Hey guys, sorry for not updating in a while, things have been pretty busy! Anyway, I'm back now! But please, take this nice, long, gratuitously fluffy chapter as a token of apology.

I'll take that as you choosing me then!"

William smiled at Elizabeth. He was slowly falling asleep now, but the woman could see a small gleam in his otherwise glassy, unfocused eyes. She gently laid him down on the couch, grabbing blankets and a large pillow from a nearby storage basket. After removing his boots and stockings, she settled down next to him and felt his lips lazily make their way across her jaw and neck.

"You-- are-- absolutely-- beautiful." He slurred between kisses. "Oh, the things I want to do with you..." Elizabeth chuckled.

"We'll have time for all that later. Right now you're drugged and exhausted." She whispered, amused. She was even more amused when he narrowed his eyes at her, half pouting.

"I am not." He declared like a stubborn child, although he was weakly supporting his head on the pillow and struggling to keep his eyes open.

"Sure, sure. We're still gonna wait though." Elizabeth chuckled as she piled blankets on top of both of them and entwined her limbs with his. She reached behind his head and slowly removed his queue, loosening his long chocolate brown hair. William melted at the touch, softly groaning at the feel of Elizabeth's fingers toying with his hair.

With his eyes fully closed now, and his slightly parted lips, he looked peaceful, almost adorable even. She smiled and kissed his forehead and watched him drift off to sleep.

"I love you William," Elizabeth whispered before sleep overcame her as well.

Elizabeth groaned as her head cleared and she became less disoriented. She thought for sure she was dead, as everything went black just before she collided with the roof of someone's car. But she opened her eyes and saw that she was standing in front of the Chesapeake Arena, just a few block away from the Devon Tower. Well, a very blurry version of it, as she appeared to have lost her glasses somewhere down the fall.

"I made it!" She leaped and let out a little shout, not caring about the people nearby giving her weird looks. Then her eyes widened and her mouth gaped when she remembered the letters. She had to get to the Devon Tower asap. The poor nearsighted woman started to make her way down there.

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1:25 pm

Amy and the soldiers wearily rested in the ground floor of the building, without Tavington. The trio were the only ones in there, a tense silence filled the air and threatened to consume them. Finally James broke it.

"What do we do now?" He asked Amelia.

The woman was too far gone to respond. She simply stared at a bit of space in front of her with glassy eyes. The rest of her body, normally still and calm, now displayed her silent turmoil as she restlessly figeted with everything around her; the leather seat she was perched upon, her pants, her purple bow tie, and most particularly Doctor Bradford's note that she had unfolded, reread, and refolded what must have been a hundred times.

James silently got up from his own seat to join her. Banastre leaned against a wall with his arms crossed. He still had blood and bruises on him, and both of his eyes were almost swollen shut.

"And why, exactly, are we loitering here?" Tarleton demanded, causing Amy to glare up at him. Of course that of all things made her snap out of it.

"I'm trying to figure out my next move, and we're waiting for William to calm down after all the horrible things you said to him." He scoffed, and walked up to her. He kneeled in front of her, his brow raised.

"Yes, and you are quite welcome for that. If it wasn't for my intervention, I am certain he would have killed you. After all, I'm not the poor soul that sent his lady love away, my dear. In case you've forgotten." Wilkins cleared his throat and sent a hard glare at Tarleton's bloodied face. The captain's arms found themselves wrapped protectively around the thin woman.

"Sir, Elizabeth was Amelia's friend, not just Tavington's lover. I don't believe she really meant for this to happen, and making her feel worse about the situation is not going to help anything." Banastre slowly stood up all the way, his face was equally hard.

"Is that any way to speak to a superior officer, Captain?" James stood up now.

"I am just as prepared to challenge you as I was with Tavington, sir." He responded politely, but with a forcefulness that expressed his resolve. Banastre scoffed, but decided to say no more about it. Only because he felt weary. He had already lost one brawl, and certainly felt the effects of it. Also, he too grieved over Elizabeth, despite what his behavior told the others. He silently slunk to the men's restroom to wash up and mostly to be alone for a while.

Sighing, James sat back down. The pair sat together for what felt like hours. The silence threatened to consume them until finally, Amelia couldn't take it anymore.

"Elizabeth was one of the few people that would put up with me," she began in a pensieve whisper. James looked on at her in pity.

"She was always unfailingly kind, able to see the good in all kinds of people. Even me. I usually tend to drive people away sometimes, but she was never perturbed. Probably because she was pretty quirky herself. That's why she was my friend. And now she is gone... because of me." She was on the verge of tears now, the captain put his hand on her shoulder. He was at a loss of what to do when Amy broke down completely however. She buried her face in her hands, he put his arms around her sobbing frame.

"I know it's m-my fault. You don't ha-ve to k-keep sticking up for me. I-it's a-alw-ways my fa-ault... It won' be long before I l-lose e-veryone else." She poured her heart out in between sobs and sniffles.

Wilkins was at a loss of what to do. He generally had little experience with women, and had no idea what to do when one was crying! Particularly Amelia Smith, as the Captain previously assumed she didn't really have it in her to lose it all together! Unfortunately, all he could initially manage to do was helplessly glance at her and shift uncomfortably in his seat. Then, Wilkins slowly drew her closer, beginning to get a little more comfortable. She was too distraught to react and continued to grieve.

"But you're not alone Mia... I'm not going anywhere. You still have me, and Bordon as well. We'll help you get through this." James crooned, trying to soothe her. He could barely make out what she was unintelligibly blubbering out now, her voice was muffled by her hands and the crook of his neck burying her face. Something about him and Bordon only tolerating her.

"You really think I only 'tolerate' you? What then, have I been doing all of this for?" He gently tugged her closer to him to make his point. She didn't react. With a sigh, he drew his head back and gently peeled her hands away to gaze into her tearstained, bloodshot eyes. Those eyes did not meet his however, but remained trained to the floor below her.

"My god, I don't believe that I would act so fondly towards someone I just put up with. Quite honestly, you have captivated me since the day we've met. Although you do odd things and I don't understand most of the things that you say... Elizabeth was not the only one around here who cares for you, of that I am certain."

Amelia still wept, but not as uncontrollably as before. She only stared after him in disbelief for a few moments.

"... Really?" She breathed. A short puff of laughter escaped James despite himself, his face slowly incing closer to hers.

He said no more however, he much preferred to show his affection. And so, gently tilting Amelia's chin up, James softly pressed his lips against hers. It was not a romantic kiss, as James could feel the effects of Amelia's sorrow. Still, as she slowly started to respond to his tender yet insistent touch, the bond between them began to contain a sweet intimacy that brought her some comfort. James tilted his head to one side and cradled the back of her head to gain better access, she tightly clung onto him as if he'd disappear if she let go. The bond grew stronger as the kissing deepened and James was lost within the world he now shared with her. He didn't even realize that the cause of Mia's grief was clumsily creeping along the street until--

"Ouch!" An exclamation and a loud bang from the glass door startled the pair and dragged them back to reality. He was quite shocked to find that the culprit was a very dazed Miss Bradford, one hand clutching her forehead, the other searching in vain for the handle. At least... he thought it was Bradford. She was quite unrecognizable wearing a proper dress, curled hair, and makeup. In addition, those thick spectacles she normally wore were missing. Perhaps that was why she has apparently collided with the door! Of course, he and Amelia were so busy gawking in shock and disbelief, they did not think to get up and help her. Or even move from their close embrace.

Finally, with her eyes squinted into slits, Elizabeth managed to pull the door open then she blindly (and very comically) shuffled into the waiting area. It was then that Amelia found her voice, though she was still frozen in place.

"Elizabeth, you're alive!" The blonde quickly turned her head towards where she heard her friend's voice and all but leapt towards it.

"Yes! Uugh--" She stopped in her tracks when her left leg struck a chair. With a grimace, she clumsily sidestepped and shuffled towards James and Amy more carefully. All the while she was talking- very, very quickly.

"That was graceful... But yeah I'm--I'm still alive. Suprised? So am I! Seriously though, I am really sorry about that scare with the letters and..."

Her words fizzled out as she got closer and noticed how closely Amy and Wilkins were both sitting. She squinted her eyes again, and saw their arms were entwined around each other.

"...Am I interrupting something?"

Amelia disentangled herself from Wilkins and stood up. Then the taller woman did something incredibly rare-- she gathered her friend in a tight bear hug.

"I was so afraid that I lost you." Amy whispered. "From now on, I'll be the only one who tests out my inventions, okay?"

"I agree. And I missed you too... Tesla reminded me of you, but it wasn't quite the same."

Amy grabbed her shoulders and pulled her an arm's length away.

"You met Tesla?"

"Yeah, he helped me fix the machine." Elizabeth displayed the device, that was still in decent shape.

"I'll tell you all about him, but first I have to see if William's okay too."

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The elevator trip took a few seconds, thankfully giving Elizabeth a chance to catch her breath. The metal doors opened when she reached the top floor, and she slowly and carefully wandered, winching at the blistering pain in her feet.

"William?" She called. She turned her head and found him at the balcony, behind the glass doors. As she got closer, she noticed how he was standing hunched over, and how his back convulsed. She opened one door and she could hear his painful sobs and sniffles. His back was turned, and he didn't notice her yet, although her footsteps were quite loud. She guessed that it had something to do with how distraught he was.

She was right behind him now. She put one hand on his back.

"Will?" He quickly turned around. She could see that his piercing eyes were red and puffy, his face was filled with vulnerability that was so unlike the usually fierce Dragoon. He looked... broken. It hurt her to see just how much pain her disappearance caused him. His eyes widened in disbelief when he took in her reappearance.

"Beth?" He whispered, his voice filled with hope. She nodded, and gave him a tight hug around his waist.

"Yes. Yes. I'm so sorry William, I shouldn't have went until I was certain it was foolproof. I was so scared, and, and I almost died! I fell off one of the tallest buildings in America and the device nearly failed. I was feet away from the ground and... God, it was horrible!" She was so caught up in emotion now, tears started leaking out of her eyes.

William said nothing, but he returned her embrace. She was crying into his chest now, and she could feel that he was still sobbing too. They stayed like that for a while, until they were both breathing normally. Elizabeth felt safe with him holding her and she didn't want that feeling to go away, but she knew they had to let go sometime. When the pair pulled away, William linked arms with her and lead her to the elevator. After a while he merely studied her face, then he broke the silence.

"Where are your glasses, anyway?" Elizabeth shrugged.

"Somewhere in the 20th century, I guess."

"I liked them, they enhanced your beauty." William commented with a sigh, trying to play with her curls and frowning to himself at its hard, hairsprayed texture. Elizabeth smirked to herself.

"Yeah, they really enhanced yours when I wore them too. But I'll get new ones. Preferably sooner rather than later. I can't even read that poster!"

She gestured towards a red 'Bricktown' poster that was displayed a mere four feet away. William smiled, amused now.

"My god, your sight is bad! In the meantime, I suppose I will just have to be your eyes."

The pair reached the ground floor and the elevator opened. Tavington offered his arm for Elizabeth to take. The girl smiled and turned red.

"Yeah, I'm good with that." She murmured as she linked arms with him.