Over the next few weeks, Craig kept me out of work. He insisted that I stay under the radar until this whole matter was settled. I couldn't keep still. Not for a moment. As soon as Conna went to school and Hara went to work, I would be at the dance studio for most of the day then be at the school to pick Conna up in the afternoon. Conna really enjoyed spending time with me but would ask about Falco every now and again. She would beg me to call him but I gently told her that there wasn't any way that he and I would be talking for a long while.

Just when I thought I could rest easy about the situation with me and Falco, there was a knock at my door when I was home alone one day. I went to answer, opened it, saw that it was Falco then shut the door in his face. He knocked again.

"Come on, Skye," he said through the door. "Please don't be like that."

I leaned my head up against the door. "What do you want?"

"Honestly? I don't even know. Well, I know that I wanted to personally invite you to another ball tomorrow night. Other than that…" I heard him let out a frustrated sigh. "I don't know what coming over here would accomplish. You're angry with me, I get it. I'm not trying to treat you like a yo-yo and I'm sorry if you think that's the case. Honestly, I feel a connection with you too. I just don't know how to deal with it or if I want it to be something more."

I grinned at his confession. I slowly opened the door.

"Now we're getting somewhere," I said softly. I motioned for him to come in.

He stepped in with some trepidation and I shut the door behind him. I crossed my arms as I faced him.

"Now that you've finally been honest with me, where does that leave us?"

"Hopefully decent friends, at the very least."

I chuckled. "I suppose that will have to do. I can deal with it if you can." I held out my hand for him to shake on it.

When he went to take it, I quickly jerked my hand away.

"Not so fast, bird. I have some terms you need to follow. Provisos, if you will."

He gave me a sour look. "You can't be serious… What more could you possibly want? I was honest with you like you previously required."

I ignored his complaint. "First off, don't think that this arrangement is an okay for a friends-with-benefits deal. It's not happening."

"Wasn't even going there…"

"Second, I need your honesty. Today was a start but you need to keep it going."

"That includes you too, Skye. I'm not going all the way if your intentions are to go only half."

I arched a brow at him. "You're kidding, right?"

"Thirdly," he said, "We need to trust each other. That's something that's hard for both of us but we can work on it. Trust isn't earned in one day."

I nodded. "Agreed." We finally shook on it. "Now that we've got that out of the way, what's this about another ball? When do they end?"

Falco sighed and moved to sit down on the couch. "They don't. And as long as we're not on mission, Star Fox's presence is required. Either Fox will ask you to come or I can. Which would you prefer?"

"My brother or the guy that likes to pull my chain… Huh, that's a tough one."

He laughed at that, a real laugh. It caught me off guard. Before I could say anything about it, the door opened to Conna walking in. I looked at the time and realized that I missed the time to pick her up.

"Oh my gosh! Conna, I'm so sorry! I wasn't paying attention to the time!"

"That's alright, I took the bus," she told me sweetly. She saw Falco on the couch. "I see you were quite distracted."

I felt the heat rush to my cheeks. "That is not how it was! You brat!"

She giggled and ran to sit next to Falco. She hugged him. "I'm glad you two figured it out, Mr. Falco."

He returned her hug. Watching them like that made my heart melt. He was so sweet to her. It kind of made me jealous.

The door opening again tore me from my thoughts.

"Oh my, I didn't expect you to be here, Falco," Hara said, closing the door behind her. "I've gotta admit, I've kind of missed you."

"Good to see you too, Hara," he smirked.

Hara put her bag down and pulled me into the kitchen for a private talk.

"What happened while I was at work?" she asked.

"He came by and was honest with me. I think we've come to an agreement on how we can make this friendship work. He's a necessary evil so I better make the most of it. And he wanted to invite me to another ball. It's tomorrow night."

Hara lit up at the mention of a ball. "So, we're going shopping?"

I chuckled. "Yes, we need to go shopping."

She got a mischievous gleam in her eye. "We're taking Conna with us. She's bent on getting you guys together and would want to go with us."

I rolled my eyes. "Good grief you two… Fine, we'll kick Falco out and go."

We went back into the living room to find Falco and Conna wrestling on the floor. They pushed everything out of the way so they would have more room. Conna had Falco pinned.

Hara and I laughed at the sight.

"Alright Conna, Falco has to go. You, me, and Hara are going shopping."

They both looked up at us.

"Shopping for what?" Conna asked.

"I have to get a new dress for the ball tomorrow. I can't possibly wear the same one twice." I gave her a wink.

Conna got excited and jumped off of Falco to come hug me. "Count me in! Let's go!"

Falco got to his feet and dusted himself off. "So, that's a yes to tomorrow?"

"Don't worry, Mr. Falco," Conna replied before I could. "I'll make sure she finds something nice for you."

He got down to her level. "I'll keep you to that." He faced me. "I'll pick you up?"

"Sounds good."

"Eight?"

"Fine with me."

"See you tomorrow then." He gave a wave to Hara then left the apartment.

Hara looked to Conna. "Let's not let Mr. Falco down."

I groaned as I was dragged out of the door. I was in big trouble with the girls running the show…

Needless to say, I was right… Hara and Conna had agreed on a deep red dress that was one shoulder and had a printed sash that ran at an angle right underneath my bust to my hip. The dress was form fitting so it showed all of my curves and was floor length. It would definitely knock some socks off, that's for sure.

Hara did my hair and make-up for me. She swept my hair to the side that didn't have a strap and just left it down. She also hooked me up with gold hoop earrings and gold bangles for my wrist. When she was done with me, I put on my gold heels and went to the mirror. I hardly recognized the diva looking back at me. It was so much… Almost too much for me.

I heard the knock at the door and it was moments later that Conna called back to us. My heart began to pound.

"You ready?" Hara asked.

"Am I allowed to have cold feet?" I swallowed.

"Why would you do that? You look smokin' hot! You're gorgeous!"

I groaned. "That's the problem…"

She handed me my gold clutch and gave my hands a reassuring squeeze. "It'll be alright, Skye. I know it's a lot to take in but… Please, go enjoy yourself. Or, at least try. Falco came to your doorstep to ask you to this. Surely that means something."

I hugged my friend deeply. "I love you, Hara."

"I love you too, girlie. Now, don't make him wait much longer. Go bring the house down."

I took a deep breath and walked toward the living room. Conna couldn't keep still. She was so excited to see me off. Falco stood at the door in a clean tuxedo. He looked like he was extremely uncomfortable. Conna saw me first.

"Skye! You look incredible!" she cried. "What do you think, Mr. Falco?"

Falco turned to watch me stride toward him. His discomfort quickly melted away and a look of awe replaced it. I instantly got embarrassed with him staring at me.

I cleared my throat. "So… will this suffice for the night?"

He snapped out of his shock. His smile was gentle. "What kind of question is that? You look…" He gave me another once-over. "Perfect."

Oh goodness… If my face got any hotter and my heart pounded any harder, I feared that I would explode. I could barely breathe…

He finally offered an arm to me. "Shall we?"

I hesitantly took his arm, the girls saw us off, and he led me to his vehicle. It was silence all the way there until we parked the vehicle and I saw the enormous gathering of people going in. I just about lost it.

"I can't go in there."

Falco was confused. "Why? What's wrong?"

I nodded toward the crowd. "I can't with all of those people. No way."

He looked at the crowd then back to me. "Don't tell me that you don't do crowds…" He shook his head. "How is that possible? You did just fine at the last one. And the one when Fox took you…"

"I had Fox to support me the first time and, if you recall, I was amply distracted. The last one I was behind a bar the whole time with Hara. Hardly an area where I can get trampled on and suffocated."

He got out of the vehicle and walked around to my side. He opened my door and knelt down to me.

"Look, I would be seriously disappointed if you got all dressed up just to turn around when you see how many officials and military are invited. Especially when I've been looking forward to this since I asked you yesterday."

That last bit threw me off. I finally glanced at him. "You've been… Looking forward to this? And with me?"

He frowned. "You look like you don't believe me."

I quickly shook my head. "No, no, it's not that. I just… Have to get used to you being honest. It's nice."

He smirked then stood. He held out his hand. "I know Fox isn't here to walk in with you this time. But, you have me. I won't let anybody trample or suffocate you. I promise."

I smiled up at him and took his hand. He helped me out of the vehicle then offered his arm. We went slowly so I wouldn't turn tail and run. It wasn't until we got into the ballroom of the building that the anxiety went into overdrive. There were too many people. Falco put his hand on top of mine and leaned down to my ear.

"You're cutting off circulation, Skye."

I loosened my grip that I didn't realize had gotten so tight on his arm. He kept his hand on mine to keep reassuring me. He was leading me to a corner where Fox, Slippy, Peppy and even General Pepper were talking. Fox and Slippy were the first the notice us. Or, rather, me. Slippy just about dropped his beverage. Fox couldn't tear his eyes off of me.

When we finally got to them, Peppy and General Pepper finally noticed us as well. Peppy actually spewed his drink.

"My, my," the General mused. "Who is this vision of beauty?"

"General," Falco said to him as he led me forward. "May I present Skye Kell."

The General took my hand and placed a brief kiss on it. "Kell? I believe we have previously met."

"Briefly," I told him. "You were awarding Craig and Melissa Masters for their constant support of the military a while back."

"Ah, of course. I would have never recognized you. You look beautiful, my dear."

"Thank you, sir."

Fox took my attention next. "Hara did a number on you this time, didn't she…"

"Actually, you can blame Conna for this one. Hara did my hair and make-up though."

"So they double-teamed you," he laughed. He kissed my cheek. "You look amazing, little sister."

"Thanks."

He borrowed Falco for a moment giving Slippy the okay to come see me.

"Gosh, Skye. You look fantastic."

I giggled. "Thank you, Slippy. I never thought I would get this much attention. In fact, I kind of hoped I wouldn't." I grimaced at the thought.

Falco touched my elbow moments later. "Want to go dance?"

I looked past him to see the horde on the dance floor. I looked back up at him. "I don't think so."

He followed my line of sight and traced his gloved fingers down to my hand, giving me goosebumps where he touched me.

"You have nothing to worry about. I've got you. I promise."

He made his promise sound so believable… I let him lead me to the dancefloor. I could feel the eyes of jealous women and lusting men all over me. I just knew they were talking about me… I didn't like it.

Falco and I got into position and began to slowly dance. He noticed that I was spaced far away from him. He put his hand at the small of my back and pulled me to him, just like he did before. And, as it was before, my body betrayed me and melted into him. He felt me tense.

"It's okay, Skye. I need you to focus on me. I would really appreciate you not making a fool of yourself and running out. Focus on me. It's just you and me."

I tried doing as he wanted and just breathed in and out in slow breaths. It seemed to help a little but, it didn't help with the feelings I was dealing with while dancing with Falco. He's gone above and beyond tonight, trying to keep me calm and reassuring me… In that moment, I saw him with new eyes. Something had changed between us and I think he felt it too. At least… I really hoped it wasn't one-sided.

I began to lean in and placed my cheek against his shoulder. I felt myself relax around him. I could just focus on him and this dance.

The music ended and Falco slowed to a halt. I looked up at him and he was giving me this look… Like, he wanted to say something but he couldn't get the words out. I stepped back slowly, the heat rising to my cheeks again.

"I, uh… I need to get some air…"

I took off toward one of the balconies to get away from the crowd and Falco. My heart was pounding, even after I was away from him. I couldn't be falling for him. Not in a million years could I fall for a guy like that. He was arrogant and gruff and… Who am I kidding? That bad-boy attitude kind of drew me to him in the first place. And the fact that he likes to pretend he doesn't care when he really does. He's so good with Conna and tonight… He's done nothing but make sure I was okay. I was falling, I was falling hard… I didn't like it one bit.

"Skye?" Falco called from behind me.

I jumped at his voice, not hearing him come up behind me.

"Are you alright?" He came closer. "You're flushed."

"I'm fine," I lied. "It's the number of people. I don't do crowds."

As I turned to him, I caught a shimmer from the corner of my eye. It was so far away…

"What is that?" I asked.

Falco moved to look with me. "It looks like a fighter."

"It's getting awfully close…"

Just as I said that, I saw two sparkles, indicating lasers being shot.

"Look out!" I shoved Falco back inside the building.

Before I could get away, the lasers hit the balcony, making it crumble from beneath my feet. I went to grab the side of what was left of the platform and missed. I was falling… Just when I thought I was going down, Falco grabbed my wrist. I dangled precariously from where the balcony used to be. I could hear the screams from all of the guests inside. They were all in a frenzy as they tried to get to the nearest exit. Falco tried to keep a steel grip on me.

"What the hell is going on?!" he cried to me.

"It's Leonard! It's got to be!"

I watched as Falco struggled to get me up. There's no way he could do it without some help. I knew that in my heart… All he could do was wait and hope that he didn't let go of me.

The fighter pulled up behind me and aimed straight at me. I got a good look at the guy in the cockpit. It was definitely Leonard.

"Oh shit…" I heard Falco say. "Skye!"

Leonard began to charge his lasers once more. It was over… I was going to die here… Tears began to prick at the corners of my eyes as the inevitability of my demise hit me.

Leonard was about to shoot when another pair of lasers caught him on the side and sent him crashing down. The blast shook the building, making me swing forward. Falco lost his grip on me and I fell as he screamed my name. Everything seemed to go in slow motion. I was falling to my death… I was going to be a Skye Pancake…

I looked over and saw another ship coming for me. Instead of shooting at me, the ship broke my fall as I landed on a metal plate, knocking the wind out of me. My vision got hazy from the impact. I looked to the cockpit to find Wolf flying the ship. I managed to give him a weak smile before I completely blacked out.