When I arrived at my father's boat, Penny was emerging from the rescue center. She was thoughtful and a little pale, which I didn't like at all. But I couldn't attend to her because my father called me below deck.

When I got there, a moment later I saw Penny walking back towards the engine through one of the windows.

"What did Penny want at the ocean rescue center, Dad?" I asked him when I got to him.

"She said she wanted to check something on her equipment and would be back straight away. It's been a quarter of an hour now. Is she back?"

"Yep, just went to the back of the engine." What else should I worry about? Penny was always overly cautious and dutiful. She probably actually thought of something else that she wanted to check. She would tell me about it.

When I went back on deck ten minutes later to help her, I saw her leaning over the railing a moment later. Did she just throw up?

I ran to her only to see her leaning heavily against the railing and sliding to the floor into a sitting position, drawing her legs up.

"Is everything okay, my heart?" I asked her gently and crouched down in front of her.

"Yeah, sure. I probably ate something wrong," she just sighed and put her head in her hands.

"You haven't had anything that any of us haven't eaten and as far as I can see everyone is fine except you."

"It was probably a combination of different things that upset me." Somehow I had the feeling that she wasn't talking about breakfast and another thought occurred to me.

"Are you pregnant?" She looked up at me skeptically.

"Sam, something like that doesn't become noticeable after just a few hours."

"Maybe you're...particularly sensitive?" I replied cautiously.

"We talked about it being impossible. I'll make sure of that." Yes, we had that talk and also that she only did it until we wanted to start a family.

"For now," I couldn't stop myself from interjecting with a smile, hoping to elicit one from her as well.

"Yeah, sure. For now," she replied thoughtfully instead. What was wrong with her that made her change her mood like that in less than an hour? Was she feeling that bad?"I'm fine Sam," she answered me as if she had read my mind.

"You're deathly pale and you've just fed the fish, Pen. I'll take you to Helen."

"No, it's okay. I promised your Dad I'd check on the engine and I'm going to do that now." She knelt down and turned to the engine before she grabbed the wrench and started tightening the screws.

"I'm going to help my Dad below deck, but I'm keeping an eye on you, Penny," I replied simply, giving her a kiss on the top of her head. She didn't even look up at me or answer me anymore, so I went downstairs. What was wrong with her?

When I returned to the deck half an hour later, Penny came up behind me and I was delighted to see that the work had brought color back to her cheeks. I was just about to give her a kiss when she just brushed past me and got off the ship.

"Trouble in paradise?" was all my Dad asked when he suddenly stood next to me.

"It seems so and I don't even know what I did. Everything was fine when you two left the house."

"Then sort it out." He slapped the back of my head with the palm of his hand as if I were a little boy who needed to be knocked out. "She's special, Sam. You don't piss off a girl like her."

"I don't even know what's bothering her," I replied, perplexed.

"Then find out. You have to go to work anyway." At that moment, Penny called out a farewell greeting to him from the dock. "Take care, little one. See you later," he called out to her, giving me a push to follow her.

"Are you okay, Dad?"

"Sure, sure. Your Mom should be here any minute. Now go ahead."

So I ran after Penny. I wanted to grab her hand when I finally caught up with her, but she pulled it away and now I had enough. I grabbed her shoulders and forced her to look at me.

"What's wrong, Penny? All I can do is apologize and explain it to you, when I know what I did."

"What makes you think you did something?" she replied, genuinely surprised.

"Because you're obviously trying to avoid me?" She ran her hand over the back of her neck and took a deep breath.

"It's not you, Sam."

"Then what? Did my father say something that upset you? Explain it to me. Please." I stepped closer to her and took her hands in mine. I wanted to hug her so badly, but I hesitated and knew why when she looked up at me with tears in her eyes.

"I can't explain it to you, Sam. It's not possible. Please forgive me, but I think we should go our separate ways. Of course, my...sofa is at your disposal as long as your parents are there."

"You can't be serious, Pen?!" She turned away and continued walking, but I wasn't finished with her yet. We had been happy just this morning, she had told me that she loved me and a few hours later it was all just over? I grabbed her arm again, but she pulled away. "Penny, please. What's wrong? Let me help you."

"I don't need any help, Sam. I just changed my mind and think this with us just isn't a good idea and now I would be grateful if you could just leave me alone," she replied angrily and ran away.

I watched her, helpless, until she had disappeared around a corner of the house and then looked back at the harbor. My father had probably gone below deck again because he was no longer visible on the boat. My gaze wandered over the rooftops to the lookout of the ocean rescue center and I saw Ben standing behind the window and watching me. I knew he couldn't see my tears that were slowly beginning to break through from this distance, but I still turned away and followed Penny to the station with a measured step.

Something was very wrong here. Was she just playing a game with me? What I had always particularly appreciated about Penny was her calmness and self-control, her diplomacy and also her honesty. She had never lied to me before. She was fooled when we played pranks on each other or when it came to keeping a surprise party a secret from me, but even then I was often able to see through her before the secret was revealed.

Just like now. I had heard her words, but I had also seen her tears, and tears didn't lie, never. I had to find out what was happening and quickly, before it really broke both of our hearts.

When I arrived at the station, Penny had already changed and was putting something in Venus. She pointedly looked away as I looked over at her, but before I could think one step further, Ellie stepped in front of me and gave me the most evil look I'd ever seen on her.

"Are you on duty right now?" she asked me and I looked at the clock.

"In 10 minutes, yes. Why?"

"Good," she replied and the next moment she shoved both hands in my chest with such force that I stumbled backwards. "What the hell have you done?" she hissed at me.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Penny. She came here completely distraught. What did you do? Was it always just a game for you? Have a little fun and then drop her like a rotten tomato?" She tried to hit me in the chest again, but I held her hands tightly.

"I didn't do any of that and it wouldn't even occur to me. She just broke up with me."

"What?!" she asked, visibly confused and I released her hands again. It seemed certain to me now that she wouldn't hit me again. "Why?"

"I have no idea. She just said that she had changed her mind and that it wasn't a good idea to be together. Did she tell you anything?" I asked now full of hope.

"She wanted me to leave her alone and when I probed, she said something about wanting to be transferred back to Newtown as quickly as possible and that if she can't have you, she doesn't want anyone. That's why I thought that you..."

"That doesn't make any sense," I murmured thoughtfully. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I have no idea. How do we find out what's going on if she won't tell us?"

"To be honest, I don't have any advice."

"Fire in the harbor. A boat is burning there!" Steele's voice came over the loudspeaker.

"Mom! Dad!" I mumbled in shock and ran to the cloakroom, where I threw on my uniform in record time. I ran back to Jupiter's driver's door and promptly collided with Penny, who immediately backed away and let me go first. I looked into her eyes for just a moment before she turned away and ran to the passenger side.

I had seen her concern in it. I knew that she liked my parents and that she was worried about them too. With this problem resolved, I would not rest until I learned her true motives.

To be continued...