The chime of Ashley's computer terminal was audible even in the kitchen, and Andros glanced over in time to see her roll her eyes. "Want me to see who it is?" he offered, recognizing the same annoyance that had lingered in her expression the evening before.

But she smiled and shook her head, the irritation vanishing as quickly as it had come. "No, I'll get it; thanks."

She slid off the counter and disappeared from the kitchen, returning to her side of the apartment. He heard the terminal chime again, and then Ashley must have activated the comm unit from her end. Her friendly "Hi!" reassured him, and he laid her toast carefully on her plate, wondering whether to take it in to her or not.

She saved him the trouble of deciding, for at that moment Ashley called, "Andros! Your brother wants to know where you are! What should I tell him?"

Andros smiled to himself, certain she had not muted the comm. "Tell him I found the Lights of Orion, and I don't need to sleep anymore."

There was a brief pause where he couldn't quite make out the response coming from her terminal. Then Ashley laughed. "He says it's pretty convenient that you find yourself at my place, then."

Andros heard Cassie giggle, and he tried not to blush.

Leaving the kitchen, he walked over to Ashley and glared at her terminal. "Very funny, Zhane," he said, but the other just grinned.

"You set yourself up for that one," he replied. "Don't blame me for taking advantage of it!"

Andros couldn't help smiling at his friend's irrepressible good cheer. Zhane didn't know the meaning of "tired" or "overworked". He seemed to be the most successful of all of them at maintaining an equilibrium between working and relaxing.

Of course, it probably helped to have a girlfriend who was the former queen of evil, and whom no one wanted to annoy. When *Zhane* said he had a dinner date, no one said, "Oh, just one more minute." They just wished him a good evening and said they'd see him in the morning.

''I'll let you two talk," Ashley was saying, touching his shoulder briefly as she turned away.

"Your toast is on the counter," Andros offered, turning his head to watch her leave.

"Thanks," she said with a smile.

He nodded, staring after her until he remembered he was supposed to be talking to Zhane. Looking back at the screen, he saw his friend waiting patiently with an expression that was almost a smirk.

"You're really missing out with her, you know," his friend told him, when he realized he had Andros's attention again.

Andros shook his head, glancing over his shoulder once more. "She wants it like this," he said, a little wistfully.

Zhane snorted. "Are you kidding? I saw the way she just looked at you--she thinks you making breakfast for her is the most romantic thing in the world."

"Once, maybe," Andros muttered. "She thinks it's sweet this time, but she'd get tired of it really fast."

They'd had this conversation before, and Zhane looked exasperated. "Andros, have a little confidence in yourself. Ashley's completely in love with you, and you're just pushing her away."

He shrugged a little, uncomfortable talking about it where she might overhear. "She's happier this way," he said quietly.

"What about you?" Zhane demanded. "Why do you think she's happy when you're not?"

"I *am* happy," he insisted. "I'm glad we can be together without needing anything more." And he *was* glad, because he knew that if things ever got serious between them it wouldn't last. Ashley liked him, of that he had no doubt, but she could never commit to someone less intense than she was.

Something caught Zhane's attention before he could reply, and he looked away from the screen for a moment. "Who is it?" Zhane called, and smiled at the answer.

Looking back at the screen, he said sternly, "We're going to talk about this again, you know."

Andros sighed at his friend's tenacity. "Zhane, we're fine."

"Right," Zhane said dryly. "Remind me to explain why you're so wrong later. Come in!" he called over his shoulder.

Andros watched with relief, glad the other had been distracted. It didn't surprise him in the least to see his sister enter the screen's field of view, reaching out to ruffle Zhane's hair affectionately as she peered over his shoulder. "Andros, you're up early for a day off," she greeted him.

He glanced at the timestamp on the bottom corner of the terminal. "It's half past ten by Terra Venture's time," he said, as though she couldn't see that for herself.

"That's what I said," she agreed, a delighted smile on her face. "You're up early."

Zhane snickered, and she gave him a gentle push. "You too," she reproved. "You'd both sleep the day away if you didn't have friends to wake you up."

"It's a good thing we have friends, then." Zhane caught her hand and raised it to his lips, kissing her fingers solemnly.

Kerone only laughed at him, pulling her hand away and turning back to the terminal. "So what prompted this sudden time off, Andros?"

He shrugged evasively. "I thought we all needed it. We've been working pretty hard, and--"

"He means his girlfriend was tired," Zhane interrupted. "He didn't want it to look like favoritism, so we all got to sleep in."

Andros shifted where he was standing, but he did not deny it. Kerone just looked amused. "I guess Ashley's the one to talk to if you want something done around here."

"That's it," Zhane agreed cheerfully. "Too bad we have to wait for her to get so tired that even Andros notices."

"Okay, okay," Andros said with a sigh. "I know, we should have taken time before this."

"At least weekends!" Zhane put in, but Kerone shook her head.

"No, Andros, you were right. The colony needed someone to count on, especially these first few weeks. I'm glad it could be us."

Her earnestness reassured him, and a clatter from the kitchen reminded him of where he was. "Yeah," he said, smiling at her. "We did a good job, so enjoy the time off. You've earned it, both of you."

"You too," Zhane said, giving him a meaningful look that Andros pretended not to notice.

"I'll see you later," Andros said. He put the screen back on standby and headed for the kitchen.