Chapter Text
Hoth was a miserable planet. It wasn't just the cold. It was the constant cold. Cassian liked to think he was pretty well traveled, and he'd experienced his fair share of winters and ice planets, but he was convinced this was different. The weather never varied outside of snowing and not snowing. The days stayed short and the nights stayed long. Little refuge could be found inside the base. While every cabin was heated by necessity, the corridors were not, and the mess hall and makeshift training room only minimally so. It affected morale, evidenced by meals between friends taken in tense silence and quick, vicious arguments that would break out in the serving line, the corridors, and the hangar. It reminded Cassian of marketplaces he'd seen in deserts and jungles, where the heat made everyone irritable and liable to snap at the slightest provocation. It was a theory of his that extreme temperatures put people on edge.
The Rogue One crew was not immune, him included. The sparring practice he and Jyn had gotten into the habit of doing every morning (well, it was initially her habit he'd kind of piggybacked on) now devolved into bickering after barely an hour, leaving her prickly and likely to snap even at Bodhi during breakfast, while he watched in stony silence, unable to break up the ensuing argument for fear he would join in as well.
Kay-Tu, aside from needing slightly more lubrication that usual, seemed unaffected by the cold temperament-wise, but his sardonic comments became more grating and he'd acquired several new dents as a result of unwanted assessments of Jyn's repair jobs in the hangar. Baze and Chirrut seemed to be the only ones able to live in perfect harmony on Echo Base, but in his state of near constant exasperation after a few standard weeks on Hoth, Cassian only found Chirrut's mysterious smiles and Baze's easy stoicism more infuriating.
The unity of his team (and, if he was honest with himself, his own sanity) at stake, he volunteered Bodhi and Jyn for the next three-person mission Draven presented him. If only they could all get off this kriffing planet and remember that in the end, they all trusted and maybe even liked each other.
Thankfully, the mission was supposed to be simple and there was little disagreement on how to go about it. Cassian's contact (by a loose definition of the term) was a slippery Rodian called Erido currently based on Nal Hutta. The Rebellion had used Cassian's real name and associated reputation to convince Erido to meet and divulge information on Imperial spies in the Outer Rim, betting that Erido would attempt to turn Cassian over to a bounty hunter at the same time in order to profit from two different sources in the same meeting.
Cassian was not a huge fan of this setup, as it gave Erido no reason not to lie about Imperial spies, but Draven dismissed his concerns on the grounds that Erido had provided good information before and had he had recently been cheated on a bounty, giving him little love for the Empire. Cassian could only hope this disdain extended to not turning him in, but even so, the current plan had Jyn loitering outside the Hutt-run pleasure house serving as a meeting point, ready to short a few wires and create a distraction should Erido live up to expectations.
The plan mostly worked, and by the standards of Rogue One Cassian thought this should be considered an unbelievable success. Sure, Erido pulled a blaster on him as soon as he saw his account fill with credits from the rebellion, but Jyn heard Bodhi's stammered signal ("This drink is too strong") and created a distraction right on cue. She'd promised either a blackout or an air raid alarm, but to Cassian's (in hindsight, rather foolish) surprise, created both, doubling the chaos and confusion through which he and Bodhi had to make their escape out of the pleasure house, through the driving rain, and back to the ship, where Kay-Tu was waiting and ready for takeoff.
Jyn made it to the ship before the men and met them on the gangplank, scowling. "What took you so long?"
"There is an 80% chance your 'distraction' hindered their escape," Kay said from the copilot's seat. "Another reason you are not reliable in the field."
Jyn seethed. "I'm extremely reliable. They wanted a distraction, and I provided one."
"Jyn, you did a fine job," Cassian said, stripping his soaked outer layer and making a mental note to get his entire outfit deep cleaned before the oily musk of Nal Hutta became permanently bound to his clothing.
"In fact, you went above and beyond," Bodhi said from the pilot's seat.
"So there," Jyn muttered in Kay's general direction.
"Your actions increased Cassian's risk of serious injury by 47%."
"That's less than 50. I'll take it," Jyn said.
Bodhi huffed. "What about my risk of serious injury?"
Kay ignored him. "You callousness is further evidence that you provide inadequate support in the field."
"Give me a break, they would've been sitting ducks in there without me. You're just bitter because you had to stay on the ship. Again." Jyn smirked.
Kay's eyes flashed and the argument might've continued for Force knows how long, so Cassian decided it might be time to step in. "Give it a rest, Kay. Jyn did fine. We both made it out with no serious injuries."
Kay protested, "Captain, be that as it may, you must admit–"
Cassian pressed his fingers to his temples. After the three Nal Huttan days spent in miserable weather casing the pleasure house before the meeting, then fleeing the meeting itself, he was exhausted and wanted nothing more than some peace and quiet and a decent rest. "Kay, not now."
Jyn turned to Cassian and narrowed her eyes. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Just tired. Bodhi, are you okay taking the first shift?"
Bodhi nodded. "Get some rest, Captain."
With that, Cassian climbed below deck to his bunk and was asleep almost before his head hit the pillow.
"Captain. Wake up. Captain. Captain."
Cassian felt a hand on his shoulder dragged his eyes open to see Bodhi crouched in front of him. "What is it."
Bodhi cleared his throat. "Um. Well. It's been almost ten standard hours. It's, uh, technically your turn at the helm."
Cassian rolled onto his back. Kriff. Ten hours? Why did he still feel so tired? He ran a hand over his face and tried to blink the sleep away. "Sorry. I didn't mean to sleep that long."
"It's okay. It looked like you needed it."
"What about you? Have you slept yet?" Cassian squinted at Bodhi, noting the lines on his face and circles under his eyes.
"Not yet. I wasn't sure about leaving Jyn and Kay up there alone. It's on autopilot now but you never know…"
"Probably a good idea." Cassian sat up and had to blink the spots out of his eyes from being horizontal too long.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Bodhi said.
Why did everyone keep asking that? "I'm fine. Didn't sleep very well, I guess."
"Sorry." Bodhi cleared his throat again and frowned. "I'm going to, uh, go get some sleep myself. See you in five hours."
"Your relief is here." Cassian leaned over the pilot's chair where Jyn appeared to be dozing.
She jumped and Cassian dodged a wayward fist. "Kriffing Force, Cassian." She sighed and slumped back into the chair.
He grinned. "So you definitely weren't asleep at the helm?"
She glared. "I was resting my eyes, Captain, thank you very much."
Kay made a derisive noise and said, "Sergeant Erso certainly entered the first stage of Non-REM sleep. It is fortuitous that we have remained on autopilot and in hyperspace or else–"
"Thank you, Kay," Cassian said. He put a hand on Jyn's shoulder. "And thank you, Jyn. I can take it from here."
In hindsight, his hand might have rested on her shoulder a bit too long, only falling back to his side when she stood up. She circled the chair and looked closely at him. "Did you sleep well?"
"I'm fine."
Jyn rolled her eyes. "Clearly." She stared at him for another second, then brushed past him to her bunk.
Cassian slumped into the vacated chair and stared very hard at the nothingness in front of him. He heard Kay turn its head. Don't say it.
"Is there a reason you have just lied to Sergeant Erso?"
"That wasn't a lie. Just tired."
"That is illogical. You have just slept for ten standard hours." The droid cocked its head. "Which is 25% longer than normal. Perhaps Pilot Rook interrupted your natural sleep cycle."
"That must be it," Cassian said. He shuffled in his seat, trying to find a more comfortable position. He blinked slowly. And damn if his eyes didn't want to stay closed.
"That is one possibility." Kay paused. "Are you ill?"
Cassian forced his eyes open to glare at his droid. "No. It's… the first thing you said. The sleep cycle thing."
"Fatigue even after sufficient rest is a symptom of multiple illnesses."
"Kay, I'm not sick."
"You cannot state that with 100% certainty at this time."
Cassian turned firmly away to face front again.
"There is a 61% chance the cause of your fatigue is illness."
"You've been wrong before."
"I am rarely wrong. Would you like to know the odds that I am wrong?"
"No."
"Would you prefer to sit in silence?"
"I would."
"They're low."
Cassian jerked awake to Jyn standing in front of him. "Who's sleeping at the helm now?"
Cassian dragged a hand over his face. "Kriff. How long have I been asleep?"
"Forty-Five standard minutes," Kay said.
"Dammit. Kay, why didn't you wake me?" Cassian said. He anxiously scanned the control panel for anything irregular.
"I can assure you that nothing out of the ordinary has occurred," Kay said. "I would have woken you in the event of any possible danger."
"Why didn't you wake me anyway?"
Kay hesitated, then said, "Based on your cognitive functioning and other physiological symptoms, I judged it best to let you remain asleep for the time being."
Jyn frowned. "What physiological symptoms? Cassian, are you sure you're okay?"
"For the last time, I'm fi–" In a frustrating twist of irony, something in caught in Cassian's throat on the word 'fine' and he had to cough.
Jyn raised an eyebrow.
Cassian met her eyes and raised his chin. "I'm fine."
Jyn huffed. "Good one. Technically it's Bodhi's turn but I didn't want to wake him. I heard him coughing a bit before he fell asleep." She paused. "I'm sure he's 'fine,' too."
"I do not think either of you are using that term correctly," Kay said.
Cassian suppressed a groan and rubbed his forehead. The general malaise he'd felt since waking up for his shift (or, if he was honest with himself, since taking off) was finally manifesting into a dull headache and, now that he thought about it, a dry throat that burned whenever he swallowed. Perfect.
Whatever hope Cassian had of shaking this by the time they reached Hoth evaporated when the ship entered the atmosphere and the change in pressure made his head throb until he was nauseous. A glance across the cargo hold told him he was not alone. Bodhi was also looking rather green and had his head cradled in his hands as if he was trying to physically hold it together.
"You two are a mess," Jyn said as she helped them with their bags.
"Shut up," Cassian grumbled. "This is Bodhi's fault."
"Bantha-shit," Bodhi said. "I definitely caught this from you."
"That is improbable," Kay said.
"So there," Cassian said. The effect of his comment was diluted when he shivered in the cold of the hangar and attempted to bury his face in his jacket.
"It is far more likely that you both acquired the virus while frequenting that disreputable establishment on Nal Hutta," Kay finished.
"Ha. So there," Bodhi said hoarsely.
Jyn rolled her eyes. "Kay, just get their stuff to their cabins."
Kay squared its shoulders. "Sergeant Erso, I am hardly a housekeeping droid–"
"Fine. Let Cassian freeze tonight. I know for a fact all his socks are in there."
The droid considered this for a moment, then complied, grumbling about how such tasks were beneath him.
Cassian tried very hard not to make his voice sound like a whine. "Jyn, I can carry my own stuff–"
"All right, let's get you guys to the medbay."
Cassian felt a very strong grip on his sleeve and suddenly he was being pulled rather roughly through the corridors of Echo Base. He resisted the urge to argue, afraid it would sound like whining again. He didn't know what it was, he'd suffered through illnesses before without so much as acknowledging them to anyone. Then again, he supposed before now there hadn't really been anyone to listen besides Kay, who wasn't particularly sympathetic.
At the medbay he and Bodhi were quickly diagnosed with bad colds, given anti-inflammatory tablets, and told to take it easy. Bodhi grumbled that he thought this anticlimactic because he felt like he might be dying. Cassian said nothing but silently agreed with him. His head felt like it was stuffed with nerf wool, slowing down his thoughts to practically one sentence at a time and the cold air irritated his lungs, which made him cough, which made his throat hurt. More. It was an infuriating loss of control over his own body, but he found it hard to dwell on that through the crushing fatigue he could almost feel pressing on his shoulders.
He barely remembered leaving the medbay, and blinked when he found himself standing outside his cabin, Jyn entering his passcode like it was her own. Bodhi was nowhere to be seen, probably already dead asleep in his own cabin. He sat on his bed and resisted the powerful urge to lie down, afraid if he did he'd never want to get up again. Jyn knelt by the bag Kay had left on the floor near his desk and begin rifling through it. He took a deep breath, trying to push through the fog in his brain and string more than two coherent thoughts together.
"Jyn. We've got to… we've got to meet Draven. The mission debrief starts in…" He squinted at the chrono on the wall. "Ten minutes."
Jyn barely glanced up from his bag. "You're not going to the debrief."
"I can do it. Just let me…"
Jyn shook her head, pulled something out of his bag and stood up. "Cassian, you look completely dead on your feet and you're not even standing." She handed him some loose clothes she'd pulled out of his bag. "Just change into these, take your medicine, and go to sleep. I'll take care of the debrief."
Cassian didn't know if the mental image of Draven's face at the prospect of receiving a mission debrief from Jyn alone was funny or terrifying but he was too tired to decide. He stared dully at his sleeping clothes in one hand and tablets in the other. "You're sure you're okay doing that?" He knew it was a mistake as soon as he said it.
Jyn stiffened and took a small step away from him. "Of course."
He waited for her to yell at him for not trusting her in the rebellion or her ability to fulfill her responsibilities. She said nothing, but didn't come closer, which he almost thought was worse. There was a long, awkward silence. "Sorry," he muttered.
"No. It's, um. It's okay." Jyn stepped hesitantly back towards him and put a hand on his shoulder so lightly he barely felt it.
He supposed it wasn't really all that comforting, but he desperately wanted to lean into it. He wanted to collapse into her arms and let her comfort him. If anything would make him feel better, he thought that would.
Cassian didn't leave his cabin for the entirety of the following day and most of the next, barely leaving his bed for an occasional trip to the 'fresher. He ate the bare minimum of the meals Kay-Tu brought him from the mess and pulled a pillow over his head when the droid started talking about adequate nutrient intake. Mostly, he slept. Sleeping was the best way to forget about how much his throat hurt, how his nose wouldn't stop running, and how annoyed he was that no matter how much he slept, he was still tired.
Jyn never visited. He saw her mission report uploaded less than two hours after the briefing, a record time for her, he thought. He tried to read it over, but soon got distracted imagining her coming in unexpected and unannounced, just typing in his code from memory and walking in like she lived here too and bragging smugly that she could be a good soldier when she chose to be. Then maybe she'd ask how he felt, and wouldn't believe him when he said he felt fine, and maybe she'd put her hand on his shoulder again.
Force, you're pathetic. Cassian shivered and pulled the blanket over his face.
He mustered some energy in the second afternoon to shower. Hot water on Hoth turned off automatically after seven minutes, and he usually finished in five anyway but this time he used all seven, breathing in as much steam as he could in an attempt to clear his lungs and sinuses. He turned the water off before it ran cold and dressed quickly in the warmest layers he could find. If he didn't waste time, he could probably make dinner in the mess hall tonight, show everyone he could shake this in less than two days. He fastened his blue parka all the way and pulled hood over his head before stepping into the hallway. He'd look like one of the thin-blooded new recruits but he didn't care. His first breath in the frigid air of the corridor caught in his lungs and he had to pause in the hall to cough, but quickly regained control and entered the mess hall looking what he hoped was mostly normal.
He found Jyn, Kay, Chirrut, and Baze at their usual table, laughing and looking like they were having a perfectly good time without him. Which he wasn't bothered by. At all. Bodhi was there too, looking rather worn but mostly recovered. He sat down next to his partner in suffering and hoped he could merge seamlessly into the group without anyone making a fuss. He should be so lucky.
Chirrut commented first. "The Captain has decided to join us as well! Our team is once again complete."
"Feeling better?" Baze grunted, glancing at Cassian over his plate.
"Yes," Cassian croaked. He cleared his throat. "Getting there."
Kay-Tu leaned forward. "You still show elevated levels of inflammation in your–"
"Thanks, Kay." Cassian gave the droid a stern look and made a point of eating his dinner.
Bodhi thumped him lightly on the shoulder. "Good to have you back, Captain."
Cassian noted with some annoyance that his voice sounded clear. He looked over his food at Jyn, sitting across from him, who was still silent.
She looked back at him with a carefully unreadable expression. "I'm glad you're feeling better," she murmured, then turned back to her plate.
That's it? Cassian tried not to feel disappointed. It's fine. She cares. This is just how she shows it. Kriffing Force, what was wrong with him? He shouldn't care this much about what Jyn did. He ran a hand over his face. He just hadn't shaken this cold quite yet. Next week, everything would be back to normal.
Bodhi was back to normal next week, going about his cheerful, if slightly jumpy, way as if nothing had happened. And damn if Cassian didn't hate him just a little bit for that. Most of his symptoms had cleared up as well, but his stamina wasn't quite back to where it was he still hadn't shaken the cough. It was distracting while he was reading reports and a literal pain to suppress during briefings. At the most recent meeting with Leia and Mon Mothma he'd actually had to excuse himself and step into the corridor to let out a string of barking coughs, louder and more painful than he'd expected. He glared at the few soldiers giving him concerned looks and re-entered the room as if nothing had happened, but he didn't miss the way Mon Mothma almost imperceptibly softened her tone and even Leia acted gentler than usual. It grated on his nerves. He didn't want anyone's silent pity, he was fine. No one needed to bother themselves with the state of his health.
Of course, the one person whose concern he might've accepted was the one paying the least noticeable attention. Jyn never so much as commented on his cough, let Bodhi or Chirrut ask solicitous questions, and acted like everything was completely normal. The day after he had to step out of his meeting with Leia, he also missed their morning training session, and in the back of his mind Cassian hoped Jyn would come to his bunk looking for him, asking why he overslept, asking if he was okay.
She didn't, and Cassian spent the rest of the day in a terrible mood. He couldn't muster much of an appetite for breakfast, and spent most of it glaring down at his bowl and fiddling with his spoon. The cold air seemed to bite harder than usual. He shivered through three layers and tried to pay attention to the repairs he was making on the ship but he kept dropping the tools.
The third time his wrench hit the ground someone else picked it up. He straightened and saw Jyn standing in front of him, her expression still infuriatingly neutral. He held out his hand impatiently.
She shook her head. "No." She put the wrench in the toolbox at his feet and closed it.
"I wasn't done with that," he said. Or rasped. He'd given up on his voice.
She narrowed her eyes. "Yes you are."
Now she was acting worried? For some reason this irked Cassian even more. "No, I wasn't."
She glared at him. "You are."
He glared back. "I'm not."
Jyn took a deep breath through her nose. "Don't be stubborn now."
"I'm not being stubborn." It sounded ridiculous to his own ears but he didn't care.
Her glare didn't come back, but he could see it trying to get out. "Stop it, Cassian"
"No. Give me back my wrench."
"You've been here for two hours and gotten nothing done."
"That's not true–"
"Barely anything."
"So give me another two." He was suddenly enormously frustrated with– everything, really. His immune system, for being weaker than Bodhi's and not beating this virus like the pest it was. The cold, dry air on Hoth for aggravating his cough and being another thing he had to pretend didn't bother him. And Jyn for not caring earlier that he felt like bantha shit, even when he knew she probably noticed he was getting worse before he did. For not forcing him to slow down, for not making him take care of himself. The better, more rational part of him knew it was unreasonable to expect this from her, but for a brief second it felt good to push the blame for how he felt onto someone else.
"Cassian–"
"No, Jyn, stop it. Give it back!" Cassian made a clumsy grab for his toolbox, which Jyn neatly blocked. She nudged the toolbox behind her with her foot. Cassian tried to follow it but felt a wave of dizziness at the sudden movement and he had to sink onto a nearby crate. Jyn crouched in front of him.
"Cassian. Take a deep breath."
He tried, and felt his heart thump loudly in his ears when he realized he couldn't.
Jyn's hands were on his shoulders. "Breathe slowly."
He did, but when he tried again to take a deep breath he felt a stab of pain in his chest and he started coughing again. He couldn't stop it this time, his heart was pounding and he was suddenly too hot, like all his layers of clothing were suffocating him.
Somewhere in his panic, he found Jyn's voice again and held onto it. "You have to calm down. Just look at me and breathe slowly."
He looked at her. He watched her shoulders move as she breathed, and did his best to imitate it. He managed to stop coughing, but couldn't quite get a full breath and his clothes still felt uncomfortably heavy on his chest. He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate, and felt Jyn's bare hand on his forehead. It felt like ice even though she'd been wearing gloves.
"I'm going to take you to the medbay," she said.
"You don't have to, I'm– I'm fine. I'm okay." As much as he was trying to get a full breath, he could do little more than take short, shallow gasps.
"You have a fever," she said. "And you're really pale."
Cassian couldn't argue with her, partly because he was a bit past denial at this point and partly because he was trying to save his air. He let Jyn help him to his feet, wishing he could appreciate the feeling of her hands in his but too lightheaded to focus on much besides staying upright. He followed her to the medbay and submitted to the medics without a fight. After a brief listen to his chest he was given a bed in the medical ward, which meant at least an overnight stay. He wanted to resist them– it wasn't that bad, was it?– but then an oxygen mask was pressed over his mouth and it felt so good he sank onto the pillows without any protest. He suddenly wanted to sleep for a long time, the exhaustion he'd held back all day– all week– finally catching up to him.
Just before his eyes closed he saw Jyn's blurry form hover above him. He thought she looked worried, but all his irrational anger from before had dissipated, and he wanted to tell her Don't worry. I'll be alright, but then she was gone and he fell asleep.
When Cassian dragged his sticky eyes open again, the mask was gone but his chest hurt like a tauntaun had trampled it and he was still so tired he felt like he hadn't slept at all. He rolled his head to one side and saw Jyn curled up in a hard-looking chair, her head pillowed on her arms. He felt suddenly warm at the sight of her by his side, but frowned. Her neck was going to be sore if she slept like that. He tried to say her name, but he just started coughing. The coughs were wetter and a tad less desperate than what he remembered in the hangar, but they scraped his throat and lungs and brought tears to his eyes. Jyn woke up anyway, and he noticed as she tried to work out the kink in her neck, but was hardly in a position to scold her about taking care of herself.
She leaned over him, face pinched with worry but hands carefully behind her back. "How are you feeling?"
He tried to sigh, but started coughing again. "What happened?"
"You have pneumonia." Jyn's hands fell to her sides. "You were on oxygen and antibiotics over night, and you seem to be responding. I think they're going to keep you here another day or two. Just to be sure." Her hands were resting on the edge of his bed now, inches away from his own. His fingers twitched towards hers. She glanced down, and slowly wrapped her fingers around his.
And suddenly it was like she knew what he was thinking. She leaned over him and brushed her other hand over his forehead, through his hair, on his cheek. Her touch was awkward and uncertain, but the feeling was everything Cassian had imagined. The pain in his chest and head lessened by noticeable degrees, he felt the muscles in his back unwind and he sank further into the mattress.
"How are you feeling?" she said again.
The corners of his lips twitched up and he gripped her fingers tighter. "Good," he whispered. "I'll be okay."
He was released from the medical ward two nights after first waking up with strict instructions to rest for one more week and avoid strenuous activity for another two. Jyn walked him back to his cabin, watched as he climbed into bed, then stepped backwards towards the door, a cautious expression on her face.
"I'll… let you rest."
He turned his head and looked at her. "Jyn, wait." He was still breathing heavily from the walk over and it came out softer than he meant it but she paused. "I'm sorry."
She blinked. "For what?"
"For… the way I acted before. I should thank you."
"You don't have to."
"I do."
"You don't. I… I should've said something earlier."
"That's not your job, Jyn. I can take care of myself."
Her lips twitched. "I can see that."
Dios mío. "Very funny." He began to pull the blankets over his face. He shouldn't have said anything.
"Cassian–"
He stopped and turned to look at her again. She had stepped forward so she was hovering awkwardly halfway between his bed and the door.
"I am sorry. I should have said something earlier."
"Jyn–"
"And I should've made you slow down it's just– Kriff, I'm not good at this." She paused and took a deep breath. "I do care about you, Cassian. I do. I just– I don't know– I don't know how to take care of people."
He closed his eyes and tried to sigh but ended up coughing. This conversation was exhausting. He listened for the sound of her footsteps retreating down the corridor. It never came, and when he opened his eyes she was still standing there. "Yes you do. You took care of me in the hangar. You stayed with me in the medbay."
"Okay, but– what what do I do now?" She was no longer looking at the ground, but she wouldn't meet his eyes either. "I don't– I don't know what you want."
Cassian swallowed. "I want… I want you to stay." He knew it was selfish, but damn it all, he was sick. He still felt weak and shaky, his lungs were refusing to cooperate, and he knew he was feverish but it seemed like the cold of Hoth had seeped under his skin and wouldn't leave. He was desperately tired but too uncomfortable to imagine sleeping, and he dreaded being left alone in his cabin, staring at the ceiling feeling ill and useless. Which explained the relief he felt spread through his chest when Jyn didn't leave, but pulled his desk chair next to his bed and sat down. He shivered at the draft created by her movements and she put a hand on his forehead. It still felt cold to him but he relaxed into her palm.
"You're still warm," she said.
"Mm." His eyes slid shut but he felt her hand brush his cheek and his shoulder.
"I'll be here when you wake up," she whispered.
Right on the edge of sleep, he felt his lips curl into a smile and for the first time since setting foot in Echo Base, he wasn't cold.