Aki wept for him.  After it was over – Earth was safe because of him.

Gray tried to move… tried to tell her he was okay, but doubting it more every second his body failed to respond.  He could feel her arms around him, her tears drop shamelessly on his skin, and her sadness pierce his soul.

And he wanted to scream in the darkness behind closed eyes that he was alive.  And that his heart still beat; he could feel it.
 

He woke up terrified.
 

After a few shaken breaths, Gray tried to calm down.  His eyes darted around the alien-yet-familiar cell, to the woman in his arms, to the old man a few feet away, and then the crew across the isle.  Alive, he could have cried from relief.  Only a dream; they were all sleeping soundly.  Except for Neil, he realized – the corporal was staring at his hands, as he’d been when Gray had fallen asleep.

Aki slept against him, and Sid and Ryan against their respective walls.  Jane had slipped under the bench, and was napping there; but Neil didn’t seem to have slept at all.

The captain sighed thoughtfully.  They still needed to escape, quite desperately, but he worried about Neil.  He seriously hoped Jane’s previous lecture on things to come hadn’t scared the man too badly.  And Gray felt that he, himself should have had the common sense to either lie out of it or have stopped it before it got out of control, and he had done neither.

With the sinking feeling that their number had decreased by one, Gray could only hope…  He’ll be okay; we’ll all be okay.  Please let us all be okay….