"All you've done is help me," Nic tried to reason.

"It'll only take a minute." Laurel retorted, "If you'd stop arguing and just let me do it, I'd be finished by now."

Nic didn't seem like he believed her. But Laurel started to get the sense there was something he wasn't saying.

Laurel sighed, "Is there something you don't want me to know?" she asked bluntly, "Something that lotion won't fix?"

"... No..." Nic replied.

"I know you better than that, Dominic Duncan." Laurel stated quietly, "If you don't want to tell me, that's fine. But don't lie."

"I haven't lied," Nic argued. "It's not... a matter of fixing. I... just can't get distracted right now. That's all."

Laurel paused a moment then suddenly she sighed, "Oh." she replied, "... You'd get distracted if I touched you, right?" she stated, a hint of annoyance in her voice. "I didn't realize men were so fragile." she muttered under her breath as she pick up the jacket again.

Nic didn't say anything as he got back to work.

Laurel continued to do the little things that needed to be done. She finished with his clothes and set about cleaning up the room, opening the doors and windows to get some air in before leaving for a little while. She came back with lunch and tea and set it beside Nic without a word. Then she left him and went to find Rosen.

--

A few hours after James had collapsed, the neonates returned. There were alarms going off all around when their crafts started pulling up.

Yue didn't go to check out the alarms, but Blaze did.

The neonates looked rather battered, their crafts had been fired at. Wolfe's face looked like stone and the others looked haunted. In the arms of Pepper was a small black child.

Blaze glanced around at them before her eyes settled on the child.

The small girl was either simply asleep or drugged but alive. She looked around two or three years old. Pepper shifted her around in her arms a little, not please to be stuck carrying her. Wolfe glanced at Blaze but said nothing.

Child: O

Blaze didn't ask any questions for now. Instead, she let them go about their ways. After a minute, she headed back toward the infirmary.

The neonates stayed where they were. Eventually one of them got around to calling Rosen. Rosen informed those at James's place that they'd be a little longer in getting back. Laurel passed the news to Nic herself.

Eventually Yue and Blaze were summoned to one of the main conference areas.

Nic didn't seem all too relieved about the news. It looked like he was starting to really lose hope.

And so they went.

Laurel looked Nic over for a long moment, taking in his current mood. Then, without any warning, she slid into his lap, took his face in her hands, and kissed him with nearly as much passion as their first kiss. It was the first time she'd touched him in awhile. Right now, she didn't care about distracting him.

--

The girls walked into the middle of a heated argument. The tiny cause of the argument was still drugged and had been placed on a blanket in the corner of the room. They quieted down as they noticed Yue and Blaze.

"Lau-" he tried to stop her, but it wasn't long before he was wrapped around her finger. But he was far less restrained than before. It took no time at all before he started pushing the boundaries a little aggressively.

--

Yue fit in pretty nicely; she looked pretty exhausted and a little disheveled. "... Whoa..." she muttered as she spotted the child. Blaze seemed pretty impassive like before.

Laurel seemed a little surprised initially but it didn't seem to phase her much. However, the more he pushed the boundaries, the more her inexperience showed. Everything was new to her and whenever he did something different she was momentarily shocked. She was riding on pure instincts. Eventually though, she started to feel lightheaded and pulled away slightly as her vision spun.

--

Tulip followed Yue's eyes to the child and giggled, "We wanted a stalemate with the Okorie, and now we have one." she smiled happily. Zala sighed, not looking too pleased. Wolfe's face remained carved in stone.

Wolfe slowly focused on Blaze, "You'll return with Kale in a few days, when we all planned to go. We'll be staying behind for a little longer."

"Spot here will be going with you." Pepper added, gesturing with her thumb to the child in the polka-dotted dress.

Zala glared at her, "She's not a dog!" she spat.

"Fine, Dot. Whatever." Pepper replied dismissively.

Nic didn't let Laurel pull away, not seeming to realize the effect he was having on her.

--

Yue didn't say anything more, taking some time to drink in the situation.

"... What did they take?" Blaze suddenly asked.

When Nic wouldn't let her go, fear suddenly shot through Laurel. "N-Nic!" she managed to cry out as the room seemed to spin around her faster. She felt herself on the verge of tears.

--

"They've been teaming up with CLIKZ." Zala explained after a moment, "Since the Okorie can't attack for fear we'll hurt the child, we're hoping this drives a wedge between them and CLIKZ. We can't afford to have three gangs attacking us at once." Tulip nodded at Zala's summary.

Nic seemed to misinterpret her. But he did slow down a little.

--

Blaze blinked. "... Oh... I thought stalemate implied both parties were in a similar situation," she explained.

Yue looked at Blaze a little weirdly. "... Did you really work for my brother?" she asked her.

Blaze turned to Yue. "I didn't have a private education like most of his other goons," she tried to explain.

Yue just shook her head a little. "It was a joke," she replied.

"... Oh..." Blaze said, looking embarrassed for a brief moment.

As Nic started to slow down, Laurel was able to get a handle on her fear and mostly push it away. She was shaking a little now in Nic's arms, struggling not to cry as she took in short breaths.

--

"In a sense it is a stalemate." Zala went on, "They can't attack us and we have no desire to attack them right now."

It took him awhile, but Nic finally started to realize something wasn't right. Then suddenly he tried to push her away.

--

Blaze nodded, she understood now.

As soon as Nic pushed her away, the tears started to fall. "S-Sorry..." Laurel whispered, heart still pounding loudly in her ears. Actually, it looked like she might fall right off his lap without his support, she still felt terribly lightheaded.

--

Wolfe glanced at Yue, "You, James and Kalma will be traveling back as well. We have no need for you here and James... needs to be home."

Nic kept pushing her away, but managed to notice and keep her from completely falling at the last second. He leaned her up against the desk. He lingered a little to close for a little too long, but then he pulled away again forcing himself to put a good distance between them as he leaned back against the bed. He looked light-headed too.

--

Yue didn't say anything, just accepting what was being said.

Laurel managed to stop her tears, wiping her eyes as she forced herself to take deep breaths. "Sorry..." she repeated again as the room finally stopped spinning, "I-I'm new... at all this." she admitted in a whisper, sounding a bit ashamed.

--

"We'll let you know when your juttle leaves." Pepper informed them. Then it looked like they were done talking.

Nic didn't say anything, but he shook his head a little. He ran a hand through his hair a few times before suddenly laying down on his stomach and beginning to do push-ups. With one arm.

--

So Yue started to leave. Blaze waited around for a short moment before following after her.

Laurel blinked before slowly slipping down and sitting on the floor in front of the desk. Her mind was rather blank at the moment, too overwhelmed to process much at all as her head fell back against the wood with a soft thunk.

After a minute, the pushups seemed to start helping. He stopped and leaned up against the bed frame again after a few minutes.

Laurel watched Nic do pushups blankly and by the time he was done she looked less confused. In fact... as she stared at Nic she suddenly burst out laughing. Loudly. It had been a long time since Nic had heard this laugh. Well, at least she didn't seem to be upset anymore. "Clods..." she managed between fits of laughter, "We're ridiculous!" she announced.

Nic blinked, confused.

"How..." she laughed a little harder, "How long had you been holding that in?" she asked as she smirked at him, "It was like... an avalanche. A little warning next time would be helpful." she informed him, shaking her head, "But what a sight we are now. Pushups! We're so weird." she chuckled with her hands over her cheeks.

Nic glanced away, a little thankful for how innocent and naive she was. But as long as she wasn't upset.

Laurel seemed to be trying to recall something. It took her a minute. "Oh!" she exclaimed before smiling at Nic, "I kissed you to remind you of what you're fighting for, Mr. Knight." she teased him, "So don't lose hope yet."

Nic frowned a brief moment before he seemed to remember. Then he quickly got up and went over to his computer, let out a quiet cuss, and typed away for a few moments.

Laurel blinked as she slowly got up as well, "I didn't mean to start the avalanche." she complained at his cuss, "That was all you!"

Nic didn't hear her. Or he choose not to argue back. After awhile, he stopped typing and took a step back, watching the computer work on its own for a moment as he ran a hand through his hair.

Laurel watched Nic for a long moment before she turned to leave him with his computer. But then she turned back, "I know I seem silly to you." she finally said quietly, "But I've really never been with someone like this before. Everything you do is... is a first for me. So when you do so many at once it's too much." she tried to explain. "I love you but I can only go so fast. I know you're more experienced than me. You've been with other girls I'm sure." Surprisingly that didn't seem to upset her. "So maybe... these types of things are normal and not as special to you anymore. But please bear with me, one step at a time, and I promise you it won't be too long before you can stop doing pushups." she vowed quietly with an amused smile. Laurel probably didn't understand to what extent she had just vowed, but the depth of her love was clear.