greater, to be made into something better than he was, but was that the only reason he was chosen? Or had Outcome seen something else in him, seen some particular traits – like better senses – that pushed them towards choosing poor Kitsom over some more promising military asset? Marta shook her head; such thoughts were for the past.

'Probably for the best,' she said, when she noted Aaron's questioning look she elaborated, 'staying just plain old me.'

'There's nothing "plain" about you, Marta,' Aaron said, with a smile.

Marta leaned her elbows on the railing and peered over the side, trying to ignore the small shiver of delight she felt whenever Aaron used her real name. 'Well,' she tried to casually return his compliment, 'I think one superhero in the mix is more than enough, don't you?'

She felt Aaron grow still beside her and turned to see him frowning down at his feet.

'I'm no hero, Doc.'

'What are you talking about?' Marta stood back from the rail and reached out towards Aaron but he stepped back from her.

'The things I've seen,' Aaron shook his head, his gaze still on his feet, 'the things I've done. I'm no hero, if anything I'm the villain.'

'Aaron Cross, you are not a villain! Outcome and that Byers person, you told me about, those are the real villains.' Marta raised her voice slightly, causing Aaron to glance up at her. It hurt her to see the self hatred in his eyes so she tried to snap him out of it. 'How many villains go about saving the damsel in distress?'

Eyes narrowing in thought, Aaron tilted his head slightly, 'You see yourself as a helpless damsel, Doc?'

'Well I don't know about helpless, but I was in a pretty distressing state when you rescued me.'

'Two against one and they were professionals,' Aaron said, resting his hands on the railing, 'once you got your hands on that gun, you're instincts was to fight back, even if you are a lousy shot.'

'Lucky for you I was,' Marta moved to stand shoulder to shoulder with Aaron, both leaning on the railing.

'You were aiming for me?'

'At the time I was aiming at anyone that wasn't me,' Marta said with a small laugh.

Aaron smiled at her, 'Words to live by.'

'You were my hero that day, Aaron,' Marta looked sideways at him to see if her words had any impact, 'and you have been every day since.'

Aaron fought to suppress a smile at Marta's words. Avoiding eye contact he stared intently at the railing between his hands. 'I'm no Batman.'

'Batman?'

Aaron looked sideways at Marta's bemused tone of voice.

'You see yourself as some sort of dark, vigilante, semi-suicidal billionaire with too many toys?' Marta shook her head in amusement, 'Although some of that money would come in handy, come to think of it so might the toys.'

Aaron stopped picking at the flaking paint on the rail and turned to look at Marta in surprise.

'What?' she asked him.

'Just never imagined you as a comic-book type, Doc, or did you only watch the movies?'

Marta shrugged, 'Some of the movies were so-so, but I always preferred the comics.' She began to fidget as Aaron continued to stare at her. Marta felt like she was under a microscope as he tried to work her out. Had Aaron felt this way when he had been on her table during their examination? 'What?!'

Aaron finally shook his head, 'Nah, can't see it.'

Marta stopped fidgeting and crossed her arms, 'What's not to see? I was a mousy little bookworm, with bad hair and braces. It's not that big a stretch.'

Aaron tried to picture a young Marta as she had described herself, compared to the strong, beautiful woman standing before him. In the end he shook his head, he just couldn't see it.

'What about you?' Marta asked, 'did you read comic books between "How to Kill Your Enemy Using Only One Finger" manuals?'

'They were more live demonstrations than manuals, Doc.' His attempt at humour didn't seem to go down well with Marta, who just hugged herself a little harder. 'That was a joke.'

'I know it was,' Marta said.

Aaron noticed the goosebumps on her arms for the first time and quietly berated himself. She was only wearing a light t-shirt and it was much cooler here than in their room. He began to pull off his jacket, only to stop when Marta gestured she was fine.

'I did read comics as a kid,' Aaron said quietly, 'Mainly because they had more pictures than words. It was either them or Doctor Seuss, and even those books were a bit beyond me most days.'

'You're exaggerating,' Marta said, a little uncertainly. She peered closer at Aaron, who seemed to be fighting back a smile, 'You are!'

Aaron's smile morphed into one of his rare boyish grins. It was so infectious that Marta found herself smiling back at him.

'So comic boy,' Marta said, 'which character was your –'

Before Marta could finish her sentence Aaron moved forward, grabbing her around the waist and spinning her about so she was now facing the exit door. 'What?' she gasped in surprise.

Aaron tightened his grip, pulling her in close and whispered in her ear, 'Just go with it, Doc.'

The door behind him opened and while Aaron appeared relaxed to anyone else Marta could feel how his body tensed for a fight. Casually he stopped nuzzling her hair and turned his head. Standing in the doorway were two teenagers. The girl raised her hand to her mouth and began giggling at the sight of Aaron and Marta apparently making out in the stairwell.

'How you doing?' Aaron asked, as he casually dropped a hand from where it had been resting on Marta's back to the top of her jeans.

The boy snorted and rolled his eyes are his girlfriend, 'Dude, get a room.' He slung one arm over the girl's shoulders and the pair began sauntering down the stairs.

'Already got one,' Aaron said quietly as he watched them until they were out of sight. 'But thanks for the advice.' Turning back he was met with Marta's inquisitive raised eyebrow.

'You turned your back to the door,' she said.

'So?' Aaron asked, his arms still encircling Marta.

'So,' Marta reached back with her left hand and tapped Aaron's hand, his thumb was tucked into her belt loop and his hand was resting on the curve of her ass. 'Just wondering if you were being protective or possessive.'

Aaron dropped his hands to his side and stepped away from Marta, 'Can't a guy be both?'

Reaching out Marta stopped Aaron from moving too far back, 'You put yourself between me and danger.'

'That's my job, Doc, besides,' Aaron looked down at the stark, white bandage on Marta's right arm, which was facing away from the door, 'remember the rules, stay quiet and don't stand out.'

Marta glanced down at her arm, he was right. If those kids had told anyone about a white woman with a bandage on her arm, who knows who that might have gotten back too. Looking up Marta saw Aaron staring intently back at her.

'I'll never let anything happen to you,' he said.

Smiling Marta stepped forward and kissed Aaron on the cheek, 'And that's why,' she whispered in his ear, 'you'll always be my hero.'

'Doc, I'm not some kind –' Aaron's sentence drifted off into vague mumbles and Marta had to bite her lip because she was pretty sure, even in the intermittent lighting from the floor above, that Aaron was blushing.

'Breakfast?' she asked, giving him an easy out from the situation.

Aaron looked up from his staring at the floor, 'Boxing.'

Marta pulled a face; all she wanted right now was food. 'I'm pretty sure this hotel doesn't have a gym, Aaron.'

'Probably not, but it does have a basement.'

'And how are we going to get into said basement, I'm sure it's locked.'

Aaron just stared at Marta.

Marta huffed, 'Oh that's right you and locks, how can I forget?'

Aaron tilted his head towards the door, 'Grab a shirt and I'll meet you downstairs.'

'Fine,' Marta hesitated in the doorway, looking back at Aaron, 'I should warn you I'm going to kick your ass, mister.'

It was Aaron's turn to raise an eyebrow, 'Really?'

'Hmm-mm,' Marta tapped her fingers on the door, 'just you wait and see.'

Aaron stood on the landing, rubbing a thumb along the railing as the door slowly swung closed behind Marta, 'Can't wait.'