Sharp light filtered in through tinted glass. Despite the brightness and pureness of the light, somehow the room still seemed dark. Perhaps it was the sharpness of the light and the blackness of the shadows left in its wake. The room itself seemed cold and barren. The floors were grey, the walls were grey, and the furniture was mostly stainless steel.

There was a chair toppled over on the floor in the center, surrounded by shards of shattered glass which caught the sharp light from outside and warped it to reflect across the room in crystalline patterns.

The walls of the room were barren, mostly devoid of pictures, except for one hanging crooked over the couch- a frozen image of a happy family smiling down from the wall. Somehow, in a room like this their smiles seemed rather hollow. Just across from that a TV was playing static and a defused bluish light filtered onto the floor where it mixed with the white light filtering in from the tinted window, and the bright lunar landscape outside.

The place was silent, mostly silent except for the occasional sloshing of liquid.

He lay on the dull grey floor next to the overturned coffee table. He was a wreck, wearing a stained white T-shirt and boxer shorts. His face was covered in a weak layer of scruff and in one hand he held a bottle. He lay there for another long moment staring with a dead expression up at the ceiling before slowly raising the bottle to his lips and taking another swig. He grimaced, and much of the alcohol spilled out onto his chin and neck, but he didn't seem to care, and rested his head back against the floor with a dull thud.

He contemplated getting up.

Cleaning himself up maybe.

But that would clearly be too much work with his prosthetic stowed under the bed in the bedroom.

He was a cripple.

He couldn't get up.

He took another sip from the bottle, hating the taste as much as the fuzziness that clouded his head.

A soft whimper from the other side of the coffee table, and looking up he saw a snout and a pair of ears poke out from behind it.

"Lay down." He ordered drunkenly

And the nose and snout disappeared again to go along with a dull thud.

He didn't have the energy to deal with her today, but she was always so insistent. He just wanted to be left along more than anything in the world.

Adam stared at the ceiling closing his eyes as another wave of incomprehensible self loathing washed over him, he was an idiot, he was pathetic, he was stupid, and he was barely even human. He had no life, no personality, and the one thing that made him interesting was the one thing he couldn't do at the moment.

He hadn't told the UNSC of course, he didn't want to lose his job.

So he had disguised his visit to the moon as extended leave, leave that was VERY extended considering all his unused vacation hours stacked up. If he wanted, he could take the next year off.

The thought scared, him and his fear scared him even more. Why was he so afraid of spending time by himself.

It's because you don't have a personality.

Or the fact that you are super boring and you know you would be bored the entire time.

Because you are worried about what you are going to learn about yourself.

Because.... Because you don't get to see her.

He squeezed his eyes tight shut and groaned.

Stop thinking! Don't think about that!

And then he heard the sound of keys rattling in the lock. He sat up very quickly suddenly aware that he was legless and unarmed. But who the hell had a key! Only his mother, but she was back on earth, its not like he could think of anyone else to give it to. The key rattled in the lock for a few more seconds.

Adam turned looking around for any sort of weapon and found only the mostly empty bottle at his side.

He looked at it, shrugged, and then downed the last of its content before grabbing it by the neck and brandishing it like a weapon.

The lock clicked and the door was pushed inward. Boots thudded over the grey laminate floor, and a shape came around the corner duffle bag in one hand, a set of keys swinging in the other.

He raised the bottle, ready to throw it at the intruder and then paused.

"Ramirez!"

Ramirez stopped to look at him a dark eyebrow raising over an amber eye. He looked Adam up and down very slowly before, "You look like shit."

Self consciously Adam managed to lever himself up onto the couch, so he could be a little more dignified, but as he was right now, there wasn't much hope of that.

Ramirez lifted his nose to the room and sniffed grimacing.

"Dude, its smells like a bar in here, and not the reputable kind. It smells like the kind of bar where the blond chick just threw up in the corner, and drunk uncle dan pissed himself because he passed out."

"Ok, Ok I get it."

Ramirez turned to look at him, "No I don't think you do, bro what the hell." he bent over and picked up one of the bottles, "Since when did you drink?" He flipped the bottle over, "Since when did you drink this shit. If you are going to get drunk at least make it something good."

Adam looked away, "Highest alcohol content I could find."

"Yeah.... That stops now."

He set down his duffle and crossed his arms over his chest, "Go get yourself cleaned up."

Adam opened his mouth to protest.

Ramirez held up a hand, "No, no your mother said she would only give me the keys if I got your ass out of the house, and that is what i intend to do."

"You met my mother!"

"Yes, lovely lady, though the next time she sees you shes gonna beat your ass. Now get up and go wash the stench off, I can smell you from here. Also,..." He looked down, reaching into his bag and tossing a small white bottle over to Adam, who, somehow, managed to catch it.

The two of them stared in surprise for a second before Adam flipped the bottle over to read the label.

"Ethen-null?" He read aloud, "What is this."

"Take two, they should neutralize the ethanol in your bloodstream. I used to carry a bottle around in my wilder days. ITs great when you want to get super drunk late at night, but you don't want to be a shitty human being while driving home drunk."

"I don't w-"

"Option one is you take them voluntarily, option two is that I make you take them, and I guarantee that you aren't going to like option two."

"I can't walk."

"Boo hoo, get up and hop your crippled ass to the shower, I know you can."

HE blinked a bit surprised at the venom in Ramirez's tone. No one had spoken to him like that in a while. The ones who did speak to him kept tip toeing around him as if they knew there was some problem, but not wanting to address it.

"NOW!"

"Ok, Ok, jeeze."

He uncapped the bottle first, tipping two of the little white pills into his hand before swallowing them dry and then getting unsteadily to his remaining foot. Ramirez didn't make one single move to help him as he hopped, or crawled his way across the room and towards the hallway where his room was.

Opening the door, it was clear the place hadn't been touched since he moved in.

He didn't really know why.

There was something about sleeping in a bed somewhere that made that place permanent.

He wobbled through the door into the bathroom, which, luckily for him had a walk in shower and a bench.

Despite his original dislike for the idea of getting up, the water felt good on his aching soul, and he spent some minutes trying to scrub the alcohol and grease from his body. A thick coat of steam rose up around him as the warm water evaporated, rolling down the glass in rivulets.

He admitted to feeling a little better as he hoped out of the shower and onto the heated tiles, gripping the railing on the wall for support as he moved over to the mirror.

His mouth tasted pretty foul, but at least his head was clear, and he took at least five minutes of brushing his teeth and two cup fulls of mouthwash to satisfy him.

He contemplated not shaving, but decided he might as well since he was here.

His leg was already beginning to ache with trying to hold himself up, and he took the indignity of crawling on his hands and knee into the bedroom, in only a towel, rooting under the bed until his hand fell on the cold outside of the prosthetic.

He closed his eyes unable to look as he pulled it out from under the bed and strapped it on feeling the motors whirr to life as he finally picked himself up off the floor.

He refused to look down as he walked over to the drawers and pulled out a fresh set of clothes, tossing his nasty ones into a bin in the closet.

Over the sound of the fan in the bathroom, he thought he could hear the sound of a vacuum and then pots and pans clanging in the kitchen.

Curious, he stepped out into the hallway only to find that the front room had been tidied. The chairs and overturned tables had been picked up, the glass had been vacuumed, and waffles was greedily staring at Ramirez as he popped a piece of toast from the toaster, buttering it lightly before handing ti down to the dog, who took it gently and walked over to her bowl.

Ramirez looked over his shoulder, "She deserves it after having to deal with your dumbass for the past few weeks."

He took a seat at the dining room table.

"Feeling any better?"

"Feeling human at least.... I guess."

"Good,also you better be hungry because I am making breakfast."

"I didn't know you could cook."

Ramirez raised an eyebrow at him, "Really, I come from a long and illustrious line of people who enjoy fiestas and siestas, so of course I know how to cook. My abuela would be horrified you even suggested such a thing. Just because YOU can't cook." he turned to the kitchen, "All this food in here, and the only thing I find open is a box of cereal, which is weird because no milk was open, which makes me think you have just been shoveling it into your face dry like dog food. Speaking of dog food, you HAVE been feeding waffles, right?"

Adam frowned a little affronted, "Of course I have!"

"Good, because I was about to slap your bitch as if you weren't." Across the room waffles licked her chops rather loudly.

Adam paused and looked down at the table as Ramirez walked over setting a plate in front of him.

"What are you doing here?"

"Taking care of you, what does it look like. My matronly side really comes out when I think my friends are being stupid. Now eat your breakfast, or the shoe comes off."

"The shoe?'

"Another long and glorious tradition passed down through the centuries that involves throwing your shoe and disobedient children."

Adam raised his hands, "Ok, ok, I'm eating."

He picked up the fork as ramirez turned to sit down next to him.

As soon as he took a bite, his mouth exploded with flavor, it was so good it was almost as if he could experience it through all five senses, and even a few more. His mouth began to immediately water. He hadn't eaten like this in months, and found that he was surprisingly ravenous."

Ramirez looked on smugly as he polished off the plate and then saat back in his seat,.

"More?"

Adam nodded.

Ramirez took the plate and returned with a second helping, which Adam managed much more slowly this time.

"So...."

"So?"

"How is the crew."

The atmosphere seemed to sour just a little. Ramirez shrugged, "Since you left, its been ok I guess. Simon is doing alright but she kind of a stickler for rules, and becomes even more so when she is stressed, which kind of puts a damper on things..... She not as good as you are truth be told."

There was a silence in the room.

"And.... Kanan?"

"Oh he's still pissed. I am pretty sure when you get back you might have to duel him, or at least take a punch, but he's sort of stepped up to take care of the clan and..... The weapons system since...."

"So she's still gone is she/'

Ramirez sighed, "yeah, she's still gone, but she left a bunch of her stuff on the ship, and apparently she told kanan she was only going to be out for a couple of months, so here is to hoping she returns." Ramirez paused turning to look at Adam with a frown.

Adam shrugged, "What."

"You're a real dumbass, you know that."
Adam sighed, "Soyou have said."

"No no, you are going to hear me out for a second because I have a few things to say to you. I have been thinking bout it on my trip to find you, and I think its about time someone said them."

Adam waited.

"You are the smartest dumb person I have ever met." Adam blinked, "Here is a man who doesn't need to do orbital calculations to fly a jet into orbit. He is a man who knows exactly what to do and what to say to new alien species. Here is a man who practically defined a generation, and yet here is that same dumbass abandoning his support system when he needs it the most. You have that habit, you know that. The habit of telling the Rest of us to F-off when you really need us. Its like you think that somehow we can't handle your problems, when bitch, we have problems of our own, and if we can't handle your we wouldn't be offering to help. He leaned forward across the table, "You need to step up and do better because this is getting tiring."

Adam remained in his seat staring at Ramirez and he sat back.

"Are you done?"

"No." He slumped a bit, "But that will have to do for now."

Adam sighed,, stared out the window at the Lunar landscape for a long moment before, "You know after years and years, after therapy and after psychologist after psychologist..... Not one has anyone ever said that."

Ramirez watched him shiftily, not sure where this was going.

"Ive been waiting years for someone to tell me that?"

Ramirez blinked, "ok.... Ok well... shit I didn't really expect that to work. I was just pissed to be honest."

Adam shrugged.

"I get tired of people being so understanding all the time. It doesn't help.... At least not me anyway."

"Well in that case."

Ramirez stood and walked over to his duffel bag, "You and I are going to go on a little vacation. Get out and experience the universe while we are still young. Find ourselves, and hopefully get into a shit ton of trouble."

Adam frowned, "Are you sure about this."

He grinned, "yes, and I know the perfect palace to start."

He grabbed the duffle bag, and then flipped it's contents onto the floor, "Your mom gave me these."

Andam stood and walked over, turning to look down at the pile of clothes before snorting a laugh, "You can't be serious."

Ramirez grinned, "Nothing more wild that the final frontier."

Adam reached down, and picked up two sets of wide brimmed cowboy hats from the floor pulling them apart. One was black and the other was a light tan, "You aren't serious."

"Do I look like I'm joking."

With a snort he reached over and crammed the hat on to Ramirez's head before pulling the black hat onto his own.

Ramirex struck a pose, 'What do you think, make a pretty good cowboy, wont I."

"You look like as much of a dumbass as I am."

"Ouch, that really hurts me on the inside you know."

Adam turned to look at his reflection in the window, "So this is how you are going to fix me huh, playing dress up?"

"Ok, number one I am hoping to help you fix yourself, number two your mother says you love playing dress up, and number three, I want to go on a cool vacation, but no one else will go with me."

Adam sighed, and rolled his eyes, "Ok, ok we will go on a vacation."

Ramirez rubbed his hands together evilly, "Excellent."