After a few days in the infirmary, Corric was convinced that Mina was able to go home. She dressed with difficulty, struggling with her bandaged hands. Until her burns healed, she wouldn't be able to do much of anything. Once she had gotten herself together, she made her way back into the main room to grab her things that had been sitting at her desk for the past few days. Her attention was grabbed by the sound of someone clearing their throat behind her.
"Excuse me, Mina?"
Mina turned to face the man that had spoken and came face to face with Commander Pranos, the man she met the day of the fire.
"Hello again Commander. What can I do for you?"
"The doctor said that you should be escorted home and as your husband is busy at the moment, he sent me in his stead."
Mina nodded in understanding. Corric likely wanted to make sure she would get home safely. She did think it odd that Pranos had been sent rather than her brother, but she brushed away the thought. Pranos held the door open, allowing her to pass through. They walked silently together down the hall to the entrance to the surface. When they exited the compound, Mina was greeted by a cold burst of air. She didn't normally spend so much time underground and seemed to have missed the changing of the seasons.
"It's cold today," she said, trying to start a conversation.
The commander shrugged out of his overcoat and placed it over her shoulders. Mina gave him an appreciative smile and they continued walking in the direction of her home.
"I think it was a very brave thing that you did the other day," Pranos said as they walked.
"My actions were no different than yours. We both did what was necessary to get people to safety."
"That is true, but it was not expected of you as you are not a member of the military. Also, I don't think many people would have gone into that blaze to save anyone at that point. I was surprised to see your husband go in after you. He must really care for you."
Mina smiled at his words.
"I like to think so. How well do you know my husband? He must trust you if he sent you to escort me home in his place."
"I have known him for many years. He is one of my closest friends and I respect him a great amount. I don't think he deserves the amount of punishment that Cowen seems to believe he does."
Mina wasn't sure that she completely agreed with Pranos. As much as she cared for her husband, he had to live with the consequences of his actions. But she also knew the guilt he felt over what had happened on his failed mission to Atlantis. She had watched it unfold in his anger in the months following his failure.
The two of them continued their walk in silence. When they reached her home, Pranos went ahead of her and opened the door, ushering her inside.
"Are you alright to be here alone? I'm afraid that I can't stay, as I have an off-world appointment."
Mina nodded and placed her things down on the table. She gingerly removed his coat from her shoulders and handed it to him.
"I should be fine. Thank you Commander."
Pranos bowed his head as a farewell before leaving, closing the door behind him. Mina walked over the chairs in front of the fireplace and sat down. She held her hands out in front of her, looking down at the bandages with annoyance. She didn't like feeling helpless. There wasn't much she could do without her hands, except sit in this chair and stare at the cold fireplace. She couldn't even light it for warmth. That had her reconsidering her statement that she was fine alone.
Standing up from the chair, she walked over to the small closet and pulled out her coat. She gently pulled it on and left her house, closing the door to the best of her ability. Despite what Corric felt, she hadn't really needed an escort home. She was perfectly capable of walking about on her own. Braving the cold, Mina did the only thing she could think of to entertain herself and began wandering around the village. Because of the weather, she did not run into many people, so her walk was a lonely one. This allowed her to be alone with her thoughts.
She thought about the events of the past few days. While she had been in the infirmary, she hadn't had many visits from her husband. He had stopped by twice while she was there. She saw more of Ladon than of her husband. Truth be told, she was glad to be out of Ladon's constant company. He spent most of his free time sitting at his sister's bedside, which was right next to Mina's. He told her many times how grateful he was that she saved Dahlia, and Mina was afraid that her actions may have encouraged his affections for her. There had been a few times that she noticed him looking at her, and it made her feel both uncomfortable and sorry for him.
In the 12 years that she had known Ladon, his feelings for her were never a secret. She had hoped he would grow out of them and move on. If things had gone different and she hadn't developed feelings for Acastus, maybe she would have eventually entertained the thought of being with Ladon. But that was moot now, and it was pointless for him to dwell on his feelings and what could have been. She wanted to do something to make him move on, but she wasn't sure what.
While she was lost in thought, Mina didn't realize that it was getting dark. She was nowhere near her home and didn't have a light. She looked around her to try and get her bearings. She had wandered near the burial ground while she was buried in her own head. She hadn't been here in many years. In the quickly fading light, she picked her way through the simple markings to the place where her parents were buried. When she came to their resting place, she knelt to the ground between the two stone markers. MIna reached out with her exposed fingers and brushed over the engraving on her mother's marker. She could feel her eyes well up with tears.
"If you were here, you could tell me what to do mom. You could help me with so many things. You would tell me what to do about Ladon and help me deal with the stubborn man that is my husband."
Mina glanced to her right to her father's marker. She laughed quietly. Her mother would know very well what it was like to have a stubborn husband. She reached out with her other hand to brush over her father's name as well. She felt the marking over his name and quickly pulled her hand away. She knew what that marking meant.
Traitor.
Mina stood from her kneeling position and said a final silent goodbye to her parents before beginning her trek home. As she got closer, she could hear someone calling her name. She looked up and noticed her husband standing on the porch. He stepped down and quickly walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her.
"Mina, where have you been?" he asked in a concerned tone of voice.
"I went for a walk and lost track of time."
He ushered her into the house, which was a warm change from the outside air. He helped her out of her coat and guided her to sit by the fire.
"It's cold out there. You had me worried sick. I was expecting to find you here, but you were gone when I came home."
Mina gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile.
"I'm fine Acastus. I burned my hands, that's all. The cold won't kill me. It was nice to be outside after being underground for the past few days."
Kolya shook his head at her. He placed a kiss on her temple before going to warm up some food for her. Mina watched him and smiled to herself. She knew he cared, but he didn't often show it. He returned with some soup, which she accepted gratefully. The two of them sat in silence as she ate, with him never taking his eyes off of her.
The following day, Mina was left to her own devises. Before he had left that morning, Acastus had gotten her to agree that she wouldn't wander off like she had the night before. So here she sat inside with a book. The longer that she had been working with Corric, the more books he sent home with her to study. She had fallen behind, so her injury gave her the perfect opportunity to catch up on some reading.
Her day alone at home was interrupted when her husband returned in the middle of the day. He touched her shoulder in greeting as he walked past her into their bedroom. Mina looked up in confusion as he passed her. The front door opened again and Pranos entered her home. Mina stood from her chair and greeted the man.
"Commander. Is something going on?"
Pranos gestured at her closed bedroom door.
"I'll let him explain."
The two of them waited for Kolya to emerge. When he did, he had changed into different clothing. He was strapping his gun holster onto his belt as he walked out of the bedroom.
"Acasus, what's going on?" Mina asked, worried by his actions.
"Pranos and I are going off world. We have a problem that needs attending to."
The way he said it concerned Mina.
"A problem? What kind of problem?"
Kolya sighed before answering her.
"The Atlantians are close to recovering a device that will give them power. The last thing they need is more power, so I intend to stop them from acquiring the device."
Mina stared at her husband, blinking a few times as she processed what he had just told her. He was going after the Atlantians again. She could feel her worry slowly growing into anger.
"You mean to tell me that the two of you are going to single handedly stop them from getting this device. The same people that have bested the Genii not once, but twice now?"
Kolya could sense that his wife was getting angry and placed his hands on her upper arms.
"It is not just the two of us. We have a group. We intend to strike while Sheppard and his team are at a disadvantage."
Mina's anger boiled closer to the surface and she took a deep breath to calm herself.
"Just to be clear, you are going after the man that has already killed a large number of our people and shot you?"
He didn't need to say anything for Mina to see that what she said was correct. She pulled away from his grip on her arms, stepping back away from him.
"Why?" she asked, her voice rising in anger. "Is Cowen having you do this?"
Kolya and Pranos exchanged a look and Mina realized the horrible truth.
"You are doing this against Cowen's orders, aren't you?"
Kolya's face showed nothing, but Mina noticed a sheepish look cross Pranos' face. Not saying anything, Mina turned away from the men before her and walked quickly to her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.
Kolya flinched at the sound of the door slamming. Pranos gave his friend a look of pity.
"That went well," he offered jokingly. "You going after her?"
Kolya sighed as he looked at the closed door.
"I don't know. We need to go, so I don't really have time to talk to her about it."
Pranos grasped his friend's shoulder and gestured at the door.
"I will go with the team and keep watch. You join us once you've dealt with things here. You don't want to leave while she's angry."
Kolya chuckled at his words.
"If you had experienced what it's like to be screamed at by an angry redhead, you would be insisting I leave right now."
Pranos smirked before walking out the door, leaving his friend to deal with his angry wife. Kolya crossed the room to the bedroom door. He opened it slowly, wary of what was behind it. He entered the room and saw Mina standing on the other side, staring out the window. He could practically see the steam coming out of her ears.
"Mina? Can we please talk about this?"
She didn't turn around, which prompted him to throw his arms up in the air in defeat.
"Why are you so angry?"
Kolya was surprised when he heard a sniffling sound. He crossed the room to stand next to Mina. He turned her towards him and he felt his heart twinge when he saw her face. She looked up at him with tear filled eyes.
"I don't want to lose you. I was already faced with that once and I'm not ready to go through that again."
Kolya pulled her into his arms and held her tightly.
"This will be a simple mission. If we succeed, we will have dealt a significant blow to the Atlantians. It may be enough to get me back into Cowen's good graces."
Mina pulled back a small amount so she could look at his face again.
"And if you fail?"
"I don't want to consider that as a possibility. I believe that we will succeed. We will have them at a disadvantage."
Mina pulled away from the embrace completely, turning to look out the window again.
"That's what you thought last time. Look how that turned out."
Kolya sighed and moved to stand in front of her, blocking her view of the window. He took her face in his hands and kissed her. He pulled away and before releasing her face, he brushed away some of her tears with his thumbs.
"I will return to you, I promise. Whether I succeed or not, I will come back."
He leaned in and kissed her forehead, knowing that action brought her comfort. He felt her arms wrap around his midsection. He returned her embrace briefly before pulling away from her.
"I need to go. I will see you when I return."
Kolya walked away from her and out of the bedroom. Before leaving the house, he turned and looked back to see her standing in the doorway. He gave her a small wave before exiting the house and walking in the direction of the gate.
A/N: In case you couldn't figure it out, this chapter takes place right before The Brotherhood. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please review and let me know what you think! Reviews are food for writers and keep us going!