Hi all!

Okay, okay, I love a good cliffhanger, but I couldn't keep you hanging too long.

Thank you so much for your reviews! I just love reading them!

C-Town Chica – Thanks for your great review, your support of this story is helping me get it out! All I can say is that you shouldn't judge Tristan too harshly. But then again, maybe he does deserve your wrath. I'm not going to tell you in the author's note :-)

RedLion2 – As always, thank you so much for your support and reviews! Like I said, let's not judge Tristan too harshly…read on :-)

Craze, Mrs. Son – Thanks for your reviews! Sorry, but I couldn't resist the cliffhanger!

You guys are awesome!

Enjoy,

Failte

"What the hell are you doing?" Erik demanded.

"Not you," Tristan snapped. "Move, fast."

Erik followed the line of Tristan's muzzle to see it pointed at their waitress and her friend. The man standing beside her held some kind of weapon in his hands, staring at the four of them.

Erik and Sky both trained their blasters on the two people on the doorway. There was an agonizingly long moment when no one moved. A muffled gasp had them all looking at the last occupied table in front of the café where a young man and woman sat, staring at the scene before them. The woman had her hands over her mouth and looked terrified.

"Get down!" Erik shouted at them.

The man grabbed her arm and pulled her under their table.

"Drop your weapon!" Tristan shouted. "You are surrounded!"

"I only see you," the man responded, raising his weapon. It looked similar to their blasters, but had three barrels.

"This is your last chance," Tristan commanded. "Drop your weapon!"

In response, the man discharged the gun and a thick, green laser shot towards them. Erik grabbed Sky's arm and pulled her aside as the laser grazed Tristan's arm. The Lieutenant fell to his knees as Erik and Marina returned fire. Sky knelt beside Tristan and stripped her blazer off, pressing it against the wound, trying to stem the flow of blood.

Marina ducked down and moved quickly over to where the couple huddled beneath their table. She knocked the table onto its side to give them better cover as Erik shot the man in the hand, causing him to drop his weapon and their waitress in the leg.

Within a matter of seconds plain clothes officers swarmed the area. Two officers escorted the confused and nervous patrons from the café as the waitress and her friend were taken into custody.

Tristan clenched his eyes in pain and whispered, "Marina and I were here as backup."

"I didn't know you were a guard," Sky said to Marina as the other girl approached her.

She shrugged and put her blaster away, "I wasn't happy being a maid, so I started training a year ago. Commander Whitaker had just promoted me to guard a few weeks ago."

"She had the highest score in target practice," Tristan explained. "I requested her as my partner tonight for that reason."

"But why would you join us in this?" Erik asked.

"The Garrison is just as interested in capturing Vinn as you are," he gasped.

"Hang on, Lieutenant, help is coming," Sky soothed. "You don't have to explain anything, just relax."

Erik nodded and pulled out his communicator.

………………………………………………………………………………………………….

"The woman and man are being questioned down at the station," Keith explained to Erik, Sky, and Marina an hour later.

"When will we know what they have to say?" Erik asked.

Keith looked at his watch, "Probably tomorrow at the morning meeting. Unless there is something you need to know right away."

"What about Tristan?" Marina asked.

"He's in with Becca now, you can probably see him in another hour or so," Keith told her. "Why don't you go and relax, you're all dismissed.

"Well, I guess we'll see you later," Erik took Sky's hand.

Sky grumbled under her breath as she let Erik lead her from the room.

"Tristan's just trying to save Cady from any undo pain," he whispered to her.

"I don't like him. I mean, he seemed like a nice guy and all, but now I see he isn't any better than Klari. I can't wait for the two of them to be off my planet. What is it with the Garrison? Are they run by a bunch of assholes? Isn't there one decent, honest person working there? Or do they only send the hopeless cases to Arus?"

"Are you done?" Erik asked.

She sighed and looked up at him, "He's going to hurt her, Erik."

"Then you can take him out back and beat him up."

Sky stopped and turned to look at him, "Thank you, Erik."

"For what? Giving you permission to beat the snot out of him?"

"No," she threw her arms around his neck, "for being one of the good ones."

He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her flush against him, "You're only saying that because you haven't seen my bad side yet."

"Oh yeah?" She raised an eyebrow.

He leaned closer and breathed, "oh yeah," before closing the remaining space between them and meeting her mouth with his own.

"Get a room," Gideon snapped as he walked past the two of them.

"That sounds like a good idea," Erik said.

Sky shook her head, "Nope, you still owe me ice cream."

"I said I would get you ice cream if you behaved yourself."

"I think I was pretty good. I didn't hurt him."

He laughed, "All right, you were good. I just want to go to my room and drop off my jacket. Meet me in five minutes and we'll raid the kitchen."

"Deal," she stood on her toes and brushed her lips over his. "Love you, Erik."

"Love you too, babe."

Sky had just shut the door behind her and was pulling a sweatshirt over her head when the loud, insistent knock on the door stopped her. "Who is it?"

"It's me," Cady called back.

"Come on in."

"Is it true? Was Tristan shot?" Cady asked hurriedly as she rushed into the room. "Where is he now? Is Aunt Becca taking care of him? How bad is it?"

Sky sighed and pulled her hair back into a ponytail, "Yeah, he was hit, but it didn't look too bad."

"Oh, my poor Tristan, I'll have to go check on him."

"Uh, Cady?"

"What?"

Sky took a deep breath and turned to see her friend standing just inside the door, wringing her hands. "Maybe…maybe you shouldn't…"

"Shouldn't what?"

"I just don't think Tristan is the man for you. You could do so much better than him."

Cady's bright blue eyes widened and her mouth fell open. "Schuyler! I thought you of all people would support me. You know what it's like to be in love…"

"But you don't know him Cady."

"I know him well enough," her cheeks turned a bright pink. "No one is taking me seriously! You all think this is some kind of joke, that I don't know my own mind, my own heart! Well you are all wrong and I will prove it to you!" With that, Cady whirled on her heel and turned, pushing past Erik to run down the hall.

"Whoa, what just happened?" Erik asked.

Sky sat on the edge of her bed, "I just can't do anything right."

He sat beside her and gently rubbed her back, "What is it, Sunny?"

"She heard about Tristan and I tried to tell her to back off a bit and it all blew up in my face," she whined, leaning her head against his shoulder.

Erik pulled her close and kissed the top of her head, "Baby, you have this protective streak and it is clouding your judgment. You can't protect everyone you care about from everything. I know you're only looking out for her and you don't want her to get hurt, but she won't listen. She has her head in the clouds. All you can do is be there for her when she needs you."

"I just want her to be happy, to find someone as wonderful as you."

"Sorry, but there is only one of me and, well, besides the fact that I am madly in love with you, I am her cousin, so it wouldn't work."

She chuckled weakly and slid her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly, "I am madly in love with you too."

"Good to know. So, you want that ice cream or not?"

"Of course," she lifted her head and looked at him. "Whipped cream and chocolate sauce?"

With a devilish glint in his eye, Erik raked his eyes over her, "You've read my mind."

"On the ice cream."

"Oh."

She stood and pulled him to his feet, "You are really a horn-dog, you know that?"

"I can't help it," he whined. "You are just too hot."

Sky giggled softly and kissed him, "What am I going to do with you?"

He slung his arm around her shoulders as they walked from the room, "Oh, I could give you a few ideas."

………………………………………………………………………..

Cady moved quickly down the hall, her sneakered feet making muted smacks against the marble floor. Why does everyone think I don't know how I feel? She thought angrily.

Cadence Whitaker was not a stupid woman. When most people saw Cady, they saw a lovely young woman with her mother's beauty and charm. However, they often failed to see beyond that. She was a smart girl who had received high marks in almost all of her classes. Her duties as the eldest child and preparing for her role as heir to the throne prevented her from attending regular classes at the University, but she was taking one-on-one classes with professors on Interplanetary Law, hoping to pursue her love of diplomacy. Add to that her mischievous streak (a bit tamer than the twins') and her genuine caring nature, and she was truly a wonderful person.

However, that's not to say that Cady is without her faults. She could be a little self absorbed and spoiled, but she couldn't be completely faulted for that. Growing up, she had been spoiled, she was a papmered Princess, there was no denying that. She could also be very stubborn and a little immature at times. But she was a hardworker, someone her parents, her siblings, her friends, and her people could depend.

As she hurried sown the stairs to the hospital wing, her heart in her throat, she could only think of Tristan. Cady knew her friends thought she was crazy, they apparently didn't believe in love at first sight. But she did. Her parents had fallen in love at first sight. She had heard the story a million times. The first time her father had laid eyes on her mother he had fallen head over heels and the feelings had definitely been mutual. But while her parents had danced around each other for almost five years, Cady refused to let that much time pass between her and Tristan.

There was always the chance that he didn't feel the same way about her, but as far as Cady was concerned that wasn't a problem. When they had first met, in that moment when she had turned from Captain Klari to Tristan, she felt the electricity. Their eyes had met and she had seen her future. At first she had been struck speechless and a little scared. But as she got to know him, she realized that their feelings were nothing to be afraid of.

Cady knew Tristan felt the same way. There had been a few times when she had caught him watching her and he would quickly look away. There had been that time in the caves when he had this expression on his face, a kind of combination of awe, curiosity, and attraction. When she had looked up and seen him there, her heart had stopped and she fought back the urge to run to him.

She reached the hospital wing to find Becca sitting at the nurses' desk, nibbling on soda crackers and reading a file. "Aunt Becca."

"Cady, hi honey, what's up?" Becca set the file down and smiled weakly at the girl.

"Are you okay?"

"A bit of an upset stomach. I thought I was done with the morning sickness, and the afternoon and evening sickness. But I'm fine. What can I do for you? Are you okay?"

Suddenly feeling a little shy, Cady said quietly, "I, uh, I came to see how Trist…uh, Lt. Alexander was doing."

"Oh, he'll be fine. It was a graze on the upper arm, a nasty burn. There will be a bit of a scar but he'll be fine."

"Can…can I see him?"

"He is sedated, dear."

"That's okay."

Becca bit back a small smile and nodded, "Yes, you may, for a few minutes. Room 3."

Cady crept to the door and slid it open. A quiet beeping from the heart monitor was the only sound in the dimly lit room as she slipped in. She glanced over her shoulder and decided at the last moment to shut the door, giving them total privacy.

Tristan lay motionless on the bed, his eyes closed and his breathing shallow. His shirt had been removed and right arm wrapped in gauze from his armpit to just above his elbow. He looked so peaceful, so beautiful.

Unable to stop herself, Cady reached out and gently stroked his cheek with the back of her fingers, feeling the rough stubble. Her heart skipped and she pursed her lips as tears filled her eyes.

A soft moan escaped his lips as his eyelids fluttered and his face turned toward her hand and her caresses.

"Tristan?" She whispered.

His eyes fluttered a bit more before opening slightly. He looked at her with heavy lidded, unfocused eyes. "Are you an angel?" His voice was low and rough.

Cady smiled and felt a tear slid down her cheek, "No. I'm just Cady."

"Cady," he repeated, slowly lifting his hand to wipe away her tear and touch her face. "You are so beautiful."

More tears followed as she lifted her hand to his and brought it to her lips, gently kissing his fingers. "So are you," she breathed.

He blinked and looked at her with an expression of regret, "Maybe we can pretend for now."

She furrowed her brow and looked at him with confusion, "What do you mean?"

Tristan shook his head slowly, "I am so tired."

"Sleep," she whispered, laying his hand on his chest. "We can talk when you're feeling better."

………………………………………………………………………………………

Sky stuck her spoon into Erik's bowl of strawberry ice cream and stole a bite.

"Hey!" He snapped. "You said you wanted chocolate, eat your own."

She stuck her bottom lip out in a pout, "I just wanted a taste of what I was missing."

In response he leaned towards her and shared a slow, loving kiss with her. "That's what you're missing," he whispered when he pulled back.

"Hm," Sky licked her lips. "I think I prefer the ice cream."

"Ow."

Laughing, leaned closer to him and laid her arms on his shoulder, clasping her hands behind his neck. "So you're saying you won't share your ice cream with me."

Erik laid his hands on her hips and leaned his forehead against hers, "Sunny, I will share anything with you. My possessions, my life, but not my ice cream."

Sky sighed and moved her head so her cheek rested against his. With her eyes closed, she breathed deep, taking in the scent of his soap and of him, feeling it throughout her body as she fought the urge to jump into his lap and attack him. She kissed his cheek and moved down to his neck, sucking gently just below his ear and smiling against his skin as he groaned. Her hands moved down and over his chest, feeling his own hands tighten on her hips, pulling her to the edge of her chair and tilting his head back.

She lifted her head, her hands still stroking his chest, to see his eyes closed and his face a picture of excited relaxation. Seizing the opportunity, Sky reached over and grabbed his ice cream bowl.

It took Erik a full thirty seconds to realize what had just happened. "That was low."

Sky chuckled around the spoon in her mouth, "Men are so easy."

"Oh yeah?" Erik slowly rose to his feet. "Like women aren't."

Sky jumped up and moved to the other side of the kitchen table, clutching the bowl to her chest. "We are more in control of our hormones."

He took a step closer, "Really?"

"Yes."

"Then why do you look so scared?"

"I'm not scared," her voice trembled, not from fear but from something else, something more primal.

Erik closed the distance between them, prying the bowl from her hands, he set it down and moved so she was trapped between him and the table. When he heard her breathing thicken, Erik leaned closer, laying his hands on the table and caging her in. "Then what are you?"

Sky chewed on her bottom lip unable to tear her eyes from his. They had darkened with desire and she could feel his warm, moist breath on her cheek. "Scared," she whispered. "Scared because this is too big."

Bewildered, Erik moved back, "I'm sorry, Sky, I don't mean to push you into something you're not ready for."

Sky felt warmth spread through her. He was the most amazing man she had ever known. She grabbed his arm and pulled him roughly toward her until he fell against her, pinning her to the table. "It's not a bad kind of scared, it's an exciting kind."

Moving slowly, tenderly, Erik slid a hand up into her hair, cupping her head as his lips moved from her temple to her forehead down her nose detouring across her cheek and finally coming to her lips. Sky leaned against him, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing as tightly to him as she could.

"There you are."

Erik and Sky jumped apart, startled and embarrassed.

Cady stood in the doorway, "My interrupting you two is becoming a common occurrence, you really should consider using one of your rooms. With the door locked."

Erik stood behind Sky and wrapped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder, "What do you want Cady?"

"I mean, come on! This is the kitchen," the Princess continued her tirade. "You're lucky I wasn't one of my parents or one of the kids."

"We get the point, what is it?" Sky asked, feeling really annoyed.

"I just saw Tristan."

"How is he?"

"Becca said he'll be fine. It's a burn and he'll have a scar. He was heavily sedated, but we spoke," Cady looked down at her hands.

Sky stepped out of Erik's embrace and walked over to her friend, "What happened, Cady?"

"He…he told me I was beautiful and then he said he wanted to pretend for now and then he fell asleep," she replied in a rush of words.

"He wanted to pretend?"

"I…I think he likes me, but he's afraid he can't act on it," her voice caught.

Sky pulled Cady into a hug, "Do you want me to go knock some sense into him?"

Cady let out a watery laugh, "You're just itching to beat him up, aren't you?"

"I don't let people mess with my best friend."

"I'm so confused, Sky."

She pulled back and held Cady at arm's length, "Then tomorrow, when the drugs have worn off, go to his hospital room, sit down and talk. Find out how he feels, where you stand. This not knowing is driving you, and me, crazy."

Cady looked over Sky's shoulder and sniffled, "Is there any ice cream left?"

"Yes there is," Erik said, coming forward and taking Sky's hand. "Help yourself, we're going to go to my room and make out."

"Erik," Sky hissed and tugged her hand from his. "I can't just desert Cady."

"You deserted me not to long ago for Cady. It's my turn."

Sky looked from Erik to Cady and back again.

"Go," Cady said. "He's right. I'll clean up in here. I owe you guys."

Sky looked unsure, "Cady…"

"Just go, I'm fine. Besides, you guys have early practice and I have class in the morning."

Sky hugged her tightly, "Good night, Cady, you know where to find me if you need me."

"Thanks Sky."

Erik leaned down and kissed his cousin on the forehead, "If he hasn't already fallen deeply in love with you, he's not worthy of you."

"Thanks, Erik," Cady smiled at him, blinking rapidly.

"I'm going to kill him," Sky mumbled as they returned to their wing.

"Let them work it out themselves, Sunny."

"She was crying, I hate it when she cries."

Erik rolled his eyes, "Its Cady. She cries when the sun sets too early."

Sky punched him in the arm, "If you're looking to make out with me, it won't help your case to make fun of my friend."