"Yeah, it could be funny, although I'm not sure that I'd say that within earshot of Rachel," Cassie agreed with a laugh, but she sobered as the topic came back to his parents. She could tell from the tone of his voice that he missed them, although, even if she hadn't been able to hear it, she'd still probably have assumed it. It was hard being apart from those you loved. She felt a pang thinking of her own parents, but pushed it away. She smiled understandingly. "That must have been nice. I was an only child, so my parents liked to tease. They knew what was too far though and always managed to stop short of that point. I'm pretty sure their aim was just mild embarrassment." Her parents particularly loved to tease her about her feelings for Jake, but she had never really minded. She'd been close to both of them.

"Really? That doesn't sound promising for things on the ship," she commented a bit uneasily. She knew that they still had to be cautious on Stacy, but she'd sort of hoped that it would turn out that they were all just being overcautious. Cassie wasn't sure that she'd believed that, but she'd hoped. But this sounded like more confirmation that they weren't necessarily safe here. She continued quietly a moment later, still worried, "Well, please just be careful when you start flying for real."

"I see. Well, no problem there," Cassie pressed on with a forced cheerfulness to cover over the worry. "It won't hurt me to wait." She focused her eyes on Tom, hoping to catch his eye, but he wasn't even looking at her. A frown flickered for a second, but was quickly replaced before he could focus on her again. "You seem to have the right temperament for this kind of thing. Calm and patient." Her eyes drifted to Bobby for a second. "And if Bobby is any example, you must fare well with animals too. They do tend to respond well to a kind heart and gentle hands."