XXVIII.
Cora smiles to herself when she hears the sound of Scott yawning on the other end of the line, which makes her realise how late it is getting and how many hours they've been talking to each other since they docked back at the Nexus. They'd had a busy day, and she wasn't surprised it was catching up with him because she was feeling it too. Scott and his team had headed to EOS for the day as instructed to try and make that world viable, and now they were back on the Nexus to share with the leaders of the AI what they had discovered, but they'd arrived back later than planned and were now waiting till morning to update the leaders. It had been Scott's first mission as their Pathfinder, and although they'd come up against difficulties almost immediately and it had been a frantic mission with fighting the Kett and picking up the Asari that they'd met in the ruins, she couldn't help but feel proud of all he'd done on the planet. Peebee was now on board, and Cora had to admit she wasn't sure about her at all.
"Why don't you get some sleep?" Cora whispers and hears his light sigh on the other end of the line, and knows he's finding sleep hard to come by. "Or am I boring you?" Cora giggles quietly.
She sighs and draws the blankets higher up around her shoulders and lets her arm slip under her pillow, trying to get comfortable and hoping that tonight is the night she'll get some sleep too. She knew she hadn't been able to sleep very well without Scott beside her either, and talking to him every night until they both fell asleep was the only thing that had helped. Cora listens to the sound of his breathing, wishing he was with her and not what fell like so far away and on their ship.
"You're not boring me." Scott replies, a smile in his voice. "It's just been a long day." He sighs, and she can hear the tired sound of his voice. "I'm not sleeping." He whispers and she hears him pause.
"I'm not either." Cora sighs, wondering if it will bring him comfort to know she's in the same situation. "I'm just so used to you being with me." She adds and hears his light laugh.
"I know," Scott replies and she hears him smile lightly. "I can say it's because all of this is a lot to process." He adds and she hears him sigh. "But, I think it's being without you that makes it worse." Scott continues and she feels herself smile and cuddles closer into her pillow that she is using instead of his chest that she's become so used to.
"Why don't you come here?" Cora whispers and immediately knows he'll shut that idea down; they were trying to be friends, taking things slow, and talking things through, she didn't think he'd agree to come to see her and for them to be alone yet.
"I don't know, Cora." Scott sighs and she can hear he's not sure of his answer. "I do want to see you." He whispers which makes her smile again. "Do you think it would be okay?" She hears him sigh.
"It's quiet, we can talk in private.." She adds and knows he is torn. "You can get some real sleep." She whispers and hears him sigh. "I promise it will be the best nights sleep, ever." Cora smiles and hears his quiet laugh, hoping he'll say yes and join her.
"Alright, that does sound good." Scott finally replies and she can hear his smile. "Even if it's just for tonight." He adds and she can tell he's trying to not commit to anything more if it's too much and he can back out tomorrow night.
"Can I call you right back?" Cora whispers glancing up from the bed when she hears a knock on the door. "I've just got to get the door." She adds, hearing another knock.
"Okay." Scott sighs and she hears him disconnect.
Cora dismisses her Omni and swiftly pulls back the covers and climbs out of bed, letting her feet come into contact with the soft carpet as she stands. She quickly picks up her tunic from the chair and pulls it on over her head as she moves towards the door. Cora hears another knocking sound, wondering who else knew she was hiding out in her room and who was interrupting her call with Scott. She presses her hand against the control, making the door slide open.
"So, I might have already been on my way." Scott nods and she sees a small smile at the corner of his mouth and his eyes on her when she sees him standing in the doorway, which lets the light in from the hallway.
"If this is your idea of us having space.." Cora whispers and she sees him smile and hears him laugh quietly. "I'm glad you're here." She smiles and sees he does the same. "Come in." She nods and moves away so he can.
"Thanks." Scott nods. "Is there something different in here?" Scott begins and she looks over her shoulder at him as she closes the door and watches him taking in the room, which is now free of any trace of Alec Ryder but also quite dark.
"Yes, there is." Cora smiles moves back towards the bed, noticing that as he finishes looking around the room his eyes meet hers. "I packed away Alec's belongings." She nods and sees that it makes him smile lightly. "I want this to be my space now." She adds and watches him look past her at the room and then smile when he looks at her again.
"I like that you have our star box there." Scott smiles and she sees him motioning towards the small black box that he'd given her on their date high above the station on Theia. She has set it just above the headboard of the bed and it is currently projecting stars on the ceiling and providing the only light in the room.
"My beautiful flower too." Cora smiles and points to the brightly coloured plastic flower that Scott had given her when she was in the hospital. "Our photographs.." She continues and sees him look at the bookcase where she has several frames that have the photos they've been taking together on a loop. "The blanket from our date." She giggles when he notices it spread at the end of the bed.
"It looks great." Scott nods. "Seems like you've got everything." He smiles and she watches him look around him again and then back to her, his eyes on her again.
"Almost." Cora nods lightly, everything apart from him. "Are we allowed to have a hug?" Cora smiles and feels him stepping closer and wrapping his arms around her body and resting his head against hers, letting her relax in his embrace for the first time in days since they'd split up. "This is nice" Cora sighs and rests her head against his chest, feeling his hands on her back.
"A nice friendly hug." Scott smiles. "Are you sure you don't mind me sleeping in the bed?" He asks and she feels him loosen his grip on her and notices he is looking at the bed, knowing he's probably remembering the last time he was here she'd told him about Alec.
"Not at all, it was my idea." Cora smiles and sees him nod and move past her and towards the bed. She can't help but laugh when she watches him remove his shoes before launching himself onto it, laying flat on his back.
"So much better than the floor." Scott sighs happily and she watches him lift his hands and tuck them behind his head, making Cora lower her eyes when she realises she's thinking about crawling on top of him and kissing him. That was definitely too much for friends.
"Is there room for me?" She giggles and sees him grin at her and stretch out in the middle and motion for her to join him. "Are you sure that's a good idea?" Cora sighs and sees him give her a playful smile.
"You said you couldn't sleep either." Scott smiles. "So I think it's a great idea." He nods making her sigh and smile lightly, all she wanted was to be wrapped around him again but knew she couldn't hurt him and let him forgive and forget so easily because she'd tempted him.
"Okay.." Cora smiles. "Do you mind?" She adds and motions to her clothes, knowing they were both wearing a lot more than they usually did in bed together but that she was a little underdressed.
"As long as you're comfortable." Scott gives her a small smile. "You don't mind either?" He asks and she shakes her head lightly when she watches him move to sit on the edge of the bed and begin removing his t-shirt and then starts on his jeans.
Cora notices that he glances over his shoulder at her and knows he's caught her looking at him when their eyes meet, so steps towards the edge of the bed and kneels on it so she can pull back the covers and can slide under them again where it's safe. Cora watches Scott stand and that he doesn't look sure if he should be doing the same.
"Scott, you are allowed to get under here with me." She smiles at him as she sees him nod and takes that as his invitation to lift the blanket and slip under it too.
Cora watches him rolling onto his side so he's facing her, drawing the covers over him and letting his head sink into the pillow. She can already feel the heat radiating from his body as they lay close together and knows how small of a gap there is between them.
"Thanks for letting me stay with you." Cora smiles at his words and mirrors his position, moving her head to lie on her arm so she can watch him closely. She sees him sigh and lower his eyes from her.
"Anytime." Cora smiles. "What's wrong Scott?" Cora whispers and draws his attention back to her, she watches him shake his head lightly and notices he looks like he doesn't know where to start.
"I've been talking to SAM." Scott sighs and she freezes at his words. "I have something I need to ask you." He adds, making Cora frown lightly but nod.
"This isn't our usual pillow talk." Cora smiles, trying to get him to do the same. "But, of course." Cora nods, biting her bottom lip as she watches him and sees how nervous he now looks. "You're worrying me." Cora whispers and feels his eyes on her.
"What do you know about SAM?" Scott begins and Cora lowers her eyes from his, knowing she knew more about SAM than most. "You need to be honest with me." He adds and she looks into his eyes.
"I know SAM was created by Alec to support the Pathfinders on their mission." Cora begins, keeping it light to start. "I know that all members of the team can be integrated into SAM, including our armour and weapons." She continues and she sees Scott nod. "I know that we can use SAM to communicate." She whispers, seeing that he doesn't look convinced that is all she knows.
"Did you know what Alec was planning with SAM?" Scott begins making her sigh lightly and nod. "Did you know that he was experimenting with advanced AI?" He adds, and she nods again. She'd even had her own SAM-E before her accident.
"Yes, I knew." Cora begins and she sees Scott nod his head. "He asked me not to say anything. I promised I wouldn't, Scott. It would have gotten him into even more trouble." Cora adds and feels him moving at her side to get comfortable again. "But all of that died with him." She whispers and notices that Scott's eyes are on her.
"Apparently not." Scott begins. "Looks like he transferred it to me." Scott sighs, making Cora's eyes widen in surprise. She'd assumed when Alec had suffered his burn out he'd given up on it all and stopped his experiments with SAM being unshackled. But hadn't she seen with her own eyes, him using it while they were on Habitat 7?
"He did?" Cora whispers. "He's let SAM have control over your body?" She adds, starting to feel panicked when she hears this. Alec knew what he was doing most of the time but this could be dangerous for Scott if he didn't know how to handle it. "Can you hear SAM?" She asks and he nods, making her wonder if he had her SAM-E in his head.
"Oh yeah.." Scott mumbles. "Apparently SAM has full control now." Scott begins and she sees him lower his eyes and then he huffs. "Honestly, is this something I should be worried about?" Scott adds and she can hear from his voice that he already is.
"It's not authorised," Cora whispers and she sees Scott nod and that he looks troubled and her want to comfort him is stronger than her care that they'd agreed to some space. Cora reaches for him and places her hand on his arm, which draws his eyes to her. "It's one of the reasons why he got kicked out of the Alliance." She adds and she can't help but smile when Scott places his hand over hers, maybe he was feeling the same about their agreement. "But he believed in it." She adds.
"I guess that will have to be enough for me." Scott sighs. "So he was using the modifications and augmentations with SAM? He was definitely doing things he shouldn't have been able to do." Scott nods and she feels his eyes meet hers and feels his fingers gently move against hers.
"He was." Cora nods, starting to feel guilty that she hadn't told Scott in the first place. But Alec had sworn her to silence. "At least it will keep you safe." Cora whispers and feels him moving closer and lift his hand to her cheek. "I couldn't bear it if something happened to you." She adds and closes her eyes when he rests his forehead against hers, enjoying his intimate and loving action.
"Nothing is going to happen to me." Scott whispers and she feels him lift his hand and gently stroke her hair. "Not when I've got you and SAM to watch my back." Scott adds and she sees him smile, she places her hand on his forearm and feels his eyes meet hers again.
"I'm your second." Cora smiles and places her hand on his chest; sure she can feel the increase of his heartbeat when she touches him. She notices that he glances down at her hand and lowers his own to her waist. "I'll always have your back." She adds and sees him smile.
"You are so much more than my second." Scott sighs and she can tell he's looking torn that they are very quickly falling back into normality with each other, so she strokes her fingers against his chest to draw his attention back to her. "Cora." Scott sighs.
"Talk to me." Cora whispers. "Tell me what's on your mind." Cora sighs and she feels him slip his arms around her waist and draw her against his chest, holding her tightly against him. "We said we could talk about anything." Cora sighs and she feels him rest his head against her.
"I know." Scott whispers. "I'm just worried that Tann doesn't think I can do this." Scott sighs. "I'm worried that maybe I really have no idea what I'm doing." He adds and she feels him tighten his hold on her so she lays her head on his neck. "I'm worried about Sara." He sighs and she feels him loosen his hold and look into her face.
"Fuck Tann." Cora huffs and she sees Scott smile. "He has no idea what he's talking about and we're going to show him what we can do." Cora adds and slides her hand onto Scott's shoulder blades. "You can do this, Scott. You are going to do great things." She sighs and feels his hand on her cheek again.
"What would I do without you, Cora?" Scott smiles and she feels him stroke his thumb against her jaw and she just wants to kiss him, and have them both forget everything but each other. She can tell he's thinking the same, even if this was the opposite of what decided they needed to do.
"Sara will be fine, they are working hard to figure it out." She smiles and sees him nod. "You aren't going to be without me." Cora sighs and lowers her eyes from his. "Everything will work out." She whispers and feels him tilting her face towards his.
"I know." Scott sighs and nods. "I know, you're right." Scott whispers and feels his eyes move away from her lips. "You always are." He grins making her giggle quietly. "Is this okay?" Scott smiles and she knows he means their arms around each other.
"This is perfect." Cora smiles. "I'm glad that we're talking and touching." Cora whispers and she sees him smile and she accepts his arms around her again, letting her rest her head against his. "I just feel safe with you." She whispers and she feels him sigh.
"You are safe with me." Scott replies and she feels his chin on top of her head, running his hands up and down her back. Cora wraps her arms around his waist, enjoying the feeling of being back close him and wishing they'd never been apart. "I've wanted this for days." Scott chuckles. "Especially when I saw you on that tram." He adds and she can hear his smile.
"I'm surprised you noticed me with your fan club in there." Cora laughs quietly and hears him do the same, his hands moving up to her shoulders.
"You know I only have eyes for you." Scott whispers and she feels sigh. "You look so beautiful today." Scott smiles and she feels his eyes on her. "I wanted to tell you that earlier on EOS." He says again, making her smile.
"It's just the same old.." Cora smiles, knowing she didn't look any different to any other day. "You look great too." Cora nods and she sees him smile, he did look great as always, but she actually thought he also looked as tired as he sounded when she was this close to him.
"Thanks." Scott grins and she lets her head come to rest against his bicep so she can look into his eyes, feeling his hold on her tighten and notices him smile at her.
"Has SAM told you about Alec's work?" Cora whispers, not wanting to drop too much information on Scott all at once, but keen to know what he already knows. "Has he mentioned anything else?" She adds and sees Scott shake his head lightly and feels him place his hand on her hip.
"Is there something he should have told me?" Scott begins and she feels his eyes on her. "A lot of the information is encrypted. Do you know how to get into it?" Scott whispers.
"I don't think so." Cora sighs, she did know a lot of Alec's passwords and had access to a lot of things she probably shouldn't. "I could probably try." Cora nods lightly and wraps her arms around him tighter.
"Alright." Scott smiles and she feels him slipping his leg between hers and tangling their legs together beneath the covers.
"SAM will be able to talk you through most things." Cora adds and gives him a small smile. "How to customise profiles and your armour. He can help you with that." Cora smiles. "Did he mention his SAM-E project?" Cora asks and she sees Scott shake his head lightly and lift his hand to brush back her hair.
"No, he didn't." Scott begins, and she watches his eyes lift slightly as if SAM is speaking to him. "It doesn't look like I have access to that either." Scott sighs. "What was it? I've never heard of it." Scott adds and she feels him rest his forehead against hers.
"SAM-E was some advanced AI." Cora begins. "Alec gave him to me." She nods and glances at Scott. "He was incredible, Scott." Cora whispers, trying to keep her voice even. "I lost him, and it was a really awful time in my life." She mumbles. "I'm sure you knew about the accident I was in because of Alec." She whispers but notices he doesn't look like he does.
"An accident?" Scott asks and she feels him reach his hand towards her face and tell he's noticed how upset she looks. "No, I didn't know. Alec didn't tell me." Scott adds and she hears him sigh. "What happened?" He whispers.
"I was on a mission with a mercenary group hired by your Dad." Cora sighs and lowers her eyes. "They tried to kill me and I ended up being spaced." She whispers and hears Scott huff.
"Holy shit." Scott whispers and she feels him lift both of his hands to her face, and closing the small gap between them. "You must have been terrified," Scott whispers and she nods and feels his eyes meet hers.
"SAM-E saved me." Cora nods. "There was no way back from that for me." Cora adds, closing her eyes for a moment trying to ignore how it had felt floating through space to her death. "Alec blamed himself of course." Cora whispers and she feels Scott lean closer and rests his head against hers again.
"But you still stuck around?" Scott asks and Cora nods lightly, she'd been loyal to Alec until the very end, despite everything he'd done and almost getting her killed.
"I did." Cora sighs and she feels Scott place his hand on her hip and wrap his arm tighter around her body, making her enjoy the feeling of safety his touch provides her with for the first time in days.
"I'm so sorry, Cora." Scott whispers. "I know they say our experiences make us.." He sighs. "But that's a lot to go through to get here." He nods and she feels him lift his hand to her cheek, drawing her eyes to him.
"It was tough." Cora nods. "But it feels worth it now." Cora smiles and she sees Scott do the same. "Now I'm here in Andromeda, with my very own Pathfinder to follow into the unknown," Cora whispers and feels his eyes on hers before he lifts his hand to her cheek.
"I like the sound of that." Scott smiles. "I can't promise I won't lead you astray though." Scott chuckles making her laugh, glad that he is always able to make her smile. "Are you sure your okay with that?" He asks and she feels him stroke her cheek beneath his fingers and watches him lean closer.
"I'm okay with that." Cora smiles and she feels him place his hand on her side when she lifts her hand to his cheek. "As much as I want you to.." Cora sighs. "I don't think we should be kissing." She whispers, smiling when Scott lowers his mouth until it's almost against hers.
"I know." Scott sighs and she watches him lean back and shake his head. "Sorry." He whispers. "Should I go back to the Tempest?" He whispers and she feels his eyes on her.
"No, of course not." Cora sighs and sees him smile. "I want you here with me. I don't want us to be apart, especially not tonight." She whispers and sees him grin and nod. "I meant when I said I need you with me." Cora adds.
"I want to be here too." Scott whispers. "I just don't want to make you feel uncomfortable." She watches him settle back onto his pillow and fix his eyes on her.
"Then stay." Cora smiles letting her hand briefly stroke his cheek. "You don't make me uncomfortable." She sighs. "You just deserve time to heal and kissing me won't do that." She whispers and sees him nod. "Just stay, sleep and rest." She sighs. "And cuddle your best friend." Cora giggles.
"I can do that." Scott smiles and she feels him placing his hand over hers on the bed between them. "Cora, are you doing okay?" He whispers and she feels his eyes meet hers.
"What's brought this up? What do you mean?" She sighs and lowers her eyes from him for a moment, feeling him taking hold of her hand. "I'm fine, Scott." Cora whispers and notices her response doesn't make him look convinced.
"We can talk about him." Scott begins and she watches his eyes searching her face. "If it helps.." He adds making Cora nod lightly. "I know you must be feeling all kinds of things." She hears him sigh and feels him squeeze her hand. "I want you to talk to me." Scott smiles at her as he lifts his hand to stroke her cheek.
"I will.." Cora returns his smile. "It's just all a little raw right now." She adds and sees him nod. "You're so wonderful, Scott." She sighs feeling his blue eyes meet her brown ones, wondering what she ever did to deserve his forgiveness and unconditional love.
"Just remember I'm here for you, okay?" He whispers and she nods leaning closer to him. "I really hate seeing you so upset, Cora." Scott sighs.
"I'm trying, I promise.." Cora nods and squeezes Scott's hands gently. "I just miss Alec, I miss you.." Cora sighs and lowers her eyes but she feels him rest his forehead against hers. "I'm sorry." She whispers.
"Don't be sorry." Scott sighs and she feels him wrap his arms around her again. "I should have tried to be more understanding from the start." Scott adds and she sighs when he begins stroking her hair.
"None of this is your fault." Cora whispers and leans into his embrace, relaxing against his chest. "I'm just so happy we can have this again." She sighs. "Thank you for always being here for me." She adds and cuddles closer to him.
"Anytime." Scott smiles making her sigh when she feels his hands on her back and knows they will never work as just friends. "Would it make you feel better if we could get into SAM-E?" Scott asks and she feels his eyes searching her face. "We could try.." Scott smiles lightly.
"I shouldn't have even thought of it." Cora whispers. "I just can't stop thinking about that with you having control now, you might be able to." She adds and sees him nod again.
"If it makes you happy.." Scott smiles and she feels his hand on her cheek again. "I'll try anything and see what I can do." He adds and smiles.
Cora nods and gives him a grateful smile; she didn't really want to drag up the painful memory of what had happened to her and SAM-E when she'd lost him. But, SAM-E was made up of both her and Alec's personalities and experiences, and as soon as she'd heard Scott say that Alec had transferred the control to him, she couldn't help but wonder if she could get him back. Maybe SAM-E was the last part of Alec that she could still hold onto.
"You are the best." Cora smiles but then laughs lightly when she watches Scott yawn. "But come on, Ryder." She sighs. "We're both tired and I promised you an amazing nights sleep." She nods.
"Yes, you did." Scott smiles when she wraps her arms around his body and rests her head against his neck. She feels him cuddling her close to him. "This is what I needed." He whispers and she feels him resting his head against hers.
"Sleep well, Scott." Cora whispers before she lifts her hand to turn off the stars, making the room completely dark as she knows he likes it.
"You too." Scott whispers as she relaxes in his arms and lets herself listen to the quiet sound of his breathing, and the warmth of him around her until they both fall asleep.