The moment Carol had laid eyes on Hal Jordan, she knew he'd be trouble. Rougeish smile, overconfident, reckless. He wouldn't last a week. At least she could wipe that smirk off of his face with just a look. There was one thing you never did at Ferris Air and that thing was ticking off Carol Ferris. Still, he was a good pilot. Reckless, but capable. So she didn't fire him, no matter how infuriating he could be.

Carol wasn't sure precisely how long he'd been working for her- two or three months, probably- before their borderline hostile, strictly professional relationship had turned into a mild tête-à-tête every time they were in the same room. He would crack a joke, she would counter with ease, he would expand on his own joke (badly), and so on. It wasted time, but her glares had stopped working on him by then. Maybe she was losing her touch. Or, more likely, Hal was so thick-headed and stubborn that it no longer got through to him that she was his boss.

It was another month before she actually started enjoying their stupid back-and-forth, as much of a time-sink as they were. Carol had made the mistake once of telling him that she indulged him because five minutes of it would shut him up for at least an hour. Of course, he smirked and replied:

"There are easier ways to shut me up, Ms. Ferris."

She made him clean the locker room from top to bottom for that little crack. Then she promptly went back to her office and firmly reminded herself that she had outgrown schoolgirl crushes. Besides, she was his employer. Not exactly professional to fraternize with her employees. Unfortunately, the rumor mill had already started up. A few of the other pilots would rib Hal about his supposed feelings about Carol. ('Please,' she'd thought to herself, 'like he cares about me as anything other than a potential one-off date. He'd probably love to reel me in, wouldn't he?') Anytime someone approached her, making not-so-subtle hints about Hal liking her, she would always reply, "Sure, he's grown on me like a particularly persistent fungus" and leave it at that. Of course, not everyone bought it, but nobody really brought it up after awhile. She'd assumed they'd lost interest. After all, nothing was happening and the rumor mill had to find new material to keep on turning.

Then, suddenly, he disappeared for a month. Carol was *beside* herself. Her star pilot had just vanished and nobody could find him. Worry gnawed at her. What if he was hurt? Worse, what if he was dead? He should at least be considerate and put in notice before he died! Carol tried to keep the compnay running while giving constant police interviews to help with their search. But she slept badly most nights, and she found that it was hard to focus knowing that he might very well be... gone.

Of course, that stupid jerk showed up out of nowhere with a sheepish smile and a horrible excuse. "A sick aunt?" Please, that was the oldest excuse in the book. Carol had half a mind to fire him then and there.

Instead, she kissed him.

That really did shut him up. It also opened the Pandora's box of interoffice relationships: a boss with a clear, undeniable interest in her employee. Now she'd done it. Stupid Hal and his stupid goofy smile after she'd kissed him. Stupid Hal and his stupidly charming pick-up lines. Stupid Hal and his stupid never-ending appeals to take her out to dinner. When she came close to losing him after that unexpected earthquake and the resulting crash, she'd relented. Rather, she didn't resist as much as she had before. But she would never, ever admit that her heart had skipped a beat the moment she saw him standing whole and alive in her office. Part of her- okay, all of her- looked forward to their impromptu date.

"I'll pick you up after work! Promise!"

He lied. Carol lost him for a third time. He left and took a part of her heart with him. And she would give anything to get him back.

She'd even put on a talking pink ring and step through a magic portal.

"Carol Ferris of Earth, you have lost your true love. The Star Sapphires offer to make you whole again."

How could she say no?