Small disclaimer: I don't own Infinite Space or it's characters, just the idea for this story, and my few OCs in the story.

Here's the 3rd chapter, let's hope you like it. Sorry if it's short. I'm just getting back into writing. Hopefully I can make the chapters longer as I go. This chapter is in the 3rd person point of view. On with the Show!

Infinite Space: After Katida's Rescue

Chapter 3

When Katida woke up the next day, she found Yuri on the couch. Though she didn't realize it, he had stayed up late making sure they would make it to the LMC. She decided to leave him be, and turn on the news. Even though they were in the middle of space, the news could be broadcast anywhere. Before she turned on the news, she made certain that the stereo device was set to mute, and that captions were on.

"Hm... There's nothing on about anything, other than this 'Special Prisoner' stuff... I'll have to ask Yuri about it later..." she thought to herself. At this point, it was around noon, according to the ship's time. Katida decided to try to wake Yuri up. She went to rouse him, but found he was already up, staring at the news.

"Oh. Hey, Katida. Did you sleep well?" he asked her.

"Yes, thank you." Katida replied.

"Good. I wouldn't want to hear anything different. You're feeling okay? Not feeling the effects of space?"

"Well, I feel hungry, but other than that, nothing feels different."

"Good. Let's get you some food. Do you want to eat here? Or would you rather eat with some of our mutual friends? Torlo excluded, of course," he said, thinking that the things she'd gone through didn't need to be brought up, especially by one with as little tact as Torlo. "Or would you like to eat with the rest of the crew?"

"Yuri, stop. You're spoiling me. I don't want you to treat me any different than the crew, though I would like to stay as close to you as possible. I have a few requests I'd like you to hear while we eat. How about you call our 'mutual friends,' as you called them, and we can eat at the... - Mess...?- ... Well, the dining area." Katida said. "Oh, fair warning, one of the requests is something that I don't want anyone else to hear, so I'll ask you now."

Yuri leaned forward. "Go on. You can ask me whatever you want to."

Katida steeled her courage. "I would like to have a second bed set up in this room(1), that way I can stay with you, and you can have a more comfortable sleep(2)."

Yuri sighed. "Okay, I'll have it done. To be honest, I thought you were gonna ask for something different. It is different, but completely acceptable. I'll also have the maintenance crew add on to the room, that way you can have an area to change if you need to. And... I'll get Kira and Tatiana to go clothing shopping with you, so you can get rid of those clothes. I'm sure that you don't like the memories they bring with them."

That was one of the things she loved about Yuri. Even after not being able to see him for a long time, he was still the same old thoughtful Yuri. Though... He did look more rugged.

"Thanks, Yuri."

With that, Yuri called the crewmates that Katida had gotten to know, and his closest friends. They proceeded to the crew mess, which was nearly deserted, now that it was past one in the afternoon. Katida and the crew chatted, and then it was time to leave. She looked to Yuri, and asked if she could speak with him in private.

"Thanks for today, Yuri. It was one of the happiest days I've had in a long time."

"Not a problem. In fact, it was the least I could do. You deserve better days than you've had."

"Still, thank you." She stood on the tips of her toes, so she could kiss him on the cheek. "It was really sweet of you." She headed to the bedroom.

Yuri just stood there, dumbfounded, holding the cheek where she'd kissed.

The author's notes:

(1) They were still in the Captain's quarters.
(2) She also wasn't used to sleeping when there was nobody around. Plus, she had ulterior motives.

I said I'd make it a multi-shot, but it's getting harder to write this as the days go by.