AN: Thanks to everyone who has been with me the whole way! This isn't the end - there's still the epilogue left, but I just wanted to say how much I adore you all. 3

I finished this chapter a while ago but I've been tweaking it a lot, and it still doesn't quite feel right. Tying up this much ended up being pretty hard (haha, good job Abbey). Anyway, here it is. And yes, the title is the Pat Benatar song of awesomeness. XD Also, beware...because here is where we enter the dangerous territory of the inescapably cheesy. headdesk And kind of keep in mind that I'm trying to make this mildly period-appropriate. SIGH. Well, here goes nothing.

Chapter XI

We Belong

When he finally saw her, she was lying in a gasping heap on her back, staring blankly at the ceiling. Baz was sitting next to her, the beginning of a laugh in his smile. Matt stood at the doorway and just watched them. Baz threw back his head and laughed, long and hard. Kate started quietly beside him, but after a moment she was clutching her stomach and gasping for air between her bursts of laughter as well.

"Kate."

The word was torn from his mouth unintentionally, but as soon as he said it, Kate's head snapped around to look at him.

There was a long silence before she finally sat up, slowly and haltingly. Matt walked towards her with the same halting slowness, his eyes taking in every inch of her battered, beautiful form.

Then, they ran to each other. Matt wasn't sure how exactly it happened, but she was suddenly in his arms. He hugged her tightly, maybe a little too tightly, and buried his face in her hair.

She was gripping him just as tightly, and now weeping into his shoulder. Weeping and laughing, he thought. For a long moment he just let himself enjoy the feeling of her in his arms again. He ran his hands over her back and hair, as if to make sure she was indeed in one piece.

She pulled back first, laughing, tears running down her face. He raised a hand and sloppily wiped her cheeks, both of them grinning and fumbling and silly.

"You came back," she said, beaming.

"Of course I did," he replied, smiling down at her.

She laughed and raised her eyebrows in disbelief. "I can't believe you left without me!"

"Well, now you know how it feels," he shot back, also laughing.

The smile slowly slipped from her face as her eyes met his, and she leaned up to kiss him, hard. He made a noise in the back of his throat and pulled her close to him. Their lips fit together perfectly, and Matt's stomach twisted with the utter rightness of having her in his arms. He was never letting her go again.

--

"Hey there," Kate said, standing over Luke. The man was just waking up from a drugged sleep, but he made a noise of surprise. Matt watched the quiet scene from the door.

"You're on the ship," he said, his words a little slurred.

"Yeah," she replied, smiling. "And you got yourself shot." The remark was teasing, but still a little cutting. "Don't do that again, alright? We're going to get you to the hospital right when we get home." She paused and looked at her arm – the bandages dirty and falling off. "In fact, I might be joining you."

He blinked, and Matt noticed how extremely pale he looked. Alive, but his body was still in shock. "We left the island?"

"Yes." Kate paused for a long time, but then Luke raised his eyebrows and she laughed a little. "I got the camera back. We have proof."

Luke smiled and yawned widely. "Good. Glad you're alright."

"You too," Kate replied fondly, and kissed his forehead. Luke slipped into another drug-induced sleep, and she turned back to Matt.

"He's going to be fine," said Matt. Kate nodded wordlessly. For a bit, the only sound was Luke's deep, even breathing. Then Kate walked slowly over to him. He watched her come closer, swallowing and wondering what he would do when she reached him.

It was stupid to think about. He loved her, unequivocally, but what happened now? The kiss cargo bay had been born out of relief and excitement and he'd done it without thinking. Now that he was thinking, he couldn't stop coming up with problems and road blocks ahead of them.

"Hi," she said, stopping in front of him. The few inches that separated them felt like an ocean.

"Hi," he replied. For a long, silent time they just looked at each other. He swallowed and tried for normalcy. "So, how did you get back on the ship?"

Kate's eye flickered down for a moment and she unconsciously rubbed her injured arm lightly. "Well, Gunari grabbed me and pulled me down. Luckily he thought he could handle me by himself, because his fellow pirates were well away from us. I just, kind of…kept struggling. So he never got a solid hold on me." She smiled grimly. Matt could just see her fighting like a wildcat. He grimaced.

"And then, as you were swinging back around, I kicked him." Matt raised his eyebrows and didn't ask where. He could gather that much from the determined set of her jaw. "And then I bolted for the ship. The cargo bay doors opened, and two of your crew, Baz was one of them, were there to grab my hands and haul me inside." She swallowed again. "And then I was onboard again." She took a deep breath and gave him a little smile. "All in a matter of minutes."

Matt could only stare at her for what felt like forever. She didn't look away. Then she raised her hand to touch a scratch on his face.

"Do you want to put anything on this?"

"No, I'm fine. But thank you." He caught her hand and held on to it. She smiled and stepped closer, as if expecting to be kissed. He swallowed and didn't.

"Is…everything alright?" Her large brown eyes were puzzled.

"Yeah. Everything's fine."

She gave him a look. "Matt."

His eyes darted away and he sighed. "I don't know. It's just…"

"Just what?" asked Kate a little sharply. "I thought we talked about this. In the jungle, I thought you…Matt, what's going on?" She tried to yank her hand from his but he didn't let it go.

"No, no, that's not it," he said quickly. "I meant everything I said in the jungle. Everything. I just…there are complications. It's going to be far from easy."

"When has it ever been?" She said, her eyes narrowing into a glare. "Are you going to run again, or are you actually going to stick around for the hard stuff this time?"

Matt bristled but kept hold of her hand. This time he would stand up to her challenge. "Kate, stop. I'm staying." They stared heatedly at each other. "But what are you going to do about Landon?"

At this Kate paused and looked away. Her fingers tightened around his. "I…I do feel bad, hurting him. He's a good man." Matt's jaw tightened, and even though she wasn't looking at him, she sensed it and looked back. "He is, Matt. You've never met him." She sighed. "But he'll go on and find a wife that will suite his profession, not one that will constantly be off on adventures looking for odd creatures or ancient ruins.

"So…you're not going to marry him?" Matt tried to keep the wild hope out of his voice.

She smiled, a little sadly. "We belong together, Matt. I think it's time we just admit it and fight out whatever comes our way. Together."

Matt took a long, deep breath and nodded. "Yeah." The word was an exhale, and before he had time to draw the next breath, Kate had leaned up and ever so softly pressed her lips to his.

"I love you, Matt Cruse. I'll never leave you."

He had to let go of her hand then, just so he could wrap his arms tightly around her. "I love you, Kate de Vries. I'm never leaving your side again." He felt her smile into his shoulder.

"That's good, because if you did I might have to kill you." He snorted softly in laughter and hugged her tighter.

"I won't be messing with you," he said with a smile. "Too dangerous." She pulled back and grinned up at him, trying to look stern and failing.

"That's right. I'm terribly dangerous." Her smile faded and she bit her lip. "Can we…do you think we can still see the island?"

"I'm not sure. Let's go to the lounge and see."

--

There it was, a dark spot on the horizon behind them. Matt and Kate stood side by side and watched it shrink, smaller and smaller until it was a speck they could barely seen.

"Funny to think," Kate said softly, "that so much happened on that tiny island. In the middle of nowhere."

Matt chuckled silently. "We've never gone about anything normally, have we?"

"What do you mean?" She turned to face him, twining her fingers through his even tighter.

"We met on an airship," he said with raised eyebrows, "we fall in love on an island in the midst of a fight against pirates, after almost being killed of course, and then fall in love again in the midst of another pirate fight. We never go about anything the usual way, do we?"

Kate snorted rather indelicately and grinned up at him. "No, not really. But it wouldn't be half as good if we'd met at some party or something. Plus, we're not exactly normal ourselves."

"Right." Matt suddenly became very serious, looking down at her with furrowed brows. She caught on to his mood and blinked.

"Is everything alright?"

"Marry me."

Kate's mouth fell open. "What?" Matt was looking at her with his earnest dark eyes, and his intensity was starting to reach her. She gave a nervous little laugh and then looked at him like he was endearingly dim-witted. "Aren't you supposed to be kneeling?"

At that, Matt grinned. "Never could do anything the right way. I don't even have a ring yet." Then his smile slipped. "Kate?"

"I…" she started and then came to a shaky halt. "Matt, I haven't even broken off my engagement yet."

"But you're…going to, right?" Sudden worry crept into Matt's voice and his grip in her hands tightened.

"Of course I am. I want to be with you. I'm just…not sure we should jump ahead to matrimony." He saw her swallow nervously. "I want to be with you more than anything, Matt, but I'm not sure I can handle that right now."

Matt swallowed the rejection – because he knew it wasn't truly a rejection, not yet anyway – and nodded. "Alright. But someday?" She smiled and stepped into his arms, wrapping herself close to him and burying her face in the crook between his neck and shoulder. He felt her nod.

"Someday."

--

Paris seemed unusually garish and loud after the endless ocean and the jungle. But Matt smiled and let the sounds wash over him as he stood on the deck. The Aerodrome was, as usually, a hub of excited activity.

He felt an arm wrap around his. Without looking over he knew it was Kate. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. The weeks in the air had given them some time to sort out their issues.

"You love this, don't you?" She asked quietly, but he could hear the smile in her voice.

"Of course," he replied. "I – "

"Miss de Vries!" An angry yell interrupted their conversation, and both looked down the gang plank. Kate swore. "Miss de – Kate!" The blond man looked absolutely furious, but he wouldn't walk up the gang plank. "Come here!"

"Landon," Kate whispered to Matt as she detached her arm from his and walked toward her very angry fiancé. "Landon, please calm down."

"Calm down?" the man yelled in disbelief. His eyebrows shot up, almost into his sandy hair. Matt tensed, noting that Landon was far more handsome than he had imagined, and more wealthy, judging by the rich brown of his suit. "Not a word, Kate. You left without a word. For a month."

"I left word," Kate replied calmly, crossing her arms. "I told you I was tying up ends in Paris. And how did you know when and where we would be landing?"

"Which was a lie, I might add!" said Landon indignantly. "I've been watching the flight plans for the past three weeks. And you've been in the South Pacificus for the past month! You could have been hurt – " His eyes swept down her form and for the first time he noticed the bandage on her arm. "You were hurt! My God, Kate. Are you alright? Do you need me to take a look?"

"No, I'm fine Landon." Kate sighed and Matt, standing behind her, saw her shoulders tighten. "Landon, I can't marry you." She said it quickly, blunt and sharp. For a second, none of the three of them moved. Matt felt like he couldn't breathe.

"And why ever not?" Asked Landon, his voice dangerously calm. He still wouldn't walk up the gangplank, and instead was looking edgily at it.

"Because I…just can't." He couldn't see her face, but Matt could hear the confliction in her voice. "I'm so sorry, Landon. I really am. But I can't be the proper wife you want. You'll be much happier with someone else." She walked down the gangplank towards her fiancé and Matt made himself stay put and not run and put himself in between her and the man. Now he couldn't hear what they were saying, but Landon's face was ashen and Kate still had her arms crossed.

After what seemed like forever, Matt saw Landon flinch and step back from Kate. His eyes flickered to where Matt was standing, then back at Kate. A look of extreme dislike came over his face and he turned and walked away.

Kate stayed where she was for a long minute, arms wrapped around herself. Then she turned and walked slowly up the gangplank to Matt, her face drawn. His hands went to her arms.

"Are you alright?" She nodded.

"Yes. That was extremely unpleasant." With a sigh, she leaned forward and rested her forehead on his shoulder. His arms automatically and naturally went around her. "But I'm glad it's over."

Matt chuckled. "Me too." She pulled back a little and looked up at him.

"So what now?"

He stared down at Kate, letting his eyes linger. She had a scrape on her left cheek and her hair was wild around her shoulders and tumbling down her back. Her brown eyes were large and a little apprehensive, but he could see a smile at the very corners of her wide mouth. Matt felt something rise in his throat and he smiled down at her.

"Let's go home."

The worry vanished from her eyes and the smile spread across her face. She grinned up at him, the corners of her eyes crinkling in happiness. "Alright. Let's go."