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Tribal Graces and njmrtl: Thank you for your detailed reviews! If y'all haven't already seen, I posted a response to them in the reviews for chapter 12.

And thank you, thyme2read, for your inspiration!

Dhaval and Anne walked hand in hand on their way back to their home. When they weren't walking on the pavement, the frosty grass crunched beneath their feet. It was only the second genuine frost that season, and everyone was saying that this was going to be the last before spring came at last.

Anne's lips trembled slightly from the cold as she smiled sweetly at him. She was in much better spirits now, and Dhaval was glad of it. Though he by no means had any regrets, being married to a human was proving to be more difficult than he had first anticipated. A Romulan woman would have guessed his orders and would not have tried to pry. But Anne was not Romulan; she was human.

And yet, Dhaval would have it no other way. He understood that her incessant curiosity stemmed from the fact that she was innocent. She knew little of violence and war. It was yet another trait that had drawn him to her. Though her stories and poems certainly described things accurately, they were nowhere near the real thing. And he didn't want her to ever know what the real thing was like. The tragedy of losing her family in the crash was enough, he had long ago decided.

He hoped desperately that his idea to distract her would be successful. It would, he reassured himself for the hundredth time since he thought of it. This was the perfect type of distraction in that it would appeal to her romantic nature. She would be so taken with the idea that she would forget all about the mysterious "hunting" fiasco altogether.

As soon as they entered the house and he closed the door, Dhaval took his wife into his arms. "You're so beautiful," he told her as his kissed her passionately.

"Wait, wait…" she said suddenly. He groaned inwardly, though he had been prepared for this. "There's something—"

"Anne," he interrupted gently, silencing her by touching his fingers to her lips. "I know what you would ask, and I beg you not to."

She narrowed her eyes in confusion.

"You know how much I love you, that I would give my life for you. Trust me," he pleaded.

The point at last had been taken. Only then did his wife appear to realize the gravity of his predicament, even if she didn't understand the details. "I'm sorry," she said softly, looking away in shame as a result of her poor behavior.

Dhaval lifted her chin back up. "Think no more of it, my Anne," he assured her. "Besides, there is a matter far more interesting, which must be dealt with," he smirked.

Anne's expression brightened with intrigue. "What?"

"The most diabolical contrivance your husband has ever concocted," he responded cryptically, in an effort to reel her in a little further before revealing his plan. "And to carry it out, I shall require my devoted wife's assistance."

Finally, she laughed. "More pranks? Dhaval, you're so wicked!" she scolded playfully. "Why can't you behave yourself?"

"Do you really want me to?" he asked as he lifted her up and sat her on his lap. "Admit it, that's why you love me."

She slowly pushed her hands up his shoulders and wrapped her arms around the back of his neck. "Alright," she assented. "That's one of the reasons."

"It involves Eviess and H'dean," he said, lovingly caressing her back.

Anne blinked. "What about them?"

He continued, "You know they despise each other."

"Who doesn't know it?" she agreed.

Dhaval cunningly raised a brow. "We shall convince both that the other is enamored with them," he unfolded, "with Toq and Ba'el's help, of course. Then we will watch, and see what happens."

Anne's jaw dropped. "Are you serious?"

"My dear, you know that I am," he answered slyly.

She seemed to like the idea, as she began to laugh again. "You're a handsome devil," she said dreamily. She traced the outline of his ears with her fingertips.

"Yes," he agreed, trying to focus on their conversation. "So are you on my side or not?"

"Hmmm," she mused. Several seconds passed.

"Well?" he queried impatiently.

Her beautiful sea-colored eyes seemed to sparkle as she gazed at him. "I think," she said, whimsically twirling a lock of her auburn hair, "that it will take more than your dark looks to convince me…"

Dhaval smiled. That was definitely a yes. And he had been hoping it would come to that. "As you wish, my lady," he said without warning as he threw her over his shoulder and headed for their bedroom. There was an upside to spouses' tiffs, he realized. And that was making up afterwards.

Early the next morning, Dhaval set out for his routine patrol. He often wondered why he bothered to do this, aside from the fact that it was his duty. Constant and consistent vigilance was the way of the Romulan military. One never knew when an enemy would strike. Though why any enemy would be interested in attacking a secret "prison camp" on Carraya IV was beyond Dhaval.

His train of thought derailed with a shocked crash when he came upon a large carcass in his path. It was that of a man-sized reptilian predator. The animal had not been dead long, but already the flies were swarming all around it. Dhaval had seen only one such beast since setting foot on the planet, and that was deep in the jungle. Had he not been on his guard then, it would have eaten him alive.

Dhaval knew full well that these creatures never came near the settlement, much less got inside the walls. What the hell was it doing there? A horrible thought occurred to him: What if it had attacked a child-or Anne on her way to the kitchen? He swallowed down the lump that had formed in his throat.

"It's the third one I've killed this week," said Valdus from behind him. "This one was the first to successfully breach the perimeter."

"Something drove it out of the jungle," Dhaval commented, hoping his superior would give him more information.

"Yes," Valdus agreed. "I just told Tokath. Get ready to leave. We're going to investigate up river. Be sure to arm yourself heavily."

Dhaval snapped to attention. "Yes, Centurion." He paused. "Sir?"

Valdus nodded understandingly. "Go say goodbye to your wife. But don't take too long." His tone was completely serious. No teasing, no smirking.

That didn't sit well with Dhaval. The situation was apparently more perilous than he had previously believed.

In the kitchen, Anne was busy mixing the batter for the cake she had promised the evening before. She had decided to make a butterfly, with multi-colored wings. It wasn't very original, to be sure; but no one else on Carraya IV would have thought of it, despite the many butterfly-like species flying around. She had once heard Ba'el mention that she thought they were the most elegant creatures. Toq, she knew, probably wouldn't care what she made, as the gesture itself would be more important to him.

In keeping with his usual routine, her mischievous mate entered. It was actually earlier than usual, in fact. From the expression on his face, she could tell that he had been deep in thought all morning, no doubt sorting out the details of his scheme.

She smiled adoringly at him and poured the batter into the pans. Of course, she didn't have the exact shape necessary, so she would have to cut it out after it was baked.

Dhaval watched her put it in the oven. "What did you decide on?" he asked.

"A butterfly," she answered.

"Hmm," he remembered. He pulled a small book out of his pocket and read from it:

The butterfly obtains
But little sympathy
Though favorably mentioned
In Entomology -

Because he travels freely
And wears a proper coat
The circumspect are certain
That he is dissolute -

Had he the homely scutcheon
Of modest Industry
'Twere fitter certifying
For Immortality –

Anne giggled. "My Cyrano, I thought you didn't like Emily Dickinson?"

"I don't," he said with a smile, "but your cake reminds me of that poem. And now that I think of it, you remind me of a butterfly, the way you're always flittering around in here. It's quite fetching." He frowned suddenly. "I thought you said I was handsome. Why do you now say I'm your Cyrano?"

Anne threw her dish towel around his neck and pulled him close. "I was referring to your eloquence, you handsome devil."

Dhaval smiled again at her complement, but then sighed. "I have to go," he said regretfully.

Anne's heart sank. She knew exactly what he meant. He was going out into the jungle again. And she knew this time that she couldn't ask him why.

"We will be gone for a few days…" he added hesitatingly.

There was always a horrible fear in the back of her mind every time he had to leave the compound. What if he didn't come back? She choked down her tears. "I promise that I'll always love you," she said, as calmly as she could manage. "And that I'll be waiting eagerly for you to return, my love."

Dhaval gently stroked her cheek, knowing full well how much it grieved her for him to go. What made things worse was the fact that it was the first time they would be separated for more than a day. "I promise to be extremely careful," he assured her, "that I will always love you, and that I will return to you, my Anne." He held her close and then pulled her into an ardent kiss. And then, he turned to go.

Before he left, he peeked from behind the door and smirked at her. He was such a charmer. "Don't forget," he reminded her once more with a wink. "I'm relying on you to set things in motion with H'dean."

Anne smiled, in spite of the apprehension welling in her heart. "I won't," she affirmed. Without another word, he left. She tried desperately not to cry. I love you, she silently called after him, please come back to me…

Fortunately, she was saved from bursting into tears when Ba'el dropped in soon afterwards. "I've married Tom Sawyer," Anne remarked, more dryly than she intended.

Ba'el chuckled. "If that's the case, it would appear that I'm about to marry Huck Finn."

Anne couldn't help but laugh at that. "Oh, really?"

"I take it your husband has acquainted you with his scheme?" she asked mirthfully.

"Only he would think of something like this," the wife answered. "Scratch Tom Sawyer—I meant I was married to the Mad Hatter."

Ba'el laughed, "The Mad Hatter?" She quickly caught on that it was some literary reference. "I haven't read that yet, whatever it is."

"Alice in Wonderland," she supplied, "I'll tell you about it later. Right now, it would appear we have more important matters to attend to."

"Yes," said Ba'el, "Toq told me all about it before they left."

Her friend smiled weakly and then busied herself with her work.

"Don't worry, Anne," Ba'el reassured her, "They'll be fine. You'll see."