There's so many damn things he could say right now, everything from thanks for lookin' out for me to so when we go to Mars, does that mean I have to remember to call you Marianne? to I don't know, why would you get all mad at me to you're real pretty, you know that?

What he does say is this: "A Lady Without Passport: someone's got a sense of humor. I like the guy already." Smiling again, he takes a long pull of his beer before setting it down. "Hell, might as well just let the guy do the pickin'. My luck, I'll probably end up as Chewbacca or somethin'." That concept makes him laugh -- out loud and everything -- and the laughter's such a damn relief it's a minute before he can get himself to stop.

It ain't just anyone makes him laugh like this. Freckles must be somethin' special. Oh, hell, he knows she is.