Author's note: Oh, guys! I don't deserve readers like you! Thanks so much for all your positive reviews – encourages me to continue it!

Okay, apologies for the long winded chapter – it was not meant to be this long.

Chapter Four | Caught Blue Handed

' Eytukan's eyes scanned the area, and brightened as he spotted someone sitting on a rock. He smiled and walked over to them. "I got away from Mo'at. What do you want?"

A small smirk danced upon the features of the other. "To get you away from Mo'at," Grace chuckled, coming over to kiss Eytukan in a passionate way. '

Affairs never worked. Grace had learnt that when she was a child, when her parents had divorced due to one. They only caused heartache and a good dose of it; but she had learned that before that happened, an affair caused great happiness for the two involved. So, what was the big deal if they were careful? And they were very careful. At least, they thought they were.

Currently in her human form, Grace walked around the shed that was the base for her, Jake and Norm. Jake was sitting at the table, and she came over to him. "So how is clan life treating you?" She asked him, coming to sit beside him.

Jake smiled a little and looked at his 'frenemy'. Often, Jake thought that they were friends, but then Grace turned around and would say something that made him think otherwise. "I can't really complain. I just wish Neytiri's teaching method wasn't 'Do or Die'." he admitted. Grace chuckled at that. She couldn't blame Neytiri. She was surprised Jake was even still living with her as his mentor. Jake's smile went a little then. "Also, I get the feeling Eytukan doesn't like me."
Grace smiled a little. "Ah, classic Eytukan," she said, a little too fondly. Jake arched an eyebrow. As far as he could tell, Grace wasn't truly fond of anyone. "Give him time. He's just not used to you yet."

"And how long did it take for him to be used to you?" Jake asked.
Grace thought for a moment, choosing her words carefully. "Not quite sure; maybe a couple of months." she said to him simply. She quickly attempted to turn the conversation elsewhere. "Why don't you go and help Norm?" Jake opened his mouth to protest, but the look Grace gave him made him turn around and head over to the door.

After he left, Grace moved to put on another cup of coffee. Even though she was going to settle down to bed, and it would undoubtedly hype her up, she had conditioned herself over the years to have a cup of coffee before bed as well, from her days on Earth when she had many assignments to complete over the course of the night.

Out of the blue, she heard a faint knocking at the front door of the shack. Who the hell knocked here? Jake and Norm just came in with their key cards. Grace passed it off as a wild animal, until she heard it again, louder this time, also followed by a gruff voice, "Grace?"

Grace placed her currently empty coffee cup down with a frown and went over to open the door. "Quaritch?" She asked, her eyes widening in shock. The moment she opened the door, he pushed past her. "And do come in."

The military leader turned around the look at Grace. She hadn't seen him in quite a few months, but he hadn't changed at all. He still had that semi-crew cut, dyed a natural white with age, and that tell-tale scar along his cheek. She'd asked him multiple times what animal had given that to him, but he'd never replied. "What, no hello?" He asked her.

"Well, to be fair, you barged in here without saying hello to me," she replied, crossing her arms over her chest defensively. She ignored his attempts at a greeting and stared intently at him.

He looked back into her brown eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing," Grace replied, her brow creasing slightly, "I'm just trying to ascertain why you are here."

Quaritch looked at her, laughter shining in his eyes. Not pure, however – Grace had never known him to outright laugh. "I just came to see that you were all right."

Grace had the audacity to give a laugh. She went over to the coffee pot to tend to it, and then poured it into her cup as she spoke. "Okay," she said, placing the coffee pot back on its stand and then turning around to see him. "Suppose I had a massive head injury and believed you. You're here. Now what the fuck do you want?" She ended that sentence with a bitter snarl.

All amusement disappeared from Quaritch's face, and he now scowled at her. "You ran away from RDA." Grace stiffened. "Without telling anyone. You just packed up your posse and left."

Grace tried to relax as she casually sipped at her cup. She was being a duck right now – calm on the outside, but paddling furiously underneath. Of course Quaritch would find out about her absence – RDA wasn't that large, and, honestly, that guy knew everything. "Of course I did." She replied with a little casual shrug. "You gave me no choice."

"Oh, what? Tension back there too much for you to handle?" He mocked. If Grace had been in her Avatar form right now, she would have shown her teeth and let her tail flick in anger, telling the responsible party for that anger to back the hell off.

Grace rolled her eyes. "You are living in a fool's paradise," she said, moving to sit down. "There is no tension between us, at least not the sort you're implying." She frowned deeply at him. She blamed him for most of the wrinkles she had acquired over twelve years; he was the one who made her frown the most. "You broke up with me. Remember?"

Quaritch was surprised she could remember that far. Then again, she was a woman – she remembered everything that far back, especially with romantic relationships. He took one of the chairs and turned it around so he was sitting backwards on it, his arms resting on the backrest. He frowned at her. "Only because you had become such a cynic."

"For crying out loud, take a look in the mirror!" She growled rather angrily. She shook her head. "That was twelve years ago. It is now considered water under the bridge."

"You say that, and yet when I bring it up, you get upset or angry." Quaritch enjoyed the way her resolve crumbled just a little; he had nailed her. "Why is that?"

Grace frowned. He sounded like a psychiatrist, and she did not want to be psychoanalysed. "All right. You've extended your welcome; get out," she snarled. Quaritch smiled triumphantly at her as she got up. He knew he had the edge over her. She just continued to frown at him until he left, shutting the door behind him.

Once outside, Quaritch looked to the west, to see Norm and Jake by the plants. Norm was preoccupied with the specimen, and trying not to contaminate the sample with his saliva as Grace had told him. Jake felt the prickling feeling that he was being watched, and he turned his eye to see Quaritch. Quaritch gave a jerk of his head, and Jake said to Norm, "Excuse me a moment." Norm merely waved him off, not looking at him, his eyes trained in on the oddly shaped leaves of the plant.

Jake wheeled himself over to Quaritch, moving over the uneven ground. "Yes sir?" He asked, remembering military etiquette.

Quaritch peered down at Jake. "Do you have it?" he asked simply. No explanation of what 'it' was – Jake knew anyway as he gave him a small silver drive, about the size of a one cent coin. "Good man. Now, you best go back before Grace and Norm realise you're with me. Remember, you play for my team – no one else's."

· · ·

The next evening, Mo'at found herself sitting on a stool in the royal quarters, sewing a garment to distract herself. Eytukan had been rather aloof lately, and she just couldn't work out why. He seemed a bit quieter towards her, and more open to others. Mo'at tried to act like she didn't mind, but she did – deeply so. She just couldn't for the life of her figure out what was going on.

As she allowed herself to contemplate deeper, Eytukan walked into their section. Mo'at noted that he didn't even say hello, and her ears drooped ever so slightly at this. The olo'eyktan turned to his mate and said, "I'm going to go take a bath."

Mo'at frowned slightly, more in curiosity than any other emotion. "But you just got here." she complained.

Eytukan smiled, coming over to her and pressing a kiss to her forehead. He hardly ever kissed her on the lips, less now than ever. This only fuelled Mo'at's worry. Most leaders of clans had a couple of mistresses on the side, but Eytukan had never been like that. That was something Mo'at could brag about to her girlfriends. But now she wasn't so sure.

"I know," Eytukan told her, resting his forehead against hers briefly. "I'm sorry." Mo'at questioned fleetingly about what exactly he was apologising for – for hardly ever being there for her now? Or for something else? "I'll be back before you know it." With that as his parting note, he left her to her stitching and walked downstairs. He left through the main section of Hometree, where he got bows and such from the members there, and he returned them with a smile and a nod of acknowledgment. The one problem with being the leader – of a Na'vi of any large clan for that matter - was that you could hardly be inconspicuous.

After a few moments of walking through the forest he knew well, he pushed aside a fern gently and came to a small pond with willow-like trees and a rushing waterfall. Eytukan's eyes scanned the area, and brightened as he spotted someone sitting on a rock. He smiled and walked over to them. "I got away from Mo'at. What do you want?"

A small smirk danced upon the features of the other. "To get you away from Mo'at," Grace chuckled, coming over to kiss Eytukan passionately.

· · ·

Neytiri was looking over herself, her hair dripping wet from the swim she had just taken with her new best friend. She frowned as she inspected herself, trying to figure out what was wrong.

Jake asked that question. "What's up?" He enquired, looking at her. She looked so beautiful during the night it physically hurt him to gaze at her. Thus, he looked away, pretending to be fascinated by an interesting plant that looked like a sort of bacteria, and lighted up when you brushed its surface.

Neytiri thought. "I feel like I forgot something," she told him, the frown staying upon her face. She gently touched her fingers to her hair; her eyes widened.

"What?" Jake asked, looking up at her now, so as not to be rude.

"My clip," she said, pointing to her queue which started at the base of her scalp and ran in a perfect plait all the way down to the start of her tail. She had left it on a rock so it didn't get damaged as she swam. She turned to Jake and gave him a dashing smile, batting her eyelashes. "Jake... Could you go and get it back for me?"

The eyelashes got him; Jake smiled a little. "All right. Where did you leave it?" He asked.

"By the pond where we were swimming."

Jake tried to remember the way they had taken, which was a little hard when the forest practically looked all the same to him. He walked back into the forest, tracing his fingers lightly over the interesting specimens of the plants, watching them light up as he did. He smiled in amusement and continued to walk. After a few minutes, his ears flickered as he heard the music of the tranquil waterfall, and he continued to walk in the direction he was headed. He continued to walk towards the pond, and the rock where he suspected Neytiri had left her clip.

However, it wasn't a clip upon the rock, but two people. If Jake had been a fainter, he could have easily keeled over just then.

There was Eytukan, with Grace, his arm wrapped around her as he made out with her. Jake blinked spastically, and Grace's eyes widened when she saw Jake standing there. She quickly pushed Eytukan away from her. Eytukan looked at her with interest as he took in her shocked expression, and turned his head to follow his gaze. A long silence ensued, as Jake tried to figure out how he could walk back in time and undo the past minute.

Finally, Grace broke the agonising silence. "I was just getting him to like you...?"