Author's Note - Hello, everyone! I apologize for the long wait. I thought for a long while over this story, and after some thinking decided to continue writing "Shadows of the Past". This will allow me to fill some loop holes without rushing the entire story and provide you all with a much better ending.

Thank you for your patience. I will be writing for a bit longer.

Disclaimer - I don't own D. Gray-Man. The original plot and its characters are property of Katsura Hoshino.


Lenalee sat against the wall outside the infirmary, hugging her legs as she laid her chin on her knees. She wasn't certain how long it'd been, but it'd definitely been a few hours at least. As soon as Allen fainted, Lavi and her had rushed him to the infirmary. It'd been a shock for everyone to see the white-haired boy, but as soon as it sunk in she was kicked out and prohibited from entering again.

Only Lavi and her brother had been permitted to enter. She assumed Lavi had been allowed because he was a Bookman, although it wasn't a big surprise; a Bookman was permitted to be just about anywhere they wished to be. Neither had yet to come out of the infirmary, though. She'd tried to listen through the wall, but the room must've been insulated well or its inhabitants did a good job of keeping their voice level low because she wasn't able to hear anything.

So she waited.

And waited.

Her hand moved to rub her stiff neck, but the action seemed to remind her of the tag they'd removed just hours ago. Hand going limp, she stared at the floor as the events replayed over and over again. Shaking her head to get rid of those thoughts, she traced one of her anklets with her finger.

It was cold.

Colder than they'd ever been before.

For the first time in her life, she felt completely alone. Head Nurse wasn't there to talk to her, and neither was her brother. And now it seemed that even the Dark Boots had left her. It felt no different than when she was first taken to the Black Order.

At first, she paid no heed to the approaching footsteps - they were probably just someone who would pass her by anyway - but she blinked when they stopped in front of her. Curious, she looked up to see Kanda standing there, scowling at her.

"Kanda?"

His eyes narrowed.

"Get up."

She stared at him in surprise. "What?"

"I said get up!" he snapped at her. Scrambling to her feet, she stared at him in question, not daring to question him any further. He was already annoyed by something. As he eyed over her small form, she gulped, afraid of what he would say next. "When was the last time you ate?" he demanded.

"Umm..." she tried to remember. When was the last time she had eaten a decent meal? The past few days she wasn't even certain she'd eaten anything. Saving Allen had taken full priority.

Kanda turned and began to walk away. "Come on," he said simply, and she jogged to catch up with him. They continued at Kanda's swift pace for a few minutes in complete silence. She could tell by the way he glared at anyone who got in his way and his hand twitched as it rested on Mugen that he was annoyed.

Finally, she had the courage to speak again.

"Umm, Kanda?"

The man was silent for a moment, but just when she thought he was ignoring her he muttered, "what?"

"Where are we going?"

"The cafeteria. And you're going to eat a decent meal, not some stupid salad like you always eat," he responded sharply. There was a slight pause before he mumbled to himself, "tired of seeing you starve yourself to death."

At first, she could only stare at him in surprise, but as though seeing her hesitation he tightly gripped her wrist and began to drag her towards the cafeteria. After a moment, she smiled softly, thankful she had not been forgotten.

"Kanda?"

"What?"

She giggled at his irritation, and she could almost see smoke pouring out of his ears. "Thank you."

"Che," the swordsman replied, "just eat and we'll both be happy."

When they arrived at the cafeteria, Kanda ordered her to sit at a table and, without waiting for her to reply, stalked over to the front counter where Jerry stood and ordered their food. She felt uncomfortable with everyone staring at her, but she forced herself to ignore their stares and slowly headed towards a vacant table. They were probably just surprised because she hadn't been to the cafeteria during the day in a while; lately, she'd been going there late at night or early in the morning. How Kanda had known she hadn't been eating properly the past few days was beyond her knowledge.

The man returned a few minutes later, sliding her tray over so that it was in front of her. She couldn't recall ever having such a large meal, but she shrugged it off. It seemed Kanda had requested her favorite foods, including chocolate cake. Giving in, she slowly reached for her utensil.

"You're not leaving until you eat it all," Kanda told her sternly before returning to slurping his soba. Lenalee smiled, taking a deep breath before dipping into her first meal in weeks. As she ate, her companion would sometimes glance in her direction, but she ignored it, focusing on eating instead.

She was halfway through her meal when she heard the doors to the cafeteria thrown open and someone call out her name. Head snapping up quickly, she watched, bewildered, as Lavi raced towards her. "Lavi?" She cocked her head to the side as he stopped in front of her, breathing heavily. It was obvious he'd been running for a while.

"Lenalee! There you are!" He exclaimed, grabbing her arm and tugging, "come on! Allen wants to see you!"

She was left speechless for a moment. "Allen... wants to see me?"

Lavi nodded eagerly. "Yeah! Really bad, too! Come on, Lenalee."

Her legs felt numb as he pulled her along, but she didn't make it very far before Kanda grabbed hold of her other arm. "She's not going anywhere until she finishes her meal."

"What? We don't have time for this, Yuu!" Lavi argued. "If we don't get back soon, Allen will try to find her himself and he needs to rest!"

"I need to finish eating, Lavi," she told him softly. "I promised Kanda I would. I'll see Allen when I finish, okay?"

"Lenalee!"

Hearing her brother's voice, she peered around Lavi to see him waving frantically as he rushed towards her. "Brother? What are you doing here?"

"Lenalee! You must come quickly! At this rate, Allen's going to hunt you down himself!"

"Brother..." she tried to speak, but found herself cut off.

"Lenalee, when Allen heard you weren't outside the infirmary anymore he started blaming himself for it and insists on finding you himself," Lavi told her. "Please come with us so he'll stop pushing himself."

"I want to finish eating," she told them. "So please tell Allen to wait. I promise I'll go see him in a few minutes."

"But Lenalee-"

Her eyes widened as Kanda pulled out Mugen, pointing it threatingly at Lavi. "She wants to finish her meal, so let her."

"But Allen-"

"Tell the Bean Sprout to quit whining like a baby and let her finish her damn meal!" the swordsman snapped.

Suddenly, a new voice yelled, "it's Allen, BaKanda!"

For probably the first time in recorded history, the crowded cafeteria fell dead-silent. Silverware dropped onto plates, mouths fell open, and someone in the back dropped their tray entirely. Lenalee grew stiff, too afraid to look behind her. Even though there was no denying who it was, she had learned long ago to never get her hopes up.

She began to shake, her heart thumping hard as she met Lavi's gaze and silently mouthed, "I can't do it." The grin slipped from his face.

She wanted to run.

She wanted to hide.

But she was too stunned to even move.

Finally, she mustered the courage, about ready to dart for the door when a pair of arms wrapped around her, pulling her against their owner. "Allen," she stuttered, and his grip tightened as he pulled her closer, "you're back..."

Allen released her, though never letting go of her hand as he turned her so she faced him. A tear managed to escape from her eye, trailing down her cheek, and another one wasn't far behind; a sign the dam holding back her tears was beginning to break.

Panic seemed to rise up in the man before as he shot forward, grabbing her shoulders. "No, no, don't cry, Lenalee. Please. I don't want you sad. I just want you to be happy."

"Idiot," she croaked, unable to contain a sob that escaped her throat, "I am happy!"

She errupted in sobs, her shoulders shaking violently. After a moment, Allen took a step forward, cupping her face in his hands. Her breath hitched as he did so, and she stared up at him in surprise. Her sobs ceased, but her tears continued to stream down her cheeks.

"I can't take back what I said," he mumbled, looking away from her at down at the floor instead, his bangs obscuring his face, "but if I could I would. What I said wasn't true, Lenalee."

She smiled softly, covering his hands with her own. It made her remember the time she'd woken up and found him sitting next to her. "I know," she told him. "I shouldn't have believed it, and for that I'm sorry." She squeezed his hands reassuringly.

Suddenly, the young man grinned at her, moving his hands so that her own was in his grasp. As she stared at him questionably, he led her over to the table, where the rest of her meal was at. Forcing her to sit beside him, he picked up her spoon.

She rolled her eyes. "Allen, if you're that hungry you should get your own meal. I highly doubt what's left will-mmph!" She was cut short as he stuffed the spoon full of mashed potatoes and gravy into her mouth. As she choked it down, laughter roared around them.

The boy merely smiled at her innocently, though. She tried to protest as another spoonful of food came her way, but Allen paid no heed to it, instead insisting that she ate. When he went to scoop up some more potatoes, she reached forward, grabbing hold of his arm and preventing him from moving it.

"Lenalee?" the bewildered boy questioned her.

"I know what you're trying to do - and it's very sweet of you - but you don't need to do it." She gave him a smile. "You're home now, and you're safe and under your own control, and I find that far more important than you trying to make everything up to me." As he stiffened, she squeezed his hand tightly. She stood, helping him to his feet. Beaming at him, she pulled him into a tight hug. "Welcome home, Allen."

At first, he remained frozen, but then he recovered from his shock, returning her hug. "I'm back, Lenalee," he choked. Suddenly, both of them felt another pair of arms wrap around them, signaling that someone had joined their embrace. "Lavi!" Allen yelled, and she giggled as she felt him jump in surprise.

"It was such a beautiful reunion," the red-head told them with a large grin on his face, "but I wanted to join too!"

Allen gave him a disapproving look. "What is this, a group hug?"

"No, but now that you mention it, I do believe we are in need of one." Lavi then yelled loud enough for everyone in all of Headquarters to hear, "group hug!"

All at once all of Allen's friends and fellow comrades sprung forward, joining what the red-head had just deemed as a group hug. Surprisingly, even some of the Finders and scientists who had once doubted Allen's loyalty had joined in, tears of joy rolling down their faces.

As everyone disbanded, returning to their tables with smiles on their faces, Komui approached Allen, informing him that it was time for him to return to the infirmary. Disappointment was evident on the boy's face, but he nodded, waving goodbye to everyone before turning. She quickly reached forward, grabbing hold of his hand before walking beside him.

Allen may have returned to his normal self, but the battle was far from over. Leverrier was never one to give up so easily. He was a man of power, and after encountering him so many times she'd come to learn that he aware of it and would use it against his enemies.

If they weren't careful, Allen could be taken from them again.

"Lenalee?"

She hadn't even realized she'd squeezed her hand. The boy had just awoken, though, and it wouldn't be fair to inform him of such a manner yet. He would need to be told, but for now he needed rest.

There were other things she needed to tell him first.

So instead of telling him, she forced a smile.

"It's nothing."