“You’re not serious?” Ian responded, obviously appalled by Kyle’s suggestion.

“What? He can teleport all over this planet. And the twin planet is really close” Kyle stressed once more.

“Seriously, Kyle?” Ian shook his head, “I thought you were supposed to get smarter as you got older. No matter what, he’s still human. And I’m not even the science guy, genius, whatever, and even I know that to get to another planet, you have to pass out of one atmosphere and into another! Even if it’s just for a split-second, his lungs would probably explode; not to mention, the lungs of anyone he took with him, not to mention...”

That was when Kyle cut him off, “there’s not enough air in the suits for the pod to get us there, considering how many hours that would take, but there’s still enough in the suits for as long as it would take him to get there though” he pointed out, not backing down from this new idea of his just yet.

Ian paused a moment, but easily continued, “even if that crazy theory works, there’s no way we can get Hope there. It’s just not doable” he continued his argument.

“Well, maybe we don’t have to get her there” Kyle returned.

Ian’s eyes went dark at those words before replying, “you better explain what that means.”

That was when Will interrupted, despite the fact that the two seemed quite caught up in talking about him as though he weren’t even there at all, “I go there, bring ship back” he offered simply.

Kyle quickly looked down to avoid seeing the expression that suggestion was likely to cause in Ian. Though, Ian being Ian, had to respond, “you really think you could do that...I mean, if you get there at all, then to bring back a ship that was large enough to hold sixty-thousand people. I mean, really, Will?” he asked as his voice dropped. He was able to believe a lot of crazy things since this journey began, but that, that was even too much for him right then.

“We can at least let him try” Kyle replied, though his voice dropped as Ian glared back at him once more.

Before any more could be said, Ian roughly grabbed Kyle’s arm, pulling him out of earshot, away from where Will just looked on worriedly. “Let him try?” Ian repeated under his breath, in a near growl, “what the fuck is wrong with you, honestly?”

“It’s our best chance” Kyle argued, though his voice was weak at the feel of how angrily Ian continued to grip his arm,

“It’s not a chance at all, you ass” Ian returned in the same quiet growl, “if he survives at all, there’s no way he’ll be able to do that. And he’ll most likely short-circuit his brain justtryingto!”

“He wants to try too, you heard him. I think he should know his own capabilities better than either of us ever could. He is the oldest...”

Ian scoffed loudly, “he only wants to try...” he paused a moment to find the best way to end that sentence, “to try and prove that he can. It doesn’t mean he actually can! And you’re willing to let him die just to prove it? We shoulda made you stay away” Ian added bitingly.

That was when Kyle’s anger slowly began bubbling beneath the surface as well, “don’t you mean he wants to try foryou?” He then pressed on, ignoring the glare, “and your daughter is an extension of you. So don’t you think you owe it to her to at least let him try?”

Ian gave Kyle another look of disbelief, “I don’t intend to let anyone sacrifice themselves for something I already know won’t work. And the more you press, the more pissed I’m gonna get, got it?”

Kyle just shook his head, “you already know, huh? You’re the psychic one now, are you?”

Another scoff from Ian, “no but maybe I’m the only one with common sense...or the only one of the two of us who actually gives a shit about other people. Maybe both” he added with continued anger.

A long moment of silence passed as the two glared at each other, neither apparently willing to back down. Finally, Kyle spoke again, several moments later, “First of all, I’m doing this for other people; despite the fact that half of those people have treated me like a criminal lately. And he wants to try, and I’m going with him. So, if you’re actually right, about him failing...at least you won’t have to worry about me being around anymore either, right?” Kyle finished as he angrily pulled his arm free and moved back toward where Will still looked on worriedly at the interaction between the two men.

Considering their failure to come to any sort of agreement, Ian found himself returning to the shack alone once more. Meanwhile Kyle and Will stayed at the pod, continuing to make their plans for what Ian considered to be nothing short of a suicide mission. It was already past midnight when Ian did finally arrive back at their meager home, angrily dropping his bag inside the door of the shack before moving to look down at Hope with a heavy sigh.

“No Will and Kyle?” Lili asked with a yawn as she poked her head out from behind the draped cloth that led to her own quarters.

“Why am I not surprised that you’re still up?” Ian stated, only looking back at her briefly, though still managing to avoid her question.

“Aren’t I always?” Lili made another failed attempt at a smile before moving next to him to take a deep breath as she also looked down into the face of the child they had created together. After another moment of silence, she pressed on, “so, does that mean you actually weren’t able to patch things up with Will?”

Ian sighed before answering, “things with Will went fine. Then Kyle opened his fucking mouth.”

Lili looked up at him with worry upon hearing that things between he and Kyle continued to seem unsettled, but she still had to find out what the cause was this time, “care to share?”

“Kyle has an idiotic idea and Will doesn’t know any better than to go along with it, since all he seems to want to do is help us, for some reason” he added the last portion in a grumble.

“Forsomereason?” Lili couldn’t help adding with a slight smirk of her own.

“He wanted to help us before that” Ian argued, though weakly.

“But now he wants to help so badly he’s being idiotic?” she pressed.

Ian let out another sigh, “they’re gonna get themselves killed. If Will was really as smitten with me as you seem to be implying,” a slight pause, “then don’t you think he should listen when I say the plan’s insane?”

Lili bit her lip slightly, “what exactly do they wanna do that’ll get them killed?” she asked with worry.

Another shake of his head as Ian still wasn’t able to look over at her, knowing the reaction she’d have to that answer. So, he edited, “they wanna find the ship” he stated simply.

“The ship that’s not on this planet?” Lili had to clarify.

Another deep sigh, “that’d be the one” was all he could manage in response.

“The ship that we don’t have enough air in the suits to get to?” Lili continued, the panic rising in her tone.

“Hence the getting themselves killed part” Ian finally allowed.

“But Kyle is the one who told us there wasn’t enough air to leave this planet again. Has something changed?” she asked, her volume rising with her worry.

Ian took a long moment before responding, causing Lili to state his name once more to prod him into answering, “they’re being crazy. That’s all there is to it. Kyle thinks...” he just shook his head again.

“Thinks what?” she asked, needing to hear the whole story then.

“He thinks Will can do it. I mean, how insane is that? See? They’re being idiots” he stressed once more.

“How exactly does he think Will can get them there? He can’t mean teleporting them to an entirely different planet” she added, her breath becoming shorter as the panic attack threatened to overtake her again.

“Like I said, it’s insane” Ian agreed as he finally looked back at her. He was loathe to keep something like this from her, but he also hated adding any more worries to those she was drowning in already.

“And you didn’t talk them out of it?” Lili asked with continued volume as she tried in vain to quash the panic.

“This is me. Believe me I tried” he assured her, as he watched her beginning to drown in her own emotions, wishing he knew what kind of lifeline he could throw her just then.

“Tried how?” Lili breathed the question, as words were becoming harder for her at the thought of losing one of the only people she even had left in this strange new life of hers.

“I tried telling Kyle that it would never work. But you know how he is; he always thinks he has the right answers, and he’salwaysthought he was smarter than everyone else, especially those of us that aren’t the new and improved version that he seems to think he and the other E-kids are. You know it’s impossible to reason with him when he thinks he’s right, which is always the case with him.”

Lili took a few deep breaths, trying to wrack her brain through all the terror she was feeling right then. Finally, she forced her voice through those ragged breaths, “you’re right, it’s almost impossible to reason with Kyle when he gets an idea like this. But reason with Will then. Kyle can’t do it without him, and Will might listen to you...you were his first after all” she added more quietly.

“You really think that’s all it takes for me to get through to someone? By making them have a really great hour or so with me inside them?” Ian asked.

“It’s always worked on me” Lili managed a smile, her breath only evening out slightly as she looked up at him.

Ian couldn’t help looking away with a smirk to cover the trace of a blush. “I mean, I can try to seduce him back to his senses, but...”

“You have to try something, right?” Lili concurred as Ian looked down at her with another smile, gently kissing her cheek once more. Only, she turned to kiss his lips instead, “please try” she whispered before squeezing him tightly and slowly returning to her own quarters once more.

The next afternoon, Ian arrived back at their pod once more. There, Will looked on with a slightly blank expression as Kyle seemed to be drawing up some kind of plans on the small hand held computer once more. At the sound of Ian’s approaching footsteps, Kyle moved his gaze to him once more, cool though it was. While Will greeted him with the same smile he had the previous day.

“Still not giving up, eh?” Kyle scoffed as he turned away to focus all of his attention on the computer, already prepared to ignore anything else Ian might have to say.

“Well, after I told Lili about your idiotic plan, and her panic attack finally stopped, I figured I better come see if you returned to your senses yet” he told Kyle pointedly, “but that’s not apparently possible, is it? So if you don’t mind,” he then turned his attention to Will, “can we go somewhere and talk?”

Will smiled eagerly at the proposition as he easily moved toward Ian. Kyle quickly looked up as the only slightly older man began making his way toward Ian, “wait a second. We’re still making plans here” he called after him.

“I’ll be back” Will smiled easily, only waiting another moment before closing his hand over Ian’s arm and disappearing them off to some other unknown location, much to Kyle’s annoyance.

When the two re-appeared again, Ian was a little startled to find that they were now back at the shack. Not only that, they were in Ian’s sleeping quarters as Will smiled over at him. “Ok, not where I expected” Ian stated as he looked around the familiar surroundings.

“You want beach again? I can take you. Or somewhere else? I can take you any place you want” Will offered as he moved closer to gently run his hands down Ian’s still chiseled chest, even after the year away from that state of the art gym he practically lived in back on the ship.

Ian’s breath caught a little as Will’s hands reached his stomach. He was then faced with the decision of whether his best approach was talking first or touching first. Though, the decision was soon made for him as he felt Will’s hand slip inside his jeans where they easily found that Ian’s arousal had already started at the simple touching that had already taken place.

Ian took another ragged breath as Will’s hand continued to caress him into even more arousal. He finally made himself speak again before he lost his ability to, “so you really wanna do that again, right here, right now?” he couldn’t help asking with a slightly nervous smile as the caresses continued to try and make him forget how easily any of his companions could easily interrupt them right then.

“Feels like you do too” Will breathed, his lips against Ian’s neck as he continued to touch him.

Another shaky breath before Ian had to interrupt once more, “one second” he breathed as he moved away, awkwardly leaving his quarters and making his way over to where Jared sat by his medical supplies in the common area of the shack, cataloging the newest additions.

Ian flipped open the box as he dug through them, ignoring the question on Jared’s face, “so you’re back, already...and you apparently...need something?” Jared asked after waiting another moment for the explanation Ian hadn’t chosen to give on his own.

It was then that Ian lifted a tiny lid filled with some lotion-like substance into his hand and looked over at Jared, “what’s this do?”

“Pardon?” Jared asked, a bit thrown.

“What’s it for?” Ian repeated, his voice still a little ragged.

“Not much that I’ve found yet, except maybe help with dry skin. I’m still trying to test all of...”

“So it’s safe to touch?” Ian asked, obviously having no time for Jared’s lengthier explanation.

“Well, yeah but...”

“Thanks Jar’” Ian replied curtly before snatching it up and returning to his quarters with no other explanation, causing Jared to just shake his head after him.