A/N: My first 1/362 story. Enjoy!

Rachel McKenzie sat in her usual seat, up at the Moonbase. The bridge was quiet, left; no sign of danger. At times like these she used her chair not to look if there was an attack coming, or anything else that had to do with adult danger. The only thing she did was stare into the darkness, the deepness of space. She used moments like this to do nothing but think. Think about missions she'd had. Missions that brought happiness; missions that brought sadness. But especially missions… that had to do with him.

Numbuh 362, that was her name among the organisation. An organisation she was supposed to run. But during that one mission she totally screwed up her job as the Supreme Leader of KND. She had acted like a total coward. A coward, that felt how the pressure of more than a buhmillion kids relying on her was getting too much. So she chose the easy way out: with one simple tag she decided someone else should take over her job. But soon this little game turned into a dangerous mission, that would've destroyed every Kids Next Door operative, including her… if it wasn't for him.

He had taught her not to be afraid of her fears. He had told her to keep moving on, no matter the pressure. He had assured her she was a great leader, suited for this job. And she still didn't believe him.

I owe you, Nigel, she told the enduring silence in thought. It doesn't matter what you say. I owe you. You're the one who saved us all, not me. I don't understand why you keep telling me the opposite… you're supposed to be the leader, not me.

"Am I interrupting?"

She recognised his voice all too well, and she didn't know how fast to turn her head and observe him. His face, his smile. That comforting smile. He had smiled at her the same way during the game of tag.

"… No, Numbuh 1. It's okay," she replied. She tried to smile back, but got disturbed by the uncomfortable feeling a nervous grimace greeted her teammate instead.

Nigel didn't seem to notice; the smile stayed. "How are you doing?" he asked, walking closer to her.

Rachel got off her chair and approached him as well. "I… guess I'm fine," she told him.

"What were you thinking about?"

Rachel raised an eyebrow up her forehead. "How did you know I was thinking?"

Nigel's smiled widened in sympathy. "This room not often as abandoned as now. I noticed you were the only one left. This is a good place to think when there's no one here, isn't it?"

He always managed to read her mind. Rachel wondered how he was always able to know what she was thinking. Sometimes she called it fate, other times coincidence. And yet, she knew for sure… that he'd call it fate as well. His ability to look through her eyes made her return the smile.

"Yes, it is. But it's not like I was thinking about important things. Just… random things."

"An excellent moment to think the pressure off of you, don't you think?"

"Yeah…" Rachel looked away from him, facing the deepness of space again. "It is. I don't have much time to do things like this. There's always a new mission, another attack… Do adults never get tired?"

"You're acting like you're tired of being a Supreme Leader," Nigel commented neutrally. "Like you're always too busy to concern your private life, aside from the KND."

Rachel said nothing. So he continued.

"But it's the opposite, isn't it? You're not tired of being the Supreme Leader and being pushed forward by enduring pressure. You're tired of the fact that you're stuck here 24/7, only to give orders and fill in paperwork. You want to go on a real mission, don't you?"

BANG. He'd done it again. Shot in the rose. Nail on the head. He was really a mind reader.

This thought made Rachel blush, just a small bit. What if what she considered was true? What if he did know what she was thinking, 24 hours a day? And how did he do this? She didn't know. But she wanted to know. She wanted to ask him. But she remained silent. Then she realized she did have to answer him, before he'd throw her a smart remark about her blush that would cause her to end up stunned.

Rachel forced herself to eye him again. He eyed back, still with the same comforting smile.

"Bingo," she told him, in a quiet tone. Signs of her recent complains were nowhere to be found. "I have to admit… that I'm jealous of you, Nigel. Sometimes I wish I could be in your place."

She was about to look away again, to run from his glance. It sort of feared her, but comforted her at the same time. However, his eyes were keeping her trapped in his own, as if they were trying to tell her: You're not going anywhere, you coward. Stay right here, where you belong.

But his smile told her a different story. You don't need to be afraid. You can trust in me, and in what I'm telling you. Believe me, mark my words.

He's being serious, and yet he wants to comfort me, Rachel concluded, lost in his eyes. She had never realized how deep they were. Even when he helped her to find the right way to take during their mission together.

"I understand," Nigel interrupted her thoughts. He didn't seem to notice how she was feeling about his glance only, because the look on his face didn't change a bit. "I can't say that I'm surprised, not at all. Especially when I get another 'workaholic' comment thrown in my face."

At this comment they both started to chuckle. Rachel could sense how nervously and shyly she sounded, compared to his spontaneous laughter. Then she stopped; another question made her curious to know the answer.

"Why did you come here anyway?" she asked, interrupting Nigel's chuckling.

He looked into her eyes again. "There are no missions at all, as you can see. Last time I, well… desperately tried to achieve one, but it was no use. The result was doomed to face entire boredom as long as the sun stayed up. I'm not making that mistake again. I decided to drop over to the Moonbase, just to see if there's anything exciting going on."

Rachel answered his story with a nervous smile, and three seconds later a nervous shrug. "Well, I'm sorry to say that you didn't manage to get what you wanted here."

"What are you talking about? Of course there is."

Rachel's other eyebrow raised in surprise. "There is?"

Nigel's eyes started to twinkle. "There's you."