Five days later, the black-haired woman got up at the sound of her alarm going off. She snatched some fresh street clothes, her towel and left her room to go to the shower.
During her time in the army after leaving New Bangkok, she had gotten into the habit of taking a shower upon waking up since that helped her boot up even more in addition to a good black and strong coffee that she would get herself from the mess hall later on.
Shedding her sleeping clothes, she put them on a chair close to the stall that she was using. She groaned upon getting up again: she was seriously getting old and seemed to need longer and longer to really boot up and get her body to move. Ten years ago, she had been able to get up and directly go for it the moment that she was on her feet.
Entering the stall, she waited for the water to turn warm before stepping into the spray with a relieved sigh. It was nice, getting to feel the warmth wash over her.
She had used the showers during the first months after losing Drew in order to be somewhat functional. She hadn't been able to sleep much back then and had needed the shower and the coffee to somehow be able to pull through the day. Sure, it had become better after a while, even more when there was Tucker around often sitting with her and talking with her about important and sometimes not so important things, just to take her mind off of her grief.
Sometime later on, when she didn't need the shower anymore since she was able to sleep enough, it had become some kind of habit and Ala spontaneously decided to keep that habit up since she had started to like it.
Grasping the bottle with the shampoo, she still had to remind herself to not squeeze out as much shampoo as she used to. Her hair was a lot shorter now and didn't need that much soap.
Pressing the lid of the bottle shut and putting it on the ground, she applied the shampoo to her hair with her thoughts drifting off again.
Since she had woken up and had been in the hospital, Drew hadn't left her side and always was with her, even if it was only to sit beside her silently and keep her company.
He was worried about her, always keeping an eye out for her in case something happened. Given the information about her injuries she received from Doctor Grey and the medic who had treated her in the field, it wasn't surprising that Drew was on his toes so much around her.
She made a face at that particular thought. She thanked him by being snappy and angry, even after all that he did. He hadn't been obliged to help her after she had gotten injured, but he had done it nonetheless. Drew had blown the blood out of her lungs, and had to see the horrible blood show following that.
Looking down at herself, she could see the new scar underneath her left bust. The scar looked jagged on one side, this stemming from the fact that she had reared up when the medic did the cut. That poor guy still blanched when he told her about what had happened and excused himself over and over again for injuring her and inflicting more pain.
At some point during his apology, she had shut him down and told him that she didn't hold it against him. That he did what he had to do and that he did great. Without him she probably wouldn't be alive anymore, having drowned in her own blood.
Shutting down the shower and wringing out her short hair as well as she could, she stepped out of the shower and reached for the towel with her left hand. She had to actively think on using her left hand to get used to it again. To be honest, she already had made big progresses since she was using her arm almost normal again during her time off the battlefield.
The rest would come within the next few days since she suspected that Doctor Grey would be giving her the green light soon to start with a light training regimen again to get back in shape. She hated lying around all day. Sure, at first it was cool to have two or three days off, but the sensation of that quickly wore off and it had become annoying.
Luckily for her, her visitors seemed to notice and gave her the space she needed. Most of all Drew.
Right… She hadn't seen North around since he had checked in on her the day after she got released. His absence gave her enough time to think about the whole situation and to realize that she was doing wrong by him and that her anger towards him for not having told her about everything had disappeared long ago, leaving just a sore feeling which had gotten gradually replaced by understanding for him having acted like that.
Brushing her hair and again squeezing as much water out of it as possible, she put on her street clothes and gathered her stuff to go back to her room.
Entering it, she checked the clock, only to realize that she had another thirty minutes before she was scheduled to show up in Grey's office for the examination. She would have to show up in another three or four weeks to make sure everything had really gone well since these whole happenings were quite a kill-or-cure remedy for her body and even Doctor Grey couldn't tell if everything was going to go well yet.
Sitting on the bed, she absentmindedly massaged her left shoulder. It was a habit that had stuck with her from the days when her muscles had to get used to the new weight placed upon them and often hurt as a result of that.
Her thoughts again drifted back to the happenings before she fell into a coma.
Looking at the situation, Ala had to admit that what she went through could be easily categorized as a near death experience.
She didn't come out of that without any harm. And she wasn't just speaking of the new scars mingling with the old ones. It also was her soul that had been affected.
Since waking up, she realized that she had gradually started to change.
She was still cursing like a trooper as the others did and she still loved to tease people. But aside from that, she had started to become more like her old self from New Bangkok again.
Ala couldn't put a finger on it. She just felt like she was becoming… softer.
After North's death, she became hard and had put up an immensely hard and strong shell around her hurt soul in order to not freak out and shoot anyone for real. The shots with rubber bullets to Tucker's naked ass to wake him up didn't count.
Anyways, since waking up, she started to act more like she did before Drew's death. She couldn't put a finger on it or name a particular situation when she had started to first notice this, but she more felt like an earlier version of herself in a way. And the huge wall she always thought of as being too high to overcome in order to start anew with Drew suddenly didn't seem so high anymore.
She was sure she could overcome it, but Ala knew as well that they couldn't jump right back into what they had ten years ago. Ala knew that she had changed during these past ten years, even if North hadn't really. She had. Neither she nor North could say that it would work out if they did start to date again and be a couple, because of the time difference – even if she suspected North to vehemently insist that they would work out somehow.
But she didn't want a somehow with the possibility of failure. Sure, they could always fail but she preferred getting to know each other again before jumping in head first. They needed to get to know each other again like they had during the time when North had been living with her.
A knocking drew her out of her thoughts, and she went to answer the door.
Tucker stood there in his street clothes: some blue jeans, black sneakers, and a teal hubby beater. His dreads were pulled up into a ponytail with a teal band.
"Time to go to the doc." He said simply, making a motion with his hand to make her follow him.
"And you're my escort to make sure I go there?" She asked, closing the door and falling into an easy jog beside her adopted brother.
The teal soldier pulled a face, "Given how you've put off everything up to now, I prefer making sure you do it now."
Ala sighed. She knew he was right and was only worried about her. She really had put it off too long, although there wasn't much of an option. She knew that Tucker knew that as well, but she could understand his anger given the fact that she had almost died only about two months ago.
Having that in mind, she didn't comment on it, instead simply knocking their shoulders together amicably and throwing Tucker a smile, "Thanks, brother."
This drew a smile out of the man walking beside her, "You're welcome, sis." He replied, opening the door to the hospital and letting Ala enter.
The complex with the rooms for the Blood Gulch Crew and the Freelancers wasn't far away from the hospital, at least for the moment.
She had heard from Kimball that they were reconstructing some complexes in the center of the city, to make it possible for the soldiers to get apartments. Since they were their heroes, they would be the first to have that luxury with the rest of the army following afterwards once every apartment complex and house was reconstructed.
Sometime later on, they would even be able to move around, but it wasn't only the prospect of having an apartment of her own that made her smile.
Tucker and Wash having a little love nest all their own, along with Doctor Grey and Sarge, Doc and Donut and Grif and Simmons would surely be beneficial for all of them.
Simmons and Grif were already pretty used to living with each other since they have been bunking with one another for years now, and she knew that they would be happy enough with that tradition continuing.
Doc and Donut had been living in a house together in Valhalla already, so they were also no doubt looking forward to continuing that.
Tucker and Wash, however, would be rather interesting to see move in together since they hadn't really lived together before. Even more so when Junior would be staying with them.
But she was sure they would all work things out to the best of their abilities.
Upon entering Examination Room Three at the end of the hallway that the nurse led them to, she sat down on the cot with Tucker taking up his seat in a plastic chair in a corner of the room. There they waited patiently for the doctor to appear.
"Have you already thought about moving out?" Tucker asked, as if having read her thoughts just then.
Ala made a motion between a nod and a shake of her head, "I had, but I told Kimball to give the apartments to the others first. Like you and Wash."
Tucker didn't answer, only raising a thick eyebrow and regarding her carefully.
She took it as a prompt to continue, "I would be living alone, Tucker. And I sometimes feel like even my room is too big for me despite being as small as it is." She smiled apologetical and shrugged her shoulders.
"You think you would snap there because you would be lonely and shit?"
"And shit, yeah." Ala laughed when she saw Tucker's face turning a bit sour, "Seriously. I…" she chewed on her lower lip while searching for the right words, "…After North's death, my apartment in New Bangkok felt too big. I have the feeling that it'll be the same here when living on my own. So much space can be suffocating too, you know? It sounds idiotic, but it is like that."
Again, she shrugged a bit apologetically and focused on the door since both of them could hear footsteps drawing closer.
About an hour later, Tucker and his sister were on their way to the mess hall to get some breakfast and coffee after Doctor Grey had cleared her for some light training, as Ala had suspected she would.
The surgeries had gone well and the healing had progressed okay. However, the doctor had warned Ala that she could suffer from some pain during the next several days still as her body had to adjust to the changes that had been made.
The woman had nodded and thanked Doctor Grey for her help. She promised that she would visit her sometime soon, but not as a patient.
The doctor had smiled at that, chirping pleasantly something about having to get the rest of her life sorted out because she would just love to psychoanalyze Ala at some point given her rather complex situation to see what that does to her.
Ala declined politely and left together with Tucker as soon as possible.
Entering the mess hall, she could see that everyone was sitting around the table. Even North, York, and Carolina were eating breakfast with the rest of them.
Her first instinct was to turn around and get the heck out of here, but she ignored that feeling and kept on walking. She couldn't have left anyway since Tucker had grabbed her right arm to keep her in place.
"You're staying here. No running anymore." He muttered, guiding her over to the distribution area where she got herself oatmeal with fresh fruits.
The apples on Chorus still freaked her out. They started out white and were perfectly ripe when the skin was pitch black and the flesh of the apple was a sickening green color. However, after having gotten used to the odd coloring, she loved the apples. They were the perfect mix of sweet and sour.
Sitting down, she could see that Tucker had already taken up his seat beside Wash which only left one open space right next to Drew.
The teal-armored soldier threw her a cheeky smile when he noticed her withering glare, but Ala schooled her expression immediately when North turned around to look at what Tucker was smiling about.
She could see the surprise in his eyes, although the rest of his expression was schooled into a neutral one.
Walking up to the table, she decided to bite the bullet and not play the picky princess.
"This seat taken?" She asked curtly, picking a piece of the apple and plopping it in her mouth. Sweet and sour.
It took Drew a moment and an elbow to his ribs from York to snap out of his daze, "No. Have a seat, please."
Ever the polite gentleman, the woman thought to herself when she put the tray down and sat on the seat.
Beside her was Palomo, currently taking a sip out of his bottle of water.
"Geez, what's with all the tension between you guys?" He asked around a mouthful of bread, "After Captains Grif, Simmons, Tucker, and Washington… now you too, Mac?"
Pretend to be cool, she swallowed the oatmeal in her mouth before looking him over and saying in a sweet voice, "I take it that you have too much free time if you're able to observe our dynamics so much, Lieutenant Palomo?"
Said soldier snapped to attention, his face showing clearly that he knew exactly that he was in trouble.
"If that's so, you can start running laps after you've finished your breakfast. What do you think, Captain Tucker?" With that she turned to Palomo's direct CO, "I guess ten laps should be sufficient?"
"Make it fifteen and I am good." Tucker replied casually, deliberately taking a sip from his coffee.
"Okay, twenty it is." She smiled at him, stirring her coffee.
That drew a whine from the young soldier, "But Captain Tucker said it'd be only fifteen!"
"Twenty-five. I'd better start running if I were you, Lieutenant Palomo, or you're not going to be finished in time for today's dinner." Ala joked, "As far as I remember, we're going to have meatloaf… your favorite."
After another whining session and Ala increasing his task to thirty laps, the young lieutenant took off to get his extra work done. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see that Jensen had gotten up as well and had followed the male out.
Well, speaking of sexual tensions.
Taking a sip from her coffee, she could more hear Tucker's shit eating grin than see it, "Talking big about other people's sexual tensions, but when it comes to him, he's fucking dense."
Looking over the rim of her cup, she looked at the dark-skinned man, "I know others who are the same."
The pointed look that she had cast on him made the other soldier huff and cross his arms, "I am not the only one here that could apply to."
"I never said you were, but if the shoe fits… wear it, huh?" her smile and the mirth shining in her eyes wasn't only something that Tucker could see.
"Looks like she got you there, dude." Grif interjected from his place on the other side of the table.
Looking over at him, she could sense that the Hawaiian obviously felt safe from her teasing for the moment.
"That applies to you too, you know? You haven't exactly been a knight of the rose either, buddy."
Grif's glance darkened slightly when they both heard York and Tucker snort under their breaths.
"Eh, I don't care. Simmons loves me anyway." Grif put his hands behind his head and leaned back.
The cyborg beside him snorted, "Oddly enough yes, though I am asking myself everyday why I do." He joked.
"Come on! Not you too!" This drew a whine out of the Hawaiian, looking at his boyfriend incredulously and a bit hurt before realizing that Simmons was teasing him as well.
The whole table burst out laughing loudly at this exchange, all of them laughing until their bellies hurt.
When they calmed down, the breakfast and the conversations went on as usual with the bickering and easy conversations soon filling the space between them.
Shoveling another spoonful into her mouth, she felt someone nudge her.
Since it was from her left side, she knew that it was Andrew.
He had been observing her all the time since she had taken a seat. It wasn't the vigilant eyeing her as if she would drop dead the moment he didn't look or the glare meant to kill the person who did so much as breathe funny around her that he had done in the past.
It was simply a curious watching.
He tried to make it subtle, but she knew the man sitting beside her long enough to notice his stare. She just preferred not to react to it.
However, when he nudged her now, she looked over to him out of the corner of her eye, arching an eyebrow to wordlessly ask him what he wanted.
The Freelancer obviously seemed to have taken this cue as he muttered lowly only for her to hear, "Never knew you could be such an asshole."
The others wouldn't have heard it anyways since they were in a heated discussion about color coding and whether or not violet now belonged to Blue or to Red.
Swallowing down her food, she grinned at him, "I told you I could be…" She answered simply with a grin and a sip from her coffee.
"Yeah…" North trailed off, obviously getting the hint and remembering her having told him that years ago in the kitchen when North was still recovering back in New Bangkok.
After the breakfast, she put away her tray with the others and went to her room to get dressed.
She wanted to do some laps to slowly start getting her body back into its old shape. Well, she would start running and see how far she could get, but she set her limit on five laps tops around the complex for today. She had been off from training for almost two months and still wasn't completely recovered, so she mused to herself that she better take it easy for now.
Falling into an easy jog, she started off her laps around the base.