A/N: After awhile, sorry for the delay, the interstellar messages travel slowly.

No Beta.

When she disappeared from sight Jim decided to have that drink bartender was offering. After all, she didn't have anywhere to run to and it would be bad to begin an interview with her trying to find a bat to hit him on the head. It was best to leave upset women to calm down before addressing them. Surely she'll find time to fix her appearance when she remembers that she's not alone on the ship anymore. He was here to keep her company.

With that, he smiled. This might turn out just ok, especially when he discovers the way for them to get back to sleep.

Jim visited all sorts of entertainment areas in next few days. Aurora stayed clear of his path. It was like she knows all his movements because whenever he would try to make a stakeout she wouldn't appear on the spot she was repairing earlier. In fact, the repairing spot would stay crackling and blink as he would stand beside it.

After two hours he rushed away from the spot. He returned to it the next day just to find it repaired.

"I guess," he said to the passing cleaning droid. "You'll ice me, I wish, when you're ready I'll be in the cafeteria, I like their breakfast, it's better than in any restaurant on board. Maybe I can treat you with something?"

He pranced away and went to play some basketball, his muscles were in terrible shape from all that sleeping around. Not with women sadly.

The following day she sat in the cafeteria with a blunt food before her. He ordered a luxurious meal and put it before her. He knew her kind, their accounts were very basic, Jim would never travel like that.

She looked at the food and he looked at her. She combed her hair and washed her face, but her clothes were still too comfortable to determine what is underneath it, but this wasn't the time to be picky, after all, she was the only woman light years away.

"It won't bite you, then you can tell me how we can fix our pods, surely someone with your skills, and I saw the work you've done, can fix something so small as an ice-pod," he smiled at her his best smile and she just stared at him.

"You can take away your food, there is no way of repairing pods, they took their units for freezing out, it can just sustain stasis, not initiate it. I looked at infirmary too, there are restrictions I can't overcome."

"Arthur mentioned re-compensation," he wasn't alarmed, there's no way Homestead Company would leave them stranded out here, they have something planned.

Jim reached with his fork to take a kiwi from her plate but she slapped his hand away.

"He means money, which we can't use here, and maybe you're right, maybe there will be a way to hibernate you," she started to eat with an appetite.

"It's not true we don't have anything to spend on here, there are fine restaurants around, and a pool, sauna…"

"I wouldn't be caught dead in that pool," she interrupted him and sighed continuing in a lower voice. "I'm sorry that it woke you up, it tried to make me choose someone to help me but I refused. I guess I spent too much time by your pod talking to you. It thought I'll approve your choice."

"You talked to me in stasis?" she smirked more and more tuning in on her features, it was something captivating on her face, how would he describe her eyebrows, or her eyes, what was so interesting to her while she talked. Maybe her seriousness.

"Don't be cocky," she frowned looking adorable for some reason, Jim smiled and she growled. "I sat by others too. What can you do alone for a year, talk to sleeping passengers to pass the time."

"What did you tell them?" he slipped in his silent interviewing tone, some of most interesting stories are told by a meal which she eats halfway through.

"Nothing," she was defensive but then a pear softened her features, she looked as she was going to cry. "Small things, thoughts, to everyone different one. As I would to a not very talkative awake person. You look someone in the face, decide what kind of a person is she and then tell her something you hope will interest her."

"What did you tell me while I wasn't listening," he smiled at her but she didn't see that because she stared at the floor by her feet, he wanted to run his fingers through her hair. It was heart-breaking to picture her all alone for a whole year.

"Nothing important," she shrugged her shoulders. "About repairs, I thought it would interest you as a writer, details and progression. It almost seems that Avalon is leading me in a progressive line towards a core glitch, but I don't understand why it leaves the harder fixes for the end."

"Maybe it's testing you, your abilities, to see are you capable," he offered taking an untouched avocado from her plate.

She looked at him and a smile appeared. The smile confirmed that her features are very pleasing.

"I knew it would engage you," she said and flipped her hair which he now noticed how light it was, it was just the perfect colour of the sun. "It's not a bad theory, this way it can replace me if I prove to be unfit before I mess up something really important."

"I'm glad to be of help," he smiled. "And I'm glad to be chosen to keep you company."

She looked at him with a frown he couldn't decipher.

Hopefully another one soon.