Their next mission came quite quickly. Sona was still keeping her distance from Bardock, strategically making sure that they were never alone together. She also seemed to be making friends with Shugesh, and that slightly bothered him. He wasn't sure what she had done or why she was avoiding him, but he wanted to change it. He missed the connection that they had once shared.

When the time came to set up camp, he left the rest of his men to build a fire and gather whatever wood they could find. He took Sona with him to scavenge for food. At first, there was nothing but silence, and the thickness of the falling night.

"I haven't seen much of you around lately," he said, lamely. This was true; she had been spending most of her time with her doctor acquaintances. This only forced him to remain in the tavern, or tinker around with what few tools and ideas he had.

"The tavern isn't really my kind of place," she said quietly. "Too many people, not enough quiet." She and Bardock fell silent when they heard a rustling through the trees. They looked around to see what had moved, hoping it was something edible.

"So the medical wards are your place?" he asked in a hushed voice, his eyes still searching for movement in the trees. He was entirely puzzled. He, for one, did not enjoy being there any longer than he had to. Sona hesitated to answer. She wasn't sure that she wanted to delve too far into her history. She tried so hard to put the past behind her and leave it in the past.

"Kind of," she said. "When we were fighting the Tuffles, my father was a doctor. Naturally, he wasn't as advanced in his knowledge as we are now, but at the time his knowledge sufficed. After Frieza took over, he was able to retain his post as a doctor. He made friends of sorts with the other doctors, and worked in that facility until he died. His colleagues are the only people I really know." Sona never liked to talk about her father. Thinking of him brought back painful memories of war, of her broken family, and of betrayal.

"Oh," Bardock said softly. "And all this time I thought you were just trying to avoid me." He was almost relieved.

"Well, I was," Sona replied. "I thought you… didn't want me around. I figured Fasha wouldn't like it. It seemed to me like the two of you have had… history." Once Sona had backed off from Bardock, Fasha's previously hostile attitude was becoming more and more amiable. She would almost consider the two of them to be friends.

"Who, Fasha?" Bardock asked, surprised. "Well, you could say we've had history, but it's not the kind of history you're thinking of."

"So you mean the two of you have never mated?" Sona asked. Bardock laughed.

"No, our relationship was never anything like that. We met back in the Tuffle war, too. We fought side by side, and regarded each other as siblings. She just likes to stick her nose in my business and make sure I'm being a good boy."

They heard the faint rustling again, and their conversation came to a halt. Their instincts kicked in, as they silently followed the sound. They were wordless and stealthy, occasionally ducking behind a tree trunk for cover. After following the noise for several feet, they were able to make out the silhouette of the animal. It was a huge thing, but obviously not a creature that they recognized. The creature had paused to rest, and was drinking from a nearby body of water. Bardock looked at Sona and silently signaled their attack.

Simultaneously, they charged forward, launching energy blasts at the creature. It let out a howl of pain, and swung wildly at the two Saiyans. It missed its targets every time, and was quickly brought down.

"Well, let's hope this guy is edible," Sona said, kicking at the creature's body. She sniffed the air, smelling the singed skin. It didn't smell particularly delicious, but she was so hungry she could care less at this point.

"If worst comes to worst, I'm sure Borgos won't mind eating it himself," Bardock grinned. The each picked up one of the creature's giant limbs, and began to drag it back to camp. It was heavy, but it wasn't anything they couldn't manage.

There was a pleasant silence between the two. Bardock finally understood why Sona had been so hesitant to be around him. It was understandable; Fasha was very intimidating when she was angry. She wasn't someone that you would want to cross. In the back of his mind, Bardock hoped that things could pick up where they had left off, now that Fasha had been explained.

The two returned to camp, greeted by their ravenous comrades. Much to their surprise, their catch was quite edible. The meat was succulent and tender, easily ripped from the bones. As they ate, the Saiyans chatted happily about the sport they would have in a few nights. As they finished their meal, a cool breeze began to blow. Sona grew tired. She stretched out her limbs, laying on her back, and scooted closer to the fire. The others' voices faded out to a peaceful silence.

When she woke, moments later, the fire had burned down to embers, and the others had fallen silent. They were all sleeping peacefully, their faces faintly glowing in the starlight. Sona stood, and walked a distance off. She leaned her back against a tree trunk, the rough bark pressing against her body. She knew she should have tried to go back to sleep, but she enjoyed staring up at the night sky.

Her peace was broken when she felt a slight breeze, and could make out something moving. She looked over to her left, and there was Bardock, leaning his back against the same tree trunk. His eyes looked tired.

"Can't sleep?" she guessed. He nodded, following her gaze into the sky, groggily. She smiled to herself as the two sat in silence. When she had first joined Bardock's crew, Sona had been wary of any company. Now, she was growing accustomed to it. She even enjoyed it.

The complete peace that Sona had felt previously, however, was now interrupted. Her heart was beating quickly, and though she wasn't physically touching Bardock, she could feel the electric shock pulsating across the short distance between them. The feeling of lust and carnal desire that she had felt a few days ago returned, stronger than ever. She also had the desire to freeze time, and remain in this moment forever. Everything seemed perfect.

Bardock was going insane. He was far too tired to think straight, yet he knew exactly what he wanted. He wanted nothing more than to close that little gap of distance between Sona and him. He wanted nothing more than to feel the warmth of her skin. And there she was, sitting perfectly still, tantalizing him. He lowered his eyes from the sky, and glanced over at her. It was as though she could feel his eyes upon her. She turned her gaze away from the sky, and their eyes met.

Their instincts kicked in, just as they had days before, and Sona and Bardock were reaching for each other, quickly closing the space between them. Sona's back was free from the rough bark of the tree. She felt nothing but the cool grass beneath her and the slight pressure and warmth of Bardock above her.. It seemed that no matter how close they got to each other, there was still so much distance between them.

"Fasha isn't going to be very happy with you," Sona smiled, as they broke apart. Bardock's face was hard to make out in the dim light, but she could hear the smile in his voice.

"She never is," he said.