I opened my eyes a slit, and saw a blurry face above me.

"Fez, five more minutes."

Murmuring began above me.

"Just, go away."

I rolled over, and tumbled off my cot, landing with a splash in something wet. With a start I sat up, and my vision cleared. I was sitting in a fountain, under new surroundings I did not recognize.

"Let me help you." a voice said from above.

I glanced over and saw a vortian leaning over the fountain, worry in his eyes. With a shiver I remembered everything. The explosion, space and this vortian, Benzi I thought it was.

"Hi," I said with a groan.

"Hi," He replied, reaching down into the water and lifting me out of it.

"Uuungh."

"Sorry, I'm more used to carrying drunks."

"Thanks."

"For what?"

"Pulling me away from that drink. I don't know if I would still be alive if not for you."

"Oh, you're not sick from the drink."

"Huh?"

"I have a sneaking suspicion, but I need to know exactly how you came to be here."

I told him everything.

"Alright, list your symptoms."

"Nausea, weakness, shoulder pain."

"Hmm."

"What?"

"I think it's time I took you to a professional in the medical field."

"What's wrong with me?"

"I'm not sure, but you might have decompression sickness."

"Oh god," I felt even sicker.

"It's fine."

"I'm going to die, aren't I."

"No, I'm sure we have an outcast doctor somewhere on this station."

"Do you actually know?"

There was a silence.

"Do you know of any doctors on Sector."

"No."

I vomited over his arms onto the concrete.

"Are you okay?"

"I don't know. I just learned that I have a deadly sickness, and there is no one here who can help me."

Zi sat down, cocking my head up. He situated my antennae, taking particular care of my injured one.

"It's going to be fine." He whispered.

The last thing I remembered before falling asleep was the worry in Zi's eyes.

I remembered waking once, to see Zi's face above me.

"Where are we?"

"Shh. Sleep now."

I glanced over his arm and saw that we were on a roof of some sort. He leapt onto another.

"Why-" I never got to finish my sentence, because at that moment I fainted again.

What felt like ages later, I awoke to something cold being pressed on my face.

"Thank god! I thought I lost you that time."

"Huh?"

"You've been on and off sleep for a while now, and a few minutes ago you started screaming. When you stopped, I assumed the worst."

I pulled the blanket tighter around my cold skin. Then with a start, I realized I wasn't wearing my shirt.

I remembered something Zi had said earlier, "... tries to take advantage of complete strangers."

I knew he was talking about himself, but I didn't realize-. I sat up, and immediately vomited on the floor, hurling multiple times before I could speak.

"Easy, don't move too much," Zi tried to lay me back down.

With vomit in my mouth, I spat on him, "You sick bastard!"

"What's wrong?"

"You tricked me! First you drugged me and then you carried me to your-" He cut me off.

"I thought we had an understanding?"

"An understanding!"

"You scream at me, and I help you not become me!"

"Then where is my shirt!"

"It had vomit on it, so I thought I was doing you a favor."

"Oh. I am so sorry."

"It's fine, you were delirious before, and you were probably just a little confused."

"I was being horrible. It's in my training to contain all emotions under any circumstances, and to never jump to conclusions."

"Why do you talk like that?"

"Like what?"

"You talk like a military irken. You aren't part of them anymore."

"I guess it's because it's all I know."

"If you ever come up with a better answer, let me know."

"If I live that long."

"You'll be fine."

"If I'm lucky."

"You will be."

"Four hundred years in space and we still don't know how to cure decompression sickness!"

"That's not entirely true."

I looked at him, cocking my head slightly in confusion.

"Well, the irkens, and the vortians, might not have a cure, but humans might."

"What is a human? Sounds filthy."

"They are an under advanced race. Most do not know of them, but drifters have a colony on their home world."

Before he could continue, I vomited over the bed, and rolled of it, falling to the floor with a crash.

"Are you alright!" He snapped.

I vomited, and then mustered a weak, "Wa-er"

"War?"

"No, -ater."

"I'm sorry, but I can't understand you."

"wa-ter."

"Oh sure," He stood up and left the cluttered room.

As he opened the door I caught a glimpse of other buildings. Confused, I crawled to the door, and pushed it open. I saw that this wasn't a room, it was the entire building, and it was precariously perched on top of another building. That explained the roof jumping. I pulled myself back towards where he had left me, and heard glass crack under my knee.

"Shit."

I pulled the broken frame from under my knee, and carefully pulled the picture out of the shattered glass. It depicted two vortians. One, obviously Zi, was gazing longingly at the other one. The other vortian was kicking his leg up and laughing madly at the sky. I noticed that Zi looked less, heavy, in the picture. Even when I'd seen him smile, there was always a weight about him. I heard footsteps and pushed the glass under a collapsing set of drawers, folded the picture, and hid it under my belt.

"I got water! Maybe?" Zi pushed the door open, holding a glass triumphantly.

"Thanks," I reached for the glass, and a shooting pain in my shoulder went through my body. I collapsed on the floor.

"Easy, extreme pain in joints is a symptom of DCS."

Zi walked up behind me, and sat cross legged on the floor, lifting my body so I was laying across his lap, and against his chest, so I was almost in a sitting position. He put the glass to my lips and poured. Aaaw, sweet relief, the water washed away much of the stomach acid that was caught in my throat. I moved my shoulders a little and squirmed into a more comfortable position. I sighed.

What was I doing. I couldn't afford to make friends, or become even a little comfortable around anyone. The tallest will attack again and anyone that is close to me will die.

At that thought, I did something I never did, for the second time that day. I cried.

And as I cried, Zi began to sing: "If there ever was a day to cry. Let those tears flow down and down. If there ever was a day to cry. Life is hard, life is cruel. If there was ever a day to cry...

I sniffled, and immediately felt embarrassed.

"I know life is hard," Zi picked me up and laid me back in the bed, "but, it's only a matter of time before everything seems right again, even though we may never forget those we lost."

He leaned forward, and reached down, plucking the photo from my belt. The moment was almost happy.

But then I started screaming. The pain coursed all through my body, and I arched my back in agony.

I vaguely heard Zi in the background, "Oh my-"

"This is reall-"

"-do I do?!"

Black spots began to blink around my eyes.

"Aaaaaaaah!" I screamed, rolling to my side and spitting on the floor.

The pain continued it's triumphant waltz through my body. I reached the point where I could no longer scream, and I laid there, on the bed, twitching, spittle forming on my lips.

"Caen-favor-get here-hurry-might not have-time."

I gave into the pain, and numbness washed over me as the room turned black.

"Hey, kiddo, wake up."

"Fez?"

"It's time to wake up."

"I'm so cold."

"I know, but it's not your time yet kid."

"Was it your time?"

"Yes"

I closed my eyes, rolling my head back. Suddenly I had the sensation of falling.

"HUUUH!" I sat up.

I saw Zi slumped up against the dresser, fast asleep.

"You had us worried," said a voice to my right.

"Who-"

"Shh. Don't fret, your going to be fine."

The voice stepped forward into the light, spitting out a cigar as he walked towards the bed.

"Hey, you're the bartender," I laid down.

"Indeed I am."

I found that every muscle in my body was exhausted. Caen's face became blurred as I let myself be pulled into the comfort of dreamless sleep.

"Are you sure this will work?"

"It should."

"Will he live that long?"

I was pulled from sleep by muttered talking above me. I opened my eyes to the most un-holy thing I had ever seen: A fat gluginn's behind. A hand reached back and scratched the filthy thing. I grunted.

"Ah, look!"

"You has us go-"

"But we kne-"

"Of course."

I laid my head back and groaned.

"Too much-noise."

"Sorry."

"What were you talking about?"

"Something we think can save you."

"Won't I just get better over time?"

"Actually..." Zi looked at his feet sheepishly.

"What?"

"I just told you that you would be fine, but you are very much sick. We can't tell for sure."

"You told me I would be lucky."

"I lied. I've dealt with decompression sickness before," Zi pulled the photo from his pocket and gestured at it.

"Oh, god, I'm so sorry."

"I'll be fine as long as we prevent the same thing from happening to you."

"How exactly are we planning on doing that?"

"A human design, called a re-compression tank. They aren't near as advanced as us, but they actually figured out a method that might fix decompression sickness," The bartender said, stepping forward.

"I'm no expert, but a re-compression tank, whatever that is, sounds like something that won't be easy to build."

"It won't be, but Caen here has a pod that might serve as a base for it," Zi said, smiling.

"Right. What other supplies will we need?"

"We, don't need anything. Caen and I will handle it. You just sit there and look pretty, which obviously comes naturally to you."

"But!"

"But nothing! You can't always be the big strong irken."

I mumbled, and rolled onto my stomach. I was quickly lulled into a restless sleep. I awoke with a start, it was freezing! The lights of the station were out, so I assumed it was night. I heard a faint breathing sound behind me. I turned and saw Zi's back, as he snored peacefully next to me.

Oh, there's only one bed.

I grabbed my shoulders and shivered. I never got my shirt back, and the thin blanket wasn't doing a thing for the cold. I rolled over and wrapped my arms around Zi, not thinking about what I was doing. I was so tired.

Bliss.