"Well, you can be either smelly or cold. Your choice." Tarris had already made up her mind about her own state despite whatever Asher decided to do. She reached for the tab at her waist and released the tension on the suit. Asher stood there and watched her, but didn't offer her help to rise. It was a standoff, and Tarris knew it. Asher wanted to be asked, and Tarris refused to ask for help. Finally Tarris relented.

"I could use some help here... please," she added as an afterthought. She extended her hand, and Asher took it. Despite the layer of synthetic skin between them, Tarris could feel her warmth.

Asher hunkered down, put Tarris's arm around her neck, and pulled upward. "My, my," Asher whispered in Tarris's ear, "we are a heavy girl."

Tarris scowled at her. Her free hand manipulated the controls of her suit in an effort to get the contraption underneath her. It took some minutes before she was in a position to use the power of the suit to get her upright. The only promising moment of the exercise was a painful pinch of her skin by the suit.

Finally, she was upright. Both leaned against the wall to catch their breath.

"Do you have that problem often?" Asher gulped air between her words.

"No. I don't sit down like that. Too hard to stand back up."

"No kidding."

Tarris pushed herself off the wall and walked toward the water. Her suit made funny noises, a high-pitched wheeze following by a clunk, and she knew she was in trouble. She held up her hands to Asher in a silent question.

"It's waterproof. Go ahead."

Tarris stepped into the shower of water and started to scrub herself. The water was way past cold. It was freezing. But the cold numbed the pain in her hands, and she could use them to wash. She only hoped she would thaw out in front of the fire.

She barely noticed another presence until she felt hands on her back swiping downwards. She looked over her shoulder and saw Asher's beguiling eyes looking directly at her. Asher smiled gently then went back to her work, vigorously rubbing the slime and dirt off Tarris's clothes.

When she felt she was clean enough, Tarris obliged Asher with the same treatment, scooping away the crusted dirt and grime that lay across her back.

The women stepped out of the rain and immediately felt the cool breeze ripple across their skin.

"Geez!" Asher hissed.

Tarris walked toward the fire and struggled to keep an even gait. She could hear the strain on the metal and wondered if she had the expertise to fix it. But for now, her most immediate problem was getting dry.

Asher prodded the fire and added more fuel to it. It burst into life and sent out a wave of heat in their direction. Tarris turned her back toward the heat and welcomed it. Steam rose off them both. It settled around them for a moment like some eerie dense fog, then it curled away to the ceiling and dissipated.

"Where's Jerad?" Asher asked with concern. Water sluiced down the platform and leapt off the edge in a deluge.

"If he can't make it back in time, I'm sure he's smart enough to take refuge somewhere." Or at least Tarris hoped he would. She had no idea why the kid stuck with them. He didn't strike her as clingy. In fact, he seemed more fiercely independent than she was. Maybe he decided to strike out on his own and leave them to fend for themselves. It was a distinct possibility, but something told Tarris he wouldn't do that, at least not without saying goodbye.

She spent the next half an hour drying off, facing the fire then turning away when she felt the heat was too much. She rejoiced in the warmth that touched her legs. The awakening of her nerves had been a long time coming, and she welcomed the tingling that accompanied it.

When she felt dry enough, she moved to the wall. She leaned back against it and looked at Asher who stood by the fire. When Tarris reached for the button on her suit to sit, Asher moved.

"Wait!" Asher sifted through the collected rubbish and pulled out some of the items. She built a pile with them on the ground, where Tarris was about to sit herself, and spread out the blanket on top of it. "Now you can sit." Tarris just glared at her. "What?" Asher said, "I'm not sleeping on the hard ground."

Asher had a point. Even with the blunted sensation Tarris had in her ass, any length of time she sat was going to be painful. She looked at the ground uncertainly. Should she try to maneuver herself into a comfortable position or just release the tension on the suit and hope that she landed upright?

As if Asher had read her mind, she stepped up beside her. "Here, I think you need a hand," she murmured.

Tarris kept her mouth firmly shut and accepted the help. She put her arm over Asher's shoulder and tapped the tabs in order to have one of her legs partially support her weight as it bent to allow her to descend. Asher's arm wound around her waist, and Tarris jumped when her hand hit a ticklish spot.

"I'll have to keep that in mind," Asher said, then chuckled.

About six inches from the ground, Tarris pushed the final button and the suit collapsed. As Asher straightened out her legs, they could hear the grating from the frame. "I think some of that muck got into the joints," Tarris said, but it wasn't really necessary to say so. She suspected Asher was able to figure that one out by herself.

"Will it take water if I wash it?" Asher unstrapped the frame from around Tarris's legs.

"I've walked in a deluge with it, if that's what you mean." Tarris was content to let Asher continue. She leaned back on her hands and watched as Asher's hair fell forward, the wet dark strands partially hiding her eyes from view. Suddenly two circles of vibrant blue appeared within the hair, and Tarris realized she was being observed. Her gaze dropped to her legs, and she could feel the heat of an oncoming blush.

The sound of gentle laughter drew her gaze back to Asher. They looked at one another for a moment before Asher pulled the frame from beneath Tarris and walked over to the falling water. She stood outside the waterfall and briskly moved the joints of the suit within the cascading water.

Tarris pushed herself back a foot to take advantage of the wall. While Asher worked on her suit, she looked at her clothed legs. They weren't emaciated like others with her condition, for which she was thankful. The suit had been a Godsend to her. Not only did it give her a certain amount of independence, but it also kept her muscles toned. Now walking was only a matter of regaining strength.

Tarris grinned. Her desire to be whole again had been such a lifelong wish that she had seriously doubted it would ever happen. She touched her leg with her finger. When she felt it, she laughed out loud.

"You seem pretty happy with yourself."

Tarris jumped. She hadn't heard Asher come back. She was breaking another one of her cardinal rules.

Rule Eleven in her Survival Handbook: Always be aware of your surroundings.

"What's wrong?"

"Huh?" Tarris looked up at Asher's confused face.

"You were laughing and now you're scowling. What's the problem?" Asher put the suit down near the fire to dry.

"You're a distraction," Tarris said.

"And that's a bad thing?"

"It could be." Just as Asher was about to sit down, Tarris added, "Can we move the fire a little closer?" Asher stood there and waited, then Tarris spoke again, "Please?"

Asher used a length of wood to scrape the fire a little closer to the wall. Once she was happy with its position, she threw the wood onto the settling flames.

"Where did you find that?"

Asher looked at the wood she had just added. "Jerad told me you use it to make the fire last longer." She retrieved the suit and moved it the extra foot to the heat.

"I didn't think there would be any of that stuff lying around."

"Ah!" Asher reached into her pocket and took out her laser scalpel. "It seems that the rails sit on top of wood, so I just helped myself." She waved her scalpel in the air. "Damn, that stuff is heavy."

"Smart thinking," Tarris said.

Asher's smiled widened, and Tarris came to the conclusion that her statement was more than just words to Asher; it was a compliment.

"If that's all, mistress, may I sit down?" Asher was already in motion when she spoke.

Tarris waited until Asher was seated next to her. "It's too late now to ask for anything."

"What do you want now?" Asher's voice was tinged with annoyance.

"Nothing. I just wanted to see if you would do it." Tarris wasn't prepared for Asher's body landing on top of hers. She reached blindly to hold onto the squirming body pinning her down, until Asher found the spot she had threatened to remember. "No! Oh no, no, no, no," Tarris pleaded. The urge to throw Asher off herself was enormous, and it took all her self-control not to do so.

Asher stopped for a minute and looked deeply into Tarris's eyes. "Rya? We're just playing, okay?" She then addressed Tarris. "Just so we don't have any confusion here." Asher's finger scraped across the ticklish spot, and she laughed as Tarris responded.

"Do you really want to do that?" Tarris mock threatened her.

Asher leaned in and pressed her lips against her prisoner's. It was long and lingering and spoke of more than just friends. When Asher pulled away, Tarris asked, "Why did you do that?"

"Because I wanted to." Asher slipped her hand from Tarris's side and moved downwards to where there had been no feeling. This was a whole new experience for both of them.

Tarris's breath caught in her throat as Asher's finger blazed a trail across her virgin skin. She could feel it. This was not mental compensation on her part. Her actual nerves felt the touch for the very first time. "What about Jerad?"

"He can get his own girlfriend," Asher joked. "Didn't you say he'd take cover until it was over?"

"That's what I'd do, but then I'm not Jerad."

A large clap of thunder broke overhead to emphasize the continuing storm above ground. "See? Even the sky is agreeing with me," Asher said as her hand continued to wander.

"Why?"

"Don't you want to know? Feel what I feel?"

"You know I do, but why me and why now?" Tarris berated herself for trying to discourage Asher from what she was doing. Asher had offered to answer the burning question that had been haunting her since her accident.

"What if this is the only chance we get? What if something happens, and one of us dies? Do you want to die not knowing what love is?"

"Love? Who said love?" Tarris asked with some trepidation.

"Making love has an element of love and passion, otherwise it's just having sex."

"And this... love." Tarris looked nervously at the woman who hovered over her. "Is that what you feel... for me?"

"Scared that you have to reciprocate, Tarris?" Asher's words held no hint of bitterness. "This experience is something I give to you freely, without any strings attached. I want you to experience it all, before it's too late."

Asher spoke as though she knew what the outcome of their lives would be, and Tarris didn't like it. It was the final rule in her book and one that had gotten her through her tortured life.

Rule Twelve in her Survival Handbook: Pessimism will ensure failure.

She had made up many other rules in her life, but they were passing promises fashioned for the circumstance at the time. These twelve rules she had tried to abide by to ensure her survival. Now she had invited Asher into her life, and she was in danger of laying herself open to attack from those she had so jealousy guarded herself against.

If this love was so inherently dangerous for those concerned, why get caught up in it in the first place? Tarris doubted that love was involved between them, but if it made the experience all the more pleasurable because of it, she could play the game and allow Asher her dreams.

As Tarris's mind contemplated her questions and doubts, Asher hadn't been idle. The clasps down the front of Tarris's jump suit popped one by one, revealing pale flesh a piece at a time to an inquisitive hand. That same hand roamed the unclaimed territory and found an ignored nipple ripe for teasing.

Tarris struggled to make sense of the mixture of emotions Asher stirred within her. Asher's hand continued the downward journey under her suit to the top of her thigh and through her hair. The touch was so light Tarris almost missed it, until Asher found her.

Tarris's hand came down on top of Asher's. "Wait," she said nervously before she looked around. "I... I don't..."

"Shhh." Asher's finger covered Tarris's lips. "It's the right time. Can you sit up?"

Tarris's abdominal muscles stood out in vivid relief as she lifted herself to sit without using her hands. "Now what?"

"Ah... errr..." Asher babbled. She stared at Tarris's impressive six-pack. "Take... errr... Pull down your suit," she finally managed to get out.

Tarris struggled with the suit, and when Asher began to help her, she figured she wasn't undressing fast enough. She moved her hand to cover her colostomy bag, but Asher pulled it away.

"Don't do that," she whispered. "It's a part of you. It's not ugly." She leaned down and kissed the skin above where the bag sat. "Besides, we'll soon have that removed once we can get your urinary system working again."

"We?"

"It's not really my area of expertise, but I know a few people who will help." Asher moved back up to Tarris's lips and kissed her. "You don't think I'm going to let you go through this all alone, do you?"

"I... I don't know. I thought-"

"I know what you thought, Tarris Waite. You thought as soon as this is all over I'm leaving you. Haven't you got it through your thick head yet? You're stuck with me from now on."

"I am?" A jolt ran through Tarris at the news. The excitement she felt would soon make her dizzy, but she was already dizzy enough from Asher's statement. She wanted to stay.

Tarris grabbed Asher by the hair and dragged her down to kiss her roughly. She was on a high, physically and emotionally, and she wanted more. She put her fear aside and allowed Asher to show her the wonders of making love.

As they kissed, Asher's hand slid down Tarris's torso and through her hair. With gentle insistence, her fingers stimulated Tarris while her mouth latched onto Tarris's throat.

Tarris wasn't quite sure what to make of the feeling. The sensation wasn't unpleasant by any means, but the whole thing was so out of her range of experience that she was afraid she'd make a fool of herself.

Asher's lips found the pulse point at the base of Tarris's throat and laved it constantly until her breathing became labored. Without conscious thought, Tarris moved her legs slightly apart to give Asher more room.

Rya shifted within her restlessly, and Tarris understood that feeling. She wanted to move, to cry, and to beg for the ache within her to go somewhere or do something. She didn't know what she wanted, but she wanted it all.

Asher moved and Tarris nearly cried out when the hand that had been giving her so much pleasure-and frustration-was removed. But it was only for a moment. Asher insinuated her leg between Tarris's, and the hand that had so tormented her returned with increasing pressure.

Tarris placed her hands on either side of Asher's head and pulled her down for another kiss. This time she nipped, she tasted, and she explored. She allowed her instincts to drive her body to find that moment she had experienced earlier through Asher. She wanted her own explosion, and to see the stars behind her own eyelids. She wanted to be so totally consumed that she didn't care if she died a second after it.

The sensation swelled within her, doubled and tripled by Asher's own emotions transmitted to her by Rya. It was different this time, and yet it was the same, made even more tumultuous with her own skin, bone, and muscle finally able to feel what had only been in her head and in her heart. With Rya's help, Tarris felt their two heartbeats go wildly out of control, to mirror the wild abandonment she felt. "Ash," she whispered, "oh, Ash."

Tarris's head spun. Adrenaline flowed through her like a heady synth wine. It was intoxicating in the extreme and stirred feelings that had been long dormant. She had always considered her libido to be her nemesis, a beast to be harnessed and beaten back into the dark recesses of her mind. The beast had no place in her life, and she was better off without it. But Asher had awakened it, breaking the chains that had kept it prisoner all these years, and Tarris didn't want to stop it.

She was unable to deny herself. Her hands were already in motion, skimming over the fevered body lying on top of her. Had she asked for more than Asher was prepared to give?

A warm sigh escaped Asher's lips, and she smiled. Tarris's hands moved with greater purpose to knead the muscle underneath Asher's soft skin. Her passion flared to life demanding more. Tarris raised her head and captured Asher's lips, nipping the skin roughly. Asher responded enthusiastically and stirred the flames of her desire.

Images appeared in her mind, but Tarris wasn't sure of the source. Was it Asher making known her wishes, or was it the dreams from so long ago showing her the way? In either case, she would use the pictures as her map for pleasing Asher. She had been the recipient of Asher's love, and now she wished to give it back.

Tarris paused. Was this what love was? Was it the giving and receiving of this ultimate gift with someone who made that gift so special? She had never associated her secret desires with love before because they came in the night when she was at her most vulnerable. But why were the images the same? Was this all part of her libido's plan to show Asher what her lover was really like? That she harbored thoughts that weren't for the likes of her?

While her mind had one idea, her emotions had another and had already manipulated Tarris's hands to roll Asher over to the ground. She rested her weight on her left forearm while her right hand snaked down Asher's sweaty body. When Asher's breathing hitched, she said, "This is what you want, huh?"

Asher nodded her head.