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Dean sighed, shaking his head. “Come back with us. I’ll find out where she is and let you talk. I’m trusting you on this, Marco.”

It seemed like a lot of people were depending on him, but Marco saw no other choice.

“I know,” Marco said, swallowing hard. “But I have to try. I have to do this.”

Marco had expectedDean to find the private and bring her in, but she was out on training exercises, forcing him to cool his heels for several hours. It was a long enough wait for him to go over everything he could say and every possible way it could go wrong.

When Dean led him to one of the examination rooms in the medbay near the back, telling him she was on her way, he realized he had no idea what he would say. Marco waited anxiously as Dean left and then, hearing the front doors open,stiffened. Waiting as he heard Dean’s soft voice approaching before he and a dark-haired woman stood in the doorway.

“What is this?” Private King asked, glancing at Dean.

“Someone who would like a word with you, just for a minute,” Dean assured her, smiling. “It...I promise you’re safe. It might not seem like it at first, but this is a good man, and he won’t do anything to jeopardize you.”

For a moment, Marco thought she would walk right out. Her eyes were wide, and he could see her chest hitch. Dean never pressed her, and Marco waited in silence. After several heartbeats, she finally took a deep breath and entered the room. Dean’s eyes lingered on Marco before softly closing the door to leave Marco with her.

They sat in silence, or rather, he sat, she stood. Private King eyed him warily for a moment, her jaw working as though she were chewing on her tongue. Marco didn’t watch the clock overhead but heard the soft ticking.

“What’s your name?” she finally asked softly.

“Marco,” he told her. “I have to be honest, I’m not very good at all the military procedures. So I don’t know what to call you.”

“Jessica works,” she finally sat down on the examination table.

Dean had told him her first name, but he nodded. “Okay. Jessica, it is.”

She finally broke eye contact, looking at the floor. “I know what this is about.”

“Do you?” he asked, more curious than doubtful.

Jessica nodded, taking another deep breath. “I wondered if someone might try to talk to me about what happened with Sergeant Reynolds. After the Corporal...well, it was always at the back of my mind.”

“He’s part of the reason I’m here,” Marco said, then sighed. “Okay, he’s a big reason I’m here.”

She looked up, eyes narrowing. “A big...why?”

Marco snorted softly, shaking his head. “Seems it was a big secret, nice and hush-hush. He was arrested.”

A beat, and then. “Because of me.”

“Because of Reynolds,” Marco corrected instantly.

Her voice grew tight. “If he hadn’t stepped in.”

Marco couldn’t help his laugh. “I know you don’t know Carter well, but there’s no way he was going to walk away after seeing...whatever it was he saw.”

She looked up sharply. “You don’t know? You’re going to pretend like you don’t know?”

Marco shook his head. “I don’t know, not for certain. But I know Carter. And when they took him in, he mentioned he’d been helping someone, and that’s why he attacked Reynolds. He wouldn’t name who, and?—”

She glanced over her shoulder. “The medic.”

“He kind of helped put the pieces together,” Marco admitted. “And is probably madder than hell at me right now for asking him to help me talk with you.”

“You want me to talk, don’t you?” she asked, and he couldn’t tell from her tone what she thought about the idea.

“Well, now I know you didn’t know what happened to Carter, I guess I’m glad I had the chance to tell you that. But I won’t lie, yes, that’s what I hoped would come out of this conversation.”

She laughed, though there was no humor in it. “You really think anyone will listen? He’s my CO, and?—”