"So Andros was here all night, huh?" Cassie edged her stool to one side to make room for her friend.

"Yeah," Ashley agreed, hopping up onto the counter again. "Too bad I was asleep the whole time."

Cassie laughed. "It won't be the last time," she promised.

Ashley reached for her plate, lifting it off the counter and settling it in her lap. "I hope not," she said, noting with surprise that Andros had managed to cook her toast just right.

"Jam?" Cassie offered, tilting the jar in her direction.

Ashley eyed it, then glanced over at the drawer that held the silverware--just out of reach from where she sat. "Only if I can use your knife."

Cassie set her own toast down and passed her the knife.

"Thanks," Ashley said, giving her a quick smile.

"No problem." Cassie studied her for a moment, then asked, "So what's going on with you and Andros?"

She pretended to concentrate on her toast, spreading the jam in a thin layer over the bread. But when she went to hand the knife back, Cassie managed to catch her eye, and Ashley sighed. "Nothing. Why?"

Cassie half-smiled, but her intent gaze did not lessen. "Well, for one thing, because you sighed when I asked."

Ashley shrugged a little. "Nothing's going on," she repeated, picking up her toast. It was, after all, the truth.

Cassie seemed to consider that, putting a small amount of jam on another section of her toast and taking a thoughtful bite. "So," she said, a moment later, "is that good or bad?"

Ashley looked up, startled, and found her friend watching her again.

"Come on, Ash," Cassie insisted. "You guys have been going out for more than a year, and you're still act like you're barely into the 'comfortable' stage."

"We've been busy," Ashley muttered, glancing inadvertently toward the door. "You know how crazy things got after our identities were revealed. The media was everywhere; we had practically no time to ourselves. And the rebuilding wasn't even finished when the last of the colonists were chosen for Terra Venture--it's been nonstop ever since."

"Ash, listen to yourself," Cassie interrupted. "Sure, we've been right in the middle of everything. In some ways, maybe, things are more hectic now than they were in high school, but at least now we can plan things. Evil is *gone*--we don't have to worry about fighting monsters every day."

"We have to worry about everything else, though," Ashley said, smiling a little in an attempt to distract her friend.

Cassie gave her a look that said she knew exactly what Ashley was trying to do. "When you love someone, you *find* the time," she said firmly. "It doesn't matter how busy you are."

"Like Saryn did when we were on the Megaship?" Ashley couldn't help asking.

Cassie didn't flinch. "He couldn't help that. We had to be apart--you and Andros don't. You live down the hall from each other, Ash! You could see him every single *day* if you wanted to."

"I do see him every day," Ashley said indignantly. "Well, almost."

"You know what I mean. Really see him, not just say hello when you report in together. What's keeping you from meeting for dinner, or just watching TV after work or something?"

Ashley just stopped herself from retorting that they *did* that, because Cassie was right--she knew what her friend meant, and the fact that she and Andros did not spend nearly enough time together had not escaped her, either. And even when they were together, they almost never talked about anything except the colony, or their days.

Ashley sighed, looking over her shoulder at the door again. "I don't know," she admitted at last. "I wish I did. I love him; I know that. And he says he loves me--"

"He does," Cassie said quietly. "We all know that."

"You 'all' know that?" Ashley repeated, not sure how she felt about that.

"Sure," Cassie said, a slight smile on her face. "Don't tell Andros, but..." She leaned closer and whispered, "Me and Carlos had a bet that he'd propose to you before Terra Venture left Earth."

Ashley's eyes widened, and she stared at her friend in shock. "Andros?"

"No, Carlos," Cassie shot back. "Of course Andros!"

"But--" Ashley couldn't think of anything else to say. She sat there, breakfast forgotten as she tried to even picture such a thing. "He's... he's not even from Earth," she managed to get out at last, and she was embarrassed to find her voice choked with tears.

"Ash?" Cassie was on her feet in an instant, reaching out to touch her shoulder.

She set her plate down and slid off the counter wordlessly, trying to blink away the tears as Cassie pulled her into a hug. "Ash?" Cassie asked again. "What's wrong?"

She sniffled, hugging her friend hard. "I don't know," she murmured, helpless. "I feel like--he's scared of me or something. Like he thinks he'll lose me if he gets too close, or like he's not really sure he wants me at all...

"I just don't *know*," she repeated miserably, rubbing her eyes as she pulled away. "He won't let me into his world, Cassie, and I don't even know why!"

A movement by the door startled her, and she blushed when she saw Saryn standing there, watching silently. She hadn't meant to fall apart like that, and she certainly hadn't meant for anyone else to overhear.

"I did not mean to intrude," he offered, his tone quiet with sleep but his eyes oddly unclouded.

She took a deep breath and shook her head, feeling Cassie's hand still resting soothingly on her shoulder. "It's all right," she said, trying to recover herself enough to face him--and possibly Andros, who would probably be back any minute.

"I apologize for my imposition," he continued, surprising her, "but Andros is not an indecisive person, nor a dishonest one. If he has told you he loves you, I can not believe that he does not."

Ashley swallowed, glancing over at Cassie. The other girl smiled a little, squeezing her shoulder. "He's right, you know. It's an irritating habit he has," she added, and Saryn raised an eyebrow in her direction. Ashley made an effort to smile, knowing they were trying to cheer her up.

"Ash," Cassie said, catching her eye. "Maybe you just need to let him know that *you* love *him*. Andros has never been the most secure person in the world, you know."

This time, she sighed in amusement, wiping her eyes once more. "That's true, I guess. But I *do* let him know--I've told him over and over again."

Cassie shrugged, a knowing smile on her face. "That's not always enough," she said, and Ashley saw her exchange glances with her own boyfriend. "Sometimes you have to chase them a little."