Chapter 45

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When Claire woke up, she was in a soft bed and the room was dim. For a moment she thought groggily of Francois and the restaurant, and then she remembered everything. She tried to throw off the blanket on top of her, and realized her injured arm was in a half cast and taped to her torso. Her thigh was heavily bandaged and she was wearing a pair of pants that had obviously been cut off to fit over the thick cloth. Either she was on some good painkillers or she’d been asleep longer than she thought, because neither arm nor leg hurt as much as it should.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” Claire grumbled, trying to scoot to the edge of the bed. Her shoulder ached, but not very much and her leg itched.

“Don’t move!” Nat said, coming through the door. “I’ll help you up.”

She flipped the lights higher as she came, and Claire looked curiously at her. She’d barely met Nat before, but she felt like a friend. Nat helped Claire sit up, and then put a glass of water in her good hand.

“We’ve made some crutches for you to use, but you should eat and drink first. You’ve been out for nearly eighteen hours.” Nat had dark shadows under her eyes, and her voice had a forced cheeriness, but she didn’t seem to harbor any anger towards Claire. “I know Basher wants to talk to you as soon as possible,” Nat added.

Something in the way she said Basher’s name made Claire blush, which confused her, but Nat didn’t notice. She waited until Claire had drunk half the glass of water, and then brought her a cup full of soup.

“Eat up, I’m sure you’re starving. Unless the painkillers are making you ill?”

“No… not yet.” She began to sip, wondering what she could say to Nat.

“It’s – I don’t blame you,” Nat said, as though she could read Claire’s mind.

Claire put down her soup and reached out to hold Nat’s hand. “I’m so sorry. I never meant for Akemi to get hurt. When I got Basher’s code, it was only for the ink. I don’t blame you if you don’t believe me, but we never even thought of Akemi until Faal showed up... ”

Nat hunched forward suddenly, smothering a sob. “I know,” she said in a muffled voice. “Faal must have guessed something about her at the trial, when I arrived alone… and there have been rumors since. But beyond that, it was Akemi’s choice. It’s just... all I’ve ever wanted to do is protect her, and somehow I never can.”

Claire didn’t know what to say, she couldn’t even put her arms around Nat, so she just squeezed her hand.

"I - I think she was happy," Claire said eventually. "She said she felt free."

Nat returned the pressure of her hand. “I hope so. She thinks I rescued her, but I never did. She was kidnapped because of me, and used in the Rik experiment. Now she’s in Faal’s hands... and don’t get me wrong, I’m so glad that he didn’t get you...”

“But she’s your sister. I totally understand.”

“Yes. My sister.” Nat took a deep breath. “And she would be telling me to get a grip if she could see me. So I will.” She wiped her eyes, and nudged Claire’s soup. “Keep eating. Basher keeps checking on you and I promised him I’d let him know when you were ready to talk.”

“And... Sage?” Claire asked.

“We haven’t seen or heard from any of them,” Nat said. “Also – well, never mind. I’ll let Basher tell you.”

Several hours later, after getting cleaned up and trying to figure out how to use a crutch with one bad arm and one bad leg, Claire found herself back in the reception hall of the embassy. She looked up at the skylights in wonder, not quite able to believe that she’d made it out of the darkness of Faal’s ship to this place full of light.

There were chairs set up. Basher and Nat sat next to her, and Sam and several Spo across from them. The room felt formal, with its copper and gold rings hanging from the ceiling and the rich carvings on the walls, but this meeting felt surprisingly informal. Sam and Basher each held a cup of coffee, real coffee, and Nat was sipping tea from a thermos.

One of the Spo came late, entering from the rear of the room. “I apologize for making you wait,” he said. “However, I thought this one looked lonely.”

On his shoulder perched a tiny, furry animal with long fingers and huge eyes.

“Kit!” Claire said. “I can’t believe I forgot to ask about you.”

He jumped to Claire’s lap and she cradled him awkwardly with one arm. “Oh, I missed you. Have you been in a cage all this time? Poor little guy.”

Sam and Nat laughed, and Basher cleared his throat uncomfortably.

“What?” Claire asked them, stroking Kit’s soft stomach.

They looked at Basher, who shrugged. “I’ve let him out some,” he said. “I’m not heartless.”

Kit squirmed loose of Claire’s arms and scrambled over Nat’s lap to climb up on him. Basher grabbed his tail and slung him up on his shoulder in a practiced motion.

“Don’t let him fool you,” Sam said. “Kit’s been living in Basher’s pocket for weeks. He even has some of the Spo eating out of his hand.”

“Anyway,” Basher said with emphasis, “We do have other things to discuss. Senator Fontley is dead. The ink that was stolen – ”

“Whoa, wait. The ink?” Claire asked.

Basher rolled his eyes. “Yes, the ink. The ink you were planning to steal all along; so don’t play innocent. Apparently one of your friends managed to get into the medical room.”

“Wow, that’s…” She was going to say ‘awesome,’ but suddenly realized how inappropriate that would be here.

“It’s not ‘awesome’ at all,” Basher finished, as if he’d heard her. “It’s a major problem – ”

Sam held up his hands, “But it’s not our biggest problem right now. Let’s stay focused.”

Claire felt her spirits lift now that she knew Sage and the others had the ink. At least their whole risk hadn’t been useless. Of course, if they had the ink... would she ever see any of them again? She’d realized that she would have to choose, eventually, whether to continue with the Rik or go back to the humans…

Now the decision was out of her hands, and she didn’t know whether to be glad or sorry. Part of her was really and truly sad that Sage was gone, but another part of her was still reeling that he’d been willing to make such a despicable deal with Faal. And that part of her was truly relieved to be here.

Just in a few hours, Claire had been shocked to realize how different it felt to be with a human rather than a Rik. In a hundred small ways it was apparent that Nat and Claire, though having almost nothing in common, shared a history... a species... a whole world.

Nat’s spirit and her body had never been separated, never been anything different. It was a kind of wholesomeness that defied definition and yet expressed itself in everything she did. Perhaps that was what the Rik had seen in her, Claire mused.

Sam and Nat recounted what had happened with Senator Fontley, for the official records.

“Then the ground car hit the wall,” Sam ended, “And that was that. I was mostly protected by my restraints, and somehow Nat avoided all but bruises and a sprained ankle.”

Basher shook his head. “I just wish Fontley hadn’t died.”

Sam put a hand on Nat’s shoulder.

“I can’t say that it was an accident,” Nat said slowly. “The car was out of control but the gun was firmly in my hands when I shot him. I considered him a clear danger to Sam and myself.”

The Spo nodded, as if this was an obvious answer, though Claire could see that Basher was somewhat perturbed.

“I believe you,” he said, “without question. But there’s going to be a hell of an inquiry...”

Nat squared her shoulders. “It’s done. I’ll deal with an inquiry when I have to. Anyway, after that, Sam and I agreed to split up. He remained to speak to the Tergre security forces while they investigated, and I… uh, appropriated a vehicle. To get to Faal’s ship.”

Basher snorted, but Sam grinned and squeezed Nat’s hand. “Hey, not everybody could convince a Vel to hand over their vehicle to an unknown alien in less than thirty seconds.”

Basher squeezed his eyes shut in mock horror. “How much will that ‘convincing’ cost us?”

Nat shook her head. “I had it delivered to his address this morning. All covered.”

After that, the conversation turned into a technical discussion of diplomatic options, blood tests, and secure communications. Claire found her mind wandering. She missed having Akemi to translate for her. It was surprising to realize that Akemi’s loss was not a major priority to the Spo. Claire’s whole adventure, in fact, felt like little more than a side note to the wider situation here. They were all more concerned, even Sam and Basher, with the political fallout of the dissolved treaty and Fontley’s sudden demise.

Claire looked at Nat, wondering how she felt about that, and it suddenly struck her that Nat was still wearing a pair of Akemi’s glasses. She didn’t need them for the prescription and Akemi was no longer able to communicate through them, but Nat still wore them. Tears filled Claire's eyes again, but she forced them back.

“Before we split up,” Sam said, and Claire turned her attention to him. “There’s one more thing I need to say.”

He got up and knelt in front of Nat. “I don’t know what’s going to happen in the next few years, or even the next few months, but I know what I want to happen right now.”

He pulled a small case out of his pocket and opened it up. Claire was surprised to see an engagement ring, a beautiful diamond cluster that sparkled even in the diffuse light of the room.

“Natsuki Fujimara, will you marry me?”

Nat looked easily more shocked than Claire. She looked from the ring to Sam and her face was completely blank. Her mouth was actually hanging open in surprise, which Claire had never seen anyone do before.

“I love you,” Sam said. “You’ve been my best friend since I was thirteen, and considering what we’ve been through, that’s saying something. I’ve literally seen you sick, injured, burned, bloody, and asphyxiated and you’ve always been the most beautiful girl in the world. You are undoubtedly smarter than me, more perceptive, and generous to a fault. Whatever the rest of our lives are like, I would like you to be my wife.”

Nat swallowed and opened her mouth, but still didn’t say anything.

Sam waited, but Nat seemed speechless. Sam leaned forward and whispered, “You need to answer before his pause gets really long and awkward for everyone.”

He paused and smiled sadly. “Plus, I asked Akemi about this several days ago and she said, ‘What are you waiting for? An alien invasion? Ask her already.’”

Nat choked a little and finally leaned forward to put her hands on Sam’s shoulders, “Yes, I’ll marry you. Thank you.”

Claire could see that there was something painful and deep behind the ‘thank you,’ but she didn’t know what. Apparently it communicated enough to Sam.

He pulled her up and kissed her, and Claire swallowed a lump in her throat. She had to look away from them, but when she did, she met Basher's eyes. He was also looking away, while he absently stroked Kit with one hand. For a moment their eyes locked and Claire felt a slight shiver... but then she turned back to watch Sam slide the ring on Nat’s finger, and it was Sage she pictured. He said he loved her, but... Claire shook her head. She was too conflicted to continue the thought for now.

She watched the Spo congratulate Sam and Nat, washing pale colors of pleasure that seemed just as appropriate to the impromptu celebration as Basher’s hearty handshake.

Claire awkwardly hugged Sam and Nat, and admired the ring. Sam darted a quick glance of thanks toward Basher and Claire realized she’d seen the ring before, in the video with Basher’s fiancé. He must have given it to Sam, after keeping it all these years. Claire glanced away again, immediately sure that Basher had no idea Akemi had shown her any of that. Life was so strange.

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