Chapter 12

Toombs groaned, rolling over as both he and Kat tried to detangle themselves from each other. Riddick's boots moved silently across the floor, and he leaned nonchalantly against the ship.

"How you feelin', sweetheart?" he asked, a smirk sliding into place as he nodded at Kat. "That tranq wearing off yet, or are your limbs still not cooperating yet?" She glared up at him, trying to rub her head where she'd hit it on the concrete floor when Toombs fell backwards. "How's the arm?" Toombs' growl alerted Riddick to his attack, and he quickly moved out of the way, Toombs barely skidding to a stop before running face first into the side of the ship. "Oh, don't stoop to playing the jealous boyfriend, Toombs," Riddick continued, grinning maniacally, "you don't really fit the profile for that." Toombs' chest heaved as he tried to get his bearings about him, and as soon as Riddick glanced at Kat, still trying to pick herself up off the ground, he planted a foot on the hull, launching toward Riddick. His target saw the attack at the last possible second, blocking the flying punch, but still toppling backwards. They rolled around in the dirt for a while, a mass of flailing limbs connecting and blocking blows. Kat gritted her teeth, dragging herself toward the utility knife that had dropped from Toombs' pocket during their tumble. Pushing back the pain, she forced her fingers to pry a blade open, shaking as she pulled until she heard it click, and then had to fight to get the unwilling digits to close around the handle.

"Come on," she whispered, glancing up at the two fighting men. "Dammit, work with me." Her whole body shook with the effort of just holding the damn thing, and she watched the fight intently, waiting for a chance. Riddick got the upper hand and rolled Toombs onto his back, straddling his hips and holding his shins down with the tops of his boots. Kat struggled into a position sitting on her knees and drew back, growling with all the breath she had as she hurled the knife at Riddick's back. Riddick only grunted as the base of the handle struck his back, falling harmlessly to the side. He ignored it, instead focusing on tightening his grip around Toombs' throat, leaning all his weight on his hands. Toombs struggled under Riddick, his vision blurring more and more the deeper the shade of purple coloring his face became, and his hands clawed at Riddick's arms. Kat struggled just to breathe, watching helplessly as her remaining energy drained. Toombs grunted, jerking a few times before he stilled, and Kat's mouth fell open, her arms giving out sending her to her side, her chest heaving. "Toombs?" she whispered, the darkness closing in. Spots swam before her eyes as Riddick stood slowly, her tunnel vision narrowing and finally closing completely as he stumbled toward her.

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Kat woke slowly, unable to open her eyes. The room around her hummed, meaning she had to be on someone's ship, and her brows furrowed. As she tried to move, she let out a quiet whimper, finally flopping onto her side. She stayed there for a moment, just listening and hearing nothing but the engines. Finally, she got her eyelids apart and glanced around. With shaky arms, she pushed herself up to sit and swung her legs over the side of the bed, looking around the room slowly. She slid off the bed, gasping as her feet touched the cold metal floor. She wrapped her arms around herself, absently rubbing her arms, and looked down, running her fingers over the gauze taped over where Riddick had placed his mark. Curiosity got the better of her, and she ripped it away with a hiss, her face falling at the tattoo almost completely healed, and still unchanged.

"Fuck," she whispered, shaking her head. She ran her fingers through her hair, shuffling toward the door. It seemed too heavy, but she still got it open after a while, looking around the hallway before deciding to go to the left, padding slowly toward a doorway with a light shining through to the corridor. She gripped the doorframe with both hands and peeked in, sighing as she looked in on another patient. Okay, so this is a passenger ship and I'm not the only one in the med wing, she thought, shaking her head. Footsteps behind her drew her attention, and she snapped her head around.

"Ms. Marshall?" someone called. Her eyes focused on a man approaching her, his hands outstretched as though he expected her to fall.

"What happened to me?" she croaked.

"You were given a drug," he said, clearing his throat. "We had to flush it out of your system. You shouldn't be up. You're still weak."

"I'm fine," she insisted, waving him off as she shook her head.

"Please, Ms. Marshall. Just…" he trailed off with a sigh, gently placing a hand on her shoulder. "Just please come with us and get back into bed. You need to rest."

"Where am I?" she asked weakly, leaning more heavily against the wall. "Who brought me here?"

"It's okay," another voice called from down the hallway behind the orderlies. She glanced beyond the two men trying to get her back to her room, and her knees buckled. Her whole body shook as the orderlies were pushed aside, hands suddenly on her face, trying to clear her hair away. "It's okay, babe," he whispered, pressing his lips to her forehead. "We need to get you back to bed."

"No," she said, shaking her head slowly. "I don't want to go back there." He sighed, and she felt him shift to look up at the two staff members.

"Can I take her back to my room? Look after her there?"

"Uh… well…" one of them started.

"You can come check on her whenever you want. She just doesn't want to be left down here, okay?" He didn't wait for a response, instead drawing Kat into his arms and cradling her against his chest. She let out a quiet sniffle, pressing her nose into his shirt as he walked down the hallway. It seemed like an eternity before he kicked a door open, then closed behind him, and lowered her onto a soft mattress, pulling the covers up over her.

"What happened?" she asked quietly, wincing as she shifted under the sheets. The bed gave as he sat next to her, his back to her.

"I started to black out, so I started faking. I'm sure he knew I was still alive, but I guess he wanted to get you back onto the ship before he finished me off," Toombs sighed. "He's not gonna hurt you anymore," he added, glancing over his shoulder at her, and she reached out, tugging weakly at his arm. A small smile touched his lips, and he settled next to her on his side, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"I tried," she whispered, shaking her head. "I got a hold of your knife, but I could barely hold onto it."

"I know, darlin'," he said, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "You didn't get enough spin on it. But it landed in my reach, and that's all we needed." She nodded, swallowing slowly. "You're safe now," he whispered, pulling her tightly against him.

"I thought you were dead," she mumbled into his chest, receiving a quick squeeze.

"I'm right here."

"He marked me," she continued.

"We'll take care of it once you're well enough to," he promised, and she nodded, finally giving into sleep.