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Dureena's head hurt. Like, really, really hurt. Everything was white and blurry, and way too bright to be normal. She brought her hand to her eyes, peeking through her fingers to see if that would ease the strain, when she noticed all the wires hooked up to her.
"Good morning," said Sarah, which clued her into her location without any further doubts.
Dureena groaned and pulled the uncomfortably fluffy pillow over her eyes. "What happened?"
"You were out scouting the planet. What Gideon tells me is the tiling you were scaling wasn't stable, so you slipped and hit your head… luckily close enough to the ground to avoid major injury."
Great. So she'd brought this upon herself. "It really hurts."
"Yeah… You have a concussion. The drugs should be kicking in soon."
"A what?" She might've known it in her own language, but medical terms in any tongue are a league of their own.
"It's a mild brain injury. You'll be fine, you just need to stay here and rest so we can monitor you for a bit."
"Like shkez I am." She tried to sit up, but Sarah's hand met her shoulder.
"No," said Sarah, easing her back into the bed. Dureena's dizziness discouraged her from putting up much of a fight. "You need rest."
"I need to get back down there."
"The crew will be fine without you."
She knew Sarah probably didn't mean it like that, but it hit Dureena hard to be called expendable. If the crew realized how much easier it'd be without her, or that she was broken… she'd be gone for good. "But…"
"No buts."
"No, you don't understand." She'd already screwed up by getting herself hurt. She couldn't afford to be out of commission. She had to remind them she was worth all the trouble she came packaged with, and she couldn't do that from a bed. "You're a doctor. I'm… I can't be expendable."
Sarah's demeanor softened. "No one thinks that. Gideon's been calling in every other hour to make sure you're okay. And if Eilerson were capable of showing concern, he would've been doing the same. I know I was worried when I heard."
Dureena closed her eyes and pressed her lips together. Despite how genuine Sarah seemed… was it safe to believe?
"Trust me, we want you here. And we want you to get better so you can stay."
She didn't know why it made her feel so much better to hear it from Sarah when she could hardly convince herself of the same. But the mattress was starting to feel oddly comfortable, and it was hard enough to keep her eyes open for this conversation. Really, she'd only render herself more useless if she caused herself further harm. "Okay, I'll… relax, but only because you're not giving me much other choice."
"Doctor's orders," Sarah joked, before leaning in close. "Seriously, you're not expendable. And if anyone so much as implies otherwise they'll be hearing from me."
Dureena laughed, which helped break the tension of everything she was feeling. "What're you gonna do, stick 'em with a scalpel?"
"That might be more your territory, but we all have our specialties. You'd be surprised what tricks I have up my sleeve." When a nurse called Sarah's name, she sighed. "I have to take this. You gonna be okay?"
Dureena nodded just enough to convey the motion without giving herself double vision. "I think so."
Sarah smiled and squeezed Dureena's hand before walking away.
Dureena traced her palm, clinging to the sensation of Sarah's skin against her own, and let herself breathe.