Gadget watched Chip roll over, trying to come up with some excuse, any excuse to keep him up, but her brilliant mind had locked up, and couldn't spit out so much as a simple quadratic equation. The last thing in the world she wanted right now was to be alone.

She should have just told him how uneasy she was. Okay, she would at least be honest with herself. She was frightened, almost to the point of terror. The last hurricane she had been through was a non-issue. Sealed in the cave, there wasn't so much as a breeze, or the slightest twitch of motion. Not to mention she had been surrounded by both her fellow Rangers and the Pi-rats. There had been joking, story telling, and lots of laughter. The one before that, however…

It was just after she lost her father. She had thrown herself into her work, into any kind of distraction that she could manage. She hadn't been aware a storm was even coming. But the old B-25 began shaking even before she heard the howling wind. The rain pelted the aluminum skin mercilessly; creating an incessant cacophony that drowned out all sounds except the ones that came from her own mind. Work became impossible as the discarded Mitchell shook as though a giant infant had hold of it while throwing a tantrum. For the first time since he had been gone, she had no distraction.

Forced to face it, the enormity of the loss came crashing down on her and she realized she was completely alone. No friends, no family. If the airplane came apart and she were killed, no one would mourn her. And there was no one to comfort her in her pain. No one to hold her in her terror and tell her everything would be all right.

She curled into a ball in a corner, sobbing uncontrollably, terrified beyond all reason. Indifferent to her continued existence. Finally, exhausted by tears and terror, she slept. At first, her reality followed her into slumber, but eventually the nightmares withdrew and she slept peacefully.

When she awoke, bright sunshine surrounded her. Looking outside, the sodden ground was the only indication a storm had passed. The sky was that rarest shade of blue that only comes when clear skies follow a rain heavy enough to wash all the pollutants from the air. Though physically refreshed, she was psychologically exhausted. Over the next few days, she was able to come to terms with the loss of her father, and her loneliness. She reluctantly accepted both, and though she continued to exist, looking back she realized she had ceased to live. Then the boys had come and saved her, changed her. For that she could never repay them.

She watched Chip trying to make himself comfortable on the unfamiliar pallet, and took a step towards him, mouth open, but still unable to force anything out of it. He was so special. She had long ago admitted it to herself, but could not bring herself to admit it to him. Not even when he swung the door wide open a few weeks ago while helping her with some routine maintenance on the Ranger Wing.

"Gadget, there's something I've been wanting to tell you," he said.

"Sure, Chip. Anything."

"Well, we've been friends for a while now. And I want you to know how much your friendship means to me."

"Well golly, Chip, your friendship means a lot to me too."

"And I want you to know how pretty I think you are. Not just pretty. I…I think you're really beautiful, Gadget."

She pulled her head out of the access panel it was stuck in and turned to face him. The conversation was taking an unexpected turn. She felt a blush rising in her cheeks and pushed her hair back behind her ear, not realizing she was smudging grease on her face.

"Well, thank…thank you, Chip."

He smiled at her and picked up a rag that was lying on the wing. He wet it with his tongue and tenderly wiped away the grease from her forehead. Her blush intensified. He stepped closer to her and took her hand.

"And…for me anyway…what we have has gone beyond friendship. I'm not going to go so far as to call it 'love'. But I'd like to call it more than just 'friends'. And I'd like the opportunity to explore that with you. To see exactly what it is…and where it might go. What do you think?"

The answer she gave was not the one she really wanted to.

"I think that's really sweet, Chip. But it's probably not a very good idea."

"It's not?"

Shock, disbelief, stupefaction, and denial flashed across his face, flared in his eyes. Only for an instant, he brought it immediately under control. But it was there long enough for her to see. It almost broke her heart. She wanted to tell him yes, tell him that she felt the same way, that she just might be willing to call it 'love'. But she didn't. In an almost disassociated state of mind, she watched and listened to herself tell him the exact opposite of what she wanted to. Try to explain why it was a bad idea, something about tension and the dynamics of the team, and her reasoning must have sounded as lame to him as it did to her. But she couldn't stop herself.