"You're not going to make that jump." Severn screamed at her, terrified as she stood at the precipice of a black tear in the earth.

"It's getting away and this may be our last chance to kill it." Kaylin yelled back. She backed up the corridor to get a decent run up at the wide gap in the floor that separated them from their prey.

Severn sighed and backed up with her. She eyed him from under the hair that had come loose around her face. She tucked loose strand of hair behind her ears. He shrugged.

"You jump, I jump." he told her, taking her hand in his. She nodded and together they ran for the gap. Exerting all their energy, they hurled themselves across the wide chasm and it was looking good for a few moments then they began to fall. Kaylin stifled a scream as fingers scrambled against the edge, but to no avail. They fell. In the darkness. Kaylin felt Severn wrap himself around her and turn them so his body would take the brunt of the fall. She squirmed when she realised what he had done, but he was too strong. They landed with a loud thud. Then the darkness swallowed them.

Kaylin coughed and groaned as she pushed herself into a sitting position. That had hurt but nothing seemed to be broken, but she bet she'd have some spectacular bruises the next day. She rummaged through her backpack for her light stick and snapped it on, repelling the darkness. That's when she saw him.

"No!" She cried out and crawled over to Severn's prone body. His arm was bent at a bad angle but otherwise he looked okay...except his wasn't breathing.

Severn lay on the ground, barely moving. The fall had knocked the air from his body and he was having difficulty catching his breath. Kaylin shook him, not sure if he were alive or dead. With trembling fingers, she felt for a pulse in his neck. It beat out a fast rhythm, much to her relief.

Severn gasped as his lungs finally agreed to take air and coughed weakly. He opened his eyes and found her leaning over him. Kaylin sat back on her haunches with a shuddering sigh. He tried to sit up but gasped in pain when his right arm refused to take his weight. He sank back to the ground, his right side throbbing in pain. It radiated out from his shoulder, nerve ends screaming as he tried to move again.

Kaylin restrained him with one hand and ran her other over his right arm. He winced, trying to jerk away from her light touch.

"I think your shoulder is dislocated." she told him, sitting back.

Severn grimaced. "It's happened before. Needs to be put back in place." He managed to push himself into an odd sitting position with his left arm and turned to face Kaylin. "You're going to have to help me."

Kaylin paled, not wanting to cause him any further pain. "I've never..."

"Please do it." he said threw gritted teeth. "Just pull and it should pop back into place."

"But Teela could..."

"I'd rather you did it. Teela would likely rip my arm off. Besides she's not here...and I trust you." he said, looking straight into her eyes.

"Alright." she agreed slowly and gently took hold of his right arm. Severn winced, biting down on his bottom lip to stop the inevitable scream from escaping. "Ready?" She asked, not anywhere near ready herself. She was fine healing others, but friends were different.

"As I'll ever be." He kept his eyes locked with hers. She didn't look all that confident but he trusted her.

"One, two..." she didn't get to three, pulling hard on the injured arm. Severn cried out in pain, the shoulder popped back into place and he sagged forward. Kaylin caught him and just held him gently until his body stopped shaking and he caught his breath again.

"Easy." she said, as he lay back, letting his left arm take his weight. He propped himself up on his left elbow and nodded his thanks, a small smile tilting his lips at the corners.

"Thank you." he sighed, taking her hand in his.

She watched him for a few moments to make sure he really was okay, then with her free hand, she hit him, her hand smacking his right arm.

"Ow! What was that for?" He asked, tensing in case she was going to do it again.

"That was for scaring me. I thought you were dead." she said, glaring at him.

"I'm sorry..." he began to say.

Then all of a sudden Kaylin leaned forward and pressed her lips against his. Severn froze in surprise. Then he returned the kiss, his lips moving softly against hers. He could feel her trembling and he tightened his hold on her hand, lacing his fingers with hers. Kaylin responded to his touch. She found she didn't want to pull away, Severn's lips were soft and gentle, sending shivers up her spine. It was the most exquisite kiss she had ever had. Barren's lips had been hard and cruel, Nightshade's were demanding and arrogant. But Severn asked nothing more than she was willing to give.

She knew how he felt about her and yet he still was not taking advantage of her. The thoughts she was getting from him were muddled, he was questioning why, hoping the kiss wouldn't end and scared that she'd...

Kaylin reluctantly pulled away, she'd lingered longer than she'd meant to. Her lips were tingling as she sat back on her haunches, removing her hand from his and staring into her lap.

Severn opened his eyes and looked up at her, quizzically. "And what was that for?" he asked in a whisper.

Tears began to slide down her cheeks. Severn sat up as best he could and brushed the tears away with his thumb. "Hey, I'm sorry. I don't need to know right now."

She began to shake with emotion and Severn pulled her trembling form against him, wrapping his good arm around her, while she cried, her tears soaking into his shirt. She curled her arms around his neck as he rubbed her back in soft, gentle circles, making shushing sounds, which only seemed to bring on more tears. He winced once or twice as she held him tighter, her arms pressing against his injured shoulder.

"Sorry." she said, hearing him groan and pulled back. She wiped the rest of the tears away with the back on her hand. When she looked at him again, she was back in control of her emotions.

"Let me see what I can do to heal that arm." she said, touching the coloured gems on her bracer to remove it.

"No, Kaylin, I don't..."

"You are in no shape to help me fight...whatever's at the end of this ridiculously long tunnel. You can't even hold a knife let along your weapons' chain. Now let me help, damn it."

He held up his good hand in surrender and unbuttoned his shirt with one hand so she could touch the wound. The healing worked better skin to skin rather than through anything, though it wasn't necessary. Bruising had already began to take place, his shoulder and upper arm were a raw purplish red as Kaylin lay her hand upon his warm skin. She felt him stiffen under her touch and he hissed in pain. Then healing warmth from her hands flowed into Severn's arm, knitting tissue and muscle back together, strengthening what had been damaged. She could feel him relaxing as the pain ebbed away. She "reached "out and found other cuts and bruises sustained in the fall and healed those as well. A wave of what she could only describe as love/passion/longing washed back onto her from Severn and she abruptly shut down the link between them, blushing from what she'd felt.

"That's enough." he said, hastily removing her hands from his shoulder. "Save your strength, you might need it more."

She'd hoped he hadn't noticed but it seemed as if Severn had picked up on something passing between them, so she let her hair fall across her face. She'd always wondered how much he cared for her and now she had her answer, or at least part of it. And for the first time, it didn't scare her.

"We'd best get out of here. Those guards won't be fooled the next time we double back." he told her, offering her a hand up. She was a little wobbly from the power she'd expended and swayed against him on unsteady feet.

"Are you sure you're alright?" he asked, his hands quick to steady her. She nodded, unsure of herself for a moment. His touch was getting very distracting. "You gave me too much..." he began, concern flooding his face.

"No,really, I'm fine, just got up too fast." she explained, taking a deep breath and looking up at him. He quirked an eyebrow and stepped back, his hands still on her shoulders. She nodded again and smiled. He handed her the bracer and watched carefully as she locked it back in place.

A muffled shout came from where they had fallen from. The guards must have found their tracks...

"Let's move..." Severn said, grabbing her by the hand and setting off at a run.

It wasn't long before they had been caught by the black dragon's forces. It was only been a matter of time, the tunnels had been crawling with the henchmen, as Kaylin called them. One of the hit Severn with a fist, wrapped in chain, as he tried to break Kaylin free. The blown knocked him to the ground, blood pouring from the wound. Kaylin screamed, struggling furiously against the arms that held her like iron bands.

"Take that one to the cells. This one, the Master wants to see." The leader of the henchmen instructed. Two of them grabbed Severn by the arms and legs and dragged him away. Kaylin screamed curses at them but the leader just smacked her across the face and laughed.

The men reached the dimly lit dungeon and kicked open one of the doors. They threw him inside, he rolled and landed on some mouldering straw at the back of the cell and lay there, groaning. He tried to push himself up, but his head was spinning and he passed out. He wasn't sure how long he'd been unconscious, there were no windows. He rolled over slowly and pushed himself into a sitting position. His left side was throbbing, the guards may have broken a few ribs in the scuffle. That left him out of breath so he waited for the black spots to stop before opening his eyes again.

The door was a dark, thick wood with a small barred window for guards to use to check on their prisoners. The ground was a hard clay and the straw he lay on smelled musty and prickled his arms. He tried to stand but nearly fell, leaning heavily against the wall for support. He willed his head to stop pounding in time with his heartbeat. He felt the side of his head and hair was sticky, matted with blood, it covered his palm when he pulled his hand away.

He made his way, hand over hand against the wall to the door and peered out. The window was slightly ajar, but the corridor outside wasn't much better lit and he couldn't see further than a few paces. He turned around but there wasn't anything else in the small cell, no soil bucket, no water. He made his way back to the straw and eased himself down. There was nothing he could do but wait and hope that Kaylin was faring better than himself.

He must have passed out again, something he really shouldn't do in case he had concussion, because he could hear someone coming. Several someone's by the sound of the feet. He rose to a crouch position, getting ready to launch himself at anyone who entered his cell. The keys in the door jangled loudly, a gruff "keep back or you're dead" threat was issued and the door swung open, flooding the cell with light. The brightness caused him to blink rapidly. But before Severn could act, something was tossed into his cell. Make that someone. A slight figure stumbled and Severn cried out in alarm. Kaylin! He rushed forward and caught her before she hit the ground. The door slammed shut again with a throaty chuckle and the light dimmed again.

"Kaylin." he breathed, looking down at her pale face. The cheek adorned by Nightshade's mark was red and bruised, but it was her left arm that had him worried. Blood dripped down her fingers onto the floor. He picked her up as best he could and carried her to the dirty straw. He laid her down gently, then cradled her head in his lap. He brushed hair from her closed eyes and settled the injured arm across her middle where he could assess the damage. She whimpered and her eyelids fluttered but she didn't wake.

Three fingers appeared to be broken on her left hand and burn marks singed the skin at either end of the bracer on her wrist. Her clothes weren't torn so he assumed with great relief that they hadn't molested her. He could find no other injuries, thankfully.

"Severn..?" a tiny voice whispered and his eyes darted back to her face. Her eyes had trouble focussing on him and she closed them quickly.

"I'm here." he reassured her, his fingers caressing her uninjured cheek. She opened her eyes again and peered around the cell. "Lovely place you have here." she groaned, trying to sit up.

He grinned despite himself and helped her into a better position, propped up against him, one arm around her shoulder when she began to tilt sideways. She settled against him and sighed, looking up at him.

"Your face..." she exclaimed, seeing the dried blood on his cheek. She raised her good hand but it shook too much. He took it in his and laced his fingers with hers.

"It's fine. Bit of a headache. But are you okay? Your hand.." he began to say. His face darkened. "What did they do to you?"

"They wanted the bracer. Tried to force me to take it off." she swallowed, remembering the pain as they broke each finger. Severn squeezed her good hand in support. "I refused. Then the dragon burned me with his hands as he tried to pry it loose. I think I passed out about then. Next thing I remember is waking up here with you." She winced again, as she bumped her arm. The pain pulsed with each beat of her heart. Closing her eyes, she fought down the nausea from the pain. Tears crowded her eyes and she blinked them away.

"Talk to me, Severn. Distract me from the pain." she pleaded, looking up into his concerned brown eyes.

He sighed softly, his thumb absently rubbing the back of her good hand. "Alright." he was silent for a while then looked down at her, his face very serious. "Why did you kiss me before?"

In the subdued light of the cell, he saw her eyes widen and a blush creep up her cheeks. She scrambled to her feet and moved away from him, her face turned into the shadow. It was her turn to be silent.

Severn knew he'd made a mistake asking and stood up, hesitated then began to apologise."You don't have to tell me..." he said after the silence grew increasingly uncomfortable, giving her an out.

"Yes, yes I do." she said more forceful than she meant to, turning back to face him. "If I don't tell you now, I may never have the courage...or the chance to again."

Severn backed away, hands held up in surrender, his back pressed up against the cold cell wall, where he couldn't be deemed a threat. He even crossed his arms.

Kaylin turned from him, twisting her hands together, despite the pain it caused her broken fingers. The pain seemed to give her clarity and courage needed to continue. "When I saw you just lying there...I thought you were dead."

"I wasn't." he reassured her. She shushed him and he fell silent.

"I thought you were dead. I thought I'd lost you and it hurt. It hurt so much I couldn't breathe. And only then did I finally realise that I was in love with you. Had always loved you. And...I couldn't bear the thought of a life without you in it." The last part came out as a whisper. She took a breath, tears blinding her as she turned back to Severn, anxious for his reaction but dreading it at the same time. She'd set this thing in motion and was quietly terrified as to what he would do, what he would say.

Severn was just a shadow against the cell wall, then he stepped into the pool of subdued light cast from the door grate. Kaylin held her breath as he closed the distance between them. It was only about 4 steps but felt like a chasm. Again she began to wring her hands, needing them to do something. She winced in pain. Not the smartest thing to do with broken fingers...

"You do?" his voice sounded incredulous to the idea.

Not trusting her voice, she nodded, hiding her face with a wall of hair.

Severn stopped in front of her, a shy smile spreading across his face. He took her uninjured hand in his, twining their fingers together. She lifted her head slowly, trying to stop trembling. Severn brushed the hair from her face, his fingers brushing the tears from her cheek. His eyes were a warm amber, melting away the last of her resolve, her stomach alive with butterflies.

"Sorry it took so long..." she began to say.

"Shhhh, it doesn't matter." he breathed, bending his head towards her. His lips brushed lightly against hers. She froze momentarily then responded to his gentle kiss, closing her eyes in happiness. Severn pulled away slowly, his eyes searching her face. Kaylin's eyes fluttered open, Severn's face filled her field of vision and she found herself blushing under his scrutiny. He smiled again, the most genuine smile she had even seen on his face.

"I love you too...so much." he whispered, his fingers caressing her unadorned cheek. She leaned her face into the warmth of his hand, savouring his gentle touch. When she opened her eyes a heartbeat later, his warm amber eyes had darkened to a smouldering brown as he leaned in again, whispering her name, like a prayer, his breath soft on her face. "Kaylin...Elianne...Ellariayn..." He gently drew her face towards his.

She shivered with delight as his mouth captured hers again and leaned into the kiss, her good hand curling around his upper arm. His other hand rested lightly on her waist, his fingers tightening as his mouth moved more confidently against hers. For a next few minutes they were lost in the blissfulness of a shared kiss.

A contented sigh escaped his lips as they parted briefly. He stroked her cheek, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that." he whispered and was rewarded with a radiant smile from Kaylin.

"I may have had an inkling." she teased, her fingers tracing the scar on his jawline.

"Damn. I thought I was more subtle than that." He tilted his head the other way and pressed his mouth firmly against hers, his lips more demanding than before. Kaylin responded with a soft moan, slipping her good arm around his neck, drawing him closer. Severn's arm circled her waist, pulling her gently against him, his other hand sliding into her hair, the stick long lost.

He angled his head to deepen the kiss, her lips parting willingly beneath his. Severn moaned softly, his heart pounding in his chest. Kaylin's fingers tangled in the curls at the nape of his neck and as she tried to wrap her other arm around his waist, she pulled away, hissing in pain.

"What is it?" Severn gasped, breathless from the kiss. "Did I hurt you?" He de-tangled himself carefully from her, not wanting to cause her any more pain.

"No, it wasn't you. My arm..." she began, holding it between them. Severn cradled her arm gently in his hand. She winced as he drew it into the subdued light. The burns were healing, the swelling on the broken fingers had faded to a dirty brown yellow colour, rather than the mottled purple bruises from before. She could even flex them.

"It's getting better." she assured him, noting the frown on his face. "I heal faster than normal, about the only perk of these dratted runes."

"But not as fast as your healing of others." he noted, remembering his quick recovery from earlier. His fingers absently traced the marks on her arms and she shivered a little. He eyes lifted from her hand to her face and she smiled at him, to reassure him she was fine.

"True. I can't heal myself." she sighed, silently cursing the bracer on her arm.

"You should rest." he said, leading her back to the damp straw and helping her sit down.

"I'm not made of glass, Severn." she told him, a little irritated. But a bump to her arm set it throbbing again.

He grinned as he sat beside her. "Never that! But we'll need you a full strength if we are to have any hope of getting out of here." he reminded her, the concern in his eyes making her blush and she hid her flaming face behind a waterfall of hair. This blushing thing was getting old...fast.

"Is there a chance of getting out of here?" she asked seriously, leaning against his shoulder. She felt him stiffen momentarily, neither used to the tenderness of the other yet, then his arm slipped around her for comfort as well as warmth.

"Hawks never give up." he said and she felt his warm lips against her hair. She felt an overwhelming desire to have those lips against hers again and felt her face flush with heat. Really? That would have to stop. They sat there like that for a while. Severn brushed the hair from her eyes, noticing the bruise on her cheek where Nightshade's mark was, wasn't healing as fast. He wondered how the Barrani Fife Lord would react when he found out he and Kaylin were now...whatever they were. Together, more than friends, soul mates, lovers? He shrugged, he didn't really care. Kaylin had chosen him.

"You're quiet." he noted a few moments later. He took her good hand in his and laced their fingers together, his thumb absently stroking the back of her hand.

She laughed. "You're one to talk." she said, looking up at him. Laconic was a good word to describe Severn. He never said more than he mean to. Again the tenderness in his amber eyes made her insides melt. If he ever turned the full force of them on her, she'd be lost forever, drowning in those warm brown eyes. Safe. And she wanted safe, secure. Loved.

He chuckled. "Guilty as charged. But what can I say, you leave me speechless." he dropped a kiss on her upturned mouth as she swatted his arm.

Suddenly the door exploded inwards. Severn did his best to shield Kaylin from the debris that scattered itself across the cell. When the dust had settled, they saw a tall silhouette in the remains of the doorway. It spoke.

"So this is what happens while waiting for rescue, is it?" It was Teela. And as she stepped into the light, they could see the mischievous grin on her face. "About bloody time if you ask me." She offered a hand to both of them and hauled them to their feet.

"Teela." Kaylin said, giving her Barrani friend a one armed hug, mostly to hide the furious blush that was flooding her face. Yes, that was definitely going to stop.

Severn gave Teela no further chance to comment, darting out the door when he heard someone else coming. He spotted his weapons chain on the floor, amongst the unconscious and battered guards. He wound it around his waist, found his and Kaylin's knives and darted back to the cell.

"I think we have company. Your little rescue wasn't exactly the quietest on record?" he quirked an eyebrow at the Barrani Hawk. She shrugged with a nasty grin on her face.

"No, but it was rather satisfying." At the end of the hall, Tain appeared, carrying his staff weapon. "But looks like more company is on it's way so we'd best get moving." She noticed Kaylin favouring her left arm and stopped her briefly to look at the damage.

"Kitling..." she started to say. Kaylin shook her head.

"I'm fine Teela, it's healing. But I think Tain's just as eager to get the hell out of here as I am so if its all the same to you, could we move it along please?"

Tain took point and Teela trailed behind Severn and Kaylin, glancing behind every few metres to see if they were being followed. Evidence of the two Barrani Hawks visit littered the halls in the form of prone guards, broken doors and smashed windows. There were a couple of small fires burning too as they rushed to get out of the Black Dragon's lair.

The journey back to the surface was a dark and quiet affair. No torches burned and the two humans had to rely on Teela and Tain's excellent night vision. They could make out shadows within shadows and manoeuvre around rocks and debris but neither could see much more than a couple of metres. Severn reached for Kaylin's hand when she stumbled with a soft curse, but he didn't let go after that. Teela's mouth quirked into a half smile at him when he caught her looking. He shrugged it off and tightened his grip, feeling Kaylin squeeze his hand in return.

After what felt like hours, but more like twenty minutes of hard running, Tain burst through an old boarded up rail line door and out into the dark blue sky of Elantra's balmy night sky. Stars winked at them and the soft glow of the city's light cast soft shadows behind them. Kaylin's sagged into Severn's arms, worn out and surprisingly hungry. It had been a very long day and they had barely eaten below ground. She was surprised they had had the strength to keep up with the Barrani. Though Severn suspected Teela and Tain had tempered their running to match the fading humans strength.

Severn held her close, both arms wrapped tightly around her as if all they had been through had been a dream and she would just vanish from his arms. "Are you okay?" he asked, desperately wanting to kiss her but not in front of his nosy and way too smug work colleagues.

She slipped her good arm around him, glad he was holding her as she didn't think she'd be able to go much further. "Sleep would be good and food...and you. Not particularly in that order." she whispered to him as he left her go somewhat reluctantly. He smiled down at her, keeping it hidden from Teela's eagle eyes. She refused to let go of his hand though and he gave her a reassuring squeeze.

"Please tell me Marcus doesn't need a report right this second?" Kaylin asked, as the small group made their way back towards the Tower building.

"I think even Ironjaw will let you get some rest before chewing you out over this." Tain told them, flashing his almost perfect smile at them. The chipped tooth always made him look more menacing than the other Barrani Hawks. But she wasn't about to tell him that. Nor Teela.

"I'm sure there are about a hundred threatening messages waiting on a mirror somewhere." Teela added. "Oh right, your place was..." she stopped when she saw Kaylin's face pale, more than it already was. "So where will you..."

"She can stay with me..." Severn told them all. "...if she wants, that is. The offer still stands. You don't have to go back to the Dragon Court, Kaylin." he told her, his eyes never leaving her face.

She never noticed the curious Barrani at her side. Her eyes were only for Severn. She could read in the depths of those warm brown eyes how much he wanted her to be with him but he would never force her into anything she didn't want or wasn't ready for. When she smiled, it was just for him. Nodding silently, she stood on tip toes and kissed him lightly on the lips. He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off her feet, causing her to squeak. Then Severn winced in pain and put her down.

Tain laughed and said: "Hand it over, Teela. Looks like I won the bet on this pool."

"What bet?" Kaylin asked from the comfort of Severn's arms. "And why wasn't I involved?"

Teela grinned and handed a small purse over to Tain, somewhat reluctantly.

"Because, Kitling, this bet was for when you and the good corporal would finally get together. It wouldn't be fair to let you participate in that, now would it?" she said, ruffling Kaylin's hair.

"Hmpf, I think it's one bet I would have actually gotten right." Kaylin said, rolling her eyes at the Barrani as they continued veered off the main streets, towards where Severn's apartment was located.

"You think?" Tain said, grinning manically. "Kaylin, you barely know what you are doing from one day to the next."

"Which made picking the right date and time a real challenge. I figured Severn would have given up by now." Teela said, linking arms with Tain.

"Which goes to show how little you know him." Kaylin said, defending him.

"This coming from an immortal Barrani?" Severn said, good naturedly. "who measure time in life-spans?"

"Nothing fun ever happens anymore, unless Kaylin is around. She keeps us from being bored these days." Teela said, patting Kaylin's shoulder, making her wince.

"As long as I have a purpose." she agreed.