I threw the covers off and stumbled down the dark hallway. My mother wasn’t home at the time because she was out of town at a business conference. I... could see the glow from the TV in her bedroom showing through the crack in the doorway. I thought that Chuck was in there watching what sounded like a war movie.I wasn’t paying attention when I swung the bathroom door open. Startled, I jumped back when I saw Chuck standing right outside the shower, naked from head to toe, toweling his back. His Chelle didn't look defeated, she always looked determined and capable of taking on the world. He had done this to her. And he didn't know what to do to make it better.He watched her work up a smile that he knew she didn't feel."Of course. Everything's fine. I was just going to call about renting a small warehouse I know of. We could use it for an office for the task force if it sounds okay to you?" Why did this feel so hard? So wrong?He sat down her cup of coffee in front of her, watching. ’ ‘Kitty. Have you been on this ship for long?’ ‘No, just a few months.’ ‘How old are you?’ ‘I’m seventeen, the youngest aboard. Unless you…?’ ‘No, I’m eighteen. Nearly nineteen, as it happens. Though I’ll probably spend my birthday locked in some rancid hellhole at the mercy of your villain of a Captain.’ ‘Ssh. You might be heard. He’s very hard on you, isn’t he?’ ‘I had noticed.’ Kitty flushed and looked away, mortified. ‘Why is he punishing you?’ ‘I won’t tell him anything about myself. Did. I searched for cut intestines and leaking waste products and repaired the cuts by mentally resealing the sliced membranes. I didn't know what to do with the waste that had leaked into my abdominal cavity from the damaged intestines, so I ignored that problem. Had the knife hit any bone? I didn't think so, but I couldn't be sure. I searched for damaged bone and found none.With a sigh, I opened my eyes. I'd done all I could to heal myself.My eyes focused. Holding me in her lap, Pearl looked and.