Hannah spent the next sixteen hours in anticipation, eager for Daniel to walk through the apartment door. It was a weekend, so Jane was prancing all over the apartment, excited now that she knew daddy was coming home. She'd stacked several of her model ships in the center of the living room floor so that she could play starships with daddy the minute he appeared.

Finally, at 1456 hours, the door to the apartment slid open and Hannah heard a voice.

"Hannah! Jane! I'm back!"

Hannah dashed into the living room and jumped into Daniel's wide open arms, giving him one of her longest kisses ever. Daniel wrapped his arms around her and clung to her tightly. Jane flew down the hall from her bedroom.

"Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!"

Daniel let go of Hannah, but she sensed he did so reluctantly. He bent over and picked up Jane, throwing her into the air then giving her a hug just as tight as he gave her mother.

"How's my sunshine?" he asked.

"Good, daddy. Will you play starships with me?"

"I will. Just wait a moment. I need to introduce mommy to someone, okay?"

"Yeah, okay."

Hannah then turned her attention to the front door and saw a young man standing at the entrance. He seemed close in age to herself and Daniel, perhaps a little younger. He had dark hair and beautiful sky blue eyes that were immediately noticeable. Considering his age, she was surprised to find that he bore himself like an admiral. She felt that he must be a man who followed protocol to the letter.

Daniel placed Jane back down on the floor, gesturing toward the door. "Hannah, this is Lieutenant Hackett. Steven, this is my wife, Hannah."

The young man strode forward and held out his right hand. "Good to meet you."

Hannah shook his hand. He had a strong, firm handshake. "You as well, Lieutenant."

"Call me Steven," the young man insisted. "I've gotten to know your husband pretty well. It would seem out of place for you to call me Lieutenant."

"Alright, Steven. Welcome to our apartment. It's kind of small, but…"

"No worries. All I need is a couch. I'll make do." He moved over to the couch, placed his bag next to it and sat down, smiling at Jane who had picked up a starship, zooming around the room. "So this is Jane." Steven looked to Hannah. "She's almost all I heard about onboard ship."

Hannah grinned and cast a glance at Daniel. He was smiling, but Hannah perceived his smile was forced. Something was bothering him, but she didn't feel comfortable exploring the issue right now in front of their guest.

"It's almost dinner time, how about we eat?" Hannah recommended.

"Great," Daniel agreed. "I'm starved. One thing that hasn't changed onboard a starship is the food. Military rations are still bland."

Steven laughed. "I think I've gotten used to it. Tastes fine to me. But I guess you get better fare here on Mythos."

"That we do," Daniel said, then was pulled to the floor by Jane who demanded he play starships.

At dinner, Hannah asked several questions about the war. Daniel said very little. Steven took up the explanations, though he'd been in space and not on the ground. He chatted away about how the turians were strong militarily, though too regimented in their approach to fighting. It was his contention that human innovation and willingness to work outside conventional fighting tactics won them the war. He had to admit, though, that if the war hadn't been stopped by this "Citadel Council," maybe humanity would have seen more resourcefulness out of the turians than they did.

Hannah mentioned how overwhelming it was trying to wrap her mind around the information concerning the larger galaxy. Steven warned her that more data would follow. Already new technologies were being appropriated and trade routes were bound to open between humanity and other species.

After a lengthy discussion about the impact of different alien species on humanity and where the future might take their own race, they moved back into the living room. Steven continued to speak the most. Hannah loved listening to him. He was engaging and commanded attention, but her mind was still partially occupied with worry over Daniel, who usually didn't stay silent in conversation. He'd barely said a word, only speaking up a couple times when Steven addressed him directly.

Hannah learned that Steven had joined the military at a young age and had advanced quickly, much like her. They shared quite a bit in common as he also had spent most of his time ferrying explorers into the galaxy. However, through the war, he had caught the attention of the higher ups and was going to be promoted, so now he was waiting to see where they would post him.

Hannah was caught off guard when Steven brought up her own past. "Are you really Hannah Collier, the expert marksman?"

Hannah creased her eyebrows, wondering how he even knew that. "I guess."

"The drill sergeants hold your marksmanship up as an example in basic training." Steven turned to Daniel. "You didn't tell me she was Hannah Collier."

Daniel smiled with half his mouth. "Thinking about her skill with a rifle doesn't exactly bring back a pleasant memory."

Steven glanced between them. Not sensing any animosity, he plunged ahead. "Why is that?"

Hannah felt her cheeks go red. "We kind of met after a competition between the both of us. I won."

"Oh," Steven intoned, looking back to Daniel. "So she beat you, huh?"

Now Daniel chuckled quietly. "In more ways than one." He eyed his wife with a knowing look.

"I think I'll just stop there and not ask," Steven said.

The evening wore into night and Jane was put through her nightly ritual then hustled off to bed after saying goodnight to their guest. Hannah made sure Steven was comfortable, then she and Daniel retreated to their own bedroom. As she got ready for bed, Hannah kept Daniel in her peripheral vision. Something was definitely off. He moved around listlessly, like he didn't much care what he was doing. He said nothing to her and climbed into bed, closing his eyes. Hannah turned off her bedside light, then slid in next to him and found his hand under the covers. Daniel let her hold it which she thought was a good sign, maybe an open door for her to talk to him.

"Do you want to…talk about Shanxi?"

"Why?" Daniel didn't say it with a challenging tone, but in a dead even voice.

"Your last message you said you never wanted to go back there, never wanted to see an alien again."

Daniel remained silent for a good minute, then spoke. "It was nothing. I don't know why I wrote that. It's nothing."

Hannah knew it wasn't nothing. Something had happened. But Daniel let go of her hand and rolled over. She didn't feel pressing the matter would help anything right now. Just let him get some sleep, Hannah instructed herself. Ask again in the morning.

When morning arrived, Hannah woke before Daniel. He was sleeping so soundly she got up as quietly as possible, washed herself in the sink and snuck out through the bedroom door. She tiptoed down the hall, not wanting to disturb Steven, but when she entered the living room she found him already awake, sitting on the couch with a cup of coffee.

"I hope you don't mind," he said, holding up his cup. "I found the coffee and made myself some."

"No, that's fine," Hannah assured. "You're welcome to whatever you need while you're with us."

Hannah started to walk towards the kitchen, but Steven spoke again. "Can I talk to you…confidentially?"

Hannah paused to assess his gaze. She read concern in his blue eyes. "Uh…Okay."

Steven glanced down the hall. "Is Daniel still asleep?"

"Yes." Hannah eyed Steven warily, speculating why he spoke so clandestinely. She sat down on the chair next to the couch.

Steven set his cup down on the coffee table, straightened where he sat, then linked his fingers together and brought his pointer fingers to his chin, contemplating how to say what was on his mind. "I met Daniel when he first arrived on board the Galileo. We got along right away, spent a lot of time chatting in the mess. He's a good man and I'm worried about him."

He peered over at Hannah as if expecting her to say something, but she remained silent so he continued. "I don't know what happened down on Shanxi. I was only involved in the space battle. All I know is, when he came back up to the ship, he had changed. He wouldn't talk to the other men and kept to himself all the way home." Steven lowered his hands from his chin and leaned back on the couch. "I was actually ordered to stay on Arcturus, but I convinced my captain to let me wait out my promotion on Mythos. I didn't want Daniel going home alone. And since he talked about you and his little girl all the time, I knew he had a good family. He needs help and I don't know how to get it for him. I haven't even been able to get out of him what happened."

Hannah's eyes flicked for an instant to the closed bedroom door. Scrutinizing Steven, she recognized his genuine care and she knew she could trust him. "I tried to ask him last night, but he said it was nothing."

Steven shook his head. "Well, keep after him. He has something on his mind and I have a feeling if he doesn't speak about it at some point, it's going to destroy him."

Hannah considered what Steven had said, then stood. "Thank you." She walked into the kitchen and pulled out the ingredients she would need to make four omelets. She was grateful Steven had accompanied Daniel home. The fact that he had gone out of his way to follow her husband home intensified her desire to figure out what was wrong with Daniel. She had to find out why he hated Shanxi.

Once Daniel and Jane had risen, the family and Steven ate the omelets, Steven conceding that her cooking was much better than food onboard the Galileo. Jane insisted they go to the arboretum now that Daniel had returned. He assented and they turned the morning into a family outing, Steven coming along.

They walked the paths of the arboretum and talked, Hannah and Steven once again carrying the bulk of the conversation. Daniel strolled with Jane, holding her hand and speaking sparingly, mainly listening to her chatter.

"Daddy, do you know there are aliens out there?" Jane asked once.

Daniel had abruptly let go of her hand, shoving his hands into his pants pockets. "Yes."

"Did you see them?"

"Yeah." Daniel was clearly uncomfortable talking about the subject.

"What did they look like?"

"Haven't you seen the news?" His words came out harshly and Jane drew back from him. He sighed and knelt to her level. "I'm sorry, Jane. They look…very different from us. Maybe when we get home, your mommy can show you pictures on her data pad, okay?"

"Okay." Hannah was glad Jane was so resilient, immediately moving from hurt by his harsh words to content with his explanation.

After walking the arboretum, Hannah suggested they lunch at one of the local places. They ate at a small café, where they sat at a table on the patio. Hannah questioned Steven regarding his promotion.

"Well, I don't want to toot my own horn," he deferred demurely.

"Captain," Daniel said, his eyes smiling at Steven. "He can be modest, but I'll tell you that he's being promoted from 1st Lieutenant to captain."

"Wow," Hannah spoke. "That's quite a leap. Congratulations."

Steven grinned. "Let's just say the brass was impressed with what I did in the battle up top."

"What did you do?" Hannah asked.

"I was only on a carrier, but there was an opening to take down one of the capital ships of the enemy. It wasn't what I did with the carrier that mattered; it was the strategy I recommended to my captain. Resulted in the destruction of an enemy ship and most of its fighters."

Hannah had to confess internally that she was slightly jealous. Steven had achieved one of her goals in one battle—becoming a captain of her own ship. He had to be an amazing officer. She felt a stare on her and looked over to see Daniel's eyes fixed on her, hard and annoyed. She couldn't fathom what his problem was. He turned from her and attended to Jane, helping her spoon her food.

Talk turned to the turians again. Hannah discussed what she'd learned on the news, that in their culture the military was central, every turian employed in some type of career tied to it, whether in an army or navy or the core of engineers.

"That's all I really know," Hannah said. "The news reports haven't delved much into the domestics of any of the races. I don't really know how they interact or what their personal lives must be like."

"Why do you even care?" Daniel blurted out, his eyebrows knit in anger.

Hannah was bewildered by Daniel's exclamation. "I…well, I just wonder what they're like. I mean, if there are all these new races in the galaxy, it would be good to know something about them personally. We'll have to get to know them sometime."

"Or maybe we'd be better not knowing anything at all," Daniel stated angrily.

Hannah glanced fleetingly at Steven, discerning the worry evident in his eyes, then looked back to Daniel who had observed the silent understanding that passed between his wife and friend. Daniel's face clouded over in barely contained rage. He stood up suddenly.

"I'm done eating. I'll see you later." With that, he stomped off down the broad hall next to the patio.

Hannah watched him go, utterly taken aback. This was not her husband, not the man she loved.

"Why is daddy upset?" Jane fixed Hannah with big, worried eyes.

"He's okay, honey," Hannah said, trying to calm Jane's fears. "At least I hope," she whispered under her voice.

"I can talk to him," Steven offered.

"No," Hannah said, looking at the lieutenant. "He's my husband. I don't want you to risk your friendship with him. Look, thank you for hanging in there with him. I'm sorry for the way he's acting."

"You don't need to apologize," Steven contended, rubbing a hand over his forehead. "I knew how he was acting before I came here and I came anyway, my choice."

Hannah, Jane and Steven finished their meal, then walked back to the apartment. Hannah searched the dwelling, but Daniel was nowhere to be found. Her stomach churned as she worried where he had got to and why he hadn't come home. The afternoon crawled by. Steven gratefully wasn't bothered by Jane's continual requests for play and obliged, noting she had an impressive array of model starships. Jane also showed him her fish tank and bragged all about how daddy had given it to her on her birthday.

As evening approached, Hannah went ahead and served dinner. The conversation was awkward and mainly peppered with Jane's childlike conversation. After they had eaten, Hannah quickly rinsed the dishes and threw them in the wash. She insisted Jane go to bed early, which was met with some resistance from the toddler, but she eventually ended up in bed. She stubbornly had wanted Daniel to read to her, but Hannah convinced her that daddy was out and mommy would have to do.

With Jane in bed, Hannah made her way back to the living room. Steven sat on the couch. "You want me to go look for him?"

"No, I'm going. I hope you don't mind me leaving you with Jane."

Steven waved his hand. "No problem. Believe it or not, I have a sister just a little older than her."

Hannah cocked her head. "Your parents probably didn't plan on that."

"Nope," Steven smiled. "Total surprise. Anyway, I'm used to a kid that age. I can manage. You go find him."

"Thanks," Hannah said as she passed through the front door. Once it slid closed behind her and she stood alone in the hall, she took a long breath. Where could he be? she asked inside, pondering where to begin her search.

Hannah felt she had hiked the entirety of Mythos. She'd traversed the arboretum, checked every restaurant, paced the docks, and scoured the military installation. She'd then asked herself where someone would go who wanted to get away from life for a while and it hit her—the bars. She hadn't thought about them earlier because although she and Daniel had gone to bars when they were first married, they'd basically set those aside since Jane came along.

Now, Hannah wandered to the entertainment district of the station. There were only three bars on Mythos, all of them small affairs, restricted in space due to military regulations. One of them catered to officers only. She'd been there a few times for celebrations with fellow officers from her ship. Another did business mainly with civilians and included gaming options. The third was the least popular, being the sparsest of the three, only offering a small selection of drinks and a few tables. It was at this one that Hannah finally spied Daniel when the door slid open. He sat at a table in the far corner, a glass in front of him. As she approached, she noticed his eyes were glazed over and she shook her head. Daniel drank, but never to excess, not like this.

Hannah sat down across from him. It took a moment, but he became aware of her presence, blinking his eyes to focus on her. "Hey," he muttered, his voice slurring the word.

"Hey," she answered, pushing back in the chair.

"Want something?"

"No."

"A pretty woman like you deserves a drink."

"Daniel, I'm your wife not just some 'pretty woman.'"

"C'mon, let me get you a drink."

"What I want to do is get you out of here," Hannah stated.

Daniel took a breath and reached over for the glass. Hannah swiped it away. "You've had enough."

Daniel looked tired as he dropped his arm and slumped in the chair. Hannah waved down a server. "Can you call us a shuttle?" The server nodded and left. Hannah stood and huddled in a quieter corner of the bar. She pressed her comm unit, calling up the apartment. Steven answered and she explained that she'd found Daniel, but they wouldn't be coming home directly. Steven assured it was no problem, that Jane hadn't awoken.

Hannah returned to the table to find Daniel with his hands folded, staring around the room as if he wasn't sure where he was. At least he's a quiet drunk, Hannah thought to herself.

When the shuttle arrived, she had it ferry them to the military installation. She helped Daniel walk down to her unit's offices. There was a lounge there, empty now that everyone had gone home for the night. She helped him lay down on the couch and it wasn't long before he fell asleep. Hannah plopped into a recliner across from the couch with her left leg tucked underneath her. She put an elbow on the armrest and rested her chin in her hand, staring at Daniel. Her heart ached for him. Something terribly wrong had happened to him. All she wanted was to take whatever it was off his shoulders. She found herself desperately wishing she had gone to Shanxi and he had stayed home.

Around 0300 hours, Hannah was startled from sleep by a cough. Opening her eyes, she found herself looking up at the ceiling of the lounge. Her back ached and her neck was stiff. She sat up and stretched, realizing she'd dozed off in the recliner. She looked across at the couch. Daniel was awake and sitting up, his head bowed. He coughed again, then gazed at her in embarrassment.

"Sorry you had to come find me."

"You're my husband," Hannah said, yawning and covering her mouth with her hand. "I was worried." She looked at him pointedly.

He took a breath and closed his eyes, leaning back against the couch. "Well, then, you found me. So let's go home." He began to stand up, but Hannah interrupted his action.

"No way, Daniel Shepard," she reprimanded. "You aren't going home. Not until you tell me what is making you act like a jackass."

"It's nothing!" Daniel hissed, his anger flaring up once more.

"You already said that before and I'm not buying it."

Daniel shifted on the couch, then suddenly looked directly at her. "What's with you and Steven?

"What?" Hannah exclaimed, not understanding what Steven had to do with anything. "What are you talking about?"

"You've been talking to him a lot, chatting him up all the time, sharing secret glances."

"You've hardly said a word to him! What do you expect me to do? He's our guest."

"Then what's with you guys eyeing each other all the time?"

Hannah folded her arms over her chest. "Cut the crap, Daniel. You know. He's worried about you just like I am. You aren't being you."

Daniel concentrated on the couch, picking at the upholstery. "I did kind of wonder why Steven wanted to go to Mythos to wait out his promotion. He's a good man."

Hannah could agree with that. "He is."

"Problem is," Daniel said quietly, "He wasn't even on the ground. He didn't see what I saw."

Hannah sensed that if she pushed a little more, the truth would appear just around the corner. "And what did you see? Is it what happened to the colonists that's bothering you?"

Daniel shook his head, still engrossed with the fabric of the couch. "That was bad. Sad. Most of the colonists that died were caught early on in orbital strikes. Some of them starved to death, too, then. But once the…" Daniel hesitated as if he didn't want to utter the next word, "turians occupied the colony, they didn't bother the colonists much as long as they didn't try to rebel."

"Alright. Then what's the problem? Firing on the enemy?"

Daniel snorted derisively. "No, that was the easy part. Your lieutenant says shoot, so you shoot."

"Then what happened?"

Daniel looked up at her, anger and distress seething from his eyes. "Can't we just let this go? I don't want to go there, Hannah." He once again found the couch cushions entirely interesting.

"Do you know what Maddock told me after you were wounded on Demeter?" Hannah asked Daniel, referring to Planet 627 by the name its colonists had given it.

Daniel peered over at her and shook his head. "You never told me."

Hannah took a deep breath. "He made me talk about my guilt, the fact that I blamed myself for you getting hurt. He said that talking about it got it out in the open where it couldn't control me anymore. He said not talking about it would destroy me."

Daniel bit his lip and then looked down at the couch again, not responding to Hannah's revelation.

"Daniel," Hannah spoke softly, "This thing, whatever it is, it's killing you from the inside out. If you don't work it through…" Hannah's voice faltered. What she wanted to do was scream, "Talk to me! Why won't you just talk to me? Trust me!" But yelling she knew wouldn't help him to open up. She breathed in and out slowly, then continued.

"Jane doesn't deserve an angry father."

Daniel's head snapped up. "What?"

"This thing makes you an angry man, scary to be around. She doesn't deserve that."

Daniel shook his head and turned his eyes to the ceiling. After a time, he looked back at Hannah, his eyes portraying deep hurt. "I'm acting like my dad." He laughed sadly. "Just like him."

Hannah couldn't affirm or deny Daniel's statement. She had never met his father. All she knew about Daniel's dad was that living with him had been difficult and that when his dad left the family, Daniel only saw him once or twice afterwards.

Hannah stood up from the recliner and walked over to the couch, sitting next to Daniel. She looked earnestly into his eyes. "Please, Daniel. Just tell me what happened. I'll carry the burden with you. Just give me the opportunity. I'm your wife!"

Daniel sighed, closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them, staring into the distance. "I keep seeing them in my head. I can't get them out."

"Who?" Hannah felt her heart pumping anxiously, afraid to hear his words, yet ready for him to finally tell her the truth.

Daniel focused his gaze on his hands. "The battles on the ground were quick and short lived. The turian ground troops fled, I guess trying to get to shuttles, escape to their starships. A bunch of them were killed while retreating." He paused. "We were just so elated we won the battles, you know, happy they had left." Daniel rubbed a hand over his eyes. Hannah waited patiently, hoping he would continue.

Daniel took another long breath. "Then that ship came in, the council one, and word came down that there had been this truce and the turians wanted their dead to take back to their home planet." Daniel stopped again and when he didn't continue, Hannah felt brave enough to touch his arm and prompt him.

"And…"

Daniel leaned forward and put his elbows on his knees, his chin resting on the palms of his hands. "And, of course, the Alliance wasn't going to let the turians come back for the corpses because even though this council seemed legitimate, you just never know when a trap is being laid, especially since we didn't even know all these aliens existed until their ship showed up. So the task fell to the marines to gather the bodies for transport. My unit was assigned a section of the colony. We hauled them to a field, lined them up across it."

Hannah's stomach had dropped as she pictured Daniel witnessing so many dead bodies gathered in one spot. She squeezed his arm and he responded by sitting up and patting the hand on his arm. "That wasn't bad, really. I mean, not right off."

Daniel stood up suddenly and started to pace back and forth, wringing his hands several times as if getting himself psyched up to continue his story. He walked over to the recliner and sat down, his head bowed as he studied his hands again.

"So, we lined the bodies up. And there was this one corpse, the turian must have been shot in the face, because it was basically gone. Anyway, when I dragged him over to the line, this small device fell out of somewhere in his armor. I picked it up, you know, curious what it was. It looked like a tiny data pad of some kind. Well, I wondered if it was more advanced than ours. So I tried to find a way to turn it on."

Hannah felt her chest tighten. "What was it?"

"I guess you'd call it a photo and video album. When it came on, it started this video." Daniel raised his eyes and looked straight at Hannah. "I couldn't understand the language, but it was a video of him and what I think was a female turian and these two little ones. The children were playing and he was embracing the female, holding the device out to take the video I think. Then that ended and I managed to flip through some more. Lots of pictures, a couple more videos, one I think was the birth of one of his kids."

Daniel covered his face with his hands and coughed sharply. When he removed his hands, Hannah could see mist in Daniel's eyes. Daniel had never cried, not the entire time she had known him. Her heart pounded in her chest.

"He had a family, Hannah, a wife and kids. And when I looked down that line of corpses, they didn't look like faceless monsters anymore. They were real living beings who had real lives and families that depended on them." He paused and breathed slowly, staring her in the eyes. "It was so easy up to that moment to see them as nothing but the evil invading alien force that deserved to be killed for daring to touch a human colony. That's what the Admiral said in his speech before we hit the ground. But when I saw that video, it's like I saw through the lie. All those bodies, each a person…I guess I mean, turian…with a real life that went beyond the war."

Hannah breathed quietly, thinking of what to say. Her husband had been touched by war, but victory hadn't enthralled him; victory had revealed that in winning someone else lost bitterly. "It wasn't your fault. The turians started the war to begin with. You were just defending the colony."

Daniel shook his head. "That just makes it worse. The turians attacked us for what? Because we were a new species that didn't know what we were doing? And this turian, with the wife and kids, he's just pulled in like me. Maybe he didn't want to be there. Maybe he wanted to be with his family, but his leaders say shoot, so he shoots…and dies."

Hannah twisted her hands, not knowing what to say. She recalled something else Maddock had said to her back at Demeter. "Maddock told me once that in the military we're bound to lose men. I'm sure the turians knew that, too."

"I'm sure their leaders did. But did he? I can't stop seeing them as this happy family, not a care in the world and then there's him lying there with his face blown off. And someone had to go home and tell his family he wasn't coming back and he'd left his kids as orphans."

"Daniel…" Hannah was cut off.

"Don't try and make it sound any better, please, Hannah," Daniel pleaded, his wounded eyes piercing to her heart. "Nothing will make it better. I can tell myself all day that I did what I had to. I believe that, I do. But it doesn't change that turians and men died at Shanxi and they never went home and their families are alone now. It doesn't change the fact that it could easily have been me."

Hannah stood up and walked over to the recliner. She reached out to take his hands and Daniel let her. She lifted up his arms, then sat down in his lap, putting her arms around his neck. "But it wasn't you. You're here now, safe and sound and we need you to be here, not living back in Shanxi."

Daniel sighed and nodded. "I know you're right. But me being in the reserves, it's like a crapshoot, Hannah, a risk I don't want to take anymore."

Hannah looked into his face. "What do you mean?"

"I mean I'm quitting the reserves. I can't do that again. If they called me up, I'd desert and that wouldn't be good for any of us."

"But, your life has been the military."

"It's more the docks now than anything else. I don't look at it like I'm losing anything at all. Military never meant much to me but a job. Anyway, I've turned in my resignation. Actually, I did that on the way home. I'm done with the Alliance Navy. Present company excepted, of course."

"So, you don't mind that I still want to captain a starship?" Hannah asked, concern in her voice.

Daniel shook his head. "Just promise me you'll stay in the stars and keep ferrying explorers. I can take that."

Hannah smiled sadly. "I don't think that's going to change anytime soon. Seems to me all current promotions happened in the war I missed."

Daniel put an arm around Hannah's shoulders and leaned back in the recliner. "Don't be jealous of Steven. He was in the right place at the right time. There's more than one way to become a captain." Daniel closed his eyes and shook his head.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm glad I told you. But I still see that turian family. I don't think I'll forget them for the rest of my life."

"You can't change what's happened to them, Daniel, but you can be here for your family. We need you here. Please be here."

Daniel pulled her into a hug. "I'll try. I'll be here. Just give me time, okay?"

"Okay."

"Speaking of time, what time is it?"

Hannah glanced at the digital clock on the wall right above the recliner. "0330."

"We need to go home."

"Yeah."

Daniel pushed the recliner back up to a sitting position. Before he let go of Hannah, he embraced her tightly. "Don't ever die on me, Hannah. I don't think I could take it."

"The same goes for you," she answered back.

Daniel nodded. "I don't plan on leaving for a long time. I'm gonna let you love me when I'm old and wrinkled."

Hannah smiled widely. "As long as you'll love me when my hair's gone gray and my breasts sag to my knees."

"It's a deal," Daniel agreed. Hannah stood up off his lap and took his hand as they left the lounge.