83 DAYS BEFORE (continued)

"Uh," he rubbed the back of his neck. "well…" He ran a hand through his hair and then sighed.

"I need help with my portscreen," he said, getting it out of his pocket. "I've been having some trouble registering for some dating sites…"

Cress blinked and then faked a smile. "Of course."

Thorne showed her the issue, and she had it fixed within a minute. She handed it back to him and flashed a sad smiled. "All done."

Thorne frowned and grabbed her arm as she was about to leave again. "Talk to me."

Cress looked at him, grabbing his hand and moving it off of her arm. "I'm fine."

"I know something's wrong," Thorne stepped closer to her and sighed. "Cress, please let me help."

She looked away from him and down at the floor. My shoes look rather nice today I never noticed how small my feet are wow is it hot in here or is it just him? It's definitely him

"Um," her head snapped up. "I'm okay, really." She smiled, big and cheery. She laughed, but it wasn't sincere. "Just feminine stuff."

"Oh." Thorne blushed Thorne blushed and he scratched at the back of his neck. "Well, uh," he sucked in a quick breath. "Do you need anything? Or something? Um…" He cleared his throat and stretched at his collar, the blush still prominent on his face. "Is it hot in here or is it just me?"

"It's just you," she whispered.

Silence.

They both stood there, silently, looking at each other. The silence wasn't uncomfortable, but it wasn't exactly peaceful, either.

"We should get back," Thorne said, taking her hand. Cress didn't protest this time, and he led her back to the cargo bay where everyone else was still eating and chatting.

"Cress!" Iko exclaimed. "I forgot to ask, but how was your trip back to Farafrah?"

Cress blanched.

She had gone back to Farafrah to try to learn more about her father. He had been trying to find her there, and he had been successful in doing so. She went back to his hotel room to try and find something of his that she could keep; hold on to. She had spent her whole life away from him, and had only found out that he was her father before he died. It was tragic, and Cress was still very shaken up about it.

She hadn't found anything from her father's in Farafrah.

"Oh," Cress smiled. "It was nice. Nothing of 's—err, my dad's stuff was still in the hotel room, sadly."

"Aww," Iko frowned. "I'm so sorry." Cress shrugged.

"It's all right. It was nice to at least meet him."

The conversation drifted off. Thorne took a seat next to Cress and took a hold of her hand. Cress was anxious but squeezed his hand, listening as Cinder and Kai spoke.

"Axel?" Kai asked. Cinder shrugged.

"Eh. Carter?" Kai scrunched up his face.

"Maybe."

They went back and forth with baby names for a while. Eventually, everyone decided to retire back to their rooms aboard the Rampion. Thorne followed Cress when she made her exit.

"Cress?"

His voice was soft and gentle, which made Cress's heart melt. She turned to look at him. He followed her around much more than usual. He was always coming to talk to her. Was this an important thing to be realizing?

"What is it, Captain?" Cress smiled at him, a single dimple appearing on her left cheek. Thorne grinned at her. He opened the door to his room and winked at her.

"Will you come talk to me for a bit?" he asked, eyeing her carefully. He was taking note of her body language, trying to decipher what exactly had been going on with her today. He wondered if it was his fault, and felt a twang of guilt in the pit of his stomach. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if he had put her in this strange and upsetting mood. He just wanted to cheer her up in whatever way he could.

Cress looked hesitant, but after seeing the pouty look on his face, she rolled her eyes and nodded.

"You are such a child, Thorne." She smiled though as she walked into the room.

They both took a seat on the bed, sitting cross-legged across from each other. Cress held her hands in her lap, looking around quietly. Thorne watched her silently.

Thorne grinned mischievously, looking at her, slowing coming closer to her on the bed. He was going to cheer her up and he was going to do a damned well job at it. He snaked closer to her on the bed, and she raised her eyebrows, a small smile coming to her lips.

"Captain?"

He suddenly lunged at her, tickling her sides as quickly as he could, and she burst out into uncontainable laughter, tears forming in her eyes.

"THORNE!"

She was panting and rolling around, trying to get him to stop in any way that she could, but he held her in a firm grip. He tickled her and tickled her, her laughter so contagious that Thorne had tears on his face from laughing so hard.

After a few minutes he grew tired and plopped himself down next to her, grinning.

Cress slowed her breathing and then punched him in the arm, laughing. "You jerk!"

"Wow, you called me a jerk! That's the most insulting thing you have ever said to me!" He grinned, teasing her. That was truly what he did best.

Cress rolled her eyes but smiled. Thorne smiled right back at her.

"So, what really happened in Farafrah?"

Cress paled. "What?"

"You were gone for three days and you didn't spend all three of those days searching your dad's old room. You've been acting way out of it these last few days, and I suspect that it has to do with your trip. So spill it, Blondie." Thorne rested his chin in his hands, watching her closely and ready to listen intently.

"Thorne…" Cress trailed off, blushing. She looked at her hands again, a frown appearing on her face. "I don't know if I'm ready to talk about it," she whispered, her voice cracking. Thorne noticed that she was becoming increasingly emotional and he regretted bringing it up. He wanted to know what had happened and what was wrong, but he didn't want to upset her in any way. That was the completr opposite of what he wanted.

"You don't have to talk about it now," he said softly, touching her hair. He smoothed it down. "I'm ready when you are. I'll wait until you feel comfortable enough, okay?"

Cress nodded, sniffing. She sighed, looking up at him. Her eyes made his heart melt every time she gave him that look. "Thank you, Captain."

"You're so welcome, Crescent." This made her smile.

"When did you start calling me that?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Thorne grinned, taking her hand and holding it in his.

"I'm trying a few new things. Testing things out," he winked at her, which made her blush.

"Testing things out?"

"Just in case."

A/N: OKAY I had a hard time figuring out where I wanted to go with this chapter, but it is finished! Yay! Tell me what you thought! What happened in Farafrah? When do you think Thorne will tell Cress how he feels? HOW will he tell her? What should Cinder and Kai name their baby? Thank you all so much for the reviews thus far! I'm glad you're liking the story!

Until next time! Review, my lovelies!