A/N: In honor of Jeff Gordon winning the Daytona 500, I've decided to update this story! And for all you Dale Jr. fans out there, I'm not gonna rub it in your face that Gordon kicked Jr's butt 'cause I still want you to review! So stay cool everybody. I've got quite a bit of fluff at the beginning of this chapter and I'm on a sugar high from animal crackers!

Kara found herself walking along an empty hallway. The atmosphere in the ship was tense. The Archangel had been spotted again and everyone was preparing for battle, except for Kara. She had been injured more severely than anyone would tell her, but she knew it had been bad. Some days were better than others for her, but no day was like before the incident. She looked out the window. She could see the ocean. It was so big! She'd seen pictures of the oceans in textbooks, but in real life, it was so… so… different.

Suddenly Dearka came rushing towards her. She knew it was time for the battle to begin. He almost ran to her when he saw her and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and rested her head on his shoulder. She inhaled the scent of his cologne. She loved the smell of it. She loved the feeling of his arms around her.

Dearka rested his head on top of Kara's. She smelled like jasmine. That didn't surprise him since he'd bought her perfume for her. He kissed the top of her head and pulled her closer. For some reason he couldn't let her go. He felt like something was going to happen, something that would change his life forever. For a few minutes though, he just wanted to hold her. She lifted her head and kissed his cheek. Dearka slowly let her go.

"I should go tell Athrun and Nicol good luck," Kara said looking down at her feet. She started to walk away from Dearka, but suddenly he grabbed her hand and pulled her close. He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. As the kiss started growing more intense, Kara pulled away. "You need to go," she told tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

Dearka nodded and they went to the hangar. Athrun was already in his flight suit getting ready to launch. She stopped when he saw Kara. She walked up to him and gave him a hug. "Be safe," she whispered in his ear. "I love you."

"I will," Athrun promised. "And I love you too."

Kara gave him a smile, and watched as he took his seat in the cockpit of his Gundam. The Aegis was a very powerful Gundam. Athrun would be fine. But, for some reason she worried. Maybe it was because he was fighting Kira. Karalee could remember Kira very well. He was nice and very shy at times. Kara had wanted to laugh every time he blushed when speaking to her.

Kara watched Dearka climb into his Gundam as well. "I love you angel!" he called down to her causing Kara to blush. She blew him a kiss and watched the two most important men in her life prepare to fly away from her.

Suddenly Yzak pushed passed Kara, knocking her to the ground. "Hey!" she cried as she fell. Yzak looked down at her and glared. "Watch where you're standing," he said coldly, climbing into his Gundam. Kara glared at him, standing up and brushing off her uniform. Yzak had hated her since she first came on board the ship, he never explained himself. He just hated her.

Flashback

Kara wandered down the hallway, they were in space so she could float along not worrying about her injured foot. Suddenly, she saw Yzak moving towards her. He didn't look happy, but then again, he never did.

"Move out of my way princess," he said icily.

"Princess? That is so sweet!" Kara exclaimed as sweetly as she could without wanting to puke.

"That wasn't a compliment," he told her, pushing past her, knocking Kara into the wall. Kara shut her eyes tightly as pain ripped through her body. His shove had caused her to hit her ankle. It felt like her entire leg was on fire.

Kara tried to smile when she saw Dearka coming down the hallway. "What's wrong angel?" he asked worriedly.

"I hit my foot," Kara told him calmly. "It's not a big deal. I just need to go take my pain killers again."

Dearka looked over at Yzak. His eyes were staring down the hallway in an unfixed gaze, as if he was just trying not to look at Kara. He wrapped his arm protectively over Kara's shoulders and led her back to her room. Dearka looked over His shoulder and gave Yzak a questioning look. They would have a talk later about what happens when one guy hurts another guy's girl.

About twenty minutes later, Dearka entered the room he was sharing with Yzak to find Yzak sitting calmly on his bed reading a book. "What the heck is your problem?" he yelled knocking the book out of Yzak's hands. "What has Kara ever done to you?"

"I don't want to discuss this with you," Yzak said menacingly.

"We're going to discuss this where you like it or not! That's my girl friend in her room crying herself to sleep, trying to forget how much pain she's in and won't take her painkillers for fear that something's going to happen and then she'll just be in the way!"

"She's in the way now!" Yzak said raising the volume of his voice.

"Not to me," Dearka said lowering his voice.

"I knew this would happen," Yzak declared. "Women always make men weak."

"Where the heck did you get an idea like that?" Dearka asked dangerously, his violet eyes narrowing into slits.

"Look at yourself," Yzak said shoving him. "You worry about her all the time. You're always distracted. You can't be your own person when she's around. She is scum, using her father to get whatever she wants …"

For once, Dearka didn't keep his temper in check. He let his fist fly right into Yzak's right eye, knocking him to the ground. Dearka placed his foot on Yzak's chest and glared down at him. "Don't you ever say anything like that about Kara again, ever!" he threatened. "Or I swear I will kill you! Kara is the sweetest, kindest person I have ever met and if you ever make her cry again, let's just say I'll personally make sure you can never have kids." With that, Dearka left the room, slamming the door behind him.

End Flashback

As the battle raged outside, Kara was once again left with nothing to do. Everyone treated her like a glass doll, as if she'd break if they made her do any work. He retreated to her stateroom as usual during a battle and pulled out her well-worn Bible. Her mother had given it to her when her father and gotten custody of her. She laid there on her bed reading until sleep claimed her.

Four hours later she was woken by the soft swish of her door as someone opened it. She sat up groggily and looked around. Yzak walked into the room looking grim, not angry, more like sad. "I have something I have to tell you," he said quietly, not making eye contact.

"Yes?" Kara asked softly, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Nicol's dead," he said, still not looking at her. "Athrun is MIA and Dearka has been captured."

"No!" Kara exclaimed as his eyes filled with tears. "This is some cruel joke, right?" Yzak just shook his head. "No! Oh please God! Why, why…" Kara collapsed in sobs. She'd never felt so alone, not even when she'd been forced to leave her mother and Athrun. Yzak watched silently as Kara sobbed.

Suddenly she stopped and ran from the room. He followed her into the room that he had been sharing with Dearka. She collapsed onto Dearka's bed clinging to his pillow. She inhaled his scent and sobbed. She sobbed for Nicol. He was so young, only fifteen. He'd never really gotten to experience life. He'd never been kissed, never been in love, never experienced heartbreak. Maybe he'd been lucky, never to have known a broken heart. But without pain, life wouldn't be so sweet.

She cried for Athrun, her wonderful older brother by a few brief minutes. He was so strong, like a rock in a storm. Whenever she had needed him as a child, he'd been there. But Athrun too had so little life experience. He too had never been in love. He'd never run through the rain just to do it. He never danced in front of the bathroom mirror because he could. He'd lived his life in a shell Kara had only been able to pull him out of a few times.

Then she cried for Dearka. She loved him so much. He meant almost everything to her. If she had the chance to do it over again, she'd probably accept his proposal. He had been so good to her, always so considerate and sweet. To the rest of the world he may have seemed a little cocky and arrogant at times. But she loved him. He was her escape from a world made of glass. Without him, she felt so incomplete.

Last of all, she cried for herself. She cried for how lonely she felt. She cried for how her heart felt like it was breaking. She cried for that fact that everyone she cared about seemed to get hurt. She cried for the way her heart felt like it was breaking in two. She let herself sob without reserve until it felt like she couldn't cry anymore.

Yzak left the room, giving her a little privacy until her sobs had stopped. Her face was tear streaked and her emerald eyes were blood shot. Her alabaster complexion was red and blotchy and her midnight blue curls were tangled. "I'll help you back to your room," he said walking over and picking her up off Dearka's bed. She tightened her arms around Dearka's pillow and let him carry her back to her room and lay her down on her bed. "Thank you," she whispered softly almost instantly falling into an exhausted slumber.

The next day

Kara didn't know how long she slept. But she felt someone sit down on the edge of her bed and brush her hair away from her face. A gentle kiss was placed on her cheek causing her eyelids to flutter open. "Athrun?" she asked softly, staring at him as if he was a ghost.

"Hey sleepy head," he said with a smile. "Did you miss me?"

"Athrun!" Kara exclaimed sitting up and throwing herself into her brother's arms. She hugged him tightly and her tears started all over again. "Oh Athrun!" she sobbed. "I was so worried about you!"

"I know," Athrun said rubbing her back as she cried. "But I'm alright." Kara clung to her brother tightly. She clung to him as if she'd never let him go. Athrun smiled sadly and rubbed her back. He tried to comfort her as best as he could, but he knew she wished Dearka was holding her. Kara loved Athrun. But he was only her brother. Dearka was the love of her life.