The Commander's Lieutenant

Part 25

Taz's eyes flicked up to see Up leaning awkwardly on the control desk. She laughed. 'What are you doing, Up?'

He shrugged and jumped down the stairs, landing right at Taz's feet. She jumped a little, shooting him a fiery glare. Up threw his hands up in defence as she whacked at his chest.

Taz stood to her feet, placing her foot on the floor behind his leg. She stepped around him, but her other foot caught on his boots and she tripped. The only thought that rushed through her head was a string of Spanish swears and embarrassment. Taz was waiting for the impact of the ground, but felt as though she was suspended in the air. One by one, she opened her eyes and looked down at herself.

Up's arms were holding her back and waist, and he was leaning over her. His blue eyes filled with worry and passion, he searched her face to make sure she was alright. Before he could ask her if she was okay, or Taz's brain could stop her, she quickly blurted one of the most clichéd things she had ever thought of.

'Creo que me estoy enamorando de ti, Up.'

He pulled Taz back so that she could stand, only just breaking eye contact. Taz dusted herself off, her face getting hotter and hotter. She combed her fingers through her hair and quickly turned to run.

'Uh-uh.' Up protested. He stepped forward, gently putting his hand on Taz's shoulder and spinning her to face him. 'Not until you tell me what you just said.'

A little smirk crossed his face, but it faded before Taz could slap it away. 'You know exactly what I said, Up.'

'Say it in English.' Up requested, smiling down at her.

Taz huffed and blew a piece of hair out of her face. 'I think I'm falling for you, Up. Happy?'

Up nodded and dove forward, squeezing Taz in a large hug. He twirled her in his arms, Taz letting a smile cross her face. He dropped her down, and Taz went to run again. She felt a sharp pain in her ankle, but decided against mentioning it. Up had turned back to the control pad, making sure they were heading towards Earth. When Toni was monitoring the systems the year before, Commander Miers had wanted to test how they would react to a "change in course" and had set them towards Jupiter.

Up and Toni were calm, but Fert had freaked out and hid in the storage cupboard. By the time Up and Toni found him, they were in tears laughing at him. Up hadn't thought about his old crew for months. He distracted himself with Taz, trying to get over the fact that they were gone. He should have protected them, but he did what his best friend told him. Toni was always telling Up about his little sister, trying to make her seem like the perfect girl. Up hadn't known that everything Toni said was true until that night (or that Toni was trying to set them up). He saw the destroyed robots Taz had blown to pieces, how hard she fought, how beautiful she was...

Even after a month, Up knew exactly how special Taz was. She was eager to learn and impress, except when it came to calculus. He tried to encourage her, and finally she gave in and studied hard. Being a Ranger like her brother meant everything, even though he was a tech. Up slowly came back as a few planets rushed by, quickly wiping his eyes in case the memories of his friends brought tears.

Taz made her way to the gym, getting more and more determined by the second. Kitt, Alex and Ruth were just about to open the doors to go in, not noticing Taz sneaking up behind them.

'Hey.' She hissed, coming up quickly behind them.

Ruth stared Alex down until he had stopped screaming, then gave him a giant shove. 'I wouldn't have jumped if you hadn't screamed!' She protested, kicking the door to the gym open.

Taz shook her head and gave the boys a shove, pushing them into the room. It had been cleaned up since she was in there last, much to her delight.

'LINE UP.' She ordered. The three of them quickly jumped into the line, Taz walking up and down. '10 laps, thirty sets of weights, 100 chin-ups and dat will do. For now.'

Alex looked far to happy, so she continued.

'But I got you again straight after breakfast, so don't eat too much.'

Kitt groaned, shooting Alex a sarcastic "thanks a lot" look. Ruth got to work immediately on the laps, the boys lagging behind. Taz watched delighted as Ruth struggled on the fourth lap, but managed to keep up her pace.

'Come on! You can do better dan DAT!' Taz shouted as they ran past. 'Move it!'

By the time the three of them had finished the weights, they were exhausted and sweaty. Alex worked his way through the chin-ups, but Ruth was struggling. When Taz turned her back, Kitt snuck up behind her, knelt down, and put Ruth on his shoulders. She almost screamed, and looked down quickly to see Kitt smiling up at her.

She fought to not return his smile, but felt it creeping up on her face. Ruth grinned back at him as he tried to teach her an easier way to do it, barely focusing on what he was saying. The session ended when Taz smelt food coming from the kitchen, and she sent Alex off.

'You two- finish and DEN you can have breakfast. On de up side, only ten more.' Taz pushed a little motivation into them and followed Alex.

As she walked past, Taz turned to Alex and pointed back at the gym. 'Care to explain?'

He shook his head quickly, trembling before the girl who was practically half his size. 'Uh-um.... I have no clue. I swear!'

Taz didn't believe him for a second, but the smell of food was overwhelming her. 'Go.'

Alex ran for the kitchen, stumbling over his feet. Taz walked in after him a few seconds later, grinning when she saw Up. He looked at her from the table, grinning back. Alex had his back turned as he sculled a bottle of water, unable to see them. The second he turned around, Taz had sat down in front of Up and was already half finished her lunch. Up finished his own at the same time as Taz did, and the two of them awkwardly stood up and walked to the control room.

'Finish those push-ups?' Alex smirked over his sandwich as Ruth and Kitt entered.

Kitt's eyes sprung wide open, staring straight into Ruth's eyes as she smiled. 'Uh, yes. Ruth just needed a little help.' He stammered.

Ruth flicked her hair over her shoulder as she looked at Alex, him giving her an innocent smile. 'You little... You totally dared him to do that!'

'Well you needed help!' Alex protested, tossing a bottle of water at her.

She shook her head with a scrunched up nose, then turned to Kitt. 'Cut it out, you two! Seriously!'

'Cut what out?' The boys asked sweetly. Ruth slowly stood up, biting her bottom lip and looking down at the table. She raised her eyes and looked between them.

'Run.'