And we're back!!! Right now, I'm so, so HAPPY!! I just got my first AND second reviews on a story in what feels like FOREVER, and now I'm going to give you a bit of a shout-out to prove my appreciation for this person!

Obsidian Tear : I'm glad you find my writing interesting, and I'm glad to be continuing this story! You see, everything I do is freehand writing, and I don't exactly have a set plot of events for every story in specific, but I do currently have a list of plots for this universe, so I've at least got this! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE REVIEW!! You get a free kiss from puppy Marrok!! Also, yes, they are a lot like children in this; just starting to meet everybody they'll know in the future, so I've got a lot of freedom with this!

Now, onto the story, I've decided that, since I introduced two of my OCs in the last chapter, I'm going to NOT skip the entirety of the time that Cad and Urii are gone, and instead put in some interaction between Embo and his two friends while the other two are gone! And Leik gets to meet Marrok the adorable white furball!!!

You guys know the disclaimers.

"No amount of me trying to explain myself was doing any good.

I didn't even know what was going on inside of me,

So how could I have explained it to them?"

~ Sierra D. Waters

"So, Embo," Leik said, carrying a bowl of soup into the Kyuzo's bedroom, "how are you feeling?"

"A little tired," he answered truthfully, leaning back against his pillows. "But better than yesterday."

"That's good to hear," the Nautolan said, handing him the bowl, "because Sugi and I need to figure out how we're going to get supplies from the market while also making sure you don't hurt yourself trying to get something."

Embo just smiled, knowing that the two would find a way. In the short month he had known Sugi, he had found her to be clever, reliable, and kind, not to mention that she had a sense of honor that was similar to his own.

Maybe that was why he found it so easy to trust her.

"Well, Leik, I guess this is goodbye," Sugi said, as the Nautolan shook her hand. Urii and Cad had come back ten days after they left for their bounty, and now it was time for the two older women to leave.

"Yeah," Leik agreed, smiling. Then, she looked down at the white furball that was sitting at her feet. Picking up the puppy, she said, "I'm gonna miss you, too, Marrok. You're so cute!"

"Thanks for helping me take care of Embo," Sugi said, as Leik put Marrok down.

"No problem, Sugi," She said, "you're a good kid; you'll go far in life."

"Come on, Leik," Urii said, hands on hips, "We're going to be late for our meeting."

"I'm coming, I'm coming," the Nautolan groused, waving to the Zabrak as she followed her partner out the door.

"So," Cad said, as the door closed behind the two women, "have any trouble?"

"Not really," Sugi said, though her mind wandered to a few more nights when Embo had experienced nightmares. She had, of course, sat with him until he felt better, but he never seemed to want to talk about them. "We had a bit of a rough spot when Marrok decided to be Leik's alarm clock one morning, but otherwise fine."

"That's good," Bane said, swinging his pack off of his shoulders. Then, during that action, he hissed in pain, his free hand now clutching his left shoulder!

"You're hurt!" Sugi exclaimed, now helping him carefully extricate himself from his leather jacket, and going to check the injury.

"It's not bad; just annoying," Cad tried to assure her. However, Sugi could see that it was actually pretty bad.

"You've got a gash the length of my hand in your shoulder, Cad," She said sternly, gently probing the wound with the tips of her fingers. "And there's some metal shards stuck in here. I'm going to try to get them out… follow me."

"Ok, ok…" he relented, letting Sugi lead him over to the 'fresher, silently admitting that it actually did hurt a lot. When they went into the small room, Sugi had Bane sit down on a stool, and pulled out a first-aid kit.

When the Zabrak opened the kit, she took out a roll of gauze, a roll of bandages, surgical thread, a needle, some gloves, and a pair of tweezers. Unlike when Bane last saw her, she seemed to know what she was doing this time around.

"This… might hurt…" Sugi warned him, gloves on and tweezers close to his shoulder. Then, before he could respond, she plucked a jagged shard of metal out of the gash in his shoulder, and he couldn't help crying out in pain!

Sugi deposited the metal in a small bowl on the counter, and then set to work removing a more difficult piece. Cad grit his teeth, trying not to move and make it worse. Soon, the Zabrak had removed five shards of metal from the Duros' injury, and, after making sure there were no more, started to stitch the wound shut.

"When you said that it would hurt, I didn't know it was actually going to hurt," Cad said dryly in an attempt at humor.

"You'll get over it," Sugi said, equally dryly. Then, she finished with the stitches, and wrapped the injury in gauze and bandages. "You might want to take it easy for a few days; give yourself time to heal."

"Sure," he said, as the Zabrak put his arm in a sling. Were it any other time, he would have said it was overkill, but since his shoulder just had metal pulled out of it, he knew that it was completely necessary. "So, how'd you learn to do this?"

"Leik taught me," Sugi said, putting the medical supplies away. "When I told her how I couldn't really do much to help Embo when his wounds got worse, she taught me a lot about first-aid and medical procedures."

"Well, I'll have to thank her for doing that for you sometime…"

A few weeks later, Embo was finally back on his feet. He was still tired a lot of the time, but he was able to get around on his own. At least, around the apartment.

He was reclining on the sofa when Sugi came in with little Marrok, and the anooba puppy trotted over to him happily, his little tail a blur. The Kyuzo couldn't help but smile at this, seeing his little pet so happy to see him.

"Come on up, Marrok," he said, patting the cushion next to him. The puppy obliged, springing up onto the couch, and settling down next to his owner after turning in a circle three times. Marrok lay his head on his master's lap, looking up at him with dark, loving eyes. Chuckling softly, Embo stroked the puppy's head, finding comfort in the softness of his white fur and the unconditional love in his eyes. Animals seemed to never be judgmental, not like sentient beings. "Good boy, Marrok…"

"He was very well-behaved for the vet," Sugi said, a smile on her face. "He sat very still for his checkup, and he had me hold his paw while he got his shot."

"Sounds like someone has earned himself a treat," Embo said, and Marrok's head shot up in anticipation!

"I think that the someone in question agrees with you," Sugi said wryly, going over to where they kept the jar of treats. After taking one out, she handed it to Embo, who held it in front of Marrok.

"Have you been a good boy, Marrok?" He asked, smiling a little. The anooba puppy moved to sit back on his hind legs, his forepaws held up in front of him, eyes pleading. "Yes, you've been a good boy… here you go."

He gently tossed the treat to his furry companion, and Marrok easily caught it in his mouth, settling down beside Embo again as he chewed on his food. Then, Sugi sat down next to the Kyuzo.

"You doing ok?" He looked over at her, still not used to someone being so constantly worried over him.

"I… I'm still pretty tired most of the time…" he said hesitantly, eyes downcast. "It's gotten better, though…"

"If you ever need to talk…" Sugi said softly, surprising him by laying her hand over his, "I'll be willing to listen. You don't have to be alone…"

Embo looked at her, staring into her brown eyes, searching for any sign of deception purely out of habit. Her eyes were soft and concerned, even slightly hopeful that he would accept. Then, he sighed.

"Maybe… maybe someday… But not today…" It was the best he could do. He didn't feel ready, didn't even know how to explain what he was feeling.

Sugi just nodded, accepting what he said. It was the best she could really hope for, to be honest.

But it was a start. Somehow, someday, she would know what he held within his heart. Until then…

She would never leave him.

Well, this took longer than I thought it would! I'm sorry I took so long, but the plot bunnies have been biting me left and right for so many aspects of this AU that I was honestly unsure of what to do first! However, this is the last chapter of this part of the AU, but more parts are on the way! Until then, may the Force be with you all!