“Good luck in there,” Andy said with a gentle smile as we stopped outside my room.

As we’d approached, I’d heard voices coming from the room but now that I was standing outside the door they’d fallen silent.

“Thanks, I’ll see you tomorrow probably?” I said, returning his smile.

“Most likely. I assume there will be another Council press conference soon so I shall see you there.”

He sent me one more smile before continuing further down the hall toward his room.

I looked back at the door and took a deep breath. I wasn’t sure what awaited me on the other side. The ache in my chest had settled slightly during my talk with Aquila because I knew we would get Peggy back but that didn’t help how worried I was about her.

I shook my head and raised my hand to the scanner by the side of my door. There was no point in stalling. My crew knew where I was, if I took my longer Gem would open the door and grab me anyway.

“Hey! I knew we heard you! What did Aquila want? How come Andy walked you back?” Gem bombarded me with questions as soon as the door open.

I stepped into the room, taking in Gem’s blotchy face and shining eyes.

“He was still in the Outer Command Centre when I came out so he offered to walk me back,” I said, dropping onto the bed where Cas and Gem were sitting and placing the bag in the middle. “I grabbed some snacks, by the way.”

“Awesome!” Gem said, pulling the bag open immediately.

A hint of relief went through me. I’d hoped that that would distract them to give me longer to think of something to say about my meeting with Aquila but I was still coming up empty. I glanced around the room, my gaze falling on the open bathroom door.

“Where’s Cory?” I asked.

Gem’s hand froze halfway between the bag of crisps and her mouth.

“Chal called him to the medBay. He wanted to talk about Peggy,” she said.

“Why?”

Anxiety pounded in my chest immediately.

“Apparently, Aquila asked him to do it. She wants to work out how she is and… how long she can stay with the Council,” Gem’s eyes filled with tears again as she spoke.

I nodded, unable to form any words. I wanted to know that too. I knew that they wouldn’t be able to tell us exactly how long we had but it would be good to know what kind of time limit we had.

Aquila had said that she wanted to try a couple of different plans and make the Council really desperate before she offered to trade me for Peggy so that they were more likely to accept it but we might not have that long.

“What did Aquila want?” Cas asked.

He looked exhausted. Dark bags rimmed his eyes and he was slumped back against the headboard. I pushed away the urge to hold him and let him sleep until this was all done and we had Peggy back.

“She wanted to talk to me about the mission and next steps,” I said tentatively.

Gem’s head whipped up.

“Does she have a plan to get Peg back?”

I bit my lip as guilt gnawed my insides. I wished I could tell them everything.

“Kind of. She has the beginnings of one.”

“What is it? How can we help?” Gem asked, desperation creeping into her voice.

I shook my head regretfully.

“She said not to tell us, didn’t she?” Cas said quietly.

I met his shrewd gaze.

“Yeah.”

Gem looked between us, her face pinched with worry.

“Why? Is it dangerous?”

Some of my strength crumbled away and guilt gripped my heart.

“Yeah,” I said again, unable to say anything else.

Worry crept onto Cas’ face and I could tell he was forcing himself to not ask any questions.

“Will it work?” Gem whispered after a while.

I considered the question. In my heart, I knew that it would but I also knew that I might be captured. But we would achieve our primary mission, we’d get Peggy back.

“I think so,” I breathed, finally breaking eye contact with Cas.

“Really?” he asked.

I nodded, focusing on the bag on crisps in front of me.

“When are we doing it?” Gem asked, her voice rushed.

“I don’t know yet. Aquila said we had to wait a little while for things to settle down then we’ll start the plan. I guess that’s why she asked Chal and Cory to meet,” I said, shoving crisps into my mouth.

Logically, I knew they were my favourite flavour but they were tasteless. Anxiety, fear and sadness were almost overwhelming the small flicker of hope kindling in my heart.

“That makes sense,” Cas said, pulling another bag of crisps out and tearing into it before looking back up at me. “This plan… how worried should we be?”

I licked my lips and swallowed down the lump in my throat.

“It’ll be fine,” I said.

A ghost of a smile graced Gem’s lips but I knew she was still worried. She just needed to believe that it would be okay, even if she knew she was lying to herself. I felt the same way.

Cas’ eyes burnt into my face as I refused to look at him. Panic gripped me as I realised he was going to ask something else about it.

“Hey! I forget to say, I brought you n’hitel!” I said quickly, pulling a bulbous bottle out of the bag.

His face lit up immediately.

“No way! Thank you!”

He ripped the cap off the lid and took a long drink, a look of blissful happiness coming over his face.

“I love this stuff,” he said, his voice filled with something I’d only heard when we were alone together.

“I know you do. It’s the medicinal and mood enhancing effects, right?” I said, quoting what Andy had said earlier about Cas’ campaign.

He froze with the bottle against his lips, his eyes narrowing on my face. Slowly, without breaking eye contact, he lowered the bottle.

“Wait, what’s going on? What have I missed?” Gem asked, looking between us.

I felt my lips curl up into a playful smile and raised one eyebrow at Cas.

“Someone… sent Andy multiple anonymous petitions to have n’hitel added to the taps in the canteen,” I said.

From the corner of my eyes, I saw Gem’s mouth fall open.

“You did not!” she cried after a moment.

He didn’t respond.

“Oh my gods, Cas! It was illegal! The Council banned it!”

“Yeah, well, they also banned teaching us about the downfall of Earth and yet we still know it!” he argued.

Gem snorted with laughter.

“Because that was important! N’hitel isn’t and it does not have mood enhancing effects!”

Cas shot her an indignant look.

“It enhances my mood!”

It felt like a bubble burst in my chest and suddenly, I couldn’t stop myself from joining in Gem’s laughter.

“You are terrible, Cas,” she managed to gasp out.

He rubbed the back of his neck and took another sip.

“I can’t believe Andy knew it was me,” he muttered.

We dissolved into giggles again.

“I can’t believe you campaigned to have an illegal drink imported just because you liked it,” I said when I could finally catch my breath again, wiping away my tears.

“No wonder we thought you were going to get the n’hitel logo tattooed on!” Gem said, slapping a hand over her mouth to stop herself from laughing once more.

“That’s my next one,” he said, shooting me a wink that made my stomach tighten.

I reached out to grab the bottle from Cas’ hands but shame gripped my heart.

We shouldn’t have been there, laughing and having a good time whilst Peggy was alone and suffering. The image of her, lying on the floor of her cell, the blinding lights beating down at her, assaulted my eyes so vividly I couldn’t breathe. In my head, she had no blanket covering her and her mattress had been removed. Her white scrubs were still stained with blood and she was shivering.

Cas lifted the bottle to my outstretched hands and I gripped it hard. I forced myself to take a sip and push that image from my head. I couldn’t handle it.

“How long do you think Cory is going to be?” I asked, my voice harsher than I meant it to be.

“I’m not sure, he didn’t say,” Gem answered, the smile falling off her face.

Cory, how’s it going there? I asked.

I waited for him to reply, my fingers picking at the n’hitel label in my hands.

It’s alright, he sent back.

Are you going to be much longer? I thought.

There was another pause.

Probably another hour or so.

I let out a breath.

Okay, do you want us to wait for you before we go to bed? I asked.

Nah, don’t worry about it. I’ll sneak in when we’re done here.

Are you sure? Gem thought, worry tingeing her voice.

I promise.

Okay, make sure you have some food and don’t drink too much coffee. Andy reckons there will be a press conference in the morning so we’ll need to be well rested, I ordered.

Yes, Captain Aries, he sent back.

I smiled at his words and looked around at Gem and Cas.

“We probably should get some sleep. Will you be okay without Cory here?” I asked Gem.

“Yeah,” she lied. “I’ll be fine.”

“You sure? I’m happy to spoon you until Cory gets back?” I offered with a smile.

She snorted and downed the last dregs of her drink before throwing it into the bin.

“As tempting as that offer is, I would never get in the way of you and Cas’ cuddle time,” she said with a wink.

I felt a blush spread over my cheeks and I could feel Cas grinning at me but I didn’t want to meet his eyes.

“I want to shower. Does anyone want to go before me?” I asked.

Gem stood and rolled her shoulders out.

“I’ll shower in the boys’ room. I’ll be back in half an hour, don’t do anything I wouldn’t do before I get back,” she joked, pointing menacingly at us.

“I mean, there isn’t much you wouldn’t do so… I think we’ll be fine,” I teased.

A wicked smirk came over her face.

“Well, in that case, have fun in the shower you two.”

She disappeared out the door, leaving me to laugh and cover my face with my hands. I could feel the heat radiating off my cheeks.

“She’s terrible,” Cas said with an embarrassed laugh.

“She is,” I said. “I should shower. You can have this back.”

I held the n’hitel bottle out to him. He took it, his fingers lingering on mine.

I caught my lip in between my teeth to stop me from saying what I wanted to say. I wanted to ask him to join me but it felt like too much. Tempting as hell, but too much. His eyes fell to my lips, tracking the movement, and my heart lurched.

I pulled my hand back, breaking eye contact before I could say anything. My hands trembled and I wasn’t sure if it was with longing or anxiety but I threw myself off the bed.

“I’ll be back soon…” I said lamely, stepping into the bathroom and tapping the door rapidly to get it to shut.

I sunk back against the door disappointment running through me. I was so conflicted. Part of me wanted to invite him into the bathroom with me but the other part didn’t. It felt like we were rushing things, we’d only kissed a handful of times, but still, I’d known him for so long and been in love with him for years. I knew, and had done for ages, that if we survive this then we’ll end up together.

We’ll have enough time to be together later… right? I thought to myself.

My head dropped back against the door. It was too late to go back out there now. My gaze roamed the room, landing on the screen built into the wall near the mirror. It was there for emergencies. Like, in case the ship was attacked whilst someone is showering.I logged in quickly, pulling up Gem’s ping and started typing.

I chickened out, what do I do? I sent.

I waited, glancing at my flushed face in the mirror. A typing symbol came up, showing that she was replying.

Go back out there and drag him in, she said.

I bit my lip to suppress a groan. I couldn’t do that. I wanted to but I couldn’t bring myself to.

Too late. Feels weird. Making the first move is scary, I typed.

I saw Gem start typing and stop several times before she finally sent a message.

Well then, make him make the first move.

How would I do that? I asked.

As I waited anxiously for her to reply again, I realised I’d said I was having a shower. I turned the shower on, my foot jiggling as the icon on the screen bounced.

Tempt him.

That was her whole message.

How?? I sent back.

I have a plan. Wear something skimpy to bed. Like those super short shorts that we thought were the wrong size. And like that cute lacy vest top, she replied.

Is that it? Surely I need to do more, no? I typed.

Don’t worry. That’ll be enough.

I bit my lip and started to type before deleting it. I wasn’t sure what more to say so I settled on:

Are you sure?

We can do more if you want? We could wait until Cory gets back then play strip card games? Spin the screen?

It was tempting but I was exhausted. Last time had been a lot of fun though… Peg had a late meeting with some tutors to discuss some additional work she was doing. She’d cone back to us half-dressed and giggling. She just rolled her eyes and sat down with a book, completely ignoring us but also not stopping us.

Nah, I sent back.

Okay, we’ll go with the original plan. I’ll do what I can to help too.

Love you Gem, I replied.

Love you too! Now go shower before he catches on that we’re scheming!