A/N: I'm sooooooo sorry, there is no real excuse. The only one I have is that my computer got a virus and we took it in so that it could be fixed and the idiots erased all my files, including chapter 7 of this fic.

I wanted to get this posted sooner rather then later so it's not Beta-edited, sorry for any mistakes.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything….maybe for Christmas…

Warnings: Slight BL, don't like, don't read.

The room was barley lit by a small lamp in the middle of the room, and hardly any sound was made.

In one corner of the small shack/house we were using as a shelter, Gudrif and Darth were talking quietly. I didn't really want to listen to what they were saying; I had a good idea already.

The others had left the house to be alone with their thoughts. No one really knew what to expect when Dismas and Gestas came back….if they came back. The walls seemed to close in around me s I thought of this possibility, as if they knew it would be my fault if anything happened to them and they didn't want me to forget that.

There was no way I could.

I quickly left the house; fresh air was starting to sound really good. I also wanted to see how the others were doing.

I didn't have to look far there in the yard sat Irene. She sat on a fallen tree, staring at the moon; it would be full soon.

I sat next to her on the log and waited for her to speak first.

"Moses, is there a point to our existence?"

"What do you mean?"

"It's just something I read once, in a human bookstore. The main character was chasing his destiny and the entire thing was about his purpose in life."

I looked down at the grass below us, still wet with dew from the morning before.

"I don't know. I suppose there was one for us when we were created but that destiny changed when we escaped."

"Do you think there can be a new destiny for us…after the thorn?"

I looked at her meting her eyes.

"I hope so."

She nodded, slowly, then she stood up and offered me a hand up as well. I took it and stood, meeting her eyes again. She smiled softly at me, a grateful look in her eyes and turned from me, heading back into the house.

Not ready to return to the accusing walls of the house, I turned back to the forest and walked through the darkness. My thoughts seemed chaotic as I tried to concentrate on too many things at once. Irene's question flitted through my mind, bring up more questions then I wanted to deal with at the moment. Namely, what would we do if Dismas and Gestas succeeded?

These thoughts were pushed back as I entered a small clearing and my eyes fell on the familiar figure of Lou Lou sitting serenely among a clump of wildflowers.

"What are you doing, Lou Lou?"

She looked up in surprise, then smiled as I walked closer and kneeled in front of her.

"Heya, Moses, nothing I guess, just thinking."

"Oh? About what?"

"Well, I guess I'm worried about Dismas and Gestas. I don't want them to get hurt."

My eyes softened and a small smile spread across my face.

"Me neither, Lou Lou."

She looked up at the sky and smiled lightly. I followed her gaze and saw that it was directed at the brightest star in the sky. She turned her gaze back to me, curiosity filling her eyes.

"Moses, if you had one wish, what would it be?"

I was taken aback by her question, I had really never thought about it. Would it be 'to have us all together again', or 'a cure for the thorn', or maybe 'to be with him forever'?

"I don't know."

"Oh. Do you want to know what mine would be?"

"Sure."

"I would want all of us to be together for ever without having to fear the thorn."

Leave it to Lou Lou to take all my wishes and put them in one. I stood preparing to leave.

"I think that would be my wish too."

She smiled at me in a way that made you feel like there was nothing bad in the entire world. I placed my hand on her head in a comforting gesture as I passed, heading deeper into the forest.

I didn't get far as a new voice stopped me just inside the cover of the trees.

"It's amazing how innocent she is, yet so caring."

"Guy, how are you?"

I looked up to the branches where Guy stood looking down at me. She took a step off the branch and, in the blink of an eye, appeared at my side.

"I'm fine, how about you, you don't seem like yourself."

"Of course not, I might have just sent two of my friends to their deaths."

There was silence as she seemed to contemplate this.

"They were dying anyway, though, weren't they? They had the thorn and that eventually would have led to their demise, at least this way, you're giving them a final shot at life."

I smiled a little at Guy's ability to make everything seem to fit right. Honestly I envied how she saw the world sometimes.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Thanks."

"For what?"

"For making things seem a little bit ok. Sometimes I can't help but doubt myself."

She seemed to scoff at me then she shook her head as though trying to shake away what I had said.

"Moses, you are impossible at times."

"What do you mean?"

"Think about it, if it weren't for you and your decisions, we'd still be at Kerbed, slowly dying off and being treated as nothing more then experiments. We are all better off because of your leadership, because of you we actually get a chance at a normal life; or as normal as we can get."

As much as I stilled denied it to some degree, what she said had some truth to it. Guy gave a light laugh and patted me on the shoulder, slowly walking in the direction of the house.

"Weather you believe me or not, it is true. I'm going back to the house; I believe Karman is by the river."

Sometimes she was too perceptive. I had just been wondering where Karman had wondered off to. I continued my walk into the forest; I was just about to turn back when I heard the faint sound of running water.

Resolving to turn back if he wasn't there, I started toward the sound. I didn't walk more then a couple feet past the next clumping of trees to see him sitting at the bank's edge, watching the water.

"Karman."

He tensed when he heard me and it occurred to me that he hadn't heard me coming. Something must have been bothering him. I walked towards him and tentatively placed a hand on his shoulder. He didn't shy away like I was expecting him to. Instead he placed his hand on top of mine. I took this as his way of asking me to sit with him so I did.

Silence filled the small clearing and a comfortable air of peace seemed to fall over us. Eventually the silence was broken.

"Why do you think they didn't tell us?"

He didn't have t say who for me to know what he was talking about, the question had occurred to me too.

"I don't know. Maybe they thought they'd be a hindrance to us if we knew."

"Hmmm."

There was more silence.

"Will you promise me something, Moses?"

"Sure."

"Promise that, no matter what, you will tell me if you ever get the thorn."

"Karman, I don't know-"

"Please Moses."

"……I promise…"

"…….Me too….."

I looked into his eyes, not really knowing what I was searching for, although the trust, timid-ness, and….something else, seemed to satisfy my searching.

Somehow my hand wound up in his during our conversation, r maybe it had never left, and he stood up, pulling me with him. I didn't really want this to end, but I knew we had things to do, and people to check on.

As we walked back through the woods his hand never left mine and unfamiliar feelings fluttered in my chest. We continued in silence until we got to the last tree grouping before the house.

Karman stopped my progress with a small tug on my hand. I turned to look at him, confusion in my eyes. Without saying a word he pulled me to his chest and held me there, arms wrapped around my back. After a hesitant second I put my arms around him as well. We stayed that way for a bit, but like the river, the moment had to end, and we separated and walked to the house, hands apart.

As we entered the house, two things became apparent, Dismas and Gestas weren't back yet and everyone was beginning to worry. I took a quick glance around the room and turned back towards the outside world. One strong hand kept me from leaving. I looked back into the eyes of Karman, the expression on his face told me everything I needed to hear; 'Be careful.'

A/N: I think I'll end it there; the next chapter will consist of episode 21 and another of Karman's mood swings.

I got stuck half way through this chapter, so I decided to watch ep. 44-45, the driving force behind this fanfic and I realized that although I said I'd only be using the Japanese version for the episode dialogue, I think I might use some English as well. I noticed that there was a part in 45 that made a whole lot more sense in the English version then it did in the Japanese version.

I hope you liked the chapter.