Serix could feel Cassie’s eyes on him without even looking up. He didn’t have to see her face to imagine what she was thinking right now. She probably thought he was crazy. He knew he had gone a bit too far with that last sentence. Even if she didn’t know what it meant in Lunairan culture, she could probably make some educated inferences. He had definitely overstepped some boundaries.

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye while he fiddled with the bandage on his arm. Her expression surprised him. He had expected to see her giving him an estranged or irritated look. But instead, she was… flustered? His own discomfort faded slightly when he caught sight of the color in her cheeks. What did she have to be embarrassed about?

Cassie recovered swiftly, however. She cleaned off her hands and took his arm to lead him back to the metal door, [b]“We can continue working on the robot later. Let's re-wrap that wound with clean bandages. If you keep messing with the bandages I put on there it will never get healed.”[/b] Serix nodded in response. He was just grateful that she had moved on so quickly. He made a mental note to think before speaking next time. Cassie might not be so fast to forget if he slipped up again.

They headed back to the smaller storage room. Serix sat in the same chair as before while Cassie dressed his wound. When she removed the bandages, he saw only a slightly discolored line where the open wound had been before. As expected, it was healing very well. There wouldn’t even be a scar.

[b]“It looks like it's getting better,”[/b] Cassie said, mirroring his thoughts. [b]“I think Lunairans heal faster than humans do.”[/b]

“You think so?” Serix mused, watching as she wrapped his arm in a new bandage. He wondered if Cassie inherited the rapid healing from her mother, although he wasn’t eager to test that trait.

Cassie suddenly stopped rewrapping his arm. She looked up and their eyes met. Serix found himself unable to breathe. She really was an attractive female. That much he couldn’t deny. Did she think the same thing about him? [i]That doesn’t matter,[/i] he chided. [i]We’re both just trying to survive… Still, it would be nice if the feeling is mutual.[/i]

Cassie looked away and the spell was broken. He could breathe again.

[b]“This is so weird,”[/b] she said quietly. [b]“We've gone from hating each other, to kind of taking, to you trying to kill me, and now we're helping to survive and learn about each other. This is a lot more than I expected to happen in just three days.”[/b]

“It is kind of odd, isn’t it?” Serix smiled softly. “I’m just grateful we ended up where we are.” He wanted to slap himself. There he went again, making ridiculous comments like that. “What I mean is…” He had to correct his mistake. “I’m glad I didn’t kill you. And that we’re getting along now. Better late than never, right?”