It had been a week since the events that had shook Beka up so badly. According to Andromeda, she still wasn't sleeping and if she did it wasn't for more than an hour.

"Andromeda, locate Beka for me."

"Outside her quarters, Captain."

"Thank you." Dylan said politely as he began making his way to find Beka. Perhaps she would be in the mood for talking for once. Harper had noticed that Beka had become strangle mute since the explosion. Relaying this information to Dylan, Harper had sounded so concerned and yet he would not talk to her.

"She doesn't hate you Mr Harper." Dylan had said.

"I know, but still I feel responsible and I hate seeing Beka so quiet- it ain't natural." Harper had replied.

As he approached the door he noticed Beka leant against it, wrapped in a blanket. He moved closer but she didn't move a muscle.

"Hi." Said Dylan, groaning as he sat down next to her; he wasn't as young as he liked to pretend he was.

"What do you want?"

Beka grabbed her blanket tighter around her and shuffled to her left, increasing the distance between herself and Dylan.

"To make sure you're ok." He answered truthfully.

"Well I'm not ok, Dylan. But thanks for the concern." An awkward pause filled the corridor. "Goodbye now."

Dylan shook his head and looked at Beka through tired eyes. Again, Beka did not put up any kind of a fight for him to leave.

"Where are you Beka?" He asked quietly, more to the universe than to her.

"On your ship, Dylan." Beka gave a harsh laugh. "Or do you mean metaphorically? Because then, then I'd say it's more half-way to hell."

She couldn't hold back the venom from her voice any longer. She bit down heavily on her full lip and gazed out into nothing. Still she had not looked at Dylan, if she did, she was sure to break. But damn him, Dylan did not have the good grace to leave her be. Instead, he moved closer to her starting 

something so unlike his usual stiff, captain-y way he would behave around her. As he gathered her in his arms, Beka struggled for a second before finally letting herself fall into his embrace. They had ages to talk about this in the morning, next week or even years to come. Because Beka had a feeling this night was going to fuel that thing that Dylan had told her before. But, in her current situation, she didn't really care.

They sat, for what seemed like hours. Beka resting her head on his chest, breathing lightly and fighting the faint urge to run. She tried not to close herself off from the one constant in her life. Dylan.

Dylan smiled into Beka's hair and thought about the tiring events, which meant he finally had her. If only for a moment or two, he had her... He also had a severe case of pins and needles in his left leg, but he looked passed that and saw only Beka.

Eventually the silence was broken and Beka looked up her Captain. Her blue eyes were unnaturally wide and a tentative smile graced her face.

"Do you err, wanna share my blanket?"

Dylan chuckled and said that yes, he would.

"So, now what?" Asked Beka, once her head had placed itself back on Dylan's chest.

"Now, I ask you again." Dylan paused and looked down at his companion, his voice full of all things serious. "How are you?"

Beka sat and thought about this one, for perhaps too long.

"At the moment, I feel terrible. I blew up my ship. I hate my quarters because they're not my ship and I'm tired." She frowned, her lips pressing together as she did and Dylan couldn't help but be entranced by the movement. His gaze continued to permeate her mouth as Beka carried on unaware. "However... I'll be fine. In the future...I just have to get there."

"You will." Dylan assured her, his eyes still on her heavy lips.

"I miss my Maru." Beka whispered, letting out an over-dramatic sigh. She turned to look straight at Dylan as if she was expecting something, when suddenly he leapt up and tried to untangle himself from her.

"Oh! I'll be right back." And with that, Dylan had ran from the corridor, leaving a perturbed and extremely cold Beka Valentine hoping he would return. Soon.

"Close your eyes." Dylan knelt down in front of Beka, clutching something possessively to his chest. "And hold out your hands."

Beka obliged, more out of curiosity than following orders of course. She felt like a little girl again, the excitement of a surprise present. Her father used to do the same thing.

"Shut your eyes and hold out your hands, rocket." Her father would say . Or perhaps the present would be hidden.

"You gotta find it first, Bex."

Beka felt her hands drop suddenly, when Dylan placed the item in her hands. It felt cool against her skin. Her eyes flew open to reveal a tiny model of the Eureka Maru.

"Wow. Dylan it's beautiful." Beka smiled up at him and for the first time she felt tears prick at the corners of her eyes. She held the tin model between her fingers, at about eight inches long it was a perfect replica of her perfect ship. No detail had been missed, there was the burn mark from where Harper had been a little over-zealous with his welding, there were the engines at the back (slightly wonky, since Uncle Sid had been utterly inebriated when he attempted to attach them) and little ladders running up and down the sides of the exterior. It was her bucket of bolts. Miniaturised but still, it was hers.

"Thank you, Dylan." She whispered sincerely, still staring wistfully down at the Maru. Finally coming to her senses, she pulled Dylan into a rough hug, at the same time holding the ship tightly against her chest.

"No problem." He groaned into her neck, the hug was great and all- but also rather constricting. She pulled back and felt a tear begin to roll down her cheek.

Ignoring that, she asked him where he had possibly got it from.

"On Tarn Vedra, there was some old man saying he could make anything out of tin. So I held him to that and gave him a few flexies on the Mar and well, voila. He produced that fine looking thing." Dylan felt quite proud of himself. "I was going to give it to you for your birthday, but seeing you so upset... I though it may cheer you up a bit."

Then Dylan yawned, his eyes scrunched up and he sat back. Beka laughed at the expression on his face- he looked like a little boy. Then he ran his large hands through his mussed up hair and Dylan, three-hundred-year-old hero was back.

Beka raised her eyebrows at him and wiggled the blanket wrapped around her in his face. Her version of come back to bed.

The next morning, as Harper walked down the corridor to check up on his oldest friend, he couldn't help but feel elated when he saw her wrapped up in a not-only a blanket but also Dylan. Her head resting fully on his chest and his arm clasped tightly around her shoulder. What made him start to giggle however, was the look of satisfaction on Hunt's face.

"Andromeda. Where's Trance?" Harper asked- perhaps he would go visit her instead of waking the sleeping beauties. It might be more polite.

Over one thousand words in this chapter! In my book- that's long :).

Well I fear this story is drawing to a close. But not quite yet... ;)

Thanks to all those who read and review this- I love you for it! And those read it and/but don't review- I know in your heart you review it grandly... Or not- it is entirely up to you.

That was slightly egotistical of me. Ah well.