Chapter 18, Part 2 - Trapped

Soundtrack:

Just wait...and rest - The Saltwater Room by Owl City

One last thing before I die - All Around Me by Flyleaf

Serenade - Let Go by Boys Like Girls [Not really a background song per se, but it's a song Splicer sings to Xana. And yes, this is how his voice is really supposed to sound.]

"Copy that," Xana said, taking her finger off the comlink button. She smiled, all but running toward the airlock. If there was one thing she knew for sure, it was that she was never, ever, ever going scuba diving again.

Talon sighed with relief. He pushed his headphones down to rest on his neck and leaned back in his chair. Xana was entering the labyrinth just outside the station. It was home free from there.

Meanwhile, Xana was carefully making her way through the pitch-blackness. Her only sense of direction came from following the floor grates, which were a slightly lighter shade of black than everything else. She took deep, measured breaths. Dark colors or rooms had always brought her a sense of comfort, but being completely trapped in it, with no way of knowing if she was headed toward the airlock or not…it made the darkness seem to close in around her threateningly.

Fighting to stay calm, Xana consulted her HUD and took a left turn. She smacked into a wall. "Stupid locator blip. Why'd they have to make it so fragging big?" she muttered.

A crash sounded from faraway; its' sound muffled by the water but distinctive nonetheless. Peculiar swishing sounds soon followed, almost as if something were swimming rapidly…

Xana levered herself off the wall and proceeded down the hall as quickly – or not – as her environment suit would allow. She brought a hand to her helmet, frantically yelling, "Talon, come in! I need you to check the long-range lifesigns detector. I think there's something down here."

No response.

"Talon?" she tried again. "Anybody?"

A red blip appeared on the side of her HUD. Yep, there was definitely something on the other side of the labyrinth. It was approaching fast, covering the distance three times faster than Xana.

She tried to radio in again, "Talon! There's definitely something here, and it's closing in on me. Hack into the control commands in your computer terminal and lock down all the doors on the far side." Again, nothing but static. Xana's breath hitched and she broke out in a nervous sweat. She tried to go faster, although the water mass slowed down her movements to a truly maddening point. It was like one of those nightmares where you were being chased by a monster and found yourself running in slow motion.

Xana could have cried when she reached the end of the hall and saw the airlock waiting just around the corner. She peered back down the hallway and saw a blurry, blackish-blue shape rapidly swimming towards her. Sheer terror gripped Xana and she tried her hardest to run down the final stretch of hallway. Unfortunately, the water pressure was so intense that it was like running through syrup. She mashed down the comm button one last time, babbling desperately, "Come on, answer me! Oh frag, it's almost here…Talon, anybody, please just pick up!"

Talon lolled his head back, absentmindedly spinning his chair in circles. He peered down the bridge of his nose at Bastila and Juhani. "I wonder what's taking her so long?" he asked.

Suddenly, a piercing scream came from the headphones around his neck. He practically jumped out of his seat. Spinning back around to face the console, he jammed the headphones back on and commed, "Xana?"

The comlink crackled to life, transmitting mostly bubbling sounds and screams. The color drained from his face as he struggled to make out the words, "corridor…Selkath…attacking…breach…oxygen-"

"What is going on?" Bastila demanded.

"An insane Selkath must have found its' way out an airlock…it found Xana in the corridors and attacked," he said tersely.

An angry grunt came over the comlink, followed by the shrill order, "Close…airlock now!"

Talon protested, "But the lifesigns detector says you're still outside!"

"Do it!"

Outside, Xana was still grappling with her aquatic assailant. It clawed at her environment suit without abandon, threatening to sever her oxygen line and cause a breach. She struggled to get a hold on the Selkath, finally landing a punch just as the airlock started to close. While the alien was momentarily stunned, she ducked inside the entrance right before the gap had become too small to accommodate her suit. Xana sighed with relief, immensely grateful for slow-closing airlocks.

She didn't notice the webbed hand reaching in between the airlock doors. Before she knew it, her ankle was in its' grip and she found herself being dragged across the floor panels. She screamed, raking the bulky fingers of her environment suit across the floor in an attempt to slow herself down. Alas, it was too late for the Selkath to redeem its' prey, and the airlock doors jammed neatly around Xana's lower leg. The environment suit gave a sickening crunch, but didn't give.

After a few moments of frenzied tugging, the Selkath gave up and swam away with a snarl. Xana let her face slump onto the HUD, once again overcome with relief. That is, until she noticed the bubbles rising from the leg of her environment suit.

"We have a problem here. The airlock's been jammed and it's not responding," Talon's voice crackled in her ear.

"Yeah, I kinda gathered that from the foreign object lodged in there," Xana snapped.

"What foreign object?"

"My leg," she replied dryly.

"How did you manage to-"

Xana lost her temper and yelled, "You know, now's not the best time for explanations, seeing as how my suit's breached and all! I'm already soaked from the waist down, so if you don't reset the airlock sequence right now, I'll die and I swear I'm going to haunt you-"

"Oh no, this is so not good," Talon muttered.

"What?"

"Like I said, the airlock's not responding. Instead, it just keeps trying to finish the programming sequence, exerting more and more pressure to clear the obstruction. Xana, you need to eject out of your suit or your leg will be crushed."

"Yes, ask the girl with a mortal fear of drowning to take off the environment suit in a broken airlock. Best plan ever!" Xana cringed, feeling the water start to flood the torso of her suit. "Oh shizz, the suit's filling up and it's cold! Frag, frag, frag…I'm going to die, I'm so totally going to die."

Talon tried to speak as soothingly as possible, though he couldn't hide the undertone of panic in his own voice, "Xana. Listen to me. I'm going to try and get the airlock to close anyway, but I can't do that if your leg is still in the suit. I know you're scared, but you have to trust that I'll get you out of this. Okay?"

"I meant what I said about haunting you, just so you know," she murmured back. "All right, it looks like we don't have any other option. I'm trusting you with this."

"Good. Just take a deep breath and hold on." Xana had to angle her face to get a gulp of air in the waterlogged helmet. Then, she shut her eyes and hit the release button.

The helmet popped off, thrusting Xana into a world of cold, dark water. She wriggled out of the suit, fighting the urge to scream at how frigid the water was. For a few moments, she just free-floated there, shock and numbness freezing her body to the point where she couldn't even think straight. It was as if everything momentarily ceased to exist, and there was only her and the water.

Xana's lungs started to hurt, bringing her back to conscious thought. Action. I need to take action. She propelled herself to the nearest wall and felt for the groove of the inner airlock. Xana began to pound impatiently. Hurry it up in there, guys...

Fingers splayed against icy durasteel. Her hands skimmed the door as she kicked her way to the top of the airlock. She brought her face to the ceiling, desperately searching for oxygen.

Talon gripped the console in defeat. There was only one way out of this now.

"Bastila, you and Juhani have got to step out of this room and close that airlock with the Force! It'll send this room into emergency lockdown, but you'll be able to get back to the Republic base and send a rescue team down here with an override code!"

Bastila's mind was racing. She was picking up so much fear from Xana, she didn't even note the insubordination Talon had just shown her. All she could think of was her bond-sister's frantic pounding on the durasteel. She spluttered, "B-but..."

"We don't have time for this!" Talon roared. "You two can fight through the base the fastest! Now, do it!"

The two Jedi backed up out of the room without a moment's hesitation. They held out their hands, and the airlock immediately started to creak. It inched shut ever so slowly, until it finally sealed around the obstructing weapon with a resounding thud. Talon's heart nearly stopped when he realized that Xana had ceased pounding.

Too much. It's too much, Xana though in misery. She was too exhausted to thrash in the water anymore. She simply gave up and let herself drift down to the floor grate. Her chest throbbed, aching for oxygen. Apathetically, she glanced over to the outer airlock. It looked like it was starting to move.

It's too late now.

It was strange; even though an overwhelming sense of finality was bearing down on her, Xana didn't think of any of the things people usually contemplated in their dying moments. No regrets, no memories, no unfulfilled dreams. Her mind wasn't racing to savor her last few moments of consciousness. She just couldn't bring herself to think.

Xana's chest started to hurt even worse, if such a thing was possible. She couldn't take it anymore.

With the last bit of willpower she could summon, she forced herself to drop into a Jedi healing trance. In moments, her body started to drift to sleep. The last thing her blackening vision registered was her last breath of air, rising up to the ceiling as a large bubble.

Xana grimaced and closed her eyes. I trusted you.

Talon maintained his white-knuckle grip on the console. He whispered a countdown, "Three…two…one."

Pandemonium erupted all around him as the room went into lockdown. The door sealed shut, alarms blared, and the room's life-support systems shut off. The lights flickered out for a moment before being replaced with red emergency lighting. Finally, the inner airlock door deactivated and popped open, draining its' contents into the room.

Talon ran and took cover behind one of the lockers, but couldn't stop the deluge from rushing in up to his knees. Most of it ran into the floor grates, but the storm drains filled up and Talon still found himself slogging through ankle-deep water. He didn't care, though.

Talon ran to the airlock, soaking himself to the waist from the amount of water he splashed up. He kneeled next to Xana, desperately trying to elicit a response from his unconscious friend. She lay sprawled out on the floor, looking like a half-drowned bantha. Her dark hair swirled around in the water, framing a deathly pale face that wasn't responding to the life-giving air around her.

Talon shook her by the shoulders, then lightly slapped her cheeks. Nothing happened. "Oh kriff," he cursed. "Don't be dead, please, please, please, don't be dead."

He tried chest compressions, hoping to clear the water out of her lungs. "C'mon, stay with me, you've got to breathe!" he said, trying even harder to resuscitate her. She remained still.

Talon sighed in frustration; there was only one option left now. "Dang it, Xana! You're just as stubborn unconscious as you are awake," he muttered, propping her jaw open. "Please don't kill me for this when you wake up." He took a deep, shaky breath, trying to focus on saving her life.

His concentration waned as he hovered just a few inches above her. Talon mentally reprimanded himself, Just do it, man! She's dying! He steeled himself and closed in, praying that it wasn't too late for Xana.

Suddenly, her eyelids flickered open. She flinched upon finding a pair of soft blue eyes completely dominating her line of sight. For a single heart-stopping moment, their eyes locked. They both froze, not knowing what to do amidst the sheer awkwardness of the situation.

Xana ultimately ended the moment. She convulsed and shot into a sitting position, leaving Talon on the receiving end of an involuntary headbutt. Reeling from the impact, she hunched over and started coughing up seawater.

Talon was overcome with both relief and head pain as he slouched next to her, cradling his forehead in his hands. Stars danced before his eyes. Once he was able to think straight, Talon quickly unhooked his canteen from his belt and held it out to Xana. She grabbed it and drank greedily, clearing the sticky brine from her mouth and throat.

When she was done, she simply closed the canteen and brought her hand to her forehead, swaying slightly from dizziness. Talon patted her back gently as she began to make slight heaving noises. He didn't know if she was sobbing hoarsely or if her gag reflex was acting up again, but he stayed there until she was breathing normally again.

"I'm alive…oh frag, I can't believe I'm alive," Xana whispered, shutting her eyes tight. "That was horrible." Tears ran down her cheeks and mixed with salt water.

"Don't worry, it's all over now," he replied. "You're okay."

"I know. It's just-" Xana shook her head, her throat too tight and painful to form words.

"Shh. You'll be okay," Talon said again, trying to reassure her but not entirely sure how.

She opened her eyes and rasped incredulously, "By the way…did you just try to kiss me?"

Talon jumped away in shock, protesting, "No! Oh, gosh, no! I just thought you needed CPR and all, since you were unconscious and I thought you were going to die and-"

Xana cut him off with a laugh and a small smile, much to his relief. "I'm kidding, snipertard. But I do appreciate the chivalry and valiant attempt at CPR," she quipped.

"Anytime. Now c'mon, let's get you a blanket. This water's freezing and you're probably hypothermic already."

He helped her up and, together, they sloshed their way out of the airlock.

The room was eerily quiet, silence descending on the red-tinged interior like a fog. The sounds of dripping water and the occasional screech of a lone Selkath were the only things that broke the heavy monotony.

Talon had long since given up watching the firaxan sharks lazily patrol the outside of the base. From his perch on the edge of a bunk, he glanced over at the barely-operational computer terminal. The display flickered and fizzed. There would be no overriding the emergency lockdown from inside.

He glared angrily at the sealed durasteel door. That door was the portal between life and death for them. They, the last hope of conquering the Sith and saving the galaxy. And yet that door was too cruel to open, not even to a lightsaber. Talon knew this from when Xana had tried to slice open another sealed door earlier. Well, he could more aptly describe it as 'randomly stabbing it with a lightsaber', but still. The fact remained that all the doors in this facility were impervious to all forces, save for an override code.

He could only hope that Bastila and Juhani had made it out of the base in time. If they had gotten trapped too...

Xana fidgeted beside him, clutching a plethora of blankets to her thin frame. Her wet hair was plastered to her head, and her lips were pursed together in an attempt to keep her teeth from chattering. Several angry red cuts adorned her forehead and cheek. She rocked back and forth, apparently deep in thought.

"Why'd you do it?" she asked all of a sudden. Her voice, though quiet, cut through the heavy stillness like a vibroblade.

"What?"

"Don't play dumb. I mean this; putting the room into lockdown and trapping us here. You should have gotten out while you could."

Talon's eyebrows shot up in disbelief. "You would've died!"

"Better me than both of us," she muttered. "Now I'm doomed all over again, and you're going down with me."

"Don't think like that. Look, there are people who know where we are, and they're coming to get us."

Xana scoffed, "Yeah? It'll take over an hour for both submarine trips, not to mention the time it'll take to fight through the station again and rally up a search team. How much air do we even have down here anyway?"

Talon glanced at the tiny room, silently guesstimating. "I'd say three to five hours," he replied at length.

"My point exactly," Xana replied. "And that's assuming they think we're worth coming back for. The whole Star Forge thing is classified, so the Republic embassy doesn't even have a reason to try and rescue us."

Talon looked at her blankly, "Has anyone ever told you that you're a pessimist?"

"I prefer the term 'realist'," she shrugged. "Still, I'd prefer not to spend the next few hours sulking. If they are my last, I'd rather spend them being happy. And if they aren't, well, at least I won't have acted like a melodramatic idiot."

"Well, what do you have in mind?"

She shrugged, "Twenty questions?"

Talon smiled. Only Xana would think to play twenty questions at a time like this. "Okay. So, I can ask you anything?"

"Anything in the whole wide galaxy," she grinned.

He pondered for a moment, tapping a finger against his chin. "I never found out what your middle name is."

"Mylodie. Like the word for 'song', but spelled differently."

"It suits you. Okay…your turn."

"Did you ever want to do anything other than be a soldier?"

Talon sighed, "Yeah. I wanted to go to a technical school and engineer starships. But, y'know, I'm happy enough in the military."

Xana smiled, "You would've been good at it, I bet."

"Thanks."

The rapid-fire questions went on for a while, back and forth. They smiled and laughed, all but forgetting the bleakness surrounding them. Eventually, though, the lack of life support began to make itself apparent as the temperature dropped. Xana began to shiver harder and curled up into a little ball to preserve body heat. She responded in monosyllabic answers; her jaw tightened and her back began to hurt from the constant shivering. Talon noticed this and began to shrug off his jacket.

"No, keep it," Xana stopped him. "I'm just a little cold, and I've already got all the blankets."

"Don't give me that. It's freezing in here; I can practically see you shaking." He held out his jacket, but Xana shrunk away defiantly.

"You're cold and wet too! I'm not taking it," she argued.

Talon sighed and put his jacket back on. "Okay, fine then. C'mere," he said, holding an arm out to her.

Xana blanched. "Um...wouldn't that be a bit awkward?" Still, she scooted to the side tentatively.

"Nope, standard military survival training. If your unit's suffering from hypothermia, you gotta huddle together for warmth," he replied, wrapping his arm securely around her. "If you wanna talk about awkward, though, just ask me about our first harsh-climate training session. Nothing but man-hugs for two straight days."

Xana snorted, hiding a grin behind her hand. "Well, I'll assume this isn't as bad, then?"

"Nope, I'd say it's a definite improvement," he grinned back at her. She shoved him in a teasing manner.

"Whatever," she drawled, settling in so that she was comfortable, "Now, I do believe it was my turn to ask you something. I want to know; can you sing?"

"I can, although I'm not sure if you'd want to hear it."

"Just sing already," she smirked.

Talon suddenly broke into song, softly crooning a beautiful melody. The notes wafted through the air with a soothing, steady rhythm. He slowly swayed with the tempo, bringing her with him. Xana's eyes drifted shut on their own accord. It seemed as if everything, even the thinning air and bitter cold, was slowly giving way to soft notes and that gentle rocking. She barely noticed when her head fell upon his shoulder. It felt warm and bulky and strange on her cheek, but she smiled nonetheless.

One or two seconds passed before she finally came to her senses. Her eyes shot open and she sat up rigidly, noticing for the first time that Talon had stopped singing. Xana turned red with embarrassment. She must have looked a sight, with her ruddy, makeup-less face, wavy hair curling in all directions, and a ratty old blanket rumpled around scarred shoulders. Still, he looked at her with no derision or surprise in his eyes; but rather an idle curiosity and gentleness that dissipated the awkward silence between them.

"What song was that?" she asked softly. "It's beautiful."

"Some old Telosian lullaby my mother used to sing to me. I forget the rest of the words, but I remember that I sang it to my sister whenever she had a nightmare, to get her to fall asleep again," Talon recalled with a fond smile.

"Well, it still works," Xana quipped, yawning widely. She couldn't help but notice that she had to struggle to get enough air for a yawn. Quickly, she pushed the thought aside and mustered up a sleepy smile. "Now, I do believe it's your turn to ask me something."

"I got nothing," he admitted after a lengthy pause.

"Come on, you get the chance to ask me anything in the galaxy, and you have nothing? There's nothing you've absolutely wanted to know about me? Ever?" she asked incredulously.

"Nothing," he repeated. "Your mysterious nature just comes pre-packaged with the awesomeness, I suppose."

Xana laughed, though it came out as more of a snort. She looked at him hesitantly, a silent question written all over her face.

"What is it?" Talon asked.

"This is how it's going to end, isn't it?" she asked quietly. "Playing twenty questions at the bottom of the sea floor, on some Outer Rim planet. Forget hopes and dreams, it's all over…just like that. I was thinking about it, and it just seems unfair is all."

"Don't talk like that. We can make it out of here; you still have a long, long time to find your happily ever after." He tightened his hold around her shoulders, as if that gesture alone would convince her of what he himself was struggling to believe.

"Talon," she admonished him quietly, "It's getting harder to breathe, and it's cold enough that we can see what little breaths we can take. Who do I think I'm fooling, playing stupid games like everything's all right? It's just a matter of waiting now, where all we can do is talk until the end comes and catches us unaware."

Even Talon sounded unsure when he replied, "That's not true, there's still a chance that-"

Her voice took on a sharp tone. "Don't you get it? Nobody's coming. Either we run out of air, freeze to death, or the airlock finally gives way and the cold, dark water rushes in. If anyone does find us, all they'll see are two figures on the bottom of the ocean floor, clutched together in one final act of comfort. Nobody will know what happened to us. We'll be forgotten, time will go on, and-"

"Stop!" he snapped. Xana fell quiet, looking up at him with a pained expression. He hadn't realized how difficult it had been for her to admit what she'd just said. He was surprised by how tiny and frightened she seemed at that moment. Her glinting, dangerous eyes were now small and scared. Her pale skin was blotchy and covered with injuries. Her thin hands, from which deadly lightning had once sprung forth, were shaking with cold. Despite the bravado she usually put on, underneath the weapons, armor, and makeup, she was still just a seventeen year old girl.

"Just…just stop," he repeated, in a much gentler, but defeated, tone. "Saying all that stuff isn't going to help anything. Whatever happens, we'll be all right. Okay?"

She nodded, understanding the meaning of what he'd just said. In other words, there are worse ways to go out.

They fell into silence. Any more chance of light, happy conversation seemed foreign and ridiculous now.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, leaning back onto his shoulder and hugging him.

"S'okay. Let's just…rest, and try not to talk too much," he whispered back. "Saves more air that way."

Xana just closed her eyes and nodded against his shoulder.

No more words passed between them for some time. They just sat there quietly, finding comfort in each other's company and listening to the sound of their breathing. There was a calm, final, almost reverent atmosphere in that dilapidated room, one that neither person dared to taint with noise. Sometimes, a shark would swim by the transparisteel window, moving on quickly as if even it was saddened by the end of their short, stunted lives.

At some point, their hands had found each other and were now entwined in the space between them. They shared this one, silent link, through which they resolved to face whatever came together.

Breathing became more and more difficult as time wore on. Talon was relieved when Xana fell asleep on his shoulder; she deserved some rest, and at least she would nap through the onset of oxygen deprivation. He stayed still, careful not to wake her.

When she finally did awaken, it was much sooner than he'd hoped. She let out a tired groan and sat upright. "Augh…how long was I out for?"

"I don't know, an hour or two?"

Xana groaned again and placed a hand on her forehead. "You okay?" Talon asked.

"My head hurts, and I feel sick," she replied. Her world began to spin and she quickly snuggled back down again.

"That's normal; the same thing's happening to me too. It's the lack of oxygen starting to set in."

"This sucks," she complained, wrapping an arm around her stomach and wincing miserably.

"It's okay; just hold on a little longer. Whatever happens, it won't be long now." She nodded apathetically, too nauseous to try and speak again. Her breathing quickened as her lungs struggled to filter enough oxygen from the ever-thinning air.

He felt a pang of sorrow for the girl next to him. His whole life had been lived from the inside of military compounds and starships. He was nothing special; he only tried to climb the ranks and get through year after routine year. Xana, on the other hand, was vibrant and unique; always on the move in search of her next adventure. She truly wanted to live life, more than anything in the world. Now even that was taken from her, like a light being snuffed out, with only he as the lone witness. And there was nothing he could do but wait and offer comfort.

For a single moment, he felt compelled to do something, anything, to live life as she'd wanted to. Take a risk, for the sake of living life to the fullest. Show that, as one final testament to the girl he'd considered his best friend, he had benefited from her short existence.

Xana shifted next to him. "Hey, how's your head?" she asked softly.

"Still pounding," he sighed. She reached up and weakly placed a hand on his forehead. Immediately, the pain began to ebb away. Xana inhaled sharply and drew away; the effort of the Force heal had worsened her own headache to the point where she couldn't concentrate anymore.

Talon sighed in relief, "Thank you. How about you, are you okay?"

"Ugh…my lungs hurt and my head feels like it's about to explode."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay. It's not your fault, and there's nothing we can do about it." Xana let out a huff of air, trying to clear away a few strands of wavy hair that was falling in her face. Her heart nearly stopped when he reached across and brushed them away for her.

"Talon?" she asked hesitantly. "What are you doing?"

He didn't answer. Rather, he simply bent down and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. He lingered for a moment before pulling away slowly, looking into her pain-dulled eyes. It seemed only fitting that, if he were to do something bold for once in his life, it should be regifted as kindness and comfort for her sake.

"Just one last thing I had to do before I die." He tensed, dreading a tirade or a punch in the face. Much to his relief, she simply sighed and closed her eyes. He wanted their last minutes to be pleasant; and so long as she was happy, he would be happy too.

Her breathing suddenly became lighter, much to Talon's dismay.

Talon shook her lightly, "Hey, don't go back to sleep just yet, okay? Stay with me just a little longer. Don't close your eyes." He failed to keep the panic out of his voice. He knew that if she fell asleep, she might not wake up again, and he was nowhere near ready to lose her. Even so, his own vision was already starting to go black at the edges.

"I can't stay awake anymore," she murmured. Her voice was so heartrendingly quiet…

Talon felt tears gathering in the corners of his eyes. He was about to whisper that it was okay…when footsteps sounded from the outside corridor.

"They're in there!" a man shouted. "Quick, someone get working on the wires and override the lockdown!" The sound of a soldering iron and sparking wires had never sounded so beautiful.

Talon was frantic now. "Xana, they're here! They're getting through the door! Come on, just stay with me!" He shook her again, fighting to cling to consciousness himself. It was no use. She'd gone completely limp. "Please, just hold on! You have to live…you have to-"

Talon's world abruptly lilted. His eyes rolled back and he fell backwards onto the bunk. He sensed Xana's own unconscious form slumping over as well, though it seemed as if it was some distance away. Even farther away was a strange swooshing sound…almost like a door opening. Blearily, he struggled to open his eyes.

His swimming, blurred vision only registered a shaft of white light and a number of running figures.

Then all went black.

When Xana regained consciousness, the first thing she noticed was that she was warm and laying on something very soft. The next thing she noticed was the light. Even through her shut eyelids, a blinding white light stung her sensitive pupils. She turned her head back and forth in an attempt to escape it. No success; the light seemed to be everywhere.

Xana was confused, to say the least. Her hand ghosted across rough fabric, reaching out blindly for anything familiar. How did she get here? Where was her lightsaber, her armor? What happened to Talon?

A warm, rough hand suddenly enveloped her own. Her lips curved into a smile; even with her eyes closed, she instinctively knew who it was.

"Hey snipertard, can you turn down the lights?" she murmured sleepily.

"Yeah," came the reply from next to her. She was aware of his hand leaving hers, then the world around her dimmed to a soothing shade of gray. Xana opened her eyes, slowly at first, then fully taking in her surroundings.

She was in a rather well-equipped, private sickbay room, propped up on a plethora of fluffy pillows. Oxygen tanks, bacta patches, and IVs sat against the wall, unused now that she had recovered. Her eyes flicked up to the chair at her bedside. Talon settled back in, smiling down at her softly, and took her hand again.

"Hey," she whispered.

"Hi," he whispered back.

Xana blurted out the first thing on her mind. "How long have you been here?"

"I was released about an hour ago," he explained. "They were still treating all your injuries, so I stuck around. Thought maybe you'd like to see a familiar face when you woke up."

"Thanks. So," she drawled awkwardly, "How are you doing?"

"Fine, now that we're out of that pit they call a mining station," he replied, looking down at the floor with frustration etched all over his face.

"Hey," she admonished him, tightening her grip on his hand. "We're both okay now, and that's what's important."

"I know." He fell silent and eased her into a hug, feeling overcome with gratefulness that she was alive. She wrapped her arms around him in return, smiling ear-to-ear. She'd survived, and he had too – that was all she could really ask for.

"But just so you know, at no point will I tolerate the words 'I told you so'," she intoned.

"No problem." She narrowed her eyes at him, suspicious of his too-innocent tone, but decided to let it go. Talon turned aside and coughed, "Told you so." He looked at her and smiled boyishly.

Xana rolled her eyes as she released him and settled back onto her pillows. "Whatever. Do you know how much longer till I'm released?"

He sat back down and picked up a datapad resting above her headboard. "Just one more day. You have a few nasty vibroblade slashes and a cracked rib that needs to finish healing. They also need to run a few more neural scans to make sure the repeated near-suffocation didn't damage your brain."

"Any chance that the crew will stop by?" Xana asked hopefully, not relishing the idea of being stuck in a sickbay alone for twenty-four hours.

Talon shook his head, "They already came to see both of us, but you were still asleep. Mission was pretty put-out, to say the least, and made them stay here for a couple of hours just in case you woke." Xana looked at the ceiling and smiled.

"Well, this sucks. And here I was looking forward to getting off this rock." Xana shifted onto her side and propped herself up on one forearm, so she could look him in the eye. A curious expression made its' way onto her face. "Y'know, if I'm gonna be here a while…and since you're here too…I think there's something we need to discuss."

Talon leaned on the railing of her infirmary bed, resting his chin atop his forearms. "Yeah?" he replied, knowing full well what she meant.

Seeing that she was dead-set serious about discussing this, he tried to start over. "Okay, look, I'm not exactly sure how to explain this."

"Try," she insisted. "Try and explain to me what happened down there. In simple, tiny words, if you have to." Xana found herself slightly sidetracked by his azure eyes, heart fluttering from the blatant honesty with which he regarded her. She shook it off and sighed in impatience. Never forget rule one, chica. Mind over stupid girly emotions.

Talon froze; how exactly could he admit that he admired her and cared about her, so as to prevent her from punching him the moment he said it? He floundered, "Ummm…"

Oh frag, I just need to walk away before this gets any more awkward. Walk away, right now.

Xana took a deep breath and said, as calmly as possible, "You know what, just forget it. We were both oxygen-deprived and thinking we were going to die. What happens on the Rift, stays on the Rift, right?"

"Thunder, just please hear me out here," he started, trying to reach for her hand. She just glared and shifted her arms out of his reach.

"And," she continued, "It better not fragging happen again."

He finally stayed silent. Xana felt a pang of guilt over the look of abject sadness that clouded his face, but quickly smothered it.

Moments later, a knock sounded at the door. It slid open and Splicer walked in, carrying a black acoustic guitar. Talon couldn't suppress the irritated growl that rose to his throat.

Xana blinked in surprise, "Splice? How'd you even know to find me here?"

"I ran into your little blue friend at the cantina. She recognized me and we played a few rounds of pazaak, during which she mentioned that you two were in the sickbay. Speaking of which, are you okay?"

Xana smiled broadly, forgetting her anger altogether, "I'm alright. Got a little banged up during the last mission, but I'll survive."

"You up to having a little company?" he asked. Xana nodded in response, and he took a seat at the foot of her infirmary bed.

"What'd you bring that for?" Talon asked brusquely, pointing at his guitar.

"Well, I'd just finished playing at the cantina when I found out," he explained. "So, I figured I might as well come straight here and play my lovely friend a song. There's this one I always used to sing when she was in the medbay…"

Xana sat up and grinned, remembering the song he was referring to, "For real? What are you waiting for, strum already!"

"You got it." Splicer hefted the guitar under his arm and began to play. A string of beautiful notes tumbled forth, unmistakably lighting up Xana's eyes the moment they reached her ears. He took a deep breath and sang the lyrics; simple words that spoke of pain but conveyed comfort.

Even Talon was surprised by the softness and range of his voice. Despite his rough appearance and ruthlessness in combat, Splicer sang like an angel. There was no other way to describe it.

It wasn't fair; he was the one to hold her hand and wish away the pain while she thought she was dying. Now, Splicer of all people got to say what was on his heart, stealing the peaceful smile and enraptured gaze that should have belonged to him.

"I should go," he murmured once the song ended. He heard Xana call his name, but ignored it and stormed toward the door. The hospital's winding corridors were easy to navigate, and he soon found himself walking out into Ahto City's streets.

Everything began to bustle around him as the city's nightlife picked up pace. Talon just ignored it and made his way toward the docking bay. He kept to the edges of the walkway, always getting caught by the occasional gust of nighttime sea air. Still, his desire to be alone overpowered his complaining, shivering frame. He drew his jacket closer around him and shuffled down the walkway.

He'd never felt so cold without her by his side.

A/N: Thanks to writtenrhythm for beta reading this chapter, and helping me give the scenes a good overhaul so they're more realistic.

Sorry it took forever for the update...I had to rewrite this about 5 times to get the survival scene just right. The next one's not too far off, though. It's finished already, and let me tell ya, you're not going to expect what happens next. ;)

So, what thinkest thou? Is Xana being practical or a killjoy? Will the survival situation bring her and Talon together, or split them apart? Why is Splicer even in this chapter? Will they ever get the frag off Manaan? (Yes, next chapter :P)Reviews are much appreciated! :D