He woke to warmth, to strong arms wrapped around him as he emerged from the tempting abyss of sleep. He lifted his head to look at the man with whom he'd fallen into slumber, smiling as he reached up to thread his fingers through black hair peppered with the grey of too many days spent on the edge of life and death. Blond hid those greys much more nicely, he mused, sliding his hand down to rest on a chest covered with soft, springy curls.

In the next moment, the chest rumbled beneath his fingers, sending pleasant vibrations up his arm as Kaidan murmured, "Good morning."

"I think it's after noon," Cullen replied with a chuckle. "We had a busy night."

Kaidan grinned as one of his eyes slitted open. "That's one way to describe it. I've never seen you so hungry for my-"

A soft kiss from Cullen cut off his comment, and the ones which followed served to wipe away any sense of time. The afternoon passed in a lazy haze of cuddling and kissing, with no word spoken about what almost happened the day before, of all the death and pain avoided through precision and skill. They never spoke of those things, though it was the constant nearness of death itself which fueled their lust and the sudden need for the intimacy which inevitably followed.

A moment and an eternity later, Cullen's hands gripped the headboard once more as he rode Kaidan's cock with a single-minded determination normally reserved for planning a mission into the depths of an enemy's stronghold. Kaidan's hands alternated between squeezing his hips and fisting in the sheets, his hips bucking up against Cullen as the heat between them again roared into an open flame.

By the time he'd collapsed onto Kaidan's sweaty, messy chest, he felt renewed. Life meant something again, something more than the next breath or the next lyrium-laden cigarette. It meant heat and sweat and comfort and being needed by someone else. He sought Kaidan's lips with an eagerness which quickly found its match, and for a long moment, they spoke without words emerging from their lips, using their mouths for another purpose entirely as each found beauty in the passion of the moment.

Soon, they'd rise from the bed to shower and eat. Soon, they would leave the safety of the nest they'd made over the course of the mission to take down the human supremacist cult known as Cerberus. Soon, they would sort through the information yesterday's mission had given them. Soon, they would charge into the very belly of the beast they had joined forces to take down with the blessing of both Chantry and Council. Soon, there would be another day where their lives would once more depend on them being skilled enough to keep them intact.

But for now, there was only the heat, and the passion, and the pulse of life which beat between them-even if it was just a dream of a memory.

When Cullen awoke again, he did so with the knowledge that he'd lost time to something deeper than mere sleep. Granted, he'd swam through a dream on the way back up from the depths of anesthesia, but he'd had enough emergency surgeries to recognize what it felt like afterwards. Since his last fuzzy memory involved being wheeled away from Kaidan on a gurney, that, at least, checked out. He became aware of a soft, steady beeping and a distant sense of discomfort in one arm, as well as a feeling of disconnect from his body which he normally associated with strong drugs.

All of that, along with the deliberate slowness of his thoughts, let him know that the drugs hadn't quite worn off yet, so he didn't even try to open his eyes. Instead, he contented himself with listening to the room around him, his mind taking each sound and cataloguing it away in case they became important later.

At first all he could hear was the soft beeping of the machines presumably tracking his vitals, but after a few moments of straining, other susurrations resolved themselves into soft-spoken voices somewhere nearby.

"-very lucky," a woman was saying. The doctor? "The damage to the muscle could have been much more extensive, given the nature of the bullet. The worst of the injury was the cut to the femoral artery, and that looked worse than it actually was."

"Thank the Maker." That voice, roughened with relief and tension held tight, could only be Kaidan. "Did you find the bullet?"

"No, it passed clear through. Judging by the damage on one of the holes, it disintegrated upon exit."

Kaidan swore softly, a sentiment Cullen shared wholeheartedly. "Too close."

"Entirely too close, Major. If that bullet had fragmented while still in your friend's leg, we would be having a very different conversation right now," the doctor said. "As it is, his recovery can be measured in weeks and not months or years."

"Weeks?" Kaidan asked, frowning. "We don't have time for-"

"Two weeks with no walking beyond trips to the bathroom at a minimum," Chakwas said in a firm tone. "And light duty after that. That is, unless you never want him to fully recover enough to walk again."

"But-"

"No buts. And he stays here for at least another day so I can monitor his recovery," she said. "You're lucky this is one of my regular city clinics. I was able to call in a few favors for special medicine that aren't usually available without several doctors signing off on it."

Kaidan sighed, but the sound was more tired than upset. "You're right," Kaidan said. "We are lucky, incredibly lucky. Thank you, Dr. Chakwas. I'll get some more funds wired to your charity as soon as I can."

"Thank you, Major." There was a pause, and then she added, "And I still wish you'd told me about your injuries yesterday."

"Nothing's broken," Kaidan protested. "And Cullen needed you more."

"Yes, but those bruises…" Chakwas made a little hmph sound. "At any rate, I'll have ice packs brought for you, and my special concoction I usually reserve for the field to speed up healing. I assume you intend to remain with him?"

"Yes. The van won't be fixed until tomorrow anyway. Besides, I know what it's like to wake up alone after surgery," he said.

"Good. The chair next to the patient's bed lays flat as needed, and I'll arrange for food for both of you. Thankfully, this way I can monitor both of you. I know you well enough to know that sometimes you don't tell me the extent of your injuries."

Cullen smiled as Kaidan made small protesting noises, knowing all too well how Kaidan had a tendency to downplay such trivial matters such as his own pain. "Doc, I-"

"Don't Doc me," Chakwas scolded him. "You only call me that when you're trying to tell me why you're an exception to the rule. Well, you aren't. And neither is your friend."

Cullen wished he could have seen Kaidan's voice as he replied, "Yes, Dr. Chakwas."

"Now come with me. I have a few more questions before I let you rest," Chakwas said, her voice already fading as she stepped out of the room. "Like who is the next of kin for my new patient-"

A door clicked, and Cullen realized that he was alone. He let the silence, broken only with the soft beeping of medical equipment, fill his mind for a long moment as he contemplated how his fortune had played him both ways. He wouldn't be permanently crippled, but at the same time he might not be able to finish the mission with Kaidan-and he didn't like that thought. They'd always finished their missions together.

Of course, it might be the after mission aspect that he'd miss the most. A flash of the dreams he had before awakening brought a subtle smirk to his lips, and he let the warmth rush over him. It helped bring his mind to full alert, though he noticed that it also tried to bring other parts of him to alert as well.

Ignoring that for now, Cullen concentrated on the simple things first: bending his fingers and toes, controlling his breathing, and focusing on the parts of his body he knew should be in agony as he attempted to gauge how bad it would be when the painkiller wore off.

The answer, unfortunately, reared itself almost immediately: bad. He winced in pain as he flexed his injured leg, trying not to mutter a curse as he realized that the doctor was, in fact, correct: he was not an exception to the rule of recovery.

"Cullen? You awake?"

Cullen's eyes flew open in surprise, since he hadn't heard the door open. "Getting there," he mumbled.

"Need anything?" Kaidan's face emerged from the dimness around him. "Water? Lights? I'd offer more, but that's about all I can give you for a while. Doctor's orders."

"Water would be good," Cullen said, realizing that his mouth had absolutely no saliva. "Mouth dry."

"I hate that," Kaidan said as he moved to the table where a pitcher and a glass were waiting. Pouring a half glass, he brought it back over and cradled Cullen's head with one hand as he brought the water to his lips with the other. "Doesn't happen to me every time, but when it does happen, it's annoying."

Cullen closed his eyes as he drank down the water, waiting until Kaidan had stepped back before he answered. "It is." He reached up with his free hand and wiped his face. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Kaidan sat in the chair next to his bed and scrutinized him. "You look like you should sleep a bit longer."

"I feel like it," Cullen admitted reluctantly. In point of fact, he felt hollow, as if someone had sucked all the energy out of him. Past experience informed him that this would pass in a day or two, but for the moment he didn't relish feeling as if someone had stabbed him with a straw and sucked. "It's just hard to let myself, after…" His voice trailed off, not wanting to admit to the fear that lingered yet after what had happened to him before.

Kaidan's expression softened. "I know," he said softly. "Don't worry. I'll be right here. Nothing will happen to you, I promise. We have the monitors up and everything, and Chakwas told me what to look for to avoid what happened before."

Cullen's eyes opened as he stared at Kaidan. "You told her-"

"In general terms, not specific ones," Kaidan said hurriedly in a low tone as he leaned in close. "Just that you had a reaction to a hospital medicine dosing error, not that it was an assassin who forced the error. As far as she knows, you're just another Spectre working with me on a job."

That made Cullen relax. There were only a handful of people who knew of his true past, and he wanted to keep it that way, especially after what had happened to the Divine he'd served. "Thank you," he murmured, even as his eyes sagged shut again.

He heard Kaidan reply, but he took more notice of the way Kaidan's hand took his and squeezed. The gesture made him smile just before the blackness pulled him back under.

"How is he doing?"

"Just drive, Shepard," Cullen shot back through gritted teeth. Most of his concentration was on the man lying on top of him in the back seat of the SUV as Shepard drove them haphazardly towards the city. "How far is it to-"

"Thirty minutes," she called back, even as she pulled a tight maneuver to get the huge vehicle through a gap that shouldn't have even allowed a bicycle through.

Cullen looked down at Kaidan's pale face, then to the blood still seeping through his fingers no matter how hard he pressed down on the wound. "Make it twenty."

"Shit." He heard Shepard take a breath, then say, "Buckle in. I'll call ahead and make sure the trauma unit is waiting for us outside the entrance. That will speed things up."

Nodding numbly, Cullen kept his eyes on Kaidan, shifting position to see if his knee pressing from below could help stem the flow of blood. Whatever that monster in the mines had been, Kaidan had managed to hold it off long enough for Cullen and Shepard to get the prisoners out, but the cost had been high. He knew that the Spectres would send field agents back for a post-mission analysis to figure out what Cerberus had done to create such a beast, but for the moment, keeping Kaidan alive had to take precedence.

Those twenty minutes were the longest in his life, full of tension as Shepard guided the SUV along pathways not designed for cars: sidewalks, over railings, and even up and down several sets of stairs. He had a feeling that the license plate would have several shots taken of it that day, but since that was changed every time the vehicle left the Spectre garage, it wasn't a great loss. The one-way windows would prevent a trace back to Spectre, at least, and he trusted Shepard not to hurt anyone.

Thankfully the suspension was built to handle the roughest terrain, or even Cullen might not have survived the trip.

He didn't notice as they left the roads of the city through which they'd raced and passed through the heavily armed gate of the Spectre compound. Whatever Shepard must have said in her call ahead, it must have worked since they didn't even have to slow down for an ID check. As it was, though, they were still almost too late.

As Kaidan's labored breathing came to a halt, and what had been pale skin shifted towards ashen, Cullen cried out, "Shepard!"

"Almost there," she said, tapping the control to unlock the doors. "Be ready for them to haul him out."

True to her word, within seconds she'd sent the vehicle into a sharp corner spiral that ended with the door being flung open. Immediately medics were there, tugging Kaidan out of Cullen's arms and onto a gurney, taking vitals and doing chest compressions as soon as he was in place. Through numb lips Cullen told one of them what he knew of the injuries, but by the time he'd finished his explanation, the gurney and the team of doctors were gone.

He let Shepard drag him out of the vehicle, which still emitted a regular series of plings and plinks as it cooled down from the hard driving she'd pushed it through. "He'll be all right," she said softly. "He's in the best hands now."

"I know, I just…" Cullen stared at the building above them for a long time. "I can't go in."

"I can. I'd try to get you in, but they don't allow non-Spectres into the medical unit, not even family. They can't keep me out, though." Her own eyes were hooded as she looked up at the Spectre headquarters, and he knew she was just as worried as he was, though for a friend rather than-

Cullen hurriedly pushed that thought away. It wouldn't really help to dwell on it, after all. "I should go," he said. "I have a report to file, after all. There's things we learned about Cerberus that the Chantry needs to know"

"Me, too." Tapping her earpiece, Shepard added, "They're already demanding information. Come on. I'll arrange a ride home for you."

For another long moment he looked up at the building. "You'll keep me updated?"

"I will," Shepard promised softly. "I know what he means to you."

Since Cullen himself couldn't express that-wasn't allowed to, by definition of his occupation-he said nothing in reply. He knew his eyes spoke far more eloquently, though, as they met Shepard's dark gaze for a moment.

His heart knew, even if the rest of him had to remain speechless. Unfortunately, the Unseen Hand wasn't allowed to have a heart.

Cullen's body spasmed as he jerked awake, the memory of Kaidan's brush with death merging with his own memories and leaving him a shuddering, sweating mess. In the next moment of consciousness, he noticed an incessant itch in his leg, and fought the urge to reach down and rub at it.

Once his mind and body had been wrestled back into control, he noticed a gentle, familiar snore emanating from the chair next to his bed. A glance showed Kaidan in the chair next to the bed after having pushed it back into a reclining position. Cullen smiled at the sight, letting himself admire the sleeping man as he had so many times before. Dorian might share his bed and warm his heart now, but there had been a time when Cullen had felt the same towards Kaidan.

Or thought he had, anyway.

Cullen reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose, pushing the memories away. Only the present mattered. Opening his eyes, he found himself lingering for a moment on the strong line of Kaidan's jaw and fought the urge to reach out and trace it. Taking a deep breath, he moved his hand underneath him so that he could lever himself up, though it took him a couple of tries to succeed.

Now that he was more awake, he looked around the small room and found it to be not too dissimilar from other hospitals he'd been in, albeit smaller. As he prodded his leg and grimaced, the door to the room opened and a woman with grey-lined hair and tired eyes walked in.

"Ah, I see my erstwhile patient is awake," the woman-who Cullen presumed was Dr. Chakwas-said as she moved to stand next to his bed. Her eyes flickered to where Kaidan still lay slumbering, and when she next spoke, her voice dropped in volume. "How are you feeling? Good enough to sit is promising."

"Not without effort, but I'm not in pain, at least," he said.

"Once I saw your blood levels, I was a bit uncertain," she mused as she studied the tablet in her hand. "How long have you been tapering your use?"

Cullen's blood grew cold. "Pardon?"

She looked up at him. "You're not the first person I've seen with lyrium in his blood," she said bluntly. "But you're the first one who has so little lyrium in his blood and not be dead. How long has it taken to get to this point?"

Cullen swallowed. "Over three years. But how did you-"

"I always scan for it now, after I lost a patient to acute withdrawal a few years ago," she told him. "It's a terrible way to die, as I'm sure you are aware."

Screams ricocheting off the walls, body convulsing on a bed soaked with the blood that poured from self-inflicted wounds, eyes empty of thought or sanity…

Cullen shook his head, pushing the memories away violently. "I've seen it," he said in a tight voice.

"Then I don't need to caution you." When Cullen didn't respond, she gave a soft sigh. "You've chosen a difficult path, but it is not without merit-as long as you can control yourself." She glanced at Kaidan. "Does he know?"

"That I use it? Yes. That I'm trying not to? No. No one does," Cullen said softly.

"Someone should know," she said. "Someone who knows what to do if the level drops too low too quickly. I don't know how well you know the Major, but-"

"I'll think about it." And, now that he thought about Kaidan, he suddenly realized that Kaidan's snoring had ceased. Sneaky bastard. "What about my recovery, Doctor?"

She took his deflection with grace, turning to tap on the machines so that the incessant beeping came to a halt, though the lines continued. "Other than the leg and the other matter, you're more healthy than most people I see day to day. Two weeks with only light bathroom and bathing duties, a daily change of dressing, and you'll be able to get back to light activities." She gave him a stern look. "But nothing that might end up getting another bullet in you for at least two months."

Cullen kept his expression bland as he nodded. "Yes, Doctor."

Chakwas made a disgusted noise. "You're as bad as a Spectre. Well, I checked your dressing while you were still asleep, and it looks good. The swelling is already down, but given what's in your blood, that doesn't surprise me. Just remember it's only partially reliable for recovery." She considered him with narrowed eyes for a moment, then said, "But you would know that better than most by now, wouldn't you? You have a surfeit of scars for someone your age."

He met her gaze silently. There really wasn't much he could say to that, which was why he rarely relaxed around doctors, especially ones who had as much experience as Dr. Chakwas. They could see through him all too easily.

"Take care of yourself," she told him in a gentle voice. "I can tell that you mean a lot to Kaidan, and he doesn't have many friends left."

The words settled into Cullen's stomach and twisted there, his eyes turning to where Kaidan lay in apparent slumber as he waited for Chakwas to leave. Once the door clicked closed behind her, he said softly, "You can stop pretending."

Kaidan laughed softly as he opened his eyes to look at Cullen. "Old habits die hard."

"Especially when old habits keep you alive," Cullen said, finishing their old joke. "I know. How much did you hear?"

"All of it," Kaidan admitted, reaching down to push the chair back into a normal configuration. "She didn't tell me, though, just so you know. I'm just a light sleeper."

Cullen couldn't help but smirk. "I can remember some mornings where that wasn't the case."

"Me, too," Kaidan replied, but his tone was less teasing and more...well, it wasn't the sort of tone one used on a man recovering from surgery, that was for certain. "And I remember the nights before those mornings, too."

Cullen's mouth went dry as a flood of memories swept over him, triggering a predictable response. Unfortunately, and with little care for his dignity, his first instinct was to blurt, "I don't think Dr. Chakwas would approve."

Kaidan's surprised laugh did made Cullen smile, but both faded quickly as Kaidan said, "I don't think I'm up to it myself, either. Look." Standing, he tugged off his shirt and turned around. "Chakwas said it was pretty bad."

"That's moderately spectacular, yes," Cullen observed, reaching up to trace the outline of the extensive bruise across Kaidan's back. "Not the worst I've seen, but it's got to be damn painful regardless."

"It is," Kaidan confirmed. "Luckily I have something that can keep us occupied and not make it worse." He bent down and retrieved his ruggedized, secure laptop from the ground next to his chair. "While you were asleep, I used your system to decrypt the files we got yesterday. You guessed right, they updated their encryption keys but not the method used to generate them. Took an hour or two, but eventually I cracked it."

"Thank the Maker," Cullen breathed. "Let me see."

They both lost the next few hours as they delved into the data they'd acquired, feverishly working through it to discover not only the location of Shepard's partner, but also whatever else could be gleaned about both the Qunari and Sovereign, and especially whatever linked them. At one point they came across a familiar name that sent a chill down Cullen's back. "Wait. Go back to the part that mentions Adaar again."

Kaidan tapped a couple of keys. "Yes. Salmin Adaar, known to be discontent with the Qun, aided in the escape of his daughter over ten years ago, disappeared about a year ago and...Huh. He was marked for assassination, but the reason for the order is protected in a nested encrypted bundle. Also doesn't say if the attempt was successful or not. Why?"

Cullen frowned at the screen. "Because a couple of days before you reached out to me, Varric contacted Hawke about a job to go pick up someone on the run from the Qunari. Her last name was Adaar."

"Her?" Kaidan grunted. "Could be the kid. I wonder how it ties in to everything else."

"Considering we had to help her escape from a Qunari Infiltration & Extraction team, pretty damn close, I'd imagine."

Kaidan frowned. "Where is she now?"

"By now?" Cullen quickly calculated how much time had passed. "It's been a week since then, so who knows? Well, Hawke might know. Or Varric, since he hired us to take care of her in the first place."

"Might be worth it to reach out to them," Kaidan said, raising his head to look at the clock, then squinted. "Is it really after midnight already?"

Cullen mirrored his gesture. "I remember the assistant bringing in some food a while ago." And somewhere in there Kaidan had helped him use the facilities, which hadn't been very pleasant but which was much preferred to a catheter. Of course, now that he knew the time, his weariness pressed on him, and he sagged in place on the mattress. "We can figure it out in the morning."

"Yeah." Kaidan rubbed his face with his hand. "Sorry. I didn't mean to keep you up this late." Sliding off the bed, Kaidan cleared it of all their work materials, then glanced up at Cullen. "Need some help getting comfortable?"

After an attempt to do it himself warned him that it would be too much pressure on his healing leg, Cullen sighed. "Just enough to get me flat again."

"Copy." Kaidan leaned in, busying himself as he straightened Cullen's leg gently before easing him down the bed. Quickly he fluffed the pillow, then lowered Cullen down onto it. Before Cullen realized where that would lead, he found Kaidan's hand on his cheek and the man's face inches from his own as Kaidan smiled down at him. "Better?"

"Much." Cullen stared up into those eyes as the memories surged in his mind once more, fighting the urge to act upon them. When Kaidan didn't move away, however, a heat awoke under Kaidan's fingertips and spread over Cullen's face and neck, a flush he was certain Kaidan would notice.

And notice he did.

When their lips met, Cullen let himself fall into the moment-at least at first. It was all too easy to remember how the tension between them, so important to keep them alert while on missions, would turn into undeniable lust afterwards. Hours and nights in each other's embrace had served a purpose, true: the purpose of remembering the sweetness of life. But it had grown into something else, and when Cullen had finally decided to flee his duties, Kaidan had been the one to aid him.

As their lips parted, though, he remembered what had happened after that, as well.

"Why?" he asked softly. "Why did you leave me when I needed you the most?" His voice was devoid of judgment or anger-he'd left those behind long before. But he had to know.

Kaidan reached up to card his fingers through the long waves of Cullen's hair. "Because you needed me too much."

Cullen's brow furrowed as he blinked in confusion. That certainly wasn't the answer he'd expected. "What?"

"You were paralyzed, Cullen. You couldn't go outside without me, you couldn't decide what to eat. You wouldn't even shower unless I reminded you. Your fear of what the Chantry might have done to you after you left your position without warning turned the trust between us into a chain that dragged us both down. I tried…" Kaidan's hand shook as he cupped the side of Cullen's face. "I tried so hard to help you, but in the end I realized that if I kept trying, we would both end up hating each other, and I still wouldn't have helped you. So I left before that happened." A sad smile came to his face. "At least I never ended up hating you."

Squeezing his eyes shut, Cullen took a deep breath. "I did hate you, for a while," he confessed. "I couldn't help but blame you at first, when everything seemed so damn dark. I try not to think about those times, honestly. I hit rock bottom so hard that it broke and I dropped into the Void, or so I thought."

"What happened?" Kaidan asked softly.

"I found someone who knew how to help me," Cullen said. "Well, Hawke found him for me, at least. A refugee from an insular cult who'd used his personal trauma to get training so he could heal others. He's the one who helped me work through my...well, my everything. I can't say he fixed me, but he brought me back to a point where I could at least work on myself again."

"I'm glad. I've always wondered if…" Kaidan pressed their foreheads together. "I've never been happier than when I heard you answer that phone," he admitted. "Even if you sounded grumpy."

"You caught me at a delicate moment," Cullen admitted with a wry smile. "I would have been irritated at anyone. It was strange to hear your voice. I thought you'd left me behind forever, Kaid."

Kaidan smiled at the sound of his old nickname. "No. Or at least, I'd like to think not forever." He leaned in and stole another soft kiss. "It's pretty obvious we still work well together. I'm curious to find out how else that still holds true."

As he tried to claim another kiss, however, Cullen pulled back-or at least didn't return the kiss with quite the same enthusiasm. When Kaidan retreated with a frown, Cullen sighed and took Kaidan's hand in his own. "I've met someone," he said gently.

"You-Ah." Kaidan chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck, looking a bit embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"No, I didn't mention him," Cullen said hastily. "You had no way of knowing. I just never expected us to-" Cullen coughed self-consciously. "Well, I just never expected it."

Kaidan smiled. "We never expected it before, either," he pointed out. "But you're right, it's not like we can just start where we left off. And I never assumed it would," he added hastily. "But you were right there, and-"

"And we never needed a reason to ask before," Cullen said with a chuckle.

"Well, he's a very lucky man, your...your someone," Kaidan said with a smile. "And it's probably a good thing anyway. It's late, and we've got work to do tomorrow."

Cullen nodded, then reached up to stifle a well-timed yawn. "Speaking of which, give me my phone. I'll text your number to Hawke so he knows to trust it when you call him tomorrow."

Kaidan paused in the act of sitting in his chair. "What?"

"To ask him about Adaar," Cullen reminded him. "To figure out the link between this new Adaar and the Qunari, and if it's important."

"Right." Kaidan tugged Cullen's phone out of his pack and reached up to set it in Cullen's hand. "See, you're smart. That's what I like about you."

Cullen snorted as he unlocked his phone and quickly tapped out a short, coded text to Hawke. "You're saying that now, but just wait until after you've had to deal with Hawke for a bit. You might not be so content after that."

"We'll see," Kaidan said with a grin as he collapsed into the chair. "God, I could sleep for a week."

"Better not," Cullen warned him. "Sounds like they're going to move Liara in a week or two." The words dug into his gut, just another reminder that he wouldn't be at Kaidan's side to see the mission through.

"You will still help me, won't you?" Kaidan asked. "There's a lot you can do from my bunker that will be able to help me even from a distance."

"I'm not quitting on you, Kaid," Cullen said with a grin as he set his phone onto the table next to his bed. "That's not my MO, remember?"

"Ouch. I felt that." Kaidan pressed a hand to his chest, then reached down and pulled the release to flatten the chair into a reclined position. "Now sleep. We'll have plenty of time to catch up later."

"Plenty of time," Cullen said with a smile as his eyes sagged closed. I like the sound of that. Sleep claimed him easily after that, though whether it was because of his injuries, the hour, or the release of a long-buried anxiety he didn't know.

When he awoke, Kaidan was gone.