Dad pushed himself away from the table and staggered out of the restaurant, trying desperately not to cry. Krit followed suit, going after Dad, and leaving Syl and I alone at the table.

"Why does he feel so guilty?" I asked her, not understanding why Dad alone felt so at fault for the deaths of the others. Why didn't Krit and Syl feel the same way?

"You don't know?"

"I know about you guys, but why him? Why is he so upset?"

Syl sighed and watched as Dad and Krit talked outside. "Zack was our captain…our commanding officer."

I gasped slightly. Dad? He had always been a little harsher than most people, but I never would've guessed that he was the leader. "And, so he felt guilty that he could save his men?" I asked, finally comprehending exactly what was going on.

"Exactly." The conversation lulled, and we both watched Dad talking with Krit outside. It was obvious that Krit was trying to comfort Dad, but of course, Dad wouldn't let himself be comforted. He had to remain strong, despite everything. I was surprised Krit hadn't been slapped across the face for being so assertive with Dad.

"I'm sorry about your losses," I whispered to Syl, even though no one in the restaurant would've heard us anyhow.

"Thank you, but it…it's over now. There's a life outside of Manticore."

"How bad was it?"

"What? The fire? Manticore training?"

"Everything," I replied.

"We were kids…Kids that were supposed to be adults in military training."

I glanced back out the window, then at Krit's cappuccino and remembered the coffee date with James later that day. And since I was supposed to be baby-sitting Dad, I couldn't bring him along to see James. So, it was time to find Dad a new baby-sitter.

"Syl?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I ask you a favor?"

"Depends," she replied, smiling slightly.

"Will you watch Dad…Zack…for awhile?"

"Why?"

"Well, Mom's in heat, and he can't really go back to the apartment…if you know what I mean."

"No problem. Besides, it'll be good to catch up on twenty years with Zack."

"Don't expect much talking out of him," I warned her.

"He can be awfully chatty once you get to know him-"

"Or he's drunk."

Syl laughed, causing her golden curls to shake. "That too. So, why can't you 'watch' Zack?"

I felt myself blushing as I replied, "I got a coffee date."

"Really? Boyfriend?"

"Not yet."

She glanced back out at Krit, who was proceeding to bring Dad back into the restaurant. "Look, Alanza, remember how Zack asked about Krit and I?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, we're engaged, but the thing is, we won't ever be able to have children. So, we didn't want to tell Zack that and have him get ticked because I know that there's definitely some genetic flaws to you-"

"Like cat hair-" I interrupted.

"Exactly, so if you could just tell Max…" She paused and began to rummage around in her purse before pulling out a calling card and a pen. Scribbling a room number on the card, she handed it to me. "If she wants to talk, here's where we're staying at."

"Thanks," I replied and slipped it in my back pocket. By this time, Krit and Dad had returned. They sat back down at the table, saying nothing. Of course, they both had to be the strong males.

"Hey Zack," Syl said off-handedly. "Would like to stay with us for a bit? Catch up on stuff?" she asked him, remembering my request earlier on.

I think Dad knew what I was up to because he shot a cautious glance at me. Then, he turned back to Syl and nodded. "Sure. Not like I was doing anything today anyways."

"Great," Krit said.

I stood up and leaned over to hug Syl. "Thanks," I whispered in her ear.

"Just go get 'em, girl," she told me.