Songs I listened to while writing this chapter:

Who We Are by Fireflight

Kruger Suits Up by Ryan Amon

Battle Cry by Audiomachine

Blackburn by 2WEI

Machine by Amber Run

Heaven & Earth by Ryan Amon

Live Forever by Little Big Town

I Want You by Sara Evans

I was worried that I was putting too many romance scenes in the loops, but then I read John's review asking for as many romantic scenes as possible, and I stopped worrying about it :) I added a scene in here just for you, John; I hope you like it :)

2020

Heathrow Airport Base/Ministry of Defense

Reset 255

Luke was looking at General Brigham and hoping that the man was believing him. The look on his face said otherwise, though. Another failed attempt.

When Brigham called for security, Rita shot Luke in the head.

Reset 256

Luke was tired of this. He was tired of it all. He felt more and more mechanical every day. He went through the emotions as emotionlessly as possible.

But he was getting very pissed off with General Brigham.

"It's not working," he said to Rita now, pacing. She was standing with her arms crossed, watching. They were in the training arena alone.

"What all have you tried?"

"Everything. I even tell him what's going to happen before it happens, and he doesn't care."

"Hmm."

"I say we sneak in there at night and steal it from his safe."

"You know how to break into a safe, do you?"

"I can figure it out."

"You'll never get in there. There's too much security."

"Tell me what to do," he said to her, stopping and staring at her. He dropped his arms by his sides. "How do I make him say yes?"

"Well, I'd suggest flirting, but I don't think he'd go for that," she said with a slight twinkle in her eye. He gave her an unimpressed look back.

"Are you saying I'm ugly?" he asked.

"I'm saying the photo of his wife and kids on his desk has something to do with it."

"Ha, ha," Luke said sarcastically as she smirked. "I don't see you trying to seduce him."

"He's not my type."

"And what is your type?"

"We are not going down that rabbit hole right now," Rita replied.

"You didn't actually agree that I'm ugly," he pointed out. "Am I still your type?" He couldn't help himself.

"Come on, Luke," she said, exasperated. "Think harder."

"I can't," he said. "I'm out. I have no idea what to do in order to convince him to give me the stupid thing."

"Have you said please?"

Luke pressed his lips together, annoyed and curious as to why she was intentionally provoking him. She was biting back her smirk as he looked at her.

"I need some air," he said, walking away from her. She trotted behind him. "Excuse me, I meant alone."

"It's a free country."

"I need some space."

"I'll stand eight feet away from you."

"The rest of the sentence 'I need some space' is, 'without you in it,'" Luke informed her. She snorted.

"Too bad," she said. "You are stuck with me."

"Oh yea? Tell me why you left me 17 years ago then," he said, knowing that would make her leave him alone. A shadow crossed her face, and he noticed a mix of emotions in her eyes suddenly.

"You have twenty minutes," she said, moving away from him. Luke watched her go, wishing he knew the reason. It was obviously painful by the look of it. He hated that he had caused that pain for her. He wanted to make it right, but without knowing what he'd said, it would be near impossible.

...

Rita gasped for air once she was alone. She put a hand against her upper chest just under her throat and curled her fingers around the chain around her neck. Memories swirled in her mind as she tried to stop from drowning under them.

"Sergeant Vrataski?" Mei said, stopping in front of her. "Are you okay?"

"Um, yea," Rita answered. "Just needed a moment." Mei surveyed her carefully for a moment.

"It's okay to be scared," she said softly after a moment. Rita knew she was referring to the war, but she couldn't help but think about that concept being applied to her relationship with Luke.

"I'm fine," she said unconvincingly, and thankfully, Mei let it go. The young woman left her alone, and Rita raked a hand through her hair. Her mind went back to her safe place: riding Willow through the grass. Her heart clenched, and her throat grew tight. Thinking about her first best friend was very difficult most times.

She couldn't help but think about the night she'd lost Willow. All these years later, she still didn't understand why it had to happen that way. She didn't understand why anything in her life happened the way it did or why she'd lost people the way she had. Out of anger, she swiftly punched the side of the building and then gave a slight whimper as the pain instantly spread up from her hand to her wrist and then her arm all the way to her shoulder. She held that arm against herself tightly and breathed through it.

"What did it ever do to you?" Luke asked, startling her and making her see him. His arms were crossed.

"I thought you needed space."

"I took my allotted twenty minutes. I went looking for you when it ended."

"Well, maybe I need space now," she shot at him, feeling annoyed suddenly. He moved in closer, much to her chagrin. Even worse, he took her wounded hand in his and ran his thumb across her bruised and scraped knuckles. The sensation elicited warm feelings inside, feelings she'd given up trying to pretend didn't exist over the years.

"You know what happens when you try to hold it all inside," he said matter-of-factly, and she knew all too well. He'd witnessed it firsthand, in fact.

"I don't need shrink advice right now..."

"No, you just need a friend," he said simply, and she met his eyes, hating the burning feeling of tears behind her eyes. He didn't say anything as he held her gaze. His hazel eyes conveyed care and concern, and she wondered what had transpired between them after so many resets.

"We need to go," she said. She pulled her hand from his grasp, and he didn't fight it. She squared her shoulders and went to find a vehicle. He followed without a sound.

...

Luke was quiet as Rita drove. He knew she'd been thinking about Willow. He remembered that night vividly. Seeing Rita hurt and having to put down one of her last links to her mother had crushed him inside. He didn't think she realized how much it had hurt him too. He definitely knew she had no idea that he'd gone for rides on Willow on the trails when she wasn't home. He'd learned how to ride on his own after his first time and had grown fond of Willow's grace and calm demeanor. He knew why Rita had used her as her safe place. It had been one of his too. His first safe place, though, was Rita.

"Do you ever wonder what would have happened if my father hadn't taken you in?" Rita asked out of the blue. Luke was surprised. She didn't normally talk about her father very much in the resets.

"Yea," he answered after a moment. "But I don't like to think about a life where I never got to meet you." He looked at her, but she studiously avoided looking at him.

"Even after all this time," she said after a long pause. "After what I did, you still feel that way?"

"Yes," he answered truthfully, softly. He saw her grip the steering wheel tighter and knew she was fighting something inside. She glanced out the window to the right and then back to the front. They were nearing the building.

"I find that hard to believe," she said.

"I know I'm not alone," he countered, reaching to slip a finger under her chain on her neck, and she stiffened. "Why do you still wear it, Rita?"

"Habit," she answered.

"I don't think so."

"Don't read more into it than you should," she warned. She parked and stopped the car before finally looking at him. "Come on. You gotta get your sweet talk on."

He sighed.

Reset 258

Luke was too annoyed to deal with Brigham today. Instead, he watched Rita interact with her team in the afternoon. They were training together, and Harvey was getting a beat down from Kamden.

"Two for nothing!" Pete called out when Kamden threw Harvey off onto the ground hard.

"I think you should quit while you're still able to walk," Rita told Harvey as he wheezed and struggled back to his feet.

"I think Kamden is cheating," Harvey insisted.

"How the hell am I cheating?" Kamden asked incredulously, spreading his arms out wide. "It's sparring."

Luke watched them continue to bicker, staying hidden in the shadows. Rita and Pete were standing side by side. Rita had her arms crossed.

"Oh," Pete was saying now as Harvey got Kamden into a headlock once they got going again. "Oh, oh, oh, ooohhhh!" Kamden swiftly freed himself and threw Harvey down onto his back again. "So close, mate!"

"Aaaagghh," Harvey groaned from the floor. "I'm out."

"Ha, HA!" Kamden crowed, lifting his fists up in the air. "Whoo!"

"Alright," Harvey said, sitting up slowly. "Don't rub it in."

"You said I couldn't beat your ass," Kamden retorted. "I'm rubbing it in. Three. For. Nothing." He did a dance as he spoke. Pete was laughing while Rita turned away to leave them. Luke ducked out of sight as she passed, and she stopped abruptly, turning to look in his direction. When she saw nothing, she left. Luke counted to fifty before leaving as well.

...

Rita was sitting alone in the mess hall later that night. She couldn't sleep. Not only was she stuck thinking about her father and missing him terribly, she was thinking about the battle tomorrow morning, and she just knew it was probably her last one. Her luck was running out. Knowing this was making her a bit melancholic.

Footsteps made her look up to see Luke Wright standing in front of her. Her heart lurched. She'd wondered how long it would be before he showed up here. When she'd heard he was there, she'd wondered how long it would be before they ran into each other. It looked like today was the day.

"Luke," she said almost wearily. "What're you doing here?"

"I thought I'd take a crack at saving the world," he answered, sitting down across from her. She felt so many things in that moment just by looking at him. To her dismay, she suddenly felt like crying. She was just so tired. All the fight in her had suddenly just abandoned her.

"I guess I always knew we'd be together again for the end," she commented, shifting her legs under the table.

"I couldn't let you have all the fun," he teased.

"I used to think we could win this war," she said quietly, resting her head in her hand. "I don't think we can anymore." It surprised her how real she was being with him right now, especially after not seeing him for so long. He'd caught her off guard, though. She was tired and not thinking straight. Also, she'd had a running inner dialogue with him since the day she'd left.

It's okay to forgive, Rita.

Travis again. She couldn't stop hearing his voice, especially at night. She had forgiven Luke, though. She'd forgiven him a while ago. She couldn't be angry at him forever. She just couldn't go back to him either. It was too late.

"Come on," he said, surprising her. "Let's go."

"Where are we going?"

"Just come on," he said, getting up. She hesitated, but she wasn't going to sleep anyway, and that teenage/young adult version of herself wanted to see what he had planned. She'd missed him so much after all.

She stood, and he held out his hand. She looked at it, curious. It was puzzling her how normal he was being with her. It was like he didn't care that she'd left him like that, like he'd already talked to her about it.

Wait a minute...

"Luke," she said, looking at him intently. "Have we done this before?"

"No," he answered. Something in his eyes said otherwise, though.

"Can you reset the day?" she asked, growing eager despite trying not to. Then she felt annoyed. Why hadn't he told her if he could reset the day? They could bloody well win this war if he could!

"Would you believe me when I say that I've died so many times that I just want the bloody night off?" he asked. "I just want to be with you."

"Luke..."

"We can go back to dying all over again when I reset," he promised. "I just need this, Rita. Please. For my sanity."

She looked at him, knowing how he felt. There had been a few times when she was resetting where she'd needed a break. She'd spent those times with her team and laughing. Then she lost Travis, and the hurt and guilt never went away.

She bit her lip. What all had gone on between her and Luke in his resets? She suddenly didn't care. Despite her inner core saying they should stay and plan how to win the war, she wanted to give him this request.

"Okay," she said. "Let's go."

...

"Where are we?" Rita asked as they stepped through the woods. Luke had brought her to his old neighborhood; she'd been a little disgruntled about leaving the base, but then she realized it wouldn't matter since he'd reset and try again. She hadn't said much on the car ride there, but he knew she was tired.

"I used to run through these woods so often that I could do it blindfolded," he answered, sidestepping a branch. She followed him carefully.

"You lived around here?" she asked.

"My house was up the hill. It's gone now, though."

"Oh."

He stopped when they reached a group of three trees, and he looked up at the tree house that was still there.

"Ladies first," he said, gesturing.

"I don't think so," she replied, shaking her head. "I'd rather you fell through it first."

"Alright then," he agreed, laughing. He climbed up, testing out the boards when he reached the top. Once she saw it was stable, she climbed up next.

"Someone maintained this," she noticed.

"Probably some other kid in the neighborhood," Luke reasoned, looking around. He couldn't stand up in it now. He remembered when he could, and it made him feel really old suddenly.

"Did you bring your little girlfriends here to make out?" she asked, teasing him.

"No," he answered. "I didn't even have friends when I lived here."

"So I really was your first best friend, wasn't I?" she asked.

"That's right," he answered, looking at her. She looked thoughtful. Then she looked sad.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I don't know what is going to happen to either of us...if we're even going to get out of this war alive, and I just want you to know that I'm sorry." Her demeanor was different tonight. Luke noticed that right away when he saw her in the mess hall. Sometimes she was like this in a reset. Other times she was annoyed or tough. He didn't know what altered her mood each time. Seeing her look defeated and down triggered his worry for her, the same worry he'd had for her a long time ago.

"I'm sorry too," he replied. They sat there looking at each other, and he just wanted to hold her close.

"You never really did talk much about your childhood," she commented a bit later. "Not in detail anyway."

"There wasn't much to say. Mum and Johnny trained me to kill people," he said. "That's all I knew. Well, except for when my biological father tried to save me. Then I met you, and I just wanted to leave my history in the past." He still thought about Brendan often. He wished he hadn't gotten so angry all the time at his father for kidnapping him and trying to give him a normal life. He wished he could have saved him.

"Did you know about Brendan from the beginning?" she asked after a moment.

"I figured it out before too long," he answered.

"It must have angered you," she said, looking at him now. "To find out the truth about him had been kept from you."

"It did for a while, but I got past it."

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"It's okay."

"It's not okay. It wasn't fair," she said, growing emotional. "You got ripped off time with him. You could have had a relationship with him. Everything could have been so different."

"It is what it is," he told her, reaching to take her hand now. "I accepted it. It's okay, really. And if everything in my life really had been different, I never would have met you, and I wouldn't trade that for anything."

"I just keep thinking about everything...the past, my dad, and time and choices," she said, her voice thick. "I want more time with him. I want more time with you. I just...I wish I could redo it all. I really do."

"I know," he said softly. They'd had this conversation before. She clenched her jaw and looked away, fighting the tears. When she got a grip on herself, she cleared her throat and gave him a tight smile.

"Now what?" she asked. "We fight tomorrow and die? You reset the day? Are we close to anything?"

"It's a work in progress," he answered, "but I don't want to talk about it anymore."

"What do you want to talk about?" she asked.

"I don't want to talk at all," he admitted. Her face showed that she understood what he was saying, and there was relief there along with anticipation.

"Then let's stop talking," she said.

...

Rita was done with being emotional right now. Luke's past always made her feel that way and triggered her own issues of loss, even though she did not know much about his past outside of what he'd told her, which was minimal. He didn't like to talk about it, and he never talked about his time in Australia with his biological father. Honestly, what happened to Luke in his childhood just seemed so unfair to her, but she'd always wished he would have shared more with her to get it off his chest.

Then there was what she'd done to him. That made her feel even worse, but in this moment, he didn't seem to care. She imagined they must have had the same conversations over and over. He was done with them too.

She let him kiss her and ease her down onto her back underneath him. After dreaming about it and longing for it for years, her brain was spinning that this was happening again. Her fingers remembered his skin vividly, noticing some new scars as she ran them across his body. It made her wonder how he'd gotten them, what all she'd missed since she'd been gone. She'd forgotten how good he was at kissing her, releasing a soft groan here and there when he got intense with it.

His tenderness made her almost want to cry. He'd always been gentle with her in this way after knowing everything she'd endured (not that things didn't get intense or almost frantic at times depending on the mood). He was always considerate about things too, even now as he reached to move her discarded jacket under her head so she wouldn't bang it against the wooden floor. She pulled him against her as close as she could, feeling his heart beating against her skin.

"Luke," she whispered against his face. "I love you, Luke." His lips found hers again, his fingers tracing her skin and finding all her favorite places the way he used to. It felt like yesterday they'd done this. Hearing him be as vulnerable as she was made her feel not so alone. She wanted it to last forever, but she knew it couldn't.

As they lay still on the floor afterwards, his face pressed against her neck, Rita mourned all the time lost.

"Rita, I can't even begin to tell you how much I love you," he said, kissing the spot just under her ear gently. She held him against her, not wanting this moment to ever end.

"I never stopped thinking about you," she said.

"Me either."

She smiled as he nipped her shoulder before moving to lie on his side next to her. She rolled onto her right side, facing him, as he ran his fingers up and down her left side slowly.

"How did you turn out to be so good?" she asked, catching his hand with hers and playing with his fingers. "After everything you went through?"

"I think I could have been a different person," he answered truthfully, "but honestly, it was you that kept me wanting to care about people. You are what made me good, Rita."

"I'm flattered," she said with a small smile. Then she sobered up, knowing her leaving would have wrecked him.

"I did get lost for a while," he said, reading her mind. "I almost went down a dark path, but then I came back because I didn't want to be that person anymore."

"Is that why you were cage fighting in Jersey?" she asked, unable to help herself.

"Yea," he answered. "I thought it would somehow make up for every person I'd killed if I let myself get beat up on a regular basis. I also thought it would be my punishment for everyone I let down."

She almost told him about what she'd heard him say about her, but she didn't want to ruin this moment that was happening. If he wasn't bringing it up, then maybe she shouldn't. Maybe he already knew and was done processing it. Maybe he didn't care.

"Where are we on the whole resetting the day thing?" she asked instead. "Do we know where the Omega is?"

"We are trying to convince General Brigham to give me the device in his safe that will tell us where it is."

"Oh," she said, surprised. Then she frowned. "Why are we doing that?"

"Because the vision I originally got was a fake. They were just trying to flush me out to get the power back."

"So...so that means..." Rita trailed off, feeling sick. The whole time she'd been thinking she was going to kill that damn thing and win the war, it hadn't even been real. Travis had died for nothing.

"You didn't know," Luke said softly, touching her cheek. "Don't blame yourself for that."

She couldn't help it. She felt immense guilt all over again. She sat up and dressed quickly.

"Rita," he said, but she was already leaving. She hit the ground hard as she skipped the last two wooden rungs in the tree. She walked fast, breaking into a run before too long. She had no idea where she was going, but she didn't care. Tears stung her eyes as she ran. Travis had died in vain. She had led him to his death. She reached a clearing and stopped, feeling disoriented. She turned in slow circles, grabbing her head with her hands and trying to breathe. The rain started to fall again, and she just had enough of it all. It was too much pain. She fell down to her knees.

And she screamed.

...

Luke hadn't been sure how to even find her until he heard her scream. He tore off in the direction of where it was coming from, and he broke through the brush to find her on her knees bent over and sobbing. He said nothing as he knelt down next to her and rested a hand on her back. Her body jerked with sobs under his palm. The rain had them soaked through in no time.

"Rita," he said.

"I pretty much killed him," she managed to say.

"Travis."

"Yes," she said, breaking down again. It hurt Luke so much to hear her anguish in those cries. He swallowed, trying to keep his own emotions in check.

"You didn't kill him," Luke tried.

"I led him to his death!" she shouted, twisting to look at him. "If he hadn't been following me, he would still be alive!"

"You don't know that," he argued. "You don't. He might have died fighting while you were off doing your thing."

"He wouldn't have," Rita said, shaking her head. "I got really good at keeping my team alive before running off to find the Omega. He would have been safe with them. He'd be alive today." She started to cry again, and he pulled her into his arms, sitting on the ground so he could hold her properly.

"I just want all this pain to end," she said into his chest. "Please make it stop, Luke. Make it stop."

He kept holding her, not knowing what to say. He held her until it stopped raining and the sky grew light. She had eventually stopped crying and fell asleep against his chest. He knew he had to reset. He really didn't want to.

"It's gonna be okay," he said her, his voice low as she still slept. "I'll die as much as it takes to make everything okay, Rita. I promise." He held her for a while longer until he knew he had to start over.

Then he pulled out his gun and reset.

Reset 262

Luke stood and looked into General Brigham's eyes. He could feel it. Brigham was going to say yes.

Then it turned.

"Utter nonsense," Brigham said stiffly. He went to call for security when Rita stood up. Luke turned his head to look at her, and she was aiming a gun at Brigham's face.

"Rita, no," Luke started.

"Open the damn safe," she ordered. "Now." Brigham picked up the phone in response.

And Rita shot him in the head.

Luke's eyebrows shot up as he watched Brigham's lifeless body hit the floor with a heavy, yet satisfying, thud.

"Well," Luke said, "remind me not to piss you off."

"Prick," Rita muttered. Pounding footsteps outside came towards them. Luke resisted laughing. This was the first time she'd shot Brigham. If they didn't know that Brigham would be brought back to life, it would have been horrifying, and Rita would have been reacting much differently. As it was, she was treating it almost like a game, which they had to do sometimes in order to not lose their minds over it.

He looked at her standing there, and he marveled again at her mood change. She'd been angry at him the last two resets and had made it obvious she was. He had no idea what triggered the anger.

The door blew open, and Rita turned to shoot him but got shot in the arm first. She cried out, and Luke panicked. He dove for the gun, only to get tackled.

"Rita!" he shouted. He couldn't get to the gun. If he didn't get killed...

Rita kicked and punched her attackers with her good arm. Luke was being dragged out into the hall, and he did his best to slow the process down. He had four men hauling him out, though. He saw Rita get tasered, and she cried out as she went down.

"RITA!"

This was not good. He struggled and tried to get free of the vice grips on his arms. They were taking him to a car. Someone was trying to cuff his arms behind him.

No way in hell.

He smashed his head into the first person holding him, getting enough room to attack another one. He managed to get an arm free and grabbed the pistol out of the third person's holster and shot himself in the head.

Reset 263

Luke woke up with a gasp. At first, he was feeling shaky from the close call. Then he felt pissed. He got up and dressed and marched to find Rita. He waited for Mei to leave before going in and starting the confrontation.

"What the...?" Rita started, but he cut her off.

"You almost blew it," he said angrily, jabbing his finger in the air towards her.

"Excuse me?!"

"I almost didn't get to reset myself because of the little stunt you pulled," he went on. "It was pure luck I am even still here doing this!"

"Luke, stop yelling at me," Rita ordered, crossing her arms and glaring at him. "What are you on about? What do you mean by reset? Wait, you can reset?!"

He knew he had to fill her in before he could continue telling her off, so he did very quickly. Once she understood, she drew herself up to her full height.

"Obviously, he had it coming," she said, defending herself.

"Don't do it again," he said sharply. "I can't afford to lose this because you're taking out your temper on him."

"I don't believe that would be the reason..."

"Oh, please," Luke cut her off, feeding off her anger. It fueled his own anger at not getting through to Brigham. "You're pissed at me so you take it out on either me or some other unfortunate soul or a Mimic when it strikes your fancy. It's me you're really mad at, so come on, let me have it!" He pounded a fist against his chest for good measure, and she glared at him.

"We don't have time for childish games," she shot back.

"You're the one acting childish," he retorted. They were about two feet from each other now and both breathing heavily. Then, she stuck out her tongue.

He couldn't help it. He broke out into laughter. Small at first, but then it grew louder. Rita did her best to contain her chuckles, but a few came out regardless.

"You are straight up crazy, you know?" he said after calming down finally.

"Crazy beats big every time," she responded.

"Alright. I'm going to eat something now."

"Fine."

They walked out side by side, and Luke saw different soldiers giving them looks. After all, why was a Private hanging out with a Sergeant?

"Eat fast," Rita ordered. "We don't have all day."

"Okay, Mother."

She went to stomp on his foot, and he dodged her, chuckling. He resisted reaching to pinch her behind like he used to do. She seemed to sense this as she pulled out of the way out of reflex.

"We can't go until this afternoon anyway," he said. "Any other time doesn't work."

"Fine."

She went her own way. Luke was still chuckling to himself as he got himself some food and sat to eat. The J-Squad was staring at him, having seen him enter with Rita.

"What?" he asked them, ripping off a piece of bread with his teeth and chewing.

"You're pals with the Full Metal Bitch?" Ford asked, astounded.

"Are you sleeping with her?" Kimmel asked next.

"Mind your manners," Luke instructed, ignoring the others' comments and questions. He looked over at Rita, who was now sitting with her teammates. She caught his glance, and it was like her first day of high school all over again. Luke remembered how scared she'd looked and uncertain about everything. Today, she looked tough and hardened, but the fear was still there hidden in the shadows. Someone who knew her very well could see it plain as day.

Someone like Luke.

...

Rita let Luke pull, push, and move her wherever she needed to go as they made their way through the building towards Brigham's office. She didn't entirely hate it. The feel of his hands on her still brought the same kind of comfort and charge she once received from him before. Once inside Brigham's office, Luke gave her a warning look to remind her not to shoot Brigham if he said no. She gave him a bright smile back. She wasn't making any promises.

She had to admit, he was very good at his speech. It looked like Brigham was going to cave when his resolve hardened.

He called security.

Luke looked at Rita, and she got to her feet, aiming the gun at Brigham.

"Rita, no," Luke said. "No, no, no!"

She smirked at him again. Let him sweat. She shot Brigham and then swung her gun towards Luke, who was glaring at her.

"See ya later," she said with a smile. Then she shot him.

Reset 264

Luke woke up laughing. Rita just couldn't help herself, but that was why he loved her. He did the day over again and had the same result: no device.

Live. Die. Repeat. It was getting really exhausting.

Reset 271

Luke woke up feeling mentally heavy. He walked slowly out of his barrack. He knew he couldn't do this today. He couldn't try and convince Brigham because he was having a hard time being convincing.

He needed a break again.

He did all the things like normal around the base. He saw Rita see him and give the same look. He cleaned his guns and waited for her to find him, which she did.

"What the bloody hell are you doing here?" she demanded, coming up to his elbow. He always had to work to keep from laughing because he knew that she'd known he was there the moment he arrived (she'd told him once). It was no surprise to her, but he guessed maybe she just didn't know what else to say to him.

"I came here for you, Rita," he answered simply. The answer took her off guard, and she looked unsure of what to say next for a moment.

"I know you don't mean that," she started.

"I do," he stopped her.

"You came here to fight because you never back down from a fight," she insisted.

"That too, but my main reason was you."

"Why?"

"Because I love you," he answered simply, "and I wanted you to know that before we all died."

She stood there blinking and speechless. He decided to be bold and moved in a bit closer, reaching for the chain around her neck and sliding it through his fingers until he'd pulled it all the way out and held it the way he used to all those years ago.

"This tells me that some part of you still loves me too," he said softly. "Because why else wear it?" She was motionless, just watching him. He said nothing else, waiting, and he wasn't disappointed.

She stepped into him, grasping the back of his neck to hold him in place as she claimed his mouth with hers. He let go of the chain and put his arms around her to hold her close. At one point, he lifted her up and set her on the work table, pushing his rifle aside to make room as she unbuttoned his shirt. He reached and pulled down the zipper of her coat.

"Ahem," a voice coughed, making them lurch apart.

"Farell," Rita said, her voice a bit strangled sounding.

"Sergeant Vrataski," Farell said back. He said nothing else as he stood there looking at both of them. Luke slowly stepped back as Rita slid off the table and did her best not to look embarrassed.

"Thank you, Private," she said to Luke as she went to walk out. Luke waited for Farell to say something about it as the man continued to stare at him and his untucked, halfway unbuttoned shirt. Luke pretended that wasn't the case and held his head high.

"You got balls, son," Farell chuckled finally, shaking his head and walking away. "Don't give her too long of a wait or she'll probably change her mind." He disappeared behind the shelves, and Luke, not wanting to even try to understand what just happened, turned to chase after Rita.

...

Rita walked through the rain wondering what the hell was wrong with her. She hadn't seen Luke in years and she's suddenly making out with him?! It was like she'd completely lost her head. And Farell catching them...well, that was the most embarrassing thing ever.

But oh, it had tasted amazing. Kissing Luke again had been only in her dreams, and they were never as good as the real thing. She'd missed that so much. She just didn't know why she started it up after thirty seconds of reuniting.

Well, she did know. It had been in the way he'd told her he still loved her. It had been the way he'd noticed she still loved him. That kiss had felt like their first kiss all over again. She wondered if he was thinking about it too. She blushed, remembering.

"Rita!" his voice called through the rain, making her turn to see him jogging towards her.

"No push ups?" she asked, knowing Farell loved to dish out as many push ups as possible.

"Not today," he answered, coming to a stop next to her. He was a little out of breath.

"I don't know what happened back there," she confessed.

"It's okay," he said. "It doesn't have to make sense."

"It shouldn't have happened at all..."

"Why not?"

"Because! I...I hurt you," she said, surprising herself. She hadn't expected that to come out of her mouth.

"You did," he confirmed, taking her hands in his, "but I still love you. I never stopped."

"How could you still love me?" she asked. "I abandoned you. I..." She stopped abruptly, her brain spinning.

"Because it doesn't matter where we run or how far we go," he replied slowly. "We always find our way back together. Even if you don't want to love me like that, you're still my best friend, and I'll never tell you to leave when you come back."

"Even if I did stab you in the heart?" she asked, whispering.

"Mistakes can be forgiven," he said simply. He was sliding his hands up her arms to hold her shoulders now. She felt a couple of tears leak out and mix with the rain on her face. "I hope mine can be, whatever it is I did to you."

"Luke," she said.

"I know you won't tell me, but I still hope you can forgive me."

"I...I do..."

They looked into each other's eyes, and she hoped he knew she meant it.

"I'm still yours," he said softly. "If you still want me."

"I still want you," she whispered. He kissed her tenderly, and she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. Tomorrow, they were all going to die anyway. She had no doubt about that. As he lifted her up onto a retaining wall behind one of the buildings that was private, she had no regrets.

...

Luke was sitting with her on his lap and her head on his shoulder afterwards. He smoothed her hair out of her eyes with his fingers, glad the rain had finally stopped.

"Do you remember how pissed Dad was when he found us kissing?" Rita asked.

"I remember getting punched in the face," Luke answered, chuckling. He felt his jaw twinge at the memory.

"He was so angry," Rita continued, running her fingers up and down his chest slowly. "Then I heard him crying in his room after."

"You did?"

"Yea. I never asked why. I think I assumed it was about Mum."

"He never wanted you to fall in love with someone like me, someone like him," Luke said, and she lifted her head to look at him.

"I guess I was all that he had, wasn't I?"

"Yea."

"Well, that's not entirely true. He had you too. I think he looked at you like a son."

"Son-in-law I hope."

Rita gave a huff and shoved him playfully, making him laugh.

"You know what I mean," she said.

"I do."

"I really miss him," she said quietly.

"Me too."

"Could you imagine him here right now? He'd be incredibly pissed off at what was happening with the Mimics."

"That he would be."

"I hope he's with Mum," Rita said softly. "I hope they're together again. I know he loved Carol in his own way, but Mum was his true love. That was obvious. I sometimes feel like he married Carol just so I'd have a second mother."

Luke said nothing as he ran his hand down her arm slowly, repeatedly. Eventually, they had to part ways, and Rita gave him one last kiss that felt more like a goodbye than anything. He knew she thought they were going to die tomorrow.

"I'll see you tomorrow," he told her.

"Maybe. Maybe not," she said. "It's a big beach." He reached for her holstered gun and took it. "What are you doing?"

"See you soon," Luke answered, putting the gun to his head. Her eyes widened in shock.

"Luke!"

Reset 272

Luke woke up remembering the feel of her in his arms. He held onto that moment for as long as he could until he had to get up. He got back to the grind of things.

When he found Rita alone in the training room, he couldn't help himself. He crept up behind her as she was putting on her jacket; she appeared lost in her thoughts.

"Alakazam!" he exclaimed by her right ear.

"SHIT!" she shrieked, turning around to punch him directly in the face. He caught her fist easily before it connected.

"Oo, madam! Ma-dum!" he said, still imitating Merlin, as she went to hit him again after realizing it was him.

"Luke?! What the hell?!" She looked incredibly annoyed, but he did not fail to see the corner of her lips twitching with a smirk.

"You see? I'm an ugly, horrible, grouchy, old man!" he finished, reaching to poke her ribs now with each word. She smacked his hand away.

"Knock it off," she ordered, failing to hide the laughter in her voice.

"You love it," he commented, grinning at her now. For a moment, it appeared that she was almost going to either properly laugh or smile back, but something passed through her eyes then, and he knew what she was thinking about. He hadn't even thought about that being brought up, and he felt bad. He also felt sad thinking about it suddenly.

"Hey, I'm sorry," he said.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, trying to get back her sergeant voice. He cleared his throat, sensing she wanted to move on from it, so he'd indulge.

"Well, love," he said, "I've been resetting the day 272 times as of today, and I need your assistance to get General Brigham to hand over the device that will tell us where the Omega is. Kindly stop trying to punch me in the face and refrain from killing me until the timing is appropriate."

"You can reset the day?" she asked, stunned.

"Keep up, will you?" he said, starting to walk away. She hurried after him, and he smiled at her questions.

It was time to go see General Brigham again.