I'M SOOO SORRY IT'S BEEN SO LONG!!! Mostly my fault, until I think last moth when my laptop charger broke and I couldn't keep the battery going for more then two mins at a time, anyway, I got a new laptop (wonderful Mac G4 iBook), I won't bore you with the boring details so... here's the chapter sorry if there's some grammatical errors it's midnight new years!

Alright guys, I'm not going to respond to your reviews anymore unless you ask a question or I can think of something to say besides 'thank you, you guys rock!'! ...you all do really, you don't know how good it makes me feel to get such nice reviews!

Flaming Soul: Okie-doke! I forget weather or not I said it but Paine doesn't want to see Yuna again because she changed too much and thinks Yuna would rebuke her.

Angel Taisha: By 'IF' you do mean 'WHEN', right? lol!

Music... Errr... how about Going Under? If you have the acoustic version I recommend that but if not the original is fine. The lines I'm going under, drowning in you and always confusing the thoughts in my head sorta work with chapter. Oh and Bring me to Life fits pretty well with this chap too!

Lost Redemption...

Chapter 5

Paine sighed happily she was thinking about Baralai she had been getting to know him well, very well... It was getting harder and harder to hide it too. She had fallen in love, she didn't want to... but it had all happened so quickly... A few days ago...

"You're from Bevelle right?" Paine asked smiling, not something she did much.

"Yeah. What about you?" Paine hesitated for a moment, she didn't want to start talking about her past, she'd just have to be careful.

"Djose. What's Bevelle like?" she inquired attempting to get the conversation off of her.

"Haven't you been there before?" Baralai asked surprised, Paine had forgotten most people had been across Spira and back, she had only seen a few places.

"No.... My sister once told me a little about it, my parents took her before... never mind." Paine eyes darted around hesitantly, she had said far too much already Baralai had probably already figured out sin had killed her parents from pervious hints she'd accidentally dropped, she was growing increasingly worry but eventually she just shoved it aside and decided she was overreacting.

"You never mentioned that you had a sister."

"I don't." Paine looked down at the floor she felt strange, all her walls of reserve and protection gone. She wanted to stop talking but for some reason looking into Baralai's amber eyes—now filled with concern and confusion—made her feel weak, her hostile never-let-people-get-too-close nature was suddenly forgotten. "Sin left me alone when I was ten." she felt tears in her eyes, so she closed them to stop them from falling. Baralai stepped toward her, running the back of his hand over her cheek. Paine began to feel strange again so she backed away from him, though she could only take a few steps before hitting the wall, she could feel herself weakening like all her emotions were re-awakened by just one warm and simple touch.

"What happened?" he asked as he stepped toward her again, and she couldn't help it she spilled everything, and all the while his amber eyes pierced right through her. She finished by saying she didn't want any sympathy and he couldn't tell anyone, then the silent tears fell, she had never talked about her past before. Gently, he wiped them away, he loved her, and he knew that now without question, not because he felt bad for her, but because she opened up to him, trusted him. He placed both hands on the wall as he softly pressed his lips to hers. She felt lost in the sensation, as soon as he pulled away she kissed back him and it was at that moment she loved him too.

And that was how it happened, plain and simple, Gippal and Nooj were bound to find out soon... It was early morning, the sky was still pink and Baralai was just coming up from the lower halls of the ship. "Morning." He whispered as he bent down to kiss her, though neither of them had heard Gippal coming up the stairs.

"What have we here?" he chuckled and leaned in the door way at site of the pair. Paine and Baralai both jumped at the sound of his voice. "Well folks, look at this, Dr. P and Baralai. I had a feeling something was up between you."

"You got a death wish or somethin', Gippal?" Paine asked clenching her fist.

"No.... Cool it Dr. P!" Baralai smiled as he watched Gippal raise his hands in defense. "Mr. Technology down there, was working with radio equipment all night, we got a message from Kinok. We're supposed to head to Mushroom Rock Road ASAP, for the 'final training exercise'."

"What? Why?" Paine inquired confusedly.

"Some cave's got something in it... I don't know! Ask Nooj! He speaks fancy language, I don't" Gippal moaned in his usual whiny tone. "Here he comes now..."

Nooj was coming up the stairs, he sighed. "It our last day on the ship. We head for Mushroom Rock tomorrow. We're to explore a cave." Nooj explained with some annoyance in his voice.

Paine wrapped her arm around Baralai's shoulder and held her sphere recorder to her eye. She moved the lens around the ship, stopping on Gippal. "So Baralai, looks like you and Dr. P hit it off pretty well..." he pointed out.

"Looks like we did." Baralai said without removing his gaze from the stars.

"She's a good catch! How come puny little you gets the only woman on the team? Not fair." Gippal shook his head smirked knowing he'd tick Paine off, he just didn't seem to realize how much...

"Excuse me?" Paine asked through gritted teeth.

"Oh no! Looks like someone's getting mad!" Gippal began pretending to shiver.

Paine rolled her eyes, "grow up Gippal..." she muttered, trying not to go defensive.

"Fine, be boring. I'm going to bed." It was only dusk, both Paine and Baralai knew Gippal was up to something but both dismissed it. The hours of the night wore on until it was about midnight, at some point Paine put her sphere recorder away and that's when Gippal got an idea.

He crept out bed and snuck into Paine's room, fortunately her and Baralai were still on the deck of the ship. He grabbed her sphere recorder and flipped it on, and turned the lens so it pointed onto himself. "Hello Paine. I'm bored so I'm gonna have some fun with you sphere recorder..."

Meanwhile on the deck of the ship Paine and Baralai were casually talking. "What are you going to do when sin is gone? You've practically devoted your whole life to defeating him..."

"I was going to be a death seeker... but that seems out of the question. I really don't know... What about you what are you going to do?" Paine stared into his eyes as he thought.

"I'll probably head back to Bevelle..." He sighed, he wanted to ask Paine to come with him, but he just couldn't, now or never he told himself. "Paine... Would you like to... Would you like to come back to Bevelle with me?" Baralai held his breath waiting for her answer.

"Why not? I have no place else to go. Sure." She smiled and leaned up toward him letting her lips meet his.

"Hello, look at this?" Gippal mused aloud. Paine and Baralai both turned and glared at him the second they saw him.

"Gippal... Where did you find the sphere recorder?" Paine asked. She was still clinging closely to Baralai.

"In your room..." Gippal said in an innocent tone that did all but mach his smile.

"And why were you in my room?" Paine pulled away from Baralai, who let her go with obvious reluctance.

"So I could find your sphere recorder." He focused the recorder on Baralai now. "I'm gonna get hurt now? Oh man! I'm afraid!" Gippal chuckled and in between his laughs he muttered "Oh! I crack myself up!"

"Do you realize how immature you are?" Baralai asked, his cool tone sounded like it could cut to the bone if he wanted it to and his eyes shone with a certain spark of ice, slightly intimidating the blond sixteen-year-old.

"Sorry for being the only one with a sense of humor..." Gippal turned the recorder to show the whole ship, Paine looked fed up again. "Ooo! Dr. P is ticked off!" he taunted. "And Baralai looks like he wants to hit me now too... Why do you guys always want to hurt me?!" he moaned now starting to fear for his safety.

Paine started toward Gippal to punch him but Baralai grabbed her clenched fist. "It's probably best of no one is injured before this final training thing." though, he would have enjoyed seeing Gippal pay for being annoying... Paine sighed and lowered her fist.

"Yeah Dr. P, we all know 'Baralai knows best'!" Gippal grinned brightly as he watched Paine's anger, they were good friends, they just had some... disagreements... on the bright side, they posed as great entertainment to anyone who would listen.

"That's it." Paine started toward Gippal again.

"Uh oh..." Gippal turned the recorder off then for fear of his life.

-Chapter 5 Complete-