“Been there, done that,” Mal said dismissively. “And…they’re not easy to get on with, these guys. They don’t let you in. They’re big into self-sufficiency, but at the same time they’re all about helping people, and you’re supposed to know when people need help cos they don’t exactly ask. They’ve got a million ways of letting you know you’re not pulling your weight, too, without even talking to you. And you keep expecting them to be like people, our people, but they’re always slightly not. I guess you’d get used to it, after a while, but…”

“You want to go travelling,” Lee finished.

“I really, really do. I mean, the Cousins reckon there’s a process that creates these different Earths, one that’s been running for a billion years or a hundred billion or…who even knows? They reckon it’s there, it’s gone off the rails and, of all things, they can fix it. With maths and sufficiently advanced technology. Which is where Doc Khan comes in, and where Doc Rat would have, if that sonofabitch hadn’t killed him. There’ll be Nissa scientists and that ice thing and the flying bug monsters…They say there are other Earths where there aren’t mathematicians or scientists or dimension-crossing engines, but those Earths need saving too. And we can be a part of it, Lee, we…” Her voice trailed off, and she lay there for a while as Lee stroked her hair. “I’m always doing this, aren’t I?”

“What?”

“Fucking your life up.” She captured Lee’s hand and brought it to her cheek, just held it there, skin to skin. “I got you into trouble so many times at school, and never thought twice. I dragged us off to Bodmin and screwed you up with that. Then when I had the chance, I crashed back and derailed everything all over again. You were caught by the bad guys because of me, and nearly killed in two other worlds when I talked the Nissa into saving you. And now…” She stared at the rounded ceiling, her mouth a straight line. “I will stay,” she said, slowly. “Ask me, and I’ll stay. I’d rather be here, anywhere, with you, than at the ends of the Earth without. I will stay.”

Lee took a deep breath, blinking rapidly. It was a moment before she could speak. “We’ll go,” she said at last. “I mean, this is affecting the whole universe. There isn’t exactly a safe place to watch from.”

Mal didn’t say anything, but she squeezed Lee’s hand tightly.

Later on, the rat translator came to join them, mostly because Dr. Khan was elsewhere. It clearly didn’t like anyone else, nor did it want to be alone. They were a gregarious people, after all, and this was a big, empty world.