After Mars left Venus and the kids to rest after everyone was satisfactorily fed, he hunted down Cas.  Since he already promised Bridget that he would have lunch and dinner with her he wanted to make sure that someone brought food to Venus.  She was still weak and extremely tired, and he didn't want her struggling to carry to the to babies to the mess tent and try to eat at the same time by herself.  

He was hoping within a few days that she would feel up to leaving the tent and he would help her with the two babies while they ate together.  Bridget probably wouldn't be too happy about sharing a table with Venus, but it was his family, and they always would be.  If Bridget wanted to be a part of his life she had to accept Dex and Pepa as part of it, and while the babies still needed their mom, Venus too.

Cas was in the Tech tent watching over a monitor. He long blonde hair was draped over her shoulder like a golden curtain.  Her pale face glowed from the light on the screen as her pale green eyes intently stared at it. When Cas noticed Mars come into the tent a broad smile crossed her face, "Well, this is a first.  I don't think you've ever visited me at work before."

"Really?" Mars thought back and he didn't recall ever visiting Cas before, but he it wasn't purposely.  When they had first arrived at the camp he was preoccupied with finding his place.  The new lifestyle was a hard adjustment for him, and it wasn't until Bridget came along and helped him, that he actually felt like he belonged there.  She taught him how to hunt and use a bow and the two of them became the best hunters in the camp. 

"You're obviously here for something," she teased, "so what favor do you need?"

"I don't come hunting you down to just ask favors," he groaned pulling up a chair next to her.  He happened to glance at the screen and noticed a red flashing light in it.  Mars looked from Cas to the screen again and pointed, "Is that something we should worry about?"

Cas glanced at the screen and shook her head, "No, it's just a malfunctioning sensor.  One of the techs will go out to check on it soon.  Most likely some rodent has been nibbling on the wires.  It happens a lot."

Mars nodded and sat quietly next to her.  He had come to ask a favor of her but since she thought it was the only reason he would come visit her he felt bad.  In the Cube, Mars and Cas were good friends, not as close as Venus and he was, but still a friend he valued and looked forward to seeing.

"Oh out with it already," Cas sighed, "sitting there in awkward silence isn't going to convince me that your here for my company."

"Fine," he sighed, "Venus isn't able to get around well yet, so I was hoping that you would take her lunch and dinner tonight.  I brought her breakfast, but I need to spend some time with Bridget.  I already ran off on her last night and this morning."

Cas's smile melted into a guilt-filled frown, "I can't," she quickly replied.

Mars was surprised by her quick reply, so surprised, that he just stared at her in shock before he finally said, "Why not?"

Cas turn back to the screen in an attempt to avoid Mars's condescending eyes, "I just can't, Mars."

"You just can't bring your friend lunch and dinner?" he gruffly asked.

She scowled and looked at him, "You can't either," she pointed out.

"I brought her breakfast," he replied.

Cas quickly jumped up from her chair and head to another piece of equipment.  She tightly wrapped her arms around herself in a protective hug.  Mars watched in wonder.  He had been cold to Venus when they first got to the camp, but Cas had been there for Venus the whole time, now she didn't want to be around her.

"I thought you cared about V," he said.  The aggravation in his voice was prominent and caught the attention of some of the Techs in the tent.

"How dare you," Cas growled as she spun on her heels for face him, "how dare YOU say that.  Where the hell have you been the last few months.  Do you have any idea how many nights she spent crying herself to sleep over you?  How many times I defended you, to her, telling her that you'll come around?  How dare you accuse me of not caring you self ass."

"I was working through things,' he defensively replied.

"And we weren't?  The three of us were dealing with the exact same things, but Venus had it worse than the two of us.  Not only was she struggle to figure herself out but she had to do it with the care and concern of becoming a mother on top of it."

"Cas?" A tall young man with tight curly black hair walked up next to her and protectively laid his hand on her shoulder.  his dark chocolate eyes scanned Mars, knowing full well who he was, and wondering why he was there talking to Cas.

Cas turned into Destin's embrace for comfort.

Mars looked between the two of them with clenched teeth as a pang of guilt his him directly in the chest.  He didn't like his discrepancies thrown in his face, especially if she was using them as an excuse not to be there for Venus.  Just because he finally stepped up didn't mean Cas needed to back off.  He knew Venus would still need the comfort of her friend and she didn't seem to care about her anymore.

Mars stomped out of the tent full of guilt and aggravation. 

"Mars," he heard Destin call out to him after he was several meters from the tent.

Mars stopped and looked over his shoulder with a scowl still heavy on his brow.

Destin jogged up to him and said, "Don't be mad at Cas."

Mars rolled his eyes and started to walk away, but Destin grabbed his shoulder to stop him, "She can't handle seeing the babies right now," he told Mars. 

"It's killing her that she can't go see Venus, but just the thought of seeing the babies terrifies her," Destin added, "you have to try and understand what she's been through.  How many kids were taken away from her.  She's afraid it'll all come rushing back the moment she lays eyes on your kids."

Mars glance back at the Tech tent and the anger deflated out of him.  He didn't completely understand.  He had sired several children before Pepa and Dex without a care or a lot of what happened to them but seeing the twins changed all that.  The thought of something happening to them or being taken away from his was terrifying.  He would kill anyone that tried.  It made him wonder if that was the feeling that the female Breeders felt without even seeing their children, and if so, how in the world they kept their sanity.

"Tell Cas...I'm sorry," Mars quickly said before leaving.

"You should tell her yourself," Destin suggested.

"I can't," Mars groaned, "I have to go make a deal with the devil."