This is a rather short, but important chapter. I want to thank everyone IMMENSELY for the WONDERFUL reviews!! I've never had a story that got this popular this fast. I really hope I can keep delivering. So please, call me on mistakes, give me suggestions. I want to keep this as good as people seem to think it is. Enjoy!!

"Scarlett! SCARLETT!!" Rip was shaking her shoulder and she barely realized. The moment Snake Eyes had stopped breathing, she had to. And for a second she'd blacked out.

"Scarlett!" Rip shook her again, bending down to give Snake Eyes a breath before trying again. "Come on girl, snap out of this. Snakes'll kill me if he finds out it was me and not you on his mouth. Come on!"

Nearby, the medic was working furiously to ensure the warrior's heart didn't falter completely.

Suddenly jerking to action, Scarlett's well trained mind took over her softened state, clamming up her emotions like a steel door slamming down. Quickly, she shifted her position to breathing for Snakes while the medic continued to work, trying to stabilize him for the remainder of the trip. So far his heart was still beating, but it was erratic, and out of the corner of her eye Scarlett could see the medic prepping a set of defibrillators.

Focus.

Breathe.

Wait.

Focus.

Breathe.

Wait.

Mechanically, Snake Eye's damaged chest rose and fell, rose and fell, his body kept alive by Scarlett's own breath. His body hung limp in her arms, and somewhere beneath her locked mind a flicker of deep seated emotion flared. He was helpless. Something she never thought she'd see.

Four Years Earlier

Scarlett brusquely walked down the hall to the training room, intent on using the treadmill before many of the other Joes got up. She ran much better when she wasn't distracted by her teammate's many stares. Sure, she wore clothes that may be a little revealing at times, but she had the feeling that she would get stares even if she was wearing a set of maternity sweats.

Her mind completely on other things, she opened the door and was headed down the short hall when she stopped. To her right, a small window gave her a glimpse into the vast mat room that many of the Joes used for sparring. Rings hung from the ceiling, pegs were on the walls, and climbing ropes were readily available. And there was one man in the room.

Scarlett was new, but she had already heard of the mysterious Snake Eyes. She'd even seen him once or twice. But she'd never seen his face.

Sitting cross-legged in the dead center of the room sat a man, naked all for a pair of black martial arts pants, bound close to his waist by a black weave belt.

His hair was very dark, and short cropped; but not buzzed like many of the other Joes. Her eyes couldn't help but trail down his scarred face, captured by his serene expression. He was stiller than a statue. She couldn't even tell if he was breathing. Underneath battle damaged skin, hard muscle never twitched, never stirred. He looked like the most beautiful statue she'd ever seen.

And then he moved. He moved with such grace, such silence, that she wasn't sure if she was watching a man or something entirely else. She was transfixed by the way he flowed and danced to a silent rhythm.

When she'd first laid eyes on him she'd been intimidated. Terrified really. Who wouldn't? But it wasn't so much his fabled battle prowess that had gotten to her. It was his silence.

And now it entranced her in a way nothing else had.

He danced this way and that, as if gravity and sound had no power over him. Battle and discipline honed muscles moved like supple steel, perfectly smooth under his skin.

It was like no power on earth could hold him if he didn't let it. He was command over himself in a manner she didn't know was possible. And it was his absolute control that made him master of every element that should have effected him.

It was then she'd decided he was immortal.

She now realized, holding him dying in her arms, that it was then she'd fallen in love with him.

A note:

I have seen the movie once and am not sure when Scarlett was recruited, or when Snakes was. So I'm just going with my own time line.

I do so hope everyone still likes this, I'm having a great time writing it. Reviews have helped so much, so thank you again!!