A week or two passed ever since the team could breathe a sigh of relief in regards to Shark's recovery. The house had finally managed to settle back down to normal. It was Shark who walked into the empty living room looking for some means of life. Two or three calls had come in for the team to mobilize on more minor situations. Unfortunately for Shark, the surfer had been strictly sidelined. Although Shark was feeling better, the doctors refused to let him go off with the team just in case his wounds should open up. Mr. Lee's medical care was top notch and almost divine in its capabilities but it still required some bed rest. Shark put a hand to his chest underneath his open blue over shirt. The swimmer touched the bandages that still lined his ribs. The bruising had gone down and Shark would be able to remove them soon. Although normally the team wore their wounds proudly on their chest, Shark felt it was better to keep this unfriendly reminder of his near death experience hidden as much as possible.

It became obvious to Shark that sometimes the team would look to his wounds and remember the bridge incident. Axel normally glanced away feeling guilty. Hawk became overly friendly, but most noticing of all was Lioness whose passionate roar had dulled down to a purr. The cat would not roughhouse with Shark as much and she had started acting noticeably nervous around him. Shark and Lioness had not talked about the bridge since it happened, whether the excuse was a mission or the need of some rest. It was a hard subject to touch between them. Shark honestly did not know how to approach the cat, even though something had noticeably changed between them. Chewing his gum, Shark noticed that the living room was again empty. The swimmer hated being left behind on missions, and in addition to that, Shark's injuries had somewhat isolated him from the rest of the team. It was hard to pick up the pieces of normalcy.

But Shark was determined to at least return things to the way they were before if the team was unwilling to move forward. Blowing a pink bubble, Shark headed through the house to look for someone to hang out with. He could see the light on in Axel's room and headed down the hall to see what the warrior was up to. Poking his head in the door, Shark found Axel with his back to the door and on the floor meditating in preparation for his training later on.

"Yo Axe man, want to test out the new boards with me?" Shark asked with a wave of his thumb towards the garage. Having come close to the end of his meditation, Axel gave a flinch at Shark's sudden interjection. Axel then frowned as his concentration ruined.

"Sorry Shark, I'm busy," Axel replied while trying to keep his annoyance hidden. Shark glanced to the floor with a scratch of his head in disappointment.

"Oh alright," Shark said before heading out of the doorway.

The surfer walked back down the hall until he saw Lioness emerge from a door and quickly brush past him. Hoping that Lioness would be available to lighten his spirits, Shark quickly put on a smile and rushed to her side.

"Hey Lioness," he began to say but was cut off as the cat hurried on.

"Sorry, can't talk now Shark. Me and Axel are about to go out," Lioness said as she quickened her pace. Shark froze and watched her receding form.

"Going out? Where?" Shark tried to say but his words were lost as the cat rounded the corner.

Lioness felt somewhat guilty for leaving the surfer in the hallway. It's not that she was trying to be rude to him, but ever since the attack on the bridge, Lioness found it hard to approach the surfer. New feelings had begun to surface for Shark and Lioness could feel them growing the more she spent time with him. After Shark began to recover, the reality of what those feelings meant had been a bit overwhelming for the cat. Lioness also became aware that if she talked to Shark, the topic of the bridge would most certainly come up. The subject was still tender for her. Lioness was also afraid that if they talked about it, these feelings she had for Shark might become something more serious. And at that point there was no turning back.

Lioness had tried to prepare herself for such situations when she originally signed up to be on the Alpha Team. Being the only female in a group of guys brings up such thoughts. It was easy to play off Shark's playful intent in the beginning when they had first gotten to know one another but now the two of them had a history together. In fact, Lioness had a history with all of the team. And Shark's relationship wasn't the only one that could have some emotional expansion. It was no secret that besides Shark, it was Axel who spent the most time with Lioness. And now that Lioness felt her heart quicken and her cheeks flush whenever she looked upon the surfer, Lioness deemed it necessary to try and dismiss her feelings. At this point, dealing with them now meant avoiding the surfer as much as possible. It wasn't that Lioness didn't want to hang out with Shark, in fact whenever she did she always found herself in a good mood. Rather, it was the chemistry between them that told the cat that her feelings were mutual. They could lead into a future, a future of which she was scared of. Deciding to avoid Shark until Lioness knew what she wanted to do, the cat began drifting towards Axel.

Lioness entered Axel's room with a knock. Turning around, Axel gave a smile and rose to his feet. In the hallway, Shark quickly hid into a room when he noticed Axel and Lioness walk out into the hall. He stayed hidden as they walked over to the elevator together. After they left, Shark went back into the empty living room. The swimmer couldn't help but feel somewhat jealous at the thought of Axel and Lioness leaving together to "go out".

What were they doing? Was this some possible hint that Lioness wasn't interested?

Shark looked towards the elevator a little broken hearted. It was possible that the bridge incident had motivated Lioness to make her move in regards to love. Shark looked down to his toes under his sandal straps. He tried not to read too much into it. Shark shook out his negative thoughts with a shake of his head. It was still too early to tell what the cat was thinking. But now with Axel and Lioness gone, Shark was left to amuse himself. King was busy with his computer work and Hawk was gone on a photo shoot. With another sigh, Shark slowly walked over to the stars. He descended into the hanger rolling over his thoughts.

Axel and Lioness . . . going out, Shark mulled over again in his thoughts