A/N So this is the last chapter of this story. I hope you enjoy it. Rachel was maybe a little OOC in the last chapter but I was trying to show her sensitive side. Even though she is all "fearless" or whatever she still is only human, and I thought the death of something that was vaguely human would upset her, especially if it died for her. Anyways, read on and please review!! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own the Animorphs but if I did I would make Marco die instead...(heehee)

"A single car accident caused a massive pile up on Highway 26 today. Ten people were killed and sixteen injured. The driver responsible for this horrible tragedy ironically only escaped with a few bruises. She will be tried in a court Tuesday. In other news, the bodies of three women were found who were apparently murdered by this man. Police are still trying to find his-."
Rachel turned off the TV. She didn't want to hear about any more tragic stories. She had enough of that for one night.
Why isn't Har Kley on the news? She thought bitterly to herself. Why aren't we on the news? Four kids, a bird, and an alien fighting to save the world. You'd think that would at least buy us time before the sports.
 "Rachel honey? Are you home?"
Rachel jumped a little and then rolled her eyes. Talk about bringing work home with you. She was starting to act like Marco!
"Yeah Mom, I'm in here." She called back.
"Oh good, I need some help putting groceries away." Her Mother called back.
Rachel got off the couch and walked into the kitchen. She stuck her hand in one of the bags and pulled out a jar of salsa and set it on the table. She picked it up again and looked at the label disgustingly.
"Mom, this isn't low fat." She complained, and then burst out laughing.
"What's so funny?" Her mom said smiling, the type of smile that you smile when you have no idea what's going on.
"No-nothing. Nothing." Rachel said again, catching her breath. The idea that it was the end of the world because the salsa wasn't low fat was so ridiculous. So...normal. All of the sudden Rachel stopped smiling. She felt like she was going to throw up.
"Rachel what's wrong?" Her mother asked, worried. "You look like you're about to be sick. Are you okay?"
She was so tired of being asked that.
"I'm fine. I just- look I need to go to bed, can you put the rest away?" She asked.
"Well sure. You just hurry up to bed and I'll come check on you in five minutes. Are you sure you're okay?" Her mom asked again.
"Yeah." Rachel smiled weakly, then turned and walked up the stairs before her mom could ask her any more questions. Right now all she needed was a hot bath and a soft pillow. All she needed was to forget.

Flash! The Hork Bajir's arm blade slashing through Cassie's gut. She yelps in anguish. Flash! Tobias falls from the sky like a rock. Rachel screams. Flash! Rachel's fight with the Hork Bajir. It's wrist blade coming towards her. Rachel cringes in reflex. All of the sudden a figure comes in front of her and blocks her view, but she can still hear the blade slitting the throat and the slight gag that comes from Har Kley's mouth. Rachel, stunned, cannot act until she sees the killer Hork Bajir coming towards her. She screams out in rage and slashes him again and again and again. He falls in front of her; his arm hit Har Kley's no longer rising chest. Rachel looks around wildly. No one has seen. Flash! Marco punches a Hork Bajir in the chest and narrowly dodges as its arms flail out to keep its balance. The Hork Bajir struggles to get up but Jake is suddenly on him, tearing his flesh with his strong teeth. Flash! The wrist blade coming at Rachel. The groan of Har Kley. Flash! Ax's tail blade slicing over and over again. Flash! Har Kley falling, falling to the ground. The wrist blade slashing, slashing, slashing...

 Rachel threw herself up out of the sleeping position. In a split second with years of experience she grabbed a pillow from the side of her bed and shoved it against her mouth while letting out a muffled scream. Breath pushed out of her lungs as she remembered the dream, one of by far the worst. Rachel closed her eyes briefly, trying to get rid of the images in her head. An acid taste was creeping into her mouth and an unsettling feeling in her stomach. She swallowed, and then noticed an outline of a hawk at her open window. In seconds, the dream came flooding back to her, the image of Tobias falling.... Rachel gasped and lurched forward. Her hand flew to her mouth and ran out of the room, her eyes leaving Tobias'.

He had been watching her. Tobias was glad that Rachel seemed to be sleeping; he knew she didn't get enough rest. The only thing that bothered him was how she was tossing and turning.
A groan escaped her throat and a gasp followed. Tobias flapped closer, worried. All of the sudden she sat up straight, grabbed a pillow, and screamed into it. Definitely a reflex movement. Her eyes moved around wildly for a moment but then they closed. After about ten seconds they snapped open and she seemed to notice him, but she was frowning. All of the second her face contorted into pure horror and she bounded off the bed, breaking their eye contact. Tobias flew as fast as he could and followed her through the window.

Rachel threw open the door to her bathroom and fell to her knees, barely crawling to the toilet in time to shove up the seat and force her head over the rim. She threw up and cried at the same time. After the third time, she vaguely realized two things. Tobias was in her bathroom, perched on the sink looking as sympathetic as he possibly could and the second was her mother's footsteps down the hall. Wiping her mouth, she whipped her head around to the sink.
"Get behind the shower curtain." She hissed at him. "My mom's coming."
As if called, Rachel's mom opened the door, just as Tobias flew behind the curtain. Rachel quickly shut it.
"Rachel, honey are you okay?" She paused seeing Rachel's sweaty forehead and pale complexion, then looked into the toilet. "Oh baby."
"I had a nightmare." Rachel gasped. "I can't even remember it!" A lie of course.
"Oh Rach, are you okay?"
Rachel took a deep breath in and reached up to flush the toilet. She shakily stood up.
"Yeah I'm fine Mom."
"Are you sure?" Naomi asked. "I can call the doctor in the morning..." she trailed off.
"No, I'll go to school. Just go back to bed, k?"
Her mom gently pushed the hair back from her face and nodded.
"You call me if you need anything."
Rachel nodded, and her mother left the bathroom. She went over to the sink and splashed water on her face and gurgled some water. Finally she heard her Mom's door close and she opened the shower curtain. Without a word, she opened up the door and walked out.
You okay? Tobias asked. He sounded worried. Rachel nodded, unable to answer him. She got some clean sheets out of the pantry and went back into the bedroom. She waited until Tobias came in and perched on her desk; then closed the door. She began to strip the sheets.
What did you dream about? He asked. She bundled the dirty sheets into a corner and remade the bed.
"The battle tonight. Er, yesterday." She replied, looking at the clock.
Marco said you were pretty spooked afterward, he didn't say why though.
"That's because I didn't tell him."
Oh.
Rachel sighed. "Look Tobias I really don't want to talk about this right now. I'll tell you in the morning, maybe. Now turn around."
Huh?
Rachel sighed again, this time more in disgust. "I'm going to change, dimwit."
Oh. He hopped around on the desk and she shed her clothes, changing into fresh ones. She went over and sat on her bed. Hearing the sagging springs, Tobias turned around.
Well, I can see you need sleep, so I should probably...
"Oh." She seemed surprised. "Could you, maybe, sit with me for awhile. Morph?" She asked tentatively She seemed shy.
He didn't even reply. He simply morphed into human and rummaged around Rachel's bottom drawer of her dresser until he found some old clothes of Jakes'. She was already in her bed when he turned around. She slid over and made space for him, patting the spot next to her.
Is this really happening? Tobias thought incredously to himself.
He slid onto her mattress and she burrowed closer to him. Forcing him to lie down on her pillow, and put his arm around her. Tobias wasn't really used to this kind of closeness, but with Rachel he could definitely deal.
"You okay?" He whispered. She lifted her head from his chest and smiled.
"I am so sick of people asking me that." She told him.
"Good enough for me." He smiled. Her head sunk lazily back into his chest. After awhile her breath became more even and slower. Air came out of her mouth instead of her nose. Tobias stayed as long as he could, never wanting this moment to end. Finally, after what seemed like both forever and only a few minutes, his time was up. He gently slid his arm out from under her head and let her head lie on the pillow. Leaning closer to her face, he pressed his lips against her forehead, a very out of character act for him. He then stood up and shed his clothing and immediately following that he morphed to hawk.
He was about to flap out of the room when he groaned inwardly to himself. Rachel wasn't fully covered with the blanket. So he flapped over to her bed, being careful not to disturb her, and pulled up the blanket around her shoulders with his beak. Tough work, but worth it. Then he flew out of the window and perched on her window. He watched her until the sun slowly began to rise out of the night. He watched her until dawn broke out. Her watched her, yet never noticed the slight smile on her face that stayed with her through the night. Even through out all the pain and suffering, Rachel had found her lifesaver. And finally, she slept.

THE END!

A/N YAYAY! Well that's it folks, at least for this story. Thank you SO much for reading and for those of you who reviewed. I really appreciate it! Writing this first fan fic was a wonderful experience, and you should expect to see more...In fact, I'm thinking of writing one called "I will survive." It will probably be rated R, and I'm not sure if those show up on the first page, so make sure to check it out! Please review!