A/N- Chapter four, want some more?

Right, it's slightly sad, but this is an AU fluff fic, do you really think I'm gonna let it stay this way? REALLY, people... *shakes her head*
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.:.Alyssa*Proudfoot.:.

This is so great. Neil found a lady, someone who's relatively new here to help out with the flirting part of our plan, and I'm even doing some evil stuff to Neil behind his poor, unsuspecting, dweeby back. Let's see. Time for Alyssa's Quest! Part one: Incomplete. Time played: 0:04:38. Continue? Yes. Let's see what I have so far, shall we?
"Dear Neil,
Things have been happening over the past few days, weird things, that seem coincidental. I don't know if you're behind it or not, but I have to tell you that it's… well, it's been working. You might've noticed I've been avoiding you more than usual lately. That's because it's getting harder to control myself around you. I never thought I could say this, I may not even send this letter, but… I have to get it out somehow. I can't get you off of my mind when I'm lying in bed…" I snickered. This was turning into kink really fast. Oh, crap, here comes Aunt Jane. Crap. Crap. I'm just doing Math homework… Whistle, whistle, whistle… write, write, write… 10 to the power of 4 is 10,000...
"Hey Lyss. You okay?"
"Fine, Aunt Jane!" I chirped, grinning at her. "Where's your boyfriend?"
"Alyssa…" She started, glaring slightly. Yeah, I'm scared, Aunt Jane.
"Fine, Where's your puppy dog?"
"Alyssa." Her eyes narrowed more.
"Whoa, touch-y." I grinned at her. "You've got it bad, Aunt Jane."
"I have nothing bad. Because there's nothing bad to be had."
"You just rhymed!" I grinned. "You like 'im."
"Alyssa just give it up, alright? You're meddling in things you shouldn't be."
"Just trying to get me some cousins. Is that too much to ask?" I don't know if she was red from embarassment or anger. Probably a mix of both. I'm a horror sometimes, eh? Okay, so she left. Let's go.
"I dream about those eyes of yours. I could get lost in those eyes forever, and sometimes that's all I want to do. But what am I thinking? You probably don't feel the same way… That's why I never told you. Because I can't think of what it would be like if I lost you entirely.
Forever,
Jane." I smirked. Nothing was safe with me around. I checked over the letter. Aunt Jane's perfect handwriting. Great. All systems go! I looked over at Captain Edwards, putting the note in an envelope, scrawling "Neil" across the front, and handing it to him. He took it to stage two of Alyssa's Quest: Delivery.

.:.Neil*Fleming.:.

When I got back to my room around noon, a small white envelope stared up at me. I picked it up and inspected it. On the front, in Jane's perfect handwriting, was my name. I nearly screamed, but managed to control myself long enough to open it. I sat down on the bed and unfolded the letter, inspecting it. That was definitely Jane's handwriting. My jaw dropped the second I started reading it. Was Jane actually proclaiming her love for me? And I hadn't even started the plan Alyssa and I had thought up. Even worse, I couldn't cancel out what I had planned.
For the first part, I found a blonde woman, Sarah. She seemed innocent and yet fun loving and sneaky at the same time. She had thought what I was doing was extremely cute, and she would help in any way possible. So here I had this girl, a beautiful girl, ready to do whatever I asked when I asked. Why couldn't I fall for a girl like that? A perky, happy, lives-to-serve girl who looks like an actress? I'll tell you why. I was stuck on the down-to-earth, tells-it-like-it-is, takes-no-shit-from-anyone girl who looks like a model at first sight, but has wit that will sting like venom and strength like you would not believe who would never notice me. I closed my eyes, picturing the two side by side. Sarah would be in some skimpy pink outfit, with glitter and poofy scrunchies all over, blowing kisses at me, and Jane would make a face at her, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms over her chest as she stood clad in her uniform. And who would I pay more attention to? Jane. Who would I be more attracted to? Jane. Jane was beautiful, in that 'I don't need makeup because it clogs the pores and cuts off air flow to your brain' way. She could take my breath away just by grinning. I closed my eyes tighter, groaning slightly. I shouldn't think about this. Between what the letter said and my mental image of the goddess herself, I was forming a problem. Pushing myself off the bed, I stood, wondering if I had time for a shower.


.:.Jane*Proudfoot.:.

Neil was missing from the lunch table today, and I wondered what he was up to. He arrived a second later, and I silently noted his hair was wet. I decided not to ask him about it as he sat down across from Lyss. He grinned at me for some reason, looking up when someone called his name. I looked over casually, and saw a blonde grinning at him. She scampered over.
"Hey Neil!" She spoke, sounding like a chipmunk on helium. I winced, going back to eating my lunch. They talked about something or other, what, I wasn't sure of and didn't care about. That is, until she giggled this annoying high-pitched whine that made me cringe. I looked up and saw her, right next to him, her hand on his leg. Thankful that I had finished my lunch before looking up, I stood, throwing out my garbage and tossing my tray onto a pile before walking out. How the hell did Neil get a girl to flirt with him directly? Why the hell was I so pissed off about it? I shook my head. I didn't care what Neil did. If he was happy and had a girlfriend, it would get him out of my hair, correct? I wished I had a fight to take part in or someone to talk to.
A second later I got both, as my friend and Sergeant Ryan Whittaker walked up and looked at me.
"You okay?" he asked, frowning slightly.
"Peachy keen." I muttered.
"Uh oh. What did Neil do now?" I looked at him.
"What makes you think it was Neil?"
"Because Neil's the only one who gets you like this." Is he? Dammit… Eyes narrowed, I looked away from the older man.
"Do you know why that blonde girl is flirting with Neil?" He looked at me, quirking an eyebrow.
"No… why?" I thought up a quick excuse.
"Wondering if I missed the memo for 'All must flock to Neil' day." He grinned a little.
"'C'mon, Jane, we have to go out to the wastelands. Some cult decided to set up fort there and disturb everything, and won't let them rebuild." I smiled to myself. That's what I needed. A fight. "Go get Neil." He said. My smile faded, and I grumbled, walking back into the cafeteria. I walked up behind Neil, and when he didn't answer me I pinched the skin on his neck.
"Ow! Ow! Jane! Stop!" I let go and he rubbed his neck. "What was that for?"
"We have work to do, can you deal with your personal life later?" He hugged the girl goodbye, and I looked away.
"See ya later, Sarah."
"You stay with Dr. Sid and Dr. Ross, alright?" I said, looking at Alyssa. She nodded, and headed out. I knew she wouldn't pull anything. She was a good kid; she didn't try to break rules on purpose. I walked out of the lunchroom with Neil following me. "Who was that?" I questioned.
"Oh, that was Sarah Tucker. I went out a few times with her." I nodded, remaining nonchalant on the outside when inside I was fuming. At that girl, for trying to get *my* Neil, At *myself* for thinking Neil was mine in *any* way… For letting myself fall for him. I walked into where Gray and Ryan were waiting, with the lightest and thinnest armor on. It was made for things like these: situations where you didn't feel in any direct danger, and didn't want to be weighed down with normal armor. I shrugged mine on quickly, and followed them out the door. When we arrived there, about a handful of people in purple robes stood. On the robes were two axes, and though I wondered what they stood for, I really didn't care. I stood slightly behind Neil as Gray tried to reason with them. At first, they seemed fine with it. Then, out of nowhere, they started fighting us. I knocked a few out, but before I knew it Neil was tackling me.
"What the hell, Neil?" I looked up at him, since he was on top of me.
"One of 'em shot at you…" He said in a strained voice. He winced slightly, and before I knew it my hand felt warm. I rolled him off of me, onto his back as I inspected my hand. Blood covered it. My eyes widened.
"Shit… Neil, it's okay, just hang on, alright?" He coughed, and I tried to narrow down what damage the bullet could've done. It went through the right side of his chest, and I wondered if it could have punctured his lung. Would he be dead by now if it did? I felt frustrated. I wasn't a doctor! Where the hell were Sid and Aki when you needed them?! I pulled off the armor easily and tried not to aggravate the wound. What was that about applying pressure? Was that a good or bad idea when a bullet might still be lodged in a person? I took his hand shakily, calming the tiniest bit when he squeezed it. "Just stay with me, Neil, we're going to get you to a doctor soon." He coughed again.
"Jane, I don't think…" He gasped for air.
"Neil, shut up, alright? You'll be fine."
"If I'm not…"
"Neil, you'll be fine! You'll wake up tomorrow and annoy me once again and everything will be fine. Serge and the Captain are on their way, and then we'll get out of here." He nodded wordlessly, looking at me, his eyes fogged.
"It's really dark out for this time of day." He murmured. I didn't say a word. I knew without looking up that the sky was a bright blue and the sun was scorching hot.
"Dark and cold. Is it supposed to be this cold, Jane?" I squeezed his hand once more, unable to fight the panic as Gray and Ryan rushed over, picking him up and carrying him back to the Copperhead.

.:.Aki*Ross.:.

I feel bad for her. I do. She sits in the corner, waiting for news on Neil, feeling responsible for all of this. She keeps repeating to everyone who asks "If I had been paying attention…". It's sad. And then Alyssa sits in the other corner, feeling Neil got shot on purpose as the second half of the plan. I doubt that, since Neil's not stupid. He was unconscious now, for at least two or three days. If he didn't wake up after the third day, he probably wouldn't at all. I watched Jane and Alyssa. Ryan attempted to soothe both of them, but their depression was infectious, and no one could stand it for more than five minutes. Finally, at 8:30 (normal people time, not military), Alyssa left. Nearly an hour later, I finally got Jane to go get some sleep also.

.:.Alyssa*Proudfoot.:.

Oh God. Oh God. I made Neil get hurt, and now he wasn't going to do so much as open an eye to hear Aunt Jane confess. I shook my head, crying silently into my hands. Neil had been so fun. Amazed when I did the simplest thing on a computer, or saying "So?" and challenging me to a nice game of 'I bet you can't'. And I killed him. I killed the other half of my Aunt Jane. I sobbed into my pillow, but froze. Had that been too loud? I listened intently. I heard a sniffle from the other room, and stood, padding out to where Aunt Jane sat on the couch, her knees to her chin. She wasn't crying but her eyes were filled with tears, and I stood still in the doorway. When she didn't look at me, I whispered, "Aunt Jane?" She looked up.
"Hey, Lyss." She said, trying to sound indifferent. I flopped next to her on the couch, and she put one arm around me.
"Aunt Jane, is Neil gonna be alright?" I was crying again, but I didn't care.
"…I don't know, Alyssa. Neil's strong, though. I'm sure he'll pull through it okay." Her voice, usually so steady and sure, quivered, and I bawled into her shirt again. Even she cried silently. The only proof of her tears, however, was a single drop on my shirt. She smoothed my hair out. "You should get to bed."
"I can't." I stated. "I miss Neil." It was silent for a moment.
"Me too." she whispered. I cried myself to sleep, and I think Aunt Jane just passed out because of the stress. My sleep wasn't peaceful, though. How could it be when I had just killed a man?

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