When Tess woke up from their night on Antar, it was still dark outside. She looked over and saw that Zan was still sleeping, and she nuzzled into him. She thought of her conversation with Kavar and how he thought she betrayed Zan. She didn't think it would be possible to betray him but she knew she was close to Kivar and it affected how their lives ended. He had announced before their deaths that he wanted to be announced above Zan. Antar was well protected place, but the crops were being affected by the industrial climb, and the people were having a hard time adjusting to the change. Tess had heard from Nasado that when Kivar took over, he had let the people have more influence in their industrial lives and it made everything function correctly again. Tess looked over and Zan was awake, she smiled, and put her hand on his cheek. He wrapped his arm around her then went back to sleep.
The next morning they were getting ready to go back to Mars. Tess hadn't seen Kivar again since their encounter in the lounge. She was heading into the hallway with the others, when she saw him at the end of the hallway. She watched as he said something to Clay then he waited for them to get to him. When they stopped by where he was, he said that he hoped they had a good stay and that their stay on Mars was productive. Tess thanked him, then followed Zara outside to the spaceship. After boarding and taking their seats they were on the way back to Mars.
It was the last day on Mars then they would be taking a break and heading back to earth. Tess had packed her stuff up and was waiting for the driver of the spaceship to show up. When the driver came, he parked the spaceship on the landing space. They boarded and it was a shorter flight than the one they took to Antar.
The exited the ship then, a driver was waiting to pick them up and bring them home. Once home Tess had brought her stuff into her room then watched as Zan layed on the bed, and closed his eyes. Tess went to take a shower because she had a little static from the flight. After leaving the bathroom, she saw that Zan was awake again. She sat next to him, then he maneuvered her under him, and helped her get comfy with the home again. It was nice how the sheets made her feel like she had belonged with him.
Tess received a call from Sasha and she was in town and wanted to meet somewhere. Tess told her of a diner they could meet at. Sasha had babysat Tess when she was a child. She had taken her to play groups where she met curly rae, she was the same age as her, and was more cautious. They had older kids in their play group and curly rae had held the timer when we played ball. She also held the map, when we had a treasure hunt, while Tess was looking for clues with the boys, curly rae had shouted out directions to the hiding spots.
When Tess went to the diner, she saw Sasha sitting at a table on the side. She went over and sat down across from her. She asked Tess how she was doing, and Tess answered that she was doing good. Sasha told her she was going to travel to a few states and wanted to see Tess before she went. They had lunch and talked about their favorite hobbies. When it was time to leave, Sasha said she would call her before her trip. They said goodbye, and Tess walked home.
When she got home, Zan was in the living room watching the television. She sat with him and watched the drama that was on the television. It Was a movie about a woman trying out the olympics and having competitive habits, and expectations from her community. She looked out the window and noticed that the clouds were out and it was raining, she hoped she didn't leave anything on the fire escape.