A/N: Wow! I didn't realize that this story would become so popular. Again thank you to all of the wonderful people who took the time to read this story and write those splendiferous reviews that keep me floating in a bubble of elation. Also if you have any questions about, well, anything or just want to talk to someone feel free to e-mail me at AOLscreennames Racehorsefanatik or Yankeesgrl225351or you can AIM me on either accounts, cheerio! There are personal responses to all of my reviewers at the end of the chapter as before.

Disclaimer: Tortall and its occupants do not belong to me, they belong to the wonderful Tamora Pierce who kindly allows the adoring public to use her worlds in their fanfics.

Chapter 3: Facing the Morning

Kel woke to the feeling of arms gently wrapped around her and a masculine chest beneath her head. Eyes snapping open she glanced up and saw that Dom was the one she was sprawled over, embarrassment crashed over her Yamani mask and she knew that if anyone saw her right now she wouldn't be able to hind her emotions at all. She carefully tried to ease her way out of Dom's arms while praying that no one would see her exit from his tent. The man's arms tightened around her as she tried to slip away and he started mumbling something.

A first all she could hear was the rumbling in his chest, but as she concentrated on his words they started to become more understandable. "Just ten more minutes mother, let me sleep just ten more minutes. I'm having a wonderful dream. mumble mumble Kel I love mumble mumble just ten more min…huh?"

The mumbling after he had said the word love had sounded suspiciously like 'you so much' and Kel was afraid his questioning 'huh?' had been caused by her shooting out his arms and the bedroll. Before he managed to awaken fully she had blasted out of the tent and was now sprinting back to her soggy bedroll by the stream. She heard a rustling coming from the direction of camp and prayed that Dom hadn't decided to come after her. A soft woof relieved her fears and told her that Jump had found her not so secret hiding spot.

"Hey boy, whatcha doing over here, huh? The foods back at camp." She squatted down next to her dog and carefully scratched his one ear. "Did you sense my unease and come to see if I was okay?"

His response to her question was a small wag of his tail and, somewhat surprisingly, a nod of his head. "Well if that's the case I guess I'll tell you." The knight sat down on the hard ground and Jump placed his head on her knee while watching her expectantly. She proceeded to explain the events of the morning to him and then went into her feelings, "I just don't know what I'll do if he really loves me. I can't image anything of the sort being true, but then again people don't normally lie when they're talking in their sleep. I don't even know how I feel about him, I mean I do get butterflies in my stomach whenever I'm around him and when we're apart I miss him terribly. Every time he smiles and laughs it just, well it makes me feel so happy and want to smile and laugh with him. When he's sad I just can't stand it and I absolutely hate it when he's mad at me. It just makes me feel so lost and alone. I know I like him and fantasize about him liking me as more than just a friend, but love? Do I love him? Would I even recognize love if that was what I was feeling? Oh Jump I just don't know!"

The dog warned her that someone was once again approaching her sanctuary. Turning she saw Raoul step out of the shadows towards her. How long has he been standing there? Oh gods, please tell me he didn't hear anything I just said. But no, he looks…distracted, troubled. Something must be wrong. "What is it sir? Has something happened?"

"Bandits. They've hit several of the nearby villages and we just found out. There have been several townspeople killed and the king sent a messenger telling me that we're to take care of the problem. We're heading out in half a bell so go eat and pack up." He turned and walked away. Kel let out a small sigh of relief, he hadn't heard her.

When she walked back into the camp, her wet bedroll rolled up and slung over her shoulder, the first thing she noticed was Dom's blue eyes trained on her. Pretending not to notice she grabbed her saddle and quickly tacked Hoshi up, making sure to leave the girth loose until it came time to mount up. Then she moved onto Peachblossom and rigged the lead line to his halter, his bridle was tied down to his saddle. Grabbing some food by the fire, she continued to ignore Dom and was careful to stay as far away from him as possible, not an easy feat because he was attempting to approach her. She just wasn't ready to face him yet, not until she understood her own feelings at least.

Soon it was time to move out, so she carefully finished cinching Hoshi's girth, mounted, and moved to Raoul's side at the head of the line.

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Dom watched Kel as she returned to camp. He wanted to ask her why she had bolted from his tent that morning like a frightened deer. Did she think he was so repulsive that just the idea of spending a completely chaste night in his company turned her into a panicked woman instead of the brave knight that she was? Maybe she had just been shocked to wake up in his arms and that was the only way she could think to react to the situation. Or worse, what if he had said something in his sleep that had told her his feelings; he did remember that his dreams had been extremely pleasant and filled with images of Kel. Had he said something?

He started to believe that was the case as she studiously avoided him while the camp was being dissembled. She didn't so much as directly look at him the entire time, although he knew she was keeping him in her line of vision to make sure he couldn't sneak up on her. Oh how he hoped he hadn't said anything he shouldn't have in his sleep, if this was her reaction to his feeling he knew his future wouldn't be filled with the happiness he imagined. This was far from the passionate night filled with kisses and perhaps something more that he dreamed would follow his declaration of love, if he ever worked up the nerve to make it that is.

He found himself becoming melancholy as his thoughts became more and more depressing. The mantra 'she doesn't like me and she definitely doesn't love me, what am I going to do?' kept pounding through his head. Snap out of it man, you don't even know why she's avoiding you and here you go imagining the worst case scenario. You're sounding more like Meathead than anything else so just stop it. Maybe she avoiding you because she's embarrassed for letting you see her cry or something, don't forget this is Kel, the woman who hates letting others see her emotions! That's it, that's got to be it. She's just embarrassed for crying in front of me, that's got to be it.

A grin broke across his face at the thought. Of course he didn't proclaim his undying love for her in his sleep and this avoidance wasn't her answer to it. With a sigh of relief he turned his mind to the bandits that they were going to be dealing with.

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A/N: well there's another chapter, please review. I'm not sure when I'm going to be able to update next, probably sometime next week. I know it's a long time, but I have final exams to study for (and take) and I have to pack up my dorm, move out, and drive home for the summer, so I really don't know if I'll be able to sleep, let alone write. Please bear with me. Now onto the responses!

Dom's Angel: I'm glad you like the msg's to each of my reviewers and you are special, along with everyone who has taken their time to read my work and then review it. Doesn't everyone love Dom? I can't imagine someone who could hate the handsome sergeant. :-)

Immortals Gurl: To me the pacing seems really weird for this story, sometimes like its going way to fast and other times like it's barely crawling along, but if you think the pace is right..umm..woohoo!

Kelly Masbolle: Thank you for the suggestions, they actually helped me figure out where I'm going to take this story, although things might get a little dangerous in either the next chapter or the one after nothing too bad is going to happen (I hope):-)

Janayi: I know that Kel came out a bit ooc, but I needed to portray her that way so Dom could comfort her. I'm just going to blame her actions in chapter 2 by saying in was her time of the month so she was moody ;-).

Baseball2horse: a little demanding aren't we? Well, I hope you enjoyed this last chapter.

Pussin Boots: Its okay, I didn't take any offense and I hope you didn't either. I do plan to have to ants pop back up in future chapters so that's why I haven't changed the title, but its not set in stone, so..umm..yeah!

Pinky: I don't think that anyone should ever be portrayed never taking offense, if you do show them being offended it humanizes them and makes it easier to get the readers to relate to the character, so I guess what I'm saying is that I'm glad you like that I wrote it that way. By the way my goal in life is to turn everyone in the world into Kel/Dom lovers so would you just please save me some trouble and convert…NOW…grins evilly ….oh sorry, got a little carried away there. :-)

Gatermage: Thank you so much, that's what I thought. Woohoo, now I can go work on my other story. Thank you thank you thank you!

FanFictionFantom: Even if you're not the Phantom of the Opera, I still hear the song whenever I see your name, I kinda like it cuz I love the play and the song and I love you for reviewing! No, that wasn't the end and neither is this, when I end it I hope I make it clear that the story is over.

Jamie Lynn: I'm so happy that you like my writing style.

Keeping the Moon: I'm so happy to hear you say that!

Salma-sol: Big thanks to you for responding to my question. I love to update if only because it means I can keep my reviewers happy.

Darth Tater: Thank you for answering my question, even if it was just a guess. I think guesses are good things, I like to use them on tests when I don't know the answer, they've saved me several times. (Wanders away contemplating the wonderfulness of guesses)