I reached out to steady him when he wavered on his feet. Despite my help, he started to list. I slid off the table and wrapped his arm over my shoulder. I clutched my other arm around his waist as he continued to slide downward. He looked lean, but he was surprisingly heavy. I needed to get him on the table, but I wasn’t strong enough to do it alone. “Torran!” I yelled.

“I’m okay,” Havil whispered. “Just overdid it. Give me a minute.”

The door opened and Torran took in the scene with a glance. Havil’s weight disappeared from my shoulders. “Move back,” he said. “I have him.”

It felt wrong to let go of someone who could barely stand, but I carefully slid out from under Havil’s arm. I held out my hands, ready to catch him if he toppled, but he didn’t fall.

“I’m fine,” Havil insisted again. “Let me go.”

“I don’t think that’s such a great idea, doc,” I said. “Why don’t you sit on the table for a bit until you recover.”

I didn’t know how much Torran was assisting, but Havil slowly climbed onto the edge of the exam table. I handed him an electrolyte drink from the tiny cold storage unit built into the wall. I wasn’t sure the drink would help, but based on the sweat, it wouldn’t hurt.

With Havil stabilized, Torran’s gaze flickered over me before snagging on my legs. My bare legs. Or maybe it was my scars that interested him. My knee was the worst, but other scars marred my skin, mapping the horrors of war across the canvas of my body.

I might not mind nudity, but I felt strangely vulnerable with my scars on display under the bright lights of the medbay. I pulled on my pants with shaky hands.

I met Torran’s inscrutable gaze, relieved that I saw neither triumph nor pity in his eyes. “If you will look after him,” I said with a head tilt at Havil, “I will go check on the others.”

He nodded, so I pulled on my boots, lacing them only enough to allow me to escape without them falling off my feet. I just needed a minute to collect myself, to once again lock away thoughts of war and death.

It was only after I’d left the medbay that I realized that my knee didn’t hurt at all, not even a tiny twinge. And my head felt better, too.

I was completely pain free for the first time in five years.

Chapter Nine

I checked on the crew confined to quarters, let Anja know that it was safe to come up from mechanical if she wanted to, and put the lasagna in to cook. By the time I made it back to the bridge, we were nearly to the first wormhole.