Chapter 240: Chapter 240: I Want to Hug You
Lying in bed, Zoe Pierce felt that the worst of her discomfort wasn’t in her limbs, but in a spot just to the side of her spine.
She had to rely entirely on her arm strength just to stay sitting up.
Chase Shaw steadied her. "Does the wound hurt?"
Zoe Pierce shook her head. "It doesn’t hurt, but the nerves there feel really sensitive." She could feel it pull with the slightest movement.
"That’s normal." It was a side effect of the flesh regenerating too quickly.
Zoe Pierce nodded.
Nathan Lockwood felt that Zoe Pierce seemed a little different.
She seemed calmer, more still.
The way she looked at them was different from usual. Especially now—even though she was leaning for support, her gaze never left him and Chase Shaw.
"Why are you looking at us like that?"
Zoe Pierce didn’t feel like her gaze was any different.
"I just want to look at you," she said earnestly.
Even Chase Shaw’s expression changed slightly as he looked at her.
Zoe Pierce had never been one to show her emotions so openly, especially not in a place like this, saying such things to both of them.
Nathan Lockwood’s brow furrowed slightly. "Were you scared?"
He assumed the suddenness of the accident had left Zoe Pierce feeling insecure.
Zoe Pierce thought about it. ’I wasn’t actually scared, was I?’
Everything had happened so suddenly that she had acted purely on instinct. She had passed out before she even had a chance to feel the fear in hindsight.
When she woke up again, she was already lying in a comfortable bed, with Chase Shaw and Nathan Lockwood by her side.
She shook her head again.
Seeing this, Nathan Lockwood couldn’t help but keep his brow knitted. "The doctor said your neural fluctuations are very frequent. Are you sure your spiritual power and memory are okay?"
"I remember everything, Nathan Lockwood," Zoe Pierce replied. "All my past memories—I remember them all."
’No wonder she seems different.’
Before Nathan Lockwood could say anything, Zoe Pierce lowered her gaze, her voice soft. "I want to hug you."
This wasn’t their Starship; it was a military vessel.
That was why she couldn’t act completely without reservation.
Her long, dark hair hid part of her face, leaving only her long, curled lashes visible as they trembled.
Chase Shaw and Nathan Lockwood exchanged a look.
Suddenly, Zoe Pierce felt a large shadow fall over her, and a weight pressed down on her shoulders.
Two figures, one on her left and one on her right, enveloped her from both sides.
Their hands gently and soothingly patted her back.
"Why not?" Chase Shaw’s voice was also low and deep.
Nathan Lockwood’s voice was just as low. "We know you were scared. It’s okay."
Their warmth flowed into her, and Zoe Pierce instinctively wrapped her arms around their backs as well. With the tops of their heads on either side of her cheeks, she gave a gentle nuzzle.
"Just now, I started to feel the fear... the fear of losing you," she said, taking a deep breath.
’Because I can’t bear to lose anything else.’
She had even grown somewhat detached from her own feelings.
But the moment she thought of them, she would still grow tense, worried that something might have happened to them.
"You’re... you’re dressed like me. You were injured too, weren’t you?"
She had just gotten a good look at the clothes all three of them were wearing—they were all in identical patient gowns.
Combining that with what the two of them had just said, it wasn’t hard to deduce that Miles Sherman and Aaron Xavier were likely the only ones uninjured, while these two had been hurt.
For a moment, Nathan Lockwood and Chase Shaw were speechless.
But Zoe Pierce just hugged them tighter. "As long as you’re okay."
Nothing was more important than their safety.
And so, when Director Quinn and Ryan Jacobs arrived at the doorway, they were met with the sight of Zoe Pierce embracing the two men.
A clear look of concern was etched on Chase Shaw’s and Nathan Lockwood’s faces as they comforted the Omega in their arms.
Looking at such a scene, even a person with a heart of stone would have softened a little at the bond between them.
Ryan Jacobs even chuckled from the side. "I’ve been there. Surviving a dangerous mission and clinging to your teammates after cheating death."
How could Director Quinn not have had similar experiences?
In a place like the military, that kind of precious camaraderie was all the more profound.
They didn’t even entertain any assumptions based on their respective genders.
Evidently, Nathan Lockwood was the first to notice the movement at the door. The hand that had been patting Zoe Pierce’s back stopped. "Director Quinn is here."
"I still want to hug you," Zoe knew she shouldn’t say it, but the emotions surging through her were more powerful than her reason.
Nathan Lockwood and Chase Shaw were both a little helpless against her.
If they were anywhere else, they wouldn’t have even needed Zoe Pierce to say it—they would have held her so close she’d become a permanent part of them. They wouldn’t let go, and they wouldn’t allow her to let go either, just holding each other until the end of time. But alas, this was not the place for that.
All they could do was coax her. "We’ll hug after we get back to the Capital Star, okay?"
Zoe Pierce greedily hugged them for a few more seconds before finally suppressing her reluctance and letting them go.
Seeing that they had broken their embrace, Director Quinn and Ryan Jacobs finally entered the room.
"Are you feeling any better?" Director Quinn’s expression was as serious as ever, but their tone was a little softer today.
After all, having watched her lie unconscious for so long, it was impossible not to have been worried.
Zoe Pierce smiled. "Much better."
Director Quinn didn’t beat around the bush. "In a little while, a doctor will be here to examine you, and people from the military will come to question you. Just tell them the truth."
"Don’t worry. I’ll get you home."
"Director Quinn, thank you." Zoe Pierce’s thanks came straight from the heart.
She hadn’t forgotten the care and protection her mentors had shown her over the past six months.
She had lost so much, but she had also gained so much.
The guidance and protection of her superiors had been a constant shield for her.
At this moment, it was hard not to feel a surge of emotion.
A few minutes later, Miles Sherman and Aaron Xavier, having gotten the news, rushed into the room.
Aaron Xavier was faster. Seeing Zoe Pierce sitting up safe and sound on the edge of the bed, his eyes instantly reddened.
When Zoe Pierce saw his tear-rimmed eyes, she suddenly found a bit of courage and opened her arms to him.
Aaron Xavier was clearly stunned for a moment; after all, Director Quinn and the others were still in the room.
But Zoe Pierce’s arms remained open, and he could no longer hold back. He rushed forward and threw his arms around her. "Zoe Pierce, do you have any idea how worried sick we were about you?"
His hug was the tightest of them all, as if he were trying to squeeze all the air from her lungs.
The feeling of having her back after thinking she was lost, the sensation of holding her in his arms again... It was indescribable.
Zoe Pierce was being hugged so tightly she could barely breathe. She quickly patted his back a few times, prompting him to loosen his grip a little.
"I’m sorry, Aaron Xavier. I made you worry."
Her voice was gentle as she hugged him back.
Miles Sherman entered a moment later, just in time to see Zoe Pierce letting go of Aaron Xavier.
Zoe Pierce’s gaze immediately found Miles Sherman standing in the doorway. His rushed footsteps had come to an abrupt halt the moment he saw her.
She had been sitting on the edge of the bed, but now she slipped on her shoes and stood up.
Miles Sherman immediately started walking toward her. "You should lie down for a bit longer."
But in the next second, his feet were nailed to the spot.
