ALL VOTES have been cast and the winner is….

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 14

Keira threw down her hands from her dress in anger, letting tears flow freely from her clenched eyelids. She didn't care how she looked. They had said what they felt except for her. She needed to release so much. She yelled in her almost crackling voice at Jak.

"Do you know how many nights I stood waiting at home, wondering when you were going to come back? Do you know how much I worried if you were okay when I woke up to bloody bandages in the living room and you weren't there? I had to watch the news or listen to the radio to find out how you were doing and hope that no one mentioned your death. Do you know how mad I was every time you stopped by my garage and it was for a favor? Then you'd just speed off after I did it like I was some machine? Do you have any idea how foolish I felt when Ashelin and Torn booked a room together and they weren't ashamed because after all we were poisoned and still you chose to act like…like you! Only depending on yourself and taking on everything on your shoulders because you always have to be the hero all the time! After a while I figured if I can't shoot a gun and benefit you in your missions that I was worthless to you"

Jak moved to cut her off, "Keira, that's not tru-"

She continued, shutting him up. "You have made me look like a fool time and time again because you always thought that no matter what I'd still be at the garage, waiting till whenever you came back. Waiting with open arms without expecting anything back because I understood you so well. Well I'm tired of being understanding. I have needs too and I deserve for them to be met!"

Jak hung his head in shame as Razer watched Keira's display in amusement. Keira breathed heavily as silence hung in the air. Finally Jak spoke, in a defeated tone of voice, "I know Keira. I deserve everything that's happening right now and you're right. Your deserve someone that's going to meet your needs. Now it's my turn to understand you"

With that he turned to walk away from her, heading to the car.

Unexpectedly he heard Keira call out to him and he spun around to her. She ran up to him and before he could utter another word she threw herself in his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck before she crashed her lips onto his. He stood there in shock for a moment as he felt her trembling lips on his and the warm tears from her eyes on his cheeks. He slowly brought his arms to her waist, still unsure of what was happening before Keira released her kiss on him.

She stared up into his confused eyes and smiled, "And I guess after all this time, I'm still a fool…I can't picture life without you either as much as you piss me off"

An astonished grin spread across Jak's face as he leaned in and kissed her back, tightening his embrace around her. He wrapped his arms around her completely because he now knew that if he wasn't careful, she could disappear. He now knew how to be grateful. He backed away for a moment and put his hands on the sides of her face as he looked into her eyes. With their foreheads touching, he whispered to her, "I swear on the precursors that I will never make you cry another tear of sadness for me unless it's through my death"

Before she could reply he crashed his lips back down to hers. For the first time he was displaying so much affection openly, not caring about his image or those around him. They had forgotten about Razer, as they got lost in their moment. By the time Keira had looked up at Razer once she escaped Jak's lingering kisses, she saw him sitting in his car getting ready to start the engine. To their surprise he laughed arrogantly at their display but it wasn't a laugh to make them angry, rather it seemed like something else.

"So you've won this race Jak and I have to admit it was a close one" Jak grinned at Razer's comment as he continued. "Makes me glad that I intertwined the red and yellow ones instead of the black…"

Keira's jaw dropped as she realized what he had meant. Jak still had a blank expression on his face until he looked at Keira and the answer seemed to slip into his head from hers. Jak turned to Razer while still locking Keira in his embrace, "So you're the one that-"

Razer cut him off, "Didn't you find it strange how Mizo was able to connect the wires properly to kill his father but mysteriously did it wrong when trying to sabotage your vehicle? Yes, you're right, I switched the wires"

"But why?" Jak asked as they stared into Razer's calm face for a response.

He laughed again, "Now don't get me wrong, I only did it because of one thing and one thing only. I'd rather kill you with my own hands than with such a cowardly trick. If you're going to die, it'll be because of the missiles from my Havoc" Strangely he smiled at them and Jak and Keira weren't angry. It was as if Razer had grown to respect Jak as a racer even though they were enemies. They smiled back at him and before Razer drove off with a wave he yelled out to Jak, "Better keep an eye on her from now on or I may have to snatch her back from you!" and Jak nodded.

Jak turned back to Keira and replied to Razer even though he had already driven away. "Don't worry, I'll make sure that doesn't happen again" and he grinned at her.

She smiled back before grabbing his goatee to pull him down to her. Their bodies drew closer as they continued to brush their lips against each other underneath the moonlight beside the sea. She felt the tingling through her body and the excitement rising in her. She felt whole while she kissed him and she knew this was what was missing from Razer's kiss. When she kissed Jak she felt like she belonged there. That she was his and he belonged to her. It was a feeling that felt right. She had almost forgotten what it had felt like until now and she was grateful. He brought his fingers through the back of her hair as he tilted his head and explored her mouth. Their breathing grew heavier as the moment wore on and her fingers began to claw his chest. It wasn't until he felt her body shiver that he slowly backed away from her. He held her hands in his as he got a good look at her with her new appearance.

"I hate to say this because of where that dress came from but you look amazing in it" He twirled her with his hand like she was a princess and she blushed at his compliment.

"Yeah well my feet are killing me in these things. I'd prefer boots and pants any day" and they laughed before Jak began to take off his racing jacket. He threw the jacket over her bare shoulders and rubbed her arms to give her warmth. His expression returned to being serious again.

"I thought I'd never see you wear something of mine again"

She pulled the jacket closer to her as she enjoyed its warmth. It was a feeling she had almost forgotten. She inhaled his masculine scent from the collar before drawing closer to him so that he could wrap his arms around her once again. He leaned in to kiss her again and their pace quickened little by little. They began to feel the desire growing within them. It had been so long since they were this close and this intimate. It was a strain on the both of them. They were starved from one another and they knew it was time to make up for all the time that was lost. Jak pulled away from her leaving a gentle kiss on her forehead. He looked down at her.

"Let's go home" and she nodded. They both got in the car and Jak started the engine to drive off. As he stepped on the gas Keira gazed at his handsome face.

"Can I ask you something?" she mumbled, hoping she wasn't ruining the night.

He turned to her and answered sincerely, "Well it's about an hour drive. I think a conversation would be good for us both."

Keira leaned on his shoulder as they drove into the night back towards Haven City. Even though she had decided to be with Jak and he had obviously realized that he didn't want to lose her, there were still a lot of unanswered questions between them. They still had a lot of holes that needed to be patched up. To needed to cure their doubts so that they both knew where they stood.

She started nervously, "What…happened between us?"

He shook his head, "I really don't know…"

They paused for a moment and Keira took the initiative to start again. "Why…did you stop coming to bed during the night?" It was a bit of a forward question but after the emotional events between them they chose to put all awkwardness aside. The answers they needed for so long came first. They needed to let it all out. "After a while, I felt like there was something wrong. Even when you were away you always made sure to sneak into the room with me and one night you just stopped" She looked up at him, vulnerable and needy. She needed to know what went wrong between them.

"I never meant to do that. There was this one mission that I had from Torn. I can't really give you the details being that we're out in the open but it was a long one and I was always being followed. I avoided the apartment and the garage as much as possible because the last thing I wanted was for some goons to follow me and find out about you. These guys that were after me, they were cruel to the point that I knew they'd use you to their advantage and so I made sure I acted as if you didn't exist. I never meant to be that way" He turned to look at her apologetically and she nodded in understanding. He continued, "By the time I had returned safely from completing the mission and I went to your bed that night I saw your exhausted body sleeping there. I didn't want to disturb you and that night I had to tend to my own injuries. That's why you saw the bloody bandages there that morn-" He felt a slap across the back of his head and it cut him off.

He rubbed his head as he looked at her in surprise, "Ahh what was that for?"

"You should've wakened me up! I saw the bandages and I was worried. It didn't matter how hard I worked during the day, I would've wakened up to bandage you and at least know you were okay" She crossed her arms and looked away from him.

"I'm sorry. I won't do it again" and he grinned at her. She sighed and urged for him to continue with what he was saying.

"So after that night I grew a little paranoid. With my luck I didn't want to chance thinking the mission was over and there were still men that weren't caught lurking around and following me. You know with me my adventures are never over" he looked at her again to flash his hero smile and she shook her head at him. He returned to being serious, "Whenever I'd get the chance I'd stop by your room and watch you. I wanted to make sure you were ok. I'd see you sleeping there with my shirts on and it made me happy knowing you thought of me but…then there was that one night…I came into your room one night after a week trip to Spargus and I saw you sleeping without my shirt. I really didn't think anything of it because I figured maybe you had just forgotten. I thought it was stupid of me to dwell on it. Then the next night I looked in the fridge and saw that you stopped leaving leftovers like you usually did. That's when I thought there was something wrong…" He stood silent for a bit as he clenched the steering wheel, gathering his emotions as he opened up to her so deeply.

"I-I wanted to say something but I was always so busy. As you stopped doing those things I thought that you were forgetting me. That somehow in your own way you were moving on. I couldn't bring myself to stop you because I felt like, with everything that happens in my life and the way that I am, that you might've been better off without me"

She gently placed her hand on his arm as she looked up to him from leaning on his shoulder. "I-I never forgot you. I thought…that you were forgetting me. That for some reason you didn't want to be with me anymore. You stopped sleeping beside me. You stopped coming to the apartment and you only came to the garage when you needed something. When you did see me you acted as if we were nothing more than friends…I didn't know that you were protecting me during a mission or feeling the way that you did. I didn't know that leaving you food and post-its or wearing your shirts meant that much to you. If I had than maybe…things would've been different"

"I never got the chance to tell you about how I really felt. Sometimes I just didn't want you to be in danger or I didn't want to drag you into my sorrows. Like when I go to Spargus and sit in my father's throne. I travel through the cities hoping to find traces of memories that I had long forgotten. I visit his grave and dwell in my own thoughts, asking what my real purpose in life is and if I'll ever get to live it for myself. I even asked him about you. How I wished he had met you and I wished he was here for when I needed the advice to guide me…"

"Jak…I've been with you for as long as I can remember. You were there when I thought about my mother and it's only right that I be there for you. You can't always play the hero and keep everything to yourself. I wanna…share the load on your shoulders because that's what you've done for me and everyone else. I'm sure your father would've been proud of you and understood what it was like to have the need to escape your duties at times. I wanna be able to help you find purpose, you and me" She brushed her hand underneath his chin and he closed his eyes briefly at her touch. She calmed him.

"When we were poisoned, I felt like it was my fault to begin with. I was the one that urged everyone to see what it was about. The guilt and all the doubts I already had were eating at me and that's why I seemed so distant during the races. I was unsure of how to act towards you and how you wanted me to act. I wasn't even sure if you wanted me at all. Then when you met Razer and I found the flowers in your room I was beginning to accept the fact that you were drifting away and maybe I even deserved it. I was already used to losing in life so that others could gain. I thought…that maybe it was better off that way"

She shook her head, "It wasn't your fault Jak. The thought that it was your fault had never crossed anyone's minds. We're a team. They care about you and you know they all have your back when you're in trouble. You're not just a tool for them to send out on missions"

"Then the night that I slept in your bed, I heard you whisper something in your sleep" She looked at him with a baffled expression and he couldn't keep his gaze on her. "You said…you were telling me not to leave you"

Her eyes widened, "I-I said that?"

He nodded, "It made me feel even more guilty for all the things I should've done and said to you and I haven't. I felt like I was your nightmare because I was never around"

"Jak…I'm sorry. It's just that, the dream I had that night, I don't remember it clearly but I remember you. There was a tunnel and it was dark. I saw you at the end of it and I tried to run to you but I couldn't. It was like I was running in slow motion no matter how hard I ran and I reached out to you. You just turned away with your back towards me and I was calling out to you but- but it was like you couldn't hear me. I was screaming as loud as I could but you couldn't hear me at all and you just kept going…Even though you think it probably means that you're always leaving me it meant something else to me. It meant that I was calling out to you, trying to reach you ears and I wasn't getting through to you. Just like in real life. I reached out to you so many times and awaited your return patiently and you never realized I was there"

They stood silent for a while. Jak's eyes were focused on the road and Keira linked her arms around one of his as he kept his other hand on the steering wheel. There weren't too far from Haven now. About a half hour had passed. Suddenly Jak broke the silence.

"Keira?" She looked up with a hmm and he continued, "Thanks…"

She smiled at him as she ran her thumb on the thin scratch on his cheek. She brought her hand to his ear, one spot covered in five small dry crimson cuts. Bite marks?

"Jak? What happened?"

He laughed to her surprise before he turned to her smiling, "I learned not to mess with good ole' Orange Lightning"

She gasped, "Oh my God Daxter!" and Jak nodded. She began to giggle uncontrollably as he continued to grin at her. He was glad to make her smile again. She was already turning red from laughter. Finally between her panting breaths she picked on Jak, "Who would've known that the oh so powerful Mar was so easily beaten by an ottsel? I guess he really is a precursor after all" and they laughed together.

After the laughing clamed down Jak turned to her, "Talking about Daxter, we need to stop at the Naughty Ottsel before we head home"

She raised a suspicious eyebrow at him, "Why?"

He looked at her mischievously, "I still have something up my sleeve for you"

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Yay Jak won! Of course! The hero always gets the girl. He learned his lesson. This story ain't over yet! What's Jak got in store for Keira? What happens to Razer? Next chapter will most likely be the last. I may include a bonus chapter for humor because I thought of a funny situation that I wanted to include but I didn't want to ruin the intensity in the last few chapters. Also the next chapter may be a bit intense. I don't know if I should change the rating because of it but I don't think it's too bad. Stay tuned Jak luvahz!