Galen didn't want to get out of bed. Allie had woken him twice in the middle of the night to make love, and the way she was stirring now, she might be about to ask again. She didn't need to ask. Galen let his fingers trail across her breast, down her side and across her belly to her thigh. "Good morning, sweetheart," he whispered as he slid the tip of his finger inside her, stroking gently.

"Mm." She snuggled closer to him. "I hope you're planning on using more than just one finger to wake me up."

"Two?" He demonstrated.

"Think harder, Galen. And bigger. Oh, yes!"

One very enjoyable hour later, Galen had to admit they needed to get up or they'd be late for work. If this was life with Allie, it was better than anything he could have imagined. He'd do anything to keep it that way.

Allie's comm beeped just as he was getting into the shower, so she reluctantly left him to shower alone to take the call. She still wasn't back when Galen was clean, so he turned off the water and headed out to the living area in a towel to see what had kept her.

"Check again, Col," she said, her eyes darting from her tablet to the wall screen, which both showed schematics of the Colony.

"What are you looking for?" Galen asked.

"Something that's not there, Col says, which is not possible, seeing as it was before. I have time to sort this before my first fitout this morning, but I might head out to the spots where it's found an anomaly, just to make sure." Allie frowned at the screen.

"Want me to bring you breakfast?" he asked.

She waved him away. "I'll be fine. I'll pick up something on the way. Today's not going to be as nice as yesterday. Meet you for dinner, maybe?"

"It's a date," Galen replied, kissing her cheek. He wanted more – so much more – but he was already late, so he hurried into his clothes and headed out. He could ask her tonight.

When he reached his office, a box half hidden under his desk caught his eye. It was a pump box – the one that still held the other half of the plutonium. He couldn't believe he'd just left it lying here like this, but he'd thought it was uranium, and not enough to cause trouble. Now he knew better, he just wanted it gone.

Galen heaved the box onto the desk and opened it. He took a deep breath before he lifted the lid of the lead-lined box inside. Sure enough, two rods remained, and they were hot to the touch. It was enough to blow up the entire Colony, Allie had said, so that meant these leftovers were just as dangerous. It needed to be locked away where no one would find it and use it.

The Watch had presumably done that with the first two rods, so they must have a suitable storage facility. He'd tell them one of the staff had found it in one of the other main pumping stations. Arbor Dome, maybe. Let the Watch draw whatever conclusions they liked from that.

Then he was done. Done building bombs; done trying to track down terrorists; done with the hunt and everything to do with that bloody siren Halcyon.

Because he didn't want to draw her attention to himself, as that would only put Allie at risk. He'd give up anything to protect Allie, because she was his future. His parents would understand, he was sure. They'd want him to be happy. And if killing Halcyon risked letting something bad happen to Allie...he'd never forgive himself.

His parents were gone, and nothing could bring them back. But Allie was living, breathing hope, and all he had left.

Galen dropped onto his chair, borne down by the sheer enormity of his decision. No more revenge. No more hunting for Halcyon. He'd have to find a hobby.

Feeling lighter, he pulled his music player out of his desk drawer and slipped the headphones over his ears. He turned up the volume and found himself singing along as he read through his morning messages. Nothing could budge his good mood today.