"How's Dane?"
Niles flicked a glance at Seth. It was brief and Danika couldn't decide what the significance of it was. "He was not conscious when I got him to sickbay. I thought that you would want to know his status, however, so I lingered until the medic had done a scan."
"And?" Danika prompted him anxiously.
"His chassis prevented most of the projectiles from damaging his biological organs. Two managed to enter at an angle that allowed them to cause much damage. The medic estimates that it will take twelve hours for the nanos to repair the damaged organs sufficiently for them to be functioning at seventy-five percent. If he does not cease to function during that time, he will fully recover, but the nanos are fully engaged in working on those repairs and he must cut the other projectiles out and attempt to close them to stop the bleeding himself."
A knot the size of her fist formed in Danika's throat. She struggled to swallow against it, fought to catch her breath.
Seth caught her arm and helped her to sit. She looked at him a little blankly and finally moistened her dry lips. "He's saying .... Is he saying Dane might not ...? He could die? That's what he meant, right?"
Seth's expression could have been carved from stone. "He is saying that it is possible."
Shocked disbelief hit Danika like a physical blow. "He can't die!" she managed to say after a moment, struggling with the urge to fall apart. "He can't."
Niles sent Seth a look of consternation. "The odds cannot be calculated at this time when there are so many unknown factors."
Danika blinked at Niles, feeling a flash of anger. "Don't talk to me about odds, gods damn it! We're talking about Dane!" she growled.
He looked dismayed, glanced at Seth as if seeking help.
"He is our brother. We are not ... indifferent. It will not help him, however, if we allow ourselves to be distracted and are wounded, as well."
Chastened, Danika pulled herself together with an effort. Sniffing, she rubbed her stinging eyes and nose and got to her feet. "You're right," she muttered. "We can check on him when we get back. He'll be alright. He's strong."
The words felt empty, though. They didn't reassure her. She stared at the jungle, struggling to watch for the possibility of attack, but her mind and heart were at base camp. It kept running through her mind that he had never truly lived. He'd emerged from the labs of the company fully matured--physically, at any rate. He'd gone through training with her and then been shipped to hell--Xeno-12. There'd been no time for him to enjoy any of the things everyone else took for granted and now maybe there would never be one.
She saw when she emerged from her thoughts that Seth and Niles kept flicking worried glances at her and it hit her that the same was true for them--for all of them--but she didn't particularly care about any of the others. Shecaredabout Seth, Dane, and Niles. She'd thought about the fact that they'd bonded as fellow soldiers in the face of combat, but even then she hadn't acknowledged how deep it went.
They were family. They were theonlyfamily any of them had. She wasn't going to get home again, whatever happened. She'd lost her birth family and they'd never had one.
It suddenly seemed important to her to enjoy every moment it was possible to enjoy and not just focus on her duties as a soldier or even just survival. She wanted to survive. She wantedallof them to survive, but what was the point if they weren'talsoliving, enjoying whatever pleasure could be had?
Reuel arrived before she could drive herself crazy wondering what was happening with Dane. When they'd given him their report, he studied Danika for a long moment and then turned to Seth. "This will be the guard post for your squad--two on, two off. Until Dane is able to resume his duties the three of you will need to rotate. I suggest Danika return to base camp now so that she can check on Dane's progress."
Danika was so relieved she felt like kissing him. She refrained. When he'd left, however, she startled Seth by slipping her arms around his waist and hugging him tightly. He hesitated and then looped his arms around her loosely as if he wasn't entirely certain of how to react. "You don't feel like my brother," she murmured, leaning away to smile up at him.
He frowned quizzically. "I do not?"
She shook her head and pulled away. Niles, she saw, was staring off into the distance, frowning. It startled him when she moved to him and hugged him as she had Seth. Unlike Seth, he didn't merely put his arms around her, however. He tightened his arms almost crushingly. She didn't try to pull away. She basked in the wonderful feeling of simply being held, in his warmth, solidity and strength. She didn't realize just how much she'd missed, and needed, the simple joy of touching and being touched. "I do feel like we're family, though," she said when he'd released her. "So you guys be careful. Watch your asses out here."
* * * *
Niles watched Danika leave with a mixture of uneasiness and ... hunger, he decided. As much as he had enjoyed embracing her, it had left him wanting more.
He glanced at Seth finally, warily, wondering if Seth would punch him as soon as Danika was far enough she would not hear. He looked more thoughtful than angry, however, and Niles relaxed fractionally.
All the same, he thought it might be wise to put a little distance between them so he would at least have some warning if Seth decided to try to beat him into the dirt for embracing Danika.
"What do you suppose she meant by that?"
Seth's eyes narrowed as he transferred his attention from Danika to Niles. "If you are referring to the embrace she gave you, I am certain it meant nothing."
Niles gaped at him and then scowled. "Then it meant nothing when she embraced you!"
Seth gave him a superior look. "Thatwas different. I sexed her. That was ... affection because I had pleasured her."
Fury instantly suffused Niles. Fortunately, he recalled that they were on guard duty and that they would end up like Dane, or mayhap in the brig, if he gave in to the urge to knock Seth's teeth down his throat. "She was looking at me when she said she felt like we were family," he growled.
