"Nice to be appreciated and admired once in a while," she stated in a backhanded way, but not said with a tone of pouty annoyance at all. She was trul... enjoying the obvious attention. "But I have Bella to thank for this," she then added. "She helped me to decide how to look tonight and even helped me primp myself up a little just before dinner."I looked at Bella. She winked, licked her lips and mouthed the words, "Wait till you hear!"I could only imagine. Or could I? With Bella, I'd learned. I walked down the hallway and turned off the lights. As I lay down on the couch, I noticed that the blanket I had brought out for her was still there. I drew it over me and closed my eyes, the scent of her all around me. Slowly, I drifted off to sleep.----I woke with a start. "Twice in one day? You're getting jumpy, kid." I heard a muffled sobbing. Someone was crying. I jumped up and listened for a moment, then I remembered my guest and the day's events.I hurried to my bedroom and knocked on. The message in the harsh but compelling droning was a willing and eager fight. Ranger was receiving spares from PAXMIL. He’d have an F/A-300 waiting for him when he healed. That was enough to take heart in. “Wash out? And miss all this excitement?” “How on Earth could I miss all this excitement?” Quickdraw agreed and stretched out his arms as he yawned. “What would you be doing on Mars about now?” Hurricane mentally calculated the calendar date in Goddard. “There are only two things to be doing. Besides, his feet were still more or less oily, and he didn't fancy negotiating all that tile without the use of his arms for balance. Flora returned in a few minutes, puffing, with a puzzled expression on her face. "S'odd," she said, "'Tilla and Charley are outside, chasing the birds as if nothing's happened. Healthy as horses." She began fumbling with Jason's cuffs again. Finally, she wiped her hands on another towel, and gripping the leather through the towel, managed to .