I'm crazy. I must be. That's the only answer. Why else would I challange a 300 pound guy over a 5 year old? AHHHHHHHH! And what's the best part? She doesn't talk. Won't tell me a name, how old she is . . . nothing! But, hey, it's okay, I can handle this, I can handle anything, after all I am Captain Beka Valentine of the Eureka Maru . I got over Flash, I survived a Magog attack, I've saved Dylan on many occasions and I can save myself and her now. It's all going to be fine . . . .I hope . . .

"Hey, kiddo, come on little one, wake up," I said as I gently shook her awake. "That's better," I said as she woke up and looked at me. "Come on, get udressed and we'll get you cleaned up. I refuse to let a dirty child sleep in my bed." I got up off my knees and headed into the bathroom, turned on the water and let it run for a bit. "Okay, are you coming?" I asked. She slowly wandered into the bathroom with a look on her face that was almost sheer terror. "I don't bite." I said with a smile and held out my hand. She timidly took it and came over. I was a little less than pleased to see that she hadn't followed my instructions.

"Okay, arms up." She complied and I removed her shirt. "Now hold on to my shoulders." she complied again, but when I reached to take off her bottoms, she tensed up and I stopped. I slowly pulled my hands back and looked into her eyes.

"It's okay. You've just got to get undressed so you can have a bath. There's no one else here but us." She still didn't untense. "Okay, I'll show you." I shut off the water and picked Her up. "See, no one." I took her around my quarters and let her peer into every room. When we got back to the bathroom, she had calmed down, but still wouldn't let me take the bottoms off. This was going to require some creative thinking. Trance had given me a hint at one point that I had to win her trust. I sat down on the floor and crossed my legs and just looked at her. "Would you like to take them off?" She studied me for a moment with a look of total confusion on her face. I got the feeling that she was trying to decided if this option was going to fit in with the new behavior pattern or if it was a trick. Slowly, with her eyes never leaving mine, She bent down and started to remove the bottoms. When She tried to step out of them, She stumbled and I reached out to grab her and She jerked away and fell. Back to square one. I sat back down and left her alone. She sat for a moment and thought, then She stood back up and put a small hand on my shoulder to steady herself and I sat perfectly still throughout the whole act. After she had the garment, if it could be called that, in her hand, she stopped for a moment, trying to decide where to put it, finally deciding to hold it out to me. "Thank you. You did very well on your own," I said gently. "Would you like to get in?" she chewed on her bottom lip and just shrugged. I sighed and stuck my hand in the water and pulled it out again and held it out to her. "See, it's just water. Come here and I'll help you in." She took one of my hands and crept over to the

edge of the tub and looked in. She stuck her hand in and then pulled it back out. She did this a few times and then looked at me. It was time. I picked her up and set her in. She stood there and looked at me. "You can sit down if you'd like." Which she did, slowly, like everything she did and then just kinda sat there. She didn't splash, she didn't play. She just sat there and let the dirt melt off the lower half of her body. I took the soap. "This is a bar of soap. It will get rid of the dirt, but it tastes very, very bad and it will sting a little if you get it in your eyes," I warned as I lathered it up in my hands, trying to decide where to start. As I put the bar down and started on her back, I watched out of the corner of my eye as she picked it up and repeated my actions, a small look of wonder spreading across her face as the dirt on her hands left her hands and stuck to the soap. She dropped both in the water and the dirt left both. She smiled a small smile and tried again. This time, just before she dropped both in the water, I took her hands and put them on her stomach and moved them around a little. She caught on fast and soon had her whole front clean. "Kay, legs now," I said. She tried hard to lift one out of the water, but if she so much as wobbled, she splashed it down. "Okay, try standing." She did and timidly placed her hands on my shoulders again. Soon, yet another part of her was clean and it wasn't long after that that I came to the dilemma of washing her hair. I stopped and let her hold the soap, which she promptly started washing her hands with again. Okay, hair. I can't get her to lean back in the water, so . . . . "I'll be right back. Don't move," I said as I rushed out and grabbed a small plastic cup. "Okay, tip your head back and close your eyes." She did, still holding on to the soap. I poured the water on and got her hair wet and quickly shampooed that. "Keep them closed tight," I said, hoping that she wouldn't move. She didn't and the soap washed away without incident.

"Okay, we're all done. Do you want to play or get out?" she looked at me and looked at the cup, a new thing in the tub and picked it up and started to play. I left the room for a moment and did a quick survey of things and found some other small plastic objects to place int he tub with her. I soon noticed

that she would only play with the objects that stayed in front of her. About 5 was her limit. She played for about an hour when I heard her stomach growl. She completely ignored it. If it was because she was having fun or out of habit I couldn't tell, but, this was one meal she wasn't going to skip. "Okay kiddo, time to get out. I think that we should go and get something to eat. Don't worry, you can play in the water again tomorrow if you like." She sighed and stood up, holding out her arms. I lifted her out and wrapped her in a towel and then pulled the plug. As I brought her into the bedroom, I started to realize that I was forgetting something. As I was drying her off, I figured out what is was. Frak. She doesn't have any clothes. Okay, I can handle this. I left her in the towel and started looking through my drawers. There had to be something in here that would cover as clothes for her. Nothing. Ummmmmmmmmmm . . . . . what next Valentine? Just as I was about to loose my mind, the door went off. "Yeah?" I called.

"I think I have something you could use." It was Rommie.

"Rommie?" I asked as I stuck my head out of the room.

"This should fit." she said as she held out a small outfit.

"Thanks Rommie, but . ."

"How did I know?" I nodded dumbly. "I heard what had happened and figured it might be wise to pick up a few things. There are more outfits, they're in the cargo bay as well as a few toys and books. Nothing much."

"Thank you Rommie!" I said as I hugged the AI. she seemed a little uncomfortable.

"You're all wet Beka."

"Sorry," I said sheepishly. "We're about to go to the mess. Would you like to join us?"

"Certainly. I'll wait out here."

"Great," I said as I headed back into the bed room. "Okay, let's get you into this and then I'll change and we can go." She seemed quite impressed with the new garments and slipped into them gratefully. She hung out by the door way and kept peaking out at Rommie while I changed. How one child can get you this wet is beyond me. "Okay kiddo, let's go." She took my hand and went willingly with me, but immediately stopped and tried to hide behind me when we approached Rommie. "It's only Rommie. She doesn't bite either," I said. She still wouldn't budge. I picked her up and held her on the side farthest from Rommie.

"Does she have a name?"

"Not as far as I can tell and if she does, she's not telling are you?" I asked as she looked at her. The girl just shrugged her shoulders a little and didn't look me in the eyes.

"Perhaps you should choose something to call her until she tells you that she has one or not." Andromeda suggested. I thought about it for a moment. Maybe it was a good idea.

"Okay, how about . . ." I trailed off as the two of us looked at each other. We got into the lift and headed to the mess. "Umm . . . I don't know, I've never done this before. Okay, ahhh . . . Morgan? Or Alexandra? No, wait, oh, I got it. Cassidie!" I said excitedly. "What about that, do you like Cassidie? We could call you Cassie as a nick name." She shrugged a little but I could see a small smile. "Hmm . . . I see a smile, so I'll take that as a yes. Cassie it is," I said, quite proud of myself for accomplishing that task.

"A little late are we?" asked Harper with a smile on his face.

"Ah, you know I like to make an entrance," I said with a smile as I surveyed the room. There was a empty seat next to Harper and an empty one next to Dylan. Dylan was the safer bet. Harper could be a little . . . enthusiastic when eating some times. "Hi." was all I said as I slid into the chair.

"Does our life risk have a name?" he asked, apparently he still wasn't happy about having to rescue me.

"Well, she won't say, but she seems to like Cassidie. We're calling her Cassie for short."

"You do remember that you are still on duty tomorrow morning right?"

"About that, can I reschedule to the night shift for a few days? That way, I can hang around with her during the day until she gets used to things."

"Alright. A few days. Are you sure she'll be alright on her own at night?"

"She will," I said as I looked down at her. I was impressed that she wasn't shying away from Dylan like she had the first time they had met. I watched her and Dylan take each other in and finally he spoke.

"My name's Dylan."

"Cassie." came a little, tiny voice.

"It is nice to meet you Cassie," he said as he gave a small smile. Soon after, the food arrived and she just kind of stared at her plate.

"Go ahead and eat, it's all yours," I said. She nodded and started to pick. After a while, mostly everyone was finished and talking and he leaned over to her.

Is that all you are going to have?" Cassie shrunk back against me and shrugged as she looked away from him. "You've got to eat more than that or you'll never get bigger!" he watched her as she started to eat in earnest. After a good 5 minutes, she had cleaned her plate. "I'm impressed. Maybe you will become tall enough to be a Commonwealth captain," he said as he got up from the table and brought back dessert for the three of us. I watched in disbelief as she watched Dylan dig in and started in on hers much like he was. As I watched her through the rest of the time we were there, I couldn't help but notice that she and Tyr were sizing each other up as well.

"So Beka, who's your friend?" Harper asked.

"This is Cassidie. Cassie for short." I said as she looked up at each of them. Everyone gave a little introduction of themselves to her and soon we had all finished and were headed off to do various activities.

"Beka, I need to see you in command for a while," Dylan called.

"But . . ." I sighed and looked around for Trance, her and Harper had left already. In fact, the only people left in the mess were me, Tyr and Cassie.

"I'll take her." Tyr said. "We'll find something to do," he said as he took her from my arms.

"Tyr, thank you so much! Rommie said she had somethings brought on board for her, they're in the cargo bay," I said as I left to catch up with Dylan.

*Hey, let's switch to Tyr!*

"Come Little One, we'll go and find your things," I said as we left the room. Why I had taken to the child and she to me was unexplainable. As we walked in silence, she left an arm draped around my shoulder and she looked at everything as we passed by. It was more than a small challange to hang on to this child as she squirmed around, trying to take everything in at once. I was glad that she was familarizing herself with her new environment, but I wish that she would just sit still. Then an idea came to me. I put her down. "Go ahead and have a good look." She looked at me and wandered a few steps ahead of me. I was forced to slow my strides when it became apparent that she could neither stay ahead nor keep up with me. I kept having to take her hand and lead her down the right passageway, but I felt that it was worth it as she was now quite comfortable with the ship and myself. As we entered the cargo bay, I let her explore at her leisure after having made sure that Andromeda had locked her out of all the control panels. I would glance up occasionally as I searched for her things.

"Stay out of the containers Little One," I called as I watched her try to open one. Her arms were instantly back at her sides and she moved on the the next set of bins. Curiosity got the better of her and she was trying to get into another one.

"Cassidie, did you not hear me the first time?" I asked, remembering not to scare her too much. She bit her bottom lip and came to stand by me. "A wise choice Little One. Come, help me with this one," I said as I picked her up and put her on the adjoining container. She gave a small smile as she "helped" me open the lid. Nothing but parts. She moved her hands and let me close it. I stopped and looked around the bay and finally spotted what had to be the new containers. I took her off the top of the bin and brought her over to the new containers. As I was making sure I had found the right one, I heard a container lid slam shut and a small cry of pain. I dropped the lid and found Cassidie with her hand caught in a container. I sighed and took her hand out and examined it. Nothing was broken and there were no bleeding wounds. "I warned you did I not?" I asked her. She looked away, I could see the tears on her face. "Did I not Cassidie?"

"Yes." was all she said.

"Yet you still disobeyed me. Come on, we are going back to Beka quarters," I said as I gathered her up and her items and we left the bay. She sat very still on the way back to Beka's quarters, a few tears still running down her face. If they were from fear or pain, I couldn't tell. "Do you know why we are going to remain here for the night?" I asked her as we entered the quarters.

"Yes." she said quietly without looking at me.

"Why? I want you to tell me," I asked her as I sat in a chair and placed her in front of me.

"I didn't listen to you," she said quietly.

"And what happened?"

"I got hurt."

"That's right. When I tell you something, it has a purpose. You must learn to control your curiosity, for it will get you into trouble. Curiosity has a time and place." I studied her face. "Do you understand?"

"Yes," she said.

"Good, now we can find something to do. I've found some books and small toys that are all yours now. You can do with them as you like," I said as I sat back in the chair and watched her. Cassidie walked over to the table and sat down and began to inspect her belongings. She would stop and turn to look at me every so often. She finally chose one of the books and came over. I looked down at her and she held up the book. "Would you like me to read it to you?"

"Yes," she said as she stood in front of me. I picked her tiny figure up, placed her in my lap and began to read.

~*~*~*~*~

What is Dylan saying to Beka?

Can Tyr put a kid to bed?

Find out next part!