On the upper level, Shion was wandering about in somewhat of a daze still. As she headed toward the lounge, she heard something that caused her to clutch at her chest in surprise. "SSSHHHIIIOOONNN!!!" She spun around to see the UMN monitor shining brightly with Miyuki's image. Groaning to herself, she nevertheless made her way over to the screen.

Miyuki glanced at her face, and her eyes lit up with mischief. "Why do you look so dazed and confused? I bet I know! Where's that adorable redhead who likes just joking around with you? I can already tell the kind of jokes he's been playing recently."

Shion's eyes lost their dreaminess, and she said angrily, "Would you keep your voice down, Miyuki? What if MOMO is within hearing distance?"

Miyuki had the grace to look ashamed. "Sorry, Shion. You know, speaking of MOMO, have I told you how hard it's been keeping the secret from her? She's seemed really down lately, and I think it's because she's missing Jr. or something. She breaks my heart when I see her."

Shion told her urgently, "Then that's even more reason to keep your mouth shut, Miyuki! If she's missing Jr., then she certainly doesn't need to know about the relationship he and I have. I'm trusting you to stay quiet about this." She gave Miyuki a hard stare, and Miyuki sighed but nodded. "Is there a reason I'm hearing from you? It can't be simply because you were bored, right?"

Miyuki's slightly sad face cleared instantly. "Well, I was bored, but I'm not calling you for that. See, we keep busy here, but I've also managed to have free time too. And just guess what I did with it?" Shion shrugged, appearing uninterested as she looked over her shoulder toward the bridge. "I made a brand new M.W.S. just for you! I wasn't sure if you guys aboard the Elsa would have to fight, but I thought you might want to be prepared if so. I'll send it over to you."

Shion turned just as the light from the transportation vanished. She picked up the new weapon and was amazed by its lightness. "Miyuki, how did you manage to make this one even lighter than the previous one? I can hardly feel its weight."

Miyuki giggled. "I just kept playing around until I came up with an idea I liked. I hope you like the color," she said with a teasing note.

Shion hadn't really noticed the color at that point, but now that Miyuki had mentioned it, she realized it was a beautiful aquamarine color. "It's a very nice color, but why did you say it like that?"

Miyuki put a hand to her forehead, shaking her head at Shion's slowness. "It's aquamarine, which is a combination of the color of your and Jr.'s eyes. I thought it was a nice touch myself," she said loftily, preening.

Shion sighed, but she did have to admit she liked the thought of a combination of her and Jr. "If I have a chance to test it out, I'll let you know the results, okay? I'd better get going. I'm really tired, so I think I'll just lie down for a while." She shot Miyuki a scorching glare when she tittered and jabbed a finger at the terminal to end the transmission.

Later that night, Shion had just slipped into her nightclothes and looked over to see Mary curled up in her bed, deeply asleep, when the door to the cabin slid open. There was no need for her to admit Jr., since he'd had the alarms removed just as he'd promised himself he would. Shion sat down on her bed and wrapped her arms around her waist, feeling strangely shy. Jr. made his way over to her and leaned down to capture her mouth with his in a lengthy kiss. When it ended, he straightened up and said a bit hoarsely, "I thought I'd be decent and stay out of here until Mary fell asleep." He pressed a finger to her lips as she started to speak. "It's only for this one night, Shion. There won't be any sense to doing it again after this, since Mary and Shelley will be made aware of the new development in the morning. Now let me go and get ready." He headed off in the direction of the bathroom.

When he returned, Shion was already asleep, or at least pretending to be. He was nearly certain it was the latter. He slipped into bed beside her and brushed aside a piece of hair that was covering her ear. He took the opportunity to gently nip at the now uncovered ear, and she shivered slightly. "You're still awake," he accused, but without any heat. He slid the strap of her satiny top out of the way and kissed her shoulder, making his way slowly toward her neck. A strangled sound escaped her, and she stiffened against him.

He pulled back, sighing. "Okay, we'll forget about it for now. It's enough that we're finally in the same bed. I'm not going to force you, and you know that. Can I at least hold you?" She turned to him and, after settling her head on his chest, allowed him to slip his arms around her. As she listened to the rhythm of Jr.'s heartbeat, Shion's eyes grew heavy and she was soon asleep. Jr. followed soon after as he lay stroking her hair.

Shion awoke, disoriented. She wasn't alone in her bed, and it took her a few minutes to process why that was. After remembering Jr. was with her, she realized that sometime during the night, his arms had fallen from around her and she had been sleeping in her normal position, which was on her side. Slowly she took notice of the fact that her back was hurting her, and she shifted uncomfortably. Almost instantly, she felt an arm come over her, stopping her from moving. "Jr.," she whispered, "are you awake?" There was no reply, but she wasn't fooled by that. "That was too quick of a reaction, so I know you're not sleeping."

Jr. chuckled. "Yeah, I did react a little too quickly. I knew I should have just snaked my arm around you."

She moved so that she was facing him. "Have you been awake for a while?"

He shook his head, surprising her. "No, I actually woke up only a few minutes before you did. I was sleeping pretty well tonight. I could get used to that."

She was aware that other than his arm resting over her, he hadn't made a move to touch her. She knew that he was thinking of what he'd said to her before they'd fallen asleep, and that would keep him from laying a finger on her because he thought she didn't want it. She brought a hand to the back of his head and gently compelled him to lower it. When her mouth met his, she felt him start because it wasn't often she was the aggressor. He knew much more than she did, and she was content to let him lead in this area. She pressed against him a little wantonly, and Jr.'s restraint broke. He shifted his position and took fierce control of her mouth, and he kept her occupied enough that she never once gave a thought to Mary sleeping in the other bed. While in the very beginning, Jr. still had enough sense left to wonder why Shion had suddenly changed her stance, a short time later, he could only give enough thought to mindless pleasure.

Afterward, he was pressing tiny kisses to her collarbone as she stretched luxuriously. "Why did you change your mind, Shion? When I tried before, you didn't want me touching you. Are you just more pliant after you've been sleeping?" he teased.

She stuck her tongue out at him. "No, that's not what it was." She was quiet for a few seconds. Finally she whispered, "I wanted you." She turned her head away, a rosy blush starting to stain her cheeks.

He gently forced her to look him in the eyes. "There's nothing wrong with that. You know," he said with a wicked grin, "you weren't worrying about Mary waking up when you were loudly crying my name just before."

"Jr.!" She shoved him off of her and rolled onto her side, not facing him.

With a low laugh, he moved the hair covering the back of her neck out of his way and brought his mouth there, raising gooseflesh along her skin. "I was just pointing out the truth about how deeply Mary sleeps is all." She made a huffy sound but snuggled against him. Not long after, they both fell back to sleep, his hand possessively laid on her hip and her head tucked under his chin.

In the morning, Shion was walking out of the bathroom, toweling her hair dry, when she heard Mary's strident voice. "Why are ya here already, Little Mastah? It's a lil' early, don't ya think? Shouldn't ya be on the bridge since we'll be arrivin' at that place today?"

The two of them came into Shion's line of view just as Jr. snapped back, "Don't worry about where I should and shouldn't be, Mary. Besides, I have the right to be here since this is where I'm staying now." She noted his hair was still wet and tousled from the shower, and he wasn't completely dressed as of yet, but obviously Mary hadn't noticed that incriminating detail before she'd spoken.

Mary's blue eyes went wide. "Wha??? Are ya sayin' what I think you're sayin'?" She sat down heavily on her bed, and that was when she spied Shion by the few stairs leading up to the area where the beds were. She sprang to her feet and pointed a finger at her. "How dare ya bring Little Mastah in here without discussin' it with me and Shelley first! We live in this cabin too, ya know! Ya think you're so almighty important just because you're sleepin' with the Little Mastah -"

Jr. roared, "That's enough, Mary! Just who in the hell do you think you are to talk to Shion like that?! If you'd like, I'll kick you out of this cabin faster than you can break anyone's eardrums with that freakin' accent you insist on using!" His blue eyes were flashing dangerously, and Shion quickly rushed up behind him and laid a hand upon his shoulder to calm him. He placed his hand over hers, but she could still feel the anger rolling off him. "I think you need to get out, right now. If you don't, I won't be held responsible for my actions. Do you understand me?"

Mary clenched her hands into fists as she stared at him. "I understand ya just fine! But don't ya dare think you've driven me outta here! This is where I sleep too, and I ain't leavin' it for good!" She stormed toward the door, and that was when Shelley walked into the room.

"What is going on in here?" she demanded. "I could hear you in the lounge, Mary. What could possibly have you so upset that you would be screaming the way you are?"

Mary turned her fury on the sister that she felt had abandoned her. "It ain't as though ya even care, Shelley! Ya won't say hardly two words to me anymore! But if ya really gotta know, we got ourselves a new roommate! Little Mastah doesn't have her," she shot a venomous look in Shion's direction, "near enough, so now he has to be in her damn bed all of the time!"

Shion grabbed Jr.'s arm as he made to move toward Mary. "No!" she whispered frantically. "Jr., just please let it go for now! Let her leave and don't make it worse!"

Shelley's purple eyes slid toward Jr., who seemed to be trying to bring his temper under control. "Then I am afraid I cannot stay here any longer. It will not be much of a loss to any of you, being that I rarely sleep here as it is." She saw Jr.'s face go white, but she looked away from him to say to Mary, "It would be wise if you were to leave. A verbal sparring with Little Master will only lead to things being said that need not be." Mary spun on her heel and rushed out of the room like a whirlwind. Shelley followed in her wake.

There was silence in the cabin for a time after the Godwin sisters had made their exits. Jr. sat down on the bed and covered his face with his hands. Shion sat down next to him and placed her arms around his shoulders but refrained from saying anything to him. She only wanted to let him know she was there with him. Finally he looked at her, and she could see the strain showing in his eyes. "I know I told you Shelley would leave when she found out I had moved in here, but it was still something I guess I wanted to be wrong about," he said quietly.

She brought a hand to his cheek and he leaned into it, sighing. "Jr., I wish there was something I could do. It doesn't seem fair that you have to deal with all this strife too. Maybe if I could somehow talk to Shelley…"

He kissed her gently. "Thank you for wanting to attempt to make things better. This is something that can't be fixed, though. Shelley made it clear that she has a serious aversion to me, and all I can do is suffer it. She won't talk to me, so I don't know what's wrong, and I seriously doubt she'll listen to a word you say. You said she's been avoiding you since we started our relationship. Obviously you're too close to me for her to be at all comfortable with you anymore. Since there's nothing more to be said about the subject that's going to help, we might as well head to the lounge to eat." He caught a glimpse of Shion's face and clapped a hand to his forehead. "Crap, I forgot, Shion." He rubbed her back as she leaned over, breathing deeply.

A minute or so later, she sat back up straight and laughed weakly. "I suppose this is what they mean by that old Lost Jerusalem term 'morning sickness.' Thankfully, it does seem to strike me only in the morning, because I don't think I could handle this all day. I'll go to the lounge with you, but I'm going to see if the droids can whip me up some toast. It's about all I can have at this point. First, though, why don't you finish getting dressed, okay?" She allowed him to pull her to her feet after he'd done so, and they made their way out of the room toward the lounge.

The only person in the lounge when they arrived was Captain Matthews, who was obviously nursing another one of his hangovers. "I think I need somethin' stronger," he groaned as he shoved the glass away that contained the "cure" the droids had all worked together on to create for him. He glanced up at them with bloodshot eyes and tried to focus on them, which was difficult when he was seeing double. "Little Master? That you with the former Ms. Vector there?"

Jr. couldn't hold back a snicker at his state. "Matthews, I hold my liquor better than you do, and that's pretty sad considering I have the body of a fourteen-year-old."

Matthews tried to glare at him but gave up when the effort made his head hurt. "You can drink me under the table, Little Master, which makes me feel like a helluva lot less of a man. I think there's somethin' wrong with that, but I don't have it in me right now to think on it too much." He pulled the glass back toward him and managed to down it in one gulp, shuddering as he did so. "That is some damn awful stuff. Anyway, what the hell happened to ya last night, Little Master? I've grown kinda used to being woken up when you can't sleep for an early morning card game and some beer to go with it."

Jr. sat down across from him and pulled a giggling Shion into his lap. "Well, you can rest easy now, Matthews. I won't be waking you up like that anymore, since I'm staying in the women's cabin from now on. And hey," he said, eyeing the mirth-filled Shion, "what's so damn funny?"

She couldn't keep the laughter out of her voice as she replied, "I just feel sorry for the captain is all. Poor man can't even sleep because you can't. You have to share the wealth, hmmm?"

Jr. waved a hand airily. "I had to keep myself busy, since I didn't want to wander around the ship. I always read first," he said slightly defensively.

One of the droids bounced over to ask if they wished to have anything for breakfast, and they all placed their orders, although Shion placed hers with a slightly green face. Matthews gazed at her with what for him would be termed concern. His tonic seemed to have started taking effect, and he wasn't weaving in the booth anymore. "You okay? You're looking kinda green around the edges."

Shion smiled bravely at him. "Yeah, I'll be fine. Mornings aren't my best time right now is all. Once I have some toast and ginger ale, my stomach will settle down."

Jr. made a face but ran a hand over her back comfortingly. "Are you even sure this is normal, sweetheart? It can't be good to feel like this. Maybe you should check with someone about it."

Shion rolled her eyes at him. "And who do you suggest I ask? Actually, your extensive collection of books came in handy for once. There was one about medical health, and it talked briefly on pregnancy. What I'm feeling is perfectly normal, and that's where I found that Lost Jerusalem term I told you about. So stop worrying," she said softly, kissing him on the cheek for Matthews' benefit.

Jr. wasn't that subtle and turned his head to steal a kiss from her, ignoring Matthews' usual groan when he had to see them interact like that. "You know I always worry about you." He faced Matthews, who was intently staring off toward the bar with a longing expression. "So when are we going to hit that place we're looking for, anyway?"

Matthews seemed relieved by the change in conversation. "It should be within the next couple of hours. It had better be," he said darkly. "I'm sure you felt her shudder early this morning."

Jr. caught Shion's eye, and the look in his eyes made her duck her head, blushing intensely. Jr. coughed. "Uh, no, I can't say that I did, Matthews. I was sleeping pretty heavily, though, which is unusual for me. That must be why I didn't notice."

Matthews appeared blissfully unaware of the current running between his two tablemates for once. "The Logic Drive is almost shot. If this place turns out to be completely different from the analysis, and we can't land there, we're gonna be in some serious trouble."

Two droids stopped in front of the table, carrying plates heaped with food for Jr. and Matthews and one with Shion's toast. They set the plates down, along with the glass of ginger ale Shion had asked for. Jr. felt Shion tremble in his arms and he asked quickly, "What's wrong?"

She turned to him, her face sweaty. "All of these smells are making me nauseous. Oh God," she choked before jumping up and rushing out of the lounge, her hands covering her mouth.

Jr.'s first impulse was to follow after her, but he checked it long enough to say, "Make sure you call me when we get there, Matthews, and I mean immediately." He hurried after Shion.

Matthews shrugged and decided there was no sense in wasting food, so he dumped everything from the Little Master's plate onto his. If he were to come back, he could always have another plate made up for him, and it certainly didn't look as though Shion would be coming back any time soon.