When I woke up again, I could feel even thicker bandages and padding wrapped tightly around my shoulder and chest, my head pillowed against something comfortable yet firm, legs stretched out and propped up slightly. My body was rocking a little, and when I peeled my eyes open I saw the roof of a car above me, a car that was moving.

My head was on Orion's lap, and when I glanced down I noticed Beckett was sitting in the other window seat, my legs propped up on his lap. He had his elbow against the door and his chin in his hand, staring out the window as the gray and white landscape flew by, while Orion stroked his fingers through my hair, his fingers lingering on my forehead.

"He's got a fever now," he noted, eyes on the back of the seat in front of him.

"He'll be alright," Lailani was the one to speak, "We're only a few hours from base, Arthur can fix him up easily."

"I still find this ridiculously convenient," Orion admitted, "The fact you're the Lailani who founded the rebellion with Kailas and the others. What are the odds?"

"We were already hosting our own undercover mission when you guys showed up," Josie said, "It was just coincidence. A lucky one at that. Do you realize just how mad those people are?"

"Uh," Orion glanced over at Beckett, "I think we have a basic understanding."

"If his fever gets worse we can pull over and have Dmitri look over him," Lailani offered, "Hopefully the clean bandages are helping. If we had better equipment then he'd be able to operate, but we're kind of hopping from place to place right now."

"It's fine," Orion smiled weakly, "Pretty sure he's been through worse. Besides, I think the pain medication is helping at the least. He's sleeping pretty well."

I tensed when he set his hand fully on my forehead and grumbled, "Fuck off," I mumbled, and Orion pulled his hand up, "Your stupid hand is too hot."

"Oh, my bad," Orion snorted in amusement, "I run hot."

"Ugh," I groaned and pushed myself into a sitting position, with Orion helping me to stay up with a hand on my back.

"Easy," he ordered, "How are you feeling?"

"I got shot," I mumbled, "Doin great."

"We're almost home, sweetie," Lailani promised from the passenger seat of the car, using a knife to clean under her nails, "Just lie back down, too much stress could make your fever worse."

"Right," I mumbled, looking down to see my left arm was in a sling, thick padded bandages wrapped around my shoulder. I shifted around a little, wincing before throwing my legs over Orion's lap and lying down in Beckett's, reaching out to grab his hand and dragging it onto my forehead, sighing, "Better."

"Rude," Orion complained, and I opened one eye to glare at him.

"His hands are cooler than yours are and I have a fever, don't make me kick you."

Orion held his hands up in defense and Beckett chuckled little, stroking his fingers through my hair, pushing it back out of my face before returning his hand to my forehead. He smiled softly down at me for a moment before looking back out the window.

"Okay, you've changed a little," Josie hummed, "You're a little more violent than you used to be."

Beckett paused his stroking across my forehead and I looked up at him to see his face was tight as he stared out the window. It was kind of a slap of remembrance that Beckett was their cousin. I... probably had a lot to explain. I cared about Beckett, so much, but I doubted anything else could happen between the three of us until I explained the whole connection with Josie I had.

"Josie and Ronnie were my neighbors," I said, and Beckett tensed up before looking down at me, "We went to the same church, Ronnie and I were in school and Sunday school together. That's how I know them."

Beckett frowned and looked away for a moment before speaking, "Joseph is the one who found me at the hotel after my fiancé died. I thought they were both dead."

"Ronnie died when our hometown was bombed," I whispered, and Beckett's jaw tightened, "I'm sorry..."

He looked down at me again, his gaze soft, "Why would you be apologizing?"

"Because it should've been me," I explained, "He pushed me out of the way and... I'm sorry."

Beckett sort of just arched an eyebrow at me, "I would've done the same thing."

I scowled at that and rolled my head to the side, "You fucking suck," I grumbled, "I don't understand why you people are so happy to put yourselves in dangerous situations like you do."

"And I don't understand why you haven't figured it out yet," Beckett responded, and Orion laughed, squeezing my knee.

"Just try to sleep. We'll be home soon and Arthur can fix you up," he cringed a little, "and while that's happening the horrifying assassin can kick Beckett and I to hell for putting you in danger."

I tensed up as Lailani rolled her head back, "Hm? An assassin? What on earth has Kailas been getting himself into?"

"Oh, well-," I kicked Orion's leg hard enough to make him jump and gape at me, and I made a quick cutoff motion at him before smiling crookedly when Lailani looked back at me.

"Ah, we've accepted a few new members. We've lost quite a few as well. Jayden, Devin, and Lucia are gone now," I paused before adding, "Roman and Rhett too."

Lailani's lips pulled into a heavy frown as she looked back out the front windshield, "I'm sorry to hear that. Losing Jayden in particular must have been hard. Is Kailas alright?"

"Oh yea," I snorted, "I mean, he's having trouble sleeping, but besides that he's doing better than you'd expect."

"I'm sorry about Devin and Lucia too. They went together?"

"Yea," I answered, "There was a raid by the Fer-de-Lance, they died in the middle of it. They had a kid a while ago, he's three now. Raiden. Malachi and Arthur kind of adopted him."

"And poor Gale," Lailani sighed, "I'm sorry about Rhett as well. He and Roman caused a few problems of course, but that man was just trying to look after his nephew for his sister."

"Bullcrap," Orion and Beckett said simultaneously.

"I didn't know Rhett but Roman was a fucking psychopath who needed to be taken out," Orion continued, "He kind of attacked Kailas, and Dakota."

"He did?" Lailani gaped, "Why would he do that?"

"Because Rhett was killed before him, in front of him, and he came unhinged," I mumbled, rolling my head so I wouldn't have to look at her.

"He deserved it too," Orion argued, and Lailani sighed.

"What did he do, then?"

"He r-," I kicked him again, and he grabbed my ankle, "Could you stop that?"

"Shut up maybe," I snapped, and he cringed like he was suddenly realizing he almost revealed my rape as if it was a fucking decent conversation starter.

"Sorry."

"Well, what new members do you have then?" Lailani asked, gratefully changing the subject, and I pointed at Orion.

"Him," then pointed at Beckett, "Him, my older sister Maggie who I thought was dead, this guy named Logan, and Orion's younger brother Carina."

"What about the assassin you mentioned?"

I stared up at the gray ceiling before closing my eyes, "He showed up almost a year ago, I think. We kind of... saved him from the Con Rồng. They kidnapped him and trained him, turned him into this mindless assassin. He's better now though. You'll meet him when we get there. I think you'll like him."

"You sound pretty sure of yourself," she noted, and I smiled a little.

"Yea."

I fell asleep for a while after that, and woke up when Beckett shook my uninjured shoulder gently, peeling my eyes open to see him smiling down at me, "We're here finally."

I nodded slowly, lifting a hand to my head, "Cool. I don't think I can stand."

"I'll carry you," Orion offered, popping the door open, "Hang on. Open your side Beck, and help him sit up."

"Right," Beckett wrapped his arm behind my shoulders and pulled me onto his lap, prompting a groan to fall from my throat as he pushed open the car door beside him and helped me into Orion's awaiting arms, "Careful of his shoulder."

"Let me," Josie said when he stepped out of the car, but Orion just smiled at him, almost smug in a way.

"No worries, I think I can handle carrying him."

"Can you shut up and get the bullet out of my body already?" I growled, and Orion hummed, stepping away from the car to allow Beckett room to join us.

The second car was parked beside us and Isagani was already out, shutting his car door and eyeing the rebellion base as the front door opened and a few familiar soldiers stepped onto the deck to eye us off suspiciously, though one of them hurried back into the building when he met my gaze. Hopefully to get Arthur, because whatever Dmitri had given me for the pain was wearing off and I felt awful.

"Yay," I mumbled, lying my head against Orion's shoulder, "Home. Can't wait for this lecture."

Orion just chuckled a little and strode forward with Beckett at my heel. The soldiers allowed him past before stepping in front of the door to block the others, until Lailani stepped forward clicking her tongue in her usual motherly fashion.

"Now boys, don't pretend you don't recognize me," she scolded, and the soldiers practically threw themselves to the side, gaping at her in awe as she smiled and stepped through the doorway with a hum, "Thank you. You can let my people pass as well, they're family."

Lailani took the lead after that, and Orion followed her down the halls towards the infirmary, looking a little stunned, "You definitely know your way around..."

"Of course I do," Lailani scoffed a little, reaching out for the door and pulling it open, holding it for Orion.

Arthur as usual was in the room, looking through a file, and Gale was sifting through bandages, likely organizing them, but both of them looked up when the door opened and Arthur's eyes widened when they landed on me.

"Dakota! Where the hell have you been?! What happened?!" he froze up when his eyes shifted from me to Lailani, gasping a little and dropping his file, "Mrs. Inou! You're back! Oh, my gods," he covered his mouth with both hands, and Orion paused.

"Inou? Isn't that-?"

I reached up and yanked on his ear to shut him up, "Bullet! In the fucking shoulder! Do you mind?!"

"Oh gosh, come here, put him on the bed," Arthur spun around and pulled a curtain back, and Orion stepped closer before lying me carefully on the mattress while Arthur snapped his fingers at Gale, who shuffled over carrying an oxygen tank and a mask.

"I don't need that," I tried to argue, and Arthur glared at me.

"Bullet in the shoulder, and Orion didn't remove it, so it's a lot deeper than expected. You need it," I sighed with a roll of my eyes and he placed the mask over my face before looking at Orion, "Wash your hands and come help. Stand on his right side, keep him calm and keep the mask on his face. Gale, fluids, IV."

"Can I help somehow?" Lailani asked from the foot of the bed, hands folded and Arthur shook his head, smiling weakly.

"Just don't freak out too much when he comes bursting in here like a bat outta hell," he said, and Lailani arched an eyebrow as Arthur took the IV bag from Gale and hung it above me, "He's become pretty protective of Dakota since showing up."

I pulled the mask from my face, "He's not protective of me," I argued, just as Orion returned to my right side and brushed my hand aside before putting the mask back in place.

"No? He killed Rhett for you," Arthur reminded with a half-smile, and Lailani made a strange noise.

"What?"

"You'll see," Arthur chuckled, cutting the bandages off of my chest and peeling them away from my shoulder, letting Gale take them and toss them into the trash before cursing, "Damn it, still bleeding. Orion?"

"No exit wound, and considering the angle that it hit, I think it's stuck in his breast somewhere, or it was stopped by bone, which is just as bad. No major arteries hit, thankfully, but the bleeding has only slowed since it happened yesterday. It hasn't entirely stopped."

"I'm okay," I argued, as was my personality, my voice muffled in the mask that Orion was holding over my face.

"Yes, you're peachy," Arthur rolled his eyes, pulling on gloves and looking over his shoulder at Gale, "Grab a few tools, scalpel, syringe, topical anesthetic, gauze, towels, clamp, pincers, tweezers. Just grab everything."

Gale nodded and spun on his heel, bumping into Josie and staggering back looking confused before walking around him. Josie looked a little apologetic, and I laughed, which sent dizziness sweeping through me.

"He does that a lot," Arthur said with a smile, and Josie slowly lowered his arms.

"Right. Hopefully he doesn't bump into me carrying a needle. I hate needles."

"Why are there so many people in here?" I mumbled, looking around the room.

There weren't actually that many, just Orion, Beckett, Josie, Lailani, Arthur, and Gale, and three of those were medical surgeons or nurses who could actually help me, but I was dizzy and seeing double as my eyes shifted away from the door so I was staring at the light hanging above me.

"Gale, grab the N.O. gas too," Orion called, and Gale hummed a little before walking back over to Arthur pushing a tray of equipment, then spinning around to get what Orion wanted.

I have absolutely no idea what N.O. gas was, but I kind of just automatically assumed it would make everything better. Orion pulled the oxygen mask away from me before taking a different mask from Gale and putting that over my mouth instead while Gale twisted the little knob on top of the tank he was hugging.

"Take slow, deep breaths," Orion ordered, holding the mask over my mouth and nose while stroking my hair back with his other hand, "It'll relax you."

I nodded and did as he instructed while Arthur cleaned the blood from my shoulder before wiping topical anesthetic beside the entry wound and picking up a syringe and a vial, "This will numb your entire shoulder, but I can't guarantee for how long, so I need to work quick. I'd put you under, but we're low on anesthesia and we need to make a run to the market to get more from the storeroom. I'm sorry."

"S'okay," I mumbled, my eyes drooping.

The gas filling my lungs smelt sweet almost, it made it easier to breathe, but I also felt ridiculously loopy and giggly almost. I didn't laugh, I felt tired, at least it relaxed me enough that I didn't react when I felt the pinch of the needle pierce my shoulder. I was just lucky Arthur had the needle out of my arm by the time the door was slammed open and a very angry looking assassin stormed into the room. With my sister right behind him.

"Where is he? What the hell happened?!"

Arthur just pointed over at Lailani without looking, and Demi froze in his steps as his eyes clashed with hers, growing wide and his face paling considerably as she lifted her hands to her mouth, her brown eyes growing glassy and tears quickly slipping down her cheeks as Demi took a half-step backwards.

He looked sick, terrified, but Lailani looked like someone had just presented her with a gift, "Demi?" she whispered in disbelief, and Demi's lips parted on a choke.

"Mom..."

Lailani lunged forward and wrapped her arms around Demi's shoulders, sobbing, "Aking anak na lalaki!"

It was kind of sweet, Demi was a few full inches taller than his mother, and she clung to him while holding the back of his head, fingers tangled through his oddly colored hair as she cried. Tears inevitably started to flow from Demi's eyes as well, and he lifted his trembling arms before winding them around Lailani and burying his face against her shoulder, shaking.

"Nanay...," he whimpered the word, quite possibly forgetting the reason he came into the room, but that's what I'd been hoping for.

Now he wouldn't yell at me, or Orion and Beckett. Kailas was in the doorway as Maggie rushed over to my right side where Gale and Orion were, leaning against the bed to see me better.

"What the hell happened?!"

"Mags, I understand you're really worried, but back the fuck up," Orion snapped, and she gaped at him in disbelief as he continued, "Let Arthur work. In fact, just, can everyone get out while he's working?"

"Come on," Josie urged, and Maggie turned to gape at him.

"Where the hell-?!"

"Long story, come on," he took her arm and pulled her towards the door, looking over at Beckett, "Let's go."

Beckett just shrugged, "I'm staying."

"He can stay," Orion agreed, and I mumbled something that sounded like an agreement, but it was kind of slurred in my own ears, so I could only imagine what everyone else heard.

"W-wait, I have to," Demi pulled away from his mother and wiped at his eyes, stepping towards the bed, but Kailas stepped into the room and wrapped an arm around him, pulling him back.

"Give Arthur time to work, I think we have more things to do now, don't you?"

"It's good to see you again, Kailas," Lailani greeted, and Kailas smiled softly back at her, nodding, and leading Demi towards the door.

"We can talk in the conference room. Arthur, come tell us when you're done."

"I will, now please leave," Arthur ordered, and after a few moments of feet shuffling, the door was shut, and Arthur sighed as he turned back to what he was doing.

I tried to roll my head to look, but Orion quickly set a hand on my face and turned my head to face the right instead, smiling at me, "He's just getting the bullet out, I want you to stay as still as possible until we say it's okay to move, alright?"

I was going to nod before I reminded myself he just said not to move, so I mumbled instead, "Kay. No move. Won't move."

Orion chuckled a little, "Good boy."

"Orion, I need another set of hands here," Arthur called, and I felt suddenly panicked when he pulled his hands from my hair and away from the mask before turning to look back at Beckett.

"Take my place, keep him calm."

Beckett nodded and replaced Orion's hand with his own so Orion could hurry around the bed to help Arthur. I definitely felt much calmer knowing at least one of them was still right beside me, with Beckett's hand stroking through my hair and holding the mask over my mouth and nose, smiling at me as Arthur and Orion worked.

"Tired...," I mumbled, and Arthur hummed from my left side.

"You can go ahead and sleep, Dakota. Gale, prepare a blood transfusion, just one should be fine, he hasn't lost too much blood. Luckily the bullet has stopped most of it, and like Orion said, there are no severed arteries."

Gale set the tank down and moved off to grab what Arthur asked for while Beckett continued to card his fingers through my hair, "You doing okay?" he asked me, and I hummed sleepily, a loopy smile pulling my lips up.

"We're back," I said, "Safe now. We're all safe now. Right?"

"Yea," he agreed, smiling back, "We're all safe now. You can sleep, Dakota. When you wake up I think we have a lot to discuss. Joseph and Isagani must have found out a lot while undercover with those people, and we'll have to brief Kailas and the others on what happened when we're ready."

"Mhm," I agreed, eyes shifting lazily to the side, though I couldn't see Arthur with my head turned the way it was, "Let Arthur look you over next," I said, lifting a hand and touching the horrid gash across his lips, "It probably hurts."

Beckett pressed his lips into a tight line, but he nodded,