Chapter One

"Cress," he called. Then, after what felt like an eternity, he tried again, "CRESS! Come here!"

"I'm coming! Wait a minute!" said a cheerful voice from the other room.

Cress came barreling into Thorne's room, smiling from ear to ear. "Well, finally," said Thorne grinning.

"What is it?" Cress asked, still beaming.

"Kai just commed. If you want to, we're going to Second Era Italy!"

"Really?" she rasped.

"So, I'm guessing you want to go?" he said, knowing she did. Really, her high-pitched, ear-splitting confirmation was unnecessary. Cress ran toward him and squeezed him in a quick version of her bear hug.

"This is so exciting," she squealed.

Thorne, chuckling, pulled back. He lightly held her shoulders and was looking her in the eyes. Those beautiful, huge blue fragments of heaven. "Okay, its settled then. It isn't even an antidote trip. For the first time, it's just for you and me, darlin,'" he said, winking.

He released her shoulders and took a step back to sit on his bed. "Now, what were you so happy about when you walked into the room? Haven't gotten over my startling appearance yet, sweetheart?" he said.

"Oh!" Cress exclaimed, and she ran out the door without so much as one blush.

Thorne guffawed; she never ceased to amaze him. Slowly, he raised himself off his bed and walked out of his bedroom door. He walked in the general direction of where he thought she'd went.

"Cress? Cress, where are you?"

"Kitchen! Come here, Captain. Hurry," Cress replied excitedly from the kitchen.

Thorne walked to the kitchen and found a huge mess of sauce, spice, bread, and meat. He saw Cress pull something out of the oven. "What are you up to?" he asked.

She turned on him, smiling. She was holding a pan-full of something cheesy and saucy in her hands. Cress set the pan onto the counter and got some plates and forks out for them.

Cress had tried to cook before and, all things considered, she was great. But, sometimes, when she tried to cook Second Era food…

Sometimes it was hard for Thorne to hold in his grimace.

Skeptical, Thorne bent over to smell the strange looking food.

And it smelled great. Almost surprised, Thorne was suddenly excited. By time Cress was back with the plates, he could hardly wait to cut into it. Cress got a spatula and cut them each a too small helping.

Thorne could tell she was nervous so he smiled. "What is this? It smells great," he said.

"Chicken enchiladas. Well, actually chicken enchilada casserole. They're—they're Second Era food," she said, looking up cautiously.

"Really? Well, if they taste anything like they smell, you'll be making chicken…" he paused, "chicken whatever-they're-called every dinner. Now, please give me my plate," Thorne said with true craving, though the "Second Era" part made him a bit more nervous.

"Okay, okay. Here," Cress said, handing him a girly dish she had made him buy while they were distributing antidotes in France.

Thorne made a show of eating his first bite. He had meant to act, even if they were truly good, like they were gross. But when he bit into it, he found he couldn't.

Stars.

His eyeballs rolled back into a swoon of contentment. He closed his eyes, chewed, and sighed. He savored the melted cheese, warm chicken, somewhat spicy sauce.

When he finally opened his eyes he saw that Cress hadn't touched her plate. Instead, she'd been watching him. "Cress. Cress, eat this. Eat it, now," Thorne said already scooping a hunk more onto his plate.

"You really like it?" she giggled, obviously ecstatic about his reaction.

"Like it? I love it. Now taste," Thorne said, grabbing her fork and shoving it in her mouth.

"Mmmm," said Cress thoughtfully as she shifted her plate from one hand to the other.

"'Mmmm'? That's all you have to say?" Thorne teased as he licked Cress' spoon. "More like Mmmmmhmmmmmmm," he sang, rubbing his stomach mockingly. Thorne reached for her free hand, "Cress, that was good. Great, actually," he said.

"Thanks," Cress said, already blushing. "I just…I know I can hack and I helped with the revolution, but…"

"But what?" Thorne asked. When she didn't answer he tried to draw her in closer. She immediately pulled back. "But what, Cress?"

"But—well, unless I'm doing something illegal, hacking isn't really a useful skill," she said. "You know, everyday stuff."

"So, what I'm hearing is that you want me to become a criminal mastermind again, with you as my special agent?"

Cress laughed and Thorne smiled. At least he'd gotten a laugh out of her. "No, I just…I'm just having trouble fitting in with Earthens. Most of them still don't trust me. A-and I don't really know what I'm good at here yet," Cress explained. "I don't know," she said, "maybe I'm just being stupid."

"Okay, hold on. One; you're amazing, how could you not fit in? Two; you're good at plenty of things," Cress looked up, doubtful. "You can sing," he continued, "I mean really sing. Also, you can cook ancient food and make it taste heavenly. And three; you are certainly not stupid. Stars, Cress, you've come up with more formulas in your teens than professional, educated mathematicians have their whole lives."

"Well…when you put it like that…"

"When I put it like that, you sound like the most amazing and unique person in the world. You sound special, and you know why?" Cress returned to studying the floor, blushing fiercely. "Cress," Thorne said, lifting her chin so she would look him in the eyes. "It's because you are the most amazing person. Because you are special," Thorne breathed, brushing her cheek.

He pulled her into a hug and this time she let him. He rested his chin on top of her head and held her. She sighed, "I'm fine, Captain. I just wanted to learn to cook, that's all," she said, again pulling away. Cress started cleaning the mess she made and Thorne started to help her.

Cress wouldn't look at him.

"Cress?"

"Hmm?"

"You alright?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know. Just checking," he said. Thorne leaned in to kiss her forehead but she had already gone to the sink to put the cheese grater away. "Um. Okay, well…I'm—I'm gonna get back to work," Thorne said lamely, pointing roughly to his room.

"'Kay. See you later," was Cress' only reply.

"Yeah…" said Thorne as he walked away.

Thorne went into his bedroom and tried to fill out the rest of the antidote paperwork on his podscreen but he couldn't focus. Thorne couldn't shake the feeling that Cress was upset or mad about something. Maybe even mad at him. He always teased but she liked that, right? He'd already confessed about his…history with women. She definitely knew about his relationship with the law. So, what was she angry about?

He sighed.

Only her.

Only Cress made him this worried.

Cress finished cleaning up after her casserole. It actually was really good, especially for a Second Era food. She would be making it again just to remind herself of the accomplishment.

She tripped and fell over in the too long sundress she was wearing. "Owwww," she moaned quietly, gently rubbing her injured back. She sighed and raised herself up onto her feet. Cress blushed furiously despite the fact that no one else had witnessed the incident.

Cress laboriously made her way to her bedroom. Although she wasn't tired, she told Darla to shut off the lights. She then flung herself unto her bed. Cress commanded her netscreen on and began browsing through dramas. Finally, she decided on Last Night's Tomorrow, though she'd already watched it twice.

Cress wished she had someone to watch it with. She supposed she could ask Thorne but he didn't like the movies she did and…it wasn't the same as watching it with Iko. Cress loved Thorne but, boy, he could talk. And not even about important, serious things. He just talked.

And talked.

Cress knew she was being harsh but she just wanted—no—needed a break from Thorne.

Cress could already see the hurt flash across his face if she had said that to him. Stars, he was like a puppy. If you raised your voice just a little too high, poor little puppy would get upset.

The drama's opening came into view and it made an altogether too loud DUM DUM that made Cress jump. Shaken, she commanded the audio level down.

Cress just missed how things used to be. It was so much nicer when the entire crew was on the Rampion to keep them busy. Now it was just him, her, and too much free time. Ever since he'd finally said he loved her back, things had been different. But…not exactly as Cress had dreamed.

Cress had caught herself pretending he had never confessed. That things weren't different. Somehow, the uncertain part of her journey had been the best piece of it. Somehow, even though it hurt, not knowing if Thorne loved her had been more comfortable than this.

Maybe it was because there was something to look forward to, back then? But then, weren't there still things to look forward to now?

Cress didn't know. It just felt too good to be true. Felt too unreal.

And yet, had she really given them the chance to make it real?

She could have her fantasies come true with Thorne but is that really wanted? Did she want him to play into her predesigned conversations and kisses? No. No, she could have Thorne. Thorne, a true hero. Thorne, who loved her.

He was not just some distant drama star she idolized years ago. He was here. He was here with her.

And, as far as she was concerned, he wasn't going anywhere.