It would be better than any honors ceremony he could ever attend. She could make losing his place within the empire bearable. Perhaps even preferable.
All these thoughts swirled around his head as he cleaned. Thankfully, Han slept through all the noise and was still slumbering after he’d made the place as nice as possible.
When he checked on her, he found she’d rolled on her side and was hugging one of the pillows to her chest.
As he watched, her eyes fluttered open. Her gaze briefly met his before she yawned and stretched. A wince interrupted her movements.
“Are you in pain?”
“It’s my leg,” she said with a little sigh, rolling over to her other side. “It’s nothing.”
Her words were soft, and she closed her eyes before he could ask more questions. Her breathing evened out quickly, and her body went lax in sleep.
He’d been so focused on her arm that he hadn’t thought to look for any other wounds. Running his eyes down her small body, he noticed some flecks of blood on a section of the blanket. Tugging the bottom of it free, he lifted it to find her pant leg soaked in blood.
He cursed himself under his breath, “I’m worthless!”
Pulling up the loose pant leg, he found a wound half covered in skin patches. Most of them weren’t even attached or were only half on. The wound had reopened and blood was welling from it. It wasn’t gushing, but there was enough to be concerning.
He’d left the med kit nearby and opened it again. Thankfully there were plenty of skin patches and more gel. It took severalantiseptic pads to clear off the old blood, but finally enough skin was clean to attach the patches.
“By the ancestors, I hope you continue to sleep,” he murmured, bracing himself for the worst part.
Attaching the first skin patch to the narrowest part of the wound, he tugged the gouge closed and attached the other side of the patch as quickly as possible while still being accurate.
Han made an irritated sound and batted her hand in the air. “Stupid stilm bugs!”
Her words were mumbled, and her hand dropped back down to rest near her face.
“Han?” he whispered. “Your leg is injured. I’m going to treat it.”
She didn’t respond. He went back to work.
He was able to finish with her only making that irritated sound one more time and never fully waking again. When he was done, he sat back and let relief flow through him.
“I’ve cared for you,” he murmured. “And I’ll continue to care for you for as long as you let me.”
Getting comfortable on the floor next to the bed, he sounded a soothing rumble and watched Han sleep. It was the most peaceful he’d felt in his adult life.
Chapter 4
Han
Throwing off the many covers layered on top of her, Han sat up. A cascade of pillows fell off the open side of the bunk, creating a small mound on the floor. Despite all the pillows falling to the floor, she was still surrounded by dozens of them!
When you spent as much time traveling as she did, it was common to wake up to unfamiliar surroundings. She’d slept in hammock-like beds, on plenty of floors, curled up in a chair, and of course, on the standard bunk bed most ships offered. This was the first time she woke up surrounded with pillows like a nest.
Did Zeph think she was going to thrash in her sleep and hurt herself?
Oh, wait, she vaguely remembered thinking she was being stung by stilm bugs. She’d batted at the bugs and probably accidentally smacked Zeph or the wall. That must be why he tucked all the pillows around her.
“You’re awake!”
She looked down to see Zeph pushing pillows off himself and sitting up. She couldn't help the giggle that burst out of her.
“Hey, sorry about burying you,” she said, swinging her legs off the bed and sending more pillows tumbling. She looked around the interior of the small ship and noticed this was the only bunk. “And I stole your bed.”
He moved to kneel next to the bed, tossing the pillows back up next to her. “I willingly gave the bunk to you. Though it would be better if I had the fluffy bed pads so I could build a proper nest on the floor for you.”
