"Raine, I know you're scared. I can't even imagine what you've been through these last couple of weeks," said Malcolm.

I scowled. No he couldn't. When I first came out here I had been hoping and praying that I would spot the apes again. That I would no longer think I was going crazy after the first time I saw them—like my mother had eventually gone crazy due to schizophrenia and depression. And then it went from hoping that I would find them, to being scared because they had found me, and then being scared that I would lose them.

Especially one of them in particular.

"I'm not the one who's scared here. You guys are." I tried to keep my voice calm and even as I glanced up at Malcolm and Ellie from my sitting position. "And I have been there. This is a whole other world. And you guys had no idea what had happened to me."

I started to get to my feet, slowly. Caesar made a soft huffing noise in concern and held out his hand. Without hesitation, I took it. He helped me to stand. No wave of dizziness this time.

"I know you don't understand why I would do this, but like I said, I'm not going anywhere. This is my choice. I know what you're thinking, but I'm not being held prisoner. I want to be-"

Casear held up his hand to silence me. It was then that I heard it, a great ruckus coming from down below. I knew as soon as I woke up and started being able to think clearly again that it was only a matter of time before Caesar had to face the music about bringing more humans into the colony.

Looked like time was up.

Me and Caesar shared a quick glance. He let go of my hand and gestured towards Luca and the other gorillas. The three of them squeezed past me. Blue started to follow.

"No, son," Caesar told him.

Blue stopped. I could see the desperation on his face. Of course he would want to help his dad.

"Stay with Raine and Ash."

Casear's gaze once again met mine. I could see the fear in his hazel eyes. He gave my arm a gentle squeeze, then he and the others left.

"I wouldn't go out there if I were you."

Malcolm had started to follow them, but stopped in his tracks at my words.

"When they fight about you, it's best to not let them see you."

"How do you know what they're fighting over?" Ellie asked.

"Because you're here."

I made my way towards the balcony. As I did so, I heard an ungodly roar. Get 'em, babe. I hastened my steps. I had to take a peek. My mate was out there trying to defend my friends, possibly even me as well.

"Uh wait, you just told me not to do that," Malcolm said.

"I know," I replied anxiously.

I made it to the edge and glanced down. Right away a sense of vertigo hit me. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. What the hell was I even thinking being on my feet this soon?

"Apparently going to the edge is a bad idea no matter how you look at it." I backed away and leaned sideways against the wall nearest the opening.

"You feeling lightheaded?" Ellie asked.

"Yeah."

I heard hooting and glanced towards the back of the room. It was Blue.

"Father will take care of this. He trusts you, Raine. Most of us do. He will fix it."

"What about my son?" Rocket hooted and signed angrily in return. "It was a human who shot him. One of Raine's."

I opened my mouth to answer.

"What are they saying?" Ellie asked.

"Rocket's angry about what happened to Ash."

Rocket was staring at me, so I decided to both speak and sign so that they could all hear what I had to say, though I directed my signing straight at him.

"We are all angry about what happened to Ash. Do you think I'm happy that it was someone I love who did this, my own brother?" I paused to give my words a second to sink in. "You all trusted me. Caesar trusted me. Maybe if you would have just left me in the woods, none of this would have happened. I wouldn't be in this predicament. I wouldn't have met you. I wouldn't have met Caesar."

My voice broke at that instant. How could I do this to Caesar? How could I be so selfish, wanting to stay here knowing how much grief it caused not only him, but every other ape that I had now come to know and care about.

"Do not be sad, Raine," said Blue. "You are my friend. You are Ash's friend as well."

As he spoke he stepped towards me.

"You bring Father much joy. I have seen it. I have seen..."

Blue stopped. He was standing right in front of me now. His nostrils started flaring, like he was smelling something. His eyes grew wide as he stared at me.

"You smell like Father."

Now it was my turn to get wide eyed. "Wha...?"

"Why do you smell like Father, Raine?"

"Raine has been good in here. She has caused no trouble. Has even helped with ape children," Thorn said.

"No trouble? She has been trouble since she came here," said Crow.

"Are we not the ones who have brought her here to begin with?" Maurice insisted.

"You are one to talk, Crow. You have not even been with your wife and child," Thorn countered.

Back and forth, they bickered.

"What about what Koba found? She used it to contact the humans," someone else said.

Caesar hollered at them before he even made it to the ground. Instantly they all stopped, turning in his direction.

"Humans come for Raine. Do not mean us any harm."

Of course Koba was the one to come forward.

"So you say," he signed. "You know they will tell others of us. And how will those humans react?"

"I will deal with this," Caesar countered. "They will not return."

"How are Raine and Ash?" Thorn inquired.

"Ash will be fine. Raine is hurt and sick. She is not doing well."

Caesar glared at Koba, daring him with his eyes to say something negative about Raine's health.

Iris, who had been standing silently next to Thorn this whole time, spoke up. "Can I see her?"

"Yes," Caesar consented.

Iris left.

"See. The humans are helping Ash. Perhaps they can help Lake too," said Thorn.

Crow let out a loud, angry hoot. "They won't touch her. Raine won't either."

"So you will just let her die?" Thorn countered.

Caesar glanced towards his house. How was his own mate holding up?

"Why do you smell like Father, Raine?"

I gaped at Blue like a dying fish. I had learned in high school Biology that when animals mated, they released certain pheromones. So Blue could smell Caesar on me. My breath caught in my throat.

Would the others be able to smell me on Caesar?

"I don't...we didn't..."

I took a deep breath, but I could definitely feel a panic attack coming on. No matter what I told Blue, he would probably know it was a lie.

"You know I'm sick right now, Blue. And you're dad...he's been taking care of..."

I heard someone coming up. I whipped around and literally gasped in relief. It was Iris. My dear friend had come to see about me.

"Are you alright?"

I nodded as my lip started to tremble. What had I done to deserve all the friends I had made? I had thrown a big time wrench into the well oiled machine what was their existence.

And they cared. They really cared. Unlike my dumbass brother who had showed violence towards them the first chance he got.

My chest started heaving as I started to cry. Iris came to me. She reached out to me and before I could stop myself I grabbed her and hugged her. Like really hugged her. The only other ape I had even embraced was Caesar.

I sobbed harder. How had these wonderful, amazing creatures come to mean so much to me in such a short amount of time when it took me ages to open up to most humans?

I had to make it work. I had to. Who knew, maybe I could unite our two colonies. After all, stranger things have happened.

"Make them leave!"

"What about Lake?"

"What about Raine?"

Caesar wanted to scream. This was getting them nowhere. So he decided on something that would make most of the apes content. For now anyway.

"ENOUGH!"

They all stopped.

"Let the council deal with this. Tonight. And for now...let there be peace."

"I'm ok," I said as I dried off my tears. "This past week has been crazy."

"I shouldn't have let you come," said Ellie.

I let out a short laugh. "I don't think you let me come, El. I'm twenty-three."

"That still doesn't mean you were thinking straight," said Malcolm.

"Oh my god!" I threw my hands up. "Why does everyone still treat me like I'm a kid? Why?" Malcolm opened his mouth to speak, but I didn't even give him the chance. "You know who doesn't see me like that?" I pointed my finger around the room. "Every single non human person in here. It makes no friggin' sense. Was I right to come here? Jury's still out on that one. But you know what? It's a damn good thing that I did. Because if I hadn't, you probably wouldn't stand a chance asking them for help with that dam, would you? You need me to be here. Our people need me here. I need to be here too."

It was over. No more being treated like I couldn't make my own path in life, or make my own decisions. I had transcended all that.

"Because I belong here."

No one said anything. Ellie smiled at me though. I didn't know what they were all thinking, but a smile was a start. I heard movement behind me and turned. I had to do a double take. Caesar was standing there.

The look on his face was unreadable as he stared at me. I couldn't tell if it was awe or relief. I hadn't even heard him come in. How much did he hear? Did he hear me say about the dam? Oh crap. I hadn't told him about that. That was the one subject I had avoided like the plague. But now that Ellie and Malcolm were here… Would he even still trust me?

Why did I have a feeling that me and Caesar were about to be put to the ultimate test?

Caesar stood behind Raine, watching her, listening. She belonged there. She had actually said she belonged there! And what was this about a dam? Raine had never mentioned it before. Was that why she was here?

Raine had turned around at that moment. Neither of them were speaking to the other. What was going through her mind right now? Caesar wracked his own brain. Earlier that afternoon, before they had mated, Raine had told him a bit about herself, and about how she had been by herself in the woods, seen the apes, and then had come back to look for them. He had never questioned that there had been more to her story. He didn't have to. But what about that strange device that Koba had found? Had Koba been right all along?

Had Casear been wrong after all to put his trust in Raine?

"Is everything alright?" she finally asked.

Her voice sounded timid. Had she been afraid up here hearing all the ruckus? And she was on her feet too. Caesar's heart swelled with joy. He felt so much guilt at having hurt her. He just wanted to hold her. To keep her safe. Of course he trusted her.

"Yes."

But was it alright though? What if the council decided to send her away? Caesar did have the final say so, but he knew his people also had the right to decide. He wasn't a tyrant after all.

Raine beamed at him. What if he did have to let her go? Would he be able to? Would he really defy the wishes of his people just for this one human? He had to prepare her for the possibility of things not working out in her and Caesar's favor.

And then there was Lake. She was so sick. Would Ellie be able to help her? Would Crow even allow it?

Caesar had to put all of that out of his head. For the moment. Raine was his mate now. And her friends were here. Caesar could at least show them some hospitality.

Raine tore tentatively at a bite of elk. She, Malcolm, and Ellie were seated in the middle of Caesar's house. A warm fire burned in the fire pit. The others had left. Caesar and Raine hadn't spoken much after he had come back up. But he had told Malcolm and Ellie that they were welcome to stay while the council decided how to act on their presence. Raine sighed. What would they decide about her as well? She glanced over at Malcolm and Ellie. They were both eating blackened fish. They didn't have any elk like Raine did. She sighed again. Caesar was still making sure that she was given special treatment. Maybe there was hope for her after all.

"So Caesar just let you start staying out of the cage?"

Malcolm's question brought Raine out of her reverie. She had been telling him and Ellie about her adventure while they ate, leaving out certain details of course.

Raine nodded. "I started only sleeping in it at night."

"Unbelievable," Malcolm breathed.

"That is pretty incredible," Ellie agreed. "I can't believe he even let you help teach the children."

"Yeah. And that's another thing I didn't tell you about. Lake. She's been sick ever since she had her baby. But her mate doesn't even want me anywhere near her. Like he wants her to die or something."

"That's terrible," said Ellie.

I was pissed again. I should go see Lake while they were having their meeting. Of course Crow wasn't part of the council. How would he react if he saw me? Maybe I could at least go see Iris and Thorn, or check up on Ash. This was ridiculous. I was in Caesar's house, sitting just feet away from his bed, that I could just get up and crawl back into at any time I wanted, but it was like I was a prisoner all over again.

"We should at least let the human woman try to help Lake," Maurice suggested.

"Crow would never allow it," one of the others reminded him.

"Then Caesar should make him," someone else chimed in. "Lake does not just belong to Crow. She is a part of this colony. Little Twig needs his mother."

Caesar listened calmly to the debate. Every ape that spoke up had made a good point. He glanced over at Koba who had remained oddly quiet this whole time. Caesar had dreaded letting Koba join the meeting, but he was part of the council.

The debate continued until finally it was time to make the finally decision about all of the humans, including Raine.

Now was the moment of truth.

I lay in Caesar's bed, snuggled up with one of the furs, pretending it was Caesar I was holding on to. I had my eyes closed. I would be pacing the floor right now, but I was SO tired. My stomach was cramping and my back still throbbed, but none of it was near as bad. As soon as we had finished eating, I had taken another pain pill. Night was falling. Today had been the longest day. I was just starting to actually relax when I heard someone come up. Finally.

I sat up. It was Caesar. I got up so fast, my stomach lurched. Ok so maybe I shouldn't have laid down either. It took all I had not to throw my arms around him and squeeze him. What if this really was our last night together?

"How did it go?"

I could tell Caesar was upset. My stomach sank. Right away I almost started crying. Why the hell not?

"Humans must leave."

I let out a whimper. I felt like my heart was breaking. He only meant the others right? Right?

"What about me?" I pointed at myself.

Caesar couldn't look at me. "You must…go too."

I turned away from Caesar and went down into a crouch. No. Noooo! I started blubbering like a kid. I heard Malcolm say something, but didn't really pay attention. Caesar responded. I let out a wail. How was this even happening right now? What in the fuck had even been the point of all this? More talking. Talk to me, goddamn it! I felt a presence in front of me.

"They will never understand, Raine."

"Then we make them. We make them."

Caesar put his arms around me. I responded in turn, crushing him against me like he was solidified air in a suffocating person's lungs.

"What was the reason for all of this, Caesar? Was this just some kind of test? I don't understand."

Caesar started to pull away from me. I let him. He cupped my head in both of his hands and touched his forehead to mine.

"You are precious to me," he breathed. "Which is why I will not…let you go."

I jerked my head back. My tears still fell, but now I felt just as confused as I was sad.

"Wh-what?"

Caesar stared into my eyes. "You belong…here. You belong with me."

I let out a shaky breath. "What are you saying? Caesar, what are you saying?"

"I never…thought…that I could…feel again. That I could…love again."

He rubbed both of my temples. Love? I opened my mouth, but didn't know what to say. I was shocked. I was confused.

"I…love you…Raine."

I collapsed to my knees as my breath hitched in my throat. Love. Caesar loved me. I broke down into a sob again. Somehow a wave of peace came over me. So this is what Caesar had meant. He was letting me go physically but I would always belong in his heart. So this was it. I felt like I couldn't breathe. But I didn't care. The dream had come to an end. Time for Dorothy to wake up and get back to Kansas. What could I say back to him? What else except for how I really felt, especially if this was the only time I would ever be able to say it.

"I love you, Caesar." I pulled him back into my embrace again. "I love you."

I tried not to think as I carried my belongings back to meet the others. I didn't want to. I would just start crying all over again. Having Malcolm and Ellie see me like this was one thing. Carver… well you get the idea. We hadn't stopped at my shelter. It was dark by now. We had to make our way back to town. I would have to get my belongings back when we came back to see about the dam. I thought of Caesar again and I couldn't help it, a tear leaked out. I wiped it away. I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"You're doing great, kiddo," Malcolm whispered in my ear.

I let out a sigh. Of course I was. I hadn't survived the apocalypse this long for nothing. I could survive this too. We finally made it to the vehicles. I heard the doors open.

"Raine?" I heard Carver call.

Such a jerk. Well he would get what he wanted. Me away from the apes. Away from Caesar. Alexander was the first one to me. He gave me a hug.

"Finally. Away from those dirty goddamn apes."

That was Carver. I felt Malcolm's hand on my shoulder again. Stay calm, Raine, he was telling me.

"Well you know," I shrugged, "Dorothy had to wake up at some point."

I heard a few chuckles from the men. Let them laugh. Let them all laugh. As sad as I was, I couldn't wait to see what tomorrow would bring.

Before I got in the jeep, I turned back around. I could almost feel Caesar watching me in the dark. Did he miss me already just as I missed him?

Did I ever mention I'm a bit of a movie bluff? For some reason, a memorable moment from Gone With the Wind popped into my head. It was the final scene of the movie. Scarlett had thought she had lost Rhett for good. But then she remembered what a stubborn survivor she was. And then her sadness turned to joy. To hope.

'I will get him back. After all, tomorrow is another day.'

A devious grin spread across my face.

Well played, Scarlett O'Hara. Well played.