Chapter 10

Fox woke up promptly at 8:30, feeling refreshed after a perfect night's sleep. After a yawn, Fox looked at Krystal beside him and smiled; she was still asleep, and had her arm wrapped his body. He didn't want to wake up Krystal just yet, but once he shifted just a little from his position, she awoke anyway. She smiled warmly at Fox when she looked at him.

She's always so beautiful… Fox blissfully thought.

"Good morning, Fox," Krystal said softly.

"Good morning," Fox replied, returning her smile.

"How did you sleep?" Krystal delicately asked Fox.

"Better than ever," Fox answered happily. "You?"

"Same," Krystal said, nudging against Fox affectionately.

"Good," Fox said.

Fox hugged Krystal as they lied down together, reluctant to get up. It was quite easily the best night of sleep he had ever gotten, having had the comfort of Krystal beside him. It was how he wanted to sleep every night, and he was overjoyed that it would be a reality once the war was over. More motivation to power through the rest of it.

Krystal gave Fox a soft kiss on the lips. He smiled and kissed her back automatically. Fox already felt as if they were a married couple, and he was absolutely sure they were right for each other.

"I don't want to get up," Krystal said, speaking both of their minds.

"That makes two of us," Fox said, keeping his body close to hers. "But, we have to…"

"I know," Krystal said, sighing. "Just think though… maybe someday soon, we won't have to be in a hurry to get out of bed."

"I'm counting on that!" Fox replied, grinning at the happy thought. "Either way, I'm all for dedicating a lot of time to this…"

"Me too," Krystal murmured, continuing to cuddle with her lover. She knew it couldn't last, though. "I suppose we better get ready."

"Yeah," Fox groaned, equally disappointed.

They weren't reluctant to get to work – just reluctant to stop resting together. Still, they got up from the bed, stretching and allowing themselves to fully wake up. Fox didn't normally eat breakfast, but he realized it was quite possible Krystal did.

"Umm… do you want to eat something?" Fox asked awkwardly. "I don't have any breakfast foods, but there might be something for you to eat in my kitchen…"

"It's alright; I'm not hungry," Krystal replied. "Let's just go to the Army Center."

Fox nodded, and the two made their way out of the bedroom and then downstairs. Once they were outside, Fox locked the front door behind them, and the two made their way for the Army Center. They'd be a little bit early, but both Fox and Krystal liked to be early for somewhere they had to be at.

Sure enough, when the two arrived at the Army Center, they were the first ones to arrive. They waited in the main lobby for the rest of the team. It didn't take too long for Slippy and Amanda to join them, but once ten o'clock came and went, Falco hadn't arrived.

"You did call Falco last night, right, Slippy?" Fox asked Slippy.

"Of course! And he said he'd be here!" Slippy answered defensively.

"Hmm. Well, let's hope he gets here soon," Fox said.

Suddenly, the four Star Fox members saw Peppy come marching into the lobby room. He looked concerned and stressed about something. His eyes lit up as he saw the Star Fox team gathered, and he rushed over to speak to them.

"I'm glad I caught you all before you left!" Peppy said to the team. "There's something I need you guys to take care of before getting to Venom!"

"What is it, Peppy?" Fox asked the general.

"It's Commissioner Beltino," Peppy started to explain.

Beltino Toad was Slippy's father, and the two shared a close bond. For several years Beltino helped serve the Cornerian Army, and he was most recently appointed as the commissioner in charge of the Orbital Gate. The Orbital Gate was used as a research center and a transport to reach any other area in the galaxy. Slippy hadn't heard from Beltino in a long while.

"Dad!" Slippy exclaimed, panicking immediately. "What's wrong?! He isn't in danger, is he?!"

"Well, sort of, unfortunately," Peppy replied. "You see, Bowman's forces have targeted the Orbital Gate – I suppose to gain control over the transportation, so that they can spread out more quickly and more easily. Anyways, there aren't as many Cornerian soldiers fighting there as we'd like, so I need you all to help take out the threat. It's also on the way to Venom, so it's not as much of an inconvenience. Heck, you could probably just use the transport to get there faster once you're finished…"

"We gotta help Dad out!" Slippy stated, still worried. "We can't just sit here and wait around for Falco all day!"

Just then, the blue avian arrived, bursting through the front door to meet up with the team. As he saw the five gathered, he figured Peppy must have said something important.

"So, what did I miss?" Falco asked everyone.

"We've got to get to the Orbital Gate now; Bowman's forces are trying to take over it," Fox said. He then turned to Peppy. "Peppy, we need to borrow a couple Arwings. Two of the ones in the Great Fox were destroyed."

"That's fine; you can pick those up in the hangar," Peppy said. "And of course, the Great Fox is right where you left it outside. Good luck to all of you! Always remember – trust your instincts!"

"Right, right, we'll be fine," Falco said dismissively. "Let's get to work!"

"Ok; Krystal and I will get the Arwings. We'll meet you guys in the Great Fox once we're in space," Fox said. "Let's go!"

From there, Falco, Slippy, and Amanda went to the Great Fox, and Fox and Krystal to the hangar. As planned, once they got two new Arwings, they flew out of the hangar and met up with the Great Fox in space. Once they used the Great Fox's hangar to park the Arwings, Fox and Krystal met up with their teammates and began the trip to the Orbital Gate.

"ROB, set a course for the Orbital Gate; get us there as fast as you can," Fox said to ROB as soon as he got to the ship bridge.

"Affirmative, Fox," ROB said, proceeding to adjust the ship's controls accordingly.

Fox turned to his teammates. "Once we get there, we'll use our Arwings to take out Bowman's ships. ROB, you see if you can help and shoot down enemies with the Great Fox."

"Oooh, I hope Dad'll be alright…" Slippy said nervously.

"I'm sure they'll hold out," Amanda said to comfort her husband. She gave Slippy a reassuring smile.

Slippy managed to make a small smile. "Yeah… let's hope."

"We'll get there as soon as we can," Krystal said, also trying to be supportive. "We'll make it – I'm sure!"

"Of course; don't worry, little buddy!" Falco said. "Does Star Fox ever fail?"

"It'll be alright, Slippy," Fox said. He turned to ROB, and commanded, "ROB, make sure we don't slow down any. We need to be there as soon as possible."

"Affirmative," ROB answered, keeping watch over the ship's controls.

"If anyone needs me, I'll be in my cabin," Fox said. "I've got a headache, and I need to lie down for a bit."

"Feel better!" Slippy and Amanda both said.

"Yeah; take it easy, Foxie!" Falco ordered.

"Rest well, Fox," Krystal said, concerned.

"Thanks guys; see you soon," Fox said.

With that, Fox went to his cabin and used the bed in there to lie down. The headache had started once he started flying the Arwing from earlier; every now and then, flying would give him headaches. He closed his eyes, but he knew he shouldn't fall asleep; the journey wouldn't be that long. He mulled over things as he rested.

I sure hope those guys will be okay at the Orbital Gate… we can't afford to lose that to Bowman. Eh, Falco's probably right; when does Star Fox fail? We're made for this. I just hope they can make it until we get there… I won't have to worry about this kind of stuff much longer… Soon I can just be with Krystal… Everything will be perfect…

A knock came at the cabin door. This gave Fox a jump, as he wasn't expecting it so soon. Had they already arrived? It had only been a few minutes! He knew that couldn't be the case.

"Come in," Fox said casually.

The door opened to reveal it was Krystal who had knocked. Fox smiled as she came in; he was glad to see her again. He wondered though what prompted her to come.

"Hey," Krystal said.

"Hi," Fox said back. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay," Krystal said. "I wanted to be with you… if you don't mind."

"Of course not!" Fox said. "That's how it's going to be every day soon enough!"

Krystal smiled, and she climbed into the bed next to Fox. Once again, they were cozy in a small bed together. Krystal nestled against Fox, enjoying the warm feeling like the one they shared in the morning.

"I wanted to feel this again," Krystal admitted. "Being close and comfy…"

"Me too," Fox said. He wrapped his arms around her, and lovingly said, "I'm glad you came."

"Thank you," Krystal said, beaming. "I hope your head feels better soon…"

"It already does, now that you're here," Fox replied, completely sincere. "You help relieve any of my pain. Really – it's like magic!"

Krystal chuckled. "Well, I'm glad I could help! I hope I'll still have the same effect when we've been married for several years…"

"I know you will," Fox said, giving Krystal a kind smile. "You're the most special vixen in this galaxy… I'm lucky to have you."

"No, Fox, I'm lucky to have you," Krystal said, rubbing against him. "Such a handsome, caring man… any vixen would be lucky to have you."

"Thanks," Fox said bashfully. "I just want to be good enough for you. I hope I can be a good husband."

"Of course you will be," Krystal assured him. "I know you will be. And a good father, too…"

Fox's eyes lit up, and his ears perked up.

Children… didn't even think about that!

"Oh, err, right…" Fox stammered. "A good father… we didn't talk about that stuff yet."

"I know," Krystal said. "But, shouldn't we? I want to be a mother… did you want to be a father, Fox?"

"Me?" Fox said. "I, uh, really never gave it a lot of thought honestly. I mean… I really think we should sleep on this before we make any definite plans. I'm really just not sure, you know? I think I'd like to have a kid or two, but I just never thought about it much…"

"I understand," Krystal said, a little disappointed. "We can talk about that later then…"

"Sorry," Fox apologized, feeling bad he couldn't give a definite answer.

"It's ok," Krystal said. "Just something to think about…"

"Right," Fox said. He wanted to change the topic, wanting to make Krystal feel better. "So, when should we announce the engagement to the team?"

"I don't know…" Krystal replied, thinking for a moment. "Hmm… now might not be the best time… maybe when the war is over?"

"Good thinking," Fox agreed to it. "It might be too distracting for them right now."

"It's a distraction for me," Krystal said, looking sad. "We still have a war to win… but I'm mostly just thinking about us…"

"I know what you mean," Fox admitted. "We just have to make it through – just a little while longer, hopefully."

"Yes… then we'll have our time," Krystal said, stroking Fox's hair affectionately.

The two lied together in silence, peacefully resting together. Fox's headache was going away, and he was grateful, because it would have made things worse during combat. He knew it was because of Krystal. He was grateful for her, and he truly loved her more than anything else. They shared a happy silence together in the cabin, waiting until the trip was over.