When Gordon opened his eyes he did so slowly. He didn't hear Alara's voice anymore. Had he died?
He slowly turned his head to look around his surroundings to find that he was in the Sick Bay on the Orville. He wasn't dead and he wasn't in pain anymore.
He sat up slowly, registering that while there was no more pain, he was still stiff in places. He had been changed into a clean t-shirt and pants but no shoes. He reached up and ran his hand over his head, but there was no more indications of the fight between him and Malik.
He stood and almost collapsed to the floor, weakness flooding his legs. He took a deep breath and pulled himself back to his feet. It was going to take time for him to be able to gain his strength back he was sure.
He was surprised he was still alive. Malik had beaten him quite soundly. He wondered about Alara, where she was at that moment. Had Ildris saved her? He had to believe that he had since they weren't too far from each other.
"Gordon."
Gordon turned to find Ildris standing next to Claire. Both moved forward at seeing him on his feet. They helped him back onto the table he had awoken on, both speaking over the other insisting that he was too weak at this moment to be walking around. He didn't protest, he was pretty weak.
Claire went and grabbed a glass of water, handing it to Gordon with strict instructions to sip the water, which Gordon followed. It was difficult not to just gulp the water down, but he forced himself to take small sips to satisfy his sudden thirst. He hadn't realized that he was so thirsty before.
"Do you remember what happened?"
This question came from Ildris, who was looking at Gordon with concern. It made sense Gordon realized, he recalled passing out from pain. Perhaps they were worried he had some memory loss.
Gordon took another sip before nodding. "Malik kicked the shit out of me," he said firmly. "I used that syringe on him like you said, but I don't remember too much after that."
"You're lucky to be alive," Claire said. "You would have been dead had Malik been strong enough to kick you in the chest just one more time. One of your ribs was inches away from piercing your heart."
Gordon ran a hand over his chest where Malik's foot had connected. He hadn't held back. Malik had wanted to kill him. Now, there was no indication that his ribs had been broken at all. Claire was one of the best doctors in the Union after all, so it shouldn't have surprised him, but on some level it did.
Claire ran a diagnostic on Gordon, checking for any irregularities. She smiled as she stated that he had no more broken bones and, despite being unconscious for a day, Gordon was well enough to walk around and go back to his own quarters. He would be able to return to regular duties after a few more days of recovery.
Gordon was relieved to hear that, although he wasn't looking forward to the walk back to his quarters. Even sitting up was taking a lot of his energy. He stood on unsteady feet, surprised once again when Ildris stepped forward to help steady him.
Together, the two men walked out of Sick Bay together, Gordon leaning on Ildris periodically when he felt weak. It was slow going and Gordon was thankful for the assistance.
"So," Gordon said once they were away from Sick Bay, "What happened to Malik?"
"The syringe you used was filled with an experimental drug I had been developing. I was hoping that it would be used to help Xelayans coming home from off-planet readjust to the gravity, but it wasn't perfected yet and only helped to make Xelayans weaker than before.
"Malik is now no stronger than the average human and can never return to Xelaya."
Gordon froze, causing Ildris to stop as well. "You mean that Malik can never return home?"
"Yes," Ildris said. "I have already spoken with Malik's parents as well as Xelayan authorities about what transpired. I have been cleared by both. Malik's parents were ashamed at his behavior and the authorities stated that I was within my rights to do what I must in order to protect my daughter and her future husband from harm."
Gordon narrowed his eyes in confusion. "But Alara and I aren't..."
Ildris placed a hand on Gordon's shoulder, his gaze clear. "Your bravery to save my daughter and your willingness to give up something you cared about to protect her showed both me and my wife how worthy you are of her. Despite what may happen between you and Alara, we consider you part of our family now."
Gordon didn't know what to say to that. Ildris had hated him, done everything he could think of to try and get rid of him, and he was now calling Gordon a part of the family.
"Thank you," were the only words Gordon could get out, his mind still reeling from the words that Ildris had said to him.
The two men continued down the corridor in silence until they reached Gordon's quarters.
"Drenala and I will be leaving the ship once we confirm that Malik has been transferred away from the Orville. We hope to hear from both you and Alara in the future." Ildris smiled at Gordon before leaving Gordon at his entryway.
Gordon watched the man walk back down the corridor before going into his quiet quarters.
He said down on his couch and relaxed, his body tired from the short walk from the Sick Bay to his quarters. His mind was whirling around as he sat in the quiet.
Ildris said that he was part of their family. He called him Alara's future husband. At one time the thought of marriage would have scared Gordon, but the thought of Alara being his wife didn't scare him. He found that he wanted it more that he realized.
Alara.
He wanted to see Alara. He wanted to discuss these feelings with her.
Before her kidnapping Gordon had been on his way to tell her how he felt. He still wanted to do so, but he wasn't sure how to face her now. He had to believe that she cared about him on some level as more than a friend. Her voice when she was scared he was hurt still rang in his ears and he couldn't imagine that she would have that tone if she didn't care.
Gordon took a deep breath before closing his eyes and relaxing. He wouldn't worry about that today, for now he needed to get his strength back up so he wouldn't get winded just walking down the corridor.
Alara hugged her mother before she turned to climb aboard the shuttle that would take them back to Xelaya. She turned to her father with a smile.
Ildris wrapped Alara in his arms, hugging his young daughter. "We look forward to your wedding date."
Alara's eyes widened and she pulled back and looked up at her father. Ildris was smiling at her. "Dad, about Gordon and I..." She bit her bottom lip as she tried her best to figure out how to tell them the truth.
"We know," Ildris said, shocking Alara. She blinked a few times, confused, as if she had misheard him.
"You...know...?"
Ildris nodded. "Gordon told us," he said. "However, that doesn't mean that what we saw was a lie."
Alara took a deep breath at the sound of his name. Gordon had already told her parents that they were pretending, that the relationship was a lie. Her father was standing there now, telling her that he knew and that he didn't believe what he saw was a lie.
It wasn't lies for her, she had already come to the conclusion that she loved Gordon, but that didn't mean that Gordon felt that way about her. She wanted to know how he felt about her, but was terrified to hear it as well.
Ildris smiled, as if reading her thoughts. "Promise that you will keep in touch more often?"
Alara smiled. "Of course."
With one final hug, her father waved good-bye and joined her mother before leaving the Orville. She watched the shuttle leave until she couldn't see it anymore and then walked out of the Shuttle Bay.
Alara hadn't seen Gordon since they returned to the Orville. He had gone straight to Sick Bay and Claire had worked on him doing her best to heal him. She could still remember the long list of things that Malik had broken, bruised and damaged in that short time attacking Gordon. She feared he wouldn't survive. She drowned herself in work to not worry about him, not that it did any good.
She was happy to hear that he had been released only two days ago, but she still hadn't gone to see him. How could she? He was injured because of her, trying to save her. He had to be angry at her on some level. How could she admit that she loved him when she was sure that she would be rejected?
She started down the corridor to the elevator. She didn't have to go straight back to the bridge just yet, but she couldn't think of anything else to do. At least on the bridge she would be distracted from these thoughts and feelings, if only for a short time.
As she waited for the elevator, she thought about Gordon. What should she say the next time she sees him?
The door opened and she found that she would find out sooner rather than later. Standing before her, equally as surprised to see her as she was him, was Gordon.