"Samus, wake up."

She was lying on my bed at the moment, resting somewhat better then before. I had carried her to my ship earlier, and now I was taking care of her. Her suit was a bit tough to move, as it weighed quite a bit when it was powered off. I placed the suit into the chair by my work desk, this way when Samus wakes up, she could easily find it.

It would seem Samus was suffering from a nightmare now. Sweat was dripping down her forehead, and she continually tossed and turned in her sleep. I brought a wet wash cloth to try and quell her sweat, but it only worked for a few minuets. Unfortunately, she would not wake from the dream, even with all the shaking I had applied to her shoulders earlier. This was one dream she would have to contend with, even if she disliked it.

I decided to head out of the room, hoping to find something to do while I waited for Samus to get better. Slowly, I headed into the cockpit, where I found the black abyss that was space standing just outside the window. The white lights of each planet were zipping by, and I would have to wait before I could see Terra Firma once more.

"Michael."

"Huh? Samus, you're awake."

"How long have I been out?"

"Give or take three hours."

I brushed my hands through my hair, feeling the tensions running through my mind. I had been knocked out three hours, and only a small amount of Space Pirates had done this to me. Not only that, I had a partner.

I slammed my hand against the wall, releasing a chunk of my anger onto the ship. The noise I caused could be heard echoing in the cockpit, and I was sure that Michael was somewhat annoyed by what I had done.

"I take it you are thinking about what happened back on Eigen."

"Yeah..."

"You know Samus, things like this happens."

"No it doesn't!"

"Yes, Samus, it does. Everyone has those times when they are captured by their enemy. Some more then others."

"I have never been caught off guard before. And this time around, I was too weak to even save myself."

"True, but sometimes you aren't in a position to save yourself."

"Really, and when have you ever been unable to save yourself!"

"Well, there have been several times when I have been captured. Twice during the war, I was shot down, and within the last five years alone, I have been captured three times, though once was on purpose."

"You're kidding?"

"No."

"…"

'What do I say? Michael has had more then his fare share of trouble, and I am acting as if I am all high and mighty. He even saved me, and I am not even thanking him.'

"Samus, don't worry about it so much."

"What?"

"Listen Samus, I've been through a lot, and so have you. And I definitely remember how I felt after I first got captured. I felt like an idiot, and I started to think that I was the weakest guy in the world. But eventually, you get over it. For me, I had to become a blood thirsty, cold hearted bastard. You have a chance to become the same, thus making yourself impossible to predict. However, I would not recommend that."

"And what would you recommend?"

"Simple. Go on with your life, have fun, get married."

"You're kidding…"

"No. I use to be a cold hearted bastard, but a person very special to me changed that. She taught me how to be a loving person again, and gave back the gentle heart that I once had. Unfortunately, she lost her life in doing so."

"Michael, I-"

"It's alright Samus. I'm just saying, don't be like me and not have someone to love, just because you went psycho."

I stood up, and then walked over to Samus. Carefully, I placed my hand onto her shoulder, and then looked into her eyes. She seemed somewhat surprised by my gesture, which I had expected.

"Samus, we have plenty of time before we get to Terra Firma. So don't worry so much. I suggest you take some time to think about what has happened recently, as well as what you would like to do in the future."

I took my hand off of her shoulder, and then began to head towards the back of the ship. I was heading for the gym, so as to work off some stress and worry.

"I'm going to the gym in the back of the ship, so if you need me then you know where to find me."

After that, I went into the gym area and began to use the bench press. I would have done something else, but I just felt like pumping some iron really fast. Eventually, I went on to do push ups as well, and after that I began some crunches.

'She seems very disappointed in herself right now. Understandable considering that she has actually lost a fight. But I think she will get over it, she has a very strong will.'

"Mind if I join you?"

"Samus?"

I looked up at Samus, and was somewhat surprised at what she was wearing. At the moment, she was wearing sweat pants and a large shirt, at least for her. The pants were tied very tightly, as they were much too big for her size.

"I hope you don't mind me borrowing some of your clothing."

"Not at all. It is better then wearing the jumpsuit from before, especially considering it is still very wet."

"So, do you mind if I train in here as well?"

"No, be my guest."

Samus nodded, and then proceeded to bombard me with questions. All the while, I continued to do crunches, as her questions only kept my mind on something else then the empty space around me.

"Michael, what should I do first?"

"Depends on what you want to work on."

"What would you suggest then?"

"Well if you want more upper body strength, you could do push ups, or use the bench press, pull up bar, or use some free weights and lift using just your arms."

"What would be the best?"

"It's not really what is the best for you, but what would be more practical for you."

"I see…"

"I take it you have never worked out in a gym before."

"Not really."

"Alright."

I stood up from my position, and then headed over to the free weights. The barbells I had were lying next to each other by the wall, so I grabbed two. One was a sixty pound weight, the other a twenty five.

With the weights in hand, I walked over to Samus and held the sixty weights in front of her. "Take this," I said, commanding her to take the weight from me. Quickly, Samus took the weight from me, and just as fast as she had taken it, the weight slipped from her fingers and crashed against the ground.

"Why did you-"

"Ok, a bit too heavy for you. Here, try this other weight."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Alright."

Samus reached forward and relieved me of the weight in my hand. She held it sturdily in her right hand, though I could tell she needed some help with the weight. The weight was weighing her down, as she body was beginning to shift over to her right. "Well, this is a bit heavy," all the while trying to keep herself stable.

"Follow me, Samus."

I began to walk over to the bench press, as the seat there was large enough for Samus to fit comfortably. "Sit here," I said, pointing to the seat. She nodded, giving a small grunt as she hauled the weight along. She sat down, and then placed the weight onto the bench as well.

"Alright Samus, exercise number one."

I lifted the weight off of the bench with my right hand, and then sat down next to Samus. I then placed my elbow onto my knee, propping my knee so as to ease the weight on my arm. Afterwards, I began pull the weight towards me, so that it was vertical to the floor. Once there, I lowered it away from me, making about a thirty degree angle with my right arm.

"Do you think you can do that?"

My question was somewhat swift, and my arm continued to pull and lower the weight. I was used to heavier weights, so this was pretty easy for me.

"Sure…"

"You don't sound too confident."

"Yeah well…"

"Don't worry, I'll be right here, so if you need help, you won't need to ask."

"Well… Alright."

Samus then took the weight from my arm, and just as I had shown her earlier, she propped her arm onto her knee. Once she had done so, I moved off of the bench and then took a knee in front of her. I then held out my hands a few inches above her knees, which would serve as a resting platform for the weight.

"Ok, now chest bring the weight up."

She nodded, and then quickly thrust the weight up into a vertical position.

"No Samus, you must do it slowly."

"Why?"

"When you do it slowly, you use your muscles more then you do thrusting it back and forth. This way, you build your muscles fast using lighter weights."

"Oh, ok."

"Now slowly bring it down to my hands."

Samus nodded once more, and gently placed the weight into my hands.

"Alright, now I'm going to say up, and when I do bring it up. Then I will say down, and you will lower it to my hands. But don't let it touch my hands, alright."

"Huh?"

"If you let me hold the weight, you don't use your muscle as much."

"… Alright."

"Up."

Samus remembered what I said, and in response lifted the weight. "Down," I said, and the weight soon came to my hand.

"Don't let it touch my hand, just let it hover above it."

"I'm… Trying…"

Samus was trying very hard too. Sweat was slowly forming on her forehead, even though this was her second repetition. "Up," I said, and her arm slowly lifted the weight once more. "Down," and her arm allowed the weight to do just that.

"Up. Down. Up. Down. Up. Down. Up. Come Samus, you can do it. Come on, lift, lift."

"I… Am… Done…"

"I can see that Samus."

Michael was carrying me out of the gym room and into the large hallway. He had put me through some rigorous training, ranching from sit ups to the use of the massive bench press he had. I found it amazing though, as he seemed to always know just how much weight to give me, and every time, he would keep encouraging me to keep going.

"I'll just set you down right here."

Soon, Michael placed me into one of the cloth fabric chairs, allowing me to rest easy. "I'll be back shortly with dinner," he said, though it seemed to just be a blur to me. Michael soon vanished into a room across from the one I was in earlier.

'Wow… He's making dinner.'

This simple gesture seemed almost extravagant to me. I had never had a man actually make ME dinner, so I was somewhat surprised that he said that. Time passed, and Michael hadn't returned. The ship was quiet, and even the hum of the warp drive engine was out of reach of my ears. My eyes wandered the lounge area for a bit, but there was little of true interest. My gaze simply went to the door where Michael had entered a moment earlier.

Five, ten, fifteen minuets passed by slowly. Save for a few clanks, there was very little noise. I could have sworn Michael had said something earlier, though I was too tired to decipher it. A few minuets later, and Michael stepped out. He was walking towards me with two cups in his hands, both filled with ice. He stopped, and placed the cups onto the table in front of me.

"Just wait a little bit more, Samus. Dinner is almost ready."

I nodded lightly, and then watched as Michael went back into the room again.

'Maybe that's his kitchen… I probably should have looked earlier.'