Author's note:  Thank you so much for the reviews!  Particularly the reviews of Chapter 8…it was comforting to see the story didn't completely disappear off the radar with the switch to R (although I think I'm going to switch it back to PG-13 for the last two chapters.  Don't tell ff.net. g).

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Waking up had never felt so good.

The next morning, Janet awakened before Frank.  As consciousness slowly returned, she realized they had fallen asleep still intertwined, and apparently had exhausted each other so thoroughly that they hadn't moved at all in their sleep.  Every fiber of her being throbbed with her knowledge of their intimate connection.

Despite the signals she was getting from her own body, she didn't want to wake him.  He'd been through so much in the past few days that she couldn't bear to disturb the peace she saw on his face as he lay there, wrapped in the protective embrace of slumber.  Instead, she tried to concentrate on what the immediate future held for them.

Unfortunately, there were no easy answers.  She knew, beyond the shadow of any doubt, she'd fallen completely in love with him.  She also knew his gratitude for her assistance had given way to far deeper and more powerful emotions.  Without saying a word, he'd proven that to her the night before.  However, she was well aware their newfound feelings for each other were not sufficient to guarantee a happy ending to their story.  They'd managed to escape Dr. Scott and his colleagues for now, but the reprieve was temporary.  Soon enough, they would be faced with some painful decisions.

She had no idea how long she'd been mulling their situation before she felt Frank's arms tighten around her.  She opened her eyes and saw him smiling at her.  All thoughts melted away as, by an unspoken consensus, they began the new day as they'd ended the previous one.

When their breathing and heart rates finally returned to the normal range, Janet cuddled against Frank and sighed.  "Okay, where do we go from here?"

Frank, seeing the serious look on her face, refrained from making a flippant comment in response.  Brushing a lock of hair out of her face, he murmured, "That's a terribly deep question for so early in the day."

Janet gently disentangled herself from his embrace and sat up.  "I know, but we need to discuss it, and we need to do it now.  Who knows how much time we have before Dr. Scott finds us?"

Frank struggled to a sitting position and put his hand on Janet's shoulder.  "You're right."  He softly kissed her shoulder, and looked her straight in the eye.  "You know, you could be in danger if you persist in conjoining your fate with my own."

Janet's eyes widened.  "Are you saying you want me to leave?"

He sighed.  "I want no such thing, but I also don't want to see anything happen to you.  You may already be in serious trouble for stealing 'government property'…meaning me.  The longer you stay with me, the more trouble you'll find yourself in."

She shook her head.  "I don't care about that."

Frank removed his hand from her shoulder and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.  "Janet, we'll eventually be forced to separate from each other even if Dr. Scott doesn't find us."

Janet frowned.  "Why?"

There was a long pause.  Finally, Janet asked, "Frank, what is it?  What are you trying to say?"

Finally, he spoke, staring straight ahead at the wall in front of them.  "You seem to have forgotten everything we talked about when you decided to help me escape from Dr. Scott.  I have to get back home.  I can never have a safe life here on Earth, nor can anyone with whom I might choose to share that life."  He turned to face Janet, a bleak expression on his face.  "Despite my attempts to come up with another solution, the end result is always the same.  No matter how much I want to be with you, it simply cannot be."

Silent tears began running down Janet's face.  Frank wiped away the tears as they fell, but said nothing.  At last, she said quietly, "You're right.  I know that.  I guess I was hoping that something changed after last night."

Frank smiled grimly.  "Something did change.  We realized we love each other.  Unfortunately, that only means it will be that much harder to say goodbye, when the time comes."

Janet put her arms around him, laid her head against his chest, and cried.