Last time: Cien and Op talked about Op following up on the drink with Messan.

Now: Sasha is ready to recover.

Chapter 12- I Need You

It was the middle of the night and the stars were out in full force. They lit up the night sky just as Sasha remembered from the mindspace, but even better in reality. Especially the way they reflected off the water. Sasha sat on the sand a few meters from the tide line with her legs gathered to her chest as she looked at the stunning view in deep thought. She couldn't sleep after the day she'd had and snuck out of her tent that she shared with Viran and Lana, using the hover chair to get her close before she got out of it and managed to carefully limp the few steps before she sat down. Now the chair remained parked behind her as she stared at the stars.

Today was amazing and fun, but also… miraculous. For weeks, Sasha had been falling apart at the seams inside after everything that happened in Myrkr. She had been irritable, refusing to get better, and so afraid of what would happen if she did. But these past couple weeks had really helped with her healing. The late night conversation with Kyr that made her not feel like a burden anymore. The spa day with Cien that reminded her to relax and look forward to the fun things again. The snowman they built at the top of the mountain that resulted in a snowball fight where Sasha had laughed harder than she could recall in months. And the swimming that gave her the courage to stop being afraid and just enjoy life.

After a few minutes, she could sense someone else was up and about, but she could also hear them approach as she heard the sound of the sand crunch under foot. She didn't need to turn around to see who it was.

Oppie strolled back along the shore line after a late night walk along the surf, also feeling restless. He had stopped when he saw Sasha sitting alone on the beach, not sure if he might be intruding on her. A part of him was also worried when he saw her sitting alone, not quite sure if she was sitting alone on the beach for the same reasons she had done so back home. "Hey Sasha, couldn't sleep?" He asked, after a moment's hesitation.

Sasha looked up at him, a pleasant look on her face. "Hey Op. Yeah. I'm guessing you couldn't either?" She asked.

Oppie was pleasantly surprised by her demeanor. "Not really," he said, relaxing and smiling a little. "Also this place is so beautiful at night I wanted to take a chance to enjoy it."

"Yeah same," she said, turning back to look at the stars. "You're welcome to join me if you'd like." She loosely gestured to the sand spot next to her.

Oppie took her up on her offer, settling down into the sand next to her. "How are you feeling after all that swimming earlier?" He asked after a moment.

"Sore, but in a good way," Sasha said with a chuckle. "My legs haven't moved like that in a while so they are a little sore at the moment, but other than that… they feel good." She smiled gently at that.

"I'm glad to hear that." Oppie said, "well, not that they're sore, but, you know." He said ruefully.

"Yeah, I know, but thanks," Sasha said with a slight smile. After a moment, she stretched her legs out before herself. She stared at them for a moment before glancing sideways at Oppie. "Hey, I'm sorry," she said quietly after a silence between them.

"For what?" Oppie asked.

"For everything," Sasha started. "For my behavior. The way I've been treating all of you and acting around all of you recently. I know Myrkr was…" She took a moment to find the right word, "a nightmare of an experience for us, but I let myself go to such a dark place and treated all of you poorly because of it. And after everything that has happened this week, I realized how bad it was and I'm really sorry about that."

Oppie was silent for a while, "it's okay Sasha. I understand better than anyone what happened there, so don't worry about how badly it affected you. We were all just concerned about you, and I am glad you are feeling better now."

"I know," Sasha said with a slight frown at first. "And I'm glad to be feeling better too." Her words were genuine about feeling better, but she seemed distant at the same time. She looked at him. "And it's all thanks to you and everyone else." She then looked out towards the sea.

"And especially Tac." Oppie replied softly. "He helped put up the Life Day lights."

"And Tac too," Sasha said, chuckling bemusedly. Then her lips formed a thin line. "But seriously. Over the last couple weeks, you all have done so much to help me when I was ready to give up on getting better. I let my fear of what happened and the fact that there is still a million credit bounty on my head scare me to such a low point I was willing to live the rest of my life in that chair and never leave home." She gestured absently to the chair behind her as a shudder passed through herself. "But Kyr reminded me about how truly strong I am. Cien reminded me to look forward to the fun things in life. You all helped me get the courage to leave home and then planning all of this too. And Viran helped me get out of my own head and have fun again."

Oppie sat silent for a while, "we're family, that's what we do. You are our sister and we wanted to make sure you weren't being held back from being able to live your life. And that bounty is still out there, I suppose, so we just have to take care of that. But not right now, right now all you have to care about is getting better, and all of us are here to help you with that."

Sasha was silent for a moment. "Thanks." That made her smile softly to herself. "And when we get back, I need your help with something, " she said looking at him.

"What would that be?" Oppie asked.

"I think I'm ready to finally get out of that kriffing chair, but I need your help," Sasha admitted. "Will you do that?" She asked before looking away. "I understand if you don't after last time, but I still wanted to ask."

He looked at her for a moment before looking away. "Are you sure you want me helping you?" He asked.

"Yes," Sasha said, confident. She looked back to him. "I know I was difficult before, but out of everyone in our family…" she hesitated for a moment as she looked for the right words. "I really need your help to do this. Not as my physical therapist or my mentor, but as my brother."

He looked back at her, then out at the water. "Well I'll always be that." He said.

"I know," she said as she followed his gaze out. "But will you do it? Will you help me finish this? Because I'm ready to get better. To be myself again."

"Of course." Oppie answered. He looked down at the sand, "I'm here for you, whatever you need." He said.

That made Sasha smile. "Thanks Oppie." She then turned her head and looked at him. "What's wrong?" She asked after a moment as she noticed him gazing to the sand. She must be returning to her old self as she became perceptive of everything again.

"I've never really helped with physical therapy or anything like that before." He admitted, "I'm worried about messing it up again and pushing you too hard, and making you lose heart again."

Sasha frowned and lowered her gaze. "I understand. I wasn't myself and I was so afraid that I became so frustrated with everything. Even you. And I shouldn't have done that to you," she said, quietly. "I can't promise that I won't be difficult and stubborn, but…" she closed her eyes as she felt tears stinging them. "I want to do this. I need to do this. And I need you to be there for me like you always have been."

"Sasha I'll always be here for you." He said, wrapping an arm across her shoulders. "I'll help you however you need me to."

That brought the small smile back to her face. "Thank you," she said, not opening her eyes. A couple of tears sneaking out as she leaned into her brother.

He squeezed her shoulders a little and sat by her side for a while. "I really like this place, I'm glad they finally let us come here." He said quietly.

"Yeah, it's really beautiful here," Sasha agreed as she opened her eyes and wiped her cheeks. "Maybe we can do more family vacations like this here."

"Yeah." Oppie said quietly. "Though maybe someplace without so much sand, that's the only bad thing about this place."

Sasha chuckled. "I swear we will be shaking sand out of everything, even the ships, for the next year," she joked.

"Yeah, it gets everywhere, and it's so coarse." He said, shaking his head in mock disgust. "After these trips Cien's blanket always trails it everywhere. Now I understand why." He said with a mock shudder, looking at the beautiful beach around them.

"Yeah," she agreed. "We might bring home so much sand in our gear we could almost make our own little beach at Haven."

"Or a sandbox for Lana." Oppie suggested.

"That would work too," Sasha chuckled. "Just where would we put it?" She pondered thoughtfully.

He mulled the thought over. "Kyr's room?" Oppie suggested thoughtfully. "Not like he would notice."

Sasha laughed at that, but had to put a hand to her mouth so her laughing didn't wake the others. "That's the perfect spot," she giggled.

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