I can't describe how amazing it was to share this story with all of you guys. I'd like to thank each and everyone of you for the favorites and comments, it's been such a joy to see the little notifications in my mailbox 3 3

I really hope this last chapter won't feel too sappy for you, but I couldn't help it^^

14-Relax, Gammy.

A few hours later, Irani Rael a.k.a Nova Prime walked into a quiet hospital room with Denarian Dey to find the Guardians dozing in various positions all around Peter Quill's ailing bed. She smiled at the sight of a sound asleep Rocket rolled into a ball onto Drax' lap, whom was currently sitting on a too small folding seat and snoring softly. In front of her and way bigger than the last she had seen him, Groot was sitting against the foot of the bed, legs folded against his chest and roots stretched on the ground to the nearest window, making him look like a stump and giving the room a strange undergrowth-like atmosphere.

Then she glanced at Gamora, whom had been resting her head against the mattress and close to Quill's good shoulder a second before, and now was looking at her with exhausted and haunted eyes. They obviously had been through a lot. "You sent for me?"

Gamora nodded reverently. "Yes, Nova Prime, and thank you for coming to us."

Irani Rael pinched her lips. "You did not exactly leave me a choice for that matter, since you all refused to leave the hospital to answer our questions." She noticed how the former daughter of Thanos immediately tensed up and tightened her grip on Quill's hand. "But given the particular circumstances, I suppose we can set aside the rules of etiquette for this time."

Gamora almost deflated from relief. "Thank you."

"Care to tell me what happened, now?"

Then Gamora related the events of that horrible day in a detached manner, as if she had not been the one living them hours before. The crash, the fight against the invisible creatures, the rocky search for spare parts, the fight against the mutants that led to Peter's parasite infection. It all felt wrong, like if it had happened both years ago and to someone else. Rocket and Drax had joined her after waking up to fill in more details about their own experiences, the three of them answering almost all of the Xandarian's questions.

"And how is he doing?" Nova Prime asked softly, looking at Peter Quill's heavily bandaged arm and way too pale face.

"They managed to save his arm, but they are still monitoring him for any sign of infection. Recovery will be hard."

"I will make sure he has the best care."

"We are very grateful to you and are in your debt." Drax said deferentially.

"Nova Prime, I must insist that you make this traveling solar system your priority."

Irani Rael looked at Gamora once again. "And I must remind you that I have more pressing matters to sort out."

"You don't understand. That thing is traveling through space and time and is unpredictable. Its next stop could very well be Xandar. It could destroy your entire planet in a matter of seconds and you won't see it coming."

"Then what do you suggest we do?"

"We can give you the coordinates to where we were. An anomaly of this size must have left a signature trace that you could look for." Gamora looked at Rocket for confirmation.

"Yeah, it's possible," the raccoon thought out loud. "With your technology we could totally track this flarking thing. And next time it pops up in our vicinity, I'd say we bomb the hell out of it."

"We can't bomb this specific sun like that, Rocket. It could tear a hole into the fabric of the Universe." Gamora countered.

"But I've always wanted to bomb a sun! C'mon…"

"Rocket―"

"Alright!" Nova Prime cut them. "I will put my best scientists on it. And no bombing suns."

"Thank you." Gamora replied with relief while Rocket sulked in a corner.

"Now, back to the question you have yet to answer to. How come your ship entered our airspace and landed in front of one of the most secure buildings in the galaxy without showing on our radars?" Irani Rael deadpanned.

The Guardians looked at each other hesitantly.

"I am Groot."

"Yeah, he's right," Rocket followed Groot's idea, putting on his best innocent creature impression. "There must have been like a giant glitch in your equipment, because we called for help like a few light-years away and called, and called, and since you didn't answer and we had an emergency, we kinda parked in the easiest place we could find."

To say Nova Prime looked incredulous was the understatement of the century. She turned to look at Gamora, arms crossed, silently asking her to talk some sense into her teammate.

Gamora pursed her lips and nodded. "Yes, it's weird. You should check this out."

Feeling that his commander in chief was starting to lose her temper, Rhomann Dey talked for the first time since he had walked into that room. "Nova Prime, it's getting late and they could use some rest. I'm sure the Guardians will be happy to answer all of our questions after a good night of sleep, won't they?"

"Yes, we will." Gamora replied, silently thanking him.

Irani Rael sighed, not ready to give up yet.

"Plus, I'm sure the Guardians won't mind us taking a look at the Milano while they are getting their much needed rest?" Dey asked.

Gamora was about to object when Rocket beat her to the punch. "Yeah, of course! And while you're at it, if you want to, you know, show some thankfulness again and help us with some free repairs that'd be great."

"It's settled then. We'll see you tomorrow." Nova Prime said with a smile not quite reaching her eyes and left the room, followed by her denarian.

Gamora waited for them to be out of hearing range to express her bewilderment. "Are you crazy!? First you badly lie to them to hide how we got here and then you give them the keys to the Milano?"

Rocket chuckled. "Relax, Gammy. While Quill was in surgery I got us a second-hand, normal drive for the ship and replaced our pimped one with it. The F.T.L chip is in my bag. I don't want them to put their greedy hands on it either."

"Good idea." a small, gravelly voice came from the bed.

"Hey, look who's decided to join us after we did all the hard work."

"Define hard."

"I am going to fetch a doctor, it seems that his brain has been damaged." Drax said in all seriousness, already on his way to leave the room.

Gamora jumped out of her seat to catch him. "No no no no Drax, wait! It won't be necessary."

"But he does not remember the meaning of—"

"Not literally. It's just a manner of speaking."

"Yeah buddy, my brain's just fine. I think." Peter mumbled tiredly.

"Oh." The muscular man shrugged sheepishly.

"T's okay. You're tired. Well, you look tired. And… kinda wavy?" Quill said, trying to sloppily run his good hand on his face and missing it.

"Are you in pain?" Gamora asked softly.

"No, not yet. Drugs are still kickin'. Everything's floaty." He giggled at a thing only he could see.

Rocket chuckled before a big yawn caught him by surprise. "Well, at least he's in a good mood. I'm gonna go back to the ship to make sure the nova corps aren't breaking anything and catch some sleep. You coming, Groot?"

Groot nodded in agreement but slightly bent over Peter's bed first and placed some flowers on the pillow just over his friend's head. "I am Groot."

"Thanks Groot, you're the sweetest. Goodnight to you too." Peter happily mumbled, enjoying the way the delicate fragrance covered the aseptic smell of the hospital room.

Drax passed his arm over the foot of the bed to pat Quill's leg in an affectionate yet awkward manner. "I am pleased to see you awake and getting better, my friend. I believe you both have a lot to tell each other, thus I will leave you alone and go to rest." His last words were addressed to Gamora with such an unsubtle knowing look that she couldn't resist rolling her eyes.

"G'night Drax, sweet dreams!"

After Drax left the room fell silent, the quiet atmosphere only disturbed by the faint beeping and buzzing of the various machines monitoring Quill's state of health and the background sounds of the night life in the hospital.

"I'd never judge you or think less of you, you know." Peter said softly after a while.

"What?" Gamora replied, confused.

"The things you did for Thanos. The hold he had on you. Not judging you for it, ever. No matter what." Despite his great tiredness, he managed to lock eyes with her, hoping his words would sink in and break through her walls.

Finally realizing what he was referring to, Gamora retreated back into her seat. "You were awake?"

"Not fully. I heard some things, conversations, noises, but I couldn't interact with any of it. I felt like, trapped into a nightmare, probably hallucinating some of it and I had a hard time understanding what was real and what wasn't." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "So… this conversation between you and Drax really happened?"

"It has." Gamora answered softly.

"And Yondu was there too?"

"No."

"Oh. Good, good. That part was weird."

He fell silent once again, but not to doze off this time. He kept his eyes wide open and sweeping the room for something. Initially intrigued by his behavior, her curiosity became worry when Gamora noticed that his breathing was shortening and that his whole body was shaking slightly. "Peter, what's wrong?" she asked softly, slightly brushing his shoulder with her fingertips and recoiling when she startled him. "Peter, look at me."

"Is this real?" he asked in a shaky breath while stubbornly staring at the door.

"What?"

"I killed you," he muttered, lost in his thoughts. "You're all dead. I remember it now." He gulped and closed his eyes, his hand clutching at the sheets as if it was his last defense against insanity.

"Peter, listen to me. No one died. I'm alive, I'm here, with you. You're safe." She placed her hand over his, trying to find a way to get through to him. "The parasite is gone, you're safe, we're safe."

He finally dared looking at her, his face showing a mask of despair that made her heart ache. "But… I saw you die."

"It's the parasite; it made you see things while you were unconscious. It's over now."

"How can I be sure? How can I know for sure that this is not some elaborate construct of my mind to escape the reality that I turned into a monster and killed everyone I love?"

He was shaking badly now, and starting to hyperventilate. Not really thinking about what she was doing, Gamora carefully slid in the bed next to him, snuggled against his side and started to draw slow circles on his chest, shushing him gently until his breathing evened out.

"Gamora?" He asked after a while.

"Yes?"

"What are you doing?"

"I'm helping you calm down." Suddenly feeling awkward, she put herself up a little, leaning on her elbow. "Am I making you uncomfortable? Do you want me to go away?"

"No?" His voice sounded small and hesitant, almost childlike.

She narrowed her eyes in the semi-darkness. "Was that a question?"

Peter cleared his throat. "I… I don't want you to go, but you don't have to stay like that if you don't want to…"

"Okay then." She replied softly, laying down again and adjusting her position against his side for more comfort. She wasn't ready to say it out loud yet, but this new kind of intimacy with him felt good to her too.

Finally daring to give it a try, Peter shifted slightly to open his arm and allow her to come closer, holding his breath in apprehension of her possible refusal. He smiled happily and felt his heart swell in his chest when she slid wordlessly in his embrace and rested her head against his shoulder, sighing contentedly as he laid a soft kiss on the crown of her head.

They fell into a comfortable silence after that, enjoying the reassuring presence of each other in the relative darkness of the hospital room. But Peter being Peter, he couldn't help making fun of the situation. "I should almost die more often."

Gamora guffawed indignantly against his chest. "If you ever think of doing a stunt like that once again, I'll kill you myself."

"Sounds fair."

"Yes. I'm a pretty fair person."

"That's true. You're fair, and very pretty."

She could hear the trademark charming smile in his voice, and felt herself blushing against her will. Why would she react like that to what he said? It was corny and easy. Plus, Gamora didn't blush, it was too… girly. "You are such a flirt. I bet you've said that to every girl you courted." She said in the tone of a joke, hiding as best as she could how insecure she truly felt.

"I won't lie, I have." Peter answered earnestly. "But it's the first time it really means something to me," he said staring at the ceiling, searching for the stars he usually had over his head in these moments of introspection, his hand unconsciously drawing small circles on the soft skin of her arm. "Having been taken from my world and growing up with the Ravagers, I guess I've always avoided becoming attached to people. The way I treated women, I knew my mom would have disapproved of it." He snorted. "Hell, she would have disapproved of me becoming a space pirate too, and I did it anyway because it was easier, you know? No strings attached, no one to care about but myself, I couldn't get hurt. But when I first saw you outside the broker's shop, I thought you were the most beautiful woman I had ever seen, and I continued thinking so when you were beating my ass down. Then I got the chance to really know you, and I fell hard for you, and I kept falling every day since. You amaze me Gamora. You make me want to be the man my mom wanted me to become."

He slowly shifted his head to look at her and noticed she had closed her eyes. He chuckled softly as he realized he had courted her to sleep, and that he really didn't care. He would tell her how special she was to him the next day and every day after that, and even the thought made him happier than he had ever been.

He slowly started to doze off, lulled by the regular sound of her breathing and the wonderful heat of her body against his, the pain and fears of the previous day finally forgotten. Then he felt her shift slightly to move closer to him than he thought possible, and this time he was certain it was not an hallucination when he heard her mumble sleepily the four little words which had not been spoken to him for twenty-nine years:

"I love you too."

FIN.

That's all folks! I hope you enjoyed it. Feel free to leave any comment and don't hesitate to ask questions if you have some, I'd be happy to answer them.