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“There’s always time. And I’m making sure your recovery is a priority.” Ash stroked his fingers across her forehead. “I’m sorry bringing you here is making you feel bad, but it was the only option. I wasn’t going to lose you.”

Georgia shifted in the bed, trying to get comfortable. “You did the right thing. I’d have done the same for you.”

“Of course you would. That’s what partners do for each other.”

She flexed her tingling fingers, angry that she could barely form a fist. In that moment, she felt worse than useless.

Ash lifted her hand gently and kissed each knuckle in turn.

His tenderness made more tears spring to her eyes. She blinked them away. It must be the medication messing with her feelings.

Who was she kidding? Ash always took care of her and always showed he cared, while she did her best to push him away and keep herself safe. But if she didn’t have him by her side, she wasn’t safe.

He turned her palm over and kissed her wrist. “You’ll be back in fighting form in no time. I’ll make sure of it.”

She nodded, too overwhelmed to say anything. She was his number one priority. She wanted that so badly but was too scared to tell him. Keeping quiet was the safe option, but was it the right one?

***

Ash sat forward inhis seat and rolled his shoulders. It had been a long few days, and he’d just about lost his mind waiting for Georgia to wake up.

But she was slowly getting better, even though that slow pace frustrated the hell out of her. She’d recover and soon be back to bossing him around, just like he loved.

She was sleeping when his comm link activated, so he stepped out of the mobile unit and opened the call.

“Hey, it’s Eden. How’s everything going?” The rest of the crew had checked in every couple of hours to make sure Georgia was doing okay.

“Good. We’re on the road to recovery.”

“Great. And whenever you’re ready, the ship’s repairs are done. We can head back to the Apocalypse.”

“Thanks, Eden. I’ll check in with Georgia when she wakes up and see if she’s up to moving. I know she can’t wait to get out of bed.”

“Knowing her, she’ll already be claiming she can run an ultra-marathon. We’re looking forward to seeing you both,” Eden said. “Let us know when you’re on your way.”

“Will do.” He cut the comm and headed back into the medical unit.

Georgia was stirring on the bed. She still looked pale and fragile to him, but she’d kill him if he said anything.

The poison had almost killed her, and seeing her so broken had shaken him to the core. And her right arm was still taking its sweet time to heal. He’d even tried another energy transfer, and it did nothing to speed up her healing.

But Sybil kept saying it just needed time and reassured them everything would get back to normal. Georgia didn’t seem to believe that, but he did. And even if she didn’t make a full recovery, she’d still be damn perfect to him.

The new poison was a worrying development, though. If an enemy had a weapon that prevented Apexians from healing, that meant they had a weakness. As soon as that was revealed to others, it would be exploited.

Apexians had enemies, and they’d be thrilled to make full use of this new weapon.

“Where did you go?” Georgia sounded sleepy as she shifted upright in the bed.

He hurried over to help her sit up, but she shooed him away. “Eden was on the comm line. How do you feel about going home?”

Her grin just about tore his heart in two. It was so bright and open. “I can’t wait to get out of here. I want a shower, a huge meal, and my own bed.”

“I’ll make all those things come true. Let’s get you dressed and out of here.”

She arched an eyebrow. “I can dress myself.”

“I’m sure you can, but I want to help. Although I’m more used to taking your clothes off than putting them on you.”