The rest of that day wasn't much more than a blur. My mother came and went a half dozen times, checking on us both until finally Master Natiyr returned just as night fell and gave us one last healing session each. I remember thinking I was slightly amazed that he wasn't completely exhausted after treating my father all day long, but he still had plenty of energy to spend on us, and he didn't waste any time in sending me up to my room for the night once he had finished with me. I began to protest, intent on staying with Cordira if he'd let me, but remembering our earlier exchange just after she had woken up...I obeyed his order and made my way up to my room with little thought.

I ended up back in my own bed without really realizing it, changed out of the spare medical clothes they had put us in shortly after rescuing us. At least, I assumed they had, since I had only seen a small fraction of Cordira's clothing under the mountainous pile of blankets with which she had been covered. I felt a bit...cut off; I wasn't allowed to see my dad until he had had some time to recover himself, and though my younger sister Dirani came to see me before she, too, was sent to bed, I don't remember a thing she said to me...or if I had said anything back.

Cordira's reaction earlier that day had really rattled me, and I couldn't entirely figure out why. I wasn't expecting praise or even a 'thank you' from her, but her complete silence after only saying my name ate at me for hours. I had already slept so much in the medical wing downstairs that I wasn't tired at all, so I was left to my own thoughts, left to wonder, and worry, and question... What had changed? Why was she treating me like I had hurt her? Had I? Could I earn her forgiveness?

So much was swirling around in my mind that I almost hadn't heard another soft knock on my door. Expecting my mother, or maybe even my sister again, I slowly stood to answer it, but she was already standing inside its entry when I looked up.

"Cordira..."

Still wearing that same expression of fear that she had greeted me with before, she also seemed surprised to see me up already. Her mouth gaped open with unformed words until she could finally gather herself enough to speak. "...were you asleep?"

I tried to swallow, but my throat was too dry and I only ended up making a strange face. "No," I gave a half-hearted, nervous laugh with a shrug. "Couldn't."

Her tension eased the slightest bit with my laugh, though it seemed to only be replaced by guilt, as if she knew what had kept me up. "Me, either." She hesitated to say more, but it was almost like she was waiting for me to drag it out of her, which was the complete opposite of her reaction earlier.

"...are you okay?"

I hadn't noticed before, but as she reached her arm over her stomach to grip her other arm, I could see her trembling just slightly as she nodded. Again she struggled to talk for a few moments before she spoke again. I had never heard her voice so...timid before. "Can we talk?"

It was an odd question I would have never expected to come from her. Since we had been kids, we had always talked about anything and everything without reserve, without restraint, and without judgment. We had shared just about every portion of our lives because, up until that point, we had experienced it all side by side. Separated only by a year in age, we even shared our parents; Rech and Mand Natiyr were just as much my parents as Koril and Elena Rys'tihn were hers. So for her to ask permission to talk, akin to asking for permission to breathe...something had to have changed.

Blinking myself out of my stupor, I nodded, turning back to look about my room for someplace to sit. "Uh, yeah..." My sofa against the wall of my room was littered with clothes and gadgets after a long, busy week at school. I knew she wouldn't mind the mess, but my muscles were making it well known that they weren't too keen on moving any more than required. I was still only a step from my bed, so I lowered myself back down onto it, sitting on its edge as I invited her to a space beside me. "Here, sit."

She stooped her head in thanks, stepping over and taking her seat at my side gracefully. She moved without any hint of pain or of an injury that had almost killed her, and I remember being a little more than slightly jealous. Of course, her Jedi Healer father had patched her up perfectly, but I still had to suffer the lingering aches of mending bones, or so I thought. But I pushed that from my mind as I watched her continue to wrestle with what to say, and hoping I wasn't going to make it worse, I put a hand on her arm as her hands lay shaking in her lap.

"Cordira," I began as gently as I could, "...what is wrong?"

She met my gaze, and her fear was patent in her eyes once more. "I'm sorry."

I furrowed my brows; I expected that I was going to be the one apologizing. "For what?"

She trembled again, looking down at her lap. "You saved my life...and I couldn't even say thank you."

"You don't have to."

My heart fluttered uncontrollably as she looked back up at me, smiling the tiniest bit and making her gray eyes glow even in the dim lighting of my room. It didn't last long, though, and her expression fell as she returned her gaze to her hands. My stomach sank to my feet.

"What else is bothering you?"

At least she didn't hesitate long. "I have never allowed anyone to see me so...vulnerable, so weak before."

"Cordira...you had two support rods stuck through you, and now you're sitting here just fine. You're anything but weak."

"I wanted to let go," she continued at a whisper, meeting my gaze again, "...but you wouldn't let me."

I could hardly find my voice myself. "Of course I wouldn't. I made a promise to you, and I wasn't about to let you out-stubborn me."

Finally, a small laugh and a smile, but again, it was gone so quickly. "You are my best friend. I had finally shown you the weakest side of me, what I've determinedly hidden from everyone else...my fear, and you...you saved me from it."

I nodded weakly, but I wasn't sure if more of a response was required. Regardless, I still wasn't ready for what happened next.

Swift as a wind and just as light, she leaned against me and pressed her soft lips to mine, locking us together in such a delicate, precious hold...

I was absolutely breathless; shock had erased all my pain, and I didn't feel anything but her kiss in that pristine moment. I couldn't move, I couldn't think; though I had wanted this for years, I suddenly couldn't process anything. As she began to loosen her spell over me, releasing her lips from mine, I felt like the room was spinning, like I had somehow had too much to drink.

She was still only a breath apart from me, but as our eyes met again...I inexplicably found myself shaking my head.

"Cordira..."

Hurt and deeply embarrassed, she sat back from me, her eyes tearing up out of regret. Still in shock, I hadn't yet taken another breath. "I...um..."

She had almost broken down into tears, but another surprise completely blindsided me. An intense, shearing pain tore through my entire body, doubling me over so hard I slid off my bed onto my knees on the floor. I had never felt such severe pain before, or such widespread pain, but just as quickly as it had started, it stopped, and again I couldn't breathe.

"Derek? Derek!"

All my muscles were still locked in agonizing tension, but as they slowly began to release moments later, all I could think to do...was not move in case it started again.

"Derek! What's wrong!"

"I...I don't kn -"

Another torturous attack reduced me even further to the floor, tightly curling me up on my side. As hard as I tried, I could no longer hold back a wretched scream; the pain was far too much for me to handle.