A/N: Just so's you know, I am in no way a doctor or nurse. I know next to nothing about medicine and how long it takes a body to heal. I'm gonna try to gloss over as much as I can, but if I make some blatant error that's sure to make any medical professionals out there wince, my apologies. Remember, it's only a fanfic!

Disclaimer: Terminator Salvation and its characters don't belong to me. I'm just borrowing them for a while.

ten·der [téndər]

adj

1. physically painful: hurting or unusually sensitive when touched or pressed

2. with gentle feeling: showing care, gentleness, and feeling

3. kind and sympathetic: sensitive and caring toward others and often feeling emotions intensely

New Resistance Base, infirmary, 3 weeks later...

Marcus rarely left her side in the weeks to come. And they were tough weeks, not just because of Blair's wounds and her emotional state, but also because no sooner would they settle into a safe zone than they all had to pick up and move again. Blair hated it. She felt like little more than talking luggage, unable to pitch in and pull her own weight. She hated spending so much of her time bedridden. She hated the pain meds that left her mind foggy and prone to giggling or weeping in turns. She hated the sponge baths, the relentless itch beneath her leg cast, and the fact that she couldn't even wipe her own ass after she took a dump. She hated the loss of her independence.

There were times when she took her frustrations out on Marcus. She snapped at him for inconsequential reasons and sulked like a spoiled kid when he didn't rise to the bait. Then the anger would fade and the guilt would set in, and Blair would turn the verbal abuse on herself. As it turned out, Marcus had way less patience for her self-loathing than he did with her bitching at him.

"You wouldn't let me get away with that kinda shit," he told her at one point. This logic, of course, only pissed her off even more.

Finally, they reached the site chosen as the new base. It was an old silver mine, abandoned long before the war. Careful inspection revealed the tunnel supports were sound. There were plenty of large chambers, many of them quite dry, which made them safe enough to inhabit. There was even a huge artificial cavern carved into the hillside that was once used to house the mining operation's vehicles, which now proved ideal for both the motor pool and the remaining aircraft. Once they got the generators and lights set up, the mine proved to be as good as their last base, if not a little better.

Now that they were finally no longer on the move, Marcus decided it was time to talk to Kate about Blair's situation.

"She's going stir-crazy," he said, following the busy doctor while she took a tally of the dispensary. Kate could've delegated the chore to one of her staff, but she never quite trusted them to do it right. Not since she caught one of them filching Vicodin.

"That's a normal reaction when someone as active as Blair is forced to be sedate," she muttered absently.

Marcus fought the urge to slap the clipboard out of her hands. "So, let her do something," he ground out, "She can't stay in bed the whole time. Give her the okay to get up once in a while, even just to go to the bathroom."

Kate finally raised her eyes from her checklist to look at him. As usual when the doctor scrutinized him, Marcus felt himself tense up. He didn't like the way she always seemed to be appraising him like he was some kind of specimen. He wasn't about to let her know how much it got to him, though. He stood firm and waited her out. After a couple of minutes, Kate nodded and returned her gaze to the shelves where she started counting boxes of medications. "Go on down to supplies and get a crutch," she said in a vaguely distracted tone, "Only one, since I don't want Blair using her damaged hand until it's had more time to heal."

Marcus blinked in surprise. Somehow, he expected more of an argument from her. "Uh, okay then." He turned away and walked out of the dispensary. Because their backs were to each other, he didn't see the way Kate's mouth twitched in a smirk.

The bored supply officer handed over the crutch without a word. Marcus hurried back to the chamber designated as the infirmary. Like the barracks, individual rooms were separated by thick curtains to give at least the illusion of privacy. Marcus leaned into the opening to Blair's room, keeping the crutch out of sight, and grinned. "Guess what I got."

Blair looked up from the book she was trying to read, her expression a mixture of boredom and frustration. "What," she said dully.

Marcus stepped in and held up the crutch with a flourish. The look on Blair's face was priceless. The perpetual dissatisfaction fell away to hopeful excitement. "Kate said it's time for you to go mobile," Marcus announced, "From now on you can haul your own ass to the toilet."

Blair flung the book aside without a thought, her good arm reaching eagerly. "Give it here!"

Chuckling, Marcus went to her and handed over the crutch. Blair twisted around so her legs hung over the side of the bed, then planted her right foot and the rubber tip of the crutch on the floor and slowly pushed herself upright. Marcus hovered beside her, ready to catch her if she lost her balance, but kept his hands to himself. "How's the height?" he asked.

Blair tucked the padded crossbar under her arm. "Could use a couple more inches," she said.

Marcus had her sit back down while he adjusted the crutch's height. When she stood up and tucked it under her arm again she nodded in approval.

"Let's see ya take a step," Marcus encouraged.

It was awkward as hell. Blair put her weight on the crutch and hopped forward on her good leg, then quickly moved the crutch forward while she balanced on her foot. She looked at Marcus with her one eye. "How was that."

Marcus smirked. "You look like Tiny Tim."

She laughed, "I was hoping for Long John Silver. I mean, I already got the whole pirate look going on." She indicated the patch over her right eye.

Marcus's grin broadened. The fact that she could joke about herself meant the crutch with its promise of a little independence was a success. The knot of worry in his chest loosened just a little. "Think you can make it across the room?"

"The hell with that," she said, grimacing, "I gotta pee." She started to hobble towards her room's opening and out into the hall. Marcus stayed right beside her and tried not to look nervous. The closest restroom was situated in a smaller chamber a short ways down the tunnel. Not a long walk for the able-bodied, but for Blair it was bound to be an ordeal. Her face was screwed up with determination as sweat beaded her forehead. An occasional wince betrayed the fact that all this jostling wasn't doing her ribs any good.

Marcus held his tongue until they were about halfway there and he could tell Blair's energy was flagging. "Want some help?"

"I can do it," she growled, but not at him. "No...more...carrying," she gritted out the words between hops, "No...more...god...damned..." She pushed past the curtain at the doorway and hop-stepped over to the closest chemical toilet. "...bedpans," she concluded with a sigh. Her shoulders were slumped and she was breathing heavily. Weeks of inactivity had taken a toll on her stamina.

Marcus waited a moment for her to catch her breath before he offered to pull her drawers down for her. He was pretty sure if she tried it on her own, one-handed while standing on one leg, she was bound to wind up flat on her face.

Blair smirked at him. "Admit it, you're just jumping at an excuse to get into my panties."

He chuckled, "You got me." Despite the jokes, there was nothing sexual in the way he did the task. He knelt down and reached under her hospital gown, hooked his fingers in the waistband of her plain cotton underwear, and pulled them down past her knees. His eyes were averted the whole time. "That okay?"

Blair nodded. "Thanks."

"'Kay," Marcus stood and headed for the door, "Lemme know when you're done." He leaned against the tunnel wall outside the bathroom until he heard Blair call out. He then went back inside and helped her pull her underwear back up. "Think you can make it back?" he asked.

Blair let out a tired laugh. "I dunno. Guess we'll see in a minute."

She managed about a third of the way before her strength finally gave out. Marcus scooped her up in his arms without a word and carried her the rest of the way back to her room.

Blair mumbled against his shoulder, "I hate being weak like this."

"You did more than most would've in your situation," Marcus retorted, "You just need to keep at it, get your strength back." He lay her down on the hospital bed.

Blair smiled, her eyelids growing heavy. "Thanks for this," she said, hugging the crutch to her like a teddy bear.

Marcus brushed her hair back from her face. It was shorter than it used to be, since some of it was singed when she got hurt and it had to be trimmed back to even it out, but it was still thick and luxuriant as the strands slipped through his fingers. "You're welcome."

"And thanks for putting up with me. I know I can be kind of a bitch sometimes."

"You put up with me," he said, still stroking her hair, "I'm just returning the favor."

"Mmmm." Her eye was closed now. Her breathing slowed until Marcus knew she was asleep. He bent down to gently kiss her forehead, then sat down on the chair beside her bed, picked up the book she discarded earlier, and started to read.

Resistance Base, 18 hrs later...

One of the nurses showed up to give Blair her sponge bath, so Marcus left the infirmary to give her some privacy. He wandered through the maze of tunnels in the abandoned mine without any destination in mind. He passed other resistance members on occasion. More than a few nodded hello as they walked by, which Marcus thought was kind of weird. He was used to furtive sidelong glances or being snubbed. Those were reactions he could understand. He didn't know what the hell was up with all the politeness.

The sounds of children playing drew his attention. He followed the echoing laughter to the chamber that was apparently set up as a playroom. There were more than twenty kids of various ages playing games or with scavenged toys, in groups or pairs or even alone. Marcus recognized some of Milo's kids, and Star building some doodad with parts from an old Erector Set. There were also a few adults presiding over the youngsters. Marcus recognized one of them as the old woman he, Star, and Kyle encountered at the gas station and who had been abducted along with the kids by the harvester. Marcus tried to remember her name, then realized he didn't know it.

It suddenly occurred to him that he really only knew about a handful of people's names in the entire base, and most of them were little more than acquaintances. The revelation shocked him. He used to be an outgoing person. Before he went to prison, Marcus had enough buds to fill an entire nightclub. Now he didn't even have enough friends to take up a single room. Marcus knew he was as much to blame for his isolation as everyone else. He didn't exactly go out of his way to ingratiate himself. This didn't bother him before, though. He wondered what changed.

"You look like you're mulling over something unpleasant," the old woman remarked.

Marcus started. He hadn't even heard the thunk of her walking stick when she moved closer to him. "No, uh, not really," he stammered.

The old woman's careworn features were softened by a warm smile. "How is Blair doing?"

Marcus blinked in surprise. "I didn't know you knew her."

She chuckled, "Oh, everyone knows of her. People talk of the two of you quite often."

"Uh-huh." He could just imagine what they were saying. "She's getting better. Been learning to walk with a crutch."

"That's good. Everyone is pulling for her."

Several of the kids noticed his presence by then and were whispering amongst themselves while casting quick looks his way. Star got up and trotted over to him with a bright smile on her face. She was carrying something in her hands which she held up for his inspection. Marcus stared at it for a second before his eyes widened in comprehension. Star had used the Erector Set parts to create a model of the tow truck she, Marcus, and Kyle used to make their getaway from the gas station. It even had that cow catcher thing on the front.

"Well, that's a helluva thing," Marcus declared. Star beamed.

The old woman squeezed the girl's shoulder. "Star is very inventive," she said fondly. The way the child smiled back at her brought a tightness to Marcus's chest. He could see they'd developed a bond since their abduction and subsequent escape from Skynet. Even before then, really. When others would've driven Marcus and his companions away, this old woman stood up for them and even gave them food that most likely couldn't be spared.

"You've been looking out for her?" Marcus asked.

The old woman replied with a smirk, "As much as she's willing to let me." Star ducked her head in apparent bashfulness, though there was an impish gleam to her eyes.

"Well, thanks for that, uh..."

"Virginia," the old woman nodded modestly, "And it's no trouble. I enjoy looking out for others. Some days I think that's the only thing that keeps this old body of mine running."

Marcus wasn't fooled. He knew Virginia was tougher than she looked. She had to be.

"I'd better head back," he said, checking his watch. Blair's bath time should've been done by now.

"Tell Blair we all wish her luck with her recovery," Virginia told him.

"Sure." Marcus lightly tapped Star on the nose, which earned him a grin. "See ya later, kid." The girl nodded.

As he started to leave, Virginai's voice halted him, "And, Marcus..."

He looked at her over his shoulder.

"Good luck to you as well." The old woman winked.

Marcus's eyebrows lowered in a puzzled frown and he turned to continue on his way.

Resistance Base, infirmary...

Kate Connor stepped into Blair's room as soon as the nurse finished washing her and left, almost as if the doctor had been waiting for the opportunity to get her patient alone. "How're you feeling?" she asked.

"Bored," Blair sighed, "Achy. Impatient. I really wanna get out of these bandages and splints and start doing things."

"Well, with a little luck and a lot of determination, it shouldn't take much longer." Kate seated herself in the chair Marcus usually occupied and reached for Blair's bandaged hand. "Let's see how well this is healing."

Blair sat passively as the layers of fabric were unwound and the sterile gauze peeled away from her hand. She frowned at the sight of the angry scars that marred the back of her hand, her wrist, and a ways down her forearm. The most uncomfortable part for her was the skin grafts on her hand, which also covered the stumps of her amputated fingers. The skin looked strange, shiny and unreal.

"Looks good," Kate said as she examined the hand.

Blair arched an eyebrow in disbelief. "Really?"

"Yeah. The skin grafts are healing nicely. No signs of infection. I think we can start putting a lighter bandage on and start you on rehab so you can regain use of the hand."

"Fine with me. I'm sick of doing everything one-handed." Blair scratched absently at her leg just above the cast.

"Leg still itches?"

"Constantly," she growled.

"That means it's healing."

"Well, I wish it'd heal faster!"

Kate smiled in sympathy. "Three more weeks. Four tops. Then we can take the cast off."

Blair sighed, her left hand touched the patch over her right eye. "And this?" she asked in a quieter voice.

Kate rested a hand on her friend's knee. "I want to wait a little longer. Give your eye more time to heal."

Blair swallowed and nodded. To say she felt ambivalent towards whatever might happen once the eye patch came off was putting it mildly. Blair was coming to terms with the fact that her flying days were over, but the thought that she might not see anything from her injured eye scared the hell out of her. Not just because it might hamper her ability to shoot straight, but because it would mark her as a cripple. A damaged, half-blind object of pity. She wasn't sure she could deal with that.

"I'm surprised Wright isn't here," Kate remarked as she set about applying a new, thinner bandage to Blair's hand, "Seems like he hasn't let you out of his sight for more than two minutes."

Blair smirked. "He always leaves when I get my sponge bath."

"That's gentlemanly of him."

"Yeah, we'll go with that." Something in her tone caused Kate to meet her gaze.

"There a problem between you two?"

"No. Well, yeah, but it's not his fault." Blair shifted uncomfortably.

Kate returned her attention to the bandaging. "You wanna talk about it?"

Blair chewed her lip as she thought it over. She hadn't told anyone about the nature of her relationship with Marcus. It wasn't anyone's business but theirs. But that didn't mean she did not need someone to confide in once in a while. At such times she normally turned to Kate. She was a good listener and knew when to keep things said between them private. But when it came to Marcus as the subject, Blair wasn't so sure. She got the impression Kate still viewed him as just another machine, albeit a tamed one.

As if reading her mind, Kate said to her quietly, "I promise not to come off as judgmental. I respect your feelings for him, even if I don't completely understand them."

Those words were enough to decide her. "Marcus is a great guy," she said, "I really feel like he's everything I ever wanted in a man. We fit each other, y'know?"

Kate nodded, a faint smile on her face. It was very much like how she felt about John.

"It's just..." Blair searched for the right words, "I know it sounds shallow and I'm probably gonna come off as a slut, but...I like sex. I really like it. And I miss it."

Kate laughed. "Blair, there's nothing wrong with liking sex. It's an important part of anybody's psychological health, especially these days." She squeezed Blair's knee. "I promise, it'll only be a few more weeks before you'll be recovered enough to have at it."

"But that's just it," Blair said, "We can't."

"What do you mean?"

"Marcus," she swallowed a lump in her throat, "He can't."

Kate's mouth opened as she finally grasped the other woman's meaning. "Oh. Blair, I'm sorry."

Blair turned away so she couldn't see the tears threatening to fall. "Fucking Skynet," she snarled, "It wasn't enough to violate his body and manipulate him for its own plans. It couldn't even let him have this."

Kate finished bandaging Blair's hand and started packing away the rest of the materials, her expression thoughtful. "That doesn't make sense."

"Tell me about it."

"No, I mean," Kate waved her hands around to stress her words, "Wright was designed by Skynet to be the perfect infiltrator, as close to human as it could make him. Even he didn't realize what he was until half his organic components were blasted away by that landmine. He bleeds, sweats, eats, defecates. He has a heartbeat, a brain, living skin. I'm sure he even dreams when he sleeps. He was made to blend in with humans indefinitely. So why this one blatant flaw?"

Blair snorted. "I've met more than one guy who couldn't get it up. That doesn't mean they weren't human."

"Exactly!" Kate's finger jabbed out, "Maybe the problem isn't with the hardware. Maybe it's a software problem." She tapped the side of her own head for emphasis.

Blair frowned. "You think it's all in his mind?" She sounded doubtful.

"I think we can both agree the guy has a lot of issues to work through."

For the first time in a long while, Blair felt a glimmer of hope. If Marcus's inability to make love was psychological rather than physical, then he could possibly work through whatever was holding him back and their relationship could progress the way it should. "You really think there's a chance?"

"I might be wrong," Kate admitted, "But I really think Skynet intended him to be indistinguishable from a healthy human male, in every way."

Blair smiled as something akin to relief washed over her. "Oh god, I really hope you're right."

At that moment, Marcus appeared at the room's entryway. He gave Kate a wary look and said, "Hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"I was just leaving." Kate got to her feet and gave Blair a smile in farewell.

Marcus stepped aside so the doctor could pass him, then went to sit in the chair she'd vacated. "Kate looked you over?"

"Yep. She says I'm healing well and in a few weeks I'll be out of this damn cast." She rapped her knuckles against the offending plaster.

Marcus looked at her oddly.

"What?"

He reached out and brushed his thumb against her cheek, causing her breath to catch from the intimate gesture. "You've been crying." He showed her the moisture on the pad of his thumb.

"Oh, uh," she wiped her hand across her damp cheek. Yet another thing to add to the list of stuff she hated about being laid up: it made her emotional. "Just all that poking and prodding. Guess I'm still pretty tender."

Marcus could tell she wasn't telling him everything, but he didn't push it. He gently caressed her face and Blair surprised him by wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him in for a kiss. As usual, Marcus's heart sped up the moment their lips touched and a feeling like desire rushed through him. He rested his hands on the small of her back, letting her know he wanted to prolong this as much as she did. But even as he indulged in this small pleasure a sadness rose in him. He wished he was able to give her more of himself. But this was all they had. He hoped it was enough.