( Your third request comes from an anonymous reader asking for some Wash/Eleven drama. And this felt appropriate considering... recent episodes. )

I breathed deeply, slowly waking from a restless sleep. Looking up, I saw he was already awake, his eyes wide, anxious, and staring at the ceiling. At registering my movements, he looked down and forced a smile.

"Morning, beautiful."

"Good morning." I hugged him tightly. "Did you get some rest?"

He shook his head.

"Me neither."

Neither of us had slept much during the night. Of course, part of that had certainly been intentional, but even our embraces had seemed desperate and needy, as if it were the last—

No. No, he would be fine. The implantation would go well. Carolina had just been stupid. Wash wasn't scheduled for two AIs. He would only have one. We would meet up after the surgery and joke about his new inverted penis and how that would cause some problems for us at night.

We lay in silence for another few moments, my hand brushing lightly over his bare chest. I repeated in my mind everything the Counselor had explained to me during the briefing, attempting to reassure myself over and over again that Wash was completely safe.

After what seemed like just a few seconds, Wash squeezed me tightly and kissed the top of my head. "I have to get ready now." We both sat up and he stepped out of the bed, walking over to his closet and retrieving his uniform.

"So," I said, feigning casual disinterest. "Who are you going to choose to be your observer?"

Wash stopped and looked at me, chuckling. "Who do you think?"

I shrugged. "Well, I… North chose South, and York chose Carolina, so you might want a Free—"

"Don't worry, Ells," Wash interrupted, watching me intently. "I'm choosing you. You'll be in the observation room for the implantation. You'll see the whole thing."

I smiled a little in relief, though I knew the grin didn't reach my eyes.

"David…" I said slowly. After I pulled on my black under-armor layer, I stood up and hugged him, though he was only wearing half his armor. "I'm just… I'm so nervous for you."

Wash smiled sadly, attempting optimism. "Come on, you've seen all my stats. Hell, you created my stats. I'm trained for all this, and I'm only getting one AI."

"Stats are numbers on paper, and we don't know how each AI acts. This… this is different."

Wash forced a laugh. "Well, if I die, then that'll be one less person to annoy you all the time."

"Dave, you know that I—"

He interrupted me with a swift kiss, short but passionate.

"I'm going to be fine," he said determinedly.

"Promise?"

"Promise." He watched me for a moment and then broke the hug, reaching beneath his armor to grab a chain from around his neck. "Here," he continued, unclasping the chain and hooking his own dog tags around my neck. "See? I need those. I'll be coming back for them in a couple of hours."

I smiled and watched him finish dressing, finally in everything but his helmet.

"All right," Wash said finally, taking a deep breath. "It's time."

He needed to leave before me in order to prepare for the operation; after he informed the staff of his choice of observer, they would radio me just before the procedure and give me the security clearance to enter the implantation observation area. Wash embraced me briefly again and walked toward the door.

Just as he was about to exit the room, he stopped and turned to me.

"Ells…" he began. His lips then slowly formed the shape of my name… my real name. He whispered it. A pause. "I love you."

Without another word, he shut the door behind him.