Chapter 5

Chinese translations:

ge ge- big brother

baobei- sweetheart

gorram- goddamn

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Conor sat in the common room half asleep. Megan lay unconscious on the couch because Amir had needed the infirmary beds for other patients. Her hand was warm but limp wrapped in his own. He could feel her pulse beating steadily through her wrist. Amir said she would wake up when she was ready but Conor couldn't help the tightness in his chest as he studied her pale face.

He realized that he knew if she were to open her eyes they would be so dark brown he could swear they were made from the black of space. He couldn't remember ever studying her eyes before but he realized he still knew.

He also knew that if she were to speak, her voice would hold both the soft demure of the upper class core planets and the uncouth slang of the rim laborers. The first inherited from her former Alliance officer father and the second from her mining family mother.

Megan was a mystery to him. The one kiss they had shared was the extent of any physical relationship. There was no reason to why he couldn't bring himself to move from this spot until she opened her eyes and he could confirm their color.

Footsteps behind him caused Conor to turn. Hobie patted his shoulder before dropping to sit next to him. "Mia got a wave from Commander Gan. Alliance is sitting at the table."

Conor ran his free hand across his face. "They serious this time?"

"Gan seems to think so. They've already agreed to a two week ceasefire. We've been ordered to return to Dionysius and stay there." He clasped Conor's shoulder. "We may live to see the end of this thing."

"Let's hope so," Conor replied, turning his eyes back to Megan.

"She'll be okay ge ge. You got a tough one there. She don't always seem it but she is."

"She ain't mine."

"Well she don't belong to you, no. I know Mal's lecture on women not belonging to nobody. But that guy who told me she was on Persephone said that the last time he'd seen her he'd tried to get her to give him a look. She wouldn't. Then some other doctor told him not to waste his time cause she had some pilot waiting on her."

Conor didn't know what to say. But he realized that he was waiting on her. Looking back there had been more than one woman with obvious interest in him those last few months and he didn't give them a second look.

"Conor?"

He turned his attention back to Hobie.

"When this is all over, whenever that it, me and Mia…we wanna get married."

Conor smiled. "Can I be there when you tell Mal?"

"Hey I'm serious.'

"I know. I know. I think it's shiny."

"Will you stand up there with me?"

"Sure. But if Mal tries to kill you I'm stepping out of the way."

Hobie punched his arm.

"What's Janey got to say?" Conor asked.

"Wants to know if she's got to wear a dress."

Conor chuckled. He was about to respond when he felt a tug on his hand. Looking over to the couch he saw Megan's eyes flutter open. "Get Amir," he told Hobie who nodded and ran towards the infirmary.

"Conor?" Megan's voice was weak but clear.

"Hey there. How're you feeling?"

"Like I been shot."

"Right, stupid question."

She shivered. "C…cold."

Conor quickly shed his inherited brown coat and tucked it around her body.

"Wow your coat. I must be something special."

"Well if you caught pneumonia after everything else, Amir might be slightly put off. All that fancy stitchin' for nothing."

Amir appeared then and ushered Conor out of the way. Megan's eyes followed him and he gave a small smile in reassurance that he wasn't going far. He hoped she understood that he wasn't planning on going far for a very long time. She smiled tiredly in return and then closed her eyes, drifting off to sleep again.

Once Amir was convinced that Megan's wound was healing properly he looked up at Conor. "She'll be fine. Once we land on Dionysius just make sure she's got a place to lie down."

"Thanks Doc," Conor said.

"You gonna sit with her a while more?"

"Yeah. We don't land for another four hours."

Amir smiled and handed him a syringe. "If she's in more pain when she wakes up, give her this."

Conor nodded and watched as the doctor gathered his things and headed back to the infirmary. Resuming his place at Megan's side he tucked his coat around her a little more tightly. "Hobie says the Alliance has agreed to talk. I wanna believe they're sincere but…" he trailed off.

"I think the waiting is what I hate the most," he continued, reaching out to grasp her hand again. "Fighting, action, flying I can do. I can shut everything else out and just get the job done. But going back to Dionysius to wait and see if these talks are just a cover for some huge ambush, I hate the gorram waiting.

"That's cause you've got the patience of a miner on payday."

Conor grinned as Megan's eyes opened. "Hey again," he said.

"Hey," she replied with a slight grimace.

"Hurt bad?" he asked, picking up the medicine.

She shook her head, "No more drugs yet."

Conor nodded and put the syringe back down.

"Alliance sitting at the table?" Megan asked.

"That's what we're told. We've been ordered back to Dionysius to wait."

"Persephone brought them down to one quarter the force they began with."

"Yeah," Conor said, "while we get new recruits everyday."

Megan nodded but Conor saw her face suddenly contort in pain. He quickly took the syringe and administered the medication, brushing the hair from her forehead. "Sleep," he whispered.

"Conor?" she asked.

"Yeah?"

"If this is the end of the war, does that invitation to the Haven still stand?"

Conor laughed. "Yeah baobei. It still stands." He moved to go to the bridge but Megan grasped his hand and pulled him back. "What?" he asked. "Do you need something?"

She nodded and continued to pull on his arm until his face was inches from hers. Then she pulled his head down and caught his lips with hers. When they finally pulled apart a few moments later a goofy grin had appeared on Conor's face.

"Well look at that," he said softly, "I must be something special too."

Megan's hand stroked his check lightly. He covered her hand with his and turned to kiss her palm. "Sleep," he said again. "I'll see you when we land. We've got two weeks to talk.

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