"How is she?" Cruger asked braced to hear that she didn't make it

"She is stable for the time being." Felix smiled "The prognosis is good, Commander, you can relax"

There was a celebration in the waiting room they were glad to hear that she would be okay.

"She was just moved to a recovery room to be watched." Felix said

"May I go see her?" Cruger asked

"Yes" Felix replied, "she's still very groggy, but waking up as we speak, sir, try no to make her talk too much, she's still isn't breathing completely on her own"

"I won't" Cruger replied as he left to Kat's room

He arrived to see her lying there half asleep, the mask over her nose and mouth let him know that was the assistance Felix had spoke of. He didn't say a word she needed to rest. He smiled as he watched her lying there almost asleep, her expression showed none of the pain she had been in prior, she was probably feeling better already. The door closed with a slight click that woke her up, much to his dismay. He hadn't wanted to wake her up but ended up doing so by accident.

"Hi Doggie" she whispered, having to move the oxygen mask to make her voice understandable.

"Just rest, Kat, you've been through a lot" he said as he took a seat beside her.

"You have no idea," she sighed

"We can talk later, you just need to rest and give your injuries time to heal"

"True" she said, as she felt that sleep sounded really good at that point in time. She put the mask back as it was easier to breath despite being less comfortable, that would just have to be dealt with… she needed the rest and the assistance breathing.

Cruger watched as Kat slowly went back to sleep and smiled, she would feel better after a lot of rest. He moved a stray bit of her hair from her face before leaving silently to allow her to sleep… this time when the door shut she was sleeping too deeply to notice it which made him feel better. He got back to the waiting room and Jack asked him how Kat seemed to be doing.

"She seems fine" Cruger replied in relief "I'm pretty sure she'll recover"

"As am I," Felix said "her kind are extremely resilient, despite not looking like it, barring the slight chance of infection, I expect her to make a full recovery"

Everyone was relieved to hear Felix speak so optimistically about Kat's condition, but there was still the little bit of telling Kathleen.

"Sky, you should tell Kathleen" Jack said

"Why me?" Sky demanded

"She is your girlfriend after all," Jack said

Sky started off but stopped and turned to Jack and his other friends

"Remind me to kill you later!" Sky said as he walked out of the infirmary to go and tell his girlfriend what was going on with her mother.

At first, Kathleen didn't want to believe that this had happened but she knew that Sky wouldn't lie to her about her mother and she was devastated to hear of it, but there was nothing she could do about it. Sky held Kathleen close as she began to cry, her mother had nearly died, even thought she knew her mother was fine it still hurt her to hear that it had happened.

"Don't worry Kathleen, you know your mom, she'll be fine." Sky said

"I know" Kathleen replied weakly "but it is hard to think that anything this bad has happened to a member of your family, much less your mother."

"I understand, this has to be hard for you"

"You have no idea" Kathleen sighed; she sounded a bit like her mother with that line.

About an hour later Kathleen was walking the base when she came across Cruger staring out a window overlooking New Tech City.

"Pardon me sir, is something wrong?" she asked

"No, Kathleen there isn't" Cruger paused "your mother is improving."

"Thank you or telling me, sir, I figured that she was, I just can't wrap my head around the fact that she nearly died" Kathleen stood beside her commanding officer. She knew there was more to what was going on in his mind than he was letting on, but that tended to be Cruger's way, to hold things from the cadets, and she didn't pry.

"Kathleen, you do know I care about your mother deeply, you wouldn't be the only one that would be hurt severely if your mother had died today" Cruger said, finally opening up to his best friend's only daughter.

"What do you mean by that Commander?" Kathleen asked

"Before I give you any explanation, I want this conversation to be person to person"

"So, are you giving me permission to refer to you the way I've heard mom do?"

"Just for now" Cruger smiled weakly, she was like her mother

"Well, either way you haven't told me what you mean earlier"

"I was about to get to that" he said "you realize that it has been nearly twenty-three years since your mother and I met on your home planet…"

(Flashback, POV: Cruger)

The scene was one of destruction, families were torn apart and the remains of people's lives lay scattered across the ground.

I had the unenviable task of tallying the dead. Then I came across one who hadn't let go of her life just yet… and in that one individual there lay a spark of hope for those people who wanted to give up and die. A spark of hope for me that there was a future for the galaxy, as long as individuals like her existed, ones that didn't believe in giving up without a fight.

(End flashback, third person)

"… That person was Kat, your mother" Cruger said

"Really? That's amazing to think about" Kathleen said "So, Doggie, if I interpreted this correctly, you mean to say she's been hurt worse than this and recovered without a problem"

"Not much worse, Kathleen, but you're close, you're mother has always had a way of making a come back" Cruger smiled

That was when Cruger noticed lasers headed in their direction and knew that the plate-glass window that separated them from the lasers wouldn't be able to protect them and he immediately grabbed Kathleen and pushed her out of harm's way, using his back to shield her smaller form from the splintered glass.

To Be Continued…

Pls. leave a review and note that all flames will be redirected at the nearest hurricane.