Take My Breath Away

"Wesley," Blair said.

"Yeah?" Wesley was texting someone. When he heard her, he put away his phone and walked over to her. "What's the matter? You in pain?" he asked.

Blair shook her head. "No, not anymore. I'm fine now. Why don't you go to work?"

"I'm out on leave. Are you thirsty?"

asked Wesley. Blair nodded. Wesley held the water glass for her, tipping it to her lips. Blair sipped at it. After a bit she cupped the water glass and told him she'd had her fill.

Blair was upset. As time went by, guilt and anxiety gnawed at her heart. Wesley was doing everything he could for her. He even asked for leave so he could stay at the hospital. All this because he was told that she was sick and dying. And he believed it. It was really a ruse to get her and Wesley together. What if he got behind at work? What if he was needed on base? Blair felt really bad. Soldiering was his life. She had to try and persuade him somehow. "How about this? I'll call if I need you."

Wesley put the glass on the table and announced, "I'm not going anywhere. Get some rest."

His tone had a finality to it. There was no room for argument.

After helping her lie down, he sat on the edge of the bed. The anxious look on her face aroused his suspicion.

'Something is off, ' he said to himself. Blair was too nervous to look him in the eye.

The next morning, Orion came by. It had been only a few days since his last visit. When he got to the ward, Wesley had gone to buy breakfast for Blair.

The soldier came back with a bag of takeout just as Orion walked out of the restroom. The latter had a basin of warm water with a towel draped over his shoulder.

The look in Wesley's eyes was coated with gloom. The two men exchanged perfunctory greetings, and Orion immediately turned to Blair. "Don't worry. I'm just cleaning your face. You're not supposed to get your bandages wet—doctor's orders. So I'll do it for you," he persuaded.

Wesley fumed. He used to be the one who helped Blair with these things. Now another guy took his place. There was no way he would stand for that.

Orion dipped the towel in the water without waiting for an answer.

Blair looked at Wesley's stony face,

point. "Mr. Li, if it's a whooping you're wanting, I can dish it out. Come get some!"

Wesley looked up while brushing Blair's teeth. "Gladly!" he replied with a wicked smile. That was exactly what he wanted.

He had even beaten up his own brother for getting too close to Blair. Of course he wouldn't mind kicking the sorry ass of someone he barely knew.

Blair realized what was going on. 'A fight? Orion versus Wesley? This is bad!' She rinsed her mouth and said hurriedly, "No, no! Orion, stop! You can't beat him. No one can!" Niles told her that Wesley never lost a battle and he had almost never met his match.

Orion was a boxer, Golden Gloves champ and all that. But Blair was sure he would lose to Wesley.

Her cries only made him more determined to fight Wesley. He took off his suit jacket, tossed it onto the sofa, and started warming up, doing a quick stretch of his limbs, throwing punches into the air, and jumping around.

Wesley calmly took Blair's toothbrush, the cup, the towel and the basins to the bathroom, arranged them in order and then returned.

But still, he wasn't in a rush to start the fight yet. He placed the breakfast in front of Blair and helped her hold a chicken pancake with her injured hands.

"Eat the pancake first. I'll get you some congee in a minute," he assured her. 'In a minute? Is he actually going to fight Orion?'

"Wesley, Orion was joking. Don't hurt him," Blair said, looking at him anxiously.