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"How's he doing?" Kolya stepped into the med-bay and found Lorkis on one of the beds with more than half his body draped over the end and coiled up. Ralissa sat on the edge of the adjacent bed and Cora stood at a nearby console, staring at the readouts on the monitor.

"He's awake," Lorkis said with a faint smile. "Cora said I'll be as good as new in a few days. I want to head back to those ruins as soon as I'm discharged. Don't want to leave without having a look around."

"That's the spirit." Kolya grinned and moved aside so Corwin could enter. "Any word about the_Vancouver_ yet?"

"Just heard from Galactic Expeditions a few minutes ago." Ralissa sighed. "They were pretty horrified. The data we sent back told them everything they need to know. They asked us to scrap the ship to prevent anyone else from being infected."

"Its orbit will cause it to pass overhead in a few hours," Cora said. "I'll work out a firing solution and blow it into pieces small enough to burn up in the atmosphere."

"Glad they're being sensible about it." Kolya walked over to join her and Ralissa. "I was afraid they'd want to take it back to Earth and study the spores and the corpses."

"The Vancouver's medical staff did a thorough analysis of both. GalEx will probably be going over the data we retrieved for months. Fortunately, the people in charge were unwilling to take any risks. So this ends here."

Ralissa wiped tears from her cheeks and shook her head slowly. "This was supposed to be about scientific discovery. Instead, we found something straight out of an old horror movie and then we were nearly murdered by a gang of petty criminals."

Corwin sighed and plopped down on the diagnostic table. "That stuff with the criminals is all my fault. I'm so sorry." He turned to face Kolya, but couldn't quite look her in the eye. "I really do care about you. A lot. I - I've never been in love before, so I don't know what it feels like, but I think ... I think I love you."

Kolya took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She'd had time to think this over while helping Corwin remove the bodies from the ship.

"Please, Kolya, give me one more chance. I know I screwed up." He hung his head. "I know you deserve better. But please let me try to make things right."

"I think he's being honest," Lorkis said. "If he didn't really care about you, he wouldn't have thrown himself into the line of fire like he did. And my saying this should tell you a lot since it means throwing away any shot _I_might've had at you." He winked.

"Yeah, that does kind of put it into the right perspective." Kolya chuckled and managed to smile at Corwin. "That was pretty heroic."

He blushed and turned away. "I couldn't - if those people had killed you, it would've been all my fault. I just couldn't let that happen." He took a breath and finally made eye contact. "I'd rather die than let you get hurt."

She held his gaze for a few more seconds and then she moseyed over to the table and sat beside him.

"Okay. I'm willing to take this day by day and see where it leads us."

He slumped over, let a long breath whoosh out, and put his arms around her. "Thank you," he whispered.

She held him for a few seconds before pulling back slightly and arching an eyebrow. "So ... you _think_you love me?"

"Yeah." He laughed softly and nudged his head against hers. "I'm pretty sure."

"How sure?"

"Hmm, seventy to seventy-five percent, at least." He grinned.

"Well, that's a pretty good start." Kolya pointed at her face. "This roadmap isn't a deal-breaker?"

"Not in the slightest." He punctuated it with a quick kiss. "I think you're beautiful." Another kiss. "And smart." Kiss. "And kind." Kiss. "And funny." Kiss.

She giggled. "Okay, you've made your point." She put her arms around him.

"So," Cora said after giving them a moment, "what's next for you two?"

"Well, I'd definitely like to explore those ruins. After the mission here is complete, I'm open to whatever comes up next, as long as I get to see someplace new."

Corwin nodded. "And I'll go wherever you go, for as long as you want me around."

"Sounds like a plan."

"Okay, then." Cora raised a brow plate and smirked at Corwin. "We'll need to dock at a port that has repair facilities to fix the damage caused by the fight. It's not extensive, but it could still cost quite a bit to fix. Maybe you'd consider staying on until you work the cost off."

"That actually sounds more than fair. After I started running from Varrick, I'm not exactly rolling in money."

Cora nodded and glanced at Kolya. "And we'd like you to stick around for a while. Since we're farther out than other Terran ships have traveled, we could see where the next job takes us, and when you're ready to move on, we won't get in your way."

"Sounds fun." Kolya glanced at Corwin and back to Cora. "I'm also concerned about that guy sending another goon squad after Corwin."

"Well, if he does, I'll send them all the logs of what happened to the last crew he sent after you, and warn him to think twice about attacking us. If they insist on trying to harm anyone on this ship, they'll regret it. Briefly."

"I don't want to endanger anyone again," Corwin said.

"Well, it should be a while before Johnson's team is declared overdue and they send someone to find out what happened. By then we'll be docked at some other port, and we'll pick up a job or two as quickly as possible. But if they catch up with us anyway, we'll hope they have brains enough to let it go. If they don't, we'll deal with them." Cora rested one hand on Kolya's shoulder and the other on Corwin's. "Sunset's in a couple of hours, so we can pile into the rovers and head out in the morning."

"Sounds good."

Corwin smiled. "I've never taken the time to watch a sunset on an alien planet."

"I can open the cargo ramp so you can see it. The cloud cover's a little thick, but that might make it even more spectacular." Cora winked. "And I can turn off the cargo bay cameras if you want some privacy."

"Thanks." Cora grinned, stood, and held her hand out. "Shall we take in the local sunset?"

"Sounds delightful." He clasped her hand and walked with her toward the door. He glanced over his shoulder and added, "Thanks."

"Any time."

They remained silent until they reached the cargo bay and found the ramp already extended. Directly outside, Gamma Orionis dipped toward the horizon.

"Oh, we'll have an excellent view." Kolya grinned.

Corwin walked over to the nearest rover and opened one of the compartments. Inside several tents and other pieces of shelter equipment waited to be deployed. He extracted a pair of sleeping mats and placed them side by side, edges touching, at the mid-point of the ramp. Kolya sat and took a slow look around.

Good thing we made sure the bodies were out of sight. It hadn't seemed right to dump them so near the ruins, but the _Jemison_wasn't equipped with anything that could function as a morgue. Cora had already sent a message and a copy of her memory of the whole incident to the proper authorities, so they could deal with the bodies whenever they could send someone out here.

Corwin sat beside her, hesitated, and put his arm around her shoulders. She hesitated as well, and then leaned closer and snuggled him.

A moment passed before he spoke.

"Cora said it'd be a couple hours before sunset."

"Yep." She smirked and glanced at him. "Got something in mind?"

"Make-up sex?"

She burst out laughing. Well, I did agree to give him a chance. Might as well go all-in. She grinned and pulled her shirt off.

"Sounds like a good way to pass the time."

He reached behind her to unfasten her bra, and she gave him a long, passionate kiss. She pushed him down and unbuckled his belt.

"Still at seventy-five percent?"

"Closer to eighty-five, now." He winked.

"Hmm." She unzipped his pants. "Think I can get you to one hundred in the next two hours?"

"It's a definite possibility." He grinned, tugged her bra off, flung it aside, and closed his lips over her left nipple.

She gasped and fumbled with her own belt. She wriggled out of her pants and stretched out beside him while he removed his. She gazed into his eyes and beamed.

"Challenge accepted."