Deborah was a little nervous flying the shuttle through the heavy planetary traffic, so I used a calming technique and touched her hand to share it. She took a deep breath and let my energy flow through her and she smiled at me. She didn't have any more trouble and brought us in for a landing on the designated landing pad used by the hospital. We also had clearance to land there and it was next to the emergency pad, so the shuttle wasn't in the way.

I shut everything down and handed her a trench coat. “If I'm not going to walk around in this thing without being covered, I can't expect you to.” I took out my own trench coat and she chuckled.

“You weren't shy like that before.” Deborah said as she put on the coat and tied the belt.

“It's one thing to carry on in front of you, because you were having fun with it. Walking around and possibly having a hundred people ogle me?” I slipped on my own coat and tied it. “I don't think so.”

Deborah raised her eyebrows at me and I gave her an award winning smile.

“Yes, I made sure you enjoyed the show.” I said and picked up our bags and used Presence to open the side hatch and dropped the ramp. “After you.”

Deborah chuckled and went out ahead of me and I closed the shuttle with Presence and gave it a thin layer to protect it, just in case. A medical assistant was waiting just outside the door of the main building for us and waved us over. She wore a basic uniform and had her hair tied into a tight ponytail.

“Hi, there!” The young woman said. “I won the draw to greet you!”

I held in my chuckle at how happy she was over such a simple thing. “I think I'm the one that won.”

The young woman's heart leapt at my words and she barely restrained herself from hopping up and down. “Right this way! Follow me, please!” She said excitedly and turned around and walked right into the door. She bounced off and I used two Presence Hands to hold the suitcases and I caught her before she fell to the ground. She had a pained and shocked expression on her face as she laid in my arms.

“Are you okay?” Deborah asked her and she was too stunned and embarrassed to respond.

I shifted one of my hands around and used Presence to keep her steady and made my finger glow with Presence. “You hit your cute little nose pretty hard.” I said and touched it as I used Presence Heal on her. Her whole body shivered as my energy made her face tingle and I healed the bruise before it started. Both her eyes would have been black by the morning and that wasn't going to be a good thing for anyone.

“Wh-wh-what d-did y-you d-do?” The young woman asked as she poked her cheeks with her fingers.

“I made sure you weren't going to have a big bruise later.” I said and stood her up on her feet. “Let me get the door for you.”

“Th-thank y-you.” She said and I used a Presence Hand to open it, then I grabbed onto the two bags and absorbed the hands holding them. She looked at my hands and then at my face, then she looked at the door and back at my face.

“After you.” I said and motioned to the door.

She gave me one last look and then led us inside. As we walked down several hallways, both men and women poked their heads out of their rooms and around corners to stare at us. We eventually arrived at a guest room and she opened the door.

“H-here we are.” The young woman said. “Th-the doctors start their rounds at eight in the morning, so if you could be ready by then, the staff... I... I mean... the kids would really appreciate it.” She said and blushed.

“Of course. That's plenty of time for us to be ready.” I said and floated the bags into the room and put them on the bed. “Thank you.”

She stared at the bags for a moment and then looked back at me.

“Is there anything else you need to tell us before we turn in for the night?” I asked.

“N-n-no.” She said. “I... I just...”

“Would you like a hug?” I asked and her face turned bright red. “You can't tell anyone I did this.” I whispered and slipped my arms around her. “I don't give these out to just anyone you know.”

She closed her eyes as she put her arms around me and hugged me tightly. I held her like that for about thirty seconds, then I opened my arms.

“H-Hunter.” The young woman said and let me go as well.

“It's our little secret.” I said and played with her ponytail for a couple of seconds. She started to breathe a little faster. “Goodnight.”

“G-g-good n-n-night.” She said and started to walk away, then turned back to look at me. I gave her a little wave and she waved back, then she turned and walked really fast. She was lucky there wasn't anyone else in the hallway, because she wasn't watching where she was going until she came to the corner and stopped. She turned back to look and I gave her an exaggerated wave. She let out a short laugh, blushed, then ran around the corner and out of sight.

“I thought your skill in manipulating cargo in space was amazing.” Deborah said as she pulled me into the room and shut the door. “That poor naive girl!”

I chuckled and took off my trench coat and tossed it on the chair beside the small console. “I thought just walking us to our room wasn't going to be very fulfilling for her, not after going through all the trouble of winning the draw to meet us first.”

“Do you really think she's not going to tell anyone what just happened?” Deborah asked with a laugh and took off her own trench coat and tossed it onto mine.

“Not a chance.” I laughed and walked over to the window and looked into the small park in the hospital courtyard. “I just wanted to make it a bit more special for her.”

“Oh, I can guarantee that.” Deborah said and opened her suitcase. “I'm not a medical professional and even I could see that her blood pressure was through the roof.”

“I kept it as professional as I could under the circumstances.” I said.

“Did you, now?” Deborah asked and picked out a couple pieces of cloth to wear to bed.

I turned away from the window and closed the shutters as I smiled. “I could have taken my coat off before I offered to hug her.”

“Oh, goddess! Ha ha!” Deborah laughed and closed her suitcase. “That could have killed her!” She said and gripped the neck hole of her flight suit and pulled.

I was a bit surprised at this development as she pulled the thing down and revealed her ample chest.

“Imagine causing a medical emergency right after arriving.” Deborah shook her head of short brown hair and kept laughing as she pulled the flight suit off and left herself completely naked. She had a tuft of brown hair between her legs and it didn't cover her, so I saw almost everything. She shook out the flight suit and hung it up by the feet on the back of the bathroom door.

“Don't forget to hang it up to let it air out.” Deborah said and went into the bathroom.

I stood there with wide eyes as she took a shower, right in front of me, then she stepped out and quickly dried off. She came out of the bathroom and picked up one of the small pieces of cloth and stepped into a pair of loose shorts, then she picked up the other piece and it was like a half t-shirt. She put it on and sighed contentedly.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“You don't realize how tight the flight suit is until you take it off and wear normal clothes again.” Deborah said and then noticed I was still standing there and hadn't moved. “You better get that thing off. Temperature control or not, it's going to stink after you worked in it all day.”

“Ah... right.” I said and opened my suitcase and took out a pair of underwear.

Deborah ignored me as she moved her suitcase to the floor and waved at my suitcase. I closed it and moved it out of the way, then she pulled the blanket down and climbed into the bed onto what she considered her side. I thought that was a little odd, then caught her thoughts about it always being her side and she couldn't sleep if she wasn't on that side.

I turned around and pulled my own flight suit off and hung it up by the feet next to hers and saw that mine was about seven inches longer. There was no chance that we were going to mix them up, especially with the slightly different shapes. Apparently, after you wore them once, they tended to stay close to that new shape and no longer looked like a deflated balloon. It was more proof that custom suits were intended for one person only and that was why they were so expensive.

I walked into the bathroom and took a shower, just like Deborah did and didn't bother shutting the door. I came out and dried off, then put on my underwear. I walked out of the bathroom and around the bed and climbed in, then settled down to sleep.

“I can't believe I just did that.” Deborah said in a soft voice and I felt her embarrassment.

“You did it automatically.” I said and she rolled over to face me. “You weren't self-conscious about it and acted like it was the most natural thing in the world.” I turned my head to look at her. “You must have undressed hundreds of times with someone else in the room.”

Deborah nodded. “I... I was...”

“You don't have to explain.” I said.

“Hunter, I just... you're my boss and...” Deborah sighed. “...I just broke up with a man I've been with for two years.” She said. “I... I don't... I don't know what to do with myself now.”

I could hear her thoughts and she really did seem lost. “I was in a relationship for a really long time... longer than any other relationship I had ever had. When she died, I was... adrift.” I said, my voice just barely above a whisper. “I met a great woman briefly and slept with her once, then we had to part ways because I had to get back to the ship.”

“Where Luxea was.” Deborah said and inched closer to me.

I nodded. “I fell right into a relationship with her, or at least I thought it was a relationship. It turns out I had certain expectations, thanks to my previous long relationship, and so did she... and they were not the same.” I sighed. “It never crossed my mind to talk to her about being exclusive and not sleeping with other people, because I didn't have to do that in my other relationship.”

“Because you both already understood it was a given.” Deborah said.

“Yes, that's exactly right.” I said. “In my head, I was in a committed relationship with her... except, I never actually told her that's what I thought. I just assumed...”

“Quite wrongly, apparently.” Deborah said with a smile and inched closer, and I chuckled.

“I was so wrong.” I said and rubbed my face with a hand. “Now, everything's a mess and Simone got caught up in it, because I tried to be an ass about it to make Luxea not feel guilty about what happened.”

“Which means she aligned with the woman by default and now you're on both of their bad sides.” Deborah said and she was right beside me now. “So, you exiled yourself to a new ship to let them both try to come to terms with it.”

“Yes, and I know that was a mistake, so you don't have to tell me.” I said and it was her turn to laugh.

“I think during the next day off, you should join the ships again and at least talk to them in person.”

“That would be a good idea... if our days off coincided.” I said.

“Wow... you just... that's really stupid.” Deborah said and I laughed.

“Now you're starting to understand the depths of how much I screwed up.” I said.

“Are you okay if I use you for comfort like this?” Deborah asked as she tried to slide in to rest against me and met a solid wall of Presence. Her hand and one of her breasts pressed against the invisible wall and she had a look of surprise on her face.

“You worked pretty hard to get closer without looking like you were trying to get closer.” I said and her face flushed red. “You know there can't be anything between us.”

“Yes, sleeping with the man that assigns your pay check is not the smartest thing for a freshly free woman to do.” Deborah said and moved back slightly. “I just... this last week was...”

“You miss having someone else in the bed.” I said.

Deborah nodded. “Not for sex.” She clarified. “I just... being alone is... I like having someone to hold me.”

“Yeah, me too.” I said and she closed her eyes and let out a long and drawn out sigh. “I can't comfort you like that, though.”

“Hunter, I promise nothing will happen.” Deborah said.

“It doesn't matter.” I said, even though she really didn't want anything except for me to hold her. “I can't cross that line with you.”

Deborah sighed again. “I understand.”

“I don't think you do.” I said and she looked into my eyes. “Luxea and I spent quite a lot of nights in bed together, just cuddling, before we got together.”

Deborah blinked her eyes at me for several moments, then she nodded.

“Goodnight.” I said.

“Goodnight.” Deborah said and stayed on her side as she closed her eyes. It didn't take her long to fall asleep like that. When her breathing evened out and was deep asleep, I entered a half meditative state to stay alert and went to sleep myself.

*

The next morning, the entire hospital acted like it was a hornet's nest that had been poked with a stick.

“Wh-what? He's here! No! No, he can't be!” A little girl almost squealed. “My hero! He's coming to save me!”

“Hailey, we talked about this.” The young medical assistant who had met Hunter the night before said.

“He'll help me! I just know it!” Hailey said.

The young woman sighed. “Hailey...”

“Here he comes!” Someone shouted from down the hallway and a few people yelled happily and a few trembled as the door to the ward opened...

...and it was only the senior medical technician. A loud groan came from everyone that had gathered.

“Well, it's not hard to tell where I stand.” The middle aged man said with a smile and shut the door.

“It's all right, kids.” One of the other female technicians said. “I'm sure he'll be here shortly.”

“If you all hadn't groaned at my entrance, I could have told you that.” The man said and opened the door dramatically.

“IEEEEE!” Several of the little girls screamed excitedly, as did one of the women.

Hunter stepped into the room wearing his powered armor and his blast shield.

“You were right.” The senior medical technician whispered. “That was a better entrance.”

Hunter chuckled and stepped into the room with a woman none of them had seen before. She was summarily ignored for the most part, though. Everyone only had time for Hunter.

“Over here!” “Visit me first!” “I love you!”

Hunter held in his laughter at all of the happy children, and a few of the women, and their exultant thoughts swirled around his brain. “Everyone, please calm down.” He said and they felt a wave of energy come off of him. “I'll stop at each and every bed to visit with you; but, I have to visit one particularly beautiful girl first.”

“Okay!” “We'll wait!” “Hurry up!” “I want a hug!”

Hunter turned his head slightly towards a woman and the medical technician blushed.

“After the children, of course.” She whispered and he beamed a smile at her. “Oh, my.”

Hunter walked down the aisle between the beds and stopped at the foot of Hailey's bed. “I heard that you asked for me specifically.” He said and took off his blast shield. “Once I got the message, I had to come and see you.”

“H-Hunter.” Hailey whispered and tears came to her eyes. “Can... can you... can you help me?” She asked, her words interspersed with light sobbing. “P-p-please... s-save me.”

Hunter walked over to the side of her bed. “Thanks to the generosity of the senior medical technician, he let me look over your records.” He said, then his hand reached out and rubbed the top of her head and slid it down the back to feel the fuzz that was just like his own. “Do you know why you're sick?”

Hailey nodded and he wiped at her tears. She was rail thin and had barely any meat on her bones. According to her records, she was twelve years old. Unfortunately, because of the state she was in, she didn't look any older than seven or eight.

“I couldn't even pronounce it, so I accepted his professional opinion about the actual name.” Hunter said and she nodded again.

“Can... can you...”

“Hailey, I... I'm sorry.” Hunter said and more tears came from her eyes. “I can't promise you something like that.”

“But... but, you're my hero! My Hero!” Hailey exclaimed. “You're supposed to save me!”

Hunter opened his mouth to say something and she gripped his hand. She pulled it down from her head and put it over her heart.

“P-please! Please, Hunter!” Hailey pleaded. “I love you! I know you can do it! I know you can!”

Silence fell and all the other kids and the medical technicians had sad faces as they stared at Hunter and Hailey. It was a completely unreasonable request from a frightened and sick little girl and their hearts were almost torn asunder by the heartbreak.

Hunter only let one tear escape as he looked around at all of the sad faces and he could hear their thoughts. They all knew that she didn't have much time left and the scene was hurting them even more than it was hurting him. He knew that if he did this, she would be subjected to untold medical examinations and probably experiments; but, he also couldn't deny that her plea touched him in the same way that Afyne's situation had. Even after all this time, he still remembered how they had met and her sad story, then taking her with him on all of his adventures.

Hunter turned and looked at the senior medical technician, then turned back to Hailey. “Are you willing to suffer through a ton more medical examinations?”

“I'll do anything for you.” Hailey said, her voice a little stronger than normal. “I love you.”

Hunter felt her pure and innocent thoughts and the Presence didn't waver. Her declaration was true and she really did love him. He knew that she didn't really understand what that meant; and yet, her love touched his heart, just like Afyne's had. He formed a solid blue Presence barrier around the bed and Hailey stared at it.

“It might not work.” Hunter said and started to take several wooden placards out of his bag of holding. “Let me see what I can do.”