Simeon found her in her bedroom, lying flat on her back and staring up at the roof.

"It's not over," Julie said without looking at him. Beside her, Kate was sleeping softly, suckling contently on the gag.

"What's not over?" Simeon asked gently, coming to sit on the bed.

"He's still out there. Whoever killed them, he's still looking for me."

Simeon could see she had been crying; her cheeks were still wet with tears.

"You'll be fine," he reassured her. "Look, you're with us now. Despite the arseholes amongst us." Julie smiled, knowing exactly who he meant. ".we're a nice bunch. When Nyssa gets some time, she'll be able to teach you all about being a Mistress, and help you with Kate and Susan."

Simeon leant down and put an arm around her. Gently he brought her into a sitting position, and held her close.

Julie made an attempt at turning her sob into a grateful murmur, but he could tell she was crying into his shoulder. He felt so sorry for her, and confused as to what to say.

"Thanks," Julie told him softly after a minute, her arms sliding around his chest to hug him gently.

Simeon smiled, giving her a gentle squeeze. Perhaps he wouldn't have to say anything after all.

Julie was content to lie in his arms and relax, letting her troubles fade into the warmth of his embrace. She liked him so much.

"Simeon, do you like me?" she asked, her voice calm. Simeon frowned, and his arms loosened around her.

"Of course I do!" he said, sounding surprised. He leant back to look into her face. "You did allow me to take that irritating cloth off outside my room for the first time in a long while." He chuckled softly.

"No, I mean. really like me," Julie said, blushing slightly. She fought the urge to look away, staring him straight in the eyes; red to violet.

Simeon smiled back at her, his gaze soft.

"I like you as much as I can like you, having known you for only a few days." Her face fell slightly, and her gaze dropped. Simeon grimaced.

"Hey, last night I could have kicked you out of bed, or taken what I needed, but I didn't. I asked what you wanted." He saw her smile slightly, but she still kept her gaze low. "I spent the night with you, and I'm really grateful. I'm sorry I couldn't be there when you woke up, but, well. Moira and Shadow have created an awful problem for us all, and I had to go."

Julie looked up, and smiled a little more.

"I understand," she said, and leant forward to hug him again.

"Even if I didn't need you to live, I would still have come to find you."

They sat together for a long time, listening to each other breathe.

"I can still smell that suit," Simeon told her gently. Julie giggled, and began blushing.

"I might have heard everything, but I didn't get to see you in it." His tone was casual, but Julie could hear the suggestion in it.

Wordlessly she broke the hug and climbed off the bed, walking out to stand in the middle of the room with her back to him.

She took a deep breath, and then pulled her jumper off, exposing her rubber-covered arms. She turned around slowly, hugging herself nervously. She smiled at Simeon, who was watching a little impatiently. Keeping her eyes on him, she took hold of the bottom of her shirt, and began to lift it up.

She brought it to just below her breasts before she paused, her cheeks red.

"So that's why your figure looks so sexy," Simeon remarked, tilting his head. "It has a corset!"

Julie smiled, and lifted her shirt up fully, exposing her rubber-covered breasts. Her nipples were clearly visible through the translucent covering, a fact that made Julie blush even more. She slowly turned away, trying not to appear too urgent.

"The corset was a little uncomfortable to begin," Julie related, bending over to undo her shoes. "In fact, the whole thing was uncomfortable." She was wearing no socks inside them; the rubber stockings she wore hugged her feet in a fairly comfortable manner.

She glanced back at him from her bent-over state, and then began to slide down her pants. She shut her eyes as she did, concentrating entirely on removing the garment.

Simeon stared silently. He knew that many ships had slots for people to sleep through long journeys, but he had never seen one of the suits that the occupants had to wear. His eyes were drawn to the two clearly visible ports centred between Julies' legs, wondering what kind of devious use Moira had put them to. Was there anything protruding inside?

"Wow," Simeon breathed, standing up and walking over to her.

Julie blushed furiously, and stared at the floor as he circled her, studying the way the suit conformed to her curves. He stepped back, and looked at her appraisingly.

"You know, with your short hair and that suit, you look like such a Mistress. I can just see the innocent girls cowering before you!"

Julie giggled nervously, her eyes darting to where Kate slept.

"But I must ask. is there a hood for it?"

"It's in the box," Julie said, hoping he didn't ask why she had kept it.

Simeon pulled the limp, rubber hood out, running the long feeding tube through his fingers.

"Oh, I can so imagine you wearing this, all cuffed and helpless." He grinned at the look of alarm on her face.

"Are there normally plugs inside the waist?" Simeon asked curiously. Julie looked mortified, and looked down sharply at the floor.

"Or. they're still in there!" Simeon exclaimed, coming up to hug her from behind. His hands ran down the suit to touch the port over her sex, his fingers probing inside it.

"They are, aren't they?" Simeon whispered into her ear. She nodded silently.

"Are they big?" he asked, looking over her shoulder at his hands. "Are they.?" He stopped suddenly in mid sentence.

"What's that?" he exclaimed in surprise, letting go of her and crouching down. He reached into the pile of clothes at her feet and pulled out the space-ship key.

"Where on earth did you get the key to a space-ship?!" he asked, looking up in surprise. He ignored the fact that this angle gave him a nice view of her breasts.

"Err. well, this weird guy Seth rescued me from Moira's ship, and then he appeared when I was having my late breakfast, and gave that to me!" Julie gave him a confused look. "And then Nyssa refused to tell me who he is." She paused suddenly, and narrowed her eyes at him. "Do you know who he is?"

Simeon glanced from her to the key and back again.

"Get dressed," he said softly. "We're going outside again."



Julie was finding it hard to trust him and not ask questions. But his manner suggested she should wait until he had shown her what he wanted to. She trudged through the snow after him, feeling a little warm under her clothes. Her little strip-tease, followed by the long walk with the plugs in her loins, had made her very horny.

"What, the crashed ship?" Julie called out as they rounded the line of trees they had been following.

"Yep," Simeon said simply, heading straight for it.

He waited by the ship for her to catch up, and then handed her the key.

"Have a go," he said simply, gesturing to the outline of a door in the side of the ship. The entire craft was on an angle, so the door was half buried under the snow. But the hatch beside it was hanging open, displaying a slot that looked exactly the right size for the key in her hand.

Julie looked at it for a second, uncertain what to do. She quickly grew irritated with her own delaying, and simply stuck one side of the key into the slot.

The door seemed to think for a second, and then with the sound of straining mechanics, slid inwards and then disappeared sideways into the wall.

"Congratulations, the ship is yours," Simeon said with a smile. Without waiting for her reply, he crouched down and shuffled through the half-buried doorway.

"He gave me. this ship?!" Julie breathed, looking from the key to the slightly blackened ship stuck side-on into the ground.

Light flickered to life through the doorway, and Simeon's voice echoed out.

"Hurry up," he called from within.

Still not quite believing, she removed the key and crouched down to follow him.



"So this is mine?" she breathed, standing on the slanted floor of the main room. She spotted the hatch down to the room of tubes, and shuddered slightly.

"Yep," Simeon said, standing beside her. "But that's not all. Come on." He strode over to the ladder, and began climbing up to the top level.

"What's up here?" Julie asked, climbing up after him.

"Come and see," he called back mysteriously.

The first thing Julie found was that there was glass all over the floor. She followed the trail of destruction to what she assumed was the kitchen. The floor was a mess of metal, broken glass and electronics. She sighed, realising that she would probably have to clean it up later, if the ship was indeed hers.

"Over here," Simeon called. Julie stepped out of the kitchen, and over to the door that Simeon was standing beside. Whilst the kitchen took over half the top floor, the other half was hidden behind a wall.

Simeon took the key from her hand and stuck one end into the slot beside the door. There was a click, and the door slid smoothly open.

The lights were off, and as Julie stepped in, she found the air musty, as if it hadn't been opened for a long time. Simeon found the light-switch first, bringing the room into illumination.

The room was a rough hemisphere, with the tip of the opposite end walled off. Julie could see the shadowy shape of a toilet and bath through the doorway. The middle of the remaining room was dominated by a slightly ruffled double-bed, its red sheets interlaced with a pale blue pattern.

"Comfy," Julie said simply, walking over and sitting down heavily on it. "Very comfy!" she exclaimed, lying back on the soft mattress.

"Keep looking," Simeon said, as if he was expecting something.

Julie frowned at him, slightly annoyed he was being so clandestine. She stood up and walked around the room, her feet crunching on glass. Apparently not everything had been secured, and the landing had caused several drawers to fall out. They now sat upside down on the floor on the opposite side of the bed, their contents piled up underneath them.

"More mess,' she said in annoyance. "And more glass!"

"Find anything?" Simeon asked, beginning to gaze around the room himself.

"No," Julie said, irritation creeping into her voice. "What is it you expect me to." she trailed off.

Simeon watched as she crouched down beside the drawers, looking at something on the floor.

"Oh?" she whispered, picking up something and looking at it. She turned it over several times, and then stared at it for a long time, tears in her eyes.

"I see," she said softly, replacing it on the floor. She looked up at Simeon.

"We can go now," she told him, fighting to keep her emotions in check.

She left the picture sitting on the floor as she walked out of the room. Kelly smiled up from it, her vibrant blue eyes shining with happiness. Beside her, his arm holding her close and smiling just as widely. was Seth.