"Ahh…ah…CHOOO!"

Daphne sniffed and reeled her head back into place, hair sticking in strands to her face. "All right…has that little monster been in here?" The Companion half-stepped, half-stumbled from the shuttle doorway to the catwalk, eyes whipping around the platforms. Leo cleared the last flight of stairs and winced as another sneeze wracked Daphne's body.

"Here, this one's a nasal spray. You'll have to take it twice daily, but it should help with the irritation."

"That's what you said about the last three!"

He shrugged. "I'm sorry, I thought dander allergies were more or less extinct on the Core. I'm not really set up to deal with this." Leo wrinkled his nose as she sneezed again. "You should think about trying to keep it out of your shuttle."

The Companion grimaced and snatched the dainty bottle from the doctor's hand. "Brilliant."

Mona had finally gotten her hands on the energetic kitten and was cradling it in her arms. "I'm so sorry, Miss Penn, I wish I'd know you were allergic before…" She shrugged. "Jubil's sorry too, aren't you Jubil?" The ball of fur between her arms purred. Daphne stared daggers at it. "I'll try to teach her to stay out of your shuttle," the pilot volunteered helpfully.

Daphne let out another sneeze, and on the other side of the catwalk Rachel's smile widened. Saul, leaning against the bulkhead next to her, cast a sideways glance at his captain and raised an eyebrow. "You let that cat into the Longbow?"

"Yeah."

The cook shook his head. "You're really enjoying this, aren't you?"

The captain grinned. "Yeah."

Dex's eyes fluttered open as the clink of footsteps down the aft corridor grew louder. Mariah stopped on the engine room's threshold. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"

The mechanic shook his head and tried to extricate himself from the lotus position as quickly and as gracefully as possible. "No, it's fine. I was just meditatin'."

Mariah smiled slightly. "I didn't think anyone but priests still did that."

Dex shrugged. "I like it. Makes me feel all peaceful-like."