"How long are you here for?"

"What are you here for?"

"When are you leaving?"

"Wow. This is such a warm welcome." Hope murmured, under her breath of course…everyone around her, including her fellow humans (although 'fellow' wasn't something she'd usually apply to a bunch of people who were glaring at her with utter hatred. Except for Norm) were a foot and then some taller than her. She couldn't help but be aware of how many people were staring. She hated being watched. "I paid them to come back for me in two weeks. I'm here to learn, I'm a botanist by hobby, and I'm here to visit my aunt. I think there might be files she wrote, notes on her findings. If there's any technology left I'd like to take a look." She breathed out in one long breath, aware that she sounded defensive and not entirely caring as she looked around at the ring of hostile faces. Of course she had heard of the Na'vi, the Omaticaya, her aunt had babbled on about how fabulous and wondrous they were…and Grace Augustine didn't babble. Of course, Hope had heard how beautiful and graceful they were, she just hadn't expected them to be so…big. And scary. And hostile looking. She didn't bother following the babble of Na'vi – a complicated language with many nuances and rhythms that she'd tried and failed to learn – instead she stared at open curiosity at the one she knew had once been human, Jake Sully. Grace had informed her – in a long email that had taken too long to arrive – that she had been expecting some thick headed trigger happy soldier to join her team…Hope had been told by the people who had brought her here that Jake Sully had turned traitor on the entire human race. He didn't seem like an idiot or a traitor…yet. He levelled a gaze at her that went straight through her.

"You said you're a botanist by hobby? What do you do?" He asked, his voice firm and level, the tones of a trained soldier.

"I'm a doctor, I treat the sick." Norms head snapped up as she clarified in return, not entirely sure as to why she was being honest, though it probably had something to do with the arrows trained lazily on her or the looks of contempt she kept getting.

"We know what a doctor is." Jake waved a hand. "How come you're here alone? Where are the others?" He watched as her teeth gritted, she made a gesture that made her look just like her Aunt. The only thing missing was a cigarette.

"No one wants to set foot on Pandora any more, I was jettisoned of in this…escape shuttle thing." She glared up at him. "They said I was going to die."

"Jake, Jake, Jake." Norm pushed his way through to the leader, spluttering over the native language as he spoke urgently. "She's a doctor, for us you know? After Colin broke his arm-"

"She's only here two weeks, Norm. If you want her to heal people in that time-"

"It's worth a shot." Norm interrupted firmly, showing, briefly, a flare of the stubbornness that had sent him through the war. "Seriously. His arm is starting to smell."

"Gangrene?"

"I…I don't know. We're all scientists, botanists and researchers…not doctor doctors." Both Norm and Jake turned to face Hope who's look of avid concentration quickly turned to a suspicious frown.

"What?" She asked, voice low and body tense. Jake opened his mouth to speak.

"If we let you stay, if we feed you and lead you to Grace, will you…we've got people here, humans, who are ill." Norm blurted, interrupting Jake before he'd even had a chance to speak.

"Of course." Hope said quickly in reply, her eyes darting from Jake to Norman, aware that someone had stepped out of line as Jake glared at the back of his friends head before his gaze shifted to Hope.

"You'll be fed, sheltered and led to Grace. You keep busy, you keep out of the way and you do not communicate with anyone off planet, do you understand me?" He said firmly, any hint of humour or even humanity gone from his face, his eyes cold and flat.

"I understand." Hope murmured, trying to keep as demure as she could. "What about her notes? Grace must have left a laptop? A computer of some kind-"

"No." Jake interrupted harshly with a firm gesture. Neytiri stepped forward, putting a hand on his chest and shoulder.

"You couldn't read it anyway." Norm murmured, trying to sound placating. "It's in some kind of code-" Hope waved him away.

"Part Latin, part Spanish and part Gaelic, yes I know. Jake, Mr Sully, I don't know what I'm supposed to call you but look she was a scientist, a teacher. She was a great lady and a discoverer of god-knows-what…the world, my world now I guess, could know what it was that she discovered and learned if I can get access to the comp-"

"And once you have access?" Jake was only kept from stepping forward by Neytiri who was watching the both of them with narrowed eyes and a look of understanding. "What then? Will you send the maps that the colonel created back to some corporation? Some government?"

"No, I-"

"Will you be away from here when they come back? When they destroy the home we have been forced to rebuild because of human stupidity?"

"No-"

"Jake." Neytiri said quietly, sliding her hand down to take hold of his own. "We are afraid, Hope Augustine, that all we have striven for will be destroyed…letting you access the…computers is too much of a risk." She shook her head, her expression a little sad but most certainly determined. "Come away, Jake. Come with me." She tugged at Jakes arm and he reluctantly turned away.

"Damn it." Hope sighed heavily watching after them before raising a hand to her head and wiping a streak of dirt across her forehead. "So." She turned on the spot, relieved that the other Na'vi were starting to move away. "Sick folk?" She asked, looking directly at Norm, the one human who actually seemed to know what was going on.

"Uh, right this way." He gestured, stepping back as she strode past, impotent anger making her move fast. Norm followed on behind, occasionally calling out directions that sounded more like suggestions. "I'm surprised you didn't want to see Grace first." He said innocently and nearly walked the back of her when she stopped.

"If I see Grace first I'm not going to be able to concentrate on helping people." She spoke, suddenly very quiet, turning round to look up at him.

"You didn't cry last night, when I told you…I thought…" He trailed off as, for a brief moment, he saw the depth of grief in her before she composed herself, looking down and running a hand over the mad frizz of her hair.

"Yes. I'm sure you did think." She said in tones so acidic that it caused him to take a step back before she looked up with a slight smile, an expression much warmer than that of her aunt. Norm found himself smiling in return, sliding his hands into his back pockets. "So…?"

"Hm?" He blinked at her question. "Oh! Yeah, right, we're here." He gestured to a large, red tent which glowed a soft, warm colour thanks to the fire lit and carefully tended inside. "If people are really sick they get moved up to the unit you were in last night, if they're just…if they're not so bad they come here." He explained, lifting open the doorway for her. Hope ducked inside and straightened out, looking round at the wide circular room. There were beds laid out at intervals, the feet pointing towards the fire, there were a good ten or twelve beds but only half of them were filled, a couple of people – obviously visitors – ambled around and a tall Na'vi stoked the fire.

"Alright." Hope breathed, reaching up to take the bobble out of her hair and re-tie the blonde mass back, approaching something close to an orderly, neat look. "Alright, I need hot water, something to use as bandages and, oooh lets say, a little light that I can carry round without risk of setting fire to patients or walls." She looked up at Norm who blinked at her. Hope grinned. "Congratulations, you've just been promoted to Chief Nurse."