The next chapter is here! Enjoy :)

It took a little while before they finally made it to the back door of the house.

Thea's calf wound slowed her down considerably. Each time she took a step it hurt. But she insisted on walking even after Setg-in offered to carry her the rest of the way.

"I'm just going to get the first aid kit in the bathroom upstairs." She said.

"You don't have to. We can use mine." He told her.

Then he led her over to the living room and they took a seat on the couch.

Setg-in took out his own kit and went to work. He decided to treat her injuries first before getting to the bullet wound in his side. Which was starting to feel uncomfortable and annoying.

Thea watched as he took out this thin cylindrical tube.

He cleaned off the injury on the side of her calf first. She was thankful it only grazed her.

Then he applied this strange clear metallic looking gel to the wound. It stung a little at first then left behind a tingling sensation. The stuff also acted like a sealant and stopped the bleeding.

The yautja then moved onto her face. A dark look entered his eyes when he saw a bruise beginning to form on her cheek and jaw.

Seeing what that bastard did to her, it made him wish he could've drawn out the little s'yuit-de's death even longer and slower. But he didn't want to subject Thea to something like that.

He wanted to just rid the threat as quick as possible so he could get her home to safety and help treat her injuries.

Setg-in lightly rubbed some gel onto the bruises. Then he placed a small amount on her cut lip. She flinched a little when it hit her tender lip at first. Then relax when it gradually turned into that tingling sensation.

Afterwards, he looked everywhere else on her to see if there were any other injuries.

His gaze eventually landed on her right hand. And that's when he noticed her knuckles appeared to be a bit red and swollen. He carefully picked up her hand and observed it. Then his masked gaze went to her face.

"Looks like you got a hit in or a couple of hits." He stated.

"Just the one. That's why he had a bloody nose when you saw him. Kicked him in the stomach too." She replied.

Setg-in felt a hint pride. It looks like his ooman female was able to utilize the small amount she did learn yesterday during basic training after all. And it left him feeling proud of her.

"Good work. Only learned a small handful of things yesterday. And yet, you were still able to use what little you learned to defend yourself." He commented.

A faint smile touched her lips.

He rubbed some more of the gel onto her knuckles and soon they didn't feel as sore anymore. Whatever that stuff was, it worked fast and it worked great.

Afterwards, he started to tend to himself.

Setg-in wasn't looking forward to this. The bullet was still lodged in there and he needed to get it out. So, he went into his kit and pulled out these small, strange prong-like forceps.

Thea had to look away as he wedged and dug the tips into his wound.

He growled in displeasure as he eased them in making more blood flow out of the hole as he went. Luckily, it didn't go that deep. A yautja's hide can be pretty thick after all.

He carefully situated the prong tips around the small piece of metal and began to slowly retract it.

Setg-in snarled and growled more as everything caught and pulled on the prongs and bullet as he continued to pull it back out of him. And after several seconds, he let out a sigh of relief when he finally got it all the way out.

He put the small chunk of metal on the wooden coffee table in front of them.

Now came the fun part, cauterizing the wound.

The warrior fished out the instruments he would need to do so. He heated up the end of the instrument and when it was warm enough, he pressed it to the bullet hole.

The yautja could barely suppress a roar of pain as white-hot searing pain tore through his side as he cauterized and closed up the hole.

Thea cringed and ended up covering her ears when he roared. Her nose wrinkled in disgust when she caught whiff of burning flesh.

When he pulled the instrument away from the wound, she noticed the hole was all closed up and cauterized. Tiny whisps of smoke still came off of it for the next few moments.

She then watched as he put everything back in place in his med kit. Then Setg-in took off of his mask and placed it on the coffee table.

His amber gaze drifted back to her face. And for a moment there, it was like they were having an awkward stare down. Or he was simply waiting for her to say something.

"Thea, who was that? And why was he trying to kill you?" The young warrior asks.

She closed her eyes and let out a sigh.

The young woman hated the fact that she had to talk about this. She hoped she never had to again. Mainly because she didn't figure that Mark would just show up like that after all this time.

"His name was Mark. He was a co-worker and boyfriend of mine. We taught in the same school. He was one of the Eighth Grade Math Teachers. We started dating early last fall.

At first, he was very sweet and charming. Then as the months went on, I noticed something wrong and off about him. If he ever saw me on my phone, he'd always wanted to know who I was talking to.

He would also randomly just show up at my place without calling me first. And I noticed he started acting possessive. And at one point, he didn't want me talking to other men.

He threw a fit and got angry at me several times for talking to some of my male friends and coworkers. Not long after...the abuse started. And then whenever I did something he really didn't like, he would...hit me.

It was the same old shit afterwards; he'd hit me then apologize profusely saying he would never do it again. The first time he did, I believed him and forgave him.

But after the second time when he punched me in the face and gave me a black eye, I had enough and dumped him. Not only that, but I went to the cops and pressed charges on him.

They came and arrested him for assault and battery. When this happened, the school fired him, and he lost his job. At one point, the Board of Education was also thinking of yanking his teaching license.

Especially after it got out that someone spoke up and said he assaulted a female student around the same time.

He was sent to jail for three months until his family bailed him out on bail. When I heard he was out, I put out a restraining order there for a while. And he wasn't allowed to come anywhere near me or my property, otherwise, he'd be arrested again.

And while he didn't approach me, I did start receiving a few ominous texts from different numbers I didn't recognize. I thought maybe he had gotten a different number and some of the other numbers were from some angry family members of his.

I told the police about it and showed them the texts.

They tried to look up the numbers but said they kept hitting dead ends. And that they believed the numbers could've come from burner phones.

It lasted only for a little while. And then they suddenly stopped. I was relieved, and I figured he must have moved on. But then, yesterday, I got another threatening text and not only that, but there was a picture of me right above it.

It was a picture of me at the grocery store the other day. And it showed that he was still stalking me.

I got nervous. But I didn't know what to say. I never told you about him. And I was hoping I wouldn't have to. Now, I'm starting to realize how much of a mistake it was not saying anything.

Perhaps a part of me was still in denial and thinking he wouldn't actually do anything. That he would just eventually give up and finally leave me alone.

I knew he was crazy, but not crazy enough to actually come to my property and try and shoot me.

Hell, I still can't fucking believe it happened. And...I don't want to think about what would've happened if you weren't there to stop him. Because I know for a fact, I most likely...would've been dead." She ended, with a couple tears streaming down her cheeks.

Setg-in listened to her whole story. He felt bad that she had to endure all this from that clearly unstable male. And he too was glad that he made it in time when he did.

He heard the gunshot in the distance off to his left. And for some reason, it gave him a bad feeling. Because he knew The dirt path that Thea sometimes traveled down was in that same direction.

So, he took off and headed over there as fast as he could.

And got there just as the male stumbled to his feet and screamed at her, right as he took aim with his weapon at Thea. It enraged him and made him let out a loud bellowing roar.

That's when he jumped down from the tree and deactivated his cloak to make his presence known.

The rest from there was history. The pathetic ooman male was hardly a challenge and clearly a coward. As shown when he quickly backed up and looked like he was about to run from Setg-in.

Until the yautja called him out calling him a pussy and pathetic.

That's when the ooman male changed his tune. He shouted obscenities at the warrior before firing off a few rounds from his gun. Surprising, the male seemed to be a pretty lousy shot. Only hitting him once in his lower left side. While the rest of the bullets bounced off of his armor.

Then he quickly dispatched the male and killed him.

"I'm sorry you've endured all that. But at least now, he's gone and will never hurt you again." He said.

Thea gave him a small smile.

"Guess we're also even now. I helped you and you just helped me." She replied.

He couldn't help but smile back.

"Yes, this is true. Still, never thought something like this would happen. If I ever had to save you, I figured it may be from an overly brazen bear. Or seeing as how clumsy you are, save you from falling down the stairs and breaking your neck." Setg-in teased.

Thea chuckled a little at that last remark.

"Thanks a lot. You trying to tell me that you think I'm unsafe in my own home? That I would do something as careless as take a tumble all the way down the stairs?" She implied.

"Don't think, I know. Have seen you fall or stumble over your feet plenty of times, remember?" He pointed out.

"Have seen you fall too though, remember?" She teased back.

He arched an eye ridge.

"Putting dish soap on the floor and then yell for me to come into the kitchen so that I ran in and slipped on it doesn't count, little ooman." Setg-in quipped.

Thea snickered, when she recalls that prank from last week. But then he had it coming after he found raccoon shit outside in the backyard and thought it be funny to put some in her sneakers.

It left her having to run her feet under the hose and then having to use it to rinse the shit out of her shoes. And even afterwards, she had to throw them in the washing machine and take a shower herself.

"That's what you think. I still say it counts. And that's that." She said with finality.

He huffed and rolled his eyes. Before a smirk returned to his face.

"Still need to come up with something to get you back for that." He stated.

"Or we can take a break from all the crazy pranks and call a truce." She offered.

"Where's the fun in that?" Setg-in inquired.

Thea leaned back into the couch with a sigh.

"You're really not one for mercy, are you?" She asked.

"Nope." He replied.

She couldn't help but smile. No, asking him of that would be too easy, and she knew it.

"Are you going back out to resume your hunt?" She asks.

Setg-in wouldn't mind. But at the same time, he didn't want to leave Thea alone at this time.

She was almost just killed, and he could see she was still very tense and on edge from the whole ordeal. And by the look in her bright blue orbs, he could see she didn't really want to be alone either.

It was no contest. Of course, he would stay with her. Hunting was something he could do anytime. Right now, he wanted to be here for his friend.

"No, I think I'll stay behind today and stay here with you. You look like you could use the company. And I wouldn't leave you alone if that is the case." He told her.

A small smile brightened her face, then faltered a little.

"Really? You sure? You don't have to; I can understand if you want to continue with your hunt. I know you've been waiting a while to be able to do so since you got here." She said.

"Don't have to. But I want to. In the state you're in, you shouldn't have to be alone right now. Even my own mind needs to be put at ease, because I nearly lost you.

I'll stay in with you today. I don't mind it at all. I can always resume my hunt tomorrow. It's no big deal." Setg-in informed her.

Thea nodded, "Ok."

Setg-in then got up to go upstairs and remove his armor.

Not a few minutes later, he came back down, in just his loincloth, and headed back to the living room. Then he took his spot next to her on the couch.

She turned on the t.v. and settled on a movie.

As the movie started, the young woman found herself curling up into the yautja's side. He picked up his arm and put it around her. She draped an arm around his waist and pressed the side of her face against the side of his chest.

It scared her knowing that not even an hour ago, she was looking down the barrel of a gun.

Even more scary is she knew what would've happened had Setg-in not stumbled into her life and took up residence in her home and became her friend. It was still strange to have a friend who was an extraterrestrial hunter and on top of that lived with her under her roof.

And despite his tumultuous past, he still just proved to her that he is still every bit the loyal and honorable warrior that he was.

How many can say they had someone who put themselves in direct danger and took bullets for them? He could've been seriously injured or killed. Yet, he still came to her aid and placed himself between her and her attacker without any hesitation.

And while she is eternally grateful for his intervention, it scared the shit out of her too. When she heard the shots being fired, she was scared for him. She thought Mark would've killed him and that was that.

But she saw out of all those shots, only one bullet hit his flesh. While all the others bounced off his strong armor.

Right now, she felt tremendous relief as she laid against his warm, firm body. It reminded her that he was still here, his heart was still beating, and that he was alright.

"Thank you, Set." She said, barely above a whisper.

Not a moment later, Thea heard him purr.

Setg-in raised his other hand and gently ran his palm over her cheek and through her hair. She didn't have to thank him. He would've done anything and everything at this point to keep her safe.

But the words still permeated his mind and made him feel good.

It reminded him how long he had been without kind words from others. He hasn't had any directed towards him since before they labeled him a bad blood and chased him out of the clan.

It was nice having someone be civil with you again and make you feel wanted.

And these last few weeks he has been with Thea, were the best weeks he's had in a very long time. Setg-in hopes it could always remain that way. But something tells him, more challenges may pop up at some point for them.

But for now, he will enjoy this moment with his friend. A friend he was growing to appreciate more each day he spent with her in her home and on this world.

Until Next Time ;)