When Hara got me home, I explained everything to her. She was shocked when I told her that he was Falco. She also teased me about not taking it far enough. Unfortunately, it wasn't until much later that I realized I had left my jacket at the studio. At least, not until Falco showed up at my front door…

I was doing dishes in the kitchen when there was a knock at the door. Hara went to answer it then called to let me know it was for me. I grabbed a towel to dry my hands and walked toward the living room. As soon as I saw Falco standing with my roommate, I dropped the towel to the floor.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I asked more out of shock. "How did you find out where I lived?"

"Skye, don't be rude!" Hara scolded me. "Aren't you going to introduce us?"

I let out a sigh and picked up the towel I dropped.

"Hara, this is Falco Lombardi of Star Fox. Falco, this is my roommate and best friend, Sahara Sands."

"But you can call me Hara," she added quickly.

I could tell she was already picturing the dirty things she wanted to do to him later. I rolled my eyes and grinned. Falco turned to me and handed my jacket over.

"You left that at the dance studio," he said. "As for finding where you lived, I called Fox."

"Of course…" I sighed.

"Don't be upset with him. Besides, I really don't want to hear from him again today."

That concerned me. "Is everything okay?"

"Not really. He asked me why I needed your address and I told him what happened at the studio."

I was instantly embarrassed.

"You told him about your sexy dance time?" Hara asked. "Are you stupid? Why on earth would you tell Fox about Skye's crazy rumba with his teammate and right-hand man? That is a recipe for disaster if I ever heard one."

"I try to not make a habit out of lying to Fox," Falco said. "Like you mentioned, I'm his right-hand man. Needless to say, he's not too happy with me right now. Gods forbid I try and get to know his little sister that he hasn't seen for who knows how long."

"Getting to know me? That's what you called that?"

"I didn't mean it like that…" He let out a frustrated sigh. "Look, anything I say at this point is going to be used against me. You have your jacket, I'll take my leave."

He spared no second leaving the apartment. Hara looked to me.

"Well? Aren't you going to go after him?"

"And do what?"

"Question him! Nobody dances like that with my girl and doesn't have an angle or something." She pushed me toward the door. "Go! Go thank him at least!"

I did as she said and ran after Falco. I caught him just as he was about to get into his vehicle.

"Falco wait!" He stopped just before he got in and turned to me. "I'm sorry. I should've at least thanked you for bringing me my jacket. But I… I have to ask." I paused. "What's your angle?"

He looked at me incredulously. "You're kidding, right?"

"Look, Hara made a good point. You don't dance with anyone like that without having an ulterior motive. If you did that to make a fool out of me, congratulations, you succeeded. I feel like a complete idiot for letting you take advantage of me. But, let's get one thing straight… I promise you, I won't let you do that to me again. If you think for one second that you will find a vulnerable side of me, you are sorely mistaken. There's nothing about me that's vulnerable or weak."

He grinned. "I believe you. As for my reason for dancing with you… I'm actually curious about you. Fox had never mentioned you and it's kind of coincidental that we found you, all of a sudden, on Titania. Forgive me if I'm a little skeptical." He got into his vehicle. "No doubt we'll see each other again." He drove away at that.

I went back to my apartment to find Hara standing at the door waiting for me. "Well?"

I sighed. "He said he's curious about me. I don't know how to take that…"

"Sounds to me like he's going to toy with you some more. I don't like this Skye. Not at all."

"I don't either but, it seems as though me seeing him is inevitable." I looked to the phone. "In the meantime, I just stay busy. You think my old boss will still take me back for a job until Craig calls me?"

Hara shrugged then grinned. "Only one way to find out."

I called Davis, my old construction boss, about the job he had coming up. It was a few weeks late but he still appreciated my interest. He asked that I show up in one of the residential districts. I was shocked. All that was left of this one was ruins. As far as you could see there were burned down houses, some of them not even standing anymore. Others, you could only see the slab of concrete that used to be the foundation for a now nonexistent home. I was already sick to my stomach.

I got there in plenty of time to find that some of my old coworkers had arrived as well as Star Fox, minus Peppy of course. Fox, Falco, and Slippy all stood together talking to some of the others. Falco saw me first and gently elbowed Fox. Fox turned and saw me. I took a deep breath and went to him.

"Fox… I wanted to apologize for how I treated you at Gilford. I shouldn't have said the things I said. I'm really sorry."

He paused for a moment then smiled.

"Don't worry, little sister. I'm not upset. I'm being overprotective where I'm not wanted and I'm sorry. Your freedom is important to you and I understand that now." He held out his hand. "Clean slate?"

I took his hand without question and shook it. "Clean slate."

Moments later we were called to order and given instructions. We were to search all of the damaged and abandoned houses to look for survivors and mark the houses for demolition so new houses could go up. We all would be in pairs so we could divide and conquer. My brother immediately went to my side before Falco could, leaving Falco and Slippy to a team. We all grabbed radios then went our separate ways. Fox wasted no time getting down to the questions as we searched around.

"So… You and Falco?"

I sighed. "I don't know what he told you but, it's not what it seems."

"It seems to me like he's interested in you."

I laughed. "Hardly. He's enjoying making a fool out of me. Besides, I don't like him like that. Quite frankly, I don't like him at all. He enjoys toying with me and I don't appreciate that."

"Believe me when I say that's not the case for him. He's very interested."

I turned to him. "What exactly did he tell you?"

"He apologized for being out of line at the party," Fox said. "Then he said that he saw you at a dance studio and danced with you again. He told me that he took it a little further than he should have." He sighed. "Look, your business is your own and you'll do as you please whether I like it or not. But… As leader of Star Fox and your brother, I really don't want you to get involved with Falco if you can help it."

I smiled at him. "You won't have to worry about that with me."

We continued on our search. Moments later, he went back to the questions.

"Have you ever dated?" he asked.

"Of course I have. None of them are worth mentioning and none of them were really worth dating. But I did it anyway."

"It's hard to believe that you would be single."

I shrugged. "I just haven't found someone worth my time and effort. When it comes to a relationship, I go big or go home. I'm honest from the beginning and wear my heart on my sleeve. I don't have the time or patience to deal with the crap. You're either with me or get out of the way."

Fox grinned. "It's nice to know you're no pushover."

"I try not to be."

We finally got to a damaged home far from the other groups. Fox and I tiptoed around checking for anyone who could have possibly survived. The home itself was mostly intact. All of the furniture inside was torn and thrown around, almost as if a hurricane and a tornado blew through one right after the other. Fox and I went into different rooms. The first bedroom I went into wasn't too special. The second bedroom on the other hand…

I walked into a child's room. The walls were painted a light purple with butterflies all around. My heart broke. Just when I was about to leave, I heard a groan come from the closet. I immediately went over to the closet and moved some debris to open it up. I was shocked at my find.

A little raccoon girl, no older than ten, lay curled up on a pile of clothes and blankets. She was breathing but she wasn't moving.

"Fox!" I called out as I gathered the girl in my arms. She was almost too light for comfort and extremely malnourished. "Fox, I need you!"

He came running in then stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the girl.

"Is she...?"

"She's alive. You have the radio, I need you to contact Davis. We need to get her to the hospital."

Fox did as I told him and we made our way to the main camp to meet up with an ambulance. The medics took her away. Davis came to me.

"You alright, Skye?"

I paused for a moment then gave him a nod. "Yeah. I'm going to take the rest of this job off… Hopefully, I can meet them there."

"You're going to the hospital?" Fox asked.

"She's the only survivor out of this whole mess and I found her. That has to mean something."

I took my leave of Fox and Davis and went straight to the hospital. The little girl was let in immediately and hooked up to fluids. I stepped out of the room when I was approached by a nurse.

"Excuse me, ma'am, are you her mother?"

I shook my head. "No. I'm the one that found her."

"Unfortunately ma'am, we can't keep her here unless her medical expenses are being taken care of."

I let out a deep sigh. "I'll take care of it. Send me the bill."

She gave me a nod and went on her way. I took out my phone and immediately called Craig.

"Hello, Skye," he answered, knowing exactly who I was. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I hate to bother you, Boss, but… I have a huge favor to ask."

"Name it."

I looked into the room to the little girl for a moment then turned my attention back to my call.

"I need as many jobs as you can give me. I have new expenses that need to be taken care of."

"Is everything alright, Skye?"

"I'll tell you all about it later, I promise. I just need to know your answer."

There was a pause over the line.

"I think you already know what I'm going to say," he said. "You have asked, and so you shall receive."