Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever own Outlaw Star or anything affiliated with said show.

"Speaking"

'Thoughts'

The Horrors of Shopping

Usually Melfina does all the shopping by herself since Jim's always working on Gilliam, Gene's just too lazy, Suzuka won't miss 'tea time' and Aisha…well no one really wants to shop with her, she causes all sorts of problems. Melfina is fine with that though, she leaves when she wants, spends as long as she needs without feeling pressured and generally just has a peaceful time.

One day however, Melfina woke up with the flu and could barely get out of bed. After being pronounced as 'too sick to move', she'd resigned herself to staying in bed all day. Just as Gene was about to leave her room, she spoke up. "There's no food in the fridge, so you'll have to go shopping for dinner." She said quietly.

"Don't worry about it." Gene said with a wave of his hand. "I've already sent those three out with your list. I'm sure they'll be back in no time."

"Ok." Melfina said as she burrowed deeper into her blankets. "I hope they don't forget the bread." She muttered sleepily before dosing off.

ooooo

Suzuka nearly tore the list in her hands to pieces as she listened to Jim and Aisha bicker. As their voices continued to grow louder, she turned and glared at the two 'children' behind her. "Would you two be quiet!" She growled out. "We haven't even gotten to the store yet and you're already on my nerves." Turning back around, she continued on.

Jim and Aisha both snapped their mouths shut and quietly followed after the assassin. Not even they were stupid enough to anger Suzuka when she looked that pissed off. Glaring at each other out of the corner of their eyes, the two silently told each other that the battle was far from over.

When they reached the store, Suzuka handed Jim and Aisha a basket and stared at them both sternly. "Now, I want you two to go and pick up these three items." When they nodded, she continued. "After that you can meet me in the meat department so we can pick out something for dinner. Now get to it."

Jim nodded and handed the basket to Aisha while he made a mental list of the items they were supposed to pick up. Turning around, the pair began to walk to the other side of the store.

"Finally, some peace and quiet." Suzuka muttered. "It's a wonder I haven't killed those two yet." Walking down the dairy aisle, she began to get the items Melfina had written on her list. By the time she'd gotten to the end of the aisle, Suzuka could hear arguing at the other end of the store. "I knew they couldn't keep out of trouble." She said as she stormed over to where the two were fighting.

"It is so what she wanted!" Aisha yelled, holding up a can of baked beans.

"No it's not, the list said 'green beans' you idiot." Jim replied. "Those are baked beans. They're totally different."

"Who cares, a bean is a bean." Aisha said as she tossed the can into the basket.

Pulling the can back out, Jim threw it at the Ctarl-Ctarl's head. "I told you no, what do I have to do to get it through that thick skull of yours?!"

By now a rather large crowd had begun to gather around the pair and Suzuka nearly growled as she pushed passed the onlookers. "ENOUGH!!" She screamed.

Aisha dropped the can of beans before she could throw it back at Jim and they both looked down at the floor.

"What is wrong with you guys?! We were sent out to do one thing and you two can't even get along for twenty minutes. It's like I'm babysitting a couple of toddlers." Suzuka complained, rubbing her forehead in annoyance. "Now, since I obviously can't leave the two of you alone you can come with me to the meat department and then we can get what's left on our list."

"I'm almost the same age as her, what makes her think she can boss me around." Aisha muttered under her breath, causing Jim to cover a laugh behind his hand.

Turning a glare on the pair, Suzuka narrowed her eyes. "Did you say something?" She asked. When they both shook their heads, she smiled. "I didn't think so." Turning back around, she headed down towards the meat so they could finish up and get back to the ship.

While Suzuka was examining the meat, Aisha spotted a rather large fish. Picking it up, she snuck up behind Jim and whacked him upside the head with it. "Gotcha!" She cried.

Jim stared at the fish that had just assaulted him and narrowed his eyes. "That's it, you're dead." He said as he reached into the lobster tank and pulled one out. Holding it up, he smiled evilly while he removed the bands on its claws. "Hey Aisha, catch." He said with a laugh.

Aisha screamed as the lobster landed on her head and immediately began to attack her ears. "Aaaaah, get it off! It hurts!" She cried.

Dropping the roast she was examining, Suzuka turned around and her eyes widened. "What the hell!" She said as she watched Aisha dance around with a lobster attached to her head while simultaneously beating Jim over the head with a large fish. "Ok, this has got to be some horrible nightmare, I'm sure I'll wake up soon." She said as she began to laugh hysterically. "It's just a dream, none of this is real."

Both Jim and Aisha paused in their attacks to stare at Suzuka. "…um, I think she's lost it." Aisha said as Suzuka collapsed to the floor and began to sway back and forth muttering about nightmares.

Nodding, Jim removed the lobster from Aisha's ear and dropped it back into the tank. Picking up the basket, he walked over to the roasts and grabbed a random one off the shelf. "Well that's it, how about we buy these and get out of here. She's starting to freak me out." He said as he headed towards the registers.

Aisha shrugged and turned to follow him. Suzuka was a big girl; she could find her way home once she snapped out of whatever crazy land she'd fallen into.

Long after they left, Suzuka was still sitting on the floor in the middle of the meat department mumbling quietly to herself and chewing on her hair. "It's only a dream, nothing else. Just a dream…a really bad dream."