Stolen Virtue

By: Sinead

 

Part Two: Making Connections

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            Nurannoniel sat up straight in bed sometime during the night. She hugged the blankets close to her chest, looking around the room. All the other girls were asleep. Wrapping the blanket around her shoulders, she crept from the room, to walked down to the command center. One bot was there, watching the monitors. He turned, and smiled kindly at the midnight wanderer. “Nurannoniel. Is something wrong?”

 

            She shrugged, then walked closer. “Dunno. I just woke up suddenly.”

 

            Optimus’ smile stayed upon his face, but changed slightly. “I’ve had too many times that I’ve woken up like that. Did you want to talk?”

 

            “Yeah, I’d like that.”

 

            She sat upon a seat that he pulled up for her, and asked, “How’s Dinobot?”

 

            Optimus pointed to a small screen in the lower-right corner of one screen. Nurannoniel blinked at it, then sighed. “He really took all the hits, didn’t he.”

 

            “More than he’ll say. I couldn’t get anything out of him upon what happened to him, other than the obvious fact that he had been cut. He just wouldn’t talk.”

 

            “Sinead has a guess, I think.”

 

            “That much was indicated, but she passed out before I could ask her.”

 

            Both went silent, but Nurannoniel broke it again, by asking, “Is Sinead all right?”

 

            Optimus panned the camera’s view to the left, to catch the sleeping author. She was on her stomach, breathing deeply. Her arms had come up under the pillow somehow, so that it was propped up a bit higher. Her back was a swath of white bandages.

 

            Optimus looked at the girl next to him. “Nurannoniel . . .”

 

            “Nurann, please. I can tell that you’re tripping over my name.”

 

            The leader smiled. “Nurann, then. What’s caused you to all have this look of sadness around your faces? I see it when you think people aren’t looking. Rhinox noticed this as well.”

 

            For a long moment, the author said nothing. Finally, however, she said, “We all have different pasts, different tragedies that happen to us along life’s path. We’ve had ore rough patches on that road than I think a lot of other people will ever have to go through in a lifetime.”

 

            Optimus nodded, and rested his hand upon her shoulder. “I understand.”

 

 

 

            It was morning. Rattrap was walking past the doors that belonged to the humans, only to stop suddenly. Small arms were latched around his chest, and someone rested their face against his back. He looked over his shoulder, then smiled. “Sapphire.”

 

            No response. He twisted carefully, and then started to guide her back to her room. She shook her head, then yawned. “What?”

 

            “You’re asleep.”

 

            “Nah . . . just tired. Waking up.”

 

            “Really.”

 

            “And I wanted to give you a cuddle. You looked like you needed it.”

 

            The Maximal looked down at the floor, not wanting to make eye-contact with the girl. It hurt to look into her eyes. She understood him better than he had first thought. “Dinobot’s gonna take a turn f’r th’ worse if we don’t head it off.”

 

            Sapphire frowned, reaching for Rattrap’s face. His optics caught her eyes, and held. She smiled as reassuringly as she could, then whispered, “What happened?”

 

            “His Spark’s pulse-rate staggered twice last night. It’ll get worse today.”           

 

            “How do you know?”

 

            “I’ve seen it before. Rhinox was a medic in war zones. I was a spy, an’ young, so I ended up getting caught half o’ th’ time an’ shot. I know how things like Spark-deterioration happen.” He sighed. “And unless we help ’im, it’ll happen to Dino-butt.”

 

            “How do we fix this?” Starath asked, opening the girls’ door behind Sapphire.

 

            Rattrap let his eyes fall. “I don’t think dat he wants it fixed.”

 

 

 

            Dinobot stared at the ceiling, and yet, he was looking past it. Rhinox’s voice pulled him back into the here and now. “Dinobot, you know what has to be done.”

 

            The sword’s-bot shook his head, and looked away again. Rustling to his right sounded, soon followed by a yawn. “Crud, what happened?”

 

            “You passed out,” Rhinox replied. “Almost lost your shirt in the process. It’s drying right now. We had to soak it so that the bloodstains would come out. They did.”

 

            Sinead glared at the Maximal. “Whoo-hoo. Bloodstains. I could honestly care less about them right now. Could I at least have a sheet to cover what else of me should be covered?”

 

            “Ah. Right. Sorry.”

 

            Sinead shook her head and rested it back upon her arms. “I’m snappish, and I’m the one who should be sorry. If I say anything to offend you, please let me know.”

 

            Rhinox chuckled, spreading a blanket over the girl. “You’ve lost blood and pushed yourself beyond what you knew that you were able to do. You’re doing fine.”

 

            “It was a stupid mistake, but thank you.”

 

            Dinobot listened to the interaction, then said, “I’ve known worse mistakes to be made.”

 

            Sinead pulled the blanket tight around her as she sat up. “You’re awake.”

 

            The technician smiled. “I’ll go tell Optimus that you’re both up. And if your shirt is dry, Sinead, I’ll bring it back to you.”

 

            “What about . . . uh . . . anything else?”

 

            “That should be dry by now. Dare I ask its purpose?”

 

            “No.”

 

            “Didn’t think so. Be back soon.”

 

            The door slid shut. Silence. Sinead stood and walked over to stand by the side of Dinobot’s bed. “Are you okay?”

 

            Dinobot’s optics rolled upwards. His gaze was enough. She started to reach out, but pulled her hand back, glancing away, remembering that Dinobot didn’t want to be touched. A small noise caused her to look back at the bot. And she reached out again, to rest only the tips of her fingers along his cheek. “Can you tell me what happened?”

 

            “I . . . I don’t think I can.”

 

            “Too painful?”

 

            “Yeah.”

 

            She paused, then moved her fingers so that they were hovering just above a nasty gash upon his shoulder. “Why haven’t you let Rhinox see to you?”

 

            “I don’t want to be touched.”

 

            “Yet you let me touch your face.”

 

            “You’re human. Not Cybertronian.”

 

            Sinead blinked, then rested the full length of her hand upon his face. “I’m human, but I’m also a warrior, like you. Why won’t you let them touch you?”

 

            Dinobot cast his optics away from her eyes. “I don’t want to be hurt by them, even if it’s unintentional.”

 

            “What about Rattrap?”

 

            “He’s . . . he’d never hurt me.”

 

            “You need to be seen to, Dinobot. You have to let Rhinox help you.”

 

            Dinobot sat up, disregarding the blankets falling to his thighs and the pain in his torso from the wounds. “I will not let him, any of them, touch me! I do not have a choice, Sinead! I just don’t . . . I just don’t want to feel Cybertronian hands upon me ever again.”

 

            Sinead locked her eyes upon his optics. “Your blankets aren’t exactly lending you modesty. And . . . uh . . . yeah. Mind pulling them up again?”

 

            Dinobot clutched at the blankets, doing as she asked, then looked down first. “My apologies. I didn’t remember that most humans are more modest than Cybertronians.”

 

            Laughing, the author shook her head. “I’m even more modest than most humans I know.”

 

            Dinobot watched her, then winced, and sighed. The door opened, and Rhinox walked in. “Here, Sinead.”

 

            She took the two items and sat on her bed, facing away from the Maximals, draping the blanket a little more loosely over her shoulders. She managed to get the shirt over her head without showing skin, but left the undergarment off since it would rub against her wounds. She stopped, then asked, “Did you need to change the dressings?”

 

            “Already did, earlier.”

 

            “What time is it?”

 

            Rhinox blinked. “Almost two-PM in your way of telling time.”

 

            She pulled the shirt on completely, and turned to look at Rhinox. “When did I pass out?”

 

            “Five-PM yesterday.”

 

            “Wow.”

 

            “You needed the sleep.” He turned to look at the still-sitting-up Dinobot. “Now, you. What in the Matrix are you thinking?!”

 

            Dinobot looked away, and muttered something. Rhinox’s shoulders fell, and he looked to Sinead. She shrugged, and the large Maximal growled out, “Fine, Dinobot. Fine. Sinead, stay here with him. I’ll tell your friends that you’re up.”

 

            “I’ll meet them in the command center. But could you send Rattrap here? I have to ask him something.”

 

            Rhinox nodded once, and left the room. The human sat on the edge of her bed. “You’re really being cooperative, you know.”

 

            Dinobot looked up at her, optics haunted. “You don’t understand.”

 

            “No, Dinobot, I do understand. But you have to get your wounds seen to by either Rhinox or a CR chamber.” She stood, and saw her Japanese swords resting against a wall. She drew the katana and then pulled a rag off of the scabbard to rub at the blade reverently.

 

            “I couldn’t stand seeing them come near me, Sinead. I couldn’t bear to watch them.”

 

            She stopped, and slowly looked at him. “The Predacons made you watch yourself being . . . being tortured?”

 

            Dinobot didn’t look at her as he replied softly. “And while worse was being done.”

 

            With a metallic hiss, the sword was sheathed. Sinead placed it back next to the wakizashi, tying the rag around both scabbards to hold them together. “You should lie back down before Rattrap gets in here. He won’t be happy to see you acting as if you’re not hurt when you obviously are.”

 

            Sighing in resignation, Dinobot again did as he was asked to. Sinead took her blanket off of her bed and with a flick of her wrists, spread it nearly completely evenly over the tortured Maximal. She straightened it around his feet, then walked back up by his shoulders, looking down at him gently.

 

            “Why did you do that?”

 

            “Comfort, if nothing else,” Sinead replied softly.

 

            The door opened, and Rattrap was about to walk in, when Sinead turned and walked towards him. She pushed him back out into the hall, and said near-silently, “Don’t say anything about him getting repaired. I’m working on that with him.”

 

            “So you’re breakin’ though?”

 

            “Nearly. He’s set a hefty wall up between himself and his emotions and his memories. I’m not surprised in the least.”

 

            “Yeah, neither ’m I, kiddo. Dat it?”

 

            “Should be. And be nice?”

 

            Rattrap nodded and walked back into the room. Sinead waved to Dinobot once, before setting off to the command center. Sharpshot was the first to see her, and he vaulted over the tri-dimensional map to hug her shoulders warmly, laughing.

 

            She squeezed his ribcage hard enough to convince him to let go while the others crowded around her. “I’ve been missed?”

 

            “Shut up!” Miss Special said, lightly punching Sinead’s shoulder. “We’ve been agonizing over how bad your back was.”

 

            “Not too bad,” Starath piped up from the back. “I saw it!”

 

            “Yeah, you did,” Rhinox grumbled. “Sinead, I want you to take it easy until I say that you’re well enough.”

 

            “I will!”

 

            “Good.”

 

            The authors hustled her outside. Sapphire handed Sinead the broadsword. “Didn’t open it.”

 

            “Great. Nearly twenty-four hours for mech-fluid to cake on it. Mmm, yummy.”

            “Hey, I had to clean mine yesterday! That had to have been twice as gross!”

 

            Sinead laughed, and held the scabbarded sword in one hand as they sat in the sunlight. “So what’s happened so far?”

 

            “Sapphire and Rattrap have hooked up!” Dannn said, grinning.

 

            The South African was blushing. “Shut up! We have not!”

 

            Nurannoniel raised her hand, blushing as brightly as Sapphire. “Before anyone says it, yes, me and Optimus are close.”

 

            “How close?” Lady Venom asked, looking Nurannoniel over with a shrewd look upon her face.

 

            Nurannoniel stuck her tongue out at Lady Venom. “Close enough.”

 

            “Touchie, touchie.”

 

            Skyfire grinned. “I flew. And consequently fell off of Silverbolt’s back.”

 

            Sinead laughed, as Starath elaborated upon how exactly it had happened. Then Lady Venom told about how she had caught Sapphire and Rattrap having a “close” moment. Sapphire hid her face in her hands, and the attention was shifted off of Sinead. She listened to their talking, suddenly thankful that she had friends like these. They were kind and gentle, but when need arose they were some of the fiercest and most ruthless warriors she had ever come up against. What was better was that they acted like a team, and lived like a team. The only quarrels had been about whose turn it was to hunt, or who had the privileges of taking point or rear-guard while traveling.

 

            It was great to be home.

 

 

 

            Late that night, Optimus pulled Sinead aside. “Get to the sickbay.”

 

            She nodded, and left quietly. Rattrap and Sapphire shared a glance, then followed her, managing not to be seen by Optimus.

 

            Rhinox was with Dinobot, who was wincing, trembling. Sinead closed the door behind her, but it didn’t lock. She walked over to Dinobot’s side, saying nothing. His optics activated, but they were dim. Panting, he reached out to grab her right arm, and pull her close to his face. She rested her left hand upon his bed for balance, placing her right against his cheek. “Tell me.”

 

            “Hurts . . .”

 

            “Where, Dinobot. Tell me where.”

 

            “Everywhere.”

 

            She braced her legs against the side of the bed so that she could hold Dinobot’s head in both of her hands. “Tell me what your optics can’t say.”

 

            He swallowed, and whispered. “Rhinox has to . . .”

 

            Sinead nodded. “The door didn’t close fully. Let me do that, so that you’re not snuck up on. Okay?”

 

            He released her arm, and she walked back to the door. Sapphire moved out of line-of-sight of the crack, pressing herself up against the wall. Sinead shoved the door into place, and heard it click into place. She walked back to sit on the side of Dinobot’s bed, careful not to sit on the sheets. “What do you want me do to?”

 

            His face said it all. She leaned over him and cradled the warrior’s head against her shoulder softly. His hands went up to hold her arms, as Rhinox whispered, “Forgive me if it hurts.”

 

            “By Primus, get it over with,” Dinobot whimpered, his voice muffled by fabric and human.

 

 

 

            Finally, Rhinox pulled the sheets back up around the wounded Maximal. He had to repair a few wounds, none of which were pretty. The rest . . . they would heal, but they would scar without being attended to. He sighed, and looked at the human still holding onto Dinobot. His hands were still clasped around her, but careful of her own wounded back. Sinead looked back at Rhinox. During the time it had taken him to start just the examination, she had pulled her legs up onto the bed. She sighed. “He passed out.”

 

            “Do you want me to help you get out of his hold?”

 

            “No. He needs as much comfort as he’ll accept. Even then, some that he can’t.”

 

            Rhinox nodded, and said, “See if he’ll let you deal with that cut on his shoulder, or anything else. I repaired the worst of the cuts, with the exception of that one. You should be fine.”

 

            Sinead nodded, and the technician left without another word. Once his footsteps were nearly inaudible, she pulled away from Dinobot slightly, and felt the air chill the spots of wet upon her shoulder. She used her sleeve to dry up the rest of his tears from his face before leaning back over him and kissing his forehead. He shivered in his sleep, and Sinead curled up with her back to him, falling asleep easily.

 

 

 

            Rattrap opened the door of the sickbay early the next morning, to see Sinead unconscious. Dinobot was also asleep, right arm curled around Sinead, the left resting lightly upon his chest. Sapphire looked around Rattrap, and smiled sadly. “They really are quite a pair.”

 

            “Well, sure, but . . . man oh man, she’s got a handful, if . . .”

 

            “Yeah, you explained that to me. Do you think that he’ll ask her?”

 

            Rattrap shrugged, then picked up a discarded blanket to spread over both Sinead and Dinobot, even though Sinead was under one already. “Dunno.”

 

            Starath peeked her head in. “Where were you two?”

 

            Rattrap sighed. “Just makin’ sure dat dose two were doin’ okay.”

 

            “For the whole night?”

 

            Sapphire nodded, face completely serious. “Almost. We were taking turns sitting outside the door, making sure that they would sleep the night through.”

 

            Starath’s face fell from its jovial expression. “So then he let Rhinox look at him.”

 

            Sinead’s voice called out sleepily, “Yes, and if I were completely awake, Rattrap and Sapphire, I’d come after you two with a stick. You shoulda gotten sleep.”

 

            “We wake you up?” Rattrap asked.

 

            “Yeah. You put another blanket over me.” She opened her eyes, and yawned. “He’s fine, and slept without dreaming, as far as I can tell.”

 

            Rattrap nodded. “Right. We’ll get out, let you wake up normally.”

 

            “Thanks.”

 

            Starath closed the door after they left, and saw Nurannoniel standing in the hall, with the rest of the authors. “Uhh . . .”

 

            Skyfire shook his head. “How’s Dinobot?”

 

            “Dunno. Better, I’m guessing.”

 

            “Hopefully.”

 

            “And what exactly are you doing outside the sickbay?” Optimus’ voice asked. They all spun to face the leader. He shooed them off, telling them that they’ll be able to talk with Dinobot later, when the ex-Predacon felt like it. He stood and watched them with a smile, as they obediently walked off, listening as they decided to go and hunt. Chuckling, he opened the door to walk in on Sinead leaning over Dinobot’s face, eyes locked upon optics. Both looked at him, surprised. He smiled. “Sinead, your bloodthirsty friends are going hunting for deer.”

 

            She ran out of the bedroom and called after them, “Bring some back for me, you party-poopers!”

 

            Laughter bubbled up from the end of the hallway, as the warrior walked back into the room. “Had to. Sorry.”

 

            Optimus shook his head, still smiling, and sat on her bed. “How are you feeling, Dinobot?”

 

            “Don’t ask,” the bot grumbled, moving his head out from under a shaft of light.

 

            Sinead chuckle quietly, and fixed the thick sheet hanging in front of the window so that the light didn’t land upon the bed. The deep blue color of the sheet gave the room a comforting, dusky feeling. She sat beside Dinobot’s side, facing Optimus. “What did you come here for?”

 

            “Rhinox told me that you’ll probably be helping repair Dinobot, to train in Cybertronian first aid.”

 

            “Will he be in the room?” Dinobot asked quietly.

 

            Optimus’ gaze caught Dinobot’s, and held for a long minute, seeing only what Dinobot let him see. It was only a portion of what he knew Dinobot was really feeling. He sighed. “I don’t know. You take that up with him, Sinead. But there was one other thing, Dinobot, that he told me.”

 

            Dinobot frowned slightly, glossy black hair slipping over one optic. He shook it free, and snorted. “So what the Pit did he say?”

 

            “Your Spark skipped three times last night. You know that it skipped twice the night before.”

 

            Sinead looked from Dinobot’s shocked face, to Optimus’ slightly more calm face. But both were holding worry. “What does that mean?”

 

            “I’ll . . . I’ll tell you later,” Dinobot replied, tearing his optics from his leader’s, and focusing them upon the human. “On my honor.” He snarled, and glared up at the ceiling. “Or on whatever’s left of my honor.”

 

            Optimus winced, stood, and then walked to the door. “I’ll be back in a little while to give Sinead a break.”

 

            Dinobot said nothing as Optimus left the room. Sinead looked at Dinobot, then rested her hand within his. He curled his fingers around hers lightly, but didn’t look at her. “A Spark skipping is like a heart murmur would be to a human. But a skip usually happens only once a day to those who have it. It’s a small deformity of sorts, but one that a Cybertronian can live through their life with.”

 

            “But what does three in one night mean?”

 

            “Considering that my own has never skipped once? It means that Spark deterioration is starting to set in. It’s the result of fairly serious wounds or the stress of torture. Irreversible and fatal.”

 

            “What?” Sinead whispered, eyes starting to water upon their own account.

 

            Dinobot looked at her, and then sighed, and wiped a tear away gently. “Fatal, unless I find someone who would help me.”

 

            “Tell me what to do.”

 

            “Sinead, the process itself is irreversible. You don’t know what you are saying.”

 

            “I don’t care! You have to live.” She rubbed at her eyes with the back of her free hand. “We didn’t save you just to do our good deed for the day. We saved you because we wanted you to live.”

 

            Dinobot sighed, and looked away. “I don’t deserve to.”

 

            “Don’t say that. Everything deserves to live.”

 

            He still didn’t look at her, but he whispered, “The process is called bonding.”

 

 

 

            “Bonding?” Sapphire asked Rattrap, as they walked through the woods. Their job was to scare the deer towards the hunters. “Does that mean what I think it does.”

 

            “Yep. It’s like marriage, but in Cybertronians it goes much deeper.” He saw a deer and pointed at it. It ran towards the hunters.

 

            Sapphire nodded, and asked, “How’s it done?”

 

            “Literally, the Spark kinda splits its weakest part off, and gives it t’ deir partner, whose Spark is doin’ da same thing. The Sparks absorb the split piece in place of what it had given away. Symbolic, since a married pair ’re supposed t’ basically make up for what da other person lacks.”

 

            “So Sinead would have to care for Dinobot almost continually.”

 

            “Sapph, can’t you see?” Rattrap whispered. “She basically already is.”

 

            Silence grew between them, but Sapphire asked, “On Cybertron . . . is there any such thing as divorce?”

 

            Rattrap smiled kindly. “Nah. Sure, da couples might get mad at each other, an’ dey might live separately for a month or so, but dey can’t leave each other, an’ dey can’t cheat on each other. Somethin’ inside o’ dem kinda repulses at da thought of spendin’ time with someone other den ’ya spouse. So dey get back together, an’ work deir difference out.” He shrugged. “Doesn’t happen more’n, maybe . . . twice in a marriage. People learn ta stop bein’ so closed-minded.”

 

            Sapphire smiled, and asked, “How do you know all this?”

 

            Rattrap grinned. “Oh. Ah . . . best pal o’ mine got married, an’ since I was involved with a girl at da time, I asked him what happened.”

 

            “Oh.”

 

            Rattrap stopped, and Sapphire turned to look at him. His optics were worried. “But I forgot one thin’.”

 

            “What? What is it?”

 

            “Each o’ da guy an’ da girl hafta let each other see dier true emotions an’ deir true self before dey can bond.”

 

            Sapphire’s shoulders fell with a soft groan. “Oh, great.”

 

            They heard the sound of a crossbow being discharged.

 

 

 

            Sinead blinked. “So that’s it?”

 

            Dinobot looked at her in exasperation. “What the Pit do you mean, ‘that’s it’?! You don’t have a Spark, Sinead. You’re human.”

 

            “I don’t see any other Cybertronian girls that you’d hook up with, other than Blackarachnia. And Airazor’s abducted by aliens.”

 

            “She and Tigatron were bonded!”

 

            Sinead sighed in frustration. “So I didn’t know! You didn’t tell me, and neither did anyone else!”

 

            Dinobot glared at her from under black hair. She pushed it back from his face. “What happened to your helmet? Didn’t you bring it back with you?”

 

            He nodded, and indicated the table on the other side of his bed. “I was getting a headache.” He snorted. “And I’m supposed to be angry at you!”

 

            Sinead smiled and kissed his forehead. “I know.”

 

            Completely caught off-guard by the action, Dinobot fell into silence, just staring at Sinead. Then he cast his gaze to his right, trying not to let her see his pain. The human, however, did.

 

            She turned his head back to see her. “Dinobot, tell me what happened to you.”

 

            “I can’t!”

 

            “No, you won’t. There’s a difference. Now, I have a suspicion about what they did to you. You’ve hinted at it as well, but you have to admit it. You have to say it out loud before you can start to heal again, Dinobot, and I don’t mean just having your body heal. I mean your mind and soul healing.”

 

            The growl deep in Dinobot’s throat became words. “I cannot say it, Sinead.”

 

            She sighed, and continued brushing his hair away from his face softly. He went on. “It hurts too much to say it. So I can’t.”

 

            “Then you’ll die.”

 

            “But I don’t want to!” Dinobot burst out, unable to keep it in. He started shaking with sobs, but couldn’t let them out completely. The Predacons had done to him the worst thing possible that could be done, and had laughed at him as they broke his spirit, his honor.

 

            Sinead moved up on Dinobot’s right side, pulling his head to her, holding him as the wall between his mind and his emotions started to crack. “Please, Dinobot, for your sake.”

 

            His head shook back and forth across her shoulder.

 

            She rested her face against the top of his head, and whispered, “I’m here to listen, Dinobot, but you have to talk to me.”

 

            “Please, don’t make me say it . . .”

 

            “Dinobot, we both know what you have to say.”

 

            “Sinead, no . . .”

 

            “I’ll not ask you to say anything else to me for the rest of the day. Just tell me what happened to you. Just tell me what they did.”

 

            “Oh, Primus, why?” he wept out.

 

            “Dinobot, please.”

 

            “I don’t want to say it, Sinead! I don’t!”

 

            “And I know that.”

 

            He clutched at her, holding her slightly closer. She rested her cheek against the top of his head. “I’ll even leave you be, if you want me to. But you have to say it, Dinobot. You have to.”

 

            His voice was barely even a whisper, so low that Sinead almost missed it. But as she heard his voice, she knew that he was not lying. “Matrix . . . they raped me.”

 

            Sinead held him tighter, and then said, “I’ll go, if you want me to leave.”

 

            His head shook again, and she slid carefully so that she was on her left side, and Dinobot’s face was buried in her shoulder and part of her chest. His crying was silent, but after a half-hour she felt the sobs start to space out. Deep breaths were starting to ease their way in through the body-wracking sobs. Finally, he was breathing normally, sound asleep. There was a knock upon the door. Rhinox stood there as it was opened. Sinead smiled. “He’s completely out.”

 

            “I saw the wounds. I knew what they did.”

 

            “I really should kill them for what they did to his mind,” Sinead hissed, unable to look at Rhinox.

 

            “I know. Matrix, I feel the same way.”

 

            “Have you said anything?”

 

            “I was going to ask him.”

 

            “No, let me. He might think that you don’t know.”

 

            Rhinox shrugged. “You’re really taking your looking after him to great depths. I thought that you’d just give up after the first day.”

 

            “I hate giving up,” Sinead grumbled.

 

            “Yeah, I can see that.” He smiled at the back of her head, then said in a soft tone, “Get your lazy butt off of the bed. I have to change those bandages.”

 

            Sinead smiled, chuckling. “Yeah, fine. You have to have everything your way, don’t you.”

 

            “Of course!”