Dom took a deep breath, standing outside Kel's door. He was acting like he was thirteen or something. In his hand he clutched a single deep lavender rose, symbolizing love at first sight. On its stem, a piece of parchment was tied with a white silk ribbon. Very gently, he set down the rose outside of her bedroom, and slipped away, silent as the night.

The next morning, Kel rose, just like she did every other morning, a habit that she had been taught for years. Today, she slipped on a nicer shirt and a loose skirt, easy to move in. However, when she opened the door, she found something that was most certainly not a part of her time-honored routine. A lavender rose stood waiting for her, a piece of parchment tied onto it. Slowly, as if in a trance, she picked it up, feeling the silky softness of the silk ribbon. The parchment read:

Dear Kel,

I have a surprise planned for you, but you're going to have to think. The gift below is your first clue.

Dom

She glanced around, and to her surprise, there was a toy bear there. Cautiously, she picked it up, and wondered how on Earth she was supposed to use this to help her. Then she smiled, remembering one particular event a year ago, when the Third Company had stayed for a couple of weeks:

Kel wiped the sweat off her forehead, staring in satisfaction at the dummy in front of her. "I think that's enough training for this morning." She said to herself. Jump yelped in agreement, probably already thinking about sausages. "Psst." A voice hissed at her.

Kel turned around… and jumped a foot high. Behind her was a monstrous bear, dark brown and snarling. She raised her glaive, ready to stab the bear at any moment if it was hostile. But to her astonishment, the bear opened its mouth and Dom's voice floated from it. "Chillax Kel, don't stab me!"

Kel lowered her glaive in astonishment. "Dom?"

The bear seemed to flicker, and disappeared, showing Dom. He was grinning mischievously, white teeth flashing in the sunlight. "Daine and Numair's helped me with the bear thing. I can't wait to see Meathead's face when he sees a monstrous bear in the stables."

He laughed, a carefree sound, and suddenly Kel hugged him. He stiffened for a second, and then hugged her back in a huge bear hug. "I've missed you, Dom." Kel told him earnestly, wishing that she could tell him exactly how much she had missed him too.

"Missed you too, Protector of the Small." He smirked as he used that hated nickname. But on account of his long absence, she let it slide. "Could you somehow get Neal here? I can't exactly just roar and alarm everyone in the castle, as much fun as that would be."

Kel rolled her eyes, not believing how many times she had to do this. She ripped her tunic a bit, nothing drastic, mussed up her hair and put on a panicked expression. Dom nodded in satisfaction. "Thanks, Kel, you're the best."

"I know." She said, and ran off. She found Neal in the library, ruffling through some ancient tome. "Neal! Help me, there's a bear in the stables!"

Neal, being Neal, just looked at her for half a second before reacting. He jumped up, grabbed his sword, and rushed after her. She led him into the stables, pointing frantically at Dom, who was in bear form again. The "bear" snarled and saliva dripped from its gaping mouth, full of sharp white teeth, perfectly equipped for killing knights. It took one swipe at him and Neal screamed. Unfortunately for him, his scream sounded like a girls, all high pitched and nasally. Dom and Kel couldn't help it. They disintegrated into helpless laughter, the bear aura fading. Every time they chanced a look at Neal's face as he stubbornly managed a disdainful look, they collapsed back into laughter. That was one of the best days in her life. When the Own had gone the following week, she had even wept her a bit herself, believe it or not.

She smiled fondly at the memory, and then focused again on the toy. What could have connected? Suddenly, she knew. The stables. That's where Dom had staged the entire bear thing. Sure enough, when she got there, Peachblossom was saddled, a feat in and of itself. Kel smiled, wondering how many bites Peachblossom had to deal out for him to be saddled up. In the saddlebags, there was a parchment.

Very good Protector of the small. Now, just follow the map and then you'll see what I planned for you.

She pulled out the other parchment. It was a well-drawn map, with a trail drawn in bright red ink. She smiled brightly, feeling a rush of warmth. How much trouble had Dom gone into doing this? She swung onto the saddle, careful to not rip her skirt. The trail was odd, not even a path, just instructions. After a good twenty minutes, she finally was close to it. Just as she approached a final destination, a figure jumped out. "BOO!"

Peachblossom reared a bit in shock, and with her riding sidesaddle because of her skirt, she was also thrown. She closed her eyes and braced for impact, but instead of feeling stony ground, she landed in a pair of warm, well-muscled arms. A pair of mischievous blue eyes glinted down at her. "Hey Kel."

Kel hit him in the chest, and smiled with satisfaction when he winced. "What in the Goddess was that, Dom?"

Dom looked at her with guilt in his eyes. "I'm sorry Kel, that wasn't supposed to happen. But," He glanced down at her in his arms, smirking, "Something good came of it."

She blushed and said, "Put me down you big lump."

He did as she asked, and looked at her seriously. "I'm sorry Kel, but I planned out this whole entire picnic for us, won't you join me?"

She melted as he gave her his pair of puppy dog eyes, and allowed herself to be led away. Good things did happen after all, she mused to herself.

AN: I know, I know, I'm in SO much trouble for my long case of not updating and then dumping an absolutely TERRIBLE chapter on you guys, but I'm drowning in writer's block and can't help it, SORRY! As a sorry gift to anyone who feels they need it, they can request ONE oneshot that I will write and can take as many cyber hugs from Numair as you feel like (I kidnapped him).