I was never really sure how long we actually waited. It could have been just a few hours, but it felt like days, and I don't know that I could've tolerated it much longer before I started scaling the wall up to the corridor with my bare hands. After laying back down, Dad continued his awful coughing fits, dangerously flirting with unconsciousness even more with each round. I watched him to make sure he kept breathing, but we both knew better than to waste any more energy on conversation, especially with his deteriorating condition.

He spent less and less of his waning strength on movement as time wore on, but as he finally blacked out entirely, I could only stare, terrified that I was losing him, too. His breathing remained shallow, but at least he was still breathing. In hindsight, I probably should have helped him by turning him on his side, keeping him from drowning in his own blood, but still in shock and, more prominently, denial, I didn't even think about it. I had been watching him so closely, though, that I hadn't noticed that Cordira had come around again until she squeezed my hand with hers I was still holding. I looked down at her quickly, giving her a smile that was as encouraging as I could manage at the time.

"Hey, welcome back," I teased lightly, knelt at her right side. She only responded with another hand squeeze, but I could see her weakness and frailty in her eyes. Her increasing, intense pain had knocked her out earlier, but it seemed to have either subsided, or she was beyond feeling further pain. I hoped for the former, based on what Dad had said of her injury, but I suspected the latter was true. Still, I put on a brave face for her.

"Are you going to stay with me this time?"

She took in and released slow, labored breaths, seeming to consider my question honestly. When she finally spoke again, I had to consciously contain a broader smile.

"I'll try."

It didn't matter how bruised and battered my own body was, or how hopeless our situation seemed to be, Cordira's sweet voice, her delicate Coruscanti accent always enchanted me. It calmed me, which was ironic since I was the one who was supposed to be comforting her.

Another one of Dad's coughing fits earned our attention, though, and it sounded even more wet and desperate. I could hear liquid rattling in his airway as he resumed breathing, threatening to choke him at any moment, but he remained stable enough for the time being. It was the first time Cordira had heard his struggle, though, and as she turned her head back to me, I could see fear in her eyes once more.

"He sounds...awful...worse than I do..."

My mouth was suddenly dry; I couldn't swallow. I had to clear my throat awkwardly to force my voice to work. "At least he's not feeling any of it. You know that, right?"

She nodded, only slightly comforted by the thought. As she closed her eyes, she held tightly to my hand as if she were afraid I would leave her, and she gave a sudden gasp that startled me, thinking that I had caused her pain somehow. A single tear rolled across the bridge of her nose, wrenching my heart into a searing knot as she spoke hardly above a whisper.

"...I'm scared."

I don't know how I was able to keep from stumbling over my words; it had to be the Force that gave me the strength to answer her without any quivering in my voice. "Don't be. It'll be alright..."

"How do you know?"

As she looked back up at me, I had to smile a little to keep from losing my edge. "I haven't lied to you before, have I?"

She gave a sad, weak laugh. "Do you really want me to answer that?"

I laughed a bit, too, but she cast her gaze to the side again with falling spirits, and she was sounding weaker, as well. "How long has Tops been gone?"

"He'll be back soon. Any time now, I can feel it."

My reassurances didn't have the effect I wanted; she must have detected how little substance was behind them since I didn't answer her question directly. Her hand shook noticeably in my grip, but it wasn't entirely the fault of her anxiety...her entire body had resumed trembling.

"I am s-sso...cold..."

My heart sank even more; I had already shed and draped my only jacket over her. "I don't have anything more to give you, except..." I hesitated; dare I offer? I had to. "...except me."

The look in her eyes was hard to decipher, but she didn't protest as I began lowering myself to the floor, laying on my side next to her. Our gazes never broke as I moved as slowly as I could, carefully lifting the edge of the jacket up over my shoulder. I shifted myself to lay as closely to her as possible without moving her and causing her further pain, and finally settling with the jacket draped over us both, I grasped her hand again, holding my breath as we lay together in silence.

I expected to feel...awkward, or embarrassed to be so close to her, but to my surprise, it felt completely natural, and she was even beginning to look comfortable with it herself. Our foreheads were nearly touching, and she only held more tightly to my hand as she warmed up, her shivering subsiding. As her eyes began to close drowsily, she pressed her temple against mine, and once again, I spoke before I knew what I was saying.

"I wish this had happened to me... I wish I had been in your place..."

I hadn't expected her reaction to be so immediate. Her eyes snapped open, and a saddened look reappeared on her face. "No...don't say that. Your brother...and your sisters need you..."

"And yours don't?" My expression hardened in defiance. "You are not going to die. I won't let you. And neither will your dad."

Her eyes glistened with new tears as her voice quivered. "But he's not here..."

"He will be," I declared strongly, bringing my hand up to gently stroke her cheek to calm her. I held her gaze, expecting her to respond with more hopeless words, but she remained quiet, her pallid skin beginning to look ashy even in the overwhelming blue glow of the cavern. Her eyes were weakly closing, but when her breathing shortened suddenly and dramatically...I knew she was running out of time. What I didn't expect, though, was her heart to stop beating so quickly.

When I felt her hand go completely limp in my grip, at first, I thought I was imagining it. I swiftly sat up and pressed my fingers into her neck to feel her nonexistent pulse, and fear froze my breath in my chest. I had to keep her blood pumping until help arrived, but how? The support rods had pinned her to the ground slightly rolled onto her right side; to do proper chest compressions, I had to at least turn her upper body to lay more flat on her back. I couldn't bear to injure her further, but it would keep her alive...

Tugging on her shoulders to twist her body to the ground, I hesitated only briefly before I frantically began compressions, watching her closely for any signs of returning life. Though she remained motionless, I continued working desperately, and even as I heard another voice echoing about the huge chamber, I wasn't about to stop.

"Koril! Derek, Cordira!"

Hearing Master Natiyr's voice was a relief, but I couldn't tear my gaze away from Cordira to watch his approach. To this day, I still don't know how both he and my mom made it down to the cavern floor from the high corridor, but at the time it was irrelevant. All I knew then was I wasn't about to lose my best friend.