Eric woke up to Michael standing against the wall, arms crossed.

"What do you want?" Eric said as he sat up, grunting with the effort.

Michael sighed. "You’re going back to Austin to get real medical treatment. The medics told me that you will likely be recovering for at least a few weeks."

Eric’s fingers scratched through the back of his hair. "Yeah. Apparently, getting hit by the shrapnel of a tank round will do that to you."

Michael rolled his eyes. "Eric, you almost died."

"I know. Trust me. But, at the time, there was no other choice. What was I supposed to do, sit there and let us all die?"

Michael rubbed his forehead. "No, you moron. You should have gotten treatment after you got back."

"No time for that in war, bud."

Michael walked over. He leaned over Eric’s cot and smacked him. "This isn’t Iraq, you idiot. You aren’t a foot soldier anymore. You’re basically the second in command of a task force. What we did here worked. You don’t always have to throw yourself into the fucking fire."

Eric closed his eyes. "Okay. I will do my best not to do it anymore."

Michael continued to glower at him. "I guess that is the best I can ask from your stubborn old ass."

"Aren’t we the same age?"

Before Michael could answer, two medics walked into the room. "Captain Stryer, we have come to take Master Sergeant Dryer back to Austin."

Michael nodded and stepped to the side. "Good luck with Mia, Eric. You’re gonna have hell to pay." Michael walked out of the room while Eric leaned on the two medics. He limped up the steps with them into their waiting vehicle.

"I know, Michael. Trust me. This isn’t the first time I’ve been injured in my marriage with Mia."

Mia hugged Samara after handing Liara to her. "Thank you so much, Samara. I know it is a lot to ask on such short notice."

Samara smiled as Liara cooed, nuzzling against her. "It is no problem at all, sis. I love looking after Liara. She is so cute. The boys help me with her, so she is not too much to handle."

Mia kissed Liara on the cheek one last time before turning to walk back to her car.

"Give Eric the dressing down of his life for me!" Samara called out as Mia walked away.

"Oh, I will. Trust me." Mia said as she clutched her keys to her chest.

She got in the driver’s seat and took a deep breath. "He isn’t going to weasel his way out of it this time." She growled.

Eric woke up in a brightly lit room. He tried to move up in bed, but felt something tug on his arms. He looked down. "I didn’t miss this." He grumbled. Tubes were attached to his arms, and the beeping of a monitor interrupted his thoughts. A nurse walked in, checking his vitals.

"Any word on when I can get out of here, ma’am?" He asked, craning his neck to look at the screen.

"Not at this time. The doctors had to do emergency surgery to fix your internal bleeding and pull shrapnel that was still inside of you out. The fact that you were still walking after all of that damage is honestly nothing short of a miracle."

Eric sighed. "Yeah, I’ve been told I’m a tough sumbitch."

A cold voice answered him. "That’s not always a good thing, husband."

The nurse turned around, looking up as Mia walked into the room. Her tail was up, and her ears lay flat against her head as she walked in.

"Hey there, I am Mia Dryer, this buffoons wife." The nurse looked back and forth between Eric and Mia before nodding and stepping out of the room. "I’ll leave you two to privacy." She said quietly before closing the door.

Mia turned to Eric, her smile fading as she walked up.

"So?"

She stood a few feet from the bed, glaring down at him.

"I’m sorry." He said gently, looking up at her. "I panicked after losing a few soldiers, and..."

Mia shook her head. "I’m sorry isn’t going to cut it, Eric." She growled. "Not this time, and not ever again. Back at the gas station against the Brios, I could understand it. During the siege, that makes sense... but now!" Tears began falling.

"Do you want to see Liara grow up? You always joke about being there for Liam and Jessica’s wedding."

She took a breath, her body shaking as she tried to calm herself down. Then she remembered Hammond knocking on the door.

"YOU ALMOST DIDN’T GET THAT CHANCE. YOU NEEDED SURGERY. FUCKING SURGERY."

She approached the bed, her hand shaking as she grabbed his. "Eric. I thought you died. Hammond came to knock on my door after not hearing from you or Jessica. My world shattered. I can’t do this without you. I can’t do this without Jessica either. I love both of you so much, and everything came crashing down when I thought I lost both of you."

He squeezed her hand. "Bu-"

"Zip it. I’m not done."

He sighed, but didn’t respond.

"When we got married, we both knew what war meant. But that doesn’t mean to throw yourself into the fire. No more. From here on out, if you intentionally keep going after being hurt when you have other options, I will leave you. I can’t do it anymore, Eric. I can’t go through that pain every time you are out there, and I can’t be with you."

Eric stroked her hand with his thumb. Her tears were falling onto his arm, and his heart shattered seeing the pain in her eyes. Her words hit him like a brick, and his chest felt heavy.

"I was wrong. I know that now. I have lost too many people throughout my time in the Army, and it blinded me. You, Michael, Jessica, you’re all right. There is a difference between dying in war and charging in. You called me a buffoon earlier, and I think that fits. It hurts me to know that I pushed you to this point."

Mia stiffened as she felt his thumb over her hand. She squeezed his fingers.

"I love you, Eric. When I see you dress Liara, or see how you guide your soldiers, I fall in love with you again and again. I just..."

She began tearing up again. "I can’t deal with hearing you got hurt, knowing it could have been avoided. Promise me you won’t charge in when you don’t have to ever again."

Eric looked up at her and reached up to wipe away her tears. "I will never hide my injuries or keep going after being hurt like this again." He said softly.

Mia leaned down to kiss his head. "Good. Now, get some rest. I’ll bring the girls up here tomorrow. I love you."

Eric watched her leave. "I love you too."

After she left the room, Eric looked up at the ceiling. "My wife is too good for me."

Josh woke up groggily to the feeling of something brushing against his chest. His nose itched, and he opened his eyes. Susan was laying against him, her hair brushing against him. He smiled as he kissed Susan.

"Good morning."

She pressed her body against him, kissing him back. "Mm. Good morning. Have you recovered yet? My father wants to see you when you are able."

Josh nodded. "Thanks to the healers, I am in much better shape. Everything doesn’t hurt anymore."

She ran her fingers along his chest. "You protected me." She whispered.

He wrapped his arms around her, stroking her back slowly. "I will always protect you, Susan. You are the centerpiece of my life." He said softly.

She kissed him again as she wiped away her tears.

"Lets get you up. We need to go see my father."

After getting dressed in the Cartharic uniform, Josh grabbed his cane. Susan helped him walk out the room, offering her shoulder.

"How long did the medics say it would take me to heal fully?" He said as they turned the corner.

She let out a sharp exhale. "They said that your natural regeneration should help you within the next week. Honestly it is amazing you were able to hold up that wall for so long." She said with a grimace. "I thought help wasn’t going to come for a long time."

Josh looked out the window. "That makes two of us."

They approached Mithrael’s office, and Susan knocked on the door. "Father? It is Josh and I."

"You may enter." A deep, grave voice responded. When the couple entered, they saw Mithrael scanning reports. He had a pen in his hand, tracing a few lines of the document he was reading. He put the document to the side and looked up at Josh.

"I apologize for bothering your recovery, hero. I have an urgent matter to discuss. Please sit down."

Josh sat down with the assistance of Susan. He set the cane to his side and looked up. "You are not bothering me, sire. You never could. I am happy to be of assistance. How can I help?"

Mithrael crossed his arms in front of him. "Very well, I will be straightforward. I am thinking of doing nothing more with Dresken, and letting the otherworlders relish in their victory. I say we focus our efforts in fortifying other cities. What do you think?"