The first thing Daniel and Thelya did when they got back to their house was lock the door, and flop onto the bad. They curled up together, not even bothering to pull the sheets over themselves, and slept soundlessly for the first time in days. A whole day was spent like this; they had been desperate for a good night's sleep, but there had been too many things to think about, too many things to worry about. But now, it was as if for the five days they had allocated themselves, the rest of the galaxy no longer mattered. Nothing could touch them in their two-story three-bedroom two-bathroom sanctuary.

Daniel woke up a good twenty-nine hours after the 'Gornz' incident. He could feel the security of Thelya's arms around him, and felt terrible when he had to remove himself from the comfort. Alas, his stomach was demanding a good meal, and he wanted to surprise his wife with a delicious breakfast. He set to cooking up some pancakes and baked beans on toast, with a side of coffee and orange juice. He hoped Thelya was as hungry as he was.

"Good morning Daniel," the Sangheili in question greeted as she shuffled into the kitchen, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Daniel was surprised to see she was dressed in an elegant red robe instead of her armour. The robe was beautiful, to say the least. It was decorated with spiralling golden patterns, with something similar to a dragon coming up the back with its maw stretched open, thrusting a plume of flame into the stars above. Thelya noticed him staring. "I no longer the Arbiter, I do not have to be so strict with myself anymore," she explained.

"Oh, that's not what was on my mind," Daniel told her, flipping the pancake that was currently in the pan. "That robe is almost as beautiful as you are." Four pieces of toast popped out of the toaster, so Daniel quickly removed them and spread some butter on them.

"Oh, I may have to burn it then. After all, I would not want to have to compete with a mere robe for the attention of my husband now, would I?" Daniel grinned and presented Thelya with the food. He caught her licking her mandibles at the sight. They wolfed down their food in silence, forgetting that they weren't alone, and feeling embarrassed that they'd made such a pig of themselves afterwards. Daniel cleared his throat to break the awkward silence.

"So, uh, how shall we spend our days of peace and quiet?" he inquired. Thelya shrugged, yes, shrugged. She had started being a lot more casual since she lost her title of Arbiter, Daniel noticed. For a moment, he felt thankful for Gornz. Then he remembered everything else the crazy son-of-a-bitch had done, and the feeling was gone.

"I have not really thought about it, but nothing that is not relaxing peaceful, and quiet. But, I had thought that it might be time to mate again, it has been a while. Or at least it feels like it has been a while." Thelya looked slightly confused for a moment, probably counting how many days it had been since they last had sex.

"There's my horny alien," Daniel laughed, "but I wouldn't exactly call that a 'quiet and peaceful' activity. Personally, I would have chosen the words 'loud' and 'intense'."

"Mmm," Thelya agreed. Either she had never said that before, or Daniel had never noticed. Her new attitude was bringing more things that he loved about Thelya to his attention. "I did not mean now. I have neither the energy nor the willpower for any physical activity. Perhaps we could watch one of your... 'movies'?" It wasn't a bad suggestion actually. They made themselves comfortable, which was them lying on the couch together with a blanket thrown over the top, Thelya lying behind Daniel with her head on his shoulder and her arm around his waist. Together, they waited for the move to begin.

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~

Zack was awoken abruptly by a soft voice.

"Sergeant Weights?" He cracked open an eye, and slowly he began to remember where he was. He had fallen asleep in the mess hall, luckily on one of the more comfortable arm chairs than the bench seats. An image of himself dozing off, only to fall of the backless bench popped into his mind. He then blinked and gazed at the speaker. It was the Jackal, Yari? Yunos? Yaki? Yuna... Yusi... Yuni! That was the one. God, alien names were confusing. It took him a moment to respond.

"Yeah...?" he responded slowly, still not properly awake. In the back of his mind, a voice told him he was a marine, and his wits should be sharper than this, but his time as an ambassador was making him soft.

"Hi, you probably don't know who I am, but –" She was cut off as Zack, quite proud of his achievement, wanted to show off his skills at recognising aliens and pronouncing their names.

"No, I know who you are, Yuni," Zack assured her, and immediately regretted it.

"Err... no. That's the other Kig-Yar. The one in a sexual relationship with Pete? There are three of us." Shit, Zack cursed to himself. Now that his mind wasn't so groggy, he realised the Jackal looked completely different to Yuni.

"Ah... Oh... Sorry about that... I er... was um, kinda still half asleep?" Zack apologised with broken words. Then the implications of what she had just said hit him. "Wait. Pete's having sex with an alien as well now? Damn, I need to get my game face on," he joked, trying to ease the tension he was convinced he had just created. That failed miserably.

"I'm not interested," the Jackal said bluntly, assuming Zack was trying to hit on her in some round-about way. She sighed. "Look, the name's Larun. Yuni managed to convince me that not all humans are complete pigs, but every single one I've met so far seems to disprove that. Sorry to interrupt you, goodbye." 'Larun' turned to leave, but Zack grabbed her arm.

"Hey!" he protested. "I'm sorry, I'm not normally like that, and I'm not actually interested in sleeping with aliens." Larun quirked an eyebrow at him, but sat down anyway.

"Is that so? Let's talk then." The tone of her voice suggested she was not convinced, and Zack was probably the only person who could sway her opinion of humans at that moment.

"Well, my name is Zack. I'm a Sergeant in the UNSC Marines. I was selected to come on this mission not only because I'm handy with almost any weapon you can throw at me, human, Covenant or Forerunner, but also because I'm an extremely tolerant person and I've actually managed not to lose my ability to feel emotions during the war. I hate hurting people's feelings and will try to make amends with them if possible." Zack hoped she would catch the hint, even though it was impossible to miss. I guess what I'm really hoping for is that she realises I am being sincere, he told himself.

"I am Larun. I'm a Kig-Yar that ran away from the Covenant when Sergeant Masters offered me and my comrades a better life. I currently have no close friends and wish to make some, but I don't really like Sangheili because of how cruel they were to my kind during the war, so the only other species available to me is human. I have only met snobs and am about to give up." It seemed she was using the same tactics as he was. This wasn't a conversation Zack was feeling particularly comfortable with. Zack actually began to get a bit annoyed.

"Look, how many humans have you talked to exactly? You do know that we've just come out the other side of a miniature civil war, and everyone's still feeling a bit hostile towards one another. To be honest, after seeing someone get diced by a Sangheili, they can't be feeling all that happy with aliens right now. Maybe if you gave them a little time, and the benefit of doubt, you might find someone you like." Without a word, she got up and left. That went well, Zack thought sarcastically.

~~~~~~~~~~()~~~~~~~~~~

Kath wandered down the path. It was well-paved with smooth stones, and surrounded by lush grass and pretty flowers. She smiled, it seemed that Lanai had quite the sensitive side. She stepped off the path and onto Lanai's front porch, where she rang the doorbell. The Sangheili answered immediately, as if he were waiting on the other side for her to arrive, which he might well have been doing. It was a date after all. Kath still wasn't too sure how she felt about Lanai. Sure, she liked him, but she didn't know if she loved him enough to make a commitment like marriage so quickly.

"Hello," Lanai greeted nervously. That was the thing about Lanai; he got nervous. She had always imagined Sangheili as relentless killing machines, bred into war, not able to feel. Ever since she met Thelya, her opinion changed slightly, but there were still so few Sangheili she had met that were willing to share their emotions. Lanai was so... so human. She stood and watched him fiddle with his hands for a bit, awaiting her answer.

"Hi," she responded brightly. "I like your garden." Lanai blushed ever so slightly. Even blushing, just like a nervous schoolboy would on his first date. She found herself thinking about what Thelya had told her. It is only a matter of time before he asks you to marry him. She had been getting more and more worried that he hadn't. What if these aren't dates anymore? What if he's found someone else and we're just friends now? Had she thought about this logically, she could have come up with more than a few reasons that would disprove these scenarios, but her heart was leaping desperately in her chest, and hundreds more things that could have gone wrong were racing through her head.

She decided she would be honest with him, and tell him what was on her mind. "Lanai..." she started."A-a while ago, Thelya told me that after a few dates, a Sangheili usually asks the person they're courting to marry them. You haven't yet. Do... do you still love me?" She gazed into his eyes hopefully, desperate to have her fears put to rest, desperate to hear the words she wanted, but afraid to hear the ones she didn't. He gently took her hands in his, grasping them reassuringly. Please no... Kath pleaded silently. Men usually didn't do this sort of thing unless they were consoling someone, right?

"Katherine, of course I love you." Her heart skipped a beat and she almost fainted. "I know I love you. I love you so much I am prepared to wait. I do not need to ask you to marry me, because I am enjoying the time we are spending together now. If I asked you, and you said no, then I want to have these memories, to treasure forever." Kath hugged him tightly, half because she knew she loved him too, but half because she almost did faint and needed some support.

"Lanai..." she whispered, unable to raise her voice sufficiently. "That's the sweetest thing anyone's ever said to me." She felt dizzy with what she was about to say, but she needed him to know. Her heart was set. "If you asked me to marry you right now, I would say yes. I love you Lanai." Lanai rubbed her back softly.

"No, it can wait. I do not want to force this upon you, we will wait until the time is right..." Kath felt her eyes drifting shut, her head resting against Lanai's chest. The sudden rush of emotions had taken a lot out of her, making her fell tired and physically drained. She wondered if maybe she hadn't caught some kind of alien illness. But then she remembered the words to an old Earth song:

"You don't need analyzing
It is not so surpisin'
That you feel very strange but nice

Your heart goes pitter-patter
I know just what's the matter
Because I've been there once or twice

Put your head on my shoulder
You need someone who's older
A rub-down with a velvet glove

There is nothing you can take
To relieve that pleasant ache
You're not sick, you're just in love."

A/N: For those of you wondering, that is part of the song "You're Just in Love" by Perry Como. I thought it would be a nice way to finish off the chapter, it's a nice song. Also introducing a couple of new characters for no particular reason. Hope you liked the chapter,
~CrazyBirdMan59