"Who's there?" A voice asked Chelsey, who had disappeared to the vents and was now crying silently. When she heard the voice, she immediately stopped crying and started crab walking away from the intruder, who had apparently entered the vents on the other side of the ship and was now trying to get out.

"Chelsey, one of the medical staff! Who are.oh, it's you. How'd you get so good at that?" Chelsey gasped, calming down when she saw who it was and again laying on her back.

"Sneaking up on people? It goes along with the job." Matt, the 'intruder', shrugged.

"And what exactly do you do again?"

"Kill people for money. Not a bad job if your conscience doesn't talk loud.

"Yeah, you wouldn't want your conscience to get in the way now, would you?" Chelsey spat.

"Do you disapprove of what I do?" Obviously not caring much about her personal opinion.

"It's not so much that as our jobs are on opposite ends of the employment spectrum." Chelsey explained, "Oh, I almost forgot. Lauren told me that if I ever got to talk to you alone, I was supposed to ask you something on her behalf."

"Yes, and what was it?"

"First, are you armed?" Chelsey asked, trying to look him over.

"What? No." Matt said too quickly, arching his eyebrows.

"Rommie, will you confirm that for me?"

"Daggers, a pocketknife, a blaster, a screwdriver, nail clippers." Rommie's voice started listing of Matt's 'weapons'.

"Thank you, Rommie." Chelsey cut her off, shaking her head, "It's not like this is American Airlines or something. I mean, how much damage can you do with a set of nail clippers?"

"Trust me, you'd be surprised," Matt assured her, "and did you honestly think an assassin would go unarmed?"

"Well, no. Do you promise not to use any of that stuff on me?"

"Sure, but I can't promise I won't kill you."

"Comforting. Anyway, she says she really needs, or wants, rather, to know, so.boxers or briefs?"

"Boxers." Matt said uncertainly, getting a confused look on his face.

"You think that's weird? You should hear about her and peoples' noses.

"Huh?"

"At camp she would run up to these people she hardly knew and ask them if she could touch their nose. It started with a gentleman who wouldn't let her, so she got even more determined. Just don't be surprised if she if she can touch your nose. Well, I should probably get out of these vents. You didn't see me crying by the way."

"Nope, and you didn't see me in those vents."

"Didn't see you at all." Chelsey let out a small laugh as she dropped from the vent to the floor and started to walk away. In response, Matt grabbed her elbow and spun her around, looking straight (Ahem, down, rather) into her eyes.

"No, I'm serious. You didn't see me in those vents."

"Alright, I didn't." Chelsey replied, a little taken aback.

"Good. I guess I'll see you around then." Matt started down the hall.

"Yeah, see you around." Chelsey muttered, staring at him until he disappeared around a corner.

Medical:

Trance had just left after giving Lauren some more painkillers. Isa was standing on the opposite side of the bed across from Harper, who was gently stroking Lauren's cheek.

"Feel better?" Isa asked quietly.

"Uh, huh." Lauren replied, turning her head and gently kissing Harper's hand.

"Well, I should leave you two crazy kids alone." Isa said heading toward the door.

"You're weird." Harper smiled warmly at her.

"Don't worry about it Isa, it's one of your more attractive qualities." Lauren said.

"Oh, I know." Isa said before leaving.

"So, what was that? You two are like best friends now?" Harper asked confused.

"Not best friends, but we don't hate each other." Lauren responded casually. Harper made a gesture with his hands, conveying that he still didn't understand. "In other words," Lauren smiled, taking his hand, "You made a decision, so I'm not Super Bitch anymore."

"Um, okay. So, are you feeling better?" He prompted, gently kissing each of her fingertips. Well, trying to anyway, it became more difficult when she started caressing his cheek.

"Yeah......you are really having problems, aren't you?"

"Well, if you'd quit moving your hand it'd be easier to kiss your fingers." He said still trying.

"It's has a mind of it's own."

"So?"

"It's playing hard to get."

"Ah, your Neitzchean side showing through."

"Yeah, just a little." She smiled, stopping her hand so he could kiss it, "I love you." She said, quietly watching him.

"I love you, too." He said, abandoning her fingers and gently kissing her face.

"Mmmm......entertaining yourself?"

"Yep." He kissed her lips. "So, when do you get out of here?"

"When I feel up to it." She said.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, I mean, they can't keep me here against my will." She said plainly.

"You wanna get out of here then?" He asked with a twinkle in his eye.

"Seamus, I can't walk."

"I'll carry you."

"Where will we go?"

"Uh, we could go to my quarters and watch a movie, we could go sit in hydroponics, or we could go to the Obs Deck."

"Let's go to your quarters. It's less likely that someone will find us there."

"Okay. You ready?" He asked, moving to pick her up.

"Yeah, but......be gently." She smiled and put her arms around his neck.

"Don't worry, I will be." With that, he picked her up and, somehow without being seen, took her to his quarters.

"Welcome to my humble home." Harper said as he brought Lauren inside.

"Nice, but you do realize I've been in here before." Lauren said as he gently laid her down on his couch.

"I know. It just has a different effect when I'm carrying you." He replied, sitting next to her.

"I love you so much." She said, sounding as if she was about to cry.

"Lauren, what's wrong? Are you in pain?" He asked worriedly, as he caressed her face and looked into her tear filled eyes.

"No, nothing's wrong. It's just..." She looked away trying to blink hack the tears that threatened to spill out over her eyelids.

"It's just what?" He asked taking her hand.

"It's just that......I've dreamed about this since the first day I saw you and that's all I thought it would be, a dream. I figured that you'd end up marring some beautiful woman who doesn't age a day past seventeen, have tons of kids, be famous, and live happily ever after." Tears began to fall freely from her eyes as Harper helplessly tried to wipe them away.

"What'd you figure would happen to you?" He asked once she'd calmed down slightly.

"Oh, I planned to commit suicide be like twenty five." She told him freakishly calm.

"Plan's changed." He said resting his forehead against hers.

"I don't know what I would do if I ever lost you." She said, gently placing her arms around his neck to keep him close to her.

"You won't loose me." He said kissing the tip of her nose.

"But what if......" He softly cut her off with a kiss.

"Don't even think it, okay?" He said when he released his hold on her lips.

"Okay." She kissed him again before letting him sit up.

"Better?" He asked, stroking a bit of stomach that wasn't covered. Lauren giggled as Harper hit a ticklish spot, and nodded her head in response to his question. "So, what do you wanna watch?" He stood up and walked over to the shelves he had filled with DVD's.

"You." She said smiling and winking at him.

"Contrary to popular belief, no, I will not dance around the room in my underwear......Unless, I'm really drunk and you paid me."

"I have both booze and money."

"With you?"

"No."

"So we watch a movie."

"Okay. You pick one out."

"Alright. Uh, how 'bout this one?" He picked one out and showed it to her.

"Looks good." She replied smiling. He put the movie in, grabbed the remote, and sat on the couch with Lauren's head in his lap. "So, what are we watching? She asked as he brought up the menue.

"League of Extraordinary Gentlemen." He replied, turning off the subtitles.

"Any good?"

"Yep." He pressed play and they watched the movie in a comfortable silence.

"Tyr?"

"For the sixth time Sammie, what do you want?" Tyr asked, not looking up from the book he was reading.

"Will you please spar with me?" She asked, taking his book away.

"Fine, since you won't let me read in peace." He got up and took the book from her.

"Yay!" She squealed and hugged him, before they started for the door. "So, what pride is Chelsey from?" She asked, making small talk.

"Sabra - Jaguar." He replied, "Why do you ask?" He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Just wondering." She replied bitchily.

"What did I do now?" He asked, drawn a blank.

"If you can't remember the atrocity you committed, then I shall not bring myself to your level to recount it!" She said in a whiny English accent.

"Damn it woman, what are you talking about?"

"Time to change the subject. So, how old were you when you lost your virginity?"

"Younger than you."

"Tyr?"

"Younger than you."

"When did you start sounding like a broken record?"

"When I was younger than you."

"Tyr, I will deprive you of both sex and your weaponry." Sammie warned.

"16." He replied immediately.

"Good boy." She cooed stroking his arm.

"Don't pet me." He said as they entered the training room.

"But......" She started.

"No." He snapped.

"But......" She began again, taking position.

"I WILL leave." He threatened.

"Fine, I'm done." She threw up her hands in defeat.

"That was pretty good." Lauren observed as Harper turned off the movie.

"You think so." He started mindlessly stroking her hair.

"Why are you petting me?"

"I don't know. You want me to stop."

"No, you can keep doing it. Actually, it feels relaxing."

"Petting you is soothing."

"Yes, it is. It makes me want to take a nap."

"You can if you want to." He said, taking a few strands of her hair and twirling them in his fingers.

"No. I've been sleeping way too much since IT happened."

"IT?"

"Yes. It's affectionately called IT. Chelsey and Trance weren't too fond of me saying 'since I got smushed.'"

"You didn't 'get smushed'. I saved you."

"I know. Have I thanked you yet?"

"I must've missed it." He smiled leaning in to kiss her.

"Thank you." She whispered, kissing him softly and savoring every moment of it.

"Your welcome." He whispered when they pulled apart. "So, what do you want to do now?"

"Walk." She stated simply as she sat up.

"Lauren......"

"Oh come on. I feel great. Better than I have in......Well, ever. Please? I don't know if it's my Nietzchean side coming through, but I hate seeing myself like this. I feel vulnerable and that doesn't sit well with me." She looked at him with honesty in her eyes.

"Okay. Okay, but I'm gonna help. You may have been injected with a whole crap load of nano-bots, but they can't fix you up that fast. You were in pretty bad shape." He stood up and pulled her up too. He held her tight and close to him so that he was sure she was safe.

"I know. Believe me I know. From your being paranoid to Trance telling me that no matter how advanced the nano-bots are that I may never walk again." She told him, trying to make her legs obey her mind.

"Trance told you you'd never walk again." He loosened his grip so that he legs supported some of her weight.

"She said it was a possibility. I remember that first night, I woke up and nobody was there. I figured everything was fine, until I realized that I couldn't feel my legs. There was absolutely no feeling from the hips down, and I just started screaming and crying and hyperventilating. Rommie finally had to come in give me sedative because I couldn't stop." Hot pain shot through her legs as more weight was applied to them, but at least she could feel them.

"I'm sorry." He let her take most of her weight, but still had a firm grip on her.

"About what?" She asked, flexing her leg muscles for use.

"I really wanted to be with you that night, but I had a lot of thinking to do and....well, I should've just been there." His hands flopped to his sides.

"Seamus, it's okay. I'm fine, everything worked out fine. I mean, look! I'm standing all by myself, even after being told I wouldn't be able too." A huge smile lit up both their faces at the realization of what she was doing. "Oh, this is so cool! My legs don't even hurt anymore."

"That's great baby, but maybe that's enough for today." He said taking hold of her again.

"What?" She asked sounding like a three year old who was told not to do something.

"I just don't want you to strain yourself, and I kinda like taking care of you." He hugged her around the middle, resting his forehead on hers, and closing his eyes.

"And I like having you take care of me, but can I at least try?"

"Yeah." He said opening his eyes and giving into the puppy dog look, she gave him. "So, how should we go about this?"

"Okay, you go over there and I'll try and walk to you. You know, like teaching a baby." She smiled and pointed to the place she wanted him to stand.

"Alright, ready when you are." He said as he took his play, more than ready to act if anything happened to her.

"Okay." If possible, her smile widened with every step she took. It took a while, but upon making it to Harper's waiting arms, she hugged him in triumph. "If Trance could see me now."

"I'm so proud of you, but we should get you back to medical. Someone's bound to be looking for you by now." He gave her a sympathetic look.

"Okay, but if you'll help me, I want to try and walk there." Again with the puppy eyes.

"Alright." He agreed and they left on their journey to medical.