Beka couldn't sleep. Admittedly, she was used to such hardships and frankly she was grateful for her insomnia. It meant that she wouldn't miss anything important.
Such as Rhade waking up with a gasp and an aborted move to sit up. His second gasp was that of pain when his move pulled weak muscles and still broken bones.
"Rhade!" She quickly got up and gently laid him back down. Sharla, who had been sleeping with her head pillowed on Rhade's bed was woken up by the movement and commotion. At Beka's order, she quickly left to find Trance.
It didn't take long for Trance to arrive at the med deck, followed closely by Sharla. She wasted no time in assessing Rhade's condition.
"What's hurting Rhade?" He glared at her in between gasping in pain, desperately failing at not showing it.
"My chest feels like it's trapped in a binding cage." He said hurriedly, taking quicker breaths after the rushed out proclamation. Trance set one hand on his chest above his rushing heart and the other on his temple, her fingers combing into his dark hair. The gesture seemed to have a calming effect on him and everybody was able to relax as his breathing finally slowed to a regular pace. Finally he was able to speak with some ease.
"What happened?"
"You remember the attack on Archology?" Beka asked. Rhade nodded.
"You were injured in the final battle." Trance added. "You have a punctured lung which is why you're hooked up to this device that Harper was able to come up with." For the first time he noticed the large amount of padding and tubes and wires that surrounded his chest.
"Why don't you use the nanos?" he asked.
"We did, unfortunately because of the damages to Andromeda and my supernova, most of them were either lost or damaged. What little I had left I used to hasten the healing of your lung. Unfortunately they were also damaged enough not to multiply."
"So, we've got to do this the old fasioned way?"
"Yep." Rhade sighed at Trance's bright answer. "You also have some broken ribs, a broken femur which we set and put a splint on. Your arm's also broken. You must've used your boneblades a lot."
Rhade nodded absentmindedly. He could still see that last battle flash in front of his eyes. The way he had attacked the Magog after Louisa had been shot and even more after she had died.
"Your lung is almost healed over though I'd like you to keep movement down to a minimum for a while after that. We really don't want to have to go through that again." Trance continued, either ignoring or unaware of the fact that Rhade had spaced out on them for a moment. "You should rest, Rhade."
He had already fallen back to sleep.
Ten Days Later
Rhade may have finally woken up but his body was still healing, left entirely on its own since there were no med nanobots. So he was still sleeping most of the day and spending what few hours he had awake eating and resting in his bed. At those times, Beka or Harper, and every so often Trance or Sharla would join him, taking their meal on the small table thay had set up in his quarters. Every so often, Beka would sit beside the Nietzschean on top of the covers and the two would either talk or Beka would read to him.
On the tenth day after he had first woken up, Beka entered Rhade's quarters after a long day of endless repairs to both the Maru and the Andromeda. Sighing, she sat down beside him as quietly as possible, hoping to not disturb his sleep. Turning on the flexi she had brought with her, she leaned back against the pillows behind her, put up her feet and settled in for a quiet evening.
A while later, she put down the flexi, rubbing her tired eyes. Looking at Telemachus, who had turned his face toward her, she couldn't help but feel the need to connect with him. Gently, she laid a hand on his shoulder.
It took her a moment to realize that he was cold.
/We didn't even realize. Usually Nietzscheans don't feel the cold. Like when Andromeda went into Security Shutdown that time Rommie 'malfunctioned'./
Looking around she realized that Rhade had nothing thicker than single layer sheets.
/Of course he wouldn't. It's not like he's need them./
Getting up, she quietly left the room and went to her own quarters. Searching through her closet, she found what she was looking for and quickly returned to Rhade's quarters.
Unfolding the large custom made blanket, she retook her place beside him and draped it over the two of them. Bringing it up sp that the edge would come up to his shoulders, she gently tucked the blanket around him, then resting her cheek against his covered arm, she closed her eyes and let sleep take her away.
AN: For those of you still reading, I am very grateful you've stuck with me through this dry zone. This story is now also featured on the website Bacic Words!! (No that is not a spelling error.)