~~~Superstes~~~UNDERGOING MAJOR EDITING

For a while.

Fe'ya was here, too. Neteyam let her use his hammock and he slept on a met beneath the net, but only after she convinced me she was okay and didn't need to go back to the longhouse, claiming she's been given all the medicine, IV's, and a blood transfusion. I wanted to go find Trudy, but something in Fe'ya's pleading eyes kept me from doing such.   

Lo'ak was out before he hit the ground. Literally, I almost called Norm when he collapsed onto a soft rug, but he stuck his thumb in the air a moment later, so I restrained myself. I guess he forgot about his hammock and decided to sleep in the middle of the mauri, close to his brother. 

Kiri fell asleep gradually, rocking in the net up in the air. While she was dormant, I made out a small smile on her face in the darkness. 

Neteyam slept with his lips turned down in a scowl, like he was grumpy after someone stole his food. I was glad he wasn't emotionless, though. But I hadn't seen him change expressions in his sleep as often as before. 

I laid down next to Neytiri, who had Tuk in her arms. But before I could close my eyes, she whispered, "Jake?" 

"Mm-hmm?" 

When she didn't respond for a minute, I sat up slightly. She was avoiding my gaze, staring at the ground blanky. She looked resigned and reluctant to speak. "Where is Spider?" 

I assumed I didn't hear her correctly. "What?" 

"Where is Spider?" She asked quietly, "Is he not here?" 

"I mean, no. Why? Do you want him here?" 

"You can go get him if you like." 

Instantly, my heart swelled three times its size. She really was trying to move past her anti-human demeanor. Neytiri never really hated Spider, but she never liked him at all and prefeed him to be with his adaptive father, Knash. But he didn't like Spider either and he went back to live on earth anyway. He was really on his own.

Naturally, I left my comfortable position and went to go find him. I knew he'd probably be somewhere near the biolab, but I actually found him sitting outside the avatar longhouse carving a stick. When I came closer, in the moonlight, I saw tear streaks down his face. 

"Spider?" 

He dropped the stick and hastily wiped his eyes when he saw me. "Jake? What're you doing here?" 

I held my hand out to him. "I came to get you. What's wrong?" 

He chuckled and shook his head. "Uh, nothing? Why are you asking?" 

I hoped he knew I could read body language better than that. As a marine, father, and a leader, I knew when something was up. "I'm aware you're upset. You can't hide that." 

I led him through the trees and tents back to the mauri. He was quiet, hesitant. "Spider, you can talk to me." 

"I know--I just...I have a question." 

"Go ahead." 

"Did you kill Quaritch? Is he really dead?" 

The question surprised me for a second. I didn't understand why he wanted to know, or why he was so unhappy. "Yeah." but then it clicked--Quaritch was Spider's father. "I'm sorry if that upsets you, but it had to be done." 

"I know. I'm not upset that he's gone, but now I really--" he cut off and shut his mouth quickly, as if his next words were poison. 

Without batting an eye, I lifted him over a fallen tree that blocked the path to our home. I stepped over it easily, though. I kind of wanted to tease him for being short, but I knew now wasn't the time. "But you really what?"