My world stopped on June 7th, 7:01 AM.

I had just sat down in the office when Northampton burst in, her face pale. "We've got casualties incoming," she panted, barely holding it together. "It's Lexington and Yorktown!"

An icy hand grabbed my heart and my breath was stolen away from me for a moment. I was on my feet in an instant, practically vaulting over the desk as I headed for the door. "How bad is it? Did you alert Vestal?"

"She's already on her way to the docks with Perseus," she replied as I grabbed my hat and all but ran down the hall. "They didn't give us details, just that they're hurt bad and coming in hot."

"What the hell happened?"

"Sirens hit us with a counterattack in the northwest," Northampton answered breathlessly as we all but ran towards the docks. "We pushed 'em out, but Lexington and Yorktown got hurt bad in the process. Anything more detailed is going to have to wait for the after-action report."

Her curt tone of voice caught me off-guard for a moment until I remembered who had sortied with Yorktown and Lexington. I slowed down and put my hand on her shoulder, waiting for her to look up at me. "I'm sure Hornet's fine," I reassured her. "And I'm sure Yorktown and Lexington will be alright." Oh, how wrong I was.

Northampton took a deep breath and nodded. "Thanks, Commander. Now let's hurry."

I gave her a brief smile before we hurried down to the pier. By the time we had gotten there, Vestal and Perseus were already waiting at the docks for us, along with several stretchers and a waiting ambulance. I skidded to a halt in front of the two of them as I peered out into the distance. "Any word from them yet?"

Both Vestal and Perseus nodded, tight-lipped and looking as concerned as I felt. There was a thick fog hanging over the harbor, making it difficult to see anything beyond a few dozen feet. All we could do was wait and listen for some other noise than the sound of the water gently lapping against the pier. This was the memory I hated the most. Waiting, staring into a grey void, not knowing how bad it was, if she'd be okay. Just vast, unending uncertainty.

Then we heard the familiar sound of shipgirls skating on the water, followed by Enterprise's strong voice.

"Commander?" her voice echoed across the harbor. "Commander, we need help!"

"Pier Three," I called back to her. "We've got Vestal and Perseus waiting!"

"Aye, sir!" Even from a distance, I could hear the pain and concern in her voice. When even the normally stoic Enterprise was shaken…

My worst fears were confirmed when I saw Enterprise emerge from the fog, Yorktown cradled in her arms. Bruises, scratches, and burns covered her body, her clothes were in tatters, and her rigging was covered in what I thought was black soot. Her head was resting on her sister's chest, and her eyes were shut. To see her in such a state, it was almost more than I could bear.

"Yorktown!" I cried out as I rushed down the pier, Vestal and Perseus following behind with the gurneys. Enterprise hopped up onto the dock just as I reached her, and together, we laid her out onto one of the stretchers. I gently stroked her hair as Vestal began strapping her in. "It'll be okay," I whispered to her softly. "It'll be okay, I'm here."

I glanced up at Enterprise to see the stricken look on her face, the guilt and pain in her eyes as clear as day. "Commander…Max…" she murmured, "I'm sorry."

"It's alright," I replied, almost automatically. We both know this was about as far from alright as it could get. But recriminations, regrets, and reprimands, if any, would have to wait until after. "We'll talk later. For now, let's just focus on making sure Yorktown's okay."

As we spoke, Hornet leapt onto the docks behind us, carrying an equally battered Lexington, who was helped into her gurney by Northampton. Once both women were strapped in, Vestal looked between the four of us. "Two of you can ride along," she announced.

"Northampton and Hornet," I answered, gesturing for them to follow Vestal and Perseus. The two women balked, sharing a glance between themselves, Enterprise, and myself. "Want a minute alone with Enterprise, we'll catch up," I explained, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. Northampton and Hornet share another uneasy look before they follow Vestal and Perseus down the dock, leaving Enterprise and me alone.

As the ambulance sped off, I looked over at the white-haired kansen. "You okay?" I asked.

Enterprise straightened up, took a deep breath, and admitted, "No. I'm not. I almost lost her once before, I can't lose her again."

I certainly understood how she felt. While I didn't know Yorktown prior to her recovery, I couldn't lose her now. "I know, I know," I sighed softly, reaching out to give her hand a reassuring squeeze. "She's in good hands with Vestal. I'm sure she'll be okay."

Enterprise regarded me coolly for a moment, a snowy-white eyebrow arched in my direction. "I wish I had your confidence."

"I wish I did, too," I quipped, much to her surprise. "Look, I'm terrified," I admitted. "She's not my sister, but she's the most important woman in the world to me. I've got to stay positive because if I'm not, I don't think I could take another two steps without curling into a little ball and weeping uncontrollably. I am so far from confident it's not even funny."

Her violet eyes bored into me for a second before she nodded slowly, some of the tension flowing from her body. "Thank you, Commander," she said. "I'll try and keep that in mind going forward. In the meantime, we should get moving."

"You're right," I nodded, and we both started walking down the pier. "So what happened out there?"

"Sirens counterattacked, came at us from the northwest in a rush. We were holding our own, but they suddenly switched tactics and began focusing on Lexington. They cut her off from the rest of us and took her down. Yorktown lead the breakthrough to save Lexington, almost fought off the Sirens singlehandedly." Enterprise took a deep, shuddering breath. "If she hadn't fought as fiercely or as doggedly as she did, I don't think Lexington would've made it."

"Sounds like Yorktown," I chuckled. "She may not be flashy or outwardly confident, but put a friend of hers in danger and she'll punch the moon in half if she had to."

"That she would," Enterprise smirked.

"And what about the Sirens?"

"We pushed them back for now. Essex, Intrepid, and Ticonderoga are on station now, they'll make sure they don't try anything again."

"Good, good," I sighed. "Once we've stabilized Lexington, I'll send Saratoga out there, have her take a look at what's going on."

"Aye, sir."

"And how are you and Hornet, damage-wise?"

"A few dings and scratches, but we're good to go."

"All the same, I want you and Hornet to get refitted and get some rest now that you're back in port." When Enterprise opened her mouth to object, I swiftly overrode her. "You would have been back here for resupply soon enough anyway, and Yorktown is going to need you both here. And if I'm being honest, so will I, depending on how this goes…"

While she still wasn't happy about staying back, she begrudgingly accepted my arguments. "Alright."

"C'mon, we don't want to keep the others waiting…"


By the time we made it to the hospital, Hornet was waiting for us, and I could tell by her expression, the news wasn't good. I rarely saw Hornet without a smile, and now her smile had not only vanished but had been replaced by a grim countenance. What was doubly concerning was the fact that Northampton had also vanished.

"You two should go up and see Vestal," she coldly stated. "Northampton went to go grab Saratoga, and I wanna meet 'em here. Plus I already heard from Vestal. We'll be waitin' for you down here when you're through, though."

"Yeah, sure thing," I said in a subdued voice, rattled by Hornet's dour demeanor. Enterprise and I shared a look and we wordlessly ascended the stairs towards Vestal's office.

A rather tired, haggard, and drained Vestal sat in her office, poring over several charts and medical forms. When she heard our footsteps, she glanced up at us, before quickly gathering things up and getting to her feet. Like Hornet, her smile had vanished, and I knew whatever news she was about to give us was going to be bad.

"Good news," she began, "Yorktown is in stable condition."

"That's not a good news face, Vestal," I bluntly stated. "Give us the bad news."

She hesitated a moment, then took the plunge. "She was badly hurt, and her rigging seems to be compromised. The damage we can repair and stabilize, but we found some kind of substance on her rigging that really concerns me. We originally thought it was soot, but on closer inspection, it seems to be…something else."

"Like what?"

"We're not sure, exactly, but it seems to be resisting our initial scans…" She paused for a moment. "...similar to META ships."

My mind reeled as my heart plummeted. "Are you telling me she's going to become one of the Ashes?"

"We don't know that," she was quick to reassure me. "We're not sure of anything at this juncture except that she's in stable condition. I promise you we're doing everything we can to get to the bottom of this."

I took a deep breath as I struggled to get my emotions under control. "Alright," I said slowly, nodding to myself. "Alright. Anything you need, any resource, no matter how scarce, no matter how hard to find, you let me know and we'll get it for you, understood?"

Vestal nodded as she looked me in the eye. "Understood, sir. Yorktown means a lot to us, too." I could see the determination and resolution in her eyes that I knew were reflected in mine.

I hold her gaze for a moment longer before I give her a nod and look down the hall, wondering which room Yorktown was in. "Is she awake?"

"Not yet," the repair ship answered with a shake of her head. "She should be waking up soon, if you, Enterprise, and Hornet want to have a seat in the waiting room."

"And how's Lexington?"

"The same," Vestal sighed. "Heavy damage, covered in the same particulate stuff. The diagnostic systems identified it as "Microlayer particles", but beyond that…there's nothing.. When you see Saratoga, send her on up."

"Will do," I nodded before I glanced over at Enterprise. "You got anything?"

The stoic kansen merely shook her head, and I turned back to Vestal. "We'll be downstairs whenever Yorktown wakes up."

The repair ship gave us a tired smile before she went back to her charts and reports. "You'll be the first to know."

"Thanks." Silently, Enterprise and I walked back downstairs, where we found Hornet and Northampton in the waiting room, seated together on a couch, both looking as dour as we did.

Enterprise and I took up the chairs flanking the couch as we all looked around at each other in a painful silence. After a few awkward seconds, Hornet finally blurted out, "Why'd she have to go and do that?"

"Because we would have done the same in her position," Northampton answered softly as she took Hornet's hand in hers.

"Yeah, I know," Hornet sighed, "but…she's been through enough already. It feels like things finally got on track…for all of us, y'know? Hell, Yorktown just moved out a week ago!"

"We still haven't unpacked all of her boxes," I said with a wry smile. "We got the essentials put up and the rest we've been taking out on an as-needed basis." I glanced over at the two kansen on the couch. "What about you two? You guys get all settled in?"

Northampton looked somewhat sheepish as Hornet chuckled softly. "Kinda. We got her all unpacked, but she's having a hard time getting used to everything. Keeps banging her foot against the bedframe every morning when she gets up."

"I'm just not used to it, yet, that's all," the cruiser meekly protested, her cheeks flushed a deep crimson. "You know it takes time for me to adjust…"

"Ah, don't worry about it," Hornet grinned as she nudged her with her shoulder. "You'll get used to it."

"I know, I know," Northampton sighed. "Just worried about that bruise becoming permanent."

"You'll be fine," I chuckled. "Just don't move the furniture once you've gotten used to it, though."

"I'll try not to," she grinned.

"Can't believe it took you guys that long to move in together," Hornet remarked as she shook her head. "How long have you guys been a couple now? A year?"

"Hey, in my defense, I spent nine months of that year in the Northern Parliament," I countered.

"Yeah, I know. She'd look all sad and lonely throughout most of the day, right up until mail call. Can't believe you two wrote each other actual letters. You know e-mail's a thing, right?"

"We thought the handwritten approach was more…romantic," I replied. "Besides, you and I both know we still did things like videocalls, considering you photobombed more than your fair share of them."

"Heheh, yeah," Hornet grinned wolfishly. "Had to make sure you two weren't getting frisky on cam."

"She was in the middle of your living room and I don't think it ever got above freezing where I was, why would you even think we were up to something like that?"

"Because it's fun to watch you get all flustered," she confessed with an ingratiating smile.

I sighed and rolled my eyes. "Get caught in your girlfriend's bed one time…"

"Oh, you can bet it's gonna take you a long time to live that one down."

Just as the tension finally started to bleed from the room, Vestal approached us, charts in hand. "Yorktown's awake," she announced, and almost instantly you could feel the joy sucked from the room in a heartbeat. "She's still very weak, so I'm afraid it's family only, I'm sorry."

Northampton and I glanced at each other, both of us seeing the hurt reflected in our eyes. But before either of us could say anything, Enterprise grabbed us by the arm and dragged us up the stairs. "They're family," she bluntly announced as I shot a last look at Vestal, shrugging helplessly.

As soon as we were out of earshot, I leaned over to Enterprise and softly said, "Thank you."

"Nothing to thank me for, Commander," she answered matter-of-factly. "You may not be related by blood or by hull, but you're family all the same. You deserve to see her, and Northampton deserves to be there for Hornet."

I was touched by her honesty and her kindness, and to this day, I still am. She wasn't always the easiest to read, or the most emotional, but Enterprise was always there for you in a pinch. "Still, my thanks are there, regardless."

We quickly found ourselves at the door to Yorktown's room, and when nobody made the first move to open it, I stepped forward, knocking lightly before slowly opening it. "Yorktown?" I quietly called out to her. "It's us. Max, Enterprise, Hornet, and Northampton."

As we stepped into the room, I caught sight of Yorktown and I just barely managed to stifle a gasp. Her skin was nearly as white as her hair, and she looked so frail and tired as she lay there in bed. Even her smile, her faint, sad smile she'd always had, somehow looked more drained than usual. "Do I really look that bad?" she asked.

I gave her a rueful smile as I shook my head. "Not bad, just…tired," I answered, trying to keep my tone light despite torn up I was inside at seeing her like this. "Had us all worried there for a bit."

"Glad to see you safe and sound, though," Hornet added as she walked over and leaned down to embrace her sister. "Now you rest up, y'hear? It'll be tough without you, but we'll hold the line until you're fully recovered."

"Thank you, Hornet," she laughed softly as she returned Hornet's hug. Even that simple act seemed to sap more of her strength, and I tried to keep my despair and heartbreak from my face.

As Hornet retreated to Northampton's side, Enterprise stepped up and took Yorktown's hand. "Anything you need, you let us know." As she spoke, I heard a tremble in her voice, and for a moment, I was afraid she was going to cry. It was hard enough as it was, and if even Enterprise herself was overcome with emotion, all of us would be going down with her.

In the end, she managed to steady herself, and Yorktown simply smiled up at her and nodded. Enterprise looked over at me, then to Hornet and Northampton, before she said, "We'll give you two some privacy."

Yorktown waited for everyone to file out and the door to shut behind them before she turned to face me. "How are you holding up? Honestly."

"I'm terrified," I admitted, feeling the tears starting to well up in my eyes as the day's emotions finally surged through me. "I don't want to lose you, or see you become some sort of dark shadow of yourself."

Her hand reached out for mine, and I took it in an instant, holding onto it the way a drowning man clings to a life preserver. "I've spent so much time in darkness, I have no desire to return to it," she whispered. "I promise you, I will hold on. For us."

"For us," I whispered back. "And I promise you, I will not stop looking for a way to heal you. No matter how long it takes."


We spent the rest of the day talking, catching up and just being there for one another until Vestal announced visiting time was over and sent me home.

The last place I wanted to be right now.

You know, it's funny. My quarters had once been a place of solitude and reflection. Somewhere that I could shut out the outside world and just relax for a little bit before going to bed. I'd spent the majority of my time in this apartment by myself. And yet now, after living with her for barely a week, it felt so very, very lonely. I hoped that this would be temporary, a brief stretch that we could both look back on and laugh at, or at least roll our eyes at, but what had stricken Yorktown would last much, much longer…

A/N-And we're back! Off to a real fun start, too. But don't worry, I would never leave you guys without the good fluff. …eventually. . Until next time, fair winds and following seas!