Taz couldn't sleep that night. She spent over four hours trying to, but she couldn't. Her mind was filled with thoughts of a tall, mustached man.

"Do I like him?" she thought as time wore on. "Am I just lonely? Did the robots mess me up so badly that I'm starting to go loca?"

"The robots. If Up and I, if we...get together, then they can use that against us. They can use it to destroy us, to make us weak. Oh polvo. We-we can't..." Taz thought sadly. The lump in her throat intensified and she felt a burning behind her eyes. "No, Taz, you don't llanto. Stop it, you wuss. You're just as bad as those idiotas back on Earth. Oh, are you going to start prancing around in a frilly pink dress too?" she berated herself silently. "No. You're tougher than that. You're the best damn Ranger the G.L.E.E has seen in years. It's time to start acting like it!" With that last thought, Taz quickly fell asleep.

Up couldn't sleep that night. He spent over four hours trying to, but he couldn't. All he could think about was Taz.

He couldn't stop thinking about the way she'd looked in his shirt. He couldn't stop thinking about her smell and her warmth. He couldn't stop grinning. Everything about her made him smile. He loved the way she bit her lip when she was confused or trying to make a decision. He loved how beautiful she was.

"I love her," he thought and a wide, goofy grin appeared on his face. "I love her," he whispered out loud. "I love Taz. I love her," he repeated the phrase over and over again, loving the way it tasted on his tongue, how natural it felt in his mouth.

And the way that she'd looked at him tonight, like there was a chance that she could possibly feel the same way. That look gave him hope that maybe, just maybe, she loved him too.

With a serene look on his face, Up turned over in his bed and quickly fell asleep.

Up felt rejuvenated the next morning. He walked with a bounce in his step to the mess hall, a pounding in his chest from anticipation of seeing her.

He could feel himself bouncing his knee as he sat and ate, his nervous tic. His eyes searched the mess over and over again, hoping to connect blue with warm brown. But they never did. Taz wasn't there in the cafeteria that morning, but that wasn't entirely uncommon. Sometimes she would get up before him, grab a quick breakfast and then head immediately to the gym.

His spirits dampened, but not gone, Up headed to the training center.

Taz felt trapped the next morning. She felt exhausted, depressed, weighted down by her revelation. She knew that there was no way that she and Up could ever be together, even if she wanted it.

She skipped the mess hall that morning, knowing that he would be there, waiting for her. Instead, she walked quickly to the gym and started running around the track, sprinting faster than she had in a long time. Taz didn't know who or what she was running from, but she did know that she needed a good run.

It didn't help at all.

Her spirits in even worse shape than they had been, Taz continued to run on the brick red track.

"Hey, Taz!" she heard a voice call out to her. She slowed her pace a little bit, glancing over her shoulder to see who it was. By then the person that the voice belonged to had caught up with her. "I haven't seen you since you were in the hospital. Granted, you were unconscious at the time. You look great!" Alex complimented, running alongside her.

"I'm not in the mood, Williams," she panted.

"But here I was glad that I saved your life so we could spend more time together!" Alex said, grinning.

"U-Up saved my life, idiota. You were the stupid bastard who got me captured in the first place!" she retorted, her heart sinking as she said Up's name.

"But who told him where to find you? Me!" Alex tried. She turned to him slightly and raised an eyebrow disbelievingly.

"Actually, that was Specs." Alex grimaced ruefully.

"Well you can't blame a guy for trying." They ran silently for a few moments before he said, "Well I did tell them that you were missing, at least. That gave them a huge head start on finding the robots! If it hadn't been for me, you probably wouldn't have been found." He grinned at her.

"Sure, Williams. You keep thinking that," Taz said. After another couple of minutes, Taz saw the empty boxing ring and a smile spread onto her face. "Hey Williams, care to have a go in the ring?"

His smile was all she needed to know his answer.

Up's smile faltered a bit when he saw who Taz was fighting in the ring. She had Ensign Williams in a headlock on the mat, grinning wildly.

"Hey Taz!" Up called out to her. She looked up and smiled at him, but Up couldn't help noticing how the smile didn't reach her eyes. "How about you give the poor guy a break and have a go with me?" She laughed.

"Okay, Up. But prepare to be beaten."

While they were fighting, he couldn't stop looking at her skin, her eyes, her hair, the way sweat beaded on her nose and upper lip. He was transported back to that night on the couch, her soft skin under his fingertips. He'd never felt something so soft before in his life.

He was so distracted that Taz landed three painful punches before Up was transported back to the ring. After she pinned him down on the mat with her small hands on his forearms (in Up's defense, Taz had been lifting weights), Taz laughed and grinned. It instantly became Up's favorite image in the world.

He didn't get long to admire her smile before a Lieutenant came rushing in.

"We need all available personnel in the conference room immediately, there's a situation developing," he panted. Taz jumped up and walked quickly out of the gym, the rest of the Rangers at her heels.