Lets see how this chapter goes for people. I am not sure what I am going to do for the next chapter for one part, but whatever. Enjoy.

-Chapter 4: Adjusting -

I woke up to a slightly brighter room, but Luna… I mean Iris was still in my room holding a tablet. Whatever she was doing had all of her attention as I tried to adjust how I was laying and it wasn't until I almost got up, and maybe was treatering off the bed, that she rushed over to me. "Oh god don't fall!" I corrected myself before she needed to catch me, but she still had to catch her breath. "Please don't do that again. The captain would have my spark if something bad were to happen to you." I couldn't tell if she was scared for my safety or scared for her own. "What are you trying to do?'

I could only look away in embarrassment as I answered. "...I need to use the bathroom…" I couldn't feel a catheter and my nether regions felt, well damp.

"Oh, you can just use the bed pad and I will change it out as soon as you are done." Iris went right back to reading her tablet.

"Ummm, Iris?" She looked at me again. "I would rather do it somewhere more…private…" She had a confused look upon or face. "Why would you ne- Oh!" She quickly dropped the tablet, which disappeared in mid-air. "I'm sorry, human functions, habits, and preferences still require me to think for a moment." She blushed a bit. "Would you like me to leave the room or take you to th-"

"Restroom please!" I interrupted. "I need to go now." She quickly, but carefully picked me up and made our way to the restroom where a cold seat awaited me.

"I'll just set you down on the seat and let you expel your excess waste. Just call my name when you are ready." I just nodded a yes as she set me down on the seat and left with the door opened just the tiniest of cracks. It took longer than usual to finish and then came the part I didn't want to do.

"Iris?" I called out, hoping she wouldn't answer, but I could hear her walking towards me and then her smiling face peeked in the small opening.

"Are you all ready?" I couldn't look her in the eyes so I just turned away with a small nod. "Don't be embarrassed. I have taken all your medical courses and I know the in's and out's of the human body. I find it really interesting when…" I stopped listening as she picked me up and began clearing me thoroughly. I wanted to die rather than endure anymore embarrassment. I tried to hide my face as much as possible during the "trip" back to the bed, but at least of i was sitting up instead of laying down.

"So what's next?" I asked to change the subject to something more productive. Iris looked at her tablet, looked at me, and then sat on the bed next to me.

"We need to talk about how I can help you. It will be a new experience for everyone and most likely a few people will get their feathers in a twist… or was it ruffled panties…" I held in my chuckles as she continued" Anyways nobody is going to know what will happen next and it will be risky regardless of what choices you make." She sighs. "I cannot make the decision for you nor give you an exact roadmap of what you will need to do, but I promise to always tell you the truth and never let my bias affect my medical judgment."

I am breathless for a bit."Why are you doing this for me? No… I should ask what is in it for you?" I didn't want to ask the last question, but if she was going to be honest then her answer would tell me if I could trust her or not. I am not sure she understood the seriousness of the question because she just gave me a heart warming smile.

"The answers to both questions are the same. You are a hero. Thanks to your skills the VIP was successfully defended and transported, we have at least 10 more contracts from the success, our team suffered only minor injuries, and no deaths… at least on our side." I didn't realize I had done so much. "The entire PMC wants to come by and say their thanks, but I have been holding them back until you are ready for that." I tear up a bit and Iris gives a quick hug. "That being said, it is getting harder to keep them patient especially when it comes to the Captain." She looks at me with pleading eyes. "Sooo, if you are up for it we can get you dressed in something more than a hospital gown and send the word out and start getting some visitors?"

"Sure." I answer with a smile. "But where are you going to get clothes for me?"

"A few of us went out and got the basics for you along with a few more fun options." Iris said with a slight smile. I didn't consider myself "fun" so the idea made me nervous. "It's nothing bad, just a couple colors of dresses and cute tops." Just like magic she produced said items and showed them to me.

Thankfully they were just from a more vibrant color selection and not full of cute animals or catchy slogans. The dresses caught my eye. "I think there has been a slight miscommunication with the dresses as those are skirts." Iris looked at them for a moment and sighed.

"Sorry, I always get the two confused, but let's get you dressed and see if we can get a few visitors for you." And with that I got to have the 2nd most embarrassing moment of my life. Iris didn't do anything bad, but kept asking me with fabric felt better, what colors complimented my hair or eyes, all the while I was sitting there naked. We finally decided on a simple purple tank and a black skirt. I saw no need in hiding my missing limbs. People need to know what they are getting into. With me propped up on the bed, hair and clothes managed, and a small bite to eat I began to prepare myself mentally. "Are you ready for a visitor or two?" I nodded yes and she took a phone from her pocket and started to talk. "Yes Ma'am, she is ready for visits. I will except them within the hour." Another drop and disappearance of her phone. "Did you have any more questions?"

"Where do your phone and tablet disappear to?" It wasn't an important question, just one that would bother me if I had no answers.

"Those things? They aren't real, just visual clues for everyone around me. Apparently you humans found it odd and strange if I was staring or talking to nothing. I made these props to make it easier to display what I am actually doing instead of acting like a crazy alien" We both shared a laugh together and before long the first of my visitors began to come in. The day started to go by quickly with a new member of the PMC saying thanks every 15 minutes. No one stayed longer than a few minutes which was good as it was quite taxing on me mentally and emotionally. Iris always stayed next to me to comfort any strange reactions from the others: crying, awkward hugs, and even a few marriage proposals. She chased those ones out with fury.

The sun was beginning to set when Captain Barlow walked in with her full dress uniform on. I could really see her features now in the hospital lighting instead of the dim lights of monitors. She stood about 5'10" with her red hair in a tight bun. Her face had a long scar from above her right eye and diagonally down to the left side of her mouth. She looked at me with her piercing blue eyes while taking off her hat. "Ms Marshall. Agent Luna. I hope you are both doing well today." Neither of us talked, but only asked with a nervous nod. "Good good. I hope my troops paid their respects to you without too much hassle." Another nod. "Good, now I am here to express my gratitude for your honorable actions 4 days and 5 hours ago. You have saved countless of my soldiers including Officer Wells. He is a vital asset to the PMC and we are glad to have him unharmed. I believe he shall be here in about 45 minutes to talk with you himself. Again, Thank you for your service to us." She gave a deep bow followed by a salute. Iris saluted back as I could only bow. "There is a 2nd reason I am here." This made Iris take a step forward. "I would like to recruit you into our small PMC"

"Captain." Iris was now quite close to Barlow. "With all due respect, I do not believe it is a good time to have her decide on a job offer when she is dealing with a larger decision first." She was trembling a bit under Barlow's stare.

"That may be so Agent Luna, but it is my job and duty to seek out the very best for our team. I do not wish her to make a decision now, but to extend a job offer to her in whatever capacity she deems fit for herself." Their staring didn't stop until I spoke up.

"Iris, I appreciate your worry, but if I can do something as I am then I need to take it. I have no illusions about my situation and I must take responsibility in funding whatever type of recovery I decide." I took a deep breath and closed my eye. Any hospital stay would drain my savings and if I wanted to have any degree of movement beyond a bed, I would have to work my way towards it. When I opened my eye I was met with two questioning looks. "What?"

Captain Barlow was the first to speak. "Didn't Agent Luna tell you that we would take care of everything for you?" Iris was nodding yes as fast as she could.

"I'd just assumed it was just for the rescue and initial treatment…"

"Ms Marshall," Barlows voice was a bit softer with a hint of sadness to it. "You were injured on the job that we hired you for and you went above and beyond to help save those around you. This is how we repay honor and dignity." I was genuinely moved by her words and had to fight not to become a crying mess.

"Surely you cannot offer that without me joining or I am limited to what is available…"

"Perish the thought!" Iris spoke up loudly. "I alone would not stand for it and neither would anybody on the team. You deserve the best and you will get everything we can give you regardless if you work for us or not." Her passion had taken me and Barlow by surprise. "...sorry…"

"I agree with Agent Luna's statement. If you do not wish to join our team, you will still get the best treatment we can offer." Barlow does a quick salute and begins to walk out the door before stopping again. "Know that you will always have an open door with us here." And then she closed the door and walked off leaving Iris and I in a shocked silence.

"Holy shit she's intense…" I finally got out. "I thought she was going to kill me for doing a great job…" Iris nodded.

"You should see her when she gets mad…" We both shudder at the thought. "Do you need anything before Wells arrives?"

"A new change of underwear… I think I peed myself as soon as she looked at me." Iris just laughed as we began the process of using the restroom and getting changed. It didn't take as long this time and we were soon talking again when the door had a knock on it. "Come in." I called out and a short, tiny framed man came in wearing thick glasses, messy brown hair, unshaven face, and also in full dress uniform. He cleaned up quite well, but what really caught my eye was an extremely tall woman behind him in a yellow sundress, a large sun hat that covered her face, but I could see her long red hair falling over her shoulders.

"Ms Marshall," He gave a crisp salute. "Th-thank you for saving my life and letting me marry the love of my life." The woman behind him gave her a sharp nog into his ribs. "Stop it." he whispered to her. " You have to say it yourself." A loud sigh could be heard from her as she stepped forward.

"Thank you…" Her voice was timid and soft, but familiar. I couldn't place my finger on it until she took off her hat and faced me. "Thank you for saving my husband. I would be lost without him." It was Captain Barlow and there was no mistake with the scar on her face. I was in shock and didn't know how to respond. "I know it's weird to see me like this, but this is the real me and the other is just for the job." She never looked me in the eye nor spoke above a loud whisper. "I can see that you are tired so we will go for now. Thank you again…" and with that she hurried out the door.

"Sorry, she is really shy." Wells turned around and ran after Barlow. "Honey! Wait up!"

"What just happened?" I asked Iris.

"That is still as strange for me as it was to you. I've known her for a couple years and it's still surprising to see her like that." Silence followed and then we started to laugh. All the tension of the day just seemed to disappear as we laughed for what seemed hours until we didn't. We were looking at each other in the quiet that surrounded us. I was the first to look away.

"Sorry, this is all just so… different from what I'm used to…" I said in a hushed voice.

Iris came closer to me. "D-did someone do something wrong? Was it me?" panic was in her eyes.

"No no, nothing like that." I tried to scoot back, but just ended falling backwards onto my pillow causing Iris to almost fall on me.

"Oh my Primus! I am so sorry areyouhurtdidyouhityourheadcouldyoubebleeding?"

"Stop!, Just stop…" Iris immediately went back 10 feet. "I'm okay, it's just that…" I looked away from the panicking woman. "I'm just ot used to people caring so much about me. It's nothing bad, but it's different for me. Good, but different…" I didn't mean to say all of that, but it just came out on its own. I am way too comfortable around the woman, that isn't really a woman, for the short amount of time I have known her. "I didn't do anything that anybody else wouldn't do-Uck!" I was cut off by a giant hug.

"Not just anybody could have done that." She says to me softly. "It takes a truly compassionate spark to act, to knowingly throw yourself into harm's way. You deserved to be cared for…" She held me for a while longer and I wished I could hug her back. "You might not need someone in the future, but until that day comes around everyone here will have your back."

I truly felt safe, wanted, and loved at that moment. I wanted to stay like that forever, but nothing can last forever. "Thank you Iris, but I kinda need to pee…"

She quickly let go. "Oh, sorry." She was embarrassed. "I got carried away. Let's get you taken care of." And once again I had to endure my discomfort of being held, wiped, and babied. It might have been my imagination, but Iris seemed to be enjoying herself as she held me. "It's time for you to get some rest so we can go over what you want to do from here on out. There are a few options you can go with if you wish to have some more freedom in your life."

"What kind of options?" I asked. I knew of two, but Iris had a twinkle in her eyes that told me she had more.

"What options? Well we have a few main ones, but each one can be expanded out to countless possibilities. As I said before, I could make you a giant robotic body with all of our capabilities and place your brain in a cute jar in the center." I paled at that idea. "I'm kidding!" She laughed which did little to calm my thoughts. "I would never do that to you…unless you wanted me to…" She gave me a questioning look which I immediately shook my head no. "Then you have nothing to worry about." She smiled. I smiled. I got lost in her eyes as she continued on talking. "We could stick you in a comfortable wheelchair with mouth controls, put boring analog based prosthetics on you, implant a chip into your brain to control more advanced limbs, or maybe, just maybe I could try something newer…" Her voice and mind trailed off for a few moments before snapping back to reality. "Anyways we can talk all about it tomorrow. For now let's get you sleeping."

I just groaned. "But I don't want to, Mom!"

"Listen here young lady," Iris had adopted a "proper english" accent. "If you do not go to bed right now, then no sweets or toys for you in the morrow." We both burst out laughing. It lasted a couple minutes before we stopped and just looked at each other. "I-i should go." She finally said with a blush.

"You get your beauty sleep as well." I said quietly while slightly kicking myself at my choice of words. She just nodded and turned to leave. "Hey Iris." I called out right as she opened the door. "Thank you for everything." She smiled at me with a quick nod and then left. I laid there in my barely lit room and stared at the closed door. I felt so many feelings for her, yet I knew that it couldn't be anything more. Sooner or later she would tire of me, they would all tire of me and my constant need for help. Tears were soon filling my eyes as all my regular thoughts started to bombard me. I cried silently into the night until I fell asleep.