Chapter 10: Repairs

Ripley's POV

Carter blinked up blearily at Ripley. The lights in his hospital room were blindingly bright.

"Good morning," she said softly.

"Are you...?" His voice was raspy. He seemed too tired to finish his sentence, instead content to let it trail off and hang in the air.

"I'm fine. And you're gonna be okay, too," Ripley reassured.

Carter smiled and closed his eyes again.

"I've got to go," Ripley said softly.

She turned to leave, but Carter's large hand wrapped around her wrist, stopping her as his dark eyes snapped back open.

"What were they?" he asked quietly.

"They're gone now. It's better if you don't know. Just..." Ripley considered carefully for a second. "This world is a whole lot stranger than it seems on the surface. You might want to look into more effective ways to protect yourself."

Carter nodded and closed his eyes again. "Thank you," he sighed.

Ripley bent to kiss him softly on the cheek. "I should be thanking you. You saved my hide out there."