REUNION

- by Moonlight -

Chapter 4

He didn't love her and even if he did...she didn't deserve him. His lips would be on someone else's ...and she would watch and break inside over and over again because that was what she deserved for treating Alec the way she did , as an annoying side-kick who never could do anything right. After one last glance she turned around, walking away without any spirit left in her.

He held his breathe when the girl finally turned around painfully slowly. Lifeless blue eyes looked back into his scared darker ones. He could hear Cece's sharp intake of breathe. Not only to her but to him too it felt like being slapped across his face.

Those weren't the eyes that were familiar to them, not the laughing ones, that he had loved to look into. Not the thoughtful ones, they got to see only few times. And not the loving ones he had come to depend on. These eyes they didn't know. No life was inside of them, not even the smallest spark.

It was her, her face, her hair, everything. But her soul was missing.

Kaz heard a strangled sob and suddenly realized it was him whose tears where flowing down his cheeks faster and faster. That was the reason why he had stayed back, stayed behind Alec, who was the first to approach their girl. His emotions had almost been strangling him and he had been afraid to start sobbing like a little child .

A child he never had been.

But when he saw Alec outstretching his hand to touch Sanji, he couldn't take it. Sanji was his and he would be damned if he would just stand there watching while someone else touched her. Not even Alec. So before his CO could gather his courage, Kaz had already pushed him to the side growling low in his throat to stand beside her himself and wisphered her name shakily.

Devastated he now caught Sanji in his strong arms and pulled her towards his warm body. He held her close and didn't want to ever let her go. He was too late, he was too late. It couldn't be, what had they done? What had happened to her, who did that to her? It couldn't be that they found her just to realize it was too late!

Alec and Cece joined him in surrounding Sanji and their tears mixed with his own upon her head. They had lost their adopted little sister to Manticore - but he had lost the most important thing in his life to them.

Being pulled against a strong chest, Sanji could feel a frantic heartbeat beside her ear. Unconsciously she snuggled closer and breathed deeply. She knew this scent. She closed her eyes feeling all comfortable .So she was at home again. She didn't have to struggle with her life anymore; it was finally taken away from her. No more pain. She was back in the jungle with her pack. Back with Alec, Cece, Jill and the others. And most importantly back with Kaz finally.

It was a cold night, without any stars lightening the dark. Only their fire gave a little warmth. They all moved their sleeping bags as near together as possible, hugging each other to not give in to the cold. Kaz was hugging her tightly to his chest and Alec was holding her cold fingers. Warm and cosy, feeling safe, she fell asleep. She was with her family, nothing could happen to her.

It was the wetness on her face that disturbed her. It didn't rain, so where did the wetness come from? Sanji's heart was screaming at her, wanted to tell her something, but she didn't understand. Confused the girl opened her eyes, which had been closed until then. She realized she wasn't lying on the floor either, she was standing.

How could it be? But the scent of her family was around her, so she had to be safe. Puzzled, she looked down on the heads that were pressed against her neck now, feeling the belonging bodies tremble. Without realizing it, her arms went around them too in effort to warm them a bit, because that was must be why they were shuddering.

But even though Sanji didn't realize what she did, Kaz, Alec and Cece did and their heads snapped up with looks that immediately changed from hopelessness to the opposite. Hope. Their gazes touched her to the core, it felt like she was hit by a hammer and her eyes become bigger and bigger. The damn in her heart finally broken in jubilation; that was what it had been trying to tell her all the time, Sanji realized.

They were real! She was still alive...but that meant...suddenly her eyes began to sting and she started to tremble forcefully...tears were rolling down her cheek while Sanji moved her right arm a bit to touch Kaz's face, to move down the familiar lines of his cheekbones, his full mouth and his nose...shakily she continued doing the same with Cece and Alec. Their faces shining with light and hope by now but they still were waiting for her to speak. They needed to hear her voice, needed her to say their names, to be completely convinced not to have lost her.

It was as if Sanji felt what they were waiting for and actually she did. So felt so close to them. But she still didn't dare to believe herself. With such a tiny voice that they could hardly catch it, she looked into their eyes and asked:

"Kaz? Cece? Alec? Is it ...is it really you? You are dead, you left me..."

Closing her eyes , sobs wrecked her body when three pair of arms strongly hugged her full of joy and relief . They were crying together without being ashamed because of it.

"Sanni!" Kaz whispered when she snuggled closer to get comfortable and he knew she didn't want to let him go ever again, just as he didn't want to ever loose her again. She looked up and met his searching gaze. His eyes were a dark, stormy blue now and full of emotions, her breath caught in her throat of what she saw in their depths.

Kaz held her gaze while taking down all his defences, giving her access to his very soul. He stared at her intently, almost wildly. Breathless she looked back with a similar look upon her face. She didn't dare move because she was suddenly afraid that a single movement would destroy everything. Afraid that he would just disappear, leaving her all alone, again.

Slowly Kaz lowered his head until his lips were only millimetres from her own; as if he were asking for permission he stopped for a second and looked up into her glittering eyes again with something like hesitancy shining in his own. Sanji let her dark eyelashes fall down and leaned against the muscular transgenic as he softly touched his lips to hers.

This simple touch took their breath away and left both of them feeling dizzy. Incredulous they looked at each other. Sanji saw his gaze shift to her mouth again and fire began to blaze in his eyes .Tensing in anticipation, she shuddered, as Kaz didn't let go of her gaze when he went back to touching her lips. This time the kiss wasn't soft but full of passion and wildness.

She almost moaned when she felt his hard body against hers and breathless she moved her mouth to kiss him back. His tongue caught her off guard when it slipped into her mouth without any warning. A firework exploded inside her when their tongues met for the first time in ages. Blind and deaf to anything beside the feeling of being together again, they were lost in their own little world.

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I do not own anything to do with Dark Angel. But I do own my original characters and nobody can make me get rid of them:)

A/N: Tatarata...I am honored to present you...the fourth chapter of Reunion! ;)