Protocols & Hearts

Chapter 10

October 10, 20XX. Approx. 4:48 p.m. Classified Military Base.

Aelia slowly swam to consciousness, every fiber of her battered body aching dully despite the haze of medication. Blinking against the harsh hospital room lights, she realized her vision was blurred - she must have lost her contacts in the sea's churning depths.

With a weary sigh, she gingerly pushed herself upright against the pillows, biting back a pained groan. Shifting her weight caused fresh jolts of discomfort to flare through limbs gone stiff from disuse. Aelia gazed blearily at the IV taped to the back of one bruised hand, taking stock of her injuries.

Gingerly pulling back the sheet revealed her torso swathed in bandages, dark smudges of lurid bruises peeking through everywhere skin showed. The jagged stitches knitting her leg wound pulled at the skin, angry and tender. A sudden memory made her eyes flick away - Shesh's cruel blade plunging through flesh and muscle.

Her other hand was bundled thickly as well, immobilized to aid healing where the metal had sheared through. Recalling that final struggle made her shudder, willing away the unwanted images resurfacing all too clearly. Deep breaths bore the acrid hospital scents instead, centering her once more in sterile present safety.

Exhausted yet alive, Aelia leaned back into the pillows with a pained sigh. Recovery would be long, but for now, the worst was over. She was safe among friends and the enemy had fled - that knowledge alone helped drown out lingering ghosts of suffering past.

Aelia stirred at the sound of the door creaking open gently. Turning her head brought a wince, but she took in the friendly face of a nurse entering with a clipboard.

"Oh good, you're awake!" The woman said brightly, though her smile faded at Aelia's obvious discomfort. Checking vitals with practiced efficiency, she asked simply, "How are you feeling?"

Aelia glanced down in a moment of vulnerability. "Peachy," she murmured at last. The nurse gave her shoulder a comforting pat before rolling a table within reach, concern mixed with understanding in her eyes.

"You've been through a lot.. Try to rest and stay hydrated," she advised kindly, setting down a bottle of water within grasping distance. Aelia took a long draught gratefully. Before departing, the nurse added, "Your friend's been waiting all night - I think he finally went to eat. I'll let him know you're awake."

Aelia raised a quizzical brow, confusion coloring her worn features. But at last, her eyes fell upon a welcoming sight - her glasses, neatly folded on the table. Eager hands slipped them on, bringing clarity and some small comfort. As ever, her team had watched over her even in unconsciousness depths. Grateful, she leaned back with a sigh, ready to face whatever came next.

Just then the door opened again, and Aelia looked up expectantly - only to find familiar troubled eyes regarding her from the threshold instead of the nurse. Ghost stood motionless a long moment, drinking in the painful sight of her wounds with a tumult of emotions he couldn't name.

At last he crossed to her bedside, footsteps leaden. She broke the taut silence first. "Hey." She breathed. "Uh- thank you, first of all," Aelia offered weakly, pushing thin lenses back up her nose.

Ghost released a shuddering breath through clenched teeth, fighting to keep a tight rein on surging anger and relief. He could not meet her eyes, staring instead at some fixed point on the scuffed linoleum floor. Sensing his turmoil, Aelia gingerly reached her bandaged hand toward his in a tentative gesture of comfort. But he jerked away as if scalded.

Lifting his gaze at last, Ghost found his gruff voice through words that came taut as bowstrings. "What the hell were you thinking, charging in like that alone?" He demanded, fighting to lower volumes despite the rage still simmering beneath.