"--degrees in Angel Grove this morning, a cool start to what looks like a warm day. REB time is 6:01 this Tuesday morning, and you're listening to Cat Country one oh two dot five. Here's Doug Supernaw with 'Not Enough Hours In The Night'."

The first thing she was aware of as the DJ's voice penetrated was the fact that she was being held. There was absolutely no doubt of that, even in the most sleep-clouded recesses of her brain. The next thing she became aware of was that someone was playing with her hair.

She didn't move, though whether by choice or default she wasn't entirely sure. This was her futon--this was definitely her room, so that was the "where". She thought she could guess the "what", given that she wasn't wearing anything and she didn't seem to be the only one. That only left "who"...

"Saryn?" she whispered tentatively.

The hand on her hair paused. "I hope you weren't expecting anyone else," his voice murmured. He sounded huskier and more relaxed than she had yet seen him, and even slightly--amused?

She twisted, trying to catch a glimpse of his expression, and she felt him shift slightly. Then she was staring up at him, his dark hair falling in his face as he leaned on one elbow and gazed back at her. She swallowed, caught unprepared for the intensity in his blue eyes. "You're real," she breathed, unable to put any other words to her feelings.

He nodded once, his hand lingering on her stomach even as his gaze held hers. "Most people do not hold that against me."

His expression was so serious that it took her a moment to realize what was happening. He was teasing her! She hadn't even been sure he knew *how* to tease. "I'm not 'most people'," she informed him, pouting slightly.

His eyes strayed for the first time, resting on her mouth as he lifted two fingers to gently trace her lips. "No," he agreed softly. "You are certainly not."

The implied compliment emboldened her, and she reached up to touch his cheek. His bangs tickled her fingers and she brushed them back automatically, smiling when they only fell in face again as soon as she let go.

His lips twitched. It was the first hint of a smile she had seen since she woke up, and she lifted her head to kiss him before it vanished. His arm slid around her shoulders to support her, and before she knew it he was holding her close to him, lying back against her pillows and returning her tender kiss as though it was the only thing that mattered in the world.

She relaxed in his arms, still surprised by his easy intimacy. It wasn't at all what she had expected, and she could think of only one explanation for it. She didn't want to ask, but she didn't want to end up obsessing over it, either.

With a final kiss she drew back a little, bracing one elbow on the mattress and her other arm on his chest. "Saryn," she murmured. He waited patiently, eyes never leaving hers as she struggled for the words. Did it really matter that much?

"Last night," she said at last. "I... I wasn't your first, was I."

He just looked at her for a moment, then shook his head wordlessly.

She swallowed, shifting a little as her shoulder complained about her position. She had expected that, and she told herself it didn't matter. *That was then,* she thought firmly. But was it? Did she know enough about him to be able to say? *What business is it of mine, anyway?*

"I--" His voice cracked, and she lifted her gaze to his in surprise. The distress on his face took her aback, and she could only stare as he whispered, "I can't talk about it, Cassie." His breath caught as he added, "I'm sorry."

"No..." She leaned forward, kissing him softly in what she feared was a futile effort to erase the pain in his gaze. "I'm sorry; I shouldn't have asked." She kissed him again, wishing she could somehow make up for the curiosity that only seemed to hurt him. "I didn't mean to upset you."

He didn't answer, but she felt him sigh a little as she laid her head down on his chest. Always there with the wrong questions, she mused. Can't talk about being alone. Can't ask about family. Can't mention past loves. She couldn't help but wonder if one big, truly horrible thing had happened to him, or if it had been lots of little bad things.

"She--" He cleared his throat, but his voice was no less hoarse when he spoke again. "She was a Ranger, like... like you. One--one of my teammates."

She bit her lip, torn between the desire to ask who his teammates were and to tell him to stop talking. It hurt just to hear him speak, as though each word was tearing something in her own heart. But if he could tell her, then she could listen. She struggled to hold her silence as he continued.

"She died," he whispered, and she felt tears well up at the desolate sadness in his voice. "In battle... I thought--" He hesitated, and she almost told him to stop again. But he finished in a rush, as though he couldn't not say it now that he'd started. "I never thought I'd love anyone else again," he confessed, arms tightening around her as though she might suddenly pull away.

She didn't move, at a loss for what to say. "I'm sorry," she whispered at last, feeling that the words were pitifully inadequate.

"You do not need to be sorry," he murmured, stroking her hair hesitantly. "It is enough for me that you are here."

She wanted to be here, she realized suddenly. Whether last night had been an accident or not, whether she had been too sleepy to know what she was saying to him or whether the magic of his presence had just turned off the part of her brain that was responsible for thinking, she didn't know. But she wouldn't go back and change it.

"If you wish it were not so," he began, an ineffable sadness in the words.

"Don't." She put one hand on his chest and lifted her head, determined not to let him finish that sentence. "I. Don't. Regret. Anything." She stared at him, a little surprised to see a flicker of amusement on his face. "What?"

"Do you feel that I will not understand you if you speak too quickly?" he inquired, holding her gaze.

"Yes," she declared, trying not to blush. "That's exactly what I feel. You're awfully quick to decide for me sometimes, you know."

His expression sobered. "Am I?" he asked quietly.

"Sometimes," she repeated, searching his eyes for some indication of what he was thinking. "Just little things, really. Last night--you were so sure I didn't want to listen to you. And then you were sure I didn't want to be with you. And now... I don't want you to decide that I regret last night before I have a chance to say I don't."

He didn't answer, but his gaze remained fixed on hers for what seemed like an eternity. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't read anything in his expression, and the longer she stared the more she found herself getting lost in those blue eyes. It was as though they felt everything she felt, projecting her feelings back at her but revealing nothing of their own.

Finally his eyes closed, releasing her, and she heard him whisper something too softly for her to make out.

"What?" she asked gently, frustrated with herself for not having caught it the first time.

He swallowed. "I'm afraid," he repeated, only a fraction louder than before.

She shifted a little, not wanting to put any more distance between them by sitting up but not wanting to lose her glimpse of his expression by lying down again either. "So?" she said softly, as though by speaking more quietly she could make him feel safer. "Everyone's afraid sometimes. It's not a bad thing."

"I'm afraid of you," he whispered, eyes still closed.

She could only stare at him. "Why?" she managed at last. "Why would you be afraid of me?"

"Because," he breathed, as though it was all the answer she needed. Finally, though, he added, "You... I can't--I haven't *felt* anything in so long."

She waited, but he said nothing more. "I don't understand," she murmured, touching his face gently. As hard as it was to stare into his eyes and see nothing, she wished now that he would do anything but keep them closed.

He opened his eyes slowly, as though he had heard her silent plea, and this time the mirror was gone. If he was seeing straight into her soul, then now she was looking right back into his. And what she saw in his eyes gave the lie to his words.

"Yes you do," she whispered, startled by the sudden change. "You do feel; you hurt, every day, but it was so bad that you couldn't let anyone see it... you're so used to it that you don't even notice--but you didn't hurt last night, did you. You were happy, and that's why you're so scared now."

He didn't answer, but he didn't have to. She hadn't guessed that, she had just known somehow, had felt it radiating from him as he stared back at her. "It's okay," she murmured, brushing her lips against his. "I love you, and I'm not going anywhere."

*Except to school,* she added silently, as the DJ announced the time again. But she couldn't say that now. "You can keep being afraid if you want, but I'm going to keep trying to make you happy, so I guess you'll just have to get used to it. You can even keep deciding for me if you really want--I'll just make sure to speak extra. Slowly. From now on so you'll have to listen."

She was rewarded by a tremulous smile. "That's better," she whispered, laying her fingers over his mouth and feeling the smile strengthen a little. "I'm not going to ask what hurts, but I hope you know you're beautiful when you smile."

She kissed him again, feeling him return it this time, and at last she felt comfortable enough to sit up. She gave him an anxious look when his smile faded, but he only continued to watch her, somewhat more calmly than before.

"How did you know?" he asked at last. "What you said about me, just now."

His eyes were shuttered again, and his tone was almost even. Only a slight waver betrayed the vulnerability he was well on his way to burying once more.

"I--" She stopped, suddenly struck by the question. Who knew something like that just by looking into someone's eyes? "I don't know," she admitted, studying him carefully. "Was I... was I wrong?"

He shook his head once, not taking his eyes off of her. "No," he said quietly. "You weren't wrong."

She smiled self-consciously under his thoughtful gaze. "Maybe I was just lucky."

"I don't think so," he murmured. "Cassie... what if I said that--the fact you can just look at me and know something like that might mean something."

He was trying to gauge *her* expression now, she realized. "Like what?"

He hesitated. "That... we might be together for some time."

She smiled outright at that. "If you said that? I'd probably say, 'Well, duh!'" It was only a passable imitation of Ashley, but he probably wouldn't recognize it anyway. She tried not to giggle at his expression. "I don't sleep with just anyone, you know."

"Their loss," he murmured.

Her eyes widened. "What?"

He sighed almost imperceptibly. "I suppose that is not a polite thing to say here. Someday I will learn not to discuss sex with aliens."

"Excuse me!" Her indignation was fighting a losing battle with laughter, and she saw the corners of his mouth quirk upward. "You're teasing me again, aren't you!"

"No." His reply was so swift that it took her aback--and before she could object he had pinned her arms to her sides and pressed his mouth to hers with a force that took her breath away. She hadn't even seen him sit up, but his tongue was making sensation explode inside her head and then he was trailing hungry kisses down her neck, eliciting a soft moan of delight that she was completely unprepared to suppress.

"Now," he breathed in her ear, his hands making her shiver as they ran softly across her skin. "Now I'm teasing you."

Her eyes widened and she shoved him back, startled by the roguish grin on his face. "You--you're--" She couldn't quite get the words out, not when she was having trouble breathing and she kept getting distracted by his smile.

"So are you," he replied easily. It was either a compliment or an insult, depending on what she had been about to say, and she got the distinct impression that he knew the comment she had been trying to make was not a flattering one.

But she could only kiss him for it, and he seemed to know that. His arms slid around her as soon as she leaned forward, and for a few moments she welcomed his heated embrace. He felt better than anything she'd ever known...

He didn't seem surprised when she made a move to pull away, though she caught the look in his eyes before he could hide it. He was trying to stamp the fire down, push it away, out of sight where he wouldn't have to deal with it. That alone made her hesitate, but one glance at her alarm clock made up her mind for her. Ten minutes until Ashley's alarm went off--he had to disappear, and she had to take her turn in the shower before her friend got up.

"School," she said reluctantly

"Eltare," he agreed, and the same regret was in his eyes, if not his voice.

She paused. "You're... leaving." She managed just in time to turn it into a statement rather than a question, for it had certainly been unfair to doubt that. He couldn't exactly stay here, after all.

"Just for the day," he said quietly, searching her expression. "My sister expected me some time ago, and I'm afraid nothing but my presence will be enough to satisfy her now. I will return this evening--if you wish to see me."

"You could do that?" She tried not to hold her breath, wondering how long a journey he was talking about. How far away *was* Eltare? She had never thought about it until yesterday. "You'd come back tonight?"

He nodded. "I could, and I would. I would offer to take you with me, if I thought you were likely to agree."

Her eyes widened, and she leaned forward. "Ask me," she suggested impulsively.

He stared at her as though he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Would you--come with me? To Eltare?"

She felt an irrepressible smile spreading across her face, and her heart was racing the way it always did when she was about to do something crazy. It was the same rush that got her out on stage in front of a crowd, and she knew before she even spoke what her answer would be. She had promised herself long ago that she would never pass up an adventure, and that vow was the reason she was a Ranger now.

"I could really go?" she said, just to make sure. "And we'd be back by tonight?"

He nodded once, eyes fixed on hers.

"You'll regret more the things you don't do than the things you do." Her voice teacher had said that again and again, and she had never found it to be untrue.

"Yes," she said, watching his expression carefully and trying to contain her excitement. "I really want to go--can we leave now? Do I need anything? Are you sure it's okay with you?"

He smiled, a slow smile that reached up and lit something in his eyes, and she knew suddenly that it wasn't just a reflection of hers. He was honestly delighted by her answer, amused by her questions, and completely serious in his invitation.

"Clothes," he said at last. "You need nothing else, and we can leave as soon as you're ready."

"And--" she began, but he cut her off.

"It's more than okay, Cassie. It's..." He paused, apparently searching for the words. At last, he said simply, "It's wonderful."

She laughed, too happy to do anything else, and leaned forward to kiss him quickly. "I'm going to go take the fastest shower in the history of the world," she told him. "Then I'm going to leave a note for Ashley and we can go. Do you want anything to eat first? The kitchen should be empty for another--" She glanced at her clock. "Seven minutes?"

"Thank you, but I will eat later," he said, an uninterpretable look on his face. "I do not wish to question you, but--Ashley?"

She couldn't stop grinning. "I'm not going to tell her the *truth*! I'll be back in two seconds."

She wasn't quite as good as her word, but when Ashley's alarm finally went off and the other girl shuffled into the bathroom, she found a note waiting for her beside the sink. Across the hall, Cassie's radio alarm was muttering to itself in an empty room as the DJ announced, "It's half past the hour here at Cat Country, KREB. That was Reba McIntyre, and 'I'd Rather Ride Around With You'..."