Updated (3/12): Author Notes: No major edits for this section.

John was going into shock.

His vision narrowed. The world around him was fading.

Though Cortana had undoubtedly saved his life with her modification in his shield, the impact of the blast was almost more than his body could handle. Blood covered the inside of his visor, his shoulder throbbed where it had been pulled out of its socket, and he was pretty sure he felt his tendon tear when he made his final dash to the bell.

"Chief? Can you hear me?" He faintly registered Cortana's rushed footsteps approaching him.

"Med team?" he forced out.

"They are on their way," Cortana said as she moved towards him. "Three minutes."

He could last that long. He had to. Losing consciousness would mean that Ackerson to take down the Spartan down had worked.

John tried to focus on Cortana, but his vision was still blurry. He was able to see enough to tell that she was no longer wearing her jacket. Why would she have taken it off?

"Just lay down," Cortana instructed, pushing on his shoulder.

His shields glowed in response.

"You can turn them off now. The test is over," Cortana noted wryly.

He turned off the shields and looked at Cortana who was saying something to him, but his brain was unwilling to cooperate with him. He forced himself to concentrate on the woman in front of him.

"You need to stay with me, John."

That caught his attention. No one, outside of Halsey and the Spartans, ever used his first name.

"Here," she said as she reached around and released the lock on his helmet. "Let's get this off you. That contusion on the back of your head doesn't need any more pressure on it."

He lifted up his head and allowed her to take off his helmet. When his face was revealed, she gasped softly.

"Ackerson," she hissed.

John was surprised at her anger. After years of dealing with his fellow Spartans, he was unaccustomed to how...civilian Cortana acted.

"I'll be fine." He wasn't accustomed to giving reassurance, but he didn't need to worry about Cortana's ire.

She stared at him for a second before nodding slightly. "You have survived worse. Most of the blood is from your broken nose," she assessed. "Doctor Halsey and her team should be able to mend your wounds fairly quickly."

The medical team led by Halsey approached them. Quickly, he was loaded onto the gurney and led away from the obstacle course. As they made their way to the Medical Bays, John overheard the two women talking.

"Any armor modification should have been run past me," Halsey said, annoyed.

"So Ackerson could have prepared for that too? I don't think so."

Halsey sighed at Cortana's stubbornness. "You did a good job stopping the bleeding," she said changing the subjects.

"I did a good job avoiding the bullet," Cortana countered emphatically. "We're lucky the bullet went through or else I'd be on a gurney too."

Cortana had been shot?

John lifted up slightly and saw the blood soaked fabric on her left arm. "You should have told me."

She, however, seemed unconvinced. "I'm not the one with a bruised kidney, a ruptured spleen, a torn Achilles tendon, a severe concussion and about a half-dozen other injuries," Cortana argued heatedly before turning back to Halsey. "I can't believe that you would authorize-"

"I didn't," the doctor interrupted. "High Command gave Ackerson full control of the test."

John felt a slight wave of relief. He knew the doctor always demanded the best from her Spartans, but the test seemed extreme, even to him.

"Regardless of who was in charge of the test," Halsey said, reigning in that part of the conversation, "the brass was certainly impressed with your shot. Most soldiers in the fleet couldn't have hit the sniper from where you were positioned."

John watched Cortana raise an eyebrow. "Did they miss the part in my assessment where it showed that my shot accuracy rivals the Spartans?"

"Reading and seeing are two different things," the doctor pointedly reminded her.

They entered into the medical bay where the techs started taking off the numerous pieces of John's armor. Cortana, thankfully, had her back to him as she continued talking to Halsey as he was clothed with paper scrubs.

The doctor approached him and looked at him with an indescribable look on her face. "The two of you did well." She looked up at the AI. "Better than I could have hoped. I'll be back when the room is ready for you."

As Halsey walked out of the room, Cortana turned to the Spartan. "How are you feeling, Chief?"

"Like I got shot with a plasma cannon."

She raised her eyebrows. "Please don't tell me you've been holding out your sense of humor just for me."

"How did you get shot?" he asked, ignoring her dig.

She pressed her lips together. "Ackerson had a sniper try to take me out of the game," she answered angrily. "But don't worry, Chief, I've already arranged a little payback." She smiled grimly.

He half-sat up in surprise. Ackerson had tried to kill Cortana?

She seemed amused at his reacted. She gently pressed her hand against his shoulder until he was laying down again. He refused to acknowledge the heat coming from her skin or the fact she didn't seem at all flustered by her invasion of his personal space "Calm down, Chief. I already told you, I'm fine."

He nodded, changing subjects. "And my injuries?" He hoped she would move her hand soon; it was becoming an unwanted distraction.

Fortunately, the shift in the conversation did cause her to straighten and move her hand away. "You were right, you'll be back to normal in no time."

"And the armor?"

She frowned. "The shields took a beating out there. It's probably going to take several weeks, at least," she answered. "And that's if Halsey and I work on them non-stop."

Though the missions that required the use of his MJOLNIR armor were rare, due to the energy demands that they had, John couldn't help but to feel annoyed at the unnecessary damage caused to them by the test.

With a curt nod, he lay back down. Several quiet minutes passed with Cortana watching his vital signs carefully. She looked up as she heard footsteps approaching.

"All right. John, we're ready for you," Halsey said, nodding to the techs who led him out of the room.

John half-expected for Cortana to join them in the operating room, but she remained in the prep room. "You will be fine when we're done," the doctor said, mirroring Cortana's assessment as she studied the data coming from the medical readout.

John remained still as Halsey and her techs tended to his injuries. He hissed slightly as the doctor set his shoulder back into position. She carefully pushed him into a laying position and began knitting his torn tendon.

When she finished the procedure, Halsey took a step back, looking at him. "What did you think of Cortana, John?" she asked.

The problem was he didn't know quite what to think of the AI. He was having adjusting to how she thought and acted. She was unlike any person he had ever worked with since he entered the UNSC.

Finally, he looked at the doctor. "She's…unconventional," he finally answered.

That caused Halsey to raise her eyebrows briefly. "Is that going to be a problem?"

"No, ma'am," he quickly answered.

Before the doctor could reply, Cortana walked into the room. A bandage had been wrapped around her upper arm.

"How's your arm?" he asked.

"Shouldn't you be more concerned with your recovery?" she shot back.

He looked at her before repeating, "Your arm?"

She rolled her eyes before shooting an exasperated glance at Halsey. "None of the reports I read on him mentioned his obstinance," she complained lightly.

She gingerly crossed her arms and looked at John exasperatedly. "It will be fine. Just like I told you," she answered, showing him the bandaged arm. The AI took a step towards him and leaned down to his ear. "And there is nothing wrong with being unconventional," she whispered conspiratorially.

John wasn't surprised at the fact she had overheard the conversation between him and the doctor.

She straightened as she cracked a grin at Halsey who was watching their exchange with unabashed interest.

"I never said there was," he replied as he pulled himself into a sitting position.

She grinned briefly at Halsey's direction. "I keep liking him more and more."

John refused to acknowledge her offhanded comment.

"You need to report to Lord Hood. He wants your after-action report right away," Halsey said. "John will be up there when I have cleared him for duty."

For a moment, John thought the AI might argue, but Cortana just nodded. "I think I'll have a chat with him about allowing Ackerson having total control in our little test." With a wave in their direction, she walked out of the room.

"Unconventional?" Halsey asked with a touch of amusement in her voice.

He nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

"Well, all I have to say is that the two of you left quite an impression on High Command," Halsey said quietly. "The two of you make quite a formidable team."

"Thank you, ma'am." Whether he was grateful for the compliment or for Cortana, he wasn't sure.

"You're welcome, John. Take care of each other and you'll be fine."