Page 10 of The Alien's Private Redemption

"For what purpose?" the Colonel asked.

Zoric had to think about it. His own, selfish need to be near her didn't seem like it would be a good enough justification. "I'd like to make sure she's okay. I was the one who stopped her from suffocating and I feel responsible for her."

Chapter 5

Angela knew Zoric had entered the cell block before the door opened - his presence rippled through her consciousness like sunlight breaking through clouds. The institutional fluorescents should have made his scales look harsh and artificial, but instead they caught hints of emerald and gold she hadn't noticed before.

She should have been terrified - a stranger who could read her thoughts, an alien who had somehow saved her life twice. Instead, his presence felt like coming home after a long deployment, familiar even though she'd never experienced anything like it before.

He set something down outside her cell and settled onto it. She didn't think it was a chair but she was too tired to look.

"Are you awake Private McBride?"

"It's not fair that you've saved me twice, now, and I still don't know your name," she told him.

She was laying on the cot in her cell, still wearing her hospital gown. A slight breeze chilled the skin on her arms and her feet were cold.

Angela could fix all of these things with a simple request but she was too tired.

"Twice?" her visitor asked.

She smiled to herself. "And that's what you focus on. You're definitely a man, even if you have scales."

"My mother was human," he said.

"What was your father?"

"My name is Zoric," he said. "And I am pleased to make your acquaintance."

"Hello, Zoric, thank you for saving my life."

"It was my pleasure."

Angela laughed quietly and considered arguing. Instead, she relaxed more into the cot with her eyes closed.

"They did not think you were awake when I asked to come speak to you."

"They were right," she told him. "I'm still asleep. Why did they let you come back?"

"I said I wanted to check on you. That I had a responsibility to you."

"What kind of responsibility?" She wondered out loud. It wasn't exactly a question but he answered anyway.

"To speak to you when you were not in crisis. In the flesh and face to face, so to speak."

Angela snorted. "It's going to be a while before I can manage face to face."

"I can feel your fatigue in my bones," he told her. "I would ease it if I could."

"The company is enough," she said softly. "I can't ask for anything beyond that. Will you stay long?"

"As long as I am permitted," he answered. "Please, do not feel you must entertain me."

They sat in silence for a while, neither certain what to say but enjoying the proximity.

Angela could feel her body trying to pull her into a real sleep. "Why did you save me?" She asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Because I couldn't do anything else," he answered.

---