.Chapter fifteen.

It's been a week since Cloak got shot and I'm learning how to be a decent nurse, or so Cloak says. He's healing nicely and the doctor has allowed him to walk around by himself now, so I don't have to push him around in a wheelchair anymore. I haven't seen much of the All-stars and Zap this week because they're always doing something together. Burn has also been very busy for the past week; he's always on the phone to someone or at meetings. Bruno's also very busy nowadays; he sometimes goes out with the All-stars and Zap or he goes with Burn to meetings.

"You enjoying sitting out here, Cloak?" I asked, as I walked up to Cloak; he was sitting on a bench out on the balcony enjoying the sunlight.

"Yeah, but having you here makes it all the more enjoyable," smiled Cloak, as he moved over so that I could sit down next to him.

"How's your wound today?"

"I was starting to wonder when you were going to ask that."

I just smiled.

"Yeah, it's okay. I think I don't need to wear the bandages anymore," said Cloak.

"Why do you say that?" I asked

"It's healed over. No more blood seems to be getting onto the bandages."

"That's good."

"Yeah. I just have to let the area toughen up again and then I'll consider myself fully healed."

"Excellent!"

Cloak just smiled at me.

As I looked at him I realised something; I knew that Zimmer was twenty-two and, from what I had heard of Cloak's past, Cloak should only be twenty-one, but he looked older than Zimmer.

"Something wrong?" asked Cloak.

"Not really, just…," I started.

"Just what?"

"Just you look older than Zimmer, but he's twenty-two and you're twenty-one."

"I'm not twenty-one."
"But that's what you told me last week. You started being a fighter at fourteen."

"Yes."

"You fought for three years which means that you were seventeen when you left."

"Yeah, but still I'm not twenty-one."

"Come again."

"Let me tell you the story; I was fourteen when I started, okay?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Then I fought for three years, fifteen, sixteen and seventeen. I left when I was seventeen. You following?"

"So far, but you're starting to loose me again."

"I took a course to become a pilot right after I had turned seventeen and it took me a year to complete."

I just nodded.

"I became a pilot when I was eighteen and I remained a pilot for four years which takes us to my twenty-second year," Cloak continued.

"So you're twenty-two," I said, my brain was starting to hurt from trying to understand all this.

"Yes, turning twenty-three this year."

"You look older than twenty-three," I said, as I studied his physiognomy.

"Hey!" Cloak scowled at me.

"But it looks good on you." I smiled at him; that usually got me out of his bad books.
"Thanks." He smiled smugly back.

"You do know that that makes you five years older than me."

"Yeah so?"

"Nothing, just you're five years older than me."

"Hasn't changed my view of you."

"Meaning?"

"Never mind. Nice day today, hey?"

"Yeah, quite nice and what makes it nicer is that I don't have to watch Bruno every five seconds."

"Does he annoy you?"

"Not really, but I can relax a bit more when he's not around."

Cloak smiled at me and put his arm around my shoulders.

"Yeah, it's kinda like me and the guys," said Cloak.

"Come again," I said a bit puzzled.

"I'm not sure if you've noticed, but I do become a bit more serious and on guard when I'm around them."

"Oh. No, I haven't noticed; shows how observant I can be."

"Lot's of people don't pick up on it so you're not unusual in that respect."

"Thanks… I think."

Cloak just chuckled and pulled me closer to him.

Just then Burn came into Cloak's room.

"Cal! Cloak!" called Burn.

"We're out on the balcony, Burn," replied Cloak.

Soon Burn came out to see us.

"Ah, there you are. Mind if I steal your nurse away for a bit, Cloak?" asked Burn.

"No, just make sure she's back within the helate," smiled Cloak, as he released my shoulders.

"Sure. Come on, Cal." Burn turned on his heels and walked back into the room.

"I'll see you later," I smiled at Cloak, as I started to walk into his room after Burn.

"Right," smiled Cloak.

I looked back at him once more before I left to see what Burn wanted.

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I followed Burn out of Cloak's room and into the corridor where we met up with the All-stars, Zap, and Bruno.

"Hi guys," I smiled.

"Hi," chorused the All-stars and Zap.

Bruno barked his hello.

"So what's up?" I asked, as I gave Bruno a quick scratch.

"We've been offered a tour by one of our sponsors," said Burn somewhat hesitantly.

"Excellent! Good work guys!"

"Ye-ea-ah," chorused the All-stars.

"What's wrong?"

"We can only take six team members and our mascot," said Burn.

"And there's seven of us," I ended for him.

"Yeah. So, either you or Zap will have to stay on the home world."

"I'll stay."

"What?! But this is your chance to see the universe," said Zap.

"Hey, I've seen more than enough. You on the other hand need to see a bit more than just the home world," I said.

"Yeah, but…"

"Also I don't think I could exactly leave Cloak; I mean, we've only just been reunited."

I got a teasing look for that.

"So, you would rather stay back on the home world with your boyfriend than come with us," smiled Daz.

"He's not my boyfriend. We're just good friends," I said somewhat defensively.

"Yeah, that's what they all say."

I decided to just ignore Daz, it usually works.

"You sure about this, Cal?" asked Burn.

"Positive," I replied.

"But this means that you're gonna have to find a new job," said Zap.

"You know he's right, Cal," said Burn.

"I'm sure I can get a job somewhere. Didn't Raz and Zed need a gofer?" I asked.

"They found one," said Mixx.

"Look, guys, I can take care of myself," I said reassuringly.

"Maybe, but it's gonna get awfully lonely in the training area without us and Bruno. Isn't it?" asked Burn.

"I guess so, but still I can handle it."

"I guess Cloak could come visit you at least once a week," said Monza.

"There you go, problem solved," I said.

"No, not solved. You still need to find a job," said Burn.

"When do you guys leave?" I asked.

"Two days."

I kinda just gawked at Burn.

"Talk about leaving it 'til the last minute," I said.

"I know, I know. So, do you understand the stress of the situation now?" asked Burn.

"Yeah. Look, I'll talk to Cloak about this; maybe he'll know of someone who needs help."

"Okay, just make sure you two do get onto that subject." Burn gave me a teasing look.

So I gave him a 'don't start' look.

"Right. Get back to us as soon as you've discussed this with Cloak, okay?" asked Burn.

"You got it," I replied, as I turned to walk back to Cloak's room.

"Hold it," I said.

"Yes," replied Burn.

"Who's gonna take care of Bruno?" I turned to face the group again.

"That's Zap's new job."

"You up to it, Zap?" I asked.

"Sure, no problem," smiled Zap.

"Okay, so long as you think you can handle him…"

"I'll be fine. Now, get going; your boyfriend's waiting."

I didn't even reply to that. I just turned and walked back to Cloak's room.

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I found Cloak still out on the balcony.
"You back already?" asked Cloak, as he saw me walk through the doors that led onto the balcony.
"Yeah," I replied, as I sat down next to him.
"Something wrong?"

"Not really. Do you know anyone who would be able to hire me?"

"Strange question for you to ask. Why? The All-stars getting to be too much?"

"No, just the All-stars got a tour with someone and they can only take six team members and the mascot."

"And there's seven team members and a mascot."

"Yeah."

"And they pushed you off?"

"No, I said that I would stay behind."

"Why?"

"Well, partially so that Zap could take the opportunity to see the universe and partially because I wanted to be near you."

"Aren't you sweet?" Cloak put his arms around me and pulled me closer to him in an embrace.

"Right. Anyway," I pushed Cloak away a bit so that I could see his face, "I need to find someone to hire me."

"I heard that there was a need for a secretary back on the home world."

"Is the position still available?"

"Don't know, but you can find out when you get back. When do you get back anyway?"

"Don't know. The All-stars, Burn, Zap, and Bruno leave in two days to go on tour."

Cloak just looked at me wide eyed.

"Talk about leaving it 'til the last minute," said Cloak.

"That's exactly what I said," I said.

"Well, you could stay with me and I'll take you back."
"I don't want to be a bother, Cloak."

"You wouldn't be. I would actually quite enjoy having you as company for my ride home." Cloak smiled at me.

"Thanks Cloak." I moved my arms up around his neck and gave him a hug.

"That's what friends are for." Cloak pulled me closer to him as he tightened his embrace.

"I better go tell Burn not to worry about me then."

"Right." Cloak kinda reluctantly let me go. I released him, got up and went to find Burn.

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I found Burn in my room collecting Bruno's things.

"Burn," I said, as the door closed behind me.

"Oh, hi Cal. You and Cloak finished your discussion already?" asked Burn, as he put a squeaky toy into Bruno's case and Bruno promptly took it out again.

"Oh, come now, Bruno! Give it here," said Burn in a slightly annoyed voice.

Bruno just shook his heads.

"How did you pack his case for him?" asked Burn.

"With difficulty," I replied.

"Right. Anyway, what did you come in here to say?"

"Cloak says that there was an opening for a secretary on the home world somewhere."

"And?"

"And nothing; he said that I could find out if the position is still open when I get back to the home world."

"Speaking of which, how are we going to do that?"

"Do what?"

"Get you back to the home world."

"She can come back with me," came a voice from the door.

I turned around to see Cloak coming in.

"Right, but what if this secretary job is far from the training area?" asked Burn.

"I'm sure I can find her accommodation close by." Cloak put a hand onto my shoulder.

"Okay. I guess you're in Cloak's care now, kid."

"I suppose so," I said, as I looked up at Cloak.

"Can we trust you to take care of her, Cloak?" asked Burn.

"You're talking to the guy who took care of her while she was in prison," said Cloak.

"Yeah, but still."
"Don't worry, I can take care of her."

"Okay, if you say so."

Cloak just nodded.
"When will you two be leaving then?" asked Burn.

"Whenever she's ready to leave," replied Cloak.

Burn and I just looked at him.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"If you're prepared to leave today, we can leave today or we can leave when the All-stars leave," explained Cloak.

"Maybe it would be better if you two left before us," said Burn.

Cloak and I just looked at him.

"The All-stars don't look like the emotional type, but when it comes to goodbyes they're a bunch of cry babies," continued Burn.

"Right," replied Cloak and I.

"So?" asked Cloak.

"Give me a few trigons to get my things together and then I'll be ready to go," I replied, as I walked over to my bed and hauled the duffel bag out from under it. Most of my stuff was still in it so I really only needed to fetch my 'hairbrush' and a few other small things.

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After I had packed in those few little things, I did a quick check that everything that I had brought with me was in the bag; I then zipped it up, picked it up, and stood next to Cloak.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Whenever you are," I replied.

"I better get my goodbye out of the way," said Burn, as he walked over to me and gave me a Triceraton sized bear hug.

"I'm gonna miss you, kid," said Burn, as he squeezed me a bit tighter.

"And I you, Burn. Now, if you could just let me breath again," I said; he had his arms round my chest and he was starting to crush my lungs.

"Sorry." Burn let me go and I re-inflated myself.

"No problem." I smiled at him.

"Now go say goodbye to the All-stars and Zap, they'll be worse than me."

"Right, but let me first say goodbye to Bruno."

Burn stepped back to allow me to approach Bruno.

"I'll just go fetch my bag and I'll meet you out in the corridor, Cal," said Cloak, as he turned to leave the room.

"Okay. I won't be long," I replied.

"Don't rush." With that Cloak walked out of my room.

"See yah 'round boy," I said to Bruno, as I gave him a hug around each of his necks. He seemed a bit perplexed by my actions. I stood up, nodded at Burn and then left to see to the All-stars and Zap.

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I knocked on Monza and Daz's door to see if they were in.

"Come in," came Daz's voice from the other side of the door.

I opened the door and walked in.

"Hey, Cal, what can we do for you?" asked Monza.

"You can say your goodbyes now," I replied.

"What do you mean?" asked Zap.

"I'm leaving for the home world with Cloak in a few trigons."

"What?!" exclaimed the All-stars and Zap in unison.

"Yeah," I replied.

"Why?" asked Zap.

"Burn thought that it would be better if we left at different times," I explained.

"Okay."

"Right. I'll see you boys 'round sometime then."

They nodded.

I walked up to Monza and gave him a hug; big mistake, Monza squeezed me tighter than Burn did, but it was more bearable because he had his arms around my waist instead of around my chest. After he released me I went to each of the All-stars in turn to give them their hug goodbye.

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Once I had been released from Mixx's embrace I turned to face Zap; he seemed to be having a hard time fighting back tears. I walked up to him and put my arms around his neck in a hug; his arms were around my waist within a second.

"I'm gonna miss you like crazy, Cal," sobbed Zap.

That did it! He got tears forming in my eyes; I fought them back as best I could, but the lump in my throat wasn't being helpful.

"And I you, Zap," I said, as I hugged him tighter.

Eventually he released me and I released him.

"I best be off," I said, as I looked at them once more.

They nodded in unison. I could see that they were all having a hard time fighting back tears so I just smiled at them and left.

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As I walked out of the room I saw Cloak waiting for me outside of his room; he had fetched my bag from my room and had his bag next to it.

"Ready?" he asked, as he caught sight of me walking towards him.

"Yeah," I replied a bit dejectedly.

"The guys started to tear up."

"Yeah."

"Come on, let's get going before you start." Cloak picked up our bags in his left hand and put his right hand onto my back as he started to walk towards the elevator.

"Too late I think." Cloak moved his hand from my back to around my shoulders as a way of comforting me.

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After Cloak had settled his bill with the hotel, he took me outside to wait for our ride that was going to be taking us back to the home world. We didn't have to wait long, within half a helate the vehicle arrived. It was kinda like a cab, but Triceratonised. Just as I was about to get in while Cloak put our bags into the baggage area I heard a howl from above me. I looked up and there was Bruno with the All-stars, Burn, and Zap.

"Take care!" called Burn.

"Will do," I replied. The lump in my throat was starting to get very big.

"We'll see you guys 'round," said Cloak, as he started to guide me into the 'cab'.

The All-stars, Burn, and Zap just nodded; Bruno on the other hand didn't seem too keen on me leaving him alone with the guys. I waved goodbye to them and then got into the 'cab'; I was closely followed by Cloak. As we took off I looked back at my old 'family' once more before they disappeared out of sight.

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I didn't talk much for the first quarter of the journey back to the home world, I was worried that I might break down in front of Cloak.

"It's natural to miss them you know," said Cloak.

He had to go and say that didn't he? I breathed out painfully. Just then I felt his arms around me and he pulled me closer to him. He then gently pulled my chin towards him so that I was looking at him.

"I'm here for you if you need a shoulder to cry on," he said gently, as he looked into my eyes sincerely.

I just buried my face into his chest and allowed a few sobs to escape from me; I felt a lot better after that. I pulled away from him and then noticed that I had left quite a patch of tears on Cloak's uniform.
"Sorry about that," I said, as I pulled a hanky out of my pocket and started to dab up the mess I had made.

"No problem. This is the first time I've ever seen you cry," said Cloak, as he took the hanky from me and started to dry himself up.

"Yeah, sorry about that."

"It's okay. The guys were like your family; I understand that it's difficult for you to leave them."

I just nodded.

"So, when did you two meet?" asked the driver of the 'cab'. I hadn't really taken much notice as to what our driver was and I was surprised to see a Triceraton sitting in the driver's seat.

"We met when I was in prison," replied Cloak.

"Really? Well, you seem to be very sweet to her, Cloak; sweeter than you've ever been to a lady before."

"She's special to me, Zog."

"Zog?" I asked, as I remembered Zog from the Tmnt series.

"Yeah. Trooper Zog, serial number XJ4; why?"

"No reason, just… where did you two meet?"
"Back in the academy," said Cloak.

"Yeah, we shared the same bunkhouse," added Zog.

"Oh, right,"

We didn't talk too much on the way back to the home world; I actually nodded off for a bit.

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When I woke up I heard Cloak and Zog talking about something; I was still a bit sleepy so I just stayed down and listened to their conversation.

"So, you really like her then, Cloak," said Zog.

"Yeah, I've never met a woman quite like her," replied Cloak.

My heart somewhat sank when I heard that; I had been crushing on Cloak for a few days now and hearing this kinda gave me that kicked in the stomach feeling.

"When you gonna ask her out?"

"Soon I hope. It's just that…"

"That?"

"Cal's very sensitive and I don't want to say something or do something that might offend her."

My eyes went wide and my mouth almost dropped open when I heard that. I was glad to hear that he actually did like me in the same way I liked him. I decided to listen in on their conversation to see what else Cloak was going to say, but I kept my eyes half-open to make it seem like I had just woken up in case someone saw that I was actually awake.

"Cloak, you might be doing so not asking her out," said Zog.

"I know, but every time I try to confess my feelings I get scared," explained Cloak.

"The great Cloak scared?"

"Hey! It's easier to go headlong into a dogfight with seven Federation ships than it is to confess your feelings to someone you care deeply for."

Just then Zog noticed my half-open eyes.

"Good morning, miss; sleep well?" he asked.

"Hello, what time is it?" I asked, as I got up and did my best acting to make it seem like I had just woken up.

"It's seven o'clock, we're just a few trigons from the home world," smiled Cloak. Obviously my act fooled him because he didn't seem too fazed by the fact that I had woken up in the middle of his conversation with Zog about his feelings for me.

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When we got back to the home world, Cloak took me back to his apartment and said that he would help me find out about the secretary job tomorrow morning. He showed me to a spare bedroom that he used when his parents came to visit him.

"You sure you'll be okay in here?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's nicer than the training area," I replied, as I put my bag down on the bed.

"Okay, but if you need anything just come find me. Got that?"

"Yes sir."

"Right, I'll leave you to settle in then." With that he walked out and headed into some other part of his apartment.

It was late so I really just had a quick bath and then got ready for bed. Just before I was about to climb into bed there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," I said.

The door opened and Cloak walked in.

"You going to bed already?" he asked.

"Yeah. Hey, I have one question for you."

"Yes."

"How come it took us so long to get back here? When I went there with the All-stars it was only two to two and a half helates, now it took how long?"

"Several helates."

"Why?"

"We were possibly going slower and there was quite a bit of traffic."

I hadn't seen any traffic except for one or two cruisers so I gave Cloak a 'say what' look.

"You were asleep for that area," said Cloak with a slight smile on his face.

"How long was I out?" I asked.

"Long enough; about three helates."

"Say what?"
"That's why I'm asking if you're going to bed now."

"Dang, I must have looked like such a… I don't know what, but something to Zog and you."

"Don't worry about it. I kinda nodded off too."

"Poor Zog."

"Not exactly. We pulled over and I swapped places with him for a helate or so."

"That was nice of you."

Cloak just shrugged.

"So, are you still going to bed or what?" asked Cloak.

"I'm still going to bed; it has been an emotionally exhausting day," I replied.

"Okay, sleep well." Cloak turned to leave.

"Hold up a sec will yah?" Cloak stopped and looked at me over his shoulder.

I took a calming breath and then walked up to him.

"Something wrong?" he asked, as he turned to face me.

"No," I replied.

"Then what's up?"

I quickly gave him a kiss on his cheek and then backed up. Cloak put his hand onto his cheek and just looked at me a bit surprised.

"Good night," I smiled.

"Good night," he replied somewhat dazed. He turned around and walked straight into the doorframe. I tried not to laugh, but a giggle did escape.

"Yeah," said Cloak, as he backed out of the doorframe and went through the door.

I just shook my head at him, took my hair tie out of my hair, switched off the light and climbed into bed. I was asleep within a few minutes and I was sorta looking forward to tomorrow, a new day and a new job.