Part 9 (1/2)

Pus.h.i.+ng aside the jacket, she tried to sit up straight, but a bolt of pain shot across her right shoulder blade. She tried again slowly, at an angle, bracing her weight with her left arm.

”I dreamed about chicken soup, and I still smell it.” Leith vigorously rubbed her nose. ”Chicken soup would be wonderful, but I haven't seen anything remotely resembling a chicken on this planet.”

”No chickensss.” J'Qhir removed the cooking pot from the fire and poured some of its contents into a cup. ”But there is sssoup.”

”Where did you get soup?” She wrapped her hands around the warm cup and breathed in the heady fragrance of cooked food. Flecks of green and chunks of pale yellow floated in a creamy liquid. She put the cup to her lips, then stopped. ”There's no pahahel in here, is there?”

”P'ha'al. No, Leith. No p'ha'al.” He filled the other cup. ”I boiled sssome of the nutmeatsss until they were sssoft enough to ma.s.ssh. I usssed your a.n.a.lyzing device to ssscan every green plant I could find. There aren't many left. Everything isss dying.”

Leith held her breath and took a sip. She recognized the flavor of the cone nuts, but the rest was unfamiliar. She chewed a piece of boiled root and pretended it was potato. The soup was bland, but it was hot and nouris.h.i.+ng.

”I-I have to go outside a few minutes.”

J'Qhir nodded his understanding. ”It isss night, and it isss raining.”

He explained how tunnels in the back of the cave led to other caves. The tunnel to the far left led to a smaller cave he'd prepared.

”Can you rissse?” He moved to help her, but she waved him away.

”Yes, I'm fine.” If she moved slowly and carefully, she felt only a little discomfort in the muscles of her right shoulder. Using the laserlight on array, she found the small tunnel entrance where J'Qhir indicated it would be. The tunnel was only a few meters in length and opened into a cave much smaller than the one they occupied.

Leith answered the call of nature and hurried back.

In their living quarters, she shone the laserlight around. The cave was like an upside down bowl, the convex walls curving to meet the floor. The floor s.p.a.ce was roughly circular, approximately fifteen meters in diameter and the ceiling about the same at its highest point.

Here the floor was hard-packed dirt, unlike the loose crumbly soil in the latrine cave. A semi-circle of rocks and boulders, off-center and to the left, served as a reflector of heat and light for the fire J'Qhir had built in front of them. J'Qhir had nestled the bed where she had awakened up against some of the boulders. He had doubled the solar film and stuffed it with gra.s.s and leaves, she supposed. Another pallet of gra.s.s and vine lay on the far side.

Separate beds. Propriety, of course, but there was no one else for them to be proper for. They had one blanket. It seemed more practical to share it to conserve body heat. Perhaps J'Qhir thought she would be more comfortable with this arrangement. Or maybe he was.

Leith wished she could remember the past twelve hours more clearly. If she had asked him to sleep with her and he obliged, what was the point of separate beds now? She walked around the boulders, flas.h.i.+ng the light in the shadowy areas to keep J'Qhir from wondering why she stood so long in one place. She didn't want to have to explain her thoughts.

A couple of armloads of damp wood lay scattered out to dry in an area off to the left. At the front of the cave, firelight flickered through a doorway. She discovered that this doorway did not lead directly outside. A short tunnel veered off to the left, and another doorway led outside. J'Qhir had built another fire just inside this entrance. From here she could hear the occasional drip of rain.

When she returned, she eased down beside J'Qhir and leaned back against a rock, careful to put most of her weight on her left shoulder blade. She picked up her soup and sipped it. ”I think it's stopped raining. Why did you build the other fire?”

”Did you notice the floor of thisss cave? The dirt here isss compact, a.s.ss if it ha.s.ss been well usssed. I believe sssome animal ha.s.ss made itsss den here in previousss sssea.s.ssonsss. The fire isss to warn it off if it comesss back.”

”The animal that roars in the night?”

”Perhapsss,” J'Qhir murmured, and it was then she noticed how tired he was. She was surprised to find that she could see the changes in his face. His mouth was drawn, and his eyes were bleary. He blinked sleepily.

”You must be exhausted. How is your knee?”

”It painsss me when I move.”

”Well, when you finish your soup, you will move one more time to lie down on that pallet. It's very comfortable.”

”No, Leith, it isss for you,” he protested.

”Do as I say, J'Qhir. It's my turn to take care of you.”

”Are you sssure you are well enough? La.s.sst night and thisss morning, I thought you were coherent, but you remember little.”

”I'm sure. Finish your soup while I look at your knee.”

Leith pulled his trouser leg out of the boot, taking her time pus.h.i.+ng it upward. At one point, her palm lay fully against the side of his calf and the muscles spasmed.

”I'm sorry. I've hurt you again.”

”No, Leith...”

Perhaps it was a sensitive area. This time it was difficult to raise the material over the swelling. She unwound the bandage to reveal the misshapen knee.

”You're not moving for the next few days,” Leith ordered as she rifled the medkit for aspirin and antibiotics.

”There isss much that needsss to be done...”

”You won't be any good if you don't heal. It will only get worse.”

She gave him the pills and water and hoped they wouldn't kill him. Maybe he was humanoid enough for the medication to help. She swallowed a couple of the antibiotics for her sting.

”I ssshould change your bandage.”

Leith found another skinseal in the medkit and handed it to him. Then she turned her back to him and swept her hair out of the way. His talons pressed under the edges of the seal. The tips of his fingers lingered on her skin and a tiny ripple of awareness coursed through her.

She closed her eyes and enjoyed the sensations, wis.h.i.+ng he would...or she had the courage to lean back into him, and find herself wrapped in his arms. It had been a long, long time since she had been held, had wanted to be held.

”Are-Are you having trouble with it?” she asked, her voice sounding husky and unnatural.

”No, Leith...” he murmured and peeled away the seal.

He dusted antiseptic, and then his fingers tenderly applied the fresh bandage. She had felt no pain and little discomfort. How could a large, bulky being accomplish such delicate procedures so gracefully?

”May I?” he asked politely and touched her hair.

She nodded, not trusting herself to speak. His fingers enclosed her hair and spread it over her back. He seemed to take extra care in putting it perfectly in place.

”Beg forgivenesss, but I had to rend your sss.h.i.+rt to reach the wound.”

”It's all right,” she said and rummaged in the medkit. ”There's a sewing kit in the jacket. I'm no seamstress, but I think I can mend a tear. Could you put some tape on it to hold it until I can get around to sewing it.”

She heard the rip as he tore off a piece of medical tape. Once more his fingers brushed her skin as he grappled with the thin cotton material. At length, he held the torn edges together and pressed the tape over them.

Leith quickly moved away from him. She lifted her cup and found it shaking in her hands. She had to stop! He was bound to touch her occasionally, and she couldn't react like this every time he put a hand on her.

She drank her soup. When she turned back to him, he had finished rolling down his trouser leg and was removing his boots. She settled back against the boulder and watched as he drained the last of his soup as well.

”To bed,” she said. He stared at her and blinked once. ”I'l wash the dishes and tend the fire. You need to rest.”

He s.h.i.+fted sideways until he was on the solar film bed. Leith rolled her jacket and tucked it beneath his head as he stretched out.