Inspired by "Never say Never" by The Fray


"Don't let me go."

"Ok, but I can't keep hugging you forever. I have to demorph sometime."

"That's not what I mean." Rachel sighed, fighting her shame and pride, tightening her grip on Tobias to keep her hands from shaking.

Tobias slowly rubbed her back, still not quite sure what was going on. She had just sort of snuck up on him and pulled him into a deep embrace and refused to part, repeating the same thing, over and over.

"Don't let me go," Rachel begged again, her whole body trembling now.

"Shh, I won't. How could I ever? You're my queen of everything. You mean all the world to me."

They stayed there for a few minutes until Rachel was no longer shaking.

"Come on. Jake says he's got a mission to tell about." Tobias slowly pulled away from Rachel's tight hold so he could look into her face, seeking a smile just to hold a moment more. She simply looked down and away, avoiding his gaze. Her face was blank. "You ready?"

Still not looking at him, she nodded her head as he released her. But Rachel didn't follow him. He didn't understand.

After the meeting, Jake was wandering almost aimlessly around the trees in the valley when he came upon Rachel, sitting on a patch of grass, staring at nothing as far as the eye could see.

Jake moved to sit next to her as she turned to look at him. "There's no going back from this." Rachel nodded, but remained silent. "You haven't told anyone, have you?"

"No," she said softly.

Jake made a curt nod and looked at his bare feet on the ground. After a few minutes of silence, he realized she was resting her head on his shoulder. No tears were shed. Everything was crumbling around them even though he still felt he had to be her guardian, and she felt he was her commander. Jake took a breath and said, "Rachel, I put a lot of thought into this. I can't see any other way. You know that."

"I know. Just, promise me something."

"Anything."

"Don't let me go."

Jake closed his eyes and let it sink in. He responded barely above a whisper, "Never."

Rachel smiled, bright and laughing, glad that Jake could understand where Tobias had failed. She stood up, preparing to set out to seek Tom. "Don't be blaming yourself, okay?"

Tobias let her go. Jake never did.