"What would you do without me, Lieutenant?" grunted Santos as she dragged Taz onto the gangway. Taz was too injured to resist Santos' arm wrapped snuggly against her, but Taz dragged her feet and let her knees hit the ground, Santos was pulled down with her. Swearing, Santos readjusted her grip and stood again, bracing herself, "What the hell's wrong with you... ma'am," She amended, remembering who she was speaking to.

"Up's dead," said Taz through numb lips, she watched a brigade of fresh rangers, medics, and scientists sweep past them to root through the debris of robot and human for what was useful. Taz doubled over and gagged, but her stomach was empty and only the whiff of blitz powder came back up to coat her throat, that made her feel even sicker.

Santos' grip slackened and she let Taz fall to her knees to retch. Santos gazed out at the medics and scientists picking the field apart, she almost spoke, half a syllable came out before she clamped her mouth shut. Santos' heart ached for the emptiness in Taz's face.

Taz sullenly gazed at Santos, her left eye an empty socket, blood stained most of her face a rusty red, "Get me to the medibay."

"Lieutenant..." Santos' hesitated.

"Commander," corrected Taz, her voice was hollow, she held her broken arm to her chest; her good eye shuttled restlessly across the battlefield, searching for the impossible.

Santos helped Taz to her feet, "Commander, let me find him." She swallowed her words when Taz hissed at her.

Taz knew it was stupid, she knew there was no point in bringing back the body, but she still nodded, "He... was cut in half. Find whatever you can, but come back right away if you don't. It's still dangerous out here."

"I won't let you down," said Santos solemnly, "I promise."

"Just come back," said Taz sharply.

"Of course," taken aback, Santos snagged an exhausted looking medic from the stream of survivors and handed Taz off to them before running back out to the field.

The medic, muttering curses, dragged Taz to the medibay.

However, Taz was rudely kicked out of the medibay as soon as her eye had regenerated and she could walk. She stumbled to Up's office. It was surreal to walk through the celebrating starship because there were pockets of wild cheers and then silent corners. It was impossible Up was gone, there was a celebratory mob nearby, but the blood in her ears was loud and overpowering. Taz locked herself in Up's quiet office, she sunk into Up's chair and rested her head on the desk. What was she going to do? Up should be here with her celebrating, she clenched her fists and staved off the tears, it was too soon to fall apart.

The comm blared to life, scaring Taz, Santos voice was too loud, too sharp, "Commander Taz? Up! I found him and he's... uh... not dead. Not dead yet. I'm at critcare."

Taz tried wiping the tears away but her eyes wouldn't stop. "No that can't be him. Up is dead. There was a saw," and she didn't care that her voice shook.

Santos gave a shaky laugh, "Just get over here. Fathia is making decisions too fast. You- You might want to stop her."

Taz shot out the door, wiping her eyes.

Santos stood outside critcare, her eyes blood shot and covered in dried blood, looking scared. Santos wrung her hands, "The- The Admiral will explain more-"

"The Admiral? Fuck her," Taz, grabbed tightly onto Santos and demanded, "You explain it to me right now because I saw Up die out there. Six hours ago I saw him die. And now you're saying he's not?" Taz's voice cracked and Santos relented, "Okay, Okay. But... it's not nice..."

"Just tell me," ordered Taz.

"Yes, Commander," said Santos with an edge to her voice. Taz held her breath, the taste of blood wouldn't leave her mouth no matter how much she swallowed. Santos cleared her throat, " Well, Commander Up received what should've been fatal injury-", Taz flinched, "-but Optimus' saw was hot enough to cauterize him. Despite all odds there was a pulse when we found him, although we only recovered half of his body, brain activity was strong enough to warrant him to be iced but-"

Taz grabbed Santos by the lapels, "Are jou stupid? Are you stupid?" Taz shook her hard enough to crack Santos' neck. "I told you to get him back! Not drag him back to life!" She was furious, Taz felt like spitting into Santos' face.

"Fathia ordered it!" Santos grabbed onto Taz's arms for support and hung on for dear life, "It was all Fathia! And some medics and scientists with high seniority. They were the ones who iced him. Let me go! Let. Me. Go!" Taz released Santos and she backed far away.

"Is this how you treat the people who help you? asked Santos hoarsely, "Goddamn it."

Taz sank against the wall and shook her head, "I didn't want this."

"Well the situation is out of our hands. Take it to Fathia," gasped Santos, rubbing her collar, "You should be sorry, I tried to help you."

Taz sighed and closed her eyes tightly, "I know... I- I'm sorry for how I treated you. But you should've stopped this."

"Fuck you!" Santos covered her face.

"Can you wait for me out here?" Taz's voice shook and broke. Santos wanted to be angry, she wanted to be angry so bad, "Yes, I'll be here."

Taz still couldn't stop her tears, "I'll only be a moment."

Santos snorted, "Threat or gratitude?"

"Definitely gratitude," Taz's shoulders slumped, "Thank you for helping me."

"Yeah, okay," Santos wiped her face also, "But don't feel too happy, Up's never going to be the same."

Taz's face hardened but she didn't say anything

Fathia waited for her just inside the critcare room, "Lieutenant, I-"

"Commander," snarled Taz, and strode past her to the stasis machine. She pressed a switch, unfrosting the glass. Taz squeezed her eyes shut for a moment and then opened them again, the gel inside was tinted pink with blood. There were hardly any words Taz knew that could describe Up's state. Aberration might come close. Tragedy might be good too. She frosted the glass again, nausea roiled through her. She turned back to Fathia who stood in the doorway, staring at the stasis machine.

"Disconnect him," said Taz in a clipped voice, her agony was obvious and raw.

"Don't you want him to live?" Fathia approached the stasis tube and laid a hand on it.

Taz snarled. "You think this is a joke? Give me one reason I shouldn't rip out those tubes out of his throat."

Fathia stowed attitude, realizing just how sleep-deprived and unstable Vasquez was, "We're going to give him prosthetics. The extent of the injuries were so severe that grafts and cloned limbs would take years to grow and implant. Keeping him comatose in a tank for that long wouldn't be his best option. I ordered the prosthetics instead, it will take about a year to get him moving. Hopefully it will be better than being dead or comatose in this machine for years."

Taz glared at Fathia; Fathia knew Taz was carefully choosing her next words.

"Be sure that I did what I thought best," said Fathia and to her dismay, her voice wasn't level. "This goes above you Commander, unless you want to lose your job and the chance of ever seeing Up again, I suggest you leave this room immediately."

Taz left, but thankfully Santos was waiting for her outside.

Taz's first missions as Commander were rough, the pressure of keeping her squad alive kept her awake late into the night, worrying and fretting. Although she promoted a good ranger to lieutenant, in the beginning it was still difficult to adjust to her new position. Thankfully, time passes quickly when in charge of forty-odd souls.

"Lieutenant Tsionawit," called Taz from the rock she comfortably perched on, "Get Specs to call up central. Confirm mission coordinates and our position."

"Yes ma'am," Tsionawit glared hatefully at Taz, who grinned. "Specs anything from central?"

"Commander Vasquez, central confirmed mission and our position, but you probably heard that because you're three feet away." Tsionawit continued, "There's also package waiting for you when we get back."

Taz grinned and shrugged, "Hm."

"Maybe your butt scratcher finally arrived," said Tsionawit, smirking, "and I won't have to do everything for you anymore."

Taz pretended to laugh loudly, "Oh my, such fun we're having lieutenant. But you forget that this insignia means you can pack your ass with salt."

Taz's rangers were packing their stuff, and laughed at the Commander and Tsionawit's argument. Tsionawit smiled broadly, "Not for long, my hours are almost up, so fuck you."

Taz laughed, "Any time, anywhere." They always argued like this, Tsionawit pretended to resent the time required to apply for a command, while Taz made her do even the most menial tasks. Although it was annoying to deal with Tsionawit's impatience and arrogance, they both worked well on the field, reading each other's movements and protecting one another.

Eventually Taz felt comfortable enough that 'Commander' no longer sounded strange, but felt like her surname. It felt snug. Months passed in a blur.

They were on their starship diligently working their way through some reports when Tsionawit said, "There's a message from Admiral Fathia. You wanna read it now or save it for after lunch?"

Taz held out her mug, "Forward it and hit me." Tsionawit forwarded the message and then threw out the cold coffee. She poured more hot coffee for both of them, I don't know why you can't just finish your coffee before it gets cold," said Tsionawit crossly.

Taz shrugged and continued reading the report, "I don't know why you just can't make hot chocolate."

"I'll drink hot chocolate the day Mexico invades Sudan," Tsionawit savored the first sip of her own hot coffee and smiled.

"Hah, if-" the message from Fathia was brief. Taz stared hard at the missive.

"What?" Tsionawit circled the desk, crouching to read the message, "Your old Commander's out of the woods? What the hell's that mean?"

"Uh," Taz shook her head, "He was seriously injured on Quonos, and I told Fathia to let me know if he pulled through."

Tsionawit snapped her fingers, "I remember! The famous Up. Spliced and Diced, right?"

"If you say another word," said Taz in a voice above a whisper, "I'll cut your tongue out with my knife."

Tsionawit stepped back, "Jesus, sorry. Sorry. I forget myself Commander." She seemed sincere. Taz let it go.

"What does it mean for us though? For our missions?" asked Tsionawit.

"It means I'm quitting and you're officially taking over."

"Really?" Tsionawit's smile could have swallowed a small destroyer, Taz scoffed while she tapped out a reply.

"No! Of course not! Sit down and finish those reports. It means that when this tour is finished we're taking leave. I can transfer you to a different Commander if you'd rather finish your hours."

Tsionawit actually hesitated, to qualify and apply to be a commander there was a field time minimum, "No, no. Unless you're permanently retiring I'd rather not be transferred out. There's other shit I have to do anyways if we're gonna be groundside. Paperwork and classes I gotta finish."

"Well." Taz was honestly stunned that Tsionawit would rather remain as her lieutenant than finish her field hours, "I think I'm going to cry."

Tsionawit's blush was dark and she stammered, "As long as it isn't too long, you understand. I can't waste my time on some nostalgic hack."

"Of course not," said Taz, "Your brutal honesty keeps me on the straight and narrow."

"What would you do without my advice?" Tsionawit shuffled her papers importantly.

"Probably have a lieutenant whose mouth was sewn shut," said Taz amiably.

"Anything else you need?" Taz impatiently drummed her fingers, "I have better things to do." It had been a week since Taz had taken shore leave, and she was bored of waiting.

"Yes, yes, we're done, Commander Vasquez, that was the last batch," Admiral Fathia's secretary said, "You know I don't enjoy carting hard copies around either. It's bad for my back, why last year-"

"Out," said Taz, she stood and herded the garrulous secretary out of her office, "Out now. So much fucking paperwork, I swear. "

"Oh!" the secretary held onto the doorframe, " Fathia also told me to remind you-"

"Commander Vasquez," Santos swished into her office and prodded the secretary aside, "Excuse me Commander Wico. Commander Vasquez, I need you to follow me immed-"

"Well hold on now," protested Wico, "the Admiral herself-"

"The Admiral herself will understand," snapped Santos, "In fact, go tell her to meet me and the Commander in the medibay in an hour. Now!"

Wico looked caught between being furious and standing his ground, "Obviously this is very important if you're being rude. I will inform the Admiral."

Taz leaned against the doorframe, and stretched, "How do you get him to leave so quickly?" Relieved at having her afternoon finally free, Taz locked her office, "Are we still on for six? Does Krayonder suspect a thing?"

"What?" Santos looked distracted, "Krayonder's party? I totally forgot!"

"You what?" Taz grabbed Santos wrist, "You're supposed to be in charge of the cake!" Taz tugged on her bangs, "Okay... It's fine. if I skip my 2pm class I might have enough time."

"Oh psh! Forget Krayonder's party," insisted Santos, "And I didn't come here to oust you outta listening to poor old Wico. I came-" Santos wrung her hands, "Just- come on." Santos avoided Taz's eyes.

"Wait, is something wrong?" Taz unconsciously clutched her Commander's insignia and quickly let it go. "Is it my brother?" Taz quickened her pace to follow Santos.

"Enrique? No, he's fine. It's... well I have good news," Santos chewed her bottom lip, "Just follow me, please." Santos fell silent as she led Taz through the rebuilt medibay that had been previously destroyed by Mac's betrayal. With a growing horror in the pit of her stomach, Taz followed Santos past the care ward, into an elevator, Santos punched the button for a lower floor. The elevator doors rumbled open into a short hallway full of chattering medics and researchers standing around.

"Alright, clear out," said Santos in a quavering voice, everyone jumped at her order and quietly went into the door marked, 'employee lounge'. Leaving the hallway clear with only one door open. Taz guessed that she had been brought here to see whatever was in there.

"Is it a robot?" asked Taz quietly.

Santos jumped, "No! Why ... Why would you even ask that. I would never-"

"Because jou're jumpy as hell," replied Taz, "What's in there."

"Sit," Santos nudged her towards a chair and Taz complied. "In that room is not a 'what' but a 'who'. A person, if you will."

"If I will?" said Taz, puzzled.

"I meant that rhetorically," said Santos, flustered. She gauged Taz's face, carefully scrutinizing her, Santos blew out a big puff of air and, for good measure, grabbed Taz's arm firmly, "Up is in there. He's been asking for you."

But Taz didn't react, she kept her eyes on Santos, as if there was no correct way to react to this.

"Up's been recovering for a long time. It's been rough for him. There was infection and at one point rejection of the prosthetics, but we figured out what worked best for him. Nothing of this kind had ever been attempted before. That's why I withheld as much from you as I could until we were sure Up wouldn't die. I didn't know if we were doing the right thing for him, Commander. I know you didn't want this for him, and maybe you were right." Santos caught her breath, Taz silenced her with a hand on her shoulder.

Santos dug into her pockets and dug out a wrinkled and much thumbed scrap of flimsy pink paper. It looked like a carbon copy receipt, "Apparently you signed this," Santos handed Taz the paper, "Fathia convinced you too, huh?"

Taz smoothed the paper, "Why are you showing me this." Taz was proud at how steady her voice was and frightened too, was that all it took? Nine months? She closed her eyes and looked at the pink flimsy and then towards the room. "Prosthetics," Taz's hand was shaking.

Santos jumped in, " I want you to remember that ultimately we all made a decision for him, you included. And yes, Extensive and permanent prosthetics."

Taz stood and dropped the flimsy, she walked towards the room and stopped short. She felt dizzy, Santos stood next to her, in the room's doorway, "He's awake you know."

Taz said nothing and swallowed hard, unsure if she was ready, "I saw him die." she said evenly, "I saw him die and I saw him iced and now I don't know if I want to see him again."

"You signed that pink paper," said Santos sharply, " Maybe Fathia threatened you, maybe she didn't, it doesn't matter because that's still your signature. If you don't want to see him that's fine. But just remember you were in on this from the beginning." Santos stepped aside.

Taz made her way into the room, almost limping.

Up sat in the hospital bed pretending to read, his eyes were creased with recent pain. "Taz," his voice was hoarse. Taz morbidly wondered if that was from screaming.

She stood rooted there, her head swimming. She swallowed the blood in her throat.

Up looked away, shivering. When he turned back to her, his eyes lingered on the commander's insignia over her heart. He smiled slowly, "Is that...? Are you a Commander now? Hot damn."

Taz walked forward, and stood next to him staring.

Up scooted to the side and patted the bed, "Sit, Tazzie." But Taz just stared at him, his faded blue eyes, the scar on his eye, his hair was longer. Something clicked.

"Your mustache's gone!" Taz was shocked at the difference.

"Ah, yeah that old thing," Up shrugged, his shoulders were lopsided, "They kept sticking these measuring things on my face and the mustache kept throwing their instruments off. I kinda like not having it though." He rubbed his upper lip, frowning.

Taz covered her face, she had tamped down on the feeling of loss for so long, that none of this felt real, "I thought you were dead Up. I- Oh Dios..."

"Hey, hey. Everything's okay. Don't cry," he swung his legs over the bed and wrapped Taz in tight hug.

"Don't cry?!" Taz held onto his tightly, "Jou stupid, son of a bitch!"

She punched him and Up coughed and winced, "Don't hit me! I was just raised from the dead." Taz grimaced and Up gave her an impudent grin, "Besides-mmf!"

She kissed him, pushed him back and pressed her hands against his shoulders. Taz immediately felt the difference, she bolted back, rubbing her left hand. "Up, your-?"

Flushed and stammering, his eyes glittering, Up nodded, "The prosthetics. It's pretty goddamned uncomfortable..." He grinned, but quickly lowered his head.

Taz turned away from him and walked towards the door.

"Leaving already?" Up asked quietly, he held his chest as if injured.

Taz snorted, "Don't be dumb." She closed the door and jammed the door key.

"Where'd you learn to do that," Up looked at Taz with admiration. She pushed Up back and hopped into the bed, and she shrugged out of her jacket, ignoring his question.

Up nervously glanced at the door, "You'll get in trouble."

Taz laid her hand on Up's face, "No one's really told me anything yet. They tell me you've got prosthetics, but I want to hear how you are."

"I'm sorry this happened, Taz," said Up softly, "I'm sorry this happened to you."

Taz took in a deep breath, held it, and let it go, "I would do it again." Up's eyes were full of tears, Taz brushed them away, "I would rather be here right now than... than you not here. More than anything."

Up tipped his head forward and frantically rubbed his face. Taz gently shook his shoulder, "Tell me what's wrong. Jou're telling me that what I went through is worse than- than being cut in half? Than dying?" Taz's voice pinched off.

Up's smile was quick and forced, "I guess not." He looked as if he was about to speak but instead reached forward and pulled Taz to him, melting into her, sniffling. "Tell me what's the matter Up. Tell me," insisted Taz. Taz pressed her hands on his back and pressed her face to his shoulder, "Tell me," said Taz, her voice muffled.

"Hold your goddamn horses," laughed Up, "Dead God, can't give a man a second to catch his breath and get the courage to tell you he loves you." He hugged her tightly, with difficulty she leaned back.

"What?"

Up grinned sheepishly, "I love you. Love you more than I thought possible to love anything. More than..." he fell silent, thinking.

Taz laughed, "Don't hurt jourself, hombre." There was a balloon of warmth and unfettered joy swallowing her whole. She cupped his face and kissed him, Up smelled like antiseptic, but Taz's heart was racing. Up ran his hand across her wrist, "You okay?" he whispered, "Your heart's goin' a mile a minute." He gently brushed the tears away from her face, "No more crying, from either of us."

Up kissed her again, and this time Taz let herself wallow in the feeling of Up's heart under her hand and his rough, long hair under her other hand. She pushed him back onto the bed, but Up resisted, "What're you doing? This is a hospital." Up laughed at the expression on Taz's face.

There was a furious knocking at the door. Taz frowned at the door, Up ignored the knocking and kissed his way down her neck.

"Commander Vasquez, open this door immediately! I have engagements elsewhere," Fathia knocked furiously on the door.

"Mmm, Commander Vasquez, I like the sound of that," Up snuggled into Taz's neck, she snorted and bent down to kiss him back. There were fuzzy snakes whirling through her insides, she pressed herself against Up, hoping to quash them. He laughed and gently rubbed the space between her shoulder blades. The knocking turned into banging, "You have ten more minutes before I call down a hit team!" yelled Fathia.

"Dammit," swore Taz.

Up sighed and rested his head on her collarbone, "Everything I've gone through wasn't worth it. I... I'm not the same, Taz. I'm not the same person I was. It won't be the same if.." Up gave her an uneasy smile, "If we..." his voice became strained, "If you and me are together." Taz sat back on her knees, her heart was aching but the happiness she'd felt earlier was deflating, "I thought..." she trailed off, there hadn't been enough time to think. She saw Up and believed it had been a real resurrection, but it wasn't. Up was hurt.

She changed the subject, "Does it bother jou? The prosthetics?"

Up shook his head, "Not anymore. In the beginning I hated them, they hurt, they made everything hurt so bad. But now, not so much. But that doesn't matter. I just," Up took a heaving breath, "I don't want you to leave, but if the prosthetics bother you I won't stop you." He looked so apprehensive Taz curled her lip in a snarl.

"You're such an idiot. You were an idiot before this," she smacked his metal shoulder, "And you're an idiot now. I can't believe you're trying to make me leave."

Up stared at her, understanding flickering to light, " I love you Taz, stay with me. I don't want you to leave, ever."

Taz gave him a small smile, she kissed his forehead, "That's more like it. But forever, huh? That sounds permanent."

"Yeah," breathed Up, his eyes shining, "It does, doesn't it?"

When Fathia's ten minutes had run out on her watch, she found Vasquez waiting in the hallway, looking exhausted, but with a small smile forcing its way through her usual scowl.

"So it's true," breathed Fathia, she sat down heavily in the chair next to Taz.

"Did jou know every single detail?"

"Obviously," said Fathia, her eyes boring holes into the closed door of Up's room, "Santos advised me not to tell you anything until the end, that if something went wrong you would destroy yourself. "

"Guess we'll never know now," said Taz. Fathia couldn't read the Commander's voice, it was level enough to balance a pin.

"How does he look?"

Taz considered, Up's own view of himself was disturbing. She was simply happy he was alive, but that wouldn't be enough for Up. Taz was ashamed to recognize that it wasn't enough for her either. She wanted Commander Up, not whoever was in there.

"He's alive, but he told me he keeps failing the psych evals," Taz shrugged, "I would to."

Fathia stood, "Would it be alright if I went in there to talk to him?"

Taz rubbed her knuckles across her lips, "That's Up's decision."

"We still have a long way to go with the robots, we need all the field commanders we can get. But I think Up would benefit from being semi-retired, what do you think?"

Taz responded slowly, "To me it sounded like he wanted to retire permanently."

Fathia looked startled at that, "Well. I would certainly not say no, not to him. Anything Up needs, GLEE will provide. But I hope he will at least stay and teach or something. He certainly has the experience necessary to teach new recruits."

Taz shrugged, "Ask him."

Taz thought about listening in, but she still hadn't bought Krayonder's cake, "Shit," she sighed.

Taz arrived late to Krayonder's birthday party, but since she arrived with a chocolate flavored cake topped with caramel icing, Krayonder magnanimously forgave her. An hour later, Taz's phone rang, she stepped out of the club.

She turned the phone over in her hands and finally answered it, "Hey Isa."

"My darling, sweetest friend, what is this I heard about people rising from the dead?" said Isa without preamble, "I've been hearing rumors you're caught up in some scandalous ploy within R&D. You're not letting them experiment on you, are you?"

Isa's voice sounded delayed at times. Taz leaned against the wall of the building and laughed, "You're fast. I thought I would have time to think about this before you found out. You realize now I have to tell Krayonder?"

Isa hesitated, "You sound, how do you say this nicely? You sound like someone ran you over. What happened?"

Taz rubbed the back of her neck, "Up made it through."

"Very funny," laughed Isa, her voice on edge.

"I'm serious. Oh God, Isa. He's a mess. He's got these prosthetics. He looks awful."

Isa choked on her words, "Are you telling me that they kept a half of Up on ice and then decided to duct tape prosthetics on him? And he survived?"

Taz realized the implications of that, that she had authorized that. " Survived and more, he's suppose to be discharged in a few months. Up's really fucked over though. And he's different... something's different. I don't know what, but he's not the same."

"And pray tell, sweet summer child, why should Up be the same? How dare you even suggest he would be the same after being cut in half? Would you?"

Taz brushed her bangs out of her face, "No, I wouldn't. Gimme a second." She went back into the club.

"Krayonder!"

"Aaaaaye , look who it is! The great Commander!" Krayonder wrapped his arms around Taz.

She laughed and squeezed him hard enough to make his back pop, "Happy birthday Krayonder. I will make sure someone takes you home. I'll see you tomorrow."

Taz hailed a cab and went back to Isa.

"I wondered what you were doing for Krayonder's birthday, he sounds like he's drunk. Back to business, Commander," said Isa grimly, "Did you really expect Up to be normal, grouchy, old him?"

"Yes," said Taz frankly, "At first yes. But I guess it's never going to be the same."

"Yer durn right it's not, missy," Isa sniffed hard, "He's really alive, then? Really really?" Once on base, Taz jogged through the medibay and onto the elevator for the lower levels.

"Yeah," Taz pushed her hair back and grinned to herself, "He is. I can't believe it either."

She waved past the medics, waving her badge at them and then navigated the corridors back to the underground wing where Up was.

"I have to go. When are you coming home?" asked Taz.

"Aw, lookit you. 'When are you coming home?' Awwww. Gawrsh, I feel flustered. I'll be back in a year or so. I'll call tomorrow, good night sweetheart."

The corridor lights were dim, her footsteps felt loud. A medic stuck his head out of the door in front of Up's. "Oh, hello Commander. Are you going to see Up?"

"Well I'm not here to see jou," said Taz walking into Up's room. He was asleep, curled onto his side. He was sweating and clutching his right side, grimacing in his dreams. Taz sat next to him and placed her cheek on his forehead, he was cool but his face was twisted in pain. He awoke with a start, and when he recognized her, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her in. Taz kicked off her shoes and tucked his head under her chin, she stroked his hair.

"Do jou want me to call the medic?"

"No," chattered Up, "There's really nothing they can do."

"Oh," Taz continued to stroke Up's hair slowly, he cushioned his head on her shoulder.

"Thanks for being here, Taz," murmured Up, "You look nice. Was it a fun party?"

"Krayonder's birthday, he won't even notice I'm gone. I made sure Specs kept an eye on him."

"Hm," Up hummed quietly.

"I'm sorry about earlier Up," said Taz, she sunk down to his level and looked at him carefully. He creased his forehead, but Taz continued, "This morning, when I saw you sitting here. I don't know, I lost my head. I treated you like shit. I love you Up, and I'm going to be here for you no matter what. No matter how hard it is, it doesn't matter. I love you and I don't want you to feel like I... like I expect it to be the same." She rose onto her elbows, "I know things are different and I'm telling you now that it doesn't matter. We're both different, but we'll do this together."

"Okay," Up's voice overflowed with emotion and his eyes glimmered with tears that rolled down his cheeks. Taz leaned her forehead on his and curled over him protectively.