When his human opened the door, ZEX stared at him and he could remember him so clearly as he saw him through the viewscreen of his ship, wearing the simple red of a human Captain. That had to be real... it had to be.

At his human's question, ZEX would have shaken his head if he understood the gesture, and instead he shivered and looked down. Both his eyes were open. He opened his mouth to say something, hesitated, then reached out and hugged him as tightly as he could. If nothing else, maybe his warmth would stop his trembling.

"I..." ZEX said softly by his ear, then realized there were other people in the room. He blinked at them, confused, but didn't loosen his deathgrip on his Captain. He couldn't afford to let him go.

"I didn't know there'd be others here," ZEX said, his voice weak.