She knew earlier Ranger teams had interacted with offworld teams, and she knew, intellectually at least, that Dimitria was from another world. But she had never given it much thought--"alien" was a term used only in the abstract. Dimitria simply *was*, and the other teams were vague history that she never seemed to have time to worry about.

Until now. Now she wished desperately that Kat was here, or Tanya... someone who had dealt firsthand with people from other planets, and who might be able to give her some kind of advice about what she was going through.

*Or maybe not,* she thought, dismayed. They hadn't fallen for someone from a place they'd barely even heard of, with a name they didn't even know and a life they couldn't hope to understand, let alone share. "What am I going to do?" she whispered, still staring up at the night sky.

She drew her feet up onto the step below her, propping her elbows on her knees and resting her chin on her hands. The Hammonds' porch light threw just enough illumination that her shadow fell over the steps and onto the edge of the driveway, mimicking her dejected posture at the edge of the evening's darkness.

She didn't even know if she'd see him again. He had asked if he could see her tonight, but his ship had departed with such finality that afternoon that she wasn't sure how serious he had been. She had no way to find him herself, and she wasn't sure she would dare to try even if she were able. It was all just too strange.

And even if he *had* been serious--what if the threat of Divatox was too great? She had tried to destroy his ship, after all. He had said he was on leave... who wanted to deal with that kind of menace while he was on vacation? Easier just to leave, no matter what he had claimed to feel for her.

Her eyes fixed on the stars, she saw a brief glimmer as a meteor streaked toward the horizon. She wondered if that was anything like what a spaceship looked like, from below, as it plunged into the atmosphere. She wondered if she would ever know.

"Who said that every wish, would be heard and answered," she whispered, the words wandering idly through her mind as she watched the firmament. "If you wished on the morning star..."

There was no morning star now, but it wasn't stopping her from wishing. She couldn't forget the feel of his arms around her when he hugged her at the mine, or the look in his clear blue eyes when she had kissed him. Now, her face burned just thinking about that impulsive act, but he hadn't seemed to mind, and the memory of his expression was worth her own embarrassment.

"Somebody thought of that," she murmured, her voice picking up the melody of the song absently as she remembered. "And someone believed it--look what it's done so far..."

If she never saw him again, would she be able to pretend nothing had happened? Dimitria had basically said he would come and go as he pleased, and after this afternoon, what reason would he have for staying? What reason could he have had for coming in the first place?

"What's so amazing," she sang, very softly, as she tried to distract herself, "it keeps us stargazing... What do we think we might see?"

There was a gentle movement behind her. She thought it was only the breeze, until a quiet voice made her jump. "What do you wish to see?"

Eyes wide, she scrambled to her feet and spun around to face the voice's owner. He stood by the end of the porch, one arm braced against the posts supporting the railing as he studied her. He was unmorphed, as she had seen him earlier, and the glow from the porch light cast eerie shadows across his features.

He held his hands out to the side as she stood, imitating the gesture she had made when she startled him by the pickup truck. "I did not mean to distress you... I apologize if my intrusion is not welcome."

"No," she said quickly, taking an inadvertent step toward him. "I mean, yes, it's very welcome. And it's no intrusion--you just surprised me, that's all."

"I told you I would find you," he reminded her softly.

"But you left! I thought..." She swallowed, not sure *what* she had thought.

"I took my ship somewhere safer," he corrected. "I could hardly leave it where it was, after everything that has happened."

"Did it--" She frowned a little, remembering the "explosion". Her curiosity momentarily overpowered her self-consciousness, and she asked, "What *did* happen? I thought Divatox destroyed it."

He shook his head, and she tried not to smile as his dark hair fell across his forehead and into his eyes. She had the strongest urge to brush it away from his face for him, but she forced herself to stay where she was and watch him push it back impatiently. "As she was intended to believe," he agreed. "The explosion was nothing more than an illusion, an automatic reaction of my ship's cloaking device. The shields are better than a mere two torpedoes."

She tried not to giggle at his sudden and casual cockiness. "A mere two torpedoes" had no doubt destroyed uncountable ships in times past. "Good," she managed, with only a hint of her smile showing through. "I was worried there for a while."

He seemed to hesitate. "Did you... should I--have spoken to you? I didn't know..."

She wanted to say "yes". She wanted to say "'I'm not really leaving' or 'I'll see you tonight' or 'I love you' would have been nice." But logic prevailed, and she shook her head reluctantly.

Before she could say anything, though, he was standing in front of her. She blinked, surprised that he had made no sound in the still night air. Then he put one finger under her chin, and she lifted her head willingly to meet his gaze.

"There were many things I *wished* I could say," he said softly. "Before I even saw your face, I wished to tell you things I have never said to another person. But they were not--*are* not, appropriate."

"Like what?" she breathed, caught up in the intensity of his gaze and the power of the moment.

He stared back at her, one hand still lightly touching her face. "That I love you," he replied, very quietly. "That I have loved you for longer than I can remember, and only just discovered it today. That I wish you to put your arms around me again and never let go. That I wish to kiss you, if it is your tradition, and if it is not, I wish..."

He swallowed suddenly and looked down, letting his hand fall. "I am sorry," he whispered. "I have said too much."

"No," she murmured, her heart racing. She reached out to take his hand, wrapping it in both of hers and staring at him in wonder. "I--I feel like that too, and I don't understand why."

"Perhaps no one ever understands destiny," he offered hesitantly, lifting his gaze to hers once more. "Maybe we can only hope to obey it..."

"Is it destiny?" she whispered, searching his expression. She didn't care how silly it sounded. Right now, all she wanted was to hear him say "yes".

"I can think of no other word for it," he said, his fingers tightening on hers as he returned her scrutiny.

That was all she needed. Leaning closer, she saw him close his eyes just as her lips touched his. She tried not to smile--the kiss was anything but serious, but he treated it like the most precious thing he had ever received. Oddly, his reaction made her want to press closer, to *really* kiss him, and she had to fight to pull away before she was tempted to find out how he would respond.

"May I hold you?" he whispered, his soft voice strained as he opened his eyes.

She nodded wordlessly, stepping into his embrace even as he put his arms around her. She felt the hug tighten as she slipped her hands around behind his back, and she leaned into him with a sigh. "You never told me your name," she realized, turning her head to lay it against his chest.

"Saryn," he murmured, and she shivered at a sound that was both alien and somehow familiar. "Saryn of Elisia."

She smiled a little, wondering if the name of his world meant "paradise" in his language as well. "I'm Cassie Chan."

She felt his hand stroke her hair, and she let her eyes slide shut. "You have two names, Cassie Chan?" he asked quietly.

Each time he spoke while they were pressed together like this, she could feel his voice through her entire body. Soft as it was, his voice sounded deeper with her head on his chest. "The first one's mine," she answered, rubbing her fingers against the soft material of his tunic and wondering idly what it was made of. "The second one is my parents'."

"They are both beautiful," he whispered, and she felt him kiss the top of her head.

She shivered involuntarily at his gentle touch, and her arms tightened around him.

"Why do you tremble?" he inquired softly, his hand running down her back as he continued to stroke her hair.

She turned her face toward his chest, mumbling, "Because I want to kiss you," as quietly as she could. She almost hoped he wouldn't hear.

His hand stilled on her hair, and she felt him grasp her arms and push her away, just a little. She looked up at him sadly, knowing she shouldn't have told him that--but the expression on his face gave her pause. He looked somehow both hopeful and desperate as he stared down at her, apparently looking for--*something* in her eyes. "Truly?" he breathed.

"Truly," she repeated, liking the sound of the word.

Then she almost gasped as his mouth pressed hard against hers, his lips parted as he silently urged her to do the same. Uncertainly, she let her mouth open beneath his demanding kiss, and she moaned inadvertently as his tongue slid inside. Her knees went weak, and she felt his grip on her arms tighten, holding her up.

One of his arms went around her shoulders then, and she let him crush her against him, unable to feel anything but his mouth on hers as he kissed her in a way she had never been kissed before. As far as she could respond, she did, molding her lips to his and drawing his breath into her, but sensation overwhelmed her and all she could do was react.

Then he twisted away, his hand clenching on her t-shirt as he looked down, muttering, "I am--"

"I'm not," she interrupted breathlessly, knowing he was about to apologize and not sure she could take it. "Saryn--"

His sapphire gaze was guilty as his eyes snapped back to hers, and she kissed him as soon as he lifted his head. He shuddered, and his tenuous control must have snapped, for he returned her kiss with the same intensity that had so startled her at first. His lips were hungry on hers, wanting something she wasn't even sure she possessed--but he didn't pull away this time, and she felt his passion igniting something inside of her.

Light flooded out onto the porch as the front door swung open, and the screen door slammed as Ashley stepped through. "Ca--" Her call cut off as abruptly as it had begun, and Cassie didn't have to turn around to know that her friend had just caught sight of her and Saryn.