Marta stepped into Crusher’s arms and leaned her cheek against his chest. “Did they catch Krauss before he released the virus?”
Crusher’s heart thundered against his ribs. “I don’t know. We haven’t heard.”
Hammer joined them, his gaze on the exit doors, his stance tense. He touched a finger to the headset in his ears. “SITREP, stat!”
“Krauss got past me,” Ramsey said into their headsets. “I started after him. He slipped through a door. When I got to it, I found it locked. It was metal. I couldn’t break through.”
“Anyone else?” Hammer demanded.
For a long moment, Crusher heard nothing in his headset. His arms tightened around Marta. “It’s going to be okay,” he whispered into her hair, praying he was right.
“How can it be okay?” She lowered her voice to where only Crusher could hear. “If he has the virus, he could’ve found another way to release it into the ventilation system.”
“I’m looking at the bright side,” he said and tipped her chin up. “At least I got another chance to be with you.”
“If we live and this is all over, then what?” She stared up into his eyes, tears welling in hers. “Asset delivered?”
His heart pinched hard in his chest. “I said that, trying to tell myself that’s all it was to me.” Crusher shook his head. “I was wrong.”
Her lips trembled, and she swallowed hard. “I’m a scientist. You have to give me all the facts so that I can form a hypothesis.”
“Fact one.” He kissed her forehead in front of everyone and couldn’t give a damn who was watching. “You care about people you know and so many more that you don’t know.”
She blinked, her cheeks flushing pink. “I fail to see how that impacts your statement that you were wrong.”
“Fact two.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “You were a badass from the moment I met you. Standing up to me when you didn’t know if I was friend or foe. Racing through the jungle when you were injured. Holding it together when others might have fallen apart.”
Her brow wrinkled. “I still don’t see how?—”
He touched a finger to her lips. “I’m not finished. Fact three.” Crusher stared down into her eyes. “When I handed you off to Marsh, and they took off with you in the van, I felt as if part of me was leaving with you.”
Her eyes rounded. “You did?”
Crusher nodded. “It hurt.” He raised her hand to his chest. “As if my heart had been ripped from my chest.”
Her fingers curled into his shirt, and a tear slid down her cheek. “That’s how I felt.”
“But I couldn’t believe it,” he said, lifting her hand to his lips. “I’ve spent my life avoiding relationships. I thought I was immune to commitment...to...love.”
Her eyes filled with unshed tears and shone at him. “I didn’t think I was capable of love. There were no facts to substantiate it.”
“And now?” Crusher whispered.
She smiled up at him, her eyes brimming with tears. “When you burst into my life, the facts scattered like the wind. I haven’t been able to gather enough for any of this to make sense.” She laughed. “It wasn’t until I knew I would never see you again that I realized, not everything is built on facts.” Marta shook her head. “It blew my mind.”
Crusher nodded. “Exactly. And as I stand in this room, I realize that if I were to die today…” he tipped her head up and lowered his head until his lips hovered over hers, “I’m glad I could be with you. I love you, Dr. Marta Hale.”
“I love you, too, Jack Bailey,” she whispered, rose on her toes and pressed her lips to his.
“Can you hear me?” a staticky voice sounded in Crusher’s ear. His head jerked up.
“What?” Marta asked.
Before Crusher could answer, Hammer replied, “I hear you.”
Marta frowned.
Crusher raised a finger and listened, his breath lodged in his lungs.
