Mariah's eyes flitted up as a shadow fell across the page, and the momentary flare of hope left her. The young doctor didn't seem to notice. "Sorry, am I disturbing you?"

"No. What is it, doctor?"

"Leo, please." She nodded listlessly. He cleared his throat. "So…what are you reading?" She held up the cover for him to see. "Leaves of Grass. One of my favorites."

"I didn't know you liked Earth-That-Was poetry."

"Well, I didn't like reading it in school…" Mariah smiled slightly, "but it's a good way to pass the time."

"Well, I have nothing better to do, anyway."

"On that subject, I…" The debutante looked up into his eyes, and Leo promptly forgot what he was planning on saying. "Well, that is…the Captain says we're all free to take our ease and…if you wanted to stretch your legs, I was going to take a walk around the inside of this…wonderful…asteroid."

"Meteor."

"Right."

Mariah cast a glance down at the book, then back up at Leo, smiling, in her door frame. "Sure. Why not?"

Dex caught his first glimpse of her through the decorative lattice of empty wine bottles that topped one of the counters bordering the workers' cantina, and his breath caught in his throat. She looked exactly the same. Woof elbowed him in the side, and he realized he was staring. "Well, go on. She been waitin' two years to see you, boy."

The mechanic flashed him a grin and stepped into the saloon. Carmen was facing the bar, and didn't see him when his arm hooked around her waist. "Xi ji…"

In retrospect, it had probably been a mistake to assume that she'd recognize his voice after two years. Dex considered this just before he hit the ground and Carmen's fist completed its arc. Luckily, Carmen thought to look down as she raised her heel into the air, and it stopped before it impacted Dex's nose. "Oh my god…Carl?"

"No, you're right. That was a bad idea, forgot how easy you spook." Dex winced as Carmen offered her hand and helped him teeter to his feet. "Thought Rooster taught you not to hit a man with a closed…" His words died as her lips