Mmmmm. This is peaceful. The sun shining down on me, the sound of water running along the tiny waterfalls, the breeze, and genuinely fresh air. I never want to leave.

Such thoughts were interrupted when he felt a large splash of water land on his face. He lifted his head from the chair, frowning in confusion before he spotted Sam, frolicking in the shallow end of the pool, closest to him.

"Are you coming in or what?" she asked in mild irritation.

She had been trying to get him to at least take a dip in the water for the last day, but he refused and had been on that chair for the last... two days, according to her observation. She was determined to get him to do something fun. Something genuinely Human. But what could she do, she thought. If he wanted to be lazy, that was his choice. She again splashed him with water, and he growled a bit. His peaceful thoughts being interrupted once more, and he finally got up.

She blinked a bit when she watched him leave, wondering if she made him mad, and started to look for him. A towel was slid around her waist, and she flipped her hair back, wondering where Halo had trudged off to. There was only so many places he could hide, and she started to search through the villa, around it, back through the shrubs, before ending back up at the pool. A shriek soon filled the air as she felt cold water dumped all over her, her body stiffening like a board while her face contorted into a look of shock and disbelief.

She spun around, spotting Halo and the bucket he had, his mandibles clicking while he made a pulsing kind of growl. He was laughing.

"You sneak!" she gasped, shivering a bit as he continued laughing.

She gasped a bit more, goose bumps covering her skin as she slowly made her way to the hot tub to get warm, still not believing what he had done. She dipped herself in, and was surprised when Halo started to climb in as well. He winced a bit, not expecting it to be this hot, and soon was in up to his waist, his large stature preventing him from slithering down to his neck like Sam had done. But, it was warm and cozy, a feeling he had not felt since before he joined the armed forces of the Covenant. He was quickly back in his state of bliss.

"Hmmmm... Halo?" Sam asked, staring at the artificial sky as she felt something... odd.

"Yesss?" he asked, closing his eyes as he started to sink deeper.

Sam continued to stare at the sky, letting her body drift a bit from the jets of the tub, and felt something brush against her feet. She explored what it was, and found it was the Covenant's large foot brushing her own. It didn't seem like he knew he was touching her by accident, and a quick glance showed that he appeared to be asleep.

"Halo?" she whispered again, wondering if he was indeed asleep.

"Yesss?" came the soft reply.

"You're playing footsie's with me," she commented.

He lifted his head a bit, noticing his foot sliding against hers, and quickly bolted upright, splashing water around him.

"Ss... Sssorry!" he said, looking like he had been a puppy that was just whacked by a newspaper.

She giggled a bit and shook her head, flicking some water at him, "You don't have to be sorry," she spoke, getting comfortable again. Halo took the time to slither back into the water, until only his head was above the warmth, and closed his eyes once more. This time he was more careful to keep his feet away from hers. The two didn't say anything, nor did they have to. This was heaven, for both of them. Not a care in the world, warmth all around their bodies, a clear day. Granted it was all artificial, but meh, who could care when they were this relaxed? Samantha just couldn't wait until nightfall, however, to see the splendor of space through the glass dome. It was like the perfect evening.

When Halo fell asleep, she slowly climbed out of the tub, letting the water drip from her body, and headed into the villa. She kept her eye on Halo, to make sure he didn't fall under the water, and took this time to go through her mail, send messages to her family back on Earth, get in touch with current events. When she was done, Halo was awake, having turned the jets on higher, and feeling the massaging across his body. He sprung alive when he felt the coolness of a shadow over him, then looked up and spotted Sam towering over him. He simply tilted his head.

"Comfy?" she asked.

"Com... fi?"

"Are you comfortable?" she corrected herself, kneeling down before she smiled.

"Oh... y-yesss." he whispered, closing his eyes once more.

"You just relax then. I'm going to work on getting something to eat, okay?"

He nodded slowly, sliding deeper into the tub and rumbled deeply. When she left, he looked around slowly, climbed out of the tub, then found the climate controls. Instead of day light, he wanted a soft glow of moonlight. A few button presses and lights coming on later, it was a comfortable feeling. He slid back into the tub, and once more became comfortable. With the sun out of his gaze, replaced by stars slowly moving, he felt more relaxed.

Sam came back half an hour later, wheeling in a tray of food. Since it was discovered that a Covenant can eat Human food, she decided to treat him to something special. The age old and traditional meal of burgers and fries. Halo was busy drying himself off, sliding the towel over his skin and absorbing the water, before he heard the door open, hiding quickly in case it was someone other than Sam. When he saw her tell-tale red hair, he relaxed considerably, heading back into the open as she locked the door.

"Halo?" she spoke, looking around, then spotted him and smiled, "I've got something for you."

She removed the lid from the plate, and on it were the burgers and fries, some drinks, and a good helping of the typical Covenant diet, a gelatin which Halo's body needed to live. Just in case he didn't approve of the Human meal. She wheeled the cart to a table, starting to set their places, while Halo carefully sat in the chair, looking over the selections, trying to figure out how to react. She offered his first burger, which he took, and sniffed it in curiosity. Meat. Okay, that wasn't so bad. He had lots of meat before. He then took a nibble of it, wondering what it would taste like, and hmmm'd. It was a little bland, though seeing Sam diving right into hers, he decided to just eat. This was far better than that sugary gelatin, though he was sure he was going to be having some of that as well.

With the meal over, Halo let out a long breath, drinking a bottle of water as he watched Samantha start to clean up the plates. He played this meal smart. After the nibble, he ate half of the gelatin, then finished with the burger, just to round out the taste. The taste of the gelatin and the burger, turned out to be quite pleasant, and he decided to make a mental note of combining his food with other types of Human food.

Sam placed the cart by the door, stretching out as she patted her tummy, "That was a good meal," she spoke, taking a beer as she opened it.

She sipped on it, then licked her lips, offering Halo some of her drink. He didn't like Scotch, but she wondered if he would like any other kind of alcohol. Halo raised his eye ridges, realizing there wasn't any glass to pour the beer into, and cocked his head back. He looked around, searching for an excuse out of drinking from the bottle, before she forcefully placed the bottle into his hand. She lifted his hand for him, held the bottle before his mouth, and poured a few drops into his mouth. He clicked his mandibles, unsure about the taste. Chalky, really, but in all reality, it wasn't bad. Sam took her bottle back, taking a long swig before she placed it on the table.

"You shouldn't be so nervous around me Halo. You're part of my team now. Sharing a beer, is a team thing," she spoke, trying to quell his uneasiness.

Part of a team.... He stared at her with that same blank, taking in everything but not making sense of it look. She swigged her beer once more, moving back into her chair and crossed her legs. Like him, she had taken a few moments of her life to really appreciate what was around her. The sky, the water, the time alone with a friend. She wondered if he felt the same way she did. She was confident that the Covenant shared many feelings with Humans, but could they....

She shook her head a bit, then stood before she took her drink, heading off to the side, to the small waterfall. A shower wouldn't hurt, she thought, gathering some shampoo and conditioner, then padded into the corner of the room, shaped like a waterfall. It was a brilliant shower, she thought, and when she stepped in, shivered at the cool feeling of the water, quickly turning the warmth up. She sighed, undoing the top of her bathing suit, then completely slid out of her clothes, dropping them off to the side.

Halo tilted his head a bit, realizing Sam was taking a shower, and turned just when the last part of her clothes came off. He looked way quickly, as it was custom for other Humans not to intrude on such privacy. The villa. Yes, that was a good place. He quickly padded into the small house, then closed the door, hoping he wouldn't be slapped like last time for intruding by accident.

When she was done, she draped a towel around herself, covering her more private parts of her body, then stepped into the room, finding another towel to wrap around her head.

"Halo?" she asked, looking at the bed, and Halo sitting on it.

He looked to her, looking at her style of dress now, then stood before he tilted his head.

"Why don't you grab a shower, alright? Get your skin nice and clean. I've left some soap in it also. Come on, I'll do your back." she said happily.

It was then he started wondering how much she really had to drink. In his experience, Humans slowly became someone else when they induced too much alcohol into their body. He wondered if she was suffering the same effects? But he didn't argue, he simply walked out, and headed to the waterfall. Unfortunately, the top of his head met right at the top of the mini-falls, and he wasn't going to get clean there. But ah well. He stepped inside, then looked at the bar of soap Humans used to clean their body. He tilted his head left and right, and was surprised when Sam took his hand and started to make a lather.

"Like that. Get some good suds going," she spoke, stroking his hand a bit more, until it looked like it was frothy.

She promptly placed his hand on his chest, rubbing it around, spreading the soap, and he quickly got the idea. His kind of cleansing rituals for his species involved cold moments of having something thick poured on them, and then wiped off. That did the trick when he was with them, but with the Humans, he had to do it like this. He did prefer the Covenant way, to be honest. His hands moves about him, and soon rinsed himself off, before he was instructed to kneel. He knelt down as best as he could, and felt Sam's hands at his back, scrubbing all over the place. His eyes closed, and found he enjoyed the touch of a Human on his back.

Sam smiled widely, watching the Covenant slip further and further into bliss, and soon stood under the splashing water as well, stroking his head, spreading the soap around, finding herself moving closer. Her hands moved around his neck, working the soap in. Halo parted his mouth gently, leaning into the delicate touches before opening his eyes. Sam's head was moving closer to his.

Her breath washed over his face as she moved even closer, the eyes of the Covenant growing wider.

It was the first kiss he had ever received.

He was shocked she would do such a thing. When she moved her face back, she had a content look on it, a soft smile creeping to her lips in the process. Halo didn't know what to say. It had to have been the beer. Yes, the beer. He understood it was a Human sign of affection, but to a Covenant? It had to have been a mistake. She didn't say anything else, instead returning back to washing him. When he was nice and clean, she stepped back and looked at her towels. Completely soaked. She went for a few more, wrapping herself up, then started to dry Halo. Affection.... He put aside that oddity of that kiss, and soon started to bask in that feeling of affection. No, not affection. Acceptance. He closed his eyes, not having felt anything like this before. When Sam was done, she stepped back and draped the towel over his shoulder and smiled.

"How about a few more drinks?" she asked, already heading to the cart.

Halo was about to stop her. She had given him a kiss, on the account of the alcohol, and as far as he knew, that's as far as she would go. He was relieved when she came back with bottles of water, and offered one to him. He drank from the bottle, heading back to his chair he called home, at least for a while, and stared at the stars. Sleep was soon needed, and he yawned, spreading his jaws out wide for a moment before finishing his drink. He stood, watching Sam watching some television in the villa, before padding past her.

"Good... night." he growled, yawning again before he made his way into the bedroom.

Sam was very considerate, letting him have the large bed. She took the couch, since he couldn't fit in it anyway, and found some very relaxing sleeps. He was climbing into bed, feeling his feet stick out over the edge like always, and closed his eyes. The sounds of the breeze fluttering through the trees on either side of him through the windows, was quickly starting to lull him to sleep.

His dreams were eventful, to say the least. He was squirming in bed, making growling noises as he felt something moving under the sheets, the eerie feeling sliding over his entire body. A few whimpers filled the air as he felt what could only be tentacles sliding under him, and a few twine around his arms and legs, pulling them apart. It was a feeling of terror, feeling what could only be described as spores striking his face, the greatest threat in the universe starting to consume him.

It wasn't possible. There had to have been warnings of this kind of biological threat on the ship, why didn't Sam at least know about it? He squirmed and writhed a bit more under the sheets, baring his teeth as he tugged firmly at his bonds.

"It... It's growing inside of me!" his panicked voice cried out in the Covenant language.

A tendril wrapped around his neck, and he lost it. He tried clawing it off with his free hand, but its grip was far too powerful. He lifted his head off of the bed, gasping for air as he felt the mass of sickly tendrils grow larger, until his bed itself had been overrun by these vile things. He was about to give up all hope, until the swarm started to rise on top of him. Soon, Major Samantha Kidman was straddling his chest. Void of all clothing, and staring at him with a smug and evil demeanor. She traced her fingers down his chest with one hand, the other pinning his shoulder down before she leaned closer.

Halo was fixed on her eyes, not daring to look anywhere else. The terror in his face, even for something as menacing as an Elite Covenant baring his teeth, he was scared to death. The objects of his nightmares for countless years, and now, Samantha was one of them. She simply laughed, a gurgled and vile sound as her head tilted back. She slammed his shoulders down, growling deeply at him before straddling him a bit more.

"You are mine, Covenant," she hissed, her voice dripping acid, "your spirit and... your body."

"S-Sam... no..." he whimpered, shaking his head again before he felt his new necklace of flesh grow to a vice grip.

He gasped for breath, unable to move any longer, struggling with all of his might as he watched Sam lower her face to his. Her mouth opened wide, far wider than any Human could do. Her gurgled hiss filled the air as he started to see spots in his vision from the lack of air. He could barely make out something inside of her mouth before she leaned closer. Unable to breathe, call for help, or fight back, his body bucked and writhed when he felt something force it's way down his throat....

Halo yelped, bolting upright inside of the bed as he looked around with panicked eyes. His chest was heaving with breath, the tingles of his body dancing over him. The dream was vivid and clear. It was like what he had just dreamt, was nothing more than a punishment from his Gods for his betrayal to the religion. He just closed his eyes, leaning his head back into the pillow as he caught his breath. He sighed slowly, feeling something warm move over his chest, and he touched it, feeling soft skin before he fell back into slumber.

Samantha just sighed, curling up further under the blanket as she squeezed his hand, hoping she could somehow stop another nightmare.