This one's gonna be short too, yall! I've been working on it for a while, here and there, whenever I need my Nappa and Ami fix and Redemption just wasn't doing it for me. And fair warning, there are mentions of rape later on in the story… AND BREAK OUT THE DICTIONARY. YOU WILL NEED IT. That is all. R&R!

Nappa's first reaction was panic.

He could feel the restraints around his wrists and bare ankles, cool and metallic, and several leather straps securing his torso, his upper thighs and his forehead, and his first reaction was pure freezing panic and utter terror. "Oh gods, help me please," he whispered into the pitch black, his entire body trembling in fear at being unable to move, unable to see anything, hear anything… "I hate small spaces," he breathed, his voice now shaking as well. "I hate being strapped down… please? Can anyone hear me?"

He let his head fall back with a loud thunk and closed his eyes, willing himself to calm down. Ok, he was strapped down to what felt like a cool metal table in a totally dark room. He was a Saiyan general and he could handle that. Surely, it couldn't be anything worse than Frieza had dished out in the past, right?

Nappa began by assessing his condition from head to toe, noting that he felt no pain, but that his armor was gone. But he wasn't naked; he seemed to be wearing a soft, comfortable pair of pants, and he felt consoled by that fact. If he was some kind of medical experiment or in one of Frieza's "punishment" rooms, he'd be bare-assed naked.

"I was way too far from Frieza, at any rate," he said to himself. "Not a chance in Hell that that asshole caught me up."

The lights came on suddenly, seemingly at the sound of him speaking over a hushed whisper, and Nappa immediately squinted his eyes nearly shut against the glare before turning his head back and forth to see whatever he could of the room.

The only thing of interest was a glass window on the wall to his right, and Nappa had been in enough of Frieza's punishment rooms to know two-way glass when he saw it. There was someone on the other side of that glass watching him, and he curled his lip up in a snarl at the very thought. "I don't know who you are or why you have me restrained, but you'd better make yourself known right now if you want to live when I break loose from them."

Right on cue, he heard a door open behind him, and Nappa steeled himself for the very worst as he heard quiet footsteps approach to just outside of touching distance. He could practically feel his captor's hesitation and couldn't help a little smirk at the knowledge that they were afraid of him. As they very well should be. I'm a very scary man when I want to be.

But being scary was the last thing on his mind when his jailer stepped into view and his jaw dropped at the sight of the smallest, most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. She was beyond lovely, even with the bruises marring her—"Dear gods, no wonder you've got me trussed up like hog ready for slaughter," he whispered, flinching at the realization that he'd been the one to blacken her left eye, cheek, and jaw. Nappa could have rationalized that someone else had done it, but the massive hand-shaped bruises on both of her arms and her neck could have only possibly come from him—even on Vegeta-sai, no one else had hands that big.

"I'm sorry, woman," he rumbled as he continued to assess her for further injuries. "I don't remember doing that, but it's still no excuse. I don't hit women outside of combat, and definitely not women as small as you." Nappa cringed then at a sudden thought, one that filled him with utter terror, and he closed his eyes tightly at the very thought of having violated her. "Tell me now if I raped you, woman. If I did, then kill me and reclaim your honor. I won't fight you."

His only reply was a soft, terrified voice speaking in a language he didn't understand in the slightest, but the sound of her speaking had his beast rising to the surface, trying to purr comfort to her. "I don't understand you," he answered once she was finished talking. "Galactic, maybe?" He asked in that particular language. "Universal Planetary Trade? You certainly don't speak Saiyan."

Apparently she understood just what he was doing, because she immediately fixed her eyes on him with a little less fear as he switched between languages, then she finally found a chair and pulled it up near the exam table so that they were at eye level.

It was her turn to try, and Nappa listened carefully for a single word that he understood, only to shake his head and sigh in exasperation when she finished. "Not a word. I don't suppose you have my scouter lying around here somewhere? Damn it, I knew I should've let them put that translation chip in my head, but I'm a stubborn old asshole that insisted he was fine without it." Never mind that most of older warriors had refused it, too.

The little blue-haired woman seemed just as frustrated and at a loss by the lack of a shared language, and she let out a huff of annoyance before mumbling something to herself and getting out of her chair, disappearing from view when she went deeper into the room. Nappa eyed the surgical tray that she returned with and couldn't help an instant shudder of fear at the sight of sutures, scissors, and a few other things he didn't recognize. "I said that you could kill me, but I'd much prefer it if you didn't torture me first," he said quickly, his tail going rigid in alarm when she picked up the scissors. "Please don't tell me that you're going to cut me up and then sew me back together."

He saw her face soften a bit then—she could definitely see the fear in his eyes, he was sure—and he heard her say something gently as she locked gazes with him and spoke in a soft, reassuring tone. But that didn't matter a bit to Nappa, since the only thing he could focus on was the strong, overwhelming tug in his chest, informing him that he'd found his mate. "Mine," he breathed in wonder, only to be broken from the spell he was under when he attempted to lift a hand to cup her face, only to have it stopped by the cold metal shackling him.

His eyes flickered over his restraints then, and he gave his hands and feet a shake within them to test their strength, intent on breaking free, only to hear the crash of the surgical tray on the floor and a terrified voice pleading with him from across the room. He realized his error immediately; the woman was trembling with her back to the glass, her eyes full of tears, wide and staring at him in terror.

He'd done that. He'd done that with his hands—hopefully with only his hands—and while he couldn't remember a single bit of it, the blame still lied with him. "Forgive me, woman. I won't hurt you." Nappa relaxed as well as he was able and laid his head back down, keeping it turned towards her in hopes that she would see his intentions written all over his face. "It's alright. I won't hurt you, Blue," he added with a little smirk, knowing she wouldn't understand the word referring to her hair color. "Come back." He jerked his head a little, indicating that she should return to whatever she'd been about to do, praying that she wasn't intending on torturing him with those instruments. "It's ok, Blue. I won't try and get loose."

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Ami hadn't been sure what would happen whenever the man that had crash-landed on Eris woke, but she definitely hadn't expected what seemed like an intelligent, calculating warrior. Nor had she expected his voice to be so quiet and patient, not after the way he'd roared with rage and beaten her senseless when she'd first found him in what was left of his ship's wreckage, naked and covered in injuries from head to toe, dehydrated beyond the limits her own kind could stand.

If it hadn't been for those injuries, he would have likely killed her, but his consciousness had flickered for a moment, his hand had went lax around her throat, and Ami had immediately summoned her powers over ice in her terror and had nearly frozen him solid. It had been more than enough to put him down for the count, and the proof of her panic was still evident on his peeling fingers, toes, ears and the tip of his tail.

He'd been lucky that she'd managed to save everything that had been flash frozen. Hell, if not for her very nature, she would have left him for dead out there in the cold of the lightless dwarf planet.

And if not for that nature and her oath to care for the wounded, she would have left him strapped to that table for trying to get loose, but he had clearly realized why she'd been so afraid, remorse painting his face as he spoke softly and gestured with his head for her to come back. "If you try that again," she finally whispered, "I'll make that gash on your shoulder look like a lovetap."

Watching his lips twitch up in a smirk, he apparently understood a threat when he heard it and tipped his head slightly in acknowledgement. "Good. Glad we managed to communicate," Ami whispered shakily, summoning all of her courage to get a tray of clean instruments, kicking the ones she'd dropped to the side. No way was she bending over to pick them up; she wasn't taking her eyes off of him for a moment.

He wasn't either, and she could see his fear when she picked up a pair of surgical scissors. "I'm not going to hurt you… though you probably deserve it. I wouldn't hurt a helpless man, even if he did beat me black and blue a week ago. I'm only going to hurt you if you try to hurt me." Ami sighed heavily when he only continued to stare up at her fearfully and switched to nonverbal communication, hesitating for only a moment before touching his shoulder. The gash was long and had required more stitches than she'd ever given a single patient, and the piece of his ship that had been lodged inside of him had gone through the bone and out through his back. She was positive that someone of her own race would have never survived such a grievous injury, but in only a few days he had healed right up. "Hurt."

The man on the table gasped when she put a little pressure on the bandage covering the stitches and immediately tried to see what she was doing. "A'hir. Ah, zua."

Ami got a small mirror when he kept trying to look, and immediately watched him sag into the table and relax when he saw the bandage in the angled reflection. Good, he finally understood what she was trying to do. "I'll get to the one on your leg and treat your cold burns when I'm done with your shoulder," she informed him despite the language barrier.

"Au en, zua," he replied when she picked up the scissors again and cut off the gauze, then began to slowly, carefully remove his stitches, mentally noting that there was barely any blood when she pulled out the tiny, precise sutures.

"It's amazing how fast you healed. A man from Mercury would have healed faster than a human or a Venusian, but he would have still been laid up for four weeks while those bones healed," she commented, hoping idly that he would eventually understand something she said if she kept talking. "And your bones are the densest I've ever seen; it's made me wonder if you can even go in the water without sinking straight to the bottom."

Ami continued her aimless chatter as she removed all of the stitches, and once she was finished, she set her scissors and tweezers on the tray along with the bits of surgical thread. "Now for your leg," she informed him, tapping his thigh. "You had another piece of shrapnel in there, but it wasn't nearly as big and it didn't hit the artery. Hold still."

The giant of a man did as he was told and just watched her with interest as she slid his pants down over his hips, his lips twitching at the way her face reddened in embarrassment. "Au t'uh k'sha'or?"

"Oh, I totally know perverted teasing when I hear it," Ami scolded him, shaking her gloved finger in admonishment. "I may not know much about men, but my sister is the goddess of lust and I have to listen to her potty mouth all the time. So don't get fresh with me."

"G'in, sh," he replied with a little chuckle, obviously catching her tone.

"If that was a 'yes ma'am,' I'd advise you not to forget it," Ami responded primly, turning on her doctor-brain to ignore the size of his assets in lieu of taking out his catheter before she started on his stitches. "Now… this is going to be a little uncomfortable, but I promise I'll be quick," she stated as she deflated the balloon that was keeping it in place just inside of his bladder. Ami slid out the tubing slowly to spare him pain, noting the way his jaw clenched even though he didn't make a sound, and when she was done, she gave his thigh a little pat and smiled approvingly. "Good job. Now, I'll empty the bag, wash up, and get some fresh gloves."

Doing just that only took a couple minutes, and when she returned, he was waiting patiently, frowning remorsefully up at her face. "Well, at least you feel bad about it. Doesn't mean I'm taking my chances, though." His reply came in the form of his tail suddenly coming into view, and Ami froze at the sight of it, her eyes wide when it smoothly came up and stroked the ugly bruise on her jaw.

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Nappa's beast had definitely gotten the better of him with the whole tail thing, and as he laid on the cot in the corner, he reflected that maybe his beast should have considered her utter terror of him. If it had, he wouldn't have wound up getting his tail squeezed to the point of excruciating agony when she'd grabbed it and flung it towards him, nor would she have fled out the door behind the table, tears of fear spilling down her cheeks. "Damn it, Blue, I'm sorry," he sighed to no one.

He'd only wanted to check her injuries and find some way to apologize for causing them, so when she'd left and the manacles on the table had popped open a few minutes later, Nappa had sat up slowly and looked around the room, surveying the locked cabinets and drawers on the far side of it as well as the modest sleeping pallet. And the mess was still on the floor, as well as the full tray of instruments perched on the foot of the bed, so Nappa decided to make himself useful and began to remove his own remaining stitches, his hands moving expertly from years of taking care of his own injuries.

The stuff on the floor was next and Nappa took it all to the sink, used his nose to figure out which bottle was full of bleach, and put everything from both trays in there to soak in a solution to sterilize them, along with the trays themselves. Maybe the little physician would see his efforts to help her and she would forgive him for hurting her.

That would at least be a tiny step in the right direction, he realized. A very tiny step. Forgiveness was one thing. Trust was another. And he'd hurt her badly. She was downright terrified of him, and with the language barrier between them, he couldn't properly apologize and explain that he hadn't a single memory of what he'd done to her. He couldn't even verbally explain that he would never, ever hurt her again and that he had even felt the pull for her.

Nappa was still deep in thought when he heard a tapping on the glass, and he looked up to find her on the other side of it, the sight of her setting his beast to purring as he got up and immediately pressed his hand to the window. "Blue, I'm sorry I scared you, I only wanted to check your face, but since my hands were tied I—"

A wave of her hand silenced him, and the little doctor suddenly pointed at her own chest. "Ami."

Her name! She'd given him her name! And what a lovely, fitting name to have, considering the circumstances of their meeting. "Ah m'yo," he chuckled. "My pain. How fitting."

"No. Ami."

"Ah-Mee," Nappa replied softly, knowing that he wasn't pronouncing it quite right, but still worshipping the sound of it all the same. "Nappa," he added, pointing at himself. Then he pointed at her, only to repeat her name as his other hand briefly caressed the glass. "Ah-Mee."

"Nappa."

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"G'in. M'eh Nappa. Au Ah-Mee."

The little doctor couldn't help the tiny smile gracing her lips at the sound of him drawing out the vowels in her name, but she frowned when he began to point at her face and then at his own, guilt shining in his eyes.

"Mah'ni, Ah-Mee. Mah'ni."

He was apologizing, wasn't he? She only realized that just before he began to talk again, pointing at her face and neck, his fingers tracing her bruises through the glass. "I don't understand, Nappa."

"A'hir. Au a'hir. V'nu a'hir?" He repeated, this time pointing to her arms, chest, and stomach.

"Oh." Ami shook her head slightly and was surprised that he was even asking about her injuries other than to apologize for them, but she did appreciate his show of concern. Didn't mean she'd trust him, though. "Here," she said as she pointed to her stomach, then again at the center of her chest where he'd burned her slightly with his ki.

"Ah-Mee…" Nappa's face grew utterly grave then, and he slowly pointed to his own groin, making sure that she was watching before pointing to hers. "A'hir?"

Since she'd been caring for him since he'd fallen unconscious, Ami was very familiar with his manly assets and couldn't help but blush at the first thought that popped into her head. I'm sure I'd be hurt if he had… hell, he would have likely split me in two! She shook off that thought when he continued to wait for her response, his black eyes stormy with guilt, his mouth turned down grimly. "Oh… no. No aheer. You didn't rape me, Nappa… trust me, if you had…" Her lips twitched up slightly, her own eyes glinting with dark humor. "You wouldn't have woken up. And if I hadn't done the deed, I'm sure my sisters would already be putting you through some form of agonizing torture. Especially Rei and Ruka. Probably Sets, too."

The sheer relief on his face and the way he visibly relaxed when he rumbled something with a touch of amusement in his voice told her that he'd understood her thinly veiled threat. "Good, I'm glad we're on the same page. Are you hungry?" She asked, pointing to her own stomach and then rubbing it. "Eat?"

"Ad. G'in, Ah-Mee. Buh'tir."

"Ad. Eat?" Ami confirmed, cracking the tiniest of smiles when he nodded slightly, never taking his intelligent black eyes off of her face. "Guh-een… yes?" She asked as she nodded her head.

"G'in, Ah-Mee. F'ri Guuuh-eeen."

Gods, was he making fun of her!? Ami's jaw dropped at the and she wrinkled her nose in annoyance before shaking her head no. "Free." She shook it again.

Another nod, but he didn't bother to correct her pronunciation; apparently she was close enough. "J—Jeshh."

"Yes."

"Jesh."

"Close enough," she chuckled. She pointed to herself then, then at the door in the room on her side of the glass. "I go… get ad." She then pointed at the cot. "You sit."

"Shit. Jesh."

#################################

Nappa couldn't figure out what he'd said that was so overwhelmingly hilarious, but the sound of the little blue-haired doctor's laughter was infectious, and he found himself grinning like a silly little boy when she had to sit down from the force of her laughter.

Apparently his cluelessness showed though, because Ah-Mee repeated the word he'd just said, "shit", and then pointed at her bottom, then at the commode on his side of the glass. "Oooooh! Ha…hahahahaha…HAHAHAHAHA… I said shit! I guess it's close to your word for sit down!" He realized as he joined in on her laughter.

Once the raucous laughing had died down to giggles, Ah-Mee made a few more gestures and left her side of the glass, and it was then that Nappa realized that he could easily just go through the wall or that two-way glass, or even the door. He'd just use a little bit of ki and…

"No, I'd scare her again, probably worse than the last time," he muttered. "And she's my mate. I shouldn't terrify my mate like that, even if I mean well and I just want to show her that I won't hurt her. No," he repeatedly softly, "I'll stay put and be patient, and she'll see in a couple of days that I don't mean her any harm and she'll let me out."

Like I said, this won't be long! We're going to make jumps in time in this story; the next chapter will be about a week later-ish!