Disclaimer: I don't own this…. Well, just the plot, and Anya and Sharlot and Willem and Marian.

"…Anya?"

Ashelin could hardly believe her eyes as she looked down at the small red-haired girl who was now hugging her around the waist. Anya looked up at her and smiled. "Hi, Ashelin."

"Oh, Anya I though…. I thought you were dead!" Ashelin said. She felt as if, through all the pain she couldn't seem to forget, something was blossoming, and could it be?

Happiness.

"Who're you?" Torn asked Anya gruffly.

Anya disliked him immediately. "I'm her sister," she snapped. "Who're you?"

"I'm Torn," he answered.

Ashelin, meanwhile, had turned her attention to the old woman, who was watching her with a mixture of disbelief and curiosity. Finally the old woman said, "But where's Natasha?"

Grief flooded Ashelin's face. "Maria… is that you?" she asked in a choked voice. When the old woman nodded, she continued, "Natasha is a prisoner of the Bahzre."

"No," gasped Maria. She burst into loud sobs and ran into the house as fast as she could go.

"Ashelin." It was Torn's cold voice. "Can I talk to you for a moment?" She felt his hand on her arm, steering her away from the people. She could've easily pulled away even from his strong grasp, but she felt compelled to hear what he had to say.

"Who the fuck are these people?" Torn snapped. He looked angry, and Ashelin had no idea why.

Ashelin looked hurt at the anger on his face. "Anya is my younger sister," she explained. "She and I had the same biological mother, though neither of us have ever seen her. The other kids, I don't know who they are. But Maria… Maria is Natasha's mother, and she practically raised Anya and me even though we weren't her children. She and Anya disappeared soon before Natasha and I were sent to the desert. I thought they were dead."

"Oh," Torn said. He looked slightly more compassionate now. "Well…. We really should get going."

"Just let me talk to Maria and Anya for a little bit," Ashelin pleaded. "C'mon, just a few minutes. It won't take long."

"I thought we were going to rescue Natasha," Torn argued.

"Yes, but Maria might know something about my father. I need to ask her some questions," Ashelin said. "You can come with me, or just wait for me. Either way, I'm staying for a bit."

Torn sighed but followed her back to the house. Maria and Anya were nowhere to be seen, and the other children had resumed planting the large orange seeds. Torn sat down on a rough wooden bench by the door as Ashelin went inside.

"Hello."

A woman came around the edge of the house. She was Torn's age, eighteen, or perhaps a little older. She carried a small boy on one hip.

Torn raised his eyebrows. "Hello," he murmured. He didn't even try to disguise his wandering eyes as he took in her full breasts straining against her bodice and her waist, which was slender even though the child she carried was obviously hers. They both had silvery-blonde curls and dark eyes. Torn coughed and looked away as Ashelin came out of the house, looking sad. She froze when she saw the young woman.

"Sharlot," she said coldly. "Fancy meeting you here." She turned on her heel and headed straight toward the Hellcat. Torn followed, now completely puzzled.

"What?" he asked Ashelin when she didn't start the Hellcat, only sat stony-faced at the controls.

"I see you've met Sharlot," she said. "Isn't her baby cute?"

Torn was startled at the seemingly random question. "Well…" he said. "Yes, I suppose."

"It's Wendel's baby," Ashelin said harshly.

"Oh…" Torn answered eloquently. "You've met her before?"

"Of course," Ashelin said. "We were best friends in Haven, and she came with Natasha and I with Wendel into the desert. She was only going because I begged for her to be allowed to. She went home after about a few months, pregnant with his child. That was before Natasha and I were trapped out there. After Sharlot left, though, he just sort of snapped."

"What a whore," she added as an afterthought.

"Maybe… he raped her too," Torn suggested.

"Yeah, you say that," she snapped. "You weren't the one hearing them night after night, only a few feet away from you."

Torn winced and decided not to say anything.

"Let's go," Ashelin whispered. "You were right. Maria didn't know anything about my father, and we need to rescue Natasha."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

That night they camped in the desert. They were still a few day's journey away from the Bahzre city. It was a rather warm night, for a desert, and Ashelin couldn't sleep. She lay in her bedroll for awhile, tossing and turning, and finally she just sat up and stared out into the silence and desolation that made up the Wasteland.

"You can't sleep either?"

It was Torn, speaking in a low voice from a few feet away.

"Yeah," she agreed. "I'm just so worried about Natasha."

He was moving towards her, scooting closer. This made her slightly nervous but she sat still and allowed him to put his arm around her. "We'll find her," he whispered gruffly. "I promise you, we'll rescue her."

Ashelin curled up into a ball and rested her head on her knees. "Yeah," she said. "It's just finding her alive that may be the problem."

She felt something: His lips brushing her ear. She stiffened slightly and didn't move. Surely… he wouldn't try anything. He cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Sorry," he muttered. His voice seemed deeper than usual.

She turned to him. "It's okay."

For once, it actually was okay, she realized as he kissed her lips. It was a chaste kiss and it took her a moment to realize that yes, she was okay with it, and for once, not only was it okay, it was a wanted and needed gesture.

He kissed her again, longer this time, and after a moment she felt his tongue slipping between her lips. She returned the affections of his tongue and for a moment they were content with this, the simple exploring of each other's lips and mouths. Finally they broke their kiss to breathe.

Their next kiss was still more heated and passionate. Ashelin was slightly light-headed and she felt Torn's hand on her back, her shoulders, her neck, and down across her rapidly-beating heart to her breasts. She stiffened as he touched her there, and pulled away. "Don't," she said breathlessly. "Don't."

It was that simple word that led him back to his bedroll to finish his night in sleepless silence.

………………………………………………………………………………

The next day they flew the Hellcat at a faster pace, through the Wasteland. They went over a huge oasis, the biggest in the whole desert. Torn dismisssed its beauty as only something passing, but Ashelin marveled at it, at the way it managed to stay so green and lush in the middle of such a desolate place. She looked down and saw trees, bushes, flowers in orange and pink and red, a whole jungle of beauty amidst a war-ravaged land... and it thrived upon itself and the small river that gave it life.

"So, where exactly is this fortress you talk about?" Torn asked. "Are we near it?"

"Almost," Ashelin said grimly. "And trust me, you'll know when we get there. You can see the clouds of smog for miles. The Bahzre's only form of trade is in rugs made of the hair of their goats. They're fine rugs -- we have some at the Palace -- but the rug-making plant is a disgusting thing. It pollutes the entire area. In the summer the sky around it is green, and everything smells."

"Ah," Torn said. "Well, that sure makes me optimistic."

She gave a small, bitter smile but did not say anything.

Neither of them spoke of what had happened between them the previous night. It was as if they understood without words that Torn had gone too far for her, but there was a hint that someday there might be something more for them. Ashelin had felt embarassed, at first, to have told him to stop, but the more time passed the less she regretted her decision. She would have been sick if she had let him touch her, she was sure of it. She wasn't ready for it, not until she could stop remembering.

Several more hours passed and at last they saw clouds of greenish-grey smog, faint in the distance. Torn felt growing fear of the place where so much evil had been done, but what could he do? He had come this far with Ashelin; he surely wasn't going to turn back now.

Ashelin parked the Hellcat behind some rocks just out of sight of the fortress city. She made sure it was secured and well-hidden, then she sat down to think of how they could rescue Natasha.

"It's a good thing battle plans are my area of expertise," Torn bragged jokingly.

"Don't be an ass," snapped Ashelin, clearly not in the mood for any kind of joking. Torn sat back quietly, rather frightened by the sound of her voice. She was stronger and better-trained than he was, and there was no telling what she might do if he made her angry.

Oh, gods, he thought, I'm scared of a woman.

After nearly an hour, Ashelin flopped back against a rock. She sighed. "I just don't know," she confided. "The only way I can think of for getting in is to actually be captured, but they'd take all our weapons so we wouldn't stand a chance. We'd just be killed."

"Shit," Torn muttered. "What the hell?"

"What?" Ashelin asked. She turned and looked in the direction he pointed. "Oh, my gods."