"What are you doing?" Decha snarled.

"Director Chen sent me to go with you."

"You were supposed to head back to the Agency. The last thing I need is you—"

"It's a command from the Director. I can't exactly say no." Jax shoved past Decha and into the shuttle. "If you keep glaring at me like that we'll never get there."

Decha mumbled a couple of swears as he shut the door. They remained quiet as the shuttle began to speed off. Decha was frustrated. There were too many emotions that he was holding back.

Decha hated failing. No. He feared it. Strout's death unfolded the fact that he wasn't ever going to be able to live up to his title.

As a general, you were supposed to protect and serve. Of course, death was going to happen to everyone at some point. But he tried his best to protect everyone at the event.

No one should've died. He was already blaming himself for Strouts last breath. If something happened to Rory, he wouldn't ever forgive himself. He'd be so guilt-ridden that only death would make him feel at ease.

Jax sensed Decha's anxiety. His face was stern as always, but he heard Decha's foot tapping impatiently. The sound was nonstop. There was nothing Jax could do or say to comfort him.

He'd never seen Decha act like this before. "N96, you—"

"I'm not in the right mind to talk, N9899." Decha stopped him and ran a hand through his hair. "This thing can't move any faster, can it?" They'd already been sitting for half an hour.

That was something he'd never thought Decha would do. Express his hidden worries. It wasn't until the Shuttle pulled to a sudden stop that Decha's actions surprised him even more. In seconds, Decha had opened the door and was in front of the gates.

"Out of my way!" Decha snarled as several Generals stationed out front tried to brief him. Jax followed closely behind as best as he could.

When the front doors opened, Decha saw Jessica standing there, wrapping her arm in a bandage. She barely turned around before Decha pulled her into a hug. "Decha! You—"

"What happened?" His venomous tone sent shivers down her spine. Jessica tapped his shoulder and pulled away to look at him. She noticed the black marks on his eye and cheeks and got a whiff of his scent. He smelled like smoke. Then she saw blood on his arms.

"Decha! You're hurt!" She grabbed his hand, but he snatched it away.

"That's not an issue." Decha stopped her. "What happened to you?"

"It's just a slight sprain. I'll be fine. I'm worried about you, Decha. Why do you look so...?" She grabbed him by his chin and turned it to get a closer look. He looked detached. As if he was on edge. As if he were ready to end an entire civilization with his bare hands. She reasoned something serious must have happened at the Program.

"Where's Rory?" Decha spat.

"She's in her room. But wait!" Decha had already begun pacing down the hall before Jessica could finish telling him Rory's location. "Decha! She may be undressed!" Jessica told Rory to take a bath and rest before the men came back home. She was hoping to explain the attack, but Decha wasn't giving her a chance. She'd never seen Decha this explosive.

The last part of her sentence didn't catch his ears. All he heard was Rory's location and was dead set on finding her.

"Decha!"

Decha barged into Rory's room before Jessica could reach him. Rory looked up from her desk, confused by the sudden intrusion.

He looked at the parts she was messing with on the table and balled his fists. He was angry that she wasn't sleeping because it was already past midnight. While he was worried about her safety, he felt she wasn't taking her health as seriously as she should.

Just as Jessica stepped inside the room, Decha barked out a demand. "Leave."

"What? Decha this isn't how I raised you! You can't walk into a room without knocking—"

"Leave!" Decha switched tones, making his mother jump back in fear. Jax who lagged gently pulled Jessica out of the room. Decha slammed the door closed, making Rory leap out of her seat.

Instead of yelling or shouting at her, Decha made his way toward her and grabbed onto her arms. He observed for scars or injuries, and the silence was making her uncomfortable.

When Decha reached for her waist, she stopped him, cutting off the silence between them. "What are you doing!?" She nudged him away.

"What happened while we were away? What attacked you?"

"Decha—"

"Answer me." He raised his voice, commanding her as if he were on the Outside.

"Are you... okay?" Rory stared at him, looking directly into his eyes. She noticed how shaky his hands were.

"Me?" Decha scoffed, annoyed that she would even consider looking after anyone but herself. "I'm going to check the video footage. Once we find out what happened we'll go after the culprit. You look fine, but I'm not sure. I'll have my mother arrange a check-up for you."

Rory could tell something was definitely wrong. He didn't argue with her, he didn't scold her. Seeing him trying this hard to act reserved scared her. Rory embraced him.

For the first time, Decha didn't flinch or tense up from the touch. He sort of... accepted it. Rory could feel the change in his reaction. So she tightened her hug and Decha just... slowly sank in.

Decha was flooded with horrible memories. Dating back to his battles Outside the sectors, and the collapse of the Walls, all of his guilt overwhelmed him. But he couldn't express it. He wasn't sure how to.

Thoughts of Chai, Amir, and Lieutenant Strout fogged his mind. People he loved, people who were close to him, and people he respected were gone, all because of his miscalculations.

And yet, despite all of it, the Bracket woman in front of him was still smiling at him and looking at him with full confidence. But he felt unworthy to protect her.

There was a sharp pain in his head. Decha grunted and clenched his forehead. It wasn't until Rory rubbed his back that the pain quickly went away. Without realizing it, his arms made their way around her. They were aching to do so.

Decha embraced Rory back, pulling her in as tight an embrace as she started. He sank into her further, catching Rory by surprise. She couldn't believe that one of Astell's greatest heroes was hugging her back.

She didn't know how to act. Her face went red as she tried to enjoy his touch, but the sweet moment quickly turned bitter when his grip tightened. She let out a small whimper. Decha was hurting her.

"Decha!" She squeaked. "Too... tight!"

But Decha didn't hear her. He was venting all of his pent-up emotion in a single embrace, and the thought of it clouded his mind.

"Decha!" Rory whined and tried pulling away, but he refused to budge. "Decha, you're hurting me!"

The word hurt was enough to snap him back to reality. He quickly released her, and Rory gasped. "I hurt you." Decha's voice came out shaky. He was trying to keep his composure but it felt almost impossible. He couldn't even hug her without causing harm.

"It's okay. You're really strong. I'm sure you didn't mean it." Rory dismissed. "You should get some rest."

"Did you already eat?"

"Yes."

"And you drank the tea?"

"I did."

Decha was still worried. "Did you—"

"I'm fine, N96. See?" Rory coughed violently, and Decha grabbed onto her arm.

"Did you go outside again? I told you to stay inside. You're coughing—"

"It's from my last cold, I promise." She lied. She only lied because she was more concerned about Decha's mental state. She knew he wasn't going to open up. And him giving her all this attention was making her feel awkward.

This was genuine concern. Decha always talked about protecting her as a job, but something else happened to make him this reactive. She didn't know what it was, but she knew this wasn't normal. She'd rather get the smart-aleck rude side of Decha than his overly worried side.

"You should get some sleep. I'll tell you more about the attack tomorrow morning, okay?"

"I need to know, now." Decha's eyes dilated.

Rory opened the bedroom door, and Jessica and Jax were standing in the hall still. They were curious about what was happening behind closed doors. "Excuse me," Rory gestured at Jax. "Could you take him away, please?"

"Uhh..." Jax looked back and forth between her and Decha. "Um..." He didn't want to involve himself. He felt like if he stepped inside, N96 would kill him.

"I'll go. But I want you to rest too." Decha went back to his stern self and left the room willingly. However, the moment he stepped out, he collapsed.

"Decha!" Jessica and Rory shouted at the same time. Jax caught onto him before he hit the floor, surprised.

"Take him to the infirmary!" Jessica hollered.

~~~

Approximately 14 hours later Decha woke up. But he felt extremely heavy like he couldn't even hold his head high. As he struggled to clear the fog in his thoughts, he sat up slowly.

The rag that was sitting on his forehead slid down. He grumbled, picked the rag off his face, and tossed it aside. He wondered why he was in bed, in his mother's infirmary of all places.

"Strout..." Decha recalled the events that happened the night before. Antoine's warning. Strout's death. Rory's attack. It all came back clear. It never helped him understand how he ended up asleep with a rag on his face.

Decha groaned and grabbed his head. The aching was still there. The throbbing increased. "Did I hit my head? Shite." Decha murmured.

The door to the infirmary slid open, revealing an awkward-standing Theodore. He had a glass in one hand and a bottle of medication in the other. Decha was in too much distress to care.

"Here. Take this." Theodore walked in and handed the items to Decha. "You look exhausted."

"I feel like someone ran me over with a shuttle." Decha snatched the pills and tossed them in his mouth. "You look like shite." He drank the water and pointed to Theodore's appearance.

Theodore's pants were torn at the legs, and his shirt was covered in black dust from the heavy smoke the night before. His hair was still a mess.

"You should take it easy. Your mother told me you passed out right after coming back home. Why don't you ever take care of yourself?"

"I'll be fine. It's nothing I can't handle."

"Right." Theodore narrowed his eyes. "I reviewed the security footage of last night."

"Oh?"

"The Droid we've been trying to hunt down came here. And I'm not sure what was said between the two, but it looked like the robot wanted something to do with Rory."

"She did build and program the prototype before it was stolen." Decha gulped down more of the water until the glass was empty. "I'm not sure, but it looks like the machine recognizes her. When we were attacked, it scanned her and let her go, then it turned around and tried to kill me."

"With that in mind, I know you're not gonna wanna hear this,"

"Then don't bother wasting your breath to say it." Decha pushed himself off the bed and stretched. "Don't provoke me."

"This is serious, N96. I'm not coming to you as your commander. I'm giving you advice as your father."

"Great. I really could use more advice. That's just what both Sectors need." Decha snorted sarcastically.

"Rory... can't stay here."

Decha tensed up and turned to look at Theodore. His eyes were void of emotion. "Then where the heck do you expect her to stay? Because she's not going to the camp by the border."

"She doesn't have to stay at the camp. We can transport her back to the hospital in your suite."

"Do you know what that'll do to her? Her condition isn't getting any better until Mom finishes treating her. She's better off staying in this environment, instead of being hooked up to a machine—"

"Decha, I understand your concerns about Rory, but family comes first. The Droid could've killed your mother. It targets Generals. Don't forget your mother is registered as one. My responsibility is to protect this family."

"Is it because Rory is a Bracketer?" Decha wanted answers. He wanted his father to be honest with him.

"No!"

"You've been hostile toward her the moment she arrived. I thought you would've gotten over it, just like you did when I brought Avon home, but you're still at it. You still want her gone."

"Decha, just think about your mother for once."

"Mom can take care of herself. She may be a retired surgeon but she can still fight. I trusted her to protect Rory while I was away."

"Decha, if something happens to your mother I won't be able to live with myself knowing I could've prevented it."

"I think the same way when it comes to Rory." Decha shrugged. "You don't get it." Of course, Theodore didn't. The amount of guilt that overwhelmed Decha was still there. "I don't care what you think, but Rory will stay here until she gets better."

"Until she gets better? I thought you wanted to keep her until the Walls were rebuilt."

"She's not leaving." Decha made up his mind about it. He wanted to see Rory alive and well. There was no seeing that with her disease. He felt that the guilt would go away if Rory was able to be cured in Astell.

Decha didn't want to continue the conversation. He slid the door open, and Jessica stood in the hall with a smile on her face, but it dropped when she felt the anger radiate off of him.

"Good morning. Why is your face so red?"

"It's nothing." Decha rolled his eyes and brushed past her.

Jessica eyed Theodore strangely before mouthing, "What did you say to him?"

"I didn't say anything wrong. I just suggested that Rory go back to the hospital."

"You WHAT!?" Jessica sneered. "Are you foolish? Rory can't leave! No, she's not leaving!"

"That droid is something she created, Jessica!"

"Oh please, she didn't do that!"

"Ask your son!"

"Even if she did, that doesn't change anything. I won't let Rory leave because first, she needs surgery. Until she gives us consent to operate on her, she won't get better. Second, she's not leaving until I pair her up with Decha!"

"You and this RoCha thing again..." Theodore groaned. "Jessica that machine could've killed you, and you're trying to set up our son with the woman who created it. Decha isn't interested in women—"

"He is!"

"He shows no interest in that girl! Get out of your fantasies, wife!"

Jessica cackled. "Decha has plenty of interest in her. You know nothing, husband."

"I know... nothing?" Theodore raised a brow at her. Jessica was hiding something. He could tell by her eyes. He didn't like the feeling.

"Last night I looked at the cameras. The one connected to the room Rory's staying in. I didn't want to eavesdrop, but I couldn't help it. Decha embraced Rory. It wasn't a friendly hug. No, sweetie. Our son hugged her as if it was his last time seeing her."

"How do you know it wasn't a friendly hug?"

"Rory's heart rate increased rapidly during the scene. Decha wouldn't let her go. That boy is sneaky. He doesn't tell us anything. But that's okay because I'm here to help him out."

"I'm not getting involved in this—" Theodore shook his head, ashamed.

"Yes, you are! You're going to help me plan a date for them. We need to fill Decha's mind with thoughts of Rory. Make him fall in love with her. I've already marked a day on my calendar for them to have their first kiss. If Rory falls in love with Decha, he can convince her to get surgery. Then she'll recover from her disease, they'll get married and—"

"I've gotta go and plan for Strout's funeral. You can continue in your own fantasies." Theodore stormed off, deciding not to listen to his wife any longer. He was going to have to see for himself Decha's interest in Rory. He wasn't going to believe it until Decha was the one to express himself.

As he walked by the kitchen, he saw Decha and Rory talking with each other. "Decha. Report to the Agency on time." Theodore commanded before heading out the front door.

"Are you okay?" Rory waited for Theodore to leave before asking Decha. She knew that he still didn't like her. She avoided him as much as possible whenever she could.

"I wish you'd stop asking me that," Decha growled at her. "I'm not weak."

"I'm only worried about your well-being. And you always ask me. How come it's okay for you to ask but not okay for me?"

"Because you're a patient. It's my job to—"

"Yeah, yeah." Rory mocked him. "IDS doesn't make me helpless. If I wanted I could build a robot and have it beat you up. I may not be able to move around much physically, but my brain is a powerful tool."

Decha smacked Rory on her head, gently so he wasn't causing too much harm. Rory whined and grabbed onto her head. "Ow! Why'd you do that!?"

"You said your brain was a powerful tool." He snorted.

"Yeah, for BUILDING! Not for physical combat! You're so mean!" Rory whimpered.

"Since you're so smart, I need you to take care of yourself better. Seriously, Rory, these late nights playing with your engineering toys aren't good for you."

"Okay, Dad." Rory spat her tongue out at him. "By the way, your collar is uneven. Can I fix it?"

Decha nodded. Rory hesitated but she reached over his shoulder and grabbed his shirt collar. Decha bent down to eye level to make it easier for Rory since he was a whole foot taller than her.

Rory stopped when his face neared here. "Ack!" She hiccuped. Then she coughed. Then her face went red.

"What the heck?" Decha scrunched up his face in disgust.

Rory's body was betraying her. They were all indications of her nervousness around him. "I'm sorry! I... you...uh..." She fixed his collar quickly and shoved him away. Then she scurried off toward her room, leaving Decha completely perplexed.

"Bracket women..." Decha shook his head. "I'll never understand them."