Alright folks, here we go with Chapter 4! Hopefully you all like it :) Thanks to everyone who's reviewed, read, or even thought about this at least once. It means a lot to me and motivates me to keep writing :) Enjoy!

Jo honestly could care less about the man in front of her right now. The need to fight barely outweighed the need to protect Meg, but since protecting Meg involved fighting, Jo was happy enough to take on the additional measures. He was already bleeding from the handy shot Jo had fired earlier at the edge of the crowd, and Jo felt better that the confident smirk she had seen him looking at Meg with had conveniently disappeared.

"Alright then, let's get this thing started…" Jo said quietly as she stared the other man down.

"Fine with me girlie." He said smirking. Jo's eyes widened, she raised her gun and shot the man in the chest before he had time to process what was going on. He crumpled to the ground bleeding. The crowd was in uproar as all the men clambered around, trying to see what was going on. Jo watched the man fall, and then turned away. She knew the minute she had shot that the bullet would take the man's life, and she didn't care. The quicker this went the better. There wasn't time to sit around making her normal, prideful threats. These people frankly didn't deserve it.

"He's…he's dead." The organizer said, turning up to look at Jo. She nodded. "You didn't even give him the chance to fight fair!"

"He had his chance."

"You pulled your gun on him as soon as this thing started."

"I don't have time to mess around with people like him."

"What'd he ever do to you?" The man seemed both bewildered and outraged at the same time. Jo broke her stare at the man to look over at Meg, who seemed to be watching nervously Jo and her surroundings at the same time.

"He's lucky. If he had laid a hand on Meg, this fight would have lasted a lot longer than this. I put him out of his misery." The corner of her mouth turned up into a traditional smirk.

"He fought fair. You're just a girl; he was trying to be polite."

"Everyone ought to stop calling me girlie." She said, her voice cold. "I'm not here to act like one."

"You mean…you did that…he called you a name?" The man seemed too stunned to speak. Jo watched him for another second or two before leaving the ring. She had more important matters to take care of. One person down, and however many more to go Jo didn't know. But Meg was there, looking for her and she was not going to disappoint.

"Meg." Jo said, getting the girls attention. Meg smiled at Jo, though nervously.

"Jo. You're ok."

"Of course I am…" She sighed, helping the other girl up. Once she was standing, Jo kept a hand on her arm. "Are you okay?"

Meg could have cried right then and there after hearing the one person that meant the world to her say those words. Any fear that she may have had, any disbelief or unwillingness was gone as those three words came out of Jo's mouth. Things would be okay, because Jo was here, and Jo could take any one of these guys without thinking, and she already had, and she could take all of them, and nothing could be better because she was just here, not for herself, not for Sei but for her, for Meg.

"Jo, I'm fine." She smiled, hugging the girl. Jo stood still and allowed Meg to hug her. When the younger girl had finally had enough of holding Jo she moved away.

"C'mon, I need to get you somewhere safe so no one tries anything…" Jo told her.

"Jo, I'm not going anywhere if you're going to be fighting." Meg laughed at the end. "I'm not going to just let you stay here alone." Jo was the slightest bit taken aback at the fact that Meg had finally decided to not listen to Jo at the worst possible time.

"What if someone kidnaps you while I'm busy fighting?" Jo asked her.

"In front of all these people?" Meg gestured. Jo took a sweeping look with her eyes.

"Especially these people. They wouldn't hesitate to take you." Jo narrowed her eyes as one of the onlookers stared a little too long in their direction.

"Honestly Jo, they don't have a reason to."

"They're not stupid. At least, I don't think so."

"Jo, you're doing that thing again, the one where you change subjects without letting me know what's going on…" Meg complained, trying to lighten the mood. "What are you talking about?"

"Just…you have to get out of here. I can't focus on fighting and keeping you safe." Jo shrugged, unaware that what she had said was seen as something immensely adorable in Meg's eyes.

"I can't Jo. We're partners, remember?" Meg smiled, hopeful. "We have to stick together."

"If they take you though, then…" Jo paused insure of what she was trying to say. Why was it that Meg couldn't see that if she got kidnapped again, Jo would be forced to pull out of the tournament. She would have to save her, that was just the natural order of the world. Pulling out of the tournament, Jo concluded, wouldn't be the worst thing, but the fact that no one would take her seriously would.

"Jo, I'm staying." Meg said, trying to be serious, though it didn't really work when, Jo noticed, that she stomped her foot on the ground and pouted.

"You don't look very serious when you do that, you know…"Jo pointed out. Meg's face dropped and she stared at Jo exasperatedly.

"Is now really the time for this Jo?"

"I thought you were trying to be serious."

"I am!" Meg huffed. "I won't let them take me, I promise." Jo gave her what Meg knew to be almost a smirk. "Don't give me that look." She pouted again.

"I don't want you to stay." Jo told her.

"You don't want me to stay?" Meg's voice was filled with hurt. Jo was the smallest bit confused. Didn't she just say that to Meg? She shook her head slightly, as if it could clear the thought. "Jo, please. Let me stay with you."

"Why?" Jo asked, thinking she had the right to. After all, if Meg was going to make such a fuss, Jo felt she at least should know why. Meg on the other hand, was once again struck by the effects of having Jo being the most blunt person ever, and panicking. She needed to stay for reasons even she couldn't explain.

"Jo it's…my heart is telling me to stay with you. I know it's probably safer to go back to Sei and Amy but…" She trailed off, unsure of what to say. "I thought that I was gonna have to fight Jo. For once, I was going to have put my life on the line. And I wasn't scared about fighting." She stopped for a second, gauging Jo's reaction. Jo was with Meg; after all, she knew that although Meg did get kidnapped, she did know how to fight. Being thrust into a situation like this shouldn't have made her afraid, and Jo was glad to hear Meg say that she wasn't scared.

"Ok." She spoke calmly, no signs of emotions on her face. Meg sighed, but continued.

"I was scared I was going to lose though. I was scared that I was going to die." Meg said nervously. Jo's brain quickly realized exactly what Meg had said, and the truth that was held deep within it. She was right. She could have died. These people here wouldn't stop for mercy, or for kindness. They would have used every dirty trick imaginable to beat her. And Meg would have died. That fact stuck Jo dumb, and the look of utter bewilderment crept onto her face for the first time in a very long time. It seemed unbelievable. Meg dying was a thought that never crossed Jo's mind. She was her guardian. Meg simply couldn't die as long as Jo was around. But this was a scenario that suggested she could have. And the entire outcome was decided by seconds. A few seconds later and…

"Meg…you…"Jo had no idea what to say. She took a step forward, closer to the younger girl. Tentatively, she reached out a hand, as if Meg was going to disappear any second. She lifted it up to Meg's face, then past it, and gently, Jo took her fingers and closed it around Meg's hair. She gripped it tightly, and with it in her grasp she felt reaffirmed at the presence of the girl in front of her. How many times had this hair been draped across her face when Meg hugged her? How often had it blanketed her body when Meg hid from her movies, or whatever bad guy was currently trying to attack? Jo sighed as it remained still in her hands, not disappearing. Meg was fine, she reasoned with herself. She was here, alive and well and she ought to get herself under more control.

"Jo…"Meg whispered quietly, not knowing exactly what to do. She raised her hand so it covered Jo's and gently took it off. Jo's hands were soft, softer than Meg thought they would be, but it felt like silk, like satin, rubbing against her, the delicate ends of her fingertips holding tight onto Meg's hand and it felt like the glove was rougher than anything, if only Jo would take it off, so Meg could feel more softness, more Jo, more of that emotion that was running through her body.

It was love. Meg realized it with the sudden clarity of the sun breaking over the horizon onto a new day. This right now, this right here, her holding onto Jo, her telling her everything, her trust, her belief, her life…all of it depended on the older girl on front of her. She was nothing without that. She was nothing without her Jo. Her Jo. Because Jo belonged to her, she realized. That was why she followed her everywhere, that was why she had to stay. Because if Jo was gone, then Meg would lose everything. And she knew that she couldn't tell Jo. She couldn't tell anyone. Loving her, loving Jo…that was something that went unsaid. But this kind of love, this new, powerful kind, was different. This love wanted to hold Jo close, wanted to whisper quietly in her ear things that Meg had read in books or seen on TV. This love was one that would make her cry with its happy, warm feelings and utter completeness. But she still couldn't say. Jo didn't need that on her. Jo didn't have to do anything. Meg would love Jo with all she had, until the day came where she could say that she loved her. She would hide it away, display it in little moments. Tell her slowly, calmly, bits and pieces of love.

"Even that though wasn't the thing that scared me the most Jo. Dying wasn't the thing I was the most afraid of. Jo…"She whispered it, and Jo strained to hear her voice. "I was afraid that I was never going to see you again."

It was Jo's biggest fear as well. Meg was a part of her, that much she knew. Meg was as much a part of her as Jango, or her Desert Eagles. The idea of one part of them not having the other was something Jo couldn't comprehend. If she had never seen Meg again, Jo for once didn't know what she would have done. There weren't enough things to shoot and kill, not enough people and places to destroy. What good were her guns if she couldn't protect Meg with them? There wasn't an answer to the questions Jo had, and the questions she was asking she didn't know existed. All of sudden now, there were so many more problems. There was so much more to focus on, but the wind had shifted and all Jo could think about was the scent of Meg's hair. It was clean, pure. No blood was mixed in with it, and the foul stench of the area seemed to disappear. It felt…good. It was right, to Jo. This was worth fighting for. The person right in front of her, the one person that made her feel human. She backtracked into her mind. It was ludicrous to think that she could fight without Meg here. Otherwise, she had nothing to fight for.

"You can stay." Jo said quietly, putting her head on Meg's shoulder, her face towards the ground as she hid the whatever emotion was on her face, giving in to the other girl. Meg watched her with a new sort of fondness. "I want you to stay."

"Ok, Jo." Meg told, bending over so she could speak quietly to the girl. "I'll stay."

Ok, so I know some of you were looking forward to a little Jo butt-kicking action, but, not to worry, there will be some fighting...eventually. But think of the bright side...Meg loves Jo! (duh) Personally, I figured it was time for a little fluff. Keeps things sweet :) I promise you, there'll be an update coming soon! Thanks again for reading.