The days passed into weeks and they rarely varied. He slept most of the time for his body was still exhausted from the experience. Though he was awake whenever they had to tend to his injuries. A lot of things were going through his mind when he wasn't sleeping: the most prominent one concerned Czarina.

'What happened to Czarina that she didn't make it? Why did I live since I had such devastating injuries?' he asked himself.

He must have shown the worry on his features for the cats continually asked if he was fine. He wished he could explain his anxieties to them but couldn't since he was still unable to speak.

"Lieutenant, whatever is on your mind, I hope we can help you sort it out," Jennifer once told him.

She had walked over to a nearby console and he wondered how well she was doing herself. He had heard her crying when she didn't think he was listening and figured that it had to deal with Czarina's apparent death.

He patiently waited for a few weeks until one day, they raised the bed to a sitting position and they examined his throat. They couldn't help but smile as they looked at the tissues.

"Looks like we can finally take the tube out. The lining of the stomach and esophagus appears to have healed quite nicely. Much faster than your lower injuries since these weren't as exposed to the current," Justin sighed.

He reached over to the nearby table a grasped a needle. Checking for air bubbles, he inserted it into the IV line. After a few short moments, Dwayne began to feel tired and slowly closed his eyes.

00000

Dwayne Hunter slowly finished his food as Jennifer sat the nearby console while Justin had long since left to gather supplies. Sitting in his hand was the local newspaper with Big Guy's picture on the front. He gave a sigh, longing to be back in his seat as the robot's pilot but he was firmly warned that that much stress could prolong his healing, which was well on its way. Most of the tubes were now gone and the only two he needed now were the IV that contained the medication and the catheter inserted into his genitals, which were still a bit tender from their beating but vastly improved over what they were before. The cat soon climbed to her feet and walked over to him.

"Well Lieutenant, I'd like to run some examinations. I need to make certain that you are healing the way you should be," she told him.

He nodded before he moved the blanket down his body and tried not to think about the cat's hands near his groin. As he felt the tickling around his private area, his mind was going back to what happened on the alien ship. As he continued to think about it, the more his body began to show it. Jennifer quickly noticed that his body was slightly twitching and she couldn't help but slump her shoulders as she had seen him do it before. She placed a comforting hand on his side, taking notice of his apprehension.

"Lieutenant Hunter, is there something you'd like to talk about?" she finally asked him.

"No, no. I-I'd r-rather not," he hoarsely replied.

"Listen, if it's about what happened with the Liaperians, you can talk to us. We've seen lots of people in your situation," Jennifer assured him.

It took him a moment to think about what she said before he could find another answer.

"Jennifer, let me just say I have an idea of what women feel like when they're raped. I still feel a bit violated from when Shzar had his hands all over me," Dwayne quietly admitted.

Jennifer sat down in a chair next to the lieutenant, intent on listening to what he had to say.

"Unfortunately, it is humiliating. It does take time for people to get past what happened and realize that it won't happen again. I promise you, you're never going to be in a position like that again," Jennifer replied.

"I've got a long way still since I still have to recover physically and mentally. Who's going to help me?" wondered the lieutenant.

"Anybody you decide to confide in, like what you're doing now with me. You can tell the others as you see fit. None of them have to know the true extent of what happened to you unless you allow it," the cat said.

Dwayne gave a deep sigh, the frustration filling his eyes as he turned away from the feline. She became worried at the cold shoulder she was receiving.

"But what do you truly know? All you've seen are others like me and comforted them afterwards," he protested.

Anger welled up inside Jennifer and he could it in her eyes. She jumped towards the bed, arms on each of the railings and her face ended up a couple of inches away from his.

"Don't you dare tell me that I don't know what it feels like to be disgraced by those - those monsters! You don't know the torment I've had to endure! I've seen many of my colleagues, apprentices and their friends tortured, raped and or killed by their hands," she growled at him. "Myself included for I've brutally taken not once but twice by Tane."

Dwayne gave a sharp inhale, suddenly realizing the consequences of what she had sacrificed for Czarina. He watched Jennifer as she moved some of her fur to reveal a dainty scar on her stomach.

"This is the end result of the first time he took me. I was left with a bastard child within me and I went to the doctors on Oleaftar to have it removed. We value life but we are not expected to bear their filthy offspring," Jennifer explained. "Now Czarina is dead. The only comfort from her death is that she died saving your life."

Jennifer was almost to tears as she stood straight up and briefly turned away from him. She gave a deep sigh before returning her attention back to the task at hand. Dwayne placed a hand over his mouth once he heard that Czarina died for him. The tears welled up in his own eyes since it felt like a bomb hit him.

'At least that explains a couple of my questions,' he thought.

Though there was one lingering question on his mind as he watched Jennifer tenderly touch his scrotum. His penis jumped slightly and Dwayne flushed a few different shades of red. As she continued her movements along the underside, he started to take deep breaths as his body began to react to the touch.

"Jennifer, are you trying to get a reaction out of me?" he demanded.

"As a matter of fact, I am. Looks like the nerves healed almost completely back to normal and the blood flow looks quite nice. Except for some minor scarring, it looks completely healthy and we'll most likely be able to take the catheter out within a day or two," Jennifer explained as she glanced up to his face. "It means that you'll be able to perform the same as you did before and you will be able to have children."

A perplexed look crossed the lieutenant's face. Something wasn't adding up in his mind and Jennifer knew it. She knew that she or Justin would have to tell him sooner or later.

"Jennifer, I saw myself before I lost consciousness. I know how bad it looked. I was fully expecting to die that day and even if I did manage to live, I knew there would be no chance in hell that I could father any children. How did that change?" he wanted to know.

The cat gulped, uncertain how to proceed with what she knew.

"Lieutenant Hunter, there is something you should know. Czarina did save your life but not in any way you would normally think," she started. "You were at Death's door when she and Justin found you. In fact, you already walked through and the door was almost closed behind you, it was that bad. You even briefly died while you were in our care for a few minutes. People like Czarina have something we call their palack. It is essentially what contains their life force or soul. I know it sounds odd to your ears but the chosen ones are able to use it to benefit someone in a time of great need, but only once. In the end, the person receiving it will be able to live, virtually unscathed physically, while the other life is forfeit. Czarina gave hers to you and it is she who is helping your body heal the way it is."

Dwayne Hunter blanched as he listened to her. He lifted up his arm and stared at it, uncertain about nothing anymore.

"How will I be able to face Jo after knowing what her best friend did for me?" he whispered.

"There's also one other thing I should tell you about what Czarina did for you," Jennifer piped up.

He looked over at her and barely nodded in response. As her reply filled his ears, he was absolutely stunned by the revelations. He openly wept, burying his face into his hands as he fell back onto the pillow. The cat climbed to her feet, pulling the blanket over him before she left and she knew that it would take some time for him to adjust to this news.

TBC…