She Clung to him, his body and hers mingling so that they where like one being. Tears were forming in her eyes, a sob stuck in her throat so that she felt like she was going to drown. She wouldn't cry, this wasn't happening, it wasn't true.

Her clothes started to feel damp as his life force was ebbing from him to stain her body in more ways than one. She felt his hand on her cheek and moved her head to stare in to those beautiful eyes. The light was starting to fade in them, the sparkle to die, but she could still see his love for her, clinging on until the very last.

Then…..he smiled….a single tear fell down his strong angular cheek. The light in his eyes finely died, Extinguished forever to leave her cold and alone.

The sob broke free and she felt she would drown in her tears. She couldn't remember being picked up by gentle hands and carried away, carried from him. She couldn't remember the soothing words and people stroking her long hair. There was only one thing she could remember……. Caleb.

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Cornelia Hale sat at her favourite spot in the garden; many years had passed since the guardians had won the fight against the evil in Meridian. Phobos had been destroyed and Nerissa had been trapped in her own seal. Cedric was dead too. But Cornelia had paid a huge price for his death and Meridian's salvation. Her heart, her soul, her reason for being had been taken from her on that fateful day.

She could remember it all so clearly, like it was yesterday.

Everyone had thought that Cedric had died when he fell, no one could have known what was going to happen, she could see Caleb running towards her, a look of relief showing on his face, relief that she was OK, that she wasn't hurt. He was smiling and just about to say something to her when a huge claw came out of nowhere and pinned him to the ground. Cedric was laughing

"If I'm going, then your coming with me rebel leader"

She could dimly remember Will and the others finishing Cedric off, He laughed all the way through.

Hay Lin had to remove the claw with air from Caleb's body, as it was too big for anyone else to lift. " You're going to be OK," She said, over and over again, like a mantra. If she kept saying it then it would be true. She knew though, deep down, she knew. That's why she had just held him, held him so tight and told him that she loved him….. That was 10 years ago now and still the pain had not lessened

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Cornelia stood up and brushed the grass from her skirt. She walked up the path to her back door where Napoleon was sunning himself on the doorstep. She was having to cat sit whilst Lillian went away for the weekend with one of her friends.

She had bought this house 2 years ago. Mainly because of the garden, it had a huge willow tree in the middle with a small bench underneath so she could sit and relax after a hard day's work. She had a very successful job designing clothes for one of the top Fashion houses and as such worked long arduous days.

A little voice called her from inside the house. " Mummy! Aunty Will's on the phone, can you come talk to her please!"

Her son, her precious son, Cal was jumping up and down and waving at her, no doubt he'd been disturbed from watching one of his favourite cartoons and was itching to get back to it. He was 10 years old now and looked so much like his father it was scary. He had the same unruly hair, that no matter how much you brushed it; it still stood up all over the place! She took the phone off him and ruffled his hair as he darted back to the front room to carry on watching the T.V.

" Hey Will," She said

"Corny! Thank God, I've been trying to get hold of you for ages. Listen we need you to get to the Silver Dragon ASAP. There are some things that the Guardians need to discuss"

Cornelia sighed. She had told her friend so many times, till she was blue in the face infact, that she didn't want to be a guardian anymore. She hadn't even used her powers for 5 years.

"Will, I've told you" She was cut off by Will, huffing in her ear " Cornelia, we need you, Please, just this once. I promise I won't ask you again."

The line went silent as Cornelia wrestled with her conscience. "Alright, but I have to bring Cal with me, I'm not leaving him on his own. Give me half an hour and I'll be there"

She hung up the phone and took a deep breath. She could deal with whatever they wanted her for. Hell she could always just say no if she wanted to!

She went to the front room and saw Cal sitting on the floor with his legs crossed, a serious look playing across his face as he watched dragons battling on the screen in front of him. Another memory came to her then, one that she had dreamed of nearly every night for the past 10 years…….

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It was the night before the battle and every one was nervous. There was a tension in the air that put everyone on edge. It was late and they all knew they needed some sleep to help prepare them for the hardships of tomorrow.

The guardians all went their separate ways, saying their goodnights and goodbyes as if it was the last time that they would ever say them.

The air was cool as Cornelia walked home and the night shone with stars, the moon beamed down on her causing her hair to shine even at night.

She could see a figure ahead. Even at this distance she knew by the shape of his shoulders and the cocky way that he was leaning against the wall that it was Caleb. She smiled, pleased that he had remembered to meet her here. She reached him and he took her hand, she felt a shiver as his warm skin connected with hers, She could see the gleam of his eyes in the moonlight and wondered at how they could shine so. They wandered aimlessly for a while, there wasn't much talking, and they just wanted to enjoy being with each other. Neither of them wanted to think that this could be the last time that either of them held hands or kissed in the moonlight.

They eventually ended up outside Cornelia's front door. Her parents had taken Lillian out to friends and then gone out for some dinner so she knew they wouldn't be home for hours yet.

All night she had wrestled with her conscious. She just couldn't get out of her head "What if he dies tomorrow and I never get the chance to be with him?" Looking back she guessed she knew, deep down, what was going to happen.

So she asked him in.

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"What ya looking at mummy?" Cal drew her out of her reverie. " Nothing sweetie, pack up your toy's and turn off the telly, we're going to see your Aunts"

"Yippee" Came Cal's reply as he bounded into action as only a 10 year old could.

While Cal was readying himself Cornelia picked up the keys to her car, "I'm just going to walk in, listen to what they have to say and if I don't like it, I can walk out"

Somehow, no matter how many times she said it on the drive over to the Silver Dragon, it still didn't sound very convincing.

When she had arrived and left Cal playing with some of his toys at a table, Cornelia made her way to the basement. It had been years since she had been down those steps and memories of Caleb came flooding back. She pushed them all to the recesses of her mind and focused on the group that was standing in front of her.

Her heart stopped, her breath caught in the back of her throat. It couldn't be. It wasn't possible. But she could smell him. He was there, leaning against the wall with the same self assured cockiness that he'd had all those years ago.

"Cornelia"

Those where the last words she heard before she passed out.

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Hey guys, this is my first FanFic and actually the first time I've written anything in years! So please be gentle with me! I'm not sure where I'm going to go with this but hopefully it won't take me too long to figure it out. I guess I'm just a sucker for a bit of angst and romance!

It would make me a very happy person if you reviewed….pretty please!