Seth shrugged. "She toldmethat I did not feel like her brother, though, and that could only mean that she felt like we were mates since we had sexed one another."
"She behaved as if she meant that to include all of us. Well, mayhap not Dane since he is not here, but certainly me as well as you!"
Seth glared at him. "I do not see how you can say that! She said to me that she did not feel as if I were a brother. She said to you that you felt like family, which is to say that she does consider you a brother."
Niles plunked his hands on his hips, angry, but uncertain enough that doubt had begun to creep in. "I will go and ask her what she meant," he said finally.
"You will end up in the brig if you leave your post--or shot!" Seth said warningly.
Niles halted, considered for a moment, and finally returned to his post. "I will ask her when she returns. I do not believe that she would have embraced both of us if she had not meant toincludeboth of us! And I do not see where you got the notion that she was suggesting that she considered you a mate. She did not say that!"
"She did say that she considered us family and since she eliminated the possibility that her affection was as a sibling that leaves nothing else! Particularly since we sexed one another and that is what mates do!"
Niles was getting damned tired of Seth harping on the fact that he had sexed Danika! "Humans have sex for many reasons--pleasure, recreation, the release of tension, to barter for favors .... I am sure there are even more motives, but you cannot say that it must be for the purpose of mating becausethatis for procreation and we cannot procreate!"
Seth took a step forward and caught Niles on the shoulder with a sharp jab of his fist. "Speak for yourself! I do not know that I cannot!Shedoes not know that!"
Niles took a step back to catch his balance and punched Seth on the shoulder. "If you can then I certainly can!"
"You said that you could not!"
"I did not!" Niles said indignantly. "I saidwecannot."
Seth, his jaw set pugnaciously, jutted his face to within inches of Niles', and poked him in the chest with his index finger. "You do not know whatIcan do!" he growled.
Niles punched him in the belly. "You think your nanos havegrownseed for you and no one else?"
"Ten hut!"
Both men jolted in surprise when Reuel's voice intruded, whirling to look at him guiltily.
Reuel eyed them with seething fury for several moments and finally lifted one arm. "You! Go stand guard over there! Ten paces. You! Over there! Ten paces. Do not exchange one more word unless it has to do with spotting the enemy!"
Both of them saluted, slid an accusing glare at each other, and then marched ten paces in the opposite direction. Reuel studied them for a few minutes and finally turned and headed toward base camp.
When he had disappeared into the brush, Seth shot a bird at Niles and mouthed, "I will beat the fuck out of you later."
Niles shot a bird back at him. "You will get the fuck beat out of you," he mouthed back.
* * * *
Danika thought she was going to totally lose it when she got her first glimpse at Dane. He was so pale he looked bloodless. He was sprawled face down on the gurney in the sickbay and patched with blood soaked bandages from shoulder to knee.
"Oh Dane! That was such a ... brave, wonderful ... absolutely stupid thing to do!"
He stirred at the sound of her voice and she rushed closer. "It was?" he said a little drunkenly.
Danika bit her lip. "Don't you think it would've been better to look for cover than to let them ... make a pincushion out of you?"
"No time."
Danika glanced around as the impulse hit her to touch him, partly to reassure herself, partly because she felt the need to offer what little comfort she could. The medic, she saw, had left and the sickbay was empty except for the two of them. Moving closer, she brushed his hair from his face and then leaned down and kissed his cheek. His eyes fluttered open.
It was such a relief, even though his eyes were glazed with pain, that she had to fight the urge to burst into tears. Sniffing at the sting, she smiled at him. "You look like hell. Your beautiful back ...." She stopped when that nearly set her off and fought another round with her emotions. "I hope you feel better than you look."
He looked disconcerted and more than a little confused.
"The medic says you're going to be fine, though."
