Here's your new chapter, complete with a much less depressing atmosphere than we've seen recently.

Nickel's chest rises and falls steadily, rhythmically, healthily. It's so different from how he'd looked in the hangar, blood pooling under him as he struggled to speak. The color's returned to his skin as well. I'm sure it'd look more reassuring if he'd just wake up.

"Are you sure he'll be okay?" I ask, eyes not leaving Nick's face.

"He's fine," Rhodi says absentmindedly, sorting medical supplies onto shelves. "He suffered a serious trauma, which he's still healing from. Once he's done, he'll wake up."

"You're sure?" I ask again. I still remember how he looked, how close to death he appeared. I can't shake that image from my head. I doubt I'll be able to until he opens his eyes again.

"He's already gotten through the worst of it," Rhodi assures me. "He'll be fine, Si."

I stand and look at Rhodi, finally dragging my eyes off Nick. "Will you tell me when he wakes up?" I request, stepping toward the door.

"No need to have him do extra work," a weak voice croaks behind me. I spin around and see Nick, eyes squinting under the harsh lights of the new infirmary but open nonetheless. "I can tell you myself."

I spin and drop back into the chair beside his bed. "You're awake," I say, grabbing his hand.

"What tipped you off?" he asks, smiling. He glances around the room. "This doesn't look like the infirmary," he comments. "Where are we?"

"One of mom's extra research facilities," I answer. "It was on the same list as our old base, which means she never registered it with the UNSC."

"Will she figure out we're here?" Nick asks, concern appearing in his eyes.

"There's a chance," I say. "But it'll at least take her a while."

"Good," Nick nods, seeming to relax.

"How are you feeling?" I ask, and it's my turn to look concerned.

"As good as can be expected," he answers. "Maybe a little thirsty," he adds, looking at Rhodium over my shoulder. The boy nods and walks to the sink at the other end of the room.

Nick waits until Rhodi's out of earshot before speaking again. "How bad is it?"

"Your arm's gone," I say. With anyone else I would try to break the news gently, but I know Nick will appreciate the bluntness.

His eyes close for half a second as he reaches up to touch his shoulder, the only sign of disappointment or loss he'll allow himself. When his eyes open again, he looks serene. "I guess I got off lucky," he says. "She could have easily gone for my throat instead." A joking smile spreads across his face. "I suppose Yttri's gonna make me a new one?"

I nod. "From what I've heard she's already started drawing up blueprints."

"Good," he says, smile widening. "Tell her to make it super badass."

"This is Yttri we're talking about," I point out. "Even I'm not brave enough to tell her how to do her job."

"Good point," Nick chuckles. Rhodi appears with a glass of water and Nick starts pushing himself back on the bed, trying to sit up. He gives up after a few moments and slumps down with a tired sigh. Rhodi and I help him up and he breathes heavily for a moment before accepting the glass.

"You'll need to take it easy for a while," Rhodi informs him. "You're under bed rest until I say otherwise."

"So… does that mean no training?" Nick asks, giving him a grin that can only be described as cheeky.

Rhodi glares at him. "Don't you dare try," he warns. When Nick raises his hand in surrender, Rhodi goes back to sorting supplies.

Nick is silent for a long time, alternating between sipping the water and trying to feel for his missing arm. Eventually he seems to snap back into focus and looks at me. "How is Tinu handling this?"

"Not well," I admit. "I think she'll do better when she sees you're alright, though."

Nick nods his agreement. "Anything interesting happen while I was out?" he asks, perking up.

I swallow a lump in my throat, trying to figure out how to tell him what happened. I must take too long to answer, because the happiness in his eyes is replaced by worry. "Who?" he asks quietly.

"Lico," I whisper, head dropping in shame.

Nick's hand balls into a fist and he slams it into the mattress. "Damn it," he hisses angrily through his teeth. "How?"

I explain what happened and his expression morphs from anger to sympathy. "Silver, that's… I'm so sorry, Si."

I nod. "Things haven't exactly been great around here."

"I can't believe Boron would do that," Nick says, sounding shocked. "I mean, he's always had his issues, especially with you, but to do this… Are you sure mom isn't controlling him?"

I shake my head. "When I first brought him back, I checked to make sure his chip was deactivated, just like I did with you and Tinu and everyone else. I even had Yttri double check when he killed the guard that one time. Mom didn't make him do this. He chose it all on his own."

Nick brushes his hand across his face, muttering something. "Fuck," he whispers, and I nod, sharing the sentiment. "This is so screwed up," he adds. "I grew up with Boron. He was part of my first team. He was always a troublemaker, he always had problems with anger, but he was still our brother. Even in my craziest dreams, I'd never imagine he would do something like this." He seems more like he's talking to himself than to me, but I don't interrupt. I can't imagine how hard this must be for him to process. He knew Boron better than I did. This betrayal has to feel worse to him.

"How are you doing?" he asks suddenly, like the thought's just occurred to him. "Are you okay?"

I shrug, not meeting his eyes. "I'm trying," is all I say.

"If you need to take some time…" he trails off, leaving the sentence unfinished.

"You know I don't have time," I say gently. "I'll keep doing what needs to be done, and I'll manage. You guys still need me."

Nick reaches over to grab my hand. "I'm here if you need to talk," he offers. "It's not like Rhodi will let me do much else," he adds, raising his voice so the other boy can hear.

I hear Rhodi mutter something about complaining that he keeps us alive and I can't help but smile.

"There it is," Nick says. "There's the big sister smile I've missed." I hold his gaze for a while, trying not to let my eyes drift to the emptiness of his right shoulder. If I keep looking at his face, if I keep seeing that quirky smile and those mischievous eyes, then I can imagine nothing's happened. I can pretend that this is my same nerdy brother as always, and nothing's changed. I know it's a lie, but for now, with everything else that's happened, it's easier this way.

There's so much more I want to say, so much I want to tell him. I want to talk about Rho. I want to ask if he thinks I should trust her again. I want to tell him what happened on Chorus, when we tried to capture Gold. I know he'd appreciate being able to fill in the blanks about what happened while I was away. Most of all, I want to ask him about Wash. I want to know what he thinks about this, and if he knew how Wash feels. I suspect he already knew. Nick's always been good at reading people, and I assume he'd be just as skilled in recognizing something like this.

I want to talk to him about all of this. I don't, though. He's strong, but he's still healing. I shouldn't burden him with this yet. Right now, the only thing he should be thinking about is rest and recovery.

Eventually, Rhodi steps up, breaking the silence. "Sorry, Silver, but it's time for you to go." I turn to him with pleading eyes, ready to argue, but he speaks before I have the chance. "I know you two have a lot to catch up on, but Nick needs his rest. You can talk more later."

I nod before looking back to Nick. "He's right, you probably should rest. You're not gonna have much time to once Tinu realizes you're up, anyway."

Nick nods, closing his eyes as his head sinks back into the pillows. "I look forward to having her talk my ears off," he says happily.

"Get some sleep," I say, rising from the chair. "I need my best sniper back on his feet."

"Hey, cyborge, could you come here for a minute?"

Simmons jolts up from where he'd been leaning against the wall. He wasn't daydreaming. He's very adamant about that in his mind. He definitely was not thinking about hugging Yttri yesterday, and he's certainly not thinking about how much he wants to do it again. I'm really trying not to be creepy, he thinks miserably, but my brain isn't helping.

He walks over to the work table where the mechanic's been stationed for what seems like days. He's sure she's taken breaks at some point; otherwise she'd have collapsed by now. It's just the fact that she's been standing in the same spot every morning when he's come to see her and every night when he leaves gives a different impression.

Sitting on the table is a blueprint. Simmons can't help staring at it. Yttri's been unusually secretive about what she's been working on lately, and his curiosity gets the best of him. What he sees is a cybernetic arm, painstakingly drawn down to the last detail, with notes about materials and other details scrawled along the sides.

"Originally, these had been my plans for your new arm," Yttri explains, "but I think that's going to be put on hold for now. It's more important to get Nick back up to strength." She says the last part almost apologetically. She looks at Simmons like she's worried he'll be disappointed.

"That makes sense," Simmons says, nodding. "It can be hard to get used to having a prosthetic. He'll want to start as soon as he's able."

"You're cool waiting for yours?" Yttri asks.

Simmons shrugs. "I've had this arm for a while. I'm sure I can handle it a bit longer." Truthfully, he had started to get really excited at the idea of getting his new arm, but he also understands the need to help Nick. He's okay with waiting for something he hadn't even known about a few weeks ago.

Yttri smiles, and Simmons is so caught up in the expression that he barely acknowledges the words when she speaks. "I knew I could count on you, Cyborge," she says, sounding pleased. She turns back to the table, sketching out a few more lines and humming to herself over joint reinforcement techniques. She eventually writes out a note to ask Rhodi's advice for the medical aspects.

Simmons continues to stare while she works. He's glad to see her smiling again.

Yttri glances up at him, an amused quirk to her lips, and Simmons blushes. "Y'know, if you're so interested, you could try to help," she suggests teasingly.

Simmons' blush deepens as he shifts his eyes from Yttri to the blueprints. "Well," he starts, trying to keep the nervous tremor out of his voice and failing completely. "We should probably try to keep the arm light so he can move quicker with it."

Yttri nods encouragingly. "Nick's a sniper. He's told me on more than one occasion that an important factor in that is speed."

"I watched him training once," Simmons continues, braver after Yttri's acceptance of his advice. "It looked like he braces the sniper rifle on his right shoulder."

"So we need to make sure to strengthen that joint, especially," Yttri finishes thoughtfully. "Those guns have a lot of kick." She looks down at the table with an annoyed expression. "That's going to be difficult. According to Rhodi, none of the arm is left. The bone got torn straight out of the socket. There won't be a lot to work with when it comes to reinforcements."

Simmons tries his best not to wince too visibly when Yttri describes the injury. He's suddenly very glad he was sedated before his arm was removed.

Yttri sighs. "We're gonna have our work cut out for us on this one, Cyborge."

"We?" Simmons asks, hating how hopeful he sounds.

"All of my equipment got destroyed," Yttri points out with a shrug. "I'm gonna need help to rebuild all of that." She pauses for a moment before adding, "if you want to, of course."

"Yes," Simmons says instantly, no longer caring if he sounds eager. "I like helping you." She looks up and he holds her stare for a few seconds, trying to convince himself to lean forward and kiss her. He thinks it'd be okay. She hugged him, so maybe she does feel the same way he does. Then again, she'd been going through a lot. She might have just needed a onetime comfort sort of hug. Still, there's a chance. He'll never find out if he doesn't do something. By the time he finally decides he'll try, the moment's passed and Yttri's already walking away.

"Good," she says, stopping right before she passes him. Simmons flinches when he feels a hand brush against his human one, thinking it must be an accident, but forces himself to not pull away. He relaxes slightly when calloused fingers wrap purposefully around his own. "I like working with you, too," Yttri says. She smiles up at him, meeting his eyes as she notes the bright blush in his cheeks. After a few seconds she breaks eye contact and releases his hand. Yttri continues toward the door, leaving a stunned Simmons behind.

I want to give special thanks once again to FalloutGuy1986 for helping me with this chapter. He did an awesome job helping me find the best way to further Simmons and Yttri's little romance while staying true to the characters.