A/N: If you've left reviews, PMs, follows or favorites for the last chapter, I thank you. This one still seems to be popular, which is great.

I also have to thank MarkeyDeSad for the beta. He turned this chapter round in less than a day. He really likes this and his enthusiasm for it boosts my confidence.

Last chapter ended with Chuck being shot on the chest and falling to the floor with S'ra crying out…

Exo
Chapter 9: Recovery

S'ra knelt down by Chuck. Hot tears streamed down her cheeks as sobs wracked her body

Behind her, she sensed the rapid activity to secure Gralik again, but it was too late to avoid the damage he'd caused. The man that he'd shot lay before her with blood coming from the wound in his chest.

She clutched his hand and leaned forward to kiss him. She had lost the love of her life, but still felt the need for his lips on hers to say goodbye.

She was stunned to feel his breath brushing her lips as she got close. She sat up sharply and shouted, "He's alive! For the love of Retith, somebody help me!"

When the medical team arrived, R'lna wanted to pull S'ra away from Chuck. However, S'ra had things she needed to tell the team before that. "He's not from Retith. His physiology might be different."

The chief medic's eyes widened. "Thank you for the warning."

Then R'lna did pull her away and sat her down. She was still fairly close to Chuck. She didn't know that he would survive and that kept the tears and sobs going. "They are the best," R'lna said.

"I can't lose him!" she wailed.

R'lna embraced her, holding S'ra close. She didn't say anymore, just held the sobbing woman close.

S'ra then heard movement so pushed away from R'lna to see the cause of the commotion. The medics had Chuck on a stretcher. She rushed over. "What's happening?"

"We're taking him to operate," the chief medic replied.

"I'm coming too," she adamantly said.

She saw the man's eyes flicker behind her. She turned and saw that R'lna had approached.

"I'm not leaving him!" she declared.

R'lna looked at the man. "Our best treatment for him and, yes, she stays with him."

The man nodded. "Except when we operate."

So, S'ra had gone with him. R'lna accompanied them, too.

The two women sat together as the operation proceeded in the room next to them. S'ra was wringing her hands in fear of what she was dreading. R'lna pulled S'ra to her when she started sobbing again. She knew offering words of comfort would seem hollow, but holding the distraught woman seemed to help as the sobbing gradually subsided.

After an hour the woman who was leading the operation came out. S'ra leaped up. "Is he…?"

The woman was used to dealing with anxious people who accompanied patient. "He'll live," she reassured S'ra.

S'ra burst into tears again and probably would have collapsed with relief if R'lna hadn't caught her and led her back to the seats.

"What can you tell us," R'lna asked.

"His heart is in a different position to ours, which made it a bit strange for me as a surgeon," the woman admitted. "Not only that, I have never seen such dense tissues." She shook her head just thinking about it. She refocused on what these two wanted to know. "The bullet may not have reached his heart if it had been in the normal position. As it was, it seemed to get deflected by one of his ribs and stopped with only the tip piercing the edge of his lung. The lung wasn't perforated and didn't collapse." She looked at the two of them. "So, we do not need to use the merriclat." When she saw the two blank faces peering at her. She explained, "The new device for rebuilding and repairing lungs that we perfected a few months ago."

S'ra managed to ask, "So, what happens now?"

"We move him to the room we've prepared for him. He will recover there." Sensing S'ra's next question she looked at the young blonde. "Yes, you can stay with him there. We'll get another bed set up for you. We're not sure when he'll recover from his concussion, but our scans don't show any internal trauma to his brain. We will hook him up to the…" She hesitated, then keeping to popular terminology. "… the tissue regenerator for the wound and the surgery we had to perform."

"Thank you," S'ra breathed out.

Chuck came to in what looked like a hospital bed. However, on the wall behind him was something that looked like it had been brought directly from Star Trek! A flat panel that bore an array of displays.

On his chest, he could see a patch over the right side of his chest.

That was when he remembered being shot!

He reached for the patch but didn't make it as his hand was grabbed by a woman's. He recognized the slender fingers. "S'ra?" His voice was raspy.

"You mustn't touch it, my love." Her beautiful voice relaxed and soothed him.

He looked at her. She looked like she'd been crying. A lot. Her eyes were very bloodshot. But her smile was so beautiful.

"What happened?" he asked.

She leaned down to give him a kiss before saying anything. Then, she sat down on the side of the bed and held his left hand. Her hands were cold, but the feeling of well-being he got from them more than made up for it. "Do you're member being shot?"

He nodded.

She looked down but he saw the tears welling up in her eyes. "I thought I had lost you." Her voice cracked as the emotion got to her.

He squeezed her hand which gave her the courage to continue. "When the bullet hit, you fell to the ground and seemed dead."

He blushed at the memory. "I was moving backwards away from it. I don't know why I didn't just jump left or right. I tripped over my own feet. I must have hit my head as I hit the floor, causing me to black out."

She nodded and looked at him for a few moments before continuing. "It looked to be hitting you where your heart should be. At least on this planet. It seems that on Urth, the heart is not in the same position."

"It's near the center of the chest but slightly to the left," he replied having remembered this from the biology class from his freshman year.

"Not here," she said. "It might not have reached your heart anyway. It seems your tissues are denser than ours and your lung would have been in the way." She proceeded to relay what the medic had told her about the bullet's trajectory.

Chuck just listened.

She sighed and added, "You were rushed here. Their medical science is ahead of ours. They managed to get the bullet out and this device accelerates healing, although I know yours is fast anyway."

They sat in silence for several minutes after that. However, just being together and for S'ra having him back in her life, was all that was needed.

He finally stirred and looked at her. "What happened to Gralik?"

She frowned. "They apparently quickly disarmed him." She paused. "I was not in any state to check, I was… preoccupied."

He knew what would have caused that. "Sorry."

She tightened her two-handed grip on his hand. "His father was more than furious," she said flatly. He chuckled and winced. "I'm sorry," she gasped. "He has apparently earned a direct ticket to prison. Praid said that Gralik would not be coming out for a long time. R'lna supported me when we came here, but went home when I came in here with you."

She was now feeling tired. "You were out for over a day. The two of them came to see how you were getting on." She didn't mention that they were worried about her as well as she didn't sleep. "R'lna is now in shock over losing her son, even though she thinks it is the right punishment," She looked at Chuck and held his gaze as she told him the next part. "Both of them feel responsible for his actions. Praid particularly because he drew attention to us."

"We should not have gone in there," Chuck said.

"No, we should have stayed in the other room," S'ra concurred.

"You could have been hit!" Chuck's thought heading that way horrified him.

S'ra thought that typical of him. Thinking about her safety rather than what he had suffered. "Well, you were hit, but are recovering now."

Food and drink were brought for him, which he consumed quickly. "Better than hospital food I am used to," he commented.

She couldn't face eating anything. She just drank what she was given. For her, just having him fully back with her was all she really needed.

Two days later, Chuck was released. Praid insisted they stay with him and R'lna until Chuck was ready for the flight home.

Chuck smiled at the thought of that. He hadn't even known of this planet not so long ago and now this was where he would stay and S'ra's place was absolutely his home.

The two of them were given an opulent bedroom to stay in. Both of them wanted to make love, but they both knew Chuck's body was not up to that. However, apart from trips to the bathroom they remained together at all times.

S'ra joined him in the shower, so that she could wash him, and although their bodies responded, she was strong and stopped him from the intimacy they both wanted. He knew she was right, but it was still difficult.

Later that day, Praid approached Chuck with a request. "Chuck, while you are recovering, would you be willing to talk to our astronomers?" It was a tentative request. The governor was clearly not going to insist.

"I- I can," Chuck stuttered out. "But I don't really know anything useful about the science."

Praid smiled. "Thank you, Chuck. They are not expecting that, but are interested in the view you remember from your… telescope, was it?"

Chuck nodded. "I can tell them what I know."

"The telescope itself would also be of interest to them. They currently use optical devices."

"I can tell them the principles, but do not know the specific details of how it works," Chuck replied.

"I will tell them that," Praid replied.

The meeting was arranged the following day. S'ra was upset that it was away from where they were staying, but Praid said the astronomers rarely mixed with the general population.

"It will be fine," Chuck told his girlfriend. "But you will be coming with me, won't you?"

She nodded. "I'm not letting you out of my sight, Chuck."

He grinned at that. He knew they both felt that way. Both felt like they had nearly lost the other.

They arrived, with Praid and some of his security team at a place a short distance from the city. Chuck noticed what looked like a set of observatories to one side of the main building. He was surprised that they weren't further from the city which, like those on Earth, was lit up at night and he thought that would affect what they would see.

They were soon ushered in to a conference room with probably a dozen men and women. After Chuck was lead to where he could sit, with S'ra close beside him and Praid, the other side, one of the men spoke. "Welcome and thank you for joining us. I am the Chief Astronomer here. My name is Verzian. These are my colleagues. We really appreciate you meeting with us."

Chuck introduced himself and his girlfriend. "My knowledge of your language is not that great, so S'ra might have to help me." He looked down at her and smiled. "She has been wonderful in helping me learn the language."

She gripped his hand and smiled back.

Chuck looked up again. "I will tell know what I know, but I am not an astronomer myself, so I just hope some of it is useful."

They proceeded to ask Chuck a number of questions about astronomy in general on Earth. He spoke of the early optical telescopes and then how they seemed insufficient and also how the quality of the images was diminished by the Earth atmosphere.

"My understanding is that there are four types of telescopes used by members of the public like me," he said.

"The first is refractor telescopes. I think this was the first type created. A refractor telescope works by refracting, or bending, light in order to form an image."

He had to get S'ra to help him with some of the words throughout and this was no exception.

"They provide excellent color contrast and are great for observing our moon and other planets in our solar system. However, they are subject to optical distortions, so not so good for distant objects.

"The next created was reflector telescopes. They work by using mirrors to reflect light that the telescope gathers to form an image at the eyepiece. They are cheaper to create than refractor ones. However, they have their own optical distortions, but I can't remember exactly what they are. They do have a problem with dust and debris settling on the mirrors inside the telescope and the mirrors can fall out of alignment due to movement or impact, so maintenance is required,

"There is another sort of telescope that uses both lenses and mirrors to form an image. I don't know the full details of these, but they are smaller and quite portable."

He looked at his audience. Some seemed interested, but some looked frustrated. One spoke up, "These are all for personal use. What about those used by your astronomers?"

Chuck nodded. "Although optical telescopes are the type most commonly used for stargazing and amateur astronomy, lots of astronomical research is done on telescopes that look at other wavelengths of light."

Most paid more attention at this point, some leaning forward in their seats, as if in anticipation.

"Each of these wavelength ranges shows us something unique about the universe and allows us to view events and objects that can't be seen with human eyes."

He had to use human words for a lot of what he had to say now. "Radio telescopes can be huge, with dishes up to a thousand feet across. Radio waves are focused onto an antenna suspended above it on cables. They look at very long wavelength light and are used to investigate things like how gases are distributed in our galaxy and other galaxies, and you can time the rotation period for a certain type of star called pulsars.

"Then there are telescopes operating at very short wavelengths, like X-Rays and Gamma Rays. These cannot be located on the planet, as our atmosphere blocks radiation at these wavelengths. So, these are located in space. At short wavelengths, you see stellar explosions, galactic centers, and regions near pulsars and black holes."

He had now given them the general view and wanted to home in on specific telescopes. "The space exploration organization in my country, known as NASA, has had a space-based telescope for over thirty years, the Hubble telescope. It has a mirror of nearly eight feet in diameter and instruments to observe in the ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Its orbit at 330 miles above the Earth is outside the distortion of its atmosphere which allows the telescope to capture extremely high-resolution images with much lower background light than ground-based telescopes. It has recorded some of the most detailed images, allowing a deep view into space. Scientists have used Hubble to observe some of the most distant stars and galaxies, as well as the planets in our solar system. It has also helped us to understand the rate of expansion of the universe.

"Recently, a new one was launched. The James Webb Space Telescope is a large infrared telescope. It orbits the Earth at one million miles away. It captures far greater detail than the Hubble and they plan to study every phase in the history of our Universe, ranging from the first light after the Big Bang, to the formation of solar systems capable of supporting life on planets like Earth, to the evolution of our own Solar System."

Chuck noticed a white board and walked over to it, ignoring S'ra's growl. The pens there were just like white board markers on Earth and he took one, r3moved the lid and started drawing.

First, he drew the Earth and the moon explaining what they were. Then, he showed where the Hubble and Webb telescopes were in relation to them. He also drew larger versions of each telescope from what he remembered.

He looked at his audience. "I was lucky enough to win the chance to go to the main observatory receiving images from the Webb telescope and was there when a far distant planet was first seen. I was unattended for a few moments and zoomed in to look at the planet and there was a flash from the screen I was looking at. I woke up here on your planet."

The astronomers had been silent throughout his discourse as had S'ra. She had not heard this much detail before.

While he had been talking, four other men had joined them. When he finished two were introduced as scientists and two as engineers linked with this facility. One of the later asked, "You said space-based telescopes. How did you get them up there?"

Chuck smiled. "Men have been in space for sixty years. We have only traveled as far as our moon which is 240,000 miles from Earth, but we have been sending up satellites for a long time. The space telescopes are more complex than others but the same concept.

"Hubble was launched from a space shuttle, which goes up into space flown by astronauts. Webb, however, was launched from Earth in a rocket and unfolded into its final configuration when it reached its orbit."

Chuck walked slowly back to his chair. S'ra watched him, her eyes narrowed. All of the men, scientists, engineers and astronomers were full of questions, but S'ra could see how tired this was making Chuck. She stood and announced that the session needed to end here. She looked at Praid, who nodded. She added, "We can come again tomorrow, but he needs to get his rest and recover."

She looked down at Chuck who looked to be about to argue. Her stern gaze stopped that. She nodded to him when he closed his lips.

Verzian stood as well. "We thank you for coming today and please do get your rest. We will surely have more questions tomorrow."

Chuck stood again and before walking with his attentive girlfriend said, "I actually enjoyed this. Thank you."

When they got back to the governor's residence, S'ra took Chuck straight to their room. She sat him on the bed and walked through to their bathroom and ran a bath.

She stripped him and smiled as his eyes lit up. "No. Not that, Chuck, much as I would love to. You need to rest and I want you to soak in a bath before you go to bed." He raised an eyebrow. "To rest!"

She helped him into the bath. It was difficult on his own with one side of his chest still troubling him. The wound was still painful if he used the muscles too much. Lowering himself into the bath was like that, so he appreciated her help.

He leaned back and enjoyed the soothing effect of the hot water.

She sat on a stool by him. "I learned a lot about you and your planet today, Chuck."

He frowned. "What did you learn about me from all that?"

"How much you love science," she replied.

He pondered that for a few moments. "I guess," he finally replied. He looked at her. "If I didn't, I would have never gotten here and met the most wonderful woman on two planets."

She smiled at his words. He always made her feel good like this. "And made her the happiest, too."

"I love you so much, S'ra."

"I love you too, Chuck," she replied. Then, with a twinkle in her eyes, she added. "And I'll show it when you are able to do what you were thinking earlier."

"Now, if that doesn't make me recover faster, I don't know what would," he stated with a smile.

She grinned and leaned over and gave him a kiss on his lips.

Chuck visited the observatory the following two days, accompanied just by S'ra.

He told the engineers and the scientists all he could about propulsion systems, the materials used to build rockets and satellites, the mirrors and the electronics that he knew about. There were huge gaps in his knowledge, of course, and some things only known at a superficial level, but they appreciated what he could tell them.

The astronomers were interested in the discoveries, such as the pulsars he had mentions along with black holes and the various galaxies. It appeared that they understood a lot of it and had speculated on some.

S'ra didn't understand a lot of it, but loved Chuck's enthusiasm for the topics.

When they asked about how far Earth was from their own star, they were surprised to hear him tell them 100 light-years. They understood the concept of how far light traveled but the measurements they used were different. It was a reminder that Earth miles and Retith ones were different. Similarly. An Earth year wasn't the same as one here. However, They eventually worked out how to convert and understand the distance between the two planets.

None could understand how Chuck was transported between the two planets. Chuck did find that a bit disappointing but wasn't really surprised.

The following day, Chuck had recovered enough to fly back to Grillain.

Thanks to Praid, they had managed to communicate with her parents that they were reunited. They had to do this via Chaldir. Chuck was surprised that communication was not common.

On that final day, Verzian came to wish them a safe journey and to say he and his team hoped Chuck would visit them again.

Chuck enthusiastically said he hoped so too.

The parting with Praid and R'lna was emotional. All had gone through quite a difficult time, but had bonded well.

"We will miss you," R'lna told them.

S'ra had never been an emotional person before, but she was the one who pulled the older woman in for a hug.

"Thank you for all your help," Chuck said to the two of them. "I am so sorry we met under such difficult circumstances."

"We are so sorry for what happened to both of you," Praid said. It was noticeable that he made no mention of the perpetrator of the actions against them. Neither Chuck nor S'ra mentioned him either.

They boarded the flier, greeting Durban who had been staying with some friends in the city.

Soon, they were heading back. S'ra looked forward to seeing her parents for the first time in quite a while.

Chuck was happy to be wherever she was. They had made love the night before, but both would feel more comfortable doing that in her own home away from others. It had been gentle, tender lovemaking, but everything they needed. The cuddling afterward just as precious to them.

Chuck was aware of S'ra's worry about the city with the Frakku approaching. They may even be there, so this return trip was possibly heading into a war zone, but he would never suggest they stay away.

Within a day, they would reach their destination and find out what was in store for them.

A/N: Well, thankfully Chuck is alright and our couple are heading back home. However, they may be heading into danger again. We'll find out what happens next chapter.

Let me know what you thought about this much slower chapter.

Glossary (pronunciation in brackets)

People:

B'rack (Bur-Rack)– S'ra's previous boyfriend (we never meet him)

Chaldir (Charl-Dere) – governor of the city state Grillain

Thrace (Thrase) – military commander of the city state Grillain

Durban – (Dur-Ban) Air Sargent helping Chuck

Flack (Flack) – one of the generals under Commander Thrace

Frakku (Frack-Ku) – purple-skinned savages

Garron (Gar-Ron) – S'ra's father

Gralik (Grar-Lick) – second son of Praid

Pal'na (Paal-Nar) – wife of Chaldir

Praid (Pray-Id) – governor of the city state Sanklin

R'lna (Rul-Nah) – wife of Praid

S'mia (Sur-Mere) – S'ra's mother

S'ra (Sur-Rah) – first person Chuck Bartowski meets on the new planet

Tald (TarlD) – first son of Prad

Verzian (Verr-iss-ien) – chief astronomer in Sanklin

.

Plants and animals:

Clarek (Clar-Rek) – plant that produces leaves that people use to clean themselves

Conith (Con-Eeth) – leaves of this plant produce fast-acting, healing liquids

Deak (Dee-Ack) – small plants that manage to grow in the crevasses of rocks in the mountain ranges

Gritch (Grit-Ch)– flesh of this plant used to clean teeth and breath

Ixtag (Eecs-Tag) – black-colored predator that live in forests

Landic )Land-Ick) – deer-like herbivore

Pake (PayK) – plant, the flesh contains pain-killing properties and is used for that purpose

Vetia (Vet-Ia) – leaves of this plant very flexible and used by Chuck to cover himself. Sap burns people from the planet but didn't affect him

Xaxic (Zacks-Ick) – foul smelling leaves of this plant used to ward off predators

Xynth (Zinth)– flying predator

Zryth (Zreeth) – stone-colored cat-like predator. Related to the ixtag

.

Places:

Garverd –(Gar-Vert) mountain range

Grillain (Grill-Ain) – city state S'ra comes from

Niteth (Nee-Teth) – largest of three moons that circle the planet

Pallain (Pall-Lain) – neighboring city state

Retith (Ret-Teeth) – the planet Chuck was now on

Sanklin (Sank-Lin) – city state governed by Praid

.

Other:

Bract (Br-Act) – nutritious bars carried to eat when access to other food hard to achieve

Chendia (Chen-Dere) – powerful anesthetic, like chloroform

Flaxik (Flack-sic) – new drug created to induce ovulation

Merriclat (Merry-clat) - device for rebuilding and repairing lungs