Two weeks had passed before Raisa was finally able to stop looking at Jackson like he was about to fall over. She barely slept as she watched him in the night. She monitored his food, always trying to feed him more. She walked with him around the ship. She knew she was hovering. She didn’t care. Thankfully, Jackson didn’t seem to mind.

“In the commotion, I forgot to give you your things back. The general handed them to me as we were leaving the base.” Lochlann gave a folded bundle of papers to Jackson. They stood outside the dining room, where Raisa had tried to coax Jackson into another helping of the green vitamin cubes. He had humored her and ate them.

“Those aren’t mine,” Jackson dismissed.

“The general said they were,” Lochlann insisted.

Jackson frowned, taking his arm from around Raisa’s shoulders. She watched curiously as he opened the bundle. They were travel papers and identification chips. She frowned as she read the name. “Jackson Groober. I thought you said your name was Burke.”

“It is. Groober was an alias on a mission a long time ago.” Jackson scratched the back of his head before asking, “You said General Ogden sent these with you?”

“He said they were yours,” Lochlann said.

“Was it a mistake?” Raisa questioned.

“No. Ogden was in charge of this mission. All relevant paperwork was turned back in to him when it was over. He must have kept them.” Jackson gave a small laugh. “That sneaky bastard.”

“What?” Raisa and Lochlann asked in unison.

“I wasn’t quite sure if my living was on purpose or an accident.” Jackson put the identification chip in his pocket and then folded the papers before slapping them against his palm. “He planned this.”

“What?” They both asked again.

“General Ogden. He faked my death to make command think he’d carried out their orders, recorded your reactions to it as part of his proof, and gave me a new identity. Jackson Groober.”

“That sneaky bastard.” Raisa wasn’t sure if she wanted to kiss the general or still kick him in his man-bits for what he’d put them through.

“Sneaky bastard, indeed,” Lochlann laughed. “Well, here’s to being off the Federation’s radar, Security Officer Groober.”

“Does it have to be Groober?” Raisa asked. “I mean, can’t we pick a tougher-sounding name?”

“You don’t like it?” Jackson pretended to frown.

“I’m just not sure I want to be Raisa Lovell Groober for the rest of my life.” She was teasing of course. She didn’t care what her name was as long as she was with him.

“Is that your way of asking me to marry you?” Jackson pulled her into his arms. His head lowered, inches away from kissing her.

“I’m not asking.” Raisa grinned. “I find men like you do better when being commanded.”

Jackson chuckled, nodding. “Yes, ma’am.”

His lips met hers, and Lochlann cleared his throat. “Not to interrupt, but Rick asked to use the viewing screen in my quarters The power surges fried his. Apparently, we’re all invited to join him.”

Raisa shared a look with Jackson.

“Should we be worried?” Raisa asked.

“Probably,” Lochlann answered.

Curious as to what Rick was up to, they followed Lochlann to the captain’s quarters.

As they approached, Violette walked out of the room shaking her head. “Dev was right. I should have known better.”

“I didn’t actually think you’d show up,” Rick yelled after her.

Against her better judgement, Raisa walked past the cage in the middle of the room. She saw the box that Rick had asked her to hide from the Federation and guard with her life. One of the information discs was missing.

“You have been a bad boy, Mr. Smith,” a female voice said.

Raisa frowned and moved around the corner. The viewing screen was filled with a buxom woman puckering her lips and biting a finger. The style of her clothes was strange as she bent over to show a full view of her naked ass under her skirt.

“Oh!” Raisa lifted her arm to hide her eyes. “That is what you had me hiding from the Federation?”

“Worth it, right?” Rick grinned.

The woman onscreen made a funny noise, and Raisa grabbed Jackson’s arm to pull him away from the viewing area. “You haven’t heard the last of this, Rick.”

“You can borrow it later,” he offered.

“No. Just no. Get out,” Lochlann ordered.

“But my viewing screen is broken and—” Rick protested.

“Take the discs with you or I’ll break them,” Lochlann warned.

“No, I’m going, don’t hurt my Cindy.”

They heard a scuffle as Raisa and Jackson rushed out of the captain’s quarters.

“I can promise you one thing, Raisa Lovell Groober, life in space will never be dull.” Jackson hooked his arm over her shoulders as he directed her back to their private room.

“I’m all right with dull, as long as you’re safe.” She grinned, slipping from under his arm to face him as she walked backwards. “But if you want an adventure, we can try to create chocolate with my molecular gastro-spectrometer. Whoever figures that one out is going to be rich.”

“You’re a wild one,” he teased.

She grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him toward their room. “Oh, you have no idea, Mr. Smith.”

Jackson laughed, letting her lead him wherever she wanted.

“You’ve been a very bad boy,” she continued, pursing her lips.

Jackson swept her into his arms and carried her the rest of the way into the room. His lips met hers and she laughed as he kissed her. After all they had been through together, she knew they could face anything. Jackson was her forever.