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“I’m going too,” Daria said, holding his gaze.
“I wouldn’t want it any other way,” Nik told her, giving her a warm look.
“The CIA will want to debrief him at some point?” Alex asked.
“After his initial round of brain syncing. Whenever the red tape gets worked through.”
“The CIA will be happy to speak with him at length.”
“I know,” Nik sighed. “I’m working with the State Department to defer that to another time, giving him time to recuperate. His TBI affected his speech and thought patterns, and the CIA realizes that until, or evenifthis, cutting-edge technique works, they aren’t going to have much communication between them,” Nik said, spooning the dessert into his mouth.
Alex raised his eyebrows. “What shape is Dan in, Nik?”
“He’s mobile and he has no problem walking. It’s his speech center in his brain that was affected. When he speaks, he’ll hesitate mid-sentence and it might take him thirty seconds to finish it. At least his speech is coherent, it has a beginning, middle and end. I talked with one of the technicians this morning and he felt Dan had a chance at nearly full recovery.”
“I remember,” Alex said, “that Dan was Spetsnaz like you. A combat medic.”
“Yes, he was, Alex. And he was a super soldier. He’s earned all kinds of medals for bravery. He had a reputation in the ranks as one of the best medics. He used his field surgeon skills continuously, and he saved so many lives.”
Lauren asked, “Do you think if this technique is successful that Dan will want to go back into the military in some capacity? Or does he want to remain a civilian?”
Shrugging, Nik said, “I don’t know. I don’t know much of what is really in his heart and mind. I’m hoping he will want to remain in medicine in some capacity, but we’ll see.”
“Well,” Alex said, smiling a little over at Nik, “you will find out soon enough. Once he finishes the brain sync sessions, will you get him back here to Virginia? What is your plan?”
Nik looked across the table at Daria. “We’ve talked it over, and Daria is all right with Dan taking up residence in the spare bedroom of her house. At least, short-termed. I’m sure Dan will need some adjustment time and we want to give it to him. The CIA is willing to lease him an apartment on a short-term basis close by where they’ll debrief him. I’m not sure where the best place for him is right now. I feel he’ll need some downtime just to get his life together and get used to American ways of living. Daria and I felt we could give him family support and stability if he stayed with us. Good food, love, care and guidance.”
“Sounds like a solid plan,” Alex agreed. He grinned. “And we should plan on all of you coming over for dinner at least once a week for some good, solid Ukrainian food.”
Daria smiled, her heart singing with so many good emotions. She could see that the stormy look in Nik’s gaze was dissolving. His eyes were red-rimmed and she knew how much that crying had taken out of him. In another way, it was healing because he was starting to discharge that five-year backlog of trauma, getting all that darkness out of himself. All she wanted to do right now was hold her brave warrior who had paid such a terrible price for his brother. Dan, she was sure, would never know the extent of Nik’s efforts. She was also sure Nik would never speak of them to him either, not wanting his brother to feel any guilt over his sacrifices.
“Are you okay with Dan being here?” Lauren asked her.
Daria cleaned her plate and placed it aside with the fork. “Yes. I think Dan will use the house and us as kind of a launch pad. Nik is in touch with the neurologist who is going to perform the brain syncing sessions with Dan. He’s asking where the best place is here in Virginia, for where his long-term recovery should be located, because Dan is going to need that kind of support at first.”
“Good to know this,” Alex agreed, giving Nik a look of pride. “Ukraine families stick together like glue.”
“Come here,” Nik rasped, pulling Daria into his arms after they had showered together. He gathered her into his arms, pulling up the sheet to their waists as they lay naked against one another. He kissed her mussed hair, still damp here and there. Alex and Lauren had left two hours earlier, near ninep.m., giving them time to themselves. He heard Daria sigh softly, her lips pressed against his neck, brow resting against his jaw as he lay down on his back.
“What a day,” Daria whispered, moving her hand across his hard, contoured torso until her palm rested over his heart. “How are you doing?”
His mouth quirked as he stared up at the darkened ceiling. Only the glow of a small night light in the hall flowed weakly through their opened door. “I feel ravaged inside, like someone has clawed my guts apart.”
Her arm around his torso tightened. “That’s what I thought.”
“Couldn’t be helped, Kitten. I knew meeting Alex was going to bring up a lot of old, stored emotions.”
“I’m glad you two could cry with one another. That was so important. It is healing for both of you.”
“Maybe, as combat medics, we understood it was healing to cry out our pain and terror.” He moved his fingers across her upper arm, still wrapped up as he was in those feelings from the past. “Too many soldiers learn to cry alone, where no one can hear them.”
“Having Alex is healing for both of you, going forward, Nik. Maybe people from Ukraine are a lot smarter than their Russian counterparts?”
“Yes,” he said in a hushed tone, kissing her temple, “but having you at my side is more important.”
“I want to hold you when you want to cry, Nik.”
His heart twinged and he slowly rolled onto his side, holding her shimmering, dark gaze. “You will, I promise,” he choked. “But I want to be here to hold you, too, Daria. You have much stored from that night in Afghanistan when you were wounded.” He trailed his finger across her brow, pushing strands of hair aside. Looking deeply into her wounded eyes, he added thickly, “I love you. You must know that by now. I know time must mature our relationship with one another, but as I sat there at the table earlier and saw how much grief you held, I didn’t want one more day to go by without letting you know how I feel about you.” He kissed her brow, inhaling her scent, allowing it to stir his lower body to vibrant life once again. He couldn’t be around Daria and not want to make slow, delicious love to his wild, natural woman. He saw tears glimmer in her eyes as he spoke those words to her. Felt a surge of powerful emotions radiate from her to him.
