A few more chapters. Sad, but still good. Anyway, I'm now positive that I'll be going to five camps, Mexicoon a church trip,and to Bermuda as well. My passport just came in. It's very pretty and sparkly. I had to renew it, because I haven't used it in years.

For those of you wondering, Bermuda is coral islands in the Atlantic, off the coast of North America. Technically not in the Caribbean, but close.They had pink sand from the coral. Aren't you jealous? My dad thinks we need more family time. :)

absolute power: (or her friend;)) Thanks. There will be more complication soon, of course, I promise. Lots of complication. That, and tears to accompany them. Lots of tears.

AgiVega: Yeah. Juliet's worried about Justin. It was nice of Justin too. I promise tears later on. ;)

Elyne: If you have an 105.6 average in bio, you are excused. I have permission to be doing this, because that's my grade in this class (not bio) and the teacher is exasperated with me, because I won't pay attention, and I still have that grade. Yes, Chance might have shot her, but then we wouldn't have had much of a story. I'm already tearing, thinking about finishing the story. It's always so sad. But Thursday, it will be done. In August, I'll have a new story. Be watching. ;)

Eva Evans: (if you have web there in France) Thanks. Saska doesn't get in much trouble actually, because his idea works in a strange sort of way.

Holly Rox: A laptop would indeed be nice. Oh well. Cruel parents. You know what? I have the strangest obsession with cliffs. I just noticed that yesterday. I have too many cliff scenes. Good, but too many. I wrote fifty pages of Trouble/Holly junk yesterday, but none of it would have worked. It was just for fun. I came up with an idea I might develope though. Writing for myself really helps generate ideas. The idea I had before has already changed enormously. They always do. I've written about eight different versions of this story since January, but this was the final result. The other ones skipped around in time, and were very loose, except for the scenes I particularlly (still can't spell that word right;))enjoyed.

notdapunkprincess: Good questions. Artemis is not in this story. It happens sometime after the C-cube, because Juliet is old enough to marry. Nineteen I think I said. Before, she was eighteen, you know, and in the Opal Desception, I think she still was. Who knows? Anyway, Butler's aging couldn't be reversed except in appearance. There are no fairies involved in the story, so yeah. Sorry if it's all confusing.

silverfalls: Thanks so much. What's your favorite description?

The Blazing Blade:P youself.

Trouble Kelp: Thanks, Annalise.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything except the things I own. The things I own are the things not owned by Colfer. Colfer owns everything except the things I own. The things Colfer own are the things I do not own. :) Try that one, all you people who think you're the next Artemis Fowl.

Justin felt the pain first. It cut through the haziness of his mind, hurrying him into reality. His chest felt like it was on fire. Not a pleasant sensation. And he couldn't move. Couldn't make himself move. He felt too heavy. Too old. And too tired.

"Hey. You awake?" He felt her lean over him, and her hair falling lightly his face. He had the feeling that if he opened his eyes, he would be staring at the area about six inches below her throat. And probably get scolded for it, if not worse. "You awake, Justin?"

"I'm awake," he whispered. It hurt. Like hell it hurt.

"Are you okay?"

"No." He struggled to get a grip on himself. There was no way he was going to fall to pieces in front of her. Not now. He wondered how she had dealt with the pain while swimming in the river. It must have been just as bad as this. But she hadn't cried.

Not that he'd cry, but he wanted to, for some reason. Not hard. Just enough to let go, and stop having to try so hard.

"I'm sorry. Is there something I can do for you, to make it hurt less?"

"No."

Juliet moved across the tent, and returned with water. "Try to drink something. You need fluid."

He let her lift his head, forcing down a cry of startled pain at the movement. She must have known it had hurt though. She didn't move him any further. Only teased open his mouth, and let the water trickle down his throat. "Do you want more?"

"No." He tensed as she shifted her arm to lower him. "Please— be gentle. It hurts."

"Sorry."

She sounded genuinely sorry, which surprised him a little, even though she had said it before. He still couldn't stop thinking of her as a Butler instead of a person.

The door to the tent opened, letting in cold air, and Chance stepped in. "Is he awake?"

Justin opened his eyes a crack. "Yeah."

Chance stepped inside, zipping up the door, and ducking down beside him. "How are you?"

"Not so good." He winced slightly, as Juliet moved his head higher on the pillow. She was gentle, sure; but any movement was killing now. "It hurts. A lot. But…"

Chance glanced up at Juliet. "You took out the bullet?"

"What? You wanted me to leave it in there to get infected?" Juliet glared at him, pulling a fresh needle out of her backpack.

"That's torture!"

"He wasn't awake." With a few quick swipes, she cleaned the needle with alcohol, and moved back to Justin.

Justin lay still watching her.

"Okay," she said softly. "Just a painkiller, Justin. You'll be a bit out of it, but it won't knock you out like the other one did. It helps, believe me. Just lie still. Rest."

Chance scowled at her. "How do I know that's really a painkiller, Butler? And you're not trying to kill him?"

Justin looked at him. "Leave her alone. She's not going to hurt me. The other one didn't hurt me any."

He tilted back his head for her, allowing her room.

Juliet's hands moved quickly, pressing the syringe in, injecting the painkiller, and then pulling the needle out again, and moving back. "Alright. Now lie still Justin."

"You think I'm going to get up and run in circles for half an hour? I can hardly move."

She ignored him, putting the needle away, and zipping up her backpack. Silently, she began to clean the tent.

After a moment, Chance glanced back at Justin. "How soon will you be able to move?"

"No!" snapped Juliet.

"I beg your pardon?" He turned, frowning slightly.

"I said no. He can't be moved. Not any time soon. Being up here is already bad enough. It wasn't a nick on the shoulder. It was a clean shot through his lungs. He lost a lot of blood."

"What do you think, Justin?"

Justin shut his eyes. "She right," he said finally. "I can't move, Chance. I just can't."

Slowly, Chance stood. "Alright. I'm going to double the guard. Butler, if anything happens to him, or to anyone else, you're going to get that right back, and more. And it will hurt. I promise you. I'm not happy with any of this. You shouldn't have come."

There was a shout, outside, from one of the sentries. A yelp was more like it. Of fear.

Then silence.

Quickly, Chance stuck his head out. Juliet tried to look past him, but it was hard to see, especially now that it was night, and the fire was getting lower. He didn't move for a moment.

Nothing outside moved.

"Chance. Nice to see you. Come out and talk with me."

Justin started. So did Juliet. What was Dom doing here? Inside the camp? What had he planned?

"Nice to see you too, Butler. Just a moment, and I'll join you."

He ducked back inside, drawing a gun, and handing it to Justin. "Take this. If I call to you, or if things start going bad, or if she misbehaves, shoot her. Right away. No chances."

For a moment, none of them moved. Then Justin took the gun. "Yes sir. Don't get hurt."

Chance went out, closing the tent door behind him.

Justin took a deep breath, and then pulled the safety, motioning to Juliet with a finger. "Come over here, please, and sit down. Cross your legs, and sit on your hands."

"Justin please—"

"Those are orders, Butler. Obey them please. I may be hurt, but I can pull a trigger. And it's not hard."

"Yes Justin." She bent, turning on a flashlight, and slowly sat, crossing her legs.

"No, lie down. On your back."

Juliet didn't move for a moment, but sat there, rocking back and forth, and meditating. "Can I ask you a question?"

"What?"

"Do you really think I'm going to hurt you?"

Justin pointed with the gun. "Go on. Lie down. And no, I don't think you're going to hurt me, but Chance told me to shoot you under certain conditions, and I have to obey. So lie down."

She lay down, shutting her eyes tiredly. "Fine."

"Open your mouth."

Startled, she turned her head, opening her eyes to look at him in confusion. "What?"

"Open it."

Hesitantly, she parted her lips, gagging, as he forced the gun into the back of her mouth.

Justin sighed, shifting it so that she could breath easier. "If I shoot you, it's not going to hurt. It's not going to take two shots. Just one. You won't feel it. I don't want to hurt you more than I have to."

Juliet did the only thing she could think of. She shut her eyes, and went to sleep.

Outside, Chance and Butler sat by the fire, watching each other through the flames.

"Well?" asked Chance finally, though they both knew what it was all about. "What can I do for you, Butler?"

"Give me back my sister."

"She's family. Our family now. You didn't want to give her up. Surely you can understand why we don't."

Butler gritted his teeth. "I don't think you understand."

"What don't I understand?"

It was his turn to smirk confidently now. "At your manor. The one outside of New York City. You left quite a few women and children. A little careless of you, don't you think?"

The silence that filled the camp grew to a dull roar.

Chance shifted, staring into the fire. "Tell me more about things."

"Give me back my sister, and the men there will leave. And your women and children will be fine, you have my word. Give me back my sister, and we will be gone tomorrow morning, and none of you will have gotten hurt. Besides Justin."

"And what if I tell you no?"

"Then things will happen. To your family. To you. And I expect my sister will die. But she asked, very clearly, for me to do this anyway. I'll honor that. I made her a promise."

No one moved. Butler could feel the indecision in the camp. The uncertainty. The feeling that perhaps this was a lie, and in the morning, they would find they had been made fools of.

"Tell me what happened with Justin."

Butler shook his head. "You're stalling, Chance. What happened to Justin was little more than an accident. One of my men got jumpy, and pulled the trigger. He would have shot my sister, if Justin hadn't pushed her aside. It was his choice, really. He could have used her for a shield."

"How much time will you give me, Butler?"

"Fifteen minutes. No more."

Chance climbed to his feet. "Very well then. I'll be back in fifteen minutes. Make yourself comfortable, if you can."

He turned, striding through the snow towards Justin's tent. "Justin!"

Men are so careless sometimes— they forget things when they're preoccupied. A wonderful place to leave off, isn't it? But there will be more next time. I promise. And of course, Juliet can't die, so don't flame me.

One more thing. Yes, it is possible to fall asleep with a gun in your mouth. Have I done it? No, but anything is possible, so there. (Of course, it is also possible that that statement is a complete lie, but you have to live with it.) I'm sure if you were tired enough, and had enough control, you could. And she won't freeze to death, because she only slept for a very short time, and she's wearing the sweater.