Page 290 of Commander’s Mate

“He thinks he’s leaving medical.”

“No, he does not.”

Zared looked between us.

“I command this ship’s ground force.”

Nora smiled pleasantly.

“And I have sedatives.”

I kissed him before he could argue.

Not because fear needed sex.

Not because mating biology demanded anything.

Because he was here.

Because Nera was alive.

Because Meya might be.

Because Earth had a direction.

Because today had given us enough grief and enough hope to make both unbearable alone.

When I pulled back, Zared touched my face.

“Stay.”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

For once, the words did not mean I had nowhere else to go.

They meant exactly what I wanted them to mean.

The first reunion went wrong.

That was useful too.

A man named Oren saw his sister’s name on the provisional match board and ran past the intake barrier before anyone could stop him.

His sister saw him.

Then screamed.

Not joy.

Terror.

Oren froze.

So did everyone around them.

The woman backed into the wall hard enough that medical alarms sounded.

“No,” she said.