Hey, people! So, yeah, this is my first SH fic and it mostly centers around Piper. I'm guessing it will mostly be 3rd person point of view cuz I want to be able to show each character's thoughts. If you have me on author alert b/c you're waiting on a sequel to my Sisters Grimm fic, don't worry, it's coming! I just had this idea for a story and I had to put it into words. If you haven't read my SG fic and have read the Sisters Grimm books, go ahead and find the story on my profile and tell me what you think!

I would like to dedicate this story to darkmistress in the shadows, my favorite SH author who has inspired me to write this fic. I would also like to thank her for writing "Twenty Things" which helped me with Piper's thoughts on Aerrow. If you haven't read her stories, you don't know what you're missing!

Now on with the story. Enjoy! :-)

Disclaimer: I do not own Storm Hawks. Never have, never will.

Chapter 1: Take Care

Piper grunted and lazily wiped away the drool that had found its way down her cheek sometime during the night. Stifling a yawn, she tucked a lock of her midnight blue hair behind her ear and sat up, letting her eyes adjust to the darkness that surrounded her. She peered across the dark room that she was in to the opposite wall where a small clock was mounted. She could barely make out the small numbers that the clock hands pointed to: 4:54 am.

Even though the whole ship was usually completely silent and inactive at this time in the morning, this was usually the time at which Piper preferred to start her day. In fact, it was for that very reason that Piper would force herself awake at such an early hour: the silence. It was the only peaceful time of the day, and it just became more and more routine for her to begin her day around five in the morning. Of course her fellow squadron members found out about her early morning starts and thought she was crazy, but Piper didn't mind.

Not able to stifle another yawn, Piper lifted a hand to her mouth and flipped on the nearby light switch. She squinted at her now illuminated surroundings and realized that she had fallen asleep at her desk while she was studying the effects of various crystal combinations... again. It wasn't really unusual for her to be overwhelmed by her exhaustion while hunched over her desk, pouring over stacks of her own handwritten notes on crystals. Actually, Piper spent most of her nights slumbering at her desk, despite the fact that Aerrow had specifically told her not to, saying that her back muscles would be sore in the morning and that she would not get a good night's sleep, especially with waking up so early. Thinking of her leader, Piper let a small smile spread across her face as she slid off of the small stool that was always positioned at her desk and sleepily walked towards the door that led out of her room. Knowing that she was too accustomed to waking up so early in the morning to be able to fall back asleep, the dark-skinned girl slipped silently out of her room and into the abandonned hallway of the Condor.

Piper groped along the dark hallways of the Condor, feeling along the cold, metal walls for guidance as she slowly made her way towards the kitchen for breakfast. She never really pigged out for breakfast and would usually just get an apple or something that would help her hold off her hunger until lunch. Once in the kitchen, Piper sighed in relief, happy that she hadn't awakened anyone else on board. She was feeling very pleased with herself until she turned on the overhead light and saw-

"Aerrow!"

Said Sky Knight turned his head slightly to give Piper a scornful smile, his fiery red hair glinting in the light. Piper blushed and quickly looked down at her bare feet, not wanting to meet Aerrow's eyes as she struggled to come up with an excuse for being awake so early in the morning. She knew good and well that Aerrow had told her the night before to stop her unhealthy habit of getting out of bed during the early hours of morning, and the guilt was evident in her eyes as Aerrow took a few steps towards her, his smirk still in place.

"Piper..."

Piper suddenly looked up at him, meeting his emerald eyes with her guilt-filled orange eyes. "Uh... I was just getting a glass of water, really!"

He wasn't buying it. "Piper, this is just unhealthy."

"What's unhealthy?" she asked innocently.

Aerrow's smirk only grew. If anyone could tell when this girl was lying, it was him. He merely shook his head and took her by the shoulders, turning her back towards the hallway.

Despite the fact that Piper was desperately digging her heels into the ground, Aerrow, whose strength easily overpowered hers, succeeded in pushing her almost halfway back to her room before Piper was able to briefly overpower him, turning on him and stopping them both in their tracks. Aerrow raised an eyebrow at her, as if asking, "Are you sure you want to go against me?"

Piper, now with all seriousness, gave him a firm look. Careful to keep her voice low for the sake of her other slumbering friends, she said, "Come on, Aerrow! What are you, my father?"

Aerrow only shook his head at her again as he replied in the same quiet tone, "No, but I am your leader and your friend, and as your friend, I'm telling you to go back to your room and get some sleep." After hesitating for a moment, he added, "And not hunched over your desk like you usually do."

Piper stood her ground and did not dare move an inch. "Well, as a friend, I'm telling you to not worry about me. I can take care of myself."

Aerrow snorted in response.

Seeing this, the girl narrowed her eyes at him angrily. "What is that supposed to mean? I can!"

But Aerrow wasn't going back and forth any more. Taking her by the shoulders a bit more forcefully this time, he turned her back towards her room and, feeling her shoulders slouch in surrender, proceeded to guide her the rest of the way to her room with a triumphant smile on his face. After the door closed behind them, Piper shrugged Aerrow's hands off of her shoulders, crossing the small room to her bed and sitting on it in a cross-legged position, turning her head away from Aerrow as if he was the one who had done something wrong.

Aerrow only chuckled at his friend's stubborn nature. He knew he would never be able to fully understand her, no matter how hard he tried. One minute she was shy and gentle, the next angry, and the next minute, completely silent. He had never met anybody with so many different sides to them.

Piper finally broke the silence. "I can take care of myself, you know."

Aerrow, suddenly feeling a bit guilty himself, heard the deflated tone in her voice and walked over to sit beside his teammate. The girl still refused to look at him, but all of her defenses fell when he placed a warm hand on her shoulder and gave her one of his crooked smiles. Piper met his gaze and mentally cursed herself for giving in so easily to him. No matter how hard she tried, she could not ignore the way her heart rate increased when he smiled at her like that.

After a moment in this position, Piper looked back down at her lap and said, "I can."

Aerrow's hand did not move from her shoulder. "You can't take care of yourself if you don't know what's best for you."

It was Piper's turn to snort as she shifted her gaze to meet his. "And you do?"

Aerrow finally removed his hand from her shoulder, taken aback for a moment. Then he lifted himself from her bed, turning to look at her as his smile returned and he said, "As a matter of fact, I think I do. And one of the things that are best for you is at least eight hours of sleep every night, something you haven't gotten in a while."

The girl huffed childishly in defeat. "Fine."

Satisfied, Aerrow silently crossed the room, turning out the lights and closing the door on his way out.

Piper, unmoving, waited a few moments, listening intently. She heard his footsteps fade as he continued down the hallway and, a few moments later, she heard them stop and start again as a door down the hall opened and closed.

She then wasted no time in carefully crossing the room to her door, intending to return to the kitchen, but silently cursed her leader when she found he had locked the door from the outside. Why did he have to be so difficult?

The dark-skinned girl let out a puffy-cheeked sigh, turning back around to face her room sadly. Now what? she thought to herself as she leaned against her sealed door. She glanced over at the clock again; it was only 5:06. After weighing each of her options in her mind, she decided that she might as well try to take Aerrow's advice to get some sleep. Reluctantly walking back over to her bed, Piper laid down and pulled the thin sheets up to her chin.

After about half an hour of lying on her side with her eyes closed, Piper realized that she wouldn't be able to fall asleep no matter how hard she tried, so she settled on lying on her back and just resting. Soon her thoughts drifted to her teammates.

Wanting to lighten her mood, Piper turned her thoughts to Junko. She couldn't help smiling when she thought of the wallop. He was such a gentle giant, always showing concern when one of his teammates was in distress. When Piper had first laid her eyes on him, she had thought that he would be like all of the wallops she had... well... read about. All of the books she had read about Terra Wallop said that most wallops were extraordinarily strong, not very bright, and were never very friendly. But Junko managed to prove the books wrong. Yes, he was strong, but he was one of the most sensitive, caring creatures she had ever met and was considerably intelligent for his race.

Then Piper's thoughts turned to Finn. Finn. Piper had never had so many mixed feelings about a person. Sometimes, just the mention of his name caused her to grind her teeth together in disgust. At other times, her whole expression would soften at any thought of him. Piper's reaction to him pretty much depended on how their last conversation had gone, and, as much as Piper hated it, most of their conversations were filled with mockery and offensive words. This meant that most of the time, Piper could only think of Finn with distaste.

But the sharpshooter and the navigator did have a conversation every once in a while that wouldn't end with an insult, and secretly, she treasured these times. It wasn't very often that they could have a conversation without a nagging comment from Piper or a smart-mouth comeback from Finn, but there were the good times... Piper just couldn't think of any at the time.

Not wanting to dwell on the unpleasant, Piper began to think of Radarr. There wasn't much to say about the furry little co-pilot, seeing as he couldn't say anything himself. In a way, it was a good thing that Radarr couldn't talk because he had never really succeeded in offending Piper, something all of the other Storm Hawks had succeeded in doing, even Aerrow.

Aerrow. Sky Knight, leader of the Storm Hawks, a hero known throughout the Atmos- he had everything he could ever ask for. No one on the Condor could ever find any negative aspect about him, nor would they. No one but Piper. Although she never advertized any of the negative points she saw in him to anybody, there were many things about the young Sky Knight that would annoy her to no end. Of course there was the fact that he always seemed to get the credit for everything, everything meaning every rescue, mission, and successful attack the Storm Hawks had accomplished together.

And that wasn't the only thing about Aerrow that Piper hated. There was also the fact that he thought she was helpless- that she couldn't take care of herself. He had said it just that morning. For example, there was that time after Piper had first faced off against Cyclonis, or Lark. He had come to her room and asked if she was alright, and even after she said she was, he continued to give her that uncertain look that said, I don't believe you. She could take care of herself, she knew she could. And besides the fact that he saw her as helpless, he also tended to side with Finn during their many arguments, he never did complete her plan correctly, and when she needed backup, he gave it to Starling instead...

Piper guessed that Starling could be considered a Storm Hawk as well... at times. She just didn't think that it was fair that Starling wasn't even there half the time and she still received way more admiration and credit than anyone else on the Condor, not including Aerrow of course. Piper really did admire Starling for her many accomplishments, but just like anyone else on the airship, she had a few negative aspects about her.

Finally, her mind was filled with thoughts of Stork. The merb was quite... unique. His extreme case of paranoia could without a doubt bring out the bad side in him, which could be highly disturbing, but sometimes, it was his many phobias and precautions that kept the rest of the squadron alive. When Piper was out roaming the skies on her heliscooter with the rest of the guys, it was always comforting to know that Stork was somewhere nearby, piloting the Condor and ready to strike down any threat that might unexpectedly rise out of the clouds. She had always been sure that he would not only go to great lengths for his own safety, but for the welfare of his friends, which was a very touching thought. Yes, Stork had always been a very loyal member of the Storm Hawks, no matter how much he was taken for granted.

Poor Stork, Piper thought to herself. He was indeed taken for granted, standing at his post day after day, his only goal being to get through another long day safely. Even though the merb insisted that he would much rather stay on the Condor than be part of the real action, Piper couldn't see how he could prefer such an uneventful life. It wasn't uncommon for her to feel compassion towards him, and for this reason she was really the only one on the airship who showed her appreciation for him daily. Of course Aerrow might compliment him on his piloting skills every once in a while, but other than those few times, Piper would be the only one to commend him on his job well done. Overall, the main reason Piper felt sorry for Stork was because they had something in common that the other members of the Storm Hawks didn't: They were both taken for granted.

Oh yes, both the pilot and the navigator of the Storm Hawks were taken for granted. When other squadrons as well as civilians saw that the Storm Hawks had saved the day again, they would think of Aerrow, the Sky Knight, or Junko, the wallop, or even Finn, the not-so-heroic sharpshooter, but everyone always seemed to look down on Piper and Stork as just the crew and not the cast, and most of the time, those people might even include their own teammates.

Piper knew that both she and Stork had unrecognized talents... Well, she wasn't quite sure what talents Stork might be hiding, but she knew that she had abilities none of the Storm Hawks really looked at as useful. She could refine raw crystals, put a Torka Beast to sleep, heck, she could even speak five different languages! But she doubted that even one of the Storm Hawks knew, let alone cared. She just felt so... unrecognized.

Aerrow's words were the last things that entered her mind before Piper unexpectedly drifted to sleep: You can't take care of yourself if you don't know what's best for you.

Piper had no idea how her life would change later on just because she decided to listen to him. One of these days, she would do what was best for herself, whether it was good for the Storm Hawks or not.

So what did you think? Love it? Hate it? Think I should continue? Hit that little review button and let me know!

- Elli