Thal-ion was so full of emotion as he listened to his companion speaking her concerns, and voicing the understanding of what he had laid out before them.  It had not been easy for her...not even a little bit, and some part of him realized that in this...the Force gave her no comfort.  At least, not in the normal sense of focusing on the Jedi Code, and of the things she had been taught.  Instead, she was holding him, and whispering not to be let go...this coming just shortly after she had told him she would rather be trapped in Time with him than any other.  Such words were not so easily tossed aside, and he knew Alethea well enough by now to know she had not idly spoken such words.  These had come from the deep place in her beautifully guarded heart, and could not be ignored...<br/><br/>...nor did he wish to.<br/><br/>Instead of meditating as she had suggested, and him resting...here she was in his arms, and instinctively...despite having never given into such instincts...Thal-ion found himself encircling his arms around his companion with all the warmth and comfort he could give her.  If she could take such strength and comfort from his presence; then he was more than willing to give it.  From the first moment there had been something different about Alethea than he had experienced with any other, but what it had been he had not been able to explain if asked.  Now, he still could not answer such a question, but even so...he did not turn Alethea away.  The Force was with them both, and in this he sensed a new bond forming between them.  Perhaps it came simply from her need to be comforted, but whatever it was...it was extremely pleasant.  Thus, Thal-ion held her as close as she wished, and he did not scorn her warmth shared or needed.  He spoke no words...none were adequate enough for this moment in time between them.  What he did do was hum to her softly...the very same tune he had played for her when she had asked him about his music.  This he hummed to her now, and all of the warmth he had poured into the Force flowing through them.  He felt drawn to her in a way he had never anticipated, and felt more alive than ever he had in any of his meditations.  Softly, he continued to hum the song to her while stroking her spine up and down to the same tempo.<br/><br/>How long they stood there in the cockpit of their ship like that mattered very little to Thal-ion, but for one whose gift was around Time - he never could recall in later years just how long they had remained like that.  Not that it mattered to him.  He was content to share of himself with the woman in his arms, and when at last he stepped back and stopped humming...it was to gaze steadily into her eyes with a deep resonating warmth for her...and her alone.<br/><br/>"We should both rest," he whispered to her as he reached up and brushed a lock of her hair to one side.