Hey all! Sorry this took forever, as it turns out, this summer was not as relaxing as I'd hoped. Anyway, emjoy some good Cresswell content in this chapter. I'll try to update again soon!


Cress, Iko, and Thorne climbed out of the hover and walked slowly into Cress' and Thorne's apartment building. Cress and Iko walked on either side of Thorne, his arms slung around their shoulders. After he had woken up in the Rampion, Thorne had been awake and alert for about five minutes before he had fallen asleep again. From what Cress and Iko could gather, Mia had had him under almost constant mind control, but would toy with glamours or other manipulations when she was bored.

Cress grunted as she and Iko hefted Thorne up the stairs. As she awkwardly unlocked apartment 214, she remembered with a jolt that Thorne still hadn't even seen the apartment since they'd bought it and Cress had painted and decorated it. They pulled him inside and dropped him on the couch, Cress carefully arranging his limbs comfortably. Once he was settled, Cress and Iko sat down together at the table and looked at him, both seemingly unsure of how to proceed.

Iko broke the silence first. "We should comm Kai and Winter. Tell them we got him out."

Cress nodded, the weariness of the events settling down on her finally. Dread pooled in her stomach as she recalled that Mia Martinez was still tied up in the Rampion, and that she and Iko has simply left her there. What would happen if she got out? Or if some Phil decided to check up on who was renting his space for once and discovered her there, tied up and thrown in the engine room. Not to mention, Mia Martinez was an incredibly powerful Lunar, therefore manipulating a weak minded Earthen such as Phil would be child's play.

"Yeah," Cress said, breaking herself out of her reverie. "Yeah. Would you mind?" She asked Iko, who nodded and was silent for a few moments, then looked back up at Cress.

"Just sent. We'll have to wait for a reply. Do you want to go back up to the palace or stay here?"

"I'm going to stay here. We probably shouldn't move Thorne yet, who knows what state his mind will be in after…" she gestured at the air in front of her. "What happened," she finished lamely.

Iko nodded, then rose to her feet and walked to the door. "I should check on Cinder. Maybe if I mention something about Mia Martinez and Thorne, she'll actually respond."

Iko left, closing the door behind her with a click and leaving Cress alone with Thorne. Cress got up and walked over to where he lay on the couch, finally letting everything out of her. To her surprise, no tears came, just thoughts flooding out of her mind faster than the speed of light. All the thoughts of worry, fear, angst, loneliness, disappeared from just looking at Thorne. After a moment's hesitation, she crawled onto the couch on top of him and curled up with her head in the crook of his neck and shoulder. He didn't move, his breath staying rhythmic and slow.

She stayed there for a long time, watching the sun rise out of the east apartment window. She wasn't sure what time she drifted off, but it must have been later in the morning, because when she awoke, sunlight was streaming in through all the windows, and Thorne was awake.

"You really did a wonderful job on the apartment, Cress. Just like I knew you would." He smiled, showing off his perfect white teeth.

Cress gasped and wriggled around on top of him, repositioning herself so she could throw her arms around his neck. Thorne laughed and hugged her back, his hand stroking the back of her head absently.

"Captain," She said, smiling into his shoulder.

She sank into him, hugging him tighter and breathing in his scent. He didn't smell the same as he usually did, probably because he had been held hostage by a crazy Lunar for several days. The smell of soap and the aftershave he always used had worn off, leaving behind the smell of sweat and tiredness from being trapped in the Rampion.

"Stars, Thorne, didn't she let you shower?" Cress laughed, leaning back to look him in the eyes.

"Not once." He laughed again, bringing one of his hands up to cup her face.

They stayed like that for several minutes, just smiling and looking into each other's eyes, as if they both needed to memorize the other's appearance.

"Ugh," Cress groaned, rolling off of Thorne and moving to a more comfortable position on the couch. Thorne followed suit, pulling himself into an upright sitting position. Slipping her small hand into his, Cress looked Thorne in the eyes.

"Carswell, I know it might be hard to talk about so soon, but I need to know what you remember about Mia Martinez. Anything you might think is important, like things she said or…" She trailed off, seeing the look on his face.

He shook his head, his face full of confusion and doubt. His eyebrows scrunched together, like he was trying to remember something that had happened long ago.

"I can't remember much. Mostly I was down in the engine room, and the times I remember being with her for meals she had control of my body so I couldn't overpower her. She barely spoke. When she was asleep, I could actually think, but I was so exhausted that I mostly just slept. When she didn't have control of my mind, I thought about you. Always about you."

Cress smiled and blushed, and planted a small kiss on his cheek. "So," she said, forcing herself to keep the difficult conversation rolling, as much as she wanted to just lie here with her boyfriend for the rest of her life. "Mostly she just had control over your body, not your mind?"

He nodded. "Mostly. Sometimes she would put on a glamour or something, or other times I would wake up and not remember what had been happening for the past few hours. I think she was just worried about me being able to physically overpower her, which, let's face it, would not be that difficult for a guy like me," He winked at her and flexed his biceps. Cress raised an eyebrow skeptically, and Thorne continued. "When you came to the Rampion… uh, yesterday? I could see you and I knew who you were, but I couldn't control my body or my actions. When I had to carry you and tie you up…" His voice wavered, and he looked at Cress. "I'm so sorry, Cress. I felt the same way as I did when I stabbed you during the revolution."

Cress leaned over and kissed him, long and hard. When she pulled away, she cupped his face in her palms and stared into his eyes. "I know, Carswell. I know you didn't mean it. I know you would never hurt me, not on purpose. It was that witch Mia Martinez who was making you do those things, not you."

Thorne nodded, leaning in to kiss her again. This one was gentler, softer, and it almost made Cress melt into the couch. Stars, she had missed him.

A ding from one of the netscreens mounted on the wall broke their kiss. Cress rose from the couch to be able to see it better. With a jolt, she remembered that her port was still somewhere on the floor of the hallway in the Rampion, so the comm would have appeared on her netscreens as well. It was from Iko.

COMM REIVIEVED FROM IKO AT 7:09 AM: KAI AND WINTER VERY HAPPY! CINDER'S STILL NOT AWAKE. BRING THORNE TO PALACE? WINTER AND KAI WANT TO SEE HIM.

"Is that from Iko?" Thorne asked, craning his neck to see the screen better.

"Yeah. She says Kai and Winter are glad you're out of the Rampion okay, and they want you to come to the palace, so they can see you. Also," She said, suddenly remembering that Thorne had no idea that Cinder was sick. "Cinder has been sick lately. For about a week, she hasn't been talking to anyone but Kai, she hasn't eaten anything, and she won't get out of bed. None of the doctors or medical professionals can figure out what's wrong with her, but they know it's not letumosis." She finished quickly, seeing the look on Thorne's face. After she had finished speaking, it hit Cress really how much had happened since she'd been able to talk to Thorne properly. Cinder's illness, the missing maid, Winter's arrival, all her research to try and solve her problem.

Cress sighed, then walked back to the couch and sat back down. She answered Thorne's bewildered look with a small smile, and, leaning her head on his shoulder, she began to tell him everything that had happened while he'd been stuck on the Rampion.

.oOOo.

"So Winter's here?" Thorne asked, shaking his head slightly. "Aces, it really must be a big deal. She and Jacin have only come down to Earth once or twice since the revolution, I figured it would be several months before we saw her them in person again."

"Yeah, I know. It's all different now. With Cinder as sick as she is, it makes sense to the press that her cousin and fellow ambassador would be here to see her." Cress said, snuggling in closer to Thorne. "That's most of the reason she's here, of course, but she's also one of the only people who remembers me."

"I remember you."

Cress sighed happily, letting the feeling those words evoked wash over her like a beach wave on the hot sand. "I know you do now, but in case you don't recall, you were being held hostage in your own ship by a crazy Lunar for a week."

Thorne smiled his signature smile, his eyes crinkling at the corners. He kissed her on the forehead softly, brushing his hand across her hair. "You're right, I did forget about that. Being with you again has made me forget about everything that's happened recently."

Cress looked into his now serious, bright blue eyes. "Me too," she said quietly.

Several moments passed before Thorne broke his gaze to yawn widely, covering his mouth with the back of his hand. Cress laughed, shaking her head.

"Were you trying to stifle that yawn during that whole romantic moment we just had?"

Thorne looked sheepish. "No."

Cress laughed again. "Whenever you're ready, we should probably head over to the palace and meet up with the others. They're dying to see you, they've been really worried."

He scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Yes, I'm sure they were all very worried. Cinder especially, she's always been so concerned about my person wellbeing."

Cress slapped him on the arm. "Be serious. They were all worried about you. It's just that…. with Cinder so sick, they're all a little preoccupied right now."

Thorne nodded, one hand absent-mindedly playing with a strand of her hair. "When do you want to go?"

"Whenever you're up to it," she said shrugging. "I'm good to go anytime."

"Okay. I'll just shower and… change." He paused. "All of my stuff is still back at the Rampion."

Cress smiled. "How about a shopping trip? You need some new clothes anyway."

Thorne dropped his voice a little. "Ugh, shopping." He said playfully. "I only enjoy shopping if it's for manly things like hair gel or leather jackets."

Cress laughed and rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, I'm sure we can find you some hair gel and a leather jacket."

.oOOo.

Cress and Thorne strolled along, hand in hand, browsing through the small shops that lined 31st street. Cress had always loved this part of New Beijing, relishing the quaint shops all painted in bright or pastel colours. Closer to the end of the street, there were some more high end brand name stores that Thorne wanted to go to, but Cress had insisted they walk past the shops first.

"Oh, wow." Cress stopped in front of a glass display window of one of the boutiques and gasped. One of the most beautiful dresses she'd ever seen was being displayed on a mannequin, sparling in the sunlight and out shining every other garment on display in the window.

"What?"

Thorne, still holding her hand, had tried to keep walking, but had stopped when he found that he no longer could, due to Cress' feet being rooted to the concrete.

"That dress," She said by way of explanation. "Look at the dress."

"I'm looking." Clearly baffled, he turned back to the window to better examine the dress.

Cress didn't think she had ever seen a more beautiful dress. It reminded her of the dress she had worn to Kai and Levana's first wedding, that time she and her friends had kidnapped Kai. It was blue and fancy, but not quite as formal as her gown had been. On her, it would probably go down past her knees in elegant folds, the thick hem reaching her mid-calf. The outer skirt was slightly transparent, but the slip underneath hid everything from view. The bodice was covered in swirls of lace, beads and sequins and ended in an elegant Basque waistline. There were small, perfectly placed holes around the neckline that were lined with pearls. The sleeves went down to just above the mannequin's elbows, ending in adorned points. The shoulders of the dress were slightly puffy, mimicking a style Cress had seen in some old fashioned dramas from the second era. The dress wasn't huge, or flowing, or like anything that Cress had ever imagined herself wearing and dancing with the love of her life in, but somehow it was perfect. Most of her dresses on the satellite had been some shade of blue, as had her ball gown. She had painted the walls of her apartment blue to remind her of the years of yearning to be on the blue planet, then her awe once she actually got there and experienced the vastness of the sky. This dress was also the precise shade of blue of Thorne's eyes, eyes that had mesmerized her for years now.

"Cress?" Thorne squeezed her hand lightly. "You alright?"

She nodded mutely. She needed to by that dress. She wasn't sure where she would wear it, if ever, but she knew she needed it.

Cress shook herself out of her reverie. "Let's… can we come back here after we're done your shopping?" She asked Thorne, looking at him with pleading eyes.

Thorne shrugged, indifferent. "Sure. As long as I get at least one clean pair of pants, I'm good."

Cress nodded, and they continued on up the street. Every few meters, she would look back just to make sure that the dress was still in the window, awaiting her return.

Once Thorne was properly equipped with new clothes, the pair made their way back to the boutique where Cress had seen the dress. Being later in the afternoon, the street was busier, hovers and androids whizzing along the road and sidewalks. Thorne had to pull Cress out of the way of a particularly quick moving errand android that almost sent her spiraling into the crowded street.

"Aces, that thing could have killed you," Thorne grumbled, steering Cress safely out of the path of another android. "We should comm Cinder to come have a look at it and reprogram its speedometer." He looked at Cress to see her reaction to his joke, before noticing her sober expression and clearing his throat. "If she weren't, you know…"

Cress hurried ahead, her eyes sharp in search of the boutique. There! She dragged Thorne down to the end of the block, her heart racing with excitement, only to stop in her tracks yet again, staring into the window. This time, however, she wasn't transfixed by the beauty of the dress, rather horrified by the absence of it.

"What?" She nearly shrieked, staring in astonishment at the empty window. "Where did it go? We were here not even half an hour ago? Did someone buy it that quickly?"

Thorne shook his head. "Why don't we go in and ask. I bet that one in the window wasn't even in your size anyway, and they probably have others you can buy."

Cress released a breath. Right. She was overreacting. It was just a dress. She'd worn plenty of beautiful dresses before, at both of Kai's weddings, and at the annual peace ball.

They entered the shop together, the door welcoming them with a cheerful chime. A plump young woman stood behind a counter with her back to them, rummaging through a bin filled with something Cress couldn't see. Cress approached the counter, while Thorne found something to his interest at the other end of the shop and quickly strode off to examine it.

"Um. Pardon me?"

The young woman behind the counter turned, surprised, then greeted Cress with a warm smile.

"Why, hello there! I'm sorry, I think I was a little caught up in my sorting and I barely heard the door ring." She motioned to a small bin filled with bits of lace, bows, and strips of tulle fabric jumbled into a box.

"Oh, that's okay. I was wondering, um, did anyone come in and buy that dress that was in the window? I walked by earlier and I wanted to come back and have a closer look at it, but when I came back, it wasn't in the window anymore. Maybe you have it in another size…?"

"Ah, yes." The woman's face fell in sympathy. "I'm afraid that just sold. It was only on display for a few days, I knew it wouldn't be long before someone bought it. Such a beautiful dress."

Cress nodded and struggled to hide the disappointment on her face. It's just a dress.

"The lady who bought it had such a lovely name. Actually, she asked me to give her name and address to anyone else who came looking for the dress, so they could possibly work out some kind of arrangement to sell the dress. She only wanted it for once event, you see, and-"

"She did?" Cress interrupted, hope leaping into her voice. "What's her name?"

Yué Zéi, I believe it was. Beautiful name."