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CHAPTER FIFTEEN

The next few hours blur together, like trying to recall a good night out but only summoning a few key moments. And just like the morning after, I feel hungover.

My throat is a desert. My tongue clings to the roof of my mouth. My skull throbs, and I might be imagining it, but I swear there's a pulsing sting to my upper left arm. It’s hard to tell when everything aches, and right now, I’m too exhausted to care - bone wearily so.

I’m like a bear emerging from hibernation, all bleary-eyed and trying to make sense of my surroundings. And just like a bear, my stomach growls, calling out for food after a long winter.

There’s a warmth enveloping me. My head rests on something soft, my arm is cradled between a warm chest and a firm hand lazily stroking fingers along my skin.

“That’s nice,” I say, my voice cracking.

I don’t remember how I got here, but I do remember reaching out to hold Matthias’ sleeve, in a silent plea for him to stay. It felt like the most natural thi ng in the world to keep him near, comforting even.

“Alex?” I hear my name .

Which is probably why my mind drifts in sleep, and I dream of before.

Before the constant bickering and the long nights alone.

When he would work from home and sit on the couch with me beside him, my feet in his lap, whilst I lived a thousand lifetimes vicariously through the pages of a book. Back when we were happy.

“Are you awake?”

I force myself into cognisance. My eyes are dry. I can taste the remnants of salty tears on my lips. “Matze?”

Movement beside me rattles against metal, and then I feel arms around me, a gentle hand stroking along my spine.

I bury my face into his chest, inhaling deeply the familiar scent of him.

Manly musk mixed with… I take another deep breath, sniffing as I extract the crusty sleep from the corner of my eyes.

“You’re safe.” He reassures, his voice still husky with sleep.

I grasp clumps of his t-shirt between my fingers, pulling myself closer. I scrunch my eyes tight, worried I’ll be back behind the airlocked door if I open them.

“Is this real? Or am I dead?”

He chuckles beneath me, my head rises and falls with his breath. I look up at him. He’s…

“Luca?” I ask, rubbing the sleep from my eyes .

He smiles. “Of course. Who were you expecting?” His smile slips a little as he realises what I thought, who I thought I was in the arms of.

“It’s good to see you without a hatch between us,” I say with a humourless laugh.

“You had us all worried.” His wide smile returns. “How are you feeling?”

“All good.” I stretch out my sore, stiff joints, my shoulder pops with the strain. “Oof.” He rushes forward, concerned. “Just stiff. How long have I been out?”

Where’s Matthias?

I want to know. I need to know. But I can’t bring myself to ask. Luca is here, and that's important. He’s important.

“Sixteen hours, sleeping beauty .” He lifts my hand to his lips, opening it to place a kiss along my palm. A shiver of pleasure shoots through me.

“Wow,” I say.

“It was a long time. Doctor Hadfield said you were well, but…”

“I needed the rest.” I offer.

“ Esattamente .” He smiles softly, his eyes closing slowly. He looks tired, and guilt eats at me.

“How long did you sit with me?”

And why isn’t Matthias here?

Luca reclines back a moment to shrug the blanket from his shoulders. “I’ve been here for about four hours; before that, it was… him .” He says ‘him’ almost reluctantly.

“Thank you for staying with me.”

“Of course, Fiore .”

I nod numbly. Tears form in my eyes. Luca pulls me towards him. He lets me cry into his chest, until his t-shirt has a wet patch the size of my palm.

The tips of his fingers trace soothing swirls along my back, tenderly massaging the tension away. He runs a finger up my spine, shockwaves of pleasure trailing behind it. I shiver, and mistaking me for cold, he pulls me in closer, wrapping me in his strong arms.

I sneak a glimpse up at his handsome, sleepy face, to be met with his piercing brown eyes, already watching me.

I lick my dry lips, and his eyes shoot down, following the motion.

Savouring the attention, I draw it out by slowly sliding my tongue across my top lip.

I push up on one elbow, bringing myself closer.

His gaze struggles to decide between my mouth and my eyes.

We’re so close. My chest heaves with each breath as my breasts push tight against his firm chest. His arms encase me in his grasp.

Our breath mingles. I can’t help but think about how mine must smell awful, but he doesn’t seem to care. Not remotely.

He looks at me hungrily, and I am ready to be devoured. He leans forward, our noses bump slightly. Closing his eyes, he inhales deeply, resting his forehead against mine before he starts to pull away.

I don’t want to be alone.

“I am glad you’re okay, Alex.” I blink, confused at the sudden shift. “Let me call the Doctor to check you over.” He moves towards the door. “Hadfield,” He calls out.

“Wait, Luca,” I say softly.

He pauses to turn back to me. “You are beautiful, Fiore. But the next time I touch you, it will be because you asked me to. Right now, you have too much adrenaline clouding your senses.”

“Oh,” I reply lamely. He’s right. My mind is cloudy, but as the fog clears, there is only one person I want, and he’s not here.

Luca squeezes my hand. “I am so glad you’re alive.” He smiles sadly.

A gentle rapping sounds, before the panel slides open, a blonde head pokes inside, destroying what was left of our intimate moment, and using up just about the last inch of space in here.

“It’s me.” Doctor Hadfield’s gentle voice rings out.

I sit up, trying to reorient myself and bashing my elbow against the stretcher I'm strapped to. Luca doesn’t speak, just adjusts himself, coming to lean against the stretcher.

“ Ciao, Doctor Hadfield. How’s the patient?” Luca asks.

I freeze, my whole body tensing as I remember dragging Chelenko’s lifeless purple body from the lab.

“Is he–” I start.

The doctor holds her hand up to stop me. “I told you to call me Callie, remember?” Her head tilts to the side as she watches me nod numbly. “How do you feel?”

I laugh harshly. “Like I got hit by a bus.”

She giggles. “That’s a fair assessment.”

She puts the end of the stethoscope on my chest, just dipping beneath the edge of my vest. The metal is cool against my skin. Closing her eyes in concentration, she listens before moving the stethoscope over to my back to repeat the process. Finally, she nods, smiling.

“Lungs sound great. Very healthy. You must do a lot of cardio.”

My cheeks heat as thoughts of Luca peal through my mind. Naughty thoughts of our - ahem - more physical relationship.

I dropped him, and here I am back in his arms, using him for comfort, and yet pining after another man.

Shame fills me. I shuffle away from Luca, putting as much distance between us as this little bed allows. The movement forces his hand to drop from my side of the stretcher.

Callie is either oblivious to the tension brewing as she continues rambling on about taking blood, or she’s well practiced in reading the room and keeping clear of the drama.

“Make sure you’re drinking lots of fluids and getting a lot of bed rest.” She continues as she packs her implements back into her duffel bag.

She is tucking her stethoscope away when I reach out to grab her arm.

“How is Chelenko?” I swallow. “Did he make it?”

“You should be focusing on yourself. You were subjected to the atmosphere of space. Which may be a vacuum, but it certainly isn't sterile.”

“Please.” I implore her, clutching tighter to her the sleeve of her flight suit.

She takes a deep breath and smiles. “He’s stable–”

“He’s not dead.” I gasp.

“Oh no. Very much alive, although not through lack of trying. Definitely one of the hairier situations I’ve been put through.”

“Can I talk to him?” I ask.

Perhaps I’m foolish, but I feel like nearly dying together brought us closer, like maybe we’re friends now. Or, at least, he’s an older, annoying brother with some grumpy yet worldly wisdom to impart. I could really do with some worldly wisdom right now.

Callie’s eyes drop, she worries her bottom lip before speaking. “He hasn’t woken up yet. ”

Oh.

She squeezes my arm gently, reassuringly. “His body was struggling. I had to put him in a medically induced coma. Don’t worry, I'm monitoring him closely. He’s slowly improving.”

I nod numbly.

Wait…Every two hours?

“Oh, right. Sixteen hours.”

“Approximately,” Callie says.

No wonder my throat feels like the Sahara, and my stomach growls like a sabretooth. I rub at the sting in my left arm, a bandage keeping me from scratching at the source.

“Before I forget, antiseptic wash for the cut. Make sure you clean your arm with it twice a day. Use it until it runs out.” She snaps shut the lid of her bag.

“And, if you’re feeling up to it, the crew is waiting in the mess if you want to come say hi.

” She leans in closer, “A certain someone especially has been waiting not so patiently to see you.”

Matze . Obviously, she means Matze.

I still don’t know what to say to him, but maybe he’ll be happy to wait til we're back on solid ground.

“Oh, there's something else you should know.” Callie starts.

“Hasn’t she been through enough?” Matthias glares at her from the doorway. My heart skips at the sight of him.

“She deserves to know.”

“What? Tell me,” I say.

Callie grabs her med kit with one hand, stretching to full height before she gives him a stern look - the first time I’ve seen her anything but large, innocent eyes and bubbly smiles.

“Either you tell her, or I will.” She turns back to me with a smile. “There's a crew meeting in an hour.” And with that, she bids me farewell with a finger wave and leaves.

I turn to Matthias. “Well...?” He squirms under my gaze. “What was that all about?”

He sighs in defeat. Scrubbing his palm over his handsome face before he turns to me and holds me by my shoulders. “I was hoping to spare you all this a little longer.”

“All what?” I look to Luca, who fidgets beside me.

“I didn’t want you to feel trapped–”

I hold my hand up to cut him off. “If this is about Luca, he and I can discuss it back on Earth .”

“I hope he’s patient.” He snorts.

I frown. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Luca sighs. “It’s Earth. There’s been a development.”

My frown deepens.