How could Amber have possibly gone home and left Valerie alone, when the future was so uncertain? But despite her protests, she eventually gave in when Dr. Long said she should go home and get some rest, and that Valerie would be well looked after by her assistant. Sleeping was the last thing on her mind, and all that Amber could do was sit on their couch, and think. Conversations playing over and over in her mind as she stared at a photo of her and Valerie from their wedding day.

She could never wake up…

I don’t have access to the facilities I had back in Aurum…

You know you get a plus one if you win, right?

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door, and Amber had a brief fantasy play in her head. Valerie standing there, her head in a bandage as Dr. Long helped carry her inside. But it wasn’t to be, Amber knew deep down it wouldn’t.

“Hey, Ben.” She said, seeing her father in law standing at the door.

“Amber.” He replied, curtly.

She stepped to the side and gestured forward, wordlessly inviting him into her home. Ben nodded as he stepped in, taking off that old hat he always wore and setting it on a hook by the front door.

“I’m really not in the mood to have you berate me, so if that is what you came for, you might as well go.” Amber said, walking over to the kitchenette and pouring herself a glass of whiskey.

“I’m not here to yell at you, Amber. I uh…” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I came to apologize for blowing up on you earlier.”

Amber hesitated for a moment, saying nothing. She eventually reached for a second glass, and poured Ben one as well.

“It’s ok.” She said, walking back to the couch, handing a glass to Ben who nodded in appreciation. He took a seat in a nearby chair, and had a long sip of the drink. The liquor didn’t seem to phase him as it went down.

“I really am sorry for how I acted. It’s just… Val is the only family I’ve got left, and–“

“It’s fine, Ben. Really.” Amber said, swirling her drink around and staring at the brown liquid. “You always hated me anyway, I’m used to you being mad.

“Oh come on, Amber. I never hated you.” He scoffed.

“Sure had me fooled.” She replied, taking a drink.

Ben reached over, resting a hand on Amber’s shoulder. “I never hated you. I just… I hated that my baby girl fell in love with a Lancer.” He said, chuckling nervously. “And don’t look at me like that, I was one myself when I was a kid, I know how dangerous it can be.”

Amber looked at him suspiciously. She had known him for years, and neither he nor Valerie mentioned any of this.

“You were a Lancer, huh? What made you quit?” She asked, almost mockingly. As if she had expected him to tap out after a day or two of having to deal with rival Lancer’s or PK’s harassing him. She watched as he lifted up his shirt, to reveal a dark burn covering half of his torso. She cringed, not at all expecting that, and she almost instantly had a newfound respect for Ben.

“Jesus, scar like that has gotta have a story behind it.” She said, Ben responded with a chuckle, before speaking.

“It was twenty-seven… no, twenty-eight years ago. Back when I was young and spry, and I felt like I was somehow invincible. Not that much different from you, now that I think about it.”

“Oh you wish you could have been like me when you were younger.” She teased, getting a chuckle out of Ben.

“Back then, being a Lancer was even more dangerous, believe it or not. At least around here, Pythe was still a new town and we were having to put up with outlaws trying to cause trouble. Of course, once Argent pumped all the water out of the ground and ditched the settlement, they didn’t have much more of an interest in watching the place. So the folk hired myself and a few other of us roughnecks as guards.” Ben was silent for a moment, standing up from his seat and making his way to the kitchen, helping himself to another drink.

“It wasn’t too bad, mostly just standing around at night and waiting for something exciting to happen. Other than that we just drank our pay away. There were a handful of times when I had to get rough, but one time… one time sticks out.” He said. Amber leaned back in her seat, listening with intent. She had never spoken much to Ben, with how aloof he had treated her. This was the most he had ever opened up to her.

“I was off duty for the night, so I was asleep in the barracks. ‘Till my buddy Stub came in, shaking me and shouting about a fire nearby. Some thugs had set a barn ablaze as a distraction so that they could try and have a go at the storage shed. Thankfully they didn’t make it far enough to be a problem, but that fire wasn’t running scared like they were. Stub and I made our way to the barn, and we were thinking of just letting it burn. Waste of water, you know? But turns out the owners daughter had been inside the barn that night, and she wasn’t turning up anywhere.” Ben sat back down on the couch, looking off into space as he relived his memories.

“Don’t recall what made me do it, but I ran in. Most selfless thing I’d done in my life up to that point. Heard this young lady screaming, crying, choking, just trying to stay alive as smoke started filling the place. She was fine, just scared out of her wits. I tried grabbing to lead her out, but she must have thought I was one of those bandits trying to run off with her.” He paused to chuckle for a few moments.

“She started wailing on me, smacking me and trying to push me away until a damn beam fell down on me, and she ran out. Now, I didn’t find out about this till after, but apparently when she ran out of the barn and her daddy asked where that boy that ran in after her went, she turned white as snow and bolted back inside!”

The two of them shared a laugh over the story, Amber picturing how terrified that girl must have been when she realized she had fought off the man who had tried to save her life.

“So there I was, pinned under some piece of wood, fire creeping up, and I start thinking that was it for me. I pass out from the smoke, and I wake up in a bed the next day. She had dragged my passed out ass from the barn! Oh man, I never heard the end of that one from Stub.” He said, grinning from ear to ear as he finished his second drink.

“So anyway, that was how I met Valerie’s mother.” He finally said, a bittersweet longing in his voice.

“Valerie told me you two met when you moved to town, but she never told me that much.” Amber finally said.

“I never told her that I was a Lancer, and I was afraid that story would make her think the life of one was fun and romantic. Lot of good that did.” He said, raising his brows and sighing. “After that, I settled down in Pythe. Stub went on, don’t really know what happened to him after that. Val’s granddad, Jerry, he taught me how to make bullets and helped us get set up. A year later, she was born. And then…” Ben didn’t finish his thought, and he didn’t need to. Amber knew full well that she had died giving birth to Valerie. She never knew her mother, and Ben had to raise her himself.

“Well, you got me rambling, but what I’m trying to say is that you’re family, Amber. And I’m sorry that I hadn’t treated you right for this long.” Ben said, in a stern but kind manner.

“Don’t worry about it.” She said, trying to think of the words to say herself. “I mean, I guess better late than never, right? And Valerie is going to be happy when she wakes up.”

“Yeah, she sure is.” Ben replied. The two of them sat in silence for a moment, before been stood up. “You know, you can come stay with me for a bit. Till Val gets back on her feet, if you don’t wanna be on your own.”

“Thanks, but I’ll be fine.” Amber said as she opened the door for Ben.

“Offer’s always on the table.” Ben replied, before the two shared a brief and awkward hug before Ben shut the door behind him.

Amber was at Dr. Long’s clinic first thing in the morning. One of her overnight assistants let her into the building and to Valerie’s room. While nothing could stop her from hoping for a miracle, Amber still steeled herself to see Valerie unconscious, again. Her bandages had at least been changed, but she still looked largely the same as she did just the night before. Amber took a chair from the corner of the room, and sat down by her wife.

“Hey, babe.” She said, taking Valerie’s hand into her own. “I’m not sure if you can hear me right now, but I’m still gonna talk. Not like I was ever worried about looking stupid, right?” She said, laughing softly. Amber looked for any signs of a reaction from Valerie. A twitch in the corner of her mouth, her hand to squeeze back, but there was nothing.

Amber let out a deep sigh.

“And I wanted to apologize for dragging you along on that job. I should have listened to you when you told me that you were afraid, I was a selfish idiot and I hope that you can forgive me.”

No response, just the sounds of the machines running and keeping Valerie stable filled the room.

“But then again, you did kind of pull my ass out of the fire back there. So really, I should be thanking you on top of apologizing.” She said, reaching up to stroke Valerie’s cheek gently.

“I always knew you were tough, that's why I fell in love with you. I still remember the first night I saw you working at Underground. That prick was trying to flirt with you and you didn’t take any of his shit. Poor bastard practically sulked out of the place after the tongue lashing you gave him. Took me a week to build up the courage to even talk to you past a drink order.”

A moment of silence, as Amber smiled and lost herself in her own memories.

“By the way, your dad came by last night. He and I had a long talk, and it turns out he doesn’t hate me! Just like you said. He just…” she paused for a moment, deciding it wasn’t her place to spill her father’s secrets. “Just didn’t like you being with a Lancer, he was afraid of you getting hurt.”

Amber pursed her lip, feeling herself choke up as she got down to kneel at the side of Valerie’s bed.

“But I promise you, I promise that when you wake up, I’m done. I’ll hang it all up, and we can stay in Pythe together till we’re both old hags. Dane would be upset… might even hang it up himself if I dipped out. But he’s a tough guy, he’ll get by. Just like you will.”

Amber took in a shaky breath, holding the hand of her wife tighter than she ever had.

“You know that if you fell into Hell, I’d jump in after you. And if you don’t wake up soon, you’re going to make me do something really stupid.”