Author's Note: I'm going away for my anniversary (three years!) this weekend, so I busted a move to get this chapter out. Actually, I didn't have to work too hard; this chapter just flowed. It's got a little something for everyone, so enjoy!

To Emie Mac (a.k.a. the new seer in this series): I adore Jon, and the more I write this story, the more I like him better than Sven. I know, I know. But I have no idea who Len's gonna pick - I'm just as excited as you are.

To FroofyB: Your wish is granted! There's K/A in this chapter as well as scenes with our naughty Polluxian princess and the even naughtier prince from Tyvel!

To Sally On: Keith has had a lot of growing to do, but there's still one more hurdle. At least he's got Alfor's blessing! (And yes, voyage to hell indeed. Earth can't come soon enough!)

Title Song: "Fix You" by Coldplay (one of my favorite songs)

Romelle rose from the bed. She'd been there for far too long; she wasn't even sure what day it was anymore. She only knew that there had been pleasure, and that pleasure had been given to her by Prince Erimar.

It had been a long, long time since she'd known such ecstasy. She knew that Sven loved her, but she had never felt with him what she felt with Erimar. The prince had worshiped her body, despite its flaws and the telltale scars she carried with her from pregnancy. He made her feel like the most beautiful woman in the universe.

She was in love with this man. Or maybe it was lust and obsession. Either way, she didn't care. She only knew that she was addicted to the way she felt when she was lying in bed with him.

"Hmm. I suppose you're right, Romy. People are bound to be suspicious by now. We've been missing for an awfully long time." He smiled a lopsided grin, one that matched how her heart felt at that very moment. "Tell me, do you feel bad? Do you regret this?"

"Do I feel bad? Yes," she answered quickly. "But do I regret it? Not in the slightest." She stared into his twinkling olive-green eyes, so different from Sven's angry slate-blue ones. "How could I? This is the most alive I've felt with a man since before I became pregnant."

The prince nodded. "Having met your husband, I can understand." He blew her a kiss from the bed as she began to get dressed. "You can fix your situation, Romy. You can make all of your problems go away with a few simple words to your husband: I want to end our marriage."

She sighed, zipping up the back of her short dress. In all honesty, she really did feel like uttering those words to Sven, on a regular - if not daily - basis. If it weren't for Erik, she was sure that she would have already divorced him.

"My son needs his father," she told her lover with a distraught look on her face. "I can't leave Sven, no matter how much I might want to. I've lost Erik once because of my husband, and I refuse to lose him again. But at the same time, I can't rob him of his father, either." She sat back down on the bed, and Erimar took her hand and grazed his lips against it. "It's a tough situation I'm in. My child's welfare or my happiness."

"Love, don't you think that your happiness is in Erik's best interests? Surely you realize that your son will grow up to resent you and Sven if you remain unhappily married for his sake. Don't you?"

Romelle wanted to throw up. She was torn - she wanted so much to be happy, and the only way to do that would be to leave Sven and go with Erimar. That being said, she would never be able to shake off the guilt she would feel for taking his son away from him, nor would she allow Sven to have full custody of Erik after everything they'd been through in the past year. It was an impossibly broken situation with no easy way out and no good way to fix it.

"I don't know, Erim. I don't know what to do."

She looked at him helplessly, and the prince leaned forward and kissed her lips. "There's time, Romy," he told her. "Your husband's not back yet, and I'll stay until he returns. You still have time to think." He winked at her. "But you should get back to your son and your brother now. I'm sure everyone's looking for you, and you don't want to make it too obvious."

"You're right. I will see you at dinner."

Romelle crept out of his room and closed the door behind her, her body overflowing with new, confusing emotions. She just wanted to be happy, but it seemed as though happiness was always just out of reach. Sadly, she wondered if it would ever be within her grasp.

Taye's mug of Guinness was empty. He knew that hard alcohol was more or less contraband on the Explorer, but beer was okay, albeit in smaller quantities than what was available at the Garrison. Regardless, he didn't want to seem greedy and use up the ship's stores. He returned his mug and scanned the room for Cinda.

When he began dating Kelly, he learned to accept a few things about her. One, she had a group of friends she considered to be her family from her dorm floor during her stint at the Academy. Two, her best friends in the world were her old roommate Cinda and her old BALL201 dance partner, Cliff. And three, she had a very regretful ex-boyfriend in Modoch.

He spotted Cinda near a window away from the masses. Ginger was with her, looking positively distraught, and the blue-skinned beauty didn't look much better. It was as though they were both trying to comfort each other and failing monumentally at it. Feeling sorry for them, he started in their direction to see if he could offer comfort or sympathy.

"No you don't."

Taye felt a broad, heavy hand gripping his shoulder, powerful enough to stop him in his tracks, and he immediately knew who it was. There was only one person would try to hold him back. Correction: would be stupid enough to hold him back. He sighed. "What do you want, Chukker?"

Modoch grimaced. The so-called gentle giant wasn't used to being addressed by his last name, especially not when there was so much hostility attached to it. "Relax, Benton. I just wanted to know how Kelly is doing. That's all."

Taye shrugged. "Why do you care?"

"It's not like I could get a word in edgewise with her the last time I saw her."

"You mean, at the commander's wedding to the Space Marshal? Geez, I can't think of a reason why she wouldn't want to talk to you or dance with you." His sarcasm was abundant. "She's living with me now, in case you wanted to know."

Modoch looked terribly sad for a moment. "Is she happy?" he asked softly, his voice laced with regret.

"Incredibly." Taye wanted to get away from him as quickly as possible.

The gentle giant looked down at the floor. "I messed up, I really did." When he looked up at the Albegas pilot again, he asked pathetically, "Will you tell her I was asking for her?"

Taye rolled his eyes. "Sure thing." Then he headed away from Modoch and towards Cinda and Ginger. He wasn't sure what comfort he could offer them now, but he knew that anything had to be better than listening to Kelly's ex-boyfriend cry over how he regretted cheating on her.

He suddenly wished he had more Guinness. Then again, if he did, he might have punched the big guy.

Keith felt much better after his time in the catacombs. He felt as though King Alfor had personally given him his blessing to be with his daughter, and after Christiane's repeated comments and warnings not to blow it with Allura, he decided he'd better start to patch things up now.

When he knocked on Allura's door, he didn't know where he should start. What was left for him to say to her? Would she even listen? Then again, he knew that his sister had spoken with Allura as well. Maybe now his girlfriend's outlook had softened. Maybe they could be on the path to forgiveness.

Then again, maybe not.

After a moment of anxious contemplation, Allura answered the door. She studied Keith quietly, looking as though she was searching for the right words to say.

"The last time we were here," he offered lightly, "you closed the door in my face."

She didn't laugh, but he could see the smile behind her emerald eyes. "I remember," she replied, looking everywhere but into his eyes.

"I'm sorry."

She then looked at him seriously. "Keith, I want you to know that I can't fix you. You're broken, and I can't fix you." She shook her head for emphasis.

"No." Panic racing through his veins, he grabbed Allura's face and kissed her. He was rough, he was frantic, and he was desperate. "I won't deny that I'm a broken man. But I'm starting to put the pieces together myself." His face was less than an inch away from hers. "Allura, I know you can't fix me, and I can't put that burden on you. I have to fix me. And I think I'm on the right path this time."

The princess looked as though an invisible weight had lifted off of her. She wrapped her arms around her boyfriend, collapsing onto his shoulder. "Welcome back," she mumbled, placing soft kisses along his neck. "I've missed you, Keith."

"I've missed you too, Allura. More than you can ever know."

She nodded quietly. "I have things I need to take care of right now. Executive things." She shot him a sultry look. "You can come back to my room tonight. And maybe when things lighten up a little bit, we can get away from the castle. How would you feel about that?"

He kissed her hand. "Your choice, Allura. We can go anywhere. I'm happy as long as I'm with you."

She smiled. "Good. So I'll see you later tonight?"

He nodded eagerly. "Of course. See you then."

Allura watched as Keith wandered back down the hallway. Once he was out of sight, she smiled to herself. Yes, she was happy to be mending her relationship with him. But if he thought that he was going to get off that easily after everything he'd put her through, well, he had another thing coming. She had one more test in store for him.

When Commander Hawkins and David Rackens returned to the common area, Sven paid attention. Though he hated to pay the commander any heed, he knew that his most direct line to the Space Marshal was through him. He would have to deal with her husband until he saw her in person.

The commander looked over at the Norwegian. "Sargeant Holgersson," he stated, "I would like to have a word with you. In private."

Aidan, Lisa, and Morgan immediately shot Sven a look, but he seemed unshaken. "Of course, Commander," he replied, unflinching. He lifted himself off the wall he had been leaning against - technically, he'd been leaning against the bar in the common area - and walked towards the pair of would-be brothers.

David eyed the navigator suspiciously but said nothing, instead moving back towards his captain and his wife. "I'll talk with you later, Jon," he offered, trying not to glare as he passed by Sven. He knew some stories about this man and Lenora, but he would not say anything, at least not without Morgan's prompting. He knew how Jon felt towards his wife, and he really didn't want to witness any bloodshed on the Explorer.

Silently, Commander Hawkins led Sven back towards the bridge. At least, that was the path they took. Sven was surprised when the man stopped and entered a code into a key panel mere steps outside the bridge. "My personal chambers," Hawkins informed him. "Please come in."

Sven raised an eyebrow but said nothing; the past few days had gotten weirder and more disturbing as they went along. The door slid open, and he filed in.

He was surprised at how nice the commander's personal quarters were. It looked like an old-fashioned study with its full mahogany bookcases, leather chairs and heavy desk. "Sven. May I call you Sven?"

"Of course."

"Please have a seat."

Cautiously, he sat down in one of the leather chairs as Hawkins moved towards one of the mahogany bookcases. "I have my own personal stash in here," the commander grinned as he revealed his hidden liquor cabinet. "I thought I'd offer you a drink. A real drink, not beer or that God-awful synthetic stuff that Sammy mixes up. It's the least I could do for you after rescuing Christiane off Crydor."

Sven nodded. This was definitely getting more disturbing. If anyone had ever told him he'd be doing one-on-one drinking with both Aidan and Commander Hawkins in such a short time frame, he wouldn't have believed it. "What do you have in there?"

"The better question is, what don't I have in here?"

"I like that in a man, Commander Hawkins. Do you have Ciroc?"

"Tonic water, too."

"Now you're talking."

Hawkins chuckled as he removed the bottles. He chose a Riedel tumbler from another cabinet - He has a liquor cabinet and a glassware cabinet in here, Sven thought incredulously - and mixed the drink for his guest.

"I'm sorry I don't have any fresh lime," Hawkins apologized, handing him the drink. "That tends to be hard to come by on the Explorer."

"I can imagine." Sven accepted the drink and took a sip. He was immediately transported back to his fifth year at the Academy, drinking overpriced vodka tonics with his friends in bars that were too loud. He'd missed Ciroc. He'd missed a lot of things since leaving Earth. "So, Commander, am I drinking alone here, or what?"

"Jon. Please call me Jon. Anyone who rescues one of mine is my friend." Hawkins moved back to the liquor cabinet and opened a bottle of Courvoisier. As he poured his own drink, he continued, "I am extremely fond of Christiane. Not only is she Jeff's girl, but she's my family, too, in a way."

"I understand."

"I lost my entire family by the age of thirty-three. I was alone until I got married, and then all of a sudden, I had this crazy extended family." He grinned fondly. "I love having family again, and Christiane's part of it. The problem is, I can't watch over her the way I can some of the others, like Jeff, Cliff, Ginger, Cinda and Lisa."

"I see." Sven sipped again from his drink, feeling the Ciroc rush through his bloodstream better than any Arusian vodka could. The anger began to creep up on him again as he thought about this man regarding Lenora's friends as his family. These people were his family, not the commander's.

Desperately needing a distraction, he looked towards the commander's desk. It was completely uncluttered, with nothing on it except for a small framed photo. "Jon, you have the cleanest desk in the world."

"I don't, actually. Everything's crammed into the drawers. Who am I kidding?" He laughed to himself, then picked the photo up from off his desk. "I hate to sound like the guy who's obsessed with his wife, but I like to be able to get an unfettered look at her picture when we're separated, and I can't do that if my desk is covered in paperwork."

"May I see?"

"Of course." Hawkins picked up the photo and passed it over.

As soon as it was in his hands, Sven wished he hadn't seen it. He knew it was of Lenora, and he had seen a couple of their wedding photos filtered through Larmina and Lance, but he hadn't expected the picture to take his breath away they way it did.

The photo was just of her, dressed in her cream-colored wedding gown. It was taken from the back, with her looking over her shoulder at the camera while the organza ruffles spilled onto the grass behind her. She had a seductive look on her face, not the demure bridal look that Romelle had displayed on their wedding day. He was stunned that a bride could look that provocative. She had obviously been a naughty bride.

She should have been his naughty bride.

"She is...beautiful," he sputtered, handing the photo back. Hawkins looked pleased at the comment, and stared at the photo again before placing it back on his desk. "Really beautiful. You're a lucky man, Jon."

Just wait until I get her alone and talk some sense into her.

"That I am," Hawkins replied. He lifted his drink to his lips and took a long swallow. "I often wonder how much longer I can do this. Serving on the Explorer has been an incredible experience, and I'm grateful for the opportunity, but now I just want to be home." He paused. "I know that a lot of my crew members feel the same way."

Sven nodded. "I can imagine." As he tried to feign sympathy for the commander, he could only feel an odd mix of guilt and anger. He liked this man, and he could understand exactly why he'd want to be home with Lenora in New York instead of touring the galaxy on the Stellar Ship Explorer.

He had to fix this mess. And he knew exactly how he was going to do it.