Jake, Emma, Orion and Cass had returned to Orion's room, stopping by the desk to get dressing gowns. They did get the impression the girl behind the desk was struggling not to laugh, having probably guessed what they were doing, or at least what they INTENDED to be doing, but they weren't really in the mood to say or do anything about it.

Once they were back in the room, Cass was sitting on the bed as Orion started pacing. The entire ride up in the elevator had been remarkably silent, and it seemed to take quite a bit of time for one of them to finally say anything. In the end, it was Jake who broke the silence.

"So...you and Cass are engaged?" He asked.

"Hey, it's not like that! It's not like I got down on one knee or anything, it's an arranged marriage, I didn't get a choice in the matter!" He protested. "Oh, and please, don't look at me like that; this is news to me too!"

He looked to Emma, trying to gauge her reaction, rather predictably, she wasn't exactly thrilled about this development, but he was hopeful that she didn't blame him for it. She knew a lot about Andresian culture, she had been studying it, even before she had gotten together with Orion. She had started learning about his planet and his ways from the moment he joined the team, trying to make him more comfortable integrating into a strange new world.

One of the things Orion had told them was that his village had been quite backward in a lot of its habits, including arranged marriage. He had explained, quite matter-of-factly, that generally it was accepted that a couple's parents would match them up, and that they were just expected to get on with things. While it did sound odd to them at first, Orion had explained that since it was just the way things were done, no one really thought there was anything wrong with it, and even told them that he fully expected to be arranged himself one day until his planet fell to The Armada. Emma just looked to Orion.

"So...you had no idea about this at all?" She asked him. He just nodded. "So...no one even told you that you were meant to get married?"

"Apparently not!" Orion said, rounding on Cass. He looked to her. "Cass, what are you talking about? We're arranged? What happened? When did this happen?"

"When I began my training, my father noted how close you and I were. He saw that we got along really well." Cass told them. "He first approached me with the idea a couple of months ago."

"Wait, we've been arranged for a couple of months?" Orion asked her. "We've had dozens of lessons since then. You never mentioned anything...you didn't think it would be something I might like to know that you intended for us to get married?"

"I didn't intend anything. It was an arrangement. My father told me he thought you and I would be a good match." She told them. "He...he told me not to say anything until the arrangements were done. He needed some time to finalise the negotiations. He said in the meantime that I was to spend as much time with you as I could, like he did with my mother. He said it would make the marriage stronger."

"Well, you can't fault that logic I guess." Jake stated. "I guess I'd kind of like to know my wife before we tied the knot."

Emma and Orion just glared at him. He didn't really mean any malice, though he did insult a part of Andresian culture he really didn't understand. Cass looked to him too, but there was a faintest hint of a smirk on her face. Her father had wanted her to know Orion, and to have a good relationship with him before they married. It wasn't always the case, it wasn't unknown for some Andresians to be arranged to people they hardly knew, or in some instances, even people they had never even met!

"Sorry, I guess it's not the time for jokes." Jake said apologetically. Orion just shook his head, stroking the bridge of his nose as he tried to process this.

"Please Orion, I didn't mean any harm, I didn't know you and Emma cared for each other." She told him.

"So, when exactly was anyone planning to tell me that I was meant to get married?" Orion asked her.

"The arrangements were being finalised." Cass told him. "I'm sure they would have told you soon, so they could make arrangements for the ceremony."

"Well, that's one thing at least." Orion grumbled. "I guess at least I have some time to explain things before I get frog-marched to the prayer circle."

At that point, Emma furrowed her brows.

"Wait, Orion...isn't it necessary for both sets of parents to agree to an arranged marriage?" Emma asked him. He just looked at her.

"Yeah, usually." He answered.

"But your parents died when you were a kid." Emma reminded him. "So, who's negotiating your side of the arrangement?"

Orion just paused as he heard this. It was a good question. He knew that Cass' father was negotiating her side of the arrangement, but with his parents gone, Orion should have been arranging the negotiation for his own wedding.

"Cass?" He asked his neophyte. "Who's your father negotiating with?"

Cass looked down to the floor, and mumbled something out. At the moment, even though no one was really attacking her, it did seem that everyone was kind of siding against her on this. Orion just sighed.

"Cass, I can't hear you." He told her. "I know this wasn't your idea, I won't be angry with you..."

"Centuri." She told him. Orion just reached up to his head, gripping his hair in his hands and started to mutter in Andresian. Emma just went to face him.

"Orion." She said, trying to get him to stop. "Orion, please stop. This isn't helping anything."

Orion just barked some obscenities in Andresian, before seeing that Jake was lost. While he knew some Andresian, having played Frakkusia with some of Orion's friends at the reservation a few times, he was by no means fluent. He was getting lost.

"Centuri raised me." He told Jake. "He was my guardian. He was responsible for making decisions for my welfare growing up...from a certain point of view...he could act as my father in a negotiation. I...I...can't believe he..." Following that, he said something in Andresian. Given Emma and Cass' reaction, Jake could guess by context it was probably best he didn't know the translation.

"So...you are displeased with me?" Cass asked him. "I do not please you?"

"Cass, that's...that's not why I'm upset." Orion told her. "I love Emma. I'm happy with Emma..."

"You are arranged to her?" Cass asked him. Some of the more cosmopolitan cities in Andresia had abandoned the practice of arranged marriage, and people were allowed to make their own choices on such matters. Emma sat on the edge of the bed with Cass.

"It doesn't really work like that here." Emma told her. "Orion and I are dating. We're not engaged."

"So, you won't get married?" She asked.

"Well, we don't really know that yet." Emma answered, looking to Orion. "That's at least part of what dating is about. We love each other, and we're just...having some time to get to know each other and figure out what we both want for the future, and...you know...maybe it'll happen, maybe it won't. Right now, we really don't know."

"The thing is Cass, I love Emma, and I really don't want to break up with her." Orion told her. "It's nothing personal. I like you, you're a great student, and even a good friend, but...I just don't want to marry you and lose Emma."

"Do you really want to marry Orion?" Emma asked.

"My father..."

"Emma didn't ask what your father wanted." Jake interrupted her, giving her a warm smile. "She asked what you wanted."

"I...I...um..." Cass started to stammer. "I feel like...there are a lot of things I want to do. There are so many things I'm learning, that I really feel like...I'm not sure that I'm ready to stop and think about starting a family, but my family..."

"Sometimes, there's a time to say it doesn't matter what your family thinks." Jake told her. "If you want to carry on your studies, then you should be able to." Cass just sighed and hung her head.

"My family won't like that though." She told him. "If I defy them..."

"No parent is happy when their kids defy them." Emma told her. "But here, kids are allowed to grow and become what they want. They don't have to become exactly what their parents want them to be."

"So, they don't love their parents?" Cass asked her.

"Wait; is that what they teach you?" Jake asked her. "That if you don't do what your parents and the preachers want, you don't love them?"

"Jake, please." Emma said, gesturing to him to back it down. He was overstepping the mark. It wasn't as though it was a thought that hadn't occurred to Emma and Orion about the way of things among the Andresians, but that didn't mean phrasing it that way might not be taken as kind of an attack on their culture. "What he means is, here...parents think that part of loving their kids is letting them make their own choices."

"I'm...sorry." Cass told them. "I didn't mean to cause any harm. I can see you care about each other."

"That's alright Cass." Orion told her.

"So, what do we do about this?" Emma asked. Orion just sighed.

"Well, there's not much we can do right now." He answered. "We'll need to go to the reservation and get this sorted out, but until then, we have your father's wedding to get through."

"If we head to our rooms now, we could get at least a couple of hours' sleep before we need to start getting ready."

"I could get another room for..."

"It's alright Orion." Emma assured him. She looked to Cass, who still seemed to be a little nervous, seeing Emma having to take this in her stride. "I trust Cass. Besides, the rooms are like four hundred bucks a night here."

"Then I guess...I'll see everyone in the morning." Jake replied, getting off the sideboard.

"I'll go too." Emma replied, kissing Orion softly. "I'll meet you for breakfast."

"I'll order us some mimosas." Orion promised her. "You're really amazing, do you know that?"

"Yes." She replied with a bright smile. "But I don't mind hearing it. It's probably time I was heading home anyway. If anyone gets up, they'll wonder where I've gone."

With that, they left. As they got outside, Jake just let out a whistle.

"I have to say, you're taking all this pretty well." Jake complimented her. "You're showing a lot of patience. I don't know if I would have been that understanding."

"More understanding than Orion's likely to be." Emma told him.

"What's that meant to mean?" He asked her.

"You thought Cass was going to the pool alone." Emma reminded him with a wry grin. Jake just turned away. "What exactly were you going to the pool for?"

"OK, shutting up now." He said in response.

Meanwhile, in another part of town, Louise got up during the night, finding it difficult to sleep. Although she had known and loved Eric for a long time, she couldn't believe how nervous she was over the wedding that would take place in a few hours. After tossing and turning in her bed for a little while, she eventually decided to get up and head downstairs to try and tire herself.

Normally when she couldn't sleep, some warm milk and some late-night television did the trick. As she started to head down the stairs though, she noticed that the light was on.

As she got downstairs, she saw Cat was in the kitchen. She looked up to see Louise in the doorway.

"Cat?" She asked. "You couldn't sleep either?" She shook her head in response.

"I just can't get my brain to switch off." She told her. "I didn't want to keep Gia up, so I came downstairs."

"Well, when I can't sleep, I like some warm milk." Louise told her. Cat gestured to a pot on the stove.

"I already made some cocoa." She answered. Louise just smiled.

"Even better." She replied pouring herself a mug and sitting with Cat.

"So, you and Eric are finally going to get married." Cat stated. "Big day, huh?"

"Not as big as the first time. Gia's father wanted to make a real show of things." Louise told her. "But I kind of think I prefer things this way. All the people I care about will be there, that's just the way we want it."

"Gia's really excited about becoming a Goodall." Cat said with a smile. "She's really looking forward to the ceremony."

"Gia's always been that way." Louise replied. "I know she always puts on that whole tough act, and really wants people to think of her like that, but when she was a little girl, I used to catch her looking at bridal magazines and playing weddings with her action figures."

"Really?" Cat asked her with a smile. "She never told me that."

"She doesn't even know I know." Louise told her. "She always used to hide it, but I used to like seeing it. It's one of the things I liked when you came into her life."

"Me?" Cat asked.

"She lets her barriers down around you. She lets that side of herself out around you." Louise explained. "You really make her happy. I'm glad you're a part of her life."

"I am too." Cat replied. "I can't believe how lucky I am. I love her like crazy."

"I think we all kind of noticed that." Louise replied. "And for what it's worth, it's pretty obvious Gia feels the same way."

Cat just smiled and nodded, drinking some more of her cocoa.

"So, this isn't going to be a hugely traditional wedding, but will you still be observing some of the traditions?" Cat asked her.

"Well, not many." Louise told her. "We're just getting a registrar and having a civil ceremony."

"So, none of the traditions?" Cat asked.

"What were you thinking?" Louise asked her.

"Like...throwing the bouquet?" Cat asked her. Louise just smiled as she heard this.

"I think we can arrange something." Louise told her, hugging Cat tightly. "Nothing would make me happier."