I don't look back as I board the shuttle back to Aldrin. I don't want to remember this place anymore. This visit, this violation, has ruined this planet that I once thought brought me so much peace. I'm thankful that the shuttle is empty, bar Jean Luc and myself. Soon, the hydraulic doors come to a close and a hiss indicates their tight seal.

I let out a deep sigh and blindly reach for his hand as I keep my gaze fixed on the wall. I refuse to look out the window; I refuse to look at anymore of it. Nothing of what I once felt charming about Caldos appeals to me any longer; not the lush greenness, not the quaint antiquity, not the jolly townspeople... Nothing. Thankfully, the shuttle's ascent is quick and soon enough the brightly lit windows fade to black.

"Hey," I hear. I don't respond; I'm initially not even aware that he's spoken to me. "Hey," he repeats, tugging at my hand.

Shaken from my acrimony, I turn to him. "Hey, Blue Eyes," he crookedly smiles as he tucks a stray strand of red behind my ear. His hand lingers and grazes over my scalp in a gesture of comfort that I willingly lean into.

I remember something in the moment. "What were you talking to that man about before we got on the shuttle?"

"Which ma-?" Recollection dawns, "Oh Ned. Well, he was asking about you – how you were doing after last night."

I look down, "I didn't know his name. But, I think I partially owe him my life – our life."

"Ned Quint." He bows his head slightly and squeezes my hand a little tighter. "He, uh, knew your grandmother for a quite a while; he said he moved to Caldos soon after you left."

I hang my head and avert my eyes, "I feel like such a fool." Suddenly the skin around my eyes feels tight and I automatically rub my face to relieve some of the tension that's been held there.

He draws me near to him, gathering me against his side and kisses my cheek. "Beverly, look at me," I keep my gaze down at our feet. "Beverly," he implores again. A shiver runs through me as his hand moves to the back of my neck and he turns my head gently. "I know what he was – Ronin I mean."

I cock my eyebrows in question, "What was he?"

"I read about them in the Starfleet database after you fell asleep last night. They're called anaphasic life forms; they're plasma based. They need an organic host to feed off in order to maintain a level of molecular cohesion. It seems that your grandmother and you had a compatible organic chemistry to support his needs." I let the information sink in as a tiny modicum of relief washes over me.

He continues, running the back of his hand along the contour of my cheekbone, "it wasn't your fault, Beverly. I know that now and I'm sorry I was so-"

"No," I cut him off. "I deserved your anger. How I acted… it was..."

"Understandable," he finishes.

I move back, "No! Jean Luc! I practically had an affair with him!"

"No, Beverly," he shakes his head and calmly continues. "He was using you; it was abuse." He drops my hand and averts his gaze, "God, I'm so sorry, Beverly."

I mirror his earlier action, as I turn his head to meet my regard, "Jean Luc, you have nothing to be sorry for." I let out a long sigh as a smile forms at the corners of my mouth, "Let's go home and see the kids. We need another day to recover before I go back to work."

He smiles back, "Indeed… What should we do with our day off?"

"Well," I tug suggestively at his shirt collar, "We should sleep in – that's a must."

"Oh, definitely," he whispers as he moves closer, his lips affixing themselves to my own.

I break the kiss with a grin, "And then we should lounge and spend time with the kids."

I smile even more broadly as he moves in to kiss me again. "Lounging sounds good," he utters against open lips. Another kiss and soon enough we're making out in the back of the shuttle like a couple of teenagers on a date.