Quick disclaimer: I do not own the lyrics to any songs, the rights to any TV shows, or the man by the name of Wentworth Miller (although I wish I did…more on that later. :)Thanks for reading.

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"And I--eee---I! Got a feelin' that I could be someone, be someone, be someone…don't you just love Tracy Chapman, Jake? I know I wish I had a fast car right now. Maybe a cherry-redEscalade with platinum rims. A state of the art sub-woofer in the back. A couple DVD screens for our viewing pleasure would be good, too."

Marco shook his head, sighing.

"Man, I am telling you…we could've been riding in style right now. This whole train thing sucks. And I don't care what anyone says--Erek was so holding out on us."

While Jake was busy staring out the windows and brooding, Marco was stubbornly trying his best to fill the quiet of the empty train car with his one-sided conversation. It was probably the only downside to the fact that they had such a large amount of privacy for refreshing their frolis maneuvers (that, and the semi-edible grade of the passenger meals.)

Even Ax had taken notice of his leader's thoughtful demeanor. Over the past two and a half days, the Andalite had engaged him in random question regarding the changes in physical geography from the suburbs of Northern California to the dry Arizona deserts. It didn't always work, as Jake admitted to not being the most attentive student, but it was enough to keep him from completely retreating into his mind.

Looking at his friend again, Marco had a fleeting, frightening thought:

What if Cassie had given in and decided to tell him about after all?

To be honest, he almost preferred that. Not only would it make him feel less guilty about keeping that kind of a secret, it would also be a relief to know Cassie wasn't dealing with her pregnancy all on her own. He was fairly certain she wouldn't tell Tobias or even Rachel, especially Rachel, for fear of throwing off their focus. Which brought him back to the present situation…

The question was on the tip of his tongue when Marco realized that if Jake truly did know, there was probably a less than zero chance he would've let Cassie leave the valley, much less without him, before coming to some kind of resolution first.

Even if that meant neither one of them would've left at all.

However, the quiet boy did give the hint of a smile when he replied, "It's a relief to see that looking completely different hasn't changed your ability to be totally obnoxious."

Marco couldn't hide the relief from his grin. If Jake is well enough to rag on me, he'll be okay.

On the heels of Cassie's frolis of him and Rachel, Marco had not been able to quell his growing curiosity of how a cross between Rachel and Cassie might turn out, and asked if he could create a male version of just that as his disguise for the journey to Virginia.

While Cassie had simply frowned at the suggestion, Rachel had been ready to engage in some serious fisticuffs.

"I swear Marco, if you value your life at all you will get as far away from me as humanly possible… immediately."

He'd been discouraged at first, and was ready to settle on a boring mix of himself and Jake when, at the last minute, a brilliant suggestion from his new favorite Berenson made his heart sing.

"…I don't mind if you acquire me."

Marco was pretty sure he'd never heard anything hotter escape the lips of such a beautiful girl, much less the girl he knew was perverted enough to understand the purposeful double entendre of that statement….

It was then he knew: Jordan really was his soul mate.

"I may be obnoxious, but you cannot deny that I am also damn pretty. Come on, even Ax is jealous!" Marco insisted, although the alien--in his own eerily pretty human morph--was steadily scarfing both his and Jake's plates of beef (or rather, beef-like) burgundy.

Ax paused for a moment, with a smear of gravy next to his perfect mouth to add, "Jealousy is a quaint human emotion which is merely a mask for feelings of inadequacy and inferiority. Ee-yore. Itee. Ority. Ore-it-eee"

Jake just rolled his eyes. With his cupid's bow lips, sapphire blue eyes, and short, dark curls, he personally thought Marco's morph of Cassie and Jordan looked a little too much like that actor from Prison Break.

A gaggle of hysterical women (and a few men) had even swarmed around him at the train station in Yuma, begging for autographs, pictures, and a host of less innocent favors as well. He was not looking forward to a replay of that scene, although it was inevitable since their next stop was going to be at a much bigger city.

Oh well. Better that than being caught by a bunch of controllers. Although it does cut awfully close…

"Ignore him, Ax. Apparently his ego knows no bounds," Jake commented with a real smile this time. One, strangely, that was somehow a composite of both Rachel and Tobias.

Unlike Marco, he had not gone to any great length to accrue the "hottest" frolis. Although it had idly crossed both of their minds that while Cassie's could easily be Marco and Rachel's daughter, Jake's was no doubt what the son of Tobias and Rachel would look like--tall and wiry thin, with wild, dirty blonde hair, deeply blue, slightly sad eyes, and a flawless complexion. Kind of weird to see, all of them agreed on that.

Almost like a glimpse into a could-be future.

Marco just smirked and replaced the head phones plugged into the train car's complimentary CD deck back over his ears.

"Jealousy, my friend, is never attractive…." he trailed, and began humming to a song that sounded like nothing remotely worth listening to.

Ax had polished off the rest of his food, and in true satisfied form, was now lightly dozing with his head propped against the half-way curtained windows. He too was wearing a pair of headphones.

Now silent again, the slight sway of the car on the tracks began to lull Jake to sleep as well. It was only around 7 P.M, and darkness had yet to completely fall against the still-life backdrop of the calm desert, but he let himself succumb to the dream that in reality, was the last moments he had shared with Cassie before leaving her and the others in the valley days ago…

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I was in the same spot I'd been several months before, on the steep bluff overlooking our small camp. An odd kind of familiarity had settled over it; so much had happened here, it was no longer just a place to hide. Now more than ever, our refuge had started to feel like home.

Things really have changed, I thought to myself, holding Cassie's hand tighter in mine.

She was next to me, her breathing slow and even as she watched the pitch black sky's glimmering stars. She'd sat there nearly an hour ago, and hadn't said a word since her arrival.

I didn't mind. Sometimes it was almost like we understood each other better when nothing was said at all.

"I felt the same you did, Jake."

Cassie's soft statement startled me. She waited until I looked at her before continuing.

"About how you didn't want us to be split up. I think I understand Erek and Ax's reasons for doing it, but it doesn't mean I'm happy about it," she said, giving me a half-hearted smile.

"Anyway, I just wanted you to know that."

How she knew I'd been wondering about exactly that, I'd never know. I didn't ask.

Cassie wrapped her arms around her knees after I wrapped one around her entire body. She was still shivering.

"They were right, I guess. But don't tell them I said that. I can't keep up the whole reluctant leader thing if they realize I'm agreeing with their twisted ideas."

I smiled, and a beautiful one blossomed on Cassie's face. She rested her head against my shoulder.

"Your secret's safe with me," she quietly confirmed, seeming to reflect on her own words before looking back out at dark, mountainous expanse against the horizon.

"I still wish some things had turned out differently, though."

After a long pause, she replied, "Me too."

A strange feeling struck me, as I watched the profile of her face. Her smooth, dark cheek held the reflection of a solitary tear, and she leaned into me when I kissed her forehead.

"Hey, it's gonna be okay. We're going to get through this."

For a moment, Cassie's expression fell into one of clear uncertainty. Almost as if there were something she needed to say to me…

She was scared, that had to be it. We all were. Maybe no one said it out loud, but that didn't mean it was easy. If it were something else, anything else, I was sure she'd tell me. I trusted her with my life, and I hoped she felt the same.

The night was still cold, but I could feel her warm body completely relax against mine as the last of her chills subsided.

"Yes, we will."

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"Excuse me."

The bored front desk attendant glanced up from his computer screen into the tired face of a thin, brown-eyed teenage girl. Her raven hair was pulled into a ponytail on top of her head, spilling thick waves onto the top of her bare, sun-burned shoulders.

She was flanked by two equally worn-looking companions, although the girl beside her was unusually beautiful. The only male, who was skinny and tall with closely cropped dirty blonde hair, held three small overnight bags slung over his shoulder.

The attendant minimized his solitaire game on the flat screen monitor and re-opened the hotel's reservation page.

"Welcome to Red Canyon Inn. How may I help you?"

"We've got a pre-paid reservation here for two rooms," the black haired girl replied, trying to ignore the inflamed skin of her freckled arms. She couldn't believe she had forgotten how prone Sara's fair skin was to blistering, and was now regretting the decision to save money by walking there all the way from the Greyhound station instead of taking a cab.

"Name?"

The attendant whose metallic name tag read "Michael" retrieved the short internet reservation list.

"King," the boy spoke up, stepping forward to offer up an out-of-state driver's license that said something completely different.

"Erek King."

Raising an eyebrow, Michael's full attention was on the intense young man in front of him, who was now just patiently waiting.

"And what might bring you and your friends here?"

Without a second's hesitation, the tan girl with blue-hazel eyes smiled at the Chee named Michael.

"Freedom."

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This chapter was a necessary filler, and I am pleased to say that the next one is written, quite long, and will definitely be dedicated to those who love Rachel/Tobias. :)

I would also like to sincerely thank everyone who has reviewed and supported this story. I want to let you guys know that I never had any intention of abandoning this…between school and my job it can sometimes be hard to find the time to update, and I'm sure most, if not all of you can relate to that.

However, your input truly does affect the direction this fic takes, and I don't like to update if my writing is not up to standard, so please don't hold back on the criticism! Peace :)