No Flower of her kindred,

No rosebud is nigh

To reflect back her blushes,

Or give sigh for sigh

Knox's smile faded. 'Say your goodbyes?' His mind had, of course, jumped to the worst possible meaning behind the phrase. Had Neil's death really hit Charlie that hard?

'Nuwanda' stared at him for a moment, and then realized what was going through his friend's head. 'No, not that. Never, I wouldn't dream --'

'Hey there, Nuwanda, what're you doing here?' Both boys turned relieved eyes to see Steven Meeks heading over to them. He and Charlie clasped hands and patted each other on the back in greeting. Knox watched them with a smile on his face, feeling as though, for the first time since Neil's suicide, that they were all together, as friends, as though it was all the way it used to be. And, even as he took joy in this, a part of him felt guilty for being so ready to get on with his life. Despite the long hours he'd lain awake at night, the many days he'd spent talking to Chris about it all, he still felt he'd gotten off easy.

'Just came to check up on you all, make sure you're staying out of trouble.'

'Ha! This, from the guy with the 'phone call from god'?'

'Hey, Pitts, Todd, good to see you!'

'Right back at you.' Todd said, with a small smile. Knox grinned. Yes, it was good to have everyone together again. Everyone except Neil...

'So, what have you been doing with your life, Charlie?' Pitts asked.

Charlie sighed. 'Haven't you guys learned by now? It's Nuwanda.'

'Sorry, Nuwanda.'

'I've been busy, actually. I'm going to teach, pass on the Captain's message.' There were nods of approval all around. It was a good way to remember what had happened. Definitely better than mopping around, repeating the same, endless stories to one's girlfriend.

Chris had been so understanding. Knox couldn't begin to guess how she was able to put up with him, and he was sure that she complained about it to her friends, but he didn't care. It didn't matter what she said about him behind his back, because even if she'd grown to hate him, he couldn't deal with having to live without her. Not now.

'You know, we have some time before we need to be anywhere...' Knox hinted.

'I could do with another visit to that place.' Nuwanda agreed.