Last time: Kyr and Cien managed to find a way off the Bloodstorm.

Now: Cien recovers.

Chapter 13-You'll Never Be Alone

The hospital staff at Polis Massa were helpful as always. As they arrived, one of the older doctors looked at her fighter and then at Cien with a shocked look, but seeing her condition they immediately got to work trying to stabilize her and treat her wounds. No one had argued with him when he said he needed to stay by her side. Cien had not regained consciousness during their flight there, which had Kyr worried sick during the long hyperspace travel, but he couldn't think of any better place to go. The scanners said she was okay, she had a mild concussion which the bacta treatment she had taken just before she hit her head was already healing. Once arriving at the hospital, they had taken her into surgery to treat the ghastly wound at her left shoulder, and she had been unconscious from anesthesia after that.

Kyr was sitting at her bedside after her surgery had finally finished and she was in her recovery room. She was in a simple hospital gown, her shoulder heavily bandaged over the top of bacta packs which would speed her healing. He looked worriedly at her. It brought back memories from all those years ago when she had recovered after their attack on Dracul. It also brought to mind the recent illusion of her death, which was all too fresh in his memory. It struck him how fragile she looked in this state, as it had last time he had sat at her bedside as she recuperated. Knowing her better now than he did then, he couldn't help but think of the little girl she had described herself as in her memory. She looked closer to that now than the fierce woman he knew otherwise.

She stirred a little, coming out of the anesthesia, fighting to awaken. "Kyr?" She whispered quietly through her fog, her eyes barely opening.

"I'm here cyar'ika." He said quietly as he rolled his stool a little closer to her bed.

She relaxed, knowing he was there, knowing he would keep her safe, and went back to sleep, and he settled back in his chair a little.

She was feeling better the next day, her shoulder healing well. She was fully awake and sitting up in bed. Kyr was still sitting at her bedside, kind of tired since he had gotten very little sleep over the last few days. The nurse staff were kind and made sure to bring him meals at the appropriate times. None of them really wanted to tell the Mandalorian when visiting hours were supposed to be. He and Cien had talked, picking up where they had left off all those years ago as though the intervening seven and a half years had only been a long hiatus. And they had more to talk about now, since they were finally together. Now Cien smiled far more easily, and had a much less guarded air, at least around Kyr. Whenever the nurses or the doctors approached she still tensed up when they got within her bubble, and he took it as the sincerest compliment that when he approached she actually relaxed instead.

"Where are we? This place seems oddly familiar." Cien asked, looking around.

"Polis Massa, it's a -" Kyr began.

Cien looked stricken and stared at him. "Polis Massa?" She said, looking around. "Did they recognize me?" She asked.

Kyr looked at her in utter confusion. "What? Why would they?"

"I was here once before." She said vaguely, she tensed up.

Kyr looked at her. "Whatever happened, they forgot about it, or they don't care." He said.

She lay back on the bed, but still seemed tense, as though she had stumbled into the lair of a deep enemy.

"Cyar'ika don't worry." He said quietly. "They've given you the best care they can, if they were going to do something because of what happened in the past, then they would have. The staff has been nothing but kind."

She relaxed a little, but not by much. "I guess that's going to keep happening." She said, annoyedly.

"What will?" He asked, confused.

"Going places where I have done terrible things to people." She said, looking crestfallen.

"They don't care, or they have forgiven you." He said quietly. "Whatever happened here by your hand is in the past. All that matters is what may yet be, remember?"

She relaxed more at that sentiment, but she still looked around the place worriedly. And with a hint of guilt, which she admitted was an unfamiliar feeling she was experiencing far too much lately. She glanced over at him, and noticed him fighting to stay awake as he nodded off a little and caught himself before he fell off his stool. She realized he had been awake since before they had arrived on the Bloodstorm, staying awake to stay at her side, to watch over her for the last few days.

"Have you gotten any sleep at all?" She asked, with a note of unfamiliar tenderness in her voice.

"Nah, I'm fine," he said as he tried to blink away how tired he was. "Maybe just need a little more caf."

"Kyr, go get some sleep. I'll be okay for a little while." She said with a hint of command in her voice.

He looked over at her, "but I-"

"Go back to the ship and sleep. You don't need to stay at my side at every moment to keep your promise to me." She said with a little smile. "That may get awkward if you insist on that." She said, cautiously teasing.

He considered it for a few moments, with a smile on his own face, then he stood up and kissed her on her forehead. "I'll be back soon cyar'ika."

She smiled as he turned and left the room.

A week later she was well enough to get underway, her shoulder mostly healed except for an admonishment to give it time to fully recover. The tenderness she felt when she tried to use her left arm drove that point home. Kyr had stayed by her side as much as possible. They talked a great deal, and they also enjoyed quiet moments, and always simply enjoyed being in each other's company. This day he had gone back to her fighter and retrieved another set of clothes for her, another set of the same black long sleeved tunic and skirting she usually wore, along with her plain black robes. When she opened the door, seeing her back to her old self Kyr smiled, he had his buy'ce tucked under his arm. Though her hair was not in the tight, severe braid she usually kept it in, it was simply pulled back into a ponytail. Which he quite liked.

"So where to now?" Kyr asked as she walked out, and they started heading towards the ship. Kyr had already discreetly settled up with the people here, using one of the clan Xiv accounts that was hidden in the books. He had put a lot extra in, because he was happy to have Cien at his side, and since it sounded like her last visit may have been quite memorable, even if he hadn't pressed her for any more details on that encounter. "You want to deal with Ikari before we can go home, right?" He asked.

"Yes." Cien said quietly. "She knows they're there, she's got to be planning a move against them, but she'll need time to consolidate her position. But if she thinks I survived, she'll immediately turn all her attention to us, and them. This way we have a little time to take her out before she makes whatever move she's planning."

"You don't think we can tell them we survived?" Kyr said, feeling horrible for what they must be going through right now.

She stopped and looked at him. "I'm not sure, but I feel like if they knew about us they would hop in their ships and come to help and I don't want to put them in any more danger, and it would alert Ikari if she is watching them at all." She looked downward. "I feel... Bad that I asked you to face this with me."

"Cyar'ika, there is nowhere else I would rather be than right here with you." He said firmly. He reached down and took hold of her right hand, giving it a small squeeze and she smiled. Then they turned to continue walking down the hallway. "What do we need to do?"

She looked over at him. "Nothing other than that she needs to be removed as a threat." She said, her face taking on the harder look he had come to expect when things turned to more serious matters.

"Can we just kill her?" He asked.

"Yes, that's what I meant." She said with an amused smile. Which was nice.

"Okay, so how do we do that, where would she be?"

Cien thought for a time. "I'm not sure. Probably aboard one of the Star Destroyers, since they are the center of power for her now, especially with the Bloodstorm taken out."

Kyr thought quietly for a moment. "Well." He mused. "I know how to take out star destroyers if that's what we need to do."

Cien smiled but said nothing as they walked.

He thought for a while. "Be nice to do it this time with someone to watch my back. You would need a suit that is vac safe though." He thought. "If only we had some beskar, we could make you a proper suit." He said with a chuckle.

Her head shot around to look at him with puzzlement as they kept walking down the long corridors back towards her ship. He was still thinking, formulating a plan in his head. Was he actually suggesting getting her Mandalorian armor? Her eyes widened a little when she realized the implications of that. It wasn't just a set of metal plates, it was so much more. It was a commitment to an ethos, a creed, a people, a life. And in her case, a life with someone. Was that really what he was thinking? Already? Her head slowly came back to center as the implications of what he had just said, even if he had just meant it in jest, sunk in.

"I…" She began, as she stopped in the middle of the corridor.

Kyr stopped also, looking back at her in askance.

"I might know where some beskar is." She said haltingly.

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