Last Stand (1) - Resolution

"I'm proud of you, Sasha."

We were relaxing a bit after the busy morning, lying in the couch in the safe room beside Andrei's office. Lately, I seemed to always find myself diving into his chest, safe in his arms. That's probably the reason he noticed the soft chill that ran down my spine.

"You're still not used to it, are you?"

"It's gonna take a while. After so many years, it feels weird." ... It felt weird being called a different thing. You see, the whole 'Sandy' thing started when the guys didn't realize in English it's usually a girl's name. It had stuck long before they realized it, and then they found it so funny that it became almost an inside joke. I've never really cared either way -- in fact, it felt nice to finally forget the old days of instructors from hell calling me by my actual name.

He smiled at me. "Do you like it?"

I smiled back. "Yeah. ... You know, you were right, it was about time to move on."

He started softly rubbing my arm for an answer. "You know, I never thought I'd end up like this. Caring for someone, I mean."

"Maybe nobody gave you the chance."

He laughed softly at the suggestion. "Maybe. But maybe that's because I don't deserve it. ... You're different, Sasha. You did."

"Everybody deserves a chance."

"Not everybody thinks like you, you know. I, for one, don't think I deserve you."

We sat in silence for a while. I was too focused on feeling his warmth, on drowning in the sea -- a sea of madness. Maybe he was right. I couldn't have cared less. He could have been the devil himself, and nothing would have changed.

After a while, he broke the silence. "What do you want. I mean, I had something for you, but after this morning..."

Have I said we had had a busy morning?

I looked into his eyes, and realized the answer. "I want more."

He grinned at my words. "That's my boy." He paused for a moment. "Sorry. I know you hate that one. But, it's not easy for me to not call you that, Sasha. You're still so young."

I couldn't help smirking. "I don't really care what you call me, Andrei."

He patted my arm again, understanding. "So... yeah, I had a file for you. A sort of a test, if you wish."

"Show me."

He reached for the tablet that was conveniently placed on the side table and quickly found the file. "Here."

I eyed it. A girl -- the file said she was eighteen but I would have said less. "Goal?"

"The goal is not exactly to send a message, but... well, to give her a message."

Oh-kay. Well, shit.

He looked at me. "You can say no, and I'll give you some other file, you know."

"No, no, it's fine. I have to do this. For myself."

He grinned at my answer. "Good."

"Anyway, any red lines?"

"Actually, yes. I don't really care what you do, but make sure the doctors can fix it. ... Well, you'll be following orders, so I may step over the line a bit. But, other than that... make sure they can patch her back up."

Shit. "Understood." I totally saw where this was going. ... He had said it was a test, after all.