It only took a little while for Dave to feel bad about getting into a fight with Ace. After all, if Dave were dead, Ace probably wouldn't have made fun of him for being afraid. Not that Dave would've been afraid, but if he had, he was sure Ace wouldn't have made fun of him. Dave decided to go back to Ace's room and apologize.

Ace was lying on his bed, staring at his open chest of toy soldiers when Dave peeked into the room.

"Ace?" Dave said.

"Go away," Ace said, sounding cross.

Dave took a few steps into the room. "I'm sorry about what I said. You're not really dead."

Ace looked at him. "Yes, I am."

Dave blinked. "What?"

"I asked Holly, and he said I am," Ace said.

Dave crossed the room and sat in a chair near Ace's bed. "Oh-ey. Sorry."

Ace stared at his bed. "I didn't get to be very old, did I?"

"You're almost thirty," Dave said. "That's pretty old."

Ace shook his head. "Some people get to be a hundred fifty. That's old. Thirty isn't anything."

Dave thought for a minute, trying to figure out a way to comfort Ace. "But you're a ghost, right?"

"Right," Ace said.

"So you didn't really die. You just sort of…seemed to die and came back. And you can't die again," Dave said.

Ace looked at Dave as he moved into a sitting position. "That's true."

Now Dave was on solid ground. "And you're here on a ship with your best mate."

Ace looked around the room. "Do you think we live here?"

Dave shrugged. "I don't know. If we do, think of all the fun we can have once we get back to normal."

Ace didn't look too excited. "We probably have things we're supposed to do once we're old again."

"So?" Dave asked. He didn't understand why his friend wasn't excited about being in space. Space was amazing. It was so big. He'd never thought about going into space before, but he was glad he got to do it when he got older. "Spaceships have lots of things to do. They have restaurants and cinemas and everything. We'll still be friends."

Ace looked up hopefully. "You think?"

"Pinkie swear," Dave said, holding up his pinkie. Then he remembered that Ace couldn't touch him, and was about to put his hand down.

Ace held up his own hand, extending the pinkie. Dave was careful not to get his hand too close to Ace's as they pretended to link pinkies, shake, and then release.

"I haven't had much luck with friends," Ace said, sounding wistful.

"Yeah, but this is gonna be different," Dave said. "I mean, look around. There's no adults to tell us what to do, except Holly. And when we're grown-up, we get to tell ourselves what to do anyway."

"I guess you're right," Ace said.

Dave smiled. "Of course I'm right. I'm half a year older than you."

Ace brought his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around his legs. "You're lucky."

Dave shrugged. "You'll be older than me soon."

"I hope it doesn't hurt," Ace said.

"Even if it does, it's only for a second, like a shot," Dave said. Maybe that wasn't the best comparison to make.

"I hate shots," Ace said, wincing.

"Me too," Dave agreed. They sat there for a minute, not sure what to do. "You wanna play soldiers while we're waiting?"

"There's not much good in that," Ace said. "I can't pick them up."

Dave had forgotten that. "Oh yeah."

Holly appeared in the mirror. "Dave Lister, report to the Drive Room."

The Drive Room? "Where's that, Holly?"

"It's where you first woke up," Holly said.

Dave nodded. "Okay."

"I'll give you more instructions once you're there," Holly said as he faded out.

Dave and Ace looked at each other. Dave was nervous about this, and he could tell Ace was as well.

"Well," Dave said, trying to do his part as the older of the two and be brave, "I guess when I see you again, I'll be twenty-five."

Ace nodded. "I guess so."

Dave hated to leave him here by himself. "Do you wanna come?"

"Holly didn't want me there," Ace said.

"Yeah, but…I'd feel better if you were there," Dave said.

Ace looked at Dave and managed to smile. "Okay."

They headed off to the Drive Room.