XIII.
Cora lets a groan escape her lips when she feels the dull ache in her head, throbbing in a way that makes her feels like she has been head-butted by a Krogan or ten. Cora lifts her hand to her face and places her palm over her eyes; that bright light was doing nothing to help the situation. Cora lets her eyes quickly open when she realises she has no idea where she is and the last thing that she could remember was her legs giving out beneath her. And Scott, her sweetheart Scott, rushing to catch her.
She blinks a couple of times trying to convince her eyes to focus and when they finally do she sees that the unbearable source of light is coming from several spotlights above her that she identifies at once, as being those she stared up at for weeks during her last extended stay in hospital. Cora groans again, she'd told herself she'd never be here again. She closes her eyes for a moment, letting her brain move around her body slowly as she wiggles her toes, moves her fingers and checks that everything is still working as it should be. She knew the headache was a build-up of static charge and nothing she couldn't handle and hadn't had before but otherwise, there was no pain.
"Harp, you're awake." Cora hears a familiar voice from the other side of the room and gathers that she isn't alone. "Can you hear me?" He asks as she hears the sound of him moving towards what she assumes is her bed, his feet stepping with purpose and urgency.
"Scott?" Cora mumbles trying to get her mouth to do as her brain is telling it and form the words but feeling relieved when she hears she can still speak and not just groan. "Scott." Cora utters again trying to lift her head so she can see him; she so wanted to see those baby blues of his and see him smile.
"No, Harper. It's me." The voice continues as she struggles to lift her head and lean up. "It's Alec." He adds making a wave of panic wash over her as he leans over and she sees him standing above her. "It's okay, you are okay." He whispers trying to soothe her in the gentle voice he saved for behind closed doors. She feels him softly brush the hair back from her face and freezes beneath his touch.
"Get away from me." Cora mumbles slapping his hand away and trying to wriggle backwards in the bed and get as far away from him as she could, she could feel the adrenaline begin pumping through her body telling her she needed to run as fast as she could and away from Alec.
"What are you doing here?" Cora hisses as she sees him give her a weak smile and shake his head. "Where is Scott? I want to see him." Cora adds and watches Alec nod sadly and step back to give her some space, he lifts his hands trying to calm her. What was going on and why was Alec not locked in a cell somewhere?
"He's just in the next room," Alec whispers, his voice warm and soft. Almost, comforting. "I suggested he get an hour shut-eye. He's been here all night and all day with you, he needed some rest." Alec continues making her frown. "Do you want to sit up?" He asks her.
Cora nods, she wasn't sure if she should believe him or not. After everything that had happened and everything that he had done, how did she know he wasn't going to try and kill her too and he wasn't trying to trick her? Alec had tried to kill Scott and now he was stood here calmer than she'd ever seen him before, providing her with so many questions and not many answers. Alec holds his hands up to her again and slowly approaches the bed; he reaches for controls at her side and presses the button combination that causes the head of her bed to slowly rise until she can see him properly.
Cora glances around and sees that yes indeed, she is back in the hospital and by the looks of it she is on Theia Station. The room is the same bright white that she had remembered it being with the same white furniture and fittings. The same white chair at her bedside, that Alec had sat in and sobbed when she had been hurt because of him. It was the first time he'd kissed her and made his feelings known.
"How long have I been here?" Cora whispers and sees Alec give her a small smile. He was still here so she assumed she hadn't missed the launch to Andromeda. She didn't think there was anything that would make him miss the launch, even her. She watches him lift his arm and check the time, he looked drained and every day of his fifty-six years.
"Nearly 32 hours." Alec replies making Cora nod and her heart sink. She'd missed the rest of the night and most of the day, and it would be early evening now. She'd missed so much time and her date with Scott.
"Why are you here?" Cora asks watching as he folds his arms over his chest, she notices that he is just in his crisp shirt now and that his jacket has been discarded long ago, his sleeves forced up his arms carelessly. "After what you've done?" Cora whispers trying to keep her voice even, she was furious with him but didn't want to lose her temper with him.
He deserved to be locked up and never let out. If he hadn't been using his SAM she would have killed him with her biotics, so he was on borrowed time in her eyes. Cora suddenly feels lightheaded thinking about the energy she had unleashed; she hoped she hadn't hurt Scott with her powers.
"I promised Scott that I would let him know as soon as you woke up." The Pathfinder begins, she hears him sigh as he steps towards the small table at her bedside and picks up the glass of water that is waiting for her. "Here, you need to drink." Alec continues as she watches him reach forward and hand it to her. Cora takes it reluctantly from him. Maybe he was trying to poison her.
"Fine." Cora whispers as she lifts the glass to her lips and takes a small drink of water, he would only keep on at her if she didn't and she could feel how dry her mouth felt. She watches him turn and sits down at the end of the bed. Cora feels it compress beneath his weight.
"I'm mostly here because of how scared I was that something had happened to you, Harper." He adds lowering his head. Cora didn't know whether to laugh or get out of this bed and beat him around the head with the chair.
"You tried to kill him, you hurt me." Cora whispers when she feels his eyes on her again and sees him shake his head. "You tried to murder, Scott." She mumbles and he shakes his head again. She carefully places the glass back on the bedside table to stop herself throwing it at him.
"No, I didn't mean to." Alec whispers making her frown, he seemed pretty certain of his actions a few hours ago, when she saw his hand around his neck. "I wasn't in my right mind and I did a lot of damage but it wasn't completely me." Cora narrows her eyes slightly; she didn't think she was ready to hear another reason as to why nothing was ever Alec Ryder's fault. Cora glances to her side, wondering if there was a button she could press to have him removed.
"You expect me to believe you?" Cora huffs looking past him and to the door, she couldn't help but wonder why they'd even let him in.
She sees Alec sigh again and lifts his hand to eyes, rubbing them with his knuckle. She wanted to see Scott, she wanted him to be here with her. Not Alec. His actions towards her had very quickly starting crushing any feelings she had towards him.
"Cora, you have to believe me. The reason I'm sat here now and not in a cell is because of my implant, it changed me and made me do that to him." Alec continues taking her by surprise.
Was it the same implant that had landed him in hospital in the first place? Alec turns his body towards her and she sees him reach his hand out to her as if all he wants is to touch her, before deciding it is a bad idea and returning it to his knee.
"He's my son." Alec croaks. "As much as I know I've been a terrible father to him, he is my child and I love him."
"I don't understand.." Cora replies seeing him sigh again and just nod his head, he didn't look like he understood either. But if she knew Alec he had probably spent some of the last few hours trying to figure out what went wrong and how he could fix it. "What do you mean, your implant? Is it the one that caused the burnout?" She asks feeling his eyes on her again and sees nothing but the warmth that she used to see but also an overwhelming look of sorrow and a ruined man.
"Yes, the same. A SAM upgrade I was working on, along with the modification." Alec begins making her nod.
He was always tinkering with those things and installing new mods and upgrades; she could imagine they would go wrong and that's why he had headaches, but this was unbelievable.
"The headaches, the mood swings and the rage. It had been causing that all this time and I didn't even notice. I know I'm a difficult man." Alec sighs making her smile, he lowers his head again and she realises he really is being genuine and maybe this isn't a fabrication to get him out of trouble. He was a liar but the truth he was sharing with her now was causing him pain.
"That is an understatement." Cora whispers watching as he turns his attention back to her and gives her a small smile, a real smile that she knew she would miss if she didn't get to see it again. She loved that smile.
Cora sees him shuffle up the bed so that he is closer to her, obviously taking her comment as permission to approach with less caution. Cora ignores the voice that is screaming in her head to ask him to leave, she knew her heart was right and that he was telling the truth. Cora reaches out her hand and places it gently on his shoulder, she feels his shoulders sink when she touches him and he lowers his head again.
"Almost a year of this thing causing me to self destruct." Alec mumbles as she strokes her hand against his shoulder. If it made him feel better to think it was entirely the implant she wouldn't say anything, he deserved to have some of the blame placed elsewhere or she knew he would never be able to forgive himself.
Yes, he was difficult, opinionated, stubborn, hot-headed, angry, and sometimes a little intense but she knew that the gentle Alec that she sometimes saw surely was really him and not the implant? Surely she'd spent enough time with this man and long enough to know which parts were real?
"Since the accident?" Cora asks seeing him nod his head, by accident she meant her very close scrape with death because of his stupid plans and schemes. But that also meant that every day they had spent together after that had been guided by a faulty upgrade. "I should have spotted this, I could have helped you." Cora sighs, the way he was had become so normal to her she never stopped to question why he was like that. Instead, she had made excuses for him and loved him even harder.
Their whole relationship could have turned out very differently if he'd found the problem sooner. Maybe he would have told her months ago that he loved her and they would be picking out a new home together on Habitat 7. Cora shakes away the thought.
"You couldn't have known." Alec mumbles and places his hand over hers on his shoulder. "None of this is your fault. You didn't know about my implant until it went wrong, you didn't know about the trouble between Scott and me, and you didn't know he was my son. I kept him from you." Alec adds.
"Is that why he never trained with us?" Cora whispers seeing Alec smile lightly. "But surely you had to know we'd meet sooner or later?" She adds, she lifts her hand to briefly tuck his hair behind his ear in an attempt to comfort him and out of habit. "Didn't you trust me?" She whispers.
"Of course I trusted you, with everything." Alec replies but she knew that wasn't quite true. He'd kept things from her too. "But I didn't trust Scott and I didn't want to share you with anyone. I knew he would want you from the first time you two met and I'd lose you." Alec sighs and lowers his head again. "How could he not love you?" Alec adds making Cora sigh, he'd managed it just fine.
"Alec." Cora whispers squeezing his shoulder beneath her palm when he lowers his hand to his knees again.
"Oh, Cora." Alec whispers when she sees his shoulders lower and how upset he is. Cora wanted so desperately to comfort him but she didn't know what to say, he wasn't very open with his emotions and she'd only seen him like this once before. She strokes his shoulder beneath her hand trying to offer him some support.
"I know how much I've hurt you." Alec sniffs and she watches him rub his eyes with the back of his hand. "I know that I'm not blameless in all of this and I've always been this way, but just know I would never have hurt you like that if I'd known what I was doing." Alec adds making her sigh, she knew deep down that even if his implant had caused a lot of what had happened, Ryder Senior had always been destructive and absent from the lives of those that loved him.
Scott was proof of that. The last year, the bad in Alec may have been heightened but it hadn't changed him so much that anyone close to him had noticed.
"You were always going to hurt me, Alec." Cora whispers as she leans forward and wraps her arm around him and rests her head against his shoulder. Making Cora wonder why this wasn't feeling right anymore and why it didn't feel like home like it did before. "Maybe not in the same way you have, but it was always going to happen." She adds as she feels him take hold of her other hand in his, she'd never noticed how rough his skin was before.
"But it was so good between us, Harper. It could have been even better." Alec begins but she just shakes her head lightly, it had been good.
At times it had been incredible, but for a lot of the time, he had been abusive and controlling. Now she realised it wasn't entirely his fault but implant or not, he would have still broken her heart.
"You could never be in love with me." Cora sighs and watches as he lifts his head to fix his eyes on her. "Because you are still in love with Ellen, I understand that now." Cora whispers as he nods. She feels him lower his head to rest on top of hers.
"But I do love you, Harps." Alec mumbles making her close her eyes and blink back the tears that she was trying to so hard not to cry.
She told him she wouldn't cry over him again but here he was telling her the one thing she always wanted to hear from him. Cora sniffs and lets go of his hand so that she can wipe her eyes making Alec sigh.
"I always meant to tell you how I felt." Alec adds and she can hear the hint of regret in his voice. Cora feels him lift his head and lean back so he can look at her, she lowers her eyes feeling ashamed that she is crying.
"I love you, too." Cora whispers as she feels him tilt her face up with the edge of his hand and he settles his light grey eyes into hers. "I always thought what I felt was love." She adds and sees him nod lightly.
They'd never told each other or used the 'L' word before and she never believed she would hear it from him and here he was, now the first one to say it. Now, she wasn't sure if what she'd felt was real if none of their relationship had been.
Cora feels the tears slowly slip onto her cheeks but he brushes them away with his thumb making her smile lightly. This was the Alec that she had thought she'd loved but there was a nagging voice at the back of her head telling her, this wasn't what she wanted anymore and he was always going to be wrong for her and her heart. Cora lifts her eyes to him again and takes a moment to let them travel over his face, a face that had brought her so much comfort but also so much pain.
"I was worried about you." Alec whispers and she feels him lean closer to her and he rests his forehead against hers. "I don't want to be without you." Alec mumbles making her sigh as he strokes his hands gently against her shoulders and to her neck. "You are too important to me." He whispers again.
But this was Alec, her Alec and he was being kind and sincere and everything she had always believed he could be. Cora shakes her head, surely it was too late and he would never change. Was he saying these things to get her back?
"I can't make good choices when you are like this." Cora whispers making him smile lightly. "This isn't what I want, anymore." Cora adds and sees him shake his head, he didn't look convinced. "You aren't good for me and I can't be hurt by you again, Alec." Cora adds and he shakes his head again, surely he had to know she was right?
"I won't hurt you again." Alec replies and slides his hands onto her cheeks. Cora closes her eyes when she hears his words. His son had promised her that he would never hurt her either and right now she was more inclined to believe Scott. "Please, Cora." He whispers but she just shakes her head and places her hands on top of his lowering them from her face. She couldn't let him beg her to take him back anymore.
"We can't, Alec." Cora mumbles and sees that he finally nods, she sees him sigh and lower his eyes from hers and place his palms onto his knees again, which makes her smile lightly.
He didn't really think she was going to ditch him completely did he? Alec Ryder had shaped her whole world for the last eighteen month and she couldn't imagine a life without him in it in some way. Maybe the love for him would fade, and they'd be able to be friends?
Cora slides her arms around his body and draws him back to her again; she moves her hands to his neck and pulls him closer. Cora feels his eyes on her and sees a questioning look on his face. He finally settles his grey eyes into hers and leans forward to press his lips against hers, a gentle kiss that takes her by surprise as he lifts his hand to her hair.
Cora gently places her hands on his chest and pushes him back; she knew that it was a kiss that was his goodbye. Alec was destructive and she couldn't let herself be drawn back to him just because he was showing his gentler side, he was no longer the centre of her universe and she had to believe she was making the right choice. Cora sees him smile lightly.
"I am going to miss kissing you." Alec sighs making Cora feel like she is blushing but then realises what he has said. He lowers his hand from her face and takes hold of hers again. The Pathfinder sighs.
"We can still see each other every day." Cora whispers making him smile and nod. He was her Pathfinder and if he would still have her, his second in command.
They were still going to get to spend every day together and explore all of the worlds that they had talked so much about with each other, just hopefully without the complicated feelings and heartache.
The Pathfinder leans closer to her again and wraps his arms around her drawing her into a tight embrace, which she accepts. She feels him relax as if he has been holding his breath for hours and is only now remembering to exhale when he's seen she is okay. He presses his mouth against her shoulder as she rests her face against his.
"Cora, I want you to be happy." Alec mumbles into the hospital gown that covers her shoulder. "Even if that is with Scott." He adds making her freeze at his words. He was just trying to convince her to stay with him and now he was trying to set her up with Scott.
"He'll make you happier than I ever did and he is a better man than I'll ever be." Alec adds making her sigh. "I want both of you on my team and I want you to be the next Pathfinder."
"Really?" Cora begins as she feels Alec let go of her and sit back again. He takes hold of both of her hands in his. "You still want me with you?" She asks seeing and hearing him chuckle.
"I couldn't do this without you." Alec replies and squeezes her hands gently. "But if I see him even looking soppy eyed at you on a mission or in front of me, I'll have him cleaning every toilet on the Nexus with his bare hands." Alec adds his voice now serious but Cora sees he is trying not to smile. "This is going to hurt for a while, Cora. But you will be fine without me." Alec continues making her nod.
He'd broken up with her at the party and at the time it hadn't been mutual at all, but now she realised it was what she needed. He was right; she was going to be just fine without him and they were never going to work, at least now in a few months their friendship would get easier and they would only think about their time together fondly and not surrounded by heartbreak. She didn't imagine they'd be having Ryder family dinners together but as long as it was civil between Alec and Scott, it could work.
"Are you and Scott okay?" Cora asks him and sees him shake his head slightly; she didn't think Scott would have spent the last few hours by her bedside mending his relationship with Alec.
"No." Alec replies before pausing. "But maybe we will be." Alec continues. "All he's worried about right now is you." He whispers making Cora smile. "We have that in common." He adds and she smiles at him.
"Can I see him?" Cora asks seeing Alec nod his head and lower his eyes from her. This was going to hurt him seeing them together but she was worried about the youngest Ryder after she'd unleashed her powers so close to him. "I'm sorry for throwing you." Cora whispers making him laugh.
"It's fine." Alec chuckles as he lets go of her hands and leans forward to press a kiss against her forehead, he slowly climbs to his feet, moving as if he is hurting from being hurled across the room. He stands up straight and looks down at her. "I'll go and let him know you are awake." Alec adds as she watches him stride across the room and towards the door, he lifts his hand as if he is going to press the door control.
"Alec." Cora begins making him pause and glance over his shoulder at her. "I forgive you." She adds seeing him smile lightly. She forgave him for everything that wasn't his fault but she would never forget the things that were.
Cora watches the doors slide open as he presses the button and sees that Scott is already there with his hand raised as if he was about to open it too. Cora can't help but let a smile stretch onto her face when she sees him and laughs to herself when she remembers that this was almost how it had happened on the ship, one Ryder walking away from her and another rushing to get in.
Cora spots that Scott is holding a single brightly coloured flower in his other hand; she wonders where he's got it from since Theia had been stripped of anything that wasn't useful and could be using valuable resources, months ago.
"Everything okay?" Scott asks him when she sees the pair look at each other. Alec just nods and she watches him lift his hand to pat his boy on the shoulder, Cora gives Scott a small smile when she sees that his eyes don't stay on Alec long and he looks like he is eager to get across the room and to her. She notices he is still dressed in his suit from the party, only his tie and jacket are now gone.
"Be gentle with her." Alec replies drawing Scott's attention back to him. "If she doesn't break you in half, I will." He adds; making Scott smile lightly and nod. Cora wasn't sure if he meant gentle with her in general or just while she was in hospital but she appreciated his concern for her.
"I will." Scott nods and receives another pat on his shoulder from Alec. Cora sees Alec lower his eyes from his son and nod lightly; she could see how difficult he was finding this already.
She was happy though to see that they weren't trying to kill each other and some, even if temporarily, common ground had been found.
"Thanks, Dad." Scott whispers as The Pathfinder lowers his hand from his shoulder and steps through the door, the metal sliding closed behind him.
Cora relaxes and lets the breath release slowly trying to process everything that has just happened. Alec hadn't been himself for a lot of the time that he'd been awful to her and the gentle Alec that she did get glimpses of was really him. He was still an asshole, however, and that was universally known. He and Scott didn't have the best relationship but at least he hadn't meant to kill his son, which is handy for Cora because she was feeling very attached to Ryder Junior and there he was in her doorway.
"I hope you don't plan on being, too gentle." Cora whispers watching a smile tug at the corner of his mouth that she decides is more of a smirk. She laughs lightly when she sees him press his hand against the door again, changing it to authorised staff only. "Do you think I'm going to make a run for it?" Cora giggles when she sees him shrug lightly.
"I've got to keep my old man out of here, somehow." Scott smiles. "You stood me up." Scott chuckles and she feels his eyes on her.
Cora knew she had to forgive Alec because it was the only way they could continue to work together and they could all start to move on. It was the only way she could be with Scott.
"How can I make it up to you?" Cora laughs when she sees him lift his hand to his chin as if he is having to think about it.
Cora places her fingertips on her forehead realising how much it was hurting to laugh; it was pounding even more now than it had been earlier and she wanted so desperately to get out of the hospital bed. She glances up at Scott again and sees the look of concern behind his eyes.
"Is that for me?" Cora asks and nods towards the flower, she sees him nod and smile. No one had ever bought her flowers before. Cora wiggles her toes again wondering if she could stand.
"I'm sorry it's plastic. You know how hard it is to find anything real around here." Scott laughs making her smile, they were both so desperate to hold onto something real and that's what had drawn them together in the first place. "You can keep it in your bunk and have something to remember me by." He adds making her smile, she watches as he places it down on the table by the door.
He must have unofficially borrowed it from the displays in guest relations. Cora already knew that Scott was back on the team but it was still a sweet gesture.
"I'm planning on keeping you in my bunk." Cora laughs when she sees that Scott realises Alec has already told her that they've both been reinstated. "Unless you are still planning on a career change to janitor?" She asks making him laugh and shrug, she'd felt awful listening to their conversation but she was glad she had been there in time.
"A worthy and fulfilling career choice." Scott replies making her snort. He probably didn't even know what to do with a mop as he did with a rifle. "Cora, if you didn't want to go on a date with me, you could have just said so." Scott smirks making her smile.
Cora closes her eyes for a moment, suddenly feeling the colour begin to drain from her face and overwhelming feeling relief at seeing Scott unharmed and a wave of sadness at what has happened. She knew it was just her body reacting to the stress and her biotics realigning themselves, but she could tell by his face that she looked bad enough to make him worry about her. Cora hated being a biotic at times like this, everything was always heightened and the comedown was the worst.
"I'm sorry, that was a terrible joke." Scott adds when she watches him cross the room as quickly as he can and come to a stop beside her bed, he leans over her and wraps his arms around her body as he lowers himself to sit on the bed with her. "You're safe now." Scott whispers as he strokes his hand through her hair letting her bury her face into his neck.
"He tried to kill you." Cora whispers feeling ridiculous for feeling so overly emotional now that Scott was here when she had been so eager to see him. Seeing him struggling for breath had been terrifying and a moment longer would have been the end of him. Cora feels him tighten his hold on her and he quietly shushes her trying to soothe her.
"I know, but you stopped him." Scott replies as he leans back from her so that he can get a better look at her, she feels his eyes moving over her face as if he is inspecting her closely.
She couldn't help but notice that he looked tired and like a man that had just been getting a few minutes shut-eye on an uncomfortable sofa, but she didn't think she'd ever seen such a lovely sight.
"I didn't know what to do." Cora whispers and lifts her hand to brush back a strand of his hair that has fallen across his forehead and smiles when he turns his head to nuzzle his cheek against her palm.
"You did the right thing." Scott mumbles. "I owe you my life, Cora. That means you are stuck with me forever, and ever, and ever." Scott continues making her smile lightly before he can add some extra evers on there, Cora leans forward and presses her lips against his in a kiss that has no goodbye or ending in it at all but only makes her want more of him. Cora feels him smiling beneath her lips.
"Did I hurt you?" Cora asks when he leans back again, she places her hands on shoulders and lets her eyes travel over him.
He looked okay and like he'd managed to come away mostly unscathed. She'd been so reckless and not even thought that he would get caught up in the wave too, but she had to save him.
Cora lets her eyes linger on the obvious sign of a hand and finger marks on his throat where Alec had been squeezing, it looked red and angry and she was sure it would turn into deep purple and yellow bruising before it disappeared. She feels Scott brush his thumbs on her cheeks; she promised herself there would be no crying in Andromeda and congratulates herself for not crying in front of Scott.
"I'm a little sore, but no." Scott smiles as she strokes her fingers to his throat and lets the palm of her hand rest gently over the marks. This was all her fault. "Don't look at those." Scott whispers dragging her eyes away from them and back to his face. She feels him take hold of her hand and lifts it to his cheek. "I think Alec got the most of it, if he hadn't been using SAM I think he'd be the one in the bed." Scott smiles again which she returns, she hoped she could spend many more days watching this man smile.
"He told me about the faulty implant." Cora sighs and sees him nod; she strokes her thumb against his cheek and sees a flash of emotion behind the blue pools. He looked like he felt responsible for this as much as she did.
"You didn't know." Cora whispers to him; how could he? Alec had kept Scott at arm's length for so long and treated him so badly; he wouldn't have known what was happening. He didn't see Alec for months at a time; she saw him every day and had no idea.
"I should have been around more." Scott mumbles. "Maybe I could have noticed what was happening to him and found out why." Cora just shakes her head when she hears this.
Yes, Alec had been increasingly cruel and irritable but he was also under a lot of pressure and stressed, it wasn't entirely out of character for him. Scott being in contact more wouldn't have made a difference and their difficult relationship might have even angered Alec even more.
"None of this is your fault, Scott." Cora gives him a reassuring smile and repeats the words that Alec had told her, she lets go of one of his hands and brings her palm to rest gently on his neck making him look into her face. She didn't know if Alec would ever admit to it being his fault but at least he could hear it from her.
"Your right. It's his fault, and how can I forgive him?" Scott asks her as she wraps her arms around his body and pulls him closer to her, he rests the side of his head against hers as she slides her fingers through his hair. She knew she didn't have any answers for him and that she should be the one asking how she was going to forgive Alec too.
"He's trying." Cora whispers and feels him nod lightly, she knew Alec Ryder trying to do the right thing wouldn't fix the years of hurt for him, but it was a start. "He loves you, Scott." She adds and hears him sigh. It was probably the last thing he wanted to hear.
"That isn't enough." Scott mumbles. "I don't need anyone loving me because they feel they have to. That doesn't work for me." Scott replies and she can't help but nod and agree with him; good intentions and promises meant nothing if you didn't back them up with actions and by the sound of it Alec had been completely absent from his Children's lives.
"Talking of people Alec Ryder loves, let's talk about you." Scott chuckles as she watches him sit back and a cheeky smile appears on his face making Cora laugh lightly and shake her head at him. "But I kind of feel like you already know that." Scott adds and she sees him lower his eyes for a moment, he didn't want to talk about it and she didn't either.
"When can I go home?" Cora asks trying to take the conversation away from Alec. It was far too complicated a discussion to be having now.
Scott fixes his eyes on her again when she places her hands on his forearms and feels how warm his skin is beneath her palms. Cora sighs dramatically, which makes him smile; she couldn't believe she'd had to spend some of her final hours here.
"A few more hours." Scott whispers making Cora huff and him laugh further at her reaction, she feels him take both of her hands in his. "At least until your biotics return to normal, they said they would discharge you into Harry's care as soon as the pain has gone." Cora rolls her eyes hearing this; she needed to get out of this bed and back to enjoying her last few days with Scott, not being looked after by Harry. She was fine and she hated hospitals.
"Why don't you break me out of here?" Cora gives Scott a small smile and pulls his arms towards her wraps them around her body. "You distract them and I'll sneak out the back." Cora whispers as she slides her arms around his neck and presses a kiss against the edge of his mouth. "If I'm spending any more hours in a bed, I'd rather you were in it with me." Cora giggles when she feels him smile beneath her lips.
"I want that too." Scott smiles. "But you need to stay here." Scott whispers making her huff and unwraps her arms from around him. Cora gives him a gentle shove in the shoulder and folds her arms in front of her. "I'm not risking sneaking you out and you end up not coming to Andromeda with me." Scott laughs and places his fingers around her wrists and unfolds her arms.
"You are no fun." Cora mumbles trying to keep a straight face when she lets him wrap her arms around his neck and feels his hands slide down her back. "What about our date?" Cora asks him leaning into his embrace and resting her head against his neck.
"We'll just have to do it tomorrow." Cora hears his reply as he dips his head to kiss her gently; she places her hand on his cheek again and returns his kiss. "Or the next day? Or the day after that?" Scott whispers making her giggle when she leans her head back to look at him and sees his smirk.
"Can I least have a cuddle?" Cora asks seeing him eye up the bed and then nod his head. She wasn't sure if they'd both fit on the narrow hospital bed but she was willing to try if he was. They'd somehow managed to spend a few nights in Scott's small bed in the tower, but they hadn't done much sleeping then.
"That I can do." Scott replies with a smile as he presses his lips against hers again and feels him lift both of his hands to cup her face; she slips her hands onto his chest and can feel how warm he is through his white shirt. "You know I love a good cuddle." Scott mumbles against her mouth. "Even if you do put cold feet on me." He adds making her giggle and remove her mouth from his. "When we are soaking wet, covered in dirt and alien goo in the back of a transport, my invitation will always stand for a nice cuddle." Scott laughs making her smile.
She hoped her idea of the golden worlds was more accurate than his and that there wasn't too much goo, but the offer of having his warm body to snuggle up to was a very good thing.
Cora feels him lower his hands from her and watches as Scott climbs to his feet again, he places his hands on his hips for a moment and looks like he is surveying the bed. He reaches towards the screen beside her and begins tapping different combinations that start raising and lowering it, making her laugh as her feet are lifted higher and then her head. Cora watches as he pulls a face realising he is making the situation worse so returns it to how it was before but lowers the head more so she can lay down a little flatter.
"Think we can make it work?" Cora giggles as she feels his eyes fix on her and he grins. "I'm sure you've overcome greater obstacles to get into bed with a woman." Cora adds hearing him laugh and sees him shake his head, which only makes her snort; she was calling bullshit on that one Scott Ryder.
"Obviously you are the only woman I've shared a bed with." Scott replies wrinkling his nose at her and giving her a sly smile making her laugh again, ignoring the pain in her head when she does. "Does anything other than your head hurt?" He asks but Cora just shakes her head no, everything else in her body felt fine considering what had happened and she assumed Scott had managed to break most of her fall when he'd caught her in his arms. She just felt drained, emotionally and physically.
Cora tries to move up much as she can towards the side of the narrow bed, trying to make some additional room for him but doesn't get much more than an inch of extra space for him to occupy. Scott wasn't built like a mountain or as tall as a Turian, but he was certainly broader and larger than the average human man and she didn't have any complaints in that department at all.
Cora can't help but giggle again when she watches Scott slip off his highly polished shoes and leave them at the side of the bed; he'd been raised properly on the Citadel after all. She feels his eyes on her as he just shrugs giving her a questioning look as to why she is laughing at him. Cora lifts the crisp white bed covers and pats the small space next to her.
"I made some room for you." Cora whispers and sees that he laughs when he sees what space she has left him. She watches him lift one leg onto the bed and carefully move into space next to her as if he is worried about hurting her.
Cora feels him slide down into the bed next to her and lift his other leg to join his first. She smiles to herself when he moves his arm and wraps it around her body drawing her close to him, letting her rest her head on his shoulder and wrap her arm across his waist. Scott uses his other hand to smooth the blanket down on top of them making sure she is covered but it makes Cora laugh when she spots his toes are sticking out of the end.
"This makes me feel better." Cora whispers when he wriggles again, moving onto his side so he is facing her and wraps his arm around her waist. He folds his arm behind his head letting her rest hers on his bicep so that she can look into his face. He probably hadn't slept properly for over two days. Cora strokes her fingers over his jaw and through his light scruff just like she had done when they were first in bed together on the ship, at the party.
"Me too." Scott replies making her smile. "This and a really long nap." He laughs. 600 years was one hell of a nap, she wondered if they'd wake up feeling refreshed.
Cora sees that his eyes look heavy and he yawns briefly behind his hand. She feels him brush her hair away from her eyes and hears him go quiet, the quietest she'd heard him be since they'd first met.
"What are you thinking about?" Cora whispers to him seeing his eyes moving over her face before fixing on hers and he smiles. Scott was so intense but sincere with his emotions, he didn't shy away from voicing what he was feeling, but she knew there was so much more about him she had yet to discover behind those eyes. It was exciting.
"That tonight has made me realise how scared I was about losing you." Scott whispers making her drop her eyes from him and blush, she could already feel how flushed she was and he wasn't helping.
Cora lifts her hand placing her finger over his lips; she couldn't take hearing him tell her these things. Cora didn't feel like she deserved them. "Seeing you like this." Scott adds with a sigh when she removes her finger and replaces it with a soft kiss.
"What did I do to deserve someone like you?" Cora sighs whispers seeing him smile; she'd never met anyone like him before she was sure. She'd dated people on and off in the past, especially when she was younger and she'd spent time with people on shore leave, but had anyone ever spoken to her like he was?
"I've been sat here asking myself that same question for the last few hours." Scott nods and she knows he means at her bedside. "It's just confirmed what I already knew." He adds and she smiles at him, feeling the fluttering in her stomach and knowing she felt the same.
"I was scared too, seeing him hurting you." Cora adds and he smiles lightly. "That's what made me so reckless." She whispers and lowers her eyes from him. "I couldn't see someone hurting.." She begins and notices he looks at her.
"Cora, will you be my girlfriend?" He asks, interrupting her and making her laugh lightly.
"Yes." Cora nods, a smile at her mouth when she sees Scott grin. "I would love to be your girlfriend." She adds and sees his smile widen.
"So where do we go from here?" She asks as she trails her fingers through the hair at his temple.
"I guess we could go Andromeda." Scott whispers, which makes her giggle. "Waking up in 600 years with you as my girlfriend sounds pretty great." She feels him lean closer and press another kiss against her mouth. Cora slides her hand onto his shoulder and up onto the back of his head.
"That does sound great." Cora mumbles against his lips making him pull his head back to look at her, she strokes her fingertips through his hair at the base of his neck. "Maybe we can find somewhere quiet and peaceful. Where there is no engine noise, and no rumbling of mass effect shields?" She asks seeing him smile at her question; she rests her head on his arm again moving her hand to his back, her fingers against his shoulder blade.
"Somewhere we can call home." Scott smiles. "Just you and me." Scott adds he tucks his finger beneath her chin tilting her to look him in the eyes again. "That sounds like paradise." Cora nods at his words. Andromeda was supposed to be a new start so maybe a whole new start and getting to spend time with Scott would be something to look forward to. Alec had described their relationship as good, but she wanted amazing. She wanted incredible and Scott was giving her that.
"Home sounds perfect." Cora sighs when she feels him wrap his arms tighter around her and tuck her beneath his chin, she feels him rest his head on top of hers and hears the sound of him yawning again which makes her smile, he was not far from slipping into the sleep she knew he needed but she could feel he was fighting it.
"We can be a real family." Scott mumbles into her hair.
Cora smiles lightly at his words; she'd assumed Scott had been happy with his family of Sara and Ellen and it was her that had been missing out, but hearing him now she knew she'd been wrong. She also had to admit she was worried about Alec, as much as he had told her he wanted her to be happy with Scott, was he still going to a dark cloud hanging over them? What if it didn't work out with Scott? She'd then have two men she had to see every day while trying to avoid. But she did want this; she did want it to work.
Cora just shakes her head and buries herself into his chest again, Scott was comfortable and safe and for now, that was all that mattered.
"Get some sleep." Cora whispers when she feels his hold on her relax slightly and that he is slowly resting more heavily against her. She feels him move his hands onto her back to prove he is awake and hears his yawn as he lifts his head and fixes his eyes on her again.
"I'm not tired anymore." Scott mumbles giving her a small smile, she could hear the sound of sleep in his voice. Cora places her hand on his neck and draws his head down to her again encouraging him to relax against her and lay his head against hers, which he does.
"You took care of me while I slept." Cora smiles when she feels him nod lightly and she slides her hands down to rest on his chest. "I'll wake you as soon as we can leave." Cora whispers to him feeling him nod lightly again and his breath begins to even out. "Scott?" She whispers.
"Hmm?" He mumbles.
"Thank you for catching me." Cora whispers resting her hand on the back of his neck and stroking her fingers through his hair gently. She hears him sigh and is sure he has fallen asleep.
"I always will." Scott whispers making her smile again.