Okay, here's the next chapter that I promised. It's a long 'un, so I don't think I'll update for a couple more days, but I hope that this'll sate your need for Chrono Crusade for a little while. (grins) Okay, on with the show!

WARNING: See chapter 1.

WARNING 2: Some mild Chrono/Rosette fluff in this one. Hope you like!

Disclaimer: See chapter 1, chapter 5, or chapter 16.

Return to Times of Yore
By GundamWingFanatic90
Submitted: 5 December 2005

Past, Eden, Chrono

I pushed through the fog of unconsciousness and the heat of the fever with some difficulty, finally forcing open leaden eyes to gaze upon the world around me. My head was resting on something soft, something warm and moving on either side of me. I could faintly smell… milk, of some kind, but it was overpowered by the scent of sweat and blood. Sweat and blood, I realized, that belonged to me. A sudden motion from above me and some shifting from the thing beneath my head and shoulders had my nerves on edge, but I relaxed when I heard her soothing voice.

"Ssh, Chrono, it's okay. It's me, Rosette." she said. As my eyes came into focus, I could make out her face and her blonde hair, framed by her habit and Militia uniform. "Easy, now. Your fever just broke. Rest." She set something cool and wet on my forehead, the blessed cold seeping into my skin and quenching some of the heat in my body.

"How… how long was I out…?" I croaked. She smiled a little, brushing my bangs away from my eyes.

"It's been about 2 days since you were shot." she replied softly. "We just got you out of the Astral about 4 or so hours ago." I closed my eyes in realization.

"Damn." was all I said, but she laughed, anyway, just as the door to the room opened and Aion poked his head in. As I opened my eyes and watched, his expression split into a relieved smile when he saw that I was awake.

"Chrono, you're awake!" he exclaimed. I sent a glare his way, a loud, obnoxious pounding growing in my head.

"Aion, shut up." I growled. Surprisingly, he complied, and settled for parking himself in a nearby chair. All was silent for a matter of moments, save for the soft, deep breathing of my son and daughter on either side of me. Then, Aion spoke.

"Chrono, I… I must apologize for shooting you." he said quietly, even for my ears. I blinked and glanced over to him. "I didn't mean to." There was pure regret and sadness in those violet pools of his, and I found myself believing him- there was no reason not to. "There was some kind of… other demon, or something. It looked like you would if your human guise was that of a 12-year-old. I thought it was a Pursuer, or a Legion, or something, so I shot at it with Rosette's gun… you got in the way, and…" I nodded, and he silenced himself after a second.

"I know, Aion. I know." I replied, and both he and Rosette looked down at me with a bat of the eyes. "I sensed him. That's why I ran in that direction. But I never expected you to have Rosette's gun, let alone shoot at him." I closed my eyes briefly as my lover's hand stilled. "You're… gonna have to leave soon… aren't you, Rosette?" When she didn't reply and didn't pick up her previous motions again, I opened my eyes and looked up at her, reading the affirming guilt etched into her features.

"Yes… he'll come back in a matter of days, most likely…" she responded. "Once his wounds from the Gospel's radiation heal, he'll come for me… and I'll have to go…" I felt my heart sink at the notion, but shook it off, deciding that I should enjoy the time we had left together while it lasted. We were all silent again, choosing to mull things over, gather our thoughts before we had to speak again.

"Well, I'll leave you two… four… alone, now." Aion suddenly announced, and lifted himself to his feet, heading towards the door. Rosette and I blinked at his retreating back, confounded beyond belief, but he didn't do anything more save closing the wooden slat behind him. All was silent for a few moments, save my family's breathing mingling with the sounds of my own.

"You know… sometimes, he can be kind of sweet… even if it does go against all I had previously conceived about him." she finally murmured, and I looked back up at her. She didn't say anything else, but I could sense that she wanted to speak something more.

"Rosette? What is it?" I prompted her. She eventually tilted her head down at me to meet my gaze before allowing her sapphire eyes to slide over to Aidan.

"I'm… not so sure that I want to go back, anymore." This truly stunned me to the bone.

"But… you wanted so badly to go back, when you first came here…" I began. "You would talk for hours about what your time is like. Are you sure that you wouldn't want to go back to where… where you belong…?" With a great effort and a cringe on my part, I raised my hand to rest my fingertips on her cheek, turning her head so that sapphire clashed with ruby, a mix of fire and water that was so dissimilar, and yet, one in the same. "Rosette, tell me." She took a breath, and took her hands away from my hair to grasp my trembling hand, pressing it into her cheek.

"I have a life here, now." she answered at long last. "I have you, and Aidan and Adrian, and the other Sinners and Mary, too. You're all my family, just as much as the nuns at the convent in my time. It would destroy me, to have to go back there, where… where everything is so… so… different." I felt my brow crease a bit, but I nodded in comprehension.

"If you have to go back… remember that I'll always love you, okay?" I found myself saying. She smiled a little down at me, sadness and appreciation gleaming in the tears that swam in her indigo eyes.

"I'll remember… always. And you do the same." she commanded. "And Chrono?" I nodded to show that I was listening. "Do me a favor, and don't ever forget me and Aidan and Adrian, ok?" She reached down with her free hand and gently touched my chest- over my heart- before continuing. "Keep us safe, right here. Don't ever let us go." I smiled a little, eyes half-closing as I lapsed partially into thought.

"I'll keep you safe in my heart, and I will die before I let you go." I looked up into her eyes. "I promise you, with God as my witness." Her smile broadened a little, and she leaned into my hand, turning her head to kiss my palm lightly before allowing my fingers to curl around her cheek again. I soon found myself slipping into slumber once more, as she began to sing. However, a thought wormed its way to the forefront of my mind, and I opened my eyes, just as she finished her song.

"Rosette?"

"Yeah?"

"What about your lifespan?" She smiled again.

"Shader found a way for the Astral to flow both ways through the Watch." Those words were ones that I had been dreaming of hearing since I first found out that her time was nearly up, and I sighed in relief.

"Thank God…" I murmured, and then I knew no more.

There's chapter 21 for y'all. Hope you liked it. (winks) Please review! I hafta go, but I'll update again soon! Bye-bye!

-Fanatic