Katie was glad her parents liked Leonard so much. It made all of this so much easier. They would understand why she needed him to be there. Shifting a bit, she reached back and took Leonard's hand again and wrapped her fingers around it.

"If that's the case, how about all of us have some breakfast? We can go to that little diner you like so much, Katie. I'm sure you're getting rather sick of the ship food," Jonathan said.

"That actually sounds nice," Katie said with a smile. Truth be told, she was getting sick of the ship food and having real food would be nice.

Following her parents to their vehicle, Katie kept her hand wrapped around Leonard's. The Academy was busy, like it always was, and she was starting to feel a little trapped. Moving closer to him, she took several deep breaths. Part of her wanted to hide somewhere but she didn't want to worry her parents.

"Are you all right, sweetheart?" Amanda asked.

Katie nodded and swallowed. "Yeah. Just getting used to being back on Earth," she said.