I'm not sure how it happened, but this is just an idea I had one day. I wanted to write a collection of one-shots focusing on Antauri's relationship with the people around him. I had a few of them planned out, and I had a bunch of characters who I hope will be unexpected to read about. Each one also has a quote at the beginning that relates to the situation, because I was really into quotes when I started writing these.

I was going to wait until after I finished writing all the one-shots for each character before I posted any of them, but I'm having trouble with some of them. So I figured I should post the ones I already have and wait and see what happens with the other ones.

This story takes place shortly after "Snowbound". Enjoy!

Being out of control is one of the worst feelings in the world, sometimes even worse than pain. It is its own kind of pain. ~Danzae Pace

Nova groaned softly as her eyes fluttered open, her vision focusing and refocusing. With a tired hand, she rubbed her eyes, attempting to clear her sight while trying to remember what happened and why she felt so drained.

The last thing she could remember was Shuggazoom covered in snow…it was freezing cold…they were fighting that ice monster…it had frozen Chiro, and she was the only one left…And then…

She gasped and suddenly shot up, all the memories flooding back to her. "Chiro!" she exclaimed.

"He's all right, Nova," a gentle voice assured her as she felt a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Everything is all right."

The golden monkey turned to look at the second-in-command. "Antauri…?"

"How are you feeling?" he asked softly.

Placing a hand to her forehead, Nova glanced at her surroundings. ""Fine, I guess," she replied. "Just…tired. Where am I?"

"You're in the medical lab," Antauri answered. "We had recently taken you out of the healing chamber, and have all taken turns looking after you."

"How long have I been out?" she wondered.

"A few days." Gently he ushered her to lie back down. "You still have a while before you recover, so you must get more rest."

Nova sighed shakily and shut her eyes, the whole event replaying in her mind once more. "So I really lost my temper again…didn't I?" Part of her hoped it was all just a terrible dream, and that she had just imagined everything.

But she knew Antauri wouldn't pull any punches just to make her feel better. "Yes…" he said reluctantly, "you did…"

She felt tears fill her eyes, just picturing what she could have done to the city…to the people…to her friends. But she quickly blinked them back, refusing to release them. Inhaling deeply, she asked the question she feared the answer to: "How…bad was it?"

The black monkey was silent for a moment, his golden-green eyes studying her. Then he glanced away. "No one was hurt," he offered. "And you managed to rid the city of the snow. You did…overheat things for a while, but there was no serious harm."

She released the breath she didn't know she was holding. "So everyone's okay?" she asked, looking at him hopefully.

Antauri nodded. "Everyone is fine. In the end, you were the only one who sustained any real damage."

"That's fine," she replied. "Better me than anyone else."

He frowned slightly and looked as though he wished to say something more. But instead, he turned away from her again. "I'll have Gibson check on your condition."

She bit her tongue as she watched him go. "I'm sorry, Antauri," she blurted out.

He paused just as he reached the door, turning back to look at her curiously. "What?"

"I'm…I'm sorry," she repeated. "I'm really sorry."

Watching her for a silent moment, he then returned to stand at her bedside. "Why are you apologizing?" he wondered.

"Because…" She sighed, looking away from him. "I'm sorry that I lost my temper again…After all the effort you put in trying to help me control my anger, it's like I just wasted all your time. I guess I'm no better than I was when it happened the first time."

Gently, Antauri placed his hand on top of hers. "You haven't wasted my time, Nova," he said softly. "On the contrary: I believe you've shown great improvement since then."

She turned sharply towards him. "Are you kidding me?" she retorted. "I snapped! I nearly fried the entire city! If I hadn't heard Chiro's voice, I probably never would have stopped!"

The black simian smiled. "But that's the point. You did hear Chiro's voice, and you did stop."

She blinked, sitting up on her elbows. "What?"

"Don't you remember what happened when you first lost your temper?" he prompted.

"Of course I do." She would never let herself forget it. "I destroyed the training room, I damaged the Robot…I was so angry that nothing could get through to me."

Antauri nodded. "Nothing could get through to you. No matter how hard we tried, we couldn't get you to listen to us. And the only reason you stopped then was because you ran out of energy."

Nova's eyes widened as she finally realized what the other meant. "But it was different this time. I actually heard Chiro, and I knew I had to stop myself so that he wouldn't get hurt."

"That's right," the second-in-command said. "Chiro managed to get through your anger…to reach you when you were once unreachable. But what's more, you realized just what was happening, and you stopped yourself from going too far."

"I…I did, didn't I?" she breathed. She couldn't contain the relieved laugh that worked its way through her lips. "Wow…I really did. I guess there's still some hope for me, after all."

"You have what it takes to control your anger, Nova. All you needed was some help from those around you."

Looking up at him, she smiled. "You still haven't given up on me, have you?"

Returning the smile, he gently squeezed her hand. "No," he replied. "You know I would never give up on you. None of us would. So you must never give up on yourself."

She nodded, for the moment unable to say anything. His smile deepening, he slowly released her hand. "I'll get Gibson to check over you. Perhaps he can determine how much you have yet to heal."

She watched as he once again began to leave, and she quickly sought to find her voice. "Hey…Antauri?" she called.

Once again the black one stopped at the doorway, turning back to look at her. "Yes, Nova?" he replied.

Sitting up slightly to see him better, she smiled. "Thank you…"

Returning the smile, Antauri simply nodded. Then, without another word, he left the med lab.

Nova watched him go until he was completely out of sight. Then with a soft sigh, she lay back down and closed her eyes, the smile never leaving her lips.

The End