Paige blushed, she felt completely humiliated by her lack of foresight. She had just liberated Jim from his cruel master, only to have him sleep on the floor. Jim deserved better then to be forced to sleep on the cold, metal floor. The thought crossed her mind to maybe switch and let him have the bed and she take the floor. After all the trauma he’s suffered under Aisha’s care, Jim ought to have some luxuries.

“Of coarse I could always take the floor,” Paige mumbled softly, fiddling with her fingers as she tried to figure out what to do. She hadn’t planned for actually getting Jim, all her preparation went into thinking up ways to get him away from Aisha. Now that she’d rescued him, she didn’t know what to do now.

“It’s all right Paige,” Jim said while smiling warmly. He sat down on the floor and patted the hardened floor. It wasn’t going to be comfortable, but he’d manage. “The floor won’t be that bad. Why, when I was first working with Gene we only a small one room apartment and whenever Gene brought girls over, he’d make me sleep outside on the ground.” Jim chuckled softly, being taken away by the memory.

“That’s horrible,” Paige gasped. Jim had told her all about all his friends, but the one Paige most remembered was Gene. Jim spoke about him with a fondness, but the things he said Gene did made Paige worry. From what Jim had told him, Gene was a perverted mad man that put him and everyone around him in danger. If Paige had told Jim her opinion on Gene, Jim would of agreed on her presumptions.

“It wasn’t so bad, except when he brought home screamers. Those girls kept me up all night.”

“I see,” Paige spoke softly. It seemed Jim had more knowledge abut mature relationships then she did. Paige had never been on any kind of date before, of coarse, she never hung out with boys her own age before either. The only source of advice she got about boys was from Trisha, whose only comment was; don’t date them if they’re limp all the time. The advice had been given after Trisha had one too many drinks and when Paige asked her to explain what she meant, Trisha feinted ignorance. He probably dated many Terran girls back on Sentinel 3. Why, Paige would bet that he actually had a girlfriend already. She bit her lip and imagined what king of girl Jim would be dating. She’d probably be pretty, unlike her. And much stronger and confidant, the complete opposite of her. And she’d definitely not be a Ctarl-Ctarl.

“Paige, is it alright if I use your bathroom?”

“It’s your bathroom now,” Paige said with a tiny smile. She could dwell later about the vast differences between what kind of girl Jim would date and who she was. Right now, she had to make her new roomie feel at home. She’d repair the damage Aisha’s done to his psyche, by showing him that Ctarl-Ctarl’s have hearts just like Terrans. He’d no longer hate her kind for imprisoning him and come to love her, like she loved him. It would be so romantic, a slave, freed from his shackles, to be accepted how to love by a caring, loving friend. Forced to live together, love would blossom and they’d fall madly in love with one another. Paige turned beet red, it was like from one of those trashy love novels Trisha always read.

“Wow, this bathrooms huge!”

Paige’s daydreams popped. Shaking her head to keep them out, Paige poked her head into the bathroom to check on Jim.

“How’d you get such a big bathroom and such a small living quarters?”
“The bathrooms the normal size of any other officers facilities,” Paige said. The bathroom was nearly as big as her room, with a huge toilet, sink and shower stall. Paper towels were hanging over the sink and toilet and an air freshener hung above the sink. It was a normal bathroom to a Ctarl-Ctarl, but not so much for a Terran.

“But everything’s so much bigger, the toilet seat is wider then my waist!” Jim was taken aback by the huge restroom. Aisha may have had a larger one, but hers was connected to the mother of al, sweets. Paige’s bathroom was attached to a ten-by-ten cube.

“All the bathrooms are this size for all Ctarl-Ctarl’s. If they weren’t most of us wouldn’t be able to fit thought the door. We need the extra room to move when we have eaten a great deal of food.” Paige kept from saying that the extra mass was usually an undigested Terran in their stomachs and the toilets also had to be big to hold their large weight when they are full of undigested flesh.

“Okay, I guess I didn’t expect so much to go into just the washroom,” Jim said, realizing now the brilliance behind the big bathrooms. For someone like Paige they were useless, but for a fully-grown Ctarl-Ctarl, they were essential.

“But still, did they have to make everything so big? The shower is big enough to fit me, you and Trisha,” Jim said before thinking out what he was saying. Paige’s eyes widened and her mouth hung open. Realizing what he’d just said, Jim tried to clarify.

“I mean, not that I’d ever want to take a shower with all three of you, I’m just saying that if we all squeezed in we’d fit inside. I don’t mean that I’d like to be squeezed in with Trisha and you, that would be uncomfortable. I’m not saying I’m uncomfortable with you both. You’re like family, but I mean not my real family in the sense. What I’m trying to say is…um…er…” Jim stopped there, if he just stopped talking it couldn’t get worse. Paige was blushing and looked confused and scared. Jim couldn’t blame her, his little explanation made him feel the same way. Jim and Paige remained like this for a minute, Jim was looking around nervously and Paige was blushing. They came out of their stupor when a knock came from the door.