A/N: Hello all! Sorry I haven't updated, been busy with school! I would like to know if those of you who are reading this enjoy this story. I haven't gotten much feedback, so I am wondering what people are thinking. Please let me know if you are enjoying the story, and if you have any suggestions for me on making it better, please let me know! I will continue writing, but I would really like your input. Hope you enjoy this chapter.

Over the next two months, Mina slowly settled into her new life. She had made a few personal touches to her new home, making it look like someone actually lived there. Judging by her husband's sense of being out of place at home, she assumed he had not spent much time there before her arrival. Being a military man, she figured that he spent most of his time below ground in the bunkers with most of the other military families. In their two months together so far, she hadn't been able to get much out of him about his personal life. She knew that he had grown up in this house, but once his parents had passed and he made serving the Cowen and his predecessor his priority, he had no use for his surface home. Marriage had never been high up on his list of priorities, he had told her hesitantly. When she had expressed to him that it hadn't been a plan of hers either, he seemed to relax, but still remained distant.

Most of the time, he was below ground training others or attending to other matters assigned to him. Her time was spent on the surface, working on the farms with her sister and the other farmer families. Every night, the two of them returned home, she prepared dinner, which they usually ate without much conversation, and they retired to their respective bedrooms. This was not at all what she had expected married life to be, but then again, their marriage was not one born of an actual relationship. This was strictly business, for both parties. That was what she continued to tell herself every morning and night as they went their separate ways.

Some days while she was working in the fields, she would watch the young married couples around her that genuinely cared for each other. They seemed to be happy and their lives together had some meaning. A few times, she had noticed Thali looking at her with pity when she noticed Mina's observant behavior. Mina wouldn't go so far as to say that she felt jealous of these other couples, but she definitely felt something. She felt empty, like something was missing. She hadn't felt this way before marrying Acastus, but now that she was married, it seemed that something inside her had changed. She actually wanted to be happy, wanted to feel loved and wanted, wanted to feel married. S

he kept these feelings to herself, not even expressing them to Thali. It was bad enough getting her looks of pity when she didn't have any concrete proof that something was wrong. If she knew that something was going on inside her, Mina knew that Thali would only increase the frequency of the looks. It wasn't just her either. Mina had noticed several other people, including her brother, giving her looks of pity since her marriage had begun. She didn't feel that her exterior behavior had changed in any way, but deep down she knew that they could all see a change in her. Today, she had dodged many looks as she moved about the field. It was getting to be almost unbearable. She stopped her work and turned to her sister.

"Is it that obvious?"

Thali looked up from her work, brushing her hands off on her apron.

"Is what obvious?" she asked.

"That I feel different and incomplete since my marriage. Everyone seems to have formed a permanent look of pity when I am around."

Thali sighed and stood up from the ground, grabbing Mina's hand and pulling her to a more isolated area of the field where they could talk privately.

"I don't think it is as obvious to everyone else as it is to me, but something has definitely changed about you. You never really had an interest in marriage before, but now whenever you see a couple or a family, you get this look on your face."

Mina tilted her head in confusion, narrowing her eyes.

"What kind of look?"

"Like you want that life. You want to be married and have a family."

Mina held up her left hand, displaying the ring on her finger.

"I am married, remember? And I've never been much a motherly type."

Thali looked at her sister with raised eyebrows, crossing her arms over her chest.

"What?" Mina asked, "It's the truth."

"I meant happily married to someone you love and who loves you back. As for the not being the motherly type, you helped raise me. At 11 you took on the role that neither Caleb or dad could fill. You took mom's place, and then 5 years later, you took dad's place too. If anything, I would say you are overqualified for motherhood."

"I don't think there is such a thing as being an overqualified mother," Mina joked, cracking a small smile at her sister.

Thali rolled her eyes and reached out to take Mina's hands.

"If family and happiness is something that you want, reach out and get it. On your wedding day, you said you wanted to make things work. Talk to Kolya, get to know him. For all you know, he could want the same thing."

"I don't think so. Our marriage is just an order to him. He's only doing his duty, following Cowen's orders."

"But somewhere within him, he is just a man. And you are a great catch. Any guy would be lucky to have you!"

Mina laughed softly at her sister's declaration.

"I'll make sure to tell him that."

"Make sure that you do. I know of one guy that would kill to be in his shoes."

Mina sighed and shook her head.

"Oh will you quit with that. Ladon does not have feelings for me. We haven't even seen each other in over 5 years. He probably doesn't remember me, much less have feelings for me. I don't know how you got it into your head that he liked me. Especially since you were 10 when you met him."

Thali tapped her head with her finger.

"I just know things. And I know that Ladon has been head over heels for you since you met. Sora told me when we were younger, and she knows him better than I do."

Mina rolled her eyes and walked away from her sister back towards the area they had previously been working in.

"You are both delusional. The point is moot anyways. I am married and I have never felt that way about Ladon, no matter how he feels. You know that. He's too pompous and thinks he knows everything."

Thali laughed and followed Mina across the field.

"Well since Ladon is off the table for you, I guess you'll just have to make things work with your husband."

Mina shook her head again and threw a small handful of dirt at her sister. Thali let out a small shriek and moved further away from her. The two laughed as they continued their work, Mina feeling better than she had before. Even though nothing had really been said that would help her in her current situation, spending time with her sister always lifted her spirits. The cheerful mood that had fallen over her did not last long, evaporating at the sound of a loud explosion.

All the heads in the field turned to the source of the sound. Mina's eyes met Thali's and they both turned and ran in the direction of the sound. They were joined by other concerned people running towards the commotion. Running through a small patch of trees, the group came upon the clearing where the testing was done for some of the smaller explosive experiments.

They were greeted with the sight of debris scattered throughout the clearing, several people laying on the ground, and a cloud of smoke covering the area. Mina noticed one of the people laying on the ground had blonde hair and quickly ran over to his still form. She rolled the man over and her suspicions were confirmed when she saw her brother's dirty face covered with scratches.

"Caleb!" she shouted, shaking his shoulder.

To her relief, Caleb coughed and opened his eyes, blinking a few times. He let out a low groan and sat up slowly.

"Uhhh, what happened?"

"That is exactly what I would like to know," called out an irritated voice from a few feet away.

Mina turned her head to see Cowen rise from where he had been knocked over by the blast. He certainly did not look happy. His anger seemed to be directed at a smaller figure that approached a piece of debris. Mina narrowed her eyes, gazing through the smoke to see what poor soul had caused this unfortunate incident and angered Cowen.

"I thought it was ready!" Ladon shouted from his place near the debris.

Caleb let out another groan as he attempted to stand.

"Well you were wrong," he stated bitterly.

Thali joined her siblings and helped Mina get Caleb to his feet. They both took an arm on their shoulders and wrapped their arms around his waist, helping him away from the debris field and guiding him to sit on a log. A man about Mina's age came running into the clearing, carrying a bag. He made his way over to where they were sitting, pulling medical supplies from his bag.

"I came as soon as I heard the explosion. I really wish I was informed when dangerous tests are taking place so I can be ready for injuries," he said in an irritated tone.

"I didn't inform you because I was told that this test would be successful. I didn't think your services would be needed Corric," Cowen fumed as he walked closer to where Ladon was still crouched.

"I don't know what went wrong!" Ladon yelled.

"You don't need to yell Ladon, we can hear you just fine," another voice called out from where Cowen had been.

Mina turned to look in the direction of the voice and was surprised to see her husband standing there, brushing stray debris from his clothing. He walked over to where she and her siblings were sitting. He glanced at her for a second before turning his attention to Caleb and the medic named Corric. Corric had tended to Caleb's wounds and looked up to Kolya.

"He'll be fine. Ladon on the other hand, may have hearing damage. That's probably why he's yelling."

Kolya jerked his head in Ladon's direction.

"Go tend to him. He's not doing any good stumbling around yelling."

Corric nodded and walked away from Caleb in Ladon's direction. He placed his hand on Ladon's shoulder and led him to a place to sit so he could check him out. Kolya glanced at Mina once more before turning and walking over to Cowen. Mina narrowed her eyes at the scene briefly before turning her attention back to Caleb. She untied her apron and poured some water from her canteen on it, using it to wipe some of the dirt off her brother's face.

"Are you alright?"

Caleb winced as she grazed over a scratch on his face.

"I'll live. Not sure about Ladon though. He seemed really confident that this test was going to work."

"What were you testing?" Thali asked.

"Ladon's been working on containing a smaller explosion so he could observe their progress on the main weapons they've been working on. He thought he had succeeded in creating a method to observe them, but it seems he was wrong. Either his containment system is faulty or they haven't worked out the kinks in the smaller explosives."

"If it wasn't ready, why did he test it?" Mina asked, "and why were so many people put in danger to test it?"

"Cowen's really been pushing him to work harder. After the news that the wraith have woken up earlier than expected, he's been pushing all the teams to the breaking point. I was here to offer moral support to him, but now I kinda wish I hadn't been here."

Mina sighed and again looked over to where her husband was talking with Cowen. She had never been a big fan of Cowen's, sharing her father's opinion of the man. Now his decisions to push Ladon's experiments had put her brother and many others in danger. From what Caleb had told her before, she knew that they hadn't been anywhere close to having a working method of fighting the wraith. Now Cowen was pushing to get things done faster. They simply didn't have the resources to make it work.

The people that had gathered in the clearing had started to disperse, returning to their work. Corric returned from tending to Ladon to report to Cowen and Kolya.

"He's mostly alright, but his hearing will be out for a while. Expect a lot of yelling and him not being able to hear you for a while."

Cowen threw his hands in the air in exasperation.

"Wonderful. I thought maybe we had made some progress, but it seems that we have taken a step back."

He turned and stormed off the field, Kolya and Corric following him back to the entry to the underground bunker. Mina watched the three men walk off before looking back to where Ladon was wandering around, picking up random pieces of rubble and looking at them with disappointment.

"Thali, why don't you take Caleb home? Finish cleaning him up and make sure he gets some rest."

Thali nodded and helped Caleb to his feet, holding onto his arm as they walked to support him if he needed. Mina walked over to where Ladon was standing and gave him small wave. He looked up at her and blinked in surprise.

"Mina! What are you doing here?" he asked loudly.

Mina raised her hand, motioning for him to speak quieter.

"You don't need to yell. My hearing is fine. It's yours that's damaged," she told him, raising her voice so he could hear her.

Ladon turned his head so he could hear her better.

"Sorry," he said not quite as loudly, "doc said my eardrums were hurt in the blast. I can't hear myself talk very well."

Mina nodded in understanding.

"Are you alright otherwise?"

Ladon's expression fell as he gazed around the clearing.

"My pride is wounded and my head hurts, but other than that I'm alright."

Mina bent over to pick up a piece of Ladon's experiment off the ground. She turned it over in her hands, looking at the charred parts.

"I think you need to work a little more on this."

Ladon shook his head and took the piece from her hands.

"I really thought it was ready. I had hoped that we had finally gotten somewhere and that Cowen would be happy with my work."

Mina was not used to seeing this side of Ladon. In the whole time she had known him, he had always been too over confident in his abilities. Being appointed as Cowen's chief scientist at such a young age had not done anything to lessen his ego. It was one of the things that had pushed her away from him when they were younger. This disappointed, downtrodden Ladon was someone completely different. She reached out and placed her hand on his shoulder, an encouraging smile on her face.

"I'm sure things will work out better next time. Maybe make sure it works before testing it around Cowen and other people though. Avoid this kind of disaster in the future."

Ladon returned her smile in gratitude. She watched his eyes rake over her face, and she began to think that maybe Thali had been correct. Her suspicions were confirmed when Ladon's expression changed as his gaze fell on her hand.

"Are you married?" he asked in a surprised tone.

Mina followed his gaze down to the ring on her finger that she had been waving in Thali's face earlier.

"Yes. I got married 2 months ago. Arranged marriage."

"Who did you marry?"

"Kolya. My brother and Cowen made an agreement to help my family get in better standing."

Ladon's mouth turned down in a frown. Mina was sure now that Thali had been right. He did have feelings for her. Now she was married, and to his commanding officer. She took a step back, putting some distance between them.

"I'll let you get back to work on your experiment. I'm glad you are alright. Bye Ladon."

Ladon raised his hand in a half-hearted wave before he walked away to collect more pieces of his failed experiment. Mina sighed and walked across the clearing back in the direction of her home. The work day was nearly over, so there was no point in returning to work. She spent the remainder of the afternoon preparing dinner.

When Kolya returned home from the bunker, she had everything ready. All through dinner, she kept covertly glancing across the table at her husband. He hadn't said anything since arriving home, which was nothing out of the ordinary. Even outside their home, when she had seen him after the explosion, he hadn't said a word to her.

As was the usual, they finished their meal in silence and she cleaned up afterwards. She walked to her bedroom door, turning to look at him sitting in front of the fireplace. He had a glass of liquor in his hand and he was silently looking into the fire as he often did after dinner. She wanted to say something, anything to strike up a conversation. Maybe do what Thali had suggested earlier and talk to him about her unhappiness. She opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out. She let out a sigh and simply said goodnight before entering her bedroom, closing the door behind her.

She changed into her sleeping clothes and laid down to go to sleep. Her mind kept wandering to her conversation with Thali and her conflicted feelings about having a family and happy marriage. Ladon's smile and disappointed expression appeared in her mind, stirring up doubt.

Had she made a huge mistake in agreeing to marry Acastus? Would she have been happier if she had gone against her brother's plan? Maybe someday Ladon would have told her how he felt and they could have moved forward together. Now she would never know, and she was here in her own bed in her husband's childhood home. As she thought over her situation, for the first time in a long while, Mina quietly cried herself to sleep.

A/N: Happy I was able to make this chapter a little longer. I hope to make more of the chapters this long as we go along. Please review and let me know what you think!